Buildings caught alight. Fire roared through the city. Screams of fear and panic erupted into the night. People tore through the streets—parents dragging their children to safety, men trying to juggle belongings, escaping the lick of flames. A man on fire bolted past. A horse galloped away with its tail aflame. Bodies, burned and charred, lay on the streets. The giant wooden horse was alight.
I watched, horrified, as the people of Troy tried to flee their fiery homes.
Such carnage. Such destruction. And the pain...it was unbearable, the stench of fear heavy in the air. I'd only seen this much devastation once—during World War II. But this...this was cruel. This didn't need to happen.
"Let it burn!" My eyes fell on a man, a Greek leader, standing in the square nearby. He wore a wicked grin of accomplishment. "Let Troy burn!"
My eyes flicked to Andi. The expression of silent agony she wore shattered my heart. Terrible feelings ate at me. My curiosity had forced her to watch her home burn to the ground for a second time.
She soundlessly wandered through a portal and I followed.
We were outside the city. Miles ahead of us, Troy burned, fire against an unforgiving black night sky. A group of Trojans stood around us, crying out in pain and misery.
"Could you have saved them?" I asked.
Andi swallowed before replying. "No. The Fall of Troy is a fixed point in time. I can't change that." She looked to the ground. "I wanted to, though. I would give anything to save them. My father was murdered this night. My brother died months before. Many loved ones perished to make insufferable tyrants feel powerful." Her brow furrowed in sorrow. "This was all out of spite of a selfish and bitter king. It was not worth it. None of it."
"Why couldn't you save them?" I tried dangerously.
"Because it's against the rules of time. Saving them would create a paradox, potentially destroying the future. If I wasn't restricted, I would've saved them a long time. I would've saved a lot of people I couldn't during my travels. But I can't."
I never fully understood what Andi had to go through all those centuries. I had an inkling that it was tough; the way that she expressed her silent anger at times was a clear indication. But I fully understood now. I understood the look in her eyes every day they mine met them: silent, inescapable agony so deep that it was a permanent glint seared behind the beautiful, startling green. I felt so sorry for her, but I knew she didn't want my pity; she didn't need it. She'd done all this for a reason. She didn't want to keep anything from me, and I was grateful for that. But I couldn't help but feel that I should've waited until she was ready. We should've done this on her terms, not mine.
I turned to look at the misplaced Trojans behind me. My eyes fell on Andromeda and her brother Paris, tortured expressions on their faces.
"Where did you go?"
"We walked to the nearest city," Andi replied. "We walked for days. Resources were scarce. The environment was unforgiving. Many were injured and didn't make it. Many died of starvation."
I followed her through a portal.
It was daylight. The surviving Trojans huddled on a beach far away from their fallen home. The group was significantly smaller, their clothing in tatters and dirt spotting their skin.
Andromeda and Paris stood at the top of the sand dunes. The princess's hair was a mess. Her eyes were glazed over in pain. I turned to Andi. The difference between the two were phenomenal.
Andromeda was an emotional wreck. She looked so emotionally frail, so distraught. It was as if the people surrounding her were walking on eggshells around her; anything would make her cry. Granted, she did just lose her home and half of her family.
Andi, on the other hand, had her emotions in check. A bitter glint reflected in her eyes. She was more composed. But she had had plenty of time to experience situations like her younger self had just been through. She'd must have been through a lot, then.
Thunder bellowed. I looked up. But the sky was clear.
"We had some unexpected visitors," Andi explained, turning to the noise.
Men on horses galloped towards us. Paris raised his bow, an arrow notched at the ready. Andromeda stood back, a worried expression painted on her young face.
"Slave traders," Andi growled. "Looking for fresh meat to put to work."
The men pulled their horses to a halt, vaulting out of the saddles. The leader walked to the group, heading towards Paris.
"Lower your bow, boy," the leader grumbled. "We are not here to fight."
"Then why are you here?" Paris snarled.
The traders walked past him to stand on the dune to address the group. "Citizens! Honour your families and serve the new King of Sparta! Slave numbers are short. One trade in particular." He clasped his hands behind his back. "One will offer their services for the rest of their natural life. If no one volunteers..." The leader's men unsheathed their swords. Fearful cries echoed through the crowd. "...we will cut you all down where you stand."
My eyes widened. The guy wasn't serious, was he? He wouldn't kill innocent people...right?
"I volunteered," Andi said. "I couldn't let my people die. Too many had already. If handing myself over to the traders kept more people alive, I wasn't going to hesitate."
I watched Andromeda rush forward. "Please! Do not hurt anyone." She took a deep breath. "I will go with you."
"No, Andromeda!" Paris ordered, tightly grasping her arm. "I will not lose any more of my family."
"You are blind, Paris!" she roared. "You caused this! The blood of hundreds, our father and Hector stains your hands!" She glared at Helen sitting away from everyone else. "Your infatuation with her blinds you! She who launched a thousand ships. If you had never brought her to Troy, we would still have a home! We would still have our family!"
My eyes flicked to Andi next to me. She scowled at Helen, her eyes like fire. Even after all these years, she still despised the woman. And I couldn't blame her.
"No." Andromeda tore her arm from her brother's grip. "I am doing this for the people of Troy. Not for love. Not for my heart. For the people. For our legacy." She faced the leader of the slave traders. "I volunteer. Take me to Sparta. Do what you will. But do not hurt my people."
The leader grinned, raising his chin. "You have heart, child." He waved his arms. His men sheathed their swords. "This one is mine."
The traders led Andromeda to their horses. She was shoved onto one of the prancing creatures. And they galloped away.
Paris looked on with a defeated look, lowering his bow in submission. His people around him cried into the night at the loss of another royal Trojan.
I admired Andromeda's...I admired Andi's courage. I had respect for her. But this was a whole new level of respect I'd just gained.
"I was in slavery for two years," Andi said. "Two agonising years of abuse by the royals of Sparta."
I shook my head in shock and pity as I watched the horses fade away into the distance. "I'm so sorry."
She shrugged. "It saved my people. I regret nothing."
She opened a portal and led me through. We were in a castle square at night. A young woman stood before a man in clothes not right for the time. Fiery torches reflected warm lights on their faces.
I recognised Andromeda, her hair a mess and her new dress torn. Her face was exactly the same as Andi's: hardened. I knew that this was the day that everything had changed for the young girl.
"I'm here to save you," the young man said.
"Who are you?" Andromeda asked.
"Your saving grace." He held out his hand. "Do you want salvation?"
I turned to Andi. "Eilian."
"He saved my life." She glanced at me. "But he destroyed it as well."
She created a portal and I followed her through. We stepped onto a platform, and the view before me took my breath away.
Stars and ribbons of colours floated beautifully on a black sky. Swirls of colour drifted around the sky, colliding to create something new.
"Your galaxy," I deduced.
She pointed to another floating platform nearby. "This is where I was taken when I received my powers."
Eilian and another man stood before Andromeda. The other man seemed to be someone of higher authority. He held himself with much power.
"Who's the other guy?"
"The Lord of Time," she replied. "He leads the Time Walkers and controls every timeline ever created."
"So he's a god."
"Essentially."
I watched Eilian hand Andromeda a pocket watch. It was the same watch that Andi still carried today.
"We made a deal," she explained. "I become a Time Walker and live forever and, in exchange, I fight if I'm ever called."
"Why? Why did you agree?"
She bit her lip. It was a sore topic, I could tell.
"Healing," she said. "I wanted to heal. Escaping that time meant I had that opportunity. Here. Now. It's a time of healing. They told me I could if I agreed. And so I did."
I didn't know what to say. All I knew what to do was slip my hand into hers. She gripped it gratefully.
I watched Andromeda, Eilian and the Lord fade away.
"I'm glad you did, Andi." I looked at her and smiled. "I never would have met you if you hadn't."
She offered me a small smile. "Thank you, Steve. I'm glad I met you." She cleared her throat, releasing my hand. "I was also given a job. I, as well as Eilian, was ordered to find the Shards."
She waved her hand once in front of her. Nine golden pieces—circular at the bottom and lining to a point at the top—hovered before us.
"The Shards create the Time Key," Andi explained. "It unlocks the Time Vault."
"And what's in the Vault?" I asked.
"The Vault is a prison. It's a cage for a very special someone."
"Eon."
"Right. When he was locked away, the Time Walkers split the key into ten Shards and scattered them throughout time."
"Is the Time Key the only way to unlock the Vault?"
"Yes."
I frowned. But that didn't make sense. If that was the only way to open it, and Andi was still on the hunt for the Shards to recreate this Key to lock the guy away...how was Eon roaming around?
"Then how did Eon escape?" I asked.
"We don't know," she replied with a shrug. "The Vault is checked regularly. One day it was wide open." Her eyes flicked over the Shards. "Eilian and I were ordered to find all the Shards and recreate the Time Key. With that out of the way, we were to return to Omega Chronos."
"What?"
"The Lord of Time's galaxy," she interrupted, coupled with a smirk. "It's the biggest and most important. Think of it as the Washington D.C. of the Time Walkers.
"Anyway, when Eilian and I went there out of sheer curiosity one day, it was abandoned. It looked like it had been invaded. We assumed Eon had finally made his first move."
She turned to me, her eyes glazed over in torment. "He killed everyone."
My heart ached at those words. I knew what it was like to lose people close to me. But my entire people? Everyone I loved and held dear? I couldn't comprehend what that was like for Andi and Eilian. Honestly, I didn't want to.
"We moved covertly from then on," she explained. "The last thing we wanted was to draw attention to ourselves. We went about collecting the Shards quietly, walking like ghosts across time. We were smoke on a battlefield, drifting away silently. But Eon found Eilian. I don't know how. I don't know how he managed to get into his galaxy. We made sure to keep them locked up tighter than Guantánamo Bay. It was impossible." She sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. "When Eilian died, I didn't know what to do. What I did know was that I had to find the last Shards."
"I'm sorry."
She looked down. "So am I." She glared at the Shards. "I found one in Stark's office at the SSR in 1944. That meant I had one more to get."
"Where is it?"
"I don't know. I never knew where they were. Eilian had all the locations. He would just tell me the time and I'd go and retrieve it."
"He must have given you some idea before he..."
"No. All he gave me was the satchel of Shards we'd collected and a list with the names of the heroes who should be a part of the Avengers Initiative. That was it."
I bit my lip in thought. Eilian seemed like a smart guy. He seemed like the kind of person who loved to leave clues leading to a bigger picture; the kind of person who enjoyed screwing around with people's heads. Perhaps what he'd given Andi was actually the clue to the location of the final Shard.
"Do you think perhaps the list is a clue?" I wondered.
Andi's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"
And then it hit me. "The list. Every name on that list is for a project that was put in motion in 2012. Could this Shard be somewhere in that year?"
I watched her eyes dart from side to side in thought. It was plausible, she had to give me that. If we had the time pinned down, the location was going to be a lot harder to determine.
"Possibly," Andi mumbled, a grin spreading. "That's not a bad idea. Eilian was a tricky guy. I wouldn't be surprised if that was his plan."
I grinned. "Then what are we waiting for?"
"No."
I frowned. "What?"
"I never thought I'd say this, but we don't have time." She smiled warmly. "We have to save Bucky."
I sighed in understanding. She was right. Project Insight had to be stopped. That came first. And I had to face Bucky again.
Andi whipped open a portal and we stepped through. We stood on the bridge overlooking the dam again. Sam was walking away. It was as if we'd never left. The perks of time traveling, I suppose.
"Thank you."
Andi frowned. "What for?"
"For showing me how hard life has been for you. I'm sorry I've pushed you to find out about your past. I now know I should have waited."
She smiled. "You shouldn't be apologising. I've wanted to show you everything for a long time. I just haven't found a way to show you until now." She pulled me into a hug. "It's me who should be thanking you. There's no weight holding me back now."
I wrapped my arms around her gratefully. I felt much closer to her. I was glad that she told me - well, showed me - her past. I'd always had a feeling that it wasn't going to be a happy story. I was right about that. But I hadn't realised the extent of how much pain she'd been through. I was going to keep her closer to me from then on. I wasn't going to lose her. And she wasn't going to lose me like she had many before.
I took a deep breath. It was time to get this over and done with. "We better get moving."
"Oh, uh, yeah." Andi cleared her throat as she pulled away. "We should go and, uh, save the world."
I walked away from the safe house. "Gear up."
"Steve."
I turned. She smirked, her hands perched on her hips, mischievous green eyes looking me up and down. "You're not gonna wear that, are you?"
"No. If you're gonna fight a war, you gotta wear a uniform."
❈Author's Note: Hey, there! If you liked this chapter, please consider giving it a quick vote! Thanks for reading!