A/N: ALL RIGHTY. You guys weren't supposed to get this until tomorrow, but then I terrified myself by accidentally deleting nearly all of my Marvel fanfics so I had to send my laptop off to get those recovered (which mostly worked), so now I'm in paranoia mode and I'm just dumping this on the internet now.

Hope you enjoyed reading the ending of the last chapter as much as I enjoyed writing! So now I'm just gonna... apologize... for killing the mood... with this chapter... whoops...

Thor sprinted across the battlefield and launched into the air, powered by a jet of lightning. Stormbreaker sank deep into the side of one ship. Thor let gravity pull them down, lightning and debris exploding from the jagged path Stormbreaker carved. Nearer the ground, he jumped off, hitting the ground and tucking immediately into a roll.

The ship exploded, dying with the screams of a thousand Outriders.

"I've seen better."

Thor took M'Baku's proffered hand and hauled himself up. "Who?"

M'Baku thumped his own chest, grinning. "Me."

Thor laughed deeply, clapping the leader on the shoulder. "I might just take you up on that boast."

"I-"

Another explosion tore through the air. Thor whipped around to see the copse where the others had gone to fight Thanos enveloped in a blast of yellow energy. Flickering around the yellow were broken waves of emerald.

Loki.

"Go," M'Baku said. "We have this covered."

Thor took off, leaping across the battlefield in a surge of lightning, electrocuting Outriders as he went. As he neared the copse, certain details became clear: A scorched patch of ground, Wanda sobbing beside it on all fours, Loki lying limp a few feet from her, his helmet dented and dirtied on the ground beside him, the others in no better shape in a trail of limp and feebly moving bodies that ended in Thanos still standing above them all.

"NO!" Thor roared.

He crossed the remaining distance in a single bound, driving a wildly sparking Stormbreaker down towards Thanos's chest.

With a simple flick of his wrist, Thanos flung him aside. He crashed to the ground, Stormbreaker flying out of his grip to land uselessly yards away. A net of shimmering blue pressed down over his body, trapping him with the same force that had thwarted Loki's attempt back on the ship.

"Asgardians," he muttered. "You're certainly an irritating bunch."

"I learned from the best," Thor retorted, glancing at Loki. He had rolled onto his stomach and was straining for Carita with trembling fingers, but at the comment he looked up, trying to purse his lips but betrayed by the upward twitch of the corner of his mouth. Thor couldn't help but smile back, huffing a faint laugh at his brother's amusement.

Until Thanos's attention shifted to his little brother. As casually as if he were taking a step, the Titan crushed both Carita and Loki's hand beneath one foot. Loki let out a strained whimper, freezing in place, humor exterminated from his face. Beyond them, Sif and Valkyrie exchanged a glance, but their attempts to reach their weapons were as feeble as Loki's had been. Thor renewed his struggles, to no avail.

"Are you still winning, Lackey?" Thanos asked, venom dripping from the name.

Loki said nothing, his terrified gaze rooted to the ground.

"Why don't you pick on someone who can fight back?" Thor snarled.

Thanos tightened his fist, and immediately the pressure pinning Thor down increased. He gasped, his chest crushed by the weight of a dozen bilgesnipe. Loki tried to catch his eye, but Thor squeezed them shut. If he was going to die, Loki wasn't going to see his soul leave.

"Stop," Loki rasped. Then, louder, "Stop!"

The pressure vanished. Thor sucked in a breath, opening his eyes to black spots covering the trees. "Brother, don't-"

"Don't hurt him," Loki pleaded. "Don't- don't hurt anyone else."

"Oh? And what will I receive for this favor?"

Loki looked at Thor, just like he had back on the ship. Except, this time, there was no promise in his gaze. No hint of bravery. Of pretending everything would be all right. Because the Wakandans were still being overrun. The heroes were strewn across the ground, struggling to move, let alone fight. And Thanos still had five Stones.

No, there was no light in Loki's gaze. Only resigned terror.

Loki looked up, tilting his head to a nearly impossible angle that must have been killing his neck. "Me," he said. "Take me."

Thanos chuckled darkly. "Bold of you to assume you're worth an Infinity Stone."

"You promised I would long for something sweet as pain if I lost the Tesseract – should the Mind Stone not be worth the same? Especially now that you'll never reach your goal."

Thanos tipped his head, pondering. "Your words make sense, boy."

Thor looked around, looked for anyone who could do something. But Valkyrie and Sif were still down, as were Steve and even Bruce, and Tony and Strange were nowhere to be found-

Wanda.

Wanda was moving, right?

She was crumpled on the ground, tears still streaming down her face, but she wasn't sobbing anymore. Her expression was simply blank, her eyes unfocused, seeing nothing. Some part of Thor wondered if he had looked like that, huddled over Loki's body, waiting for the ship to explode around them.

He ignored that part of him. "Wanda," he whispered. "Wanda!"

She blinked, once, slowly. "Vis," she breathed hoarsely.

Thor winced at the sheer agony in her voice. "Wanda, please. You can still fight."

She dragged her gaze to him, her eyes utterly lifeless. "What is left to fight for?"

Thor hated invoking the word, but he had to reach a part of her that still knew how to fight. "He's my brother."

She blinked again, faster, shifting her gaze to Loki. He was still staring up at Thanos, his uncrushed hand digging into the dirt, his skin pale and bloodless from the effort of it. "Spare my brother."

Determination flashed across Wanda's face, faint but there, and she stumbled to her feet. "Let him go."

Thanos turned his attention to her, ignoring the ball of scarlet energy building between her hands. He stepped towards her, finally releasing Loki. He gasped, snatching his broken hand to his chest. Carita, dirt ground into her hilt, moved in halting jerks to collapse by his head. With Thanos's back turned to them, Valkyrie, Rocket, Groot, and Sif crawled to his side. Thor went limp from sheer relief, even knowing it was likely doomed to be short-lived.

Thanos reached right past her hands to wipe the tears from one cheek. Wanda leaned back, disgust hardening her expression. "Your sacrifice was brave, child."

"You don't know what sacrifice is," she hissed.

"Oh, I do," Thanos murmured. "I do."

Thor squinted, confused, but if Wanda felt the same, she ignored it. "You're too late."

"Late," Thanos echoed. He nudged her aside, looking down at the scorched ground. He aimed the Gauntlet at it, the green Stone glowing brighter. "Late is a concept that does not exist when one has mastered time itself."

Wanda, Thor, and Loki understood at the same moment. She started to lash out, but Thanos grabbed her head with his free hand and threw her aside, where she crumpled, unmoving. Loki bolted upright, magic shooting from his uninjured hand. The net around Thor contracted, picking him up and hurling him at his bother. Valkyrie dove over Loki, flattening him to the ground at the last second, leaving Thor to crash into the nearest tree.

Thanos twisted his Gauntleted fist counterclockwise, a green spell circling his wrist. The scorched ground rippled and contracted inwards. A form built up from the ground, taking on a horrifyingly familiar form – Vision, kneeling on the ground and wide open to attack, utterly unaware of what was coming. Until it was too late.

Thor managed to lift his arm, calling Stormbreaker to him. Thanos picked Vision up by the throat. Stormbreaker landed in Thor's hand. Thanos started gouging the Mind Stone out of Vision's head. Lightning flared around Thor, lending him strength.

Vision went limp as, with a horrid crunch, Thanos freed the Stone.

Thor motioned as if to throw Stormbreaker, but he kept hold of the handle, flying through the air after his axe.

He sank it deep into Thanos's chest.

A mere heartbeat after he fit the final Stone into the Gauntlet.

They fell onto Thanos's back, and Thor kept pushing, shoving Stormbreaker straight into the heart he was half-convinced Thanos didn't actually have. "I told you," Thor snarled, "you'll pay for that."

Thanos swallowed, struggling to speak. Thor watched him struggle, making no move to remove his axe. He should be feeling something – triumph, disgust, hell, even emptiness would make sense – but… only unease twisted in his gut.

"You…" Thanos managed. "You… should've… gone… for the head."

Thor's eyes widened, but it was too late. Thanos swatted him aside, the Space Stone's power pushing the axe out of his chest. A black portal opened in the ground, and Thanos fell into it. Leaving only the distant sounds of raging battle in his wake.

"What just happened?" Rocket demanded, slowly lowering the arm thrown protectively in front of Groot when the scuffle started.

Thor picked himself up gingerly, glancing from his Asgardian family to his human friends as they all started doing the same. "I… I think…"

"We just lost," a new voice said.

Thor turned around, seeing another portal, this one a circle of orange sparks. It was Tony who had spoken, his voice hollow, his body armorless, his face cut up and dark blood staining his stomach, leaning on a young boy for support. Behind him came Quill, leaning on Mantis, then Drax, a blue cyborg, and finally Strange.

"Tones!" Rhodey exclaimed, relief flooding as his voice as he abandoned his armor to wrap Tony in a hug, a hug Tony leaned into with the same immense relief. Thor just stared at the braces Rhodey now wore.

What… what happened down here?

"Nebula?" Loki exclaimed. Beneath the shock was a layer of fear that drove Thor to his side, kneeling beside him and resting a hand on his shoulder. Loki leaned into him, trembling as he slipped Carita into her holster, answering Thor's question about his wellbeing only with a weary nod.

Rocket started running towards his team, but he wavered after a couple steps as the portal closed. "Where… where's Gamora?"

The newcomers all glanced at Quill. They looked away almost immediately, but the damage was done. "I couldn't kill her," he rasped, bowing his head beneath the weight of the guilt in his voice. "I couldn't kill her."

"Kill her?" Rocket asked, gaze darting from face to face, searching for answers. "What-"

"She traded the Soul Stone for me," Nebula answered, her eyes downcast. "And Thanos traded her for the Stone."

"I am Groot," the tree protested, voice wobbling. Rocket leaned against him, patting the teenager, but the gesture was as feeble as his expression was defeated.

"Was he here?" Strange asked quietly. Resignedly. Already knowing the answer.

"We lost, too," Steve said, appearing to glean some strength from standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Sam and a metal-armed man. Bucky? Thor wondered. But I thought he was on the run…

Steve's gaze was stuck on Tony, and Tony was staring back, his grip tight on the boy's shoulders.

Okoye tilted her head, listening to something. "Ayo reports that the aliens are leaving. We have sustained heavy casualties, my king."

T'Challa nodded heavily. "We shall tend to them soon."

"There's gotta be something we can do," the boy protested. "We can't- we're heroes- we can't just lose-"

Tony just shook his head, resting his chin on the boy's head. "Not right now, Peter."

"Thanos said it himself," Loki murmured. "That we would know what it's like to lose."

Tony lifted his head, narrowing his eyes as he seemed to notice Loki for the first time. "Whose we, Rock of Ages?"

"He fought on our side, Stark," Steve said.

Stark? When did we go back to last names?

"Our side," Tony deadpanned. "That's rich coming from you, Rogers."

"Stop!" Sif snapped, rising to her feet. "Whatever this is, we-"

She stopped, looking down at her hands. "What the…?"

She dissolved into a cloud of ash before she could finish the question.

Thor, Loki, and Valkyrie staggered upright, Valkyrie reaching into the space where Sif had been only a moment before. She looked to Thor and Loki, horror in her eyes. "No," she breathed.

"Steve?"

Thor turned around to see Bucky reaching for Steve. Steve reached back, grabbing for him, but he dissolved too, his gun falling to the ground in his absence. Steve whipped around as, on his other side, Sam disappeared.

Crouching over Vision's colorless body, Wanda floated away, acceptance on her upraised face.

"Something's happening," Mantis announced needlessly, scared, leaving a stunned Quill with no one to lean on.

"Quill?" Drax asked, a last-ditch effort to get answers before the breeze carried him off.

"Oh man," Quill said, half resigned, as he dissolved.

Strange just looked from person to person, his voice calm even as whatever was happening started taking him, too. "It was the only way," he said in his last moment.

If it was meant to be reassuring, it wasn't.

"Sir, Wakandans are disap- T'Challa!" Okoye cried out as her king disappeared from her side.

And then, perhaps most horrifying of all, came Peter's young, terrified voice. "Mr. Stark, I don't feel so good."

Thor clutched Loki to his side as he watched Peter fall into Tony's arms, stammering, "I- I don't know what's happening- make it stop-"

"You're all right," was all Tony could say, hugging the kid as if their lives depended on it. Which… they did.

Loki clutched Thor in return, his uninjured hand clamped around Thor's arm.

"I don't wanna go," Peter whimpered, the pair dropping to the ground as his legs dissolved, Tony doing everything he could to hold Peter together. "Please, I don't wanna go, I don't wanna go-"

Tony just cradled his head, at a complete loss for words.

In his last seconds, Peter steadied himself, looking up at Tony. "I'm sorry, Tony. I'm sorry."

And then… he was gone. Leaving Tony alone on the ground, the boy's ashes glued to his hand by Tony's own blood.

"I am Groot…"

Dad.

Thor spun around in time to see Rocket, who had moved towards the other Guardians as they dissolved, hurry back towards a fading Groot, reaching for the teen. "No, no no no-"

Loki released Thor to lift Carita, aiming her at Groot. Magic reached for the fading kid, but it stuttered to a halt barely halfway there, falling into wisps that faded away. Loki's eyes widened. "Oh no," he whispered.

"No," Thor protested instantly, gripping Loki's shoulders. "No, no, you're fine-"

Loki just looked at him, and he hadn't looked so young in centuries. Young and scared, tears brimming in his eyes, his lip wobbling. "I don't want to go either," he mumbled. "Thor- Thor, I don't-"

Thor swept him into a one-armed hug, using his other to clasp Loki's fist tightly around Carita. "It's ok, little brother," he said, his voice steadied only by love. "You'll go to Valhalla – you'll be with Mother again."

Loki nodded, shaking, clinging to Thor with his free hand. "I'll- I'll tell her you said hi," he promised. "And… I love you, Thor."

Thor shut his eyes against his tears. "I know. I love you, too."

A shudder rippled through Loki. Then, quietly, barely above a breath, he said, "I'm his victim again."

Thor pressed a kiss over his brother's hair, stalling for time, time to find the right words, time to hold Loki- time to- time to do something- anything-

And then he was kissing nothing, his fists closing around naught but ash.

Silence fell. Smothering the handful of survivors.

Overhead, the heavens broke open. The gods themselves mourning Thanos's victory.

A/N: *hides in the corner* I DEPRESSED MYSELF TOO I'M SORRY I DIDN'T WANT TO SAVE LOKI ONLY TO DISSOLVE HIM I'M SO SORRY

The sequel will be called Hidden Souls! Out now!