This issue wraps up the Red Skull storyline that began in issue #14, returning us to the present day after the time-travel shenanigans of the last issue, in which Captain America convinced (or tricked) Korvac—the villain behind the villain, and the one who had been posing as the Watcher—to return to the original scene of the crime (the end of issue #17), when Cap killed Red Skull in front of Sharon Carter and released his Cosmic Cube power into Korvac. (Time travel, right?)
Sharon watches as, unknown to her, history repeats itself and Cap rushes the Skull with his shield/sword drawn…
…and she realizes not only that, as she has been urging him since issue #16, he is going to kill his greatest foe, but that “the Watcher” looks deviously pleased about it.
This time around, however, Cap switches his sword to a staff at the last second and merely cracks it against the Skull’s back.
No one is more upset than Korvac, although the Skull thinks this is just another failure on Cap’s part to do what’s required—with which Korvac agrees.
For some reason Korvac does not expect Cap to know who he is, even though they both came from the last issue‘s future.
Of course, Sharon did not have the benefit of reading the last issue and therefore does not know what happened when Cap killed the Skull and Korvac took all his power…
…so we get a Cap recap, culminating in his own plan (and someone else feeling neglected).
Sharon asks a fascinating question…
…but when she restates it in terms of being screwed either way, Cap says he has a way out of their sticky wicket.
After Korvac takes umbrage at being called a coward, he takes Cap and Sharon to Galactus’ ship to… well, run away… but Cap lays his cards on the table.
Defiant as ever, Cap forces Korvac to admit that, despite all his power, he needs Cap to defeat the Skull.
Before the Red Skull can finish absorbing Galactus’ universal data banks, he senses a disruption, which he investigates himself while putting an end to his oldest foe—in a cruelly personal way that he hopes will force Cap to kill (again).
To make things even worse, the Skull makes Cap’s shield spiky, forcing Cap to use his greatest weapon…
…the power of love (followed by a right cross).
Skull is not too upset, though, as he prepares to finish his download (stuck at 99%, probably), and when Cap tries to warn him not to, he doubts his sincerity—but he should have known better.
He did try to warn him, which may make him feel better about what amounts to murder: unlike last time, this is premeditated and planned, but no less necessary, which he has presumably accepted by now.
Sharon thinks there’s not way out, but Cap eyes the Cosmic Cube in the middle of the Red Skull goo and reaches for it…
…and just like that, Dorothy and Toto are back in Kansas. After Cap ponders the chances of the Red Skull doing the same, he starts to address the elephant to the room before he notices he’s taking to himself.
Which way did she go, Cap, which way did she go? Come back for the next issue to see.
ISSUE DETAILS
Captain America (vol. 3) #19, July 1999: Mark Waid (writer), Andy Kubert (pencils), Jesse Delperdang (inks), Gregory Wright (colors), Todd Klein (letters). (More details at Marvel Database.)
Collected in: Captain America: Heroes Return–The Complete Collection Vol. 2.
PREVIOUS ISSUE: Captain America #18 (June 1999)
ALSO THIS MONTH: Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #11, Avengers #18 and Black Panther #9, and Avengers Forever #8 (July 1999)
NEXT ISSUES: Captain America #20-22 (August-October 1999)
THE VIRTUES OF CAPTAIN AMERICA 
I re-read this issue after your post and discovered that my memory/interpretation of it was off. Can I go back and edit my comment on #18? 🙂
I could have sworn that Waid had Cap come back, to the point in time he killed Skull, so he could defeat him by not killing him. That would be the stronger and cleaner and more satisfying story structure to that plot development. Especially since the entire saga began with Cap debating with Korvac that he could find a better way than pre-meditated murder. Also, in 1999, it would be the development truest to Cap’s character (not to mention a Gruenwald-style rebuff to the “grim and gritty” heroes of that era).
Because it made so much sense to me, and also because it’s not clear if Cap’s initial plan was anything more than sabotaging the ship’s antimatter engines, that was how I interpreted it.
But it does seem clear that, once the Skull indicates he thinks the antimatter stream is the data beam, Cap purposefully tricks the Skull into killing himself- which is tantamount to killing him. Cap certainly seems disingenuous when he says “Don’t go in there Skull I’m begging you”.
As ever, Waid’s entire catalog of work on Cap is frustratingly inconsistent. Some great stories, but also some reprehensible stories from the point of view of both story logic/structure/theme and Cap’s prior values system.
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Correction: my other comment was on issue #17 not #18.
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