Bucky continued to lay face down, trying to get control of his breathing. He was terrified to look at the woman beside him. Part of him feared that he had killed her, but a larger part was afraid he hadn't and that she might finish the sequence.

How could she know the words? More importantly, why would she use them? He needed to find Steve; Steve would believe him. They could grab Sam and Sharon and bust out of here together. They could rendezvous with Scott and Wanda later. T'Challa was out of sight; there was no better time. He attempted moving, but found himself unable to lift his body off of the ground. Panic began to seep in again. He braced himself with the vibranium arm, preparing to push up to his feet.

He stopped cold in his tracks when Shuri's hand reached for his. She gripped hard, as though she was willing him to stop. He chanced a glance at her. One of her slender hands was rubbing her throat, but she still managed to focus her eyes on him.

"You did well, Mr. Barnes," she wheezed.

His head snapped around to look at her, incredulous. He wrenched his arm away and started to move backwards from her.

"I wish I could explain," the words were raspy, but at least she was speaking English again. "Your new arm is a little too effective." She actually chuckled. "Please, do not be afraid," she held up a hand to implore him. "I will not finish the words. You are safe."

"Why the hell?" his fear was fading now and anger was rushing in.

"I had to see…" a fit of coughing interrupted her as she attempted to roll over. "I had to see how you handled them," She managed to flip over to her knees and reached for a watch on her wrist. She squeezed the sides. Almost immediately, members of her guards streamed out of the laboratory doors, rushing for them both.

"Help him," she instructed with a point of her finger. Her guards gave her a wary look, but complied. Bucky didn't resist as they lifted him to his feet and carried him in.

Ziwadi was standing just inside the doors. "Would you like me to send for Captain Rogers?" she asked Bucky.

Dizzy, he nodded. "And Sam," he added. He still wasn't sure what was going on.

He watched as doctors surrounded the princess, examining her throat. She managed to sit up as they fussed with her. One doctor ran a kind of glowing rod around her head, like a magic wand. Shuri visibly exhaled, looking relieved.

"Thank you," she smiled gently at the doctor. "Is Mr. Barnes, all right?"

The same doctor hurried towards him with her wand. The blue light burned his eyes, but he kept them open and focused on Shuri.

"What. The hell. Was that?" he was less dizzy now, but still very angry.

"That, Mr. Barnes, was the first part of your recovery. As I said, you were exemplary."

"I could have killed you."

"Yes, but you did not."

"I strangled you."

"Only to stop the words."

"Why did you use them?" None of this was making sense to him.

"Because, Mr. Barnes, others will try. If I could find the words, someone else will one day. You must be ready to fight them. You are off to an extraordinary start."

"They almost took me," the consequences were beginning to sink in.

"Almost does not count. You resisted. You chose to neutralize the words."

"By killing you?"

Shuri waved a hand. "With your new arm, a death blow should have been effortless. You were calculated, Mr. Barnes. I was never in mortal danger."

Her throat seemed to indicate otherwise. It was beginning to swell and bruise. Guilt swept in all at once.

"What happened?" Steve's booted feet beat a hurried path into the lab and straight for Bucky. His friend's voice was hard and commanding.

"I tested him." Shuri remained calm as ever. "He passed."

"You tested him?" Steve was angering now. Behind him, even Sam looked upset.

"With what?" Sam demanded.

"The words," Bucky said. "She knows them."

"As do others," Shuri did not back down.

"What you did was dangerous," Steve was struggling to stay calm. Bucky was grateful for this. He didn't have the strength right now to defend himself.

"He could have killed you. Or worse," Sam imparted.

"Even if he had activated, I would not command him." Shuri stood up. She looked shaky on her feet, but managed to walk towards them.

"I am sorry to have deceived you, Mr. Barnes, but it had to come as a surprise to you. It was the only way."

"Explain," Steve demanded.

"I needed to see if he could resist, if he would even try. Now I know. Not only is Mr. Barnes determined to never fall under control again, he actively fights it."

"I thought you said you were going to help him…" Steve's carefully crafted self-control was beginning to crumble.

"I am." Shuri imparted. "It is no secret that this road is not an easy one, Captain. Your friend has spent decades under HYDRA's control."

"You can't just—"

"I can." She cut Steve off with steel in her tone. "I can and I did. Do you know how simple it was, to access the security footage from that day in Vienna? Do you know how easy it is to learn the correct pronunciation? If I can do it, how many others will? How many others already have?"

Steve and Sam fell silent. Shuri continued. "Mr. Barnes, you have difficult decisions ahead of you. I will not sugarcoat them. If you continue to work with me, you will hear the words, many times. You may fail on occasion. But in the end, perhaps you will succeed."

"I can't keep hurting you," her words were sinking in, but now Bucky had other concerns.

"You will not," Shuri assured him.

"You don't know that," Bucky was staring at the bruises forming around her throat. He had felt it as he squeezed, her pulse slowing beneath his metal fingertips.

"I do." She was speaking directly to him now. "My brother tried to kill you, Mr. Barnes, on more than one occasion. You fought several times, and never did you inflict damage on him. I have the seen the videos. I know what brutality you are capable of." She looked at Sam and Steve. "However, I think we are all aware that it is not the violence we are capable of that defines us, but when we chose not to use it."

Steve, Sam and Bucky all looked at one another. "I will leave you to discuss it among yourselves," Shuri said. "I must see how my brother is faring. You know where to find me, when you have made a decision." She nodded respectfully at them. Bucky marveled inwardly that she could remain so composed after nearly being strangled to death. She moved to the door with her guards, leaving the three of them totally alone.

"That woman is a piece of work," the doors had barely shut when Sam expressed his opinion.

"She's right though," Bucky looked up at Sam from where he was seated.

"Buck…" Steve was going to argue.

"She is Steve. You both know it."

"She could have gotten herself killed," Steve said.

"Doesn't seem to bother her any," Sam raised a point.

"I can't believe T'Challa allowed her to do that," Steve wasn't showing any signs of slowing down.

"I seriously doubt she asks for his permission for anything. He wasn't even there."

"He left you?" Sam looked shocked.

"Something serious happened. Something about a guy named Klaue."

"Klaue?" Steve crossed his arm. "I know the name. He's just a low-level smuggler. I ran into him just before Sokovia."

"Whatever he is, T'Challa went off to deal with him."

"And left his sister there to activate you," Steve leaned against the wall, his eyes narrowed.

"It's not like she just did it," Bucky didn't know why he was defending Shuri, but he felt compelled. "She talked about my arm first. How my choice was important. How she realized that despite—" he took a deep breath. "Despite all of the shit I've done, that I'm a good man."

His statement hung in the air between the three of them for a while.

"Buck, we all know you're a good man," Steve said gently.

"Do you?" Bucky asked. "Do you really? Sam," he directed his attention at his new friend. "What do you think?"

Sam shook his head, "Bucky, c'mon, no one blames you for the things you did."

"Stark does." Bucky sat up straight. "He's not the only one. Steve, I know you mean well, but you're basing your opinion on a person that I haven't been in almost 80 years. It's a person that I barely remember."

Steve looked crestfallen, "Buck…"

"I'm not saying I wasn't a good guy. And I'm not saying I'm not a good man now, but I have something to prove. It's not to you, and it's not to Sam. The world sees me as the Winter Soldier. If that's what I have to be, then it's going to be my version. I want HYDRA out of my head. I don't care what it takes."

"It's your choice, Buck," Steve sounded resigned.

"I know it is. I just need you to understand why I'm choosing it. I need you by my side," Bucky looked between the two of them. "Both of you."

"We're here," Steve assured him.

"Both of us," Sam added with a smile.

Bucky nodded. "Ok then. So we agree?"

"Looks like it," Steve conceded. "But you two can't be alone next time she tries that," he added.

"Fine," Bucky nodded.

"And you probably shouldn't choke her again," Sam suggested.

"Done," Bucky stood up. "I should apologize for that." He made his way to the door when a crucial detail occurred to him.

"Um…Do either of you know where she might be?"

Sam looked at Steve. "She's normally training at this time…"

"After being choked though?" Steve asked.

"You're right. So maybe she's unwinding."

"I doubt she's up to climbing right now."

"So probably the pools then," Sam decided.

"Do you want me to walk you?" Steve asked Bucky.

"Maybe just point me in that direction," as much as he loved his friend, he needed some time to process what had happened. He wanted his head straight before he talked to Steve one-on-one.

Steve gave him instructions. "Be careful, Buck."

Bucky nodded. "I will. Thanks you two."

He set off for the pools. Steve's directions took him outside of the palace again, down a winding path into the jungle. He supposed that he was still within the walls of the palace; though the jungle was dense, he could see the smooth cream colored walls rising above him between the trees. His path was surrounded on all sides by trees and greenery. It was well-maintained, cut back enough to allow safe passage without compromising the wild beauty of the landscape. Bucky fancied that he would one day really enjoy strolling through this jungle; as of now he felt nervous. It wasn't every day you had to apologize for nearly strangling a princess to death.

The sounds of water reached his ears and he knew he was close. The path was thinning now, sandwiched by two thins streams that were growing in width as he moved forward. The two of them converged at Bucky's feet, forming a waterfall that flowed over an outcropping of rock. He was beginning to think that he took a wrong turn when he heard Shuri's voice.

"That talk went more quickly than I expected, Mr. Barnes," Bucky glanced over the side of the waterfall to see Shuri treading in a deep turquoise pool.

"I can be pretty persuasive," he waved down at her with his new arm.

"And what news is it that you have come to deliver?" she asked him. Her chin was turned up to look at him, but her neck was blessedly submerged.

"I'd rather say it to your face." He realized he wasn't being particularly eloquent. "If you don't mind, your highness," he added.

Shuri seemed amused by his formality. "Then I suppose you are going to need to come down here, Mr. Barnes." She tilted her head back beneath the water.

Bucky considered his options for a moment. He hadn't been swimming in forever, but he had no idea how long it would take to get down to her. He considered removing his shirt, but then realized she was royalty. Maybe you weren't supposed to be shirtless in front of royalty. She'd already seen him, of course, but now they were alone. Were there regulations for Wakandan princesses?

Bucky shook his head. He was overthinking this. He backed up a few steps, took a deep breath, and made the leap at a run. He vaulted out further than he calculated, arcing through the air over her head. He braced himself for the impact of cold water, but was pleasantly surprised to find it cool and refreshing. The water filled his ears and nose, but it was cleansing. He enjoyed the quiet beneath the surface for a moment before surfacing.

"You know," Shuri was a few meters away, "There is a way to walk down."

He shrugged as best he could underwater. "It's easier to jump." He swam the distance to her quickly. "I wanted to apologize."

Shuri looked genuinely puzzled. "For what?" she asked.

"For…" he gestured to his own throat, "You know. Choking you."

To his surprise, she laughed. "It is I who owe you an apology. It was insensitive of me to lead with your greatest weakness."

"Effective though," he had to admit.

"Your friends are none too pleased with me." She lowered her chin down into the pool.

"They saw my point."

"Which was?"

"I agree with you. It's been my worst fear," he admitted. "That someone could use me again. I need to be strong enough to resist."

"The words were catered specifically to you," Shuri told him. "They tie directly to your past and HYDRA's. They link you."

"So unlink me."

"I cannot. Only you can free yourself. I will, however, do whatever I can to help. But you must promise me one thing."

"What's that?" he asked her.

"You must stop apologizing for hurting me. Angst is very counterproductive. I know the risks."

Bucky found himself wanting to laugh. "Accept it just this once, and I won't do it again."

"Agreed," Shuri kicked out with her legs and arched her back, doing a flip in the water. Bucky remembered doing similar moves as a child at the beach with his family.

She surfaced again, a coy smirk on her face. Bucky was taken aback for a moment, until she splashed water full force into his face. He shook the droplets out of his eyes as Shuri's laughter filled his ears.

"I deserved that," he conceded. It was worth it just to see her smile.

"May I ask you a question, Mr. Barnes?"

"Why not," Bucky pushed his wet hair out of his face. The dark tendrils were clinging to his cheeks.

"What goes on in your mind, when you hear the words?" she looked at him through damp lashes.

He still hadn't told Steve what went through his mind when he was activated. If she was going to help him though, she had to know. "Depends on the word. It gets fuzzy afterwards. I can never really seem to remember. It's nothing good though. That much, I know."

Shuri nodded. "Would you object to working one word at a time? Perhaps we can dismantle their power piece by piece."

"Whatever you say, your highness," he bowed his head a bit, still unsure how to conduct himself.

She scoffed. "Please, Mr. Barnes. If we are to be friends, you must call me Shuri."

"Then you call me Bucky," he responded.

"There is one last condition that I did not feel it appropriate to mention earlier," she told him. "In your downtime, you must remember to enjoy your life. Wakanda is full of adventure that I'm sure a man like you would relish in. Go experience it all. I believe your friends would be willing to explore with you."

"Is that important to my therapy?" he asked her.

"Joy is important for life," she smiled at him. "I believe it is high time you experienced life for yourself, Bucky."

As if to punctuate her statement, she splashed him again. He blocked her this time, and splashed back.

"I still want to train my arm," Bucky told her. Shuri looked at him curiously through her wet, curly hair. "Race you?" he raised the vibranium appendage above the water.

Shuri smiled at him. "I will try not to beat you too badly." Without warning, she dove beneath the water and took off.

Bucky smiled and raced off after her.

A/N: Thank you very much for all of your feedback. I am unable to view my reviews right now, but once the issue is resolved, I will respond to you all. Please continue to let me know what you think.