CHICAGO

Elyus's POV:

I peek my head through the side of the dining room, seeing Phastos leaning against the bathroom sink as he watched his son place some toothpaste on his toothbrush.

"You got it, Jack?"

"Mmhmm."

"Way to go. All right. Show me how it's done." He moved his hand around his mouth, showing him to properly brush.

"Penny for your thoughts?" I jump at the sudden whisper and glance behind, meeting Sersi's amused expression.

I playfully roll my eyes. "Sneaking behind isn't very nice."

"That doesn't answer my question."

I glance back at Phastos with his son, watching as he proudly smiled at Jack brushing his teeth. "It's just...It's nice to see that at least one of us got the chance to start a family."

"If you had the chance to...would you want children?"

"If you asked me that years ago, I would say yes in a heartbeat. But now?" I turn away and meet Sersi's look of concern. "I'm not sure anymore. Not only because my living conditions in California aren't the best, but I also don't think I'd be a great parent."

She immediately shakes her head. "Seriously? Elyus, you'd be an amazing mother."

"How so?"

"You've always had this look whenever you played with the children in Babylon. This-This spark of energy that lights them all up and always makes others feel safe by just being around you." She rambled. "I'll be honest, that infectious energy you had disappeared right after we left Babylon but with the look that Jack gave you when we first arrived? I saw a glimpse of it. It's still there, Elyus. You just have to...stop holding back."

I give a small smile. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Good! I-I mean—you do whatever you feel comfortable with." She stammered, dismissively waving her hand off. "I didn't mean to overstep."

"What are we whispering about?" Ikaris stepped up to us, narrowing his eyes in curiosity.

"Just catching up." I shrug, nodding my head behind us. "Spying on Phastos and his son."

Ikaris slowly nodded, his eyes flickering back and forth at Sersi and I. "I see."

"Round and round and round and round and round."

They both giggle with one another until Phastos looks up, my smile instantly dropping to shock since he caught my stare.

I quickly move but accidentally bump into Ikaris and Sersi. We scramble to sit down in the dining room chairs and I snatch the apple from the bowl in the middle of the table.

Sersi picked up the Star Wars coloring book, pretending to read but Ikaris snatched it from her hands. Just as Phastos entered the dining room, Sersi grabbed the mug in front of her.

"Yeah. Incredibly natural, guys." Phastos scoffed as he took a seat beside me, taking the apple from my hand. "It's a fake fruit bowl, don't eat that."

I raise a brow. "What kind of person wants not edible fruit on their table?"

"Hey, I didn't ask for criticism. Besides...it was my husband's idea." He tossed the apple back into the bowl before his eyes landed on Ikaris. "After all these years, even you fell for Ajak's lies."

Ikaris closed the coloring book with a huff. "No need to rub it in."

"Mm. 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 shook his head. "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?"

I shrug. "Sounds about right."

"It's bleak." Ikaris muttered.

"Well, so is telling your husband and your child that they could be dead within a few days." He remarked.

"Thought you'd given up on humans?"

Phastos briefly shut his eyes with a wince. "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. So, look, I cannot help you. I am never leaving them--"

"Phastos--"

"I'm sorry, Sersi." He cut in, continuing to shake his head. "It was wrong for me to use my powers without thinking about the consequences in the first place. So, now, I choose to use my hands to fix my child's bicycle, okay?"

Ikaris tilted his head to the side. "Do you?"

"I don't use my powers anymore." Phastos narrowed his eyes.

"You sure?"

"What are you--" Instantly Ikaris fires his laser eyes directly at the double doors that led to the backyard but rather than splintering into pieces, it was unscathed. Cosmic symbols briefly appeared before disappearing in a matter of seconds. "What the hell is wrong with you? My child is right down the hallway!"

"That looks like someone's been using his powers." Ikaris pointed out with a smirk as he glanced between Sersi and I.

I slowly push away his glass cup I filled with whiskey sour. "Maybe bringing you the drink to de-stress was a bad idea."

"Oh, my God." Phastos pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"No, no. It helped, Elyus. I bet he built the perfect safe house." Ikaris hummed as he looked around the room before he looked down at the table. "What is this even made of? Vibranium?"

"Don't—!" Before Phastos could stop him, Ikaris harshly slams his arm on the table and it instantly splits in half, causing the clutter on the table to fall as well and my eyes widen in surprise. "Fall collection. IKEA... ass."

"You built your house with your technology but not the furniture?" I curiously ask.

"No, because I didn't think an eternal would break my table!" He exclaimed before he turned to Sersi. "How did you even deal with this guy for over 5,000 years?"

Sersi briefly meets my eyes at the question but Ikaris rolled his eyes in annoyance. "If you stay here, you might as well invite the Deviants to dinner. Never mind waiting for the end of the world."

Sersi nodded. "He has a point."

"No, I'm sorry. You can't just show up in my life and expect me to go with you. I'm not gonna--"

"You should go, habibi." The four of us look up, seeing as Ben stood in the entryway with a solemn expression.

"You want me to go?" Phastos asked with shock laced in his tone.

"You know what my mom would say to you right now, right?" He softly chuckled. "Quit procrastinating, Phil, and take care of your business." He recited in Arabic before his gaze flickered to us. "He's a chronic procrastinator."

He pushed himself up from the chair, approaching his husband. "I'm not leaving you two. No way."

"I'm not happy about it, but if there's a chance for us to watch Jack grow up to live a life of his own, we should take it."

And with that, he simply nodded before he quickly went to bid his goodbyes to his family, lovingly kissing his husband one last time.

As we walked with Phastos into the night back to the others, Sersi comfortingly pats his back with a small smile.

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IRAQ

Once the group of archeologists pack up their things into the cars and drive off due to Druig's powers, Sprite disintegrates the invisibility that concealed us from them.

A projector from Phastos' device of the Domo appears in the palm of his hands and he slightly lifts the projection.

Dust begins to blow at our faces but thanks to the sunglasses Sprite found for all of us, I watch with ease as the Domo lifts from underneath the ground.

"The Domo." Karun whispered in awe, keeping his recording camera aimed at the sight in front of him.

Once the ship settled, we boarded the spaceship but Karun quickly runs ahead to film us as Kingo continued his commentary.

"A foreboding atmosphere fills the air. An eerie stillness chokes our lungs." Kingo dramatically spoke to the camera which causes me to walk slower and hang in the back of the group, not wanting to be in the shot.

"What are you doing?" Phastos glanced at Kingo with confusion. "You know you're creeping us out. You know that, right?"

Suddenly the sound of a burst echoes through the darkened hallway of the Domo, causing the rest of us to abruptly stop.

"Oh! Oh, God! Stay calm, T, please!" Phastos exclaimed, cowering from the possible attacker until he slowly looked down. Underneath Thena's heel, it was an exploded bag of chips and I stifle a laugh.

"Chips." Phastos nervously chuckled, bending down to grab the bag before showing it to the camera. "It's just chips."

Kingo turned to the camera once more. "As you can see, being an Eternal does not preclude you from having human emotions such as cowardice."

"What has she done?" Phastos gasped as we walked closer to his laboratory, my eyes widening at the sight of the clutter of artifacts and artifacts stolen by Makkari. "Is that...a sarcophagus in my lab?"

"This is Makkari." Kingo introduce to the camera as Makkari continued to read her book, finishing it in a matter of seconds. "Or should I say, Miss Havisham? None of us have seen her for centuries."

Makkari cheekily smiled once she saw us. "Ready to go home?" She excitedly signed. However, it doesn't last long once she took notice of the group's nervous expressions.

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"So you mean...I've been waiting for centuries to go back to Olympia," Makkari signed to Kingo and I in confusion. "and now you're telling me...it doesn't exist?"

"That," Kingo snapped his fingers to her before signing, "and the world is ending."

"The Deviant got to Ajak and Gil and managed to absorb their powers." I sign with a sigh. "Ran off before we could get him. Pretty sure Thena's planning to get her revenge."

Makkari slowly nodded. "At last my boredom is ending."

"Have you seen my movies?" Kingo signed with a curious look.

Makkari shrugged. "I don't have a DVD player."

"DVD? It's all about streaming now." Kingo dismissively waved his hand. "You know, what you need is a Kindle. Do you know what that is? It's like a...you know, I just realized that if you don't know what an iPad is, there's almost no way to explain it."

Makkari playfully shook her head before her eyes trailed to me with concern. "Did the Deviant almost get to you too?"

I wince before I slip off my leather jacket, showing the large claw marks that ripped through. "Almost. It looks kind of badass, don't you think?" I playfully sign as she took the jacket from my hands.

"The shred isn't a good look. I have something that I think you'll like." She signed with a smile before speeding out of the room for a few seconds before sliding back into her spot with a rush of wind as she held a pastel blue and white vintage varsity jacket.

"Oh! With your light orange shirt, you're practically matching your suit." Kingo chuckled, watching as Makkari helped me slip my hands through the sleeves. "Nice choice, Makkari."

"I try." Makkari signed, cockily dusting her shoulders off.

"So," We turn away, seeing as Druig held up a tablet in his hands, holding it out for Makkari to see with a coy smile. "how did you end up scoring this Emerald Tablet--"

Makkari stood up and tries to snatch it from his grasp but he quickly moves it out of her arm's reach with a smirk. "my beautiful, beautiful Makkari?"

Phastos and Kingo share a look of confusion, watching the two interact lovingly with each other and Makkari snatched the emerald tablet from Druig.

"Miss me?" He signed in a soft voice but she simply rolls her eyes.

"I'm sorry, what are we watching? Because this..." Phastos trailed before signing," are you two...?"

"Is this new?" Kingo added. "Because I hate it."

"You are centuries late, boys." I chuckle, pushing myself off of the ledge. "Phastos, I thought you are the genius here?"

"Hey!"

"Phastos, I need to control the mind of a Celestial." Druig interjected, causing the rest of us to join in to surround Phastos's projection.

"Okay, get ready for it." Phastos excitedly spoke, revealing nine bracelets that floated above us.

"Bracelets?" Kingo questioned with a brow raised. "You made us bracelets?"

"So, here's a little Celestial 101. Celestials are the most powerful energy generators in the universe. When Arishem made us, he imbued us with infinite cosmic energy to keep our bodies regenerating." He explained, showing a visual of Arishem creating an eternal at the palm of its hand. "The bracelets, in theory, shut down our regeneration process. And once that happens, our bodies accumulate extra cosmic energy."

"What for?" Sersi questioned.

"Well, if the Deviants can absorb our energy, what if we can absorb each other's energy as well? If I can find a way to connect us all, one of us could become immensely powerful, pulling the accumulated energy from the rest, forming..." He trails off, quickly moving another projection of nine people standing in a circle but a swirl of energy floats above the figures, creating a ball of light. "a UniMind!"

I slowly nod in understanding but I didn't say a word, seeing as everyone else blankly stared.

"'Uni' meaning 'one,' 'mind' meaning 'mind.'" Phastos added, taking note of their expressions as well.

"Oh, no, we heard you the first time." Kingo tried to explain. "It's just--"

"Terrible name." Sprite bluntly stated.

"We'll brainstorm..." Kingo's eyes widen. "Brainstorm! That's a way better name!"

"No, I invented it, so I'm calling it whatever I want." Phastos disagreed.

"So suppose Druig can, say...put Tiamut to sleep." Makkari signed. "Then what?"

"We find humans a new home on another planet." Sersi answered, causing my eyes to widen.

"How?" I curiously ask. "Scientists are already struggling to find suitable planets with the technology they have now."

"Are we building a big ship, too?" Sprite asked, sarcasm laced in her tone. "Take a pair of each animal?"

"Well, you know what's never saved the planet? Your sarcasm." Phastos stated.

"Space colonization could take decades!"

"It can happen quickly with our help." Sersi added.

"What if we end up accidentally killing Tiamut?" Kingo worriedly asked.

I cross my arms with a scoff. "Would that be so bad? Arishem didn't think twice about having us kill other planets to create more Celestial beings."

"We could be responsible for billions of lives not being created across the universe!" He exclaimed before he turned to Ikaris. "Boss, am I right?"

"Say something, Ikaris." Sprite pressed at Ikaris, who had remained silent throughout the explanation. Now that I think about it, he'd been silent since we left Chicago. "You don't think we should be doing this."

Ikaris crossed his arms over his chest as a moment of silence passed but from his posture alone, I could see something was off.

"I'm sorry, but do we need a reminder of which of us was chosen by Ajak?" I scoff. "She chose Sersi so it should be her that's calling the shots. Not Ikaris."

"Why do you care? You should be wanting your memories erased based on our conversation!" She shouted. "You don't even give a shit about this planet anymore because of a stupid heartbreak that happened centuries ago."

Despite everyone's eyes falling on me, I stood my ground with a glare. "Don't project your insecurities on me, Sprite. What, didn't find a boy your age?"

"Enough!" Ikaris raised his voice, causing everyone to jump at his tone. "Ajak chose Sersi to lead us. Sersi should decide."

"Forget who Ajak chose." She scoffed as some of the others glanced at Sersi who timidly stood behind. "You're the strongest. You should be making this decision."

"Ikaris's strength shouldn't define leadership." I remark.

"No one asked you." Sprite countered.

Ikaris shook his head, nodding his head to Sersi. "It's up to her."

"Fine. Just keep lying to yourself." She muttered before turning to me. "If it weren't for the physical difference, at least I would've stood a chance compared to you where you never had it. I mean, isn't that why you never stuck around with one of us? Better to cut everyone off before they could get you first." She remarks before storming out of the room.

I clench my jaw, tightening my grip on the edge of the stone table and I look off to the side.

"Sprite." Ikaris called, letting out a sigh before exiting the room as well.

"Okay, this is not--"

"Ikaris!" Kingo called, following him soon after to the hall.

"Don't run after him." Phastos groaned. "I-- you guys!"

"I knew this was stupid." I mutter before I quickly leave the room as well, ignoring Phastos's calls, and continue to walk out of the Domo.