I'd like to thank the wonderful danielle_specter for this AMAZING piece of fan art of Andi above! It's absolutely gorgeous and she spent so much time and effort into it! Please go check out her art book Danny's Gallery [Of Mediocre Art] and check out the rest of her art pieces!

If y'all have created anything for me such as fan art, playlists, memes, video clips, anything really, PLEASE don't hesitate to send it to me through PM. I'll definitely be posting it in my stories and giving you acknowledgement and throwing a dedication and shout-out your way! :D

⏳ --

They had a minibar! Holy crap, they had a freakin' minibar!

After leaving the Domain of Awkward for the tent I'd been assigned, I drowned my sorrows in the glorious minibar, taking out the scotch and pouring myself some; mixed some vodka in there for good measure. I then fell into the nearby lounge chair and relaxed. I needed a nap. Like, a good sleep next to Pepper. I was getting kind of sick of my bland surroundings and the secrets held close to the chests of the Walker leaders. I'd never thought I'd actually feel sorry for Miss Mysterious after that whole situation with the Crazy Leader Lady.

She and Cap had left straight after the exchange. There'd been no point in staying after that. Andi and the Lady were skating on thin ice as it was, and it wasn't hard to see that it was smart not to stick around. I was also smart enough to see that both Andi and Cap were gonna have a lot of fun together trying to sort out their relationship issues. In all honesty, they deserved a chance, especially after everything they'd been through. Yeah, yeah, I know, you never thought you'd hear those words come from me. But I couldn't help it. They were, as corny as it sounded, meant to be, so I was gonna go along for the ride with everybody else. Ride the ship, as some would say.

★     ★     ★

⏳ --

-- 30 MINUTES EARLIER --

"We leave at dawn," Lady of Cray-Cray barked at Barton and Wanda before storming through a portal to some unknown place.

"She's gonna need a lot of ice for those burns that other chick gave her," the raccoon remarked, disassembling and reassembling his gun for the sixth time.

"She will cool off in time," Gilliam said. "Though she is a woman who tends to hold a grudge or two if you are not careful, she rarely acts on them."

"And she needs Andromeda," Sirius added. "She will not harm her. Not when she still has a use for her."

"Why does that sound more ominous than you're making it out to be?" Barton grumbled, turning on the Walker. "Sounds to me that you people are using Andi like some sort of weapon."

I watched Sirius and the other Walker – Patroclus, if I remembered right, I hadn't really been paying attention to most of the first conversation – share a look, one that was kind of disturbing. Like they agreed.

"Andromeda is a powerful Walker, archer," Patroclus said. "She is mighty enough to bear the Time Stone, if not the Lady and Eon themselves. Primavera needs her to win this war for us. She is only thinking about her people."

"And keeping something like pulling a version of Andi from another timeline from her is Primavera's way of thinking about her people?" Widow snarled. "Seems to me that your Lady of Time has an agenda, one she's keeping from all of you."

"Watch your tongue!"

"Make me, dickbag."

Sirius placed a hand on his counterpart's arm. "Easy, Patroclus. They have a right to know what is going on, what is at stake."

I raised my chin in curiosity. "I find it very convenient that you know more about this situation than Andi does, seeing that this involves her."

They shared another look, which had made me even more suspicious. Just thinking about it made me shiver as their old eyes shared a message between each other.

"Primavera knew of Eon taking another version of Andromeda from an alternate timeline," Sirius admitted. "She'd said nothing because she couldn't. She wasn't allowed to by orders of the Lord himself."

"Keeping another timeline open is...unsual," Patroclus added with the folding of his arms. "In fact it is extremely rare for the Lord to do that. There have only been two other Walkers that has happened to."

"Let me guess," I said, "Eon and Eilian."

The Walkers nodded. "Eilian's second timeline collapsed with his death," Patroclus said. "Rumours say that Eon destroyed his second himself in fear of that version taking over."

"And Eon's taken over Andi's," the Peter guy from the Guardians summed up.

The Walkers nodded once again, this time with grim looks.

"But why keep this from Andi?" Barton asked. "This is information she needs to know."

"Because it is dangerous," Patroclus grumbled.

"Why?"

"Andromeda is important," Sirius answered, a hand outstretched to make Patroclus back off. "A second timeline is opened for only the important Walkers. Patroclus and I, we're not important. Believe it or not, Astra isn't either, nor are the likes of Jax and Chameleon. Eilian, Eon, and Andromeda, on the other hand, they are important. They are, or in Eon and Eilian's case were, important in order to preserve the Chronos and all the Time Walkers. Those three are so important that even the Lord and Lady don't have alternate timelines." He'd taken a breath. "Andromeda has a second timeline because if she were to die, the Chronos will fall."

It hit me. It'd been obvious. How I had not caught on earlier in this long and unnecessary explanation was beyond me – not that I'd admit that it hadn't caught on.

"The timeline is a backup," I announced my hunch. "You left it open in case Andi died, that way the backup can take her place."

The shocked looks spread around the group like wildfire, especially among the Avengers, who looked horrified.

"The timelines are practically identical," Sirius explained. "The Lord and Eilian spent a long time making sure that they found one of her timelines that were as close as possible to this one."

"And you've messed up by allowing Eon to take the second one over," I remarked. "Great job. Ten out of ten."

I watched as Patroclus' eyes glow a fiery yellow. "Watch yourself, Mr. Stark. You do not want to cross me."

"I've been through worse."

"I doubt that."

"Ever been at odds with an Asgardian?"

"Countless times. Have you warred with a Draconian High Serpent?"

"Calm, Patroclus," Sirius warned. "We do not want to war with those who've come to help us." He turned to me. "This conversation is over. You've heard what you need to. We have business to attend to."

And with that, they left the tent.

★     ★     ★

⏳ --

I relaxed into the lounge chair, sipping my scotch, slowly draining my glass. The Mark XLVI stood guard by the entrance. After the conversation half an hour ago with those nutcases, I didn't want any unwarranted and, even worse, unexpected guests, because I got plenty of those lately.

My eyes began to droop as sleep began to take hold. Sleep I needed. This whole war, or whatever, was exhausting. It was the epitome of tiring and energy-wasting. Perhaps even time-wasting. It seemed like we were going around in circles – we do something good, and then tension between the Lady Bitch and Miss Mysterious exploded with everything accomplished with it. As much as I hated to admit it, I was sort of stepping into Cap's camp about this whole thing – I was getting tired of cleaning up the Walkers' work like a superhero janitor.

"Ah, when I was your age, I was not lounging around. No, I was watching the pyramids be built."

I shot to my feet in shock, my glass shattering to the floor, at the silky voice slivering into my ears. He stood in front of me, malevolent and deadly, hands threaded together in front of him, glowing red eyes boring into me.

I blinked. "H-How did you–"

"Come now, Mr. Stark," Eon cooed. "I can go anywhere I want, whenever I want."

My eyes flicked to my suit. It had been powered down, dormant. He'd somehow managed to shut it off. But how?

I looked back at Eon. I wasn't stupid, though. I had precautions in case these sort of things happened. I'd become warier since coming to this place.

As fast as lightning, I slapped the ring on my index finger. Suited metal exploded out, wrapping and layering around my hand, covering it. It hummed to life, and I aimed it right at Eon's chest. "Make your move, asshole."

Eon smirked, but raised his hands all the same. "Now, now, Mr. Stark. I have not come here for a fight." His red eyes motioned to the platter of drinks to my left. "I've simply come for a drink. A parley between us, if you'd like."

This was a bad idea. Oh, shit, this was a bad idea. This was the enemy, the guy who'd torn down cities and civilisations, time periods and timelines, and slaughtered so many people, human and Time Walker. He was a genocidal maniac, and a murderer of the worst kind. The last thing on my mind was to sit down and have a casual drink with the man who was eventually going to kill me and all who I held dear.

But here's the thing: this proved an opportunity. What better way to get inside the head of the enemy by drinking with him? You know what they say: keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

With much hesitation, I slowly lowered my armoured hand, though I didn't remove it. I wasn't that trusting.

Eon smiled, which sent cold shivers down my spine. He gestured to the parallel seats near the drink platter. "Please."

I kept my eyes on him as I sat, him following closely behind. He also kept his eyes on me as he poured himself some scotch before leaning back into the chair.

"So," he began, "Anthony Edward Stark. The Da Vinci of Our Time. The Futurist." I saw a twinkle in his eye. "The Merchant of Death. Born May 29, 1970, aged forty-six." He chuckled creepily. "I watched you grow up, my boy. I'm sorry for your parents."

I didn't reply as I swallowed hard. Well, that wasn't creepy at all. Understatement of the year.

"I have watched you and your friends grow up: Clinton, Natalia, Bruce, Wanda, Samuel." He set his jaw. "Steven." He relaxed. "Your reputations certainly proceed all of you."

"What are you playing at?" I growled. "What do you want from me?"

"Why, nothing, Tony. As I said, I only wish to have a drink."

"Stop screwing around, Eon. We both know you're bullshitting." I leaned forward. "Why are you doing this? What do you have to gain from this war? What do you want from Andi?"

He clenched his jaw, his red eyes glaring at me somewhat hatefully. "All right, Tony." He set his glass aside. "I will set this straight once and only once. I did not start this war. I did not want this to happen. This is an issue that has pinned me to the wall. I was prodded and poked until I fought back. I asked for one thing and one thing only, and I did not receive it."

I raised my chin. "Andi."

He mimicked me, his expression deadly but calm. "She is mine. She has always been mine. The likes of Eilian and the Lord and Lady have been keeping her from me."

"Let me guess." I crossed my arms, a mocking expression plastered across my face. "You're her long lost father who only wants a relationship with her, but since she's been kept from you, you're gonna start a war to get her back." I snorted. "How cliché of you."

"Oh, Mr. Stark," his silky voice slithered from his lips. "You may be extremely intelligent, but your ignorance is certainly overpowering it right now." He kicked a leg over to rest on the other. "Andromeda already had a father before I found her. She became a Walker when she was twenty-six. There is no way I could have conceived her."

"Then why do you want her?"

He watched me for a second, carefully and cautiously, examining my every move, every expression. I could tell what he was doing. He was deciding whether or not to answer my question. I had a feeling he was going to either way, however.

"Andromeda is my soulmate," he replied, deadly serious. "We were meant to be, until that miserable, little leech Eilian stole her from me. She was meant to be mine. I was to train her. I was to take her under my wing, to teach her how to be the most powerful Walker beside me." A red, hot rage took over, his eyes glowing with hatred, leaning forward to glare at me face on. "But they took her away from me! Eilian took her for himself, that selfish bastard. And the fucking Lord of Time did nothing!" He leaned back into his chair. "If I can't have her, no one can."

I leaned back in realisation. "So you started a war to get her back."

"I started a war to destroy her," he snarled through gritted teeth. "She had her chance to come to me, to rule beside me like she was supposed to. She denied me. No one denies me. And so she must die." He jutted a bony, weathered finger at me, sending the blood running through my veins cold. "And all who fight beside her will fall with her."

Eon placed his glass, untouched, back on the platter. "But I am not here to tell my story. I am here to deliver a warning."

I scowled. "What warning?"

He half-smiled sinisterly. "You are not witless, Mr. Stark. You are noble, I will give you that. Especially when it comes to protecting your friends and the innocent around you. You want the fight to end, after all, correct?"

I knew instantly where this was going, and there was no way in hell I wanted to talk about it with this fruit loop. Ultron.

"Your eyes speak what your mouth will not," he said. "You are haunted by your decision to build a metal sentinel to protect those who need it."

"I hurt so many people with that monstrosity," I admitted, my troubles suddenly pouring out after so long keeping it in. "I...I fractured bonds."

He steepled his fingers thoughtfully. "Does your bond with the Captain really hold as strong as you think? From where I am standing, that 'monstrosity' was a heroic act in order to stop the chaos your kind causes."

"Ultron caused chaos." I looked down. "Chaos I can't undo. Bonds that struggle to mend."

"Some bonds are not meant to mend, Mr. Stark. Differences are inevitable. Men without a dark side are...untrustworthy."

I knew he was talking about the conversation I'd had with Rogers back at the Barton Farm. I stood by what I said; I didn't trust someone without a dark side. But what was Eon getting at? What was he trying to do? I didn't understand.

He stood, and I followed, wary of his next move.

"Time is colliding, Mr. Stark. A path of time is being walked as we speak, a path hard trodden by those who have fallen by its direction. I may pave the way of destruction for you and your friends right now, but you and the Captain have paved another before I have even begun."

I frowned. "What are you going on about?"

He grinned, a grin so sinister and evil that it...scared me. "Sokovia and Ultron have done more damage than you think, Tony. Can you really trust Captain Rogers? Can you really trust Andromeda? From where I am standing, they believe Ultron to be a mistake, that you being here a mistake. That you are a liability. Peace is a two-way street, a street both you and them struggle to walk as one. Perhaps that is for the best." He latched his hands behind him. "I have lived many, many years, Tony. I have encountered many people, many heroes who have caused irrefutable damage. You are walking that fine line."

I felt my pulse begin to race. I...agreed with what he was saying. Heroes...had to be watched. No, vigilantes. We were unsafe to society without someone watching over us. Too many people have died because of our recklessness. The same was happening here, the Lord and Lady running freely and causing damage.

"I warn you now, Tony," he said with deadly seriousness. "Caution is suggested among those passionate about freedom. Sometimes, it is best not to have it at all. United we stand, divided we fall. Fight as one, or fall splintered. Better to fall splintered and arise anew than fight beside one who would sacrifice the world for another."

I watched, terrified, as Eon turned on his heel and walked through a portal, it snapping shut behind him, a malevolent cackle reverberating around my tent as I slumped down to my seat, horrified of what was to come.

❈Author's Note: Hey, there! So this a long chapter! It's been a while since we've had one of these :D I hope you liked it! I hoped Eon was creepy enough. It took me a while to pump out some epic foreboding shizz, so I hoped it worked out awesome.

If you liked this chapter, please consider giving it a quick vote! Thanks for reading!