Disclaimer: I do not own J.R.R. Tolkien's Legendarium, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Arrowverse or anything else you may recognize
Thank you to everyone who has favorited, followed or reviewed this fic so far.
Chaos Sorcerer: Thanks for the review. Yeah I know. Glad my reasons for Elrond snapping make sense. Glad you liked Cap riding an eagle and yeah, Nate and his granddad don't compare. We'll see on the rest. As for what now, even I will have a bit of trouble on how to continue this. I do have plans for future stories, but they aren't fully concrete. That'd be hilarious on Groot. Glad Stan's cameo was great and I'll definitely do the one with 'A Beautiful Journey' too. Agreed on Steel and Colossus. Glad you agree on Morgoth being more powerful than Thanos without the Infinity Gauntlet and Thanos really got what he deserved. I understand the disappointment but there's always more stories. Maybe he, Momoa's Aquaman and Thor could team up! Yes, now we mourn the Elf who saved everyone. R.I.P. Lord Elrond. Enjoy the chapter.
Guest 1: Thanks for the review. Yes, Iris dying was the best part but she is the writers' favorite pet so I don't see it sticking unfortunately. Agreed on Black Lightning. Glad it was great and glad I pulled it off well. I'm planning on doing Crisis but it won't be here anytime soon. It will get complicated for sure.
Guest 2: Thanks for the review. Glad it was wonderful but sad. Glad to hear it. I have some follow-up stories in my mind and some epic stories too, like one where they all fight Dormammu and end this with Crisis on Infinite Earths. But it will be a while before I return to this series.
Guest 3: Thanks for the review. I agree on Lex, though I'd be happier if he traded places with Kate Kane instead. Manu Bennett also lied about his involvement in Arrow 5x22 and 5x23, so I wasn't that surprised that Tom Ellis did the same. Yes, I fear that too.
Guest 4: Thanks for the review. Cannon Barry is undeserving, but Kate even more so. She didn't even want her city to have hope, so she is worse than Barry. Right now, it looks like rubbing salt on the wound. I might change my opinion when the next 2 episodes air.
Guest 5: Thanks for the review. Yup, a cameo. Well, glad you were happy. As long as you feel something, I'm good.
Guest 6: Thanks for the review. Glad this was wonderful. Yes, Celebrian is in Valinor. Yes, I will be continuing this but after a while as for now, I want to get back to basics. So glad this was wonderful.
Chapter 22- Pyrrhic victory
Following the battle, the majority of the troops had returned home via portals and breaches but all of them had promised to be there for Lord Elrond's funeral.
Natasha's reunion with the Hobbits had been tearful, to say the least. She and Sara weren't even letting the Hobbits out of their sight now.
Tony had graciously offered the Avengers Tower for everyone to sleep in for the night. And everyone managed to do it. However, a new day was dawning soon and it would start a new phase in the era of the Multiverse.
Next morning, Avengers Tower
As the SHIELD team waited outside the docking bay, Fitz paced back and forth, fidgeting his hands nervously as his friends watched with a mix of exasperation and amusement.
"Fitz, you know she's gonna be happy to see you again, right?" Daisy asked but, if Fitz heard her, he gave no indication of it.
"No use, he's in full panic mode." May said amused.
"Let him freak out if he wants. I mean, he did technically help save the Multiverse. Cut him a break." Bobbi shrugged.
Further conversation was interrupted as they heard the roar of an engine. Everyone looked towards the hanger bay as a Quinjet soared through. Fitz was completely still as the Quinjet landed and the ramp lowered. Before it could completely reach the floor, Jemma Simmons was rushing down the ramp.
"Fitz." Jemma called out as she looked around for him wildly until she saw him.
"Jemma." Fitz breathed.
Neither was sure who moved first but, in a scene that felt like it was out of the movies, Fitz and Jemma rushed towards each other. They grabbed onto each other and kissed passionately, neither seeming to care that they had an audience.
"You saved me. You saved us all." Jemma said breathlessly as they pulled apart, putting her hands on the sides of his face, as if to reassure herself that he was really here.
"I always will." Fitz promised as he took her hands, lowering them from his face, "I thought we were cursed once, but I've realized…the universe can't stop us. Because we've crossed galaxies, we've survived the bottom of the Atlantic, traveled through time all so that we could be together. A love like that, that is stronger than any curse. And you and I, we are unstoppable together. And I- I don't want to live another day without you."
"Neither do I." Jemma said with a tearful smile.
"Good. Then, Jemma Simmons, will you marry me?" Fitz asked, his heart hammering in his chest.
"Absolutely." Jemma said with a beaming smile.
Fitz smiled before they kissed once more.
"Well, looks like we've got another FitzSimmons wedding to prepare for." Daisy said, causing Hunter and Bobbi to look confused.
"What do you mean another?" Hunter asked confused.
"It's…a long story." Mack said as he looked over at Fitz and Simmons, "Let's give them some privacy and I'll tell you all about it."
Later, The Shire, Bag End
Sam knocked on the door and it was opened on the other end by Rosie Cotton, holding Frodo Gamgee. Before husband and wife could kiss each other, Elanor came running out with a happy smile and tears of joy.
"Sam-dad!" She cried out as Sam lifted her up and kissed her forehead before wrapping her in a hug. He then looked at Frodo and kissed his forehead joyfully before sharing a loving kiss with his wife.
"Well…..I'm back." He smiled as the entire family hugged each other lovingly.
Two days later, Valinor
For the first time since the First Age, the Valar had bended their very strict rules in honor of a fallen hero.
Heroes from Arda, Earth-199999, Earth-1, Earth-2, Earth-3, Earth-19 and Earth-38 were all gathered together for the funeral of Lord Elrond Half-elven.
The Valar had a restriction of not allowing anyone who had stepped in Valinor to go away but this time, because of what Elrond had done, they had made exceptions.
Elrond's body now lay under a cairn of stones where he was now buried for that was how all dead Elves were honored. It was Elven burial custom. The cairn had been made by none other than Aulë the Smith.
Celebrian, whose eyes were puffy and red to a completely new level, placed a flower near the cairn. Then Arwen placed a flower near the cairn along with Aragorn, followed by Elladan and Elrohir, then Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn, then Gandalf, and then Thranduil, followed by many more as all paid their respects to him.
The Dwarves had begrudging respect for him in their eyes as Dwalin, Gloin, Bofur, Dori and Nori remembered his help during the Quest of Erebor.
Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin had tears in their eyes as they remembered his kindness and help during the time they had stayed in Rivendell. Bilbo stood there too but didn't react because of his dementia.
Steve placed his hand in a respectful salute while the Amazons and Asgardians fired off fiery arrows into the sky as a gesture of respect to him.
Mantis swayed, as was the custom for mourning in her race.
The Gondorians, Rohirrim, Men of Dale, Dunlendings, Wakandans, and Ravagers stood respectfully.
The Masters of the Mystic Arts used their powers to send sparks into the sky in Lord Elrond's honor.
The Elves sang a lament for him-
A Elrond i yáresse
Heru o Imladris
Cundo o Rómenóri
Ita nóla Quendingoldo
Thārō Eä
Ldë mahta melehtë sta
Accar cca Návatar yë nossë
Lmë úva leg cca dı̯ag
Lady Nienna was weeping for the loss of Lord Elrond's life.
King Manwë of the Valar tapped his scepter of sapphire on the ground. Then Queen Varda raised her hands into the air and some of the stars realigned, forming what looked like Lord Elrond's face.
Everyone looked up at it, tears and respect shining in their eyes for Lord Elrond.
And thus, the funeral of Lord Elrond Half-elven of Rivendell, who saved the entire Universe and possibly Multiverse from the Mad Titan and the first Dark Lord of Arda, was finished.
Next day, Earth-199999, Avengers Compound
The battlefield and rubble were being cleared out by most of the heroes. Thor used his weather manipulation to cleanse the fiery pits made by Morgoth's mace.
The speedsters were gathering most of the enemy corpses and putting them in a pile where either Thor lit them up with lightning, or Clark and Kara lit them up with their Heat Vision, or Carol lit them up with her photon blasts.
The Trolls were too huge to lift by them so Hulk was lifting them up instead to put on the piles.
Glaurung and Smaug, whose corpses had fallen on the ground, were going to be carried into the sun by Thor and Clark.
The rest were looking for the corpses of the defenders to take away for burial. Strange, Cisco, Gypsy and Breacher were helping those by opening portal and breaches respectively to their worlds or planets where they could be laid peacefully alongside their kin.
Barry then sat down a bit glumly.
"Hey, you mind if I sit?" Oliver asked and Barry shrugged.
"Free country," Barry said as Oliver sat down next to him.
"You wanna talk about it?" Oliver asked gently.
"It's not like I've never killed anyone before…so why does this time feel different?" Barry sighed.
"Because there's a difference between allowing someone to die and actually making that decision, to look into someone's eyes and decide to end their life. And then actually ending it," Oliver explained and Barry ran a hand over his face.
"You know the worst part? I don't regret it. Just that it had to be done. My family, Caitlin, Cisco…they were never gonna be safe from him. Does that make me a bad person?" Barry wondered.
"Barry Allen, a bad person? Not a chance," Oliver teased and Barry chuckled before Oliver frowned.
"Barry, doing whatever you have to in order to save your family and protect your city doesn't make you a monster. If you'd enjoyed killing him, that would make you a monster. But you didn't. You're one of the best guys I know and no evil speedster from another world or another time is gonna change that."
"Thanks Ollie," Barry said gratefully and Oliver nodded as he patted his shoulder and the two got back to work.
Gandalf walked to Strange during this time and asked, "Did you know?"
"Yes." Strange said regretfully, "On Titan, when I looked into all the possible futures, this was the only way we won."
"And there was no other way?" Gandalf asked as a few tears fell out of his eyes at his old friend's loss.
"No." Strange said as a tear fell out of his own due to the guilt he himself was feeling for not being able to find any other way, "I looked through every single event, every small action we took. I wanted to find a way where we would win and all of us would come out of it alive. But there just…wasn't. Once we reached Titan, there was no other way."
Strange rubbed his hand on his forehead as Gandalf put a hand on his shoulder and said soothingly, "My friend, many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. But you cannot give it to them. Even if you think you can, you cannot. Lord Elrond chose to sacrifice himself so that the Multiverse could thrive and be free of evil."
Looking at the heroes who were carrying out the recovery operations, he said, "And it will be. Families will be reunited. Darkness shall pass. But not forever. And that is why people like you and I are here. To help the epic forces of light prevail over those of darkness. Because that is how we will make sure that Lord Elrond's sacrifice was not in vain. That is how we will make him proud of us. All of us. Even though he gave up his life, he knew he did it for a good reason. He understood."
"What?" Strange asked him.
"That part of the journey is the end." Gandalf said kindly as Strange nodded with quivering lips.
"Thank you, Gandalf." He said and moved away while Gandalf watched after him.
Later
After most of the operations had been carried out, the SHIELD team was in what had once been the forest behind the Compound, staring at a single, untouched object that had somehow avoided destruction during the battle: Coulson's grave.
Daisy stared at it emotionally as May, her face emotionless as it was when she tried to block out what she was feeling, put a hand on her shoulder as the others hung back, staring at it, each trying to process the fact that Coulson was truly dead.
"Can't believe this." Hunter said softly, "It just...it doesn't..."
"It doesn't feel real." Bobbi agreed as she took his hand, "It was worse when you were here for it."
"I wish there was a way we could let him know that we did it. We won." Fitz said sadly as Jemma took his hand.
"He knows." Jemma said certainly, "And he's proud of you. He's proud of all of us."
"So what happens now?" Daisy said after she stood up, gaining control of herself.
"We get back to work." Mack said before turning to Hunter and Bobbi, "How would you guys feel about coming back to SHIELD?"
"Well, since they already know about Inhumans, I guess it doesn't make much difference if we come back." Hunter mused before looking over at Bobbi, "Bob? What do you say?"
"I'd love to…if we do one thing first." Bobbi said, to everyone's confusion as she took Hunter's hand, "Do you remember what you asked me before the ninjas showed up?"
It took a moment for Hunter to understand what she was saying. When we did, he looked at her in shock.
"I thought you said that we weren't meant for that?" Hunter said stunned.
"And then I spent days knowing you were dead. It…changed my perspective. I can't live without you Hunter, I know that now. So, what do you say?" Bobbi asked and Hunter laughed.
"Fitz, Simmons, how do you feel about a double wedding?" Hunter asked as he looked over his shoulder.
Clinton Church
Matt and Elektra entered the church, hand-in-hand and even Foggy and Karen were with them. Then Matt heard a very familiar heartbeat which was very close to him.
Without thinking, he dropped his cane and running to Maggie, hugged her tightly, weeping at her shoulder.
She patted his head lovingly and kissed his cheek saying, "I'm not leaving you, Matthew."
Elektra, Foggy and Karen simply watched from a distance emotionally.
Avengers Tower
Jessica was drinking when she saw Trish walking up to her, not making eye contact but simply standing there.
"What?" Jessica asked as she downed her drink in one go.
"Mr. Stark says he can get a deal to free me from the prison." Trish said, "In return, I'd have to testify about the illegal nature of the Raft and the Accords and be an Avenger."
"Well, congratulations, Patsy! Now you'll kill bad guys with your 'cray-cray' now." Jessica said sarcastically as Trish sighed.
"You were right." Trish sad as Jessica looked up at her, "About everything. I should not have killed your mom. I had no right to do it. And I should have listened to you when you warned me about the path I was going on. But I didn't listen! I was so goddamn and self-righteous and convinced that I was right! And in my hubris, I betrayed the one person who stood by me during everything."
Jessica looked up at Trish, who now had tears in her eyes, "I didn't listen to you about Salinger and let my anger get the better of me. Then, instead of trying to improve and change, I spiraled even worse. And I tried to kill you! The one person who never turned her back on me! Who was always there for me no matter what."
"I did cut contact with you after the Kilgrave stuff." Jessica shrugged.
"That was different, and you know it." Trish said, "I was a bitch and a terrible person! Even my mom wasn't that bad. I know I do not deserve it, but I am sorry."
Jessica looked at Trish, and knew she was being honest as she continued, "If you hate me, I won't blame you. You have every right to because I can't take back what I did."
And then breaking down, she said, "But I'm sorry. Sorry for everything."
As Trish burst into tears, Jessica hugged her, like she always used to and said, "I don't think I can forgive you…..yet. But….I'd like it if we move past this finally and you actually use your powers for the right thing."
The two let go as Trish nodded with a watery smile and said, "I will. I promise."
And then they hugged again.
Marie was sitting alone when she saw Logan approach her. Without warning, she ran to him and embraced him, "I missed you so much all these years! Where were you?"
"Hiding." Logan said as he returned her embrace, "But I'm here now. I'm here for you, Marie."
"You won't leave again, right?" She asked.
"I'm an Avenger now." Logan said and could sense her disappointment, "But I promise I won't leave like I did. I will always visit once a week."
Marie hugged him tighter and said, "I'd love that."
Wanda was eating lunch glumly on the table when she saw Clint approach her. He put a hand on her shoulder and asked, "How you holding up?"
Wanda looked at him with tears in her eyes and said, "I lost Vision. He was one of the few good things I ever had. What will I do now?"
"He may have been, but he wasn't all you had." Clint said as Wanda looked at him, "I'm here for you, kid. We all are. You're not alone, and you never will be."
Hearing that, Wanda hugged his chest and broke down as he hugged her back and patted her head lovingly like a father comforting his daughter.
Middle-earth, Edoras
The soldiers of Gondor and Rohan stood together along with the Dunlendings as well as Gandalf and Strange.
King Theoden's and Gamling's bodies were buried, with a mound being raised in Theoden's honor.
Eomer stood with Lothiriel by his side while Eowyn was in Faramir's embrace. Aragorn, Arwen and Boromir too stood solemnly along with Imrahil, Beregrond, Erkenbrand and Ghan.
Merry was there too with Pippin, and he was weeping.
Steve, Natasha, Oliver and Sara were also attending due to their adventure in Middle-earth and except Natasha, they were all close to him and respected him too.
Legolas and Gimli were the only Elf and Dwarf to attend, being the representatives for their races.
Steve gave a respectful and firm salute like at Lord Elrond's funeral as Legolas sang a lament.
While they had defeated Thanos and Morgoth, the victory had been a pyrrhic one. And that is why there was no celebration or feast of any sort.
But a new day and Age were on the rise. And several important decisions had to be made to make sure the new Age fared better than this one.
Hope this was well done and Elrond's, Theoden's and Gamling's funerals were handled well.
I know the Valar doesn't allow those who step foot in Valinor to leave but considering what Lord Elrond did, I believe they could bend their rules just once to allow everyone he saved to honor him.
And I hope the reunions and comforting scenes were handled well.
The scenes with SHIELD agents were all taken from Stand with Ward and Queen's 'Crisis on two earths' again as he did them to perfection and thank you to him for letting me use his AoS stuff once more.
And the Barry/Ollie talk was taken from his now deleted 'United we stand' as the scene just fit. So thanks to him again.
And well, I hated what they did to Trish in Season 3 so I'm giving her a chance for redemption.
Deadpool: Don't kid yourself. You only did that because you're in love with Rachael Taylor.
Me: *Raises hands* All right. You got me.
But honestly, Hellcat does deserve better.
Anyway, this story has one more chapter to go where important decisions regarding the future are made. And some more conversations between characters you want to see converse will be shown too.
So hope everyone enjoyed and are looking forward to the next chapter.