"Are you going to explain exactly how sitting in the grass like a child will lead us to your family?" Loki asked, crossing one leg over his knee and stretching, letting his arms drape over the back of the park bench he'd been sitting on.
Gamora was several feet away. She was seated in the grass where they had landed hours before. She had her legs tucked beneath her, massaging her temples with her fingers. "No," she muttered, not opening her eyes or looking to have lost any concentration.
He nodded quickly, looking up to the skyline until his eyes found Stark's tower. His mind rushed back to fighting with Thor on the roof of the building. He ran a hand over his face, trying to rub away the memory of yet another way he disappointed his family, his brother. As if Thor was even still alive.
"I assure you brother, the sun shall rise on us again."
His words rang in his mind over and over again. He wanted to prove to himself that the last words he spoke to his brother weren't going to be another lie. Another disappointment.
The flickering in the sky snapped him out of his thoughts. He looked around, noticing the yellow clouds blending into an orange color, then twisting together as if a tornado was beginning to form. The clouds would turn dark red, almost black, before dissipating back to its original yellow again.
He looked down again to Gamora, and he had to blink a few times to make sure he was seeing clearly. She had her palms resting on her knees and she was somehow sitting as she was, but one foot off the ground. Her eyes were shut, but he could see her pupils moving beneath her eyelids. Some sweat was forming in her hairline. He jumped up then, closing the distance between them quickly, but he stopped himself before reaching her.
The wind picked up quickly, he stumbled a bit as leaves and grass flew around them, missing Gamora by a noticeable distance each time they seemed to be getting close. Before he could move, a branch caught one of his legs and he fell over with an annoyed grunt. Gamora's eyes flew open and she dropped back onto the ground instantly. The wind stopped and the skies returned to its original, yellow and orange colors.
Loki pushed himself up, but slowly. He was breathing a little heavier, unsure of what to make of what just happened. "Gamora?" He asked after he brushed his hair back behind his ears, removing some grass from his black tangles.
She let him pull her to her feet, tilting her head at him when he faltered a little bit and she almost fell back to the ground.
Loki took a step back, "How'd you do that?"
Gamora looked around her, seeing some debris and branches scattered across the grass around them. She raised and lowered one shoulder, unsure of how to answer.
"A soul for a soul." She heard behind her, she snapped her head to the side, narrowing her eyes in the direction of his voice.
"Gamora?" Loki touched her shoulder.
She turned quickly, gripping his wrist in her fingers. Her eyes widened as his skin began to turn a pale blue shade, spreading up his arm.
Before he could stop her, she felt her vision shift and the scenery around her change drastically.
She landed haphazardly on some stairs, stumbling a moment before looking below her at the commotion.
"So I am a stolen relic, locked up here until you have use of me?" a younger Loki barked, tears welling in his wide eyes. He was looking up at a much older man, adorned in a large crown and golden and white robes.
Gamora tilted her head at the scene. How did she get here?
"Why do you twist my words?" The older man asked, sounding shaky in his tone.
"You could have told me what I was from the beginning. Why didn't you?" Loki's words were pained.
Gamora didn't understand why or how she got here. What's happening, she thought to herself.
Before the older man could answer Loki's desperate question, Loki looked above him and locked eyes with Gamora.
"What are you doing here?" He barked, narrowing his eyes at her.
She felt a lump rise in her throat. "I don't-"
She started before he drew a dagger out of thin air and launched it at her. She dodged it, but slipped and began to fall backwards.
She landed on her side in the grass, her hair blocking her eyes from finding Loki at first. She took several deep breaths, feeling as if she was choking on air.
Loki was breathing heavily additionally, not understanding how she would've been able to do that. When he saw her push herself feebly into a sitting position, he noticed she was still breathing heavily and unevenly.
He remembered the first time he stumbled into someone else's mind. He was eight years old when he accidentally grabbed onto Thor's arm and wound up reliving the time Odin scowled him for sneaking out to watch the Bifrost. He remembered being confused and frightened until Freya comforted him. She took his wrists in her hands, feeling his palms before sighing happily and telling him that he was like Thor and Odin now, developing his own God-like powers.
"Hey, hey." He squatted down in front of her, "Breathe." He had to push down a bitter feeling rising in his throat at the familiarity of this situation. It reminded him of his mother.
He went to push some of her hair out of her face, but hesitated for a moment. He didn't want her accidentally entering his memories again.
"What the Hell was that?" She coughed, running both her hands through her hair.
He looked back to his wrist and was relieved to see his skin had returned to its normal color. He decided to chance it, reaching forward and grabbing her wrists. He lightly pulled her hands away from her face and looked them over. They looked normal at first, but he ran two fingers over her palm and he felt it.
She must've noticed him tense upon grazing her palms because she sat up straighter, "What is it?" She asked frantically.
Loki was still staring at her, mouth slightly agape as he searched his mind for the right answer. "Uh," he started, "I don't know. You just feel different."
She raised an eyebrow, but her face still looked unsettled by these newfound abilities.
He locked eyes with her after forcing himself to look away from her hand, "I just can sense much more power. You had strength before, but now it seems like you're drawing a great deal more from something."
"A soul for a soul."
Gamora looked up quickly, finally seeing the guardian of the Soul Stone from Vormir. He was standing over them, and he reached down and touched her forehead with a single finger.
"Gamora? Gamora!" Loki called as he watched her eyes roll back and she collapsed. He looked around quickly, seeing nothing.
Gamora shot up quickly, looking around to find herself back in the cave where she and Thanos had discovered the Stone's guardian days ago. He was standing, well mostly floating, in the corner of the cave, near the exit that lead to the cliff she was tossed from, watching her intently.
She felt her body tense up, preparing for a fight.
"I'm not your enemy. Fighting me will gain you nothing here." He stated simply, as if reading her mind.
She pushed herself up quickly, not drawing a weapon but still remaining in a battle ready stance. "Where is he?" She barked.
The guardian looked her up and down, as if he was studying everything about her. "Your companion? The God of Mischief?" He asked, his voice void of any emotion.
He casted a hand out, displaying a hazy view of the park she had been in with Loki only seconds ago. He was holding her torso in his lap, her face in his hands as he shook lightly, calling her name.
Gamora attempted to run towards the window-esque view of Loki before the guardian evaporated the view. "You can return to the God of Mischief anytime you'd like, but I hope you will consider hearing me first."
Gamora eyed him angrily, but something inside herself told her not to leave just yet. "Hear you?" She asked, narrowing her eyes as she crossed her arms over her chest.
He nodded, "When your father sacrificed you for the Soul Stone, your soul was preserved inside of it. It is where you are now." His tone, again, emotionless.
Gamora rolled her eyes, "Yeah, I've since gathered."
His expression seemed to harden as he moved towards her, "A soul for a soul."
"You keep saying that, and I understand. I was sacrificed so Thanos could get the stone." She kept her voice even, but she hated that she was the only reason her adopted father was able to destroy half the universe.
"Do not blame yourself. You cannot help who he loved," He stated. Again, as if he could read her mind.
She rolled her eyes, "How the Hell are you doing that?"
"I am connected to the Stone, as are you." He stated simply.
"What does that even mean?" She was getting exasperated. She's beginning to overwhelmed and stir crazy within the Stone. Before he could answer, she spoke again. "I feel like I'm in some kind of ocean. Waves keep pushing and pulling me around and I do not understand how anything in this goddamn world works." She didn't like that her anger was beginning to boil over, but she was essentially dead, so what did it matter to her now?
He tilted his head at her, removing his hood finally. "The Stone demands a sacrifice." He slowly lowered himself so his feet were on the ground. He still towered over Gamora, but he approached her on foot. "It understands that this power isn't to be given lightly."
"The hardest choices require the strongest wills," she almost spat out, as if her father's words put a bad taste in her mouth.
"This is true, but the power isn't given entirely to the one who wields the Stone." His voice was even, but it gave her a weird sense of clarity.
"So, the wind and the sky changing. Seeing inside Loki's mind-" she started, but he cut her off.
"All of these things come with the Stone, but not for the one who can possess it." He explained.
"Why?" She asked, still not understanding.
"The one who possesses all the Infinity Stones can lay waste to galaxies without much consequence. Unlike the others, the Soul Stone takes in most of the damage. Someone is needed to protect the ones taken at the hands of he who wields the Stones. The guardian of this realm. The Soul Stone."
She took a step back, not even attempting to mask her amazement. "So the Soul Stone doesn't allocate power to Thanos?"
He shook his head, "It just absorbs the damage done. The gifts that come with the Stone are given to the one that is sacrificed. Only those sacrificed are truly worthy to protect the souls tucked away in here."
Gamora nodded, "So I will be able to find anyone in here?"
This time, he nodded. "The guardian within this realm can see all things living and dead."
She thought back to her new companion. "How did Loki get here? If he died before I did."
"That was the first use of your power. The God of Mischief died attempting to protect those he loved, as did you from what I can see."
Gamora nodded, thinking of Thor, of Nebula.
"At your last moments, you thought for someone who could understand you. And in a sea full of death, the Stone gave you the God of Mischief." He explained.
Gamora nodded, recalling her desire to face someone else besides Thanos in death.
"How can I find Peter?" She asked, not bothering to conceal her emotions any longer. Her voice dripped with desperation, but she didn't care anymore.
This time, he did not answer her question. "You are the guardian here now. I cannot be of use for only personal gains in this realm."
Gamora frowned as he began to step out of the cave. "But wait," she called, picking up speed to catch up to him. She ran out towards the top of the cliff face once more, not understanding where he could've gone. "How do I find my family?" She yelled as she ran, skidding to a stop at the edge.
She signed, unsure of how to get back. She thought about it for several moments, shutting her eyes and focusing on getting back.
She was expecting to jolt awake, but she didn't even feel like she had moved. She opened her eyes then, slowly. She blinked a lot, noticing she was back in the dark sand dunes of Vormir. Just on the ground, miles from the mountain.
She looked around quickly, not seeing anyone at first.
"Fuck," she muttered, tucking her hair behind her ear before sitting down on top of a sand dune, looking down into the water. Much to her frustration, she only saw herself.
"Focus," she heard from behind her. She turned on her heel, sighing once she found no one. She balled up her fists and looked out at the great wasteland she was set to guard. Was this her reality now? Would she ever find Peter? Her family? How would she even get back to Loki? She felt her nails digging into her palms and she didn't stop until she felt warm blood dripping through her fingers into the ground.
"Fuck!" She shouted, running her hands through her hair and screaming angrily out into the nothingness she's seemingly destined to watch over from now on. The wind picked up slightly, but she barely noticed over her own anguish. No one was around, so, in an odd way, she was free.
She let tears freely flow, but she wasn't sad anymore. She was angry. Thanos stole her life right out from under her. She became a weapon. Just when she was able to get free, fall in love, be a part of something that was healthy. Something that mattered, he destoryed everything she'd ever come to love. Now, she was alone, destined to fill another task he had left for her to do, whether he realized it or not.
As she was thinking over all her anger, her screams became raspy, and sand began filling the air and turning it dark as so much wind had picked up. Her hair was wipping around her face, angrily clinging to her shoulders and neck as she watched the skies become darker and darker orange.
The pools of water begin to twitch beneath her and she stalked down the mountain, fists still balled up as this windstorm seemed to open up a clear path for her. It swallowed her in its chaos, but never got close enough to cause her any damage.
She did a double take as she passed by another puddle, seeing the flicker of someone else inside of it. The windstorm around her got overwhelming and she ran her hands through her hair, trying to calm herself down. Finally she knotted her fingers in her hair and shut her eyes, shouting "Stop!" into the air, barely hearing herself from all the noise around her. It almost reminded her of a warzone.
As soon as she opened her eyes, everything was ack to its calm quiet normalcy.
She glanced back down in the puddle below her, widening her eyes as she noticed how different she looked. Her irises were a rust color inside of their normal dark brown. She moved hair out of her face, dropping to her knees and staring at herself. She raised hands to her face, blinking several times.
She looked beside her to another puddle, noticing that it was an image, not a reflection. It looked like her and Peter's bunk in the Milano. She couldn't see anyone in the puddlle, but her eyes were glued to the pool.
"Peter!" She shouted after a moment, hoping she'd see that he was alright.
After a moment, Peter ran into view, gun drawn with his eyes wide. "Gamora!" He shouted, looking around violently. Tears were freely flowing down his face as he whipped his head around, gun drawn in front of him weakly.
She sighed, wiping tears as they fell down her cheeks. She was so close, she could see Peter. She needed to get back to him.
"Gamora!" She looked off to the side, another pool near her displayed Loki running through the park, holding his shoulder with a pained expression.
She stood between two pools, looking violently between the two paths. She never thought she'd see Peter again, and he was so clearly in reach. She needed to get back to him, but Loki was in danger.
They had agreed to protect each other, and he had saved her life so many times already. He needed her, but Peter.
"Gamora?" She flinched when she heard both men say her name at the same time.
She ran her hands through her hair, looking between them.