RAEVANNA GRITTED HER TEETH, TAKING TO THE SKIES AS DIANA LET OUT A FIERCE BATTLE CRY, AS DID THOR AND T'CHALLA. And with that, the heroes charged, heading straight for Thanos. Thanos raised his sword towards them, commanding his army to charge as well.

Then, both sides collided.

Raevanna sped through the air, torpedoing through several Outriders as her arms crossed in front of her face. Landing on the ground, she skidded across the ground, kicking up dust and rocks, before she thrust her arms down to her sides as she was surrounded by more Outriders. Purple flames burst into life around her fists and forearms, and she narrowed her eyes before she jumped into the air, then grabbed the heads of two Outriders in her hands, slammed their heads together, leaping over them as she expelled the fire from her hands and vaporized the Outriders. She landed in a crouch on the ground, then jumped to her feet and thrust her hands outwards, shooting even more fire out of her hands and vaporizing the others that surrounded her. 

As Raevanna fought, she was everywhere. She was on the ground, she was in the skies. She was using magic, she was using weapons, she was using her hands and feet. She was relentless, fighting without mercy to anyone who dared to come closer, and before long her eyes went from red to pure black. But this time, she was aware of it. And she let it happen, because she knew what would happen if she didn't. 

Suddenly, as the battle raged on, Raevanna heard Clint's voice over comms.

"Cap, what do you want me to do with this damn thing?" he asked, and it took Raevanna a moment to realize that he must have found the gauntlet.

"Get those stones as far away as possible!" Steve told him.

"No!" Bruce said. "We need to get them back where they came from."

"No way to get them back," Tony reminded them. "Thanos destroyed the quantum tunnel."

That was when Scott spoke. "Hold on!" he said, then added after a pause, "That wasn't our only time machine."

Then, Raevanna suddenly heard a van's horn from afar, playing the song La Cucaracha. Upon hearing it, Steve went to higher ground, and Raevanna took to the skies to locate the vehicle. Moments later, she found it - but it was at the edge of the battlefield, behind hordes of Outriders and the other members of Thanos' army. 

"Anyone see an ugly, brown van up there?" Steve asked.

"Yes!" Raevanna replied. "But you're not gonna like where it's parked!"

"Scott, how long you need to get that thing working?" Tony asked.

"Maybe ten minutes," Scott replied.

"Get it started," Steve said. "We'll get the stones to you."

"We're on it, Cap," came the voice of Hope Van Dyne, aka the Wasp.

Raevanna dropped down from the sky, landing beside Alaneo as he battled several Sakaarans. Smiling at him, she conjured up a sword and began fighting as well, battling beside him with equal ferocity. As she fought, she was reminded of when they were children, and how Raevanna helped train him after she became champion. They worked well together then, and even now, they fought side by side as if no time had passed, and as if they hadn't grown apart over the years. 

Finally, there was a break in the fighting, and Raevanna turned to Alaneo, smiling at him as he smiled back at her. But then, his face fell, and without warning he jumped forward, rushing up to Raevanna and shoving her to the side. Raevanna fell to the ground, then looked up just in time to see none other than Cull Obsidian take his sword and plunge it right into Alaneo's stomach. 

"NO!" Raevanna screamed, leaping to her feet as rage filled her body. Her eyes turned black again, violet flames bursting around her entire body, and she teleported, reappearing right behind Cull Obsidian. Then, with a ferocious snarl, she grabbed his head in her hands and snapped his neck, and as his body dropped to the ground, she landed beside him, the flames disappearing and her eyes returning to their normal color before she rushed over to Alaneo. 

Raevanna dropped to her knees beside him, pulling his head into her lap as she looked at the fatal wound in his abdomen. "Alaneo?" she said. "Alaneo, please stay with me." 

"I cannot," Alaneo wheezed, shaking his head. 

"You're gonna be okay," Raevanna said frantically. "You're gonna be fine, you're gonna survive this-" 

"N-no," Alaneo said, cutting her off. "My time has... has come." 

"No," Raevanna pleaded, shaking her head as tears welled up in her eyes. "No, please, just don't go. We have time-" 

"Raevanna." Alaneo shook his head again, a pained smile on his face as he reached up and took her hand. "Stop. Please." 

Erissa landed beside them, starting to ask what was wrong, only to stop and gasp when she saw Alaneo's condition. "Oh my god," she whispered. 

Raevanna smiled sadly at her friend, stroking his hair. "I'm so sorry," she said. "I should've made more of an effort to talk to you. To fix things." 

"I am sorry too," Alaneo said. "For not understanding why you were protecting Barnes. You were doing so because he is your friend. And friends look out for each other. Always. That is... that is something I seem to have forgotten." 

"It's okay," Raevanna assured him. "You came to help me now. And that's what matters." 

Alaneo smiled at her. "You are a good faery, Raevanna. You always have been. Elyon has never had a better Champion. And the humans have never had a better protector." 

Raevanna began to openly cry, tears falling from her eyes as she cupped her friend's cheek. "There's... there's something I have to tell you." 

"No..." Alaneo shook his head. "You don't have to." He squeezed her hand. "I know." Smiling at her, he went on, "You are going to be a great mother. I know it." 

Raevanna smiled at him through her tears. "I love you, my friend." 

Alaneo nodded at her. "I love you too." 

Then, his grip on her hand loosened, and his head lolled to the side as his chest stopped moving, the light leaving his eyes. Raevanna began to cry even harder, and she hugged her friend's body close to her as her chest was racked with sobs. Alaneo had given his life to save her. And now, another one of her friends was gone. 

"Rae," Erissa said, putting her hand on Raevanna's shoulder. "Raevanna, come on."

"No," Raevanna mumbled into Alaneo's chest. 

"C'mon, Rae," Erissa said. "The battle's not over yet." 

"No, I'm not leaving him," Raevanna said. 

Erissa shook her head. "Raevanna, we have to go-" 

"I'M NOT LEAVING HIM!!" Raevanna shouted, cutting her off as she looked up at her sister. Erissa was silent, staring at Raevanna, and so the younger faery went on, "I... I can't  leave him here." 

Erissa was silent for a moment. Then, she nodded, turning and waving to one of the faeries. They walked up to her, and Erissa said, "Find the doctor who brought us here and return to Elyon. And take him with you." She nodded at Alaneo's body. 

The faery nodded, turning to Raevanna and putting his hand on her shoulder. "I will take him now," he said. "Ñuha kosh, please. Let me take him home." 

Raevanna looked up at the faery before nodding slowly, handing Alaneo's body to him. Then, the faery picked him up before flying off, and moments later Raevanna saw a portal open, which the faery flew into. Once he was gone, Raevanna took a deep breath and stood, turning to her sister. 

"I'm gonna kill them," Raevanna growled. "Every last one of them. And I will make Thanos pay for what he's taken from me." 

Erissa nodded, holding her hand out to Raevanna. "Then let's do it." 

Raevanna took her sister's hand, and together, they flew into the sky, firing magic at the hordes of Thanos' army that had surrounded them. As they spun around in the air, back to back while attacking, Raevanna saw an explosion of purple energy go off nearby. Turning her head, she saw T'Challa running away from the blast center before Diana flew up to him and grabbed his arm, lifting him up into the air. Raevanna nodded once in satisfaction, glad to see the two reunited after all this time. 

Raevanna turned back to the battle, continuing to fight the aliens with Erissa, trying to push aside the growing pain she felt over her friend's death. But then, as she spun around again, she saw both Diana and T'Challa in the air, surrounded by telekinetically lifted bricks created by Ebony Maw. 

Raevanna turned to Erissa, wanting to help her friends but not wanting to leave her sister. But Erissa simply shook her head, seeming to know what Raevanna wanted. 

"Go," Erissa said. "Help them. I can handle this." 

Raevanna nodded at her, then activated her Shadowstorm ability, violet flames bursting into life around her and her eyes turning red. Her hands balling into fists, she sped forward towards Diana and T'Challa, then slammed right into Ebony Maw, knocking him down. While Raevanna landed in a crouch on the ground, Ebony Maw landed flat on his back before scrambling to his feet. Panic flared in his eyes when he saw Raevanna, and he raised his other hand, telekinetically throwing a huge slab of concrete at Raevanna. But she simply raised her arm, and the concrete split clean in half across her forearm before she lunged, then grabbed Ebony Maw by the throat and lifted him into the air.

"Stay away from them, you butt ugly alien Krampus," Raevanna hissed. Then she drew her sword and sliced his head clean off before tossing his limp body to the ground.

At Ebony Maw's death, the bricks surrounding Diana and T'Challa fell to the ground, successfully freeing the two warriors. With the alien taken care of, Raevanna deactivated her ability, but as Diana rushed up to her, Raevanna's eyes remained red.

"You're just full of surprises, aren't you?" Diana asked her teasingly once she reached her.

Raevanna flipped her hair back in mock sassiness to mask her pain. "Obviously."

Then, out of nowhere, the cannons on Thanos' spaceship began to fire. Diana quickly raised her shield to defend herself, and Raevanna quickly formed a magical barrier around herself and T'Challa. Soon, the Masters of the Mystic Arts made their own shields, and anyone else who could defend themselves did the same.

"Uh, is anyone else seeing this?" Pepper asked after a moment, speaking over comms.

Raevanna turned her head, seeing that one of the cannonfire had struck a dam, and water was flooding through the battlefield. Raevanna froze, unsure of how to solve the problem, but Doctor Strange beat her to it, looking at the broken dam and using his magic to stop the water from flooding the battlefield.

Then, one of the Sakaarans suddenly shot at Raevanna, the blast grazing her arm. She hissed in pain, then spun around and drew her sword before slicing him clean in half. Then, she leapt into the air to continue the fight - despite her growing fatigue. 

As Raevanna battled Thanos' army, the cannons continued to fire at the battlefield. But then, out of nowhere, they turned to face the sky and began to shoot at something.

Raevanna looked up, confused. "What the hell...?"

Suddenly, a bright light of thundering energy came surging down from the sky. Then, it was revealed to be Carol, who torpedoed through the ship and resulted in an explosion before the ship crash-landed in the lake.

"Oh, yeah!" Rocket shouted happily.

"Danvers, we need an assist here," Steve said.

That was when Scott finally activated the Quantum Tunnel. Raevanna smiled, taking to the skies and flying over to Carol as the blonde woman landed near the teenager Raevanna had seen earlier, who was on the ground, weirdly hugging the gauntlet with his body. Then, the other women on the team promptly joined her, ready to clear the path for Carol. 

Raevanna landed next to Okoye, followed by Pepper, Mantis, Shuri, Blake, the Wasp, Gamora and Nebula. Then, Thanos' army charged, while the women charged as well, helping Carol go through the Outriders, Sakaarans and Chitauri. Gamora took out a gorilla, while Okoye, Blake, and Raevanna battled it out with Corvus Glaive. Wanda and Valkyrie destroyed two leviathans, while Diana killed four Sakaarans that were charging at her. Carol then began to fly towards the van with the Gauntlet, shooting past enemies and going through enemy blockades that were in her way with ease. Thanos, upon seeing this, started running to Carol, but was stopped by Pepper, Shuri and The Wasp, who blasted him backwards. Then, after Carol flew past him, Thanos threw his double-bladed sword at the van.

"No!" Diana shouted.

But she was too late. The sword smashed into the van, destroying it and the quantum realm tunnel.

The impact of the blast threw Carol backwards, causing her to lose her grip on the Gauntlet, which fell to the ground. Doctor Strange, who was still focused on the flood, steadied the water after the explosion, and both Raevanna and Diana ran towards the gauntlet in order to get it. As Raevanna ran, she raised her hands and fired magic at any enemies that got in her way. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Thanos, but before he could reach her, Tony tackled him. However, Thanos smacked Tony away, knocking him out. Then, Thor arrived with Stormbreaker and Mjölnir in an attempt to pin Thanos' arm down, but even with assistance from Steve, Thanos overpowered them and knocked them both out.

Raevanna watched as Diana scooped up the gauntlet and began running with it. Then, Carol flew beside her and shouted, "Diana! Give it to me!"

Diana tossed the gauntlet to Carol, who caught it just as Thanos reached her. Carol immediately began punching away at Thanos while he grabbed the Gauntlet and tried to pull it away from her. Carol kept punching him, but eventually Thanos grabbed her by the arm and flung her away. Then, Thanos put on the gauntlet, the gamma radiation from the stones eating at him as he tried to snap, but that was when Diana whipped out her Lasso, wrapping it around his arm and holding it in place. With his arm immobilized, Carol returned, stopping his fingers from snapping by opening up his hand similar to what Steve had done before. Furious, Thanos headbutted Carol in the face, but it did nothing; she didn't even flinch. She just gave him a furious look, and for the first time Raevanna saw a bit of fear in Thanos' eyes.

Just as Carol began to gain the upper hand by rising up and forcing Thanos onto his knees, Thanos pulled the Power Stone out of the gauntlet, then used it in his free hand to hit Carol away. Diana wrapped the other end of her Lasso around her forearm and braced her feet against a pillar of concrete, pulling on the Lasso with all her might to keep Thanos from moving his hand. However, he yanked his arm backwards, pulling Diana forward and causing her to loose her grip on her Lasso. Diana crashed into the ground, then pushed herself up, seeing that Thanos had put the Power Stone back into the Gauntlet and was yelling from the gamma radiation coursing through him. Then, out of nowhere, Tony arrived, making one last attack on Thanos by pulling on the Gauntlet. However, before Tony could get it off, Thanos punched him away.

Thanos stood straight and tall, glaring at Tony as he raised his hand. "I am – inevitable."

Then, much to Raevanna's horror, Thanos snapped his fingers. 

"No!" Raevanna shouted. 

But her horror then turned into confusion when nothing happened except a metallic "clink." Thanos tried to snap again, but got the same result. So he turned the gauntlet and saw that the Infinity Stones were missing.

As soon as Raevanna saw that, she knew what had happened. She then looked at Tony, who had the stones on his own gauntlet, the gamma radiation coursing through him as Thanos stared at him in shock.

"Tony, no," Raevanna said quietly. Tony wasn't Bruce or Thanos. The radiation wouldn't just wound him, it would kill him. Raevanna didn't understand why he was doing this; he had a family that he was supposed to come back to. If he did this, he would never see them again.

But then, it hit her - Tony was doing it for them, and for everyone. He was sacrificing himself to save not just his wife and daughter, but also the entire universe. And that was his choice to make, not Raevanna's.

So she only watched as Tony raised his hand, fighting through the pain as he glared at Thanos. "And I... am... Iron Man."

And with those words, Tony snapped his fingers with a loud "clang" and a blinding flash of white. Then, moments later, every enemy on the battlefield began to crumble to ash. The remaining members of the Black Order, the Chitauri, the Sakaarans - all of them were turning to dust and floating away on the wind. Thanos, in horror, looked around and saw his entire army disintegrate, then looked at Steve, who just stared back at him from several feet away.

Then, Thanos sat down, mourning his loss before he, too, slowly turned to ash, being erased from existence for good.

Raevanna stared at the spot where Thanos had been. She was exhausted, and her body was aching but she knew that it was finally over. They had won.

That was when she remembered Tony.

She turned to him, her heart sinking when she saw that the power of the gauntlet raw energy had left his entire right side fatally injured. The man was now laying beside a pile of debris, with Rhodey and Peter standing in front of him. Pepper sat in front of him, her hand on Tony's Arc Reactor and his hand on top of hers.

As Raevanna stepped closer, she saw Tony smile at Pepper with tears in his eyes. Steve walked up to Raevanna, then put his arm around her and held her close to him as they watched Tony's final moments. 

"Tony," Pepper said. "Look at me." She made sure Tony got a long look at her smiling face, then said softly, "We're gonna be okay. You can rest now."

With that acknowledgement, Tony's arc reactor flickered off for good.

Raevanna turned and buried her face in Steve's shoulder, her eyes welling up with tears as Pepper could no longer contain her grief and started crying on Tony's shoulder. He had made the ultimate sacrifice to save the universe.

Tony Stark, both Iron Man and Raevanna's dear friend... was dead. 

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A/N: i'm crying, fr. 

also, next chapter is the last one before the epilogue! i don't want this book to end but i think it'll wrap up quite nicely. plus, i may or may not already have a sequel planned...  

TRANSLATIONS (from Valyrian): 
Ñuha kosh : my champion