when you love something, you protect it

by burningfudge

Summary:

The Eternals, the Avengers, and the Guardians of the Galaxy watch their future.

An Eternals watch-it fic.

Chapter 1: mesopotamia & london

Notes:

To any new readers: You don't have to read all the previous fics to understand this one, but there will be references to the previous fics. Except for America, all of the characters are from 2018—a week before Infinity War so Shang-Chi is 19 and Kate is 15. America is 15 as she comes from a year after MoM where Earth-616 has been destroyed by Rama-Tut, Scarlet Centurion, and Immortus post-Quantumania so she and the Watcher decided to bring the Avengers to the theatre to watch their futures to fight him.

In Loki, the characters found out that they've diverged from the main MCU universe, so they're variants watching MCU 616 before it's been destroyed and they've designated their new universe/future as Earth-727. The theatre is like the pub from the What If finale—it's outside time and space. In Multiverse of Madness, Natasha was made the new leader of the Avengers with Sam, Carol, and Stephen as co-leaders. They were inspired by the Illuminati with Captain America in charge of Earth, Captain Marvel in charge of space, and Doctor Strange in charge of magic.

Before anyone asks me, Makkari has closed captioning and subtitles.

Text appeared on the screen. "In the beginning, before the six singularities and the dawn of creation, came the Celestials."

"Six singularities as in the Infinity Stones?" Wong said. 

"Celestials? Oh, hell no," said Quill. 

"Like Knowhere and your father?" Sam asked. 

The Eternals choked. "Your what?" Ikaris said, astonished. 

"You're the son of a Celestial?" Kingo said, wide-eyed. 

"Yeah, and so is Mantis. She's my sister and we killed our Celestial father, Ego," Quill replied. "He was a dick."

"Yes, he was," Mantis agreed. 

The Eternals stared at Quill and Mantis in awe and complete confusion while the Avengers and the rest of the Guardians were highly amused. Eros blinked; his niece was dating the son of a Celestial? 

"You killed a Celestial? Is having a Celestial as a father even possible?" Phastos questioned in disbelief. 

"I'm…not sure," Ajak said, lost. Did Ego create Quill and Mantis like the Arishem created them or was he talking about biological creation? 

"It's possible," Quill said. "Ego went on a tangent about how he was a Celestial and had seeds planted in planets. He wanted to create new extensions of himself to fulfill life's one true purpose—to grow and spread." 

"That's all he ever talked about when I was living with him," Mantis added. 

Ajak and Ikaris blanched and exchanged an alarmed look. 

"Does Arishem know?" Makkari signed, asking Ajak. 

Ajak shook her head. "If he knows then he never told me. I've never heard of Ego," she said while signing. But Quill and Mantis have to be the children of a Celestial since Quill was uncomfortably close to the true reason of why the Eternals were on Earth. 

"You two must be very powerful," Thena told Quill and Mantis. 

"Oh! Uh, yeah. Obviously, I'm  very  powerful. I'm known as the legendary Star-Lord," Quill said, puffing his chest out. The Avengers and Guardians roared with laughter causing him to shoot them a dirty look. 

"Thank you!" Mantis said brightly. 

"Arishem, the Prime Celestial, created the first sun and brought light into the universe. Life began and thrived. All was in balance."

"What do you mean by 'created the first sun'? What about the Big Bang Theory?" Jane said. 

"The Celestials created life. They're responsible for the Big Bang Theory," said Ajak. 

Gamora snorted. "More like destroyed it. Or have you not heard about that one Celestial who destroyed an entire planet with the Power Stone?"

The Eternals were dumbfounded. "I'm sorry, what?" Sprite said. 

"For people who were sent by the Celestials, you don't seem to know much about them," said Valkyrie. 

"Until an unnatural species of predator emerged from deep space to feed on intelligent life—they were known as the Deviants. The universe was plunged into chaos. To restore the natural order, Arishem sent Eternals—immortal heroes from the planet Olympia—to eliminate the Deviants." 

Eros raised an eyebrow. So, the Eternals on Earth still believed the lies that the Celestials were feeding them. 

"Deviants are disgusting beings. It was a pain fighting them," said Thor. 

Gilgamesh clapped a hand on his shoulder. "You did your best fighting them," he laughed. He remembered when Thor had been a young man, eager to slay monsters and prove himself in battle. 

"And thankfully, the Deviants are all gone," said Phastos. 

"Eternals had unyielding faith in Arishem until one mission, led by the Prime Eternal, Ajak, changed everything…"

The Eternals furrowed their brows. Which mission? 

The Domo flew past the Sun in 5000 BC. A statue of Arishem formed the Celestial Communication Sphere and it entered Ajak's body at the level of her chest. "It is time," she said. 

Eros noted that Ajak had to know of the Eternals' true purpose as the Prime Eternal, but he didn't know if any of the others knew and he was sure that not all of them knew. He had Titan's communication sphere, but he rarely spoke to Arishem and didn't want to speak to him either. The Celestials were wrong in wanting to destroy planets to create new galaxies; none of it helped Titan in the end. If the rest of the Eternals didn't find out by the end of this what the Celestials do to Eternals after an Emergence, he'd tell them himself. They deserved to know that they were artificially created and their memories get reset. 

The ten Eternals suited up in their suits using cosmic energy. 

The Avengers and Guardians appreciated the Eternals' suits; they were intricate and beautiful. 

"Eros' suit looks the same too," Nebula said. 

"Well, I am an Eternal, just not one on Earth," Eros said.

"Oh, all of you guys have the same cosmic energy from the Celestials," America noted. 

Quill and Mantis wondered if they had the same Celestial cosmic energy. Did the Celestials gift the cosmic energy to the Eternals? Mantis knew she never had the Celestial gene, but as far as Quill knew, his Celestial powers died when Ego did and honestly, he preferred that. 

Sersi walked over to the window where Ikaris was standing. "It’s beautiful, isn’t it?" she said, looking at Earth. The two introduced themselves. 

"It is pretty great," Thor agreed. He never expected to have a soft spot for Earth, but it was his home now. 

Eros' heart twisted. Titan had been beautiful once too; he loved that planet more than anything, but it was unlivable now. 

"Wait, so you two are Sersi and Ikaris, but what about the rest of you guys?" Carol asked. 

"Besides Ikaris and I, there's Ajak, Thena, Gilgamesh, Kingo, Sprite, Makkari, Druig, and Phastos," Sersi said, pointing to each one. 

"And Eros, an Eternal from Titan. Brother of Thanos," Gamora said, eyeing her uncle. She and Nebula didn't know what to make of him yet. 

Eros sighed. He understood Nebula and Gamora's hesitation because Thanos hadn't been kind to them at all, and he knew how cruel he could be, but he wasn't like his brother and didn't want to be like him either. He hoped Nebula and Gamora understood that in time. He'd like to have a good relationship with his nieces if they let him; he didn't have much family left—Thanos, Gamora, and Nebula were the only ones alive. The other Eternals from Titan were dead and he ran off with the communication sphere after Titan's destruction, his parents were dead, and his relationship with Thanos was…complicated. 

"No wonder you guys know Thor. Those are a lot of mythological names," said Peter. 

The Eternals groaned. "They're either named after us or we were mistaken for the real versions," said Phastos. 

"Of the top of my head, I know Sersi, Ikaris, Ajak, Thena, and Phastos are Circe, Icarus, Ajax, Athena, and Hephaestus from Greek mythology, Makkari is Mercury from Roman mythology, Gilgamesh is, obviously, from Mesopotamian mythology, Sprite and Druig are the sprites and druids from Celtic mythology, and Kingo is Kingu from Babylonian mythology," Steven explained. 

"Pretty much, yeah," said Druig. 

"Plus, Eros and Thanos are weirdly like Eros and Thanatos from Greek mythology. Eros, the Greek god of love and Thanatos, the personification of  death ," Stephen stressed.

"Death certainly follows Thanos wherever he goes," Tony grumbled, causing Eros to wince. 

"No Egyptian mythology?" Layla asked the Eternals. 

"We spent some time there and hung out with the Ennead and their avatars, but they were infuriating," said Gilgamesh. 

The Avengers laughed loudly. 

"Sounds about right," said Marc. 

A young boy cut open a fish and his father speared a fish on the beach in Mesopotamia, in 5000 BC. 

The humans' jaws dropped at seeing Mesopotamia back in 5000 BC. They weren't surprised that the Eternals first appeared in Mesopotamia, the birthplace of civilization. It, along with the Egyptian, Indus Valley, and Chinese, were the earliest civilizations. 

"5000 BC? Thor and Loki weren't even born then and wouldn't be born for another 5500 years," Bruce said. 

"And I thought Steve was old," said Tony, causing Steve to chuckle. However, he thought Tony was right. 100 years was minuscule compared to 7000 years.

"I doubt Hela and Valkyrie have been born either," said Loki. 

"I wasn't. I'm around 2300 years old," Valkyrie said. 

"Wait, is Sprite 7000 years too? She looks like a kid…" Scott trailed off. 

Sprite's face soured and the rest of the Eternals grimaced. "Yes, I'm 7000 years old!" she snapped. The rest of them found it strange to think that someone who physically looked like a child wasn't truly a child but was much,  much  older than the rest combined even adding Thor, Loki, and Valkyrie's ages. 

"Thanks to Sprite, I'm pretty famous in Mesopotamia," Gilgamesh said, proudly. 

"Thousands of years later and everyone still knows about the Epic of Gilgamesh," Thena said fondly. 

"It’s coming! Run! " a villager yelled in Sumerian. The boy cried out for his father, who was eaten by a Deviant. 

There was a collective gasp. 

"Oh man, that's brutal," said Kate. 

"It's not like their life spans would be long in those days anyway," said Rhodey. 

"Dude." 

The Deviant nearly attacked the boy as well before it was shot back by laser beams. 

"Ah, there's Ikaris," Kingo said, proudly. 

The boy looked back to see five Eternals, including Ikaris who was flying in the air. Ikaris shot laser beams from his eyes at the Deviant and flew toward it, punching it and driving it away from shore. 

"You can shoot lasers out of your eyes? Nice," Shang-Chi said, impressed. 

"Thanks," Ikaris laughed. 

Sersi's heart clenched at hearing his laugh, but she purposefully ignored him and told herself that she moved on. She casually dated here and there, but hadn't found anyone she truly liked. However, Ikaris wasn't going to be an option again, she wasn't going to get back together with him; he was the one who left her . 

Another Deviant almost attacked the boy before Makkari saved him by getting him out of harm's way with her super-speed. She got other villagers out of harm's way as well. 

"Oh…super-speed," Wanda said with a watery smile. Makkari's speed looked different than Pietro's and she was pretty sure that Makkari was faster. 

Kingo shot energy spheres from his fingers at a Deviant, and Makkari used a sonic boom to throw it back. He conjured a larger sphere and killed the Deviant in one shot. " Good fight," he signed. "You too," she signed back. 

"We always fought well together," Makkari signed. 

Kingo grinned. "We did." 

Gilgamesh used his cosmic energy to project a powerful exoskeleton around his fist and forearm, and slapped a Deviant. 

The Avengers and Guardians' brows shot up. 

"That was amazing!" Drax said, highly impressed.

Thena ran behind the creature and sliced it with her conjured cosmic spears. Gilgamesh punched the creature, allowing Thena to jump on top of it and stab its head, killing it. She gracefully jumped back onto the ground and took Gilgamesh's hand. 

Thor and Loki thought that Thena had similar abilities as Hela, but looked and acted like the antithesis of her. The humans and Asgardians realized that, of course, Thena would be a warrior since she was mistaken for Athena, the Greek Goddess of War. 

Thena longingly looked at herself fighting in battle. She missed it. She was a fighter, what was she doing sitting on a ranch in Australia with Gilgamesh? She appreciated everything he did for her, helping her with her Mahd Wy'ry, but she wanted to fight. That's who she was, but what if she couldn't fight anymore? 

Meanwhile, Ikaris was chasing a Deviant, shooting lasers and punching it, finally killing it. 

"I knew it wouldn't take long," said Sprite.

The Domo revealed itself to the Mesopotamian villagers. The other five Eternals—Phastos, Druig, Sersi, Ajak, and Sprite—landed on the soil. 

The non-Eternals realized that the first five were the fighters of the group and the other five weren't. They were sure that they weren't any less useful, just in a different way. 

The villagers pointed their crudely-made weapons at the Eternals, but Druig used his mind-control abilities to make them drop them. 

The Avengers stiffened. 

"You have mind-control powers?" Bucky warily asked Druig, who nodded. 

Ajak used her healing abilities to heal a wound on Ikaris' shoulder. "Thank you, Ajak," he said warmly. 

"I wish one of us had healing abilities. It would've been so much easier," Clint grumbled. 

"We should've gotten the God of Healing on the team instead of the God of Thunder," said Natasha. 

"Hey!" Thor said, offended. 

"What powers do you have?" Nebula asked Eros. 

"I can make other people…feel good around me. Pleasure stimulation," Eros explained. 

Everyone's brows shot up. 

"What," Gamora said, deadpan. Nebula looked at Eros incredulously and Quill roared with laughter. He thought Gamora's family was getting more and more weirder. 

Mantis's eyes lit up. "Kind of like me! I'm an empath and I have emotion manipulation powers too." 

"Sort of like that, yes," Eros smiled. 

The ten Eternals faced the Mesopotamians. 

The humans couldn't help but feel amazed at seeing the Eternals back in 5000 BC. Humanity had tremendously changed since then and was unrecognizable—civilizations and empires had risen and fallen, but the Eternals were constant. How much had they seen? How much had they experienced? They must have incredible stories about their experiences throughout their time on Earth. The Eternals had known Thor and Loki since they were children and that was comparatively recent to them. 

With Ajak's blessing, Sersi picked up a flint knife and transformed it into a more durable blue and gold metal one. 

The sorcerers and witch looked at Sersi with curiosity. "Transmutation," Wanda said, feeling proud of herself for identifying that particular piece of magic. "I can do the same thing with my magic."

"Magic? Are you a sorcerer or a witch?" Sersi asked. 

"Witch. They're the sorcerers," Wanda said, pointing to Stephen, Wong, Clea, and America.

"How is the Ancient One?" Sersi asked them. 

Wong and Stephen blinked. "You know the Ancient…of course, you do," Stephen said. Circe was the goddess of sorcery, witchcraft, and transmutation in Greek mythology with a proclivity for metamorphosis so he supposed that the actual Sersi would've known the Sorcerer Supreme, who'd lived for centuries. "Unfortunately, she died a few years ago. She was my mentor." 

"I'm sorry to hear that. Who's currently the Sorcerer Supreme?" 

"Me," Wong said. "Do you actually turn men into animals?" 

Sersi sighed and looked at Sprite, who snickered. "No, I don't. You couldn't have come up with a better story for me?" Sersi asked her.

"It's funny!" Sprite laughed. 

Shang-Chi wondered if the Eternals knew his dad too. 

She handed it over to a local boy whose father had been killed by the Deviants.

"Poor kid. The knife won't make up for losing his father, but at least he won't be stuck with the flint knife anymore," said Tony. 

In the present day, Sersi was in London when she came across a billboard featuring artifacts that shaped human history, and she recognized the metal knife she gave to the Mesopotamian boy 7,000 years earlier. She took a picture of it on her phone. 

The Avengers and Guardians were taken aback by the whiplash at seeing Sersi in Mesopotamia in 5000 BC and then seeing her in London in the 2020s, not having aged a day. Everyone laughed at seeing the metal knife that Sersi had created on a billboard. 

"I see artifacts like that now and then, and it's always surreal to me," said Sersi. 

"But it definitely shaped human history," said Bruce. His mind couldn't stop thinking about the impact that the metal knife had on history and how it would've advanced humanity. What other things did the Eternals influence? The Asgardians had largely stayed out of Earth's affairs, but the Eternals lived on Earth. 

"That's exactly I let Sersi give the knife to the child," said Ajak. 

Phastos remembered that he'd been impatient for humans to develop before World War II, but he'd lost all faith in humanity until he'd met his eventual husband. He understood why Sersi loved humans and the planet so much because he loved his husband more than anything, however, most of the other humans could go to hell for all he cared. Phastos eyed Tony with distaste; Howard Stark worked on the Manhattan Project and then Tony Stark had created deadly weapons that waged war on countries for decades. Weapons that never should have been created. 

She realized she was late and hurried to her workplace at the Natural History Museum. "I know I’m late, Charlie," she said as she passed a statue of Charles Darwin. 

The humans gaped. "Charlie as in…Charles Darwin?" Jane said, gobsmacked. 

"Yes, he was a close friend! He had many great ideas," Sersi said brightly. Besides him, she loved spending time with the Masters of the Mystic Arts and the witches' covens. They were quite creative. 

Sersi stood outside a door watching Dane Whitman teach a class full of children with a fond smile. 

Sersi was startled at seeing herself like that. Did she find someone else? She hoped she finally had because she had to move on from Ikaris. 

Ikaris's stomach clenched in jealousy, but he knew he had no right to Sersi's heart anymore. She was free to be with whoever she liked; he'd left her. It wasn't easy to live with the truth to know that all of this would end one day; it wasn't easy to constantly lie to Sersi knowing how much she loved humanity. It would devastate her to know the truth and she would hate him forever.

The rest of the Eternals grimaced while Sprite tried to feel pleased at the new development, she was. If Sersi was seeing someone else then she wouldn't get back together with Ikaris. 

"Oh…this is going to be awkward," Gilgamesh said, his eyes flickering between Sersi and Ikaris. 

Dane was discussing a poem, "The poet’s hope and optimism in humanity echoes our recent universal victory, the return of half our population…" Sersi entered the classroom, much to Dane's relief. 

Eros wanted to weep at the constant reminders of Thanos killing half of the universe. He didn't know how to handle knowing that his brother was dead in that universe, killed by Thor and Tony Stark, who were sitting in the room with him, but they were wholly justified in killing him. He just wished Thanos hadn't gone down the path he had. 

He introduced her to the students and she apologized for being late and said that they'd be learning about the importance of apex predators in a balanced ecosystem today. 

"Apex predators," the Eternals repeated, amused. 

"What's so funny about apex predators?" T'Challa asked. 

"Nothing. It's just that we were sent to defeat the Deviants on Earth, who are apex predators," said Druig. 

Dane whispered that he turned to poetry since he ran out of things to say and the kids made him nervous.  

Sersi's lips twitched into a smile. She didn't know him, but he was very charming and entirely her type. He seemed different from Ikaris, but maybe different is what she needed right now. 

"Well, I thought you were very charming, Professor," she said. "See you tonight," he said. "Ooh! 'See you tonight,'" a girl teased, causing the class to laugh. 

Ikaris' eye twitched and he had a blank look. 

Sersi rolled her eyes. She loved teaching but some of the students could be slightly annoying. However, they were children so she didn't mind. 

Sersi and the students discussed what apex predators were. An earthquake occurred in the middle of the lesson, and Sersi instructed the kids to take refuge under their tables. 

Everyone's hearts jumped into their throats at seeing the earthquake and they hoped the kids would be alright, and that there would be too much damage. 

Bruce's brows knit together. "That's unusual. The UK usually doesn't get earthquakes that strong, it's not near any major fault lines." 

Ajak and Ikaris stilled. Although there was always the chance that the earthquake was due to normal circumstances, was the Emergence finally occurring? They had both heard about Thanos killing half of the population so the Emergence might've been delayed for a bit, but now everyone had been brought back. Ikaris closed his eyes; he knew exactly what Sersi would think about all of this and it would break her heart.

A heavy fossil nearly fell on a student, but Sersi discreetly used her powers to turn the falling fossil into sand. 

There was a collective sigh of relief. 

"Those powers can be useful," said Steve. 

Later that night, a Deviant swam out of the water causing a dog to whimper. 

The color drained from the Eternals' faces while everyone else's eyes widened in alarm. 

"Is that a Deviant?! I thought you said that you guys have killed all of them on Earth?" Carol questioned. 

"We did!" Kingo exclaimed. 

"Clearly not!" 

The Eternals turned to Ajak. "How is this possible? We made sure that all of them were dead," Makkari signed. 

Ajak was speechless as well. "I don't know." 

"The original Deviants came from deep space so maybe more of them came from space too," Scott suggested. 

"Maybe," Ajak lied. 

Ikaris stayed silent while a million thoughts ran through his mind. It simply wasn't possible that more Deviants had come from space since the Celestials were the ones who sent them to Earth in the first place so what was happening? 

"We have to search for the rest of the Deviants," Kingo told the rest of the team, who nodded. Maybe his latest adventure would inspire a new movie. 

"Why am I not surprised at more weird monsters appearing on Earth when they were previously thought to be dead?" Steve said. 

Cut to Sersi and Dane dancing at a bar. Sprite tried flirting with a guy donning the guise of an adult woman, but he when accidentally brushed through her illusory hand, she hastily excused herself, claiming he'd had too much to drink. She changed back into her regular form once out of sight. 

Sprite felt a flash of irritation. She could never live a normal life like any of the other Eternals because she looked like a stupid child! She could never live her life the way she wanted to because of her appearance. The only people she could truly be herself with were the Eternals, but they had their own lives that she could never be a part of. Immortality was a curse when she looked the way she did, and all she wanted was to grow up the usual way.

The Avengers and Guardians didn't realize how frustrating it must be for Sprite to look like a child when she wasn't. No wonder she transformed herself into an older woman just for a little while. 

Sersi and others sang happy birthday to Dane. During a private moment with just the two of them, Sersi gifted him with a ring that had his family crest dating back to the Middle Ages. "It must have cost a fortune," he said. "I’m a good eBay bidder," she said. 

"Is he from an important family to have a crest from the Middle Ages?" T'Challa wondered. 

Makkari lit up upon seeing the ring. It reminded her of all the artifacts she kept in the Domo. 

The two kissed. 

Except for Sersi, the Eternals' eyes flickered to Ikaris whose face was blank. 

"Dane seems nice , " Phastos said. 

Sersi smiled. "He does, doesn't he?" 

Dane asked Sersi to move in with him, and after considering it she declined. 

Ikaris felt slightly smug. 

"Is it because you don't age?" Thor said. 

"I mean, yes. People freak out when you don't age," said Sersi. 

"It's not that big of a deal. Asgardian lives outspan human lives, but Jane understands. I think Dane would too if you explain." 

"He's not going to live forever, you know. It's better to make the most of the time you have left with him, and I think he would want the same thing. I'm not saying this specifically about Dane, it's about anyone you find," Jane said with a sad smile. She didn't know how much time she had left due to her cancer or if the treatments would even work if she caught it earlier, but she was determined to spend it with Thor.  

Sersi bit the inside of her cheek; Thor and Jane had a point. 

"Are you a wizard?" "What?" "Yeah, like Doctor Strange." 

Stephen groaned. "I'm not a wizard!" 

"Maybe you would be if you wore a hat," said Sam. 

"I swear, I will turn you into an eagle." 

Bucky's lips twitched into a smile at the thought. 

"I’ve noticed some unusual things happen when I’m around you. Like our water always turns to coffee whenever the waiter ignores us." "That’s your caffeine addiction talking."

All of them let out a guffaw while Sersi's cheeks flushed. 

"And Sprite says things…like you and your ex-boyfriend broke up a century ago."

"It was longer than that," Sersi said quietly. 

"Ex-husband, not ex-boyfriend," Ikaris couldn't help but correct. He wished Sersi would talk to him or at least look in his direction, but he understood why she wouldn't. 

"That doesn't make it better, idiot," Gilgamesh said. 

Marc and Layla and Thor and Jane were delighted that someone else's relationships were the focus now. Their relationships ended up stronger after watching their futures, but it had been an awkward experience.  

"She said that?" "And he can fly." "He’s a pilot." 

The group chuckled. 

"A pilot that doesn't need a plane to fly," said Wong. 

"She should just tell him the truth. He already knows half of the truth," said Loki. 

"Because  someone  couldn't keep their mouth shut," Sersi said, shooting Sprite an annoyed look. 

Sprite crossed her arms. "He should know." 

"Get a room, you two. Can we go now? It’s past my bedtime," Sprite interrupted. The two were walking back home with Dane some distance in front of them. "Are you really in love?" Sprite asked. "What if I am?" Sersi asked. 

Ikaris's heart dropped, Sprite felt like dancing, and Sersi badly wanted to fall in love again.

"You better tell him the truth, then. He won’t live forever, you know. Move in with him," Sprite pushed. 

Thor and Jane nodded. They agreed with Sprite. 

Kingo shook his head. He knew why Sprite was pushing Sersi to move in with Dane; she had to get over her crush on Ikaris. It's been centuries at this point! 

"I live with you," Sersi said. 

Sprite's face softened. It would've been so easy to hate Sersi because Ikaris loved her, but she was so kind that she couldn't bring herself to. 

"You could come to stay with Thena and me in Australia if you want, Sprite," Gilgamesh offered. 

"Come stay with me in South Dakota too," Ajak said warmly. 

"Anyone but Kingo," Sprite said. 

Kingo threw his hands in the air. "I'm sorry for abandoning you!" 

Kro the Deviant rose from the river and attacked them. 

Everyone's bodies went cold with dread at seeing the Deviant. 

"I still don't know how it's possible that the Deviants are back. We made sure we killed them all," Thena said. 

"It's going to take a while to bring the entire team together since we're spread across the world. I'm in Scotland, Ajak's in South Dakota, Sersi and Sprite are in London, Thena and Gilgamesh are in Australia, Makkari's in Iraq, Druig's in Peru, Kingo's in Mumbai, and Phastos is in Chicago," said Ikaris. 

"You're joking. All of you are spread across every single continent in this world," Tony said, annoyed. 

"Don't you guys have ways to communicate with each other in emergencies?" Clint asked. 

"We thought that the Deviants were gone and a lot of us haven't seen each other in centuries. We generally know where everyone on the team is, but we live our own lives for the most part," said Phastos. 

Sersi screamed at Dane to run and delayed Kro by turning the concrete beneath it to quicksand and resolidifying it.

"Huh, that's useful," said Wanda. She tucked away the idea in the back of her mind as she could do the same thing as Sersi. 

"That's not going to hold it for long," said Mantis. 

The trio ran away. "What is that thing?" Dane asked. "A Deviant!" Sprite yelled. "You said you killed them all!" Dane yelled back. 

"We thought that too," said Druig. 

"Yeah, we've fought a lot of things that never go away like those HYDRA bastards," Steve said. He thought he killed the goddamn Red Skull, but all he did was transport him to Vormir. 

"And the Red Room," Natasha said. 

"Plus, the Ten Rings," Tony added. Shang-Chi winced. 

"You told him that?" Sersi asked. "You believed me?" Sprite replied. "I do now!" Dane exclaimed. 

"It's a bit hard not to when a giant monster attacks you. Poor guy," said Sam. 

Sersi then tried to draw Kro away from the group, instructing Sprite to guard Dane. Shortly after Sersi left, Sprite declared that he was fine and rushed to follow Sersi. 

"Sprite!" Sersi exclaimed. 

"What! He'll be fine!" Sprite defended. 

Sprite conjured multiple copies of herself and Sersi walking in different directions to confuse Kro, which went along fine until a car went through a Sersi illusion, causing another car to collide with it. 

"I always found your illusions to be quite impressive," Loki told Sprite. 

"Yours are…okay, I guess," she said. 

Kro recognized which one was the real Sprite and lunged toward her, with one of its tentacles managing to knock her down, and attempting to absorb her powers. 

Everyone's mouths turned dry. 

"How did it even find out which one was the real me?!" Sprite said. 

"What is it trying to do?" Nebula asked. 

The Eternals exchanged a puzzled look. "None of the Deviants have ever done anything like that before," said Ajak. 

"Well, you guys also thought the Deviants were all gone so clearly something else is up," said Bucky. The Eternals eyed him and wondered why he looked like Ikaris. 

"But the Deviants on Titan didn't act like that either. Also, why is it attacking Sprite, an Eternal, instead of a human?" said Eros.  

Sersi ran to help Sprite, but Kro was tackled into a nearby shop. Dane helped Sprite up, and Kro was thrown back by laser beams. Ikaris walked out of the shop and Sprite's face lit up. "Ikaris!" she said brightly. 

Kingo sighed. Sprite had to get over her crush. 

"Evening, ladies," Ikaris greeted.

The Avengers thought he suspiciously looked like Bucky.  

"Watch out!" Sersi said as Kro tackled Ikaris into an oncoming bus, forcing Sersi to turn it into a storm of petals. "Wizard," Dane said, catching one of the petals. 

The Avengers and the Guardians' brows shot up. 

Sersi's lips curved into a smile. "Not a wizard."

Ikaris shot his laser beams at Kro and injured him, but he was able to heal himself from his injuries. 

Terror streaked through the Eternals. 

"H-How is that possible? How did it heal itself?" Kingo said, his voice thick with fear. 

"None of this should be possible!" Makkari rapidly signed. 

"Ajak can do the same thing, but the Deviants never had that ability," Ikaris said, his heart beating fast. 

Ikaris chased Kro down the street until the creature jumped into the river and swam away. 

"It'll come back," said Vision. 

"I don't think that's the only Deviant out there. If one of them came back, how many others do you think are there?" said Valkyrie. Everyone else felt queasy at the thought. 

Ikaris flew and landed near the group. "Ikaris," Sprite said, running toward him. "It’s good to see you." "It’s good to see you, too, Sprite," he said, smiling. 

Sprite's heart skipped a beat at seeing Ikaris's smile. 

Dane and Ikaris studied each other. "I’m Dane." "Hello, Dane." "Well, I guess you must be the pilot."

Sersi's eyes flickered between the two; it was her ex-husband and her current boyfriend meeting each other. She didn't think Ikaris would be outwardly hostile, but she also didn't think he would leave her, so clearly, she didn't know that much about him even though they'd been together for 5000 years. 

The Avengers wondered why every new person they met had to have relationship drama. First Marc and Layla, and now Ikaris and Sersi. 

Ikaris looked at Sersi, who looked away. 

Ikaris's heart sank, but it wasn't unexpected. He hadn't even told her why he left, but what was he supposed to say? Oh, by the way, don't get attached to the people on Earth because it's going to blow up to bring forth a Celestial. 

Sirens blared so Sprite turned the group invisible, allowing them to escape from the arriving police.

"Yeah, it's probably not the best idea to stay there," America agreed. 

Dane and Sersi were standing on another street. "We’re Eternals, from a planet called Olympia. We came here 7,000 years ago on the Domo, our starship, to protect humans from the Deviants. We thought we killed them all five centuries ago, but now they’re back," she explained. 

"How many do you think are out there?" Kingo asked apprehensively. 

"It doesn't matter. We'll kill all of them," said Thena. 

Dane joked about wanting Sersi to turn him into a giraffe since he wanted to be one when he was a kid. "It’s too bad I can’t change sentient beings. You would have made a very cute giraffe," Sersi said.

Sersi smiled. Dane was very sweet. 

"You should find him, Sersi," Makkari signed. 

"You know what? I think I will," she said. 

Ikaris' body went cold. 

"Why didn’t you guys help fight Thanos? Or any war? Or all the other terrible things throughout history?" Dane asked. 

"That's what I was wondering too. Why'd you guys never help out? New York, Sokovia, Thanos, both World Wars, and the countless genocides that have ever happened," said Steve. 

"We can't. The Celestials have forbidden us from interfering," said Ajak. The Guardians rolled their eyes; they didn't have much respect for the Celestials. 

"So, you just sat back and did nothing when you have the power to stop it?" Peter said incredulously. He couldn't understand why anyone wouldn't want to help when they had the ability to do so. 

Druig's lips thinned. That was exactly his problem with humans; they got into too many conflicts and all he wanted was for them to stop fighting, but he didn't think they were capable of not fighting since they fought over everything. All they did was fight. He had the power to make all of them stop, but he couldn't because Ajak and Arishem wouldn't let him.  

"Besides, we don't magically know when something is happening and travel there. All of us are scattered around the world. A lot of the time, it was already over by the time we knew what was happening," said Phastos. 

"The Battle of New took place when I was asleep. I woke up and turned on the news and suddenly the entire planet knew about aliens," Kingo added. 

"I haven't left the Domo in centuries. I don't know what's happening on the planet these days," Makkari signed. She only knew what Druig told her when he visited, otherwise, she wouldn't know who the Avengers were. 

"We were instructed not to interfere in any human conflicts unless Deviants were involved." "Why?" "If we’d protected humanity from everything for 7,000 years, you’d never have had the chance to develop in the way you were meant to."

Thor, Loki, and Valkyrie shifted uncomfortably. "That's exactly why Asgard never interfered either," said Thor. 

"So, our development means that people can die?" said Sam. 

"Those conflicts are what allowed you to develop. Steve Rogers wouldn't be here today, nor would Captain America ever have been created, without the creation of the super-soldier serum, which was only created because of World War II," said Ajak. 

"That was the bloodiest war in history. Millions of people died and you did nothing to help any of them," Steve said coldly. 

"What could we have done? We could've stopped some people from dying, but the ideology would never have gone away. There's nothing we can do about that," said Kingo. 

Phastos swallowed down his anger. It was his fault for letting humans advance as far as they had due to the technology he'd given them because all they were capable of was destroying each other. 

"But if the Deviants were eradicated a long time ago, why are you still here?" "We’ve been waiting… to be told we can go home."

Ikaris and Ajak felt hollow. No one was going home because Olympia had never been their home; the two of them didn't know how long it would take until the Emergence started. Ajak had doubts about the Emergence on Earth since there was something special about this planet, but Arishem knew best. 

"Arishem isn't letting you go back to Olympia? Why? You thought you killed the Deviants five hundred years ago," said Gamora. 

"We don't know," said Sprite. She couldn't wait to go back home; she hated staying on Earth when she looked like a child. 

"Five hundred years is nothing when we've lived for seven thousand years," said Druig. 

Dane sighed deeply, "So…Ikaris. The boy who flew too close to the sun." "Sprite made that story up when we lived in Athens," Sersi said. 

Ikaris was unimpressed. 

"You made that story up? That's one of the most famous Greek myths," Stephen told Sprite. 

"She also created the Epic of Gilgamesh," Gilgamesh proudly said. 

"Sprite's really good at stories and theatrics. A lot of her stories are famous," Kingo complimented. Sprite crossed her arms; no number of compliments would make up for Kingo abandoning her. 

"I guess the story makes sense. Icarus flew too close to the sun in the story and Ikaris can actually fly," said Layla. 

"I'm guessing you guys stayed in Greece for a while since half of your names inspired Greek mythology," said Sam. 

"Athena exists. Well, Minerva, at least," said Loki. "She was at Omnipotence City."

The Avengers and the Guardians' mouths straightened into a thin line. "So, it turns out that Minerva, the Roman Goddess of Wisdom, isn't that wise," said Natasha. 

"Considering Zeus was the leader of the place and was completely useless, I'm not surprised," said Marc. Thor clenched his jaw at the reminder. 

"In the fifth century BC? How long were you two together?" "5,000 years." "I guess you can call that long-term."

The Avengers and the Guardians gaped.

"Five thousand years?" Kate said weakly. 

"What happened?" "He left. I always thought he’d come back, but… he never did. So, I moved on." "I’m glad you did."

Ikaris's face fell upon hearing that Sersi always thought he'd come back. He'd wanted to go back to her so badly, but just imagining her finding out about the Emergence made him stay away. He tried to convince himself that it was all part of Arishem's grand plan for the universe. "Sersi—" 

"I'm allowed to move on, Ikaris," she said quietly. 

"Yes, you are. I just wanted to apologize for hurting you."

"…Thank you," she said. 

Marc and Layla thought this was painfully familiar and were glad that they'd managed to sort out their relationship problems. However, Layla was exhausted of all these men leaving their wives without an explanation due to their own internal conflict. 

Sersi apologized for having to leave and the two shared a tender hug. 

Sersi's heart warmed. 

Cut to Sersi, Ikaris, and Sprite in Sersi's apartment watching the news. "This morning, an unprecedented global earthquake swept nation-states across the world, causing damage and panic." 

Dread twisted in the Avengers and Eternals' guts at hearing about the chaos. 

"Wait… global earthquake? That wasn't just in the UK? Everyone across the world felt it?" said Jane. 

"How is a global earthquake even possible?" Tony wondered. 

"What's happening to Earth now? Can't things just be calm for once?" Scott said. 

Ajak and Ikaris's breaths hitched as the two recognized the signs. It was finally happening. The Emergence was about to happen. It dawned on them that the disappearance of half of the population delayed the Emergence for five years and the return of half of the population caused enough energy for Tiamut to be born. They supposed half of the population disappearing didn't matter to Arishem because it nearly doubled in the past century so if everyone hadn't been brought back after Thanos killed half, it would've taken another century or so to reach the current number. Arishem had waited seven thousand years for the Emergence, one hundred years is nothing. It's a blink of an eye for someone like him.

"Many have speculated its connection with the Blip. The UN has called for an emergency meeting…"

"Of course, everyone thinks it's connected to the Blip. Who the hell has ever heard of a global earthquake?!" said Bruce. 

"This is just what the world needs right after the Blip," said Sam. He couldn't help but think about all the refugees at the GRC camps and the earthquake would make things worse. 

"It's serious when the UN is calling for an emergency meeting," Natasha said with a solemn expression. 

T'Challa and Valkyrie sighed. They'd have to make an appearance at the UN. 

"That Deviant healed itself. They could never do that before. And it was coming after us instead of humans. What’s going on?" Sersi wondered. 

"That's exactly what I want to know. Why are these Deviants different?" Thena wondered. 

"Where did these Deviants come from?" Sprite said. 

The color drained from Phastos's face. "They're targeting us? I have a husband and son." 

Makkari put a hand on his shoulder. "They'll be alright. We'll handle the Deviants now that we know not all of them are gone," she signed. 

"You're right. We have to make sure that all the Deviants are gone this time," he said in a shaky voice. Earth had been through too many world-ending events in the past few years and he'd never been more aware of it since he'd gotten a family of his own. 

"I came to check on you because of the earthquake. That Deviant is news to me," Ikaris said. 

The Avengers and Guardians thought it was odd that this specific earthquake made Ikaris check up on Sersi when there had been thousands of earthquakes since he'd left her. They supposed he was just making an excuse to see her.

"Something’s happening to Earth. Can’t be a coincidence," Sersi said. 

The Avengers let out a long-suffering sigh. 

"Something's always happening to Earth," Clint complained. 

"What do you think it'll be this time? Psycho homicidal alligator goddess, inter-dimensional demon, multiverse bullshit, or aliens?" Bucky asked. 

"Probably something worse."

"We need to find the others," he said. "I haven’t seen some of them for centuries," she said. "I doubt much has changed," he said. 

Ikaris eyed the Eternals. "Nothing has changed."

"Well, Phastos got married and has a son now," Ajak said. 

"Okay, maybe some things have changed."

"When are you going to invite us to see the child?" Thena asked.

The color drained from Phastos' face at the thought of all of the Eternals near his son. "Um…let's think about that later. We have more important things to think about like the Deviants and the strange earthquake." 

Ikaris walked closer to Sersi. "I’m sorry I hurt you, Sersi…but we need to stick together. And once I know you’re safe, I’ll leave you alone."

Sersi's heart twisted, but she appreciated the apology. 

"Let’s go to Ajak first. She’ll know what to do," Sersi said, walking away.

Ikaris thought Ajak needed to know about the Emergence occurring anyway. He knew the rest of the Eternals wouldn't take it well, but they had no choice. They couldn't go against Arishem. 

"You hear that, Sprite? Family reunion," Ikaris said. "It’s about time," Sprite said. 

"Global road trip. Yay," Sprite said, unenthused. She was excited to see Ajak, though.

Notes:

I know the theory that Ego isn't actually a Celestial is popular, but I don't think that's true because some parts in GotG Vol 2 are just way too similar to the Celestials in Eternals—seeds, planets, and the Expansion. Plus, the Nova Corps said that Quill's DNA was made up of something ancient and the Watcher mentioned Ego being a Celestial in What If. I think Ego is a faulty Celestial because we've seen the Celestials make mistakes before like Arishem not fully erasing Thena's memory and not realizing that Deviants can evolve.

Chapter 2: babylon & tenochtitlan

The Deviants were terrorizing Babylon in 575 BC. Makkari used her super-speed to get the civilians out of the way while Thena sliced a Deviant's head off. 

The humans were in awe at seeing Babylon, one of the most important cities in the ancient world.

"Alexander the Great used to rule Babylon and eventually died there," Steven said awkwardly. Knowing that Alexander the Great was Ammit's avatar put a lot of historical events into perspective. 

"He was an ass," Gilgamesh said.

Ikaris saved a girl and used his laser beams to blast a Deviant's head off. "Do not fear," he said in Babylonian. 

A flicker of a smile passed Sersi's face. She always found Ikaris most charming when he protected humans with all he had. She was aware that he didn't love humanity as she did, but he protected them anyway; ever the dutiful soldier. 

Gilgamesh made sure that all the humans got to safety inside the walls of the Ishtar Gate. 

Layla's eyes widened at seeing the Ishtar Gate while Steven shrieked, "The Ishtar Gate?!" Seeing all these historical and archeological monuments intact caused too much excitement for the two of them; it blew their minds to realize just how much the Eternals had seen.

"Not much is left of the original Ishtar Gate, however, a reconstruction of it was built in a museum in Berlin with excavated material from the original Ishtar Gate," Layla explained. "Ishtar was also the Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and fertility, and most famously, demanded Gilgamesh to become her consort in the Epic of Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh refused."

The group looked to Sprite, who snickered. "I had to create drama in the story somehow."

Gilgamesh shook his head, exasperated. Obviously, that never happened since it was a story that Sprite created, but of course, he would refuse Ishtar's offer. His heart would always belong to Thena. 

Enkidu the Deviant charged at him, but was hit by Gilgamesh's punch. It got up and threw Gilgamesh away, who was caught by Makkari. 

"No wonder Makkari was mistaken for Mercury, the Roman God of Speed," said Peter. 

Druig nudged Makkari's shoulder as he signed what everyone else was saying about her, causing her to grin.

Ikaris, Thena, Kingo, Makkari, and Gilgamesh worked together to take the Deviant down, however, it got back up. Gilgamesh slapped the Deviant down, killing the creature. 

The Avengers and Guardians were highly impressed at seeing Gilgamesh's punch. It was one deadly punch. 

Ajak stood inside the walls of Babylon where the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were present. 

The humans were speechless at seeing the Hanging Gardens of Babylon; seeing Babylon at its peak was incredible. 

"Babylon," Steven said weakly. 

Ajak closed her eyes and activated the sphere, and Arishem appeared. She was extremely miniscule compared to Arishem and only half of the Celestial's face was visible. 

Except for Ajak and Eros, everyone else's jaws dropped at seeing the sheer size of Arishem. Most of the Eternals had never seen the Celestial and were gobsmacked as well. 

"Ego wasn't that big," Quill said faintly. Ego also didn't look like Arishem, but he could change his appearance so he supposed he hadn't seen it before he died. 

"That's what your father looks like?!" Scott hysterically asked Quill and Mantis, who were unnerved themselves. The Eternals still couldn't believe that there were in the presence of the children of a Celestial.

"No, Ego looked different. He was a planet, but he could take different forms. You saw Ego in Star-Lord T'Challa's universe," said Quill.

"Besides Ego, I've seen Knowhere and that's a severed head of a Celestial. Knowhere wasn't this big either," said Wong.

"This is Arishem, the Prime Celestial, so of course, he's going to be bigger than the others," said Eros. He was slightly doubtful that Ego had been a Celestial, but the Guardians seemed to be sure that he was. He'd rather not think about Gamora and Nebula near a Celestial, but the two of them appeared unharmed. 

"Who was the Prime Eternal on Titan?" Thena asked Eros, who stilled. Gamora and Nebula were highly interested in the answer. 

"My father, A'Lars. He's dead now, so it's me. It's not like it matters now anyway, everyone on Titan is dead with barely any survivors," Eros said quietly. Ajak and Ikaris realized that Eros knew the truth about the Eternals' mission as well if he was the Prime Eternal. Titan must've been a failed mission. 

The Avengers and Guardians instantly recognized the name. The Red Skull introduced Thanos as the son of A'Lars on Vormir. 

Ajak informed Arishem that Babylon had become the most populated city on Earth. 

"It was also the largest city on Earth at the time," said Layla.  

"The Eternals serving their missions across the galaxies will learn from your success," Arishem said. 

Eros rolled his eyes. The rest of the other Eternals always wondered what Ajak and Arishem spoke about in their meetings. 

"Thank you. I respect your grand design, Arishem. But I have noticed something special about this planet. And I fear that maybe this time the cost may…" "Do not become attached to this planet. You must focus on the true purpose of your mission." 

There was a moment of silence before all of them turned to Ajak for an answer. Ikaris looked away, Eros's face hardened, and Ajak braced herself for an onslaught of questions. 

"What cost?" Thor demanded. 

"Why did Arishem say not to become attached to Earth?" Natasha warily asked. 

"What's the true purpose of our mission? I thought we were on Earth to protect humans from the Deviants. Is that not why we're there?" Sersi questioned. 

Ajak shook her head sadly. She never wanted the other Eternals to think that there was any other reason for their presence on Earth, but now they knew there was something else that she and Arishem were hiding from them. "I can't tell you. Arishem has forbidden me to," she said. And she wouldn't have told them even if she wasn't. As the Prime Eternal, she was forced to bear the truth of what would happen to Earth one day, but she didn't want anyone else to go through that. She told Ikaris because she had to tell someone and he would rather die than go against her and Arishem's orders. 

Ikaris had a bitter taste in his mouth. Ajak refused to tell everyone else, but she burdened him with the knowledge. 

Eros knew that everyone else had to find out the truth soon, but how could someone even begin to start that conversation? He was cursed with knowledge, and he hated it. 

"That's bullshit," Rocket scoffed.

"I understand that it's difficult to go against the word of a Celestial, but if what Arishem is telling you to do isn't right then you have to go against him," Mantis said kindly. She'd done everything Ego had told her whole life until she finally mustered the courage to tell the Guardians the truth about what he did to his children and helped kill him. She never regretted making that decision when it had given her a brother and a family. She loved all the Guardians, she truly did. 

Ajak faltered. She had her doubts about the cost of the Emergence on Earth, but how could she go against Arishem, the Prime Celestial, even if she wanted to? 

Druig wasn't surprised. He knew they were pawns to their leaders and were blinded by loyalty; he didn't trust Arishem one bit. 

"I understand. I will not let you down," Ajak said. She deactivated the sphere and appeared back in Babylon. 

The Avengers, Guardians, and many of the Eternals sent Ajak a suspicious look, knowing that she was hiding something. However, she refused to tell them, but they'd find out one way or the other. If Uatu didn't show it them by the end of this, they'd force her to tell them. However, they had an inkling that they'd find out the truth eventually; Uatu hadn't driven them down the wrong path yet. 

None of the Guardians trusted Arishem even before they'd seen him. They hadn't forgotten about Ego and while not all of the Celestials may be like that, they weren't going to believe a single thing that came out of Arishem's mouth.

Ajak entered the Domo where Phastos was working on a steam engine, showing Ajak a hologram of it. 

Tony, Bruce, Jane, Stephen, and Peter were amazed that Phastos had holographic technology in 575 BC. He was centuries ahead of human technology and Tony, Bruce, Stephen, and Jane knew that they probably owed their scientific careers to Phastos since he'd shaped humanity's technology and caused it to be what it is today. Humanity had rapidly advanced in terms of technology only in the past twenty years, they couldn't imagine how much it had changed across 7000 years. Phastos watched humanity develop knowing that he had a hand in it. It must be unbelievable. 

"A steam engine during the Babylonian era?" Peter said, gobsmacked. Those words didn't seem to fit together and yet, he here was watching it. 

"We're creating a multiversal research team and we could use you," Sam told Phastos, who nodded. 

"I'll help you guys." 

"It’s gonna freak them out," Sprite said. "I mean, they only have had the wheel 1,000 years, so…" Druig added. 

"That's just depressing," Tony stated.

Phastos didn't think humans deserved the steam engine either. He would protect Earth till his dying breath, but only for his husband and son. 

Some humans still couldn't believe that they were watching the behind-the-scenes of history. The Eternals had always been prominent figures throughout human history and they only had to take one look at various mythologies to know why.

"You know, we could do that thing where you use your mind to control them and then they could do it quicker," Phastos said. "Ajak, you listening to this?" Druig said. 

The Avengers had wary expressions as they were reminded of Druig's powers. 

"How about not controlling anyone's mind," said Clint. 

Ajak thought it would be too soon to present humanity with such technology and asked for something simpler. 

"That's probably true. Considering the steam engine was created in the 1700s and it's only 575 BC, there's still a long time to ago," said Bruce. 

Phastos then presented a plow with extreme disappointment.

Phastos felt a flicker of irritation toward his past self. He'd been naïve back then, thinking humanity could create wonders with the technology he could give them. Turns out that they could create wonders—destructive wonderous atomic bombs. 

Tony chuckled. Except for Wakanda, his technology was twenty years ahead of the rest of the world's and he knew how frustrating it was to wait for everyone else to catch up. There'd been many, many knockoffs when he first created the Iron Man suit, and Justin Hammer's attempt still made him laugh. He couldn't imagine how frustrating it must've been for Phastos to have created the steam engine in 575 BC and not be able to do anything with it. No wonder Phastos was mistaken for Hephaestus, the Greek god of blacksmiths and carpenters. 

"Listen, humanity may be coming along slower than some of us want. But there is no telling what wonders they will discover as they advance," Ajak said. 

Ajak didn't think it would matter anymore. The Emergence was occurring and humanity would be destroyed anyway. It was the natural order of things; it happened millions of times before and it would happen millions of times afterward. She had her doubts about the cost being too high this time, especially after hearing what the Avengers had done to bring half of the population back, but how could she go against Arishem? If she went against his orders, who knows what would happen? 

Later that night, Sprite used her illusions to showcase and embellish Gilgamesh's exploits and defeat against Enkidu to tell the Epic of Gilgamesh much to the awe of Mesopotamians. 

The humans listened to Sprite's story in wonder, knowing that she was shaping history. 

"One of the people there wrote the epic on the tablets, which is how everyone still knows about the story today," Layla said, stunned. She was an expert in archeology and history and grew up at dig sites so it was just astounding to see history play out in front of her eyes. She was in the same room as the real Gilgamesh! The author of the original version was never known, but she knew who it was now. 

"Wait, Enkidu was a Deviant? The same Deviant that Gilgamesh defeated outside of the Ishtar Gate? That's not how it goes in the story, Enkidu and Gilgamesh were friends," said Steven. 

"I had to take some creative liberties. I didn't expect that the Epic of Gilgamesh would become as famous as it is," Sprite said.

Kingo looked at the story and illusions in awe. 

Kingo had a fond smile. He always loved Sprite's talent for storytelling and the humans did too since many of her stories were now classics. She inspired him to create movies and tell stories through films. He probably shouldn't have ditched Sprite, but people got freaked out when they saw a child stay the same age for years.

Thena walked away from the celebration. "Come and have a drink with me," said Ikaris. "No," she said. "I can’t let you go and fight Deviants on your own," he said. "I didn’t come to this planet to cower behind walls," she said. 

Thena nodded; she longed to fight again, but she'd done nothing but live a simple, peaceful life with Gilgamesh for the past five hundred years. She loved their life and everything he'd done for her, but she was, first and foremost, a warrior.

"We need to trust Arishem’s design for this planet," said Ikaris. 

The Avengers knew that the Guardians didn't trust Arishem so they were going to listen to their friends, who had much more experience with Celestials than they did, and follow their lead. They trusted them.

Irritation welled up in Eros' chest. Arishem was wrong and the price was too high. 

"Thena. It’s an honor to fight alongside you," Ikaris said. "And you," Thena said. 

Thena had never fought Ikaris, but she always wanted to. She always appreciated his strength in battle and believed he would be a fierce opponent. 

Ikaris was well aware that he didn't get along with everyone on the team, but he respected each one of them. They were his family and he loved them all, which is why it hurt so much to keep this secret from them, especially Sersi. 

Makkari raced over to Druig and a group of men. "My beautiful Makkari. You’re late," Druig greeted warmly. 

Makkari burst into a grin at Druig calling her 'his beautiful Makkari' while the rest of the Eternals narrowed their eyes. Makkari and Druig had always been close, but they had never been flirty. At least not in front of them. 

Makkari wanted to trade with the Mesopotamians and placed artifacts on the table. One of the men whispered, "Just lie to her," to his partner in Babylonian. 

Makkari rolled her eyes. 

"What a fool," said Druig.

Makkari grabbed his hand and signed, with Druig translating into Babylonian. "I can sense vibrations. Even the tiniest movement including your voice when you speak. Did you two just waste my time?"

"Yes, they did, but they didn't know who they were dealing with," Druig said while signing. Makkari beamed in delight. 

"The Emerald Tablet you’re searching for is a myth!" one of the men said. 

"I don't think it's a myth considering I found it," Makkari signed with Druig translating. 

Steven and Layla gasped. "You found the Emerald Tablet!" she said, stunned. 

A fight broke out and Druig used his powers to stop it. Makkari reminded him that Ajak told them not to interfere when humans had a conflict. 

"Why do you insist on controlling people's minds?" Natasha said Druig.  

"Do you know what it's like to have the power to make people do whatever you want but you can't use it because you're not allowed to interfere in human affairs?" he said. "Do you know what it's like to watch people destroy themselves and not be able to lift a finger? Don't pretend that you wouldn't try to do the same thing if you could do what I could and have lived for as long as I have. You don't know what it's like to live for 7,000 years and live through countless human conflicts. Do you know how many times I've seen history repeat itself because humans refuse to learn from their mistakes? You ask why we didn't help throughout history, but you also don't want me to interfere and make people stop fighting." 

"You can help without controlling people's minds like how Sersi and Makkari do," Carol said.

"Those are my powers." 

"Well, then maybe you shouldn't interact with humans anymore if all the conflict bothers you so much," Bucky said testily. He wasn't interested in listening to Druig's justification of why he found it okay to take someone's autonomy away. "The Deviants aren't all gone like you thought they were, but it's not like you guys are the only ones who can defeat them. Earth isn't as defenseless as it was back then."

"We've dealt with worse things than a Deviant. Besides, Scott can just turn giant-size, step on the Deviants, and call it a day," Rhodey said, causing Scott to laugh. 

The Eternals blinked. 

Druig agreed to not tell anyone about Makkari stealing items if she kept silent to Ajak regarding what he had done.

Ajak shook her head fondly. 

Ikaris and Ajak watched Sersi, who was dancing with the locals. 

A smile flickered across Ikaris's face. Sersi was always beautiful, but he found her the most attractive when she interacted with humans. 

He promised Ajak that his feelings for Sersi wouldn't distract him from his mission. 

Ikaris swore that he would always put the mission first. He loved Sersi, he truly did; he loved her for several millennia and would love her for several more. They didn't have much time left on Earth, but he'd love her in one lifetime or the next. However, it was precisely his love for her that he had to leave her because he would've ended up telling her the truth if he'd stayed any longer, which would've distracted him from the mission. 

Ajak said that she could feel his strong faith in Arishem, however, he could live a life and encouraged him to tell Sersi how he felt. 

Ajak wasn't surprised that Ikaris told her about his feelings for Sersi. He did it in every lifetime, on every planet. Sersi and Ikaris loved each other on every mission, but it never worked out. They were doomed in every lifetime. Who was Ajak to stop them from falling in love even if it ended? Ikaris was allowed to live a life before it ended and they moved on to the next planet. She may have burdened him with the knowledge of what's coming, but she'd been so lonely carrying the truth for all these years. How could she love her son and not give him a chance to prepare for the end? She would've loved to do the same for the others, but they weren't as faithful to Arishem as Ikaris was.

Sersi's eyes were dull with sadness. She and Ikaris had been happy for thousands of years, but would it have been better if he hadn't told her how he felt because he'd left her in the end? She didn't know how to feel about him at the moment; maybe she should find Dane or someone else and give their relationship a go instead. It seemed easy with Dane, but it had been easy with Ikaris too. 

Sersi was outside Babylon, helping the farmers. She planted a crop and used her powers to change dirt into water. 

Many of the Avengers and Guardians didn't like Druig very much, but they liked Sersi. They didn't know what to make of the others, but they didn't trust Ajak much either. Nebula and Gamora, however, were wary of an entirely different person. They knew that just because Eros was Thanos' brother, it didn't mean he was like him as they were daughters of Thanos and the last thing they wanted was to be like him, but they were still slightly suspicious. 

Sersi indulged Ikaris' assistance in her humanitarian activities, and he observed her love for humans and tried to understand it.

Eros understood Sersi's love for Earth because he had a similar love for Titan. Titan had given him everything—his parents had taken him in and he even got a brother. Thanos, for all his many faults, was still the person whom he played with, watched grow up, and cared over. But then all of it had been taken away and he'd lost everything.

Ikaris and Sersi were outside of Babylon in a deserted area. She gave him a small stone as a gift because it matched his eyes. 

Melancholy passed Ikaris' face. He still had the stone that Sersi gave him. There was a human saying—ignorance was bliss—and it truly was. He and Sersi had been together for five thousand years and those years were like a dream. He had everything he could've dreamed of, but the guilt of keeping Ajak's secret consumed him. He couldn't tell her and the other Eternals the truth because Ajak forbade him to and he was the perfect soldier. He believed in Arishem and his grand design, and the mission always came first even before his personal feelings. He promised Ajak that all those years ago in Babylon. He wished she had never told him the truth so he could've lived whatever time he had left on Earth with Sersi in peaceful bliss. 

Sersi's eyes were prickling with tears at seeing how the two of them had been at the beginning before Ikaris had left her. She didn't know why he left and nor did know if she wanted to know the reason either. She thought about him every day, but she'd been a mess when he'd left. She refused to put herself through that again. 

Ikaris fumbled through his attempts at telling her that she was beautiful in Babylonian, saying that he was beautiful. She laughed and corrected him. 

Ikaris's face flushed at everyone else seeing this side of him, which only Sersi saw. The rest of the Eternals' brows shot up; they had seen Ikaris and Sersi in love for thousands of years, but they'd never seen him like this. 

He gently grabbed her hand. "I’m yours, Sersi, if you’ll have me." 

Sersi couldn't help but laugh and then instantly felt awful about it. "Sorry." 

"No, you're right. I left," Ikaris admitted with a hurt expression. 

The two kissed and spent the night together, expressing their love for each other. 

Ikaris and Sersi turned a bright shade of red. 

"Let me tell you from personal experience, the outdoors isn't sexy," said Tony. Peter was mortified. 

Ikaris and Sersi got married in a temple in the Gupta Empire, in 400 AD. All of the Eternals were in attendance and beaming with joy, except for Sprite.

Ikaris and Sersi looked away at seeing their wedding which held nothing but bitter memories now. Sprite's face soured and the rest of the Eternals winced at seeing the wedding. It had come as a shock to all of them when they heard that Ikaris and Sersi separated after spending five thousand years together. 

Kingo had a pained expression at seeing Sprite's unhappiness at Sersi and Ikaris's wedding. He loved their wedding and had a great time, but Sprite needed to get over her crush on Ikaris. It's been millennia! He hated seeing her like that; she was like his little sister. But he had enjoyed the time the Eternals spent during the Gupta Empire since it was the Golden Age of India.

Cut to the present day with Sersi, Ikaris, and Sprite arriving at Ajak's ranch in South Dakota. The house was abandoned and empty. 

A chill ran down everyone's spines and the color drained out of Ajak's face.

"I'm sure Ajak's alright. She can handle herself," Gilgamesh said, his voice thick with fear. 

Sersi walked into the yard and saw a body in the distance. She ran to it and gasped when she found Ajak's greyish corpse. 

The Avengers and Guardians sucked in a breath while the Eternals felt nothing but blind terror. 

Panic flared in Ajak's eyes at seeing her own corpse. She'd lived for seven thousand years in this lifetime and lived for millions of years before that. Her body was dead, but Arishem would reboot her and she would join the Eternals on the next mission. 

"Ajak's dead?" Kingo gasped, tears blurring his vision. She was his family and practically the Eternals' mother. "How is she dead?"

"Who killed her?!" Sprite cried. 

Dread twisted in the Avengers and Guardians. The Eternals were incredibly powerful people and immortal, but they weren't unkillable. Who was capable of killing an Eternal? There were too many suspicious events happening at the same time—the global earthquake, the re-emergence of the Deviants, and now Ajak's death. Plus, Ajak was refusing to tell them about the real reason why the Eternals were on Earth. 

Eros gaped. This wasn't the death of just any Eternal; it was the death of the Prime Eternal. He eyed the other Eternals from Earth; which one of them was going to be the next Prime Eternal? 

Sprite collapsed to her knees and Ikaris's face was stony. "It was a Deviant," he said. 

Ikaris clenched his fists. "Makes sense. The Deviant in London healed itself like how Ajak can; it took her powers. They were targeting Sersi and Sprite in London so they must've gone after Ajak too." This was the worst time for Ajak to die since the Emergence was occurring; how was he supposed to lead the Eternals during this time? 

"It tried to kill and absorb Sprite too. Deviants are already a pain to deal with, can you imagine a Deviant that can control illusions?" said Gilgamesh. 

"We'll just have to make sure that all of the Deviants are gone this time," Ajak said in a shaky voice. Tony, Natasha, Gamora, Loki, Jane, and Vision looked at her with sympathy since they knew how difficult it was to grapple with the fact that they were dead in the future. 

Ikaris and Sprite were inside the house. Sprite created an illusion of herself and Ajak dancing with tear tracks down her face. 

There were tears on Sprite's face, and her breathing was shallow and ragged. The hearts of the rest of the Eternals jumped into their throats at seeing Sprite's lifelike illusion right after seeing Ajak's corpse. 

Ajak's throat tightened at seeing Sprite mourn her, but she was sure that Ikaris could lead the team in her absence just as well.

"It was the last time I saw her. Ajak asked me to check on Sersi, so I went to London. Turned out, both of us were lonely and we needed each other. I guess, in her way, Ajak never stopped trying to take care of us," she said. 

Sersi failed to suppress a sob. Of course, she was lonely. She'd been lonely ever since Ikaris left her, but she loved having Sprite live with her. She was her little sister. 

The Avengers and Guardians' eyes softened. They didn't trust Ajak, but it was clear that she was the mother figure of the Eternals and now she was dead. Both teams had only existed for a couple of years, but they loved each other dearly; the Guardians were like family, while the Avengers were friends for the most part. They couldn't imagine what the Eternals were going through since they'd spent thousands of years together.

"It’s the first time in 7,000 years one of us has died," Ikaris said. 

The non-Eternals still couldn't wrap their heads around living for seven thousand years since even the Asgardians of the group were much younger than that. The closest in age was probably Khonshu, but even he was thousands of years younger than them. 

"We never should've split up. It was a mistake. We should've stuck together and then maybe Ajak wouldn't have died from the Deviant," Kingo said, wiping the tears from his eyes. "And now the Deviants are targeting us so more of us might die." 

"Ikaris, Sersi, and Sprite are bringing the group back together so all of us will find out eventually," Makkari signed. 

"We would've split up anyway. Druig left, and Thena needed to stay away from the fights so her Mahd Wy'ry wouldn't be triggered and I would've gone with her," said Gilgamesh. 

"I don't regret leaving," Druig said in a quiet voice, more subdued than usual. He'd lost his trust in Ajak since that day in Tenochtitlan, but seeing her death brought him no joy. 

"I think the Deviant that attacked us in London killed Ajak and absorbed her power," Sprite said. "Deviants have never done that in the past," Ikaris said. 

"Well, they do now," said Ikaris. He didn't understand where these new Deviants came from. 

"It healed itself just like Ajak. I swear, I almost heard it speak," she said. 

"I did too. I don't know exactly what it said, but the Deviant mumbled something," said Stephen.

"So, they're evolving," Vision realized. 

"Great, that's just what we need. Evolving monsters. Can Earth just never catch a break?" Scott said.

Sersi mourned in front of Ajak's body when suddenly the sphere came out of Ajak's body and entered Sersi's, making her the Prime Eternal. 

The Eternals and Eros's eyes widened in shock. Sersi was the Prime Eternal? 

Ajak and Ikaris's brows furrowed. In the event of Ajak's death, the Prime Eternal would've been Ikaris. Both of them knew that so what changed?

"Me? Why me?" Sersi asked Ajak, flabbergasted. 

"You love Earth, Sersi," Ajak said, still somewhat confused. At least she was guessing that's why 616 Ajak made Sersi the Prime Eternal. Her choice had always been Ikaris in the event of her death, but she had a sliver of doubt about the Emergence now. Ikaris was loyal to Arishem until the end so he would carry out his orders, but Sersi would protect the people of this planet. Compassion was a strength and Sersi loved humanity more than anything. 

Sersi appeared in front of Arishem, who told her it was almost time before she lost concentration as Sprite shook her. 

"No!" everyone shrieked, except for Ajak, Ikaris, and Eros. They wanted to know what Arishem was talking about. 

"Time for what?" said Jane.

Sersi told Sprite and Ikaris that the sphere went inside her. "Did you talk with Arishem?" Ikaris asked. "Yes. He said it’s almost time," Sersi said. 

Ikaris's face hardened. The Emergence was occurring and how Sersi would find out the truth, which was the last thing he wanted; it would break her heart. However, he didn't understand why Ajak made Sersi the Prime Eternal, and based on Ajak's confused expression, she didn't know either. He loved Sersi with his whole heart, but she wasn't a leader. 

"I'm going to lose my shit if this turns out to be another Expansion situation," Quill muttered. 

Sprite and Ikaris pushed Sersi to confirm what happened, but she said that she didn't know how to use the sphere properly and couldn't replicate the event. Ikaris suggested she may have Mahd Wy'ry, causing Sersi to look at him sharply. 

Sersi's heart pounded at the thought while the rest of the Eternals looked at Thena for an answer. "You don't," Thena said, confidently. "All of us saw Arishem."

Sersi let out a sigh of relief. 

"Mahd Wy'ry?" Kate questioned. 

"It's a degenerative disease as a result of the vast number of memories an Eternal acquires due to our immortality. It's sort of like dementia. I have it," Thena said quietly. She wasn't ashamed of her illness; she just needed help sometimes. 

Everyone else ached with sympathy at hearing about Thena's condition. Immortality was starting to sound like a curse. 

In 1521, the Spanish Conquistadors brutally massacred the Aztecs in Tenochtitlan. 

Sersi's eyes were shining with the threat of tears at seeing the destruction and the Avengers swallowed down their frustration. The fall of Tenochtitlan was just one of the many bloody events that happened throughout history, and most of them didn't think that they would be able to watch it happen and not do anything about it, especially Steve. He couldn't ignore a situation pointed south. He was ready to retire as Captain America because he knew Sam would do a wonderful job and he was content knowing that other heroes would protect the world. The new generation was pretty damn great; they were the future. However, the Avengers didn't exist in the 1500s and the Eternals just stood by and watched as the Aztecs were slaughtered.

Druig's face darkened. Tenochtitlan had been his breaking point with humans and their destructive tendencies. It had also driven a wedge between him and the other Eternals and this was the first time he'd been in the same room with all of them since then. 

Makkari raced to save a child out of harm's way and ran back to the Eternals who were in a forest outside of the city. 

Makkari's face fell. There was a large chance that the child she saved would've been killed by the conquistadors anyway, or by the Smallpox that the Spanish brought with them. She liked humans for the most part; she didn't love them as Sersi did, but she didn't like seeing them suffer either. 

Makkari signed to Ajak that they had to split up. "There were more Deviants than you said," Thena said. "Well, I’m sure that was a lot of fun for you," Phastos said. "It was," Thena playfully agreed. 

Thena's lips twitched into a smile. Although she loved her life with Gilgamesh, she longed for the good old days when she got to fight. She was the Goddess of War for a reason.

Phastos pulled up a hologram of Earth. "Once the others kill these last Deviants, we will have eliminated them all from the planet."

Phastos snorted. "Clearly, I missed some."

"How did your technology not catch the other Deviants?" Kingo asked. 

"I don't know." And Phastos hated that he missed the other Deviants.  

There were gunshots in the background as the Spanish shot the Aztecs without mercy. 

The humans flinched. The siege of Tenochtitlan directly led to the downfall of the Aztec civilization and marked the end of the first phase of the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire.

T'Challa's irritation flared. The same thing happened in Africa in countries around Wakanda, just as it happened on every continent. However, not every country had been as privileged as Wakanda to sit out European colonialism.

Druig tried to use his powers but he was stopped by Ajak. "Don’t. We don’t interfere in their wars," she said. "This isn’t war. It’s genocide," he said. 

"Still don't want me to use my powers?" Druig asked the Avengers, who had nothing to say because Druig was right, it was genocide and he had the power to stop the Conquistadors. Besides, who cared about the lives of the Spanish? They were the ones massacring the Aztecs, including the children. 

"Their weapons have become too deadly. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea helping them advance, Phastos," Druig said. "Technology is a part of their evolutionary process, Druig. It’s not exactly something that I can stop," Phastos said. 

"Druig was right, though. It was a mistake," Phastos said. More than four hundred years later, he'd come to the realization that humans weren't worth saving and he'd given up on them a long time ago. If it wasn't for Ben, and eventually Jack, he wouldn't have bothered wanting to fight Thanos or help save the multiverse. He joined the Avengers' multiverse research group solely for them. Humans were more than capable of destroying themselves and if they wanted to do it, who was he to stop them? Maybe destroying themselves was a part of their evolutionary process instead.

"I wish I wasn't," Druig said. He'd cut off most contact with the Eternals since Tenochtitlan, but he still spoke to them once or twice each century. Phastos was the one who reached out to him after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, telling him that he'd been right about humans. However, he never exchanged a single word with Ikaris and Ajak since he'd left the group. 

Tony felt a jolt of anger toward himself. Weapons in the sixteenth century were capable of immense death and destruction, but it was absolutely nothing compared to the weapons in the current day—weapons that he had made and was responsible for. He didn't control what others did with Stark weapons, but he did unleash those creations onto the world, didn't he? He put a dangerous tool into someone else's hands, so were they responsible for the atrocities committed with the weapons, or was it him, for creating it in the first place?

"No, you can’t. But I can," Druig said. 

The Avengers had mixed expressions. Some of them had their minds messed with and were naturally wary of Druig, but they couldn't help but think he had a point in a situation like this. It was genocide, and if he could stop it, shouldn't he?  

"Stay strong," Makkari signed. 

Druig's eyes softened. His beautiful, beautiful Makkari. She was the one who gave him strength.

Thena's eyes turned white as the gunshots and violence triggered her. "It’s too late. Everyone is going to die," she said, suddenly turning on the group, wounding and nearly killing Sersi, Phastos, and Makkari. 

The Avengers and Guardians were horrified at seeing Thena's Mahd Wy'ry. She would've had to deal with it for centuries and they felt a surge of admiration for her. Many of them dealt with mental illness and they knew how difficult it was. Marc, Steven, and Jake, especially knew what it was like to deal with bouts of memory loss while another alter took over. However, what did Thena mean by 'everyone is going to die'? 

Fear paralyzed Thena at seeing what she'd done to her family; she nearly killed them. She had never seen what she had done during her Mahd Wy'ry episodes. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" she cried.

"It's not your fault, Thena. All of us are okay," Sersi said kindly. 

Ajak tried to help her using her powers. "Don’t listen to your head, Thena. Listen to my voice. You are safe. You are loved. You’re our Thena."

Thena's lip trembled and Gilgamesh squeezed her hand. It broke his heart to see her like this. "Remember, Thena," he said softly.

It didn't work, and Thena stabbed Ajak. 

"I'm sorry—" Thena frantically tried to apologize. 

"It's alright. I healed myself. I'm alright," Ajak said with a small smile. 

Gilgamesh tackled and tried to restrain her, but she broke free of his hold and began to fight him too. 

Thena let out a sigh of relief. Gilgamesh would stop her from harming anyone else; he always protected her. 

He blocked her attacks while trying to get her to remember. Not seeing any other solution, he used his powers to knock her unconscious.

"I'm sorry, Thena," Gilgamesh said, apologetically. He hated seeing the effects Mahd Wy'ry had on her and how she struggled with it. 

"You did what you had to do to protect me and everyone else. That's all that matters," said Thena. 

Ajak healed herself, Makkari, and Phastos. 

The Avengers and Guardians thought that was a convenient power to have; they would've liked to have at least one member on their respective teams who could do that.  

Thena lay unconscious at the Great Temple as the Eternals surrounded her. "I thought Mahd Wy'ry was a myth," Sersi said. "There is no cure…so no one really talks about it," Phastos said. 

When has anyone ever talked about mental illness? Sam thought with a bitter taste in his mouth. Before he became the Falcon again, he tried his best to guide vets on how to deal with their PTSD and other issues. He hated seeing them struggle. 

"Even if there's no cure, it doesn't mean you can't learn how to live with it," said Marc. There was no cure for DID either, but he didn't want to ditch his alters anyway. 

"I think I'm getting better at living with Mahd Wy'ry. I've gotten used to it," Thena said. 

Thena breathed heavily as she woke up, her eyes were back to normal. "What happened?" she asked. Ajak told her what she had done. "I don’t remember," Thena said in a broken voice. 

Everyone's faces were set in resigned sad lines at seeing Thena struggle. The Eternals naturally formed groups within the team and some members didn't like the others, but everyone liked Thena. All of them highly respected and cared about her, and they only wanted the best for her. They were glad that Gilgamesh offered to look after her because none of them wanted her memories to be erased. 

"You have Mahd Wy'ry. Your mind is fracturing under the weight of your memories. And all I can do is erase them so that you can start over," Ajak said. 

"Erase them?!" the Avengers and Guardians cried. How could Ajak even suggest that?!

"If Thena's memories are erased, she'll just be an empty shell of who she once was. Her memories make her who she is," said Vision. He'd seen the same thing happen with White Vision, who was still Vision, but not the same version as him because they had entirely different personalities. It was sort of like seeing his twin brother.

"How can you even suggest erasing her memories?" Carol asked Ajak, her temper sparking. "There are so many other options before jumping to that!"

Thena was taken aback by the ardent defense, but she was touched. "It's alright, my memories weren't erased." 

"Why does only Thena have Mahd Wy'ry when all of you guys have lived for just as long?" Gamora questioned. The Eternals glanced at each other, confused. They didn't know either. 

"I will have to inform Arishem and take you back to the ship where we have the technology to help you," Ajak said. 

"Arishem's a little bitch," Quill grumbled. 

"But she won’t be Thena anymore," Makkari signed. 

"Exactly!" Makkari signed. She couldn't imagine Thena not being Thena anymore. 

"What if it happens again? She could’ve killed you. She could have killed all of us," Kingo said. 

"So, you help her. Aren't you guys supposed to be a family?" Jane said. How could the Eternals even consider voluntarily erasing Thena's memories, effectively erasing her personality?

Thena was heartbroken and her eyes welled with tears. "Please, I…I want to remember. I want to remember my life." 

"And you will," Gilgamesh said. 

Thena gave him a soft smile. "Thanks to you." 

Bucky and Carol clenched their fists at hearing Thena pleads. Any normal person would want to remember their life, especially if they've lived as long as Thena has. Ajak and Druig were both getting on their nerves. 

Ajak said that it wasn't important if she remembered or not as she would always be Thena deep inside, and to trust her. 

The Avengers and Guardians scoffed, and Druig rolled his eyes. None of them trusted Ajak. 

"That's…not true. She won't be the same Thena because she would've gone through different experiences. Our memories shape us into who we are," said Loki. Watching his variants taught him that much. 

A lump formed in Thena's throat at just thinking about losing all of her memories. She didn't want to forget Gilgamesh. 

"Why should she trust you? You’re asking her to let you erase who she is," Druig said. 

Some of the Avengers hated that they were agreeing with Druig, who rubbed quite a few of them in the wrong way. 

"Druig, I know you’re upset, but…" Ajak said. "Upset?" he snapped. "We’ve trusted you for 7,000 years, and look where you’ve gotten us. I’ve watched humans destroy each other when I could stop it all in a heartbeat. Do you know what that does to someone after centuries?" 

Makkari had a pained expression at hearing Druig's confession. It broke her heart back then and it broke her heart now. 

An ache pushed against Ajak's heart. This was the first time she'd seen or spoken to Druig for the past five hundred years, and she regretted leaving things the way they had. 

"Could our mission have been a mistake? Are we really helping these people build a better world, huh?" Druig said. 

Phastos had a bitter taste in his mouth. They weren't helping humans build a better world, they were helping them destroy it. That's all most of them were good at. And apparently, protecting humans and helping them advance wasn't even their true mission, but Ajak wasn't telling them what was. 

"Humans can create wonders, Druig," said Sersi. 

"Really, Sersi? You're not that naïve to think that," said Druig. "I know you love humans, but come on, you've seen what they can do. What they've done." 

"It's nothing that every race isn't capable of," said Thor. "The same thing that humans have done has happened on Asgard, Hala, Xandar, Titan, and the rest of the galaxy."

"As a human, I agree that we're…destructive, but there are many good aspects of humanity," said Sam.

"I feel like I have to mention that Ultron spent five minutes on the internet and decided humanity had to die so…" Clint trailed off. The original Avengers grimaced.

Druig looked out to see the destruction below. "We’re just like the soldiers down there. Pawns to their leaders. Blinded by loyalty. It ends now."

Ajak's throat thickened. "Druig—"

"Don't lie, Ajak. We are pawns to our leaders. Not just you, but to Arishem as well," said Druig. 

"Arishem is doing this for the good of humanity and the galaxy. Who are you to question a Celestial?" Ikaris said. 

"Celestials aren't always right, you know? They're capable of a lot of destruction," Quill said, biting back his anger at the reminder of what Ego had done to his mom. "Have you ever spoken to Arishem?" 

A flicker of irritation passed Ikaris's face. "No," he admitted through gritted teeth. 

"Seems like you're the one who's blinded by loyalty to someone you've never even met."

"Arishem's a Celestial," Ikaris stressed. 

"And Peter and I are the children of a Celestial and we hate our father," Mantis said. 

Ikaris shut his mouth. 

Druig used his powers to make the Spanish and the Aztecs stop fighting. 

The Avengers disliked that the Eternals had stood by and let people die for centuries, but some of them also disliked Druig's powers so it was galling to see that the conflict had finally ended due to him. 

"Druig may have stopped the fighting, but it didn't really change anything in the end since the Spanish colonized Mexico anyway. Mexico City is literally built on the ruins of Tenochtitlan," said Layla. 

Ikaris shoved Druig into a wall, "Let them go." "You’re gonna have to make me," Druig said. Ajak told them to stop and Ikaris let go. 

Ikaris swallowed down his frustration. He followed whatever Ajak did because she was the Prime Eternal, but he couldn't help but wonder why she'd chosen Sersi instead. Why couldn't the other Eternals see that this was for the betterment of the galaxy?

The non-Eternals were getting the feeling that Ikaris was unpopular with a lot of the Eternals. 

"If you wanna stop me, you’re gonna have to kill me," Druig told Ajak. He deserted the Eternals and ended the conflict himself, taking a group of humans with him. 

Druig had a blank expression. Those humans had founded the camp he ran in Peru and their descendants lived there for generations. It was much more peaceful than the rest of the world. 

Makkari had resigned sadness in her eyes at seeing Druig leave. It wasn't the last time she'd seen him because she wandered out of the Domo a couple of times each century, but she missed when they had always stuck together.

The Avengers thought they had problems, but the Eternals seemed to have it worse since their arguments lasted for centuries. Their civil war lasted for two years before the Watcher forced them to get over their issues, but even without that, it would've only lasted for seven years, not five hundred years.

Gilgamesh offered to watch over Thena. Ajak warned that he might have to kill her, but he was willing to take the chance. Thena was on the verge of tears as she looked at him gratefully. 

"I never had to kill her. She always remembered in the end," said Gilgamesh. And he never doubted that she wouldn't.  

Tears were running freely down Thena's face. What had she done to deserve someone like Gilgamesh in her life? 

None of the Avengers and Guardians were quite sure if Thena and Gilgamesh were platonic friends or a romantic couple, but they didn't doubt the deep love the two had for each other. Gilgamesh had been taking care of Thena for the past five hundred years; that kind of devotion was something else. The ones who knew about the Epic of Gilgamesh knew that Gilgamesh's heart had been shattered when Enkidu died of an illness inflicted by the gods. Sprite had been telling them his story all along, it was written in the epic as clear as day.

Ajak told the Eternals that they could go as the Deviants were gone. "I want you to go out there and live a life for yourselves. Not as soldiers. Not with the purpose you were given. Find your own purpose, and one day, when we see each other again, I want you to tell me what you found." 

Ajak closed her eyes. She had made many mistakes with the Eternals in the past seven thousand years, but now she couldn't help but think she was making the wrong decision in allowing the Emergence to occur on Earth. Ever since Tenochtitlan, she'd traveled all around the world, living amongst humans and she knew they were different than the others. However, she had to let her children go out into the world for the sake of their wellbeing even if Arishem hadn't allowed it.

Ikaris's heart sank. His single purpose for thousands of years had been to protect humans from the Deviants, but then Ajak had told him the truth about their mission, and his purpose after that had been to protect humans from the Deviants so the Emergence can occur. He'd lived a life with Sersi for millennia, but then he'd left her, and he had no purpose until now when the Emergence was finally about to occur. He'd sacrificed everything for Arishem, Tiamut was going to be born no matter what. 

"I haven't done much. I've just been sitting in the Domo reading books," Makkari signed. 

"Have you seen my movies, Ajak? I'm quite famous all over South Asia," said Kingo. 

Ajak smiled. "I have. You've mailed me the reels, the VHS tapes, the DVDs, and eventually just told me to stream it. I like them," she said, causing Kingo to beam.

"You've mailed them to all of us," Sprite said, exasperated.

"Well, I wanted everyone to see them!" Kingo defended. 

Notes:

I know this chapter is a little late, but I'm moving to another country this week and things are super hectic at the moment!

Chapter 3: mumbai & australia

In Mumbai, Kingo was filming a dance scene for his new movie. His costume was based on Ikaris's suit. 

"…Is that my suit?" Ikaris asked, confused.  

"Yes! I base my movies off of you guys all the time," Kingo said brightly.

"Is this what you do these days?" Makkari signed while laughing. 

"You would've known if you watched any of my movies," Kingo said. 

"I've barely left the Domo in centuries!" 

The Guardians gasped at seeing Kingo's set and they sent him a disgusted glare. Gamora and Nebula's noses wrinkled. "You're an actor!" Mantis gagged. Quill pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

"Yes…" Kingo trailed off, confused.

"You're repulsive!" Drax yelled. The Eternals' brows furrowed while the Avengers howled with laughter.

Kingo blinked. "What's wrong with being an actor?"

"What isn't wrong with being an actor? Actors are disgusting since they try to pretend to be someone they're not," Nebula said, crossing her arms.

"But pretending you're someone else and telling a story is part of the fun!"

"Ugh. He's awful," Mantis told the other Guardians, shaking her head.

"I am so sorry about them," Quill frantically apologized. Kingo was too confused to take offense.

Sersi, Ikaris, and Sprite were on set watching the scene when Karun Patel introduced himself as Kingo’s valet. 

Kingo's excitement dimmed as he saw Sersi, Ikaris, and Sprite on set, remembering that they were there because of Ajak's death and the Deviants.

"It’s truly an honor to be in the presence of the great Eternals," Karun said, causing the trio to stare at him. 

All the Eternals raised a brow as they looked at Kingo.

"You told him?" Phastos questioned. 

"I had to!" Kingo defended. "He's been with me for decades now."

"And he believed you?"

"Well, not at first, but he believed me pretty quickly once I showed him my energy bullets." 

"Yeah, that would do it." 

The dance finished and Kingo squealed in joy at seeing the Eternals. "My friends from college are here!" he said. 

Everyone laughed at hearing Kingo's description of the Eternals, but they wondered how Sprite would be considered in that group since she physically looked like a teenager. Maybe she could pretend to be Ikaris's little sister. 

"You guys should've come to set earlier," Kingo said. 

"You didn't even invite us. We would've visited," said Gilgamesh. 

"Speak for yourself," Sprite said. Kingo abandoned her in Macedonia; she wasn't feeling gratuitous. 

Kingo hugged Ikaris and welcomed him to the set of Shaandar Daastan-e-Ikaris, or the Legend of Ikaris. "I’m playing you! You like the costume?" he asked. 

"Eh, it could be better," said Ikaris. 

"Whatever, all the moms and grandmoms love me anyway," said Kingo. 

Sersi, Ikaris, and Sprite told him that they needed to talk to him in private. 

"It's okay, Karun knows everything," said Kingo. 

"I trust him completely. Actually, when we first met, he thought I was a vampire, and he tried to stake me through the heart," Kingo said. 

The group burst into giggles.

"I like Karun already," Druig said slyly. 

"I have apologized so many times," Karun said. "Not quite enough times. Very close, though. I’ll let you know," said Kingo. 

Kingo's face soured. Besides thinking he was a vampire, Karun also called him rakshas and bhoot, meaning demon and ghost in Hindi, which he didn't appreciate very much. And then Karun started praying in Gujarati, Marathi, and Sanskrit until he managed to convince him that he wasn't a demon.

Kingo invited them to his tent and enthusiastically talked about the next scene. He asked if they were getting back together. 

There was a somber atmosphere at remembering exactly why the Eternals were assembling again.

"Yeah, the group's getting back together, but I wish it was under better circumstances," said Kingo. He felt sick at remembering Ajak's corpse and swallowed down his frustration toward the Deviants. The other five Eternals weren't useless, but they normally didn't fight the Deviants—he, Ikaris, Thena, Gilgamesh, and Makkari did. They never should've split apart; Ajak would still be alive if they hadn't. 

Ajak had a lingering sadness in her eyes. The Emergence would occur at any moment and the Eternals had to stick together now. Ikaris already knew the truth and eventually Sersi would too once she spoke to Arishem.

"Ajak’s dead," Sprite said. "She was killed. It was a Deviant," Ikaris said. Kingo froze and looked at them, stunned. 

Ajak's throat thickened. She had lived for seven thousand years in this lifetime and millions of years before on previous planets, but somehow, she never expected to die after all this time. 

None of the Eternals knew how to handle Ajak's death, especially Sersi, who was the Prime Eternal now. Although the group hadn't been in one place since Tenochtitlan, Ajak was the backbone of the Eternals. How were they supposed to carry forward now?

Karun told the crew to shut down the set for the day and go home in Hindi. 

"Probably for the best. Nothing else is going to get done for a while now," said Shang-Chi. 

"The Deviants are back. We don’t know how many there are. You need to come with us," Ikaris said. 

The fact that the Eternals had no information about the new Deviants is what was bothering them the most. Phastos itched to track down the remaining Deviants, but he wanted to know how they came back. It was as if they came out of thin air. 

The Avengers were exhausted at hearing that deadly monsters were on Earth, threatening the population now. The Eternals were handling the Deviants, but they wanted to be involved too. It wasn't as if the Eternals knew everything since they thought they killed all the Deviants, but clearly, they didn't.

Kingo was reluctant to go as he had the entire cast and crew dependent on him, and they just started shooting. "We just got BTS to do a cameo…" 

"BTS? Damn," Kingo said. His current movies weren't doing that great, but hopefully, the movie would do well if BTS made a cameo since they had a chokehold on Indian teenage girls. 

"You're going to let Nepal down if you don't release the movie," said Wong. Like everyone who lived in Nepal and the rest of South Asia, he watched Bollywood movies so he had watched a couple of Kingo's movies; they were entertaining. He liked the older ones better than the newer ones, but he wasn't going to say that to Kingo's face. Although if the Eternals didn't age, then was the Kingo dynasty just one person?

Karun encouraged Kingo to go with the other Eternals, reminding him of one of his movies, The Shadow Warrior 2: Voyage of Time, about how protecting one's family was the most important duty.

"Oh, we got to Shadow Warrior 2? That's great!" Kingo gushed. His shoulders slumped. "Karun's right, though. After Ajak's death…" he shook his head, "That's not going to happen to anyone else." 

The rest of the Eternals' hearts warmed at hearing that. Kingo had always been the one who cared about keeping the team together the most. 

"Protecting your family is an important duty, but so is protecting the human population from those creepy monsters," said Scott. 

The group was aboard Kingo's private jet. 

"You have a private jet?" Phastos said. 

"Obviously. I'm rich," Kingo stated. 

"Seven thousand years. That’s how long the battle between Eternals and Deviants has raged for. You think I’m a movie star. Well, I am. But I am also…an Eternal," Kingo said. Karun was recording. 

The Eternals sent Kingo an exasperated look, who said, "What? This is important information!" 

"None of what Karun is recording is ever going to see the light of day," said Ikaris. 

"Oh, please. As if people would care after the Battle of New York and the Blip. Thor's already lived for thousands of years and he's one of the most well-known people on the planet," Kingo said, causing Thor to smirk.

Kingo said he was making a documentary about them, and asked Sprite to introduce herself. She flipped him off and turned herself invisible.

Kingo knew why Sprite was angry with him and she wasn't wrong to be, but it was exhausting to constantly move around. There was a reason why he'd stayed in Mumbai for more than a hundred years and part of the reason was because Sprite wasn't with him anymore.

Sersi was on her phone and was caught off-guard when Kingo asked her to tell them about herself. Ikaris sat next to her. 

Kingo hoped Sersi's introduction would go better than the last one. 

"Well, uh…I can change a rock into water. Uh, I could turn a rock into wood. Or a rock into metal. Actually, one time, I turned a rock into air," Sersi explained, gradually getting more excited. 

Kingo sighed. "Never mind, these introductions are turning out to be a mistake. You guys are going to ruin my documentary."

"What else do you expect from them?" Makkari signed, causing Kingo to laugh. 

"You're right," he said. 

Ikaris fought to keep his smile off of his face. Sersi was very adorable when she was explaining her powers. 

Stephen, Wong, Wanda, Clea, and America's brows shot up at hearing about Sersi's transmutation powers.

"Can you turn objects into gold?" Rocket asked Sersi.

"Yes," she answered. 

"Then, why aren't you rich?"

"Cut. Um, you know what? Why don’t you think about it, and we’ll get back to you, okay?" Kingo said. He and Karun left. 

Kingo shook his head. All the Eternals were useless. He wasn't going to get an entertaining documentary out of any of them. 

"Sprite says you’re addicted to this thing," Ikaris said, nodding to Sersi's phone. 

"Who isn't?" Kate said. 

"Do you not have a phone, Ikaris?" Phastos said. 

"Hey! I have things to do," said Ikaris. 

"Like what? Mope around all day?" Gilgamesh said. 

"Ouch, Gil." 

She took a picture of Ikaris with an age filter and showed it to him as they didn't age, saying he looked quite good even as an old man.

Sersi's cheeks turned bright red. Why did she have to say that? 

Ikaris agreed; he did look quite good but he appreciated Sersi saying that more than anything else. 

"He looks like shit," said Druig. 

"Thanks, Druig," Ikaris said, exasperated. 

"Nobody ever wonders how you managed to be the leading man for over 100 years?" Sprite asked Kingo. He pointed to a movie poster of his 'great-great-grandfather', 'great-grandfather, 'grandfather', 'father', and him. "I'm part of the greatest dynasty in the history of Bollywood. Pretty impressive, right?"

Everyone burst out laughing at hearing Kingo's explanation. 

"So, you're a nepo baby," Sprite said. 

"Is it nepotism when I'm all those people?" Kingo said. "Besides, the entire Hindi film industry is built on nepotism. I won't stand out." 

"It is pretty impressive that the greatest dynasty in the history of Bollywood is just one person," Thena said.

"Thank you, Thena! At least someone appreciates my effort," said Kingo. 

"I doubt you even tried," said Phastos. 

"Please, there are so many nepo babies in the industry that I can barely keep track. No one will keep track of the Kingo dynasty either," said Kingo. 

"You abandoned me in Macedonia," Sprite said flatly. 

The Avengers and Guardians grimaced. Why did all the Eternals have so much drama between them?

"Okay, I got sick of moving every five years. People freak out when they notice that you don’t… age." "I thought we were friends." 

Anger spread through Sprite's body at hearing that Kingo abandoned her because she didn't age. Kingo and the rest of the Eternals didn't age either, but they had it better than her. Why would anyone want to be stuck in a child's body for thousands of years? It was hell. 

The Avengers and Guardians had sympathetic expressions. It was still strange knowing that Sprite was thousands of years old—and older than them—but she looked like a child. Was it something in her powers that made her look that way?

Kingo told Karun to stop filming and sat in the seat in front of Sprite. "Do you know why I love movies? Because of you. I missed sitting in the audience, listening to your stories, watching your illusions," he said. 

"It's true. Your illusions and stories are amazing, and there's a reason why people still know them today. You have a gift, Sprite," said Kingo. 

Sprite crossed her arms and didn't say anything. 

"We should’ve all stayed together. Ajak would still be alive. She should have never let us go," Kingo said quietly. 

The Eternals had a pained expression while a great pang gripped Ajak's heart. She found it difficult to come to terms with it herself, but this wasn't the end for her. She'll come back in the next mission. She might not be this specific version of Ajak that she was on Earth, but she won't permanently die. 

The group reached Australia and found a dead Deviant. 

"Another one?" the group yelped. 

"Well, Thena and Gilgamesh are more than capable of handling the creature from what I've seen," said Jane.

Phastos felt sick at seeing another Deviant go after an Eternal. His house wasn't unprotected, but he and his family didn't stay there all the time. Sersi and Sprite had been attacked while walking back home from the bar so what if the same thing happened to him? 

"This is the Deviant you fought in London?" Kingo asked. "It’s different. There must be more out there than we thought," Ikaris said. 

"No shit," said Gilgamesh. 

"Where did all these Deviants come from?" Stephen questioned. 

Karun said the Deviant was a beautiful creature, much to Kingo's incredulity. "You’ve never had one try to bite your head off," Kingo said. 

"It's beautiful the same way a Chitauri is beautiful, which is to say: not at all," said Clint. 

He told Karun to start filming. "You’re about to meet two of the greatest warriors the world has ever known. Thena, legendary, deadly, fashionable." 

Thena smiled. "Thank you."

"And her trusty friend…a mighty powerhouse of strength, the fearsome Gilgamesh!" Kingo introduced for the documentary. 

"Those punches are powerful," Thor complimented. 

Ikaris knocked on the door and Gilgamesh opened it. He was wearing a 'Kiss the Cook' apron. 

The Avengers and Guardians thought Gilgamesh was a gentle giant. He was the kindest Eternal but then he could defeat a Deviant with one punch.

"What took you so long?" Gilgamesh asked. 

"We were a bit too busy dealing with another Deviant," said Ikaris.

"You look younger today, Sprite," Gilgamesh greeted. 

Sprite was highly unimpressed. Everyone else was amused, but they made sure not to show any of it because they knew how sensitive that topic was to Sprite. 

Gilgamesh asked who Karun was, who introduced himself as Kingo's valet. "Oh, valet. Like Alfred in Batman," Gilgamesh said while cooking. 

"I like those movies," said Gilgamesh. 

"Gilgamesh, the Deviants are back," Ikaris said. "No shit. I could have used some help," Gilgamesh said. 

They chuckled. 

"We were attacked by a Deviant in London, too," Sprite said. "Even Ikaris couldn’t kill it," Sersi said. Ikaris quickly said he was distracted. 

"Distracted by Sersi, more like," Gilgamesh said in a low voice, causing Ikaris to sharply elbow him. 

"Sure, man," Gilgamesh laughed and offered them pie. 

"I like Gilgamesh's cooking," Makkari said. 

"I’m sorry, Gil. Ajak’s dead," Ikaris said. Gilgamesh was devasted and his pie fell on the ground. He bent the pie pan in his grief. 

Ikaris wasn't looking forward to constantly telling the rest of the Eternals that Ajak was dead, but they had to know. A Deviant killed her and they had to find out how the creatures came back while also sticking together due to the Emergence. 

Sersi and Ikaris looked into the distance to see Thena by the trees. She was drawing a Celestial. 

Except for Thena, Gilgamesh, Ajak, Eros, and Ikaris, everyone else blinked in surprise. How did Thena know what a Celestial looked like?

Thena's mouth turned dry. She didn't quite understand her Mahd Wy'ry episodes, the things she did under them, or what she saw, but she wanted to remember her life. 

Gilgamesh's face fell; if Thena was drawing then it meant that she suffered another Mahd Wy'ry episode. 

Gilgamesh brought the rest of the group to her and told them to stay back. "The attack triggered her. She’s no fun to be around right now," he said. 

Thena felt a flicker of irritation toward herself. She was grateful for everything Gilgamesh did for her, but she didn't want to get triggered whenever she went near a Deviant or explosions. What kind of warrior was she?

Thena conjured a sword and attacked Gilgamesh, who blocked it using his cosmic energy exo-skeleton fists. 

The Eternals' hearts jumped into their throats. Many of them hadn't seen Thena since Ajak let them go and while some of the others had, they hadn't seen Thena's Mahd Wy'ry episode since Tenochtitlan. 

"Everyone in Centuri-6 is going to die. It’s too late. We can’t save them," she said. Her eyes were white. 

Tears brimmed Thena's eyes as she clenched her fists. She didn't understand any of this. She didn't understand why her mind was fracturing under the weight of her memories when the rest of the Eternals had lived for just as long as her.

Sadness flittered across Ajak's face. Arishem must've made a mistake the last time he erased their memories after the mission for Thena to be remembering previous lifetimes. She should've corrected the mistake, but she was secretly relieved that Gilgamesh offered to look after her. 

The Avengers and Guardians shared a confused look. Thena said that everyone would die the last time they saw her suffer a Mahd Wy'ry episode and now she was saying the same thing again. Why would everyone die? 

"I don't think I've heard of Centuri-6," said Carol. 

"Give me your hand," Gilgamesh said. Sprite created an illusion of the interior of the Domo and of Thena fighting the Deviants. She reminded her that she was an Eternal, the greatest warrior of Olympia, the legendary protector of Athens, and the goddess of war. 

Thena's face crumpled at seeing Sprite's illusion. She could barely recognize herself. She had once been a legendary warrior and protector, but what if she couldn't fight anymore? What if her Mahd Wy'ry was triggered every time she went near a battle? She nearly killed Sersi, Makkari, and Ajak during her first Mahd Wy'ry episode so what if Gilgamesh wasn't there to help her remember one day? What if she hurt someone? 

Gilgamesh gently intertwined their hands. "Remember." 

There was not a single fiber in Gilgamesh's body that doubted Thena's ability to remember. She just needed a little push. 

Everyone's eyes softened at seeing Thena struggle with Mahd Wy'ry. 

Thena's eyes turned back to normal and Sprite removed the illusion. The other Eternals waved, and Thena said, "Hello." 

Gilgamesh beamed. "You remembered."

"Thanks to you," said Thena. 

The Eternals sat at Thena and Gilgamesh's dining table, which was covered with delicious food. 

All of them started to slightly drool. 

"That's what you guys eat in the middle of nowhere in Australia? I would've visited much earlier if I had known that," Sprite said.

"This one is a trio of wine, beer, and mead. Made for all the soldiers in the Battle of Troy," Gilgamesh said, putting a bottle on the table.

The humans didn't think they would ever get used to the Eternals casually mentioning significant events in ancient history. 

"The Battle of Troy?" Steven said weakly. 

"You guys must have spent a lot of time in Greece since a lot of your stories are tied to Greek mythology," said Scott. 

"It's where we were the longest. There were many Deviants there," said Sersi. 

"Did you all see the Trojan Horse?" T'Challa asked. 

The Eternals shuddered at the reminder of the Trojan Horse. 

"We did. That wasn't a good day," Druig said in a clipped tone. 

"Ajax played an important part in the Trojan War," Stephen stated, looking at Ajak, who smiled. 

"I did play a part, but not like how it is in the Iliad," Ajak said. 

"Homer had a talent for storytelling. I miss him," Sprite said.  

"Ajax was also Zeus's grandson and we know that's not true," Rhodey said. Thor's face darkened at the reminder of how Zeus truly was. 

"Hephaestus is supposed to be Zeus's son too and we know Phastos isn't his son either," said Tony. 

"That’s so thoughtful," Karun said but froze as he saw Thena looking at him unnervingly. 

Thena sighed. Sometimes she got lost in her mind after a Mahd Wy'ry episode. She didn't want to make too bad of a first impression in front of Karun. 

"Should she be drinking?" Kingo asked Gilgamesh in a low voice. "No, hers is nonalcoholic. For kids," Gilgamesh replied. 

Thena didn't mind that Gilgamesh gave her a nonalcoholic drink. She wouldn't be having alcohol anyway. 

"I gave you the same thing, Sprite," Gilgamesh said, booming with laughter. Sprite had an annoyed expression.

The Avengers and Guardians snickered while the Eternals burst into giggles, but stopped once Sprite glared at them. 

"Sorry, not funny," Kingo said quickly. Sprite was already livid with him for abandoning her, he didn't want to make her angrier. 

"I was just kidding. Yours is a secret brew Odin taught me as a thank you after we helped defeat Laufey’s army in Tønsberg," Gilgamesh said. 

Thor and Loki blinked, and the Avengers were taken aback.  

"Tønsberg? That's where New Asgard is now," said Valkyrie. 

"Tønsberg has constantly appeared throughout our history," said Steve. It was where the Red Skull found the Tesseract.

"Laufey's army?" Loki said in a faint voice. 

"Yes. That's how Odin knew us and why he introduced you and Thor to us. Where is Laufey these days?" Gilgamesh said. He enjoyed Odin's brew. 

"He's dead," Loki said flatly, leaving out that he was the one to kill him. Thor grimaced. 

"Oh. How's Odin then?" 

"He's also dead."

Gilgamesh winced. "Er, hopefully, Asgard is doing well, at least?"

"It's been destroyed. We're going to stay in Tønsberg now." 

The Eternals gaped. Odin was dead and Asgard had been destroyed?!

Sprite used her powers to dress Gilgamesh as a baby; the bib said 'Gilga-mess'.

Gilgamesh shook his head, Sprite laughed loudly, and the rest of the Eternals snickered.  

The other Eternals roared with laughter and Gilgamesh looked down at himself, exasperated. "I’m a big baby. Very mature. Can you stop?" he asked. Sprite removed the illusion. 

Loki chuckled; he found those illusions to be very innovative. 

"Speaking of Odin…Thor used to follow me around when he was a little kid. Now he’s a famous Avenger and won’t return my calls," Kingo said. 

"I don't have a phone anymore," Thor said. "I also don't have your number so I didn't know you were calling, Kingo." 

"Okay, good point," said Kingo. 

"So, now that Captain Rogers and Iron Man are both gone, who do you think is gonna lead the Avengers?" Sprite asked. 

The Avengers glanced at each other. They knew who was leading the Avengers in their universe now that Steve and Tony were retired, but they didn't know what was happening in that universe. 

"There are a couple of options, but no one's talking to each other," Natasha said disappointedly.

"No one's leading the Avengers because it doesn't exist anymore in that universe. There's no team; they've disassembled," said Sam.

"I don't know about them, but I feel like we've got a pretty good system going on," said Carol.

"Steve and Tony aren't the only ones who lead the Avengers. Natasha led the team during the Blip and she's leading the team now," Bucky reminded. Was he ever going to stop pointing out that his girlfriend was the leader of the Avengers? No, probably not. 

"Steve's not gone, he's on the moon," Tony laughed, causing Steve to snort. Steve didn't know how that rumor started or why, but he would always find it hilarious. 

"I could lead them. I figure I’d be good at that," Ikaris said. 

The Avengers roared with laughter, causing Ikaris to have an offended expression. 

"Ajak didn’t even choose you to lead us," Gilgamesh pointed out. 

There was another burst of laughter from the Avengers, who were joined by the Eternals and Guardians. 

Ikaris wouldn't admit that stung and let out a hollow laugh. A nameless dread engulfed him; he had a bad feeling about all of this. 

Ajak plastered a smile on her face. Even if Sersi wasn't her first choice, she knew she could lead the team due to her compassion, but Ikaris had always been her second-in-command for millennia and she didn't know why it had changed now. However, Sersi would find out about the Emergence eventually when she contacted Arishem and there was no doubt in Ajak's mind that she would try to stop it. Is that why she made Sersi the Prime Eternal? Had she changed her mind about the Emergence for certain? She'd had doubts for a while now, which had been made stronger ever since she heard about the Blip. 

Sersi's stomach dropped at the reminder that she was the Prime Eternal now. How could she lead the Eternals? There were so many other choices before her. Ajak said it was her love for humanity that could've been a reason why she had made her the Prime Eternal, but how was that a strength? That wasn't enough to become a leader. 

"Ouch, Gil. Ouch," Ikaris said playfully. "I’m gonna let that one slide because, you know, you’ve always been bitter that I can fly and you can’t." 

"So what? I can defeat a Deviant with one slap. Can your lasers do that?" Gilgamesh good-humoredly challenged. 

"Oh please, do you want to see who can kill more Deviants? It's going to be me," Ikaris said, playfully.

"Let's find out."

"Oh, so what, you can fly. I’m better looking, everybody knows that," Gilgamesh said. 

Gilgamesh let out a guffaw. "That's also true." 

"Whatever you say, Gil," Ikaris teased. It was nice to be with the rest of the Eternals again. 

Eros's eyes were dull with sadness at seeing the Earth Eternals tease each other. The Titan Eternals had been like that too once before it all ended and Titan became a wasteland. 

Sersi got up, causing everyone to look at her. She said she was going to get some air. 

Ikaris sent Sersi a concerned look, but she was too busy lost in her thoughts about being the Prime Eternal now. 

Kingo drank Gilgamesh's drink. He said it was really good and offered to sell it. 

Kingo's eyes lit up at hearing about a business opportunity. 

"I made it from corn. I chew each kernel myself and ferment it in my spit," Gilgamesh said, causing Kingo to spit the drink. 

The idea swiftly left Kingo's mind and he wrinkled his nose at the thought of drinking Gil's spit beer. 

Everyone else chuckled.

Sersi was studying Thena's drawing of a Celestial and other sketches. "Is this the Centuri-6 Thena was talking about?" she asked Gilgamesh. 

Thena's smile faded. She didn't like thinking about what she saw under her Mahd Wy'ry episodes because none of it was true and all it did was torment her.

"Yeah, it’s a planet. She thinks she used to live there until it was destroyed. Always talks about massive quakes ripping it apart. Everyone died, including herself," he said. 

Ajak's heart dropped, Eros's face crumpled, and Ikaris felt like his breath had been knocked out. That was exactly what happened during an Emergence and it was what would happen to Earth too. Ikaris didn't understand how Arishem could make a mistake in erasing their memories. He was a Celestial, and Celestials don't make mistakes.

Panic flared in Thena's eyes. The things she saw during her Mahd Wy'ry episodes felt so real and it felt like she lived through those events, but it wasn't possible. She used to live in Olympia before arriving on Earth. 

The rest of the Eternals, Avengers, and Guardians had large sad eyes. Thena must be constantly struggling with her Mahd Wy'ry, thinking that everyone was dying. 

"We had an unprecedented global earthquake three days ago," Sersi reminded. 

The color drained from nearly everyone's faces at the implication. 

"Wait, whatever happened to Centuri-6 is going to happen to Earth?" Peter said in a strangled noise. 

"That's not possible," Wanda said quickly. Earth couldn't be breaking apart. 

"Well, what other explanation is there for a global earthquake? It completely goes against everything we know about tectonic plates," said Bruce. 

"Many things break the laws of science," Stephen warned. He, of all people, knew that the best. 

Tony's face soured at the reminder. 

"Oh, that’s what that was. I thought I was drunk," Gilgamesh laughed. 

Gilgamesh grinned while everyone else chuckled at his good-hearted nature. 

"Ajak chose me to lead us, but…I can’t even figure out how to speak to Arishem. I’ve tried so many times," Sersi said. "Maybe you’re trying too hard. Sometimes, you just have to listen," Gilgamesh advised. 

"He's right. You cannot beat a river into submission; you have to surrender to its current and use its power as your own," Stephen said, echoing the Ancient One's words. 

"That…makes sense," Sersi said. She let out a deep breath. She had to surrender to the current and listen. 

Sersi walked to the tree, closed her eyes, and cleared her mind. The sphere exited her body and successfully initiated an audience with Arishem. She was the size of a speck of dust compared to Arishem, whose full face and torso could be seen. 

Everyone's mouths turned dry at seeing how enormous Arishem was and they still hadn't seen his entire body yet. 

Drax eyed Arishem. "Why doesn't he have a penis?"

"Dude!" Quill exclaimed. Gamora groaned and ran a hand down her face, and the rest of them shot Drax a strange look. 

"What? Ego had a penis and he was a Celestial. Why doesn't Arishem have one?" 

Quill and Mantis wrinkled their noses at the thought. Ego was their father; they didn't want to think about that. "Ego could also change his appearance so Celestials can have multiple forms," said Mantis.

The Eternals were extremely lost at hearing the Guardians' conversation. They didn't think Celestials were capable of having children, but they were in the room with two children of a Celestial. 

"Ajak was killed by a Deviant. We think it absorbed her power. And something unusual is happening to Earth," Sersi said. 

Fury tore through Ikaris at knowing that a Deviant killed Ajak. 

Ajak closed her eyes. Nothing unusual is happening to Earth, it was the natural order of things; something that was inevitable on each planet that was chosen as a host planet for a Celestial seed. 

"The Deviant would've absorbed Sprite's powers too if Ikaris hadn't saved her," Makkari signed. 

"When is something unusual not happening to Earth?" Clint grumbled. "The global earthquake is pretty much a normal occurrence at this point."

"The global earthquake is just one of the many batshit things that have happened after the Blip," said Rhodey. 

Arishem said it was a side effect of the Emergence, and that it was time for her to learn the true purpose of their mission.

Everyone straightened in their seats, eager to know the truth. 

"The Emergence?" said Jane. 

"I've been wanting to hear about this since Ajak wasn't telling us the truth," said Druig. 

Ajak's face contorted and she supposed that it was time everyone learned the truth anyway. She just hoped they couldn't hate her too much afterward. 

"Shit," Ikaris said under his breath, too quiet for anyone to hear. Sersi was going to find out about the Emergence and she would oppose it because she loved humanity too much, and he could have to fight her, which was the last thing he wanted to do. But maybe he could keep the Eternals busy enough for Tiamut to emerge and luckily, they hadn't found the rest of the team yet. Phastos was in the US, Makkari was in Iraq, and Druig was in Peru—all of those places were on three different continents. 

Eros felt a sting of melancholy. Knowing about the Emergence was a curse and a burden, but they needed to know the truth. 

"You were sent to Earth to bring forth the Celestial Tiamut. Every billion years, new Celestials must be born. I plant Celestial seeds into host planets across the universe. The planet Earth was chosen to host the Celestial Tiamut," Arishem explained. He showed her an illusion of a Celestial seed shooting down to Earth and landing inside the planet's core. 

There was a pause before chaos broke loose. 

"What the hell!" Marc exclaimed. 

"So, you're telling me that there's a Celestial seed in the Earth's core at this moment?" Bruce yelped. 

"Can we ever catch a break?" Sam wondered. 

"That's our true mission? Well, that's not so bad," said Kingo. 

"That's similar to what Ego was trying to do," Mantis said, suppressing a shiver. The Guardians' irritation spiked at the reminder of that incident. 

Quill had a stony expression. He was exhausted of all of this Celestial bullshit; he thought killing Ego would've been the end of this, but of course, there had to be another Celestial seed and this time it was on his home planet. "No wonder Ego was a motherfucking planet if Celestial seeds are planted in host planets." 

"Okay, you and Mantis have to explain Ego," said Phastos. 

"Please do. I've never heard of Ego the Celestial," said Eros. He was also slightly curious about Gamora's boyfriend and his sister, but that was a secondary concern. 

"Ego was literally a planet. He didn't look like what Arishem or a regular Celestial looks like, but he can change his appearance," said Quill. "He was convinced that he was the only Celestial remaining in the galaxy while thinking his race had become an endangered species that was on the verge of extinction. Obviously, that's not true."

"He came into existence millions of years ago as a flickering brain-like organism, parentless, and bodiless, floating adrift in the vacuum of space, alone," Mantis explained. "He eventually learned to manipulate the molecules around himself, creating a protective sheath. Over eons, he continued to build parts of the planet layer by layer around this core, which eventually evolved into a real planet with life. Ego craved a deeper meaning and purpose in life and so he created a biological humanoid avatar and decided to explore the galaxy wondering about the existence of other lifeforms in the universe."

"He wasn't impressed by what he found and thought other lifeforms were disappointing so he concluded that his true purpose in life was to remake the universe in his own image," Quill said. "Ego implanted thousands of extraterrestrial seedlings on all the planets he visited throughout the universe, planning for them to eventually terraform their worlds into new extensions of himself, something he called the 'Expansion'." 

The Eternals froze. "Seedlings? But that's basically what Arishem is trying to do for new Celestials, but Ego did it for himself," said Sersi. 

"Exactly. Anyway, Ego realized that he had a problem as one Celestial wasn't enough to activate the seedlings and that he needed an ally. He believed he was the only Celestial left so he began to impregnate thousands of female members from multiple extraterrestrial species. Mantis and I are two of the many, many offspring he had, but he killed all the ones that didn't inherit the Celestial gene, except Mantis. I had the Celestial gene."

The Eternals stared at Quill. "You?" Druig said, astonished.

"Yes, me," Quill said, annoyed. "Trust me, the Celestial powers aren't worth it."

"You have Celestial powers," Ajak said in a faint voice. She'd served Arishem for millions of years and never had she expected to meet a man who had the Celestial gene. 

"Not anymore since we killed Ego."

"I still can't believe you did that. Do you know the effects of killing a Celestial?" Ikaris said in disbelief. Meeting the Guardians, specifically Peter Quill and Mantis had shaken his entire worldview. 

The Guardians shrugged. "Ego was a murderer," Gamora said with distaste. "We stopped the Expansion by planting a bomb at Ego's core and destroying the planet."

Eros stared at Quill with his mouth open. This was his niece's boyfriend? Both of his nieces were responsible for killing a Celestial?

"What the fuck," Sprite summed up. 

"But why was Quill the only one to have the Celestial gene?" Wong wondered. "He said that Mantis doesn't have it."

"No, I don't. But Ego didn't kill me because he thought my empathetic abilities would be useful," said Mantis.

"And I'm glad he did. That's probably the only good decision he's ever made," said Quill. 

"How did Ego find out that you had the Celestial gene?" T'Challa asked.

"He heard that I touched an Infinity Stone, specifically the Power Stone, with my bare hands and he thought that no one else could've done it without the Celestial gene, which is true. It's what kept me alive," he said. 

"Is it possible that all of Ego's children have the gene, but it's just dormant? Maybe Quill was the only one who touched something as powerful as an Infinity Stone so it activated it," Wanda suggested. "Perhaps Mantis also has the gene, but she doesn't have the powers because she didn't touch something like an Infinity Stone. My witchcraft powers were always present but they were only activated once I touched the Mind Stone."

"Huh. I think that's possible," Quill said. 

"I'm not interested in the Celestial gene even if that's true," said Mantis. 

Carol's brows knit together. "I didn't touch the Tesseract, but I absorbed a massive outburst of energy from the Space Stone." 

"Are you kidding me?! I had an Infinity Stone in my body too and I was dying! I didn't get any cool powers," Jane pouted. 

"I mean, you're the Mighty Thor," Valkyrie said. 

"And Mjolnir will also kill me as long as I have cancer," Jane said, throwing her hands in the air. Why did everything have to kill her?! 

"In order to grow, Tiamut needs vast amounts of energy from intelligent life. The Deviants prevented this by consuming humans until the Eternals eliminated them. Now, the human population of this planet has reached the required amount. It is time for the Emergence to begin." 

"So, the Emergence is what was causing the earthquakes," Vision realized. 

"But what's the Emergence? The birth of a Celestial?" Rocket questioned. 

"How many people is the required amount? A population of around eight billion?" Scott said. 

"Wait, if eight billion people are needed for the Emergence to begin, does that mean Thanos delayed the Emergence by killing half of the population?" Natasha said. 

There was a loud pause.

"No fucking way. Thanos was being helpful?" said Peter. 

"Five years isn't a significant period of time in the grand scheme of things," T'Challa said. 

"The Emergence is occurring post-Blip so if Thanos doesn't kill half of the population then it'll probably occur this year," Bucky said. The Avengers groaned in frustration; now they had to deal with a Celestial.

"You've got to be joking," said Steve.

"Would Thanos have known about the Emergence?" Nebula asked Eros, who shook his head. 

"No. Only the Prime Eternal and whoever they decide to tell knows. Our father never told him," he said, guilt rising in his chest. Thanos was his brother, but he and the rest of their family kept him in the dark about many things.

"You said you were the Prime Eternal of Titan now. You knew about the Emergence," Gamora stated.

Eros grimaced. He wanted Gamora and Nebula to like him, but this wasn't a good start. "Yes, I did." 

Tiamut emerged from Earth and destroyed the planet as he broke free. 

The Avengers were mute with horror and the color drained from their faces at seeing Earth blow up, the Guardians were numb with shock, and panic flared in most of the Eternals' eyes. Although they were originally from Olympia, Earth had been their home for the past seven thousand years, and they had assimilated with humans and watched them grow, but now they were realizing that Earth had to be destroyed for a Celestial to be born. They'd been lied to the entire time. 

"Yeah, that's not happening. We're going to stop the Emergence," said Rhodey. 

"Pepper's pregnant. I have a baby to think about," Tony said coldly. Wanda and Vision knew they weren't going to bring any children into this world until after they stopped the Emergence. 

Clint buried his face in his hands and let out a muffled scream. "I won't ever be able to retire," he cried. There was another Hawkeye now too, but of course, the planet had to blow up.

"So, Earth's purpose is to act as a Celestial cocoon?" Quill said, his blood running cold. Although he didn't consider Earth to be his home anymore, his grandfather still lived there and he didn't want him to die. Besides, even if he wasn't from Earth, who would let an entire planet explode and not try to stop it? Ego didn't count. 

"Half of the population just returned and now there's a possibility that the entire planet will blow up?!" Carol said, alarmed. Clea didn't know if it would be helpful to mention that there was a large possibility that the universe will get destroyed anyway due to an incursion.

America clenched her fists. She wasn't about to watch another Earth get destroyed when she was finally settling down. Plus, she had a girlfriend now too. She'd lost so many of her loved ones already; there was zero percent chance she would lose them again. She wasn't going to let that happen. 

"What kind of monster would let an entire civilization die!" Shang-Chi exclaimed. 

"Would you be upset if an ant farm was destroyed? No, you wouldn't because ants are meaningless to humans. Similarly, humans mean nothing to Celestials—you are the ants to them," Ikaris said. He understood that it was hard to comprehend just how small they were in this vast universe, but it was for the greater good. Everyone had a part to play; they were just cogs in a machine. That's how it had always been, how it is, and how it always will be. It was Arishem's grand design and who were they to question a Celestial? 

"You're agreeing with Arishem?" Sersi said, betrayed. 

Phastos scoffed. "Of course, he is. He's the perfect soldier. Loyal to Arishem until the end." Perhaps he wouldn't have cared about the Emergence before he met Ben, but he had people to fight for now. 

Ikaris ignored Phastos' barb, but the Avengers and Guardians were too busy trying to wrap their minds around this revelation to pay attention to the Eternals' ongoing drama.

"Okay, so how can we remove the Celestial?" Scott asked. 

"Is removing a Celestial even possible?" Bruce said uneasily. 

"Remove the Celestial? No one's going to remove the Celestial," said Ikaris. 

"Why would we not want to do that? You may not care about humanity, but we actually care about the planet considering we're, y'know, humans," said Layla.

Irritation passed Ikaris' face. Fine, he'll just have to delay the Avengers long enough for Tiamut to rise if they were going to stand in his way. Tiamut was going to rise one way or another; he'd sacrificed too much to see this mission fail now. 

"Why can't you just blow him up?" Drax suggested. 

"Blow him up? What kind of idiotic suggestion is that? You can't just blow up a Celestial!" Kingo said. 

Drax shrugged. "Why not? We did. That's how we killed Ego. Groot was the one who pushed the button and he was only a baby back then." 

"I am Groot," Groot said proudly. That's right, I killed a Celestial when I was a baby. 

There was a beat of silence as the Eternals gaped while the Avengers snickered.  

"Knowhere is the severed head of a Celestial, there are ways to kill them," said Nebula. 

"We're Celestial-killing experts, and luckily we're your friends," Quill told the Avengers, who grinned. They had never been gladder that they met the Guardians of the Galaxy.

"I used to put Ego to sleep so maybe I can put Tiamut to sleep too," Mantis helpfully added.

The Eternals stared at Mantis, speechless.

"Who are you people?!" Sprite said in disbelief.

"We're the fricking Guardians of the Galaxy," Rocket said. 

"I don't think even Druig can put a Celestial to sleep," said Thena. 

"I can't," Druig said, faintly. 

"Okay, but we don't want to blow up the Celestial since Earth will get destroyed too. Mantis can put the Celestial to sleep but then what can we do?" Carol asked. 

"We'll come up with an idea, eventually," said Natasha. 

"But…everyone on Earth will die." "The end of one life, Sersi, is the beginning of another."

"I doubt Arishem cares if people die," Quill said bitterly. Ego told him that they were both immortal beings who have a purpose to fulfill, but that purpose didn't justify giving his mother brain cancer. He didn't care what Ego wanted, just as he didn't care what Arishem wanted. The only good thing Ego had given him was his sister. 

The Avengers knew with certainty that Tiamut wasn't going to rise and they didn't care what explanation Arishem was going to give. 

"Our universe is a constant exchange of energy. An infinite cycle of creation and destruction. Celestials use energy gathered from host planets to create suns, generating gravity, heat, and light for new galaxies to form," Arishem explained, showing Celestials creating galaxies, suns, and planets. 

Everyone's mouth turned dry at seeing the creation of galaxies, suns, and planets. They knew how powerful Celestials were; they'd seen Arishem and Knowhere, and had heard all about Ego, but seeing Celestials create something as enormous as a galaxy was a little difficult to wrap their heads around. They were highly minuscule in this grand universe. 

"Science has gone out of the window," Tony whimpered. 

"Y-Your dad could do that?" Peter shakily asked Quill and Mantis, whose eyes were wide in shock. They couldn't believe what they were seeing. 

"Ego was a planet himself, but I didn't know about any of this," said Mantis. 

"Could Ego have been a Celestial that didn't form properly due to the planet the Celestial seed was in being prematurely destroyed or something similar?" Nebula suggested. "However, his brain still held sentience so it made a body inspired by its base code: planets." 

"Maybe that's why Ego was insane and well, egocentric," Gamora added. "Celestials believe they have a grand cosmic purpose, but Ego didn't understand what it is since he didn't develop correctly and remained disconnected from the rest of the Celestials. It could be another reason why he decided to go for the Expansion since it involved implanting seedlings on thousands of planets, expanding himself, and therefore, expanding the Celestials. Maybe Ego's body was destroyed before his Emergence, but his mind was formed first so that's what's left. He became aware of his existence before fully growing and formed a planet around himself. Basically, a Celestial embryo floating around in space who became self-aware. A seed without a planet." 

Quill and Mantis shared an astonished look. "Doesn't matter. He's still an asshole and he's dead now anyway," Quill said. In hindsight, he knew he should've realized that Ego was full of shit when he'd said that he was one of his kind. He knew that Knowhere existed, therefore, Ego couldn't have been the only Celestial out there, but he'd been so caught up in meeting his father that he hadn't realized it.

"Do you know what you've done by killing a Celestial? The consequences that action will have," said Ikaris. 

"That Celestial killed my mom so I, honestly, do not care what happens to him," Quill said, burning with anger. "He wasn't contributing to the galaxy anyway. The universe is better off without him." 

"Without us, our universe will fall into darkness. All life will die." 

"So, the Emergence isn't a bad thing," Kingo said, sighing in relief. They weren't the bad guys. 

"Are you insane?! The Emergence isn't a bad thing? The entire planet will die!" Phastos said. 

"Oh, so now you care about this planet. You seemed to be singing a different tune after 1945." 

"Did you not hear me talk about my husband and child?!"

"Just move them to another planet. There are trillions of them out there."

"You've got to be joking. Do the deaths of eight billion people mean nothing to you?" Thor asked. 

"I love the people of this planet, but the Emergence will help a new Celestial rise and Tiamut will go on to help other galaxies and life to form," Kingo insisted. 

"But it's wrong!" Sersi exclaimed. "It's a violent cycle that has to end." She couldn't look at Ikaris, knowing that he was siding with Arishem. She was aware that she loved humanity more than the others, but did humans mean nothing to him? 

"I know Tiamut will help form new life later on, but how does that justify killing eight billion people? You're completely okay with sacrificing our lives for hypothetical lives that don't exist yet," Steve said. The potential for new life cannot, and should not, outweigh the choice of those who already exist.

"The only reason you exist at the moment is because of previous Emergences. Wouldn't it have been selfish of them to stop their Emergence?" Ikaris said. 

There was a beat of silence as the others digested that. Ikaris had a point, their existence only came to be due to previous Emergences; a Celestial had created their galaxies, their suns, and their planets, leading to the creation of mankind. So, did they owe their existence to those who perished before them? Should they let the Emergence happen to play their part in Arishem's grand design?

"I mean, we brought back half of the universe. I think our planet can be spared," said Clint. 

"That hasn't happened in our universe yet," Ikaris said. 

"But we're going to stop Thanos and prevent half of the universe from dying. Hell, even the multiverse is in chaos and we're going to deal with that too, and you want us to do nothing when the entire planet will die? When we and all of our loved ones will die?" 

"I can stop you," said Ikaris. Sersi had an extremely hurt expression. She felt something inside of her break at seeing Ikaris acting like this. Why was he so…heartless? How could he let the entire planet die?

"I'm sorry, do you think we'll let you help Tiamut rise?" Stephen said. 

"You only have enhanced strength, can fly, and can shoot lasers from your eyes. Do you think we don't have people who can deal with that? I'd like to see how well you'd do against Thor," Sam said.

"I'm the God of Thunder," Thor said coldly. "Carol can blast you into the ground without breaking a sweat, Wanda can remove your eyes by saying a sentence, and Stephen can throw you into another dimension or do some other weird sorcery—I don't know, he can be unpredictable—but the point is, do you want to test us?"

"The four of them are tough enough to deal with by themselves, do you really want to see what they can do when they're working together? Because you're going to find out if you still want to serve Arishem and let the Emergence occur," said Natasha.

"Don't forget that I have an Infinity Stone in my head. I'm not afraid to use it," Vision added.

"Okay, so you have to listen to whatever a Celestial says, right? So, what about the children of Celestials?" Quill asked. "Because Mantis and I are the children of Ego, and we don't want Earth to get blown up so you guys kind of have to listen to us."

Mantis nodded. "I like Earth. The people are nice."

Ajak shook her head. "We serve Arishem, not all the Celestials."

"I bet Arishem's a dick just like Ego," said Rocket. 

"I'm going to stop the Emergence if it's the last thing I do," Thor growled. "I've already seen Asgard get destroyed, I'm not going to see Earth get blown up too."

"I'm sorry, but weren't you all the ones who created a genocidal robot and dropped a city? Have you already forgotten about Sokovia?" Ikaris said, raising an eyebrow. "You've nearly destroyed the planet yourself, but yet you have problems if Arishem destroys it for the betterment of the entire universe."

Tony, Bruce, and Wanda's eyes twitched and the rest of the Avengers winced. "It was a lot more complicated than that. There were a lot of other aspects at play that you don't know about," Tony said in a low voice.

Phastos scoffed. "Doesn't mean a city wasn't destroyed and people weren't killed. Innocent people."

"Ajak knew the truth?" "She has helped many Celestials to emerge over millions of years." 

The Eternals sucked in a breath and immediately turned toward Ajak, who tensed. 

"You've helped many Celestials emerge over millions of years? How many people have died for that?! How could you?!" Sersi accused. 

Ajak painfully closed her eyes. Out of all the Eternals, the knowledge of the Emergence would hit Sersi the hardest. "I've doubted the Emergence since Babylon, but I know now that we have to stop the Emergence on Earth." 

Ikaris stared at her in utter disbelief as fury vibrated through him. Ajak was changing her mind? His face darkened. He'll just have to fight the Eternals, Avengers, and Guardians by himself until the Tiamut rose. He had always been loyal to Ajak, kept her secret for centuries, and lied to Sersi, but he never doubted his purpose in serving the Celestials. He was so close to completing his mission, something he'd dedicated the past seven thousand years of his life to, he wasn't going to fail now. 

"But you've let planets die in the past! Do you know how many deaths you're responsible for? Billions!" Scott said. 

"You've been lying to us for seven thousand years," Druig said, fury twisting within him. "Our mission has been a lie the entire time! What have we been doing for the past seven thousand years? Using humans as a battery for Tiamut," he spat.

Makkari frowned. She didn't appreciate being lied to and she didn't think the price of the Emergence was worth killing the planet for. 

Thena and Gilgamesh had mixed expressions. They thought Arishem may have a point, but they'd spent thousands of years thinking that their mission was to protect humans from the Deviants, and now they were finding out that they were protecting humans until they reached the sufficient population for Tiamut to emerge and for all humans to die.

"Wait, so leaving all the Tiamut business aside for a moment. The true mission of the Eternals is to make sure that humanity develops enough and to populate the planet, right?" Tony said. 

"Yes," Ajak said. 

"Then what the fuck happened to Titan?" he asked Eros. "Thanos said that overpopulation killed the planet but shouldn't the Emergence have occurred before that?"  

"Titan was deemed a failed mission," Eros said in a hollow voice. "Yes, it should've occurred, but overpopulation led to a war over resources and it caused Titan's extinction. Everyone died so there wasn't enough energy from intelligent life causing the Celestial seed to die." 

"The gravitation pull on Titan is messed up," Quill said.

"It is? I haven't been back there in decades."

"Was Thanos trying to stop this from happening?" Gamora asked.

"He didn't know about the Emergence. He wanted to kill half of the population to create more resources, but the birth of a Celestial is how new resources are created. It goes against what he believes in. However, our family is the royal family, and our father, A'Lars, the Prime Eternal of Titan, was also ruling Titan and his main purpose was to bring forth the Celestial that was planted. Since he was the Prime Eternal, he rejected Thanos' plan to kill half of the population because he wanted the Emergence to begin, therefore casting Thanos out." 

A pause. 

"I kind of feel bad for the guy," said Scott. 

"Are you seriously feeling bad for Thanos? Did you forget what he did to Nebula and Gamora?" Rocket said. 

"Never mind. I don't feel bad anymore." 

"So have you." "Earth was my first mission. I was home, on Olympia." "There is no Olympia."

"What do you mean that there's no Olympia?! We're from Olympia! That's our home!" Makkari frantically signed. 

"Is there anything you've been honest with us about, Ajak?" Phastos asked, his chest tightening.

Ajak sighed. "You would've hated knowing the truth about our mission. I was saving you from the burden of knowing." 

Ikaris had a bitter taste in his mouth. Ajak had no problem burdening him with the knowledge, causing his entire life to get ruined, but she wanted to protect everyone else. 

The Avengers didn't care who knew what, all they knew was that they were going to stop the Emergence. The Eternals could either help them or stop them, but they'd fight every single person who tried to get in their way. 

Arishem showed her their true home, the World Forge. "It is here that I built and programmed the Eternals," he said, showing her a half-made synthetic body of herself and all of the Eternals. 

The Eternals shuddered at seeing their synthetic bodies. 

"Built and programmed?!" Kingo shrieked. 

"We're truly not from Olympia. We're creations of the Celestials," Gilgamesh said, astounded. 

Loki felt an ounce of sympathy toward the Eternals for finding out that they were synthetic beings, and not originally from Olympia. It always hurt being lied to and they'd been lied to for seven thousand years. 

Sam groaned. He was right; it was always the Big Three—androids, aliens, and wizards—and the Eternals were all three at once. 

"So, you guys are super advanced Visions?" said Bruce. 

"I thought Vision was already incredibly advanced," said Bucky. 

"We aren't even real?!" Sprite exclaimed. She trembled with rage; if they were programmed by Arishem, then why did he have to make her a child? She hated this body. 

"I don't think you're not real just because your body is synthetic. You're capable of emotions," said Wanda. 

Vision smiled sadly. He understood the Eternals' predicament as it was the same one he went through. His skin was vibranium, his veins were made from wires, and his brain was a hard drive. His body was artificial; a machine, but his heart was human. He loved like humans and was capable of having emotions for even an android can cry. Wanda was the love of his life and he loved her with every vibranium fiber in his body.

"No wonder Thanos was adopted," Nebula realized. 

Eros grimaced at seeing the Eternals figure out the entire truth. He hadn't taken it very well when he found out either and it's why he left Arishem. 

"Everything dies except us because we were never alive. Why don’t I remember any of this?" Sersi asked. Arishem showed her the Wall of Memories. "Because your memories are erased and reset after each emergence. They are stored here." The memories were live strands. 

The Avengers and Guardians had disgusted expressions, especially the ones who had struggled with their autonomy for years. The Eternals let out a strangled noise at seeing their previous memories. 

"How many times have we died? How many lifetimes have we lived?" Sersi asked in a stiff tone. 

"Too many to count," Ajak said with a sad smile. The heartbreak in the Eternals' voices and eyes had been everything she'd wanted to prevent the entire time. 

"So, we can come back if we die?" Kingo questioned. 

"We come back without our prior memories, which basically means that it's an entirely different version of us," Phastos said. 

Like White Vision, Vision thought. 

"This is what caused Thena's Mahd Wy'ry," Gilgamesh said with a horrific realization. "Arishem must've made a mistake the last time he reset her memories. She's been remembering previous Emergences."

Thena clenched her fists. "Everyone on Centuri-6 dies," she quoted. 

"No wonder none of us have heard about Centuri-6. It doesn't exist anymore," Thor said in horrific realization.

"Why do you keep them?" "I keep them in order to study the Deviants. I created the Deviants, Sersi, for the same purpose I created you."

The Eternals reared back as if they'd been slapped. 

"It's one thing for Arishem to create us, but the Deviants too?" Sersi said, hurt.

"No way. Why have we been fighting Arishem's creations the entire time?" Sprite said. 

"This has to be a joke. Arishem created the Deviants?" Makkari signed. 

"All of this is one big cosmic joke," Druig said.

"Just because the Eternals were synthetically created, it doesn't mean they aren't their own beings and aren't capable of evolution," said Bruce.

"I don't think we have a purpose besides serving Arishem," Thena said quietly. "Or at least, we weren't created for anything besides that." 

"Every Celestial host planet has its own predators. I first sent the Deviants to exterminate them so intelligent life could grow, but there was a flaw in their design. They evolved and became predators themselves, and I lost control of them."

"That's not the first mistake Arishem's made," Gilgamesh snarled. He'd stood by Thena's side for centuries and had seen her enormously struggle. Erasing her memory was cruel, but so was struggling with Mahd Wy'ry. 

"I built and programmed you, Eternals, to be synthetic beings and incapable of evolution, to correct my mistake."

"Okay, never mind, you guys aren't capable of evolution," said Tony. The only other synthetic being he knew was Vision, who had immensely evolved since his birth. 

"Sersi, Ajak has chosen you to take her place as the Prime Eternal. Do not fail me." 

The Eternals felt their faith in Ajak break. She'd done nothing but lie to them the entire time. 

Arishem faded away as Sersi found herself back in Australia with tears rolling down her face. 

Sersi's face crumpled at knowing the truth. Did she love humanity on every planet she'd been on? How many times did she watch the Emergence occur and the planet explode? It was a violent cycle that had to end, and she feared that she would fail Arishem. She couldn't let humans die. 

The Avengers knew with certainty that they could stop the Emergence with the Guardians' help, who had their back. Mantis could put Tiamut to sleep, they just had to figure out the rest of the plan. They hadn't come this far to create a better future just for the planet to blow up in the end. 

Notes:

I watched this movie in Mumbai and I could feel everyone instantly cringing in the theater when the dance scene started. Compare that to the energy whenever the other superhero from Mumbai, Pavitr Prabhakar, appeared on screen in ATSV...the difference was night and day.

Okay so, I spent way too much time trying to figure out Thanos and Eros' family dynamics/history with existing MCU lore because comics lore doesn't fit for the most part. In the comics, A'Lars and Sui-San are Eternals that are genetically created by the Celestials, and they used the Quantum Bands to biologically have Eros and Thanos. Thanos, famously, had the Deviant syndrome, causing Sui-San to be driven mad and she tried to kill him as soon as she laid eyes on him as he was born. Eros was the second child. I have three theories:

1. A'Lars and Sui-San are Eternals along with Eros and they adopted Eros and Thanos, a native Titan. Thanos is the only one who ages in this family, and while the rest three don't age, A'Lars and Sui-San are Eros' parent figures like how Ajak is with the Eternals, just more official. But their family is the royal family and if A'Lars, the Prime Eternal of Titan, is also ruling Titan then it would make sense why he shot down Thanos' plan to kill half of the population because he wanted the Emergence to start.
2. Thanos is A'Lars and Sui-San's biological child and only Eros is adopted. A'Lars and Sui-San are not Eternals, but native Titans as Eternals cannot biologically reproduce.
3. All four of them are Eternals, including Thanos. Thanos doesn't know about the Emergence since only the Prime Eternals know the truth unless the Prime Eternal on Titan told them. However, Thanos doesn't show the same cosmic power that the rest of the Eternals and Eros have.

I decided to go with Option 1. I'm also assuming that Eros is the Prime Eternal of Titan because he had the sphere in the post-credits. He was also helping Thena, Makkari, and Druig so he's probably acting against Arishem.

Most of my made-up backstory for Eros is taken from one of Chloe Zhao's interviews.

Chapter 4: peru

"So, you’re saying we’re basically fancy robots? And our past memories are stored somewhere in space?" Kingo said. The Eternals were sitting at the dining table at Thena and Gilgamesh's house. 

"That's pretty much it," said Druig. He had a lot of awful information dumped on him within a few minutes. 

"You should've told us, Ajak," said Phastos. "Even though I don't agree with you not telling us about the Emergence, I can still understand why you did it, but what was the point of not telling us that the Celestials created us? That we were synthetic beings? We deserved to know that much, but you've done nothing but lie to us for seven thousand years."

Ajak's heart sank. Phastos was right. 

"And Arishem made the Deviants," Sersi said. "I’m sorry, Thena. You tried to warn us," Gilgamesh said. Sprite told Thena that something must've gone wrong the last time Arishem reset her memories. 

"So Arishem can make mistakes," Natasha realized. 

"Celestials make mistakes all the time. They're powerful, but they're not infallible," said Gamora. 

"I thought we were heroes. Turns out we’re the bad guys," Gilgamesh said. "We’re not the bad guys, okay? We’ve helped the Celestials expand life across the universe. That’s not what bad guys do. That’s what good guys do," Kingo said. 

"At the expense of billions of lives!" Sam exclaimed. "How many people have died for a Celestial's birth?" 

"Billions will die, but trillions more will be born," said Kingo. "You do realize that for life to continue in the universe, new Celestials have to be created and they can only be born on a planet where there's intelligent life? In the grand scheme of things, human life just isn't valuable enough. If we stopped every Celestial from being born, then the universe would just come to an end. We have no right to interfere in the natural order of things. Maybe we can find a way to delay the Emergence?"

"Delay it until when? The Emergence is going to occur eventually and by the sounds of it, it's going to be soon," said Scott. 

"Okay, say that you stop Tiamut's birth and kill him," Ikaris said. "Are you going to that for every Emergence across the galaxy? Because you will be responsible for the destruction of the entire universe if that happens."

There was an uncomfortable silence.

"How do we even know that Arishem is telling the truth? We were lied to for seven thousand years," said Druig.

"It's the truth," Ajak insisted.

"Sorry if I don't exactly trust anything you say right now, Ajak."

"Every time innocent lives have been sacrificed for the greater good, it turns out to be a mistake," Sersi said. 

"Thank you! That's exactly what I think!" Steve exclaimed. "Every time someone tries to win a war before it starts, innocent people die. Every time." 

"Wise words," Sersi agreed.

Some of the others didn't exactly agree, but sacrificing eight billion people was a bit of a different situation than sacrificing a handful.

Stephen had a mixed expression. During his entire career as a doctor, he followed one rule and it was a rule he followed extremely seriously—do no harm. As he became a sorcerer, that rule changed from 'do no harm' to 'harm only when it's needed'. He'd seen himself go off the rails and harm everyone, destroying universes, but he didn't want to be like Sinister Strange. In the grand calculus of the multiverse, their sacrifice meant infinitely more than their lives, but there was absolutely no chance he was letting his loved ones die. Clea's home was in another dimension so she would be safe, but what about the others? Wong, America, and Peter? Christine? In the struggle of saving everyone and how brutal the methods could be through sorcery, he'd lost sight of what was most important to him—he became a doctor to save lives, not take them, but it seemed like all he did as a sorcerer was take lives and it made his insides shrivel up with guilt at seeing how far he'd fallen.

Sersi wanted to stop the Emergence, but Kingo told her that they had no right to stop the birth of a Celestial. "There has to be a way Tiamut can emerge without destroying the Earth. We just have to delay it until we figure out how," Sersi said. 

"I do not see a solution here without killing Tiamut," said T'Challa.

"Although I don't want the Emergence to occur, I don't think we should kill a Celestial. We have no idea what will happen," said Gilgamesh. 

"I'll tell you what'll happen. We'll be preventing trillions more from being born," said Kingo. 

"Trillions that don't exist yet!" Tony yelled. "But you know who will exist? My daughter in a few months. You're insane if you think I'm going to sacrifice her for imaginary lives." 

"You'll be dooming the entire universe by stopping Tiamut's birth!" Ikaris said.

"Don't be dramatic. We've killed a Celestial before and there weren't any consequences," said Rocket. 

"That you know of."

The Guardians had a feeling of unease. Had there been any consequences to Ego's death? There were always consequences. Except for Quill, none of them were from Earth but that didn't mean that they were alright with the entire planet getting destroyed for a Celestial, a species they hadn't had good interactions with. The last person they trusted was Arishem. They were the Guardians of the Galaxy, and Earth was in the galaxy. Besides, they weren't going to let the Avengers die. They were their friends. 

Many of the Eternals didn't want Earth to be destroyed and while they didn't like Arishem's methods, they couldn't ignore that he was also thinking about the betterment of the universe. They understood why the Avengers and Guardians were against the Emergence because Earth was either their home or they didn't trust a Celestial. It was human nature to prioritize the lives they have in front of them rather than the hypothetical lives in an unknowable future. However, if they stopped the Emergence, they would be sacrificing trillions to save billions, which was a difficult moral question for them to answer. Was there a way to delay the Emergence again so they could save the humans?

Ajak's heart twisted at seeing the constant arguments. She was the Prime Eternal now, but she had no idea what to do for once. She wanted to stop the Emergence too, but killing a Celestial? That was too far.  

"Could Druig control its mind? Maybe put it to sleep?" Gilgamesh suggested. "'Put it to sleep'? Are you serious?" Sprite said. 

"Why not? I can do it," Mantis said brightly. Druig still couldn't believe that she could, but if there was anyone who could, it would be a daughter of a Celestial. 

"Gilgamesh asked Druig to put me to sleep once," Thena said. "So, I could take a vacation to Fiji, you know?" Gilgamesh chuckled. 

"I enjoyed that vacation," Gilgamesh said. 

"I didn't do much during that trip except eat Gilgamesh's food and make sure that Thena slept," said Druig. It had been one of the few occurrences that he left his camp for the outside world, but he never had any problems with Gilgamesh and Thena. The other trips had been to the Domo to visit Makkari.

"We’re talking about a Celestial, okay?" Kingo said. "We have to try. Come on, we’re not gonna let everyone on Earth die, right?" Sersi said. "Right! I’m human. I’m a little biased," Karun said. 

"So are we," said Layla. 

"I'd listen to the only human in that room and take his opinion into account," said Bruce. 

"It's a bit strange that Karun's been at your side for decades and you're still ready to let him die," Shang-Chi told Kingo. 

"Listen, I don't want Earth to get destroyed either and I want to avoid it if I can, but I don't think you can go against the word of a Celestial. We're inconsequential compared to them," he said. 

"I'm not going through all these cancer treatments only for the planet to blow up in the end," Jane said. She'd rather pick up Mjolnir and become the Mighty Thor even if all her mortal strength will be depleted since there was a large chance the world was going to end anyway. 

"The world is ending. You need to go home," Kingo said in Hindi. "And do what? Watch TV? When I could be with the Earth’s original superheroes as they try to save the world?" Karun said. 

"If they want to," said Quill.

"Ikaris has been suspiciously quiet for someone who agrees with Arishem," said Phastos. "He always has something to say." 

"There's nothing to say that I haven't already said," Ikaris said. It was useless arguing with them because he wasn't going to change his mind. 

"What about delaying the Emergence? Will you help with that?" Sersi asked quietly.

Ikaris's eyes softened as he looked at her. "Do whatever you want to save the people of Earth, but Tiamut will be arriving." 

"No, he's not," said Wanda, her eyes flashing red.

"If you do anything to hamper our efforts to stop the Emergence, I will throw you into another dimension and it won't be a good one. Ask Loki if you want to know how it feels to fall for a period of time," Stephen said coldly. 

"It's not great, and I think Stephen will make you fall for much longer than thirty minutes," Loki said. His opinion about Earth's continued survival wasn't as strong as some of the others, but he was still against it because New Asgard lived there now.

Kingo drank the spit beer and spat it out. "Gilgamesh, could you please get rid of the saliva beer?" "I thought you like it, man," Gilgamesh said.  

Kingo shot Gilgamesh an incredulous look. "Why would you think that?!" 

Gilgamesh shrugged. "I like it." 

Ikaris suggested finding the others and then deciding what to do about the Emergence once they were all together. 

"There's no point. He's already decided," said Druig. 

"Yes, I have, but we still need to stick together because of the Deviants," said Ikaris. 

The Eternals walked to a settlement deep within the Amazon Rainforest in Peru. Karun was recording with a large camera. 

"Oh, so I'm the one you all are coming to next," Druig said. 

"Well, we need your powers to delay the Emergence," Sersi said. 

"I don't have that kind of power. Apparently, Mantis does."

"Is it possible to somehow enhance Druig's power?" Makkari asked Phastos. 

"Maybe," he replied, a million ideas running through his mind. 

Sprite asked a man if Druig was there in Spanish; she said they were friends from college. All the villagers were wearing the same uniform. 

"What kind of cult is this?" Kate asked.

"Druig always did seem like the type to run a cult," said Gilgamesh. 

Druig's face soured. He didn't run a cult; it was a settlement. A settlement where none of the problems that the outside world had, existed. 

The man lifelessly turned around, his eyes gold. "Hello, Sprite," Druig's voice said. 

Natasha, Bucky, Carol, and Clint's brows shot up as they felt a flicker of irritation.

"Another town being held under mind control?" Scott said. 

"At least Wanda was doing it unintentionally, Druig knows fully well what he's doing and he's been doing it for centuries," said Clint. 

Makkari frowned. She loved Druig and knew he could be extraordinarily kind, but his little cult was a bit…strange. 

The farm door opened, revealing Druig. "I missed all of you. Please, make yourselves at home," he smirked. 

"As much as you can feel at home in a cultish place like that in the middle of the Amazon," Rhodey muttered. 

The Eternals sat in a meeting hall. "You’ve given me a lot of bad news in one go, my lady," Druig said. 

"Yeah, well, Earth isn't even your home and you don't even have any loved ones on the planet besides the Eternals, half of whom you don't seem to like, so imagine how we're feeling right now," said Marc.

"Will you help us?" Sersi asked before her phone rang; she got a call from Dane and quickly silenced it. She awkwardly looked at Ikaris, who was standing to the side.

Everyone grimaced at the awkward moment. Sersi couldn't bring herself to look at Ikaris while Ikaris swallowed down his frustration.

The Avengers were slightly frustrated that Earth's fate was dependent on the Eternals, some of whom didn't seem to care about billions of people dying. They understood that they served Arishem for millennia, but the Avengers didn't care about any of that. They just wanted their planet, friends, and family safe, plus none of them could wrap their heads around eight billion people dying. Luckily, they knew about the Emergence in their universe now and would stop it at any cost with the Guardians' help if the Eternals didn't bother, however, they were hopeful that at least Sersi, Phastos, Gilgamesh, and Thena would help them. 

"Hey, what’s your service? I’m not getting any bars," Kingo whispered. 

"Oh my God, Kingo. Who cares about the bars?" Sprite said. 

Gilgamesh snored, causing Thena to nudge him awake. She was stroking an iguana. 

Everyone chuckled. 

Druig said the forest was the last place they lived together. "I’ve protected these people for twenty generations now from the outside world and from themselves."

"Protected them by robbing them of their free will," Bucky snarked. 

"They're comfortable, happy, and leading good lives," Druig shot back.

"Of course, they're happy since you haven't given them a choice and they've never known anything else! Besides, it's a cult!" Natasha said, throwing her hands in the air. "You're taking away their autonomy and they deserve to choose what they want to do." She didn't even want to think about the amount of incest that would've occurred in the cult. 

"Are they the descendants of the Spanish conquistadors you took from Tenochtitlan?" T'Challa asked Druig, who nodded. 

"Imagine knowing that your ancestors are brutal, bloody colonizers," Layla said, disgusted. 

"Your kind, my friend, you will be responsible for your own extinction one day. Don’t you think?" Druig said. "I think we must learn from our mistakes and do better, sir. You must not give up hope," Karun said. 

"How long will it take for humans to learn from their mistakes? Because I've seen the exact same mistakes repeated over seven thousand years. It's always the same story, different time period," said Druig. 

The humans grimaced. They had nothing to say to that because it was true. They were a very destructive species to themselves, to each other, to the world, and to the environment.

"That's not just human nature, that's how people are across the galaxy in every species. Every planet is just as violent as us, if not more," said Carol.

"Not just other planets, but dimensions too. Earth is one of the more adorable dimensions," said Clea.

"See, other planets and even dimensions are like us so do you think the entire universe is unworthy? Who are you to decide whether or not someone gets to live?" Peter told the Eternals.

Karun's eyes glowed gold as he threw his camera away.

Irritation rose within Kingo. "I forgot how frustrating Druig is."

"We need him," Sersi said. 

"I wish we didn't."

Kingo got up and faced Druig, "Oh, no, you didn’t. Okay, new rule, no more possessing people’s valets." "Oh, where is your sense of humor, Kingo?" Druig said. 

"I didn't find anything funny about it," said Natasha. 

"You are not a God. You know that, right?" "How ironic. Kingo, the movie star." "I’ve directed some things, too." "Oh, yeah? Like what?" "Some Internet content." "How many views?" "I don’t do it for the views."

"Disgusting actor," Drax spat.

"Let’s go. He’s wasting our time," Ikaris said, walking away.

"Why do you care if Druig is wasting time? You think Arishem is right anyway," Phastos asked Ikaris. 

"I think Arishem's right, but you can try to delay the Emergence and try to save humans all you want before the Emergence takes place," Ikaris replied. It wasn't entirely the truth, but it was better to let them think that so he could stop everyone else from stopping the Emergence in their universe. 

"Arishem's not right," Eros said. "There's a reason why I've been on the run for years. I lost my entire home world because of him and his grand plan!" 

"Titan was never your home world. The World Forge is," Ikaris said coldly. Eros reared back as if he was slapped. 

"Ikaris. I missed you. Are you gonna charm me or threaten me?" Druig said. 

"Neither, because he has to do whatever Sersi says since she's the Prime Eternal now," Druig grinned. Ikaris was unimpressed.

"I mean, there’s a third option, if you prefer that." "It must be heartbreaking to find out that you’re not Mother’s favorite." "And I’m sure she’d be real proud of what you’ve been up to." 

Ajak's face twisted at seeing the two argue, but they had never gotten along so she wasn't surprised. Her death at the Deviant's hands had come at the worst time possible since the Emergence was about to occur and Sersi didn't know how to fully lead the team yet. Ajak didn't doubt that Sersi could, but she was new at this and this was a grave situation. 

"If I cared about what Ajak thought, I wouldn't have left all those centuries ago," said Druig. Ajak's face crumpled. 

Everyone else felt a spark of annoyance at seeing the constant arguments between the Eternals. There was barely any time left before Tiamut rose and eight billion lives were dependent on them, but all they did was argue. Nothing was going to get done at this point and the entire planet was going to blow up like how Arishem wanted.

However, some of the humans couldn't help but think that they would be dooming the galaxy by stopping the Emergence, but it wasn't as if they were killing all the Celestials and thereby killing the entire universe, right? It was just their planet that they were stopping the destruction of. They couldn't stop every single Emergence, only Tiamut's. Besides, Arishem said that Celestials needed to be born every million years and none of them would even be alive by then so it was better to focus on saving Earth now. 

"Druig, this is serious," Sersi said. "I’ll tell you what’s serious. I’ve just been told I’ve been sent on a suicide mission for the past 7,000 years, and that my entire existence is a lie. So, excuse me for not giving a shit about your plan right now," he said, leaving.

Makkari's face fell at hearing how furious Druig was about learning the truth. She was angry about being lied to as well, but their priority was delaying the Emergence, not their own feelings. They didn't have much time left before Tiamut would rise and there was no plan. 

"If these assholes keep arguing about what to do, we can just stop the Emergence without them," Rocket said.

"We were going to do that anyway," said Bruce. 

"What are you planning on doing? I know you've already killed a Celestial before, but you'll have to deal with Arishem if you stop Tiamut," said Ikaris. 

"Why would we tell you our plan?" Nebula said.

"Druig sucks," Kingo said. "He does, sir," Karun agreed. 

Druig rolled his eyes.

Thena and Gilgamesh were sitting in the forest. "I don't like this place," she said. 

"Who would? It's so creepy and a cult lives there," said America.

"For the last time, it's not a cult!" Druig exclaimed. 

"You literally run a cult, dude," said Shang-Chi.

She said she couldn't recognize herself in Sprite’s illusions and wondered if she couldn't fight anymore or would hurt Gilgamesh again. 

Thena's heart twisted at hearing her worst fears out loud. The humans called her a Goddess of War, but what kind of goddess of war couldn't fight in a battle? 

"Come on. You know who you are. You’re Thena, goddess of war," he said. 

"Your stories are legendary, Thena," Jane said, causing Thena's lips to twitch into a smile.

"Thank you." "For what?" "For always taking care of me." "Oh. I’d do it again. On any planet." 

"I would," Gilgamesh promised. Thena's eyes welled with tears; what did she ever do to deserve someone like Gilgamesh? 

The rest of them found the devotion that Thena and Gilgamesh had toward each other to be quite touching. It was true love.

Sprite watched Ikaris from afar, getting startled when Kingo snuck up behind her. He discussed Peter Pan; he said Ikaris was Peter, Sersi was Wendy, Sprite was Tinker Bell for obvious reasons, and the rest of them were the Lost Boys.

Sprite's face soured at the Tinker Bell comparison. How original. 

"Ha! The Eternals are the Lost Boys because they don't age. That's funny," said Peter.

"What’s your point?" she asked. "Tinker Bell’s always been in love with Peter. And it’s hard for her ’cause she can never be with him. I’m sorry, Sprite," he said. 

Ikaris choked, Sersi's eyes flew open in shock, the Eternals gaped, and the Avengers and Guardians blinked in surprise. Sprite flushed as she shrank back in embarrassment and refused to make eye contact with Ikaris. 

"What?!" Ikaris shrieked. He only ever considered Sprite to be his little sister and never in his wildest dreams did he ever consider that she had romantic feelings toward him. "Sprite—"

"Don't," she said with gritted teeth. Her face was tomato red at hearing her feelings toward Ikaris come out into the open. "I don't want to talk about this." 

Ikaris sighed in relief. He didn't want to talk about this either. It was best to mentally erase what he just heard. 

"Kingo…why did Arishem make me this way?" she asked. "I don’t know," he replied. 

The group wondered the same thing. Plus, the Avengers and Guardians thought that the Eternals were very human for a group of programmed artificial beings. It didn't come as a surprise since Vision was incredibly human and only three years old, and the Eternals were seven thousand years old. Perhaps, the Eternals were more human than all of them. 

Sprite swallowed thickly. She was an Eternal, a powerful being programmed by the Celestials to bring forth new Celestials, but she could've done all of that in the body of an adult. None of it required being in the body of a child. An adult could have her powers too. A child would never be taken seriously so what was the use of making her that way? She wanted nothing more than to be able to grow up but wasn't able to age, against her will. The rest of the Eternals didn't age, but they didn't look like a child. None of this was fair! She didn't ask for any of this. 

She saw that Karun was recording the conversation with a smaller camera. "I thought you broke it," she snapped, grabbing it and throwing it on the ground. "Always bring backups," he said. 

Kingo ran a hand down his face. Normally, he'd agree with Karun, but he didn't need to record Sprite's struggles. It was already hard enough for her. 

"You have a very angry family, sir. Yeah, it’s a big issue," Karun told Kingo.

"When are families not angry?" Gamora said. Nebula punched her arm and Eros snorted. He wished he could've saved the two of them from Thanos's clutches, but he hadn't known about them until they started to make a name for themselves in the galaxy. 

"Yeah, many of us have problems with our families," said Thor. 

Sersi was video-calling Dane. "What about King Midas? Everything he touched turned to gold. Was that you?"

The humans looked at Sersi for an answer, who smiled. "Yes, it was," she answered. 

"Another one of Sprite's stories?" Scott asked. 

"Yes."

She advised him to make amends with his estranged uncle. "Now is the time. Trust me," she said. "Sersi, you’re so weird," he said. 

Sersi smiled fondly. She wanted to meet Dane in their universe.

"He should make amends with his uncle since he might not get the chance soon," said Quill.

She was losing signal, "You’re breaking up." "You’re breaking up?" Ikaris perked up.

All of them laughed, Ikaris chuckled, and Sersi wasn't in the mood to laugh when she knew Ikaris would stand by Arishem if it came down to it.

"How did he take the news?" he asked. "Couldn’t bring myself to tell him it was the end of the world," she said. 

"Honestly, I think he'd take it pretty well after everything that's happened since the Battle of New York. It hasn't been long since the Blip," said Rhodey.

"Sersi. I’m worried about you. If Arishem finds out you’re trying to stop the emergence…I’m not powerful enough to protect you from him," he said. "I’m not afraid. This violent cycle has to end," she said confidently.

Steve beamed. Sersi was right, the creation of new planets and suns cost billions of lives and it had to end.

"But isn't nature a violent cycle? Who are we to interfere with the natural order of things?" said Kingo.

Sam raised a brow. "Letting billions of people die is the natural order?" 

"I mean, that's just the circle of life. You're all going to die eventually so wouldn't you want to die knowing that you're helping the creation of trillions of new lives?" 

"No," Clint said flatly. He would understand if he chose to sacrifice himself for Arishem's plan and it was just him, but Tiamut's birth would mean that his kids, his wife, his protégé, his friends, and his teammates would die too.

Stephen felt uneasy. He didn't want Earth to get destroyed and he would do everything he could to stop the Emergence, but he also thought that Arishem had a point in theory. Practically? Absolutely not. There were some things that the human mind couldn't comprehend because they were incapable of doing so, so what if this was one of those situations? In theory, it made sense why Arishem did the things he did because humans meant nothing to him and the continuation of the universe did. It wasn't just one planet vs millions; it was one planet vs an infinite number. Emergences kept the cycle of life and death going indefinitely, but without the Celestials, the true death of the universe would take place. The end of everything. From Arishem's perspective, the natural thing to do was to use humans as energy for the birth of a Celestial, but the natural thing to do for him, however, was to protect his home. Humans were extremely insignificant in the grand scheme of things, however, his loved ones meant everything to him and that's what Arishem didn't understand. He'd do anything to protect America, Clea, Wong, Peter, his home, friends, and teammates. The right choice from a logical perspective is to let the Earth get destroyed for the continuation of the universe, but the right choice from an emotional perspective is to stop the planet from being destroyed. It was a gamble, but all surgeons were gamblers as well as magicians.

She finally asked him why he abandoned her, and he was about to confess when a flying Deviant snatched him away.

Everyone's hearts jumped into their throats at seeing the Deviants while Sersi clammed up at nearly hearing Ikaris telling her the truth. 

"Oh shit, the Deviants!" Kate exclaimed. 

"Not those fucking Deviants again," Bucky complained. 

"How do they keep finding us?" Gilgamesh wondered. "The previous Deviants always targeted large groups of humans, never us." 

Ikaris was half glad that the Deviant snatched him away because he'd been so close to telling Sersi that he'd known about the Emergence since Babylon. Although she and the rest of the Eternals knew the truth now, they didn't know that it wasn't new news to him. Thankfully, Ajak hadn't mentioned it either and he wanted it to remain that way. 

Kingo shot his finger blasts at the Deviants, throwing them back. "Very nice, sir!" Karun said, filming with an even smaller camera. 

Everyone stared at him, baffled. 

"Another camera?! How many cameras did he bring?" Shang-Chi questioned. 

"The cameras keep getting smaller and smaller," America said, amused. 

"Are you mental? Hide!" Kingo yelled. "We need action sequences," Karun insisted. 

Kingo smacked his forehead and groaned. "We don't need any sequences! He'll die if he stays there!" 

"I like his dedication," said Scott. 

Kingo shot an energy ball at the Deviants and told Sprite to get Karun out of there. "How many cameras did you bring, young man?" she asked. 

They laughed at seeing Sprite, who looked like a child, call Karun a young man. 

A Deviant destroyed a house causing the villagers to scream and run. Kingo shot the Deviants while Sersi herded them into Druig's church and fortified the wooden structure by turning it to metal.

The Avengers and Guardians were extremely impressed.

"Huh, that's actually pretty smart," said Wong.

"Transmutation is always a useful skill to have," Wanda added.

A Deviant's tail sent her flying into a house. 

Ikaris's blood ran cold.

"Eh, she'll be alright. She's an Eternal," said Valkyrie. 

Meanwhile, Ikaris pinned down a Deviant and ripped off one of its wings before killing it with his optical beams. He was attacked from behind by Kro who pierced him with his tentacles. 

Everyone winced and the color drained out of Sersi's face. 

Gilgamesh grabbed Kro and threw him away. "I’ve fought that one before. It’s stronger than the others," Ikaris said. 

"That was the one in London," Sprite realized. 

"The one who killed Ajak and took her powers," Kingo growled. 

Thena's Mahd Wy'ry spiked and she conjured a sword. "No," Ikaris said, horrified. 

Thena's face was ashen, Gilgamesh sighed, and panic flared in everyone else's eyes. Thena felt a stab of anger toward herself; the first fight she'd been in since Tenochtitlan and her Mahd Wy'ry had already been triggered.

She attacked Ikaris, who blocked all her attacks. "Terrible timing, Thena," he said.

"I can't control it, Ikaris!" Thena said. 

"I know, I'm sorry, but you have to admit that this isn't the best time," said Ikaris. 

"No, it's not." 

Gilgamesh punched Kro causing him to fly back. Kro used Ajak's healing abilities to heal its jaw. 

The Eternals had a stony expression. Kro only had those abilities because he killed Ajak and he was responsible for her death. 

"Dealing with that Deviant is going to be difficult now that it has healing powers," Carol stated. 

"Will those powers still work if its head is cut off?" Thor wondered. He was always going to go for the head now.

"Probably not."

"Cutting off a Deviant's head is easier said than done. Thena could've done it with her weapons, but she's preoccupied at the moment," said Druig. 

Thena's irritation sparked. More people would get hurt, or even worse, die, because she was too busy suffering a Mahd Wy'ry episode.

Ikaris and Thena were still fighting when Gilgamesh jumped in the middle and blocked her attack. 

The group sighed in relief. If there was one person who could help Thena right now, it was Gilgamesh. 

Sersi was crawling away from a Deviant back at the compound. Druig mind-controlled his followers to fire guns at the creatures, but it ultimately didn't do any significant damage, forcing him to enter the fray. Some of the villagers died due to the Deviant.

Makkari frowned; what Druig was doing wasn't right. 

"Not a cult, huh?" said Clint. 

"I thought they were supposed to be free of all this in the cult, not die for Druig's cause," Bucky said.

Natasha thought it was a bit of a cowardly decision to mind-control people and use them as cannon fodder instead of fighting himself.

Sersi turned part of a tree trunk to water and then into metal, crashing it onto a Deviant and pinning it.

"Oh, that's so smart," Peter said. Sersi had incredibly unique powers and it could be put to good use to defeat the Deviants or any other threat. 

Sersi told Druig to release his followers, which he reluctantly did, instructing them to seek refuge by the river. The villagers ran.

"They should run and never come back now that they're finally free," said Steve. 

"They won't survive. They don't know anything else besides the cult," said Marc. 

Deviants surrounded Ikaris in the forest. Gilgamesh was able to bring Thena back to normal and told her to stay put as he went to assist Ikaris in the fight. She breathed shakily. 

Fear fluttered in Thena's stomach. Why did her Mahd Wy'ry have to act up now out of all times? 

Sersi put a hand on Thena's shoulder. "It's alright, Thena. Ikaris and Gilgamesh can handle the Deviants; you just need to stay safe."

Gilgamesh told Ikaris to go after seeing that the Deviants were heading for the camp while he stayed to fight Kro.

"One slap and the Deviant will stay down. Gilgamesh has got this," said Scott. 

"But that Deviant won't stay down. It's not like the others, it's evolved," said Nebula. 

Eros and the Eternals felt a spark of irritation at the reminder that the Deviants were allowed to evolve and they weren't. It's not what they were created for. 

Kingo asked Sprite to distract one of them long enough for him to concentrate enough cosmic energy into a light sphere. He then slid under the Deviant and fired the energy ball. "Dishoom," he said, blasting its head off.

Kingo's chest puffed out at seeing himself defeat the Deviant in the coolest way possible.

"Now, it would be great if Kingo could do that to the Deviant that Gilgamesh is currently fighting. It's not like that Deviant can heal itself when its head has been blasted off," said Valkyrie. 

"One Deviant down, a dozen more to go," said Clea.

"These Deviants never fucking die," Rhodey complained. 

Kingo was covered in Deviant blood. "Karun! Did you get that?" he yelled. "I did, sir!" Karun happily replied. 

"Okay, maybe Karun was right. We do need action sequences so it was good that he was recording," said Kingo. He looked cool as hell killing that Deviant.

The rest of the Eternals stared at him, baffled. 

Ikaris chased another flying Deviant, attacking it with his optical beams to force it onto the ground, and killed it by firing his lasers directly into its throat.

The Avengers and Guardians were taken aback and sent Ikaris a wary look. He was the second-strongest Eternal—the first one being Gilgamesh—and so he would be the hardest one to take down if he stood in their way. He didn't show any sign of changing his mind and was extremely loyal to Arishem.

Kingo was thrown into a shack, and Sprite ran to see if he was okay. "Just go," he urged. "I’m not leaving you," she said.

Kingo's throat thickened. "I'm sorry for leaving you, Sprite," he apologized. "I shouldn't have."

Sprite's eyes softened. "Just don't do it again."

A Deviant nearly attacked them before Ikaris saved them by shooting lasers at it. 

"Thanks, boss!" Kingo laughed, clapping a hand on Ikaris's shoulder. 

Another Deviant tackled Ikaris into a house and pinned him on the ground. He struggled to break free despite firing his lasers at the creature.

The Eternals' breaths caught and Ikaris blinked in surprise. 

"How is Ikaris not able to defeat this Deviant? What the hell are these new Deviants made out of?" Gilgamesh said.

Sersi transformed a tree branch into metal and stabbed the creature, but it tossed her into a pool. The Deviant followed her underwater, and in desperation, she tried to transmute it and the creature turned into a tree.

There was a loud silence. Sersi's eyes bugged out, Ikaris stared, the Eternals gaped, and everyone else's brows shot up. 

"I thought you said you couldn't change sentient beings," said Wanda. 

"I can't," Sersi said, stunned. "I've tried changing sentient beings before, but I never managed it so how is this possible now?"  

"Maybe it's because you have the sphere now. You're the Prime Eternal," Eros said. 

"Seven thousand years later and you're still learning new things about your powers," Ajak said, smiling.

"Deviants look better as trees than when they're trying to kill you," said Kingo. 

Ikaris ran toward her and hugged her. "Sersi! Are you all right?"

Sersi looked away. She didn't want any comfort from Ikaris at the moment. 

Gilgamesh was able to land many powerful hits on Kro, but they were rendered ineffective as he could heal himself. Kro noticed Thena and ran toward her, but Gilgamesh jumped in front of her and was subsequently stabbed with several of Kro's tentacles. 

The Eternals sucked in a breath while the color drained out of the Avengers and Guardians' faces. 

"No…" Thena whispered, her hands shaking and tears blurring her vision. "He needs help!" 

Gilgamesh was pale, but he plastered a smile on his face for Thena's sake. "It'll be alright." 

Gilgamesh desperately tried to beat Kro off of him, but he couldn't do anything but look at Thena as his powers were stolen, leaving him in a fatal state. Thena's Mahd Wy'ry disappeared as she looked at Gilgamesh, heartbroken.

Thena choked down a sob. It was her fault Gilgamesh was fatally injured; she couldn't control her Mahd Wy'ry, and Gilgamesh paid the price for it. All he'd ever done was care for her and she repaid him by killing him.

Gilgamesh was frightened down to the soles of his shoes at seeing himself like this, but he was more concerned about what his situation would do to Thena. He'd lived for seven thousand years, he didn't mind dying since he'd join the Eternals on the next mission, but what would his death do to Thena? It would shatter her, but she had to remember since he wouldn't be there for her now.

The Eternals' faces crumpled at seeing Gilgamesh's state. He'd always been one of their strongest. They didn't think anything could be done to save him at this point after Kro had taken his powers away.

Kro evolved into a humanoid and intelligent version of himself. "Ajak…Her memories…I understand now. I can see what she saw," he said.

Everyone's mouths were agape at seeing Kro evolve. The Deviants weren't just mindless monsters praying on the Eternals or innocent humans anymore, they were intelligent beings now capable of thought. 

Ajak stiffened. "What did he see?" 

"He's evolved again?!" Wong said. 

"He's taken all of Gilgamesh's powers, which makes him even more powerful now. He has a conscience besides having Gilgamesh and Ajak's abilities," said Bruce.

Kingo's face darkened. "He was close to having Sprite's abilities too," he growled. Sprite shuddered at the thought. 

"So many planets. So much life destroyed every time a Celestial is born. Arishem used us and left us to die with each Emergence. We just wanted to survive. And then he sent you. I will kill you all for what you have done to my kind. You are not saviors, Eternals. You are murderers."

A chill ran down the Eternals and Eros' spines. They thought they were the saviors, but they'd slaughtered Deviants for millennia. Kro had a right to be angry and they knew they'd be just as furious if they were in his position because they were. Eternals and Deviants were both Arishem's children, and they'd both been lied to and duped by him. 

"He's not wrong. We are murderers," Makkari signed, her shoulders slumped.

"We're trying to create more life! That's the opposite of being a murderer," said Kingo. 

"We killed his kind for thousands of years, Kingo. Obviously, he's upset," said Sersi. 

"Arishem is using you all. Why can't all of you see that?" Quill insisted. 

"Of course, he's using us. But it's for a good cause," said Ikaris.

Ikaris blasted lasers at Kro, causing him to run away. Ikaris looked back as Thena called out his name, his face crumpling as he saw Gilgamesh's heavily-injured body.

Everyone's faces twisted as they saw Gilgamesh's injured body, Thena let out a sob, and Gilgamesh took a deep breath. There wasn't anything that could be done at this point to help him because Ajak wasn't alive either. Her healing powers could've helped him, but Kro had them now. 

Gilgamesh breathed painfully. "R-Remember," he said before passing away in Thena's arms. She cried desperately, repeating that she would remember as she clutched his body. 

Thena let out a wail and collapsed into sobs, causing Gilgamesh to put an arm around her to remind her that he truly wasn't gone yet. "I'll remember," she cried. 

An ache pushed against Gilgamesh's heart. He knew this wasn't the end, not truly. It was the end for him in this lifetime, but he still had many more lifetimes to go. Hopefully, he and Thena would get a happier life in the next lifetime.

Tears spilled down the Eternals' faces, even Ikaris. Gilgamesh was one Eternal that no one in the group had a problem with. Tensions ran high between members, but everyone liked Gilgamesh. They'd gone seven thousand years without a death, but now they lost two Eternals in a matter of days. Makkari and Phastos's hearts twisted as they realized that they hadn't been present when Gilgamesh died; they weren't there for him. 

Ikaris's face darkened. The Deviants had now killed Ajak and Gilgamesh. He wanted to see Tiamut rise and he'd stop the Eternals himself if he had to because he had a mission to complete, but that didn't mean he wanted to.

The Avengers and Guardians felt a sting of melancholy. Gilgamesh was the kindest Eternal of them all and they couldn't imagine how the Eternals must be feeling. They'd known each other for seven thousand years and now two of their members had died. Plus, they'd seen the bond between Thena and Gilgamesh, and they were concerned about what his death would do to her. How would she deal with her Mahd Wy'ry?

The humans didn't think it was a coincidence that Kro became more human-like after absorbing Gilgamesh's essence. The Epic of Gilgamesh was the oldest surviving literary work they had a remaining record of, and it was a story of a man who grew into a good, compassionate king and met a very human death. He died of old age in the stories, but his legacy went on forever. 

The Eternals stood around Gilgamesh's pyre as his body was cremated. Karun recited funeral rites in Sanskrit.

Tears trickled down Thena's face as she shook with grief. Gilgamesh didn't think he would ever watch his own funeral and was thankful to Karun for conducting it. 

Kingo had misty eyes. He loved his family more than anything and two of them were now dead, the Emergence was coming, and the rest of the team was a mess.

The rest of the Eternals had a desolate look in their eyes at seeing Gilgamesh's funeral. It made it seem final; that he was truly dead. They may disagree about Arishem's methods and the Emergence, but they all knew that Kro would pay for killing Gilgamesh. Thena, especially, wouldn't rest until he was dead. 

Thena waded into the lake clutching Gilgamesh's urn and scattered his ashes.

"Thank you, Thena," Gilgamesh said, tenderly. 

She wiped the tears off her cheeks. "I shouldn't have to scatter your ashes at all." 

Sersi joined Druig by the shore of the lake. "When I left, I thought about taking over the minds of every human on this planet. Violence, fear, greed, all gone," he said. "Why didn’t you?" she asked. "Because without their flaws, they wouldn’t be human," he replied. 

The humans had mixed expressions. 

"They wouldn't evolve," Thor said. 

"No, they wouldn't," Druig agreed. Humans had come a long way from the time they had primitive tools in Mesopotamia. 

Many of the humans weren't very fond of Druig, but they did acknowledge that his only wish was for humans to stop fighting and live companionably together. They all knew that they weren't the best at that since there seemed to be something or the other that humans had to kill each other over. He was exhausted from it and he had lost his faith in humans like Phastos, but he was unable to lose his empathy, no matter how much he wanted to.

"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. Arishem’s children."

"Two sides of the same coin," Eros said bitterly. None of this was new information to him, but it didn't mean that he was any less furious about it. 

"But you are asking me to take control of a mind of a Celestial. I do not have that kind of power," he said. 

All of them looked at Mantis, who beamed. She had that kind of power. 

"We’ll need Phastos," she said. 

Phastos sighed. He knew the Eternals would come to him eventually, and he would be lying if he said that he didn't wish he could've met Gilgamesh one last time before he died. He would help Sersi in delaying or stopping the Emergence if it came down to it because he refused to sit and do nothing when his husband and child would get harmed.

"Well, good luck. He gave up on humans a long time ago," Druig said.

"Nearly all humans," Phastos corrected. He didn't give up on Ben and Jack.

The Avengers knew that humankind was destructive and had committed numerous atrocities over the centuries, but the planet was still their home. They'd seen what Phastos' mind was capable of, they desperately hoped he would help even though he had lost faith in humans. 

Notes:

I realized that Steve and Sersi had a lot in common while writing this. The two are not perfect soldiers, but they're good people at their core. Their compassion is a strength and they're leaders of their respective teams. They also have similar lines: "Every time innocent lives are sacrificed; it turns out to be a mistake," and "Every time someone tries to win a war before it starts, innocent people die. Every time."

Chapter 5: chicago & iraq

There was a mushroom cloud above Hiroshima on August 6^th, 1945. 

The room instantly turned silent. Except for Quill, the Guardians didn't know the significance of what they were seeing, but they could guess that it was something big after looking at everyone else's expressions. 

Fury tore through Phastos at seeing the mushroom cloud. Everything from the day he visited Hiroshima was seared in his mind; it wasn't possible to forget any of it. He'd once believed in his mission and had faith in Arishem, but all of it had died that day. Druig had the right idea by abandoning their mission since it all was false anyway. 

Raw anger shot through Steve as his face turned stony. The first thing he'd wanted to know when he'd gotten out of the ice had been how the war had ended, leading him to learn about the atomic bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. That hadn't been a pleasant revelation. 

Hiroshima was in ruins and Phastos was standing in the middle of it, tear tracks down his face as he cried. Ajak put a hand on his shoulder. "I did this. If my technology hadn’t helped them advance…" he looked out into the smoking ruins. "Druig was right. Our mission was a mistake. These people…they’re not worth saving."

It didn't bring Druig any pleasure to hear Phastos say that he was correct. He wished Phastos could've still kept his faith, but they all changed over the years even though Arishem didn't design them to evolve. They may not be able to evolve physically, but they've mentally evolved because none of them were the same people since they first arrived on Earth seven thousand years ago. 

"Turns out our mission wasn't even our true mission," Phastos said coldly. Ajak's face crumpled; it pained her to see the Eternals, her children, go through all this.

Tony's throat thickened. The atomic bomb was a part of his legacy since his father worked on the Manhattan Project. It was ironic that Howard Stark worked on Project Rebirth which created Captain America, saving countless lives, but he also worked on the Manhattan Project, killing hundreds of thousands of innocent people. If he was still alive, he would've liked to ask him if he regretted working on the project; if he regretted making weapons. "You probably don't like me because of my company, do you?" he asked Phastos. 

"Nope," Phastos said flatly. He found Tony Stark to be an enigma. He was responsible for numerous deaths via his weapons, but he had also saved the planet time and time again. 

"They’re not worth saving," Phastos sobbed as Ajak brought him into a hug. 

The room was silent. No one could blame Phastos for losing faith in humans after witnessing the horrendous aftermath of the atomic bomb. He was the one who helped humans advance and then humans carried out the most atrocious acts with that knowledge. The Avengers could only be thankful that Phastos regained a little faith in humanity through his family because they needed him to protect their planet and the multiverse. 

Kingo looked away. All of the Eternals had moments during their time on Earth when they'd been horrified by the actions of humans, but they continued protecting them because they had faith in Arishem's plan.

In the present day, Phastos was fixing his son's bike as he watched Jack and Ben Stoss throw a football in the yard.

Phastos's eyes softened as he watched Jack and Ben. He'd previously vowed that he would never again get involved in human affairs and give them technology, but he'd somehow ended up on a multiversal research group with the Avengers and gave them his phone to help defeat Thanos. It was only for his family, otherwise, he'd probably have the same view as Ikaris and Kingo about the Emergence. 

Phastos's smile fell off his face as he saw Sersi and Ikaris arrive. Sersi greeted them, and Phastos told Ben that those were his friends from college, Sylvia and Isaac. Ben didn't believe him. 

"Sylvia and Isaac?" Sersi said, amused. 

Makkari rolled her eyes. "He's not stupid, Phastos," she signed. 

"Does he even know that you're an Eternal?" Sprite asked. 

"He doesn't know the full story, but he knows enough. He knows that I'm an Eternal, but I don't think he fully understands what it means. It would've been much harder to convince him pre-2012," Phastos answered.

"Friends from college? Do you guys all have the same excuse?" Marc asked. 

Kingo shrugged. "It's convenient." 

Jack excitedly told his father that Ikaris was Superman as he saw him on TV fighting a monster. "And you were with a cape and you were shooting laser beams out of your eyes," Jack said. "I don’t wear a cape," Ikaris said playfully.

Phastos groaned at seeing how excited his son was to meet Ikaris, of all people. 

Ikaris's lips twitched into a smile. "Superman," he repeated. 

"Huh, he sort of does remind me of Superman," said Peter. 

Phastos said they could go inside and asked Ikaris if he could call him Clark. "You’ve called me worse," Ikaris said.

The Avengers and Guardians were getting the distinct impression that Ikaris was quite unpopular with some members of the Eternals. Druig and Phastos clearly didn't like him, Sersi used to love him, Sprite did love him, Kingo admired him, Ajak loved him like a son, and the rest tolerated him. 

Later, Phastos was helping Jack brush his teeth. Sersi and Ikaris tried to discreetly observe him and quickly moved back as Phastos saw him.

"So subtle," Phastos said. 

"I'm just curious about you as a father," Ikaris said shamelessly.

"Me too," Sersi said sheepishly. 

"I want to babysit Jack," Makkari signed. Phastos started to sweat. 

The two sat at the dining table and tried to look natural. "Yeah. Incredibly natural, guys. So, after all these years, even you fell for Ajak’s lies," Phastos said.

Ajak's heart sank. She'd failed the Eternals. She probably should've told them the truth all along, but how could she go against the word of a Celestial? However, she'd tried to let the Eternals live their lives wherever she could. It may or may have not been a good idea to let the Eternals go out and explore the planet on their own, but they needed to because exploring the planet is what allowed her to fall in love with humans as well. They were flawed beings, but so was everyone else in the galaxy. 

"No need to rub it in," Ikaris said. 

Ajak narrowed her eyes. Ikaris never fell for her lies because she hadn't lied to him. He'd known the truth all along so what game was he playing?

Ikaris glanced at Ajak and hoped she wouldn't tell the rest of the team that he'd known the truth all along. 

"It all makes sense why she wouldn’t let us interfere with human conflicts. Conflicts lead to war, and war actually leads to advancement in lifesaving technology and medicine," Phastos said.

"And thereby, increasing the lifespan and the advancement of intelligent life," Phastos said bitterly. Finding out that humans committed atrocities with technology was bad enough, but then he found out that none of it mattered in the end anyway since the entire planet would blow up. 

The Avengers knew that was the unfortunate truth, especially Steve and Tony, and Steve hated it. The super-soldier serum changed the latter half of the 20th century and the entirety of the 21st century since the serum birthed Captain America and its many attempts at replicating it. Bucky Barnes wouldn't have been experimented on and turned into the Winter Soldier, Isaiah Bradley wouldn't have been experimented on and mistreated, Howard and Maria Stark wouldn't have died, Bruce Banner wouldn't have become the Hulk, and Alexei Shostakov wouldn't have become the Red Guardian without the serum. Even after the Blip, the serum was still causing trouble with the Flag Smashers and John Walker. None of that would've happened if it wasn't for WWII. Steve Rogers would never have become Captain America, and the Red Skull and HYDRA would've won. There were also inventions and discoveries made during WWII that forever changed the war—J. Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb; Alan Turing, the father of theoretical computer science and artificial intelligence; and Hedy Lemarr, the mother of wifi were all born from WWII. It could be seen later on in history as well since the Cold War led to the space race, which eventually contributed to the first man on the moon—a small step for man, but a giant leap for mankind.

Tony had been in the weapons developing business for decades and he knew better than anyone how war led to advancement in technology. Iron Man would not have existed without the Afghanistan War, Plus, the arc reactor was originally created from Tesseract research, which also stemmed from WWII. 

"So, our mission was never to make a peaceful or harmonious world but to increase the population at all costs. Just farming humans as food for the Celestials, right?"

"Sometimes people go overboard in trying to increase the population and the entire planet dies," said Eros. 

"I don't like the idea that we're food for the Celestials," said Marc. It was difficult to grapple with the fact of how significant they were to Celestials because Ikaris was right, they wouldn't care if a couple of ants died and they were the ants to Celestials.

"Besides, I don't think creating a peaceful or harmonious world is possible," said Rhodey.

"That’s bleak," Ikaris said. "Well, so is telling your husband and your child that they could be dead within a few days," Phastos said. 

Everyone winced. 

"That's exactly what we're going to have to do too. My fiancée is pregnant and you guys want me to stand by and do nothing," Tony spat. 

"Turns out my husband and child could be dead within days anyway because a psychopath wants to kill off half of the population," Phastos said, throwing his hands in the air. A pause. "No offense," he told Eros. 

"None taken," said Eros. 

"We know he's a psychopath," Gamora added. 

"Thought you’d given up on humans." "I got lucky. Okay? I have a family now. They give me faith again. And I see the good in humanity in them every single day."

All of them thought that was quite sweet.

Phastos said he couldn't help them because he wasn't leaving his family. He admitted that it was wrong of him to use his powers without thinking about the consequences and said he didn't use his powers anymore. 

"I get not wanting to leave your family, Phastos, but your family and the rest of ours will die if you don't help," said Clint. 

Phastos let out a deep sigh. "I know. It just takes some time to come to terms with everything after being lied to for seven thousand years." 

Ikaris didn't believe him and shot laser beams at a door, which was shielded with Phastos' tech. "What the hell is wrong with you? My child is right down the hallway!" Phastos yelled. 

Phastos's eye twitched as he wanted to throttle Ikaris. 

"Obviously, he's going to protect his house. I thought that was a given," said Tony.

"That looks like someone’s been using his powers. I bet you’ve built the perfect safe house. What is this even made of? Vibranium?" Ikaris asked, smashing the table with his fist, breaking it into two. "Fall collection. IKEA. Ass," said Phastos. 

Phastos glared at Ikaris, who grimaced. Everyone else let out a guffaw at seeing Ikaris break the table. 

"Even we don't have vibranium tables in Wakanda," T'Challa laughed. 

"How did you even deal with this guy for over 5,000 years?" Phastos asked Sersi.

Sersi's smile fell off of her face and Ikaris instantly felt awkward. 

Ikaris said Phastos would be inviting the Deviants to dinner if he stayed, but Phastos said he couldn't just show up in his life and expect him to go. 

"Then what else do you want them to do, Phastos? Let the planet blow up?" said Valkyrie.

"You should go, habibi," Ben said. "You want me to go?" Phastos said flatly.

"Yes, because he'd like for him and his son to live," said Scott.

"You know what my mom would say to you right now, right? Quit procrastinating, Phil, and take care of your business," Ben said in Arabic. 

"Your fake name is Phil? No wonder you came up with Isaac and Sylvia," Sprite laughed. Phastos rolled his eyes. 

Ben told Phastos that if there was a chance for them to watch Jack grow up, they had to take it. 

"It's a no-brainer, honestly. Just like how it is for the rest of us," said Clint. 

Later, Phastos tucked Jack into bed as Ben tenderly watched the scene from the doorway.

The parents' eyes softened. 

Ben and Phastos shared a goodbye kiss before Phastos left with Sersi and Ikaris.

"You'll meet them again," Sersi said, putting a hand on Phastos's shoulder. 

Ikaris felt a twinge of guilt. He was glad that Phastos found a family, but he wouldn't allow him to get in the way of completing the mission.

Archeologists in Iraq were digging the Ishtar Gate when their eyes glowed gold. They got in their vans and drove away. 

"The Ishtar Gate," Layla said in awe. She found the scene to be familiar; she was an archeologist and had grown up on dig sites, after all. 

"I hope those archeologists know that they're standing on what was once Babylon," said Bruce.

"I don't think I can forget now," said Layla. She was finding the most amazing discoveries—Alexander the Great's tomb, the Ishtar Gate, and seeing Babylon and other ancient empires at their prime. 

Sprite removed the illusion from the Eternals, and Phastos activated a hologram, causing the Domo to rise. Karun was in awe as he recorded.

The humans' mouths dry. "The Domo's been in Iraq the entire time?" Stephen asked. 

"We spent a lot of time in Babylon so it was best to keep it there, especially after it fell," Ajak said.

The Eternals entered the Domo. Karun was recording as Kingo dramatically narrated the events.

"This documentary is going to be awful," Druig said. 

"You really do suck, Druig," Kingo said. 

There was a boom and Phastos jumped in the air. He realized Thena stepped on a packet of chips. "As you can see, being an Eternal does not preclude you from having human emotions such as cowardice," Kingo said.

The group snickered while Phastos's face flushed with embarrassment. 

They entered to see Makkari sitting on a throne, the room filled to the brim with books and trinkets. "What has she done? Is that…a sarcophagus in my lab?" Phastos said faintly.

Steven lit up. "Sarcophagus? Whose?" 

"What have you done, Makkari!" Phastos signed, alarmed. 

Makkari rolled her eyes. "Don't be a baby. You weren't doing anything with the lab so I took over. It looks much better now." 

Phastos felt light-headed.

"Ready to go home?" Makkari signed happily.

Makkari sighed. She had a lot to catch up on. 

Thena practiced fighting with a sword. "Is that the Ebony Blade?" Sprite asked. "Excalibur," Thena replied.

The humans let out a strangled noise. "Excalibur?!" they shrieked. 

"I haven't heard about the Ebony Blade in a while. It's a dark counterpart to Excalibur," Wong said.

"I've had enough of dark swords," said Thor. 

"Arthur always did have a crush on you," Sprite said.

"Well, you are as lovely as legend says, Thena," said Eros. Gamora and Nebula had disgusted expressions while Thena was amused.

"Wait, Arthur as in King Arthur from the legends? Huh, that's another story that's come true," said Peter. 

"Arthur was pathetic," said Gilgamesh.

"Maybe if Arthur paid more attention to his wife instead of Thena, Guinevere wouldn't have fallen in love with Lancelot," said Rhodey. 

"So, you mean…I’ve been waiting for centuries to go back to Olympia, and now you’re telling me…it doesn’t exist?" Makkari signed. "That, and the world is ending," Kingo said. "At least my boredom is ending," she signed.

The group laughed. 

"Have you seen my movies?" "I don’t have a DVD player." "DVD? It’s all about streaming now."

"I don't want to watch your awful internet content, Kingo," Makkari signed. 

"Hey! It's not awful," Kingo defended. The Guardians were revolted at the reminder that Kingo was an actor. 

Ikaris held the Emerald Tablet in his hand while Druig had a box of Twinkies. The two eyed each other suspiciously and grabbed the other object from each other's hands.

All of them chuckled. It was like seeing the emo brother and the jock brother trying to get along. 

"Ikaris with the Emerald Tablet looked strange. I doubt he even knows what it is," said Druig. 

"Twinkies are better than whatever that is," Ikaris said.

"Oh, Makkari found the tablet then?" Layla said. Makkari nodded. 

"So, how did you end up scoring this Emerald Tablet, my beautiful, beautiful Makkari?" Druig teased, causing Makkari to grab it from his hands with a grin. "Miss me?"

Makkari burst into a grin, Druig couldn't keep his smile off of his face, and the Eternals looked baffled. 

"I’m sorry, what are we watching? Because this…Are you two…" Phastos said. "Is this new? Because I hate it," Kingo said.

"It's weird," said Kingo. 

"Wait, that's new? You guys didn't notice? I thought they were together the entire time," said Eros.

Makkari and Druig's eyes widened. "We're not together," Druig said. No one looked convinced. 

Phastos presented his idea: a hologram of ten bracelets, much to Kingo's confusion.

"…What are bracelets going to do?" Drax said. 

"Just listen," said Phastos. 

Phastos explained that Celestials were the most powerful energy generators in the universe and Arishem imbued them with infinite cosmic energy to keep their bodies regenerating when he made them. The bracelets, in theory, shut down their regeneration process so their bodies could accumulate extra cosmic energy because if the Deviants could absorb their energy, what if they could absorb each other's energy too? "If I can find a way to connect us all, one of us could become immensely powerful, pulling the accumulated energy from the rest, forming…a Uni-Mind," Phastos finished proudly. The rest of the Eternals thought it was an awful name.

A pause. The Avengers and Guardians beamed at the idea and hoped the Uni-Mind would become successful. 

"Brilliant!" Bruce exclaimed. 

"I think this could actually work. The theory is solid," said Tony. 

"But how are you going to absorb each other's energy? The Deviants are capable of absorbing cosmic energy and evolving, but you guys don't have that ability," said Rocket. 

Phastos was stumped. "That's something to work on," he said. 

"A Uni-Mind?" Sprite echoed. 

"Okay, you can come up with a different name, but the point is that it might work," Phastos said. "It's better than nothing." 

"Which one of us is going to get everyone's power?" Gilgamesh said. The rest of the Eternals glanced at Sersi, who paled. 

"Sersi is the Prime Eternal," said Thena. 

Ikaris's blood ran cold. If they were planning on making Sersi the powerful one then he'd have to stop her. He was determined to see the Emergence through, but fighting Sersi? He could fight the rest of the Eternals without any problem, but Sersi was everything to him. How could he fight her? 

"So, suppose Druig can, say…put Tiamut to sleep. Then what?" Makkari asked. "We find humans a new home on another planet," Sersi said. 

"I'm sorry, but that's incredibly naïve," said Carol. "I work with refugees in space and it's difficult to find a home for a million Skrull refugees, and you want to find a planet that will take in eight billion people? That's a nice sentiment, but we have to look at reality."

"Not to mention, evacuating the planet is damn near impossible," said Quill. His grandfather was on Earth; he wanted him safe. He thought that the Eternals were very disconnected from what was happening out in the galaxy because who could even suggest moving eight billion humans to an entirely different planet?  

"How much time is left until Tiamut is born?" Sam asked Ajak.

"Considering that global earthquakes are already occurring? A couple of days at most," she said. 

"Yeah, evacuating eight billion people in a couple of days isn't going to work out." 

"I've had to evacuate a planet before and I don't recommend the experience," Thor said darkly. "I had to leave behind nine thousand Asgardians to their deaths just so a handful can live. The same thing will happen to Earth."

"I would've told you guys to come to Knowhere, but it's not big enough," said Nebula.

"The only solution I can see is killing Tiamut," said Gamora. 

"We're not killing a Celestial!" Kingo exclaimed. 

"I don't think killing a Celestial is a good idea," Sersi said. 

"So, are you going to stop all Emergences? You do realize that you'll be killing the entire universe then," said Ikaris. 

"We can't help everyone, but what we can do is save our planet," Natasha said. She took a deep breath. "We can't stop all Emergences, only our own. The next Emergence could be thousands of years away and most of us will be dead by that point, we have to focus on the present." Yes, it was selfish, but she never claimed otherwise. She had to look out for her friends and family first; she was only human.

"Are we building a big ship, too? Take a pair of each animal?" Sprite joked. "Well, you know what’s never saved the planet? Your sarcasm," Phastos said.

Sprite didn't think she even wanted to save the planet. What had Earth ever done for her? 

"Space colonization could take decades," Sprite said. "It can happen quickly with our help," Sersi said.

"No, it won't. It's impossible," Carol said.

"Well, we're not going to kill Tiamut," said Sersi. 

"You might not have another choice." 

"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 asked Ikaris. "Say something, Ikaris. You don’t think we should be doing this," Sprite said. 

"Why are you both asking Ikaris? Sersi's the Prime Eternal," said Eros. "Ajak didn't choose him for a reason."

"If you don't kill Tiamut, you'll be responsible for billions of deaths," said Thor. 

"Listen, killing Ego had no effect on the universe except saving lives," said Gamora. "How can you all put your faith in a being that you've never spoken to? For all we know, Arishem is lying about the whole thing. You literally know nothing and you want to kill eight billion people for it." 

"It wouldn't be the first time we found out that an elaborate idea turned out to be a lie," Loki said, thinking about the TVA. 

"Ajak has seen plenty of Emergences in the past," said Sprite. 

"Has Ajak seen new planets and suns formed before her eyes? No, she hasn't. I don't understand how you guys think we're going to sit back and do nothing when our friends and family will die," said Wanda.

"Celestials don't understand the concept of love," said Quill. Ego said he loved his mother, but he wouldn't have given her brain cancer if he had. 

"Ajak chose Sersi to lead us. Sersi should decide," Ikaris said firmly.

A grateful expression passed over Sersi's face. 

"Forget who Ajak chose. You’re the strongest. You should be making this decision. Fine. Just keep lying to yourself," Sprite said, storming off. 

"Just because Sersi isn't physically the strongest or a good soldier, it doesn't mean she won't make a good leader. You don't need to be a perfect soldier, but a good person," said Steve. Natasha wasn't the strongest of the Avengers, but she was the soul and he had no doubt that she would make a phenomenal leader. 

Sersi sent him a thankful look. "Thank you." 

"For someone who's actually thousands of years old, you really do act like a child, Sprite," Marc said. Sprite glared at him. 

Ikaris followed her and Kingo followed him out into the hallway. Kingo said Sprite was always cranky. 

"Thanks," Sprite said crabbily. 

"If you think we should do this, I trust you. I will follow you to the end, like I always have," Kingo said, causing Ikaris to freeze. 

Sersi's shoulders slumped. She was supposed to be leading the team, but no one had faith in her. She didn't blame them; she didn't have faith in herself. Ajak told her that she was made the Prime Eternal because she loved humans the most, but how was that going to help when her own team members wanted to follow someone else instead?

"I’m not who you think I am," Ikaris said. Cut to Ikaris waiting for Ajak at her ranch six days ago. "How long do we have?" he asked. "Seven days," she replied. "Good. We completed our mission," he said.

The Avengers and Guardians' eyes widened at realizing that Ikaris had known about the Emergence all along. Ajak and Ikaris tensed; the truth would finally come out now. There was a moment of silence before the Eternals burst into chaos.

"You knew?!" Sprite said, feeling a stab of betrayal. Knowing that Ajak lied to them was one thing, but he could still understand it because she was the Prime Eternal, and therefore, the leader, but Ikaris? She knew Ikaris was faithful to Arishem, but they were his family. Didn't he have a duty to them as well? 

"What the hell, Ikaris!" said Gilgamesh. A flicker of irritation formed within him; he didn't get angry very often, but he couldn't help but be furious at knowing that Ikaris had known about the Emergence. He dedicated his entire life to Arishem and the Celestials to do what he told them to do. He thought they were protecting humans from the Deviants, and they were, but they did it to help Tiamut's birth. Ajak and Ikaris had been pulling the strings about their purpose all along. He didn't think he'd be following Arishem any longer; Eros and Druig had the right idea by leaving the Eternals. He'd always support his family as people, but he didn't think he could take part in the group any longer. 

"Are you kidding me?!" Makkari signed. 

"There's no fucking way he knew the entire time," Kingo said, stunned. He put all his faith in Ikaris because he was the strongest Eternal, their second-in-command, and he kept secrets from them for millennia. His heart sank as he realized that both he and Ajak did. 

Druig's mouth straightened into a thin line. This was just another bombshell on the constant bombshells he'd been learning. "How come Ajak told him, but not us?" he said.

"You knew? How long have you been known and kept it from me?" Sersi asked quietly.

"Since Babylon," Ikaris replied, a lingering sadness in his eyes. Sersi's face crumpled as a tear rolled down her face. 

"Babylon?!" the Eternals shrieked. 

"You married me knowing that our mission was to bring forth Tiamut when you know how much I love this planet?" Sersi said. Layla's eyes slid over to Marc, who was looking everywhere but not at her. He married her even though he knew the truth of her father's death and didn't tell her.

Ikaris's eyes were dull with grief and an ache pushed against his chest. "It was our mission, Sersi. The mission always comes first," he said in a broken voice. Tears spilled down Sersi's cheeks; if they weren't already broken up, they would've done so now. 

The Avengers grimaced. They thought they had a lot of drama going on between their team members, but the Eternals took it to a new level. Living for seven thousand years probably wasn't easy. However, it didn't escape their notice that Ajak and Ikaris's conversation was six days ago and Ajak said they had seven days left until the Emergence, which meant there was only a day left before they either watched their home planet crack open like an egg or it would stay safe. The odds weren't looking well since nearly half of the Eternals weren't on board with the plan, and there wasn't even a proper plan in place. They'd fought battles with much less preparation than that, but it bugged them to know that they couldn't do a single thing about this situation. It was all in the Eternals' hands because they were the only ones who knew about the Emergence, and whatever decisions they made would affect the entire planet. 

"Where is she?" Ajak asked. "London. She has a good life there," Ikaris said.

Sersi wiped the tears from his cheeks. "I do have a good life," she said. Without you, the unspoken implication went unsaid. She didn't even want to think about Ikaris keeping tabs on her. 

Ikaris's heart twisted.  

"I’m sure she’s missed you." "If I’d gone back to her, I would only have told her the truth. She would’ve suffered knowing this world she loves would end one day."

"That's why you left," Sersi said in a choked voice, swallowing down a sob. She wondered why Ikaris left all this time and it turns out that the truth was connected to something much more awful. How was she supposed to come to terms with knowing that the person she loved for millennia had done nothing but lie to her? It hurt knowing that Ajak lied to her, but Ikaris had been her husband; the love of her life. 

"You love this planet with your whole heart and I love you," said Ikaris. Half of him wished Ajak never told him the truth so he and Sersi would've lived the life they did before he knew, but deep down, he knew they wouldn't have worked out anyway. He was too attached to his duty and she was too attached to humans so they would've been torn apart in conflict in the end.

Ajak said that they had to tell the truth to the rest of the Eternals so they might be able to stop the Emergence. "'Stop the Emergence'?" Ikaris echoed in disbelief. 

"We have to, Ikaris," Ajak said. 

Ikaris clenched his jaw as resentment festered within him. He didn't come this far to stop the Emergence now. He left Sersi because he couldn't be with her watching her love humanity while knowing what would come and keep a secret that was soul-crushing to keep, nor could he tell her their true purpose because it would absolutely destroy her. After he left Sersi, he distanced himself from living a human life and fell back into his old soldier ways because what else did he have? He dedicated centuries of his life to a mission and now Ajak was expecting him to give it all up when they were so close to achieving it and she was the one who put him on this path in the first place. He knew what he had to do, but he didn't like it. However, he had to do it to complete his mission; he was loyal to Arishem until the end.

"Ajak wanted to bring all of us back together? But the Deviants found her before that and killed her," Kingo said.

She said that she'd followed Arishem for millions of years and she never doubted him until now. 

"Better late than never," said Quill. At least some of them could think critically.

"Five years ago, Thanos erased half of the population of the universe. Delayed the Emergence. But the people of this planet brought everyone back with the snap of a finger," she said. 

"Thanks to Bruce," said Steve. 

"I still can't believe that Thanos was helpful," said Peter. Eros, Gamora, and Nebula didn't either because if it wasn't for Thanos and the Blip then Ajak would never have changed her mind.

"It wouldn't have been possible if the Avengers and Guardians didn't work together, and we're going to continue to work together," said Thor. The two groups agreed; they needed each other. 

She explained how she traveled the world after letting the Eternals go and lived amongst humans. She saw them fight and lie and kill but also saw them laugh, love, create, and dream. "This planet and these people…have changed me. The cost of Arishem’s design, it’s not worth it. Not this time," she said. 

The Avengers let out a massive sigh of relief. Ajak thought it made sense why she eventually came to that conclusion because the universe was only standing because of people from Earth. The planet cannot be destroyed when the galaxy would be worse off without it.

Ikaris didn't understand any of it. So, what if humans laughed, loved, created, and dreamed? Every species did that so why was it different this time? How did any of that relate to stopping the Emergence?

"I trust you, Ajak. I’ll follow you to the end, as I always have," Ikaris promised.

Everyone had an inkling of doubt. Ikaris had been very vocal about his opposition to stopping the Emergence, but there was a difference in voicing his difference in opinion and actively working against Ajak. Besides, he told Sprite and Kingo that Sersi was the Prime Eternal now so she had to make decisions for the team instead of him. 

"We have to bring everyone back together," she said. "There’s something I have to show you first," he said.

Ajak wondered what it was. 

Ikaris and Ajak walked through the Alaskan woods to the edge of a cliff and the slowly melting glacier had a group of Deviants roaming on it. "They must have been trapped in the ice for centuries and broke free last week when the glacier started to melt as the Earth’s core heats up for the Emergence. They killed an entire company of oil workers. I tracked them here," he said. 

All of them made a sound of realization.

"Oh, so that's how the Deviants came back. Yeah, that makes sense," said Jane. "Those poor oil workers."

"So, we have to go to Alaska and kill those Deviants to stop them in our universe," said Phastos. 

"I'm killing Kro," Thena snarled. No one was going to argue with her.

"I suspected you might have changed your mind. I can’t let you betray Arishem." "Why don’t you just kill me yourself?"

The Eternals' blood ran cold and the color drained from their faces as they realized how exactly Ajak died. The Avengers and Guardians were speechless. 

"No…." Gilgamesh said, trailing off in horror. 

"Ikaris wouldn't do that. He didn't…kill Ajak," Kingo said, his voice breaking at the end.

"It wasn't just because of the Deviants. Ikaris was responsible for Ajak's death too," said Eros. 

Ajak was frozen in her seat as tears stung in her eyes; Ikaris was responsible for her death. She'd failed him; she'd failed all the Eternals. 

Sprite and Sersi felt like they might throw up as their hearts pounded with fear. They both loved Ikaris, except he loved only one of them back, however, they never expected that he would be capable of doing this. That he would be capable of murdering Ajak, who was a part of their family. 

Ikaris burned with anger and shame as he faced away from everyone else. It had to be done, there was no other choice left. Ajak changed her mind in the end so he did what he had to do. 

"When the others realize something is happening to the Earth, they’ll come to you. When they find your body, they’ll know the Deviants are back. It’ll keep them busy until the Emergence," he said.

"Ikaris was playing along when he'd known about the truth the entire time. He planted Ajak's body there for Sersi and Sprite to find!" Phastos snarled. So much of Ikaris's behavior made sense because Ikaris was always the one to break the news of Ajak's death and was quick to emphasize that a Deviant killed her. 

Kingo's face crumpled at knowing that the person he'd looked up to for millennia wasn't the person he thought he would be. How could Ikaris turn his back on his family? How could he hurt them like this? 

"And it worked amazingly well," Druig said bitterly. He never liked Ikaris and he had his grievances with Ajak, but he didn't want her to die. "He sent everyone traveling across the world, wasting time. There's a day left for the Emergence to occur."

The Avengers' hearts jumped into their throats. A day. 

"Gilgamesh died because of Ikaris," Thena said, shaking with anger. Gilgamesh's heart dropped at the realization. 

"We're all going to die, Thena," Ikaris said in a bitter voice. "I'm sorry that Gilgamesh got caught up in this mess, but he'll just be rebooted and join the next mission like the rest of us. We're Eternals, we live forever. We serve Arishem for eternity."

Ikaris walked closer to Ajak near the edge of the cliff. "I’ve been loyal to you, Ajak. Kept your secret for centuries, lied to everyone I cared about, but never have I doubted my purpose to serve the Celestials," he said with slowly growing anger.

Ikaris wished he hadn't known about the Emergence, that he could've been kept in the dark like everyone else. They were blessed with being ignorant while he had to live with the truth that had been eating him up inside for millennia. It ruined his life, his marriage, and his relationships with the rest of the Eternals. He doubted that any of them would want to talk to him after this; that Sersi would want to talk to him. How could he get close to anyone knowing that all of it would end one day? It would always be on his mind; it wasn't easy to forget about something like that. So it stung to hear Ajak abruptly change her mind after everything he'd been through since she was the one who burdened him with this knowledge in the first place.

"Oh, Ikaris. I’ve led you down the wrong path," she said, hugging him. "It’s the only path I know," he said, pushing her off of the cliff. 

The Eternals sucked in a breath. Ikaris truly was responsible for Ajak's death. He'd always been more loyal to Arishem than everyone else, but to kill Ajak? None of them expected that from him, who they also considered family even though many of them didn't get along with him because they had stuck together for seven thousand years. In a single day, they had bombshell after bombshell dropped on them and they didn't think they could go back to how it had been before after knowing that both Ikaris and Ajak kept secrets from them the entire time, especially Ajak.

Tears of hurt spilled down Ajak's cheeks. She'd loved Ikaris like a son all these years, in every lifetime, and now she was seeing that he would be responsible for her death. She wished he could've changed her mind earlier and not guided him down this path. He'd sacrificed everything for the mission because she was the one who told him, and only him, about their true purpose, leading him to make these choices.

Ikaris turned his head so that no one would be able to see the tears in his eyes as rage pulsed through his veins toward himself. He would've liked to live like the others, but he wasn't like them because they hadn't lived all these years knowing about their true mission. He had lived seven thousand years for one purpose; it wasn't easy to abandon it. 

Sersi clapped a hand over her mouth and let out a sob. Her ex-husband, the man she loved for thousands of years, was capable of awful, awful things. How was she supposed to cope with any of that? Ikaris hadn't done any of this yet, but it was a part of his personality, wasn't it? He was capable of killing his family if they stood in the way of the mission. He'd told her that the mission came first and she'd seen that he'd said that he wouldn't let his feelings for her get in the way of the mission, but she felt something inside of her break at seeing what he was capable of. And besides all of that, Ikaris lied to her and married her knowing that this world would end. He was right when he said that she would've suffered because she was suffering right now at seeing what he'd become. She didn't think there was a possibility that they would ever get back together. Not after this. 

The Avengers and Guardians were thunderstruck. None of them had been expecting that; they hadn't even known that Ikaris knew about the Emergence, let alone was capable of killing Ajak. A lot of them were killers, but killing your own family? Someone who you considered a mother? That was something else.

Ajak landed on her feet at the bottom of the glacier and faced the growling Deviants. She picked up a rifle that was lying on the ice and attempted to fire it at the approaching Deviants but was overpowered by Kro who killed her and absorbed her power. Kro and the Deviants crawled back into a cave.

Tears spilled down the Eternals' cheeks. They were extremely upset with Ajak too, but none of them wanted her to die. Luckily, she wouldn't die in their universe, but what would become of them? The team had irreparably been torn apart and they all knew it. 

Ajak didn't find her death difficult to deal with, but the circumstances of it. She'd died a countless number of times before in previous Emergences before her mind was uploaded into a new body, but she didn't know how to grapple with the fact that this was how she could've died.

Ikaris flew down to Ajak's corpse, picked it up, and flew away. 

The room was silent and no one could look at Ikaris while the Eternals didn't know how to process what they just saw. Ikaris hadn't killed Ajak yet, but they also couldn't ignore that he was capable of doing something like this. How could any of them trust him or even Ajak after knowing that they'd lied to them? Ikaris, however, was consumed by his guilt. Killing Ajak was just one more thing he had to do in a long list of things he didn't want to do. 

Kingo was boiling with anger at finally seeing Ikaris' true nature—a person who would kill his family, someone who had done nothing but love him. He agreed with Arishem's plan too, but he would never, ever kill his family. He didn't think he could take part in this fight anymore, and he knew it would result in a fight eventually. He refused to do the same thing Ikaris did. 

Meanwhile, Ajak's powers changed Kro's biology and appearance, and he transformed his pack as he rallied them to him with a roar. Cut to the present where Ikaris placed Ajak's body in her yard in South Dakota. He had an immensely pained expression and screamed as he shot optic laser beams out onto the grass.

Tears streamed down Ikaris's face. He didn't want any of this to happen, but he lived and breathed for one purpose and one purpose only—for the Celestials. That's what Arishem created him for and he'd complete that mission until his dying breath. 

Cut to the present day where Ikaris stood in the rocky structure that was once a part of Babylon. It was where he confessed his love for Sersi. "Thought I'd find you here," Sersi said. "I’ve thought about this place a lot. Amazing how things change over time," Ikaris said. 

The humans thought it was strange knowing that the same rocky structure existed in the days of Babylon and still existed today. It put into perspective just how long the planet had existed, how much humanity had advanced and grown, and how much had changed since then. None of the Eternals were the same people they'd been back then, and humanity wasn't either. 

"Maybe we’re the ones who’ve changed. I know you don’t agree with our plan," she said.

"No, he does not," Sersi said, her eyes dull and rimmed red. 

Gilgamesh scoffed. "The things he's done because doesn't agree with stopping the Emergence."

The Avengers and Guardians found it ironic that the Eternals weren't created to evolve, but they'd changed anyway. The Celestials saw the Eternals as flawless, unchanging soldiers. The standard procedure involved sending a team of Eternals with one leader whose job was to interact with the Arishem on their behalf. Sersi replaced Ajak as the Prime Eternal, so Arishem told Sersi the truth. He had never considered that the Eternals would rebel because that would imply change, which is supposed to be antithetical to the Eternals, but both the Prime Eternal of Earth and Titan turned their backs on the Celestials. Eros turned his back on Arishem and Sersi was defying him.

There was a sort of naivete and arrogance to Arishem given his place in the universe because he couldn't fathom that his creations would ever be flawed. Arishem thought he was in control so he was unable to realize that some aspects of life and nature are too ungovernable. Both the Deviants and Eternals eventually developed their wants, needs, and desires for free will, and Arishem couldn't understand that the chaos of life would always push his creations away from obedience and toward freedom. It's exactly why the Deviants were a threat to Celestial reproduction in the first place. Druig was right when he said that the Eternals and Deviants were both the same; they were Arishem's children. 

Quill knew that the Celestials couldn't comprehend some things because of how large they were in the universe. Ego didn't understand that finding out about what he did to his mother would enrage him, but Quill loved his mother so he sought revenge. It was as simple as that. Similarly, Arishem couldn't understand that the people of Earth, or any planet, loved their home and loved ones so they would fight against the Emergence.  

"I’ve always thought of the Celestials like the ocean. They give life and they take life away without bias. If they were gone, this universe would eventually end. What you’re trying to do is free humanity from the natural order," he said. 

"We obviously don't want the universe to end, but there has to be another way to prevent the destruction of the planet!" Peter exclaimed. 

"There isn't. The only way to prevent the Emergence is stopping it," said Thor. "Delaying the Emergence and getting everyone off of the planet is impossible." 

"It’s not natural to allow all life on an entire planet to be destroyed. Arishem’s way is archaic and violent," she said. 

"It's the circle of life, which is a part of nature. Nature is violent," Ikaris said. No one could argue with that, but they couldn't just let their home planet die. They just couldn't.

"I don’t want to fight, Sersi. It’ll all end soon." "Except there is no end, is there? We’d carry on without our memories or free will for eternity."

"A constant cycle of life and death. Continuous rebirth," Eros whispered. He didn't know how his previous lives had been. Had A'Lars and Sui-San taken him in those times as well? He knew his parents weren't truly gone, their memories and spare bodies were at the World Forge. However, Thanos wouldn't have been a part of their family in those lifetimes and perhaps, that's what was different this time. 

"You’re afraid," she said. 

Ikaris knew he was. This life, this mission, it's all he'd ever known. It's what he'd been created for. He's always been Ikaris, the loyal soldier, the second-in-command. If he didn't have that then who was he? 

"I wouldn’t mind leaving this world. I only wish that when we do, I would be able to remember you. I’m in love with you, Sersi. I’m grateful for the life I’ve lived with you," Ikaris confessed. He walked away but stopped once Sersi called out his name. She gently held his hand, echoing their first moment in Babylon all those years ago. 

Sersi's throat thickened and tears pooled in her eyes while Ikaris knew that he'd never get another moment like that with Sersi again. He'd lost her forever and there was no one to blame but him. 

The two walked the hallways in the Domo when Sersi doubled over, much to Ikaris' alarm. Her sphere glowed. "It’s started," she said.

Everyone's bodies instantly went cold with dread. 

"The Emergence," Stephen said in a pained voice. 

She ran into Phastos' lab where he was in a panic. He said he hadn't figured out a way to connect them, but he was very close. 

Ikaris's face hardened while everyone else's eyes lit up. 

"Well, he has to hurry up because they don't have much time!" said Wanda. 

Phastos gave Makkari a device and told her to find the point of emergence. She traveled for thousands of kilometers in a short period, until she found the island that was the epicenter. A volcano was about to erupt.

Everyone was taken aback at seeing just how fast Makkari was capable of running. 

"Now where the hell is that island? There are so many islands that look identical to that around the world," said Layla.

Druig and Thena were studying a painting. "You always knew the end was coming. It must be a relief," he said.

Grief flickered across Thena's face. "Until we go to the next planet and the cycle starts again." 

"That Deviant is still tracking us," she said. Revenge won’t bring peace for you, Thena," he said. "But killing it might," she said with a smile.

"Yes, it would," Thena agreed. Smacking Ikaris would also bring her peace. It was a betrayal to know that the person she fought alongside for centuries—her brother-in-arms—could turn out like this. That he could turn his back on the people who cared about him.

Ikaris donned his armor and, upon being approached by Sersi, said, "I wanted you to leave this world in peace. Without knowing about the Emergence. But I failed. I wish Ajak hadn’t chosen you," he said, walking away. 

Sersi reared back as if she was slapped. 

"That's exactly why Ajak chose Sersi and not Ikaris," Gamora realized. "She knew that Sersi would try to prevent or delay the Emergence at any cost, carrying out her last wish. Ikaris was always supposed to be the Prime Eternal if Ajak ever died, but he killed her so she made Sersi the Prime Eternal instead."  

Ikaris entered the lab and destroyed Phastos' design for the Uni-Mind with his laser beams, much to the Eternals' shock. "I’ve let this go on long enough," he said.

Everyone sucked in a breath.

"He ruined the Uni-Mind design. What the hell are they supposed to do now without it?" Sam said.

"Phastos can create it again so they need to kick Ikaris out so the rest of them can complete the plan," Tony said.

Sersi ran inside. "Don’t hurt him! He lied to us. He already knew about the Emergence."

"Ikaris and Ajak both lied to us," Kingo said, his heart breaking. 

"No, he didn’t," Kingo said. "Ajak told me everything when we left Babylon," Ikaris admitted. "What?" Kingo said in disbelief.

"Maybe you'll learn not to put your faith in people like Ikaris next time," said Druig.

"You still suck," Kingo said.

"You were never gonna let us stop the Emergence," Phastos said in horrific realization. "No. I only wanted to protect you from the Deviants," Ikaris said.

"Ikaris did a great job at protecting the team from the Deviants in Peru since he's the reason Gilgamesh is dead," Thena spat. Ikaris flinched.

"If Ajak wanted you to take her place, why did she choose me?" Sersi demanded. Ikaris stayed silent. "What have you done?" she said, disturbed. "He killed her," Druig said. "I had to," Ikaris said in a broken voice.

"No, you didn't!" the Eternals, except for Ajak, yelled. Ajak just sat in her seat with hot tears rolling down her cheeks, her breathing shallow and ragged. 

"She was standing in the way of the mission," Ikaris said, his face contorting and his eyes burning with the threat of tears. God, he was losing it.

Eros's eyes were dull with resigned sadness; the Emergence always caused families to be torn apart. It happened with the Eternals on Titan and it was currently happening with the Eternals on Earth. 

"She loved you," Sersi whispered. "Did she?" Ikaris questioned. 

Ikaris shook his head and struggled not to cry. If Ajak loved him, why did she have to tell him the truth? He loved Sersi with his whole heart and that was exactly why he didn't tell her. He didn't want to keep secrets from Sersi, but he wasn't allowed to tell her nor did he want to in fear of what the truth would do to her. The truth shattered him so it would absolutely break her. He loved her too much to see her like that and he didn't want her to carry the same burden he had, but then Ajak had to go and make Sersi the Prime Eternal.

Ajak wept at hearing Ikaris doubt her love for him. He was her child and she'd led him down the wrong path; she wished she could go back in time and not tell Ikaris the truth about their mission so he wouldn't have to bear the burden. 

"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?" he said.

A sob rose in Ikaris' throat. He'd been so lonely after he left Sersi, but he couldn't bear staying when the truth had been eating away at him. 

"If we gave humanity the choice, how many of them would be willing to die so that billions more could be born?"

"I don't want to sound self-absorbed here, but all of us," said Scott. "However, we're not going to let the planet explode." 

"You're fine with sacrificing yourself so half of the universe will stay alive, right?" Ikaris said. "So, trillions can live? So why aren't you alright with sacrificing eight billion so trillions more can live? Entire galaxies!"

"A couple of people aren't the same as eight billion!" Natasha exclaimed. 

"It practically is based on the immense number of people out there."

"Trillions of people who don't exist at the moment," T'Challa pointed out.

"You're asking us to sacrifice our friends and families, not just ourselves," Stephen said. "I understand that one life shouldn't stand in the way of trillions—trust me, I really do—but none of us are going to let the entire planet die."

"We’re not giving them a choice. Is this why you’re willing to kill? You are so pathetic!" Phastos yelled. 

"That's true," said Druig. 

"I’m an Eternal, Phastos. I exist for Arishem. As do you. It’s who you are," Ikaris said. "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!" Phastos exclaimed.

Phastos nodded firmly. He'd seen the worst in humanity and turned on them for a while, but then he found love. Everything he did, he did for his family.

"Then you are making the same mistake Ajak did," Ikaris said.

"Ajak made the right choice in the end," said Mantis. "It's not easy to go against the word of a Celestial."

"What do you think will happen if the Emergence is stopped? Do you think Arishem will be okay with that?" Ikaris questioned. "Titan was deemed a failed mission due to other factors, but the Eternals on Titan didn't actively go against Arishem." 

A pause. What Ikaris was saying was true, even if they did stop the Emergence what consequences would that have? They'd have to deal with Arishem, the Prime Celestial. 

"But what about Ego? We blew up the planet and we haven't faced any consequences," said Rocket. 

"Ego was probably a failed, mutated Emergence; no one cares about him. Titan failed as well," said Nebula. 

Makkari raced back into the lab. "I found Tiamut," she signed, happily. Ikaris shot an optic beam at her, but Kingo jumped in front of her and it hit his shoulder. He told her to get out of there and she ran away.

Druig's face darkened. Oh, Ikaris was going to pay for that. 

Makkari looked disappointed in Ikaris. "Thank you," she signed to Kingo, who smiled softly. 

"Of course. You're family." 

Kingo aimed an energy ball at Ikaris. "You do not turn against your family. Gilgamesh died because of you," he accused.

"I didn't want him to die. I don't want any of us to die, but you're standing in the way of Tiamut being born," Ikaris said, swallowing thickly. 

Gilgamesh scoffed. "You can say whatever you want to, but I'm still dead, aren't I? So is Ajak." 

Thena clenched her jaw as fury spread through her. She questioned her abilities about if she was able to fight, but the path before her was clear. Ikaris and Kro were responsible for Gilgamesh's death so she would hurt them back. Kro would be dead one way or another by the end of this and it would be by her hands. 

"You won’t succeed against me. And I will kill every one of you if I have to," Ikaris said coldly. Sersi cried softly. 

Thena, Gilgamesh, Makkari, Druig, and Phastos were boiling with anger. Sersi felt like she was about to burst into tears, Kingo's face was stony, Sprite was conflicted, and tears coursed down Ajak's cheeks.

The Avengers and Guardians' brows shot up. If Ikaris was willing to kill his teammates—and he already had—then they knew he would be ready to kill them.

Ikaris moved to leave before Sprite said she was coming with him.

The Eternals looked at Sprite in astonishment. Ikaris had a pained expression because he knew part of the reason why she was going with him was because of her crush on him, which he wanted to forget about.

The Avengers and Guardians let out a loud groan. There went another Eternal who wasn't going to help stop the Emergence. 

"What the hell?" said Phastos.

"You've got to be joking. Sprite's leaving?" Gilgamesh said. 

"What has Earth ever done for me? What do I have to live for?" Sprite said. 

"So just because you don't age and you're upset, you're alright with killing everyone else on the planet?" Marc said incredulously. He had made many awful decisions in his life, but being responsible for the destruction of the planet was not one of them. 

Thena entered and Ikaris was about to shoot a laser beam at her too before Sprite transported them away from the Domo.

Gilgamesh let out a sigh of relief. Thena wasn't hurt. 

"Good, they're finally gone. Phastos can work on the Uni-Mind now," said Peter. 

"Why did Sprite go with Ikaris?" Makkari asked. "Because she loves him. Oh, you guys didn’t pick up on that?" Kingo said.

Ikaris felt ill at the thought while Sprite's eye twitched. 

"Just because you have a cute little crush on Ikaris, it doesn't mean you have to follow whatever he says," Rhodey told Sprite. 

"He really fooled us, didn’t he?" Kingo said.

"Him and Ajak," said Phastos.

Kingo said that Ikaris was right. He expressed his love for the people of Earth but said that if they stopped the Emergence, they would be preventing so many other worlds like Earth from being created.

Kingo nodded. He knew that some of the Eternals, Avengers, and Guardians venomously opposed the Emergence and he could understand their perspective since it wouldn't be easy to let their home world get destroyed, but Arishem's grand design was the way the universe worked. It was the natural order of things and they had no right to break out of it. Who were they to interfere with that?

Sersi swallowed the lump in her throat. That was her biggest concern about this plan and why she didn't want to stop the Emergence, but just delay it. She loved the people of this planet more than anything, but if they stopped Tiamut then more planets like Earth wouldn't be born. Earth was extraordinary and they were stopping other extraordinary from forming. However, it wasn't just in her hands now, was it? The Avengers and Guardians would stop at nothing to prevent the Emergence and she knew what the Avengers were capable of. Everyone on Earth knew. She didn't know the Guardians as well as the others, but two of them were the children of a Celestial. However, she knew that the Avengers and Guardians weren't looking at the big picture because they were either human or had human friends and family on the planet; they were biased. However, she wasn't allowed to be biased; she was the Prime Eternal now. She had to look after humans and the universe as a whole.

The humans still struggled with knowing that the only reason they currently existed was due to previous Emergences, but the idea of a Celestial creating a galaxy was so grand and out of their realm of understanding that they struggled to comprehend it. 

"I still have faith in Arishem, but I refuse to hurt any of you for my beliefs," he said, leaving. 

Kingo felt like his entire worldview had been flipped upside down recently. He found out about their true mission, that they were artificial beings created by the World Forge, that Arishem also created the Deviants, Ajak and Ikaris knew about all of this and kept it from them, and that Ikaris was capable of killing any of them. He felt that Arishem was still right, but he refused to make the same mistakes that Ikaris did. He'd stand by the rest of the Eternals in whatever decision they made. If Tiamut was born, then great, they completed their mission, but he would also support and stand by them if they stopped the Emergence. The Eternals were his family, how could he not? 

Natasha's heart sank. She understood where Kingo was coming from because she'd been in a similar position once. She didn't want to fight the Avengers in Germany, but it was more important that they stuck together rather than how. It didn't matter now in the end since they broke apart anyway, but they were back together and luckily, everyone knew the importance of sticking together now. Nevertheless, she didn't understand how Kingo could stand aside when the fate of a planet was at stake.

The Avengers who were involved in the Accords let out a sigh. They didn't want to hurt or fight each other for their beliefs either, but it happened in the end. Kingo and Ikaris believed in the same thing, but a big difference between them was he wouldn't hurt someone for what he believed in. They could understand Kingo's position, but it was still frustrating to know that another Eternal wouldn't help. However, at least, Kingo wouldn't actively hinder the other Eternals' efforts like Ikaris.

Makkari stopped him by putting a hand on his shoulder. "We need you," she signed. "Even with my help, we’re no match. It’s Ikaris. But…I hope to see you on the next planet," he said. 

"Come on, man. We could use your cosmic bullets and blasts," Gilgamesh said. 

Kingo let out a watery smile. "I'm not going to fight any one of you and you know this will end in a fight." 

"Thank you for all you’ve done for humanity. It’s been a great honor. I will miss you all," Karun said in Hindi, on the verge of tears. He left.

The Eternals smiled softly. Ajak, Makkari, Druig, Phastos, Sersi, Thena, and Gilgamesh knew it was kind humans like Karun that made them fight for humanity and its continued survival. 

"Look, if I’m gonna get myself killed going up against Ikaris, we’ll need to have a backup plan," Druig said.

"You need a plan first, not just a backup plan. The Uni-Mind's a great idea, but what will you do after that?" said Tony. 

"They can't come at Ikaris with a plucky attitude," said Quill. 

Tony snorted.

"All of our powers, even if they’re amplified, are not enough to kill a Celestial, so…" Phastos said. 

The Guardians smirked. They killed a Celestial. 

"The Harbulary batteries killed Ego so they're more powerful than the Eternals?" Drax questioned. 

"For the last time, they're Anulax Batteries!" Gamora yelled. 

"Well, Sersi did turn a Deviant into a tree," Druig said, much to Phastos' shock.

Phastos still couldn't believe that happened. 

"Yeah, how did that happen, by the way?" Eros asked. 

Sersi shrugged. "I really don't know."

Sersi said she didn't know how it happened and was pretty sure that she couldn't do it again. "Well, now is the time to try, don’t you think?" Phastos said. "Phastos, that Deviant is dead. Our plan is to put Tiamut to sleep, not to kill it. I can’t kill a Celestial," Sersi said, hysterically.

"You might have to," Thena warned. She didn't envy Sersi for being responsible for making that decision. 

Sersi felt a heavy burden on her shoulders. Whatever decision she would make would affect everyone. She didn't like it. 

"It’s okay, Sersi. I got this," Druig said.

"Thank you," Sersi said gratefully. She knew she was an awful Prime Eternal because she had no idea what she was doing, but she had to protect the humans.

Sersi sat in front of Arishem's statue. "There’s no time for that," Thena said. "I didn’t see the lies right in front of me. I’m not even sure why Ajak chose me to lead," said Sersi.

"You know why I chose you to lead, Sersi," said Ajak. A flicker of gratitude passed Sersi's face as she knew that she was chosen because her love for humanity would make her the best person to protect it.

"And none of us saw the lies, not just you," Makkari signed.

"I asked Gilgamesh once why he chose to protect me. He said, 'When you love something, you protect it. It is the most natural thing in the world,'" Thena said.

Everyone's eyes softened. That was exactly why the Avengers were strongly against the Emergence because they loved the planet so they would protect it. As Gilgamesh said, it was the most natural thing in the world. 

Stephen still understood Arishem's thought process to an extent and even agreed with it in theory, but he absolutely didn't agree with destroying Earth for it.

America, Thor, Loki, and Valkyrie had already lost their homes once and they made Earth their new home, and they weren't planning on losing that too. They already lost everything once so they held on to whatever they had even more. Additionally, Clea would always protect Earth simply because it was Stephen's home. 

"You have loved these people since the day we arrived. So, there is no one better to lead us now than you. Sersi. Get up. Ajak chose you for a reason," Thena said.

Ikaris's face dropped. That's exactly why he hadn't wanted Sersi to become the Prime Eternal. He supposed their relationship would've been doomed the second she found out about the Emergence anyway because she probably would never want to speak to him again. 

The Avengers hoped that Sersi would be able to stop or at least delay the Emergence. Everything hinged on her and the handful of Eternals that supported her. 

Phastos ran in calling Sersi's name. "The sphere inside of you, it creates a connection between you and Arishem. Maybe I can repurpose it and create a connection between, uh, well, all of us, and that can activate the Uni-Mind," he explained.

The Avengers, Guardians, and half of the Eternals lit up. 

"That's a good idea. I think it might work," said Wong. 

"Wouldn't that also create a connection with Arishem and the Celestials?" Nebula asked. 

"Yes, but Arishem will find out what we're doing anyway. It doesn't matter," said Phastos. 

He took the sphere out of Sersi's chest with her permission. "Will it work?" Sersi asked. "It has to," he said.

"I don't think there's any other option left," said Bruce.

Phastos worked on the devices to connect the Eternals using the sphere and created the bracelets. The remaining Eternals—Phastos, Thena, Sersi, Druig, and Makkari—donned their armor and wore the bracelets.

The Avengers and Guardians' hearts hammered in their chests as they desperately hoped this would work. 

Ikaris closed his eyes and a tear rolled down his face. He didn't like what he had to do and he didn't want to do it, but he had no other choice. He'd given up too much to stop now. 

Kingo had a pained expression at seeing the Eternals getting ready to fight Ikaris and Sprite. He wasn't on Sersi's side, but he wasn't going to help Ikaris and Sprite either. He wished it never ended up like this in the first place.

Chapter 6: indian ocean & the sun

Sprite and Ikaris sat on the edge of a cliff, watching the nearly erupting volcano. "I’m glad you’re here. Thank you, Sprite," he said. She let out a watery smile.

Ikaris was pleased that he wasn't alone, but he did feel slightly awkward that Sprite, of all people, was with him. 

Sersi, Phastos, Makkari, Gilgamesh, Thena, and Druig's mouths straightened into a thin line. They weren't happy that Sprite decided to side with Ikaris in the end. 

Ajak and Kingo's hearts ached at the thought of the Eternals coming head-to-head with each other because they knew it would happen soon, while the rest of the group hoped all of this would end soon and that the Uni-Mind would work. 

The two saw the Domo arrive in the distance. "Protect the Emergence," he said. "You’re really gonna kill them?" she said in a small voice.

"His declaration that he would kill us made it pretty clear, plus he already killed Ajak," Druig said, causing Ikaris' heart to drop and Ajak to swallow a sob.

Ikaris didn't say anything as he flew to the Domo and burst into the ship. He only found Thena. "Where’s Druig?" he asked. 

"Does he really think that she'll tell him?" said Nebula. Ikaris wished she would since all of this would be so much easier, and he wouldn't have to fight the Eternals. 

"Druig, Sersi, Makkari, Phastos, and Thena aren't stupid. They have a plan and it's going to work because it has to," Scott said desperately. There was too much hinging on this for it not to. 

"He’s busy," Thena said, conjuring a sword and walking toward Ikaris.

"Busy trying to stop the Emergence, hopefully," Shang-Chi said. He had too many things to do and say to his family before dying. He didn't want to die before making up with Xialing.

Tony hoped Phastos stayed far away from Ikaris because the entire plan depended on him and the Uni-Mind bracelets. If Phastos was taken out of the equation then it was game over.

The other Eternals couldn't understand how Ikaris didn't realize that Thena was only a distraction and keeping him busy so Druig could put Tiamut to sleep. 

"Thena, play nice. You’ve never had to fight me." "But I’ve always wanted to," she said. The two fought.

Ikaris's face was stony as he refused to admit that he felt a sting of betrayal. Thena was one of the Eternals he liked the most; his sister-in-arms. He had a feeling that the entire team's centuries-old frustration with each other would be pouring out because he had a lot to say to Druig. 

"I have, but not like this," Thena agreed. Phastos wanted to do the same thing for a long time. 

Everyone else didn't know who would win between the two. Most of them hoped it was Thena, but Ikaris was a force of nature as well. Only a fool would underestimate him after everything he'd done and Thena wasn't a fool.

Meanwhile, Sersi, Makkari, and Druig looked at the volcano. "It’s time to put a god to sleep," Sersi said.

"Thena was a distraction," Ikaris realized. 

"Glad you've caught up," said Gilgamesh. 

"We can't use this plan this time now that Ikaris and Sprite know," Makkari signed. 

"The Avengers and Guardians will be helping us and they have different skill sets and fighting styles that Ikaris isn't familiar with," Druig said as he signed back. He, for one, would have one hell of a time enjoying Ikaris going up against Thor if it came down to it. He even planned to bring popcorn to that fight. 

"We have to figure out where exactly that island is. All I know is that it's someplace tropical, but that doesn't narrow it down much," T'Challa said. 

"It'll be pretty easy to figure out the point of emergence once the earthquakes start," said Bruce. 

Druig activated the bracelet, initiating the Uni-Mind. He, Makkari, and Sersi were lifted into the air as cosmic energy formed around them.

Sprite had mixed feelings, Ikaris scowled, the rest of the Eternals smiled, and the Guardians and Avengers felt like a weight had been lifted off of their shoulders at seeing the Uni-Mind work. 

"It's working!" Phastos cried in relief. He didn't doubt his abilities, but too much depended on this. 

Thena and Ikaris were still fighting on the ship. He pinned her against the wall but then noticed the golden aura of the Uni-Mind surrounding her. She smirked.

Thena grinned. It was satisfying seeing her get the upper hand on Ikaris. 

"He's going to target Druig now," said Loki. 

"Let him," Druig said.

Ikaris clenched his jaw. If there was one person he was looking forward to watching himself fight, it was Druig. 

Ikaris left the Domo and saw Druig trying to stop the Emergence as the volcanic eruption almost stopped.

The Avengers' eyes lit up. 

"They're actually doing it," Sam said, stunned. 

"Now they just have to continue doing it and make sure that Ikaris and Sprite don't ruin the plan," Carol said.

"Let's be real, there's a large chance of them interfering, but I'm just glad that there is a plan," said Peter. 

"Not like it matters, these things rarely stick to the plan," said Rhodey. 

Ikaris attacked Druig from behind, causing the Uni-Mind to break. 

The Avengers and Guardians groaned, and the Eternals wished Ikaris would just get out of the way. 

"The Eternals have all these amazing powers, but none of them can create a portal," America said, shaking her head. "They could've just dumped Ikaris and Sprite somewhere else." 

"I should’ve done this five centuries ago," Ikaris said, seizing Druig. He took him up in the air and threw him on the ground, burying him with his optical beams, leaving him for dead. Makkari wailed.

The color drained out the Eternals' faces at seeing Druig get harmed and Makkari's mouth was open in a silent scream. Druig, on the other hand, was shaken but he wasn't surprised that Ikaris would do this, especially after seeing him kill Ajak. Ajak let out a sob at seeing Ikaris, someone who she considered a son, act so cruelly. Sersi fell ill at seeing Ikaris in a new light.

"Five centuries ago? I'm guessing you're talking about Tenochtitlan?" Druig said. 

"Yes," Ikaris said through gritted teeth. Tenochtitlan was when Druig denounced Arishem and he should've known then that he would've been a roadblock in the Emergence. 

"…Is Druig actually dead? He's an Eternal, we're more durable than that," said Eros. 

"Well, it's Ikaris' optics beams," Kingo said, fury spreading through him. He didn't like Druig very much, but he didn't want him to die or get harmed either. Ikaris was going down the wrong path and it was everything he was personally against.

Ikaris attacked the Domo with his lasers, causing the spacecraft to crash onto the island. Makkari grabbed Sersi and raced toward the Domo to bring Phastos and Thena to safety on the island.

"Phastos needs to get out there. The Uni-Mind designs need to stay safe," said Bruce. 

Phastos shook his head. "Nope. I have a few more designs that I want Ikaris to see." 

Ikaris landed in front of the remaining Eternals. "Druig’s gone. It’s over," he said.

"How many of us is he going to kill?" Gilgamesh said with resentment in his voice. 

"Every last one of us if he has to," said Druig. 

Ikaris's face contorted. Why couldn't the rest of the Eternals understand that no one had to get killed if didn't try to stop the Emergence? He didn't want to kill them. 

Makkari attacked Ikaris by using her superhuman speed to plunge him onto the cliff. He attempted to retaliate, but she avoided his attacks and relentlessly attacked him, causing the rock behind him to crack. 

No one was surprised that Makkari was reacting like this to Druig's death, but they were impressed at just how brutal she could be when she wanted to. Druig sat back and watched Makkari beat up Ikaris with a proud smile on his face.

"Great, now keep Ikaris distracted while the rest of the Eternals stop the Emergence," said Gamora. 

"How are they going stop Tiamut now if Druig's gone? He was the only one who could put him to sleep," Mantis said. Everyone froze and shared a highly alarmed look while Ikaris felt a sense of satisfaction. 

"Sersi will. It's your fight now, you know what you have to do," Druig told Sersi, who swallowed thickly and nodded. She tried to delay the Emergence, but it didn't work, so she had to stop it. There was no other choice. She had to kill a Celestial. 

The volcano began to erupt again, forcing Thena to slice falling molten rocks with her swords and Phastos to shoot them with his inventions. Sersi transmuted them into birds.

"Can you transmutate the entire volcano? It's what I would've done if I was in your position," Wanda asked.

Sersi paused as she digested the question. "I don't think so, but there's a lot I don't know about my powers."

"Now's the time to find out because we don't have much time left!" Thor urged. 

"But now Druig's gone so the volcano is going to erupt. Great," said Marc. He turned down the Avengers' offer to join the team and he still didn't want to, but he did tell them to call him whenever there was a world-ending crisis and there seemed to be a world-ending crisis every other day. 

Sersi ordered Phastos and Thena to keep Ikaris busy.

"Gladly," said Phastos. This fight was a long time coming. 

"I think Makkari's taking care of Ikaris for the time being," said Wong. 

"He deserves it," Makkari signed. 

"He does," Druig agreed. 

Ikaris was ultimately able to block Makkari, grabbing her throat and firing his optical beams at her chest to incapacitate her.

"No!" Druig cried as rage consumed him. 

"Is she okay?" Kate asked, concerned. 

"He's going to kill everyone," Kingo said, horrified. Shame filled his body; how could this have been the man he looked up to for millennia?

The Avengers hoped the other Eternals were all right, but they found it extremely frustrating that the fight was going this way when everything depended on the next thirty minutes or so. There wasn't that much time left before Tiamut rose. They were aware that Ikaris was the strongest Eternal besides Gilgamesh, but he was going through the Eternals like they were nothing.

Thena and Phastos ran toward Makkari and joined the fight against Ikaris. "Thena, stop!" Ikaris yelled as Thena attacked him.

Thena rolled her eyes. She had been scared that she wouldn't have what it takes to fight anymore, but she was the Goddess of War and she had to avenge Gilgamesh's death. 

"Of course, Thena's not going to stop when Ikaris is responsible for Gilgamesh's death," said Quill. 

Kro arrived on shore and attacked Ikaris. 

Everyone groaned loudly at seeing Kro. A smile crept across Thena's face at seeing Kro; she would finally get to avenge Gilgamesh. If she didn't get to stop the Emergence, at least she could die happy knowing that Kro died at her hand and she would finally get to meet Gilgamesh again in the next life. 

"Not this motherfucker again," said Rhodey.

"I get why he's angry because I would be furious if I was in his position too, but can't he pick any other time?" Layla said. 

Phastos shot Kro. "Why are you helping Ikaris?" Thena asked. "We can’t let it absorb our powers," Phastos said.

All of them shuddered at the thought of Kro with Ikaris' powers along with Gilgamesh and Ajak's. He'd be unstoppable. 

"Too late," Kro said, conjuring an exoskeleton fist. Thena's face darkened.

"That bastard," Gilgamesh spat. "He's goading you, Thena. Don't fall for it."

"I don't care. I want him dead," Thena snarled.

Makkari ran circles around Kro, creating a dust storm around him. Kro stomped the ground, blasting them back.

"Shit, he used Gilgamesh's powers. He's going to be tough to beat when he has both Ajak and Gilgamesh's powers," said Valkyrie. 

"If there's anyone who can do it, it's Thena," said Kingo. He didn't like the Eternals fighting, but he looked forward to seeing Thena kill Kro. 

Kro captured Makkari, but she was saved by Phastos shooting him, causing Kro to fly back into a cave. Thena followed him.

Druig let out a massive sigh of relief at knowing that Makkari was safe. That was too close. 

"Thank you, Phastos," Makkari signed. Phastos smiled. 

Everyone else had a feeling that only one person would be leaving that cave alive and they hoped it was Thena. 

"Where’s Sersi?" Ikaris said. "You always did underestimate her," Phastos said.

Sersi smiled sadly. She didn't mind being underestimated, but it did hurt that Ikaris thought so. 

"I don't know why Sersi's underestimated when she probably has the most destructive powers out of all the Eternals," said Clea. Transmutation wasn't a skill to be taken lightly.

Phastos used his powers to create devices to attack and contain Ikaris. "I don’t know about you, but this is really satisfying, right?" Phastos said.

"Yes, it is," Phastos beamed. Druig agreed. Ikaris's heart jumped into his throat at seeing himself contained; Sersi would stop Tiamut if he didn't get there in time. 

"Just keep him like that until Sersi stops Tiamut," said Stephen. Sersi knew she didn't have that kind of power alone, but she did if she activated the Uni-Mind. 

The Avengers and Guardians' brows shot up at seeing Phastos' inventions trap Ikaris when nothing else could; when they'd seen Ikaris plow through the rest of the Eternals. Phastos truly was the world's greatest inventor and it made sense why Hephaestus was based on him. 

"Let me go, Phastos! I can’t let her do this!" Ikaris yelled. 

"Phastos is the last person who would let Ikaris go free. Tiamut rising means that his family will die," Scott said.

"I don’t think so. I’ve been wanting to clip your wings for a long time, Ikaris!" Phastos responded. 

"If he wanted to clip Ikaris' wings, he should've just shot him into the sun," said Gilgamesh. 

"How funny," Ikaris said in a deadpan voice.

"I wasn't joking." 

Ikaris tried to use his optic beams, but they didn't work.

"HA!" Phastos laughed. Tony, Bruce, Peter, and Jane looked highly impressed with Phastos' technology.

Ikaris was icy with panic as he mentally cursed Phastos. He couldn't fail now when he'd done so much to get to this moment. 

Thena walked into the cave with her swords in front of her. Kro wasn't there.

"Where is he?" Thena growled, her fists clenched. She hoped she could get through this without a Mahd Wy'ry episode. It was partly her fault that Gilgamesh was dead in the first place because he was too busy taking care of her to focus on fighting Kro so the least she could do was avenge him.

"Thena. Oh, you’ve changed. You’re broken. Damaged. Useless. You can’t protect any of them," Kro said, appearing behind Thena. He punched her, but she fought back.

Fear fluttered in Thena's stomach at hearing her worst fears being taunted to her.

"She's the Goddess of War. She can protect all of them," Gilgamesh fiercely defended. He had full faith in her. 

Meanwhile, Sersi was still running toward the volcano. "Sersi," Ajak called out.

"Oh, that's cruel," said Sam. 

"Sprite, don't do that," Ajak chided. 

"Sersi has to be stopped," Sprite shot back. 

"You’re not powerful enough to do this. And you won’t. You’re not a killer," Ajak said. "Maybe I’ve changed. And is this really who you are, Sprite? Are you really willing to let everyone on this planet die?" Sersi said.

Sprite's lower lip trembled. She didn't like the idea of everyone on Earth dying, but what had the planet ever done for her?

Ajak's illusion faded away as a blade stabbed Sersi. "I’m sorry, Sersi," Sprite cried. 

There was a collective intake of breath and the color drained out of Sersi's face. Sprite had a pained expression and tears pooled in her eyes. Ikaris's stomach dropped at seeing Sersi get hurt and that Sprite was the one to stab her. 

"Apologizing after stabbing someone isn't helpful," said Marc.

Sprite ranted about her hidden jealousy of Sersi and all the things she missed because she was stuck in the body of a child.

Sprite swallowed down her frustration at Sersi, the world, and herself. She wanted nothing more than to live amongst humans like Sersi and the rest of the Eternals did, but she never got the chance to. Why did Arishem have to make her like this? 

Sersi's face crumpled and Kingo closed his eyes at hearing Sprite's rant and the hurt she'd been carrying all this time. Everyone else's eyes softened, but they were still quite annoyed that Sprite had chosen Ikaris' side. 

"Just because you're jealous of her, it doesn't mean you have to stab her, Sprite!" Thor said. 

"What else was she supposed to do?" Loki said. 

Sprite used her powers to create multiple illusions of the volcano. "It’s all over now. We get to start over somewhere new," she said. 

Except for Ikaris and Sprite, everyone else scowled at seeing the illusions of the volcano. 

"And you'll still be stuck in the body of a child so I don't understand what you're trying to do," said Nebula. "Didn't you see your alternate bodies in the World Forge? You'll be a child in every lifetime." 

Sprite's breath caught. 

Druig hit Sprite on the head with a rock, causing her to fall unconscious. "Well, that was very moving," he said.

Druig let out a guffaw, Sprite scowled, Ikaris' eyes bugged out at seeing Druig, the Eternals blinked in surprise, and everyone else was taken aback. 

"Oh, he's not dead?" Drax said. 

Makkari's eyes lit up at seeing that Druig was alive and she wanted to weep out of happiness. She brought him into a tight hug and he hugged her back, just as tightly. 

"It would take a lot more than that to kill me," said Druig, taking comfort in Makkari's embrace. Ikaris felt a spark of annoyance; he should've made sure that Druig was dead. 

"Can we go back to the old plan?" Sersi said hopefully. 

Druig shook his head and sent her a bitter smile. "I don't think so. I might not be dead, but what Ikaris did still would've taken a lot of my strength away." 

"Whatever they have to do, they need to do it quickly. I fear there's not much time left," Vision said.

Druig helped Sersi up. "I can’t do this. This is your fight now," he said. She nodded as she turned the knife into water.

"What about the wound?" Ajak said, concerned. 

"There's no time for that now," said Sersi. She felt highly anxious at knowing what she would have to do, but there was no other choice now. They were out of time and options. 

Thena and Kro were still fighting. She majestically jumped in the air and stabbed Kro in the chest, who punched her back with Gilgamesh's powers.

Gilgamesh was burning with fury at seeing Kro use his powers against Thena. The faster she killed him, the better. 

Thena's eyes were now white, allowing Kro to lure her by imitating Gilgamesh's voice.

"NO!" Thena cried, her face turning bone white. Her Mahd Wy'ry couldn't make an appearance now when she was so close to killing Kro.

"That's a new low," said Bucky. 

"Give me your hand," Kro said, imitating Gilgamesh's way to get Thena to remember.

All of them glared daggers at Kro. 

"You've got to be joking. That bastard," Gilgamesh growled. "You have to remember, Thena. You can do it."

The tears came without warning in Thena's eyes. "I hope so," she said, quietly. Gilgamesh was dead because of her, the least she could do was carry out his last wish and remember. 

Kro rolled up Thena in his tentacles and tried to absorb her powers. "Ah, it’s a shame. You and I, we’re just tools of a god. Built to kill."

Rage nearly consumed Thena as she shook with fury while fear twisted in the group's stomach at seeing Thena in Kro's hold.

"Not again," Ajak said, feeling ill. She'd seen too many Eternals in this position at this point. 

The Eternals couldn't shake Kro's words out of their minds. Deviants and Eternals—two sides of the same coin and Arishem's children. They were used as pawns for the Celestials and weren't allowed to evolve. 

"Thena. Remember," Kro said, stroking Thena's cheek. Thena's eyes turned back to normal. She then freed herself and conjured two blades to dismember Kro, instantly killing him.

There was a moment of silence before it was broken by Thena's sobs. "I remembered," she sobbed. 

Gilgamesh kissed Thena's forehead; he had a wide smile. "I'm so, so proud of you. I knew you could always do it."

"Don't die this time. Please," she pleaded.

"I don't plan to." 

Marc blinked the tears out of his eyes. He knew better than anyone that mental illness wasn't easy to deal with so he felt strangely proud of her. Even though Gilgamesh was gone, the progress she made over the centuries and her willingness to live hadn't suddenly disappeared. Like him, remembering the love given to him was a reminder that she needed to accept herself.

Everyone else had soft, yet proud smiles and the Eternals were pleased that Gilgamesh and Ajak's killer had finally been avenged. Now they only had to deal with Ikaris. 

Thena fell to the ground and gasped for breath. "I remember," she whispered. 

They all knew that Kro was doomed the moment he quoted Gilgamesh without truly understanding the humanity he'd stolen from him. 

Meanwhile, the surrounding islands were destroyed and massive tsunamis were caused as Tiamut's fingertips rose from the Earth's crust. Thena walked out of the cave to see Tiamut's forehead sticking out of the water.

The Avengers and Guardians let out a strangled noise and immense fear stuck them at seeing just how large Tiamut was. 

"Oh my God, it's started," said America, feeling sick. She couldn't lose another one of her homes.  

"…That's only Tiamut's fingertips and forehead?" Kate said faintly.

"Ginormous tsunamis were created due to just Tiamut's fingertips," Stephen said, his stomach churning. 

Rhodey clutched his head. "What the fuck is going on in the universe?"

"I'm so glad Ego didn't look like this," Rocket said, thunderstruck.

"Ego was just as bad, if not worse," Quill grumbled. And everyone wondered why he had issues when his father was a Celestial. The Eternals had just as many problems as he did and a Celestial created them so technically, they were children of a Celestial too.  

Phastos conjured more devices to hold Ikaris down. "Come on, Sersi," he pleaded.

The humans desperately hoped that Sersi would be able to complete whatever plan she had in mind because they were out of options at this point. 

When Tiamut had risen enough to expose parts of himself, Sersi began turning him to stone. 

"It's a good plan, but it's going to take a while before the entire Celestial will turn to stone," said Gamora. 

Ikaris mustered his full force to break free of Phastos' rings with a yell and promptly flew to confront Sersi. His eyes flickered gold as he tried to kill her, but couldn't. 

Ikaris's face contorted as though he was struggling not to cry. Could he truly harm Sersi? But she was the only thing standing in between Tiamut's birth. 

A sob rose in Sersi's throat. She didn't want to think Ikaris was capable of killing her, but she'd seen him kill Ajak, indirectly kill Gilgamesh, attempt to kill Druig, and injure Makkari. He'd done many, many things she thought he was incapable of doing.

Everyone else's hearts twisted. While Ikaris and Sersi's relationship was broken in the present day, they'd seen how much he loved her. Killing Ajak was one thing, but killing your ex-wife? The person he'd once given his entire heart to? I’m yours, Sersi, if you’ll have me. 

Sersi closed her eyes and awaited the end. 

Sersi's eyes were dull. She accepted her fate and was fine with dying at the moment, not because it was Ikaris and she didn't want to fight him, but because she wanted to not have to choose to kill Tiamut. Who would want to deal with a burden like this? How could she make a decision that would impact the entire planet and the universe? She wasn't sure that she could do it or if she wanted to do it, but she knew that she had to save the planet no matter what. 

Ikaris remembered their life together and how Sersi loved humans before breaking down and crying.

Sobs wracked Ikaris' body, robbing him of the ability to speak—barely allowing a breath to be drawn. He knew he would help Sersi and join the Uni-Mind now. His entire life had been defined by his duty toward Arishem, but he refused to hurt Sersi and the people she loved—humanity. 

Ajak was shaking with grief as tears spilled fast and hot. She failed Ikaris, her son. 

Sadness flitted across everyone else's face. None of the Avengers or Guardians envied Ikaris's position, but he could still choose to help Sersi. It wasn't too late. They were aware that he'd given up everything for the mission, but was it worth killing the love of your life? Even if he didn't help Sersi, he could choose the Kingo route and refuse to fight.

Sersi continued to transmute Tiamut and activated the Uni-Mind, lifting herself in the air, and connecting all the Eternals, including Sprite. After a moment, Ikaris allowed himself to be connected to the Uni-Mind.

The Eternals, Guardians, and Avengers let out a massive sigh of relief at seeing Ikaris and Sprite finally join the Uni-Mind. Seeing all the Eternals connected via the Uni-Mind was a breathtaking sight. Phastos beamed at seeing the Uni-Mind work. 

Ikaris had a desolate look in his eyes. His love for Sersi and her love for him shattered his sense of duty long enough for him to realize that none of it was worth it. He could never physically hurt her. He dedicated his life to duty, but he chose love in the end. 

Sprite dashed the tears from her eyes with her shirt sleeve. She'd chosen Ikaris's side because she didn't care about Earth, but she was cursed to live in a child's body in every lifetime. Nothing would change on this planet or the next so she might as well help save Earth.

Sersi closed her eyes and let out a watery smile at seeing Ikaris join the Uni-Mind. She was thankful that he helped her in the end. 

Sersi screamed as she turned Tiamut to marble with the power gained from all of the Eternals. 

None of them envied Sersi at the moment. How painful must it be to have the cosmic power of nine Eternals flowing through one person? 

The lights from Tiamut's eyes were extinguished as the transmutation reached his head; half of Tiamut's head and his left hand palm was visible as his frozen, dead body was stuck in the ocean.

The room was filled with deafening silence as all of them gaped and their mouths turned dry at the striking sight of a frozen Celestial sticking out of the ocean. 

"Oh my God," Scott said faintly.

Kingo clutched his head. "You guys really killed a Celestial." 

"Welcome to the club," said Gamora. 

"There's a Celestial body on Earth? Do you know how rich you guys can be if you mine the resources in it?" Rocket told the humans. "We're the Guardians of the Galaxy, and Terra's in the galaxy, I think we deserve a cut."

The Avengers smiled fondly. 

"And I'm the son of a Celestial so isn't Tiamut like my celestial uncle or something? Technically, I can claim that celestial body since I'm from Earth too," said Quill.

"I don't think Tiamut is our uncle. Anyway, he's dead," said Mantis. 

"That Celestial is in unclaimed territory filled with many valuable resources. How long until the world's governments start getting interested and start fighting over it?" T'Challa said. He wasn't unaware that the rest of the world was highly interested in vibranium. 

The Avengers sighed. "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," said Natasha. 

"I don't know if we'll need the Uni-Mind this time, but I'll create it just in case," said Phastos. 

"That's probably a good idea," Eros agreed. "There are a lot of other Eternals out there in the galaxy who need to learn the truth about their mission and themselves." 

"Are you going to help us stop Tiamut?" Gamora asked him, who instantly said, "Yes."

"And will you help us kill Thanos?" Nebula asked, tilting her head in curiosity. 

Eros hesitated. "He's my brother," he said quietly. 

"He's our father and we're going to murder him anyway."

Eros bit the inside of his cheek as he had a look of devastation. He had to let go of the past; whatever Thanos he knew when he was a child was long gone and a monster was left in his place. "I'll help," he said, swallowing thickly. He knew he would have to face Thanos soon, but he didn't think he had the strength to fight him. However, he'd do it because it needed to be done, and for Gamora and Nebula. 

Sersi's suit glowed with the remaining cosmic energy and she healed her wound. Ikaris looked at Tiamut's corpse in shock as he broke down crying.

Ikaris stared at the sight of a dead Celestial, utterly devastated. He had never known that could've been possible. The Guardians told him that they killed a Celestial and that they lived on the severed head of a Celestial, but it was still different seeing it. He failed his mission, the one thing he'd dedicated his entire life to. What did he have to live for now? He was a soldier without a cause. For millennia, he'd been secure in the knowledge that he was doing the right thing and sacrificed everything for it, even turning against his family, but none of it was worth it in the end. Ajak and Gilgamesh would've been alive if it wasn't for him. 

"I’m sorry," Ikaris cried. Sersi put a hand on his cheek and brought their foreheads together. "I know," she said.

"Will you help us this time, Ikaris?" Sersi asked quietly. 

Ikaris closed his eyes and a fresh round of tears rolled down his face. He nodded. "Yes," he croaked. How could Sersi still be capable of such kindness when he'd failed her time and time again, and carried out horrible acts? He'd been a horrible husband, lying to her for centuries and then leaving her without an explanation. He failed in his mission and failed at being a good husband. 

The Avengers appreciated that Sersi wasn't the most typical type of leader, she wasn't the strongest or the most confident. She was softer, gentler, and filled with self-doubt, but she summoned the strength she didn't know she had and won the day by choosing her love for Earth. In the end, it was the strength of her conviction and Ikaris' love for her that got him to surrender and allow her to stop Tiamut. 

Ikaris got up and flew into the sky and into space. He took one last look at Earth and flew straight into the Sun. 

Ikaris's face crumpled as he burned from guilt. He distanced himself from living a human life after leaving Sersi because what was the point? All of it would end one day. And after that, he fell back into his old soldier ways and became the person who was able to kill his own family members for the cause only to fail again because he still loved Sersi too much to kill her, therefore, failing his mission and also making his previous actions for nothing. He also noticed that he took one last look at Earth, the planet he'd spent his entire current lifetime on, the planet that Sersi loved and protected, before flying into the sun. When you love something, you protect it. It is the most natural thing in the world, Gilgamesh had said, so why did he struggle to do the most natural thing in the world? Maybe things would've been different if he'd listened to love rather than duty, but he had another chance to change things now, didn't he? 

The Eternals' faces were etched with sadness and their stomachs dropped at seeing Ikaris flying into the Sun. Many of them had issues with him, but he was still a part of their family; the person who they'd fought alongside for millennia.

Tears spilled down Sersi's cheeks. She loved Ikaris once and had given him her whole heart. She felt her heart shatter at seeing Ikaris kill himself. 

"Don't do that, Ikaris!" Ajak scolded. Her eyes were red and puffy. 

Ikaris looked at her, stunned. Ajak had a watery smile and she hugged him. "I've failed you and it's my fault. I'm sorry, Ikaris. It would've been kinder to spare you of the knowledge." 

His eyes were wide as he hesitantly hugged Ajak back. Why would she still be kind toward him after seeing that he would've been responsible for her death? But her embrace felt warm and it'd been a really shitty day. He tightly wrapped her arms around her and sobbed into her shoulder. How could a son not take comfort from his mother?  

None of them were particularly fond of Ikaris, especially the humans since he was actively trying to destroy their home, but they couldn't help but feel a twinge of sympathy. Ikaris didn't form attachments with humans like the rest of the Eternals had so he had no reason to save them. Plus taking into account his strong faith in Arishem and his position as second-in-command, it wasn't surprising that he did what he did, and felt like he failed to the point where he had nothing else to live for and flew into the sun. Luckily, he would be helping them stop the Emergence in their universe now. 

Besides, the irony of Ikaris flying into the sun wasn't lost on any of them. It was also ironic that three Eternals who died, despite their godly power, died a very human death like the figures in the stories they influenced—Ajax, Icarus, and Gilgamesh from Greek and Mesopotamian mythology. Ajax was defeated by Odysseus in a battle for Achilles' armor and his disappointment drove him mad, and then went on to kill himself with the sword he had received from Hector, emphasizing the changeability of human fortune and human nature like the actual Ajak. Meanwhile, Icarus flew too close to the sun and was a symbol of hubris and overconfidence, and Gilgamesh died of old age. The Epic of Gilgamesh was about a hot-headed king, who eventually humbled with time and with the help of Enkidu, a good friend. He spent his days hunting for the answer to unlocking immortality, and though he died of old age one day, his accomplishments outlasted his life. Similarly, Gilgamesh's accomplishments far outlasted his life as his love and kindness toward Thena allowed her to kill Kro. They were all very human attributes.

Sersi walked to Makkari, Phastos, and Thena on the shore. "How? How did you do it?" Phastos asked. "When I touched Tiamut’s palm, I felt energy surging into me. Tiamut joined our Uni-Mind," Sersi said.

Everyone was taken aback. 

"Tiamut…helped us?" Ajak said, baffled. 

"Huh, so there is at least one good Celestial out there," Quill said. 

"Wait, Tiamut willingly gave up his life to save Earth? I'm not complaining, but why?" Layla questioned. 

"Is it possible if Tiamut saw why the Eternals were trying to save Earth when he was connected to the Uni-Mind?" Wanda suggested. 

"That might be possible," said Loki.

"Well, I, for one, am grateful that Tiamut decided to join the Uni-Mind of his own free will," said Stephen. He realized the price it took for the incredible act of creation, plus it was funny that even in Mesopotamian mythology, Tiamat was the goddess of chaos and creation, and she'd been killed by her own children. 

Kingo wondered if maybe the Emergence was the wrong way to go about things if Tiamut himself chose to save Earth. Ikaris felt hollow inside; he'd done all that and Tiamut decided to sacrifice himself in the end. Who was he to go against a Celestial's choice?

"I always wondered how we survived the destruction of other planets that we were on. By being connected to the Celestial as it emerged," Phastos said.

The Eternals made a sound of realization. 

"I never thought about it like that," said Eros. How many lifetimes had he lived? 

"We became one…even Ikaris and Sprite all because of Tiamut," Makkari signed.

"That's a beautiful way to think about it," said Jane. 

Druig and Sprite walked toward the rest of the group. Makkari's face contorted as she trotted to Druig and brought their foreheads together.

Makkari and Druig had soft smiles. They couldn't believe that the two had come out of this conflict, safe and alive, but they were grateful for it. 

"Is he gone?" Sprite asked tearfully. Sersi nodded, causing Sprite's face to crumple.

An ache pushed against Ikaris' heart. He didn't know where he stood with the rest of the Eternals now, but he knew that their relationship had probably been ruined forever.

Sersi said she still had energy left from the Uni-Mind and offered to turn Sprite human, though she warned her she'd no longer be immortal. Sprite accepted and touched Sersi's outstretched hand, turning human.

Many of the Eternals weren't pleased that Sprite had chosen Ikaris' side, but she was still a part of their family. They'd seen her struggle with her immortality more than the rest of them and now she could finally get what she wanted. 

Sprite's breath caught. "I would become human? I can age?" she said in a hopeful voice. 

"I'll do it if I still have remaining Uni-Mind power this time," Sersi said. 

"Thank you," she said, quietly. It was strange knowing that the person who she'd been jealous of for so long was the one who would give her the thing she wanted the most—to be able to age. She could finally live her life the way she wanted to. 

Stephen couldn't help but think about the Ancient One's last words. Death is what gives life meaning. To know your days are numbered. Your time is short. And she was right. 

The Avengers and Guardians thought that 'Eternals' sounded like a grand concept, but it seemed like a curse in the end. Thena's mind collapsed due to her memories from past Emergences since Arishem didn't erase it properly, seeing tragedy after tragedy took a toll on Druig, Sprite was cursed to live as a child for eternity, and Ikaris had been burdened by keeping a secret for millennia, thereby destroying his marriage.

Two weeks later, the remaining Eternals were sitting in Ajak's house, watching the news about Tiamut and eating food. "The sudden appearance of an enormous stone figure in the Indian Ocean has left more questions than answers for authorities."

The Avengers sighed. 

"Of course, it will. How is anyone even supposed to explain that?" said Bruce. 

"I'm expecting another UN meeting to be called," T'Challa scowled. He hated those. Valkyrie wanted to weep at the thought of more politics.

"I can't believe that there's a giant stone Celestial just sitting in the middle of the Indian Ocean," said Shang-Chi. 

"Does the Celestial fall under international waters or a country's territory?" Sam questioned. 

"Shit, I don't even want to think about the politics that this is going to cause," Rhodey groaned.

"I hope you guys understand just how valuable Celestial minerals are," Gamora warned. "The minerals found on Knowhere sustain the entire colony."

"You guys did that?" Ben asked in disbelief. "I love you so much," Phastos said.

Phastos was just happy that Ben was taking all of this in stride.

Thena was in the kitchen and she put her hand in the toaster. "Are you okay?" Jack asked. "I get confused sometimes," she said. "Yeah. Me, too," he said.

Phastos chuckled, but he was glad that Jack was getting along with Thena. 

"So, Dad said you’re the goddess Athena. "'Thena.' Drop the 'A.'"

"Minerva does exist, though. We saw her in Omnipotence City," said Thor. 

Thena scowled. "She's awful."

"It's probably for the best that Thena isn't Athena. Who would want to be related to Zeus?" Marc said. 

"What’s your superpower?" Jack asked while jumping to try to reach an orange on the shelf. Thena conjured a sword, stabbed the tip of the orange, and gave it to him.

Phastos yelped. "Thena!" 

"What?" Thena said, cluelessly. 

Phastos was scandalized and he hurriedly dumped his plate onto Makkari's lap, much to her annoyance, and ran toward the kitchen. "Almost gave you a shave and a haircut, didn’t she? Stand behind me, actually," he told his son and made him cover his ears.

"Don't be dramatic, Phastos. The sword didn't even go near him," said Thena. 

"You conjured a sword!" Phastos shot back. 

"Yes, that's what I do."

Gilgamesh snickered. 

"You know that your babysitting privileges are completely revoked, right?" Phastos said.

Thena rolled her eyes. 

"So can I babysit instead?" Makkari asked. 

Phastos balked. "Absolutely not. And you'll just let Druig near him," he said while signing. Makkari pouted. 

"Come on, Phastos! I won't teach the kid anything too awful," Druig protested. 

"Violence is never the answer. Right, T? You gotta always use your brain, hmm?" Phastos told Jack. "Like you did fighting on the beach?" Thena said. 

Everyone snorted while Phastos groaned. 

"Your dad spoke calmly and firmly to the bad guy and he had no choice but to listen to me, so no violence," Phastos said. "The kid is ten…not stupid!" Makkari signed.

All of them let out a guffaw and Makkari shook her head, exasperated. 

Phastos asked when they were leaving. 

"I hope soon," Phastos grumbled under his breath. 

Druig entered the kitchen and Phastos told Jack not to go anywhere near him.

The group was amused and Druig was unimpressed. 

The Eternals were standing in the field outside Ajak's house. "Wow, Dad, the Domo's so cool," Jack said. "Your dad fixed that with his bare hands," Phastos said, proudly.

"With absolutely no violence," Phastos stressed. 

"Can we go to space, too, one day?" "Let’s wait till you get your learner’s permit, okay?"

"That still won't be enough for some people," Tony said, side-eying Peter. 

"It was an accident!" Peter defended.

"Hey, Phastos. Take care. This world is lucky to have you," Druig said. "Thank you. I know you’re not a hugger, so…" Phastos trailed off. The two shook hands and Druig brought him into a hug. 

Phastos and Druig's chests warmed. They weren't the closest Eternals, but they respected and appreciated each other. They'd both lost faith in humanity and had regained it along with a new appreciation for it as well.

"You think when we find the other Eternals out there, that they’ll accept the truth the way we did?" Druig asked Makkari while signing. She nodded. "…Because the truth will set them free."

"They need to know too," Eros said. 

"Join us then. The truth will be more convincing if two sets of Eternals from different planets tell them the truth," said Druig. 

Eros took a deep breath. "I will." 

Druig, Makkari, and Thena boarded the Domo and left Earth. Meanwhile, Sersi was in London with Sprite and Kingo. Sprite was on her phone and Kingo was packing Sprite's bags in his car.

"Oh, Sprite's coming to live with me?" Kingo said. 

"Don't ditch me this time," Sprite said. 

"I won't because you'll be living in my house."

"Told you that thing was addictive. Please visit?" Sersi asked. "I’ll try. When I get time off from school," Sprite said grumpily.

"Listen, I'll probably be paying for your tuition and you'll be going to a nice, fancy international school, alright?' Kingo said. "I have a beautiful, sea-facing penthouse apartment and you'll get your own giant room. Do you know how much that costs in Mumbai? What more could you want?"

"Fine," Sprite grumbled. She was just grateful that Sersi didn't seem to hold any grudges against her. 

"Oh, wow. Listen, it’s gonna be good for you to be in a human environment. You’ll pick up some social skills. Oh, you didn’t think you needed those? That explains so much," Kingo said.

"You can start now. There are a couple of kids over there," Kingo said, pointing to Peter, Kate, America, Shang-Chi, and Groot. 

Sprite eyed them and turned back to Kingo. "I'm older than everyone in this room besides the Eternals and you want me to make friends with human and tree children?"

Kingo sighed. Maybe they should take baby steps. 

Sprite and Sersi hugged each other farewell. Sprite sat in the car. "Sometimes I wonder if we did the right thing. Killing Tiamut," Sersi said. 

"You did," T'Challa said.

Gilgamesh's words echoed in Sersi's mind. When you love something, you protect it. It is the most natural thing in the world, but then why did she feel so uneasy about it? If it was so natural, then it shouldn't be a difficult decision in wanting to protect the planet, and yet she felt weighed down with enormous guilt because by killing a Celestial, she'd stopped new worlds from being created. The Avengers and Guardians seemed to think she made the right decision, but they were biased. They were either human or had connections to Earth. She was an Eternal, she had to think about the bigger picture as well.

Stephen didn't envy Sersi's position. He knew what it was like to have the entire universe's burden on his shoulders and also be wracked with guilt, but he was still human in the end so he was thankful for her decision. 

"It’s too late for that. But you followed your heart. We all did. Even Ikaris," Kingo said.

Ikaris's eyes were dull, but he felt content with knowing that he wasn't truly capable of hurting Sersi.

Kingo saw Dane across the street. "Looks like someone’s waiting for you. He’s a lot cuter in person," he said.

"You should find him, or anyone else," Ikaris said quietly. They both knew that they weren't going to work out now.

Sersi's head whirled toward him. "What?"

He shrugged. "Dane seems nice."

Dane and Sersi walked in a garden. She informed him of her adventures, noting she still couldn't transform him into a giraffe unless she happened to be in a Uni-Mind again.

"What is with this man and giraffes?" Kingo asked. 

Wanda wondered if she could turn people into giraffes. 

Dane asked what she would do now. She wasn't sure but said that she couldn't pretend to be human anymore. "I love you, Sersi. I don’t care what you are," he said. Sersi hugged him.

Sersi's breath caught. She knew her relationship with Ikaris was truly over, and she felt like she was finally in a position where she could move on.

Ikaris's throat tightened at the confession, but he knew he fumbled his chance with Sersi. 

Dane reminded her about their conversation about secrets and said he had one about his family history, which was…complicated.

"So do a lot of us," said Eros.

"A lot more than I expected, honestly," Shang-Chi said. It made him feel a little bit better about his own messed-up family. 

"Poor guy. I don't think it can get worse than our families," said Quill. 

Sersi became petrified and unable to move except for her eyes. The clouds parted and Arishem appeared in the sky, standing over Earth, placing restraints on Sersi, Kingo, and Phastos. He summoned them off the planet to the palm of his gigantic hand.

The Eternals whimpered, the Guardians gaped, and the Avengers let out a strangled noise. 

"Oh fuck," said Druig. 

"I knew there would be consequences," Ikaris muttered. But it was too late for that now.

"Arishem's bigger than I thought he would be," Nebula said.

"He's nearly three times bigger than Earth!" Clint exclaimed.

"I'm starting to think we got lucky fighting Ego and not any of the other Celestials," Rocket said, eyes wide.

"Why was I kidnapped? I didn't do anything!" Kingo said. Sprite's eyes widened as she realized the only reason she wasn't taken was because she, technically, wasn't an Eternal anymore.

"You have chosen to sacrifice a Celestial for the people of this planet. I will spare them, but your memories will show if they are worthy to live. And I will return for judgment," Arishem said as he transported all of them through a black hole.

There was a loud silence as they all digested that. Panic flared in Sersi's eyes; they were going to pay for their decision now. Dread twisted in Ikaris' gut; this was exactly what he'd been afraid of, but there was nothing he could do now.

Tony, Peter, Bruce, and Jane's jaws dropped at seeing Arishem create and travel through a black hole. Arishem didn't follow science at all.

"Oh shit," said Valkyrie. 

"This is going to happen in our universe too when we stop the Emergence. Arishem's going to kidnap us," said Gilgamesh. 

"At least I know he'll kidnap me so I can warn Ben," said Phastos, his heart sinking at knowing how worried Ben would be at him suddenly disappearing with no notice. Not to mention that Jack would also be concerned about his absence. 

"What other choice do we have? We have to stop the Emergence," Ajak said. 

"Hopefully, Sersi's memories would show that we're worthy to live," Sam said.

"How are we supposed to deal with this now?" T'Challa said. No one had an answer for him. 

"How come Arishem didn't appear when we killed Ego?" Mantis questioned. 

"Because he was a faulty Celestial. I doubt Arishem cares about him," said Gamora. 

London was in chaos as the people tried to make sense of what happened. Dane breathed heavily as he knew what he had to do.

"In addition to the giant Celestial sticking out of the ocean, the planet has to now deal with Arishem's gigantic face showing up in the atmosphere and kidnapping people," Bucky sighed. 

"London's catching up to the number of weird things New York has to deal with too," said Clint.  

The Domo flew through space. Thena, Makkari, and Druig were in the lab, looking at a hologram of the Earth. "It’s been weeks. We haven’t heard from any of them. It’s like…they’ve disappeared," Makkari signed.

Makkari's shoulders slumped. That's exactly what happened.

"Why didn't Makkari, Thena, and Druig get kidnapped?" America asked. 

"Maybe because they weren't on Earth?" Carol suggested. 

"Arishem. We have to go back," Thena said.

"Absolutely not," said the remaining Eternals. 

Thena and Makkari felt something and Thena conjured her blades. 

Dread engulfed all of them. 

"What now?" Thena said, exhausted. 

A colorful portal appeared and Pip the Troll stumbled out, drunk. 

"Oh, it's just Pip," Eros said, relaxing. 

Gamora raised a brow. "You know him?" 

"Yes, he's my friend."

Pip cleared his throat and introduced the royal prince of Titan, brother of Thanos, the Knave of Hearts, Defeater of Black Roger, the great adventurer, Starfox of Mystery Planet.

"Oh, it's just Eros," said Nebula. 

"It's not surprising that I would've caught up with you all after you stopped the Emergence," Eros said. He had an idea of where Arishem took Kingo, Sersi, and Phastos. 

"Is that what you've been doing all this time? Going on adventures?" Layla asked. 

"While on the run from Arishem? Yes."

"Who would want to be introduced as the brother of Thanos? Everyone wants to kill Gamora and Nebula for being the daughters of Thanos," Drax stated, conveniently leaving out that he used to be one of them.

"I keep telling Pip to not introduce me that way, but he does it anyway," Eros said, exasperated. 

"Thanos' brother?" Makkari signed, shocked.

Everyone snorted. 

"Yeah, that was a shock for me too," Quill said. 

"I wasn't expecting to ever meet you either," Nebula told Eros.

"Did you want to?" Eros asked. 

"No." 

Gamora elbowed her sister, who shoved her back and rolled her eyes. "We just never thought about you much. Of course, Thanos told us about you, but we hated anything to do with him."

Eros smiled sadly. "I understand." 

"Gamora and Nebula are the better nieces. You don't want to meet the other nieces and nephews," Mantis said. The Avengers and Guardians shuddered at the thought of the Black Order; Gamora and Nebula scowled deeply.

"Those psychopaths," Thor grumbled. 

Eros exited the portal with a joyful smile. "What a pleasure to make your acquaintance, my fellow Eternals."

"How many other Eternals do you know?" Ajak asked. 

"A couple. There are a lot of us and we're spread throughout the galaxy," Eros responded. 

He told Pip that he didn't have to do the whole thing every time, but Pip said everything Eros did was impressive. Eros agreed.

Nebula and Gamora rolled their eyes while Eros grinned. 

"I’m Eros. This is Pip. And you are as beautiful as legends say, Thena," Eros said.

Thena raised an eyebrow. 

Eros said he was there to help. "Your friends are in big trouble," he said, lifting his communication sphere. Thena and Makkari were instantly interested in seeing the sphere. "And we know where to find them."

The Eternals looked at Eros for an answer. "The World Forge," Eros said.

"Oh yeah, that makes sense," said Sprite. 

Meanwhile, Dane was in his office, psyching himself up to open a long, rectangular wooden box. He opened it to reveal the Ebony Blade, which whispered eerily.

Wong, Stephen, Clea, America, and the Eternals sucked in a breath. 

"Isn't that the—" America started to say. 

"Ebony Blade," Clea said, the color draining out of her face. 

"…Is that a bad thing?" Shang-Chi said. 

"Dude, just look at it. Of course, it's an evil sword and it's whispering. When has that ever ended well? Look what happened to Gorr," Peter said. Jane, Thor, Valkyrie, and Loki had a pained expression at the reminder. 

"I mentioned that it's the dark counterpart to Excalibur," Wong said, shaken. 

"Why does Dane have the Ebony Blade?" Sersi said in disbelief. 

"He said he had a complicated family history," said Druig. 

"This is one hell of a family secret!" Sprite exclaimed. 

"I always wanted to see the Ebony Blade," Thena said, highly interested. Sue her, she liked swords. 

"Okay, I get that the Ebony Blade isn't a great thing, but why?" Bruce asked.

"The Ebony Blade was enchanted to cut through any object, to prevent the death of its wielder, and to deflect any magic, but it also carried a curse that would slowly corrupt any user and cause a lust for violence, bloodshed, and death. It grants its wielder the powers of the Black Knight," Stephen explained.

"Another sword that corrupts people," Jane said, shaking her head.

"So, Dane shouldn't touch it!" Sersi said, frantically. 

"Death to me is reward," Dane translated from Latin as he read the description etched into the box.

"Yeah, that tracks from an evil sword like that," said Rhodey. 

"I’m sorry. I have to try," he said, nearly touching the blade. The material on the blade sensed his hand and guided itself toward him.

"NO!" they cried. 

"Sure you’re ready for that, Mr. Whitman?" Eric Brooks said, off-screen. 

"He absolutely is not," Loki said. 

"I hope we're all in agreement that we're going stop the Emergence?" Ajak asked. There were sounds of agreement from the Eternals, Avengers, and Guardians. Ikaris closed his eyes and nodded. "Yes." 

"Great, none of us have to fight each other," said Thor. 

Text appeared on the screen: The next recording is about the Guardians of the Galaxy. 

"Oh, back to us? Hopefully, Mantis and Drax don't kidnap someone else this time," Quill said, giving the two a pointed look. Mantis pouted and Drax snickered. 

Eros' face lit up. He was looking forward to finding out more about Nebula and Gamora's lives.

Notes:

I think it's kinda lame that Eros is being introduced after Thanos is dead and after Gamora's story is over. Nebula's the only family member he can meet now. However, I do think it's funny that Eros has no problem finding romantic partners while Thanos killed half of the universe to impress Death.

Thank you for reading and commenting ❤️

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 15 of part of the journey is the end