The table was covered inch by inch with food. Delicious food.

We all sat around the table, except for Gilgamesh who stood right behind Thena at the head of the table and made sure we all had our drinks and the proper food. But we were all amazed and what he created, Gilgamesh seeming proud of himself as we were filling our plates and getting cozy in their home. The home did look like their personalities together, cluttered with homemade supplies, yet filled with warmth from both the food and the sunshine right outside the window. The room smelled of food and sounded like the small chattering of old friends again.

"This is what you eat every day?" Kingo asked next to me as I was sitting between Kingo and Thena.

"This is amazing!" Ikaris said in a light hum as I looked at both Thena and Gilgamesh.

"Thank you for this," I thanked him lightly. Thena winked at me and tapped my arm with her fingers as Gilgamesh spoke up.

"Oh, you're welcome!" Gilgamesh replied happily as he grabbed a pitcher to walk over and fill glasses, "Help yourself. This one is a trio of wine, beer, and mead, made for the soldiers in the Battle of Troy!"

"Thanks a lot!" Karun thanked wholeheartedly, being beyond happy to be sitting in a room with Eternals. But when he locked eyes with Thena, who was silently analyzing him with her daring eyes, his face fell worried. I've seen her use that face before, having me sort and nudge her to have her look away from the poor human. We both turned to each other and spoke quietly together.

"Where do you live now, Soteri?" She asked me gently, leaning back a bit in her chair as we were talking with one another.

"Portland, Oregon. The Pacific Northwest in America," I explained to her, seeing her smirk at me as I shrugged, "I love the rain and the clouds out there,"

"I've heard stories of those who live out in those parts becoming gloomy and depressed being there for too long," Thena informed me, then giving me a concerned look, "Not you, I hope."

Leave it to Thena to worry over me. Ever since I had my outburst during the time of the Crusades and she saw me snap, almost killing Ikaris in front of everyone there in attendance, Thena always made sure I was alright before anything else. She was a mother figure to me, less so than Ajak but one nonetheless.

"Not at all, Thena," I reassured her, "You would like it there though: the changing of the seasons, the vibrant colors of the trees. And the food! Lots of good food!" Thena grinned from what I told her, giving my arm another good tap with her fingers before we tuned back into the conversation in front of us.

"Should she be drinking?" Kingo asked Gilgamesh with a hint of worry.

"Hers is non-alcoholic. For kids," Gilgamesh whispered to him, then leaning up a bit and then looking across the table at Sprite, "I gave you the same thing Sprite!"

Gilgamesh, Kingo, and Karun busted out in laughter and Sprite was glaring at him, not amused at all from the joke or antic while I just grinned from my chair. Sprite then smirked and waved her arm once as Gilgamesh spoke on,

"I was just kidding, this is a special…" While he was talking, we saw Sprite cast an illusion of Gilgamesh being in a bay outfit. Every one of us was busting up laughing, including Thena who chuckled wholesaled heartedly from the head of the table. We were all trying to contain it in front of Gilgamesh, but finally realized what was going on and looked down at his new attire. He huffed and looked at Sprite.

"Oh, I'm a big baby," he groaned, the rest of us smiling from ear to ear, "Tha's mature, can you stop?"

Sprite nodded her head and waved her hand again, the illusion melting away and Gilgamesh going back to normal.

"Speaking of Odin, Thor used to follow me around when he was a little kid. Now he's a famous Avenger and he won't return my calls," Kingo said in a snort to the table as we continued eating together.

"So now that Captain Rogers and Iron Man are both gone, who do you think is gonna lead the Avengers?" She asked the group, all of us thinking for a moment or so. It was then Ikaris spoke up.

"I can lead them," He asked a light shrug, "I figured I would be good at that,"

"Yeah you would," Kingo hummed in agreement as Gilgamesh walked over to be between Ikaris and Thena, then placing a hand in Ikaris's shoulder.

"Ajak didn't even choose you to lead us," Gilgamesh reminded him, giving an award pause at the table. The rest of the table grimaced and gave a mocked "Ouch!" as Ikaris looked at him playfully. All of the group was light about, all but one. At the end of the table, growing silent, was Sersi. She was looking down at her plate and wasn't saying a word, a look of worry etched on her face as the banner continued. I still laughed at the joke, but when I saw her fallen face, I went quiet and watched her with my eyes.

"Ouch," he said lightly to his friend, "I'm going to let that one fly because you always regretted that I can fly,"

"So what if you can fly! I'm better looking, everybody knows that!" Gilgamesh snorted back to him. Sersi then got up from her chair, still quiet, and was heading out to the door.

"Where are you going?" Ikaris asked, the rest of us watching her now in curiosity as she stopped and looked back at the table. She took a moment, composing herself.

"Just going to get some air," She replied, trying to sound polite but it was still a pinch short. I felt a bit bad, hoping that I could help her in some way.

"Sersi.." I said, about to get up before Thena stopped me with her hand on my arm. I looked back at her, seeing her give me a silent look to give Sersi some space at the moment. I grimaced a bit, sitting back in my chair and then tapping my fingers on the table. Something felt off with her, ever since I met up with her in Portland she was off. Sersi was not herself, not the Sersi I knew and loved as a sister.

After we all finished the meal and helped clear the plates away, I snuck away from the group and out to Sersi, needing to check on her and make sure she was alright. In the little courtyard, Sersi was hunched over a stack of papers, Thena's drawings, and she was looking more concerned with every picture she gazed at us. I stood by the doorway for a moment or two to give her space, watching her and trying to think of what I could say.

"You alright, Sersi?" I asked her, seeing her hum briefly before I walked over slowly with my hands in my pockets, "Something's on your mind…I can feel it."

"Ajak chose me," She finally spoke, standing still for a moment to think on her own. I watched her hair fly in the wind as she was looking more conflicted than ever, "Why would she choose me?"

"You're a good leader," I hummed in reply, seeing her finally look over at me as I gave her a small smile, "You were always so kind and good to the humans when we were together, willing to learn and help them when you could. You are a good person, Sersi. Ajak saw that and that's why she chose you,"

"But I'm not strong, not like Ikaris," She muttered, having me look at her in confusion.

"What makes you think strength is the only sign of being a leader?" I asked her, seeing her give me an uncertain look now as I sighed and walked to her a bit more, "Sersi, you have a different strength that none of us have. The kind that I don't think a lot of us can truly have and use,"

I remembered having this kind of talk with Ajak before when I was having a moment of doubt about myself. When I was second-guessing myself in how I could be an Eternal. Those talks and moments with Ajak helped me get through those dire times, perhaps I can do the same thing with Sersi.

"If there's one thing that I know about Ajak, is that she always had faith in us and wanted us to be the best we can be," I reminded Sersi, seeing her search my eyes as I smiled at her, "She sees the best in you, and I do too. I'm proud that you're our leader, and I'll follow you,"

She finally smiled, having me some warmth back on her face.

"Thank you, Soteri," She thanked me, I smiled back in return she was looked back at the pile of drawing in front of her. I looked too, seeing the dark colors and the rough drawings that were all over the place. I was curious about to too, almost worried seeing the vibrant images and how violent they looked too.

"Is this what she sees?" I asked her, sounding unsure myself as Sersi looked at another page. I could almost see it too, what she was seeing in her mind and how she was feeling seeing all of this. Of course, Thena was frantic and worried, trying to warn us from the beginning and no longer being herself.

Gilgamesh walked out of the house to put some things away, seeing the both of us looking at the papers. I gave him a knowing look as Sersi spoke to him.

"Is this the Centuri 6 that Thena was talking about?" She asked him, still looking at each page.

"Yeah, it's a planet. She thinks she's lived there until it was destroyed, always talking about massive earthquakes tearing it apart. Everyone died, including herself." Gilgamesh explained to her, sounding solemn about it since I knew he's heard it over and over again from Thena herself.

"We had an unprecedented global earthquake 3 days ago, " Sersi explained, her eyes still on the paper. I gave her a worried stare then, placing my hand on her shoulder.

"I felt it in Oregon," I said to her in worry, seeing her give me an uneasy stare, "I honestly thought it was smaller than that though,"

"Oh, that's what that was," Gilgamesh commented, then smirking, "I thought I was drunk."

"Ajak chose me to lead us but….I can't even figure out how I to speak to Arishem," Sersi confessed to the both of us and was frustrated at the thought, "I've tried so many times!"

"Maybe you're trying too hard," Gilgamesh commented, his voice was nice and low for her, "Sometimes, you have to listen,"

After that, Sersi went off on her own to have her now solo time. She gravitated over to where the tree was where Thena was moments before. I would never be able to experience what she would go through when it comes to being our new leader. In fact, this whole mess was unfolding around me when it came to how we were all coming back together, under the circumstances. If only there was a simpler way we could be together again, but I knew that was a mere dream.

Looking off in the distance and noticing the sun slowly going down beyond the hills, reminding me of another time in the past, a long time ago and yet it was still fresh in my mind.

1430

Machu Picchu, Peru

"Is it good?" Kingo had to ask me, having me grin at him we were both standing together in a smaller market along the plains of this beautiful area. It was a summer evening, the warmth from the sun was pushing through the valley and the humidity was sticking to our civilian clothes. Yet it was such a warm day to explore the area and find some new collectibles to keep.

I didn't know if it was the stick finer tactics I got from Makkari, or even from Kingo. But I was slowly wanting to find some new things to invest in or even keep, showing the ever evolutionary human race as they keep moving along in the world. So that day I had a makeshift bag with me, buying things here and to take back to the ship and to give to the others as gifts.

Ever since I had my outburst some time ago, it still felt like yesterday. I even had nightmares every once while from that very afternoon and occurred. Ikaris had an intense talk with Ajak, and since then he was avoiding me and giving me more space than I thought. I knew he was shocked by what I did to him, maybe he was underestimating me from the jump and now I shifted everything. I also was amazed at what I was able to do. It was festering in me, almost like a small spark that needed a push or an ignition burst to have the spark be a wildfire.

"Not gonna lie, Soteri," Phastos told me a few days after it happened, having me sit with him on a perch in the lab and watch him work, "It was kind of nice seeing Ikaris get knocked down a few notches,"

"I didn't mean to do that," I muttered to him, tinkering with one of his smaller creations that he kept there in his lab. He chuckled, walking over to stand next to me as he took the tinkering toy in his own hands to mess with it easily.

"We all wanted to do it at least once," he confessed, having me look up at him as he winked at me, "Especially me. I'm glad you did it, it shows Ikaris that he's not all perfect," I said nothing after that, watching him turn a few things before I saw the trinket come to life in front of me. it was a simple toy, whirling on a wheel and playing a very soft melody for me as he placed it back in my hands. I leaned back on my perch, watching the toy turn in my hands. It felt kind of nice to know that the others were not mad with me in how I acted, nor were they cross at all. But I still felt uncertain about my own powers then.

"It is! I had some this morning," I reassured Kingo as he was looking at the food we both were about to eat. The others were out and about, leaving me to have some time in the market with Kingo before we would turn in for the night. I watched him take a big bite, chewing for a few moments before he nearly choked and I tapped his back with a grin. I had to chuckle since he finally ate the whole thing down before going me a weary look.

"It's…hot!" he said to me, to which I nodded my head.

"They've got some good spices in it! Don't you like it?" I asked him as he nodded his head a bit stiffly as he was still swallowing the last bit in his mouth, "I thought I heard you say that you were looking to expand your spice pallet? Didn't you say that?"

"I did, but I wanted to start slow. Not this hot!" he huffed, though he chuckled and he pointed at me, "How many of those have you had already?"

"This is my 4th," I replied smoothly, in which he looked at me in shock and I shrugged, "What? This is my favorite."

"Man you're brave," he snorted, taking a small bite then and getting used to the taste. I took a rather large bite, grinning and groaning in happiness as I swallowed it down. It was great to try new foods and treats at every place we would go to. I knew Gilgamesh was taking notes as we traveled too, trying to recreate them on his own. When he would do the cooking, I would help him in the new makeshift kitchen that we made on the Domo.

"Oh, hey Druig!" I turned around to see who Kingo was talking to. It was Druig, walking up to us along the dirt path and smirking to see both of us eating together. He was wearing his civilian clothes as well, and I didn't if it was a light shining over his head to highlight the brown in his hair, or the slight tan he was getting from being out in the sun helping out the farmers, but something new was with Druig that made me almost pause for a moment or two.

What was wrong with me right now?

Kingo held out his food for Druig, "Wanna try? It's really spicy, but I think you can handle it,"

"No, thank you," he replied lightly to Kingo before looking back at me, "What were you two up to all day today?"

"Shopping and eat our way around the market," Kingo replied for us, "Although, Soteri here has more of a spice tolerance than me. I'm kind of jealous,"

"You think meat with salt is too much, Kingo," I gently reminded him, seeing him give me a side-eye and mocking look offended as Druig chuckled.

"How dare you, Soteri," He said in a joking tone, though he laugh and then motioned his head back to the direction of the ship, "I'm gonna show this to Gilgamesh and see if he can recreate it. You guys wanna come?"

"I was going to go on a walk and watch the sunset," Druig explained, "The locals say it's a site to see,"

"Oh, I'll join you," I said to him, pausing for a moment and giving him a look, "Well, as long as it's okay if I do?"

I didn't want it to sound awkward to them, though Kingo was catching onto it and he had to smile with the food still in his hand. Druig just smiled at me and gave me a nod.

"I would like your company," he hummed, making it sound so easy. We locked eyes for a moment or two, still standing there in the middle of the market. Kingo, being ever the Eternal that can break the tension, coughed and slowly walked away.

"Don't stay out too late, you two," He said over his shoulder, "Or I'll send Makkari out to fetch you!"

"Thanks, Kingo!" I called out to him, seeing him wink at me before he turned and walked away with a pep in his step. It felt the both of us there, Druig watching me with his soft smile before he motioned with his head to my knapsack on my shoulder.

"What did you get today?" He asked me, sounding genuinely curious as I grinned at him.

"I'll show you on the way," I said to him as we then walked together, heading over to the right path that would lead to the top of a particular hill. Druig lead the way since one of the locals told him where to go. It wasn't as strenuous as I thought it was going to be, and it only took a good 20-minute walk. But once we got there, I was glad I joined him to see all of the beauty before us.

We spend the last few hours up there together, seeing the sun slowly set in the small town that seemed like a dream. The orange rays of the sun were hitting the structures that were along the mountainside, making the hills a lighter shade of green the made me think of emeralds, and simply breathtaking. We both sat on a grassy spot right near the edge, our feet out in front of us as I was showing him each object that I traded and bought at the market with Kingo. A new smaller bowls with beautiful designs, a bracelet for Makkari that I knew she would love to wear, and a few dolls

I ended up reading some of the passages that were in the book that I brought with me, A smaller poetry book that I picked up somewhere in Europe some time ago. it was turning out to be one of my favorite things I snagged and bought, keeping it as a treasure and not letting it out of my sight. I was too engrossed in reading the sonnets that were on the page to realize what was happening next to me. I didn't mind reading them aloud, Druig and I would do that sometimes when we would get a book and figure out what it meant together. It was the same with this one.

Druig was looking at one of the pieces of cloth that I bought, holding it in his fingers as I was reading another page. The light was getting lower in the area as I then had to stop what I was reading to see the sun about to slip behind the last hill. it made me smile, almost seeing it become a sliver and the orange light touch the sky to mix it into purples and pinks. I never saw something like before, the sky was amazing to see and almost like what the humans would call "Heaven".

"It's beautiful," I mused out loud, seeing the sun finally go back behind the hill and invite the night to come through. I loved looking at the sky, seeing how pure it looked, not touched by man or by any other being at all. Of course, I was too focused on the sunset to see Druig watching me at the same time.

"It is," He hummed, sounding so calm and gentle in the wind as I looked over at him. The colors that were dancing in the sky were now dancing on his face, making him look behind this planet himself. He looked safe, he looked comfortable, and he looked like his true self. It was rare, to see him without a wall up around him. And although he was still looking after the humans and feeling more of their aggressions coming out at each other, Druig was still willing to try and be his normal rare self.

I didn't want to admit that my feelings for him were getting simplified throughout the years, or even thinking about spending time with him when I could. But we were best friends, and our company together was more natural than anything. He would spend as much time with me with Makkari as well, and those jealousy tendencies that I had before were slightly dimmed down since I wanted to put that negativity aside. I cared for both of them, but something about being with Druig made me feel something else I nerve felt before.

I grinned at him on that hilltop, the both of us watching each other for another moment before we watched the sky. I only had one question floating in my head.

Was I in love with him?

Present Day

Australia

I snapped back to reality, that memory floating away in the wind as I watched the sun go behind the hills out there in the desert. It was a bit painful, thinking back on that one blissful moment and wishing that I could have it back. I wanted it back so bad, a moment when there was no pain or no remorse. Back when I knew Druig was vulnerable and no longer worried about the humans.

"I miss you, Druig," I muttered to myself. I didn't know where he was or if he was alright. Druig was the first time to break off from me, and it was one of the most painful nights I would ever remember. It made me especially sad, thinking I could have done more to stop him or to convince him to stay. He was in pain, and what we saw that night was the last straw for him. Seeing him turn his back to me and walk down those steps almost broke my heart.

What was going to happen now that we were going to reunite?

"Soteri!" I whirled around, seeing Ikaris poke his head out and look at me from his spot in the house, "Something happened with Sersi. She just spoke to Arishem,"

"What?" I asked, walking over to join him in the house, "What happened?"

"She's about to tell us," he replied, holding the door open for me as I walked in, waiting to hear what was going to happen next.

But what I was about to hear, was a bombshell.

We all sat in silence, already hearing what Sersi told us as we were too stunned to say anything. I was looking at the candles in the middle of the table, seeing the wax melt onto the top as the candles were getting lower and lower while Sersi was telling us all that happened. I leaned back in my chair, resting my elbows on the table and resting my forehead on my fingers tips to look at the wooden tables.

We were created for something else entirely. We were created to destroy planets.

It was so heavy, beyond heavy to comprehend as Sersi told us every detail about it. We were made for another purpose from Arishem, not for what we knew at first. It felt off that I was being told that our initial reason to be on this earth….was a complete lie. I only remembered this planet, nowhere else. But to think that there were others we visited…and help. My God.

We helped kill planets, with living beings on them. And once it was finished, our memories were wiped and we started all over again.

"So you're saying we're just fancy robots, and our past memories are….stored somewhere…in space?" Kingo asked, just as confused as I was.

"And Arishem made the Deviants," Sersi completed, Ikaris getting up from his spot.

"I'm sorry, Thena," Gilgamesh said to Thena from across the table, "You tried to warn us."

"The last time Arishem reset the memories, something must have gone wrong," Sprite commented at the table, having me look up at her with a confused look.

"What do you mean?" I asked her.

"Well, that's what Mad Wy-ry is, isn't it? All this time, Thena was remerging all the other planets we were sent to. And everyone dying during the Emergence." Sprite explained to me, having me lean back a bit in my chair to drink in all we were saying to one another. The mood was dim and almost depressing, but this was a new reality we never saw coming. I know I didn't.

"We thought we were heroes," Gilgamesh said sulkily, "Turns out, we were the bad guys."

"We're not the bad guys, okay?" Kingo asked him, trying to sound sure of himself, "We helped the Celestials expand life all across the universe! That's not what bad guys do, that's what good guys do!"

"Every innocent life that has been sacrificed for the greater good, it turns out to be a mistake," Sersi explained for all of us, "We have to stop the Emergence."

"Sersi, we have no right to stop the birth of a Celestial," Kingo warned her calmly.

"There was to be a way to make an Emergence without destroying the Earth!" Sersi said in determination, "We just have to..delay it until we figure out how."

"Couldn't Druig control his mind?" Gilgamesh asked, having me snap my head over at him, "Maybe, put it to sleep?"

"Put it to sleep?" Sprite asked with skepticism, "Are you serious?"

"Gilgamesh asked Druig to put me to sleep once," Thena reminded them all, finally speaking at the table.

"So I can take a vacation to Fiji," Gilgamesh commented as an attempt to be light.

"We're talking about a Celestial!" Kingo reminded us, sounding a bit frantic now and searching all of our faces.

"We have to try, okay?" Sersi said to him, "We're not going to let everyone on earth die, alright?" She sounded like a leader then.

"Right!" Karun said in agreement, all of us looking at him now he became sheepish again, "I'm human. I'm a little biased."

As Kingo and Karun were talking to one another, I was still thinking my head on all this new information. if we were going to take care of the Emergence, it would be the biggest thing we have ever done. Have we tried to stop it in the past, in our past lives? Why was it sickening to think that I helped destroy planets for the births of Celestials?

"We need to go, now. Find the others, once we're all together, we'll decide what to do with the Emergence." Ikaris explained to us, already set it in stone. We knew we had to find three more of our own and it was gnawing away at my sides to think about. I didn't know what kind of battle we were going to get ourselves into, or how we were going to have any kind of attempt in stopping this Emergence to save the humans on this planet. But if we could do seething right, something that could right all that we have done wrong in our past lives, then I was willing to try.

But first, we had to find the others. Mostly, I had to find Druig.