CHAPTER TWO —
( 575BC )

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THE DOMO
Babylon

        Soon after the Eternals took residence on planet Earth, Ajak had a talk with Arishem about their mission. She had done the same thing millions of times before and knew what the talk with the Celestial had in store.

"Help humanity evolve, and prepare the Earth for the emergence."

The conversation was usually short, cut off with Ajak giving the all-powerful Celestial a stiff nod. But the Celestial held her back this one time. It surprised Ajak, very much so that she frowned up at the being in confusion.

"Before we depart," the Celestial's voice boomed. "There's a matter I must discuss with you about one of the other Eternals."

Gaia was pulled aside by Ajak shortly after they arrived on Earth and the two had a very short and brief conversation about an extra mission Arishem wanted Gaia to pursue during their stay on Earth. Gaia was instructed to help the Earth grow and mature in all her beauty and glory. As more and more humans were to be born, the need for nature would become apparent as nature helped them to live and breathe, build and grow. Mother Nature never found time to rest during her stay on earth, but she didn't mind it at all. And now, she was everywhere you looked; outside your home, in the sky, even deep within the earth awaiting to come out and show her true beauty to the people up above. Gaia left her mark on the world wherever she stepped, and parents began to tell their children stories of a woman who birthed the very land they stepped on.

Babylon became the same city as the many other places the Eternals had been to. The humans praised and blessed the very soil the Eternals stepped on, thanking the eleven superpowered beings for saving and protecting them whenever a monster arrived at their gates. So they separated their home from the humans just so they could get a little privacy from the life of fame. The Domo resided in the centre of the city in the middle of a large ziggurat temple. The temple gave them space away from humans, a place where they could relax away from the problems of man.

Although Gaia loved people with all her heart, what she loved more was the Earth. Moreso, her mission to help grow and beautify the planet. Before long, the ziggurat was covered in vines and all different types of plants and flowers that Gaia believed looked beautiful together, and the humans took it upon themselves to name it the Hanging Gardens. That's where she was often found. Wandering through the Hanging Garden, delicately placing her hand on anything that seemed bland and covering it with something beautiful.

The plants around Gaia began to move in sync, alerting her of another's presence nearby.

"Druig," Gaia spoke loudly, though her voice seemed to flow with the wind towards Druig's ear, "Didn't anyone tell you that it's rude to stare?"

A soft chuckle could be heard from behind Gaia, and she turned around to face the Eternal that for some reason, always made her feel like the wind was creating a tornado in her stomach.

"Sorry if you thought I was staring, m'lady. I was merely admiring what you were doing." He stepped long strides to stand in front of Gaia, a smirk firmly planted on his lips. "Your love of nature never ceases to amaze me."

Gaia's eyes twinkled at that, a smile easily making its way onto her face. "Thank you, Dru." The two then stood in silence. Druig was too busy revelling in Gaia's beauty to tell her why he had approached her, and Gaia was waiting for Druig to say something. Gaia reached out and grasped Druig's bicep, awakening Druig from his daydream. "Is there something you wanted to tell me?"

Druig's face tinted a light pink and he quickly cleared his throat. "Yes. Yes. Phastos. He wished to see you. He has another invention and he wants to know what you think."

"Another exotic invention," Gaia lightly laughed, bringing a smile to Druig's face. "Let's go see it."

Gaia quickly hurried passed Druig, grasping his hand in the process to help pull him along. The two were usually seen holding hands when in each other's presence. So it wasn't a surprise to the other Eternals in the Astro-Lab when the two clearly lovestruck Eternals arrived, holding hands and laughing about something Druig had caught Ikaris doing earlier.

"She's here," Sprite sang out, spinning one of the many random items Phastos decided to invent out of boredom on her finger.

"Gaia! Finally," Phastos exclaimed, quickly making his way to his fellow Eternal. "I sent Druig off to find you more than thirty minutes ago."

Gaia frowned lightly. "Really? He only just reached me twenty minutes ago..."

Phastos grasped Gaia's hand and pulled her towards the middle of the room and away from Druig, leaving a cold feeling in her absent hand as soon as Druig let go of her.

"I want to show you something I came up with! I think it'll aid people in harvesting their crops at a much faster rate." Phastos' hands moved above his head, and a golden mechanical machine formed above them. "Boom! I call this the Steam Engine."

Gaia played with her hands that were crossed over her front as she looked up at the machine, a hum passing her lips. Phastos eagerly looked between his invention and one of his closest allies. After a moment of silence, his smile dropped.

"You don't like it."

"I don't understand it," Gaia corrected, shifting her eyes to Phastos. "How will it run?"

"The people will use coal to make it work," he explained eagerly. "Eventually, as the years progress, they'll most likely convert to oil."

Gaia frowned. "But isn't that sort of...bad for the environment?"

"Well...yeah."

"So why don't we come up with a more eco-friendly invention? One that won't eventually destroy the planet?" Gaia suggested.

Phastos regretfully looked at Gaia. "Gaia, you know something like this will have to be invented eventually."

Gaia sighed and looked down, a sad look spreading across her face. "I know." A hand warmly slipped into her own and Gaia looked up to meet Druig's gaze. He smiled softly and pulled her over to the food table where he leaned against it and pulled Gaia towards his body, wrapping his arms around her small frame. His warmth instantly made Gaia feel better, but she knew Phastos was right. Everything she created would be destroyed eventually as the human population grows. Gaia raised her arms and clung onto Druig's forearms, sighing as she leant back into his warm embrace.

Ajak walked into the room after conversing with Arishem and watched as Phastos continued to work on his steam engine. "Phastos. Did you go to the party last night like I told you to?"

Phastos let out a dry laugh as he tried to avoid Ajak's gaze. "The party, yeah. Yeah, it was..."

"He worked all night," Druig called out, a cheeky grin on his face."

Phastos narrowed his gaze as he turned to look at Druig. "Who was talking to you?"

Gaia smiled as Druig let out a laugh. "Get a life," Ajak told Phastos, then her eyes scanned the room. "And where is Sersi?"

Sprite sighed. "Late as usual."

Phastos hurried towards Ajak with a grin on his face. "I'm sorry, but I have something very exciting to show you, okay?" He let out a chuckle as his hands went to work above him. "Wait till you see this." He clapped his hands when he was done and turned to Ajak.

Ajak blinked and then frowned. "What is it?"

"It's an engine," he explained. "It moves steam from high pressure to low pressure. Uh, it'll help them till their fields at an incredibly fast rate."

"It's going to destroy the Earth," Gaia told Ajak.

"It's gonna freak them out," Sprite voiced.

"I mean, they only have had the wheel a thousand years, so..."

Phastos narrowed his gaze at Druig. "You know, we could do that thing where you use your mind to control them and then they could do it quicker."

Druig let go of Gaia and gestured towards Phastos. "Ajak, you listening to this?"

Ajak sighed. "Phastos, this steam..."

"Engine. It's a steam engine."

"It's too soon." Sersi hurried into the room, ending the conversation on the steam engine. "And there she is."

"What did I miss?" Sersi asked, looking around at everyone in the room.

"Nothing. Just the screams of my deep disappointment," Phastos grumbled.

"I am sure you have something simpler," Ajak told him.

Phastos nodded and went to work above them, his gold magic pulling apart the steam engine and creating something new. Gaia softly ran her fingers across Druig's forearms, creating small vines with small pink flowers on them. "What're you doing?" Druig asked quietly, looking over Gaia's shoulder.

"Making your armour look pretty," Gaia replied softly.

Druig snuggled his head into Gaia's shoulder, breathing in her flowery scent as he looked down at her work. "It's beautiful." Gaia smiled lightly as she moved her head into his.

"Sorry to interrupt your moment, Gaia and Druig, but I have something to show you all." Gaia looked up at Phastos and noticed that everyone was looking at them, Ajak with a smile on her face and Sersi with a small smile on hers while Sprite and Phastos looked annoyed.

"Go ahead, Phas," Gaia told him lightly, moving her head backwards while Druig decided not to move his head from Gaia's neck.

Above their head was a manual object, one that humans would need to use their strength to be able to use it and not just a machine that they could turn on and off. "I present to you the plow, 'cause that's what it does. Plows dirt."

"I like it," Gaia said.

"I met another group of settlers who are building their homes in the northern fields. They'll need to plant their own crops," Sersi told Phastos, trying to make him feel better about his invention.

"Thanks, Sersi," Phastos mumbled. "Looks like your Earth will still be green for years to come, Gaia."

Gaia smugly smiled at him.

Ajak held her arms out. "Listen, humanity may be coming along slower than some of us want. But there is no telling what wonders they will discover as they advance."

AUTHORS NOTE

^^^^ Druig & Gaia basically ^^^^
I hope you enjoyed this chapter, sorry it's been a long time coming. I'm slowly getting back into the groove of things and writing this book again. Don't forget to like and comment what you think!!
-rosepetal