The Archangel (Avengers Fanfic)

Chapter Thirty Five

It was nearly instantaneous, the second I closed my eyes, I was in another world, but Bucky was nowhere in sight. Normally this would have set me on edge, but this place was surprisingly peaceful, so much so that it was impossible to feel anything but peace within its boundaries.

The sky was stuck in a perpetual shade of blue purple that emitted its own kind of pre-dawn light. It was the most beautiful wild landscape I had yet encountered, dry grass grew to my knees, a line of mountains distorted the horizon in the distance. The tree closest grew out before up, making nice spaces for resting. When I glanced up into the highest part of the tree, I noticed a single black panther lounging in the branches.

Even though it was a dangerous predator, I felt safe here, and quickly discounted its presence as I leisurely searched for anyone, not in a rush, but still curious as to why I was alone in such a peaceful place. I called out, "hello? Is anyone here?" I peered around the tree, but there was no one in sight. I was really here by myself, that didn't seem right.

A moment later, the voice of a woman responded, "I am here." Was it a disembodied voice? There was still no one here. "Look up," looking up, the only thing there was the panther. Was the big cat . . . really speaking? To me, no less? "Strange though, it seems no one else is." The mouth wasn't moving, but it was very clearly coming from the creature.

"What does that mean? What—no, who are you?"

"I am the goddess, Bast, dear Angel. You have no ancestors and no unrelated loved ones have passed, that is why it's just us here. This has not happened since the dawn of mankind." Despite what she said, she had no intonation that indicated that she was at all curious as to why. It was simply a fact and that's how she treated it. Of course that didn't mean that I wasn't curious. Did I have no parents? How was that possible? Suddenly a thought occurred to me, did I have no loved ones before Hydra? I had no memories from before then, but to think that I had made no lasting connection to anyone from the 1940s was bizarre. But . . . maybe that was a good thing. Steve and Bucky lost everyone, they had to watch the few who remained after they returned die in front of them, old, withered and not at all what they remembered.

When I thought of the people I loved, I could only recall the faces of the Avengers and the Wakandans I had grown to love. It would break my heart if I saw any of them here, despite the beauty and the peace, it was still a home for the dead. Whispering, I looked into the glowing eyes of the waiting panther goddess, "I don't want any of the ones I love to be here, no offense."

She seemed to show real interest for the first time since our conversation started. "This may be possible, however, you must be the one to ensure it does not happen, and there will be a price to pay. Whether or not you decide to accept that price is entirely up to you, but there will be consequences should you refuse."

"Is that a threat?"

The panther goddess chuckled, "gods do not deal in threats, especially when concerned with mortals. What I gave you was simply a warning. It will come to pass, whatever actions you take will effect the outcome. But there is no stopping it."

I think I knew what she was trying to tell me, but it was harder to accept than I thought it would be. "I understand." I gazed around at the hauntingly empty fields, now that I knew what this place was, it was far more eerie being alone. "Is Bucky here? Can I go to him?"

The big cat chuckled again, "he is, but finding him is also up to you. Run, fly, little Angel. See if you can find him." Though that sounded vaguely threatening, I was too concerned with going after him to care enough.

I opened my wings and powered myself into the abnormal sky, fully intent on searching the ancestral plain for any sign of him, but as soon as my feet left the ground, it was gone. When I say it, I meant everything, it was just endless blue purple sky in every direction, not a speck of dirt to be seen, even the panther goddess was nowhere to be seen.

There was nothing here. How was I supposed to find Bucky in an endless nothingness? There had to be something here, anything. "Bucky?" I called, an edge of something foreign entering my voice, desperation? Fear? Maybe both? "Where are you? James?" I had to be missing something. I flew around for what felt like hours, trying to find the answer, my wings tiring, but it was just endless everywhere. I was the only thing here.

Wait, I was the only thing here. That had to be the answer, somehow. How might I be the answer? Pausing, I hovered where I was to think, the only way I knew I had been flying at all was the aching in my wings, nothing looked different in the slightest, it was as if I had covered no ground at all. I closed my eyes, picturing his face, and whispered, "Bucky? Where are you?" He was my rock, a part of me, if I couldn't find him in a place that didn't exist then I didn't deserve for his soul to be bound to mine. That was when I felt an unexpected pull at my heart. Without opening my eyes, I turned to where the pull was coming from and followed it.

When I felt the pull grow stronger, I opened my eyes, and there he was, sort of. He wasn't corporeal, a glowing shadow of his real self, running across the ground below me. His distorted voice called, "Angel? Where are you, doll?" I swooped down and landed right in front of him, but he passed right through me. That's when I realized that he couldn't see me. "Angel!"

"Bucky, I'm right here." He looked right through me, couldn't hear me, couldn't see me. What had I done to find him that he hadn't? I had flown around aimlessly, just as he now ran. That hadn't worked, I had realized that and tried to figure it out, he must not be at that stage yet. I was willing to wait though, because he was part of me, and I was part of him—I didn't need some goddess to tell me that.

He ran for another half hour before his super soldier serum enhanced stamina seemed to run out and he paused to catch his breath. He had his eyes closed and his hands behind his head as he stretched out his lungs, he looked breathless and stressed. "Where are you, Angel?" He huffed, his eyes closed.

I felt the world around me shift and suddenly he didn't look so ghostly, he looked . . . solid. "Hey, Buck," I called from where I was standing twenty feet or so in front of him. His eyes snapped open and he breathed my name. "Took you long enough."

"Angel," he breathed. "I thought I would never find you."

"Not even death could separate us, James, I wouldn't allow it."