≿━━━━༺❀༻━━━━≾

TWENTY SEVEN | THE HEART
AND THE HEAD

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

IN THE EVENT that the current Sorcerer Supreme meets their untimely demise and a Guardian is present and alive, the latter must temporarily take over the role until the masters of the mystic arts can elect the next Sorcerer Supreme of Earth.

Cassandra stared at her hands, remembering the words that were written in the tomes she and Wong studied before. The title, the role, had now fallen into her hands and she didn't like it. It reminded her of the loss and the pain. She became Sorceress Supreme because Stephen died. The woman shivered, still feeling how her beloved's hands felt when they dusted. She felt how he dusted away, how she lost the pressure of his body against her. Watching someone you love die is an image you will never forget.

It had been three hours ever since Wong told him that half of the students of Kamar-Taj, the twins, and her mother were among those who were dusted out of existence. Cassandra felt numb, so raw; like there is no skin over her pain and the wind made it bleed. She wanted to cry, wanted to grieve, but she just felt emotionless. She felt nothing. It was like her heart was just taken away, and she could no longer feel anything. The woman lifted her gaze, drinking in her surroundings. She was in the foyer of the Sanctum and Wong was in front of her, pacing slowly back and forth as he talked about what their next actions should be. "... we have to make preparations for the funeral, Cassandra. Are you listening?"

She hummed, breaking out of her reverie. The woman shook her head then stood up from the couch. "Yeah, we must do that." She deadpanned, walking up the stairs.

"Cassandra..."

She didn't listen to her friend and continued her march up the stairs. Alone, she wandered the hallways, feeling the heaviness radiate from the walls. Cassandra stepped into her shared bedroom with Stephen. The room was bleak, cold and completely dark. It was quiet and somber in there and she felt a chill as the darkness engulfed her. She had always hated dark rooms. It was the most piercing darkness ever - it was not merely the darkness that came out of absence of light, it was much more gloomy. There was nothing warm about the place. She sat down at the edge of their bed, letting her fingertips trace the intricacies of their blankets.

That's when she trembled and before she knew it, the torrents of her tears soaked through the blankets. Cassandra clenched her fists. It hurts, it all hurts. Thanos may have driven her own sword into her gut, but he also pierced her heart. Swallowing back her grief, her eyes focused on the books and the scattered papers she knew her beloved left on their study table. She sniffed, rose to her feet and arranged them all. Stephen always forgot to organize his things and she would be the one who would put them back in their place. As she set them all aside, she caught sight of two manila envelopes that had two colored Post-it notes attached at its front.

For Cassie.

She furrowed her eyebrows, prying the envelope open with shaky fingers. Inside it were papers and a memory card. Cassandra swallowed as she began to read them and stumbled back when she read the first two bolded words at the top.

Adoption agreement.

A gasp left her lips as she continued to look at the rest of the papers. Stephen had already filled out his part in the adoption papers, all that was left was hers. Even the twins' names and signatures were already in it. She was confused, how did he know about her plan to adopt Moon-Young and Jae-Hyuk? Since when did he start to file the request and the agreement? The twins knew about it? She shut her eyes and held the memory stick between her fingers. Shaking her head, she dove into her drawers and searched for her camcorder. She knew that memory stick was from her own video recorder. Playing the first video she saw when it opened, she stepped back and sat back down on her bed in shock.

It was a video of Moon-Young and Jae-Hyuk.

They were smiling, overjoyed.

It cracked her heart.

"Annyeong!" greeted Moon-Young and Jae-Hyuk, waving their hands. "So, Jae-Hyuk and I decided to create video because - "

"First of all, happiest birthday, mommy!" the male twin exclaimed, placing his arms above his head to make the shape of a heart. Moon-Young slapped his shoulder. "Oops, sorry. That should be Cassandra, but anyways, you will soon be our mom, because drum roll please, Moon-Young-ssi..."

His sister tapped her hands atop her thighs rapidly.

"We'll be adopted by you and Stephen!"

"Because Stephen or dad, woah, that feels so good to say," Moon-Young laughed. "told us that you had plans of adopting us. You don't know how much that made us happy because honestly, we consider you like our parents already even though we have just been together for less than a year. Jae-Hyuk and I, we've spent a long time in the orphanage and we've almost been adopted once, but we didn't feel as comfortable as we did with the two of you so imagine our joy, Cassandra, when Stephen told us about it. The three of us have consulted a social worker and they agreed to have a visitation once you sign the request and the agreement. So, yes, as soon as they approve the adoption, we'll be Moon-Young Mason-Strange and Jae-Hyuk Mason-Strange. We'll choose English names later together with you, Cass!"

"It's so cool. We'll be the children of the most awesome and coolest sorcerers of Earth." added Jae-Hyuk, beaming. "Yep, so, uh, I think that's all what we wanted to say in this video, we just really want this to be an evidence for the social worker that will come in that we really want this adoption to happen. This is my idea, by the way."

Moon-Young nudged his side, frowning. "Can we cut that bit out, dad? Woah, I'm so getting used now to calling you and Cass, mom and dad."

A deep chuckle was heard in the background. "Yeah, sure, we'll ask Cassie -- your mom as soon as she signs those papers, to have that part cut out."

"Okay. Alright, Jae-Hyuk, a one, two, a one, two, three! Saeng-il chukha-hamnida, Saeng-il chukha-hamni da!" The twins sang melodiously and cheerfully the happy birthday song in Korean. "Saranghaneun eomma, saengil chukha hamnida! Bye, mommy! We love you!"

The video recording ended and Cassandra sank to her knees at the ground. She cried as if her brain was being shredded from the inside. Pain flowed out of her every pore. Her hands picked up the documents, and one fell out. Taking it, she read the last paper that completely obliterated her heart.

That last document was the final straw.

Marriage registration.

Stephen wanted to marry her. He had plans of marrying her.

From her mouth came a cry so raw that Cassandra felt every object in her room move. Her gasping wails echoed around the room, her screams of agony and suffering ricochet. It was more than crying, it was the kind of desolate sobbing that came from a person drained of all hope.

Cassandra cried as if the ferocity of it might bring them all back to her; as if by the sheer force of her grief, it would all be undone. They could not be gone, they could not be. The woman was in so much pain that she didn't hear her bedroom door burst open. A pair of arms tried to hold her back, to calm her, to no avail. It was Wong. His own tears fell thick and fast, but in her hysteria she was too strong, too wild. All the picture frames in the room shattered as she gripped the video recorder close to her chest. Several objects in the room trembled and she heard Wong call her name several times, but she paid no attention. She had held it together until now. She had held it together because she had to, carrying the grief and the fear because the weight of it would crush her.

"I have been left with nothing!" Cassandra bellowed then whimpered helplessly. "I have been left with nothing. I have been with nothing, Wong."

She was grieving.

She was full of rage.

Everything in her said: this isn't what it was supposed to be, this isn't what it was supposed to be.

But then, it was as if something held her hope by her throat and said: oh, but this is how it is now.

The pain that flowed from Cassandra was as palpable as the frigid wall and soon the only person at her side was her friend, Wong, struggling to keep his tears silent, looking up to the ceiling and perhaps, heaven beyond. Maybe he was praying that the pain Cassandra was feeling would stop, she also did.

Thanos took everything away from her - her valuable relics, the people she loved, even her heart and her hope. He only left her with Wong.

The whole world had vanished for her, now there was only pain enough to break her, pain enough to change her beyond recognition. Cassandra moved backward, her mind swirling, her breathing shallow until she fell in a heap in her friend's arms.

Like a fish of the deep rising to the surface of bright air and sun, Cassandra swam up to consciousness out of a dead blank back into her bedroom. Her tired eyes scanned her surroundings. No longer was her room scattered with glass shards and papers, it was clean as if no devastating damage had been done earlier. Her family photographs and pictures with Stephen were already set aside. She could see them in the corner. Then, her mind wandered back to her loss. One would think that if they fall asleep and wake up, it would disappear, but no, it was there. It is real, it is real. Her mind spoke. They are gone and Thanos took them away.

Thanos.

A boiling wrath swelled inside of her, consuming her whole. Clenching her fists so hard that her nails cut into her palms, she tore her blankets away from her bed and stood up. She felt invigorated, recharged, only this time her fuel was her wrath. It came in tumultuous waves, deafening thunderclaps, all preceded by still winds and calm seas. Cassandra will rip Thanos apart bit by bit and make sure nothing will be left of him to be salvaged.

After whirling about, unable to look through her puffy eyes at the photographs and scattered papers on the walls and floors, Cassandra marched out of the door and onto the hallway, meeting with her friend once again.

"Cassandra? Where are you going?" confronted Wong, blocking her path. Five other sorcerers stood behind her friend when he gestured his hand for them to come closer.

"I'm going to kill Thanos."

"No, you need to rest."

She focused her gaze on him, showing the searing rage behind her eyes. Her right eye twitched and the tips of her beige robes slowly turning into purple, a glimpse of her power taking over. This was no longer Cassandra Mason who was in front of them, this was the Harbinger of Darkness, the Sorceress Supreme. "I'll only rest when he's dead."

"Cassandra..."

"I have been left with almost nothing, Wong. Thanos almost left me with nothing." She enunciated. "He's out there, possibly doing the same thing that he has done to us on Earth to other planets. I will not let anyone else suffer the pain of losing someone they love. So, I will find him, get everyone back, and then... kill him."

Wong shook his head. "With all the infinity stones in his possession, he will kill you first before you can inflict any damage on him. We cannot afford to lose another Sorcerer Supreme."

"You will all step aside at this moment."

"It is now our duty to protect you, Cassandra!"

Cassandra impassively replied, "I will be back."

The woman went around them all and went down the stairs, twirling the Sling Ring she stole from one of the sorcerers when they were distracted earlier. Upon reaching the foyer, she traced her hands in a circular pattern as she visualized the lobby of the Avengers Compound. Thankfully, she could still vividly remember the place, making it easier for her to tear open a gateway. Slowly, amber sparks began to materialize and the room she wanted to be in was on the other side of it. Cassandra carefully stepped and was greeted by a woman donning a blue and silver battle armor and a headdress that resembled wings. The warrior cocked an eyebrow, her hand hovering over her sheathed sword and the former Guardian waited for her strike first, her hands ready to release a spell that would incapacitate her immediately.

"Cassandra!"

The Sorceress Supreme whipped around to see Vesper, relieving her. She was standing beside the man who drove her to the Sanctum, Paul Vernon. "You two know this person?" the armor bearing woman spoke, warily.

"Yes. Your majesty, this is Cassandra Mason, Guardian of the Sorcerer Supreme." introduced Paul, stepping forward to accompany Cassandra. "Miss Mason, this is Her Majesty, Queen Alona of Nepture."

"Masyado kang formal, Paul." You are too formal. The royalty rolled her eyes just as the sorceress blinked, a bit confused with what she was saying. Cassandra knew it was Filipino since she had employees who were half-American and half-Filipinos, but she had no idea what her words meant. "Please call me Alona."

"Right, hello..." Cassandra nodded, expressionless. "Where are the rest of the people here, Paul?"

"We're all off to where Thanos is. Nebula earlier told us his location." Paul articulated to Cassandra that he was no longer wearing his business attire, but he was in blue and silver armor. "We got a reading that he used the stones there again. We'll try to get them and undo what he has done. We have a chance to get everyone back, Miss Mason."

Hope dissipated the fueling rage inside her cold water splashed on a scorching skillet. There was a chance to bring everyone back. She could be with her family again. She could get Stephen, the twins, her mother, the students of Kamar-Taj back again. That sliver of hope was all that she needed to be revived.

"Think you got another space for me there?" Cassandra queried.

If only she knew they were already too late...

"OKAY, WHO HERE hasn't been to space?" The raccoon whose name Cassandra discovered was Rocket announced from his chair. Bruce Banner and Nebula were in charge of maneuvering the Benatar and Cassandra swallowed, recalling how she, Nebula, Vesper, and Tony died in this very spacecraft just hours ago if not for Carol Danvers. Natasha Romanoff, Steve Rogers, and James Rhodes raised their hands to answer Rocket's inquiry.

"You've been to space, Paul?" asked Natasha, cocking her eyebrow.

Paul blinked. "Uh, yeah."

"Why do I not know that?"

"I didn't tell you because you didn't ask, darling."

Cassandra didn't miss the chemistry and tension between Natasha and Paul. Actually, no one missed it since it was there, plain as day. These two had something between them developing.

James Rhodes queried, "May I know why you're asking us this question?"

"You better not throw up on my ship."

"Approaching jump in three... two... one!" proclaimed Nebula, pushing the thrusters forward to let the Benatar enter hyperspace. Their ship jumped forward into a wormhole, and the Sorceress Supreme held onto her seat for dear life. The rest of the team with her did the same and the woman's eyes widened at the experience. She may have been in space, but travelling at warp speed was something she had not encountered. Their ship slowed down, hovering in orbit of the planet where Thanos was said earlier to be in. Carol Danvers didn't waste a second on getting out of the Benatar, flying out immediately once Rocket handed her a wireless intercom system.

"I'll head down for recon."

As soon as Carol glided down to the planet, Cassandra was approached by Vesper. "You okay, Cass? You just left the compound without saying goodbye. Thankfully, Paul drove you to your house. You got there safely."

The brunette sighed, feeling regretful for what she did. "Yeah, I just... I just needed to go home."

Vesper bit her bottom lip as if she had a question waiting on the tip of her tongue. "Uh, so, uhm, how's your family? Were they... there?"

The blonde woman was aware of the twins, even Wong and her mother, since Cassandra opened it up to her during their time in space. "They're... they're all gone. Wong, my friend, and a couple of sorcerers are the only ones left."

"I'm so sorry, Cass." Vesper embraced her, rubbing her back just as Cassandra's eyes brimmed with tears. "It's okay, we'll get them back. I know we'll get them all back. We'll find those stones and use them to fix this shit and then we kill that motherfucker."

Cassandra smiled a bit. She was hopeful that they would get everyone back. That's all she wants. To have her mother, Stephen, Moon-Young, and Jae-Hyuk back again.

"Candy, anyone?" offered Alona, the Queen of Nepture, Cassandra remembered. "You know, before we kick this guy's ass." Her hands were full of colorful candies that the sorceress was slightly unfamiliar with, but she took one and popped it into her mouth, smiling when she tasted strawberry cream. She tilted her head and read the candy's name on the pink wrapper. Potchi.

"This is some good candy, Alona. Thank you." the woman nodded.

Alona tossed a candy to Bruce. He caught in mid-air, thanking Alona as well. "Thanks, Lon. My lifesaver."

Carol Danvers approached their ship. "No satellites, no ships, no armies, no ground defenses of any kind. It's just him."

Cassandra cocked her eyebrow, suspicious. Was Thanos just waiting for them to come and get him? No defenses? She expected that he would at least have some army to protect him. He has the Infinity Stones, yes, that makes him more powerful than them all, but that doesn't mean he would just go defenseless. "And that's enough." Nebula snarled, leading them down to the surface of the planet.

The first thing Cassandra caught when they descended the Benatar was a scarecrow made of Thanos' armor. It stood on the scenic lush tropical fauna, a shed on a farm. The perpetual skies of summer are buckled with clouds and they flare up in a luminous, neon-blue when the mood takes them. The fields are laden with goldenrod-yellow flowers and silver-washed fritillaries carry their bushels of pollen carefully. One would think this was paradise if not only for the one who took care of it. Thanos had really decided to just settle down after he achieved his goal.

He was thriving while they were suffering. The audacity of this fool to even be happy was infuriating Cassandra to the highest level. How dare he be happy after what he did to them?

The Sorceress Supreme along with Alona and Vesper observed him as he walked among his crops, harvesting fruit, and putting them in a sack. Thanos strolled over to his shed, with a dragging quality to his legs, like it pained him to walk and sat down. Immediately coming up with a plan, she huddled everyone close and explained what they should do to corner Thanos and not let him fight and escape.

No, not this time.

Every hero surrounding her agreed and accepted her plan, especially Carol and Steve who commented how viable it was. Bruce Banner was in a red and gold hulk-sized armor that Cassandra assumed was built by Stark. "What do you think, Paul?" Natasha asked him. The man tilted his head, observing the fields and the shed.

"I feel no mistake in her plan."

"Perfect. Let's move." Steve claimed. They all nodded. Moving closer, she watched as Carol Danvers flew through the roof, knocking Thanos down, and grabbing his neck. He was able to overpower Carol for a moment and throw her aside, but Vesper and Alona simultaneously kicked him and sliced at his chest, disorienting him. The two of them grabbed his left arm with all of their might to prevent him from escaping. Bruce Banner, in his armor, then burst from the ground, and grabbed Thanos' burnt arm. The last parts of Cassandra's plan unveiled itself as Thor flew in and sliced off his right hand, which had the gauntlet.

"He's not going to put up a fight." noted Paul who now looked confused, alerting Natasha and Steve. "There's something wrong."

Hearing this, the rest of their team swiftly moved inside the makeshift shed just as Thanos tried to break free from his capture, but Rhodes flew down with Rocket and aimed guns on his head. Cassandra twirled her glowing hand and purple weaves of dark energy rose on the ground and penetrated Thanos' chest, slowly crushing his heart. Her grief may have exhausted her, but her rage was fueling her even more. Not even a second later, she caught a glimpse of his face and body. His whole left side was burnt black with blisters; He looked ridiculously pathetic compared to when she saw him last.

"You move, you die." Spite flew out of every word that Cassandra said. Her hate was stronger than the dimensions, stronger than memory, stronger than time. It was the smoldering flame of resentment and the volcanic eruption of fury. Her hate was now the truest part of herself. She hated Thanos, and he was going to pay for what he did to her.

Captain America walked in with Romanoff right behind him, staring murderously at Thanos. The animal went over to the sliced off golden gauntlet, and rolled it over, revealing that there were no stones in it.

"Oh no."

"Shit..." Paul looked at the blonde haired assassin in horror.

"Where are they?"

Thanos refused to respond, only groaning in pain.

"Answer the question!" demanded Carol as she wrung her arms around his neck.

"The universe... required correction." breathed out Thanos. "After that, the stones served no purpose, beyond temptation."

"You murdered trillions!" Bruce pushed him to the ground with his armor in anger. Ideas of what their enemy did with the stones entered Cassandra's mind, but she didn't believe them. She didn't want to. He was hiding them somewhere.

"I did what no one else could!" Thanos retaliated, causing Alona to strike him with the hilt of her sword.

"Pashnea! Isa kang hangal!" You animal! You are a fool!

Natasha questioned him, "Where are the Stones?"

"Gone. Reduced to atoms."

"You used them two days ago!"

Thanos expounded, "I used the stones to destroy the stones. It nearly killed me. But the work is done. It always will be." He sat himself a little straighter, smiling victoriously as if to mock them. "I am... inevitable."

The last ounce of hope in Cassandra was lost.

"We have to tear this place apart, he - he has to be lying."

"My father is many things. A liar is not one of them." Nebula spoke, stepping closer to him.

"Ah, thank you, daughter." Cassandra watched her friend look down, a little uncomfortable. "Perhaps I treated you too harshly."

Silence fell on all of them and the Sorceress Supreme realized that there was nothing they could do. This was it. Everyone was gone, dead. They couldn't be returned to life even if they wanted to.

"You all should be grateful." insisted Thanos, making Cassandra simmer with rage.

"Grateful?" She repeated, almost quietly. Her fury licked through her, brimming together with hostility. The former Guardian slowly made her way to him. "You want me to be grateful? You want me to be grateful!" She curled her fist tighter. The menace shrieked in pain, putting his hand over his chest. Her hold of his heart was stronger than earlier that the sorceress was sure it would be crushed if she continued.

"Each and every one of us here lost someone, but you took everything from me! You left me with almost nothing, Thanos! You don't know how it feels to have it all taken away from you!" Her pulse sped up and she was breathing very shallow. Her eyes brimmed with tears as she continued to clench her fist and squeeze his vital organ with her magic. The lilac color that tinged the tips of her robes rose up, changing her beige robes into purple. Her expression calmed dangerously. "Well, now you will."

All of her senses were on high alert; she was being pulled into different directions. In her mind, it sounded like a bomb exploded, a train rushed past her, blowing its whistle loud for all to hear, fingernails screeched across a blackboard. Cassandra swore her face was red as lava, or steam came out of her ears. Her brain tells her one thing, but her heart says the opposite.

Was he worth the effort?

It was like a dark cloud covering up the sun. She looked up and she was face to face with her enemy? What does she do? What should she do? Yell? Scream? Burn him to death? The constant tug of war played constantly between her heart and head. She was on edge, a second away from exploding; her palms covered in sweat, her hands shaking like the ground during an earthquake. She was ready to kill him, she was already there at that point.

"Cassandra! Stop!"

"Stop it!"

She didn't.

Just as Thanos' heart imploded and blood spilled out of his nostrils and lips, Thor chopped his head off as if to finish the job.

The Sorceress Supreme and the god of Thunder murdered Thanos.

Their enemy's limp body fell to the floor.

"What..." began Rocket. "What did you two do?"

"I went for the head."

Cassandra only realized what she had done a second after, but she felt no remorse. She didn't feel an ounce of regret. Thanos paid for what he did. He took her heart, she pulverized his. She glanced at the people around her, void of any emotion. She didn't feel anything anymore.

Her heart died here, at this moment.

They were gone. Cassandra failed her duty. Had she not been stabbed by Thanos, Stephen wouldn't be forced to surrender the stone. Had she done her duty, everyone who died would still be alive. Everyone would've been safe. It was her fault. She failed.

Walking away, she felt her grief come in waves, finally overwhelming her. She watched the world in a numbing sense of sorrow as tears began to spill from her onto the wooden platform. Her gaze fell from bloom to bloom. Her anguish surged with every expelled breath, always reaching higher peaks, never sufficiently soothed by her long intakes of the damp spring air. Suddenly, the once blue and orange sky was covered with dark clouds. Heavy winds carried the crops into the air and bent the trees around, creating sounds of destruction. It was as if they were being tortured, their agony bared. A sudden bolt of lightning shattered the darkened and ominous sky.

Then, Cassandra screamed.

Deafening and planet-shattering rumbles of thunder followed after, sending shockwaves around them pugnaciously. Several streaks of amber and purple light ripped open the leaden sky, sending a downpour of fire which fell like miniature arrows being released from above, burning everything in its path. The heavy rain and thunder drowned out her screams and her devastation had unleashed the terrifying force hidden within Cassandra. Bolts of lightning, ravaging thunder and the merciless torrential fall of fire from the sky made it seem like the woman was about to open the gates of hell, if she wasn't held back by Steve and Paul.

"Cassandra! Stop this! Please!"

The agonized woman slowly came back to her senses and witnessed the damage she had done. A huge wave of fatigue surged through her body and she stumbled backwards, her eyes still brimming with tears. Steve Rogers caught her in his arms and embraced her as she sunk her knees to the ground.

Cassandra Mason failed to protect the Sorcerer Supreme.

She failed to protect her beloved.

And she was going to live with that pain forever.

pain, all i feel is pain-
i'd like to also thank shezzaspeare for helping me with this chapter and Raichia for giving me water as i grieved as well