Just when you thought things wouldn't be any more tense…Anna overhears Agatha's comments of her being a burden and she runs away with Bucky following her, and to make matters worse, it seems that Mordo is ready to catch them up. So buckle up folks, because we got a huge battle up ahead!

Enjoy the reading!

SCARLET WINTER

Chapter 12: The Darkness Strikes Back

She felt hurt, and with good reason. Agatha Harkness voiced her disdain for young Anna, considering her a burden when she assumes that the real target is the Soul Reaper Medallion, but what hurt her the most was that Wanda seemingly agreed with her in that aspect. For that, she left the building, wandering around a city she does not know and without someone to talk to.

Unbeknownst to her, Bucky has been keeping an eye on her, following her steps as she walks around Manchester, having spent hours wandering around. He kept his distance to avoid being seen as a stalker, as well as to ensure that she is unaware of his presence, but at the same time, he keeps a constant eye on her, making good use of his skills and training as a spy.

After a long trek around the city, Anna finally stops in a park, sitting on a bench as she watches the people passing by, holding back the tears while she wipes her eyes off the ones she already shed. She turns to see a group of Manchester United fans chanting and laughing around, looking at them as something to clear her mind of the struggle.

"You know, I'm not much of a soccer fan but I've always wondered why we call it 'soccer' when they call it 'football', and they're the ones who invented it" Bucky speaks to her as he sits right next to her on the bench, startling her because of his sudden appearance.

"Bucky!" Anna exclaims "Were you following me?" she asks him, still sounding a bit scared.

"I wanted to make sure you're OK" Bucky replies, showing his concern "Why'd you left the building?" he asks her, looking at her as he tries to sympathize.

"Because according to that Harkness woman, I'm a burden for this whole thing" Anna replies while she takes the medallion out of her jacket "The only thing she cares about is this thing and honestly, I don't trust her" she adds, showing her anger at Harkness' words.

"She said that?" Bucky asks out of curiosity, while he does not disagree about mistrusting Harkness.

"She says that I'm just a burden because this Mordo guy is chasing after the medallion, that he wouldn't care about me" Anna replies, worried about the veracity of that fact, since she fears that Mordo will kill her if he finds her.

"Harkness is a condescending hag" Bucky replies "While she does have a logic about the medallion being the priority…" he comments, causing Anna to gasp, but Bucky holds her hand to reassure her "She is wrong about your relevance, she may consider you insignificant, but by that logic I'd be a burden too" he points out that detail.

"Why would you be a burden? You're an Avenger, right?" Anna asks him.

"Used to be one" Bucky points it out "But even with my experience, I can tell you that this magic stuff is way out of my league and my jurisdiction, but that won't stop me from fulfilling my promise" he then looks at her, showing her a small smile to relax her.

"You promised to help me" Anna whispers as she looks at him.

"I promised to help you, I promised to protect you and I promised to ensure that we'd seek justice for your brother and his girlfriend" Bucky replies to her, keeping the smile on his face, and that gesture prompts Anna to scoot towards him and hug his arm.

"Thank you Bucky" Anna whispers, giving him a kiss on his cheek "You know…if I were a few years older and if it weren't for Wanda, I could kiss you right now" she admits, confessing her seemingly harboring crush on him.

"Well…I'll take it as a compliment" Bucky kindly replies, knowing that she is feeling vulnerable, yet she also feels relaxed enough thanks to her trust in him and he needs to keep that so they could overcome the situation ahead.

"It was" Anna laughs a bit, keeping her hug on him, slowly sighing to relax "Would it be awkward if I tell him that I'm above the age of consent?" she starts to ponder in her mind "Yeah, it would be very awkward, better keep it platonic, besides…I like Wanda"

MEANWHILE, BACK IN THE U.S.

Mordo could feel the energies flowing around and inside him, the gathered acolytes of the cult have kneeled in front of him, chanting nonstop so they could bring the one thing he needs to catch what he is looking for, the Soul Reaper Medallion.

"Children of Kurios!" Mordo calls forth his acolytes "The time has come!" he then slowly stands up in the center of the room, being surrounded by the remaining men and women "In order to reclaim what was stolen from us, the time has come to take our fight to them, and for that…I shall require volunteers for this encounter" Mordo has realized during this time that, given the rivals he has against him, he will need 'cannon fodder' in order to retrieve the medallion and the girl, as well as to obtain a measure of retribution against Maximoff and Barnes "Which ones will answer my call?" he asks them, expecting to hear results immediately.

Right then, two men and a woman walk towards him, the three of them look physically imposing, well built, all three determined to bring their strength to assist their Grand Master, and as a symbol of their loyalty, the three of them kneel in front of him.

"Grand Master, we are willing to assist you in this endeavor" the female acolyte speaks "All in the glory of Kurios" she adds with a serious tone, causing Mordo to grin.

"That's right Children; all of this is for the glory of Kurios!" Mordo replies as he extends his arms and channels the energy at him, making all of the gathered people to glow red as they keep chanting the name of Kurios over and over again "KORANA! FANA! MUUSTA!" he chants the incantation to absorb the souls of the gathered acolytes, making him and his new thugs to teleport to their destination.

MEANWHILE, AT AGATHA'S APARTMENT

The two sorceresses have set up their room so they could make their 'Astral Call' to Doctor Strange and put their plan into motion, however, the tensions from the previous conversation still linger in the room and Wanda feels that they must be addressed before they could perform this work.

"I still think you shouldn't think about Anna as a burden" Wanda points out that detail to Harkness, who sighs in response.

"Still insisting about it, Wanda?" Harkness asks her "The priority right here is the medallion, if anything Mordo will focus on that thing and be gone, so you must tell Strange what to do…especially since we must know what its true connection is"

"Yes, I'm aware of that, but still you shouldn't be so harsh about Anna" Wanda points that out to her.

"Fine, if it makes you happy, I'll talk to her and ensure that she and Barnes get a level of protection as well" Harkness replies, choosing to comply with her and be more of assistance to Anna.

"Thank you" Wanda replies, letting Harkness leave the room so she could contact Strange. She begins to concentrate, searching through the Astral Plane to contact Doctor Strange "Come on Stephen, where are you?" she ponders as she searches for him, believing that he must be dealing with a new magical threat.

"Wanda! WANDA!" Harkness' voice alerts her, cutting off her concentration and thus, ending abruptly the spell, bringing her back to the room, only to discover her mentor acting very upset "The girl's gone"

"WHAT!?" Wanda asks, looking surprised at her words.

"She's not here and neither is Barnes" Harkness adds, not hiding her anger at the situation.

"Well, you wanted her gone, didn't you?" Wanda poses the rhetorical question, but Harkness glares at her.

"She's still carrying the medallion, the protection I put here only works as long as the medallion stays here" Harkness replies "But it seems that an angsty teenager can't pick up proper directions" she adds with annoyance in her voice.

"You really can't be this ser…" Wanda tries to scold her old mentor but then she falls silent as she begins to sense something faraway.

"So? Where's the nagging Wanda? Are you going to finish that sent-Wait" Harkness was replying in kind, but she also stops talking as she begins to sense the same thing she does.

"You're feeling it too, right?" Wanda asks Harkness, who nods in response.

"And it's growing stronger, that means…" Harkness replies, sensing a growing level of dark magic and that could only mean one thing "They're here" she says at the same time Wanda also says those words.

"We have to go and find Anna" Wanda comments with deep concern in her voice.

"I'll attune the magic signature of the medallion to our destination" Harkness replies as she starts to concentrate and perform a teleportation spell, hoping to reach Anna and Bucky before is too late.

BACK AT THE PARK

"We should go back" Bucky tells Anna, since they are aware that there is still work to do.

"What we should do is destroy this thing" Anna replies, looking at the medallion "We should throw it to a train track and let the thing wreck it, or maybe throw it away to the Thames"

"The Thames is in London, Anna" Bucky corrects her slight geographic error.

"You know what I meant, why wait for Doctor Condescending Prick to finally listen to us? We should destroy this thing" Anna replies, with a hint of urgency in her voice due to her insistence in getting rid of the medallion.

"I'll admit that this magic stuff is, as Harkness said, way out of my league" Bucky replies "But in spite of my mistrust at that old woman, Wanda knows about this stuff and it's best to let Strange know and allow him to guide us for the next…" he tries to explain his argument about getting help from Strange, but he stops when suddenly four flashes of light emerge in the surroundings, revealing four hooded figures, and one of them was the one they were trying to avoid all along.

"If you thought you'd be able to run away from me, you were dead wrong" Mordo speaks to them in a menacing tone, prompting Bucky and Anna to stand from the bench "Hand me the medallion and the girl…or you'll suffer a long, painful death" he adds, glowing his hands with red energy while the other three acolyte walks towards them.

"Anna, when I tell you, you run back to the apartment and warn Wanda, you heard me?" Bucky tells Anna while he stands in guard, facing one of the male acolytes.

"I won't leave you alone Bucky" Anna replies, sounding deeply scared since she knows that in spite of his reputation, Bucky cannot deal with this alone.

"Don't argue with me on this one Anna, go and get Wanda" Bucky sternly speaks to her, looking how the acolyte rushes towards him "GO! NOW!" he exclaims, running towards the acolyte to tackle him, giving Anna the space to run away.

She remains in shock for a few seconds, putting the medallion back to her jacket and then turns to run, only to bump into the other male acolyte, who grabs her arms and holds her forcefully.

"HEY! GET OFF ME!" Anna screams, trying to attract the attention of the people "HELP! HELP!" she turns to scream for help, promptly attracting the attention of a pair of policemen who arrive at the scene.

"FREEZE! Release the girl!" One of the officers warns the acolyte while both policemen grab their guns, but right then the female acolyte shoots a pair of energy blasts at them, pushing them against a parked truck and heavily injuring them.

"Resistance is useless" Mordo tells her, but Anna refuses to yield and struggles against the acolyte, managing to grab his hand and bite it to force him to release her. She runs away but the female acolyte catches her and drops her to the floor.

"ANNA!" Bucky screams while he tries to contain the other male acolyte, punching him a couple of times, but the acolyte manages to block his third punch, leaving him open to receive an energy boosted punch to his chest that pushes him away.

"BUCKY!" Anna screams as she sees him falling down, struggling to break the hold while she sees Mordo approaching her.

"Is time to end this…" Mordo mutters while he prepares to use his magic against her, but suddenly a red barrier appears between him and Anna, and then the female acolyte is pulled away by bright white strings that drop her to the floor "Who dares!?"

"We do" the voice of the Scarlet Witch is heard while she finally appears, creating a set of hexes to cause a short circuit in the lights around the park, then she uses the electricity flow to strike the fallen acolytes to make them step away "Stay away from her" she mutters, turning to see Bucky, who is trying to stand up.

"You're fighting a losing battle Mordo" now is Agatha Harkness the one who strikes Mordo from behind "You were always a third rate magician Karl…why waste your time serving a Hell Lord?" she asks him with her condescending tone.

"You think I'll be fazed by the dry comments of an old hag?" Mordo replies, firing a burst of energy that Harkness blocks.

"An old hag who knows your tricks" Harkness replies, creating white vines that emerge from the floor to hold Mordo at bay.

Meanwhile, Wanda moves her hands to pull away the other acolyte, creating a barrier that keeps shrinking around him until he runs out of air and starts to faint. Bucky on his side, runs towards the male acolyte and strike a punch at him with his bionic arm, straight to his jaw, hearing the sound of broken teeth, then he lands a punch to his gut and then he grabs both sides of his head to connect a knee to his face, dropping him to the floor.

"Stay down, #$%&+*%$&" Bucky tells him "Where's Anna?" he asks while he looks around while Wanda handles the other two acolytes and Harkness duels with Mordo.

"Anna?" Wanda asks while she tosses one of the male acolytes to a sedan parked around, then she sees the female acolyte running towards her but she casts one of her hexes, making the water sprinklers of the park activate and shower her, cutting her eyesight in order to Wanda to strike her down with a pair of punches.

Meanwhile, Mordo struggles to cut his restraints but Harkness reinforces them and then holds him down on the floor, but then he shows a wicked smile when he is tied up, starting to laugh loudly, prompting Harkness to frown at him.

"Are you enjoying this? Because if you do, I'm afraid to tell you that I'm not into BDSM" Harkness shows her dry humor, but Mordo simply smiles.

"You said you know my tricks?" Mordo asks her, but then she starts to vanish, making Harkness realize of something.

"Not all my tricks!" Mordo exclaims as he appears across the battle, now holding Anna as his hostage.

"BUCKY! WANDA!" Anna screams, calling for their help.

"Your screams are in vain" Mordo replies, moving his hand inside her jacket to grab the medallion "Now I have what I wanted…" then he looks at Anna "And what I needed, you'll be the first soul I'll feed to my master" he replies with a menacing tone "Thank you, Children of Kurios! Your work here is done!" he exclaims, channeling their energies to absorb their powers and use them to teleport away from the place, leaving the heroes alone.

"NO!" Bucky screams as he looks helplessly as they disappear while Wanda looks in awe and Harkness shows anger at what transpired. Mordo now has the medallion and the girl, but now they'll need reinforcements if they'll need to win this day, even more so as the stakes have grown higher than before.

We have some developments over here, Huh? Seems that Anna is harboring a crush on Bucky, but sadly, Mordo has caught them and now he has the medallion and has her as a hostage. Things are about to go personal, so if Bucky, Wanda and Agatha want to win this, they'll need to bring in reinforcements, hopefully a certain Sorcerer Supreme and maybe some other powerful expert in dark magic.

Also, I want to wish all of my readers, friends, followers and fellow writers Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. In these awful times, this is one of the few things that brings us a sense of sanity, so let's bring a smile to the face of those around us through our work. Enjoy what's left of the month and let's hope next year is not as crappy as this one. I'll see you back for the next chapter!

NEXT CHAPTER: BRINGING IN THE REINFORCEMENTS!