CHAPTER 2: Trading Lives
"Your wife? The soul stone doesn't give life like that you fool," Red Skull sneered.
Steve paused for a moment, looked down at his ring and smiled. "No. Not my wife. My friend." Steve stared out over the edge of the abyss. The solar eclipse was enchanting, in a way. All of Vormir had an air of decayed elegance, an eerie and inhuman beauty about it that still chilled the centenarian. He thumbed at his wedding ring and held in the tears that had begun to build up, "She was there for me at a time when nobody else was."
"And what, you think if you plunge over the edge with the Soul Stone that you can bring back some wayward woman? She probably died some meaningless death very far away, and by the looks of it, a long time ago. That's not how the Stone works," Red Skull replied calmly, if annoyed. The former Johann Schmidt had spoken with enough fools who came here and thought they could out-think the Stone. It never worked. But he wouldn't exactly protest the suicide of his greatest mortal enemy.
"You're wrong. She died right here." Steve waited for Red Skull to realise the significance of that.
"Natasha, Daughter of Ivan. Yes, she was determined to die that one. She and the other one, Clint Barton tried to best each other. She won. But that doesn't help you, the Stone claimed her soul." Red Skull seemed surprised at first, but then quite confident in his conclusion.
"A soul for a soul, right? Isn't that how it works?" Steve replied.
"This isn't merchandise, Rogers, you cannot simply return a sullied item for credit. Especially when that credit is a soul." Red Skull responded curtly.
Steve thought for a moment, shifting his weight between his feet. The veiled shield he commissioned remade in Wakanda was held on his back, and so he placed on the ground. His knees were not what they used to be, and serum or no, humans weren't meant to last as long as he had and retain their health. Granted, he could still win a bar brawl if he needed to, but just not as casually as he used to be able to. "When the Tesseract brought you here, were you given some kind of orientation course? How are you so sure a second sacrifice can't bring back a first?"
Red Skull thought about it and shrugged, "I was gifted knowledge about the Soul Stone. And while there are clear rules about how a person can't be brought back using the Soul Stone alone, or even all Six together, there is no knowledge the Stone bequeathed to me that would aide you here. None have attempted a second sacrifice using the Stone to bring back another who had died to claim it," Red Skull admitted grudgingly.
"So what you're saying is that you have no idea do you? There's a chance this could work," Steve grinned softly. While Red Skull was startlingly calm for being around his former nemesis, he was scandalized when Steve began disrobing.
Or rather, he detached the nanoparticle generator and set in on the ground next to the shield, which was still wrapped. Along with it, he laid the Pym Particle vial. The letters tied together with a rubber band were laid next to them. While he wasn't quite naked underneath the white time travel suit, Red Skull was still slightly perturbed. "What is the meaning of this, Rogers?"
"Supplies for her journey home," Steve replied. "Are you bound here forever?"
Red Skull sighed and said, "As long as the Soul Stone is here, I am as well. It has a habit of reappearing once it has been used."
"Others have come here?" Steve wondered.
"While they did not have the capabilities or ambition of the Mad Titan, yes. There have been many others," Red Skull responded with a wave of his hand.
Steve looked at him for a moment and said, "Make sure these items get to her once I'm gone."
Red Skull rolled his eyes. Of course he wanted to refuse, but he was bound to the transaction. And this man, no matter who he was, was a part of the transaction between the Soul Stone, and the sacrifice. Rogers' wishes must be respected. Even if the Red Skull believed them to be asinine wishes. "It will be done," he muttered.
Steve nodded and approached the edge of the abyss, clutching the Stone in his hands. As it tapped against his ring again, he considered for a moment, before walking back to the pile of items for Natasha once she was returned to the land of the living…hopefully. He took off his wedding ring, and slipped it inside Bucky's letter. He smiled sadly for a moment before whispering, "This is the last stop Buck, end of the line. I love you, and I'm sorry."
As he stood up, looked upon his old foe with clear vision. "Goodbye Dr. Schmidt."
"It won't work, Captain. You're gambling everything on a such a small chance that might as well not even exist," he spoke plainly. He wasn't angry, just bemused more than anything. Captain America nodded to himself and turned away. He walked towards the end.
He was on the precipice when he suddenly turned back to look Red Skull in the eyes one last time, "Even if there's a small chance, I owe it to her, and everyone else who loved her, to try." He spared a look at the Soul Stone in his hand once more, and made a wish.
He jumped.
Red bloomed around him upon impact with the ground.
Steve Rogers was gone.
The sky lit up in thunderous recognition of the sacrifice and light poured down the mountain and into the abyss.
Natasha awoke at the top of the cliff.