A/N *Waves* I'm still alive and I'm very sorry.
This chapter is a climax of years of work and I unfortunately have to tell you to brace yourself for major character deaths. The good news? It's not the end.
Hermione sat up in bed with a gasp and stared wildly around her, looking for the threat - looking for Thanos.
"It's OK," a calming voice told her, accompanied by a gentle hand on her lower back. "It was just a dream, sweetheart."
She scrambled out of bed, nearly falling onto the floor as her legs got tangled in the bedsheets in her desperation to make sense of the world. She waved a hand to switch on the lights and Steve sat up on the bed, holding out a palm as though he was soothing a wild animal. Hermione's heart beat rapidly in her chest as she continued to look around manically. She caught sight of herself in the mirror and rushed over to it, her hands trembling as they ran over the smooth skin of her cheek. But she'd been clawed there, hadn't she? The wounds hadn't healed properly - there should be red scars. And what about her shoulder? Midnight had shot her there just minutes earlier but there was no sign of it.
"Hermione," Steve said forcefully and she realised he'd been calling her name. He stood beside her and held a hand to her forehead. "You're burning up," he told her. "Maybe you've got a fever."
"No," she said shakily. "No, it was real, Steve. It was so real. There was an attack - the Black Order were here. Tony, Peter and Stephen - they went to space with the Time Stone - I don't know what happened to them. And, and then they tried to make me reveal where the Mind Stone is but I didn't," the words came tumbling out and she drew in a shuddering breath. "And then Thanos was there - that's when I woke up!" She retched twice as feelings of panic closed around her chest.
"It's OK," Steve soothed. "It must've been the fever making your dreams even worse than normal."
Hermione trembled violently. Logically she accepted his explanation but… "No, it was so real, Steve," she whispered, backing away from his attempts to calm her and burying her head in her hands.
"Make a portal," he suggested. "Check in with Strange and you'll see the Stone is safe."
Hermione peeked up at him between her fingers. He was right. If she saw the truth then she might be able to shake the aftereffects of her dream. She nodded. "OK," she murmured, her stomach twisting anxiously at the prospect. She grabbed the sling ring from her bedside table and lifted her shaking hands. She focused on Strange in the New York Sanctum and, as it should, the glowing circle appeared.
Stephen was reading a book in the library and Hermione gasped. He looked up at the sound.
"Hermione?" he asked. "What's the matter?" He rose from his chair and as he did so, she could clearly see the Eye of Agamotto pendant laying against his chest, making a chill sweep along her spine. "Are you wearing pyjamas?" His quirked eyebrow rose even higher and he said, "Good evening, Captain Rogers."
The shirtless Steve raised a hand, looking more than a little embarrassed. "Doctor Strange."
Hermione felt heat rush to her already hot face. "Um, yes, sorry about this, Stephen but I, er, had a rather realistic dream about Thanos and I guess I got a little spooked. I just wanted to check that everything was OK."
"I see," he said shortly. But then he shrugged and parted his hands over the pendant, revealing the glowing Stone within. "Does that answer your question?"
Hermione could only nod, her relief almost overwhelming. "Thanks," she choked out. "Sorry for disturbing you, Stephen."
He waved his hands to hide the Stone once more. "Don't mention it. Goodnight, Hermione. Captain."
"Goodnight," they chorused and then she closed the portal. She sank down on the bed, feeling exhausted.
"You see," Steve told her. He kissed the side of her head and then held his palm to her brow. "You're still hot - I'm going to get you some water." She heard him pad away but she was too lost in her own thoughts to take it in.
It had felt so real. She'd had nightmares before - plenty of them - but none of them had felt like this. Maybe Steve was right and it was just the fever. She glanced around and noticed that he was gone. She bit her lip and glanced down at the sling ring. Before she could debate about whether it was a good idea or not, Hermione created another portal: she needed to know. The dimension revealed through the portal was bleak. A plateau of rugged, grey rock stretched as far as the eye could see. The sky was only determinable from the ground due to it being a slightly darker shade of grey as it, too, spread on without end. There was only one feature and Hermione knew that she would be the only person to see it even if anyone else did somehow stumble into this unnamed dimension. Seeing the small metal box should've been enough to reassure her but she had to know that it was safe. With a trembling hand she reached into the portal and used her magic to unlock the box that Tony had specially designed to keep the Stone safe. Taking the box into her hands, she lifted the lid. The yellow Stone glowed softly inside. She let out a sigh of relief.
"Thank you, daughter."
Hermione's blood chilled and then the world around her shifted. She was still in her bedroom but it was in ruins. Daylight streamed through the broken windows and in the corner stood Thanos. A red gemstone gleamed in the gauntlet he wore over his arm. She understood instantly. He had altered her reality using the Stone. The portal to the dimension continued to glow and, in her hands, she still held the final Infinity Stone.
Thanos stepped forwards but Hermione leapt through the portal. However, before she could even think of closing it, she suddenly found herself standing before Thanos once more, the Time Stone glowing this time.
Desperately, she flew through the open window but a strong force jarred her out of apparation-mode and she streaked towards the grounds, rolling over several times at the heavy impact.
"Hermione?" one of her friends called as she lay there, winded and barely conscious. "Where've you been?"
Steve turned his head when Harry called Hermione's name. They hadn't heard from her for a few minutes after she'd drawn the last beasts away. Vision had told them that she'd headed back to Salter but when there'd been no sign of her, he'd assumed that she'd gone to the Mirror Dimension. He peered around the grounds, eager to see a sign of Lucy.
A huge figure stepped onto the ravaged lawns and Steve knew who he was at once. Despair and rage burned through his body at the sight of the enemy who had wrought horror in Steve's life.
Ginny screamed.
Steve rushed forwards, the vibranium shields at his fists primed and ready as Thanos stepped towards the sprawled Hermione. He saw her disapparate but his relief was instantly squashed as Thanos raised the gauntlet on his arm and somehow forced Hermione to reappear, keeping her enclosed in a dome of green energy. It was then that Steve saw the small box she was clinging onto and he realised what it must contain.
There was no command for the others to attack. They all knew what was at stake. Magic spells flew in Thanos's direction but he created a shield with the gauntlet and they bounced harmlessly away, and then he swiped with his fist. Blue and purple energy threw the witch and wizards off their feet and they stayed down.
Steve leapt towards Thanos, aiming his fists to land powerful blows to Thanos's head but he too was thrown aside by a wave of purple energy. From where he landed, Steve saw Bucky, Rocket and then Groot fall too.
Red light burst out of Wanda's hands and Thanos was forced to take a step backwards behind his gauntlet shield. Steve sprinted forwards again but this time came from behind Thanos. He delivered twin hits to the back of Thanos's head with the points of his shields, channelling all his emotions for everything that Thanos had put Hermione through into the blows. One of the titan's knees buckled. With a roar, Thanos maintained his shield but the orange Stone lit up too. He thrust the gauntlet in Wanda's direction. Steve made a desperate attempt to punch the gauntlet off target, but he was too late and Wanda crumpled to the ground.
Thanos reached out for Steve's head, possibly intending to crush it, but he retracted his shields and used both hands to grip the fingers of the gauntlet, stopping it inches from his face. Steve strained against the golden arm and Thanos peered at him, seemingly impressed with his strength. "Ah," Thanos murmured lowly, with a hint of recognition in his eyes. "The son-in-law."
Steve yelled, thinking of his wife and daughter, as he glared into the other man's eyes.
Thanos twisted the gauntlet but only to give him room to send his other fist into Steve's head. He went down.
Hermione blinked, realising that her disapparation had been as unsuccessful as her previous attempts to escape, and then she gasped as she saw all her friends had fallen around her. Thanos must have manipulated time again because he was suddenly before her once more.
Despite the box still clutched in her hand, she acted quickly, expertly summoning a portal over Thanos's head. She forced it downwards and made the action to close it just like she had done with Cull Obsidian. But nothing happened. The Space Stone glowed blue on Thanos's gauntlet and he punched upwards, shooting the portal into the sky.
She sent every hex, jinx and curse she could think of at him but the gauntlet shielded him from them all. "Stop fighting the inevitable, daughter," he said calmly.
"I am not your daughter!" she screamed, reaching deep inside her to the very core of her magic. She directed it at him and this time he was thrown off his feet, but as he fell he made a swiping motion with the gauntlet and the orange Soul Stone glowed.
Hermione's astral form was thrown out of her body. "No!" she cried, though of course he couldn't hear her in this dimension. She soared back towards her body but it was like she was moving in slow motion, watching Thanos close his fingers around the Mind Stone's protective case.
Nearly there.
The Stone looked so small in his hand.
Almost.
His fingers were inching towards the empty section on his gauntlet.
Her eyes opened as Thanos let out an almighty yell, his body crackling with the energy of all the combined Infinity Stones.
It was over.
Thanos's body was suddenly thrown backwards by a huge bolt of lightning and Hermione cringed away from the immensely powerful beam. Thanos retaliated at once, launching a surge of Infinity energy at the rapidly descending Thor.
Hermione gasped as Thor's axe buried itself into Thanos's chest and she shielded her eyes from the blinding light as their powers met.
Thor landed. "I told you," he said, eerily calm as he pushed the axe deeper into Thanos's chest. "You'd die for that."
Thanos cried out in pain and Hermione shuddered at the sound. She got to her feet, shaking violently.
"You should have," Thanos wheezed weakly, his head starting to loll. "You should…" And then his voice became stronger as he lifted his face. "You should have gone for the head," he told Thor.
Thanos's eyes met hers as he raised the gauntlet and snapped his fingers.
"No!" she yelled.
The gauntlet became blackened and crumpled.
"What did you do?" Thor yelled. "What did you do?"
Thanos fell backwards into a black portal and disappeared, but Hermione was already rushing over to the stirring Steve, tears falling down her cheeks. "What happened?" he murmured and then he caught sight of Hermione's face. "No," he murmured, staggering to his feet. "No, no, no," he groaned in anguish, clinging to her.
"Steve?" Bucky asked and they both turned to look at him. Hermione gasped in pure horror as Bucky's body started to disintegrate before their eyes.
"No!" Steve cried, bending over where his friend had stood a moment ago.
Hermione's gaze passed along the lawn, watching as Groot and Sam disappeared too. Vision landed at high speed and pulled the limp Wanda into his arms but she faded away to nothing. Unconsciously, Hermione let out a high, keening noise as first Ginny, and then Harry, turned to dust. It was like a nightmare but this time she knew it was real - the pain was all encompassing.
"Lucy, Hermione," she heard Steve choke out behind her and she created a portal to the Mirror Dimension, feeling as though she might pass out.
She gasped and held a hand to her heart. "She's here, Steve," she sobbed, pulling the crying Lucy through the portal. "She's OK."
Natasha, wide-eyed, stumbled out after her, holding Albus and James. "Molly's gone," she murmured, as though she couldn't believe what her eyes had seen.
Draco rushed into the portal, taking the weeping Astoria and Scorpius into his arms.
Hermione reached behind her for Steve, wanting to feel him near.
There was only empty air.
Hermione whipped around. "S-Steve?" she called faintly. No. No. This wasn't happening. He was here. Where was he? "Steve?" she screamed.
Lucy hitched in a breath at Hermione's throat. She looked down at Lucy, her vision obscured with tears. She lifted a trembling hand to her daughter's cheek, but her fingers moved right through it as the little girl was willed out of existence.
