THREE

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CHAPTER THREE
' DON'T LET ME GO BACK. '

Ash squeezed her eyes shut and languidly pushed herself on her front, a grunt escaping her. Pressing her hands to either side of her head, she forced herself to her hands and knees. A cough escaped her, and Ash shook her head to rid the dizziness. Slowly, the sounds of chaos filtered through her mind, and she looked up from the grass.

Magic surrounded her, settled on the ground like morning dew, and she placed a hand on a rock to push herself to her feet. Horror melted into her fuzzy mind as her eyes flickered around the chaos, watching as the outriders tore the Wakandans apart. She shook her head, hitting her forehead to try and wake herself from whatever hallucination the drugs had set her on, but she remained in the same loop.

Images flickered through her head; Heimdall's neck at a wrong angle, Loki hanging from Thanos' fist, Nebula's body suspended in parts, and Gamora's body at the bottom of a cliff - along with the hundreds of Asgardian and Wakandan bodies lying at her feet.

Ash fell to her knees, her mouth parting with the air not reaching her lungs. Her hand found her golden chest plate, and she ripped it from her body, hand coming to squeeze the fabric of her bodysuit underneath.

What had she done?

A soft thud sounded behind her, but Ash couldn't move from her hunched-over position.

She couldn't breathe.

Heavy footsteps advanced towards her trembling form, and she felt the harsh tug of her hair as he threw her against a rock and forced her to look up. Thor stared down at her, finding something in her eyes.

He bent down, but his hand let go of her hair and moved down to cup her face, wiping her tears away. She grasped his other hand, squeezing as though her life depended on it, her body shaking and convulsing.

"I'm sorry-" She inhaled choppily. "It's my fault-"

"No." Thor's voice was harsh and commanding as his thumb rubbed the side of her face. "This wasn't you. This was Thanos."

"But I killed them- I-" She heaved, but nothing came up. "Gamora-" Thor pulled her towards him, hand stroking her hair, slowly rocking them back and forward. She gasped. "Please, don't let me go back- please-"

Ash inhaled sharply, and her body became rigid in Thor's arms. He grasped her shoulders and pushed her away from him to get a look at her face. Black slid across her eyes, and he shook her.

"Ash, fight it!"

Astrid blinked before black mist formed in her palms, and magic catapulted him into a tree. Ribbons wrapped around Thor's discarded axe as she rose to her feet. He stumbled to his feet and caught the weapon before it impaled him.

Ash began to tremble, hands slowly closing into fists and extinguishing the magic in them. She gritted her teeth before a guttural scream ripped from her chest, and she fell to her knees, power exploding from her body. Her breathing was ragged, a drool falling from her open mouth. Dropping her head against the grass, she squeezed her eyes shut, shoulders beginning to shake.

A figure dropped to the ground beside her, their hand touching her back. Astrid reared up and went to slam a ball of energy at them. Wanda caught her hand with her magic, stopping the attack just before it could hit home. Moving before she could react, Astrid's fist clenched, and a shot of magic collided with Wanda's stomach.

Red shot towards her, but Astrid lifted her hand, the red cutting in half and curling around her. Astrid twirled her other, black magic following it as she brought the black sludge up, and it wrapped around Wanda's fingers, stopping her energy. Wanda let out a gasp as it crawled up around her body. She lifted her chin as it swarmed around her neck, trying to wriggle away from it.

Wanda jabbed her head to the side, and a sharp slash of red magic sent Astrid flying through the air. The sludge disappeared, and she fell forward onto her hands and knees.

Astrid rose to her feet, her power manifesting around her and lifting her into the air. Her black eyes glowed, and above her, a crack opened. Magic burst from her form, casting Wanda and Thor to the ground and flattening the Outriders coming their way.

A scream tore through her, balls of black forming in her palms before they exploded outward.

Ash dropped to the ground, face down and trembling. She pushed herself onto her back before hauling herself up and rushing to Wanda. Touching her shoulder, her other hand found a wound on her forehead.

"Fuck, I'm so sorry," she rushed out, gently touching it, causing Wanda to wince. "Shit. God-"

"Ash?" Wanda's voice was quiet and in a slight daze.

"Yeah, it's me. I'm back. Are you okay? I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"No, no, I'm okay," she denied, covering Ash's hand, which supported her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

She looked up at the chaos around her. Swallowing thickly, she dropped her gaze before clearing her throat. "I'm not sure." She helped Wanda to her feet, and her eyes found Thor already standing. They nodded at each other, and Thor dived back into the frenzy.

"Cap, this is him."

Ash heard the words through Wanda's earpiece, and her blood went cold. "Wanda?" She turned to look for her, but she sprinted towards the forest. Continuing her circle, no one was near. She inhaled choppily and focused her attention on the forest.

It was now or never.

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