Soul
Vormir 2014
Natasha and Clint finally arrived at Vormir after a long a journey. They hovered above the planetin the Guardians' ship, seeing it next to a solar eclipse while surrounded by pink clouds as they both looked at the intended location through the windshield after standing up from their seats.
"Wow." Barton said in awe to his best friend, watching over the planet after standing up from his seat, "Under different circumstances, this would be totally awesome."
Natasha could only nod her head in agreement to his statement.
Once they landed on the planet's surface, they walked together on the sands of the planet, passing by dozens of small pools surrouding mountain that had what appeared to be a shrine on the top of it as they walked towards it. If there was a place where they would find the Soul Stone, then it was definitely it. Upon climbing the mountain, they started to get a little tired because of the climbing they had to do get there, as snow poured down from the sky at them.
"I bet the raccoon didn't have to climb a mountain." Natasha stated, giving a tired sigh.
Clint turned to her and raised his finger, "Technically, he's not a raccoon, you know."
Nat looked at him, ''Whatever. He eats garbage."
"Welcome..." A voice neither of them have ever heard before spoke up. The pair responded to the new voice by drawing and pointing their weapons in it's direction. The floating figure they spotted paid no attention that and slowly descended to the ground, "...Natasha, daughter of Ivan. Clint, son of Edith."
"Who are you?" Natasha demanded.
"Consider me a guide." The figure replied, "To all those who seek the Soul Stone."
Black Widow turned her head to the side and nodded, "Oh, good. You tell us where it is and we'll be on our war."
The figure stepped forward. The two Avengers were able to see his face. His entire face was a red skull, "Ah, liebche, If only it were that easy."
He turned around gestured for them to follow him. Althought they were hesitating a bit, Nat and Clint followed him. He stopped on a semicircular engraving, right on the the edge of the mountain. They stopped right next to him and looked down at the massive drop down.
''What you seek lies in front of you... as does what you fear." The figure told them.
"The stone is down there?" Natasha asked.
"For one of you. For the other..." The figure paused for a moment, casting a quick glance at them both, "In order to take the stone, you must lose that which you love. An everlasting exchange. A soul, for a soul."
They couldn't stop their faces from going pale at this revelation from him as they shared a quick glance with each other. Clint wished that he and more importantly Natasha went for one of the other stones. Nat could fell how the shiver went through her body.
----
5 years ago
Thanos and Gamora walked through the path which was purely sand, passing by pools around the base of a mountain. The sun was in full eclipse. The walk up the mountain was surely long, but not that difficult. Paths worn by centuries lead them to the summit.
''The stone had better be up there... for your sister's sake." The Mad Titan warned his daughter.
"Thanos, son of A'lars." They turned around to the source of this voice and spotted a floating figure descending to the ground, "Gamora, daughter of Thanos."
Thanos took one step to the right, standing now right in front of his daughter, as he spoke up to the floating figure they just encounter, "You know us?"
The figure's response was, "It is my curse to know all who journey here."
Thanos took one step forward towards the figure, "Where's the Soul Stone?"
"You should know it extracts a terrible price." The figure explained.
Thanos gave him a nod, "I am prepared."
"We all think that at first." The figure stated, as he touched down the ground. He glided out of the shadows, revealing his face to them, "We are all wrong."
The figure gestured for them to follow him, beginning to walk towards something. Thanos and his daughter followed him, asking, "How is it you know this place so well?"
"A lifetime ago, I, too, sought the stones." The figure began, "I even held one in my hand. But it cast me out, banished me here. Guiding others to a treasure I cannot possess."
They stopped on the edge of the mountain, overlooking a drop, as he continued, "What you seek lies before you. As does what you fear."
"What's this?" Gamora asked.
"The price." He answered, "Soul holds a special place among the Infinity Stones. You might say it has a certain wisdom."
"Tell me what it needs." Thanos asked him.
"To ensure that whoever possesses it understands its power...." The figure explained, "The stone demands a sacrifice."
Thanos titled his head towards him, "Of what?"
"In order to take the stone you must lose that which you love. A soul... for a soul." The figure reponded.
Gamora could find herself laughing at how ironic this situation was as her father looked over at the drop in front of him. She slowly too a few steps towards him. She looked up at her father, speaking up to him, with a rather bitter smile forming on her face, "All my life, I dreamed of a day... a moment when you would get what you deserved. And I was always so disappointed. But now... you kill and torture... and you call it mercy. The universe has judged you. You asked it for a prize, and it told you no. You failed. And do you wanna know why? Because you love nothing. No one."
Thanos turned towards her, tears blinding his vision which she didn't failed to notice, "Really? Tears?"
The figure looked at her, "They're not for him."
Gamora looked at the figure, and as her bitter smile faded away from her face, realizing what is about to happen. Her gaze went back to her father, to see him taking steps towards her. She backed away from him, saying, "No. This isn't love."
"I ignored my destiny once. I cannot do that again. Even for you." Thanos declared.
Gamora stared down for a moment, then up at the resolution on his face. She grabbed the red-jeweled dagger, the same dagger he gave her on the day when he cleansed her planet, from his belt with lightning reflexes, triggered the blade and stabbed herself in the stomach... but nothing happened. Her father used the Reality Stone to turn it into bubbles.
Her lips quivered. It broke Thanos' heart, right down the middle. Right in half, "I'm sorry, little one."
He held out his hand towards her, grabbing her by her arm, leading her straight to the drop, his daughter squirmed, trying to free herself from his grasp, yelling, "NO!"
Thanos' expression broke, pain showing on his face. He closed his eyes as he reached the edge. He threw her over the edge. The only thing he could do now was only watch as his little Gamora, his favourite daughter fell to her certain death. She held out her hand, and screamed something, but he didn't heard what was it.
He closed his eyes as the light pulsed overhead as the sacrifice required to acquire the Soul Stone was accomplished.
He didn't know how much time has passed when he found himself lying in one of the shallow pools back at the base of the mountain. He slowly sat up and opened his hand to see the Soul Stone there.
------
Clint and Natasha were silent. Romanoff sat on the ground, and held her head in her palms, her jaw clenched. Barton was silent, walking back and forth. He looked over at the figure, who was silent and looking at them for the entire time, almost as if he was looking through their souls. Clint could feel the anxiety building inside of him when he thought about it.
"How's it going?" He spoke up the figure as he waved his hand at him, chuckling sarcastically. He turned his gaze away from him and looked down at Nat, "Jesus...Maybe he's making this shit up."
"No." Natasha said, her eyes not leaving the ground, "I don't think so."
"Why, 'cause he knows your Daddy's name?" Clint asked her.
Natasha looked up at him, recalling what Nebula told them about her sister, "I didn't. Thanos left here with the stone without his daughter. It's not a coincidence."
Clint sighed, "...Yeah."
Natasha said nothing. She just started thinking about everything, her world, and everyone that lost their life five years ago in Thanos' snap and they tried their best to stop him, and they were unable to do anything to stop him, and finally recalled a certain words Captain America told everyone before they started this whole time heist, "Whatever it takes..."
"Whatever it takes." Clint said shorty after, glancing over at the edge of the moutain.
Romanoff stood up and turned to him, " If we don't get that stone, billions of people stay dead."
"Then I guess we both know who it's gotta be." Clint stated.
Natasha nodded her head, "I guess we do."
Clint grabbed her hand and she reciprocatedand they looked at each other, "I'm starting to think, we mean different people here, Natasha."
"For the last five years I've been trying to do one thing. Get to right here." Natasha's voice was shaking, "That's all it's been about. Bringing everybody back."
"Oh, don't you get all decent on me now." Clint told her, shaking his head.
"What, you think I wanna do it?..." Natasha paused for a moment, "...I'm trying to save your life, you idiot."
Clint gave her a very small, bittersweet smile. It was barely noticable, "Yeah, well, I don't want you to, because I– Natasha, you know what I've done. You know what I've become."
"I don't judge people on their worst mistakes." Natasha exclaimed.
"Maybe you should." Clint stated.
Natasha gave him a sad smile which faded just a second later, "You didn't."
Clint's breathing was slowly getting out of control after hearing her say it, his voice was so shaky when he replied, "You're a pain in my ass, you know that?"
Romanoff remained silent, just gave him a teary nod in response. They slowly leaned forward themselves and pressed their foreheads against one other.
"Okay. You win." Clint smiled at her. Natasha nodded her head at him, but then something unexcepted for her happened. He knocked her to the ground, "Tell my family I love them."
She quickly returned the favor. She reversed and flipped Clint onto the ground, "You tell them yourself."
Natasha fired a small chip from a device on her wrist at Clint's chest and electrocuted him, making him stay on the ground. She started to run towards the cliff as Clint grabbed the chip and ripped it off his chest. He quickly got up and fired an explosive arrow, knocking her down upon the impact of the explosion. She grabbed her stomach and grunted in pain before looking up at Clint, who threw his bow on the ground. He looked straight at her and started to run towards the cliff, turning away from her the moment he jumped off the cliff.
Black Widow jumped right after him and wrapped her arms around his back. She fired a grappling hook on the rocky wall and hooked him into it as they crashed into the wall.
"Damn you!" Clint shouted, holding her by her wrist, preventing her from falling down to her certain death.
Her response was a smile. One last smile, "Let me go."
"No." Clint practically begged her to not let go, "Please, no..."
Natasha's final smile didn't left her face as she reassured him, "It's okay."
She kicked the wall, freeing herself from his grasp. Clint could only watch how his closest friend fell to her certain death. "NO!"
His lips quivered as he quickly looked away, not wanting the moment when she hit the ground, meeting her demise. He turned back in her direction and saw his lifeless body, laying on the ground in a pool of blood surrounding her body, her lifeless eyes staring right at him.
He didn't even paid attention to what was going on above him. The Shrine sent an energy into the cloud, releasing it and spreading a ripple until everythin was consumed by a bright flash.
Clint didn't know how much time has passed when he woke up from his slumber and found himself laying in a pool of water. He slowly got himself and opened his left palm, revealing a shiny Infinity Stone.
After taking a good look at it, he began to sob and punched the water, remembering the price that was paid to acquire the Soul Stone, remembering the sacrifice of Natasha Romanoff, his fellow Avenger and closest friend.
-----
The Quantum Tunnel sparked and spun to back life with all various of lights and colors. The ceiling above moved in response to the awakening of the Quantum Tunnel. It didn't got much rest as, it was only one minute before it was went to life once more.
Then, the time travelers came home. At first, none of them noticed that one of them was missing.
Amethyst breathed in as she was the first one to speak up, "Guys, that was the longest minute of my life."
"Did we get them all?" Banner asked shorty after.
Azurite looked around and could feel relief overcoming his body as he planted the scepter on the platform. The hard part was done, now they had to make their own gauntlet and snap their fingers to bring everyone back, "It appears so."
Rhodes smiled, "You telling me this'll actually work?"
"...Someone is missing." Garnet spoke up as everyone looked towards the fusion who gestured towards Clint,
Banner looked at Barton, so did everyone else, "Clint, where's Nat?"
Clint remained silent as he fell on his knees. He slowly looked up at them, revealing his glassy eyes to them. Tear slid down his cheeks as he locked eyes with every Avenger.
That was only answer they needed to get to understand what happened to Black Widow.
Bruce fell on his knees and pounded the platform in grief as everyone else lowered their heads, mourning the loss of their fellow Avenger.
----
RIP Natasha Romanoff. Your sacrifice won't be forgotten!
Welp, we're done with the time heist.
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