Hat-Trick Darcy Lewis Challenge #Twenty-One:

Character: Lady Sif

Song: Zombie ~ The Cranberries

Genre: Angst/Drama

Spoiler Alert: Maybe a bit for Thor 2, but anything that might have happened on Agent's is out as I am behind on that.

Rating: M (for images of war and death.)

Shadow and Fire

Nothing good ever came from war, that had always been Darcy's opinion on the matter. Life was lost on all sides, fathers, brothers, husbands, sons, daughters, wives, sisters and mothers. People died, and for what? For glory, for power, for the illusion of being right and just?

War wasn't pretty, it wasn't glorious. It was blood and screaming, it was death and darkness and a soullessness that crept up to fill even the most righteous. She understood that in their imperfect world it seemed more of a necessity than anything, but she longed for one where she could raise her children in peace. Where no one died because the belief's of someone else, because someone wanted more power and money. Because of unjustified hatred. It was a fruitless wish it seemed.

Darcy rung out the blood stained rag, watching as the pink tainted water dribbled back into the chipped bowl. Placing the cold rag on the forehead of the woman before her she tried not to cry. There would never be a world without war again.

After the defeat of the dark elves everything seemed as though life would once again return to normal. Thor had eventually returned, reuniting with Jane. As for herself, she had begun a relationship with Ian. Life seemed perfectly peaceful, that was until they came.

The dark elves were not the only enemies lurking in the darkness, far out in the vastness of space. Earth was ripe for the picking, and there were those that wanted it for their own. The creatures that came made Loki's attack look like nothing more than a child's tantrum.

First the dark ones came, shadows that spread over the land, devouring everything in their path. Their victims were nothing more than twisted dried out hulls in the end. The Avengers gathered, Bruce, Tony and SHIELD working on a way to fight such creatures. How do you fight darkness, how do you bring it to its knees?

The first casualty came after Tony created a weapon that could kill the shadows. Clint had fallen in the battle, his body twisted unnaturally before his friends as his very essence was sucked out of him. Darcy would never forget what he had looked like when Tony had carried his dried out corpse into the tower. She still woke at night screaming with the image of the frozen scream on his face in her mind.

The serpents came next, great twisting creatures that bathed their world in fire. Most of the UK was lost to them, all nothing but ash now. So many lost, death in flame and spark.

The entire Earth had become a war zone, nation against nation, city against city, all fighting each other and the serpents and shadows. Death was everywhere, people dying in war, killing themselves to be spared from a worse fate. Families broken apart as parents murdered their children and each other.

Darcy had never seen so much carnage, so much hate and despair. She had thought that everything was hopeless until help arrived, even if it was only Sif and the Warriors Three, together with Thor the five of them had taken on entire armies and won. It seemed though that Thor's tales of his victories had been very much embellished as even with their help they continued to lose.

A groan from the woman in front of her made her look down. Sif had come into the makeshift hospital Tony had set up in the tower just the night before. Not that anyone could really recognize the Asgardian woman. The entirety of the right side of her face had been practically burned away, the left side smashed almost to bits. She didn't know how much longer the woman would be able to hold out for, though she had done so for much longer than any human would.

Darcy was no warrior, her only talent with a weapon being her taser. She had wanted to help in some way, and in the end she ended up working in the hospital. She had no training, but then again most of the nurses in the place hadn't any as well. Most of them had been maids, taxi drivers, businessmen and women, teachers, cashiers, waiters, waitresses. There were a few actual nurses and doctors, all of which had given a crash course to the volunteers. No one had time to be picky when the world was burning down around you.

Sometimes Darcy wished she could have done more, mostly after the death of Ian. Once all out war had begun amongst the aliens and between themselves, Ian had quickly signed up for duty as a soldier. He had been adamant about the fact that he would not hide away while others fought for their freedom and safety.

Darcy had tried to persuade him otherwise, but he wouldn't listen and had left without a backwards glance. They had fought, tears and snot, untrue hurtful words that she wished she could take back. His last words to her were that he loved her, hers had been that she hated him.

Tony had been the one to tell her the news of his death, he had taken it upon himself to try and protect him and felt responsible when he had been shot. He had gathered her in his arms when she had fallen to the ground in tears, rocked her as she screamed. He hadn't told her that things would be fine, that her heart would heal. He knew they would have been empty words, just as they had been for him when Pepper had been killed several months before.

Darcy had stopped taking stock of those that had been killed long ago, unable to deal with the ever growing list; Clint, Ian, Pepper, Jane, Nat, Erik…those of importance she had carved their names into the wall of her small room, knowing one day someone would have to be instructed to do the same for her name. And now she feared another would be placed there before the day was out.

Sif's breathing had become laborious, a rattling sound echoing from her chest with each intake. She had tried her best to patch the Asgardian up, cleaning, medicating and wrapping the burns on her face. Still she doubted she had done much good.

Pulling the rag back from Sif's forehead, Darcy cringed at the look of milky pus seeping through the bandages. The once white of the sheets she had used were dotted with blood and pus, creating morbid patters amongst the cheery climbing leaves.

"How does she fare?"

Darcy jolted a bit at the thunderous voice behind her. She closed her eyes before taking a breath and turning to face Thor. The once mighty Asgardian had lost much since the beginning of this damnable war, so much so one could see it just by looking at him. He seemed diminished by it all, curled into himself. He had already lost his mother and brother before all of this, but now he had lost Jane and several of his friends. She didn't want to be the one to tell him he was about to lose another.

"Not good. I'm surprise she has lasted this long actually, had she been human she would have been dead before she ever reached here." Darcy didn't even attempt to smile at him, no one smiled anymore. Thor just nodded his head and came to sit down beside of her.

"We are a strong people, but not indestructible." Thor dropped his head down, his hand reaching out to take a hold of Darcy's. He had taken comfort in the young woman since he had lost Jane. Her friendship was what kept him holding on for so long.

"H-how is it out there?" Darcy really didn't want to know, she didn't want to hear about all that death, but she knew it was better to know beforehand than to be surprised. "Are…are there any other names I need to add to the wall?"

"Steve fell in battle today, taken by Shadow. I am thankful you are here and not out there to witness the wars. I do not think I shall ever be able to forget seeing what those creatures had done to him." Thor leaned over then and placed his forehead on Darcy's shoulder. He didn't care about the fact that he had tears rolling down his cheeks to dampen the torn and dirty shirt his friend wore. Steve had held on for as long as he had been able, but in the end even his enhanced body could not endure the wrath of the shadow. Thor would hear the man's screams until the day he died.

"S-Steve, but he…Oh God…." Darcy wrapped her arms around Thor, holding him close to her as they both mourned for their friend. Darcy had never thought anything could ever happen to Steve, he was indestructible just like the Hulk. She had always believed that Steve, Bruce, Tony and Thor would be the last to die. Those four men were their strongest warriors, if their enemies had been able to kill Steve then they had truly lost.

After a time Thor pulled back, wiped the tears from his eyes and stood up. He looked down at one of his oldest friends for a moment before settling his eyes once again on Darcy.

"I must go, word has reached us that the serpents have taken hold of most of the east. They head for our shores and Tony wishes to head them off."

Darcy felt a lump in her throat. The American eastern shoreline held one of the world's last strongholds. If they broke through the war would be over within days, and the winner would not be any of the Earth factions.

"Go, and…and be careful. Make sure Tony doesn't do anything stupid, you two are all I have left. I don't think I could hold on very much longer if you two died." She was barely holding on now, she had been clinging to the hope that something would happen…some tip of the scales in their favor. Now she knew there was no hope. The Earth was lost and before the week was out she would be dead along with every single human on the planet. All that would remain would be a single wall with a few names carved by a forgotten hand.

Thor didn't speak a word, only leaned down to place a lingering kiss along her brow before turning and departing.

"You have the strength of any Asgardian."

Darcy's head whipped down to look at the woman in the bed. Sif blinked up at her the best she could, but Darcy knew that every minute move pained her.

"I have no strength in me, not anymore." She felt like a run down battery, a burned out fire. All her energy had been drained from her, all that remained was an empty husk that waited for death and release.

"You did not take the cowards way out, you did not hide. You remained in the face of death when others would have long ago fled. No, Darcy Lewis, you are strong. And I am glad that he has you now at the end, no one should die unloved." Sif reached out one broken and burned hand, placing it on Darcy's lap.

"And what about you?" Maybe it was rude of her, but such things as pleasantries and politeness had long ago vanished.

"I die in peace, do not worry about me." Sif took Darcy's hand when the mortal woman placed it in hers. She held on as tightly as she could, enduring the pain that it brought her. She would rather feel the pain, numbness meant death. It would come, and she knew it would come soon, but until then she relished the pain.

For awhile the two remained silent, Darcy holding onto the dying Asgardian's hand while she worked to keep her forehead cool with her free hand. Darcy hated it when one of her patients was dying, but she always remained by their side until the end. She did no different for Sif.

An hour, possibly two passed before Darcy knew it was time. Sif's breathing had become shallower, her grip almost none existent. She watched as the woman sent her a pained smile, the first she had seen in so long. This was the part that left her sick, watching as the light died in their eyes, as their chests stilled.

Sif left quietly, no tears and with a smile still on her lips. Darcy leaned over to place the woman's hand on her chest and close her eyes. A soft kiss to her brow and Darcy covered her with a sheet before leaving to inform one of the doctors that a bed had been freed.

She didn't look back, didn't allow herself time to think as she headed for the small closet she called a room. She closed herself in, lit a candle and grabbed the small pocket knife she kept under her pillow. Carefully she carved two new names into the wall, stopping before filling in four more. She placed the knife down, stepped back to read the list quietly to herself.

Clint

Pepper

Ian

Nat

Jane

Erik

Steve

Sif

Tony

Bruce

Thor

Darcy

After blowing out the candle Darcy returned to the outer rooms, she didn't bother to shut the door or lock the room. She doubted she would get to return there, and she was finally alright with that. Her world was dying around her, but she had been loved and she had loved. What more could she have asked for?

A.N: Ok, so this is totally not what I was planning when I first started this, but I'm a firm believer that you go where the story want to take you, and I guess it wanted this angst filled story.

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.