The Scarlet Apprentice 2: The Multiverse Between Us

Mind games

By the time y/n finally composed herself and made her way back into her room, Wanda was already tucked nicely under the covers with the curtains closed. When she saw her, lying there, breathing gently, she couldn't help but smile.

"I know you're looking at me," Wanda mumbled, her voice groaned from tiredness.

"Sorry," y/n huffed a soft laugh, "couldn't help myself."

Wanda turned and rested herself on her elbows while she watched y/n make her way to the bed. Y/n pulled off the blazer and tie and dropped them onto the floor, then took of the suit trousers and stepped out of them. Then, when the shirt was the only thing loosely covering her body, she slid under the covers and wrapped her arms around Wanda without saying a word.

When Wanda felt y/n bury her head in the crevice of her neck, she tried to turn, "you alright?"

However, y/n only rested her head further onto Wanda's shoulder, which stopped her from turning around. Y/n murmured, "yeah, I'm just tired."

Wanda tried to leave it, but when she closed her eyes and felt y/n's hand shaking against her stomach, she placed her hand on it and asked, "are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm okay, my love," she hid her face in Wanda's hair so her tears wouldn't be noticeable. Even though it was dark, even though Wanda wasn't looking, y/n couldn't risk her seeing. Tightly holding Wanda in her arms, she continued, "let's just go to sleep, okay?"

Due to her own tiredness, Wanda dropped her suspicions. Curled in y/n's arms and pressed up against her body, it didn't take long for Wanda to slip into a deep sleep. On the other hand, y/n remained awake for ages, gently stroking Wanda's hair or kissing her head to comfort herself.

During the dreams that Wanda had, she'd found herself alone in the middle of what seemed to be a battlefield. When she looked further, she realised that she could see all of her teammates standing far from her in a circle, looking on at the same thing.

"What's happening?" Wanda mumbled to herself as she looked around.

Everyone was there - Strange, Bucky, Sam, Wong, even Shang and Katy - they were stood far away from Wanda, looking on at her with the same expression on their faces: sadness.

Just as she was about to call out to them and demand answers, she realised what they were looking at. It wasn't her they watched sadly, it was the body at her feet.

She instantly dropped to her knees and cradled the head of the body when she saw that it was y/n's, tears falling faster than her eyes could produce.

"Y/n? Y/n, can you hear me?" Her breath grew shaky as she asked, wiping the hair and blood away from the bodies face, "please. Please, y/n, can you just look at me? Look at me, y/n."

"She's not gonna reply, you know?" A voice from nowhere emerged.

"What?" She asked, immediately looking around for answers - for help - but she changed when she realised who that voice could've belonged to. "What is this, Agatha, what have you done?"

"Nothing, dear," her voice was so crisp, so clear, but she was no where to be seen, "this is what's going to happen when you find me."

"What? No, that's can't be true," Wanda dismissed, looking down at y/n's face, "I'm not believing you."

"You don't have to if you don't want to, but deep down you know," she began, "do you really think y/n would let everyone die around her? This is how it ends up, Wanda. I'm just giving you a warning in advance."

"No, she-," Wanda sobbed, her hand shaking as she touched the lifeless face, "she promised me that she wouldn't. She promised."

"I know," she took a pause, "but look at her. Lying on the ground, lifeless. Just fading away."

Shaking her head, Wanda ordered, "stop."

"Everyone's watching in shock. No one can believe what she's done."

"Stop it-," she got up from the lifeless body, "this isn't real- this is a nightmare, this isn't real."

"They're not coming any closer because they know that she did this because of you."

Wanda raised her hands to her head and stressfully blocked her eyes, frantically shaking her head, "stop it."

"Look at her again, Wanda."

She didn't know why, but she found her eyes leading back to y/n - to the lifeless hero.

"Those eyes used to look at you with so much love, so much admiration. Now there's nothing behind them."

"Oh, god," Wanda sobbed as she tried to wake herself up.

"She's gone, Wanda," Agatha told her, "she might be with you now, but she's already devoted to sacrificing herself. Don't try and convince her, you know she won't give up. Go ahead, wake yourself up. Hug her, kiss her. Do whatever you have to do to make yourself feel better. Because soon, one day, you're going to wake up to no one beside you in that bed."

"Stop- no, no, no- stop..." she begged.

"Wanda?" An exterior voice called to her.

Her head instantly raised, "y/n?"

"Wanda, wake up," y/n told her, gently shaking her body awake.

Wanda closed her eyes tightly before opening them again, now being met with the inside of her dark room. She instantly sprung forward and panted for her breath before turning to y/n and holding her desperately.

"Hey, you're okay," y/n told her, rocking her back and forth as she knew what was wrong, "I've got you, you're okay, my love."

"What was that?" Wanda asked in sobs.

"You had a nightmare," she told her, stroking her head and kissing her forehead between her calm words, "that's all it was. You're safe, I promise."

But while she held her, lovingly in her arms, she didn't confess to her own nightmare. The images that were put into y/n's head depicted what would happen if she didn't sacrifice herself. She saw blood, ruins, the lifeless bodies of everyone she loved; standing in the middle of it, well and alive, was herself. That's when she knew she couldn't go against the prophecy, no matter what.