Golden Days✓ Tony Stark [Book 3]

24: It's Time.

I finally found everyone in the woods, away from the diminishing battle. I get on my knees beside Vision, ignoring the body of one of Thanos' children who was stabbed with his own blade.

"Vision." I breathed as he shakes with pain, looking so tired. "It's okay."

"No. It's time." He says to me and I gasp.

No, the topic we've both been avoiding since the very first time we met.

"I can't." I whispered back to him. I can't just destroy the stone, which we're not sure I could even do. "Don't ask me to do that."

Destroying the stone would be destroying him too and I can't do that. There are so many memories, with him as an ever evolving android, with JARVIS, with even Ultron. I can't lose anyone again.

"It's the only way." He says, looking between Wanda and I, tears pool in my eyes.

"No, we're going to find another way. I can't lose you too." I cried as he suddenly winced, the gem suddenly glowing brighter.

"Are you okay?" I asked as Wanda frantically checks on him.
"What? What is it?"

He looks around, his breathing heavy, fear brimming in his eyes.
"He's here."

As if on cue, the sky starts to darken, wind slowly starts to pick up, leaves moving like they were cowering in fear.

"Everyone, on my position. We have incoming." Steve's voice reached my ears.

A dark stormy blue portal opens up and dread runs through me as Vision's stone starts to glow, warning us.

Thanos steps through the portal, his posture very confident.

"Eyes up. Stay sharp." Steve commands as they all just charged at him.

As he used the gauntlet, I realized he's gotten everyone of the stones except for Vision's stone, making a chill of panic run through me. What happened with the Guardians? And Strange? Did he attack the sanctum before coming here?

"Guys, it's time." Vision says, with urgency.

"No." Wanda and I said.

"You must do it. Wanda, Lisa, please. We are out of time." Vision pleads as he grabs both our hands, tears filled my eyes.

"I can't." Wanda whispered brokenly.

"Yes, you can. You can. If he gets the stone, half the universe dies. It's not fair. It shouldn't be either of you, but it is." Vision says as I blinked back my tears. I glanced back to see that Thanos was getting closer.

"It's all right. You could never hurt me."

Wanda and I exchange a sad glance, tears falling from our faces before nodding slowly.

We let wisps of energy flow for our hands, our aim, the gem that brought us together, the Superbot that holds a very special place in our hearts, the integrity of the gem diminishing by the second.

I glanced backwards to see Thanos closer than ever, being held back by Steve, who was the only person still standing.

Wanda and I exchanged a look and she gives me a nod, lifting her other hand letting it glow up too, directing it at Vision's head, giving me the opportunity to get away.

Rage fills me as Thanos knocked Steve to the ground, leaving only me standing between the lovers saying good bye.

He raised his fist, ready to use the stones against me. I let my rage consume me and I let out a loud cry, throwing blasts after blasts at him, the force pushing him back. He tries to use the stones but he sees they have no effect on me.

All I could see was Loki struggling to breathe as this monster choked him to death and I let the pain blind me. By the time I regained consciousness, Thanos was on his knee and I was floating in front of him, his gauntlet covered hand in mine, preventing him from closing his fist.

I take advantage of the situation, blinking my confusion away. I started to pull at the gauntlet, trying to take it off, only for my fingers to brush over the soul stone and I am thrown into a trance.

I am standing in another planet, that's for sure. I am looking at a dark mountain up ahead. It's the only one I can see.

I find myself making my way up there and I see Gamora talking to a taller figure. Thanos. But wait, there's someone else there, I can't see them because of their cloak.

'How is it you know this place so well?' Thanos asked the cloaked guy.

'A lifetime ago, I, too, sought the stones. I even held one in my hand. But it cast me out, banished me here. Guiding others to a treasure I cannot possess.' He responds.

I blinked at the familiarity in his voice and by the time I snapped my eyes open, Thanos is dragging Gamora towards the edge of the cliff as she struggled against him desperately.

I tried to help her but my feet were stuck in place. Thanos throws her off the cliff, ignoring her cries.

Seconds later, a blinding light engulfs the planet, making me close my eyes tightly, shielding my face with my hands.

When I open my eyes again, I'm in my reality, in the real world.

🔹

"What did you do?" I cried as I stared at the mad titan.

"It had to be done." He responds.

"No, it doesn't. If you do this, you'll not only wipe out half of existence, you'll be killing millions of people that depends on them." I said to him, still pulling at the gauntlet and buying time for Wanda.

"Think about families that rely on their breadwinners but that source of income gets wiped off. You'll throw the universe into depression."

He opened his mouth to speak but a loud explosion that has me wincing cut us both off.  The force of it makes me lose my balance, pushing Thanos and I away from each other.

I tried to stand on my feet again but Thanos is faster, he sends his fist to my head multiple times until darkness clouds my vision.

When he's satisfied, he picks me up by my arm and throws me into a tree. With that, he walks towards Wanda slowly, breathing heavily.

"I understand, my child. Better than anyone." He says to her.

I tried to get up but my head, no, my whole body hurts as I blinked in and out of consciousness.

"No!" Wanda's scream suddenly snaps me out of my daze. I looked up to see Thanos slap Wanda my way, Vision in his hands.

Shit.

I scrambled to my feet, ignoring the dizziness but I was too late. Thanos pulls the stone out of Vision's head, dumping his discolored body on the floor and immediately adding the mind stone to his gauntlet.

The pressure in my head has me falling to my knees with a cry but after a few seconds it's over.

Before I could even figure out what's happening, a blast of lightening hit Thanos, pushing him a few feet away.

Thanos retaliates by sending a beam of all six infinity stones but Stormbreaker is much more stronger. It cuts through the beam, right into Thanos' chest.

"I told you-" Thor grits as he pushed the axe further into the monsters heart, his scream of pain is like music to my ears, "-you'd die for that."

"You should have…" Thanos tries to say through the pain. "You should…You should have gone for the head."

"No!" Thor and I scream as Thanos snaps his fingers, throwing me into darkness.