CHAPTER 1

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters except my own. The characters belong to MARVEL.

CHAPTER 1 Hell, sweet Hell

"Steve…?"

The feeling of falling stopped. Something hard pressed into his side. Another thing tickled his nose. His head throbbed with dull pain. Light filtered through his lashes, when Bucky tried to blink. It was dimmed, as if coming in through thick clouds.

Slowly, carefully, Bucky opened his eyes; let them adjust to the lighting. He was more than relieved to find the pain in his body easing away. So, he looked around himself. These aren't the woods of Wakanda. And Steve … is nowhere either. But…

Someone groaned. More out of instinct, Bucky rolled to his feet. He ducked his head slightly; knife in hand, pulled from the sheath. His muscles tensed, ready to strike.

Sam got up a few metres to the left, his goggles still covering his eyes, wings bent in odd angles. Bucky almost sighed. Of all people. Well, at least I know him. Bucky shifted his feet, pebbles crunching under his boots.

Falcon's head whipped around. They stared at one another for a few heartbeats. "Of all the people," Sam huffed. He scrubbed a hand down his face. Bucky felt the corner of his mouth twitch up in a tired smile. At least the feeling is mutual. That I can work with.

Sam scratched the back of his head, then pulled the goggles off. "So, we're in this together?" he sounded as thrilled as Bucky felt. Which was not very much. Sure, they had worked alongside each other for a short time, but that had been more for Steve's sake than for each other's.

Around them, a dark landscape stretched out as far as the eye could see. Skeletal trees wound their branches into the grey sky; the air was filled with a constant crackle as if by electricity of an approaching thunderstorm. Huge rocks obscured and crafted paths. This looks somewhat familiar?

Sam shrugged off his wings. They didn't look good. The tips bend in curves, feathers in the middle missing altogether, the backpack slightly dented. He gave an unhappy sound. Somewhere between a groan and a growl. "Great. Getting those in shape will take weeks. Just what I need. I bet they're all worried about our whereabouts." He looked up and around them. Bucky remained carefully still to avoid disturbances. "Where are we anyway?"

Bucky mutely looked between Sam and their surroundings. They definitely weren't in Wakanda anymore. He half listened to Sam trying to contact their team. "Cap. Come in, Cap." Sam pressed two fingers to his ear. "Can you hear me? Cap? War Machine?" There seemed to be no answer, going by his rising voice. Sam sounded more and more alarmed the more he tried to contact anyone and didn't get any response.

Bucky used this time to circle around Sam and take in their surroundings. Just in case a new wave of enemies raced at them. He needed them to be prepared –

And that's when he saw it. Are those the trees I saw from my window? They do look uncannily like them. All crouched and black and dead.He rose to his full height, raising his chin. There it was. The big boulder in the middle of the trees, that always reminded him of a shield or a round table.

"I know, where we are," he said in the midst of one of Sam's impressive cursing streak. The other one clicked his mouth shut. Then: "And why would you know that?"

"I spend a good portion of my life here. Whenever they put me in cryo, I ended up here." Bucky tried to sound suave about the whole deal. As if it was nothing. But it wasn't. And they both knew it. HYDRA had done a good job at messing the brunet up both physically and, more importantly, mentally. Not only programming, but also self-hatred was an integral part of Bucky's personality, even though he worked hard to overcome it.

Sam looked torn between making a comment and comforting the other man. In the end, he did neither and instead kicked his wings half-heartedly. "I'm assuming," he began without looking up, "you know someplace, where someone might help us?"

Bucky nodded once.

True enough, a short walk later the two men entered a huge portal. It led them into an even grander throne room. Sam's eyes widened. He craned his neck to take in the grandeur surrounding them. "Wow. Nice place. I get, why you wanted to go under again." His eyes lingered on the intricate designs swirling a column. "Not bad. I could get used to this."

Bucky didn't even spare the room a glance. He knew the layout and decorations of it. Every shadow. Every alcove. Every structure. His steely gaze travelled over the throne room in search for one person only.

A young woman sat on the steps of the dark throne. Her black hair obscured her face like a ruffled curtain.

Hel.Bucky felt his shoulders sag. Hel might help us, if she is so inclined. Hopefully she won't take too long. Steve will be worrying already. Bucky didn't say anything, only kept walking towards her, his back pulled ramrod straight. He felt more than saw Sam follow him. Trusting him. Because there was nothing else to do.

Only, when Sam and Bucky were but a few paces away did the young woman lift her head. Sunset-kissed eyes shone out of a blue face. A single thin line ran over her cheek and stopped just short of the jugular vein. The smile she threw the men was broken. "Brave soldier mine." Hel tilted her head to the other side as if drawn by invisible strings. Her voice sounded airy. "You have returned to me."

Bucky stopped in his tracks. What happened to her?He stared openly at the new scar on her otherwise pleasant face. Next to him, Sam looked quickly between the two. He obviously caught on to the connection between them but chose not to comment on it for now. For that, Bucky was grateful. He was at a loss of words at her appearance.

"I hoped you would come back to me." Hel's eyes went slightly unfocused. "Even, if you wouldn't remember." Bucky furrowed his brows. Not remember? What is she talking about? Why would I forget the only person that stood by my side apart from Stevie?

And then she blinked for the first time since looking up. Slow, almost mechanical. Her back straightened, hands still resting on her knees. As if just then noticing, her eyes landed on Sam. "You brought the Falcon." She gave a sudden smile, too bright to be considered sane. "Very well. Our little party is almost complete."

"Sorry, but I feel like I'm missing a huge chunk of info here." Sam shifted his stance, crossed his arms over his chest. "Who are you?" His tone was defiant, even though Bucky could hear the wariness beneath it. He couldn't blame Sam. Hel just scratched him the wrong way. Both of them. Something was off.

The young woman weighed her head from side to side. It seemed she was considering his question. Taxing Sam with narrowed eyes. In the end, Hel didn't say anything and just rose to her feet in a sudden motion and went towards a portal beside the throne.

Bucky opened his mouth. "Hel," he paused, unsure how to ask the many questions pestering his mind. How come you think I forgot you? Who injured you? Why do you behave like someone else?But what came out was merely, "What happened?"

Hel paused. She turned back around. For several heartbeats, Hel just stared at him. "You – you remember me?" She sounded incredulous. Disbelieving. It made Bucky pause. He furrowed his brows.

"Yes. Why wouldn't I?"

Before either he or Sam could react, Hel was all but flying at Bucky. She slammed into his chest and only his reflexes kept them both upright. Heavens, she was heavier than she looked. Hel wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him close to her. As fast as she had tackled him, she stepped back again. A slight smile played over her lips. It somehow looked sad. Bucky blinked in confusion. What just happened?

"So, uh," Sam sounded uncomfortable. "Not to interrupt or anything, but like… Who are you and what happened?" His eyes darted between the young woman and his comrade. Obviously more confused than Bucky.

Hel took another step back, looking at the both of them. She slightly tilted her head, brows furrowed in what seemed like confusion. For a long time, the three of them only looked at each other. Hel's eyes scanned Sam and Bucky alike, taking in every detail. Eventually, she pursed her lips then gave a flitting smile like a bird in a storm.

"You died."

"D-Died?" Sam choked on the word.

A joyless giggle was the first reaction, then: "Why yes. You died. Both of you to be precise. In the Snap of Thanos. The Decimation." Hel waved a dismissive hand, turned to return to her place on the steps to her throne. "And now, you are here. In my palace." She made a gesture, encompassing the whole throne room and the rooms beyond. "Welcome in the realm of Helheim. My name is Hel and I am your goddess of death in charge." Hel made a grand show of giving them a curtsy. Her smile didn't reach her eyes. It was more a bearing of teeth. Hel's hair seemed longer and shaggier than Bucky remembered. It was all very odd.

He lifted his chin slightly. "What happened to you? Why wouldn't I remember you?" Bucky furrowed his brows. "I spent half my life here with you."

"Not all of it as willing as the beginning and the end," Hel replied almost casually. She moved to inspect her nails, as if the whole situation was boring her. But Bucky didn't let that fool him. He knew Hel in a way no one else, maybe not even her father, did. "Something must have happened for you to not don your illusions upon our arrival. So, what happened?"

He noticed Sam next to him swaying on his feet. "Dead," he mumbled under his breath. It wasn't easy to die. Especially, if you don't even notice. Bucky didn't have the mind to mull that over now. I was a terrible friend. I didn't have her back, because I wanted to get back and well for Steve. And something happened to her.His breathing was off.

Hel looked up, eyes narrowed, staring right through them. "It's a long story. And not one I am fond to tell."

"Please," Bucky implored. "At least a hint." He stared at Hel with wide eyes. What happened to her? She doesn't look or behave like she did before I went out of cryo in Wakanda. I wasn't gone that long, was I?

An ice-cold hand clamped down around Bucky's heart at the thought of leaving Death alone for too long, of not being able to help her as she had helped him.

With a gesture, Hel transformed herself into her humanoid form. An evening gown in black with rippling emerald accents, wherever the light hit, covered her. "I fought. I was forced to make regrettable decisions." Her hair tamed itself until it fell over her shoulder in a cascade of glossy locks, held by black combs. "There is nothing more I have to say to you." Hel turned back around towards a door next to her throne.

Bucky gasped.

Visible in the plunging backline was a scar running diagonally over her back and a gnarled spot of skin around where her heart was. The scar looked recent. Almost, as if it had ripped open during the healing process. More than once.

Out of his peripheral vision, Bucky noticed that Sam looked even paler than before. He was at his wit's end. But at the moment, Bucky couldn't help him with that.

"Who did that?" Bucky suppressed the need to reach for the goddess and caress the skin, feel the scars under the pads of his fingers. In all the years he had known Death, she had never seemed bothered by any illnesses or wounds. And now, the woman he considered a younger sister of sorts, had been hurt and he could do nothing to reverse it. A sudden rage took hold of him. I'm going to find whoever did that to her. They will pay dearly for this. Still –

"You can't hurt death."

Hel looked back over her shoulder. This time, her now green eyes scrutinized her soldier ruthlessly. "That is right. No one can harm or end me – except another of my kind. A true god of death. You did not think me invincible, brave soldier mine, did you?" The light shimmering in her eyes was wrong. It seemed too mirthful for the topic at hand. No, Hel was definitely more out of her wits than she wanted to let on.

Since neither of the men responded, Hel turned back around and pushed the doors open. With a saunter, she took the stage beyond the doors, putting on a show for whomever it was they would be meeting. Sam looked at Bucky, who looked back at him. They were in over their heads. In the lion's den. Their best bet was to follow Hel's lead and hope she didn't take them apart.