Hi everybody !

I'm sorry for my erratic publishing rythm but, heh, my brain wouldn't write. Thanks to those who still stick with me nevertheless !
In this chapter we go back in the soul world for the last time

The next update will be in either one or two weeks. Chapter 11 is already finished (and just awaits a proof reading) and chapter 12 is almost complete.
After that, there will be only one chapter more to conclude this fiction (if everything goes according to plan). It WILL be published before Endgame (which is going to ruin me emotionally, I'm pretty sure).

Here, I let you with the chapter ! Don't hesitate to tell me what you though of it, it's always nice to have feedback.

After they found the kids, the sorcerer and the Guardians -apparently that's what they were called, not really living up to their name if anybody asked him-, they had started finding a lot more people. At some point they stumbled upon T'Challa -Bucky had been happy to see him but sad at the same time, because that meant that he had died -or disappeared- too. The King had been with Ayo and a handful of Wakadans. Sam offered him to stay with their group, but T'Challa declined, wanting to find as many Wakandans as he could.

The girl from the new group kept looking at each of them curiously, as if she was trying to figure out their thoughts. She was weird. In every way. She had antennas, for God's sake. The way she was talking was off putting. And on top of that, she and Drax -was it his name ?- were taking everything literally. It was equally amusing and annoying.

She started talking with Wanda after a while. The kid seemed genuinely intrigued by the girl, so Bucky figured it was a good thing. At some point, the witch started demonstrating things with her hands, which captivated almost everybody. Except for the guy called Dr Strange, but then he looked pretty bored all the time anyway.

After that they walked for some time in silence. Did they actually even have a goal ? Or where they just walking to avoid thinking too much ? Then the sorcerer explained the stones to the group, and gave them more information along with his theory about what was happening to them. Half the universe had been erased and got stuck in this world.

Time passed, how much, Bucky had no clue, it could have been minutes or days at this point, they had absolutely no way to know.

Strange finally addressed the shaking problem. According to him, it might have been the stones being used or moved. After that, conversations resumed between all the members of the group. Bucky was walking at the front, ready to intervene at any sign of danger. Sam came to chat a bit, then went back to talk with Wanda. The two teenagers returned and asked him some more questions. Bucky had been starting to wonder if they would ever stop when the girl -Michelle ?- had dragged her friend, saying that Bucky was about to rip the kid's tongue because he was talking too much. The supersoldier would never do such a thing, be he had to admit than the kid's face had been pretty comical.

After a while, the human from the Guardians' group came next to him. They walked in silence for some time, then the guy asked him if he was really The Bucky Barnes. And well. Yes ? He didn't know of any other Bucky Barnes remotely known other than himself. Following this confirmation, came all the questions the man had about WW2, the Howling commandos and Steve. Great. Again.

Bucky was saved when from this endless interrogation when he saw movement from the corner of his eye. He drew his knives out quickly, startling the man next to him.

"What the hell man ? Where do those knives come from ? No wait actually I don't want to know."

"I saw movement." Bucky answered with a frown. "Sam. Two hours."

"I get it too. I think… two people."

"There are indeed two beings coming towards us." Said Mantis. "They seem almost relieved ?" Why the hell would she say that ? They couldn't see them properly yet.

The whole group stopped, on their guards. "Is that …" Sam started "a black coat ? A long one ?"

"It seems so." "Is that Fury ?" "I think so. But I don't know who's with him."

"Probably Maria Hill."

As it became clear that the two strangers were indeed Fury and Hill, Sam relaxed, as well as Wanda did. The others seemed to pick up from them too, except for himself. Damn. Last time he'd seen Fury was when he had tried to kill him. The guy was likely not going to be friendly towards him.

Apparently, he wasn't hostile either because the first thing if said after introducing the both of them was "Relax Barnes, we're not gonna jump on you. You weren't responsible, no resentment from this side."

Bucky slowly put his knives behind his back, not completely trusting this fact.

"You lot are the first we've encountered so far. Can anybody tell us what the fuck is going on here ?"

Strange started explaining again, getting interrupted several times by either Hill or Fury for more details. From a common agreement, the group decided to organise a bit more.

Part of them would stick around a place with rocks they had found earlier, and the rest would divide in small groups to find other people.

At first they would return from each expedition with one or two people, then as time passed, the 'explorers' started to come back with small groups. There were currently around 300 people in the area, divided in sort of neighbourhoods, thanks to Maria Hill.

Then it had been Bucky's turn to go, with Mantis. That was a good thing, because he was having a bad day. Well, day. More like a bad moment ? Some faces he had seen when the last groups had come back had made him dive back into memories of Hydra. He had tried thinking about happy things : life in Wakanda, habitants of his village, his goats… Steve. But that hadn't worked. Actually it might even have been worse, because he had started worrying about what was happening on Earth, and to Steve.

So yeah, an expedition to find other victims had been a good prospect. He would have something else to focus on, rather than his worry for Steve and memories of HYDRA's tortures. But of course, it couldn't go swiftly. Mantis had been distracted by something and almost fell face first. Bucky had caught her and… that's when she had started screaming bloody murder.

Everybody had shut up then. Bucky himself got frozen to the spot. What was it now ? He hadn't done anything yet she was looking at him with distress, her chest falling up and down quickly.

"What have you done ?" screamed Drax, who had been close to them, talking with Quill.

"Nothing. I don't know why she started screaming !"

"Why are you lying ?" The guy was now almost in front of Bucky while Quill and Wanda were approaching the girl. Bucky took a step back, preferring to avoid a fight if it was possible.

"I'm not lying. I caught her because she was about to fall and she started to scream."

"Drax, man, relax. It was not his fault." Said Quill. Ha, thanks. "It was an accident."

That seemed to calm the giant, who promptly left him to see how was Mantis. Could somebody tell him what was going on ? His confusion seemed to be evident, because Wanda looked at him in the eye and told him quietly "She's an empath." An empath ? Oh. Snap. He sighed, passing his hand through his hair. He didn't know what she had felt, or seen or whatever, but knowing where his thoughts had been recently…

"Sorry, kid." was all he could say.

Sam looked at him discretely, silently asking why he said that. "Hydra" was all he answered, without a sound either. Sam nodded.

Later, Michelle -who had volunteered to come with him because apparently her boyfriend, or friend he didn't know, was talking too much- and him were coming back to their makeshift camp. With T'Challa, Ayo and all the Wakandans they had been able to find.

The ground shook four times before Strange told them that indeed, someone was using the stones on the other side.

"See you on the other side, Robocop." Whispered Sam, a hand on his shoulder before everything started glowing.