Strength in numbers.
While both sides had three stones each, Thanos had all of his in the gauntlet.
Space
Power
Soul
He could use them only one at a time.
On the other hand, three different people on their side were wielding the others.
Wanda used the mind stone to control a part of the outrider army to fight against the titan.
Loki twisted reality to launch creative attacks, deflect or render many of the Thanos' own offensive strikes almost harmless.
Doctor Strange, though he had the time stone, didn't use it as liberally. Rather, again conjured portals, like on Titan, to allow Steve and Bucky to get in some melee hits between the teeth and claws of the outriders.
A particularly strong barrage bought them a few precious seconds where Thanos was somewhat thrown off.
Tony followed with a concentrated repulsor blast and the titan had to put up his gauntlet hand to block some of the blinding assault.
Just when Thanos dropped his hand to try and throw another of his own attacks, a battle cry caught his attention. The next thing he knew, pain burst through his chest and he was face to face with the snarling god of thunder.
Thor looked menacing. He pushed the blade of his ax deeper into purple flesh, making Thanos gasp in pain. The god of thunder thought of his people, many of them slaughtered mercilessly. Loki, his little brother, kicking helplessly before... "You..." He growled deeply.
"Step aside brother, my turn."
The smooth voice was deadly and almost soft, but it was enough to shock Thor into whipping his head back in the direction of the speaker.
The blond god stared wide-eyed and open-mouthed while Loki, he was alive?!, gathered red energy in his hands.
A high pitched yell, an enraged screech almost, cut through the air. "NO! I'm finishing him!" Wanda's usual calm expression was twisted, her eyes glowed more yellow instead of red, her own fingertips burned orange.
::Take the stones! While Thor has him stunned!:: A frantic plea cut through the comms.
Steve gaped, putting his hand on his ear, "Renny! You're supposed to be-"
Bucky also understood what her words implied. Renny wasn't far away like she should have been. She was close enough to see. Close enough to... "Wait!" He yelled out desperately.
Wanda threw her palms forward, releasing an orange wave of energy.
Loki similarly snapped one arm in an arcing motion, crackling red energy bursting from his fingers.
There was no way that one word could have stopped or even delayed the rage-fuelled attacks.
Thor had enough sense to jump away when the two bursts of energy shot toward him. Toward Thanos.
Doctor Strange used the time stone to slow the alien down just enough so he wouldn't get away. The titan, however, had partially opened a portal with the space stone to try and escape.
Four stones.
Fucking four stones were in play!
A memory of what just one could do to Renny flashed through Bucky's thoughts. Even falling from that train so long ago, when he thought he was going to die, he didn't feel the terror he did now.
A powerful explosion rocked the clearing, knocking practically everybody off their feet. A resulting shockwave echoed back through the trees.
A pained scream pierced through the forest and made a chill run down Bucky's spine.
"No." The one word felt like it took all the air from his lungs. He scrambled to his feet and shot toward the sound immediately.
Steve wanted to follow right behind his friend, but his focus was pulled back to the titan who had collapsed heavily on the ground. Thanos's purple skin was charred and cracked, especially on his arm, face, and neck.
Thor had recovered enough to take the opportunity to pull the gauntlet from the titan's weak hand.
What followed was brutal.
Combining her own powers with the mind stone, Wanda willed the titan to stay prone while she tore away at his psyche.
Loki used the reality stone to suffocate him, air suddenly unable to enter his lungs.
The titan gasped pitifully on the ground, his body twitching.
"Just end it, reindeer games!"
Thanos turned from the doctor he had knocked into a wall of rock and set his sights on the lone woman in front of him. The dark-skinned girl, the creature with the stone, and the red woman were nowhere to be seen.
The creature, the red woman, and the girl were the same ones from his strange visions...
It was this woman who seemed to be out of place.
Something told him that she was the one that had twisted the fates so that his goal was still out of reach where it would have been accomplished by now.
He stepped toward her slowly, "Stop trying to keep the stone away. Your efforts are admirable but pointless." If the woman was taken care of, he would win.
"Like hell." She growled at him.
The woman had to be dealt with, or she would constantly be transporting the stone away. He could find a way to keep following, but it was inconvenient and would waste time.
Get rid of her. She doesn't belong here.
The feeling was insistent.
Clenching his fist, he released a blast of energy from the power stone. One strong enough to char the flesh of his quarry.
However, faster than he thought was possible, something had tackled the woman to the ground and shielded her.
Thanos' ire was building. Frustration led him to drive his fist into the two figures on the ground, but a third stopped him.
The dark-haired human's eyes were filled with fury.
Why was it that it seemed that even the universe itself strived to stop him now? Such a fickle thing.
The titan moved to deliver a punch to the human's head but was again stopped by the light-haired one.
The two combined their inhuman strength to push him back roughly. It would have been inconsequential, but a stinging barrage of plasma almost hit his head, blocked by his gauntlet.
"Eat plasma you crazy ass bastard!" A rodent creature yelled out.
What was this?!
It was infuriating, being forced back by the three who worked almost seamlessly one after the other.
Thanos' aggravation reached a high point, which was actually beneficial for him.
Fueled with frustration and rage, he yelled as he managed to close his fist.
The resulting wave from the power stone rendered the two humans unconscious, sending the rodent flying into the woman's arms and knocking her off her feet and into a rough roll.
He stalked toward the pair, the furry animal again firing at him. Thanos batted the shots away like flies this time.
The creature annoyed him, he would be first to die.
Shockingly, when he reached for the rodent who stupidly stood in front of the woman like it could protect her, the human did something incomprehensible.
She swept her hand up, a streak of purple energy blocking his reach.
Purple energy.
Power stone energy.
She visibly shook with the effort, but...
Impossible.
As she jumped back with the smaller creature in her arms, the shield crackled, releasing sparks of power that singed his skin.
It was impossible.
He shook his head. This had to be a joke. The universe was testing him.
Just then the ground beneath his feet began quaking. Over the chaos in the distance were sharp cries and shrieks that cut through the air. Faint at first, but getting louder with each passing moment.
The sound made a smirk pull at his lips.
Power was one way to defeat your enemies, but you could also overwhelm them with sheer numbers. Besides, it would be much more enjoyable to see her ripped apart. She deserved a slow death for all her meddling.
The woman must have realized her fate because she ran towards her unconscious companions.
No, she didn't deserve that comfort.
He grabbed her by the arm and held her off the ground. Fear clouded her eyes as she helplessly scrabbled for purchase with her free hand, trying to stabilize herself lest she accidentally twisted her trapped arm from its socket.
"Foolish girl, you can't stop this."
The blood drained from her face as she watched the trees of the forest give way to the mass of aliens coming their way. The titan smirked, ready to direct his army to tear this meddling woman apart.
She deserved pain, and what better way than to lose those you loved. A sickening snap was heard along with the woman's cry of pain as her forearm broke under his fingers. He then tossed her harshly, roughly ten feet away from her companions.
The outriders would reach them before she could crawl her way across. He relished in the look of agony in her eyes and the tears that streaked her cheeks as she cradled her broken arm to her chest and tried to push herself forward with just her legs.
The small furry creature was proving quite stupid as well, standing by the human woman. Thanos could respect his bravery, but even with several explosives on the animal's belt and a blaster cocked and ready, there was no way he could stand more than a few seconds against a mass of outriders, just one being more than ten times his size.
Finally, his army burst through the tree line and the woman and furry creature yelled. One in agony, the other in defiance.
The outriders ran on though, they did not stop, but what shocked the titan was that they assaulted him, burying him in a writhing mass of bodies.
The shock was enough to render him stupefied for a few seconds for the outriders to dig their claws and teeth into him. Through the throng of arms and legs, he saw the human woman had somehow reached and revived her companions. Now they were retreating.
Above him, he saw the red woman, the mind stone around her neck. Apparently, she was controlling a portion of his army.
"You took everything away from me," she seethed.
No. This wasn't how it would end. He was doing this for the betterment of the universe. He released a blast from the power stone to throw back the traitorous creatures.
He still had three stones-
Then red and gold- Stark had arrived, bantering with the two soldiers. The other woman had disappeared though. A ring of sparks formed behind the group and out stepped the wielder of the time stone.
Over the trees, he caught a glimpse of a spacecraft that had also exited from another mystic portal and began raining a hail of fire on his outriders left on the fields.
His dream for the universe was shattering around him, and though he would not admit defeat, he could feel his desperation rising.
The attacks against him were so well-coordinated, so many of earth's heroes taking part, that he couldn't help but feel some admiration cut through him. They were defending what they believed was for the best, foolish as it was. His goal was noble. Why couldn't they see that?
He could feel his injuries slowly but surely stacking up.
A blast from Stark made his vision turn white and for a second, he thought he was dead, then a burning pain sliced through his shoulder.
His vision cleared to reveal the raging gaze of the thunder god. One eye blazing blue, the other an abyssal dark brown, both furious, the ax of the god's weapon embedded deep in his flesh.
"You..." The simple word dripped with rage, so did the next
He was not sure what happened next... But his entire being was consumed by pain.
His limbs would not cooperate and he was forced face down on the ground. Even when he had managed to turn his head to the side, he could barely move anything else. It was like he was being pressed down into the earth and pulled apart at the same time.
He gasped, struggling to breathe as well. Bare wisps of air entered his lungs, but his heaving couldn't pull any more into them.
Before he could even think of trying to break through what was holding him down, even his mind was assaulted.
It had to be a trick.
Because he swore he saw his adopted daughter walking toward him, her stature small, like when he just saved her. A little girl.
Her boots stopped by his head, and he could only turn his eyes to try and see her face. "What would it cost? Your dream?" She was sad.
It felt like his heart was being stabbed, once again reminded of how he had to sacrifice the one thing he loved.
"Yes." She slowly got down on one knee to look him in the eye, "Like a knife through the chest. You'd let half the universe feel that loss." Blood trickled from her hairline, down her cheek like a tear. "Maybe there would be prosperity in the universe, but would those left behind all recover from being torn like that?"
Wetness slowly stained the chest of her tunic. Blood bloomed like a dark, ugly flower over her heart. Her small hands gently laid over the spot, almost like she might have been hiding something fragile in her fingers. Actual tears mixed with the blood on her face. She cried, and the sight twisted the blade in his chest.
He wanted to reach for her, his daughter-
One gasp.
Then... Darkness.
A/N: Comments? Sorry it took so long to update though. I kept typing and retyping this arc, wondering if I was doing the right thing. Oh well, it's fanfiction, so anything is possible. Not completely satisfied with this chapter though. Thoughts?
Thanks again to everyone who read, added this story to their alerts, and those who took the time to drop a review. I'd love to know what you guys think of this chapter though.
'Til next time