"Phastos!" I slid on my knees over to Phastos before I could even think twice, seeing him hunched over and almost in shock as Sersi was rushing up from the hallway. We were all looking at Ikaris in pure shock, our eyes wide in confusion as the others approached him.

This was not like him at all. it happened so fast and so quickly that we never got a real chance to digest what happened. But all the work Phastos was attempting to do was now destroyed, and it was because of Ikaris.

"Boss, what are you doing?!" Kingo asked in shock as I was trying to help Phastos get up and back on his feet.

"I've let this go on long enough," Ikaris explained, his voice remaining neutral and step. Sersi rushed in and over to where I was with Phastos. She glared at Ikaris, no love was seen on her face, only pain and almost betrayal. I've never seen her look at Ikaris like that before.

"Don't hurt him!" She yelled in worry as she took was helping Phastos, "He lied to us! He already knew about the Emergence!"

Our head whipped from Sersi over to Ikaris, at least mine did. The others seemed just as taken back with what Sersi just told us, almost in disbelief as I kept mine on Ikaris. He was watching Sersi, yet his face was showing no emotion at all. He was stoned-faced, and I knew that look he would give. It made my stance a bit stiffer now.

"No, he didn't!" Kingo tried to reason with Sersi.

"Ajak told me everything after we left Babylon," Ikaris explained in his neutral, tone. The mood in the room was getting lower and lower now, even Kingo's face melted into a bit of worry and shock now with the mention of Ajak.

"What?" He asked, his voice soft and barely strong anymore.

"You were never letting us stop the Emergence," Phastos said slowly in realization. I was trying to piece it all together in my head, how Ikaris was somehow involved with this and was trying to prevent us from saving lives. He was trying to stay ahead of us, but there was no remorse on his face as we were being shown the truth.

"No," he answered Phastos, "I only wanted to protect you from the Deviants,"

"If Ajak wanted you to take her place, then why did she choose me?" Sersi him sternly. We all looked to him for that answer, but he was simply staring at Sersi. Something behind his eyes was showing me that he was misleading us, that he was hiding something. I watched on acted breath, thought Sersi shifted and looked at him with more worry on her face.

"What have you done?" She asked in a lower tone, faired to get the answer from him. Ikaris was still quiet, but the way he was looking at her was showing me that what he was about to expose or say was going to be a deafening glow. It was Druig, however, that exposed.

"He killed her,"

It felt like the floor beneath us dropped and my stomach was falling into the earth. My breath left me dramatically as the others sucked in a breath, thinking that Druig lied and it was all some kind of misunderstanding. But Ikaris was stone still in the face, small tears were forming in his eyes as I went an overwhelming wave of hate was about to pulse through my body.

Ajak, our leader and who tried to show us the ways of this world, was murdered by one of us. We were told a major lie all this time, a cover-up that blindsided every one of us there in the room. I closed my eyes briefly, trying to avoid crying in front of Ikaris since he was not worth my tears.

"I had to," Ikaris said in a low tone, though he sounded like he was on the verge of tears. Phastos was gasping to breathe, Kingo looking away in sadness.

"You killed her?" I asked, almost in a breath. My voice was so close to screaming, but it wasn't letting me as I heard Sersi next to Phastos and myself.

"She loved you," Sersi said to him in a broken tone.

"Did she?" Ikaris asked, tears in his eyes and his voice shaking.

"She loved you!" Sersi repeated.

"Do you think it was easy to live with the truth?" He asked her, his voice sounding like venom, "To know that one day all of this would end? Do keep on lying to you? If we gave humanity the choice, how many of them would be willing to die so that millions of more could be born?" He asked all of us that question, almost trying to make it sound reasonable that he murdered someone who we all loved and cared for.

"We're not giving them a choice," Phastos said to him in a low tone, controlling his own emotions as I was digging deeper and deeper within myself to not teleport across the room and punch him in the face so hard. It was the ultimate betrayal that I was feeling, and yet he was standing there so sure of what he had to do.

"Is that, why you were willing to kill her?" Phastos asked, almost ready to square off with him now as he was glaring at Ikaris with hate in his eyes, "You are SO PATHETIC!"

"I'm an Eternal, Phastos," Ikaris said to him in his calm voice, "I exist for Arishem, as do you. It's who you are."

"I wouldn't change a single thing about who I am. Born or made, but I do not exist for Arishem!" Phastos barked at Ikaris, walking over to stand in front of him. I reached to grab him to stop him but he dodged my hold as he went on with his rant to Ikaris, "I exist for my family! "

"Then you are making the same mistake Ajak did!" Ikaris sneered at him when they were mere feet from each other. Before either one of them could do anything, Makkari sped back into the room with a beam of light behind her, skidding to a halt next to Kingo. We all looked, seeing her look relieved as she signed to us.

I found Tiamut!

Immediately I looked over at Ikaris, seeing his eyes about to glow. He was looking right at Makkari, having me see that he was about to kill her. She knew where to go, and now he was going to prevent her from telling us. I teleported within a second, jumping in front of Makkari as Phastos cried out to stop him and Ikaris shot out his beams from his eyes. I shoved Makkari, seeing her speed to the side as one of the beams sliced my arm before I can produce a shield.

Crying out I fell to the floor, grasping my arm in pain and almost hunched over as Druig rushed over to stand in front of me. I felt the burn against my skin, almost like it was peeling off where he sliced me. Druig hunched over me to see the wound, giving me a look of pure concern as Makkari sped back to see what happened. But I thought back to Ikaris, sensing that he was still a danger. Through the pain, I threw up a shield around the three of us as I was glaring at Makkari. She still didn't know what happened, and the last thing I wanted for her was to be killed by Ikaris.

"Get out of here!" I said to her, seeing her look from me to Ikaris. He was watched still, his eyes going back to normal now while this was happening. She then sped off, no longer staying another second longer as I cradled my wounded arm in front of me. My shield went back down, having me breathe through another wave of pain. It was eerily silent again for all of us there, but the betrayal was still high in the air now as I was breathing through the pain.

"Ever the protector," Ikaris said in a low tone, not in a menacing way but as commentary. Druig glared over his shoulder at Ikaris while he was still holding me, staring him down with daggers as I got up slowly and looked at him with deadly eyes too. Druig immediately stood right in front of me, not letting me be exposed to Ikaris at all as I saw Kingo then make a cosmic bullet in his hand, slowly lifting it to aim at Ikaris with a look of pure anger on his face. Anger and heartbreak.

"Kingo," Ikaris warned as Kingo looked at him right in the eyes.

"You do not turn against your family," Kingo said to him with hurt evident in his voice, "Gilgamesh died because of you!"

I thought back to him, picturing him in miming and wondering what he would think if he saw all of this. Ikaris merely stared at him, almost hurting himself that we weren't choosing to be on his side with the decision. He would be just as angry with Ikaris too, hearing that he killed Ajak. But because of Ikaris, Gilgamesh was gone.

"You won't succeed against me." Ikaris warned all of us, giving each of a look that was almost a warning, "And I will kill every one of you if I have to."

He was drawing the line in where he stood when it came to the Emergence. It was a slap in the face, that for all this time he knew what he was doing and he was playing us because of it. I felt so foolish for not realizing it sooner, but then again none of us knew or even realized until the last moment.

Sersi was in tears then, now knowing what to do since she felt her own heartbreaking. I was looking at Ikaris with pure anger in my eyes as Druig was taking a few steps in his direction, almost as a warning. Ikaris, giving Sersi one last look with his decision before he was turning away and walking out of the Domo. He took a few steps before another voice was heard behind me.

"Wait!"

We all looked, seeing Sprite next to Druig and I watch Ikaris with tears in her own eyes. She took in one solid breath, almost squeaking her shoulders off.

"I'm going with you!" Sprite said as she walked over next to Ikaris too. I was confused and floored.

"Sprite?" I asked, about to follow her before Druig placed a gentle hold on my upper arm to stop me. I was about to call out to her again when Thena walked up from the hallway, blocking the exit for both Ikaris and Sersi.

"What is this?" Thena asked, Ikaris once again getting his eyes glowed. Thena had a spear out and ready then, but Sprite threw up her own hands to make the illusion of a swarm of what appeared to be insects flying. Both Ikaris and Sprite melted into the illusion, no longer on the Domo. Within a second, they were gone and out of our lives.

They were now against us.

"Here," Phastos said to me as he took my wounded arm within his massive hands. I was leaning against one of his work tables that were pushed to the side from Ikaris's assault, the rest of us scattered around the room and we were all in adder with what just unfolded in front of us.

It was still raw, underneath the surface. Ikaris was still willing to have this planet die for billions of others around the universe to live, willing to place everything we knew and loved about his planet in jeopardy for an outdated and bizarre order. He played nice for so long, thinking with all of his heart and mind that what he did was right and what needed to be done.

Maybe we were all too consumed with the human lives here that we stayed from the path, Ikaris probably thought that was the case. What made it worse, if not more personal, was that Sprite skidded with him and left us in the dust too.

We had two fewer Eternals on our side now with our plan.

I was watching and slightly wincing as Phastos was wrapping my arm with brand new cloth. Druig was watching me as he was sitting at the top of the table, watching Phastos attempt to repair my arm.

"I'm no Ajak, but this will help," Phastos said with a hint of grimace, having me smile weakly at him as I then say Makkari signing in the middle of the room.

Why did she go with Ikaris? She asked, looking at each of us. I wondered the same thing too, leaning back a bit more in my spot and cradling my wrapped arm. It was an odd thing to think about, but I knew Sprite has always admired Ikaris and would follow his lead if need be.

"Because she loves him," Kingo answered with a shrug of his shoulders. We looked at him in confusion, seeing him look at each of us then, "Oh, you guys didn't pick up on that? He really did fool us, didn't he?"

I felt pain for Kingo then, whom I knew admired Ikaris and looked to him for leadership too. Underneath the humor that he had, Kingo was a good soul and was willing to follow where he needed to. He held Ikaris in high regard, and to see someone whom he looked up to turn his back on him, that had to have been devastating.

"Karun, let's go," he softly said to Karun, making me perk up a bit from hearing that. Phastos, turned away from me now to look at Kingo with confusion on his face.

"Wait, where the hell are you going?" Phastos asked him.

"I can't help you guys," Know confessed having me look at him with sadness, "I still think Ikaris was right,"

"So that's it? Huh? You're just gonna follow him?!" Phastos asked in pure agitation and another wave of anger.

"Kingo, please," I said to him, urging him to stay here with us.

"I love the people of this planet," Kingo explained, struggling to say the words himself as he was looking at each of us, "But if you stop this Emergence, you're preventing so many worlds like this one from being created! I still have faith in Arishem, but I refuse to hurt any of you for my beliefs,"

Then he turned to walk away as well, having me move up from my spot next to Druig and take a few steps. I wanted to stop him, to try and convince him to least us. I felt the conflicting there in his voice and how he was both not wanting to run the risk of preventing more planets from being created and hurting us.

Makkari looked hurt from what he said, reaching a hand up to stop him by his shoulder and look at her with concern.

We need you, She signed to him, seeing his cast fallen face.

"Even with my help, we're no match," Kingo said to her sadly, "Against Ikaris."

Makkari let her hand drop to let him go, but my feet were carrying me before I could stop myself. I reached out, grabbing Kingo's arm to turn him around and look at him. Maybe if he wasn't going to stop for Makkari, he would stop for me. We were almost cordial together, never having a bad moment with one another as I pleaded with my eyes to him. I said nothing, but Kingo pulled me into his arms and I just hugged him back with my one arm. Feeling that hug alone was enough for me to realize that he wasn't going to change his mind, and I cringed as we embraced each other

"I'm sorry, Soteri," He whispered to me, holding me a pinch tighter before he whispered right into my ear, "Protect them,"

He was pleading to me between the both of us. Perhaps he was already thinking of the worst that could happen, Ikaris destroying us all for the Emergence to take place. Kingo knew what I did to Ikaris before, our first challenge against one another and how I could hold my own again him. He was asking me to do it again, to not let the others get killed.

He moved away from me and looked back at the others as we were watching in both defeat and sadness, "But, I hope to see you on the next planet,"

With that, he turned away from us and walked down the dark hallway. Makkari looked heartbroken, Phastos huffed and looked away as I watched with some grief left in me. Druig and Sersi were silent, leaving Thena to ponder with her own thoughts. Karun, looking at each of us with misty eyes, smiled weakly.

"Thank you for doing so much for humanity," Karun said in his native tongue for us, folding his hands in front of us as he was trying not to cry, "It was a great honor. I will miss you!"

I gave him a small smile, showing that I listened. As we watched him follow Kingo out of the Domo, I was giving Makkari a weary look, seeing her do the same. We were now down 3 Eternals, two were against us and one chose to step out of the fight. The odds against us were getting greater by the second, the hope we had before was diminishing.

"Look, if I'm going to get myself killed going up against Ikaris, we're gonna need a backup plan," Druig said to the five of us that were left in the Domo. I rounded my shoulders, remembering what Kingo told me to do moments before.

"What makes you think he's going to kill you?" I had to ask him in a soft and leveled tone at the same time as he looked over at me, "I can make sure Ikaris doesn't go anywhere near you using my shields against him. I'll distract him too if I need to,"

"Soteri…." Druig said my name almost in a warning as I shook my head at him.

"I've done it before, didn't I?" I asked him, seeing him go silent as I watched him intensely, "Taking Ikaris on. I did it back in the Crusades, don't you remember?"

"That was different, Soteri. It was a different time and you were in a different headspace. You may have the power to slow him down, but you can't completely stop him," Phastos reminded me as I looked from Druig to him now, "He won't hold back with you, you know that!"

"And I don't plan on him holding back with me," I agreed, "Listen, Ikaris is going to go after Druig, that's gonna happen. But I can slow him down long enough for Druig to put Tiamut to sleep and then we can figure out what to do with him later. I know I can do this!"

"We're not doubting your power," Thena gently said to me, her eyes watching me calmly as Makkari stood in front of me to have me watch her.

He could kill you! Makkari explained, her fingers moving rapidly as her eyes were searching my own to show that she too was not liking the idea what me going up against Ikaris. She saw me break down after the first time, seeing me look so vulnerable and frail from more using more power I thought I had.

"I'd rather take that risk so that we have a small chance of succeeding," I reassured Makkari calmly before I looked over at Sersi, "I can handle myself with him. I've done it before and I can do it again, please trust me! He won't touch Druig, or any of you, while I'm there. Not while I'm still breathing."

It was set in stone, haring me already pleaded to help end this Emergence. I was setting myself up for another round with Ikaris, knowing that the chances of me surviving were very, very, slim. Hell, it was almost suicidal.

Looking back at Druig once more I watch him give me a small look. I was hating that he too was resorting to the worst scenario that could happen, which included him being killed off. He looked at me, the both of us almost talking to each other with our eyes. He was silently telling me not to do this, not to face Ikaris and place my life on the line.

He was trying to protect me.

"Even with your shields, it might not be enough. All of our powers, even if they were amplified, will not be enough to kill a Celestial," Phastos explained.

"Well, Sersi did turn a Deviant into a tree," Druig commented, Phastos looking from him to Sersi in shock.

"I'm sorry, what?" He asked her, "You didn't want to tell me that?!"

You have never been able to do that before. Makkari said to her with disbelief on her own face now as we were watching out leader.

"Look, I don't know how it happened, okay? And I'm pretty sure I couldn't do it again," Sersi reasoned with the both of them.

Phastos scoffed, "Well now is the time to try! Don't you think?!"

"Phastos, the Deviant is dead! Our plan is to put Tiamut to sleep, not to kill it! I can't…kill a Celestial! Sersi said to him as she was started to get angry.

"Sersi—" Phastos started, but Sersi shot up in heat and anger.

"We can't!" She shouted, all of us standing in silence to see her so torn in what we were going to do. I knew Sersi had that power in her, but she was already doubting herself if she could do that insane power again on a massage Celestial.

"Sersi," Druig said softly to her with a nod of his head, "It's okay. I got this,"

Sersi nodded quickly, already ending this talk and then waking off before we could say anything else to her. She was so certain that she wasn't going to be able to be that powerful again, but something deep within me was telling me that she could. I did believe in her, we all did since not only did I see it firsthand, but Ajak chose her as the leader. Then, after thinking that about Sersi, something else clicked in my head.

That's what they all thought about me too.

Phastos started getting to work on the bracelets that we would wear for Uni-Mind, Makkari walked over to the side to watch him work, sitting on a ledge and having her eyes look in rapid attention. It left Druig and me there, doing nothing at first but just standing there in almost award silence. But as I watched Phastos in silence, I knew Druig was watching me since it felt like his eyes were drilling into the back of my head.

Since I told the group I was more than willing to place my life on the line to buy us some time, I knew something was on the tip of Druig's tongue that he wanted to say to me. Perhaps I was too confident in myself in thinking that I could actually take on Ikaris, maybe not defat him but hold him off nonetheless. But seeing the look on Druig's face, it was enough for me to know that he was not liking my idea of putting my life out there in the open.

Druig abruptly hopped off the table, walking over to me with his hands in his pockets before leaning in a bit to talk to me in a low tone, "I need to talk to you,"

He walked off before I could say anything back to him. He was moving too fast, almost on a mission as he was heading to the hallway and out of earshot of the others. I watched him for a brief moment, inwardly groaning at what was going to come.

"I don't wanna be a part of that talk," Phastos said in a grumble as I looked back at him, seeing him not look at me but have a small look on his face while he worked. My eyes then went to Makkari, seeing her give me a reassuring look.

It'll be fine. She reminded me, having me give her a small attempt of a smile before I walked in the same direction of Druig. Mentally, I was trying to prepare myself for some kind of argument knowingly full well that Druig was stubborn in some of his ways and his state of mind. We held each other up and never wanted the other to get hurt, but this was not like the times in the past. I was basically going to walk into the line of fire to protect Druig.

He wasn't sitting well with it.

Druig was standing against the wall in the hallway, his head hanging low and hands shoved in his pockets while I approached him. I knew I was going to have to tread ever so lightly with him, already remaining calm as he was still looking down at his feet for a brief moment. When I was close enough to him, he finally looked at me with his intense eyes, having me see how vulnerable he looked at that moment.

"I can't let you do this," He said to me softly, no longer sounding like his confident self, but more scared than anything, "I can't let you sacrifice your life for me,"

"You can't since you're not able to control my mind," I said to him trying to keep it light and almost humorous before he cut me off.

"Don't do that," He gently pleaded at me, having me instantly silent and stare at him as he was giving me almost a hurt look, shift in his stance as we were there in the hallway, "Don't joke about this. Soteri, I don't want you to go up against Ikaris,"

"You don't think I can handle it," I challenged him, almost standing stiff in front of him now in defense.

"I don't want you to get killed," He said without missing a beat, "I'm not doubting you because I've seen how powerful you are. But this was already a risky situation we're in. The possibility of us succeeding is really low, and for you to put yourself right in the middle of it is suicidal."

"I'm supposed to protect you," I reminded him, seeing him look at me with uneasiness as I spoke some more, "I'm only buying you time, yeas. But I protect all of you, I've always protected you all since the beginning, it's practically my powers. I need to protect them and protect you, you know that!"

"Who's gonna protect you?" Druig asked me, making me look at him with concern as he was watching me with a hint of emotion on his face. It was the first time anyone as ever asked me about my protection and who was going to watch my back. I was taken back as he went on.

"I know I don't wear my emotions on my sleeve as easily as the others do, and for good reason. But if we die out here, and this mission goes to shit, I don't want you to go do something like this for me with you knowing….how I feel about you." Druig explained to me, sounding sure of himself as I was eyeing him with a hint of confusion.

"How you feel about me?" I asked him, not understanding for a moment or two. I was about to say something else when Druig suddenly moved, glide across the hallways, and crowded me against the wall. I was plastered against the cold wall, shock by how fast he went as he was mere inches away from me before he braced one hand on my waist and one hand against my neck.

Druig leaned in a kissed me softly.

My mind went blank, my body felt so warm that it was heating everywhere. It felt so soft, his lips on my own and his old that felt so gently and yet possessive at the same time. A wave of emotions was hitting me hard in the lower stomach, the same feeling I felt when we almost kissed in my apartment was now amplified. My ears were pounding from the blood floating around there and my eyes slid shit so easy like breathing.

I felt him about to pull away from me since the kiss felt so short and long at the same time. I reached up before he could, framing his neck in my hands as I pressed a harder kiss against his lips. My fingers touched the hair on the back of his neck, feeling his heartbeat and how fast it was going to remind me that this was real. We really took this risk right before we would be going on a suicidal mission that could end all life on this planet.

How disgustingly romantic it was.

He had to know, at this moment, how I felt about him for the last 7,000 years. How he drove me crazy, how he annoyed me at times with his dry humor, how his love for humans was clearly seen by me, and how he loved every piece of me that was rigid and unhinged.

The hand on my waist slide all the way around, having me feel him lean into me a bit more as we kissed one more time, almost trying to melt into each other and become one. If it were different circumstances, I think we would have enjoyed it much more than we would admit. But this kiss, as beautiful and as moving as it was, had something else behind it.

The fear of losing one another.

Druig finally pulled away, having me still our forehead touching as I tried to find my breath again. Something inside of me was screaming to keep him close, to not lose this moment that we were having, and just keep it for as long as we could. Time was not on our side, yet I wanted to freeze it and just be there with him and no one else. Nothing else was on my mind but him, a deep sensation of affection and love for him snapped into place. I suddenly felt so overwhelmed by him that I knew I had to do anything and everything to keep this alive. For the both of us.

"I doubt we're gonna make it alive after this," Druig murmured to me in a raspy voice, still being so close to me that I breathed him in as I shook my head slightly against his own.

"Don't say that Druig," I said to him carefully.

"But I needed to kiss you before anything else happened out there to either one of us. I wouldn't have lived with myself if I wouldn't have shown you earlier how I felt about you," He explained, having me nod my head in agreement as we were still embracing one another. I moved my hands from his neck to frame his face, the both of us staring at each other now intensely and no longer having to hide things from each other. I felt more exposed than anything, but I wasn't afraid either. I felt safe with Druig, I always have, and even more now.

"When we finish this, and all of this is over," I said to him, taking a shaky breath as his hands both went to wrap around my waist to keep me close, "You and I are going to stay together. Okay? I want to be with you, only you. Got it?"

He searched my eyes, seeing if what I was saying was true. I couldn't lie to him, not now before we were going to go onto a fight that was not on our side. Doubt still lingered in the air and over our heads, but I had to hold onto that sliver of a possibility that Druig and I were going to be together and survive this. I was holding on for dear life and hoping that I was going to be right.

"Do you believe me, Druig?" I asked him carefully, seeing him slowly nod his head at me and I smiled sweetly at him. We both touched forehead again, trying to drink in every single second we had left at this moment before we knew we would have to fight. Within me, I made a vow right then and there as we embraced in that hallway, that I was going to fight with every fiber of my being. I was going to fight for the goodness of this planet and all that was in it that I knew to be good. I was fighting for the rest of my family that I grew to love and care for.

And ultimately, I was fighting for the boy in my arms that I would follow to the end of time, and he would follow me too.