╔═. ✵ .══════════╗
"There may be lovers
who hold out their
hands but they'll never
love you like I can.
Can. Can.
╚══════════. ✵ .═╝

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Makkari stands as I notice Thena gone.

Phastos hits Ikaris as he breaks out of the crushing sun and I say bitterly "I always had to hold back on hurting you. It was the morally good thing to do and Druig talked me out of injuring you so many times. There's no one to stop me from draining the life out of you."

Makkari speeds towards Ikaris and I look to Sersi as she breathes heavily.

She says "Phastos. Gaia. I have to try to stop this. I have to get closer. Keep Ikaris busy."

Phastos nods and says "We've got this. If Ikaris even gets in the air Gaia will be on it. You're covered. We've got you."

I nod to her saying "Go."

I step towards Ikaris as he fires beams of cosmic energy. He says "Where's Sersi?"

I raise my hands as he attempts to take me down. Rage boiling inside of me as Makkari attempts to recover on the ground.

I grit my teeth saying "Sersi isn't of your concern right now." My powers just pushing his beams back as that's his only line of defense.

Phastos says "You always did underestimate her."

Ikaris flies off the ground but doesn't get very far as I lift my body off the ground and tackle his body at a rapid rate.

I slam his body into the ground scorching the ends of his suit. squeezing his body tightly as I punch my anger upon him.

He stops my hand mid swing with both of his hands saying "You were a means to an end, Gaia. I had to either handle you or kill you."

I swing my other arm back slamming my fist into his jaw. Causing his head to rock back into the sand roughly.

I dig my knee into his abdomen saying "Like I said... I will drain the life out of you. Gilgamesh deserved better. You betrayed him and for what? This? Look around Ikaris... Arishem doesn't love you. The people who loved you are here... and you betrayed them! You betrayed me."

My guard slips as he blasts me in the shoulder. He slams my body into the side of the mountain and he flies up.

Phastos says "Oh, no. You don't go around hurting my girls and getting away with it. Not so fast."

Phastos wraps Ikaris' leg in a long restraint and pulls his body down to the ground roughly. The golden restraints cover Ikaris' body and limbs. Bitterly he says "Boss..."

He walks forward proudly as he watches the restraints roughly pin him to the ground and restrain his use of powers. Phastos says "I don't know about you, but this is really satisfying! Right?"

I stand and walk beside Phastos. Ikaris shouts "Let me go, Phastos! I can't let her do this!" Phastos shakes his head saying "I don't think so. I've been wanting to clip your wings for a long time, Ikaris!"

Ikaris fires towards us but it just fizzles out before it reaches us. I look to Phastos wide eyed. This side of him is frightening. He's enjoying this oddly too much. I feel guilt seeing Ikaris like this... maybe that makes me an overly sensitive person.

Phastos says "You're nothing without your powers, buddy! Nothing!" I look to Phastos saying "Phastos.. is that hurting him?"

He looks to me bewildered and says "You were just punching him!"

"And he could defend himself then!"

"Do you want to be restrained too, Gaia?!" He snaps. My mouth drops open and I push Phastos away from me, walking over to Makkari angrily.

Helping her to her feet quickly. She looks to me and hugs me tightly. She shakes her head as she weeps over the quickly approaching outcome.

She believes we're gonna die.

I grab her shoulders and push loose strands of hair back signing "He's alive. It's okay. I won't let this emergence happen, Makkari. I can't. If this is the end I love you."

She returns the i love you sign to me too.

Relief floods her expression and I look to Phastos tightening the restraints as I slowly lift myself in the air.

Dodging falling volcanic rocks. I quickly land beside Druig pressing my hand to his cheek saying "I love you."

He looks to me as he grabs my hand and continues running "I love you more but nows not the greatest time to do this. We need to find Sersi."

I see Sprite stab Sersi through the abdomen and I scream as I take off in flight mode leaving Druig behind. I land pushing Sprite away from Sersi and standing between Sersi and Sprite now. I look to Sprite shocked and back down to the blade embedded in Sersi's stomach.

Sprite cries out "I'm sorry Sersi.."

She stares at her hand as she backs away and I say "Sprite."

She avoids looking to me at all costs and Sersi falls to her knees and then onto the ground fully shuddering a round of gasps.

I look back at Sersi and say "You'll be okay Sersi.." I turn towards Sprite saying "She loves you Sprite. How could you?"

Her eyes water and she says "I've always envied her... I've always envied both of you. Cause you get to live as one of them. And I never could."

I step towards Sprite saying "You always had a home with me. You didn't need to envy me. I could have given you that life.."

She shakes her head saying "You know why I hated living with humans? Because they reminded me of things I didn't even know I wanted. Because of them, now I wanna know! I want to know what it feels like to grow up!
To fall in love. To have a family."

My face drops and I say "You are my family Sprite. I love you. You're apart of my family."

She sobs through her words "And I also wanted to know, in the end, that I've lived a life. A good life."

She puts her hands up, creating carbon copies, illusions, of the volcanic erruption and celestial birth around us. Multiplying it around us. Creating a large illusion.

"It's all over now. We get to start over somewhere new."

I extend my hand to her saying "I won't leave Sprite. I want to keep my promise. I just want you to be okay. That's all I've ever wanted."

She looks to my hand and I nod to her saying "I just want you to be okay. That's all I want. I promise."

She slowly lets her guard down and grabs my hand. I pull her into my arms holding her closely and tightly as Druig smashes a rock into her head.

Sprite limply falls unconscious in my arms and I hold up her weight as I look to Druig.

I shake my head as the plan he suggested in my head as he started approaching worked.

Druig pants out heavy breaths and says "Well, that was very moving." Sersi says relieved "Druig."

I slowly lower Sprite's body down onto the ground. I push the hair out of her face, leaving my hand on her cheek saying "I'm sorry."

I close my eyes momentarily as I stand up with the assistance of Druig's hand.

We both help Sersi up and he makes intense eye contact with her saying "I can't do this. This is your fight now." Sersi turns the blade into water and she looks to me desperately requesting my assistance. I lightly smile to her saying "This is your fight now Sersi. I need to uphold my promise. Make sure she's okay."

She nods and I squeeze her hand saying "It'll be alright."

She runs ahead quickly and I look to Druig saying "A rock really?"

He smiles and says "Go help her. She's injured. And she needs you. I can watch after our angry gremlin we call family."

I look to Sprite and Sersi struggling. Worry etching onto my expression. "If this doesn't work.."

He shakes his head pressing his forehead to mine "It will. If anyone is powerful enough to do this, it's the both of you."

I gulp and nod pressing a kiss to his lips before flying up quickly. I land beside Sersi and she frantically looks to me concerned. I extend my hand to her as we rock back and forth on the shaky ground.

She squeezes it tightly and I say "Ajak chose us to do this together for a reason and I'm not going to abandon you now. I'm here to stay. I'm back. For good."

She nods through her tears and the gold of the celestial appears as hard ground to stand on below us. We look around us warily and Thena closes her eyes silently hoping.

Phastos says "Come on, Sersi. Come on."

We fall to our knees still holding tightly onto each other and as Sersi presses her hands to the ground I feel the change inside of me. I say "Sersi the connection. You're tethering the connection between us all!"

She holds to me as we both press our hands to the golden celestial ground. Her white marbled effect traveling through the ground as the base of the celestial burns brightly from my powers. Dissolving into dust extremely quickly.

Ikaris' scream falters our focus only temporarily as he lands in front of us. I hold my hands tightly to the ground as Sersi looks to Ikaris and pries into his conscious. His eyes flashing from gold to blue as he attempts to fight of his inner demons.

She speaks with her eyes and expression. Begging for him to let us continue our job. Let us kill the celestial.

Sersi stands and I awkwardly look at them crying to each other. I get the emotions but... as like a third wheel I feel hella uncomfortable.

Like can you guys go sort this out somewhere else?

She presses her hands back down with mine and the connection or tether between us all lift our bodies up. Druig as he stands beside Sprite who's just regaining consciousness are both lifted and golden tendrils cover their bodies

Sersi and I are fully lifted above the others. Our hands tightly squeeze together and our eyes close temporarily.

The others are lifted and lastly Ikaris is. He looks to us, every eternals powers rushing through our bodies at rapid rates.

Overwhelming my systems and giving me every possible remaining memory I was missing. Every conversation. Every hug. Every goodbye. Everything.

All powers come together and we are rapidly descended to the ground. Sersi's hands press to the ground and my hands shoot out. I push them into the ground.

Dissolving half the Tiamut's face off. Marble covers the celestials body. My powers burning critical holes throughout it. Calm settles around us.

The sky clears and Sersi and I look to each other. I hug her tightly and we pull ourselves to our feet.

She looks to Ikaris as he chokes up and sobs. She steps towards him and I step back.

Allowing them their moment.

He cries "I'm sorry."

Sersi rests her hand on his cheek and says "I know."

They press their foreheads together and he pulls away quickly as I attempt to act like I wasn't just eavesdropping and totally invading on their conversation.

I look in every other direction and Ikaris says "And I'm sorry Gaia. Truly."

He looks to me as my expression softens and I nod. He looks to Sersi one last time before he flies off. I look to her. Reaching for her hand as I decide we should fly down to the others.

We land on the sand and Makkari relievedly looks to me. She runs to me, hugging me tightly. Her fears dwindling away rapidly.

Thena looks to me as Makkari releases me. She presses a hand to my back and I hug her loosely. Enjoying her motherly embrace.

Phastos says "How? How did you two do it?"

Sersi squeezes my hand for reassurance saying "When I touched Tiamut's palm, both Gaia and I felt energy surging through us. It practically consumed us. Tiamut joined our Uni- mind."

Phastos shakes his head saying and signing "I always wondered how we survived the destruction of planets we were always on. By being connected to the celestial as it emerged."

Makkari looks to Thena and I signing "We became one... even Ikaris and Sprite. All because of Tiamut."

I smile and say "Don't forget my not so dead husband." Everyone looks to me and Phastos says "He's alive!?"

I chuckle and say "What can I say? I like my men durable. Speaking of my husband, there he is." I motion towards the two figures approaching us.

Makkari doesn't hesitate in approaching Druig and hugging him. Signing things I can't see and then swatting him in the side of the head roughly.

I shake my head and Druig approaches me as I approach him. He says "Told you we wouldn't die."

I put my hand over his lips and say "Just shut up and kiss me, my love."

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

haley speaks!
I'm back guys! I feel much better! If you didn't already know, it's Super Bowl weekend in the United States and Valentine's Day is Monday! Super jam packed weekend! So if you participate in either one of those or both, I hope you have a great little holiday! If you don't I hope you have a relaxing weekend anyway!

This story is quickly coming to an end! Isn't it? GAHHH I'm not ready for it to end. :( I have some fluff chapters definitely approaching and if wanted I can do some flashback bonus chapters! Is that something you'd want?

What'd you guys think of this chapter? Opinions? Thoughts?

Anyways! I hope you all are doing well and in good health! How are you all doing?

Q&A: what are three things you'd bring to a deserted island?