𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 - 𝙙𝙧𝙪𝙞𝙜 [COMPLETE]

e l e v e n

CHAPTER ELEVEN:

"family reunion"

HERA MOVED HER life to Greece after Ikaris left her. She had always loved the country, and the ancient Greeks had even named one of their Gods after her– Hera.

The name meant "the protector," which is exactly what Hera had been to the people of Greece. She had used her powers to shield them from harm. Thanks to her lovable personality, kindness to the people, and her protection of them, she had become one of their Goddesses.

She took up various odd jobs to get by, and she had even attended multiple Universities a few times. She would leave Greece after a few years, spend a number of years somewhere else, and then come back and start it all over again.

She was drawn to the architecture, mythology, and sights of the country. It also made her feel better when she was missing her family particularly badly– seeing as most of them also had Greek counterparts.

Eventually, Hera became a history professor. Her students would always whisper about how young she seemed, but she paid them no mind. Sometimes she would intentionally say things that only someone who had lived through that time would know, and she had to hold back laughter as some of the students' eyes widened.

Hera was happy to live like this. She was occasionally lonely, but it was never too bad. She had some sporadic flings with local men, but none of them ever amounted to anything. After Ikaris, she found it hard to trust someone like that again.

She thought she knew him– anyone would think they knew someone after spending five thousand years with them. But apparently she didn't.

As time ticked by, her hurt over his disappearance blossomed into anger and resent. She was always one to hold a grudge. Eventually, those feelings moved to the back burner of her mind– always there, but rarely present.

Instead, her thoughts now wandered to Druig. Was he alright? Where was he? Was he still angry with her? She hoped the answer to the last question was no. As she experienced life on her own for the first time in her thousands of years on Earth, she came to realize how foolish she had been to let him go. And she hated herself for it.

But she couldn't change what had happened– she could only try and make it up to him, if she ever saw him again.

Luckily, she would see him again soon.

—

When she got a knock on her door, the last person she expected to be behind it was Sersi. And yet there she was, still as beautiful as she had been thousands of years ago. Sersi's lips turned up in a bright smile as Hera pulled her into a tight hug. They hadn't seen each other in five centuries.

"How did you find me?" Hera asked as she opened her door wider, inviting Sersi inside. Hera led her to the sitting room, gesturing for Sersi to take a seat. "You always loved Greece. Besides, teachers know things."

Hera laughed, "You're a teacher as well?"

Sersi nodded. "A science teacher. I think I have a pretty good understanding of matter. I would hate to put that to waste."

Hera grinned. "Makes sense." The conversation trailed off into a brief silence as Hera's eyes scanned the woman across from her. The modern age really suited Sersi.

"So, why are you here? I assume it's not just for a visit and some lunch."

Sersi's posture straightened as her smile fell, her face becoming serious. "Right." The other woman cleared her throat, clearly hesitant to say what she was thinking.

"Sersi, what happened?" Hera asked with concern.

"Ajak is.. dead."

Hera's eyes widened in disbelief. An Eternal, much less Ajak, dead? There was no way. How could she have died? What had killed her?

"The Deviants are back. They attacked and killed her." Sersi said as if reading Hera's mind. "A Deviant attacked Sprite and I in London, but–"

"How can the Deviants be back?" Hera was standing now, tucking strands of hair behind her ears. "We killed them all centuries ago."

Sersi shrugged, standing and moving right in front of Hera, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "We thought we did, but they're back now. They're different– they're attacking us, not the humans. They're trying to stop us from interfering."

"Interfering with what?" Hera asked as tears pricked her eyes.

"The Emergence," Sersi replied. Hera's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "In a few days, the Celestial Tiamut will emerge from the Earth, killing everyone and destroying the planet in the process. We have to stop it, so we've been tracking the others down. If we're all together, we might stand a chance."

"We? Are there others with you?"

Sersi nodded hesitantly, hand sliding from Hera's shoulder. She cleared her throat, glancing back at the entryway of Hera's home. Just then, the figures of Sprite and Ikaris became visible as Sprite lifted her illusion. "Thena, Gilgamesh, and Kingo are outside." Sprite informed her.

Hera couldn't believe her eyes. She stared at Ikaris, who moved forward slowly. "Hera," he spoke calmly, as if she were a timid animal about to run off. "We need your help."

She scoffed at that, eyes narrowing. "You leave me without a word, abandon me and never try and come back, and now you just show up in my house and that's the first thing you say to me? It's been centuries, you ass, and that's what you're going to say?"

The room settled into an awkward silence. Sprite and Sersi looked at Ikaris with confusion. Apparently he hadn't told them the full truth of what had happened; just enough for them to know she would slam the door on them if she  saw Ikaris.

"I'll help you, Sersi. But only because I care about this planet. Not for you, Ikaris. As soon as this is over, I never want to see you again."

He nodded, jaw tense. "Alright."

"Now, who's next on the list?" Hera turned to Sersi.

She smiled sheepishly, eyes glancing from Ikaris and back to Hera.

"Druig is."