I stopped thinking, my brain no longer buzzing and running. All I was doing was fighting.

Ikaris and I were sparring each other, trying to find one blow after another blow to land on each other. One made the move, then the other shot back. I would dodge his beams as he avoid my blows of force fields. I knew how he fought, never staying in one place for far too long to get hit with a blow. He was also strategic in his assaults, yet I tried to keep up with him as much as I could.

He had the higher ground with levitating a bit above the ground, almost seeing it as an advantage for him as he was trying to strike me with his beams left and right. I would still block them with a field, but he was only a pinch faster than me while I tried to shoot back at him. I knew I wasn't going to be right up to par with him when it came to a fight, he knew how to fight. He was a soldier after all, or at least he acted like a soldier.

My energy was still not back full force, but with every field I threw up and every field I threw at him, my energy would drain. I knew I had to buy Sersi time, that I wasn't going to complexity kill him in the end. But with how this was going and with how I was almost slowing down, it wasn't going to go in my favor in the end. If I kept this time, just keeping him away from Sersi for the right amount of time, I would exhaust myself. But the voice in my head was telling me to push, telling me to keep going and to find that one spot with Ikaris that would break him down.

I took a nasty blow to the shoulder with one of his blasts, having me kneel down as he went back for another round of blasts from his eyes. I threw up my hands, placing a shield around me and feeling him drill me down to the ground, almost hammering away at me and my energy. Every blast he was throwing against my force field, I was being driven lower and lower into the ground and my beam was getting thinner and thinner. It almost reminded me of when Thena tried to break me 500 years ago, right before we split from one another. But now, Ikaris was the one who was trying to break me.

As I was feeling myself being pushed down lower and my energy was near gone, Ikaris was lowering down to get close to me while he was still shooting his beams at me with no holding back. Maybe he was being smug that he was winning this, that he was so close to killing me off there on the beach. Yet I was trying with every ounce of my being to keep my shield up and not give into him. My head was getting airy and lost, my breath leaving me and the pressure of the beams he was producing was almost deafening on me.

"Must be so sad," Ikaris said to me, his voice level and still stern, as he was hovering just above me and keeping his cosmic beams right ton my shied, looking everywhere for a crack, "Thinking you can win against me. I've never seen someone who weak…so vulnerable….so pathetic. I doubt Druig would even want you."

Pathetic…..Pathetic….

I opened my eyes, the feeling of pure rage seeping under my skin and over my mind now as he said that last word to me. It was a trigger, a switch within me that I remembered having back in the crusades. I knew my self-worth and how it grew throughout the years, but with someone trying to break me with down their words, that changed everything. I felt that primeval thirst to fight back snap into my chest, taking over the old me and having another side of me evolve and was seen.

In fact, my fingers glowed a tint of yellow.

I snapped my eyes up at him, my shield around me pulsating now like a heartbeat as it expanded instantly. Ikaris's eyes went blank and he fell to the ground from being slammed by my shield, landing on the ground in a heap. I stood back up slowly, climbing out of the small hole I was now in the middle of. The energy was still low, but that primeval side of me was making me get up and stand over him with a tilt of my head. I was still conscious of what I was doing, but this new sense of power that was seeping through me from whatever snapped in me was buzzing over my skin and fingers then.

"You ill words won't hurt me anymore," I muttered to him, seeing him get up from the ground with a hint of struggle in his movements. He finally looked right me me, almost taken back a bit with what I had just done to him. I clicked my fingers together, a full-body shield morphed around my body before he could shoot another beam right at me. The beam bounced off my body instantly, not hurting me or harming me. Ikaris looked in shock, though I remained composed as we were staring off at each other.

"Holy shit," I heard behind Ikaris from Phastos, seeing him watch the whole interaction in awe. I was still watching Ikaris as he looked frustrated at he couldn't hit me.

He went to shoot out another beam at me, once again seeing the beam bounce off of me as I took a step towards him. Ikaris stood a step back, keeping that same distance between the both of us as he was frantically shooting beams at me rapidly now. But every time he would hit me, I wouldn't feel a thing thanks to my shield and I was feeling more power than I ever have had before.

The closer I was getting to him, the more frantic I saw him getting as he was trying to give everything he had left to hit me. But I wasn't feeling anything from him, making me keep my eyes on him and stalk him with more determination like a presort about to pounce. He did that to me moments before, but now it was my turn to bring him to his knees.

It was to the point of him going into a rage that he couldn't hit me at all, to which I then raised my hand to throw out a force field to wrap around his eyes to block the beams. Once he went blind, I threw out another force field at him to knock him on his back. He grunted as he fell, landing on his back when Phastos finally rushed over. I watched him take out what seemed like golden ropes that were attached to the ground, wrapping them around Ikaris to keep him on the ground. I held the force field around his eyes, seeing that Phastos had a good grip on Ikaris to keep him against the floor.

"Not so fast, boss," Phastos growled, wrapping one rope around his wrists, another around his arms, one around his chest, and two around his legs. He then hoisted Ikaris up, having him be on his knees and paralyzed from flying away. Both Phastos and myself were standing a bit away from him, both having power over Ikaris and keeping him in one spot.

Phastos then looked over at me, giving me a knowing look that it was okay for me to release the force field around his eyes. I trusted Phastos, whatever kind of hold he had on Ikaris with these ropes, they were making him powerless. Slowly, I moved the field around his eyes, seeing him struggle and try to wiggle out of his hand to no avail.

"I don't know about you, but this is really satisfying, right?" Phastos had to ask him as I felt my fingers were no longer glowing and my shield melted away with each, being back to my normal self and watching Ikaris struggle and fight against his restraints.

"Let me go, Phastos! I can't let her do this!" Ikaris demanded him, though Phastos shook his head.

"I don't think so," Phastos replied to him in a stern tone, "I've been wanting to clip your wings for a long time, Ikaris!"

Ikaris roared, trying to shoot his beams from his eyes right to Phastos. But the ropes he had on Ikaris were stopping him, making him vulnerable. I kept an eye on him too, having confidence that Phastos had him under control. The ground was starting to shake violently now, the waves in the ocean were moving to shift and moving violently.

I looked over in the distance, seeing the waves and move and swirling around something that was slowly rising from deep under the sea. It was a deep rumbling, the entire island shifting and moving as the object was breaching the water. Something off in another part of the island was moving to, looking just like the first one in the water. In fact, three massive pieces were almost surrounding the island and almost making the island swallow down into the ocean. But then I saw what it was.

Tiamut, deep under the water ad under the earth, was waking up and coming forth.

Phastos placed a couple of rings on Ikaris to put him lower into the ground, adding more strength on his ropes as I walked over to the other side of Ikaris to watch. It was simmering underbelly energy, and those objects that were coming through and exposing themselves were fingers. Tiamut's fingers were the size of mountains. Slowly, they were ascending, telling me that Sersi didn't succeed just yet.

You can do this, Sersi. You can do it.

I was silently hoping and pleading that Sersi was slowing it down. She had that power deep within herself and she was strong enough. She had moments, mere moments before this could all be over. Yet I was foolish, watching in the distance and not realizing that my back was turned and I was vulnerable again with no shield up around me. I heard Ikaris roar one more time, but I stayed looking away from him.

It was then that I felt a slice of his cosmic beams along my spine, going through my uniform and through my skin, deep within my body.

I screamed out, a white searing pain went all over my body as his beams engraved into my spin and I fell to the floor in a heap. Everything in my body was threatening to shut down, my backside felt like it was melting as I was paralyzed on the ground. Ikaris flew off, though I couldn't move because of my broken spine and blood seeping out of my back slowly.

"Soteri!" Phastos said in concern as he was rushing over to me. He maneuvered me to rest my back on his lap, I was too numb to cry out or move as I Makkari ran over to look over me too. I could feel the blood loss coming though, the exposure of my back hitting the open air and sand since my uniform was ripped open from the cosmic beams. My body was shaking, my brain was running so fast and so quickly as Phastos was looking down at me in worry.

"You're okay. I got you, Soteri, just take some deep breaths, okay? Take some…" He trailed off, moving that one hadn't that was underneath me up to be seen by all three of us. His hand was crimson red in my blood, having my eyes so wide as numbest was not where and I was falling deeper and deeper under. I was trying to understand what was happening, but when I saw Makkari start to cry and Phastos not knowing what to do, that was when I knew something was really wrong.

It clicked in my mind: I was going to die there on that beach.

"I'm gonna help you, okay?" Phastos reassured me in a shaky tone, trying to keep himself together he was holding my damaged body close to himself. I could see it on his face that he was struggling, he was trying to figure it out in his mind too as I was just watching him with nothing on my lips. I had no more strength to tell him that It was going t be fine. I did what I meant to do, I bought Sersi as much time as I could. But now that I was nearly dying, it felt more peaceful than it did before.

I was at peace about it. As morbid as it sounded, I wasn't afraid.

Something in my chest was flowing now, my eyes closing as my cosmic energy was now flowing again as it did before with our first attempt of the Uni Mid. It was happening all over again, my energy mingling and flowing through every piece of my body now as I was once again levitating in the air and away from Phastos.

This time, this Uni-Mind was feeling stronger than before as whatever cosmic energy was left in me was now moving out of me and into the air. I only concentrated on having my energy go towards Sersi, knowing that it was her that was using the Uni-Mind. This felt more organic, an intense saw sensation was also felt while I tried to give any more energy I made left. I did all I could do, I gave the time when I needed to and I could only hope and pray that It worked.

That the Uni-Mind would work.

The more energy I was pushing to her, the weaker I knew I was getting. Yet I was only thinking of the human race. They came such a long way, such long way too. Even though we helped here and there and saw those times of turmoil and pain they brought on each other, I also knew there was love out there amongst the humans. They were willing to grow with one another and bring color and happiness to the earth. It was so evident, and to think we were about to lose them all was unbearable. But this was worth it, in my mind it was worth it.

This family that I had, the family that I grew to love and accept as my own as we followed these humans throughout time itself was in my thoughts too. I saw all of their flaws from time to time, but I always saw their accomplishments and how they too grew as the humans grew. I loved each of them wholeheartedly, sharing a moment or two with them that I placed deep within my soul. They all loved humans too, in their own minds they did. In the end, I was glad to have known them. And if it was right about my regeneration life, I prayed that I would see them again.

My energy was now at a simmering low, barely hanging on within me as I was seeing images in the back of my mind of older times. Those simpler moments of being amongst the humans, laughing with the others on the Domo, and even our reunion before days before this. They were all going in and out of my mind, hearing those voices in my head too as I was slowly slipping and going under. Maybe this was goodbye, the last time I was going to be awake before I would die. I wasn't going to fight this anymore, but I would remember each of them at their happiest.

Ajak and her kind words of wisdom.

"You are worthy,"

Thena and her fierce strength.

"Your strength is solely your own"

Gilgamesh and his gentleness.

"You know how Soteri is. She never wants to flaunt herself in front of others. Not even in front of us,"

Kingo and his massive smile.

"Soteria, The Goddess of Safety and Protection!"

Sersi and her selflessness

"You are a fighter, Soteri,"

Phastos and his acts of service

"He's a great young man. You're gonna have to meet him one day,"

Makkari and her pure optimism and joy

"There is always hope, Soteri,"

Even Sprite and her youthfulness.

"I was going to say powerful, but sure."

Lastly, Druig and my intense love for him.

"I will always love you, Soteri,"

The Uni-Mind was now slipping away, my energy was no longer there within me as I floated back to the ground. The warmth of the energy that was flowing to me was now dull, the golden light I was seeing behind my closed eyes was now going dark. Before I knew it, I was slipping again and I was falling to the ground on my side.

I blacked out, not an ounce was left in me.

Makkari's POV

"Place her here,"

I watched in earnest and worry as Soteri was placed on Phastos's main workstation in his lab. We were all standing around her as Phastos rearranged her limp body on the table, her red hair flowed over the side and hung in the air. There was almost dimness to her now as we watched her look so lifeless and helpless. No one said a word, no one wanted to move as Phastos was already working on her.

As joyous as it was that we saved the world, we saw Soteri's broken body and we thought of the worst. Sersi did stop the Emergence, turning Tiamut to marble thanks to the Uni-mind that she created with the Celestial as well. It was a miracle that we stopped it in time, finding that the earth was no longer in peril.

We succeeded in our task, but it was at the price of Soteri's life.

Phastos created with his energy an oxygen mask or sorts, placing it over her nose and mouth to help her breathe. We could see her breathe against the mask and there was hardly any breath left in her. Phastos then walked over to look behind Soteri at her backside, pausing for a moment before he grimaced a bit. We all watched him, seeing that his eyes were wide as I finally signed at him.

What is it? I signed to him, seeing him give me a wary look, and then he looked over at Sersi. She was watching him intensely too, seeing him give a long breath.

"He severed her entire spine,"

Thena, myself, and Sersi gasped out from the news. It was worse than I thought it was going to be, and to see my best friend there with only a sliver of life within her made it feel like I wanted to be sick. Not Soteri, not my gentle and kind Soteri who would move mountains to protect any of us. We were all grieving in pain now to see her like this, and there was nothing we could do. If Ajak was alive, she would fix her within moments.

But she wasn't, and her life was hanging in the balance.

"What can we do?" Thena asked softly as she walked over to lace her fingers in Soteri's limp ones that were out on the table. A soft vibration was felt right behind me to make me look in confusion. I saw it was Druig, standing so stiff and still as he was watching Soteri with grief looking stare in his eyes and all over his face. I saw it in his stance and in how he was only looking at her, he was in grief and in denial with what he was seeing. As Phastos explained to the others what could be done, I walked over to him, seeing him not acknowledge me he was still staring at the work table, staring at Soteri.

Druig, I signed at him, seeing him not look at me still as I then snapped my fingers in front of his eyes to look at me directly, Druig, Look at me!

He was staring at me intensely and his eyes were watering. I saw that stoic wall that he would always have up was about to crumble from seeing her nearly lifeless. I felt it too, not knowing what to do or how to help at that moment since it was so fragile. But from seeing it on Druig's face, it was worse for him.

I saw it in his eyes: he loved her and now his heart was breaking.

She will be fine, I signed in reassurance to him, seeing him watch me almost in disbelief and pain there as I kept going, Phastos is going to take care of her! You need to be strong for her, okay? She needs your strength.

After we all stopped Tiamut, Phastos and I saw her on the ground, out cold and frozen. Insantly, Phastos started to assess the damage on her and tried to find way to keep her alive as Thena rushed over. I was frozen, not knowing what to do on the beach as I was seeing my best friend slowly slip away. Sersi came too, looking already grief-stricken as she saw Soteri's body. Sersi started crying openly, then telling me through broken tears that Ikaris flew off into the sun, way from us and towards his death.

He killed himself for failing, and for what he as done to us because of his failure.

It was then that we saw both Sprite and Druig all across the beach, both looking alive and well. We were relieved to see that he was safe from Ikaris attacking him, even having me embrace him in relief that he was alive. But once we separated, he saw Soteri and his face fell. It was a brief moment that he thought he was having a trick of the mind.

But once he got closer, he crumbled like a tumbleweed in the wind. I watched him fall to his knees, cradling her in his arms, and was feeling how cold she was. Druig started to cry. He was weeping into her hair, clutching her so close to him that some of her blood got onto his fingers and his uniform. It was so intimate that maybe we shouldn't be watching, but all of us were stunned. We have never seen him like this, with this much vulnerability and tenderness.

Yet we were watching in mourning. We all felt it for Soteri too, thinking that she was already gone from us. But Phastos found a pulse, a very faint one but it was there. He pleaded to Druig to release her to Thena. It took Druig some convincing to give her over and have Thena carry her gently to the Domo. Once Druig released Soteri, he looked so lost and did not know where to go, or what to do.

"I can't lose her, Makkari," he said in almost a whisper, the vibrations of his voice that I felt within my feet and against my chest sounded so painful and so sad, "I won't have any more strength if I lose her,"

You need to have faith that she'll make it, Druig, I said to him sternly trying to be strong for him too since I too cared for my best friend. I wanted to break down and feel grief, but there was no time for that when there was that chance that she would survive. I had to show Druig the same thing too, She needs you to be strong, Druig. Do it for her, okay?

Reached down I grasped his wrist to make him feel some kind of anchor with her. I knew he wasn't going to answer me, but to show him that I was right next to him and I was there for him to lean on. I looked back at the group, seeing Phastos looking at the serve spine damage and then sighing before he rubbed his fingers and looked at the group.

"I can find a way to fuse her spine back together," He explained to us, all of us looking at him with some relief as he kept talking, "But I suggest we get off these rocks and go somewhere else that's more...stable." The rest of the group looked at each other, trying to think of a place where Phastos can work on Soteri in peace and with concentration. It was Sersi, the tears striking down her face as she was watching Soteri, who spoke up and said something.

"I know where we can go,"