─ ASHES TO ASHES, DUST TO DUST ─

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The king's guard, Borderers and Jabari have little success fighting against Cull Obsidian's chain hammer - he continuously sent them flying back or hitting them into the ground. T'Challa gets free of the Outriders by him, leaps and uses all of his collected kinetic energy behind a punch that lays Obsidian flat. Alessia rushed over with her power and lifts Obsidian, throwing him away from the wounded fighters allowing them a chance to fall back from the front line.

"Come and get some, space dogs!" Rocket shouts a short distance away from Alessia, he stood in a clear spot of the field. Bucky, having come up behind Rocket, grabs him with his metal arm and holds him at an arm's length as he spun 540 degrees firing his own M249 at the same time. Alessia turned her attention towards the forest, large Threshers, sets of massive, motorized spiked wheels, intended for nothing more than shredding everything in their paths were heading their way.

"Fall back! Fall back now!" T'Challa shouted for his people. Alessia used her power to stop as many as she could preventing their people from being harmed, she forced them back at the Outriders but she quickly felt herself growing exhausted. Natasha with her escrima sticks and Okoye with her augmented spear have drifted together when they're suddenly in the path of a Thresher. Both women cringe at their seemingly inevitable shredding when Wanda lands in front of them with glowing eyes.

Alessia looked over from stopping her own few Threshers to see Wanda on the battlefield, she turned her head to see Proxima smirking at the Scarlet Witch before speaking into a comm. Alessia looked back to the building as she realised what had happened, she instantly rushed towards Proxima only to be stopped by Obsidian who growled at her. She knew that Corvus Glaive was heading towards Vision and she needed to get up there, she had to destroy the stone.

"Guys! We got a Vision situation!" Sam warned as Alessia dodged Obsidian's attempts to knock her down. "Somebody get to Vision!" Steve shouted through his comms fighting against the oncoming Outriders. "I'm trying!" Alessia spoke before Bruce approached Alessia in the Hulkbuster and threw Obsidian away from her. "We got him!" Bruce shouted as Alessia pushed off of the ground and followed behind Bruce who had finally figured out how to use the repulsor thrusters.

"On my way!" Wanda's voice came through the comms right as she is clobbered by Proxima Midnight's pommel causing her to roll down into a large ditch from the Thresher. Alessia looked back to see Natasha and Okoye standing with Wanda to fight against Proxima, she smiled at the sight before focusing on Vision who was fighting against Glaive and Obsidian. Bruce landed between Vision and the two opposing aliens as Alessia landed next to Vision to help him stand.

"Alessia..." Vision whimpered, she looked to him and nodded. Cull Obsidian jumped forward and grabbed Bruce's right arm and Bruce, in reflex, grabbed Obsidian's hammer; a jet fired, taking the two of them in a random direction. "Wraith..." Glaive spoke hatefully, Alessia stepped forward and smirked at the alien. The two rushed at each other, Alessia threw punches into the alien as he dodged them in an attempt to overpower her in her mostly weakened state.

Glaive managed to twist his blade and drive it through Alessia's side, she gasped as her power surrounded them and an invisible forcefield sent them in two separate directions. Alessia hit her head, pain shot throughout her entire body as she felt Vision lift her into a seated position. "Alessia, you must heal!" Vision spoke right as Glaive grabbed Vision, the two fought one another as Alessia attempted to heal quickly, the alien blade caused her healing to slow.

Glaive grabs Vision's shoulder and uses the leverage to plunge his blade once more into the android's chest. "I thought you were formidable, machine. But you're dying, like any man," Glaive spoke as he removed the blade from Vision's chest. Glaive reached out to take the stone from Vision but was tackled by Steve Rogers at full force. "Get him out of here!" Steve said to Alessia as she stood up, slowly approaching the wounded android.

Steve exchanges blows with Glaive using his arm-shields as offence and defence, continuously blocking Glaive's hits. Steve blocks Corvus Glaive's staff weapon using his shields, finally knocking it from the alien's hands just before he's thrown over a fallen tree and pinned, Glaive's hand at his throat. Even with his physical abilities, Steve is struggling -- until Glaive's blade pierces Glaive's chest, and is pushed all the way through.

Alessia raised the blade with Glaive on the end of it before throwing him and the blade to the side before stumbling back to the ground with Vision by her side. "I thought I told you both to go," Steve said as he sat up breathless. "We don't trade lives, Captain," Vision responded as Alessia gasped painfully, her eyes began glowing as she felt Thanos' presence. Wanda approached Vision, Steve and Alessia with a worried gaze, she knelt down to Vision who winced.

Alessia leaned into Steve's side as he looked at her wound. "Why aren't you healing?" Steve asked softly as she took in deep breaths. "I don't know..." Alessia replied, she genuinely had no idea why she wasn't healing. "He's here..." Vision spoke as the wind picked up, Alessia growled under her breath forcing herself off of the ground to stand protectively in front of Steve, Wanda and Vision. "Everyone, on my position. We have incoming," Steve warned.

Natasha, Sam, Okoye and T'challa approached the group as a blue-black cloud appears before them followed by Thanos stepping through it. "Cap, that's him," Bruce warns as Alessia powered up to the best she could. "Eye's up. Stay sharp," Steve commanded the group. Bruce reached Thanos first, lunging forward fist-first, but Thanos uses the space stone on him which rendered him immaterial until the Hulkbuster is half-buried in the stone of the cliff.

Steve rushes Thanos next, he is sent flying by purple energy before he even gets to strike a blow to the mad titan. T'Challa, armour fully charged kinetically, leaps high and with claws extended, but is easily grabbed by the throat and punched into the ground, his armour discharging violently. Sam stoops, strafing with both Steyr pistols, but is felled when his wings become rubbery and unable to sustain flight.

"Wanda, it's time," Vision tells the woman he loves, she denied him straight away as Alessia let out an angered growl before rushing towards Thanos. He raised his fist ready to use the stones against Alessia, but she simply waved her own arm and threw a punch into the mad titan's face with as much force as she could. Thanos stumbled back, he wasn't expecting her to still have strength, he had ordered for his "Children" to weaken her.

"The Wraith," Thanos spoke as he stood up, glaring at the raven-haired woman. "What's the matter, blueberry... Weak?" Alessia teased, Thanos growled under his breath before throwing a punch at her, as she dodged, he used the stones to throw her across the clear pathing into a tree. She grunted from the impact and held her side as she looked up at the titan, he grabbed her by the throat and lifted her off of the ground. "Who's weak now?" Thanos asked with a smirk.

Alessia feels Wanda's power hitting the mind stone, she needed to buy her some time. "That... all... you... got?" Alessia whimpered out before feeling Thor's power closer by, she closed her eyes and pulled energy from Stormbreaker and the Bifrost, she opened her usually yellow eyes to show a bright blue before electricity appeared around her making her smirk. She pushed all of her power into Thanos sending him flying back before dropping to her knees.

Bucky rushed over to Alessia and pulled her into his arms, "Doll?" Alessia's chest rose and fell haphazardly, "I... sorry..." A tear fell from Alessia's eye, Bucky quickly wiped it away as he rubbed her back. "It's okay, you did your best," Bucky spoke softly before kissing her head. Rhodey joined the fight, firing his guns at Thanos until he uses the gauntlet to crush his armour around him and toss him aside.

Okoye activates the vibranium-powered elements on her spear and flings it; power stops it inches from Thanos, and throws her and it aside while wrapping Natasha in inescapable bands of earth. Wanda watches with teary eyes before turning back to Vision raising her other hand to add to the power destroying the mind stone. Steve slides under one blow and comes up swinging his deployed arm-shields, punching Thanos in the gut and chin.

He grabs the gauntlet, keeping Thanos' fingers unclenched, Thanos looks briefly impressed at Cap's effort as he screams before slamming a fist into his head and rendering him insensible. Wanda looks over her shoulder again and sees Thanos approaching unopposed. She swings her left hand around to fend him off with a stream of scarlet energy and pushes him back despite his blue-purple energy shield, but then he starts to push back towards her.

Alessia shut everything else around her out as she looked up at Bucky, his eyes focused on Wanda as the Mind Stone cracked and Vision dropped down to the ground. Bucky looked back to the woman he loved, he couldn't lose her like that but they didn't know if they'd get through this. Alessia went to move to attack Thanos but Bucky stopped her. "I love you Bucky," Alessia whispered out as Thanos turned back time for the Mind Stone.

As Thanos studies the now complete gauntlet, a massive bolt of lightning strikes him, digging him into the ground and grinding him back for meters. Thor has arrived, eyes glowing with power, stooping down from the sky like a bird of prey. The God of Thunder pauses his attack, reverses his position, raises Stormbreaker above his head and hurls it. Thanos fires the whole might of the gauntlet against it, but it only creates a rainbow-like bowshock, not slowing the axe as it slams right into Thanos' chest.

"I told you. You'd die for that!" Thor spoke harshly before taking hold of the back of Thanos' head, forcing Stormbreaker deeper into his chest, staring angrily into his eyes while Thanos cried out in pain. "You should have... you..." Thanos began weakly before looking straight at Thor, "You should have gone for the head!" Alessia's eyes widened as she rushed to grab Thanos' hand but he had already raised his hand and clicked his fingers.

Alessia stumbled back as Bucky went to catch her, everything happened in slow motion to Alessia. She turned to Bucky as he reached to wipe the tear from Alessia's eye but his hand slowly turned to dust, Alessia's eyes widened in fear as Bucky faded into nothing before her. She dropped to her knees looking at the ground before looking up to see T'Challa disintegrate followed by Sam and Wanda. Alessia looked to Steve, "It's the endgame now..."

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Author: The end is coming...

-Rose <3
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