Chapter Thirty-four: To Get to the Other Side
For the first time Emma noticed the necklace the woman wore around her neck. It looked very much like an eye and Emma felt a strange sensation pulling at her stomach. It was a sensation she hadn't felt since she carried the Aether inside of her. It was a familiar sort of power.
"Do you trust me?" Steve asked.
"Of course, Pops," Emma replied.
"Then you need to trust her and everything she says. It will save your life," Steve told her gently. "I love you."
"I love you too," Emma said, feeling more confused by the second.
"See you later," he said and hung up the phone.
A moment of silence later, Natasha was the one that was calling her.
"Krolik? Are you alright?" Natasha asked.
"I am very, very confused," she said.
"Of course you are and I am very sorry. Steve is too. He told what's about to happen. You won't see us for a very long time," Natasha said. "This has to happen."
"Why?" she asked.
"Because we want you to exist," Natasha replied. "I love you, Krolik. You are going to be okay. There's not much more that I can say."
"I love you, Natasha," she replied.
"See you later," Natasha said and hung up the phone.
"You have said your goodbyes," the ancient one said. "Now, it's time to get ready for you to leave."
"Can you please tell me why I need to go back and don't just say it's to save my life," Emma said gently. "There's more to it than that."
"You need to go by and try to stop someone from changing things. You need to keep them from trying to change the course of Bucky Barnes' future. It needs to remain the same or more people will die," the ancient one said.
"You mean that I need to make sure that Bucky becomes the Winter Soldier?" Emma asked and she wanted to throw up just thinking about it.
"Your mission, Emma Carter, is to go back in time and protect James Buchanan Barnes," the ancient one said.
"Do I have a choice?" She asked.
"Not unless you want the person to succeed and you to never be born?" the ancient one asked.
"I don't suppose you would tell me how that would happen?" Emma asked with a raised eyebrow.
"No, I apologize, I cannot do that. When I send you back, there will be someone there to guide, to help you on your mission," the ancient one said with a mission.
The woman looked down at the necklace and Emma raised an eyebrow at her.
"Is that what's going to send me back?" Emma asked.
"Yes, and I suppose you've sensed it seeing as you have carried one inside of you but you will find out more about it later on," she said. "I cannot give everything away, now can I?"
Emma squinted at her. She was not sure if she liked this woman or not. She supposed it didn't matter. If Steve and Natasha said she needed to go back in time then she needed to do so. The queasy feeling in her stomach wasn't going away thinking about keeping Bucky on his path to becoming the Winter Soldier. Could she be willing to do this? It looked like she was going to have to do whether she liked it or not. The ancient one began moving her fingers and the necklace opened to reveal a green stone.
"Um, shouldn't I get dressed?" Emma asked.
"That is not necessary. However, you should leave your phone and weapon here," the ancient one said as she opened another portal in her bedroom.
The portal was green and it opened up into someone's apartment. The ancient one placed a hand on her shoulder and gently pushed her through the portal. It closed behind her with the ancient one on the other side. There was a clock on the wall and a radio, along with the furniture, that indicated that she had made it back to the 1940s. She looked around in amazement and was startled out of her revere by the sound of someone clearing their throat. Emma came face to face with a much younger version of Peggy Carter.
"Hello, darling," Peggy said with a smile and a set of clothes in her hands.