illuminate. (Bucky Barnes x Reader)

Chapter Twenty

MUSIC RECOMMENDATION: "Short Straw" by Trevor Rabin fits this chapter so well.

WARNING: character death - some of you may hate me for what I am about to do in this chapter...but it is a sacrifice I am willing to make.

"What about us? Isn't it enough?

No, we're not in paradise

This is who we are, this is what we've got

No, it's not our paradise

But it's all we want, and it's all that we're fighting for

Though it's not paradise"

~*~*~*~

Plains Outside The Golden City. Wakanda. May 2018.

Bucky couldn't count of how many of the ferocious rage-filled Outriders he had dispatched. The battlefield was utter chaos. Blue beams from vibranium spears crisscrossed across the plains. The pops and booms of gunfire and bombs echoed sporadically. The unmistakable sound of metal slicing through flesh filled his ears, along with the even more horrifying sound of teeth sinking into flesh. The Wakandans were fierce warriors and would always take down their enemy even if it meant losing their own. Blood, ichor, and body parts of human and alien alike laid scattered across the grasslands, staining the ground a deep crimson. The air smelled of death, earth, and smoke. Sadly, almost all of these sights and sounds were familiar to the super-soldier. 

Bucky lost sight of Natasha and Steve not long after the initial clash. Every now and then he would catch a glimpse of Bruce's red and gold armor or T'Challa's plume of purple kinetic energy. But there was little time to think about anything else other than the enemy in front of him.  

The Outriders were ruthless. Six arms with a lizard-like body and rows upon rows of razor-sharp teeth. The small opening in the barrier had done little to slow them down. Every time he killed one, two more would appear to take their place. Their numbers seemed infinite. 

Out of the corner of his eye, a flash of sandy hair flew past him. Bucky whipped around to see Steve pinned down by four Outriders on the edge of the shallow stream. "STEVE!" he shouted as he ran to his best friend's aid. 

With his vision narrowed on Steve's location, he didn't see the oncoming Outrider until it was right on top of him. Hastily raising his gun, he only managed to get a few rounds off before the beast knocked the weapon from his hands then threw him to the ground. Bucky barely had time to grab ahold of his knife before the alien was upon him once more. He haphazardly stabbed anywhere and everywhere. The longer he was on the ground the worse his chances of survival became. He couldn't die...not here...not now. Not without you.  

With a guttural yell, Bucky jammed the knife up to the hilt into the side of the creature's neck. It yowled but continue to snap and claw at him. With all his strength, he dragged the knife across the beast's throat, spraying himself and the surrounding area with ichor, decapitating the monster. With a shudder, the monster collapsed on top of him.

Bucky took deep heaving breaths in between spitting the taste of alien blood out of his mouth. He took a moment to gather his thoughts and come to his senses. His eyes darted around for his gun. Then his gaze was pulled to the sky. The clouds began to gather, rotating around one another forming a funnel. Bucky pulled himself out from under the dead creature and sat on his knees, staring up at the peculiar sight. It couldn't be a tornado – the conditions weren't right.