Necessary Good, Unnecessary Evil | No rest For Wounded Souls [Bucky Barnes]

Necessary Evil

It may be necessary temporarily to accept a lesser evil, but one must never label a necessary evil as good.
-Margaret Mead

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Bucky's POV

I sit with my elbows on my knees, watching Steve and Tony debate with Faye and Theo.
It's probably the first time they agree with each other so quickly. Nova would like to see this.
Why isn't she back yet?
I look around, stretching my neck to inspect the whole space. "We are ready. There's no need to wait." Steve bellows, standing in front of Faye.
A weird feeling grows in my gut, making me anxious.
There was something off in Nova when we talked, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

"We need at least an hour to get ready to move." Theo argues.
Tony scoffs, glancing at Amanda. Nova was right, he was able to talk to her, and she's now willing to be more open to our suggestion. "Make it thirty minutes."
"This is bad." Theo mutters, walking out of the conference room.
My breath hitches as I finally realize what has been unsettling me since I left Nova.
I know Nova, her voice was different. She was scared, but not from what happened.
The way she talked to me, the look on her face. It was all her words.
"What are you up to, Nova?" I whisper, keeping my eyes on the floor.
That was a goodbye.

I spring up from my seat, running towards the west wing. I have to be wrong. Nova would never do something like that.
My heart pumps in my chest like crazy as I enter the room, finding it empty.
I scan the room, noticing a cube on the nightstand, a note on top of it. "Shit." I curse under my breath, pressing the only button on the thing.
It turns on, starting to project a recording showing Nova. "Alright, I don't have much time, but I needed to do this before I go."

I sit on the bed, unable to process what's happening. "James Buchanan Barnes, my Bucky... I deeply, unconditionally, fully, love you." The recording stops, leaving her image frozen.
My hands hesitate around the cube, my mind in turmoil. "What did you do, Nova?" I shudder.
No, she would never leave us like this. She would never leave me like this.

I run out of the room, back to the conference room, bringing the cube with me.
"She's gone. I should have known what she was going to do. I should have seen it coming." I fret, dragging Steve out of there.
He looks at me, confused by my rambling, and puts his hands on my shoulders. "Bucky, what are you talking about?"
I swallow the lump in my throat, showing him the cube. "Nova, she went after Angus. Alone." I urge, noticing the others have joined us.
"This isn't possible. That's suicide, she knows it." Tony points out, and I press start again, showing them what I already saw.
"That's why she left this." I say, rubbing my hands over my face, feeling restless. I can't stay here knowing what she's doing.

"Forget the thirty minutes. We're moving now." Steve announces.
"I'm coming with you. I'll make sure our allies arrive on time." Amanda chimes in, her face contorted with concern.
"There's a problem," Faye interjects, walking into the room.
"What is it?" Tony asks, his suit getting together around his body.
Faye sighs, looking down for a second. "Skotavi."
Amanda shakes her head, confused. "We haven't seen any in centuries. How is it possible?"
"Angus has been using ominous magic for a while now. He has the whole woods filled with those." Faye considers, holding a pendant in his hand.

"What are you talking about?" I probe, watching him grip the shiny rock.
A deep, dark oval. It reflects the lights in broken colors. That's Nova's Pneuma. "Magical creatures who live in the darkness. During the day, they have to hide in darkness. But as soon as the sun goes down, it's impossible to walk the woods without dying." Faye explains, and I can hear Steve curse under his breath.
"There must be a way. We can bring lights." Sam stresses.
Everyone is on edge, and this can't be good.
We haven't had much sleep since we got here, not more than a few hours. Tiredness makes people sloppy, and this gets people killed during war.