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𝑮𝑨𝑴𝑬 𝑶𝑭 𝑺𝑼𝑹𝑽𝑰𝑽𝑨𝑳
-𝒔𝒆𝒃𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏
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one.
sacrifice
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❝ARE WE THE HUNTERS,
OR ARE WE THE PREY?❞

⋆

          ❝HEAR ME, AND REJOICE.❞ Ebony Maw announced, ambling around the Statesman.

He passed by Heimdall, who panted and clutched his wounded side. Maw gracefully avoided Heimdall's outreached hand, walking over multiple discarded bodies.

"You have had the privilege, of being saved by the Great Titan. You may think this is suffering. No. It is salvation."

The alien paused for a moment, letting the surrounding fire fill the silence.

"Universal scales tip toward balance because of your sacrifice."

"Smile." Ebony glanced at Proxima Midnight stab another Asgardian, killing them, "For even in death, you have become Children of Thanos."

Maw passed by Loki, who was alive and well, and standing before the Black Order and Thanos himself. His green eyes were sharp and cruel, showing no emotion as Thanos continued to stare out the front window of the ship.

"I know what it's like to lose." The purple Titan mumbled, turning slightly to two bodies strewn beside his feet; Thor and Amber.

"To feel so desperately that you're right...yet to fail, nonetheless."

"Thor," Amber choked out with blood filling her mouth, inching forward towards the King of Asgard. Thanos loomed over the two, staring down at the two in disappointment, and disgust.

As Amber's head collapsed on Thor's chest, she wheezed painfully and stared into Loki's eyes. She felt Thor's hand shakily come up and weakly rake through her matted hair affectionately. Her lids fluttered shut, savouring the feeling with her whole being.

Turning her head sharply away from Thor, Amber gagged and coughed loudly. More blood splattered on the floor next to her. She cursed under her breath, slowly looking up with bloodshot eyes.

Thanos reached down, grabbing Thor by the collar before lifting him effortlessly. Amber screamed out, reaching after him. "NO!"

"It's frightening." The Titan ignored her cries, stepping forward towards the God of Mischief with his brother held in his fist, "Turns the legs to jelly."

He frowned, "I ask you, to what end?"

Loki remained silent towards the Titan, trying to hold a blank face.

"Dread it, run from it...destiny arrives all the same. And now, it's here. Or should I say..." Thanos lifted his gauntlet, revealing a purple Stone in the socket below his left index finger.

"I am."

His right hand jerked up, tugging at Thor's head. Thor's eye rolled back as blood oozed from his mouth, mixed with saliva. "You talk too much."

Loki pursed his lips, sneaking a quick glance at Thor and Amber. Amber was propped up on one elbow, staying in her place.

"The Tesseract." Thanos commanded, capturing the god's attention again. "Or your brother's head."

Thanos squeezed Thor's head tighter, earning a low grunt in pain.

"I assume you have a preference." He tilted his head, waiting for an answer.

"Oh, I do." Loki replied with venom in his voice, seeming to not hear Thor choking. "Kill away."

Thanos clenched his left hand, placing his fist to the side of Thor's head.

The Power Stone lit up brightly, searing into Thor's temple. Thor yelled out in pain, squeezing his one eye shut.

Tears streamed down Amber's face as she reached out in desperation once more. "Loki, stop this!"

His eyes seemed to be frozen on Thor, watching as his skin started to burn up from it and crackle with purple.

Loki glanced into Amber's bloodshot eyes, matching the tears that welled up. "All right, stop!"

"We don't have the Tesseract." Thor gasped, once most of the pain subsided. "It was destroyed on Asgard."

Loki clenched his teeth, looking up into Thanos' purple eyes. His hand slowly reached into the air, and a shining blue cube suddenly appeared.

Amber's eyes widened in shock, going unnoticed by everyone except him.

Thanos sickly smiled as Thor frowned, "You...really are the worst brother."

Loki stepped forward, displaying the Tesseract to the Titan graciously.

As he neared, Loki's eyes focused from Amber to Thor. "I assure you, you two...the sun will shine on us again."

Thanos chuckled. "Your optimism is misplaced, Asgardian."

Loki smirked, standing directly below him. "Well, for one thing; I'm not Asgardian." Thanos tipped his head to the side. "And for another...we have a Hulk."

A roar echoed throughout the ship as a force collided into Thanos.

As Hulk punched Thanos away, Loki dove after Thor, enveloping him in a hug as they fell to the floor.

Amber puffed, crawling over towards the two brothers.

Loki sat up with a pant, gently placing a hand on Amber's knotted hair. Amber weakly smiled up at him, blood staining her lips.

Hulk stood before Thanos, roaring in anger. Stepping forward, Hulk punched him back and forth, managing to hold Thanos against the wall and choke him.

Thanos grabbed his wrists, peeling Hulk's hands away. Hulk's eyes flashed with fear and Thanos punched him in the mouth. Hulk stumbled away, whimpering.

Thanos attacked again, punching him multiple times in the face, stomach and back before kneeing Hulk in the face harshly.

He grabbed Hulk, lifting him aloft before slamming him into the ground. Thanos' head jerked slightly as Thor slapped him with a metal pipe afterward.

The pipe broke, clattering to the ground.

Thor wheezed, lifting his fist in attempt to punch him. Thanos blocked the hit easily, punching him across the ship.

Maw lifted his hand easily, sending slabs of metal towards Thor to trap in to the ground.

Heimdall turned his head, looking at Thor as he panted in rage. He clenched his teeth, lifting his sword. "Forefathers, let the Dark Magic flow through me one last time."

Heimdall outstretched his hand towards the Hulk, letting the Bifrost send him away. Thanos frowned, approaching him. "That was a mistake." he grabbed Proxima Midnight's spear, impaling him in the chest. Thor cried out and Heimdall's head fell back.

"You're going to die for that!" Thor exclaimed, a single drop of blood dripping off his lip. Maw lifted his hand, wrapping two strips of metal over Thor's mouth to silence him.

"My humble personage," Maw praised as he lowered to one knee, lifting the Tesseract to Thanos. "bows before your grandeur." As Thanos stared at the glowing cube, he started to disrobe from his golden armour. "No other being has ever had the might, nay, the nobility to wield not one, but two Infinity Stones. The universe lies within your grasp." Maw finished as Thanos grabbed the cube from him and crushed it in his palm.

Opening his palm, among the shards of glass was a small glowing orb. Thanos thumbed it, holding it up in the light. Lifting his armoured hand, he held the Stone over it, and it slipped into its socket.

A shockwave pushed everyone back. Thanos grunted with power, staring down at his prized possessions. "There are two more Stones on Earth. Find them, my children, and bring them to me."

The Black Order bowed beneath Thanos, muttering lines of which they would not fail him.

"If I might interject!" Loki chirped, stepping forwards with a sly smile. "If you're going to Earth, you might want a guide. I do have a bit of experience in that arena."

"Perhaps you consider failure experience?" Thanos asked.

Loki frowned. "I consider experience, experience. Oh mighty Thanos, I, Loki, Prince of Asgard," he hesitated on his words momentarily. "Odinson..." Loki looked back at Thor, and Amber. Amber kneeled before Thor, pausing in her attempt to pry the metal from Thor. "the rightful King of Jotunheim, god of mischief."

A small flash made Thor and Amber's eyes shift down towards Loki's hand, who hid a dagger behind his wrist. "Do here by pledge to you, my undying fidelity."

Loki jumped forward, lifting his weapon to Thanos' throat. Loki paused, being overpowered by the Space Stone. His eyes shifted down, seeing his knife inches away from Thanos' chin.

"Undying?" Thanos asked in a low voice, watching as Loki's eyes flashed with fear. He grabbed Loki's wrist tightly, twisting it in a painful angle. "You should choose your words more carefully."

Loki dropped his weapon, and gagged as Thanos picked him up by the throat. Loki held onto the gauntlet tightly, thrashing around in attempt to break free.

Thanos looked into Loki's eyes, which filled with blood and tears. "You...will never be...a god."

Thanos frowned, squeezing his fingers and snapping Loki's neck. Amber and Thor cried out again, and Amber tripped forward, landing in front of Thanos' feet. "You bastard!"

The Titan looked down at the goddess, shaking his head and kicking her in the face, knocking her unconscious. He stepped over her carelessly, dropping Loki in front of Thor, who was now crying. "No resurrections this time."

Lifting his left hand, he activated the Power Stone, setting the ship on fire. Using the Space Stone, he used it to create a portal to another planet, swallowing him and the Black Order.

The metal containing Thor broke. Thor crawled forward, collapsing on Loki's chest. He grabbed Amber by her collar and dragged her beside his brother, cradling them both tightly as the ship exploded.

⋆

this book will probably have a lot of
cuts since the movie constantly
jumps from place to place
(earth, titan, etc) so they will
be divided up by large spaces
instead of some sort of symbol
like in my previous books.

hope you enjoy (if you can)