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SIX | A VERY BEAUTIFUL NAME

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THE DESERT WAS singed-brown. The land was flat and barren. Only the odd brittle bush broke up the emptiness of the desert. A screaming hawk flew overhead and the sun above shone very brightly. It seemed like it was raining fire that Apollos removed his coat and popped open the first three buttons of his long sleeved polo to let his body breathe. He began quenching for thirst and an uncomfortable feeling of sweat slowly started to run down his back as they travelled further through the desert of Australia. According to Apollos' contact, the one he ordered to keep an eye on Thena and Gilgamesh and secretly assist them, the two exiles settled far away from civilization, almost in the middle of the Great Victoria desert.

"How are you and your family, Clint?" replied Apollos, his finger hovering his bluetooth earpiece. Every now and then, the two of them would check and support each other. Sometimes, Apollos would even go as far as to fly to America just to meet again with Natasha's closest friend. They would talk about Clint's family, Apollos' work, or their memories about Natasha. It has always been that it was best to talk about those we have lost so we don't forget. That's what Clint and Apollos tend to do.

"They're doin' great, man. Thanks by the way for the presents. The kids love it. Nathaniel is ecstatic with the toy you gave him."

Apollos smiled. Nathaniel, according to his fianceé, was supposed to be Natasha, but then the results came out and it turns out, the baby was a boy. Natasha became his godmother though, and so Apollos did everything for the little man. He wanted his fianceé's legacy to live on and protect her honor. Only few acknowledged her sacrifice, making Apollos determined to make sure that her deed would not go unremembered. Hence, the orphanage foundation was renamed from Hope Orphanage Foundation to Natasha Romanoff Memorial Orphanage Foundation.

"That's great, Clint. What about you? How are you?"

"How are you, Apollos? Are you okay?"

The Prime Eternal exhaled. "I should be. I'm trying. You?"

"Trying, as well."

"Good." Apollos nodded. "Well, send my regards to Laura and the kids, alright?"

"Will do, man. Thanks for checking up on us again."

"Anytime."

Ending the call and treading further, Apollos caught sight of a familiar creature and removed his sunglasses to get a better look at it. He sighed. It was one of the predators they were tasked by Arishem to exterminate five thousand years ago, a deviant. They were back again which meant the Emergence was drawing near. Apollos has almost little time left to confess to his fellow Eternals about their real purpose here on Earth. Perhaps, he could rally them all to stop it from happening. He was certain that he would gain support from Sersi, as it seems that she loves Earth and its people.

Apollos curled his hand into a fist. When he first discovered their true purpose, he was horrified and disgusted with himself. He had helped these Celestials exterminate planets and civilizations just so another of their race would be born. Ajak advised him to not get emotional and think about the bigger picture. Using energy gathered from the host planet, the newborn Celestial joins its brethren in creating stars, generally ensuring more planets evolve life across the universe.

He was reminded of Vesper's Celestial father Ego. The Prime Eternal was very glad that the despicable creature was dead or he would've taken it upon himself to kill him, not caring if it would be considered treason.

"This is the Deviant you fought in London?" pointed Kingo as Ikaris walked past the apex predator.

"It's different. There must be more out there than we thought."

"Thena and Gilgamesh certainly slaughtered this deviant themselves. Of course, they haven't lost touch." Apollos commented, inserting his hands inside his pockets when he accompanied Sersi and glanced at Ikaris, "You, however..." He then shrugged.

Sersi asked, "Why do you always tease him?"

"Tease? What a baby term, Sersi. What I am doing is roasting the hell out of him." proudly declared Apollos, winking at her. "That's what my friend, Vesper, would call it."

"Vesper? Is she one of the avengers?"

"Well, technically yeah. I mean, she, Cassandra, Alona and I were part of the Time Heist, so yeah, I think yeah."

"Cassandra and Alona?"

"They're also my friends." elaborated Apollos, recalling them both fondly. He missed Cassandra's friendliness and amazing planning skills and Alona's spectacular Filipino dishes. "Really good people. Cassandra's adopted twins are my godchildren.

This time, it was Sprite who spoke up, "You have godchildren?"

The towering Eternal hummed. "Their names are Megara and Theseus."

"Wow."

"Yeah, and their graduation - " His sentence was cut short when his smartphone buzzed, interrupting his narration. He put a finger up to excuse himself from them and parted ways from them to answer the incoming call. It was Magnus, the boy he and Natasha were so fond of in the orphanage foundation. Magnus Hendrix was the first boy they rescued after they established the foundation. They found him in a store, trying to survive the looting and the chaos around him. Apollos recalled how Natasha focused all her strength in taking care of him like he was her own son. She was like a mother to him that shattered his heart into pieces when he learned of her demise in Vormir.

He wondered why Magnus was calling him at such a time since it had been months ever since the boy decided to leave the foundation and focus on his education, staying in Kamar-Taj to study mysticism since that was his thesis topic. Magnus decided to take anthropology as his major to follow in Apollos' footsteps and work alongside him in the Louvre Museum. The Prime Eternal furrowed his eyebrows. His college student son often called on the weekends to catch up. Was he okay? Was he in trouble? His gut instincts didn't alert him of anything nor was he feeling odd recently.

Pressing the green button, he responded first, "Magnus, are you okay? What is it?"

"Yeah, Paul, I mean, hi, dad, hello. I was wondering, if uh, well,"

"What?"

"Alright, so Mr. Nick Fury contacted Megara and Peter and kind of dragged them into fighting this multiversal creature and now, your goddaughter and I are going with them in this field trip to Prague - "

Apollos blinked. "Wait a minute, hold on, Magnus, you, Peter, and Megara are about to fight a multiversal creature?" Worried, he clutched the collar of his polo. "Have you all contacted Cassandra and Stephen? What did they say? Why are you the ones going against this creature, Magnus?"

Any matter that concerned the multiverse was Cassandra and Stephen's forte, Apollos knew this. Shouldn't they deal with these kinds of problems? Why were the kids handling it? Why the hell would Nick Fury let them handle it? He sighed. He would've dealt with the matter at hand himself if he wasn't occupied with something else.

"Megara's parents are unreachable at the moment. We are always sent to voicemail whenever we call them. Even Theo is unavailable."

"Unavailable? But, not unreachable? Then, just tell - "

"He kind of threatened Mr. Fury, dad. Said if he disturbs him again, he will be baked in the oven."

Apollos winced. That boy sure has a temper even with his joking nature.

"Okay, dad, so yeah, uh, I kind of said that the foundation is sponsoring the trip to Prague so that Megara and I can accompany Peter's classmates. We're about to kill the last monster in Prague."

"Okay, and?"

"I was wondering if the foundation or you can really sponsor the trip because their teacher is kind of searching for the letter and if you are not busy, maybe you can help us out?"

Apollos pinched his nose. Why were so many things happening at once? It hasn't been even long after they defeated Thanos. "As much as I want to, I can't, Magnus. Something urgent came up and I'm needed. Don't worry, I'll contact the head manager and tell her to email the letter. You have your credit card with you?"

"Yes, it's here. I'll be using it."

"No, don't use that. That's your personal credit card. Use the other one I gave you, the one with my name on it."

"Okay, got it. Thank you so much, dad."

"Call me when you get to Prague. Update me, alright? And oh, keep an eye on Meg. Don't let her get hurt."

"Will do, thanks dad."

Ending his second call of the day, the towering Eternal hurried to catch up with the others as they approached a stone house that he knew was Gilgamesh and Thena's home. Surveying the area, he caught no glimpse of the only blonde haired woman of the Eternals. "You're about to meet two of the greatest warriors the world has ever known. Thena, legendary, deadly, fashionable." described Thena, as the cameras rolled. He was really persistent in bringing this documentary to life. "And her trusty friend..." he pointed to the entranceway just as Ikaris knocked. "Door... a mighty powerhouse of strength, the fearsome Gilgamesh!"

No one came out.

Kingo repeated, this time, louder, "Gilgamesh!"

The door swung open, welcoming the familiar grumpy muscular Eternal who was wearing a kiss the chef. Gilgamesh was fond of cooking and he was extremely talented in it. "What took you so long?" He first articulated then moved past them, commenting, "You look younger today, Sprite."

Apollos stepped forward, making himself known and Gilgamesh lips' broke into a grin. "Oh, hey, man." He embraced Apollos, patting his back. "Long time no see. You seem to be a lot richer now than the last time I saw you."

Karun laughed, gleeful as he pointed out, "I have the same apron."

Gilgamesh cocked an eyebrow, walking over to his stove. "Who the hell are you?"

"I'm Karun. Kingo's valet."

"Oh, valet. Like Alfred in Batman."

Ikaris stepped up, "Gilgamesh. The Deviants are back."

The strongest of the Eternals scoffed. "No shit. I could have used some help." He jutted his chin out to point at the deviant he had killed.

"We were attacked by a Deviant in London, too."

"Even Ikaris couldn't kill it."

"You couldn't?"

Ikaris defended himself, "I was distracted."

Gilgamesh shared a glance with Apollos then smirked, as if to say 'sure, I'll let this guy keep his pride.' "Sure, man." He hollered, giving the Prime Eternal a fist bump before pulling out his pie out of his earth oven. "Hey, you guys wanna try my pie?"

It was then that the Prime Eternal took the opportunity to confess the true reason why they were there. Apollos brushed his long hair back, pondering whether they would've reunited if they were all still complete. They were a family for thousands of years. They have been together in many worlds. This was not their first life. "Gil," he approached the man, placing his hand on his shoulder. "Ajak's dead. Sprite, Ikaris, and Sersi found her dead behind her house."

Gilgamesh stared at everyone, refusing to believe the news he just heard until Sprite supported the claim, "It's true, buddy. We lost her."

He dropped his pie to the ground and sat down in his chair, crushing his pan in anguish.

Ajak was their mother, their healer, the one who always looked after them during their many adventures. She was their middle ground in every conflict and the voice of reason. Ajak comforted Apollos after she confessed the reason why they were sent to Earth. Not because to help its people progress, but to help its population grow enough for the Emergence. For this very reason, Apollos swore to find the deviant who killed her and rip it apart with his bare hands.

For the second time, the group travelled far into the desert, yet this time, with the purpose to reunite with the strongest warrior of their family, Thena. Apollos wiped away his perspiration, finally regretting not following his gut instinct to change clothes before going on a journey through a desert. Not very long, they caught sight of Thena sitting in front of a barren tree, drawing who the Prime Eternal recognized as Arishem.

Thena still had her recollections of Centuri-Six. Unlike Thena, Apollos recalled the planet through his powers. He was the first one to feel that something was wrong and voice it out to Ajak. Rocks circled around the dry tree in some ritualistic manner, like some kind of worship. There were even rocks tied in strings hanging around the branches. "Sersi," the burly man put his hand before her, making sure she was not close enough to trigger Thena. "The attack triggered her. She's no fun to be around right now."

"I'll keep her safe, Gil." Apollos assured.

"Hey, Thena. Look who's here." gently talked Gilgamesh so as not to startle her. "Give me your hand, Thena."

An attack.

Without so much as blinking, Apollos spun around to cover Sersi from Thena, remembering how she was stabbed many years ago. His hands were on her shoulders and her head was bent down. Kingo was also quick to put his arm in front of Sprite to pull her away if necessary. Apollos glanced back once again to see if it was safe and only moved away when Sersi nodded, ensuring that she was going to be okay.

That was when Thena proclaimed, "Everyone in Centuri-Six is going to die."

"Give me your hand."

The Prime Eternal implored, "Thena, it's us, your family. Come back to us. Please!"

"It's too late. We can't save them."

"Thena."

The blonde haired Eternal raised her arm to conjure another weapon to attack them all when a spherical wall engulfed them around, presenting the room in the Domo where they are being kept and put to slumber until they reach their destination. A holographic image of Arishem burst up in the middle and golden threads of Thena fighting against deviants were woven together by Sprite to help her remember who she was. "Thena, we came to Earth together on our ship. You're an Eternal." She recited like the astounding storyteller she always was. "The greatest warrior of Olympia. The legendary protector of Athens. The goddess of war. Remember who you are."

Gilgamesh slowly but surely drew closer to his de facto partner. "Remember, Thena."

Thena's furious expression calmed as soon as she and his partner entwined hands. The whites in her eyes vanished and she returned to reality, to them. Apollos breathed a sigh of relief and checked up once again on Sersi before walking up to Gilgamesh.

"Hi." enthusiastically greeted Kingo, waving his hand.

"Hello."

"Hey, who's your gardener?"

THE AFTERMATH WAS just how he expected it to be. They were able to bring the high-tech aerial facility of the Red Room down from the sky. There were dead bodies as far as his eye could see and the facility was in pieces, scattered all around. The mighty Red Room he was in earlier was shattered into little pieces of broken glass and metal and burning with red orange colored flames.

Mission accomplished.

The sun was burning high in the sky and everyone was beginning to tire out. Debris towered down on Apollos; the ground burning his feet as he trod carefully between the corpses and the sharp metals. Pushing his feet forward, he caught a glimpse of the Taskmaster, lying on the ground, with Natasha, Melina, Alexei, and Yelena all sharing a small genuine conversation. They were both alive and well. Natasha saved her even when the manipulated female assassin was out to kill her.

"Romanoff."

"Hey, Paul." the fiery haired woman rose up on her feet and approached him swiftly, holding his shoulders. The flash of concern and softness in Natasha's emerald eyes made the Eternal cock his head a little to the side. He found it adorable, enchanting even. "You okay?"

He nodded.

Incoming army.

"Ross is here." announced Apollos just as they both heard the loud roars of vehicles arriving in their area.

"Here comes the cavalry." she smirked, accompanying him when they walked to the rest of their team.

"So, what's our plan?" questioned Alexei, his arm wrapped around an injured Melina and Apollos immediately knew that they had reconciled. Good for them.

"You guys go. I'll stay."

"That's insanity. We fight. We fight with you." complained Alexei, not accepting the red-haired Widow's decision to stay.

"I'll hold them off."

"Natasha, we fight."

"We fight better together."

"We can't split up. You're so pigheaded."

A ruckus emerged from the group as they all wanted to help Natasha take down Ross' army. Apollos chuckled, sharing a glance with the woman beside her. In that split second, he made another decision. He was going to help her and risk being considered an enemy of the state. Like he said before, it wasn't his first time being branded as an enemy. "You guys, go. I'm staying with her."

At that, Natasha whipped her head to look at him, incredulously. Yet, he just moved away from her and pulled out his phone to call a contact of his. She grabbed his hand. "No, Paul. You can't. Ross will arrest me. I have to prove that the Red Room existed this long."

Apollos stared at her hand then back to her eyes. Natasha Romanoff was very attractive, he knew that already, but up close, very alluring. He noticed that whenever she would blink her eyes, it allowed her eyelashes to flutter like the wings of a butterfly. Her eyes were the hue of the new spring growth, bright and soft all at once. There were flecks of strength, of the kind of green that comes only as summer advances. Each one held a coruscate gleam that enhanced their beauty. She was so beautiful it was like the stars themselves, decided to rest upon her face.

The gods are real, he told himself, and this woman is their masterpiece.

He fished out a flash drive from his pocket, smiling. "You don't have to be arrested and interrogated, Romanoff. Everything about the Red Room's missions, their network of assassins, how they have stayed hidden for this long is in here."

"How did you get all that?"

Apollos winked. "I have my ways."

Actually, the Eternal was able to access the facility's mainframe and download all the necessary information to his flash drive as he rapidly descended from the sky and evaded burning debris, thanks to his brilliant hacker contact on the ground. After discovering all the horrific things the Red Room program did, he wanted to make sure no one was going to walk out free and alive.

"But - "

"I have a plan. Do you trust me?"

It took a moment for her to answer, a few seconds even, but she nodded. "Fine. Paul's staying with me. We'll make sure it ends here."

Yelena rolled her eyes. "Oh, my god. Of course, it's going to be you and your giant boyfriend."

Alexei reacted, "Boyfriend? Natasha, I thought he's your friend."

"Natasha, why didn't you tell us he's your boyfriend?" added Melina, her lips slightly hanging open from shock.

"No! He's not my boyfriend! Stop it, all of you!" chastised Natasha, shaking her head.

"What? You don't find him attractive?"

Natasha and Apollos shared a glance and he raised an eyebrow to get an answer from her. What did she think of him? She pressed her lips firmly then said the word that struck the Eternal's ego and heart. "No."

Ouch.

If he was dramatic, he would've fallen to the ground already by how brutal that sounded. Why didn't she find him attractive? Was it the hair? The smooth, clean look? Does she prefer rugged looking men? What does he not have? Her answer bothered him as he was used to having been complimented for his looks back in the day. Apollos pursed his lips, he was going to prove why she should consider him as a potential romantic partner.

Natasha shrugged, as if she realized something, "You know, if it can work out with the four of us, you know, there may be some hope for the Avengers." She pinched her fingers. "Little bit."

Apollos moved away from the group, contacting his people in the city. He wasn't going to let Natasha be detained especially when she did nothing wrong. If Ross had an army with him, the Eternal was going to bring his own private army to rescue him and Natasha from their clutches. He had also prepared back-up plans too in case General Ross wouldn't bring the evidence about the Red Room. His hacker contact will directly email the Pentagon to alert them all about the despicable activities of the Soviet training facility. His eyes slid back to the group and noticed how an aircraft carrying all the freed assassins landed on the ground, inviting Melina, Yelena, and Alexei to come with them.

Slowly returning back, a ray of light radiating behind Natasha made him stop in his tracks. She was looking far ahead into the horizon as if hope was coming to life in front of her. There was something about the way the sunlight came through Natasha's hair that it looked like it was on fire. Her hair was red normally, but in the sun, it looked like each strand was woven from molten rock. Natasha wasn't looking, thank God - if she was looking she would have noticed Apollos was taken aback by her.

He didn't mean to stare at her - he never did, but she was so beautiful he just couldn't help it. The sun cascading down glittered upon her rose petal soft cheeks. She was the most beautiful exotic rose he had ever seen that his heart stopped, time paused, and the world faded from existence. He didn't know why. He just met Natasha, knew about her life and world, so why was he feeling all this?

Natasha was gorgeous, and Apollos was in deep.

Someone snapped their fingers in front of his eyes and he was pulled back to reality, jolting slightly. With wide eyes, he turned his attention to the woman with blonde hair beside him. Yelena was smirking as she said, "Aha! I knew it! You like my sister!"

Apollos blinked, attempting to deny. "What - what are you talking about?"

"You were literally just having the heart eyes!" She declared, as if stating the obvious. "A little while longer and you probably would've asked her to marry you already."

"I - "

"You should ask her out, big boy."

The Eternal sighed. "So, you're now my self-appointed love adviser?

Yelena put her hands on her hips. "Yes, because you're a pussy."

"If you weren't Natasha's sister, I would have eliminated you already."

"No, you won't."

"Oh, really?"

Yelena nodded, certain of what she was implying. "Yes, because you still need me to get her heart." She then retracted, flinching. "Okay that sounded so weird, I think I want to vomit." Bending down, she made vomiting gestures and loud retching noises.

Apollos shook his head and pulled her back up and dragged her by her arm. "Wait, wait, we're going back now? You're not going to ask her out?" Yelena talked.

The man had just finished preparing all the necessary arrangements, and so he returned to the family. "Everything's set." Turning to the rest, he added, "You have approximately three minutes before Ross and his army arrives. You will have someone who will meet you in the Vladivostok International Airport. His name is Aleksander and he will bring you all to a safe place. He will help you all from there. Call me as soon as you all get there."

Melina smiled, slightly wincing from the pain. "We will. I trust that you will take care of Natasha, Paul."

"Melina, I promise you," Paul glanced at Natasha, not taking his eyes off of her as he said, "As long as she's with me, she's safe."

Yelena pursed her lips and patted his shoulder. "Oi! I will remember that, big boy."

Apollos challenged, "Go on then, Yelena."

Then, off they went into the aircraft that carried them away from the area. Instantaneously, several jeeps and trucks arrived at the wreckage and Natasha shared a glance with the Eternal. She was now wearing Yelena's vest around her as she once again looked into the horizon. She raised her hands in the air and smirked, "You ready to get arrested?"

"I've actually never been caught in my life, Agent Romanoff."

They knelt on the ground with their arms still behind their heads. "Call me Natasha. We're getting arrested together. You should at least call me by my first name."

Apollos beamed. "Natasha Romanoff..." he enunciated slowly as if embedding it in his mind. "You have a very beautiful name."

Natasha smiled. Her lips curved, and her rosy cheeks glowed. A irresistible, tender, captivating smile on her face, spontaneously put up a smile on his too. She carries her smile around like a weapon that kills at sight.

There, at that moment, Apollos just knew.

He was falling in love with Natasha Romanoff.

How did he fall in love? She smiled. She just smiled.