Ever After

Part 9 - A Soul For A Soul

"That can't be possible," Steve breathes out, finally looking over and seeing the same thing you do.

"And yet it is Captain," The German accent still heavy on Red Skull's tongue. "I could say the same for you. Still looking the way you do all these years later. Erskine's formula worked then." The dark, almost hollow eyes make their way over to you. "And I see you still have your little pet following you around."

You catch your breath, still confused as to what is going on. Steve's shoulders are tense, his grip of Mjolnir tightened as he takes a step closer to the hooded figure, who almost seems to be hovering in mid air. "How did you get here?" You ask, timidly walking behind Steve.

"The tesseract," Schmidt blurts out, as though you should know. "It banished me here, serving the soul stone." He gestures to the case, perched at your feet as you almost trip over it. Steve had placed it down after he arrived; his eyes fixated on Red Skull. You reach down, grabbing the case, feeling the weight and power surrounding it.

"You don't deserve to be alive," Steve blurts out, his tone unwavering and harsh. "The things you did."

"Can you honestly say you deserve the same?" He asks, before turning his back towards you. "Follow me, and you can do what you came to do." Steve marches onwards, not hesitating. You, however, are still nervous at this turn of events. Barton had mentioned the guy who had guarded the soul stone, but never in your wildest dreams did you imagine that it would the man who had caused everything in your life to change, forever.

Steve's eyes can't leave Schmidt's almost floating figure. You can tell he's gritting his teeth together in anger as you can just make out his jawline. As you get to the top of the cliff, reality finally hits him and he stops, eyes finally moving over to the edge. You take a deep breath, before walking up and standing beside him. "Steve," you place the case at his feet, before grabbing his hand and tightly squeezing it. "Lets just get this over with."

He squeezes your hand back, a single tear rolling down his cheek. You look deeply at each other for a while, contemplating your loss, as well as remembering individual memories of Nat. "Ah love," Schmidt breaks the silence, his tone mocking. "Always was your downfall Captain. Love of country, love of spirit, and now..." He gestures towards you. You can feel the tension flood Steve's body but he doesn't respond.

"How does this work?" You ask, trying desperately to get this over with. Knowing that only moments ago Nat and Clint had fought it out to sacrifice themselves. "Where do we put the stone?"

"Here," Schmidt gestures to the cliff edge. A sudden panic runs through you, but also curiousity. Steve is completely motionless, too scared of his own anger and grief to respond. "The stone will set itself back. All you need to do is drop if over the edge." Again the tone is mocking, the enjoyment of seeing his old adversary in pain is etched over his red, almost hollow eyes.

Taking a few small steps, you realise your still holding Steve's hand as he doesn't let you go; trying to stop you moving. "I've got this." You try to sound reassuring but a nervousness runs through your voice. Reluctantly he lets you go. Schmidt's delight seems to grow as you get closer to the edge. Stopping, you take a deep breath. You turn to him before looking over, a sudden thought hitting you. "Does it work both ways?" You ask, cutting the smile from his face instantly. "A soul for a soul."

"I don't understand," Schmidt's face contorts with anger. Steve looks over at you too, a confused look on his face.

"It's simple, a soul for a soul." You shrug. "We give the stone back, and get a soul back. Would that work?"

"Hurensohn!" Schmidt curses, "You people, why must you always meddle in things you don't understand."

"Says the man who wanted to be a God!" Steve replies, walking over to join you. "Now answer her question."

"I don't know," he sighs, before smirking slightly. "Why don't you look for yourself?" Before Steve can stop you, you stupidly so as he says - making your blood run cold. Despite the height of the cliff, the scene at the bottom is crystal clear: Nat. "She fought so hard for the stone," Schmidt teases. "But her past," he sighs again. "Is her soul worth saving?"

"Yes." You and Steve yell at the same time; your eyes still glued to Nat's lifeless body.

"How righteous!" Schmidt laughs. "Shame then, that you'll never see her again." Without even realising it, you raise your gun and shoot him, completely emptying the clip. When you finally peel your eyes away from Nat's body, Schmidt is gone; you knew in the way his form had been that he would simply be able to vanish, but still had hoped at least one bullet could have hit him; and it had helped ease some of the anger from you. "You, of all people should know Captain," His voice appears on the wind. "You can't save everyone." His laugh echoes throughout the air.

"BASTARD!" You scream so loud it hurts your voice. Throwing your gun over the cliff edge before walking away, sobbing so hard that eventually you fall to your knees. After what feels like a lifetime arms wrap around you, pulling you towards him.

"It's done," Steve's voice breaks as she kisses your head. "Let's go." He pulls you to your feet, wiping the tears from your eyes before getting ready for the next time jump. With a hard lump in your throat, you turn to look at the cliff edge one more time.

"Goodbye Nat. Thank you for everything."