Chapter 1
Once upon a time, there lived a lovely little soldier named Bucky Barnes. The vain and wicked group of people who kidnapped him and turned him into a terrible monster called HYDRA wanted Bucky, whom they called the Winter Soldier, to not be taken from them or, worse, used against them. So they forced Bucky to be stuck in one of their facilities, only being used for missions that required his strength with each mission, forcing Bucky to kill whoever they ordered him.
Each day, one of the higher-ups from HYDRA would ask the people in charge of the Winter Soldier, “How has the progress been so far?” and as long as they were met with “He is only growing stronger,” the Winter Soldier was safe from whatever plans HYDRA kept hidden.
In the facility, in a room only a few knew of, the same higher-up that had asked for a month went up to Zemo, the current watcher of the Winter Soldier. The room was dimly lit, with a lightbulb in the middle of the room and two doors, one leading to the rest of the facility and the other leading to the Winter Soldier. The doors were made of dark wood, carved strategically with professional tools, while the walls were a bland, dark gray. Even touching the wall would reveal the smooth paint and texture of it.The two people in the room stood face to face, the higher-up in the light, while Zemo was closer to the door, hiding his face. The higher-up spoke first, breaking the silence by saying, “Forward, Zemo.” It only took a moment more for Zemo to do what was said and take a few steps forward until his face was completely shown in the light. The higher-up spoke once again, saying, “How has the progress been so far?”
Zemo was nervous to answer his question. He had no idea how to tell him without the higher-up being either angry or disappointed with him. Either way, he knew it would just worsen if he didn’t give them an answer soon. So, he finally spoke after deciding on his internal conflict. “Well, he is getting stronger, but there was a-.. disturbance during his last mission.”
“A disturbance..?” The higher-up asked in confusion. “Zemo, you must give me more than that. What disturbance are you referring to?” That time, though, he demanded more than he asked. The higher-ups didn't want their plan to fail, and they clearly didn’t want to lose one of their most valuable and strongest weapons. Whatever was happening, they needed to know now before it got out of hand. Zemo was worried about saying anything more, but he knew that the higher-up wouldn’t be afraid to kill him if he refused to say anything.
“There was something that happened on his last mission, sir. He-.. The Winter Soldier is remembering. He’s asking about who he used to be. We have no idea where he got the idea from or if he’s making it up from a museum he saw during the mission. We weren’t able to keep our eyes on him completely.” Zemo said nervously. He knew that this higher-up was more likely to get angry with any mistakes made, so they all had to commonly walk on eggshells just from fear alone.
The higher-up glared at Zemo and said, “Who was he with most of the time, or was everyone assigned to stick with him during the mission an imbecile to the point no one had a single idea of what he had been doing, where he was, or who he was with!?” The higher-up grabbed Zemo by the shoulders as a threat to hurt him.
Out of fear or worry, Zemo swallowed thickly before saying, “W-we do know who he was with most of the time. It was the blonde avenger, Captain America.” The higher-up let go of his shoulders the moment Zemo stopped talking. It took a few moments of silence before the higher-up said, “You’re free to go.” With that, Zemo quickly left the room, going back towards the rest of the facility. Angrily, the higher-up slammed their hands against the wall and muttered, “Steve Rogers.”
Bucky was in the small, minimalistic room HYDRA built for him. All there really was was a bed and a small, wooden desk with only one drawer. HYDRA only gave him this with the hope of a lessened chance of Bucky wanting to leave, but ever since the moment Captain America said that one sentence to him on the Halicarrier, he wanted to leave. Ever since he heard the words “‘Cause I’m with you till the end of the line” come out of the other man’s mouth, he couldn’t stop himself from remembering. Even though it wasn’t much, it meant so much to him. He remembered every time that line was muttered between the two of them, and he remembered how he felt about him and how he was in love with him. He remembered reading the British fantasy novels he loved so much, but that was it. Other than that, he couldn’t remember anything else. He wished he could remember more than that, though. He wished, by some miracle, he could remember even a little bit more about himself. Almost as if he were mentally sucked into one of the books, he wished that a prince could come and rescue him if that was what it took for him to be free.
Almost as if his wish came true, an alarm sounded throughout the facility, leaving everyone panicking while also preparing for a fight. It only took a couple of minutes until he could hear gunshots from outside the room. He had no idea what was going on, but he knew the rules. He knew he wasn’t supposed to leave the room unless he was ordered to, even if it was an emergency. It’s not like he could, though, thanks to the lock on the door that only works from the outside. All he could do was sit there, hearing screams and gunshots, while being unable to do anything about it. Once the gunshots were over, no one had come to the room. It had been dead silent other than the noises he made, but that wasn’t what he was worried about. What he was worried about, though, was what caused all the gunshots and screams. It took nearly half an hour before the door suddenly unclicked and slowly opened. To his shock, Steve was standing right there in front of him, dressed in his famous Captain America outfit. Even though he expected Steve to be completely scared of him, it was the exact opposite. Steve was looking at him with a gentle expression, almost as if he understood immediately that the Winter Soldier he had met not too long ago wasn’t Bucky. Maybe he always thought that, but Bucky wasn’t sure of it.
“Hey, Bucky? Are you back with me?” Steve asked calmly but in a soft tone. He didn’t want to scare Bucky away, and he could only imagine what his best friend had gone through when the two of them were separated. Despite his efforts, Bucky instantly got nervous. Not because of Steve, but because of the fact that his words reminded Bucky of what he had done. He knew he killed a lot of people, but nothing he could say or do would change that fact. So, in a bad attempt to try and protect him, Bucky took a few steps back, which then caused Steve to panic and speak once more.
“Please don’t run. I’m sorry if I went too fast.” Almost instantly, Steve understood what Bucky was nervous about. He had spent enough time with each other to know their behavior patterns and what he did whenever he felt a certain way. He could tell by the way he was moving that he wasn’t scared of Steve, but instead of himself. He knew Bucky did this a lot, especially before the army, when Steve sometimes found Bucky in the middle of a fight.
“Hey,” Steve said, keeping his soft tone, “it’s okay. I knew that wasn’t you, and I wouldn’t have fought those people for you if this was what you truly wanted to be. I saw the look on your face before I fell, Buck. I knew I finally got you back the moment I saw you, and I’m so glad you’re okay.” With that, Bucky walked back to his initial position while the two of them held back from hugging each other, worried that it would create awkwardness between the two of them. Instead, Steve motioned his hand for Bucky to follow him, but instead, Bucky stayed still.
“I’m not allowed to leave,” Bucky stated. “They won’t let me leave. The only time I can leave is when they say I can.” Steve smiled softly at him before sighing and turning back to him. “You don’t need to listen to them. I say you’re free now, and I say I’m not leaving without my best friend.”
Bucky laughed softly before commenting on Steve’s words, saying, “Since when were you one to go against the rules?” Steve raised an eyebrow at him slightly, as if confused by his words. “Buck, I’ve gone against the rules many times, believe it or not. I went against the person in charge of our unit to get you back from Hydra, I went against their orders again to try and find you from where you should’ve landed, I’ve even fought against the Avengers over whether or not we should keep you with us. I’d go against the American government if it meant that I had a chance of keeping you safe with me. Please, come with me.” Steve begged. He desperately wanted Bucky to come with him, even if the other Avengers said it would be too dangerous for him to do so. Finally, after some thought, Bucky nodded before following Steve outside of the facility, the two of them being careful with not destroying the dead bodies that's littered on the ground while also avoiding whatever blood was spilt from said bodies.
“God, they’re gonna kill us.” Bucky said it out loud, meaning to only say it in his head. Steve responded, though, by saying, “As long as you’re either with me or someone else I can trust, they won’t get to lay a single hand on you. I can promise you that. What I can’t promise, though, is that they won’t try to kill me for what I did to their people.” Bucky rolls his eyes playfully but only speaks again when they’re finally out of the facility, saying, “So, how will we be going to whatever you’re bringing me to?”
Steve just smiled and said, “Well, we could either walk there or we can take the motorcycle I used.” Bucky crossed his arms, unamused, and said, “I’m surprised you even fit on that with how big you are.” Before Steve could say anything more, Bucky finished what he was saying with, “No, I’m not calling you fat. I’m saying that you’re all muscle, and I'm surprised that you didn't take up the entire seat.” Steve sighed softly before saying, “Well, I’m not that big, Buck. Do you have anything that you want to bring with you before we leave?”
Bucky took a moment to think, contemplating before deciding to go back just to grab a weapon. “I’m gonna get something else to defend myself with. Don’t do anything stupid until I get back,” he said before turning around to go back inside the building. Without another second to think, Steve said practically out of habit, “How can I? You’re taking all the stupid with you.” Bucky turned around and looked at him confused and said, “Didn’t take Captain America to be a jerk.”
Steve looked at him, shocked, before saying, “You don’t remember that?” Bucky kept looking confused at him and said, “Remember what?” “Just get on the motorcycle. We can get you a weapon when we get there.” Steve said it with a sigh. Bucky started walking towards them, still confused.
“Remember what?”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“No, actually, remember what?”
“What, did they erase your memory?”
“Yeah, actually.”
“Just get on the motorcycle.”
Bucky sighed before sitting on the seat on the motorcycle, with Steve sitting behind him once Bucky got situated. Bucky looked back at Steve, confused, and said, “Why do you want me driving your bike?” Steve smiled and said, “It’s easier for me to protect you from anything if I’m not driving.” Bucky sighed lightly but agreed with Steve’s plan. From what he had heard and the small bits he does remember, Steve isn’t the type of person to easily back down from a plan the moment he acts out on it. So, as a way of giving Steve what he wants, even if he won’t admit it, that’s why he let him go on with the plan. Bucky stayed quiet for a few more seconds before saying, “Is it time to go yet?” Steve nods in affirmation, which causes Bucky to turn back around and start driving away. Unbeknownst to them, though, one of the surviving higher-ups was staring down at them from a window and watching as they left. Out of anger, they moved away from the window, planning something.
Zemo stood in front of the surviving higher-up in the dimly lit room from before. It was completely silent before the higher-up spoke, saying, “You allowed him to be taken!?” Out of fear, Zemo spoke up, saying, “I didn’t allow them to! I didn’t know that he was what they were after I-” The higher-up interrupted him by raising a finger and saying, “I am not looking for your excuses. You failed to do what you were assigned, and just that would justify an execution.” Zemo looked at him with fear before exclaiming, “You can’t do that! My son can’t grow up without his-”
“Which is exactly why we’re not giving you execution.” The higher-up interrupted. “Your son is valuable to HYDRA and we do not want him to go against us. For that reason, we are giving you another chance. This time, your job will be to hunt down the Winter Soldier and kill him.” Zemo calmed down some, no longer thinking of the execution, and said, “That’s a death wish. He was made to be stronger than any army. If a simple man were to go and kill him, they’d be dead on the spot.” “Which is exactly why you will be assigned it.” The higher-up said, “If you die, then we will consider it your execution, and we can tell your family that someone else killed you. If you succeed, then you get to live.”
“Even if I went out to him, how could I even find where they are?” Zemo asked. He needed to come up with any excuse possible, knowing that his life was completely on the line. Despite that, he kept a calm look on his face, not wanting to show the higher-up how scared he actually was of the mission—more so of the Winter Soldier, though. The higher-up said with a straight face, like he had been for the entirety of the meeting, “We’re tracking him down as we speak. We know exactly where he and the kidnapper are, so all you have to do is go to their destination and kill the Winter Soldier.” At that point, Zemo was physically more nervous. He knew that there wasn’t a way for him to escape the situation, and he needed to survive this for his wife; if not for her, then for his son. Zemo slowly nods at the higher-up, finally accepting the mission given to him. “Alright. I’ll go after him.” Before Zemo left, though, the higher-up said, “To make sure that you have truly completed the mission, you will put his heart into this.”
Zemo looked at the higher-up in shock as they pulled out a red, wooden box with silver lettering on the outside. In what language, though, Zemo had no idea. What he did know, though, was that just by looking at it, he could tell that a human heart would fit easily in it without the need to squeeze it. “But sir,” Zemo said, “it could be impossible to take his heart out, much less kill him. He’s still with the kidnapper, remember? If the blondie is who we think it is, we have more than the Winter Soldier to get past. We don’t even know if the Avengers will be part of this at any point, and we’re dead if they are.” Despite Zemo’s words, the higher-up stayed completely calm and said, “Like I said before, this is why you will be the one to do it. Call this a test of sorts. If you die, we can at least know to what limit the two are working together. If this is as big of a threat as you claim, then we will be able to take the appropriate actions to make sure this never happens again. Remember, he may be one of the more powerful weapons we have, but he isn’t the only one. If he was, I wouldn’t be telling you to kill him, would I? Remember, this may be the last mission you get, and the outcome decides your fate.”
Zemo nodded, the weight of the mission finally laying on him. He understood the consequences of failing, and he decided that it wasn’t the route he would die on. Even if it meant taking his own life, he would make sure that this plan went completely according to plan. So, Zemo took the box, listened to the higher-up for exactly where the other two were, and went straight there without a second thought. He planned on keeping the mental promise he made to himself, after all, and no one would be able to stop him.