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It didn’t hurt. You hadn’t even realize what was happening until you made the mistake of trying to lift your hand to comfort Peter, only to see you no longer had a hand. Your eyes went wide as you turned to Strange. His expression only showed remorse.
You didn’t like it. You were so used to his arrogant smirk with a joke behind the eyes. Having him look at you like that; it scared you.
“Strange?” The fear cracked your voice, making you sound like a small child.
“It will be alright,” he promised. “I’ll find you. I –”
You never heard the end of his sentence as everything went dark.
You were alone. You were standing someplace else from where you had been. The rocks beneath you were foreign. The sky above you was tinted yellow. Ahead of you was a vast rocky landscape with mountains and the green of trees in the distance. Behind you, the edge of cliff, looking out on a lush valley below.
You weren’t on Titan, but you weren’t on Earth either. You had turned to dust. You knew you had. At yet, there you were.
Was this death? The place felt calm and peaceful, but hardly the heaven you had been promised. It suddenly occurred to you that you hadn’t tried to walk or move properly at all. You took a small step forward. You felt the impact of the hard ground beneath your feet. It was solid, and so were you. You took another, and another and then another. You didn’t know where you were going, you just knew you needed to move.
You looked around you. Mantis, Quill, and Drax had disappeared before you did. You expected to see them. But, as your footsteps echoed off the surrounding rocks, you realized you were in fact, alone.
“Y/N.”
You stopped, thinking it might be a trick on the wind. Of course, that required there to be wind to begin with.
“Y/N.”
The voice was louder that time. Your feet moved before you mind did, running toward the voice.
“Y/N!”
You knew the voice. Your heart leapt in your chest and you broke into a full-on sprint.
“Stephen!”
You turned a sharp corner to see the man himself standing there. He spun toward you, a look of relief spreading across his features.
You didn’t think. You just ran. The cape beat you to it. It flew off his master’s shoulders wrapping itself around you before pushing you to Strange. Strange didn’t seem to mind, taking you into his arms in a tight hug.
“It’s alright,” he soothed. “You’re alright. I’m here. It’s okay.”
You only held on tighter. You wanted to make sure he wasn’t going to disappear.
“What happened,” you asked. “I thought for sure…”
“We did.”
You pulled away then, staring up at him with a confused expression.
“We did die, in a sense,” he clarified. “We’re in the soul gem. It contains a pocket dimension that traps the souls of anyone caught in its grasp. My guess is Thanos did as he promised. He wiped out half the universe. And that half, is right here.”
You couldn’t keep the shock off your face. You took a further step back, trying to process the information.
“Are you okay?” Strange asked, cautiously.
It was then you realized you were shaking. Your breaths were becoming erratic and the world felt like it was spinning. You attempted to nod a yes, but it was no use.
“No.”
You stumbled forward. Strange caught you, grasping you by the shoulders to keep you upright.
“Hey, hey, hey, it’s okay,” he said. “I can’t have you fainting on me. Just stay focused.”
You shook your head. He was right. You needed to stay sharp. You were in a different dimension and Thanos was still out there wreaking havoc in yours.
“Just tell me you have a plan,” you said.
The arrogant smile returned. In any other circumstance you would had felt the need to smack it off his face, but at the moment, it was a welcome sight.
“I have a plan.”
You nodded in understanding, straightening up. Strange’s smile softened at the effort.
“For what it’s worth. I’m glad you’re here,” he said.
You couldn’t help but raised an eyebrow at his statement. He realized his mistake immediately.
“That came out wrong,” he winced.
For the first time that day, you let out a small laugh.
“I know what you meant,” you assured
He nodded in approval, straightening up himself and adjusting the cape on his shoulders.
“Let’s get started.”