『 BLOOD IN THE WATER 』
( chapter six, the truth )

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IT HAD BEEN TWO YEARS SINCE THE BATTLE OF NEW YORK AND PERSEPHONE HAD GOTTEN BETTER IN TERMS OF HER POWERS. She had regained more control of them and she had trained for as long as she could, so she could use them without weakening her own body. There were countless nights where she would lie awake thinking about Asgard. She would relive the moments she had on Earth, like when she fell and her nose bled. She remembered the look on the man's face, the confusion, and guilt.

Now, she had gotten better, she didn't have any more nose bleeds and she didn't feel lightheaded whenever she used her powers. Her powers were limited to small things but she felt that she was in more control than ever. Persephone would go on missions with Gamora to find the Infinity Stones and such.

Other than that, she was by herself most of the time. Whenever Gamora wasn't around, she would go with Nebula, Thanos always wanted a close eye on her. Persephone took in a deep breath as she sat down in her bed. There were days when she wanted to leave but knew she couldn't. They would find her, they always found everyone.

There was a faint knock on the door and Persephone stood up to open it. When she opened the doors, Gamora stood in front of her. Persephone furrowed her brows, it was odd for Gamora to visit Persephone when they didn't have a mission.

"Can I come in?" Gamora asked while looking around her, she was acting odd which threw Persephone off.

"Sure," the goddess answered, Gamora walked inside quickly and Persephone shut the doors behind her, "Is there something wrong?"

Gamora turned around to face Persephone, she stood tall and she held her hands behind her back. Persephone always liked Gamora, she wasn't like everyone else around her, something about Gamora felt genuine. She took in a deep breath, "We need to talk, it's important,"

Persephone furrowed her brows, "About?"

"You," Gamora answered, "I've come to warn you,"

Persephone felt her heart skip a beat. She had been here for years now and she had never felt threatened before. She thought Gamora was joking and she simply shook it off, "Gamora, stop joking around," the goddess walked towards her bed and sat down.

"Persephone, I'm serious," she stated as she turned slowly as Persephone sat down, "There's something that you should know," Persephone straightened her posture as she heard the tone in Gamora's voice. She was worried and Persephone soon felt a pit in her stomach, an uncomfortable feeling.

"Gamora, you're worrying me," Persephone said in a worried tone, "What's wrong?" Gamora walked over to Persephone and sat down next to her.

She held her hands and looked at her, "It's about Thanos, he's been using you," Gamora answered, Persephone felt her heart drop. A million thoughts ran through her head. Why would he do such a thing? Was everything he told her a lie?

The goddess felt a knot in her throat, "What do you mean?"

Gamora paused, "You possess a small power of each stone and to him, he sees you as both an asset and a threat," she started, "When he heard about you and your life on Asgard, he thought it was the perfect timing to use you. You were vulnerable and weak at the time,"

"Gamora, I'm still not following," Persephone commented.

"He took you in and trained you to be on his side, with you on his side it would help him get the stones faster," she continued, "There's one thing he didn't tell you about your powers, Persephone,"

Persephone's eyes grew glassy, "And that is?"

"The power that you hold is slowly killing you. In the beginning, it was doing a lot more damage since you were weak but he needed you, so, he trained you to become stronger but the power you hold is too strong,"

"B-but I'm the daughter of Zeus and Demeter," she started, "I'm a goddess, I can't die,"

Gamora shook her head, "The Infinity stones are more powerful than any of the gods out there," Gamora commented, "Thanos is planning to kill you once he gets all six stone, you'll serve no purpose to him. Once he has all six, he can use them to take away your power and without your power, you're as good as dead. You may be a goddess but without that power flowing through you, you won't be the same person you once were,"

Persephone's eyes stung as she felt a tear run down her cheek, "So, how long do I have left?"

"I wish I knew," Gamora answered, "I don't know how to save you, maybe your dad or the gods might know but I don't know,"

Persephone nodded, "And if I gathered the stones? Would I live? Would it save me?"

"To possess all six stones at their full power, you'd have to be extremely powerful, Persephone," Gamora answered, "If not, it'll kill you instantly. I have something for you," Gamora reached into her pocket and opened her palm to reveal six pomegranate seeds. The same ones that took her away from Asgard. She looked at Gamora with a confused expression.

"Why do you have these?" Persephone asked.

"I got them for you so that you can leave this all behind," Gamora answered, "You just have to eat them that's all,"

"What about you?" Persephone asked, "You can't stay here?"

Gamora sighed, "I have a plan but it requires me to stay here. Now, you have to go, Persephone. Go to Olympus with your father or to Asgard with your mother. You need to get out of here,"

Persephone nodded her head, "Thank you, Gamora,"

She smiled softly at Persephone, "I have to go now," she stood up from the bed, "I always considered you a good friend," she walked out of the room while Persephone sat with the seeds in the palm of her hand. It was her way out but she felt a mixture of emotions. She felt angry, frustrated, grief. She was going to die, it was inevitable.

She closed her palm and took in a deep breath. She needed to find a way, she needed to survive, she wasn't going to give up quickly. She felt anger at Thanos, after all that time, after everything she had done for him, he was going to kill her. It wasn't going to end there and she going to make sure of that.