And now, the fight for the Soul Stone.
Enjoy… if you can…
Vormir, May 2018:
It wasn't long until Aqua, Natasha, Clint, Pepper, and Carol approached the mountain.
"We're here." said Aqua as she dismissed her glider.
"So this is it." said Natasha. "Once Thanos gets here, we have to make sure he believes that we're loyal to him.
"Well, you once tricked Loki into revealing his plan involving the Hulk." said Pepper.
Natasha smirked. "That was a good one." she nodded.
"Well, it's now or never." said Carol. She then noticed Aqua looking upset. "Aqua, what's wrong?" she asked.
Aqua looked at her friends. "It's just… I can't help but feel guilty."
"Why's that?" Pepper asked gently.
"Well, I mean, we're letting Thanos sacrifice Gamora for the stone." Aqua replied. "And I just can't help but feel like… well… like a heartless person for letting that happen."
This took Clint and the women aback.
"In a way, we could be saving her from being murdered." said Aqua sadly. "It just seems wrong for her to be sacrificed for our needs, especially without even knowing it."
Natasha, Clint, Carol, and Pepper gave her soft looks.
"Aqua, we know it's hard." Natasha said gently. "But we have to do this. We don't, trillions of people stay dead."
"And besides." added Clint. "Gamora's death was in vain, as it was used to murder ½ of all life in the universe."
"By stealing the stone from Thanos before he heads to Titan, we're turning Gamora's death from a vain sacrifice to a meaningful one." added Carol.
Aqua thought about that. "Well… I guess it makes sense." she shrugged. "But still, I can't help but feel guilty."
"Believe us Aqua, none of us like this." said Pepper. "But we have to. Many lives are depending on us to get that stone from that monster."
"And hey," said Natasha. "Maybe there's a way we can get her back. If one approaches us."
Aqua smirled bravley. "Ok."
Then, they all heard a whirring noise. They all saw a portal open up near the mountain. And out from it came the Thanos and Gamora of 2018.
"Is that him?" asked Pepper.
Aqua, Natasha, and Carol nodded.
"Alright." Clint gulped. "Let's do this."
"The stone had better be up there... for your sister's sake." Thanos said to Gamora.
Gamora just sighed before she and the Titan saw that they weren't alone.
"Who are you?" she asked.
Aqua, Clint, and Pepper looked nervous. But Natasha and Carol seemed to be fine as the latter bravely stepped forward.
"Mighty Thanos." said Natasha.
"You have heard of me?" asked Thanos, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes." said Natasha. "We have heard many tales about how you strive to make the universe a better place."
"How you have slaughtered many to bring about perfect balance." added Clint, doing his best to hide his disgust from the titan.
"That I have." nodded Thanos.
"We have also learned that you were looking for the Infinity Stones." added Aqua. "We wish to join you on your quest."
Thanos looked them suspiciously while Gamora looked disgusted that 5 more people were actually willing to join Thanos in killing ½ of all life in the universe.
"Why should I let you help me?" Thanos asked.
"It is because of you that many worlds are now paradises everywhere." said Pepper.
"And we want to help you achieve that." added Carol.
Thanos looked at Carol carefully. "You're Kree." he said with disgust.
Carol carefully approached Thanos.
"I am not like that traitor Ronan." she said to him. "Ronan was a fool to believe he could stop you."
Thanos nodded. "That he was. Do you lot have any powers?" he asked.
"I'm a trained assassin." said Natasha. "My best friend here is a vigilante killer, getting rid of scum."
"That I am." said Clint.
"I have a state of the art armored suit." said Pepper.
"I have powers like one wouldn't imagine." said Carol, making her fists glow. "I have nothing to prove to anyone."
"I am a Keyblade Master." said Aqua. "One that sides with darkness."
To trick Thanos, Aqua summoned her version of Void Gear. It was similar to Vanitas', only black and white.
"Very good." said Thanos. "You all know where your allegiances lie."
"Of course." said Aqua. "Let's find that stone."
Thanos nodded as he began to walk to the mountain.
Gamora approached the five Avengers, furious.
"Are you five out of your mind?!" she yelled softly. "That man is a genocidal maniac!"
"Gamora, don't worry." said Aqua, taking the green-skinned woman aback.
"Everything is under control." said Natasha.
"Thanos won't get that stone." assured Clint 'Yet…' he added in his mind.
Gamora was speechless.
"Daughter. Come." came Thanos' vocie.
Gamora looked back at him before facing the 5 Avengers.
"I hope you're right." she muttered as she caught up to Thanos.
Aqua followed them, followed by Natasha, Clint, Pepper, and Carol.
The walk up the mountain seemed to be long, but not difficult. Paths worn by centuries or more of feet lead up to the summit.
"So this is where the stone is hidden?" asked Clint.
"It better be." said Thanos.
"So how do we get it?" asked Aqua.
Suddenly, they all sensed an eerie presence. A figure in a black cloak appeared behind them.
Natasha carefully brandished her guns.
"Who's there?" Black Widow demanded.
"Welcome, Thanos, son of A'lars. Gamora, daughter of Thanos. Natasha, daughter of Ivan. Clint, son of Edith. Carol, daughter of Joseph. Pepper, daughter of Stanley. Aqua, daughter of Willa." the figure greeted. (1)
Everyone was surprised.
"You know us?" Thanos asked.
"It is my curse to know all who journey here." the figure replied.
"Where's the Soul Stone?" demanded Thanos.
"We need it to finish his goal." said Carol.
"You should know... it extracts a terrible price." said the figure.
"I am prepared." said Thanos.
'No you aren't. None of us are.' Aqua thought to herself as Natasha put her guns away.
The figure shook his head. "We all think that at first. We are all wrong." he told him.
The figure touched down and glided out of the shadows, revealing the face of… John Schmidt, the Red Skull. Hydra's leader during World War II, thought to be dead after Steve defeated him.
'John Schmidt!' Natasha and Clint thought in alarm as they recognized the face from SHIELD files.
He guided them to a temple-like structure at the summit.
"How is it you know this place so well?" asked Thanos.
"A lifetime ago, I, too, sought the stones." explained Red Skull. "I even held one in my hand. But it cast me out, banished me here. Guiding others to a treasure I cannot possess."
"So you can't get it?" asked Aqua.
"Correct." said Red Skull. "Only guiding those to it. If they are worthy."
They stopped on a semicircular engraving overlooking a sheer drop. It descended in three shallow steps to a final half-circle cutout, the whole bisected by a deep cut that ran between the two spires behind them. Far, far below was a full circle with similar engraved decoration.
"What you seek lies before you. As does what you fear." said Red Skull.
"What's this?" asked Thanos.
"The price. Soul hold a special place among the Infinity Stones. You might say it has a certain wisdom." explained Red Skull.
"Tell me what it needs." demanded Thanos.
"To ensure that whoever possesses it... understands its power... The stone demands a sacrifice."
"Of what?" demanded Thanos.
"In order to take the stone, you must lose that which you love. A soul... for a soul." the former Hydra leader replied.
Aqua, Natasha, Clint, Pepper, and Carol knew that they weren't gonna like what was gonna happen next. Nut they knew they had to let of happened if they were going to get the Stone. But something inside their heads told them that this was wrong.
Now Pepper, Natasha, Clint, and Carol were starting to see why Aqua was feeling guilty.
Gamora began to laugh at the irony of the situation Red Skull had explained to them.
"All my life, I dreamed of a day... a moment when you would get what you deserved." she told her "father." "And I was always so disappointed. But now... you kill and torture... and you call it mercy. The universe has judged you. You asked it for a prize, and it told you no. You failed. And do you wanna know why? Because you love nothing. No one." she mocked.
Thanos said nothing as he turned to face Gamora with tears in his eyes.
"Really? Tears?" Gamora asked incredulously.
"They're not for him." Red Skull told her.
Gamora looks at the Red Skull, and as her bitter smile faded, replaced by horror, fear, and disbelief. She looked pale. The Avengers looked pale too, up to the point where their minds were giving them second thoughts.
"No. This isn't love." she told Thanos.
Thanos looked thoroughly convicted as he faced Gamora. "I ignored my destiny once. I cannot do that again. Even for you."
Gamora stared down unseeing for a moment, then up at the resolution on his face. She grabbed the red-jeweled dagger from his belt with lightning reflexes, triggered the blades and stabs herself in the stomach... except it was only bubbles. Thanos had used the Reality Strone to stop her from killing herself.
"I'm sorry, little one." Thanos said sadly.
"NO!" Aqua suddenly screamed as she summoned Stormfall and bashed Thanos in the face. "This is wrong!"
And just like that, survivor's guilt played in the minds of Natasha, Clint, Pepper, and Carol as well.
Thanos said nothing as he grabbed Aqua's Keyblade and tried to break it against her, only to get shot by Natasha, who began firing her guns at him.
"I have no choice." Thanos said solemnly as he punched Aqua and Natasha into the wall.
"THERE'S ALWAYS A CHOICE!" Clint snapped as he fired several arrows at Thanos.
Thanos used the Reality Stone to turn the arrows into gold dust and then blasted Clint with a beam from the Power Stone.
Thanos ran to get Gamora, only for Carol to pin him to the wall. Thanos tried to push her away, but Carol sucker-punched him in the face twice. Thanos then pressed the Power Stone against her head, causing a scorching burn mark that made Carol cry out in pain, allowing Thanos to punch her away.
Pepper fired multiple blasts at Thanos from her palms. She then flew up and tried to punch him multiple times. But Thanos managed to catch her mid-hair and then threw her into Carol.
Gamora watched this happen as she turned to Aqua.
"Kill me!" she begged. "That way he won't get the Stone!"
Aqua wasn't sure what to do. She didn't want to kill her. The thigh go petrified her. But Gamora was begging her. Reluctantly, Aqua raised a Stormfall and was about to fire a beam at Aqua when she was suddenly blasted into the wall by both the Power and Space Stones.
Gamora turned to see Thanos coming toward her. He was suddenly bashed in the face by Natasha as she grabbed onto Thanos' neck.
"This is madness!" she snapped as she bashed the butt of her gun in Thanos' eye.
Thanos snarled as he grabbed Natasha by her neck, punched her in the face and tossed her behind him, where she crashed into Clint.
"No one is ever ready to make the ultimate sacrifice." Red Skull said darkly.
Seething, Natasha fired her gun at Red Skull, killing him instantly.
Clint then fired an electric arrow into Thanos' neck. Thanos only felt a twist of electricity as he ripped the arrow off him.
Carol tried to headlock Thanos as Pepper pressed her palm against the Titan's face and blasted it. But then, Thanos activated the Reality Stone, causing two vines to wrap around Carol and Pepper, throwing them into Natasha and Clint.
Thanos then grabbed Gamora by the arm and walked inexorably to the precipice.
"NO!" screamed Gamora.
Gamora tried in vain to break from his grasp, it was no use. Thanos threw her over the edge. She screamed as she fell.
"NO!" Aqua screamed as she ran over to the edge. But it was too late.
Light pulsed overhead. Tears fell down Aqua's face as she saw Gamora's dead and broken body on the ground.
Thanos stood behind her, a sad expression plastered on his face. Natasha, Carol, Pepper, and Clint ran up to where Aqua was, only to look horrified as they glanced at Gamora's body. Tears fell down their faces too. Although now they would have a chance to steal the stone now, watching Gamora die was heartbreaking.
Soon, they all found themselves standing on a pool of water. Thanks saw a glow coming from his right hand. He opened it to reveal the Soul Stone.
Suddenly, Thanos was blasted into the water. Carol flew up against him, rage plastered on her face as she held him down.
"Let me go!" Thanos shouted.
"Not a chance you bastard!" Carol snapped.
Using her legs to hold Thanos down, Carol used her strength to open Thanos' hand. The Soul Stone dropped from it.
"Aqua!" shouted Natasha.
"On it!" Aqua shouted, summoning Stormfall. She used a Magnet spell to bring the stone over to them. Clint quickly grabbed it and placed it in his pockets.
Carol let Thanos as she flew back over to the group.
Thanos snarled as she stood up.
"Give me the Stone." he said darkly.
"Not on your life you son of a bitch." Clint sneered.
"You don't deserve the Stone after what you did." Pepper said with a glare.
"The universe requires balance." Thanos said with a glare.
"And that balance doesn't include your own daughter?!" Aqua snapped.
"A small price to pay." Thanos replied.
"Price is wrong you asshole." snarled Natasha.
"You think you can betray me like this?" Thanos asked darkly.
Natasha smiled darkly. "Guess what Grimace, we were never on your side."
"We're the Avengers." said Clint with a dark smile.
"And I am a Guardian of Light." added Aqua.
"And I was never Kree to begin with." Carol said as she bashed her uniform color changing device, changing her colors from Kree back to red, blue, and yellow.
Thanos was shocked.
"What, sorry to see yourself tricked?" Pepper asked with a smirk.
Thanos glared as he snapped his fingers with his gauntlet-free hand. Heartless spawned around him. Neoshadows, Novashadows, Land Armors, and Strange Trees were among them.
"Heartless!" exclaimed Pepper.
Aqua summoned Master Eraqus' Keyblade and was ready to Double-Wield.
"We have to take them out and then leave Thanos tired enough for us to escape!" she told them.
"Alright, let's go!" said Natasha as she brandished her guns.
Clint readied his bow and arrows, Pepper's mask went over her face, as Carol's hands glared as she floated in the air.
(Ansem, Seeker of Darkness Final Boss Fight from Kingdom Hearts plays)
Mission: Defeat Thanos and the Heartless
Party Members:
Aqua
Black Widow
Hawkeye
Captain Marvel
Rescue
Aqua fired a Blizzard spell at Thanos as he reflected it with a beam from the Space Stone. But Carol sent a blast from her hands at his face to disorient him. Natasha fired several shots at some Strange Trees before spin-kicking them multiple times. Clint fired several explosive arrows at some Novashadows to keep them at bay. Pepper flew above the group and fire multiple blasts from her palms at some Neoshadows and Land Armors. Thanos tried to attack her with a blast from the Power Stone, but Carol managed to push his hand away and use it to blast some Novashadows. Aqua then jumped up and casted Exo Spark from Master's Defender on Thanos' chest as Carol kicked him in the face. Natasha used her Widow's Bite on some Land Armors before she fired more shots at Thanos' arm. Thanos used the Reality Stone to lift Natasha in the air with some vines, but he was suddenly blasted by Pepper as she flew towards him. Thanos punched her away, but was suddenly blasted by Aqua using a Dark Firaga spell.
Clint punched and kicked away some Strange Trees as he jammed an explosive arrow into a Neoshadow, exploding it. Carol chronoblasted a group of Novashadows before flying up and punched a Novashadow into a group of Land Armors as Clint fired five explosive arrows at them, killing them all. Aqua fired Blizzara at Thanos. He then blasted her with the Power Stone. But Natasha suddenly fired her guns at Thanos' back. Blasters materialized out of the Rescue armor as Pepper sent multiple blasts at Thanos. Thanos used the Reality Stone to send an avalanche at Pepper, but Aqua was able to cast Blizzaga from Master's Defender against Thanos and casted Meteor from Stormfall to stop the avalanche from killing Pepper. Clint slashed away an Land Armor with his bow before using an electric arrow on a Neoshadow, allowing Natasha to shoot it down. She then shot a Strange Tree at point blank range. Thanos tried to blast them with a beam from the Power Stone, but Carol chronobalsted it back. Aqua backed her up with a Transcendence Spell from Master's Defender to lift Thanos in the and and then fire and Ignite Spell from Stormfall to knock the blast away. Pepper fired many shots at the last of the Strange Trees with her energy displaced and used her repulsors to shoot down the Neoshadows. Natasha used her Widow's Bite to stun the last of the Land Amours as Clint fired an explosive arrow, killing them. Aqua used Raging Storm to eliminate ½ of the last of the Novashadows while Carol blasted away the other half.
Thanos was now angry as he began to activate the three Infinity Stones.
"Give it all you got!" Aqua shouted.
Natasha began firing rapidly against Thanos. Than was awake to block the buckets, but he wasn't able to block them off for long as Clint began firing multiple explosive and electric arrows. Thanos was about to send a blast from the Power and Space Stones, but Pepper began firing her repulsors and energy displacers while also firing a giant blast from the chest piece. Thanos was able to temporarily block them all off until Carol began firing a giant blast from her hands, directly at his face.
Seeing that Thanos was starting to struggle, Aqua focused all her energy, clutching Stormfall and Master's Defender as patterns began to form under her feet. Lifting hers and her late master's Keyblades into the air, Aqua shouted,
"ULTIMA!"
Twice the normal amount of energy in an Ultima spell soared across the land and collided with Thanos. That in addition to the arrows, gunshots, energy blasts, and chronoblasts were finally able to bring him to the ground, unconscious.
(Ansem, Seeker of Darkness Final Boss Fight from Kingdom Hearts ends)
Aqua dismissed her Keyblades as she regrouped with Natasha. Pepper and Carol flew down next to them. they saw Clint walk over to the unconscious Thanos. He raised his bow and was ready to shoot and arrow into the titan's throat.
"This is for my family." Clint sneered.
"Clint!" called Natasha.
Clint stopped as he looked back at the girls.
"Clint, we get it." said Pepper. "But we got what we need."
"And Thanos is already dad back in the future." said Aqua.
Clint reluctantly nodded as he got off of Thanos and rejoined the group.
"That won't hold him for long, we have to get outta here!" said Natasha.
"You got the Soul Stone?" Carol asked Clint.
Clint revealed the orange stone from his pocket and quickly put it back in.
"Alright, let's go!" said Aqua.
The five Avengers quickly set their destinations to the present. Their suits materialized and they shrunk down, heading back to the future.
Castle That Never Was:
Master Xehanort, Maleficent, Pete, Mortimer, and Sephiroth watched the whole thing happen. Sephiroth was now wearing his Organization cloak again.
"D'ooooooooh, they got em all!" Pete groaned.
"Now they can just bring everyone back!" huffed Mortimer. "So much for Thanos' goal."
"They're not free yet." Sephiroth reminded calmly. "One of them still has to snap them all back into existence. And given the look of the state the gauntlet was in after Thanos snapped everyone away, it won't necessarily be child's play. One of them will be vulnerable to death."
"But they have Thor." reminded Pete.
"Yeah, the God of Thunder. Son of that Odin guy." added Mortimer.
Sephiroth deadpanned at them. "Who's been drinking for 5 months straight." he added.
Pete and Mortimer looked embarrassed for having forgetting that.
"Besides, even if they do get them all back, they're pitiful attempt will all be for nothing once the Thanos from 2014 comes to the present." said Maleficent.
"That is correct." said Xehanort. He then grinned maliciously. "As we speak, the Nebula from 2014 is already traveling there right now. To bring Thanos back to them."
To be continued…
That's all the stones! And Natasha's alive!
I'll see you next time when they try to bring everyone back, plus some additional scenes.
(1) Carol Danvers' father is named Joseph. And since we don't know who Pepper's parents are, I named her father Stanley, after Marvel creator Stan Lee himself. And since we don't know the names of many Kingdom Hearts exclusive characters, I decided to make Aqua's mother's name the name of her voice actress, Willa Holland.
