It Only Costs an Arm and a Leg

"Wait!"

"What, you bastard?"

"I... I hate to ask you this, but... I need some help."

"You? You need help? Ha! Go ask someone who's actually willing. Now give me my brother back!"

"...Please?"

"...Geez, this must be pretty bad if Truth is saying please to someone. Especially if that someone is me."

"If you do this, you can keep your alchemy. Heck, I'll even help Al get healthier if you listen!"

"Okay... I'm listening..."

"In one of my other worlds—"

"There's more than one?"

"Yes, now let me speak. In one of my other worlds, there is something called the Infinity Gauntlet. I need it, or I could die."

"So... You know where it is?"

"It's going to come to me for one of its components; I purposely scattered them all through the world so that nothing like this would ever happen, but someone has found out where they are all kept. I have one, so the Gauntlet will come to me. The only problem is, how to get bit without breaking the law of Equivalent Exchange."

"...Which arm is it worn on?"

"The left, why?"

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

The second Thanos stepped onto the cliff along with the guide, clad in black, colored red, he could feel the power emanating off the land around him in waves. The gray skies did nothing to hide his nerves, even though he would never admit to feeling even the faintest hint of fear. He was Thanos! He was born to rule the universe!

"Simply place your hands onto the array. Truth will take you from there," said the guide in a monotone voice, face void of any and all emotion.

The words had no meaning to Thanos. He was truth. He was justice.

He took a second to admire the huge carved circle on the ground that he had only noticed when the guide had pointed it out. It spanned a total of 15 metres in diameter with strange symbols inside of it. He recognized them, he realized, as the symbols for the Infinity Stones. There was one, however, that he didnt remember seeing anywhere. It was a simple, yet utterly terrifying design. He even felt his daughter, Gamora, shiver at his side.

A simple circle with a large, sinister grin carved inside.

This thought was quickly brushed away, though. He needed to focus. He needed to be strong.

He needed the Soul Stone.

Slowly, the purple being knelt down before placing his hands in the array, the Gauntlet making a soft clinking noise against the hard stone. Suddenly, the carvings and symbols lit with a bright blue glow that Thanos had to look away from. Eventually, it proved to be too much for him and he allowed his eyes to close, shying away from the light like it was a plague that he might catch.

"Well, well, well, look what we have here. Someone's finally come for it. I wondered when an idiot like you would show up. Fortunately, I didn't have to wait long. But, then again, I never do."

Thanos opened his eyes and was faced with nothing but pure white. There was no end to it, it was a vast desert born from a mirage. It was everything, yet nothing was there. Frustrating, it seemed, even the most battle-ready of warlords. His gaze drifted upwards and he was soon met with the sight of an outline. Not a figure, but an outline, sitting cross-legged, surrounded by the same whiteness that lead everywhere yet nowhere at the same time.