End Game
Finding peace
This section might contain some major spoilers for those who have not watched the Avenger series.
Ashwatthama contemplates whether he should join the fight. He continues on with his daily life as he witnesses Thanos' destruction which is televised every day. Aliens dominate city by city showing no mercy. He is unsure of what to do. He is happy with his life, the simple life of working as a professor but what is there to live for if Thanos destroys all parts of the earth?
Ashwatthama sits down and turns on his TV. He opens a can of beer when he sees live footage of New York City on his screen. He can't believe it. Aliens shooting in every direction causing buildings to collapse. People are running to evacuate the city while every corner of the street is on fire. He thinks back to what Captain America said to him.
"Thanos will end humankind" echoes through his mind.
He takes a sip of his beer when all of a sudden, he feels a flutter in his abdomen. He falls to the ground when his hand starts disintegrating. Slowly, all parts of him begin disappearing. And then, nothing.
Ashwatthama opens his eyes to see that he's on the ground. The furniture is ruined and covered in three inches of dust. The wooden floors have broken down as well. The power is out in the whole house. He exits the front door and is shocked by the view that greets him. Every building is ruined with no one in sight. All vehicles are broken down.
"Is anyone here?!" he screams with only his echo answering him.
"What happened?" is all he can think to himself. Nevertheless, he knows this is reality. He walks a few blocks and spots a few people exiting their homes.
"Hey you! Do you know what happened?" a man asks him.
Ashwatthama answers, "No, I'm not sure." That's when he realizes he forgot something. He hurries to run back to his house. He goes upstairs into his bedroom and pries one of the wooden floors open. Wrapped in a cloth lies the astra weapon he named after his father, the Drona. He grabs it with him when abruptly, he sees a bright sphere of light in midair in the middle of his living room. The sphere keeps spinning until it finally reveals a face.
"We have to go now," Doctor Strange commands.
"What happened?" Ashwatthama asks.
"Thanos wiped out half of humanity. Five years have passed. We were able to bring everyone back but we have to go now. Be ready to fight," he answers.
Without hesitation, Ashwatthama knows this is something he has to do. He knows he can trust the Avengers. It isn't simply a matter of life or death but this can be the end of civilization as we know it.
Aswatthama enters the sphere and takes out his Drona.
He sets foot on a battlefield. By his side, he sees an army of warriors, most of whom does not recognize. All of them do not recognize each other but they know they have to work together for the sake of mankind.
Ashwatthama throws the first punch on one of the aliens, successfully knocking him down but there are hundreds-thousands more of them. He throws Drona up in the sky towards Thanos. The Drona starts shooting, temporarily weakening the enemy's weaponry. As the Drona falls back down, he catches it.
Ashwatthama calls out to his father, asking for help. As his father's image flashes in his mind, the Drona starts unfolding into a wand. Ashwatthama is reminded of every person who has made him into the person he is today: his father, mother, Hanuman, and Nadia. He gathers all these thoughts and focuses them into the Drona. The Drona starts accumulating energy and power. As he is holding it, he feels the electricity flowing through the Drona into his body...he fights.
During the fight, he encounters a strange teenager dressed in a spider suit.
"Hey man, who are you? What are you?" Spiderman asks.
"Ash. Aren't you still a kid?" Ashwatthama says.
"Well yes. Talk later! We need to find the Gauntlet!!!" Spiderman answers.
"What Gauntlet?" Ashwatthama replies.
"WHAT! The Gauntlet! The glove-looking thing with all the Infinity Stones that Thanos used to delete half of humanity," he answers as he dodges a missile. Ashwatthama points and runs towards the Gauntlet he sees from afar on the ground. Spiderman follows. They battle against a few aliens and work together. Spiderman uses his web to pull them closer as Ashwatthama stabs them. Ashwatthama swiftly grabs the Gauntlet.
"Take it and give it to Cap," Ashwatthama commands as he hands it to Spiderman. Spiderman flies away while the aliens surrounding them slowly outnumbers Ashwatthama. He attacks them one by one as he is taking punches one by one. He powers his Drona and swings it towards them. He spits out blood. He feels defeated as he isn't sure how much more his body can take but he knows the fight isn't over.
The battle continues from sunrise to sunset. The fight comes to an end when Iron Man sacrifices his life by using the Gauntlet. The Gauntlet was too powerful for a mere mortal to use but this is the only chance humanity had and Iron Man knew it. The enemies slowly disintegrate and disappear as if they never existed.
The world heals from the events that Thanos has imposed. Half of humanity reunites with civilization. Ashwatthama returns with the Avengers to the headquarters to secure the Gauntlet. Ashwatthama asks them for one favor: if they could use the Gauntlet to end him. Captain America hesitates as he does not believe in harming others but after Ashwatthama tells his story, he empathizes with him. They know what it is like to have violence overcome you. The Avengers feel for him and grant him his wish.
"Are you sure this is what you want?" Captain America asks him.
"I am. I've lived for far too long. The time has come for me to move on," he answers.
"Thank you for all your help," Captain American says.
Ashwatthama continues into the afterlife two days after the Avengers return from battle. He finally has peace. His curse has finally come to an end as he reunites with his loved ones.
Author's note:
The ending to the story is finally here. The story continues straight from the events from the last story. Ashwatthama joins the fight after disappearing for the past five years. If you watched the Avengers series, Ashwatthama disappears along with half of humanity after Thanos successfully used the Gauntlet to do so. They return after Iron Man, Captain America, Black Widow, Hulk, and Thanos went back in time to capture the Infinity Stones. Black Widow sacrifices her life for the Soul Stone. After collecting all the stones, Hulk uses them to snap everyone back. This is when Ashwatthama returns as well. Doctor Strange transports Ashwatthama to help in the fight as they are aware of how strong he is from his previous encounter with Wanda, Vision, Captain America, and Black Widow.
Most of the plot of this story is the same as the original End Game story from the movie. The only thing I did was including Ashwatthama in the story as one of the Avengers. I didn't want to complicate this story. The End Game movie's plot is pretty complicated on its own. I tried to be straightforward in this one.
I debated on several scenarios on how to end Ashwatthama's story. I decided on giving him a happy ending. The Gauntlet from the Avengers is one of the most powerful weapons in cinematic history. The Gauntlet is made of the Mind, Time, Space, Reality, Power, and Soul Stones. With these, the weapon can be used to end immortality. Simply, all he did was tell the Avengers about his story. In a matter of a day, they thank him for his help by ending his curse. The Avengers are the best people that can understand and feel for Ashwatthama. I imagine Ashwathamma reuniting with Nadia, his father, and his mother in the afterlife. He can finally rest in peace.
Bibliography. Avengers: End Game directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo. 2019.
Bibliography. List of Characters in Avengers: Endgame. Websource.
Wow, you have reached the end of Ashwatthama: The Final Avenger! Leave your comments here: