The Sapphire Soldier

Demoralized

We sat there in silence. No one spoke, no one moved. The air felt too heavy for words. Then something tugged at the back of my mind- sharp, cold, wrong. I stood up fast, scanning.

"What's wrong?" Tony asked, tension rising in his voice.

"Something's happening" I breathed.

Before I could explain, I saw it- mantis' hands beginning to fade into dust. Then quills.
"Quill?" Drax muttered, confused.

"Steady, Quill." Tony said quickly.

But then drax was gone. Quill too. They turned to dust right in front of us.

I tired sharply at the sound of stranges voice.
"Tony" he said, calm even now.
And then he was gone too. Just...gone.

For the first time in a long time, I felt something I'd almost forgotten existed.
Fear.

The tug in my chest pulled harder this time- deeper, painful. I turned toward Peter.

"I don't feel so good." He whispered, his voice shaking.

"No. No. You're okay. You're gonna... You're gonna be fine" I said, catching him before he fell. Tony knelt beside me.

"I...I don't..." Peter started. 

My heart clenched. Another tug. Wanda. No.

"I don't wanna go. I don't wanna go. Please" his voice cracked, breaking something in me.
"I'm sorry" he looked between us, eyes wide with fear.

"No, no, no, no" my vision blurred with tears ad Peter Parker- the kid who's made me laugh when I didn't think I could anymore- turned to dust in Tony's arms.

I stumbled backyard, choking on the air that suddenly felt too thin.

And then I felt it- the air shifting behind me.
Thanos.

I turned just as he reached for me.

"Ton-" was all I managed before everything went black.

I woke in a field- sunlight burning my eyes. My body ached, my hands shaking as I pushed myself up.
It was quiet. Too quiet.

A garden stretched out in front of me, wild and calm. Then- the sound of a stick snapping.

He was standing there.
Thanos.

"Where am I?" My voice came out hoarse.

"You're at the garden" he said simply.

"Where is everyone? What did you do?! where did they go?!" I shouted, anger mixing with the stirring of panic.

"Half of humanity is gone" he said, like it was mercy.
"And now, the world needs correction. You must destroy the stones" he said

"No! No, I won't do anything for you!" I snapped, power burning through my hands.

He barely flinched- only lifted the power stone. Pain ripped through me like fire. I screamed, collapsing.

"You will destroy the stones sooner or later" he said, voice almost gentle. Then he turned and walked away, leaving me gasping in the dirt.

I stayed there until the sun disappeared. And the next. And the next.

Weeks passed. Maybe months. Time didn't mean anything here. I survived on what little I could find- water, bits of fruit. My body was breaking down, my mind already fractured.

But I couldn't die here. Not like this. Not for him.

So I made my choice. One last chance.

I found him in the garden, tending to the soil like nothing had happened. I attacked without a word- power surging from every nerve in my body. He stumbled under the force, blocking what he could, but I didn't stop.

Not this time.

I summoned everything I had left- every memory, every scream, every loss- and hurled it at him in one final blast.

The ground cracked. The air shattered. And then- silence.

I landed hard, the breath knocked out of me. When I looked up, he was still standing....staring down at something.

The infinity stones.

All six of them.
Shattered.

I fell to my knees, reaching out, tears blurring my vision.
"No. No. No, please- no" I cry.

Thanos stepped forward and placed a hand on my head.
"I knew you would cave in eventually. It was only a matter of time" he said softly.

He turned and walked away, leaving me with nothing but ash and silence.

I clutched the broken stones to my chest.
"No!" I screamed, my voice echoing through the empty world.

Then- light.
Blinding, burning light.

The stones pulsed in my hands and exploded, sending my flying backyards-
And when I hit the ground, it wasn't dirt anymore.

It was concrete.

Gasping, I tried to lift my head. The air left different- heavy but alive.
I wasn't in the garden anymore.

With what little strength I had left, I reached out- not with my hands, but with my mind.
I found voices. Minds. People.

And with the last breath I had left, I whispered into their thoughts-

"Help"