KILLING BLOW

Octavian had a lot of expectations about what would happen when he was sent to a different reality. He never thought however, that he'd be sharing a ship with a talking teenage tree, a raccoon and the god of thunder, talking to his sister who was on a different planet. It felt like they were worlds apart - and they were. 

"I am Groot," the tree complained, shuffling awkwardly besides Octavian. Octavian didn't even attempt to understand what was said, tuning out their conversation as he paid attention to the comms, listening to the rustling on the other side. Messalina wasn't talking much, and it was driving him up the wall. He just wanted to know if she was okay.

Octavian caught snippets of their conversation; he wasn't the least bit concerned with Groot's need to pee, focusing on the silence on the other side of the comm. 

"Messalina?" Octavian questioned, his voice an octave higher than it usually was. The conversation around him lulled to a stop as Octavian repeated her name, louder this time. All he could hear was static. 

"Is everything alright?" Thor asked, turning slightly to see the frantic Octavian take the comm out of his ear and thrust it in Rocket's direction. 

"Fix this. It must be broken, just like all the other space junk on that ship." He snapped, uncaring to Rocket's irritation at the action. 

"Because you asked so nicely," Rocket snatched up the comms device, tossing it angrily at Octavian. Octavian fumbled to catch it, it nearly slipping through his fingers. "Fix it your damn self."

Octavian's jaw was set. "I can't." 

"That's what I thought: all muscle, no brains. Maybe next time you'll learn to be nicer to people who are helping you out." The sassy comment from Rocket made Octavian's face redder. He didn't like being ridiculed, and being labelled as stupid when that was far from the truth made his blood boil. 

"And maybe next time you'll let my sister tag along instead of sending her straight to her grave!" Octavian huffed, his gaze dropping to the device in his hand. "This is the only way I'll know if my sister is safe!" 

"Did it ever occur to you that she just turned it off smart ass?" Rocket raised his brows at him, his arms crossed across his chest. Octavian paused for a moment, the words taking time to sink in. 

His muscles loosened, and in that moment they all just saw a vulnerable boy desperate to ensure his sisters safety. His voice was almost as small as he looked, the words nearly inaudible. "Could that happen?" 

Instantly, the tension in the ship disappeared. A somewhat gentle smile graced Rocket's lips, and he jumped down from the chair he was sat on, standing before Octavian. He placed a paw on Octavian's arm. "I'm sure she's okay. Besides, she has the greatest bodyguards in the universe - the Guardians of the Galaxy!" 

A small smile crept onto Octavian's lips. "Thank you," he whispered, turning away from the raccoon and gazing absentmindedly out of the window. That little reassurance would be enough for now. He didn't say it, but Octavian appreciated it more than Rocket would ever know. 

He left his line of sight, and vaguely it registered in Octavian that Rocket was trying to cheer Thor up. As much as the talking raccoon got on his nerves, he couldn't deny that he had a heart. It hit him then that it wasn't just him who had a lot to lose - everyone involved in the mission did. 

He recalled the words Drax spoke to him after he cruelly let his anger out on his sister. Drax had been a strange comfort, managing to mix insult and compliment into one sentence yet it still soothed his mind, yet also made his anxiety grow. "My family were killed by Thanos... but I gained a new one."

Octavian spared a glance to Rocket comforting Thor. He was giving Thor an eyeball - Octavian didn't question where he'd acquired it - but he did know to look away as Thor shoved it back into his eye socket. His gaze moved to Groot, who was sat staring dreamily out of a window. They all had so much to gain from victory against Thanos, and so much to lose. If he couldn't protect his sister like he vowed to do, he could at least protect this group of people. 

"Hey, we're here!" Rocket exclaimed. Immediately they all rushed to the window, gazing expectantly out to see the glorious city that Thor had described. Instead, all they witnessed was destruction. 

Surrounding the city, three sings were at a standstill. Darkness shrouded the city, and there was little left of buildings, with rubble scattered as far as the eye could see, cluttering the land. It was like a war zone. 

"Somethings wrong," Thor pointed out, a deep frown etched into his face. "The star's gone out. And the rings are frozen." 

They all exchanged worried looks, apart from Groot whose attention was solely focused on the game in his hands. Octavian nearly chuckled at the sight; this wasn't the time for humour. One by one, they filed out of the pod, carefully stepping onto the ground. Instinctively, his hands slipped into the brass knuckles, the familiar weight calming his racing heart. 

"I hope these dwarves are better at forging than they are cleaning. Maybe they realised they live in a junk pile in the middle of space." Rocket mused, and Octavian couldn't restrain the small snort that passed his lips. He nearly missed the smirk Rocket gave at his response.

Thor didn't pay attention to the joke, eyes wide at the area around him, and how lifeless it was. "This forge hasn't gone dark in centuries..."

Octavian himself marvelled at the level of destruction in the forge. An area of great power so quickly demolished into something so little. It was astounding; it was terrifying. 

Rocket paused, pointing towards a pedestal. "You said Thanos had a gauntlet, right?"

Instantly, Octavian felt sick to his stomach. He had a sense of what would happen, and he didn't like it one bit. 

"Does it look anything like that?" Octavian spun to see the shape. It was an exact replica of the Gauntlet, the one that in his reality had only been a mere symbol of his power. It was the last thing you saw before you sentenced to the lottery and hunted down. It was the mark of your fate. It was as significant as Death's stalking presence. 

"I am Groot," the tree uneasily spoke, his game long forgotten in his hand. Octavian gulped heavily, his armoured fists raised. His heart was hammering, yet he still shouldered Rocket and Groot behind him, letting his shadow protect them.

"Go back to the pod." Thor urgently commanded. The three ran off, with Octavian closely following at the back, fists still raised and fire burning in his eyes. 

A shadow fell over the team. Suddenly, an arm reached out, swinging widely and sweeping Octavian off of his feet. He groaned as pain lit up the entirety of his back, struggling for breath. A chorus of groans let him know that he wasn't the only to be attacked. 

Octavian struggled to get to his feet, hands fumbling to help him to get back on his feet. He finally managed to bring himself so he was standing up straight, and as he looked at their aggressor his jaw dropped. He was fucking massive.

"Eitri, wait! Stop!" Thor pleaded. 

The figure, Eitri, halted in his tracks, his tightened fist loosening. His brows furrowed as he took in the god of thunder, confusion lacing his voice. "Thor?"

"What happened here?" 

Octavian instantly met Thor's side, pulling him back slightly as Eitri's face contorted into fury. "You were supposed to protect us! Asgard was supposed to protect us!" 

"Asgard is destroyed." His voice was close to wobbling. He quickly cleared his throat, pointing towards the podium. "The glove. What did you do?"

The giant brokenly staggered across the space, falling heavily to the ground. He lent against an ore skip, the skip creaking from the sudden pressure. On the other side of the room, Rocket and Groot brush themselves off and join Octavian and Thor. His words were as heavy as the man was. "Three hundred dwarves lived on this ring. I thought if I did what he asked, they'd be safe. I made what he wanted. A device capable to harnessing the power of the stones. Then he killed everyone anyway. All except me. 'Your life is yours' he said. 'But your hands are mine alone.'" 

Octavian gawped as the man lifted up his fists encased in metal, forever trapped unless they committed debauchery. It filled him with pure hatred - this titan was too powerful. He needed to be stopped. And Octavian wanted to be the one to deliver the killing blow. 

-

hey guys! hope you enjoyed this chapter, things are starting to get very interesting now!

i've finished planning for this book and there's about 20 chapters left. i've decided instead of having a sequel for avengers 4, i'm just going to continue it in this book. by the time its all published though it'll be around the time that avengers 4 comes out so there won't be that long of a wait.

at the end of part one though, i'm going to be writing some deleted scenes - scenes that never made it into the book but i still want to share. if you guys have any ideas of what you want in it just let me know and i'll see what i can do.

see you guys soon!

-thirdwheelchurchill