Eternal Love [Druig]

Twenty-one

"And what were you two doing?" Phastos asked as soon as Ira came in. He just offered a mocking smile as he took his place next to Sprite who bumped her shoulder against his rib cage in a teasing manner, lifting her eyebrows as if she had known what had just went down.

"Phastos," Druig said as he entered the room, clearing his throat to regain stability. "I need to control the mind of a Celestial."

Phastos eyed the two wearily before shrugging and turning back to his work. "Okay, get ready for it." He said, lifting his arms into the air where more than a dozen little golden shapes hovered in the air, all circling around a central image that seemed to be controlling them.

"Bracelets?" Kingo asked. "You made us bracelets?"

"So here's a little Celestial 101. Celestial's are the most powerful energy generators in the universe." A hologram of a Celestial popped up, replacing the bracelets that had previously occupied the space. "When Arishem made us, he imbued us with cosmic energy to keep our bodies regenerating." He said, Ira fighting back a smile when Druig came over to stand beside him, the man's fingers slightly ghosting over his waist before retreating back to their respective place. Ira sucked in a breath. It was going to be significantly harder to concentrate if Druig did anything more though he didn't push the man away. "The bracelets, in theory, shut down our regeneration process. And once that happens, our bodies accumulate extra cosmic energy."

"What for?" Sersi asked.

"Well, if the deviants can absorb our energy, what if... we can absorb each other's energy as well?" A heavy atmosphere filled the room and Ira found it easier to focus now that he knew what was at stake. "If I can find a way to connect us all, one of us could become immensely powerful, pulling the accumulated energy from the rest, forming-" The bracelets came up again, transforming into thin lines that all traveled and met in the middle. "A Uni-Mind." Phastos clapped his hands together, obviously excited with the name. The only response that greeted him was that of thick silence. Phastos' smile lost some of its vigor. "'Uni; meaning 'one, 'mind' meaning 'mind'." He tried to salvage his idea.

"Oh, no, we heard you the first time," Kingo said.

"Terrible name," Sprite shot down.

"We'll brainstorm-- Brainstorm! That's a way better name!" Kingo exclaimed.

"No, I invented it, so I'm calling it whatever I want." Phastos defended. Ira shook his head. This was something serious and in a matter of seconds, they had been able to turn it into a fruitless argument over some name. People's lives were at risk.

Makkari waved her hands to get everyone's attention. 'So suppose Druig can, say... put Tiamut to sleep-- Then what?'

"We find humans a new home on another planet," Sersi said hesitantly and it was then that Ira realized with a sinking feeling that he hadn't thought of what would come after if they all did what they aspired to do.

"Are we building a big ship too?" Sprite asked sarcastically. "Take a pair of each animal?"

"Well, you know what's never saved the planet?" Phastos asked rhetorically. "You're sarcasm."

"Space colonization could take decades." Sprite bit back.

"It can happen quickly with our help." Sersi insisted.

"What if we end up accidentally killing Tiamut?" Kingo asked. "We could be responsible for billions of lives not being created across the universe. Boss, am I right?" Kingo asked Ikaris.

"Say something Ikaris," Sprite said when Ikaris just looked at them. "You don't think we should be doing this." Sprite prompted. Ira's eyes were on the man now too, same as everyone else. He was curious, and a little afraid of what the man may say. He seemed to hold all the power now with Kingo and Sprite looking to him to be their leader. Ira was also scared because of the sudden rush of emotions that were only present for about a second before they disappeared. Whatever Ikaris was feeling, he was doing a remarkable job hiding it. Ira frowned.