The Sun & Moon

Mexico

Ajak made the decision to move after they'd finished off the Deviants in Europe. They had already been practically in hiding anyway. She had wanted to allow them to stay a bit longer as a break but she knew they had to go before something like the Juliet incident occurred again. They arrived in what would one day be called Central America at the height of the Aztec Empire. They didn't want to make the same mistake as before so they made their home in one of the Aztec temples where only priests were allowed. This ensured the general public would not have contact with them. Any priest that did come up, Druig handled.

Their lives became more regimented and there was less time for leisure. The Western Hemisphere had plenty of Deviants for them to get rid of so they were never without a job to complete. Family dinners became shorter. Then they stopped entirely. It was undeniably that their family was falling apart. Tensions were growing as many of the Eternals began to struggle with their purpose. They had seen so much pain, so much hurt, so much devastation at the hands of humans. It made them question everything they knew. Themselves, their purpose, their leader, Arishem, each other. Then the Spanish arrived and everything truly feel apart.

The day began with Ajak sending out the fighters after one last nest of Deviants. If they were successful in completing their mission, humanity would be free of the Deviants forever. They were nearly complete in their task when everything went to hell. The conquistadors seemed to come out of thin air, plunging right into the Aztec community. They began slaying thousands of people and burning everything in their path. The Eternals had no choice but to split up in order to get home safely.

Thena, Makkari, and Iridessa ended up together as Gilgamesh, Ikaris, and Kingo had to take an alternate route. The three women cut through the forest surrounding the edge of the city swiftly. Iridessa forced herself not to look, to keep her eyes trained on the trees. Still she could feel the heat, taste the ash in the air. She shut her eyes against it tensely. Makkari zipped off briefly before returning to the other two.

"What?" Iridessa asked her.

"Little girl. Falling statue."

She nodded. They finally spotted the group that had stayed back with Ajak. Ajak frowned seeing only the three women.

"Where're the others?" she questioned worriedly.

"We had to split up," Iridessa answered.

Thena raised an eyebrow stepping forward. "There were Deviants than you said," she remarked, a pointed look being sent at Ajak.

"Well, I'm sure you had a lot of fun then," Phastos dryly replied.

She smirked. "I did."

He held up a small flat disk and waved his hand over it. An image made of celestial energy appeared showing the Earth. A small blue hotspot flashed over where they currently were.

"Once they finish off those Deviants, we'll have eliminated them all from the planet," he announced.

Everyone nodded. They should've been celebrating. Their job was near complete. But the sounds of gunshots and the scent of smoke destroyed any celebratory mood. Iridessa flinched at the sound of more screams. Makkari grabbed her hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. Druig slowly walked toward the gunshot sounds. His eyes took on a golden glow. Ajak put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him immediately.

"Don't," she said firmly, her grip tightening slightly as a warning.

The glow of his eyes faded as his gaze turned to the ground.

"We don't interfere in their wars," she continued.

"This isn't war," he said slowly, his face blank of emotion as he returned his gaze to the slaughter happening in front of them, "It's genocide. Their weapons have become too deadly. You know, maybe it wasn't such a good idea helping them advance, Phastos."