~
I wasn't the best at making decisions out of the moment. Actually I took chances that probably could've been easily avoided. If someone were to ask me if head butting the guy who was holding me captive, still tied to the wall, was a good idea, then honestly I don't think I'd answer. I'd just do it. And forget there were consequences to such a thing.
He punched me hard across the face. The left side of my face felt like pain crumbling down on me, but the numbness from the cold helped me suppress it. I could feel my top lip was torn and my bottom lip was busted bad, even worse than before. I let the blood seep from my mouth as I lowered my head and squeezed my eyes shut, cracking my jaw.
"I'm sorry Darlin', I'm just, I," he was feigning guilt and sympathy and I knew he didn't mean it. "I didn't want to hurt you, it's just that you're just so vexing." He roughly grabbed my jaw to force me to look at him. I glared keeping my mouth shut. I was bleeding all over the place. My mouth, the side of my left eye and my temple where the blood was drying.
"Even when I threaten your family, you still won't give up, will you?" He moved my face from side to side, examining it before making me look at his fascinated grin.
"You know, when I first met you in Brazil, I thought you were going to be an easy target, what with you crying on the phone, almost killing yourself..."
I clenched my jaw even tighter. He knew about the pool.
"But I'll admit. You are quite the tough cookie, you're freezing to death, I just threatened your family, I punched you, you're a tough one." He chuckled, caressing my hair back with his gloved hand. "I'm impressed." His voice lowered alluringly.
I looked at him with disgust in my eyes for a few seconds before spitting all of the blood filling my mouth in his face.
He closed his eyes and clenched his jaw, letting mine go. Without words he stood up and turned around clenching his fist like he was trying hard not to hit me.
It was funny.
I let out a quiet chuckle. His fist tightened even more, making me laugh harder.
"Hit me, you fucker!" I yelled, blood seeping from my mouth. "Go ahead! Hit me, rape me do whatever the fuck you want to me, I won't help you!" I probably looked crazy, smiling with blood pouring out of my mouth, provoking my captor. But I was protecting a whole world from devastation.
He looked over his shoulder at me menacingly before walking off towards the door, pushing it open and letting it slam closed behind him.
I let my head hang. I knew I wasn't going to succeed in what I was doing, but I had to try.
I'd let my family down so much that it was crazy. I let Steve down, I let my mother down the most. I promised that I would be better.
I heard the door open and I lifted my head again. Behind Finn were two other people dressed in similar clothing. One was familiar, I met him seven months back when he tried to kill me at the school.
Adolf.
Behind him was a woman, tall and muscular, with blonde hair braided back. She was scary looking, built kind of like a guy.
"Fuck me." I muttered under my breath.
Cassio stopped in front of me. I looked up at him, one eye squinting.
He kneeled again, looking me in the eyes, taking out a phone. "Rachel." He started, opening his phone and typing something. "We're done playing games with you. Read the stone," he raised his phone and my eyes widened.
Genesis, Camille, Devon. My nieces and nephews running around playing with their toys they'd just opened. Jackson was there. My siblings were talking, laughing, drinking coffee, enjoying their Christmas. They were at my father's house.
"Or we will blow them all to kingdom come."
I looked at him with my wide eyes. I was baffled, scared, shaken.
"I know you don't want their Christmas to go out with a bang, so I suggest you help us." He wasn't playing any more. He looked up and began untying my restraints, but I made no movement to react. I just simply stared straight ahead with shock. Suddenly my wrists were free and my upper body collapsed to the ground. My arms didn't have any strength in them to push me up so just laid there, shivering on my side.
"Your brother, Christopher, and your father are at SHIELD with your friends trying to find you right now." He said simply, standing and fixing his gloves as he nodded back at Adolf. The big buff man came towards me with a grunt. He grabbed for my hair and lifted me up, making me yell out in pain, waving my left hand to reach for relief.
"Be gentle with her now, Adolf." Finn said casually nodding towards me, looking at him. "She'll be compliant now."
He let go of my hair and instead grabbed me by my waist, dragging me back to pick me up and put me over his shoulder.
"Andromeda, tie her up."
The woman, who had more rope in her hands tied mine together so I would not try anything. She kept her eyes on me, tying them tight.
Adolf carried me over to the light of the shimmering golden stone and sat me near it by a pole with a shackle connected to it. He clasped the rusty shackle around the my boot ankle. I looked at him with hopelessness in my eyes as he stood, crossing his arms.
Finn came and kneeled next to me holding a glass of a clear liquid. "Here. Swish and spit."
I glanced at the glass then at him, my eyes big with confusion, betrayal, and sadness.
He sighed. "I'm sorry I punched you."
My face twitched.
"I didn't want to, it's just," he looked down sparking a small grin. "You head butted me, Darlin'."
"Because you're a psychopath." I said as if it were obvious. Which it was.
He shrugged. "It comes with the job, swish and spit." He put the glass to my lips but I just stared.
I wanted to kill him but my family's life was on the line.
I opened my mouth and tipped my head back as the liquid flooded my mouth, stinging the sores and cuts on the inside of my cheeks. It was Vodka, only stronger than I was used to. I swished it inside of my mouth slowly before turning my head and spitting.
He smiled. "Good girl. Now," he took ahold of my arm and I stumbled to my feet, nearly tripping over the chain. He lead me over to the stone, glittering in the light.
"Give it a read." He said encouragingly as I looked up. It was big as hell, altogether.
I looked at him, eyelashes fluttering rapidly. "I..."
"Come on now, we don't have all day, and frankly neither does your family." He singsonged, tapping my tied up hands.
They were shaking like hell. Not only because my body heat was rapidly declining, but because I was stuck.
I wished sacrificing the world for my family didn't have to be so literal.
I swallowed. I was feeling regretful. Maybe if it was someone else, they wouldn't have given up so easily.
I sighed long and hard, putting my hands up so I could slightly feel the grooves.
"...Akum...Tewyat o liwe. There is no God, no heaven above..." My voice cracked.
"Continue!" Adolf yelled out and I squeezed my eyes shut.
"...Only chaos." I took another breath, praying that someone would come in time to stop me from saying the next few words that could possibly end the world.
"Chibiwe a lakandela. Chibiwe a lakandela. Chibiwe a..." I paused before whispering. "Lakandela. Oya, the sacred spirits call upon you now. Make yourself known. Chibiwe a lakandela. Chibiwe a lakandela. Tefuquente...lazari akum." The stone before me began to glow and I whimpered. I did it.
I ended the world.
There was a lavender aura floating around it and I backed up out of fear, tripping and falling to the ground.
There was a rumbling sound and it was something big and terrifying it felt like was coming.
The aura began to spin, rising above the stone and turning into a ball.
Suddenly it paused. In the middle of the room, glowing brightly. It was oddly beautiful in a terrifying type of way, it reminded me of how one would see life before their death.
"What is it doing?" The girl asked. I didn't answer. I didn't quite know myself.
Finn smiled with awe. "It's beautiful...Oya is coming to life!" He said with rejoice. His two friends looked at him with alarm and confusion.
"You genocidal asshole!" I yelled, looking at him. "You know she'll kill you too, along with everyone on Earth!"
Adolf and Andromeda looked between him and me with wide eyes. I looked at them, realizing they really didn't know what was going on. "You guys didn't know did you? Hydra wanted to control the Goddess, but he knows you can't!" I lifted my arms towards Finn and they looked at him.
"Is this true?" Andromeda inquired.
Finn only smiled.
Adolf looked at the woman wide eyed then back at Finn. "You are crazy."
He smiled wider. "Just a little." With that, he swiftly removed his gun from his jacket and shot them both in the head.
I screamed on instinct as I watched their heavy bodies collapse onto each other.
"Hm." He gave a little chuckle, looking down at them as blood pooled from their heads. "They were pretty much dead already."
I looked up at him with wide eyes. He looked down at me with a deranged smile and I whimpered.
What the fuck have I gotten myself into?
He pointed the gun at me. "I would consider letting you have the satisfaction of going out with the rest of the world but frankly, I don't think you deserve it."
I cringed and looked away, ready to die when the sound of yelling and gunfire came from outside.
We both looked towards the door, startled.
This was my chance.
Without a second to lose, I used my free foot to trip him. He fell with a yelp, accidentally shooting into the air, a stray bullet hitting the edge of the stone. I threw myself towards the corpses to reach for the gun, dangling from Andromeda's waist. I snatched it and quickly rolled over to aim at Finn. We were both lying on our sides, pointing our guns towards each other. Because my hands were cross tied, I could only hold it with my right hand over my left. We stood, still aiming at each other face to face, point blank.
"Cassio." I said, dryly, my nose scrunching up slightly with disgust.
"Rachel." He said almost cheerfully. "Are you going to kill me?" He tilted his head, curiously.
I clenched my jaw, shaking my head slightly. I didn't understand him. "I should."
All he did was smile.
The door busted open and we both looked to the side to see Iron man kick an armed guard across the room.
Immediately, he held his hand up towards Finn, ready to shoot. He put his hands up, letting the gun fall on his thumb. For some reason he was still smiling.
My face lit up with joy and relief. The Calvary.
"Move, and I will shoot you." He said sternly before turning his head towards me.
"You alright, Rachel?" He asked me with a hint of worry in his voice.
I let out a breath, nodding. "I'm fine. Where's Steve?" I lowered the gun, shooting at the chain that held my shackle to my ankle.
"Rounding up the bad guys. What's that?" He looked up at the floating sphere. I looked up at it and frowned. "Oya. She's been released but I don't know what's going on." I shook my head, looking at Tony. "I think we can use one of our contingency plans to stop it."
Beside me Finn chuckled. "Y'all haven't seen anything yet. When she's provoked, the Goddess will end us all. She's just observing..." he looked at the orb. "Learning about all of us."
Tony looked at me and I shook my head. "He's crazy." I said. "But I think he's right. Somewhere in the inscription it explains her powers of perception. If I can find a way to put the genie back in the bottle, then all will be well."
"No it won't." Finn quipped and Iron Man looked at him. "I don't believe she was speaking to you."
I shook my head. "I really wasn't."
He chuckled. "It doesn't really matter." He took hold of his gun again and my eyes widened, raising my gun again.
"Put it down." Tony said, his blaster glowing brighter.
He simply shook his head like we were naive and he admired it. He raised his gun and I dropped as he shot at the still orb.
A sudden loud high pitched sound was heard and the aura became erratic.
As fast as I could let out a gasp, I felt my body being scooped up and I was being told to keep my head down as we broke out of the ceiling. I lifted my head to see the sky, gray and cold as snow began falling from it. The bitter cold temperature caught up with me and I took a deep gasp.
I looked up at Tony who was looking down, watching where he was landing. "We're going to get you something warm." He landed delicately on the ice, feet away from the Quinjet and the rest of the crew.
Among the notables were a few field agents and Natasha, who was holding a coat like her own in her arms, looking at us worriedly.
In front of them were two men standing together, looking at me urgently, wide eyed, a face of relief.
"Chris, Steve..." I muttered, with relief in my own voice as Tony let me down.
The first person to hug me was my brother. Despite still having my hands tied somehow, he was able to wrap me in his arms, letting me bury my face in his chest as I let out a sigh of relief. "You don't know how happy I am to see you." I said.
"Baby sis, you were my first priority." He said, resting his chin on top of my head. "Are you okay?"
I nodded, not saying anything. He pulled back and pulled out a pocket knife from his belt to relieve me of my restraints.
I rubbed my wrists and looked up at him. "Thanks."
He nodded. "Always."
My eyes averted to the man standing behind him, wearing his uniform and over it a blue winter coat.
I gave a large smile. "Steve." I said, exasperatedly, walking past my brother and into his arms. He held me tightly as I wrapped my shaky hands around him. "I'm so sorry this happened to you." He whispered.
"It's okay baby." I muttered into his chest.
"It's not. It was my job to protect you and," he pulled back to look at my face. The left side of my lips were busted up, a black eye was forming, and I had a deep cut in my temple. I'd been through a lot.
He looked like his heart was hurting, looking at my face. Suddenly his jaw clenched and he looked enraged. Still clutching my body, he looked up at the warehouse. "They're going to pay for doing this to you."
I followed his gaze. I didn't even notice the fallen men and scattered ammunition surrounding it. "The one who kidnapped me, Cassio, he's still in there. He killed the other two and made me read the stone, it's too late..." my voice broke slightly. He took one of my hands in his gloved ones to lead me back towards the jet. Natasha stepped forward with the coat and accepted it graciously, surprising her with a hug as well.
"I'm glad you're okay." She said, patting my back. I nodded, looking as the three men conversed ahead of us. "What's going to happen?"
She shrugged. "They're gonna go get your guy and the stone, take them both back to SHIELD. And we're going to get you to a hospital."
I let out a breath, slightly shaking my head. "Something doesn't feel--"
An explosion silenced me as the roof of the warehouse blew off with the aura, now gigantic, resurfacing, taking the form and shape of a woman in purple light.
"Holy shit, what is that?!" One of the agents behind us asked and my eyes widened. It was the Goddess. "It's Oya! She's taking form!" I yelled and Steve looked back at me, distressed. I looked at him then back at the light who threw her head back and let out a ground shaking roar.
Without hesitation, Natasha grabbed Steve's shield and tossed it to him before taking out her gun. "Stay here." She said, pushing in a new clip. "Let's go!" She yelled, and they all charged for it.
I stayed where I was, watching the team try to fight it, attacking her from every angle, but she would not fall. Instead, she was able to incapacitate members of the team with ease, just by blasting them away.
We could not win.
I watched as my brother was thrown into Steve. I watched as Tony was knocked out the sky and into the icy water.
I watched as Natasha and her team were powerless against that of a Goddess.
"No." My voice broke.
"You are the one who summoned me." A light wispy voice startled me and I looked to the side, sharply. It was inches from my face, the orb, the size of a softball. It was twitching as if it were tilting its head, looking at me.
On instinct I backed away.
"You need not be alarmed, mortal. I only wish to ask a simple inquiry." It grew closer as I backed away.
"What are you?" I asked, breathing hard.
It tilted its "head". "I am the Goddess Oya, in simpler form."
I looked over at the light monster then back at the orb. "Then what's that?"
"Another version of myself. The light. In a hostile state." It glanced at the battle, then back at me. "You read the stone."
I hesitantly nodded. "Y--yeah, yes."
She did not speak for a moment, she only looked at me.
"Is the destruction of your world truly what you desire, child?"
My eyes widened. "No!" I shook my head rapidly. "No. I don't want to end my world. Innocents, billions will die, I don't want that." My voice cracked. "Please."
Again she was quiet, moving slowly to circle me before stopping in the precise place she was before.
"You are far more powerful than you believe yourself to be, child. You are strong and independent. You know what you want, even when you don't." Her voice echoed from ear to ear and I looked down.
The Goddess was soft...and sweet...and understanding.
"I was like you, once."
I looked up to see the orb studying me intently.
I felt like I understood her.
"Your pain, I can feel. I can understand. I've...never understood before."
My heart rate slowed and my vision focused.
"We are connected."
I looked at her with curiosity and intent.
"I will spare your world and your friends, but only on one condition." She spoke and I looked out to watch my friends get beaten. I shook my head.
"Anything."
"You shall be my anchor to this world." I creased my eyebrows, not knowing what she meant, but without warning, the orb pushed itself into my chest, burying itself within my soul.
I fell down onto my back, gasping for air, unable to grasp at anything. I was both unaware and vastly aware of my surroundings and I felt like two split worlds colliding.
I felt weak, but I felt...
Powerful.
Heat surged through my body and with it a surge of energy.
I sat up, looking at my hands. I felt completely different and yet very so the same.
I looked up at the scene. I stood to my feet and I began walking towards it.
I walked past the fallen guards, I walked past the my brother, I walked past Steve who was holding his own against the hand of the light behind his shield. He saw me and looked alarmed.
"Rachel, what are you doing?" He yelled for me, but I did not respond. I continued to walk towards it. "Get back!" He exclaimed.
"What is she doing?" I heard someone yell from behind me but I did not react.
Instead, I planted my feet and looked straight up at the face of the light who looked down at me. She stopped her assaults on the others and only paid attention to me.
"You will not hurt anyone else." I lifted my hand. "You will be calm, light." I said calmly with a small smile. "Today is a day of peace, and love, and happiness. You are peace...and love...and happiness." I waved my hand slightly. I had no idea what I was doing, but at the same time I did. "You will be calm, light." I softly scolded. "I am your queen and your sovereign, I am your Goddess and you will obey me." Never once did my voice quiver.
The heaving shoulders of the light had nearly ceased. She was calm.
"Vin jwenn mwen." I spoke softly in some ancient language. "Come to me, light." I smiled softly and I let out my palm.
Slowly and softly, the light twisted and dispersed into millions of shiny lavender particles, twisting and swooshing in a little parade into my palm. I watched contently as the last of them disappeared into my hand.
I let out a breath, turning around.
Everyone was staring at me. My brother looked at me like I was crazy, Steve looked a little terrified, Nat was sitting on the ground staring at me and Tony, who'd just landed, had his mask come up to look at me with crazy eyes as well.
"...What the hell just happened?" Natasha shook her head, staring at me.
I smiled, shrugging. "I disbanded the light." I said like it was no big deal. "No biggie."
Tony began laughing and Steve stood from his kneel, shaking his head. "I think I'm getting crazy in my old age."
I laughed. "I think so." I said, beginning to walk towards him. He shook his head and smiled as I neared him, ready to jump into his arms and kiss him.
The certain feeling of something burrowing into my right side immediately halted that idea.
My left knee buckled and suddenly everything was in slow motion. Steve's eyes shot open and he dropped his shield, running for me before I could drop. He didn't make it and I collapsed onto the thick ice with a loud yell. The pain was exceptional, demanding my attention as I felt myself being held. Steve was holding me, yelling, looking in a different direction, to the right where the bullet had come from. I slowly turned my head in time to see Finn, all scratched up from the explosion being forced to his knees, looking at me with this grin.
His eyes caught mine and he winked.
"Rachel," I heard my name as Steve moved my head so I was looking at him. I studied his face as he spoke inaudibly, looking down and up. He was so concerned, so passionate, he was terrified.
"Rachel, stay with me." His voice faded back in and I blinked slowly. "We're going to get you to a hospital." I felt myself being picked up. It hurt like hell but I made no noise.
It didn't really matter did it?
In my peripheral, I saw the blood pouring out of me onto the ice. It was gruesome.
But at least everyone was safe.
"You're going to be alright."
No I wasn't. It never was alright. But...it was okay now.
He looked down at me and the fear in his eyes brought tears to my own. I slowly put my hand on his arm. "...s'okay...Steve..." I said weakly, tears falling from my eyes.
"You're going to be fine." His voice cracked as he carried me towards the jet.
I hummed a little bit, looking at the sky as I felt myself bleeding out. "N...no...s'okay."
"You're going to be..." he stopped for a moment as tears began to run down his cheeks. He took a sharp breath looking down at me.
"I love you." He said.
My heart broke. And it prospered. A smile touched my lips as the tears slipped out of my eyes.
I love you too.
The last thing I saw was the gray sky turning everything white.
Then I could see nothing.
It felt like nothing. It felt like something.
Someone.
"This world is not done with you yet, Child. Neither am I."
•••
The Goddess, Pt. 2.
My heart really hurts :). Shit went down. Finn was crazy, Oya was released, she turned out to be real chill, so she kind of possesses Rachel so to speak so she can calm the light.
It's currently 1 AM. I love you all to pieces and beyond. Don't be sad, be glad. :).
Post Scriptum, I love you :).