It's been forever, and I'm sooo sorry about that. On the bright side, my medication has been corrected (my prozac dose was lowered, long story) and I'm back to being productive! And here's a long chapter to make up for it!

Chapter Twenty Three - Winter, Part Two

There was a lot of yelling.

Erigor didn't like HYDRA. And he knew that Macbeth didn't either.

But of the ones in the Tenrou group, they were the best that could work undercover.

He was mostly upset that he couldn't be as affectionate with Macbeth, because Hydra was, as Elle put it, full of 'fucking NAZIs'.

Not that they were ever really affectionate in public anyway. But that wasn't the point. The point was that they didn't get the option to decide not to do it.

Though at least their hovering around each other was explained by Erik, mentioning that magic resonating in other people (or snakes/other animals) made them more powerful.

Besides, they were all from another dimension. It's not like HYDRA knew anything about their magic. They could feed them all the bullshit they want.

"Can you all just SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Erik roared. "I can't think!"

Erik's menacing glare made the HYDRA goons freeze, and Kinana, currently in her eight-foot-long Cubellios form for this mission, curled around Erik's shoulders, hissing over at them. They shuddered, and Macbeth exchanged a smirk with Erigor.

"Erik-"

Erik growled at the man. "With all due respect, Mr. Pierce, I lost that name long ago."

Erik shot a glare at them, and Erigor glared back. Macbeth didn't care.

"Sorry. Mr. Cobra, I'm trying to find out what happened here."

"If you all just shut up and give me a minute, I can tell you," Erik hissed.

There was quiet.

"And don't call me 'Mr.', either, that's just fucking stupid," he added, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Alright, now who was actually here when…whatever…happened?"

Eight people raised their hands.

"Great," he said, grabbing the first one and looking into their eyes. "Next."

He went down the line of them, looking into their eyes.

Back before they all left the library, Elle had taken them all aside and told them what she wanted them to do. And then she spent a little extra time with the groups that were going undercover, in order to make them seem less powerful. For instance, HYDRA believes that Erik can only read minds if he stares directly in their eyes. Macbeth has only ever shown them his Illusion Magic, and made it seem like the Reflector Magic he was using was just a variation of Wind Magic he could use when Erigor was around, and Erigor had only shown them using wind as a weapon, like slicing through things in a fight. Any other way it could be used – flying, telekinesis, suffocation – was still kept a secret.

Erik admitted to having an affinity for poison and enhanced senses, which is why he brought a snake around with him and also 'creeped everyone the fuck out'.

Personally, Erigor thought that Erik was really enjoying that part.

Cubellios, the giant flying snake, helped though.

"Alright," Erik finally said, having gone through all eight people. "You two!" he pointed at the first two. "Over here," he moved them to the left, and turned back, before pointing at a third agent. "You join them." He moved over to the three scientists and sent two of them over.

"Alright, this group is fucking useless to us," Erik waved them off carelessly, staring at the remaining three. "This is where the information is. Now, you said you think she had magic?"

"Kinda," the scientist said.

Erik gave him a deep stare, but the scientist didn't quiver too much under it.

"I…see…" Erik said.

"What, what is it?" Pierce asked desperately.

"Do we have any video footage of this…hero?" Erik said, his voice curling up at the distaste.

Erigor was really getting a kick out of this. Not too long after the Strauss siblings joined in, Elle had started introducing theater to the kids, and Erik had taken a surprising liking to it.

To be fair, this was kinda similar, except they didn't know any lines. So, improv with an already developed character. Or something.

Erigor had always cared more about the musicals. Joining Fairy Tail had allowed him to be himself whenever he wanted, so why would he try being another person after his father had tried so hard to make him something he wasn't? But singing? Singing he could do. And, as Elle pointed out, as long as he hid his more caring side and only showed the side that got a kick out of everything, he should be fine.

"We do have some footage," the scientist admitted, bringing it up on the monitor. "We've already had most experts go over it, and we were just about to show it to…Ace and Midnight, when you arrived."

The replayed the short clip of a well-built, woman of average height come down from the vents, kick two men in the face before downing them, and then run to the lab and break down its doors before taking out most of the men easily. She gave her warning and blew up a wall, disappearing in clouds of smoke and flame.

"Well?" Pierce asked impatiently, staring at Erik.

Erik paused, before he asked. "What was so important?"

"What?" Pierce paused.

Erik raised an eyebrow at him. "What – no…" he glanced at the scientists. "Who did she take? And how important are they?"

"Very important," Pierce admitted. "He is known as the Fist of HYDRA, and I would like him back. He's helping us shape the world."

Erik stared into Pierce's eyes, and then nodded, before looking at Cubellios as if to confer with her. Erigor knew that Kinana was probably using their bond and Erik his magic, in order to pass messages back and forth. "Right. Okay, then. About the girl." He gestured back to the screen, which was paused on her figure. "I don't actually think she's using magic at all."

"Why?" Pierce demanded.

"Well for one," Erik said distastefully. "I heard that they," he jerked his head over to Erigor and Macbeth, "already investigated the scene and found no magic other than what occurs naturally."

"Magic occurs naturally?" Pierce asked.

Erik sighed and shrugged. "It's complicated. Look, I don't know magical theory. It's like…being a really good shot. You don't necessarily need to know and understand the physics behind it, you can just sort of do it, sometimes. Anyway…"

He turned back to the screen. "I know we told you that more of us would come out of the woodwork. We don't know how many of us came over. This is either someone who found out about us, or someone from our world without magic, that are using the transition to make their hero 'debut'."

"Wait, what if they're making it seem like they don't have magic to hide their magic?" the scientist asked.

They're too close to the truth! Make them forget it! Erigor screamed into Erik's mind.

Erik winced.

Oh, shit, that was too loud.

"What is it?" Pierce said.

"Just…" Erik trailed off. "This guy is your top scientist?"

Erigor felt better at that. He'd forgotten how good Erik was at thinking on his feet.

Cubellios helped by staring at the man over Erik's shoulder and giving him a look of like he was the stupidest specimen of the human race she'd ever encountered.

"Excuse me?" the man demanded.

"Look," Erik began. "I'm sure you're...plenty smart and all. And I know you work for a hidden government organization, so paranoia should be expected. But, um…I think you might want to dial it back and leave it to the experts."

"I agree," Macbeth said nonchalantly. "The girl isn't using magic. There's nothing that registers on any sort of spectrum."

"But I'm sure she's faking a lack of magic to hide magic. Or maybe," Erigor faked gasped. "Maybe, she's faking a fake about lack of magic in order to hide the fact that she really doesn't have magic."

Erik snorted at that, but when Erigor threw him a smirk, a growl escaped Erik's lips.

The rest of the Hydra agents shuddered.

"Enough," Macbeth commanded. "We're getting nowhere."

"That's not true," Erik said, smirking. Kinana let out a hissing sound that seemed similar to laughing. "We've decided that this guy's an idiot."

He jerked his head over to the scientist, who looked indignant. "At least I tried to fight her!"

"Wait, what if she's not a girl? What if she's just a boy faking to throw us off her trail?" Erigor said overdramatically. "Oh. Or maybe, she's a girl, faking being a boy faking being a girl so we get the wrong idea!"

"Quiet!" Pierce barked, rubbing his forehead. "What do we know so far?"

"We know she seems to be a Caucasian female of around 5'5", with a bulkier weight set. And we definitely know that she took out most of these guys easy as pie, and made off with someone you refer to as 'the Fist of Hydra'," Macbeth said carelessly. "And we know that she at least likely knows about the universe dumping, and is likely using the influx of people to blend in as she debuts as a hero. I doubt she has magic. She didn't try to fake having magic, either. She simply didn't use any. Which means she's either enhanced or well-trained, though that doesn't really give credence to her being from our universe or this one."

Pierce nodded. "Cadets, dismissed."

The rest of the Hydra agents left, leaving Pierce with Erik, Macbeth, and Erigor. And Cubellios, of course, not that Pierce understood just how smart and aware Kinana was.

"I still need to confer with the other Heads," Pierce remarked. "But I am…open to any ideas."

Erik held up his hand. "This guy, the one she took. He's important to you? Extremely so?"

Pierce nodded.

Erik was obviously thinking. "I'm skilled in more than one area of magic, and my enhanced senses give me a one up on…hunting. I think I should go after this person."

"But we need your powers nearby," Pierce demanded.

"He's not as good at it as I am," Erik bragged. "But Midnight can be adept at some Mind Magic."

Pierce whirled around. "You can read minds, too?"

"No," Macbeth said flatly. "I've never been able to read minds. But I'm good at breaking down barriers and telling the difference between a truth and a lie. It's a part of Illusion Magic. Erik-"

Erik growled.

"Cobra is much more adept at Mind Magic than I am," Macbeth said. "But if there is someone important enough that you need him for, I should be able to suffice until he has time to return. I don't like to admit it, but Cobra has a…gift…when it comes to hunting."

"So you think you'll be able to catch him?" Pierce asked Erik.

"Depends. If he's as good as you say he is, it might take some time. But I'm always up for a good hunt."

"Excellent," Pierce said. "Get started right away."

"See ya, boss," Erik said, moving to leave the room. "Get out of my way, you lazy fucktards!" he howled at the agents dwelling outside the room. Cubellios hissed at them on the way out. They scattered and the two left.

"Do I need to take both of you?" Pierce asked the last two.

"Yes. Another reason I doubt she's a mage is because generally, mages work in pairs or with familiars. And no one else was there," Macbeth replied. "And if she was hiding a familiar on her person, we would have been able to sense the familiar's magic, definitely. It's much easier to sense than a mages."

Erigor nodded. "If you want better results, we'll work better as a team than we would separately. Once you find a suitable partner, you tend to stick with them."

"Could one of you do it with Cobra?" Pierce asked.

Erigor scoffed.

"It's very unlikely that either of us would ever find another mage or being we'd like to work with, but it's possible," Macbeth said slowly. "Cobra, however, is a bad idea. We'd clash too much."

Erigor did his best to stop from laughing, because next to him, Erik was one of the other people Macbeth preferred fighting side by side with.

"What if you…fall for someone?"

Both of them scoffed.

"Not an option for either of us," Erigor stated. "But even if there were a pair of two mages who were partners, if one of them found someone else they deeply cared about, they'd probably still stick with the first. It depends."

"Mages work better in pairs," Macbeth added.

"Well, then we best be going back to Washington, then."

Erigor and Macbeth exchanged another look. They had a few more things they'd have to tell Elle about, with these new developments. And while it is true that most of Fairy Tail worked better when another teammate was beside them, they weren't nearly as weak when alone as they made it seem.

An hour or so after I made it back to New York, Tony's plane landed in California. I yawned and stretched out as Tony flipped off some switches.

"Good?" I asked him as he finished.

"Good," he said.

"To the cats!" I said, hopping out of my seat excitedly, energy returning.

Tony smiled a bit as I took his hand and teleported.

"Guys, we're back!" I shouted as we appeared in the front hall. "Duchess, Aslan, Simba, Salem, Snowball, Tom, Milo, Marie, we're home! Come here, babies!" I made a clicking noise with my tongue.

The cats came out, meowing and I prepared their wet food while Tony played with them.

"Here you guys go," I said, putting the plates down, using my magic to carry the bowls I couldn't grab with my arms.

I stood up and caught Tony's gaze as he stared at me with apprehension.

"Are you ready?" I asked him softly.

He nodded.

We walked into the basement and entered the room that Tony had made. So far, it was empty with the exception of a hospital bed. We had other things that I'd give Bucky eventually, but for now, the room was empty and pristine, a bright white – a sharp contrast to the dark dirty places Bucky was usually kept in at HYDRA.

Tony closed the door behind me, and I dropped some cards at each corner of the room.

"What are those?" Tony asked.

"They should block any signals," I said, lining them up. "I have some around your house that stops any sort of bugs, so I know SHIELD isn't listening to us or anything. But they might put a tracker in his arm, or a kill switch or something, so I want to take extra precautions."

Tony frowned. "If they had a kill switch, wouldn't they have used it when he escaped last time around?"

I shook my head. "He started gaining independence right as everything crashed down around HYDRA. If he knew about them, he might have been able to get them out at a time when no one had the ability to do anything else."

Tony nodded, taking a deep breath. "Then let's get started."

I activated the new border in the room and requipped Bucky's cryostasis machine, which was running perfectly fine.

I opened it, releasing Bucky, who was frozen at the window. Quickly, I used Eris to keep him asleep as I moved him to the bed.

"Help me change him," I said to Tony.

"What?!" he asked. "You want me to what?"

"Well, fine, we'll leave him like that. I'm sure sleeping in leather is perfectly comfortable," I said sarcastically.

Tony rolled his eyes but helped me pull off Bucky's leather jacket thing, before helping me tug off his pants and pull up some soft white drawstring pants I had bought on the way back. Bucky remained shirtless.

I tied the pants and took a step back, noticing Tony staring at the arm.

One of his hands was absently tapping his arc reactor.

"Tony?" I asked cautiously.

He snapped out of it and moved closer to Bucky. "JARVIS, give me everything you have on Barnes' arm in those files."

While JARVIS was searching, Tony was scanning through the arm for things like trackers or kill switches.

"Okay, I don't think there's a kill switch," Tony said, comparing his scans to a picture JARVIS had put up from the files. "Maybe they thought he didn't need one? Unlike normal HYDRA agents, who pop cyanide pills like candy, he doesn't exactly have information to be tortured out of him. And it's not like that would work, because of what HYDRA did to him."

I could tell it was bothering Tony, but he forced himself to keep looking at the scans.

"Sir, he was programmed with a set of words to follow commands, and another set to put him asleep instantly," JARVIS piped in, showing another set of holograms with information on them.

Tony nodded, going over that before looking back at the arm. "There is, however, a tracker. I can probably remove it, but…I'd prefer to wait until he's in a better frame of mind."

I got it. "You don't want to mess with his body without his permission?"

Tony's fingers were tapping against his arc reactor again. "No one should have that."

I nodded. "Then we'll keep him in this room for now, and maybe work on something to cut the signal if he needs to leave."

Tony relaxed, just a tinge. "Okay." He stared at me. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

I shrugged. "Most things I do aren't really good ideas."

He stared at me.

"They're great ideas."

Tony didn't laugh. Which was a shame. "We'll be monitoring. Just so you know."

I nodded. "I figured. That's fine. But also remember that I can take care of myself. If I hit him with Venus's Sword he won't move. I can use air to keep him in place. I can take care of myself. So don't come bursting in and terrifying him."

"He's not a child," Tony protested, "He's one of the most infamous and lethal assassins ever known." He seemed to be stuck between being amused at my treatment of the Winter Soldier, and upset over the way I'd be facing him.

I just raised an eyebrow at him.

"…Ready?" Tony asked.

I looked at him. "Tony, we both know I'm ready. The question is, are you ready?"

He huffed, crossing his arms.

I smiled at him and leaned forward, wrapping my arms around him.

"I'll be fine," I told him.

He uncrossed his arms and hugged me back, careful with his arc reactor.

"JARVIS will tell me when you guys are ready," I said, pulling out of his hug.

He nodded and turned, taking a deep breath and going to the surveillance room.

There was silence as I walked over to the seat beside the Winter Soldier's bedside, pulling up the soft fuzzy blanket to cover most of Bucky's chest.

After several seconds of silence, JARVIS quietly said, "We are ready, Mrs. Dreyar."

"Good," I said. "Got the scans of his head?"

"Yes," JARVIS said.

"Okay, then," I said, and closed my eyes, putting my fingers on his temples. "Venus's Cleansing Light."

A bright light shone through my closed eyelids before fading down. "Saturn's Healing Winds."

A soft wind blew through the room, blowing my hair gently as it swirled around his head.

There.

I opened my eyes again, and took one last look around.

The room was very bright, and white, and while it was a bit blinding, I hoped that the bright lights would help him realize he's not with Hydra.

Of course, that could have a bad reaction, instead.

Still.

I put my elbows on my knees, leaning forward to watch over Bucky, who was still sleeping as I removed all traces of Eris from his system, hoping that casting those spells on Bucky's mind might give him a healing boost and would wipe any lingering traces of loyalty to Hydra from his mind.

It wouldn't be much longer now.

It woke up slowly.

That was not right. Normally It woke to pain, and shock, with Its body struggling to quickly adjust from the cold of the cryochamber.

But this room was warm.

Something was different.

Something was wrong.

"Hello," a soft voice said from Its right.

Its hand shot out immediately, grabbing the person around the neck and pulling them closer. Now that It was awake, It could tell that it was a girl around her early twenties, probably around 5'8" though that wasn't known for sure as she was seated. She had vividly purple hair and light, pale blue eyes.

And she was completely calm.

It wasn't squeezing Its hand yet – It had to gather any needed information.

Its right hand (the flesh one) was wrapped around her throat, one of its fingers lying directly on her pulse.

And while she seemed to have started at Its quick action, her heartbeat was slowing down, and she was calm.

Instead, she gently placed one of her hands on its own hand, and began to rub her thumb along it reassuringly.

It wasn't quite sure what it was supposed to do with that.

"Hello," she continued, giving him a soft smile. "Do you have any questions you'd like me to answer?"

This was not normal. This was not normal.

It did not have a normal outlook on life. It knows that. It wakes up with no real memory, but still knows how to shoot, how to fight. Its training has been ingrained so much that It doesn't need to think.

Assets don't think.

So It just stared at her.

"You can take your time," she said softly, still stroking its hand.

It didn't know what to do.

Slowly, she reached out her other hand, the one that wasn't on top of its flesh one.

It didn't bat it away.

It still didn't know what to do.

Her hand slowly came up to its hair and gently began to brush her fingers through it.

Finally, It asked, "Are you my new handler?"

"Do you want me to be your new handler?" she asked.

"Assets do not want," It told her.

"You're correct," she said, staring at It. "But you are no longer an Asset."

It stared at her. "…I – I do not understand."

She smiled softly at It. "That's okay. And we're going to work on that, alright? You will understand. Eventually."

It continued to stare at her. "Am I being decommissioned?"

"You're not going to be put down like a dog," she said soothingly. "You're going to get freedom."

It knew It couldn't hide the panic on Its face. "But I have not been trained in freedom."

She sighed, and gently moved the hand she had on Its. It didn't even realize it, but it had let go of her neck.

That was not supposed to happen. It didn't know what was going on at all.

She was holding Its hand gently, and squeezed. "Alright. So you haven't been trained in freedom yet. That's what I'm going to do, then."

"So you are my new handler."

The Asset was relieved. Finally, something that made sense. Something It could work with.

The girl looked at him, sadness all over her face. "If it helps you to think of me as a handler, then you can do it. But I'd prefer to be thought of as a friend."

"Assets don't have friends," It said automatically. "The Asset does not understand friendship."

She gently squeezed Its hand. "You will."

Dealing with the Winter Soldier was mentally exhausting. Eventually, I handed over a Rubix Cube and gave him a big red button and excused myself.

"If you need me, push the button," I told him, and then exited. "I'll be back soon."

Tony sat outside the room, his head in his hands.

"Tony?" I asked. "Are you okay?"

Tony sat up, with a breath. "No, but it's not about me right now."

I gave him a hug.

Tony stood still before he let out another breath and finally hugged me back.

"Never be afraid to ask for a hug," I told him. "I'll rarely turn you down."

"Does that mean that at some point you might turn me down?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

I shrugged. "Once in a blue moon I like to be completely alone. Probably won't be anytime soon, though."

Tony nodded. "I'm going to start working on some arms. I probably won't go to bed tonight."

He said the last part cautiously, like he was afraid I might be upset.

"Okay," I said.

He stared at me. "Wait, what? You're not upset about my sleep cycle or anything?"

"I know what it's like to be so passionate about something that you have trouble doing anything else. And I know the difference between working because you're passionate or working because your mind is tearing you apart. If it's the second one, then I'll help you sleep. For now, you can start working. If you get in the zone, I'll be sure to bring you some food so you at least get a bite to eat."

He was still staring at me.

I shrugged. "It's just really bad for you to do that every night, all the time, with little neglect for anything else. You're not just an inventing machine, Tony, you're human. You need rest."

"…Right. I'm going to work on arms now," Tony said.

"Okay," I said. "I'm going to get some broth for Bucky. They kept him on an entirely liquid diet, so we need to be careful, and I don't know enough about how my healing works for us to just bypass the recovery process completely."

Tony nodded and went over to a table where he brought up a hologram of Bucky's arm, before he looked back up. "Hey, Elle?"

"Yeah?" I asked, paused where I was on the staircase.

"You've still got my alcohol in your requip space, right?" Tony asked.

I nodded, and requipped three bottles. I know he has a high tolerance, but that shouldn't be too bad, right?

Okay, I have no idea how to judge alcohol. It's not like Fairy Tail standards are right.

"You're really gonna let me have some?" Tony asked, staring at the bottles.

"Tony, if you really wanted alcohol, you could've gotten more," I told him, shrugging. "The fact that you didn't is great. But after today…" my voice trailed off. "I get it."

I probably shouldn't have given it to him anyway, but after today...

He nodded, and popped one open. "Thanks."

After all, Tony was going through those files…including the ones that have Bucky's torture recorded on them. I didn't blame him for wanting to get drunk. I wanted to get drunk. And I don't drink. Even when I'm not pregnant.

I was back downstairs within a few minutes after making some soup and teleporting next to the door, so I didn't spill it on the way down.

I knocked on it so he knew I was coming, and then slowly opened it. Bucky was sitting up in the bed, holding the button.

"I…I didn't push it," he said, starting to panic.

"It's okay," I said. "I came back because I have some food for you."

He relaxed a bit as I came in, and I sat down at the chair next to his bed while I moved the soup in front of him, putting it on a table that pulled around the side of the bed for him.

"Do you know how to eat soup?" I asked him softly.

He said nothing, simply staring into the bowl.

I realized that he probably did know how to eat soup, but wasn't quite sure whether or not he had permission or if this was a test.

Slowly, I took his arm in mine and picked up the spoon, showing him how to lift it to his mouth.

His eyes widened at the taste.

According to the data from Hydra, Bucky had been on a liquid diet for a few decades at this point. They would wake him up, usually 'wipe' him, give him his mission, and send him on his way. If it took longer than three days, they would bring him back, give him some 'nourishment', and wipe him again.

He hasn't tasted anything real in a very long time.

Luckily, things like eating and breathing are automatic reflexes, and he settled in easily enough. And even though I'd only been gone a few minutes, he still seemed a bit more lucid.

"I see you finished the cube," I said, letting go of his hand and reaching for the cube on his lap.

He froze in his eating, until I nodded to him that it was okay for him to eat on his own.

"Did you like it?" I asked him.

His mouth opened and closed.

Oh. That might be a question that was too hard – or broad – for him to answer.

"Was it easy?" I asked instead.

He nodded.

"Would you like something harder?" I asked him.

"…Whatever you think is best," he said demurely, looking down.

I took his hands again.

"I promise I won't hurt you," I said. "You can say and do what you want, and I won't hit you. I promise."

He looked down, thinking, before he looked up. "Okay."

I bit my lip, before reaching for my back pocket and pulling out pictures of Steve, both before and after the serum.

"Do you know who this is?" I asked, sliding the pictures forward.

His forehead creased as he stared at the pictures.

"Okay," I said. "Does the name, 'Bucky', or 'James Buchanan Barnes', mean anything to you?"

There was recognition in his eyes for a second, before it was gone. "It sounds familiar, but…"

"That's fine," I said. "Give it time, alright? How was your soup?"

"…Different," he said.

I nodded. "That's not surprising, it been awhile since you've had real food."

He nodded and took another spoonful of soup, before putting it down and sighing.

"Are you tired?" I asked him.

Terror appeared in his eyes, and then all signs of fatigue disappeared immediately.

Ugh, that's going to be annoying, if he can hide it so well.

"That's fine," I continued, ignoring his actions. "You can go to sleep, if you want. And you can keep the button. If you push it, I'll come running, I promise."

He seemed hesitant. "It's okay to sleep?"

"It's okay to sleep," I repeated, nodding. "Goodnight, sweetheart."

He didn't say anything.

I squeezed his hands and left the room.

Do you know how HARD it was to make sure that when I was from Bucky's 3rd POV that I stuck to 'It' instead of 'Him'? Exhausting.

I'm back baby, and I'm already working on the next chapter, too. Also, I'm back at school and fitting into my schedule, so I'll hopefully update something (either this or Ripples) again at the end of the week.