Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

TW: Suicidal Ideation & Suicide

Sprite wakes to a blue sky and immediately regrets doing so.

Their head pounds and they realized that someone must have hit them in the back of the head and knocked them out. The Earth still lived which meant that Sersi had succeeded in killing Tiamut. A part of them wonders how this experience is going to affect Sersi. Another part hates that they still care. And the last third of them just feels exhausted. Exhausted that their world had turned on its head starting with the death of their mom and the return of the Deviants. And ended with the unthinkable. That the person she looked up to most, had betrayed them all. What was worse was they joined him. Unable to bear, fighting on the opposing side of him to protect a species they envied and hated on darker days.

Relief, regret, rage and grief threaten to choke them. Relief at the fact that this meant Sersi was still alive at the moment. Regret that tasted bitter on their tongue that it had come to them all trying to stop one another. Rage so encompassing that they felt that they could set the world on fire. Rage at their cursed fate. Anger at themselves that they couldn’t help lashing out at Sersi. The girl who had everything. The girl who made their missions seem so easy. That loved humans like it was second nature. That got to live a life that they wanted. And lastly, grief tangled up in betrayal at their complicated feelings for the death of their mother and the fact that these events left their brother dead.

“Get up,” a voice says harshly in their ear.

They gingerly sit up to baleful blue eyes. Druig’s eyes. It must have been him who had knocked them out. He watches them get up like a hawk. Distrust and disgust swirling in his eyes. 

He was by Sersi’s side who had a hand to the stab wound that Sprite gave her and an exhausted, grief stricken expression on her waxen face. Her usually bright cedar eyes held a hollow and shattered look. As if feeling Sprite’s eyes on her, she looked up.

Emotions flickered through Sersi’s eyes too quick to decipher before her face settled into a blank mask. Sersi was always an open book though if Sprite thought back to it, it wasn’t until they reunited in London did Sprite noticed that Sersi had changed. No longer was Sersi the bright eyed Eternal who walked a fine line of loving humanity and dutifully following Ikaris and Ajak’s lead. Who idealistically believed in Arishem. Instead Sersi’s eyes held experience, wisdom and surprisingly, humanity. Sersi could have fooled Sprite with how human she had looked in terms of the life behind those cedar eyes. One that had experienced the highs and lows of life. It had caused that familiar feeling of envy to hiss. It was unsettling now, to be unable to parse out what Sersi was feeling.

Dread curled in their stomach. Where was Ikaris? As if reading the question on their face, Sersi eyes softened a tad and she shook her head. Her eyes flickered to the Sun and Sprite felt the floor bottom out from under them as their knees hit the floor.

no, no, no, nO, NO, NO! He couldn’t be gone. He couldn’t have just given up and killed himself but looking into the pained and shattered eyes of Sersi just confirmed what they knew was true in their gut. Ikaris had failed. Had failed in stopping not only the emergence but failed in killing Sersi. Of fucking course. Of fucking course he couldn’t kill her.

Bitterness coated their tongue. Ikaris was willing to kill their mother figure and unleash the Deviants on them as a distraction but he was unwilling to kill his precious Sersi. It always came back to her.

With a grunt, a painful grip grasped their upper arm and pulled them up. Druig was stone faced and roughly spat, “Let’s go. We’re meeting up with the others. Get up and start walking.”

Stunned and too shock to do anything but follow orders, Sprite walked back. At the corner of their eye, they saw Sersi shake her head at Druig’s offer to carry her. Something about Druig being injured as well. She did accept his support as she slung an arm over his shoulder and leant her weight against him. Together they hobbled in the direction of the shore. 

Slowly but surely, they reached the shore to find Thena, Phastos and Makkari. At the sight of Druig, Makkari twitched with the need to race to him. But Thena, the practical sort of the two, asked Makkari to grab the first aid kit from the ruined Domo. With a nod, she came with a first aid kit and a change of clothes for all the remaining Eternals.

Sersi tapped Druig’s shoulder so he could let her go. Thena came at her shoulder and she gently laid Sersi towards the ground. 

Makkari made a slight noise as the two cradled each other. Foreheads touching. An intimate picture that filled Sprite with guilt and jealously especially at the small curl of Druig’s lips that they saw.

With an an apologetic but steely look, Phastos used his powers to make a makeshift handcuff that Sprite was sure had GPS and other functions. Probably was able of dampening their powers or tazing them.

Like a dog, Phastos commanded, “Stay here. We’ll be with you in a moment.”

Sinking into the ground, wrists shackled together, they had never wished for more in that moment to be able to disappear. To turn into air and have their molecules scrubbed from the universe.

***

Thena was a grounding presence as she laid on the beach of Lanzarote, one of the Canary Islands. If Sersi was honest with herself, she didn’t know what she expected what the aftermath would bring. Tiamut would be stopped and hopefully, their family would stay together.

Reality is often disappointing as her family seemed torn apart from this conflict. Her head was swimming from either the blood loss or being a conduit for so much cosmic energy and she was so so so tired. She just wanted to sleep and never wake up from this nightmare. Rage, grief, despair and regret nipped at her mind and the only reason she didn’t curl into a ball and sob was because her family still needed her. The bright star of power that still clung to her body was a small comfort. A gift from Tiamut.

Tiamut had been so beautiful. Jamile. Beau. Bellisimo. Hermoso. Bonito. Krasivyy.

His death weighed heavily on her soul. Did they even have souls?

A gentle hand to her cheek startles her and the burning pain in her upper abdomen and back intensified. She gasps in pain. Four pairs of eyes stare down at her sympathetically as her eyes flicked back open.

Thena, not one for beating around the bush, firmly and gently says, “Stay awake. We’re going to stop the bleeding, close up the wound and give you some pain medication. Then we’ll decide what to do with Sprite.” 

At the mention of Sprite, Sersi’s hands involuntarily clench and she lets out a deep breath. Hurt, shock and rage swirled in her stomach at that. Sprite’s betrayal and the fact that she literally stabbed Sersi in the back was already too much for Sersi’s overwhelmed mind. She stares at Sprite who is handcuffed, hunched on the ground looking miserable and pathetic. Sprite who blunted the loneliness that stung when she was in London because as much as Sersi loved humans and could blend in as one, at the end of the day, she was an Eternal. She could not be touched by time or any other of the physical limitations that was placed on the humans. Sprite was a reassuring touchstone in an ever changing world and a fact, that she was not the only immortal robot deity on the Earth.

She looked at the disdain and anger in Druig’s eyes that hid his hurt at their betrayal. Makkari looked down in sadness and anger at Sprite’s name. Thena’s, who had earlier looked at peace at Kro’s death, expression had shifted to grief and displeasure at Sprite’s actions. Phastos eyes lastly contained the mutual desolation and distrust that they all felt.

Phastos assembled a device to store her armor as her suit was recalled to the device and all that was left was her blood soaked white shirt, green cardigan and jeans. Thena helped her sit up as Makkari lifted her shirt up to the underside of her breast. Druig who despite his disagreements with Ajak, respected her healing powers and had studied medical advancements through the ages. He was probably more than capable of taking care of her.  He opened the first aid kit as Phastos scanned her body with a medical scanner.

“The good news is that you’ll survive and you should heal in about 2 weeks.” At that news, Sersi  gave Phasotos a droll look which caused him to roll his eyes. Whoop dee doo. She wasn’t dead. “The bad news is we’re all going to be exhausted for at least a week due to the cosmic power drain from the Uni Mind. I suggest that we stay at Ajak’s homestead until we’re healthy.” Phastos announced.

Sersi and the others nodded in agreement. Druig with steady hands, cleaned the wound as Sersi hissed in pain as the antiseptic felt like acid being poured on her wound. Makkari used her free hand to grab her hand in reassurance. He then used surgical glue to close the stab wound on her front and then maneuvered to close the wound in the back. After applying a roll of bandages over her waist, he stuck a syringe full of pain meds into her system.

The sharp pain turned into a dull ache and Sersi leaned into Thena’s embrace. Too tired for words. Thena, her and Phastos all leaned into one another as Makkari and Druig attended to each other wounds. They had waived off their offers to help and the two put bacta gel on the heat vision burns from Ikaris as well as the bruising from the fight. After they all changed into more comfortable clothes, they all gingerly stood to stare at Sprite.

Sprite refused to look any of them in the eye.

She dug deep into her reserves of energy and determination and smooths her expression. She exchanged a look with the rest of the Eternals who understood that she would make a decision as the Prime Eternal on Sprite's fate. And similarly as the one most harmed by Sprite’s actions. The ones you love had the most power to hurt you, Sersi thought bitterly. It was up to her to levy punishment or absolution. Their faith in her is all at once daunting and reassuring all the same. Looking at their faces, Sersi knows there has been enough hurt, betrayal and death for one day. 

Kneeling down carefully, she uses both hands to cradle Sprite’s face upwards.

“Look at me.” She says firmly.

Cedar brown meets glimmering hazel. Their eyes full of unshed tears and a stubborn look on their face. It reminds Sersi of one of her students who had a bad day and had made poor decisions in class. Who had acted out and caused trouble because she was hurting. The look in her eye had made Sersi tread carefully. The student looked at her as if she was bracing herself for a blow. Sersi didn't think she could bring herself to cause any more pain and suffering. Not unless needed.

“You and I will have a separate conversation about our relationship but I need you to know that it will take time to forgive you. You will have to earn back our trust and talk to us about what you’ve gone through. I apologize that we did not notice your suffering about your condition and the way Arishem created you. That we have been too wrapped up in our own issues that we did not see yours. We are sorry that you did not feel like you could talk to us about this. But that is not an excuse for your actions.” Sersi said firmly.

Sprite opened their mouth to speak but with a firm shake of her head, Sersi’s eyes steeled and her face hardened.

“I’m talking right now.” she warned. “Do you remember how they would call you the Puer Aeternus in Greece? The child-god?”

Sprite nodded their head.

Sersi wryly stated, “It’s also known as Peter Pan syndrome”.

At the disgusted and ironic expression on Sprite’s face, a tender look graced Sersi’s face.

”You have inspired and created many myths for yourself and everyone over the years but I think you forgot how life imitates art and vice versa. The Greeks believed the child god represented hope and new growth for the future. But on the negative side, it talks about a immature adult child who waits for someone or something to solve their problems. They refuse to face life’s problems head on. We are giving you a choice. Make the right one.”

Her face turned back to stone and a pang of grief and wistfulness hit Sprite. Sersi reminded Sprite of Ajak. Sersi looked assured and calm as she gazed down at Sprite. A newly blossoming leader.

“I don’t understand exactly what it is like to be you but I have never begrudged you your freedom as it is already hard enough to live on Earth and live as a soldier for Arishem. But I tried my best to be there for you and treat you like the adult you are. I am giving you one last chance to make reparations. Do not fuck it up.”

At Sersi’s uncharacteristic swearing, Sprite flinched.

“Now, I am going to offer you a choice. Keep in mind, that you will still have to atone for what you have done to us.”

At Sprite’s slow nod, Sersi dropped the bomb on Sprite.

“Do you wish to become human? I have enough cosmic energy left over from the Uni Mind to transmute you to a human.” Sersi explained.

Sersi saw the others give a nod of approval at her sentencing.

“How?” Sprite said hoarsely.

“Arishem lied to us. We are capable of changing and evolving. Our powers may not have the limits that he implanted within us. I will need to practice but I am able to transmute sentient beings. The Deviant in the Amazon was proof of that.”

“So there’s a 90% chance that you’ll turn me into a giraffe.” Sprite quipped.

Sersi’s face was not amused. Especially at the reference to Dane.

“You’ll just have to take the risk.” Sersi offered.

It was a punishment and absolution all at once. Sersi could strip them of their powers. Turn them into a pig and then hunt them for sport. All Sprite could do was trust Sersi which was an ironic twist of fate.

Sprite lifted their shackled wrists towards Sersi and Sersi laid her glowing hands on Sprite’s hands. 

Sersi felt the atomic and molecular makeup of Sprite. Using the cosmic energy, she broke down Sprite’s physical structure and reshaped their makeup. With a final touch, she organized the structure to the human biology and anatomy that she read every time she touched Dane’s hands.

With a disoriented tone and gasp, Sprite flexed their hands and feet.

Sprite was now a real person. There were no longer any strings on them.

Chapter Text

Being human was an odd sensation. 

Their body felt heavier, their heart pounded louder and the world was so much duller and dangerous. They felt like a new born foal. Wobbly on their newly discovered body full of human mortality.

It was everything they every wanted. It was a gift. It was a curse. It was freedom. It was a prison.

They weren't stupid enough to try anything that would make the others put on the handcuffs again, but Sprite could still feel the zing of their powers, though it wasn't as nigh limitless as it was before .It was another small mercy that Sersi had done which made them love and hate her in equal measure. 

After being zipped back to Ajak’s home, they promptly emptied their stomach in the toilet. Something their eternal body took to better was being carried by the fastest speedster in the universe. Their head still pounded and felt tender from being clobbered with a rock. After being turned into a real person, Phastos had scanned them and said in a perfectly neutral voice that they didn't have a concussion. His eyes were flat and unfriendly. They guess siding with the family member who was allowing all the humans including Phastos's human family to die wouldn't earn them any brownie points. The bruise on their head would heal in a week or so when before it would have just taken a day. They then swiftly unlocked their cuffs. There was no point in trying to escape as the rest of their family was vastly faster, stronger and their human body couldn’t compete. Plus, they had no money or possessions on hand. Maybe even no home, as it would be insane for Sersi to accept them back into her home after they tried to kill her. If it was anyone else, Sprite would have expected her to turn all of Sprite’s possessions into ash. But Sersi had shown them mercy and compassion. Something Sprite knew they didn’t deserve.

They exited the bathroom and went into Ajak’s room. With their human senses, Sprite couldn’t smell Ajak’s scent as strongly. Grabbing one of Ajak’s sweater that read “Nothing Scares Me I Have 9 Kids”, they gave a brief amused but sad smile and slipped it on. Surrounded by the smell of cinnamon, hay and antiseptic, Sprite drifted off into a fitful sleep.

***

Druig was sore, pissed and worried. Ikaris gave him one hell of a beating but the warring desire to stop the emergence and not permanently harm his family rang in Druig’s head. He almost snapped, pick a side. None of this wish washy shit. He didn’t know how to exactly feel about the traitor’s conflicting feelings or the fact that their asshole of a brother was gone. So he didn't. Just stuffed that in a box to be dealt with later. Preferably with some strong Puluque.

His own grief crashed upon him in waves and he took a breath to steady himself. Makkari’s grief was a gray spot in his mind along with the yellows of relief and joy at him surviving. A streak of green that showed the sting of betrayal from Sprite and Ikaris. And a spot of blue showed her worry for Sersi, whose composure crumpled and tears had started to slip down her cheeks after Sprite was deposited at the homestead. Her gaze was faraway and she stared at the sun as if Ikaris would come back. Luckily, they’re physiology prevented them from going blind from staring at the sun.

He shielded himself from Sersi’s emotions whose emotions were so loud and biting, he feared he could drown in them. It was a disconcerting contrast to her blank face. Thena’s cool resolve and muted emotions was a balm against his consciousness while Phastos’s worry, anxiety and restless prickled against his nerves. Usually the rest of the Eternals were more considerate with not broadcasting their emotions due to his mental abilities but drastic times called for the lack of censoring one’s self. 

Taking another deep breath, he filtered out Sersi’s and Phastos’s emotions behind a mental wall and allowed Makkari’s and Thena’s emotions to ground him.

He was impressed with how Sersi had handled Sprite. The little shit had made a stupid choice in choosing Ikaris but his heart ached for how their family couldn’t find peace. Not in this lifetime and probably their previous ones as well. It wasn’t until Kingo had explained to them about Sprite’s unrequited love was Druig able to put on that label towards the reddish, greenish, yellowish emotions that Druig had sense all those years. The closest he could tell was that it was a mixture of longing, envy and a spot of hatred.

When he had picked his battered body from the crater that Ikaris had laser beamed him into, alarm and trepidation surged through him as the Earth rumbled. He tracked down the frustration and rage that had erupted out of Sprite in waves and took in the scene.

Finding Sersi on the ground, face twisted in agony and anguish at Sprite’s treachery and because of the literal knife coming through her back, made his blood run cold. Ikaris, the bastard, was one thing. A loyal dog of Arishem who Sersi quite frankly, deserved better but he wasn’t going to be the asshole who made that choice for her. Unlike some people. But Sprite who caused chaos and whose own mischievousness matched Makkari’s and Druig’s felt like a stab in the chest. They had spent millennials causing mischief, chaos and loosening up the other Eternals who took their mission too seriously. Sersi was especially fun to tease and rile up but the mirth in her eyes always reminded them, that she would never stay mad for too long. He had sense the close familial bond between the two of them when they arrived upon the Amazon. It was a shame, that Ikaris was the thing that divided them. Though how much that was on Sprite was a mystery.

His own simmering anger bellowed at Sprite’s betrayal. In that moment, he felt only a drop of sympathy for Sprite’s plight before he knocked them out. There was so much fear, doubt and anxiety cloaking Sersi before it morphed into grim resolve as he pulled her up. He passed the torch on to Sersi and then she did it.

The Unimind was breathtaking. For once, he felt like one with his family and they were a part of something bigger than Arishem’s design. Tiamut had a glorious mind and he balked at the childlike innocence and his dreamer heart. He felt Sersi’s sorrow and internal dismay and self hatred as she snuffed the life from Tiamut’s eyes.

The aftermath was a cluster fuck of epic proportions but he was glad that it was over. His heart ached at the thought of his fractured family. Makkari slipped her hand into his and he gently felt the contours of her hands. With a light squeeze, she zipped Phastos and Thena back to the homestead. She then used her right hand to gently wipe Sersi’s tears. Asking Sersi for her permission to transport her back to the homestead, Sersi’s nod was all she needed before she was back in a few minutes.

Holding out her hand, Druig drank in the sight of Makkari with her face covered in ash and the sad tilt of her smile. As long as he had Makkari maybe everything else would be ok.

***

For once in Makkari’s life, she did not feel the urgent need for things to be exciting or fast paced. In fact, she wanted the opposite. To travel back in time and be able to stop their family from fracturing. Druig’s warm body in her arms was one of the few things that calmed her lightning quick thoughts.

Depositing him in front of Ajak’s home, she just took a moment to breathe with Druig. Druig sensing her intent embraced her in a tight hug that was almost painful. She ignored the flare of pain from burns on her chest and the bruises from fighting Ikaris. Her heart and mind was heavy from the events of the past few days. 

She took in the smell of volcanic ash, rosewood and the sea, and reveled in a scent that was just Druig’s own. He had to lean down to embrace her as his hands went around her upper torso while her hands wrapped around his neck. If she could freeze a moment of time, she would freeze this one. 

Vibrations traveled from the open door and a slightly apologetic Thena appeared. The two broke apart and Druig gave a squeeze of her hand. With a quick look, Druig tilted his head in Phastos’s direction. He was going to check in with Phastos. With a slight pout on her lips, she gave a wave goodbye.

Thena playfully ruffled her hair but her somber and grief stricken eyes stuck with Makkari. Entering Ajak’s home, they both stopped wordless at the doorway as they watched Sersi stiffly walk and drape a blanket over Sprite’s sleeping body. Their little sibling’s face was distraught at whatever dreams ensnared them. Sersi had a bitter but maternal look on her face as she stared at Sprite. 

Makkari could not tell what Sersi was saying as her face was directed towards Sprite’s as she gently combed her fingers through their hair but Thena signed Sersi’s words.

“Sometimes, though not often, he had dreams, and they were more painful than the dreams of other boys. For hours he could not be separated from these dreams, though he wailed piteously in them. They had to do, I think, with the riddle of his existence.”

Oh, it was . . .

“Peter Pan.” Thena said and signed.

Sersi lifted her head in acknowledgement but comforted Sprite until the lines in their face smoothed out into a more peaceful sleep. Sersi’s eyes were bright with a touch of madness as if another word or bad news would cause her to either explode in a rage of grief and anger or shatter into a million pieces in despair. 

Without a word, they gently tugged Sersi into Ajak’s room to sleep. They gently laid her on the bed and laid in the blankets with her. The faint smell of Ajak's scent and the smell of aged wood, hay and cinnamon lingered around them. Thena tenderly cuddled Sersi who’s body laid flat on the bed due to her injuries. Makkari on her other side faced Sersi and stroked their hair and face. Encouraging Sersi to let it all out, Sersi broke into heart wrenching sobs. The two of them allowed the release of their emotions as the days events weighed on them. Thena allowing the grief and tears of Ajak’s, Gilgamesh’s and Ikaris’s death down her cheeks and Makkari released the guilt, fear and anguish that she had felt when she thought Druig was dead. The heartache of the death of their mother and brothers. After all their tears had flown, they found comfort in each other’s presence and fell into a deep sleep.

Chapter Text

TW: slight mentions of gender dysphoria 

Breakfast was an awkward affair.

Sprite had woken up to a thick, woolen blanket that Ajak had knitted covering them and drool plastered on their cheek. Phastos had been in the kitchen, humming what sounded like “A Thousand Miles” by Vanessa Carlton, while brewing some coffee. Thena was slicing some potatoes and sausages and had given a nod of acknowledgement at Sprite’s look.

With an awkward nod of their own, they draped the woolen blanket over their shoulders. Their human body heavy with sleep and feeling ungainly. They headed towards Ajak’s room to gather some clothes that they left from the last time they visited to find the sharp gaze of Makkari staring back at them. They signed She’s still sleeping and needs rest. Please grab some clothes from the guest room.

They were slightly startled to see Sersi with rumpled hair with a red and blotchy face that came from crying. Guilt stabbed at them. Even asleep, Sersi looked troubled and so, Sprite stepped out of the room. 

Heading to the guest room, they quietly tiptoed past a sleeping Druig and grabbed some clothes from the open closet. Druig was wearing sweat pants and slept shirtless. They winced at the burn marks and bruises littering their body. Ignoring what looked like all the other Eternals clothes in the closet, they grabbed a white shirt that said “Yeah I’m Short Thanks for Letting Me Know” and jeans while still keeping Ajak’s sweater over everything.

After opening a new toothbrush and going through their morning routine, Sprite stared into the mirror. They didn’t look too different from what they usually did but Sprite felt different. Their blood pounded in their veins and their body felt like gravity had a hold of them.

They still had the same wild strawberry blonde locks that was cut short. Their face still had traces of baby fat and their body was in that awkward stage between child and adolescent. 

Since they woke up on the Domo, Sprite had always known that they were neither male or female. They were just Sprite. The other Eternals were told to call them by they/them but Ajak was the first to do so. Looking back, it seemed that Ajak had known about them from all the other versions of themselves. Had known the rest of the Eternals in an intimate way. If she were still alive, she would probably give Sprite that disappointed frown of hers. The frown that they got when they had accidentally spread a story that had caused Thena to scare the poor mortal, Arachne. The “I’m not mad but just disappointed look” that was super effective.

It wasn’t until around 400 B.C. when Sprite had heard the term hijras from the people from India, a term about a gender that was neither male or female that they were like oh, it’s not just me. In the 21st century, Sprite learned about the term nonbinary or genderqueer. It was a label that fit for what they felt. Despite Sprite’s bitterness and resentment for their fate, they had still opened up to Sersi about what they felt about their gender and its identity. How being called young lady or young man by strangers on the street or some of their neighbors had made their skin crawled. The next morning, a pin with the nonbinary flag and “hey, i’m they!” appeared on the drawer near their bed. 

They had also discussed how if their body changed, they would prefer to look as androgynous as they did now. Sersi’s eyes held understanding and patience but also was quite curious. That same talk had Sersi divulge that sometimes she was tired that their bodies were ever Eternal. She always wondered what all of them looked like as kids or teenagers. What they would look like in their 30s, 40s and so on. She was never ever able to share authentic pictures to her coworkers or post a picture for #throwbackthursday. Instead, Sersi had visited Phastos and a counterfeiter every few decades for new documents and to plant a false paper and web trail for them.

Before Dane, Sprite knew that every once in a while, Sersi would go home with someone. Sersi had explained that after finding who she was outside of Ikaris, she found out that she was attracted to people. It didn’t matter the gender. Guy, girl, person. She usually let Sprite know that she was staying the night with someone. She also made it quite clear that she wouldn’t bring any people home for a one night stand which Sprite was grateful for. It was bad enough when Sprite had to watch the thousand of years of Ikaris's and Sersi's PDA. It was another thing that Sprite resented. The fact that even though their mind was older, they would never be able to fall in love with someone. Or even just get to have a one night stand.

A knock broke Sprite’s thoughts and they quickly changed into their clothes and dumped the old clothes into the pamper but kept Ajak’s sweater. As Sprite exited, a bleary eyed Druig quickly moved passed Sprite and shut the door behind him.

Sprite walked up to the dining table that barely fit four people and put their head over their arms. Watching Phastos and Thena bustle around the kitchen was an odd sight. The Phastos she remembered sometimes forgot to eat or sleep as he was so enamored with his work. Thena on the other hand seemed to find a greater appreciation for mundane tasks and eating good food instead of shoveling whatever was available. Guilt and grief bloomed in their chest as they almost expected to hear Gilgamesh’s booming voice and Thena’s eyes soften a tad as they had in Australia, while she watched him move around.

A door opened and Sprite’s head swiveled toward the sound. Makkari sped through the house towards the bathroom as Druig exited. But not without a good morning peck to Druig’s cheek. Sersi came out of the room disheveled and looking like shit. Exhaustion plain on her face and a bone deep tiredness exuded from her. She shuffled stiffly towards the kitchen in an oversized green sweater, white bandages peeking out and dark green linen pajama pants. She gave a brief glance at Sprite, face carefully neutral which turned to gratitude when Phastos handed her a cup of Yorkshire Tea that Ajak stashed in the kitchen for whenever Sersi visited. 

She then shuffled to the couch and stayed deep in thought as she sipped her tea. Soon there after, breakfast was served as Makkari flew by and grabbed a foldable table to extend the seating to fit the six of them. Thena sat across from Sprite and Phastos to their left. Druig sat next to Thena and had Makkari on his right. Sersi descended gently to Phastos’s left.

With mumbled thanks, everyone dug into their breakfast of eggs, sausage, bacon and toast. The only sound was the sound of forks and knives scraping. The tension was thick and suffocating. Druig and Makkari were exchanging conversation with slight looks and soft touches. Phastos was writing down plans and calculations on a piece of paper and alternated between glancing at the landline in the house and sending discrete looks at the others. Thena kept glancing to her left as if expecting someone there while also giving the others calculated looks tinged with worry. Sersi was uncharacteristically quiet and had not even glanced their way even once. 

Back in London, Sprite was used to listening to Sersi ramble on about her students or sometimes she would be thinking out loud about new museum artifacts or the compositions of certain objects she touched. Sersi wasn’t just a history and philosophy nerd but a bio, chem and astronomy one as well. She loved learning and had even convinced Sprite to check out some interesting college courses. In turn, Sprite would talk about the current Avengers and the current superhero populations in the world. Rumors they heard about enhanced humans in England while Sersi gave her undivided tension. They also talked about the novels and books they would be working on as Sprite still loved telling stories and appreciated writing under a pseudonym and being able to earn some money. Sprite would also have a pulse on the night life. They loved comedy clubs, jazz clubs, karaoke bars coffee houses, drag bars, etc. Sprite and Sersi would often go to a show together when either of them weren’t too busy. It was an absolute riot to see Sersi react to a bunch of drag queens and she was absolutely horrendous at insulting the drag queens aka reading the filth. She got so many “oh, honey. You’re adorable”. Sprite on the other hand was excellent at insulting people.

They surprisingly missed their life in London. The unremarkable mornings, the fun nights and everything in between. This odd tension and no one wanting to address the elephant in the room made Sprite wanted to scream.

Instead they settled for doing what they did best. Asking blunt and rude questions.

“So what’s going to happen next?” Sprite asked and signed point blank, ignoring the fact that they interrupted the silent conversation between Druig and Makkari.

Druig shot a glare at them. 

“What the fuck do you thing is going to happen?” he bit back.

Sprite’s anger reared its head at that. “I don’t know. No one is fucking talking to me. You guys can’t even look at me.”

“Well, whose fucking fault is that?” he retorted. Raw anger on his face. 

“Enough.” Sersi’s calm voice cut through the sniping.

Both of their heads whipped towards Sersi who had set down her utensils next to her barely touched food. Staring both of them down with dark eyes, she discussed and signed, “Sprite, you can decide what you want to do next. If you want to stay in London with me, you can but we were planning on calling Kingo and informing him about what happened. I’m sure now that you’re aging, it would be easier for you guys to blend in.”

Sprite knew that Sersi didn’t mean to poke maliciously at that old hurt but the matter of fact way that Sersi said it, stoke waves of hurt and anger. In addition, surprise had lit up in Sprite when Sersi still offered them a place to stay in London. They thought they already burned that bridge. They directed a questioning look to Sersi but Sersi’s eyes were dark with an unexplained emotion. She gave a slight shake of their head and mouthed later. 

Addressing Druig, she reprimanded him saying, “Druig, you’re feelings about Sprite are valid but you guys are adults. You can sort your shit out one on one. I don’t have enough energy to deal with you guys squabbling.”

At that Druig seemed chastened. Makkari looked at him in understanding but seemed more conflicted looking between him and Sprite.

Druig, never one to let sleeping dogs lie, demanded, “What about you and Sprite? They literally tried to kill you?”

At that the temperature dropped. Literally and figuratively. Sprite’s could see their breath in the air and tiny snow flakes started to fall. Sersi’s hands were clenched into fist on her lap as her eyes glowed with a golden light, runes marking the air all around the room. Maybe a side effect of the Unimind? A manifestation of her powers in a new way? The cold air hit Sprite and they started shivering. Stupid human body.

The rest of the Eternals stared at Sersi warily. It wasn’t like her to lose control of her powers, not unless she was under extreme emotional stress. But after yesterday, it made sense that all of them were on edge and overemotional. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and released it. The temperature heated as her power released its hold on the room. 

Cold eyes stared at Druig. “And that is between me and Sprite. Nothing is forgiven yet but we can’t exactly afford to be pissed at or ignore Sprite for centuries. What occurred is between me and them and we will have a talk later. When I’m ready to talk without saying or doing something I may regret.”

At that fact, the mood turned somber and they all eyed Sprite with a look of sadness, pity and anxiety. Sprite would be gone in a few decades. They couldn’t afford to take their sweet time ignoring or fighting with each other.

Phastos cleared his throat, drawing all eyes on him. “I called Ben last night and I asked him if he and Jack wanted to take some time off and stay here. If Makkari would be so kind to grab them, I would like to fix the Domo. It should take around 2 weeks.” His eyes flickered to Sersi who nodded in approval.

Thena looked at the rest of the Eternals with a calculated look. Her demeanor wasn’t cold but it wasn’t open either. She then proceeded to state her wishes in a blunt and very Thena manner. “Once Phastos fixes the ship, I would like to warn the other Eternals across the galaxy of the truth. They deserve to know what they are being used for and they can choose if they want to be pawns of Arishem or if they want something beyond their purpose. Maybe we can save other planets and people. Anyone is welcome to join me.”

Surprise flickered around everyone’s face but Makkari was the first to recover. She signed I would like to join you. I think they deserve the truth as well.

Druig had a thoughtful look on his face. After a moment, a decision seemed to be made. “I do enjoy the thought of sticking it to Arishem and freeing other Eternals from allowing the death of billions. Plus anywhere Makkari goes, I go. I’m done wasting time.”

Makkari shot him a look full of gratitude and appreciation. He plopped a kiss on her forehead and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. She reached up with her left hand to grab his. 

It was sickeningly sweet and a part of them wanted to tease and make gagging noises but they knew they were thin ice with the others. At least now they weren’t in a state of limbo. 

It was time to keep moving forward.

Chapter Text

Trigger warning: mentions of India’s Partition

It was darkly funny how art imitated life. Or was that the other way around?

After leaving the Domo with Karun, he took a gamble. Despite his belief in Ikaris, the Emergence would pan out in two ways. Ikaris would have the strength and the will to kill the rest of their family and allow Tiamut to emerge or Sersi and the others would stop Ikaris and the Emergence. Could Ikaris kill Sersi? If Ikaris was like Superman then Sersi was his Lois Lane though he knew that Sersi would hate to be considered a damsel in distress. And Lois was always Superman’s kryptonite. Who knew what would happen?

As someone who liked to play games of chance and gamble with Makkari and Druig, for once, he wasn’t sure who he would bet on. Ikaris or Sersi. Despite his laidback and dramatic demeanor, Kingo knew when to cut his losses. It was the only reason he didn’t lose all his drachmas when they played the Greece version of Heads and Tails back in Athens. Except it was called Pitch and Toss at the time and you threw a handful of coins at a wall. He didn’t get swindled out of his drachmas unlike Gilgamesh. Though Thena swooped in and won back all that Gilgamesh lost. Druig had stared in shock at how good Thena's luck was. With a sly grin, Thena had confessed that Phastos had done the math for her.  

So when he left the Domo with a heavy heart, he decided to stay in Mesopotamia or as the humans now called it, Iraq. It was the beginning of their story as Eternals and if the planet and its people were to be sacrificed, he wouldn’t mind it being the last thing he saw before they started anew.

Footsteps scraped against the sand as Karun shuffled nervously towards him with the backup backup camcorder. Using his right hand, he motioned across his neck for Karun to stop filming. He wanted these last moments to belong to him and Karun solely.

“Sorry sir. Just thought it would cheer your spirits.” Karun said bashfully.

“Thank you for the thought, Karun. Sit.” Kingo motioned towards the edge of the cliff. Modern day Mesopotamia was vastly different from when they first arrived 7,000 years ago. The Earth was drier and the sands of time had erased the previously lush and bountiful ancient civilization. Now it was all desert and cracked Earth.

Karun eyed the cliff nervously but carefully set his bags down and perched on the cliff. He eyed his employer who seemed serious, introspective and downhearted. It was so easy to feel like an ant in comparison to someone who had lived so long and had experienced so much. Who was revered as a God in ancient civilizations and who had shaped the previous Maurya and Gupta Empire that later became India. For all the time Karun had known Kingo, it was disconcerting to not see Kingo hide his pain and loneliness behind sarcasm and humor.

With quiet murmurs, Kingo pointed out what Mesopotamia used to look like. Where they arrived on their ship. Where the first deviants were fought as he and Makkari teamed up. Where Ikaris, Thena and Gilgamesh all slayed their first deviants. Where the thinkers of the group gathered with the fighters and introduced themselves to the ancient Sumerians with Druig calming the people down. Where Sersi gave a peace offering of a transmuted dagger to the recently deceased’s village leader’s son. Karun listened dutifully but paused when Kingo shook his head and sighed.

“In Bablyon, I had pissed off Sprite by teasing them about how ironic it was that they decided to make themselves Ninkasi, the goddess of beer, even though the people wouldn’t let them drink the alcohol. Earlier, Sprite had made a story about me being Nuska as the God of light, fire and storytelling. They then made a tale of me being Kingu, the cowardice army commander who fled against Marduk in the epic of Gilgamesh.” 

At that, he darkly chuckled, bitterness and hysteria coating his voice. 

“I don’t know how Arishem expected us to not care about humans or expect us not to be influenced by them as much as we influenced them.”

He stared at Karun, tears in his eyes as he proudly proclaimed, “I am not a coward for not wanting to kill my family because of my beliefs. I do not believe it’s my place to decide who lives and dies so I am choosing to do what I believe is right.”

Karun put a hand on Kingo’s shoulder in comfort. Kingo had been in Mumbai since the early 1900s. Like Karun’s great grandparents, his grandparents and his parents, Kingo experienced the Partition of India and its aftereffects. The split of the country in part because of Britain withdrawing from the country and the conflicting religious groups resulted in one of the bloodiest conflicts in India’s history. It was a topic that Kingo refused to elaborate on whenever Karun asked. When Karun wanted to support and empathize with his family’s pain and trauma. But the pain, grief and misery in Kingo’s eyes was more than enough to still his tongue and recognized that while Kingo was not a human or vampire, he still felt kinship with the people of India.

For the rest of the afternoon which then bled into evening, Kingo and Karun watched the sky change colors as the sun descended. Even as the Earth unprecedentedly trembled, Kingo and Karun watched as the day ended. Unsure if a new day would appear.

*** 

Sprite volunteered to be the one to call Kingo.

Turns out the drama king hadn’t left Iraq after the Domo had flown to the Canary Islands. His voice was subdued and quiet when he asked where they were and what happened. A lump had appeared in Sprite’s throat but they explained that it would be easier to explain in person. He explained that he was going to book a flight for Karun to return home and he would arrive later this afternoon. When Sprite asked whether he wanted Makkari to pick him up, there was a pause as Kingo explained that he needed time to think. It seemed like since preventing the apocalypse, everyone wanted more time to digest the previous events. Sprite ignored the impulse to hide.

Despite knowing that Sprite could spin the narrative to look in a better light, Sprite didn’t want to hide between smoke and mirrors. Despite still having their illusion powers, Sprite was just tired. Tired and wanted to make things right.

After breakfast, the ringing of the landline caused Phastos to take a call with his human family. Thena and Sersi decided to clean up everyone’s dishes while Thena gave a pointed look at Sersi’s half eaten breakfast. Sersi gave a shrug and put the leftovers in the fridge and they proceeded to do the dishes. Druig and Makkari decided to head outside to check out the rest of the property and fixed the damage from Ikaris’s faked crime scene. Sprite didn’t miss the warning glare that Druig sent them.

Sprite looked at the old 2010 Apple iMac Computer in disgust. Ajak really acted like a mom and grandma at times. They missed their 16’ 2021 Mac book Pro that they last remembered was still tucked charging by their bedside in London. But this would do.

Rebooting the old dinosaur, their breath caught in their throat at the screensaver. It was a photoshopped picture of all the Eternals that if they had to guess, that Sersi made for Ajak. A picture of all the Eternals that Sersi had kept in touch with knitted together like a family photo for Ajak to see. The picture of Ikaris was probably one that Ajak had sneakily took. He looked so serious and broody. Sprite felt a lump in their throat and tears at the back of their eyes. Stupid human body.

Opening a Word document, they started chronicling an unedited version of the events of what happened since’s Dane’s Birthday party. Time flew by as Sprite wrote an unedited, raw version of the events in their point of view. They vaguely noted the comings and goings of Makkari and Druig. Of Sersi calling Dane or that she sat outside the porch on a rocking chair, journaling. Of Phastos leaving the area with Makkari to assess the damage to the Domo. Of Sersi asking if Thena could drop by lunch and snacks for Sprite which caused Sprite to fidget nervously. It seemed that Sersi and the Phastos were the only ones with enough experience of taking care of humans to  explain what they needed. A turkey sandwich and a glass of apple juice was dropped by the table. It was soon evening and Sprite was shaken out of their writing stupor by Thena’s firm hand landed on their shoulder. Blinking owlishly, they noted Thena’s faintly amused eyes that was at odds with her clipped tone.

“Come. Kingo has arrived.” Thena announced.

Sprite glanced up from the 50 page document that they had been typing on. The sun was setting which made it around 6:30 pm and they stood on stiff legs. As they stepped out the doorway, their eyes met. Umber met hazel and Sprite sprinted toward Kingo in a fierce hug.

As warm arms embraced them, Sprite felt a seed of hope blossom. Maybe things would be ok. Kingo was here and the rest of their family was together. They could fix things.