nineteen

(—the ruination)

MAEV AND JAMES stood side by side, fingers intertwined as they awaited the end of the world. Both were quiet, silently preparing themselves for the fight. They found comfort in the presence of the other, and James found himself drawing strength from the witch who had stood by him when he feared no one else would.

Sam jogged outside, his red-tinted goggles glinting in the sunlight. As he came closer to the pair an object cause the trio to shift their attention upwards. It was unclear what was coming towards them, but Maev knew it only meant one thing, the fight was finally here.

"Hey Cap, we've got a situation here," Sam warned Steve, watching the trajectory of the object with worried eyes. Just as it seemed the object would clearly fall on them a resounding boom echoed through the air as it struck the invisible barrier protecting the city causing Sam to flinch.

"God, I love this place," James mutters, smiling slightly as Maev hums in agreement.

"Yeah, don't start celebrating yet guys, we've got more incoming outside the dome," Rhodey reminds them, watching as bright flashes indicate more of the ships had landed. Even from miles away they could all feel the earth shuddering lightly from the impact.

It didn't take long for the troops to mobilize, James and Maev finding themselves standing by Natasha Romanoff and a few of the Dora Milaje. Maev's grip tightened on James's hand and he looked down at her, noticing the slight tug of worry pulling at the corner of her lips, the fear laced in the straightness of her spine. He gently pulled on her hand and she looks up at him, a silent question in her eyes.

"We'll get through this," he whispers to her, "like we always do, together."

"Together." She agrees, a determined look flashing through her eyes.

Their transportation pulls to a stop and everyone slides off, Maev following James to the front where Steve and the others stand. Sam and Rhodey fly overhead as two figures emerge from the treeline, approaching the barrier.

Maev watches Natasha, Steve, and T'Challa walk towards the two aliens before letting her gaze unfocus, choosing instead to place all of her attention of the power she'd been gathering all day. It shifted underneath her skin, colliding with the blood magic that rested in her veins, growing restless from being bottled up. She wouldn't be able to go much longer without releasing at least a little bit of her magic, but as the earth shakes, she reckons she won't have to wait much longer.

"What the hell." James breathes out in disbelief, watching the creatures frantically sprint for the barrier, slamming into it without reservation.

Maev frowns, tensing as T'Challa raises his hand to speak into his earpiece. Maev holds onto James's hand for a moment longer before letting go, watching as her ranju takes out his machine gun as the first creatures manage to make it through the barrier.

And then everyone is moving, running towards the barrier with Steve and T'Challa at the forefront. Maev keeps a steady pace next to James, palming two knives as she runs. A section of the barrier opens with a flash and the creatures pour in, thundering towards the small army.

The chaos of war is nothing new to Maev as she slams into an alien, slitting its throat open with one blade and throwing her other blade into the heart of an alien coming to her from the left. She grabs her broadsword, freeing it from its sheath and wields it with deadly precision, guarding James's back as he open fires on the creatures. She lets all of her thoughts go for a moment, settling into a quiet calm as she methodically cuts through her opponents.

While the Wakandians fight valiantly and the fragments of the Avengers fight with the strength of a mini army, it doesn't take long for them to be overwhelmed. They may have the spirit but the aliens had the numbers.

Maev swears violently as claws rake down her arm and she recoils back, spinning and slicing the alien in half. The witch had always been quick to anger and even on the battlefield, she wasn't always able to reign in her temper.

With a snarl she slams her sword into the ground, releasing the pent up magic she'd been storing. Confused shouts reach her ears but are quickly drowned out by the rumble of the earth. The ground buckles and splinters, a wide chasm opening up beneath a hoard of aliens, before closing with a resounding snap, swallowing them whole and leaving behind a thin stretch of scarred earth in its wake.

Maev stands up, wrenching her sword free and blowing a stray piece of hair out of her face, paying no attention to the stunned faces glancing over at her.

"What was that?" Steve's voice echoes through her earpiece and Maev reaches up, tapping it slightly.

"That was me losing my temper."

Static crackles in her ear before Natasha speaks, "I think I speak for all of us when I say please lose your temper again."

Maev laughs and continues to slice through the aliens, blood soon soaking through her suit and splattering across her face. A strangled cry draws her attention and fear shoots through her at the sight of James being knocked to the ground, his gun out of reach as an alien descends on him.

She tries to sprint towards him only to be violently knocked to the side, a crowd of the creatures surrounding her. No matter how many she killed, another would take its place, and desperation started to edge in.

A bright light pierces through the sky and strikes the earth, the hair on the back of her neck standing at attention as electricity crackles. Lighting pierces through the air, aided by a large ax of sorts that cuts down the aliens in large quantities, allowing not only Maev but all the others to free themselves of a majority of their opponents.

The ax spins back and lands in the hand of a tall man, lightning illuminating the anger on his face. Maev rubs her eyes, unsure of if she was hallucinating or if there really was a raccoon hanging on the back of his cape and a walking tree standing next to the God of Thunder.

"Bring me Thanos!" Rings through the air as the god runs before suddenly jumping and striking down a large portion of the aliens as he makes his way to the two figures that had just barely joined the battle.

It didn't take long for the shock to wear off, the aliens quickly regrouping and striking once more. Maev made her way slowly but surely back over to James, using her magic sparingly. Amusement flickered through her at the sight of him picking up the talking raccoon, spinning around and effectively killing the aliens that had surrounded him in a circle.

As she decapitated an alien she was met with the sight of Thor rowing through aliens with large swings, unaware of the few creeping towards his back. With a sigh Maev sprints towards the aliens, freeing a knife with her free hand and flinging it into the heart. She then slides onto the ground, cutting the legs off of the other two before using her jackknifing to her feet, finishing them off with her sword.

The witch and the god fight side by side, utilizing lightning and wicked sharp knives to cut down the aliens. Once the immediate threat had been handled Thor turned to face her, "You're new, I'm Thor, God of Thunder."

Maev almost laughed aloud at the absurdity of being introduced in the middle of battle, but she nods her head in his direction as she throws another knife, "I'm Maev, the local Blood Witch."

He blinks at her words before frowning appreciatively, "Neat."

That was the last of their interaction as the two are separated by yet another wave of aliens. Maev goes to grab another knife, only to curse at the realization that she'd used all of them. Wrapping both her hands around the hilt of her sword she hesitates before putting it back in the sheath, ripping the fabric off of her forearm.

The ground recoils and Maev turns to look in the direction of the vibrations, eyes widening at the sight of large razors rupturing through the earth, killing aliens and humans alike as they ravaged the battlefield.

"Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck," Maev mutters the words like a mantra, patting down her vest before freeing the tiny switchblade she kept stored for emergencies. She swallowed thickly, staring down at the scar on her forearm, the scar she hadn't touched in nearly a year. She took a deep breath, shoving her fears and doubts far down to where she wouldn't feel them, and reopened the old wound.

Red dances along the corner of her vision as Wanda Maximoff joins the fight, helping to destabilize a majority of the giant razors.

Maev closes her eyes and breathes in, feeling her magic sing to her. The witch breathes out, her grip on the switchblade loosening as she forces her body to relax, allowing the humanity in her to dwindle. She didn't dare let go of all of it, not after what happened last time, but for now, this would be enough. Someone was shouting her name, a warning that was lost in the calmness that spread over her, and just before the alien slammed into her, darkness curled around the witch.

Maev Barebone opened her wholly black eyes and smiled as the shadows consumed her.

She wove in and out of the battlefield, striking at random places and jumping before the aliens could catch her. Bodies dropped wherever she went, leaving behind a misshapen trail as the wielded sword and magic as one.

Power flared from beyond the treeline and she felt her heart stutter in her chest as she realized James was no longer on the field. She quickly felt for the tether and felt relief as it shined brightly in the back of her mind. She gently tugged on it, letting it guide her as she molded between space, appearing in the forest next to James. She hit the ground running, glancing over at him and finding him looking at her.

Together they were stronger, together they stood a chance against the monster that had come to destroy their planet.

Maev felt fear lingering in her mind at the sight of the titan but did her best to fight against that feeling. Fear did nothing but get you killed, and she couldn't afford to die. James charged at Thanos, only to be thrown aside like a rag doll, purple energy flowing from the titan's fist.

Maev slipped in between shadows, appearing behind him with her sword aimed to pierce through his neck, only to find the blade halting short. Energy shuddered around her and a choked cry escaped her mouth as she was flung through the air, slamming into a tree far away from Thanos and dropping to the ground. She curled onto her side, blood leaking out of the corner of her mouth as she coughed, the taste of copper flooding her mouth. She didn't move for a second, waiting for the pain to lower, her heart beat slowly finding its normal rhythm. She took staggered breaths and flinched as another wave of energy rippled through the air.

"James?" She called out, rolling onto her side, muscles aching. Silence greeted her, an eerie, horrific silence that chilled her down to the bone. 

Maev swallowed thickly, her heart pounding in her chest as she forces herself to her feet. Something was wrong, something was oh so very wrong. Fear struck her chest as the world shuddered around her and it was then she felt the tether between her and James starting to fray. 

"JAMES!" There was something terrible in the way Maev screamed his name, desperation filling her as she sprinted through the forest towards the vanishing tether.

She hurtled through the woods, stumbling to a stop at the sight laid before her, her knees giving out as the tether snaps, a silent roar echoing in her head as she struggled to breathe, her heartbeat pounding too loudly in her head.

Steve Rogers is standing next to a pile of dust that was once James, a look of disbelief on his face as he turns his head to look at the fallen witch. The god of thunder stands not too far behind with his hands still outstretched, as if he could almost grasp the victory that had slipped through their fingers. 

Both look as if they still can't believe that they had lost.

Maev Barebone has always had an otherworldly beauty, the kind that could persuade kings and win allegiances, but the devastation on her face is enough to bring empires down. "No," she breathes, hands shaking as she reaches out, "no, no, no, no."

She lurches forward as something pulses through her veins, tears streaming down her face as she forces her gaze from the dust, a choked cry promoting the soldier to take a step towards her. She turns her hands, staring at her palms as her magic revolts in her, screaming at her to run even though there is no enemy to face. The witch slowly lifts her gaze from her hands to Steve, something akin to fear etched on her face.

"Something's happening to me." She whispers, her entire body trembling.

Someone says something behind her, their words drowned out by the screeching of her magic trying to fight back against the invisible attack. And then Steve is moving towards her, his hands outstretched as her body shudders violently, "Maev, Maev can you hear me?" She looks up at him, lips trembling as her cells tear apart over and over, her magic struggling to stitch them back together. "You're going to be fine, everything's going to be fine." 

The words are meant to be comforting but they both know they're a lie.

"Steve," she croaks out as the man kneels next to her, "this—" she inhales sharply, a rattling noise echoing in her throat as it becomes hard to breathe, but she forces the words out, the letters slurring slightly together as her vision wavers, "this isn't your fault."

Steve, stunned by her words, tries to scrounge up a response, but by the time he thinks of one he never gets to say it as Maev's magic loses the fight.

Upon death, witches turn into their elemental alignment, their bodies returning to the very thing that gave them their magic, their souls freed from the bonds humanity placed on them. Maev had known from a very young age that one day when she drew her last breath she'd crumble into oblivion, she just hadn't expected it to be like this.

All Maev Barebone could do was stare at her hands in horror as they turned to dust, the rest of her body soon following, leaving no trace of the witch behind.

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this chapter was so hard to write for a variety of reasons and I'm sad to say that barebone witches is going on a hiatus. 

there is endgame, but even if I incorporate it into this story it will not until it has been out for at least one month. I want to give everyone a chance to see it in case there will be spoilers before posting any more chapters. and yes, there will be an epilogue even if I decide not to incorporate endgame, but it still won't be posted until that one month period. I hope you all can understand.

i love you all so much & so does maev :)