- AViVA, Don’t Blame It On The Kids

~No POV~

Back in Wakanda, the fight is still going. They know Thanos is coming, but they don’t know when. And now they do.

“Everyone, on my position,” Steve says over comms. “We have incoming.” Nat, Falcon, Okoye and T’Challa join him.

“What the hell?” Nat asks.

Bruce is the first to spot the giant. “Cap.” Thanos steps through blue-black clouds. “That’s him.

“Eyes up. Stay sharp.” Steve starts running, the others following. Bruce is the first to reach Thanos, lunging towards him. Thanos renders him immovable with the Space Stone, half-burying Bruce into the stone of the cliff behind them.

Steve is tossed away with the Power Stone. T’Challa pounces with a fully charged suit but is grabbed by the throat and punched to the ground, suit discharging energy violently on impact. Sam’s wings are turned to rubber when he swoops down firing, falling to the ground.

--

Wanda and Vision stand off to the side, Vision on his knees.

“Wanda. It’s time.”

“No.”

“They can’t stop him, Wanda, but we can. You have the power to destroy the stone.”

“Don’t.”

“You must do it. Wanda, please. We. Are. Out of time.”

“I can’t.”

“Yes, you can. You can. If he gets the stone, half the universe dies.”

“It’s not fair.”

“It shouldn’t be you, but it is. It’s all right. You could never hurt me. I just...feel you.”

Wanda begins to raise a trembling hand, red energy beaming from it into the Mind Stone. She watches over her shoulder as War Machine is crushed into his armour by Thanos. Bucky is bunched away by the Power Stone, Okoye thrown away by the same Stone. As Thanos breaks Groot’s root cables, Nat is wrapped into the ground by bands of earth.

Wanda turns back to Vision and adds her left hand to the effort, tears streaming down her face. She glances over her shoulder again to see Thanos walking towards her, having tossed Steve aside.

She takes her left hand and shoots a stream of energy towards Thanos. It pushes him back despite his shield, but begins to make headway towards her again.

“It’s all right,” Vision says softly. “It’s all right. I love you.” The yellow Mind Stone in his head finally starts to crack. As an expression of peace crosses his face, the stone explodes with a pulse of yellow energy.

Both Wanda’s and Thanos’ energies subside as the trees around them shudder.

“I understand, my child,” Thanos says as he walks closer. “Better than anyone.”

“You could never,” Wanda snarls.

“Today, I lost more than you can know. But now is no time to mourn. Now...is no time at all.”

He clenches the gauntlet, an emerald ring surrounding his wrist. Time is reversed as he slowly twists his wrist, the explosion reforming an intact and conscious Vision.

“No!” Wanda lungers for Vision but is swatted away.

Thanos picks Vision up by the throat, digging his fingers into the android's forehead for the Mind Stone. He pulls it out, and the android goes limp and colourless as he’s tossed aside.

Thanos puts the stone into the gauntlet’s empty spot, a surge of energy travelling through his body as it happens. He gets struck by a bolt of lightning, digging him into the ground and grinding him back for meters.

Thor tosses Stormbreaker towards Thanos’ chest, the axe unfazed by the beam Thanos puts against it. Thor lands, forcing Stormbreaker further into the giant’s chest.

“I told you. You’d die for that!”

“You should have...you…” He starts out weak, then suddenly gets stronger. “You should have gone for the head!”

“NO!”

--

The scenery whites out, being replaced with the orange of the Soul Stone. He sees young Gamora standing in the pavillion from her homeworld.

“Daughter?”

“Did you do it?”

“Yes.”

“What did it cost?”

“Everything.”

--

Thanos is snapped back to reality. He realises the gauntlet is damaged, the stones now no longer glowing.

“What’d you do?” Thor asks. He gets angry. “WHAT’D YOU DO?!”

Thanos teleports away using the Space Stone, Stormbreaker falling out of his chest and onto the ground.

Steve stumbles into the clearing, holding his left side. “Where’d he go? Thor...where’d he go?”

“Steve?” He turns to see Bucky walking towards him. The man suddenly turns to dust, his gun just dropping to the ground.

T’Challa looks around for Okoye, finding her. “Up, General. Up! This is no place to die.” He reaches out his hand for Okoye to grab. She’s barely propped off the ground when he disintegrates, falling back to the ground.

“Kumkani?!”

Groot begins to corrode into ashes beside Rocket. “I am Groot…”

“No...no. No. No. No! Groot, no…”

Wanda mourns over Vision, turning to dust as she looks up at the sky. An injured Sam turns to ashes, hidden in the undergrowth.

“Sam?” Rhodey calls out. “Sam?! Where you at?!”

--

~Blythe’s POV~

We’re collecting ourselves, Peter helping me get Papa to his feet.

“Something...is...happening…” I glance up as Mantis disintegrates into ashes.

“Quill?” Drax is suddenly gone.

Papa sees Quill starting to fade. “Steady, Quill.”

“Oh man,” Quill turns to ashes as well.

“Tony,” Strange starts. “There was no other way.” Now he’s gone too.

“Mr. Stark. I don’t feel so good…” I hear Peter say, and I turn to see him starting to dust.

“You’re all right?” Papa says quickly. Peter stumbles towards us, and Papa helps him to the ground. I grab his hand.

“Peter, you’re gonna be OK.”

“I don’t know what’s...I don’t know what’s happening. I don’t...I don’t wanna go, I don’t wanna go, I don’t wanna go, please. Please, I don’t wanna go. I don’t wanna go...I’m sorry.” My hand clasps in on itself and Peter’s hand disintegrates, the rest of his body fading away as well.

Papa falls forward from the lack of weight below him, then sits staring at his hands.

“He did it,” Blue-Lady says, realising what’s happened.

I stand up, my suit disappearing. “So that’s it, huh? It’s just us three? We’re gonna have to find a way back to Earth. How are we gonna do that? Squidward’s ship is dest-” I look down to see my hand disappearing. No, no no no no. “Papa?”

He glances up at me, seeing what I see too. “He wanted you to suffer, didn’t he? That’s why I’m last.” He reaches for me, then I black out. There’s just...nothing.

--

~No POV~

In Wakanda, the remaining six Avengers are left mourning.

“What is this?” Rhodey asks. “What the hell is happening?”

Steve pauses before answering. “Oh, god.”