*Bucky's POV*

Walking every inch of the tiny apartment, I can't bring myself to sit down. I have to keep moving to keep myself sane. To keep myself from losing control, trying to find the person who gave me a reason to resist compulsion. After everything, all the fighting, the running, finding out her own identity, somehow, she managed to lose even when she thought she was safe. But even then, did I now realize that her coming here was a mistake in the first place because here in Vienna, the streets have eyes and Avalon is someone who has a target on their back.

Yet again, so do I. Though, I just have a good way of hiding it.

A knock interrupts my thoughts and I sigh in relief, even though I don't know if it is Steve that's outside the door. With silent footsteps, I easily move across the room, towards the door, but I stop just as my right hand grasps the doorknob. Breathe, everything's going to be fine. Letting out a puff of air, I turn the knob, preparing myself for what is to come. Putting on a smile, I open the door, expected to Steve, I'm greeted by all of his companions. Confusion consumes me as I step aside, allowing all five of them to walk inside.

"I can explain," are the first words Steve says, just as I close the door. "We all care about Avalon, and they wish for her safety as much as I do. We're going to need all the help we can get."

I struggle to keep the smile on my face, but it doesn't falter, "I don't want to lose her, but hell, I don't know what went wrong. I don't know how they found her."

No one says a thing, but I know that they're all wondering the same thing. All at once, we're trying to create any possible solution to the situation because it doesn't make sense. But at the same time, in some dark and twisted way, it's like Avalon knew that this was going to happen sooner or later.

"I think I know why," a man says next to Steve, a bow and arrow in hand, and to my knowledge, I know that's Clint Barton; the man Avalon was with in Boston and almost like a father figure to her. "Avalon came to me before she went off to find you, Bucky, and she was just in this state of panic because she feared that she would never be anything more than the assassin. Not only that, but she only views herself as a villain, but she wants to protect everyone and while doing so, she forgot to protect herself when she was face to face with danger."

In the midst of the confusion, the desolation of a hero is shown. We all stand in the same room—heroes and villains—trying to solve the mystery as to what caused Avalon's downfall. Her loss of focus. Her undying rage for those who caused her pain. But for what I know, for what I feel, she wanted to destroy what was left of her past. Tear down the buildings. Destroy those stand in the way of her revival. Because after all, that's who Avalon is. That's who she's always been, only now, she opened her eyes.

But now, she'll have to find out the truth the hard way. A truth that I should've said sooner, but we were never in the same place at the same time. Actually, that's a lie, but in my defense, I couldn't voice the words that she wasn't ready to hear. Because in some way, I blame it on myself. I blame her entire existence on myself; I feel like I could of managed to get out of my trance and helped her return to her old life. But all things aside, no one is at a fault. But I could have told the truth. About her. About how she came to be. And how we've always been connected.

Steve puts a hand on my shoulder, and I can feel the tension rising, "Bucky, what aren't you telling us?"

My breathing hitches, my palms becoming sweaty. I've obtained this information for quite some time, but sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same. And this happens to be in those specific categories.

"You know how Avalon always had a feeling? Whenever there was danger? She doesn't know why, but I do. I know why she gets that feeling."

Steve speaks up, "What do you mean? There's an explanation for that?"

"When Hydra first took Avalon in, they were doing procedures, as a protocol, to see what she could handle. They didn't realize that she had a weak heart. I don't think she did either, but I'm no doctor," I pause, not knowing how to word my thoughts because that's what they've always been; thoughts that I could never speak out loud, but I've been try to get her to realize it for so long. "Her heart began to fail and they knew they couldn't lose her because there was something... different about her. I had been outside the laboratory when it happened. That's when I stepped forward and told them to use my heart."

Steve's face fills with uncertainty, "Your heart? That doesn't make any sense."

I sigh, being to pace around the apartment, trying to explain the information that I've withheld from them. I thought it'd be easy, but I forget that they hadn't come face to face with Hydra's control themselves. They don't know Hydra like I do. Like Avalon does. And I only fear is that they will use everything I know against me because they know I'll come for her. They'll do whatever they can to get what they want.

"Avalon couldn't become the Red Ghost with her heart. I couldn't let her die on that table because she was just a girl," the words feel foreign, but I've already said too much. "She could've died that day and she would've been nothing more than an idea, but Hydra liked my proposal, so they gave her the other half of my heart."

Looking around the room, the only one who seems to think I'm not crazy, is Clint. But presumably, it's because he knows the most about my predicament; also, as if he knew all along, but that wouldn't correlate. We make eye contact, to ensure that we're both on the same page.

The slight smile doesn't fade from is face, "So that's how she knew whether you were okay or not and where you were?"

"What do you think I've been doing the entire time? I had to protect what was mine. Evidently, it meant that I had to protect the one person that means the most to me," I say the words that's I've always wished to tell Avalon, but I never gained the courage to do so.

"Does she know? I mean, that you've been protecting not only her, but her heart?"

She was never supposed to find out, my thoughts consume me. Whether it was out of habit to look out for the person--the other assassin--I worked closely with for many decades, there was always more to my actions. I didn't know it at the time, but I was really looking after what was mine; her heart. But not only that, it was her also. Now, that sounds possessive, but it's the truth. Avalon and I share the same fate--different situations, same outcome--and though, what I offered is something I shouldn't have, I felt something that day. When she was lifeless. When she didn't know what her life was supposed to be. Regrettably, this is my fault and I'm just now speaking for my consequences.

"They swore me to secrecy. How are you supposed to tell someone that they only have half a heart? Especially when it was the heart of someone who was once told to kill her?"

And before the entire room falls into a daze, another speaks up. "Huh, Hydra sure does know their science," Tony states, almost intrigued by their work and I don't know whether to be frightened or not.

But now, Avalon's life is on the line and she's nowhere to be found.

a/n - hey! i've been mia, but i'm back now! n and i are on vacation together atm, so prepare for some updates. alright, enjoy and feel free to tell me what you think (: - k