tainted dreams | chapter twelve
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double update? who am i xD it's a long chapter, so please get some popcorn (and tissues) before you start reading!
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It was time.

The Avengers walked in a line from the small hallway to the Quantum Time machine, wearing the Quantum Suits, albeit with some minor differences for different people. Rhodey had a bulkier repaint of the War machine armour.

As they settled in their designated spots, Rosalie couldn't help the excitement that tried to burst out of her body. She was standing in between Nat and Clint, the three destined to travel to Vomir to retrieve the soul stone.

This is it.

"Five years ago, we lost. All of us." Steve started his motivational speech before they embarked in their adventures. "We lost friends. We lost family. We lost a part of ourselves. Today, we have a chance to take it all back."

Everyone nodded at his words,

"You know your teams, you know your missions. Get the stones, get them back. One round trip each. No mistakes. No do-overs. Most of us are going somewhere we know, but it doesn't mean we should know what to expect." Tony have Steve a look and they exchanged light and encouraging smiles. "Be careful. Look out for each other. This is the fight of our lives. And we're gonna win. Whatever it takes. Good luck."

"Whatever it takes." Nat whispered to Rosalie.

"Whatever it takes." Grabbing her mentor's hand, the blonde smiled tightly.

She was nervous, she wouldn't lie.

But it had to be done. And no one could chicken out now.

Scott was the only one who looked slightly excited, while the rest of the team dwelled on the difficulty of their mission. The man vibrated and smiled everywhere he looked.

"All right. You heard the man. Stroke those keys, jolly green." Tony said and instructed Bruce.

"Tractors engaged." The green man gave everyone a thumbs up as he turned to the panel.

Clint had a shrunk space ship in his hand, meant to transport himself, Nat and Rosalie to their destination planet. Of course, it was Rocket's sweet possession and the creature was worried for its safety in their hands.

"You promise to bring that back in one piece, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah." Clint didn't soothe Rocket's nerves. "Okay. I'll do my best."

"As promises go, that was pretty lame."

"We'll take good care of it." Rosalie stuck her hand out for him to shake. "I promise."

Looking at the blonde woman's outstretched hand, Rocket smiled and shook it with impressive vigour for such a small creature. Rosalie was impressed.

"Now this is a promise."

Nat looked at their team, smiling excitedly.

"See you in a minute."

Everyone mimicked her actions and hit their suits' front button, creating a protective helmet around their heads.

They all shrunk and entered the Quantum Realm, and they all split at different intervals, going to a different place at a different time in history.

This is is.

Repeating the same words over and over again in her head, Rosalie prepared for landing and smiled.

This is going to work. It has to.

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They arrived in 2014 earlier than Rosalie had anticipated. Piloting the Benetar was Nebula, scaring Rosalie to the bone as she curved the ship to land in Morag, where Rhodey and the half-robot woman would be searching for another one of the stones.

Rhodey got off first before it landed, instructing Nebula.

"Alright. Bring it down low." He waved his arms around. "Right on that line. That's it. Down, down."

Clint was a pile of nerves, bouncing his legs up and down during the entirety of the trip through space.

"Hey, can we hurry it up?"

"Guys, chop-chop. Come on." Nat instructed, impatient as well. "We're on a clock."

And they were. Time was limited to find the stones, and nothing could go wrong. Every step had to follow their plans, nothing out of line.

Which left Rosalie's bubble of power in a twist.

Nebula walked out of the ship, followed by Clint and Nat. Rosalie stayed behind, legs still shaky from the dangerous abs nerve wracking trip.

"All that, is really helpful." Rhodey said sarcastically, hugging Nat. "Take care, okay?"

"Yeah."

"Take that stone and come back. No messing around."

Clint was next, offering a strong handshake to one of his closest friends.

"Hey. You got this."

"Let's get it done. Yes, sir." Rhodes saluted and both smiled.

Rosalie came in last. The once fragile girl was now standing by the side of the strongest people on the planet -and the universe- ready to complete the mission of a lifetime.

She was hugged tightly by Rhodey, whose heart was clenched in fear for the youngest Avenger. He felt, in the deepest chambers of his soul, that something would go wrong with their mission and Rosalie would pay the price and suffer.

"Be careful, take care of those two for me." The older man whispered in her ear. "And most importantly, please take care of yourself."

"This isn't a goodbye, my friend." She pat his back but completely understood his apprehension. "I will see you later."

Nat and Clint walked back into the ship, followed closely by Rosalie.

"See you back." Nat called out to Rhodeu.

"You guys watch each other's six."

Clint and Nat looked back and just smiled. Their eyes fell on the younger blonde by their side and their smiles widened.

They were so proud of her.

"Yeah."

They walked back into the ship, and the hatch closed. The ship took off and sped out of the atmosphere of Morag.

"The coordinates for Vormir were laid in by Nebula before she left." Rosalie informed, taking her seat in the middle of the other two. "All we have to do is not fall out."

"Very reassuring, cherub."

"One of my many qualities."

In the Benatar, they were all sitting at the front of the ship. The ship took a jump through space and sped up tremendously. Nat and Clint looked at each other as Rosalie gripped the armrests of her seat.

"We're a long way from Budapest." Clint said and Nat just laughed.

"Shut the hell up about Budapest!" The blonde's words were barely audible over the pair's loud booming laughter.

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When she opened her eyes again, she noticed that they had finally arrived in Vormir. Her hands were still clinging to the seat, trembling and sweating like crazy.

Noticing the view from the front windows, Rosalie couldn't help but whistle under her breath. Clint somehow agreed with her and put into words what the scared blonde couldn't.

"Wow." He whispered. "Under different circumstances, this would be totally awesome."

Nat and Clint walked out of the ship, closely followed by Rosalie, and started walking towards the mountain in front of them.

The trio quickly climbed it.

"I bet the raccoon didn't have to climb a mountain." Nat wasn't even struggling.

"Technically, he's not a raccoon, you know." Cling was already sweating.

"Whatever. He eats garbage." Rosalie was panting furiously, her nerves combined with the lack of sleep from the previous night were killing her.

When their little climb was over, they were met by a mysterious and raspy voice.

"Welcome."

The three swiftly drew their weapons and stood in a ready-to-fight stance. The man standing in front of them was somehow familiar to Rosalie. Not in a 'I've met you before" kind of way, but more in a 'I've heard about you' kind of familiar.

His skin -at least the face, as it was the only part of his body visible from under his heavy dark cloak- was a deep shade of red, contrasting with the purples and blues that stained the background of the planet's view.

"Natasha, daughter of Ivan. Clint, son of Edith." He nodded at the older Avengers before turning to blonde. "Rosalie, the abandoned daughter."

It was like a knife to her heart, but Rosalie ignored it as they had a mission to accomplish. Gulping down the need to sit down and cry, she looked at the man with an expressionless face.

"Who are you?" She asked.

"Consider me a guide." The man chuckled darkly. "To you, and to all who seek the Soul Stone."

"Oh good. You tell us where it is. Then we'll be on our way." Nat rushed, feeling Rosalie's heart breaking as she stood there, emotionless and unmoving.

"If only it were that easy." Confused, the trio followed the Stonekeeper as he led them to a cliff. "What you seek lies in front of you, as does what you fear."

"The stone is down there." Rosalie spoke as she took a peak down and felt her entire body shaking.

It was a big drop. A scary one, as well.

"For one of you. For the other two..." The man paused, irritating the waiting group. "In order to take the stone, you must lose that which you love. An everlasting exchange."

Rosalie understood where he was going even before he finished speaking. If she thought she had known heartbreak and pain in the past, the blonde was very wrong.

"A soul, for a soul."

As she had been standing at the edge of the cliff, she looked back as the man disappeared in the shadows, leaving them to their troubled minds. Rosalie could already feel the familiar burning behind her eyes as tears threatened to spill from them.

Clint and Nat both sat on a log, the Stonekeeper lingering in the shadows and watching their every move.

Rosalie knew what she wanted to do. She knew what was best for them.

She didn't have her parents anymore, they made it very clear that she was no longer welcome in their lives.

Tony and her were estranged, the air around them constantly toxic. Rosalie didn't know if they would be able to genuinely repair their relationship.

Peter was long gone. Even if he came back when they managed to collect all the stones, she would be older than him five rice years. It wasn't right to keep him glued to her when she knew she could no longer be with him.

Her best friends would be alright without her. They had each other, MJ and Michelle were a powerful and incredible duo.

Nat needed Clint in her life to fill the hole that her family left behind. And Clint needed Nat to keep him grounded, calm.

And Rosalie would be fine. Her life made no sense without her chosen family, her allies. So, losing one of them would bring great pain to the young woman's already tainted heart.

Her emotions were running around inside her heart like a tornado. Her powers were out of control, black mist forming around her arms and hands in beautifully patterned swirls.

Rosalie knew what she had to do.

"Guys-" She started but was interrupted by Clint.

"Maybe he's making this shit up."

"No. I don't think so." A lot of thinking went behind Nat's response.

"Why, 'cause he knows your Daddy's name?"

"Clint!" Rosalie called his name loudly and he seemed to understand the message.

Lay off on the rudeness.

"I didn't." Nat sighed. "Thanos left here with the stone without his daughter. It's not a coincidence."

"Yeah."

The two stared at each other as Rosalie continued to stand by the edge. Their eyes were calculative, choosing the best approach to the situation at hand.

Their next words shot an alarm inside Rosalie's mind.

"Whatever it takes."

"Whatever it takes."

"If we don't get that stone,billions of people stay dead." Nat stood up after Clint's reply to her phrase.

"Then I guess we both know who it's gotta be." Clint nodded.

"I guess we do." Clint held Nat's hand and she reciprocated as they looked at each other.

"I'm starting to think, we've been different people here, Natasha." Clint was starting to her emotional.

The entire scene in front of her was heartbreaking. Two people who meant the world to each other were saying their last goodbyes as they tired to prevent the other from that disastrous fate.

None of that would happen. Not if Rosalie could stop it.

And she could. She just had to wait for the right moment.

Stepping forward to hold Nat in her arms, the blonde absorbed her words and examined Nat and Clint's every moves. Her powers were on edge, ready to intervene when necessary.

Not yet, babies.

Not yet.

Soon.

"For the last five years I've been trying to do one thing." Nat was close to tears, looking at the horizon as she ran her fingers through Rosalie's straight blonde hair. "Get to right here. That's all it's been about. Bringing everybody back."

"Oh, don't you get all decent on us now." The blonde laughed, feeling the warm tears streaming down her cheeks.

"What, you think I wanna do it? I'm trying to save your lives, cherub."

"Well, we're trying the same thing." Rosalie looked to the side and saw Clint nodding his head.

Not yet.

"Yeah well, I don't want you to, because I..." Clint sighed. "Natasha, you know what I've done. You know what I've become."

"I don't judge people on their worst mistakes." Sparing Rosalie a side glance, Nat spoke. "Rosalie did the same things you did. It was a delicate time in your lives, and you shouldn't have to pay for your mistakes eternally."

"You're a pain in my ass, you know that?" Clint smiled, his tears now evident.

Both Clint and Natasha leant their heads against each other, Clint whispering to his best friend as they shared an intimate moment together.

Rosalie didn't want to intrude so she took a few steps backwards.

Now!

It was Rosalie's time to interrupt their talk, sure of what their next actions were going to be. Before any of them could knock the other to the ground, she acted.

Lifting her hands in the air, she softly trapped them with ropes of black mist. Worried about their safety, she applied little to no pressure and allowed her powers to hold them as softly as they could.

"None of your deserve this." Rosalie spoke with her hands in the air.

"Cherub!" Nat yelled out, thrashing against the bounds. "Don't you dare do this."

"Tell Tony that I forgive him. And tell him that I'm sorry for everything I've said. I didn't mean anything I said." Her blue eyes were blurry with unshed tears. Some managed to escape and were parading down her face. "I love him like a father."

Clint and Nat were both fighting against Rosalie's powers, which was completely useless. The young woman was too in-sync with herself and the bubble of powers trembling inside her body to allow their moves to destroy the ropes she had created.

"I'm so sorry, Nat." The blonde turned to Clint and the man was staring at her with teary eyes. "Take care of her. She's all I have left."

The man couldn't help but nod. He was overwhelmed by Rosalie's sacrifice, by how selfless she was. She felt that, and gratitude filled her heart. She was thankful for his help, at least Nat wouldn't be alone.

"I love you, Nat. You're everything I wished to become, the strongest person I have ever met." She saluted the woman she admired the most in the entire world. "It was a pleasure meeting you."

"Rosalie, please!" Nat plead as Rosalie walked backwards to the edge. "Don't do this to me, please don't leave me."

Rosalie turned, not wanting Nat to see and hear the sobs that were threatening to escape from her mouth.

"Rosalie! I'm sorry."

What Rosalie didn't see when she turned to the cliff what the sharp object that flew from Nat's hand to her torso. The pain was the first thing she felt, betrayal the second.

"No." She whispered as the blade came in contact with her insides. "No."

Falling back to the floor, Rosalie missed the edge by a few inches and merely watched as her powers dissipated and released the duo behind her. The black mist was now focusing on its host, protecting her at all cost.

"No, you idiot." Commanding her powers to go back to their previous position, they failed her. "No!"

Instead, they formed a bubble around the blonde and placed a steady stream of black mist on top of her wound.

It wouldn't fix it, as the wound was too deep to be cured in mere seconds. Her powers had to focus entirely on it for quite some time to heal the entire wound. And that's exactly what they did, refusing to protect Rosalie's friends as she yelled and fought against her own powers.

"Nat! Clint!"

The pair tacked each other to the ground a couple of times and exchanged a few words before Nat electrocuted Clint and ran towards the cliff.

Clint got up and shot an explosive arrow near Nat, knocking her down. Clint then ran towards the cliff and jumped. Natasha jumped after him.

Rosalie didn't see what was happening, as she was stuck to the ground by the heavy powers that refused to release her before her wound was completely healed.

"Nat!" She yelled, her voice hoarse. "Please, Nat... Please don't do this to me. Come back!"

When no one replied, Rosalie continued to yell. It became an indistinguishable mess of words, pleads for Nat to come back and not abandon her.

Suddenly, it all stopped.

Her powers released her and she crawled tiredly fo the edge of the cliff.

And she wished she hadn't.

Nat kicked the wall, fell off a rope, and plummeted to the ground. As she fell, her eyes met Rosalie's and the older woman smiled proudly. Rosalie, from her spot on the top of the cliff, was left to yell after her mentor as she fell to her death.

"Nat!"

The pain in her yell was unbearable.

Even the Stonekeeper shook with the intensity of her pain. He has witnessed many sacrifices, sometimes filled with tears and heartbreak. But none like this.

Sobbing and shaking violently, Rosalie didn't feel as a boom filed the skies, sending her and Clint in a pool of water with the Soul Stone in his hand.

Her body was numb. She didn't react when Clint hit the ground out of anger. Their Quantum Suit activated as they say there in the Walter and they shrunk back to the present day, soon joined by the others returning from their journalese.

The Quantum platform was soon filled with the remaining Avengers.

All but one.

Rosalie fell on her knees as everyone looked around to see all the recovered stones. Clint fell next to her, expressionless and with wet streaks leaving patterns on his cheeks.

"Did we get them all?" Bruce's voice sounded muffled to Rosalie's ears.

"You telling me this'll actually work?" Rhodey shared his excitement but it was short-lived.

There was a pause as everyone started to realise someone was missing. Their faces changed from happy ones, to extremely worried ones.

"Clint, where's Nat?"

The silence from Clint told them all they needed to know. The only thing the entire team heard after Bruce's question was Rosalie's heartbreaking sobs as she shrunk to the ground and hit her fists against the platform they were all standing on.

Everyone stared, grieving in their own ways. But everyone hurt for the youngest Avenger and their fallen friend.

Her yells were losing intensity, her sobs shaking her entire body. She wasn't ready for the pain, and it hit her like a train on full speed. Her parents couldn't work fast enough to numb her feelings, so she was left to the hole inside her heart.

"She's gone." Rosalie whispered as her first hit the platform one last time, her forehead on the ground. "Nat's gone... For a fucking stone."

Clint was the only one who lowered himself to her level and held her in his arms. She didn't move, didn't show any signs that she felt anything at all besides immense pain.

The two say there, crying, grieving. Breathing. The rest of the team decided to give them some time and left the compound.

The mission was completed but at a dire cost. Sadness overtook everyone.

But Rosalie was devastated. Broken beyond repair.

And before letting her powers knock her out to avoid the pain, Rosalie yelled one last time. Her voice reached the ears of every Avenger that stood in the land surrounding the compound.

"It was supposed to be me!"

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i'm not even sure how i feel. let me just... yeah