Elyus's POV:

Footsteps entered the room once more and I had expected Thena to return but instead see that Ikaris was dressed in his blue-armored suit.

"Hey, I'm close to figuring it out." Phastos tried to say but before we knew it, Ikaris's eyes glowed and he shot his laser beams toward the hologram, sending Phastos to collapse on his back as the machine shattered into pieces.

"What the--Ikaris what have you done?" I scold.

"Boss, what are you doing?" Kingo exclaimed.

"I've let this go on long enough." Ikaris stated before his gaze set on Phastos who was groaning out in pain.

"Don't hurt him!" Sersi runs into the laboratory and quickly helps Phastos up. "He lied to us! He already knew about the emergence."

"No, he didn't." Kingo argued and turned back to Ikaris.

"Ajak told me everything when we left Babylon." He stated.

"W-What?"

My heart sinks in realization, remembering all of his nervous antics from before. It all made sense. "You were never gonna let us stop the emergence."

Ikaris shook his head. "No, I only wanted to protect you from the Deviants."

"If Ajak wanted you to take her place, why did she choose me?" Sersi shakily asked but his silence causes her eyes to slightly widen. "What have you done?"

"He killed her." Druig realized and I slowly shake my head in disbelief.

Tears brimmed in Ikaris's eyes. "I had to."

"She loved you." Sersi murmured as a whimper escaped from Phastos.

"Did she?"

"She treated you like one of her own! How could you do that?" I angrily yell out and try to lunge at him but Kingo quickly grabs my arm to hold me in place. "I should've known everything you said in Mumbai was pure bullshit! I should kill you!"

"Do you think it was easy to live with the truth? To know that one day all this would end?" Ikaris questioned before his eyes fell on Sersi. "To keep on lying to you? If we gave humanity the choice, how many of them would be willing to die so that billions more could be born?"

"We're not giving them a choice." Phastos sniffled. "Is this why you're willing to kill? You are so pathetic!"

"I'm an Eternal, Phastos. I exist for Arishem. As do you. It's who you are." Ikaris stated.

Phastos shook his head in disapproval. "I wouldn't change a single thing about who I am. Born or made. But I do not exist for Arishem," Phastos threateningly takes a step closer to him, yanking his arm away from Sersi. "I exist for my family!"

"Then you are making the same mistake Ajak did."

Before either Phastos or Ikaris could make the first move to attack, Makkari speeds into the laboratory with a grin on her face.

"I found Tiamut." She happily signed but Ikaris's eyes glow, preparing to shoot his lasers.

"No!"

Before the laser beams hit her, I speedily push her out of the way, feeling the beams collide with my shoulder which causes me to crash into the rock table with a groan. Makkari worriedly crouches to my side but I quickly shake my head, tightly clutching onto my shoulder.

"Makkari, get out of here!" Kingo insisted and she nods before speeding out of the room once more.

"Kingo." Ikaris warned, seeing as Kingo protectively stood in front of me, generating the energy projection bolt with his fingertips.

He slowly points at Ikaris, preparing to shoot. "You do not turn against your family. Gilgamesh died because of you."

"You won't succeed against me. And I will kill every one of you if I have to." Ikaris threatened.

"I held back that night because of Ajak." I grit my teeth, ignoring the sharp pain on my shoulder as I push myself up from the ground. "And now, I'll make sure to pull the air out of your lungs. I'll promise you that."

Ikaris clenches his jaw, his eyes briefly meeting Sersi's as she cried softly and turns to walk away until someone stepped forward.

"Wait," Sprite spoke up from beside Druig, her eyes still brimming with tears. "I'm going with you."

"Sprite!" Sersi called, watching as the girl rushed to Ikaris's side and start to walk away.

"What is this?" Thena entered the room with confusion, clearly unaware of what just happened.

Sprite quickly conjures an illusion of a swarm of fireflies, completely covering herself and Ikaris Thena quickly forms weapons in her hands. However, the insects soon disappear along with the two Eternals, causing her to retract the weapons.

"Why did Sprite go with Ikaris?" Makkari signed with a confused look.

"Wasn't it obvious from our argument?" I dryly chuckle, rolling my shoulder back with a crack. "She loves him."

"I knew that even before the argument." Kingo muttered and looked at everyone else, seeing that this was news to them. "Oh, you guys didn't pick up on that? He really fooled us, didn't he?"

"Kingo..."

"Karun, let's go." Kingo sighed, taking his purple jacket from the table.

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

"I can't help you guys. I still think Ikaris is right." He admitted, causing me to shake my head in disappointment.

"So, that's it, huh? Just gonna follow him?" Phastos scoffed before he pointed to me. "He could've killed Makkari if Elyus hadn't pushed her out of the way!"

"I love the people of this planet. But if you stop this emergence, you are preventing so many other worlds like this one from being created. I still have faith in Arishem. But I refuse to hurt any of you for my beliefs." Kingo explained before moving to the exit once more.

Makkari placed her hand on his shoulder, stopping him. "We need you."

"Even with my help, we're no match. It's Ikaris."

"That's why we have to try, Kingo." I plead as I approach the two. "What happened to stick together as a family?"

"I'm sorry, Elyus." He said, making sure to look at everyone else with reassurance. "I hope to see you on the next planet."

Karun slowly followed after him but turned to face us with a saddened look. "Thank you for all you've done...for humanity. It's been a great honor." He softly spoke in Hindi before pressing his hands together in prayer with a sniffle. "I will miss you all."

"It was lovely to meet you, Karun." I give a small smile and he simply nods before leaving as well.

"Look, if I'm gonna get myself killed going up against Ikaris," Druig spoke up. "we'll need to have a backup plan."

"All of our powers, even if they're amplified, are not enough to kill a Celestial, so..." Phastos muttered.

"Well, Sersi did turn a Deviant into a tree." I point out. "Underwater!"

"I'm sorry, what?" Phastos asked and turned to Sersi, seeing as she practically sank in her spot. "You didn't wanna tell me that?"

"You've never been able to do it before." Makkari signed in surprise.

"I don't know how it happened, okay? And I'm pretty sure I couldn't do it again." Sersi glumly shook her head.

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

"Phastos, that Deviant is dead. Our plan is to put Tiamut to sleep, not to kill it." She emphasized with stress laced in her tone. "I can't kill a Celestial."

"Sersi--" Phastos slightly raised his voice before taking a deep breath. "Sersi."

"We can't!" She exclaimed in frustration until she sees the solemn expressions on Makkari and Phastos. "We can't. I-I'm sorry." She whispered before quickly walking out of the laboratory.

"It's okay, Elyus." Druig reassured, meeting his weak smile. "I got this."

I nod and then turn to Phastos. "Think you can try to fix what Ikaris destroyed?" I ask, beginning to walk to the exit as well.

"I think so, but where are you going? Don't tell me you're leaving too."

"Of course not. I just need to have a chat with our team leader." I shrug. "Someone has to give her a pep talk."

"Well, good luck with that. She seemed stressed out of her mind." Druig chuckled, earning a smack from Makkari which caused him to wince. "Ouch!"

"Thanks, Makkari." I say before I continue to walk down the hallway.

As I pass by one of the rooms with Arishem's statue, I immediately stop in my tracks. I slowly back up to the room and coincidentally enough, Sersi was leaning against the wall and looking out the window.

It had a clear view of the Babylonian mountains and a wave of nostalgia hit my senses. This is how Sersi must've seen me when she saw me looking through the window of outer space.

I quietly approach her with my hands behind my back, letting out a sigh. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" I say, recalling her exact words to me when we first met.

Sersi immediately wiped her eyes, not bothering to look at me. "Bit overwhelming actually. Makes you feel small."

"It's okay to admit you're scared, you know. All of us are after learning about one betraying us and then losing another two in the span of three minutes. Questioning whether the five of us stand a chance against Ikaris and Sprite."

"Some leader Ajak chose, huh?" She muttered. "I didn't see the lies right in front of me. I'm not even sure why Ajak chose me to lead. All I do is mess it all up."

"I already told you why." Her eyes flickered to me in confusion. "Because as soon as we stepped foot on this planet, you fell in love with the people here. Since the beginning, you helped them flourish into their best selves, including us. Ajak saw that and knew Ikaris would never stray from Arishem."

"You did too. You've always talked about getting to explore the planet and getting to know the people without a care in the world. Hell, you probably already did."

I snort. "Didn't you hear Dane say that I hate most people I talk to? I run a bar that barely scrapes enough cash to keep the place going. My reasonings were for my own good rather than anyone else which is why Ajak chose you."

"Elyus--"

"Sersi, listen to me." I place my hands on her shoulders, making sure she faced me. "Being a perfect leader doesn't mean you never make a mistake. Yeah, you're clumsy and there were points where you accidentally screwed up or that we doubted some of your choices--"

"That's not exactly making me feel better, Elyus."

"--but you still didn't let our opinions stop you.  While everyone else wanted to stay or quit, you were the only one who still kept us together by giving hope. You are an incredible, kind-hearted, selfless,and intelligent woman and whoever doesn't see that needs to reevaluate themselves." I confidently state which causes the corners of her mouth to perk into a smile. "There is no one better to lead us because we have you, Sersi. To me, along with Ajak, you're a perfect leader in my eyes."

Tears brim her eyes at my words and she immediately embraces me in a hug, the sudden impact causes a shot of pain in my shoulder and I accidentally grunt. "Agh!"

She pulls away slightly in shock. "I'm so sorry! I just haven't gotten to hug you in so long that I forgot about your shoulder--"

"It's okay!" I laugh at her rambles, trying to ignore the pain. "One hug won't kill me."

She starts to giggle as well. "Thank you, Elyus."

"It's Ellie." I point out with a brow raised. "Did someone forget the nickname that they came up with?"

She cups my face in her hand with a smile. "Never."

I realize that we were still holding each other close and I couldn't help but let my eyes wander to her lips. Oh, man.

"Ellie?" Sersi softly spoke, breaking me from my thoughts. "is it okay if I try something I've always wanted to do?"

"I wouldn't stop you."

"...good."

"I've been informed that someone is doubting their abilities as a leader." Sersi and I immediately jump away from each, seeing as Thena confidently strutted towards us.

"Thena, I already--"

"Don't worry Elyus, I got this." Thena held up a hand to me and I immediately stay quiet. "Sersi, 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.'"

I turn to Sersi and immediately her eyes met mine, causing my heart to swell. "I can vouch for that." I say with a smile.

"Elyus, please. You're ruining my momentous speech." Thena dismissed and turned back to Sersi. "Sersi, you have loved these people since the day we arrived. So, there is no one better to lead us now than you."

Thena reached for Sersi's hands and squeezed them. "Ajak chose you for a reason."

"Thank you, Thena." Sersi smiled. "Let's save the planet."

"Well, that was easy. Druig said she practically fled out of the room." Thena chuckled before she patted my arm. "You're welcome."

"Uh--"

"Sersi!" Phastos shouted as he quickly ran inside the room as well. "Oh, Sersi. We need you!"

"I already gave that speech first." Thena cut in, holding her hand up to Phastos. "Elyus miserably failed and you arrived late.

"What? You did--wha--nevermind." He quickly shook his head. "Sersi, 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 UniMind."

Sersi quickly nodded. "Great."

"Yeah. But, um..." He awkwardly points to her chest. "I have to take it out of you."

"Okay." She nervously swallowed. "Do it."

He nodded and several gold rings appeared around his fingers as he pressed the palm of his hands together and twists, making the rings brightly gleam.

Just as he hovered his hand over her chest, Thena spoke up. "Don't kill her."

"Thena." Phastos warned with a groan.

"Do it." Sersi repeated, wearing a reassuring smile.

Phastos hovered his hand over her chest once more and a small golden sphere emerges from her chest, earning a gasp to escape from Sersi's lips.

The sphere hovers in Phastos's hands and he stares at the object in awe.

"You think it'll work?" I ask.

With one flick of his hand, it shatters into dozens of parts but in the middle it brightly shined. "It has to."

ೃ˙ ࿐ೃ˙ ࿐ೃ˙ ࿐ೃ˙ ࿐ೃ˙

EMERGENCE POINT

I stand in my spot next to Makkari, feeling the small strings of light trace my body to transform my clothes into my orange and light blue armored suit. Once it finished, I move my left hand over my chest and feel Phastos's bracelet connect around my wrist.

"Everyone know the plan?" Sersi asked, seeing as we approached closer to the island.

"You, Makkari, and I go with Druig to the island while Thena and Phastos stay up here and stall Ikaris." I simplify with a shrug. "Remind me again why I shouldn't stay up here to help Thena?"

"It'll be better to have most of us down there to provide Druig enough power to put Tiamut to sleep since Athena's will take the longest to connect." Phastos explained.

"And I've always wanted to fight Ikaris." Thena grinned, twirling her cosmic knives in her hands. "It'll be fun."

"We should get down there before Ikaris comes." Makkari signed before she gestured for us to grab onto her.

Sersi nodded. "Right. Good luck, Thena. Be safe."

"Oh, I will!" She called out before Makkari sped us out of the spaceship.