Bucky's Anchor

Chapter 40 - The End of Everything

The battlefield around us was a sea of chaos. Everywhere I looked, the Avengers and Wakandan forces were struggling against Thanos's army. My fingers were numb from gripping the rifle, my body aching from the onslaught. But none of that mattered. Not when Bucky was beside me, fighting as if his very soul depended on it.

I stayed close to him, as I had promised. We moved as one, covering each other, pushing forward against the tide of enemies. The roar of battle filled my ears, making it impossible to think of anything beyond the next step, the next strike.

Then, suddenly, it all went quiet.

I turned, confusion twisting in my chest as I watched Thanos emerge from the dust and chaos. He was moving toward us, his massive frame cutting through the battlefield like a dark force of nature. My heart skipped a beat, the hair on the back of my neck standing on end. There was something in his stride, in the way he carried himself, that sent a chill down my spine.

"Bucky," I breathed, my eyes glued to Thanos. "Something's happening."

Bucky looked at me, his face pale under the layer of dirt and blood. He followed my gaze, his eyes widening as he saw the Infinity Gauntlet glowing on Thanos's hand. The stones embedded in it shimmered with a power that felt ancient and unstoppable. I felt a sudden urge to run, to grab Bucky and get as far away as possible, but my feet were rooted to the spot.

Thanos lifted his hand, his fingers curling into a fist around the Gauntlet. My breath caught in my throat, every muscle in my body screaming at me to do something, to move. But it was too late.

He snapped his fingers.

The sound was deafening in its simplicity. A single, sharp crack that reverberated through the air. It wasn't just a sound; it was a force that rippled outwards, sweeping over the battlefield like a shockwave. I felt it wash over me, a coldness that sank deep into my bones.

For a heartbeat, nothing happened. The battlefield was eerily silent, the fighting stopped as everyone turned toward Thanos, a collective breath held. My eyes darted to Bucky, searching his face for some sign of what was happening, but his gaze was fixed on his own hands, his expression a mask of confusion and horror.

"Emily..." His voice was barely a whisper, trembling as he looked at me. "What... what's happening?"

"I don't know," I replied, my voice cracking. My heart pounded in my chest, the dread growing, clawing at my insides.

Then it began.

---

It started slowly, almost imperceptibly. I stared at Bucky, my breath hitching as I saw his fingers beginning to crumble. Little flecks of ash drifted away from his skin, carried off by the wind. My mind refused to understand, to process what I was seeing. This couldn't be real.

"Bucky," I choked out, stumbling toward him. My hands reached for his, but they were already starting to disintegrate. I grasped at his arm, my fingers sliding through the ash. "No... no, no, no!"

His eyes met mine, wide with a fear that mirrored my own. "Emily," he gasped, his voice raw and desperate. "I... I don't feel right."

"Stay with me," I pleaded, clutching at his fading form. My vision blurred with tears, a scream building in my throat. "Bucky, please, stay with me!"

He raised his hand to my face, or tried to. It dissolved before it could reach me, turning to dust that slipped through my fingers. "I'm sorry," he whispered, his voice growing fainter, more distant. "I love you."

"No!" The scream tore from my chest, a raw, broken sound. I fell to my knees, trying to hold onto him, but he was slipping away. "Don't leave me!"

But it was too late. His form collapsed into ash, swirling away into the air. I reached out, grasping at the empty space where he had been, my heart shattering into pieces. The world spun around me, a hollow void where he had stood just moments before.

"No, no, no..." I murmured, over and over, my voice a shattered whisper. This couldn't be happening. He was gone. Bucky was gone.

The realization crashed over me like a tidal wave, knocking the breath from my lungs. I felt a searing pain in my chest, as if a part of me had been ripped away. I was dimly aware of the chaos around me—others were disintegrating, turning to dust. But all I could see was the empty space where Bucky had been.

I crumpled to the ground, my hands clutching at the dirt, at the remnants of him scattered around me. "Come back," I sobbed, my voice breaking. "Please, come back..."

---

I knelt there, numb and broken, as the world around me fell apart. I could feel something happening to me as well, a strange tingling in my fingers. I looked down, seeing the same flecks of ash beginning to rise from my skin.

So, this was it. This was how it ended.

There was a coldness in the pit of my stomach, a sinking feeling that told me I was about to disappear too. Part of me welcomed it, the thought of following Bucky into the void, wherever he had gone. I had promised to stay with him. Even in death, I would keep that promise.

I felt myself starting to disintegrate, the edges of my vision blurring. My hands were dissolving, turning to dust that drifted away in the breeze. The numbness spread up my arms, and I closed my eyes, focusing on Bucky's face, on his smile, the feel of his lips on mine.

"I'm coming," I whispered, the words barely escaping my lips before they, too, turned to dust. "I'm right behind you..."

The world around me faded into nothingness, and all I was left with was the memory of him, the love we had shared. In those final moments, there was no fear, no pain—only a sense of release, of letting go. I could almost feel his presence beside me, his warmth wrapping around me like a final embrace.

Then there was nothing.

The battlefield was silent, the wind carrying away the ashes of those who had vanished. And I was one of them, scattered into the ether, a wisp of memory lost to the void.

---

In the end, it wasn't the battle that defined us, nor the wars we fought. It was the love that burned between us, the moments we shared, the quiet promises made in the dark. As I faded into nothingness, I clung to that love, to the knowledge that even in death, we were together. For as long as the world remembered us, we would never truly be gone.