REMEMBER ME; peter parker

fourteen

After the sun went down, the group gathered around the table once again for dinner. It was quiet and awkward. Everyone could tell there was some tension in the air. 

Before everyone could scatter once they were done eating, Sersi announced that she had something to say. 

"I spoke to Arishem." The others stopped moving. 

"What did he say?" Sprite asked, breaking the heavy silence. 

"He said that everything unusual happening to Earth is a side effect of the Emergence."

"What's the Emergence?"

"Apparently, we were sent to Earth to bring forth a Celestial. Tiamut. He said that every billion years, new Celestials have to be born and that he plants seeds into host planets. Earth was chosen for Tiamut. Celestials need vast amounts of energy from intelligent life to grow, and that the Deviants prevented this when they'd kill humans. But, now the population on Earth is great enough to allow for the Emergence to begin. Once Tiamut emerges, Earth will no longer exist. He's needed so that he can create suns and keep the universe alive."

"Ajak knew?"

"Yes. She's helped many Emergences. We all have." Sersi glanced at Talen quickly, but the girl noticed. 

"What are you talking about? Earth was our first. We lived on Olympia."

The mention of Olympia made Sersi wince. 

"There is no Olympia." A chorus of disbelief rang throughout the room. "Arishem created us in a place called The World Forge. He showed me what we look like. Metal encased in a skin-like covering. No bones, no organs. There were thousands there. All the same."

"How come we don't remember?"

"That's the thing. After each Emergence, Arishem takes our memories and stores them so he can study the Deviants, which he also created to encourage intelligent life to evolve. But, they got out of hand and evolved themselves, becoming predators. We are synthetic beings incapable of evolution that Arishem programmed to correct his mistake."

"So, what, we're just some fancy robots? And our past memories are stored somewhere in space?" Kingo was the first to speak up. 

"And Arishem made the Deviants."

"I'm sorry, Thena. You tried to warn us." Ikaris apologized to the stoic woman.

"The last time Arishem reset your memories, something must have gone wrong. I mean, that's what Mahd Wy'ry is, isn't it? All this time, Thena was remembering all the other planets we were sent to and everyone dying during the Emergence."

"He also mentioned another mistake. Talen." It was the first time any of them spoke directly to her since she reunited with them. All heads turned to look at her as her eyes darted around, trying to avoid any eye contact. "She's the only one who is new. Earth is her first. Arishem noticed that there was a flaw in her design, but he didn't know what. So, this time it was eleven Eternals sent to the planet."

"If there was a flaw in her design, why was she sent to Earth? Why would he use her at all?" Flaw. Use. Her. They were talking about her as if she wasn't sitting three feet from all of them. 

Sersi sighed, gazing over at Talen who finally met her eyes. Talen always liked Sersi. She was kind. Gentle. Her eyes were soft and they made her really easy to talk to. Now, whatever gentleness Sersi gave Talen all those years ago was hidden so deep and repressed that her eyes just seemed cold. Sersi didn't care. None of them did.

"Talen was sent to Earth to die."

No matter how hard Talen had been trying to not let her emotions take over, she couldn't resist. She didn't say anything, but her eyes welled with tears. She couldn't say anything. What do you say to that?

"Arishem knew that Eternals couldn't have flaws, and whatever yours was would threaten the mission. He didn't think you'd survive this long."

Talen stood, pushing her chair back and leaving the room.

She walked and walked and walked, no destination in mind. Eventually, she made it to a cliff similar to the one Thena had taken her to earlier, just farther away. 

The wind blew softly, her hair flying behind her. As Talen gazed over the horizon, the tears welling in her eyes spilled over, waterfalling down her cheeks. She let out a sob as her knees gave out from under her and she collapsed on the ground. 

Eventually, after what seemed like forever, Thena arrived. 

"Talen! You can't be out here. It's not safe at night!" The wind was blowing harder now.

"What does it matter? I'm just supposed to die anyway." 

Thena wanted to say that it wasn't true. That she was meant to live the life of an Eternal, however synthetic it was, but she knew that'd be a lie. They both did. Talen was just supposed to die.

"What do I do, Thena? How am I supposed to live knowing that?"

"You live in spite of it."

"What do you mean?"

"Arishem didn't care about you. He tossed you aside. You being here right now, in this moment, shows that you are more than a mistake. You defy a Celestial every day that you wake up, Talen. Don't let yourself be clouded by this. Live as you have been." 

They were closer now, Thena's hand on Talen's shoulder. Both were crying, wind whipping through their hair. After a moment, Talen wrapped her arms around Thena who returned the action. 

"You are the best of us, Talen. Always have been, and always will be." 

. . . 

mwah love u <3