Here we are! Part four (B?) of the Mirage series. I highly recommend reading Mirage and Gravity before reading this as nothing will make sense. This is my Endgame sequel. The other one that I posted is Ascension and that is basically what would have happened had they killed Thanos at the end of Infinity War. Pretty much righting some wrongs. Also "part three" in the series, Welcome Wagon, is not required to reading Lighthouse or Ascension. It's basically my thoughts on what happened when Carol returned to Earth and then went and saved Tony. So not imperative to this story or Ascension. Everybody got it? Good, let's go.

Tony's messages had answered the turbulent question that'd plagued everyone's thoughts for weeks. Had their friend vanished in a flutter of ash? The collective sigh of relief was near physical. But it was the addition of Carol Danvers that had given the compound hope.

Without her abilities Tony's messages would have been only that, mere messages. The last words of a dying man. With Danvers on their side, the fantasy of rescuing their stranded friend was now in fact an actuality. Something Steve was beyond relieved about. It'd taken roughly more than an hour for Rocket to find his friend's ship, mostly due to vessel being offline, but once he'd found it?

It was barely a minute later that Rocket had the ship's location and possible trajectory downloaded onto the strange device that was embedded into the suit worn by the former pilot. They had taken a moment to get supplies for the trip, things the anthropomorphic raccoon had gathered to help getting into or restarting the aircraft. Bruce had also given Carol medical supplies to help with Tony, doing a quick rundown on how to use said devices.

With last minute words the human hybrid had taken flight in a brilliant burst of orange, disappearing into the black sky.

And now, just minutes later, everyone had spread out. Bruce, Pietro, and Natasha were setting up the infirmary and Steve knew Rhodey was outside with Pepper, trying to get her to come back in where it was warm. Rocket had stayed inside, working with FRIDAY to try and keep track of both Danvers and his friend's ship, Thor silent at his side. And Steve himself? He was climbing up a stairwell. But not just any stairwell. No, this one led to the roof, where there was someone he needed to see.

His first sight upon opening the door was the large tan dog. The pair entered a stalemate, the dog's wary eyes analyzing him for a few stiff seconds before it turned away, deeming Steve a non-threat. He followed the trotting creature further down the roof, the canine settling next to the man standing at the edge of the building, overlooking the property and dressed in dark colors, blending into the cover of night. Just the person the former Avengers leader had been looking for.

"Rogers."

Seeing as Steve knew Bucky the longest he was the only one of the surviving group that could immediately recognize the differences in posture and tone of voice.

"Sully." The super soldier greeted in return.

That earned a glance. The steel blue eyes he had grown up with, the same ones that had looked out at him from the face of his Goddaughter, were those of a stranger. Maybe not so much a stranger any more, especially these past several weeks. But it definitely wasn't his childhood friend. In fact it scared Steve just how little he saw of Bucky. But on the other hand he understood.

Ever since that afternoon.

When the Snap had happened and all their friends had disappeared in a flutter of dust.

When Wanda had disintegrated in Bucky's arms and he'd had a near breakdown, lashing out at Steve when he'd gotten too close in an effort to calm him. But then he'd gasped, breaking out of his near trance. His friend's face had paled, lip quivering and his eyes had been blown wide in terror. The Brooklyn native had muttered a choking plea before taking off into what seemed like a random direction. Except Steve had shared a glance with Okoye and his stomach had dropped, nausea almost overwhelming him.

Pietro and the three children he was suppose to be guarding.

Steve remembered the adrenaline coursing through him as the group had managed to find a functioning wave rider, speeding over terrain until Okoye had halted the transport in front of a large energy dome. Apparently Bucky also had a personal shield covering his property. Only authorized people would be able to pass through. The remaining Avengers had slipped out of the vehicle and made to follow after the Wakandan General but she'd stopped them. She'd then flicked at her bracelet, muttering their location before putting the beads away.

They'd only waited a few seconds when suddenly Pietro stood before them. But he'd been far from the self assured man they knew him to be. This version of him had stood on wobbly legs, threatening to give out at any moment. Silver hair that'd stood wild as if he'd gripped it too much and eyes that were red, swollen, with a shine of unshed tears. His arms and knees had also been covered in a layer of dust.

Pietro had only gaped at them for a second before he'd crumbled to the ground, the others surging forward to catch him. Steve had been one of those who reached the speedster first, murmuring reassurances. Though going off of Pietro's appearance Steve had known what happened. Okoye had told the group to stay and she'd walked back the way Pietro had come, slipping right through the shimmering barrier.

Steve had meant to stay with Pietro but the Sokovian had gripped at his uniform before slapping his bracelet into the soldier's hand. He'd muttered at him to go, desperate and urging. And that had scared Steve.

He'd quickly found out why.

This dome sealed off sound and Steve only discovered this when, using Pietro's bead, he'd passed through and been immediately assaulted with yells of anguish that echoed across the property, made especially potent by his enhanced hearing. It had been worse than the fall off the train. He knew the anger and pain he'd heard would haunt him till the end of his days.

Not wasting a second Steve had taken off, rushed by past a calling Okoye and had used his senses to pin point the source of the cries. He'd stopped at the crest of a hill, panting in fear, overlooking what had to be his friend's homestead

The painful howls had cut off only a minute ago, the silence adding a sense of foreboding as Steve studied the buildings at the bottom of the knoll.

He hadn't seen any movement and Steve had been sure Bucky wouldn't be in the house so that had left the woodlands surrounding the property. By that point Okoye had caught up to him and they'd split up to search for their metal-armed friend. It was only ten minutes later that he heard Okoye call for him.

The sight that had greeted him was unsettling.

Okoye, along with a large whining tan dog, had been standing back several feet, tense and she'd only managed a quick glance before focusing on what Steve himself was also seeing.

Several of the trees had been knocked over, splintered angrily mid-way through their trunks but all of them had the same markings. The bark had been gouged, scrapped, and stripped away. All stained crimson.

In the middle of the disaster had stood their friend, his back to them and the blood still freshly dripping off his battered right hand. It'd seemed that Bucky had taken his grief out on the trees, repeatedly slamming his fist against the wood. The fact that his metal arm was undamaged told Steve that Bucky had wanted to feel pain, to the point of mutilating his flesh hand. He'd wanted to feel a different kind of pain than what he had to be feeling in that moment.

But that hadn't been the only thing that had worried Steve. Bucky had been too quiet, too still, and Steve had realized why he'd felt such apprehension when coming upon this scene. He'd only taken a few steps forward when Bucky spoke. Or rather, his friend's voice had spoke.

"I had to stop him."

Steve had froze when the familiar face glanced over his shoulder at him, blank and stoic. The blond man had watched as brunette eyebrows furrowed when he'd looked down to study Bucky's bleeding knuckles.

The original super soldier eased forward. "Sully…"

"He wasn't going to stop." Steel blue eyes had studied the rivulets of blood that were trailing off his borrowed, swollen hand. "He wanted to keep going. To feel something…other." The alter, seldom seen, had turned to face Steve and Okoye. "I was created to protect James Barnes. And when his thoughts changed…when they started to turn…" He'd paused, locking eyes with Steve. "I had to step in. I had to protect him."

Steve pulled back from his memory of that day, back to the darkened roof top of the Avengers building. The blond glanced up at the sky. "What do you think?"

Despite Sully's past, Steve did trust him to have their back and he knew that the alter had already picked apart their visitor from the moment she had touched down. He wanted his opinion.

"So far everything checks out. Her file with the military was clean." Replied Sully, glancing up at the sky before turning his gaze back to the property. "There's not much on the files from Shield but that could be Fury's doing, which is probably why Hydra never really found out about her or that pager of his. I had FRIDAY check something. The gamma radiation she outputs when lit up is an identical match for the Tesseract, a bit more actually since it's an almost concentrated form." Sully paused, quiet for a second. "She reminded you of Barnes and me, didn't she?"

Steve nodded. As soon as she said she'd lost her memory, been manipulated by the Kree, the blond man couldn't help compare the parallels. Both had had friends, family before their accidents. Before they'd been snatched away and molded for someone else's purpose. But both had managed to make their way back to those same people, given a second chance. The difference was how much Bucky had had to suffer.

"I should probably leave."

Steve snapped back into the present. "What? No. Why? Why would you leave?"

This time Sully turned toward him, face stoic except for the slightest eyebrow raise. Which, coming from Sully, was highly expressive. "Tony Stark, whose parents I killed, will be coming back to the compound. A sacred place he built, where he lived at with his family before they fractured. I strongly doubt he'd like the cause of said fracture to be living here let alone having breathed in the direction of this place. We're lucky enough Potts allowed us to stay. But things have changed and it'd be better if we were gone before Danvers brings him back."

Steve could feel the anxiety churning in his stomach, a sense of fear. "But we-we don't know anything yet. Okay? Just-just not yet. Don't go."

Sully didn't say anything, just turned back to looking over the property, metal arm down at his side where he was gently petting Mango's head.

The enhanced Brooklynite swallowed past the lump in his throat. "Just-I'm gonna head in, check on the others, maybe take a shower. Get cleaned up. Don't leave, Sully. Please."

The alter said nothing but Steve did catch the slight nod. He let out a sigh, making his way off the roof and descending the stairs. After everything that had happened, one of his continuous fears was waking up one day and finding his friend gone.

The fact of the matter was that it was a real possibility.

Other than that first visit to Wanda and Jamie's room, that had nearly resulted in Bucky having another breakdown, the other super soldier hadn't wandered anywhere near that wing. Pietro still used his room but refused to enter his sister and niece's old dwelling.

Steve was sure that one day it would all be too much for Bucky and he'd leave, taking Pietro with him no doubt. And the former leader knew there'd be no way his oldest friend would go back to Wakanda, especially with the memories. It was unthinkable.

No, Steve was sure, if Bucky did leave, he'd never see his friend ever again.

Okay, we have chapter one of Lighthouse. My Endgame sequel to Infinity War with in my WinterWitch AU. Let me know what you guys think. Peace out. -Mez