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Thor falls to his knees, surrounded by the bodies of his people. In the end, he couldn't save them. He tried. He tried so hard. But he failed them, he failed heimdall, he failed Loki, Odin, his mother, his friends, he failed everyone who mattered.
And eventually, nothing mattered
Loki chokes as thanos squeezes the life out of him, a white light building on the horizon. Some reward, he thinks, for behaving.
Oh well. At the very least, its relatively painless.
Gamora lets out a silent scream as she falls, tears coursing down her face. She felt betrayed,by the universe and by the man who called himself her father. He never loved her, and if he did, it was in the cold, dangerous way that should never be classified as love, much less enough to make the universe condone murder in its name.
Her last thought is of quill.
Wanda kneels by visions body and looks to the sky. She can feel herself falling away from the earth, body returning to dust.
From dust whence they came, and unto dust they shall return.
It sounded so peaceful when you said it like that. And endless cycle. And, in a way she supposes it is. There's no pain, only a feeling of weightlessness. At the last second she remembers vision and thinks, At least I'll see him on the other side.
Bucky takes a stumbling step forward and falls, Steve the last thought on his mind. It's his last thought and his last action as always, stepping forward to protect his best friend from an uncertain fate.
It's what he's always done.
He hopes someone else will do it now.
Peter clings to Tony's shoulders like a lifeline, unwilling to let go. He's trembling, pleading and begging. In that instant he decides he's not leaving. No. He's not. He's not leaving ever again. He's an avenger. They don't run away.
But the dust pulls him under, and he loses himself.
Groot reaches out a hand in protest. He can feel himself fading, slipping away like rain off leaves. He doesn't fear death, but it does make him sad for those he leaves behind.
He hasn't been sad for a while. Maybe it's time.
Quills heart melts in pain, because he knows he'll never find her now. He knows there's no coming back. It's over, and he failed her. He just hopes it'll be done quick.
And it is.
Drax closes his eyes in anticipation of the end. He doesn't struggle, doesn't plead. He knows what's coming and craves it. Maybe he'll finally see his family again.
Mantis doesn't know whats happening before she's gone. She feels a pulse on the edge of her senses, then nothing.
Only blank emptiness, and a feeling of loss.
Strange bows his head, mind gloriously silent. He did what needed to be done. There was only one way for them to win, and it had to be this way.
He just hoped everyone else would forgive him.
T’challa reaches out to help okoye to her feet, falling back a second later. He vanishes in seconds, but he can feel his heart break. He never meant to leave his people.
Maria meets fury's eyes, terror drawn across her face. She has felt deaths sting before, but never it's venom. She's scared, and not afraid to show it.
She is human, after all.
Fury looks at his hand in irritation as it disintegrates. This was not on his agenda. He has things to do. Oh, fuck it. He thinks. Why not. I need a vacation anyway.
These are the fallen and the lost, may they live forever in our memories.
And eventually, they’ll return.
Bucky wakes up in an endless field of silver grass. The susurrus of the stalks lulls him into a sense of disarmament(which for him, means more than the regular definition) and peace, making him feel tired. And, to be fair it is peaceful. There’s no one else there. Only the sun and the silver sky and the silver grass and invisible birds warbling, hidden in the grass.
But not for long.
Bucky becomes aware of a presence behind him and he turns, reaching for guns that aren’t there anymore.
Starks kid stands there, that guy with the red suit. It's a little more high tech now, with more blue on the torso. The kid doesn’t even seem to register his surroundings, turning his face to bucky slowly. There’s tears on his cheeks and his lips are twisted in a clumsy attempt to hide his agony.
Stranger or not, this is a child, and bucky will treat him like one.
Hands held out disarmingly, bucky advances and folds the boy into his arms. He is trembling, shaking violently, and soon he begins to let out chest wracking sobs.
Bucky just holds him close.
There’s more. They appear slowly. Over hours.
Steve never appears, but there’s practically everyone else. The witch, the falcon, the panther. The wizard(who he’s never met), the strangers(one of them is human, and, bucky thinks, would be friends with steve), the trickster, the scary woman and the man with the eyepatch.
They don't hunger, and time blends together until it is one blur of existence. They don't talk. There’s nothing to talk about. They sit in a group, their hands grasping at those around them in a pitiful attempt at consolation. Every fraction of human touch helps.
Then, a long time later, a white light blares on the neverending horizon. It splashes across the grass, consumes the sun, sending rivulets into the wending hills and knolls around them. It pools in front of the group, a seething doorway of white silk. Bucky gets to his feet, the lost behind him, and steps through the gate, leading them home.