Black smoke funnels up towards the sunlit sky. Tremors are shaking an island in the Indian Ocean that is void of vegetation and life. The combination of these two things is the signal of a looming ominous event. An event that will implode the entire planet.

The island shakes not only from the shifting of the tectonic plates, but also from infighting among the Eternals. Ikaris uses his laser vision to hold back Phastos, Makarri, and Thena.  He entrusts Sprite to handle Sersi and Druig.

To him and Sprite, the Emergence must happen so a new Celestial will be born. The others want to stop Tiamut's birth so humanity can thrive for future generations. He finds the consequences of no new Celestial bigger than all of them combined.

No new galaxies or life to prosper. He won't let that happen.

They fail to take notice of the Deviant who walks out of the water. The slimy green creature has grown more powerful since absorbing the memories and powers of Ajak and Gilgamesh. As the last Deviant on Earth, he just needs to kill the rest to avenge his fallen brethren.

He imagines how upset Ashirem, their mutual creator, would be since he would have to create a whole new batch of Eternals from scratch.

But something puzzles the creature as he hides behind the rocks. He sees three of them fighting Ikaris while the Emergence looms forward.  He waits for the right moment to strike.

He finds his chance as Phastos restrains Ikaris to the sandy beach with his technopathy. His tentacles stab into Ikaris as he goes to crush his head! The technopath blasts the creature. The force pushes the Deviant into a nearby cave. Thena runs inside to avenge her fallen loved ones.

He quickly traps her arms to stop her from using her spear and shield. The hardened warrior struggles against his tentacles. However, he doesn't weaken nor absorb her powers. He thinks as he looks at her with his four eyes.

"I won't kill you, Thena. I have some questions for you."

The Eternal's jaw drops from hearing the Deviant speak. She pieces it together that he must have learned to speak after killing her beloved Gilgamesh. Her emerald eyes stare daggers at him.

The Deviant exhales. "Why are you fighting each other when the emergence is oncoming?"

She is perplexed. This creature has gotten smarter.

"Why does it matter to you?!", she shouts.

The special Deviant realizes their conversation would lead to nowhere if he doesn't act quickly. He notices her eyes are turning white as she tries to resist the disease in her head. He knows what it is due to absorbing the fallen Eternals: Mahd Wy'ry

His voice then changes to a lower pitch.

"Thena, it's okay. You're safe. I won't hurt you."

Hearing Gilgamesh's voice from the Deviant makes her sick. She thinks about releasing control to the disease to end this creature's life.

"Thena, you are stronger than you know. What Ashirem did to us was wrong."

His tone weirdly calms her down with her eyes going back to green. The Deviant clears its throat as he slowly lets go of the goddess of war. He retracts the tentacles into his body. Thena stares at him, wondering what the vile creature is planning.

"Is the reason you're fighting Ikaris is because you disagree with the emergence?"

Her body shudders as he read her like an open book. She nods.

The creature takes a step forward as the cave rumbles. "Then I want to help you."

His comment floors her. "I thought you would want to kill all of us."

"Stopping the emergence will allow me a greater measure of revenge against Ashirem. For now, let's call a truce. I will help you and you will owe me a favor."

"What makes you think I will make a deal with you?!"

She materializes her spear to thrust, but he pushes it away. He jumps back to avoid the next strike.

"I will never let you live after what you did!"

The creature knocks away her weapons and glares at her. 

"I respect the hatred you have for me. It's the same I hold for you and the others. I'm not asking. I'm telling you I will stop the emergence. I'm the last of my kind on this planet and I want to live."

"So you can keep killing?", she guesses.

"To go beyond what that pitiful excuse of a Celestial intended for me. I'm sorry for what I did to Gilgamesh and Ajak. I will not let their deaths be in vain. Let me help."

She looks at him quizzically. She just heard him genuinely apologize for his actions. She shakes it off.

"A truce then", as she withdraws her weapons.

"How are you trying to stop the emergence of Tiamut from happening?", the alien asks.

Thena briefly explains the Uni-mind plan that may stop the new Celestial from being born. He ponders with a hand under his chin.

"I understand. I will keep Ikaris busy so you can focus on the plan."

"If you kill him, I will end you", she warns.

"I will only do it in self-defense. Nothing more. I won't attack the others. After you", he motions with his hand.

Thena walks past him and is surprised that he hasn't betrayed her at that moment.

"Before I hunt you down after this, what is your name? If you have one", she slyly utters.

"Kro."

Thena runs off to get back into the fight. Because of the tremors, Ikaris is now free to stop them. Makarri uses her speed to produce shockwave booms to hinder Ikaris, but he gets the best of her and goes to laser her down. He fires it off...

And Kro blocks it with his arms! The speedster is flabbergasted as to why the Deviant is helping her out. The Deviant charges and wraps his tentacles around Ikaris. He then slams him repeatedly on the coarse sand. He holds him down but doesn't proceed to hurt him any further.

The burn marks from the laser heal over. The others go to save Ikaris, but Thena stops them.

"Kro is on our side!"

Makarri is confused as she uses her sign language. "You didn't kill him?!"

"That thing has a name?", Phastos couldn't believe it.

"He will help us stop the emergence", the goddess of war assures.

They see that Kro is refusing to let go of Ikaris. The beach starts to tear apart as the beginning of the emergence proceeds.

"Use the Uni-mind!", the Deviant yells.

There wasn't time to argue about their new allegiance. Thanks to Phastos' bracelets, the Eternals quickly activate the plan. Sersi and the other Eternals float up as Tiamut's hand comes out of the Indian Ocean. Heavy waves pound the beach, but Kro maintains his grip. He won't let Ashirem get the final word.

The beach splits apart from the intensifying earthquakes. Ikaris takes this chance and gets out of his grasp. He lasers Kro in the face which forces him off. He flies directly to Sersi to stop her from controlling the oncoming Celestial.

She gets tackled by Ikaris which halts the plan as a result. She lands on the beach with a heavy groan escaping her mouth. Ikaris starts to hesitate as her life is in his hands. Duty vs love. His lips quiver as his eyes glow, breaking her heart.

Her pupils shake as the Deviant grabs onto him. Ikaris flies into the air to kill the creature once and for all. He goes to laser him down with surgical precision after getting high enough where ice begins to form on the enemy.

Kro's survival instincts kick in. A sharp tendril through the heart ends the leader's life. Powers and memories enter the Deviant's body. Ikaris' lifeless eyes makes Kro's heart skip a beat.

Sersi's piercing scream only adds to his heart.

Thanks to his fresh kill, Kro undergoes another transformation. Two bottom teeth appear over his mouth. Pointed ears jut out from the side of his head. The soles of his feet lose their arches. He quickly gets a hold of flying as he went back to Sersi with Ikaris' body in his arms. The sensation of flying for the first time isn't felt by him since his mind was preoccupied.

Tears flowed down Sersi's face as he lays him down.

She goes to use the same move that turned a Deviant into a tree, but he bows before her.

"Let me do something right. Kill me afterwards", Kro suggests.

There isn't any time to waste. He sees himself hovering and becoming a part of the Uni-mind to the surprise of the other Eternals. There is 100% cohesion as Kro willingly lends his strength to Sersi. With the further surprise of Tiamut's help, the Celestial turns to stone. Sersi uses their energy to also disrupt any tidal waves that formed from the near birth of the behemoth.

All that's left of Tiamut is his hand and head that sticks high above the surface of the water.

Kro couldn't believe it. The Emergence has officially been stopped. He bows before Sersi to await his death.

Thena runs over. "Don't kill h-"

She sees the dead body of their former leader. Despite their fight, he was still family to her. She sinks to her knees.

"End my life, Sersi."

Through his side eyes, he takes a final look at the landscape before closing all of his eyes. He achieved his goal of stopping Ashirem's plan. He's at peace with that.

"The Uni-mind worked with you. A deviant. Did you make a deal with Thena?", Sersi asks.

"Yes, but-"

"You're free to go. Don't question it."

He looks up at her. Her silky black hair flows against her face. Her eyes glare at him while holding a deep sadness inside.

"Ashirem might come after you so be ready. If we find out you took another life, it's over", she heavily warns.

He doesn't even look back at Thena before he flies away from them. He decides to go to a familiar place where he can rest in solitude: Australia.

----
He lands down near the former home of Gilgamesh and Thena. The decaying corpse of a Deviant drives him to do something.

He claws out a large enough hole and buries the Deviant. He kneels in silence. His kind never could speak until he evolved to do so. He pours some fresh dirt on the grave.

"If only I knew your name. Just know that I will avenge you. I swear on my life that Ashirem will die for what he did to us", he growls.

After standing for a while, he goes to the home. His hand trembles as he reaches for the knob. With the absorption of three Eternals, it only adds more conflict within the Deviant's mind. He exhales and walks inside. He remembers the layout of the house since he's been here before.

Gilgamesh, he corrects in his mind. He finds a reflection of himself in the clean pots and pans. Despite the obvious, he looked more human than creature. To think he would ever get to this point. He sits on the bed to take it all in.

He touches his face as he feels a liquid flowing down his face. He questions himself why he is crying until new feelings hit him like a freight train.

Regret and shame for hurting Sersi...and Thena.

He decides to let these tears continue to fall until he drifts off to sleep...

His stomach grumbles which wakes him up. Darkness of the house surrounds him. For a human, it's terrifying. But for him, he sees everything as plain as day. He struggled to get out of bed. The guilt of his actions weighing him down like an anchor. What if Ikaris wasn't going to kill Sersi?

The Deviant reminds himself that he's the last of his kind alive on this planet because of them and Ashirem. But yet, some of them wanted to keep humanity alive. He clutches his head from the echoing debate in his mind. He roars out to throw the past behind him.

As long as his creator is upset, it will bring him some happiness. He wishes he could see his reaction to his failed plan. That motivation gets him out of bed.

He leaves the house to find a starry lit sky awaiting him. Firing up the clay stove, he makes a fresh blueberry pie thanks to Gilgamesh's knowledge.

Hopefully, I won't drop it this time.

It might take him some time to get used to these memories settling in. He closes his eyes from the pleasant sweetness of the fruit with the crumbles of the pastry. He eats a good portion to quell his hunger while looking at the shooting stars. He thinks about hunting tomorrow and fully trying out his new powers in secret.

The goddess of war keeps popping up in his mind.

He looks at the memories of Gilgamesh and Thena. How much they cared for each other before he...

"Calm down. I can't let that stop me", the Deviant dismisses.

He goes to bed, hoping the thoughts will stop haunting him.