AN:
If you guys are into Maze Runner Newt fics, I have one in my account. It's called Feral. And it's completed!

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2024 - France

The Eternals are scattered around Ayaz's living room, their voices mixing in quiet conversations. The atmosphere feels like a temporary calm before an inevitable storm.

Ayaz walks in, carrying a tray of pink lemonade, his golden blond hair catching the morning light. His golden eyes flicker slightly as he hands the last glass to Ikaris, who offers a silent nod of thanks.

"Why is it pink?" Kingo asks, inspecting the liquid with a confused look.

"It's pink lemonade," Ayaz replies with a casual shrug.

"I’ve never seen a pink lemon."

"There are no pink lemons," Ayaz says, slightly exasperated.

"So what makes it pink?" Kingo persists.

"Well, you know… it’s just… forget it. Shut up and drink the damn thing," Ayaz snaps, clearly not in the mood for explanations.

Sersi takes a sip and smiles. "It’s really good."

Ayaz smirks, leaning against the wall. "Cooking, baking—stuff I do when I’m not getting arrested or teleporting across dimensions. You know, the usual. Oh, and sex. Sex life is the best."

Hestia chuckles. "I agree!" she chimes in with too much enthusiasm, causing Ikaris to nearly choke on his drink.

Before anyone can say more, the doorbell rings, and all heads turn toward Ayaz. He sighs. "I’ll get it," he mutters, vanishing in a swirl of dark grey smoke, only to reappear by the front door.

He opens it to reveal Camille, her smile wide and affectionate. Without noticing his guests inside, she wraps her arms around him and kisses him softly. "Hey, just wanted to check on you. Franky told me what happened."

"I’m fine," Ayaz says, a faint smile tugging at his lips. He raises a hand to wave off her concern. "Did they get out?"

"Yeah," Camille nods, slipping a box of cigarettes into his hand before closing his fingers around it. At that moment, the sound of someone clearing their throat makes her glance behind him.

"Oh, right. These are my… old colleagues," Ayaz says, gesturing toward the group. "Sersi, Kingo, Hestia, Ikaris, and Sprite. And the valet," he adds with a smirk.

Camille blushes slightly, nodding to the awkward smiles from the Eternals. She turns back to Ayaz and whispers, "I’ll text you later."

Ayaz nods. "Yeah, see you." He watches her leave, shutting the door behind her with a quiet sigh.

"Is she your girlfriend?" Sprite blurts out, her curiosity uncontainable. "She’s pretty."

"I don’t have a girlfriend," Ayaz mumbles, slipping the cigarettes into his jacket pocket.

"Then what is she?" Sprite presses.

Ayaz shrugs, walking back to the living room. "We’ve got this… uncommitted thing going. It’s fun." He flops onto the sofa next to Sersi, his expression distant.

"Oh god," Kingo groans, eyeing the cigarette packet peeking from Ayaz's jacket. "Why are you still taking those poison?"

Ayaz raises an eyebrow. "Because, my friend, it help me to stay sane. The question is why don't you?"

Kingo rolls his eyes. "Those things keeping you sane? Are you high?"

"A little bit. Must be the cocaine I took at the bar."

"Drugs are bad for health," Kingo says, sounding almost parental.

"Good thing I’m not human." Ayaz's grin is sharp, almost daring.

"You know what? I give up," Kingo says, throwing his hands up. "Talking sense into you is impossible."

"Yeah, I’ve heard that before," Ayaz smirks, but the playfulness quickly drains from his expression. "So, what’s the deal? Why the sudden visit? Are we… getting the band back together or something?"

Sersi’s expression sobers. "We need to talk. Something’s happening to Earth. Something unusual."

Ayaz tenses, his golden eyes narrowing. "Look, I’m not going back. I like my life now." He pauses, his jaw tight. He’s not going anywhere near Druig.

Sprite’s voice cuts through the tension like a knife. "Ajak’s dead."

The room stills. Ayaz’s entire body locks up, and his golden eyes go wide with shock.

Ikaris speaks next, his voice grim. "She was killed by a Deviant. It’s the first time in 7,000 years that one of us has died."

"I think the Deviant that attacked us in London killed her," Hestia adds, her voice trembling slightly. "It absorbed her powers, healed itself like Ajak. It’s never done that before. I swear, I almost heard it speak."

Ayaz’s breathing becomes ragged. His heart seizes, and his vision blurs as his mind races. The weight of Ajak’s death crashes down on him, suffocating him. His mother figure—the one constant in his life for centuries—gone. Forever.

"The Deviants are back. We don’t know how many there are. You need to come with us..." Sersi trails off, noticing Ayaz's golden eyes begin to glow brighter, his control slipping. The air around him drops to freezing, frost forming at his feet, his hair floating as if caught in a storm. His breathing is ragged, his emotions spiraling and it looks somewhat frightening to the remaining Eternals in the room. 

"Ayaz, honey, are you okay?" Hestia’s voice trembles, but it barely reaches him.

"I’ll… I’ll be right back," he mumbles, before vanishing in a cloud of smoke.

In the cold, dark isolation of his basement, Ayaz collapses against the wall, letting out a guttural scream that reverberates through the air. The room turns into a frozen wasteland, icicles hanging from the ceiling, frost coating every surface. His heartache manifests in the ice, his pain pouring out with every exhale, until the entire basement is a frozen monument to his grief.

He drops to his knees, hands covering his face as the ice continues to form around him. Ajak is gone. The one person who understood him, who saw through his defenses, is gone. And it’s all too much.

"Ayaz, honey?" Hestia’s voice echoes down the stairs as she cautiously enters the frozen wasteland. She shivers, wrapping her arms around herself for warmth. "Oh my god."

Ayaz’s voice is barely above a whisper. "It happens when I lose control. When I’m… wrecked." His voice cracks. "It started after the split. Ajak was the only one who knew."

Hestia kneels beside him, using her power to melt the ice around them. The frost slowly evaporates, leaving a cold mist in the air. "Ajak always said one of us was more powerful than the rest. I think she meant you. You’re coming into your full potential, Ayaz."

"I'm sorry. I can't go back. I can't help you guys." Ayaz’s voice cracks, raw with pain as he rubs his face with trembling hands. His golden eyes dim, clouded by the weight of his grief and guilt. He hates feeling like this—vulnerable, exposed—something he only ever allowed around Ajak. But with Hestia sitting beside him, offering quiet support, a small part of him feels safe. For the first time since Ajak's death, the fortress he's built around his emotions begins to waver.

Hestia, the vibrant spirit of the Eternal family, is hard to ignore with her bold presence, her signature fiery red hair, and the crimson clothes she so proudly flaunts. She’s a force of life and energy, always dressed as if she’s ready to light the world ablaze. But beneath the confident exterior, there’s a tenderness that makes her drawn to the fragility of humanity. Her love for children, her desire to nurture and protect, connects her deeply to the human world. It’s also her greatest sorrow—the curse of immortality preventing her from ever having a child of her own.

There were nights when Ayaz would stumble upon her, hidden away in the dark corners of the world they watched over, silently weeping, her heart breaking over the cruel twist of fate that made her powerful but incomplete. She’d whisper about how unfair it all was, how she’d trade anything to feel the warmth of life growing inside her. And though Ayaz rarely spoke of it, he felt for her. Despite his cold demeanor, he understood her pain in a way few others could. Both of them were cursed in different ways—Hestia with her unfulfilled longing, and him with a heart encased in frost.

The weight of her sadness, her silent struggles, lingers now as she looks at him with soft, knowing eyes. Ayaz doesn’t need to say much—she understands the complexity of emotions better than anyone else. The unspoken bond between them, though rarely acknowledged, is strong.

Hestia places a hand on his shoulder, her touch gentle but firm. "Did someone break your heart?"

Ayaz scoffs bitterly. "My heart is made of frost, Hestia."

She shakes her head. "It doesn’t matter what your heart’s made of. What matters is how much love you carry inside it." Her voice is soft, filled with understanding.

Ayaz slumps, his resolve crumbling. "You don’t understand," he whispers, the weight of his past—the weight of Druig—pressing down on him.

Hestia pulls him into a hug, ignoring his attempts to resist. "I do understand," she murmurs. "When someone you love crushes you, it wrecks everything. It makes you reckless, desperate. You want to feel anything to replace the emptiness."

For a moment, Ayaz remains still, her words sinking in. "What do I do?" he asks, his voice small, desperate for guidance.

"Give him a second chance."

Ayaz remembers Ajak telling him the same thing, urging him to forgive Druig. But how can he? How can he go through that pain again?

"No," Ayaz says firmly. "I’m not going through that hell again. I can survive without love."

Hestia offers a sad smile. "Maybe. But right now, we need you. People’s lives depend on us."

Ayaz closes his eyes, the conflict tearing him apart inside. But he knows, deep down, that he can’t run from this forever.