I didn't want you to be, Alone

Part 17

Natasha

"Mama" I heard a voice in my head, shouting, crying. My head was heavy, it hurt everywhere in my body and I felt paralyzed, stuck in oblivion.

"Mama" I heard another voice, and this time I recognized the voice. It was James, my son, the reason of my extreme happiness, even in the misery of losing so many friends.

"Mama" he said again, and I tried to reply, tried to shout back. He was calling me, my son wanted me to hold on, to live, to not die without a fight.

There was pain, I wanted to succumb, but I also wanted to return, to my children, to avenge my friends, to clear the red on my ledger.

"Mama" he said again and this time I could see his face, and his siblings too.  I tried to reach to them. I saw Maggie crying, I saw Anthony, I saw James and then I saw them.

Suddenly, my children disappeared and instead I saw others.

"Natasha! " I saw Fury first, "Nat" Wanda said, "Miss Romanoff" T'Challa, "How's Cap? " asked Sam.

Was I dying like them? No!! Bring back my children, I want to stay mortal, I want to live, I cannot die.

But I sacrificed myself, for the greater good. For the soul stone. For Steve.

"Natasha" and I finally saw Steve, my pain reduced.

"Steve" I managed to say, and then I felt his hands on my shoulders, shaking me. I opened my eyes and saw his face, my heart pounded.

"Steve" I said, blinking my eyes. He helped me up and I got better aware of my surroundings. We were in a empty space, nothing surrounded us. Absolutely nothing, except orange oblivion.

"Steve, where are we? Are we dead? This can't be hell because you are here, and I am here so it can't be heaven. Is this something in between? " I was panting anxiously.

"Natasha! Calm down. This isn't heaven or hell or anything in between, this.. Come with me" he took my hand and we walked. What else could be here, I couldn't see anything.

He touched something, an invisible wall perhaps, and then I saw it. Wanda, hanging in the air, glowing peacefully asleep. Behind her was Bucky, and as I focused, I saw a lot of people, or rather their souls.

"Who are you both? " a voice startled us and we turned.

A beautiful woman, her skin green, her hair black and red, her look fierce, stared at us.

"We, I am Captain America and this is my wife, Natasha Romanoff, we are from earth " Steve explained.

"Earth? But.. How can you guys be here? And not there? Only I can be stuck here because Thanos sacrificed me for the stone. All others, are there " she said.

"Thanos? He sacrificed you? Are you Gamora? " I asked, stepping ahead.

"Yes, how do you know me? " she was confused.

"Your sister, Nebula, she told us " Steve said.

"You guys know Nebula? How is she? Is she on earth? " Gamora's voice cracked, her eyes full of tears.

"Yes, and so is you friend Rocket" I told her.

____

"Quill is stuck there, so are my other friends" Gamora said staring at the wall that separated us from the people we loved.

"Are we dead? Gamora? Do you have any idea what is this place? " I couldn't control my question anymore.

"This is the realm of souls" she said, "The people who vanished, are trapped here. And so are we"

"Is there any possible way out? " Steve asked.

"If only I knew" Gamora sighed, "I have been trapped here, in the middle of the souls that have passed into the next world, the souls that have their  existence in question and the souls that would exist later. I am neither dead, nor alive"

"There has to be a way out" I said, "Wong says we have a stone dedicated to each one of us. We can't be stuck here, forever ".

"Yes, there has to, but I have been unable to find it" Gamora sighed.

"We need to find it together now" Steve said.

"I can guide you to the veil, if there is a way out, it has to be there" Gamora said.

We nodded and followed her lead. There was nothing, and we kept walking on the endless path, until she stopped and touched something invisible.

A dark veil appeared before us.

"Ah, the odd couple has finally arrived" A voice said, "I have been waiting for centuries"

"Waiting? For us? " I asked, horrified.

"Yes, for you, dark lady with tainted soul. Your soul was pure, clear as water, and then it was tainted with innocent blood. Your soul is molded, torn, shattered.. But him. Your husband, the righteous man with the purest soul. He healed your broken soul. And three other souls emerged as parts of you both. We welcome you, lady reality and molder of time, we welcome you back"

Suddenly the veil started to shrink and twist into smokes and shreds of cloth, it started glowing and was taking form. We stared amazed, as it completed its human form.

"Clint? " I managed to say, admist my state of shock.

"Welcome back, lady reality, or should I call you by your new name? But which one? Natalia, natalie, Natasha? One woman, too many realities, the only feminine form of us, our lady reality" he said.

Steve and I exchanged a look, while Gamora seemed to be frozen in her place, oblivious to what they were witnessing.

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Ok, I will try my best to finish this story before endgane releases.
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