Go get your shovel
We'll dig a deep hole
To bury the castle, bury the castle
Go get your shovel
We'll dig a deep hole
To bury the castle, bury the castle

-Brick By Boring Brick; by Paramore

Ariella liked to think she was lucky. She honestly did. She managed to survive into adulthood; after years of training and cybernetic enhancements, she became stronger; she could kill easily, without being overwhelmed with guilt or remorse. For Ariella, all of that counted as luck. The day her adoptive father invaded her home-world, she wouldn't have considered herself lucky. In fact, no one in her race thought that way. They were overwhelmed with fear, trying their best to fight back or escape. Ariella's parents tried to escape with her, but it didn't work out that way. Her parents had been slaughtered in front of her, torn apart while they screamed. And being so young, what could Ariella do but watch? She had been paralyzed with fear, unsure on whether or not she could outrun her parents' killers. Obviously not, she had shorter legs than them and they were so close. But they didn't touch her. He showed up, saying he was interested in Ariella. He wanted to take her back with him. At that time, the younger version of herself hadn't the slightest clue on what that meant. She quickly understood not long after. The man, the terrifyingly tall, purple man, claimed to be her new, adoptive father. He claimed she'd be his weapon, that she would serve him in whatever way he saw fit. Ariella couldn't understand what he'd said that day, blood had been rushing to her ears, adrenaline was still pumping heavily throughout her body. As her new father's army took care of her people, he was ensuring she became a warrior. A killer. A monster. Years ticked on and Ariella learned that the only way she'd survive under her father's control would be to shut herself off emotionally. Survival required detachment, it required not being scared all the time. She had to do her best to live to the next day. Her father's other children, who'd been with him far longer than her, understood what needed to be done and did so without hesitation. They were obedient, they were the perfect soldiers.* Her father's devotees and henchmen were the same way. And it seemed, in Ariella's eyes, her adoptive father had soldiers in all parts of the galaxy.

As the years went by, and Ariella found herself entering her teen years, she had already become an expert fighter. She could wield weapons without fail. She could hold her own in fights. She'd managed, on multiple occasions, to best almost all her siblings in battle. The only one she failed to best was her older sister, Gamora. The Zehoberei was favored by their father. She was admired for her strength, for doing whatever it took to be successful. Ariella wanted to be like Gamora. She wanted that kind of admiration from Thanos. But that just couldn't happen. Gamora was the "favorite child", everyone else was considered subpar. For Ariella, however, the one good thing for her, something she felt put her above Gamora, was being able to join the Black Order. The Order itself was comprised of Thanos' other adopted children, who were seen in the galactic community as unwavering in their loyalties to their father. Ariella, at the time of her joining the Order, did believe in what Thanos wanted. She thought his goals could be achieved and that the universe could finally have a sense of balance. But as she continued to train, and continued to fight and command alongside her siblings, she came to doubt where her loyalties lied. The emotions she spent years trying to suppress were starting to resurface. In Ariella's mind, she was starting to fail her father, she was starting to fail the Black Order. And the more she stayed with her siblings and Thanos, the more her feelings were starting to influence her. She was doubting her father's beliefs, she was questioning her siblings' actions — how could they try and justify what they did? The Black Order assisted in slaughtering civilizations; they commanded the Outriders, one of the most feared armies under Thanos. Ariella's siblings could say it was for the universe's best interest, but how was mass genocide considered good? How was hunting the Infinity Stones so good? The Stones were scattered for a reason, right? Ariella was losing control of herself, and she knew that the longer she stayed within the Order, under her father's command, that she'd crack. Thanos didn't tolerate failure. All of his children, all of armies and supporters, knew of that.

That was why, without so much as a second thought, Ariella chose to leave.

O.O.O.O

Ariella Manson had been five years old when Thanos took her. She had witnessed the murder of her parents, she watched as countless numbers of Thanos' soldiers attacked civilians. She remembered the screams and the smell of blood and sweat. It was something that couldn't be easily forgotten. She could vividly remember the fear and adrenaline that pumped through her small body during the whole ordeal; the way it left her feeling numb and overstimulated at the same time. There had been tears in her eyes, and her breathing was so heavy it hurt. Ariella remembered those details very well. She also remembered the first time she saw Thanos up close. He was gigantic, covered in golden armor and glaring down at her in a way that made the five year old want to scream. But she had been paralyzed in fear, her body didn't know how to react to the situation. Nothing in Ariella's life prepared her for an invasion, for seeing her parents get slaughtered like animals. But Thanos approached her and looked at her as if she were some kind of science project, regarding her in an almost dismissive fashion. Then he ordered his soldiers to take her. He was interested in what she could do.

Immediately after Ariella was taken under Thanos' wing, she was introduced to some of his other children. The more obedient ones. They had accompanied him in order to help with the invasion; and they seemed to have years of training and experience on their side. None of the bloodshed frightened them; none of the screaming and crying civilians bothered them. They looked emotionless. That scared Ariella even more. Why was she being introduced to those other children? Were they supposed to mean something to her? Apparently, they did. Thanos had announced he was her adoptive father, and that his other children were her older siblings. They'd serve as her competitors, being the more experienced warriors in his little collection. Ariella would learn to serve as his own personal assassin, and they would not only train her, but compete for worthiness among his ranks. Afterward, she was introduced to some of his servants, most of them being Kree. Ariella had never met a Kree before, and it scared the daylights out of her. Their eyes seemed to burn into her, looking so deeply into her that it left her feeling more exposed than she already was. The Kree served to not only train Thanos' other children, but to ensure the other planets under his control complied to his demands. One of the warriors was assigned that day to be Ariella's personal trainer. What she didn't realize was just how immediate her world would be altered.

Ariella trained under a Kree named Cayden. He was brutal, merciless. He didn't stop until his student was on the brink of death in the early days. It took years for her to learn effective enough techniques in order to counter his attacks. It took years of being tortured by Thanos in order to become stronger. Every time Cayden took her down, Ariella was forced to undergo experimental surgical enhancements. Cybernetic attachments were added to her body to make her stronger and more durable. Thanos wanted her to be Cayden's equal when it came to fighting. Once she was able to hold her own against the Kree warrior, it was a fight between her and her siblings. Ariella had since, over the years, become acquainted with her six siblings, having observed them fighting each other under Thanos' commands. He wanted to test his children against each other, to see which ones were the strongest and most valuable. And, as always, Gamora seemed to be the top dog, even against the more strong and durable Cull Obsidian. Of course, there had been times where Thanos' precious Zehoberei would falter and lose, but it wasn't often. Once Ariella found herself being pitted against her siblings, she was unsure on what to do. Cull had strength and near impenetrable skin. Proxima had her speed, spear, and mastery in fighting. Nebula was a capable fighter, but she tended to wait too long when it came to landing effective blows. Ebony was manipulative and Corvus had his glaive. Ariella definitely had to improve herself in order to become as good as her siblings. The enhancements worked, but once she discovered she had abilities, it only added to her capabilities as a fighter. For Thanos, he was mildly impressed by it, but not by much. His focus was always elsewhere.

By the time Ariella managed to work her way into the Black Order, she'd been with Thanos and his underlings for a better part of nineteen years. She'd endured years of horrendous training and experimentation. She managed to survive and work her way to the top. She was assisting her siblings in finding the Infinity Stones, in bringing balance back to everything. But once those emotions started filling Ariella's head, she started to feel her resolve slowly break down. Everything she worked for seemed to be crashing down. The feeling of detachment, not wanting to take everything so personally. It started to flood back into her. The guilt and remorse for every being she'd slaughtered was pumping into her body relentlessly. All of it came crashing down after a specific mission, where Ariella had killed an entire family on an alien planet in the distant part of the galaxy. It had been under Proxima's orders that the kills be done, and when it had been completed, all the emotions Ariella felt flooded into her all at once. It seemed to awaken her in some way. It was then she realized she wanted to leave. What she was feeling was interfering with everything she'd been trained to do. She couldn't afford to have clouded judgment in such a violent way of life. Not only that, but she couldn't bear the thought of having to hurt anyone else. Ariella had spent nineteen years inflicting harm upon everyone she met, wasn't she allowed to have a limit? Wasn't she allowed to have a choice? Thanos had built an empire for himself, becoming known throughout the galactic community as a warlord and a madman; anyone who knew him understood it to be true. But for Ariella, she was feeling overwhelmed by it all. Just how much longer until someone noticed a change in her? If Thanos were to see the change, what would he do? He wasn't one to tolerate failure, so that could mean he'd do something drastic to her.

All of those thoughts, accompanied by all types of scenarios, swirled in Ariella's had. What would Thanos do? What would the Black Order do? What would Thanos' followers do? What punishments would await her? Would Thanos even allow any punishment, or would he kill her? In the end, she chose to leave the Black Order, to leave the only life she ever knew. She needed to go somewhere she could lay low for a little while; at least until she could figure out what she was going through. But she also knew the consequences that came with abandoning her position; and she knew those would be less than pleasant.

(A/N):

So, I hope you guys liked this chapter. Personally, I didn't really like it, but it was the best I could come up with. If you see anything that could use improvement, don't hesitate to let me know. Constructive criticism is always welcome. Also, I'd like to apologize for the wait on the chapter. I've been a little busy so I had to put this off until I had the time.

Nothing in the MCU belongs to me. All I own are my OCs, my subplots, and an excitement for INFINITY WAR. If you've got ideas for subplots or OCs, PM me or leave a review. I'll add them in as fast as I can.

Just a little head's up for you guys, I'm currently almost halfway through my spring quarter in community college. Which means midterms are fast approaching, as are other major projects and assignments. This is also my second to last quarter in community college, which means I won't be updating under a specific schedule. Whenever I have the time, I'll update a chapter. Other than that, I'll be focusing on schoolwork on top of my actual job.

Secondly, how many of you are excited for INFINITY WAR? I want to say that the movie was released a day or two early in some areas, correct me if I'm wrong. Either way, I know it's coming out tomorrow, but for anyone who's seen the movie already, what were your thoughts? If you choose to leave thoughts on INFINITY WAR, please don't leave spoilers. That's the one thing I'd very much appreciate.

On that, I'll see you guys on the flip side.

Rudie Fenton