The Scarlet Apprentice 2: The Multiverse Between Us

A fortress

"So who asked who first?" Y/n asked, kicking rocks as she looked at the ground while walking.

"That's not important," Bucky shrugged, "what matters is we're together now, and we're happy."

She scrunched her face up in annoyance, "don't give me this shit, answer my question."

"I asked him," Sam admitted.

"Wha-" y/n turned to Bucky in shock, but Bucky was already looking away from her, "you didn't ask him?"

He tried to lie, "he was just too quick, I didn't have the chance to."

"That's a lie, he rambled for like 20 minutes," Sam explained to y/n while Bucky shook his head in disagreement, "I had to ask him out just to shut him up."

"Well, thank you, Sam. I cant even begin to explain the amount of times Bucky came to me panicking because-"

Her sentence was cut off short when Bucky abruptly placed his hand on her shoulder, "y/n."

"What? You're together now, it doesn't matter if he knows about all your moments," she assured him.

"No," he pointed his finger to the sight in front of him, "look."

With her brows furrowed, she turned to look at where he was pointing. When she saw it, her face dropped in the same way that his initially did.

On their way there, they didn't look at the storm much. From afar, it seemed like a regular storm cloud that had been encased in Agatha's amethyst. However, when they got closer to it, they saw what it really was.

A thin smog was the outside layer of the setup, but through the gas, was a thick and dark layer of magic. It wasn't clear as to what it was exactly, but the team suspected that they wouldn't be able to get through it easily.

"Why have you stopped?" Wong asked when he finally caught up to the three that were ahead for so long.

"You wouldn't happen to have a spell that would tear this whole thing down, would you?" Sam asked.

Wanda took her place beside y/n and slid her hand into hers with saying anything. When y/n felt her touch, she looked down to see Wanda already looking up at her. Squeezing her hand gently and supportively, she placed a kiss on Wanda's lips before standing up straight, still latching onto Wanda's hand.

As they collectively edged closer to the storm, the worry of how they were going to get in grew larger. The moment the saw what the cloud actually consisted of, they all began thinking of ways to beat it.

Bucky had suggested for Strange to use his magic to push away the clouded part of the purple, allowing all of the powered people to break through the second barrier, but strange wasn't able to do that. He quickly realised that not even the gas showed no signs of penetrability or movement other than the small flickers of thunder that crackled through it.

"How are we gonna get her out?" Sam asked.

"Maybe throw out some cheese. If it works for a rat, it'll work for her," y/n nastily responded as she held onto her girl's hand, even as they moved around to study the fortress.

"It's mainly mice that-"

Then, just like she'd planned, a voice appeared through the thick smog. "Oh, dear. You know I heard that, right?"

"Oh, I know," she nodded, "it worked, didn't it?"

Apart from y/n, the rest of the group were very clearly tense. Wanda wouldn't stop continuously looking from y/n and the storm the entire time Agatha spoke through the mist, and she even placed her other arm around y/n's to make sure that nothing could take her away. Bucky and Sam stood prepared, even though there was nothing they could do if Agatha was to use her powers.

"You gonna come out and fight?" Y/n called to her when she didn't reply.

Wanda watched in fear, "y/n, don't."

"Or stay behind there like a little bitch?" She finished, and Wanda sighed.

Once again, Agatha didn't reply. However, this time, y/n's words caused some movement from the beast in front of them.

A split in the clouds revealed an advancing figure that no one could distinguish. When it came closer, they started to piece it together. It looked like Agatha, walked like Agatha, and seemed like Agatha in every way. But it wasn't Agatha. Y/n knew that it wasn't Agatha.

When the sound of teammates arming their weapons and taking their stances reached y/n's ears, she stretched her hand out to dismiss it.

"No," she spoke cautiously, "it isn't her."

Sam looked to y/n and shrugged, "whatever it is, I'm killing it."

"Sam, no," y/n dismissed once again, "we can't waste our energy on an illusion. Save it for the real fight."

"This is the real fight, dear," the illusion spoke, it's voice was a perfect replica of Agatha's.

Strange looked at y/n, then back at the approaching mirage, worry weighing on his brow, "how do you know it's not really her?"

Instead of answering his question, she impulsively jolted her arm forward, forcing a flush of energy into Agatha. Just as she predicted, Agatha dissipated into the air when the blue reached her, proving that she was an illusion.

Even though Agatha was out of the way, the energy kept piercing through the air until it hit the purple cloud. The team expected it to flow through the gas, but it didn't. In one swift move, it bounced off of the barrier and was fired back at them.

Luckily, y/n had prepared for that kind of outcome. While everyone hid their head with their hands, y/n created a large shield to block her own blast from striking anyone on her team.

"Great," Sam grunted as he stood up straight, "that's another problem we've got. Not even your magic can get through the big purple thunderstorm."

"How are we meant to get to Agatha when your powers can't even break through?" Bucky asked, and the team turned to y/n for answers.

"I don't know," she shrugged, "but I have a feeling we've got something else to worry about."

"What do you mean?" Wanda asked.

"Do you guys see that?" Wong asked, squinting at the storm.

When the team turned to see what Wong was talking about, a tenseness overcame them. Another set of illusions emerged from the fog, but it was much more than a replica of Agatha. The sight sent chills down everyone's spine as they cautiously watched.