Chapter 1
A wave of energy pushed past him, causing Steve to close his eyes. When he opened them Thor was standing alone. Thanos was gone. Steve clutched his side and walked towards Thor.
“Where’d he go?” Steve panted. He turned around scanning the tree line for any trace of Thanos, but he wasn’t visible. “Thor,” Steve pled desperately, “where’d he go?”
“Steve?” Steve turned as he heard Bucky’s voice. He sounded so scared. Bucky walked towards him, but his arms and legs vanished turning into ash. Soon his whole body fell to the ground, turned into ash. Steve froze. His ears were ringing and he couldn’t hear anything else except Bucky’s voice calling his name. Steve felt his legs stagger over to Bucky’s ashes, and he sank to his knees. He looked over at Thor, but only found more confusion in his eyes. That’s when the cold hit him. It spread from his heart all the way throughout his body. He knew this feeling. The same feeling he got when Bucky fell. He failed Bucky again. Steve slowly brought his hand to the ground and touched what remained of Bucky.
“Buck,” Steve whispered hearing his own voice echo in his ears, “Bucky. Bucky can you hear me, where did you go? Bucky!”
“Steve,” Thor was standing next to him now, “he’s gone.”
“No. No,” Steve looked up just in time to see Wanda disappear the same way Bucky had. Steve got up and went to Vision’s body and Wanda’s ashes. He could hear Rhodey’s voice.
“What is this? What the hell is happening?”
It hit him then what he had done. He had been too weak to stop Thanos and save his friends. To save Bucky. He felt himself drop to the floor. Bucky was gone. Again. Steve had failed him. Again.
“Oh god,” Steve felt the words leave his mouth. He had failed.
“What just happened?” Natasha’s voice broke through his self pity. “Thor,” he heard her voice break, “what just happened?”
“Thanos just killed half the universe.” Thor said in a monotone voice.
“Excuse me, what?” Rhodey’s shaky voice broke the silence. “We lost?”
Steve had lost. He had lost so much. Bucky was gone again. He felt acid build up in his mouth. He turned away from Vision’s body and vomited in the dirt. Bucky was gone. Again.
Everyone sat in silence accepting Rhodey’s words. They had lost.
But no. No, Steve couldn’t accept that. Not when he just got Bucky back, not when they had so much to live for.
“No,” Steve wiped his mouth and stood up, “no.”
“Steve, Thanos has all the infinity stones we couldn’t do anything even if he was still here. We lost,” Thor’s voice grew weaker.
“I’m not going to accept that,” Steve said looking around at who was left. Thor. Nat. Rhodey. Okoye. Bruce. “We have to find Thanos,” Steve said. He couldn’t lose Bucky like this. Not again.