It was going to be difficult locating Rocket in his current state, Thor knew that, but he couldn't allow the rabbit to wallow in his sorrows for long. He was only returning the favor for how the creature had consoled him before Nidavellir. Not to mention that Thor felt as though he didn't really… connect with the Avengers at the moment. He could sense the unspoken rift within Earth's mightiest heroes, had picked up on it when Stark returned and the air in the room changed—not because of him for once. He never would've guessed even with the foreboding Maximoff girl's vision that he would return to Midgard under such conditions.

The hallways were eerily quiet now that the situation had settled after Thanos's godforsaken snap. Thor's fists clenched in anger at the thought of the Titan's actions, and he could already sense the lightning crackling from his fingertips. The Warriors Three, Lady Sif, Heimdall, Odin, Loki, all dead, the destruction of Asgard, his people crippled to near extinction at the hands of Hela and Thanos… At least Valkyrie and the others were safe, away from the onslaught. But then it hit him: Would Thanos's culling affect the already halved Asgardians? When he told Rocket on the pod he had nothing left to lose, they both knew he was putting on a strong face, that there was always something more to lose if you were willing to fight. Losing another half of his already endangered people, being driven one step closer to extinc… He refused to acknowledge the grim possibility, shut it out of his mind.

He contemplated summoning the Bifrost then and there to search the cosmos for what remained of the survivors, seeing that they likely didn't make it too far from the twenty-two clicks they had distanced themselves from Asgard's destruction when Thanos arrived. He decided to hold off on it for the time being. Drifting through the building, Thor forced his thoughts to shift elsewhere.

Wakanda, they had called it. Thor was impressed by the place; their technology didn't quite match up to Asgardian standards, though he could tell it was light years beyond what the rest of Midgard had to offer. The vibranium metal that was the foundation of the kingdom had some otherworldly properties of its own from what he'd seen. It wasn't as strong as the uru from which Stormbreaker was forged, but it certainly compensated for that with its diverse utility whether in battle or by innovating technology used on a daily basis.

The few Wakandan warriors prowling the area gave him a wide berth, stealing subtle glances when they thought he wasn't looking. Thor didn't mind, because although Midgard knew of his exploits, he was apparently a very polarizing figure to meet in person, and that was before he had tapped into his new potential and forged Stormbreaker. Besides, he didn't want to diverge from the task at hand.

It took the better part of an hour, but Thor finally managed to track down Rocket in one of the more secluded areas of the building, brooding on a much too lavish bed. He noticed the rabbit had already blew off some steam judging from the carnage, a broken lamp and disintegrated table. Rocket's back was turned to him, and the creature showed no signs of wanting to talk. Luckily for Thor, he himself was in this position countless times during his younger days, and he knew the perfect remedy to get someone to open up. He walked over and sat next to him, the rabbit noticing his presence for the first time.

"Tell me you weren't standing there the whole time," Rocket said, a much more vulnerable hitch to his voice than Thor had heard before.

He shook his head. "No, I only just got here. Was wandering around the place—it really is too big—happened to notice you looked like you needed some company."

"Alright, what do you want then?" he questioned, a hint of exasperation entering Rocket's voice.

"Thought you could use a drink," he said with a shrug, revealing the liquor he had swiped earlier from a cabinet in the kitchen, which earned him a slight smirk from the rabbit. "On Asgard, I normally resorted to alcohol to take my mind off things until the more recent part of my life, figured the same applied for most beings throughout the realms."

"Well, you're damn right it does!" Rocket exclaimed, snatching the bottle from his hand and beginning to chug. "I like you, Thor, you really understand people, you know that?"

"Oh, don't stress it Rocket, after all, that's what friends do," Thor said with a smile.

"Still, I figured you'd be hanging out with your good ol' Avenger buddies by now."

"Well, you remember me saying I'd been away from the team for a while?" Rocket nodded. "Appears they've had some sort of Midgardian conflict, don't really know the details, but regardless… I don't really where I stand with them aside from the battle anymore."

Rocket snorted in response. "I'll bet. Humies can be real petty. I would know being around that jackass Quill-"

Rocket froze when he blurted out the name of his now deceased teammate. Thor gave him a consoling look that he knew would likely be in vain now. It would be harder to reach the rabbit with the guilt weighing on his conscience.

Still, he tried anyway. "Rocket, you cannot blame yourself for what Thanos did. I've heard the same thing myself a lot today, and I'm the one who let my desire for revenge to blind me. You though, you fought valiantly, as well as a being of your decree could. It's nobody's fault but that madman's in the grand scheme of things."

"Fought valiantly? I was the one who wouldn't show my face when Thanos came, that's why I went with you to Nidavellir! Your Avenger buddies did, hell even Groot did when they were outmatched!" Rocket yelled in a self loathing tone before slumping his shoulders. Suddenly, the liquor wasn't that enticing to him. "I ain't got the mindset of a hero, even after I joined the Guardians. I was always a coward who saved his own butt first, everything I do has an ulterior motive!"

Oh. That was why he was beating himself up. Though Thor frowned internally for a moment at this, he was glad he was getting honesty from Rocket. Now, he just needed to find the words to put the rabbit at ease, something that would reduce his feeling of inadequacy.

"Just because you didn't challenge Thanos doesn't mean you deserve this, Rocket. Any of it. Again, you did what you thought was your best in battle, and your fear is justified. Thanos could've slain us all right then and there, you had no way of knowing he wouldn't."

"I still could've tried," he said with a sigh. "I… just don't know what to do, Groot's been with me forever, the rest of the Guardians were my only family ever. Nothing's keeping me here, but I can't just go back to being a jackass who takes dirty jobs and drinks to Xandar and back. I just… feel lost Thor."

"Whatever path you choose to take after this, just know that I'll be here for you, Rocket," He put a reassuring hand on the creature's back to go with the words. Feeling bold, he decided that he would try giving him something to hang onto, even if it was just a spark. "But… you know, if we could get the gauntlet, maybe we could bring them back. We could-"

"Just stop! Stop right now, man!" Rocket slammed his paw on the bed at the proposition. "Don't do that, right now I-I'm just gonna have to accept I'm stuck with Nebula. You still have your Avenger guys here, don't push em away. Because at least you have someone."

The last part came out in almost a hushed whisper, the words hanging in the air. Soon, Rocket got up abruptly, handing the unfinished bottle back to Thor. "I… gotta head out, place still makes me feel all cramped up. City looks nice though, I'll go check it out," Rocket said in his serious voice, before giving Thor a soft look. "Listen Thor, I appreciate your help and all that, but it's as simple as the fact that I don't belong here with the rest of you. I ain't leaving yet, but if we're just trying to get people to calm down here, there's no reason for me to stay."

Thor nodded solemnly at this, choosing to accept what Rocket said. "I understand," was all he could say.

The rabbit nodded in thanks before turning for the door. Suddenly, an idea hit Thor like one of his lightning bolts. "Wait!" he exclaimed, making Rocket jump up in surprise.

"Your ship is here, right? With all communication systems intact?" he asked urgently.

"I haven't had the chance to check yet, but why do you—ohhhhh," he said, realization of Thor's idea dawning on him.

"You heard our first distress signal. The Asgardians, my people, maybe I can get a message to them in turn."

It didn't take long for Bruce to arrive at the farmhouse once Clint relayed its coordinates. He hadn't really paid attention to the trip he made with the rest of the team three years ago to this place. Three years, had it really been so long? He shook his head, still mystified by the turn of events while he was locked away in his alter ego on an alien planet. Steve and Nat had explained the logistics of their Civil War and the new Accords while they were on the Quinjet to Wakanda, but it was bare bones, right to the point kind of description. He caught them with their eyes lowered slightly at certain parts of the story, still harbouring guilt over how things played out.

It didn't really matter now that half the universe was gone now, did it? But then again, if someone like Secretary Ross was able to get a spot on the council, who knew how sane those people were?

Bruce stepped out of the Wakandan aircraft, striding towards the door. Just one knock, those were Clint's exact words coming from his strained, mournful voice filled with loss. The door swiftly opened when Bruce followed his instructions. Clint was definitely on edge, alert to every sound being made.

The archer gaped in surprise at the sight of him, even though they had spoke on the phone less than an hour ago. Without warning, he leaned in for a momentary hug, as if he wanted to ensure Bruce was truly there.

"Hey man, good to see you again," Bruce said, clapping a hand on the man's shoulder.

"Yeah, it's just…" Clint's eyes glazed over then, his brain being overwhelmed by the surreal situation. "I just don't know where to start. Nat told me the gist of it all, but I still don't understand what the goddamn hell just happened."

"Well, at least I'm not the one that has to be brought up to speed for once," Bruce said jokingly. "Come on, I'll explain everything I can once we're on the jet."

Clint nodded at this, drawing the resolve he needed to leave the house. The house where his family had been reduced to mere ash. The two men trudged back to the aircraft, Bruce initiating the start up sequence once there before putting the plane on autopilot. Once they had gone airborne and began cruising at a reasonable altitude, Bruce turned away from the controls to look at Clint.

"Okay," he began, clasping his hands together like he had when he greeted the rest of the team, not even a day prior. "Where should I start?"

"You could start with where you've been the past three years," Bruce looked up, surprised at the request. There had been no hint of accusation in Clint's voice, just pure sincere curiosity on his whereabouts. The archer noticed this and quickly clarified, "Sorry, it's just… the topic of a universal genocide isn't something I want to hear right now. We can save that conversation for when we get back to the rest of the team."

Bruce nodded in agreement, knowing that Clint was already overwhelmed as it was. "Last thing I remembered was Nat pushing me off the edge. Must've drove Hulk into a rampage. Next thing I know, I'm in the Quinjet naked on an alien planet, and Thor's looking at me like I'm about to break."

"How long?" Barton asked, his eyes widening.

"At least two years, maybe more. Time on that planet worked weird according to Thor."

"I'll bet. What was the big guy doing that kept you locked away like that?"

"I still don't know. There's no way he was angry the whole time, it's like he just locked me away like some luggage in the back seat. Apparently, I-he was a champion of warriors, everyone on that planet loved him."

"So you're saying he was actually… happy and in control the whole time?" Clint inquired, an eyebrow raised.

"Yeah, me and Hulk are still working out the kinks right now," he said with a shrug before continuing his story. "Anyway, Thor ended up allegedly beating me in a fight, easily in his eyes and I turned back into well, me, a little while after. That's when we-well I met this Asgardian Valkyrie, the big guy already knew her, and decided to go to Asgard to take down Thor's sister."

"Thor's sister?!" Clint half exclaimed, half questioned.

"Yeah, I told Thor I wanted no part of their family quarrel. Kinda ironic though, considering I was the one who pummelled his brother into the ground."

Clint chuckled softly at the mention of that moment, nothing had ever felt so satisfying as the day they had taken down the 'God of Mischief'. His mood swung like a pendulum after what Bruce said next though.

"But maybe he wasn't so bad after all."

"WHAT?!" Clint snapped out of his stupor quickly. "Bruce, the man killed hundreds of people in less than a week, he was the most manipulative, devious-"

"I know what he was, Clint! I know," Bruce repeated more softly. "But I'm just saying this based off what I saw. We had him as a prisoner on that planet-"

"That would've been nice to see," Clint muttered.

"And he still came to help us!" he continued, not missing a beat. "Maybe he did it for his own survival, but he didn't have to. He could've taken his ship and flown it anywhere else in the universe, but he chose to help us. And you know what I saw on the ship's bridge? Him and Thor, standing together, smiling because they finally had been brought back together."

"Okay, so he did something good for once, he'll stab you and Thor in the back soon enough," Clint replied jeeringly.

Bruce held his hands up in defence. "Look, I don't even know why I'm defending the guy, I hated him just as much as you do. Maybe he would've betrayed us later, who knows. But he didn't come with Thor to Wakanda, so I guess I'm just trying to say… if Loki did die, he died in redemption, not as the same man we captured in New York."

Clint took a deep sigh at this, willing himself to stay calm. He didn't care if Loki had 'changed', but if he was truly gone, there was no reason to argue about the trickster. So he relented. "Maybe you're right Bruce, but I can't trust those words without seeing it for myself."

Bruce nodded, as if expecting such an answer. "I know, I'm really just telling the story for Thor's sake. He's had a crappy few years."

"Understandable, so how'd it all go down?"

"Well, I was the Hulk at the time, but I still remember Asgard being destroyed by this fiery creature. He put his sword straight through the planet and killed Thor's sister. We got the refugees boarded on the ship, and it was going fine un… until… until Thanos showed."

"You don't have to continue," Clint said quietly.

"He decimated the ship, beat Hulk in record time, took the Tesseract… god, it was awful, just all the bodies Clint, so many lives gone like that. I got sent back to Earth to warn you guys, which is how this all began," he concluded with a grimace.

The silence that followed was eerily palpable, neither one of them uttering a word as the plane cruised along. Finally, Bruce spoke again, his words an attempt to lighten the mood. "So that's my story, how've you been lately?"

Clint managed to paste on a smile in spite of it all. "Oh, not bad, played eighteen on the green, shot eighteen. And we don't really have to get into my prowess in playing pool."

"Retirement's been treating you well then, huh?" Bruce teased with a smile.

"Other than the whole 'Avengers splitting up' dilemma, it's been pretty good, all in all," he said, chuckling softly.

"Tell me all about it," Bruce said, a look of curiosity in his eyes. "Or, at least the parts you want to discuss. We've got time." He waved out to the skyline they were zipping by, still a couple hours away from Wakanda.

"Well in the five minutes I was retired before it all went to crap, things were pretty good…"

And the discussion continued from there for most of the ride back to Wakanda, just two good old friends catching up with each other.

It was a restless night for everyone in Wakanda and likely around the world as well. But while everyone was wide awake and couldn't sleep a wink, the bustling capital of the nation was like a ghost town that night. The streets were empty, doors sealed, the tribes withdrew back to their respective territories, and hardly a trace of life could be found had anyone chosen to venture outside that night.

Steve Rogers awoke after a night that consisted of staring aimlessly out a window, tossing and turning for hours, and with only a few hours of sleep tops to show for it. It was a new day though, the first day after the Snap, the first of many where they would slowly pick up the pieces and rebuild. Though the Captain did want another shot at Thanos, he knew it would be a long time coming, perhaps the day would never arrive. Instead, he directed his attention to what he knew he could do, even if it meant attending a press conference to establish order.

Getting out of bed, he could still feel a jolt in his facial nerves; the effects of Thanos's punch still being felt. He walked around the Wakandan facility that he was all too familiar with after T'Challa granted him and Bucky asylum here two years ago. Eventually, he found Natasha in an observatory, eyes focused on the beautiful skyline, the sun shining more vibrantly than usual to Steve. Though maybe he was just imagining things.

"Hey," he said simply, receiving the same answer in return, though Natasha's greeting was much livelier.

"What are you staring at out there?"

"Was here a few hours ago to watch the sun rise," she began, her eyes still not leaving the view. "Wasn't much to see in the city, so I ended up back here. How about you?"

Steve shot her a 'tell me what you're really doing' look, eyebrows furrowing, his lips pressed together. Natasha just smirked in response, eyes flickering to his before answering the unspoken question. "I like keeping a bird's eye view on things too."

Steve's eyes followed hers downcast, to where Thor and that odd raccoon were down below next to an honest-to-god spaceship. What they were doing though, anyone's guess would be as good as his.

"Okay…" He gave her a quizzical look of confusion, eventually attributing her observation of their resident God to boredom. After the battle they had lost, everyone would need some form of distraction to occupy themselves. "You know, you could just ask him what they're doing down there."

"Been an assassin, spy, and then with SHIELD for as long as I can remember, old habits die hard," she replied casually with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Nat."

"It's not like I don't trust him, it's just… I don't know, he's been gone for three years, wanted to see if he's changed much," she told him, her voice level and resolute of honesty.

Steve sighed, knowing that after what had just happened, they couldn't be operating based off suspicion, no matter how small it may be. "Nat, he's our friend, and if you've been staring at him for this long, he probably saw you by now. Come on, I'm sure he'll be glad to see us."

He turned around and exited the room at this, and as expected, she had followed suit. When they descended the level ramp to the main floor, Steve had to stop himself from going to the medical bay to check on Tony, whose stabilized condition likely remained unchanged from last night. Instead, he headed out the doors with Romanoff in tow, finding Thor and his new woodland friend fiddling with what looked to be a communications device. The God looked up and broke into a smile, beckoning them to join him. Steve shot a subtle glance to Natasha as if to say "told you so".

"Ah, Captain of America, Lady Natasha, I've been expecting your arrival!"

"I thought you were past your Shakespearian phase, oh God of Thunder," Natasha replied sarcastically.

"I am, but I still find it amusing to go back to every now and then," Thor said with a startling amount of lightheartedness. "I take you aren't here for a social gathering, as you Midgardians call it."

"Well, Nat here," Steve made a exaggerated motion gesturing to her, "was just curious on what you two were working on there."

"Yes, I did notice your presence boring down on me for a good part of the morning, Romanoff. I'm glad you asked though. Me and the rabbit-"

"Rabbit?" they blurted out in unison, puzzled. Apparently, Thor wasn't fully acquainted with Earth's wildlife.

"We've been working on transmitting a message to the Asgardians. I've left the sciency stuff to him, all the numbers, broadcast frequencies, that just goes over my head. He was almost finished when you guys arrived and…" Thor turned around to call the 'rabbit' then. "Rocket, how's it looking?"

The creature—Steve couldn't really wrap his mind around the raccoon being an extraterrestrial—yelled back in jest. "Calm down, pirate angel! I got communication systems workin' an hour ago!"

Now it was Thor's turn to be confused. "Well, why didn't you let me send out the message then? You said you weren't finished when I asked you."

"Had to take a few minutes to pinpoint their communication frequency so we could send a direct message. Wouldn't want any of your enemies to hear they're stranded in space. I checked the surrounding area from where we picked you up, got signals from about fifty ships, all clustered together. Boy, they didn't get far," Rocket explained, motioning them to come in the ship.

To Steve, it didn't appear vastly superior to their Quinjet with the exception of their radar system, which appeared to be calibrated to dozens of other star systems and their respective planets. Though he guessed there was likely more to the spaceship than what actually met the eye.

"Thank you, Rocket," Thor said, his voice husky with emotion. "I suppose I should send the message now." He scooted over to the communications system, Steve and Nat still looking around the ship in a bit of awe.

"Asgardians, if you are hearing this message, this is Thor Odinson! Do not fret, I managed to survive my encounter with our attacker, I am currently located on Midgard with access to the Bifrost. I will transmit my coordinates promptly, but I'd advise-"

"Bloody hell, Thor, we can hear you!" an accented— was that a hint of British?— voice yelled out. At this, Thor broke out into a huge smile despite the tone he was given, meaning he must've known the speaker well. "You know, you could've given us coordinates earlier, none of us have ever even been to Midgard before, dear Lord of Thunder."

Nat smiled at how the woman spoke. "She's got a bit of fire to her."

"Oh, believe me, I know that all too well," Thor said with a slight shake of his head before addressing the voice again. "My apologies, Valkyrie, I admit, my contingency plan wasn't all that good. From where you're located, it would take at least a few weeks, maybe months to reach Midgard if you continued to travel in those pods."

"Before you dash out into the vacuum of space to be our savior, could you explain why half our survivors just disintegrated into nothing?" Valkyrie asked with a mixture of disbelief, fear, and a bit of anger.

Thor slumped down at this; his whole demeanour changed knowing his people were even further decimated, Steve could see the anguish. The God closed his eyes, drawing up some resolve as he spoke. "The man who attacked our ship, Thanos, he gathered all the Infinity Stones and erased half of all life from the universe. What are your numbers like now, Valkyrie?"

"We are only a few hundred left, Thor, some of the pods are empty now. We lost Korg, and I think more of the people we picked up on Sakaar fell victim than Asgardians."

"Damn that Thanos," Thor muttered, picking out a space helmet from a storage container. "Valkyrie, does anyone have any notable injuries?"

"No, everyone left is healthy and accounted for. I can tell why you put off being king for so long, the whole leadership thing sucks."

"You learn to adapt, get used to it eventually," Thor said with a shrug before giving further instructions. "Now dock on the nearest planet, it should be just to your right."

"I don't see anything there!"

"Sorry, my right, your left. This map must have a different orientation. I'll meet you there soon."

"Okay, sounds good Sparkles. Be there in a bit," she said, before turning to yell orders at the rest of the people on the pods. "C'mon people, you heard him, let's go!"

Natasha couldn't keep in her laughter this time, nearly doubling over with her guffaws. "Sp-Sparkles?!" she choked out, leaning on a wall for support. Steve also gave a slight smirk, while Rocket simply rolled his eyes as if he'd rather be anywhere else.

Thor sighed as he stepped outside the ship. "It's an inside joke between us. I can tell you more of the fantastical adventures and quips I had with that lady when I return. Now then," he paused to call his axe, which arrived dutifully, sparks of lightning still radiating from it.

"Be back in a flash."

And with that, he was swept away in the swirling light of the Bifrost.

Boy, it took a while to get this up. Made a lot of proofreads and whatnot, and changed several scenes entirely for reasons only known to me. Thor's finally getting his people back, Clint's back in the mix, things are looking up for the team.

I made Asgard seem pretty far from Earth, wasn't too sure if that's actually the case if traveling by light speed. I mainly based it off Valkyrie's throwaway line in Ragnarok where she stated it would take roughly eighteen months for them to get to Asgard from Xandar, which was said to be the main hub of the galaxy. Maybe saying a few months to reach Earth was being generous, but eh.

Thanks for the continued support from all my viewers, glad to say we hit 1600 views in 5 chapters! Review, rate, follow, etc. etc. if you're liking the story so far, I'll continue posting regardless, but knowing people enjoy my work just makes my day, much appreciation to all of you!

This chapter was actually finished earlier than I expected, but two weeks is still quite some time. Anyway, I'm off to class now, till next time FF,

-BasketballIsFun