Hey guys and gals. We're almost at the end now. This is mostly where my mad idea comes into effect, but a little more gets explained at the beginning of the next chapter as well.

If you want, I can post 3 times this week - today (Monday), Wednesday and Friday, but you'd have to let me know, cause otherwise I'll keep the same schedule of Friday for Chapter 9, and then next Wednesday (3rd October). It doesn't bother me, just have to know if this is something you want.

In other news, I went to the gym yesterday, and I hope I can go twice a week (anxiety/other plans not getting in the way though). I went with mama, and we were there for a couple of hours - chatting and being shown how to use all the machines. I'm gonna go again tomorrow.

Anyway, on with the chapter. I hope you guys love it. Thanks to everybody who's favourited, subscribed, followed, kudosed and all that jazz.

Please R&R/comment if you want to.

T.C

PS. It's still not too late to suggest things for the next book of the series. I haven't started writing it yet, but I have a lot of it planned, so if there's anything you want to see or have happen, let me know and I'll try to incorporate it.

~oOo~

Chapter 8

I'm Dying To Live

It was the spring of nineteen forty-four, and it was cold. From my time as a prisoner, I was used to the cold, but it still wasn't a nice feeling. The only positives about this situation, were the facts that I was with Bucky and the Howling Commandos, I was wearing more clothes, and we had camping rolls which provided more heat during the cold nights.

We were en route to one of the HYDRA bases that we'd marked on the map, but it still meant a few days trek on foot, and camping out in the cold. We couldn't get dropped off or driven closer without alerting our enemy, so it involved making our way through the woods.

Steve and Dum Dum were trying to keep our spirits up, but all of us were battling our own demons from our time at the Austrian munitions base – Bucky and I dealing with more than the others. None of them had been tortured and experimented on by Zola, and I had been held captive for longer than the rest of them. I'd only just started to gain back a lot of the weight that I'd lost during my months of captivity… At least you couldn't see my ribs through my skin anymore, and my hip bones were becoming less noticeable as I ate more food.

So on our third day of our trek, I decided to take the first watch with Bucky. I was wrapped in a blanket, cuddled up to Bucky as I tried to keep warm. He put his arm round my shoulder and rubbed the top of my arm, and arranged his blanket to cover my legs as well.

"Marry me?" He suddenly said out of the blue. We'd been sitting in silence for quite a while, just enjoying each others company.

"What?" I felt really dumb for asking it, but I had to make sure I'd heard him correctly, and it wasn't just my mind playing tricks on me.

"Marry me?"

Okay, so I had heard him correctly, but that was not going to be how I remembered being proposed to. It wasn't going to be in the middle of the woods, in the cold, on our way to kick some HYDRA butt. And I didn't want him doing it because he believed one of us wasn't going to make it back to camp.

"If you're going to propose, you're going to do it right." I told him, looking up into his eyes, "I expect you to get down on one knee, not in the middle of a mission, and I expect a ring at some point."

And, believe it or not, two weeks after we arrived back at camp, Bucky got down on one knee in the middle of the mess hall, and asked me to marry him. Of course I said yes, and he slid the simple, elegant, and beautiful ring onto my finger.

~oOo~

What seemed like years after that event, the war had come to an end, and we were allowed to go home. We'd defeated HYDRA before anything got out of hand, and Johann Schmidt, aka the Red Skull, had been killed in the firefight, and while Jacques had been injured by a stray bullet, all of us had made it out of the base unharmed. We'd lost some men after they had been vaporized by some of the HYDRA technology that could be found in their guns, but the enemy had lost a lot more men then we had. Some had even surrendered when we started to overwhelm them.

I travelled to America with Bucky and Steve a week after we had taken down the last HYDRA base, our main mission being finished, and all of us Howling Commandos in desperate need of some leave. I met Bucky's parents and siblings, we bought a small house in New York with the help of Howard, and we married in a small ceremony three years to the day from when we'd first met in London. Chester walked me down the aisle, and all the team were in attendance. We even had some empty seats for those who were no longer with us, like my family and Abraham.

Soon after we got married, Steve bought the house next to us, and had finally worked up enough courage to ask Peggy out, and nobody could be more proud of him, then the two of us. I was always so excited when she came round, because we'd almost always catch up over a cup of tea and some home-made biscuits – made by Mrs. Ana Jarvis, who had taken quite a shine to the both of us – and Steve would always wait until we'd finished, or he'd just come join us. He always looked like an overgrown puppy as he watched us, awkwardly holding his cup.

And after nearly five years of marriage, I finally got an inkling that I might be pregnant. So it meant a trip to the doctors, and then a weeks wait for the results to come back. I didn't want to get Bucky's hopes up, only to have them shot down if it turned out to be false. I didn't think I'd be able to bear the look of heartbreak on his face. We'd been trying so hard for over a year, and every test had come back false, and every time it happened, we just held each other and cried.

The results came back as positive. I couldn't stop smiling, and I had the urge to start skipping down the street on the way home. And when I got there, I started baking cakes and making dinner; dancing around the kitchen with the batter bowl under my arm.

Months seemed to pass by amazingly fast, and my bump quickly grew. Bucky couldn't stop touching it, and would always talk about how he was going to be a dad to anybody who would listen. He would stare in amazement as the bump continued to grow, and kept telling Steve how I was growing a tiny human, and Steve would always smile and agree with his best friend – even though he could see it happening before his eyes, and heard it all before.

But, of course, nothing could remain perfect forever. As the months passed by, and my bump continued to grow, I started to see things. A person through the scope of a rifle; blood splattered across the walls and the floor. Dead bodies seemed to haunt me wherever I went, their soulless eyes staring at me. And then the worst one came… The bloodied body of an older Howard and an unknown woman laying slumped in the wreck of a car, with two people standing at the boot.

They weren't trying to help Howard or the woman, only taking out a briefcase and putting it on the back of the motorcycle behind them, before they turned around to face me, and I was shocked by who they were. It was Bucky and I, but at the same time, it wasn't us. Bucky had a metal arm and longer hair, and the both of us looked like we didn't have any sort of emotion behind our eyes… And they were both looking at me. My doppelgänger raised her gun, and fired.

That's when the whole scene changed. The blond from the bridge was leaning out of a train screaming 'no!' as we fell further away from him. Soldiers were dragging us through the snow, a bloody trail following us. Doctors were crowding round us, and I could hear the saw cutting through bone.

"You are to be the new fists of HYDRA. Put them on ice." A small man in glasses was smirking at me as he stabbed something into my chest, before they moved me somewhere else; a door closing, and ice spreading out around me…

~oOo~

I lashed out at somebody, almost at the exact same time as my Soldier did. The scientist working on his arm, and the doctor checking me over for any injuries, didn't stand a chance of getting away. They both went flying across the room before the guns were trained on us. And this incident would mean Pierce would get called in, and depending on his mood, he would decide what our punishment was going to be.

"Sir." I heard somebody say, but I wasn't really paying attention to them. I was too busy thinking about the memory… No, it wasn't a memory. It was more of a what could have been, "They're… They're unstable. Erratic."

However, the barred door opened, and in walked Pierce, Rumlow, and two other men from outside. The guns were still trained on us, ready to fire if we so much as twitched, but Pierce held up his hands in a motion to get them to lower their weapons. The door to the vault closed while the head of HYDRA put his glasses in the inside pocket of his jacket.

"Mission report." He said, but we didn't answer him, continuing to just stare blankly ahead, "Mission report now." He stepped closer to us, not saying another word as he calmly back handed my Soldier. I was on my feet almost in an instant, only to sit back down when the guns were aimed at me again; silently staring daggers at the black clad soldiers.

"The man on the bridge." The Soldier spoke after a few seconds, "Who was he?"

It took Pierce a couple of seconds to answer the question, but the way he answered told me that there was more to the story. "You met him earlier this week on another assignment." But in my memory – or whatever it was – the blond was featured heavily.

"We knew him."

Pierce pulled up a seat and sat down in front of us, almost like he was saying 'you will look at me,' without actually saying anything. "Your work has been a gift to mankind. You've shaped the century. And I need you two to do it one more time." I looked to the side, watching as the Soldiers face fell as Pierce kept on talking, "Society's at a tipping point between order and chaos. And tomorrow morning, we're gonna give it a push. But, if you don't do your part, I can't do mine. And HYDRA can't give the world the freedom it deserves."

"But we knew him." The Soldier gave a small smile, and I took his flesh hand in mine, and gave it a slight squeeze.

There was more silence in the following seconds; Pierce silently getting up and turning away from us. "Prep them."

"They've been out of cryofreeze too long."

"Then wipe them and start over."

I couldn't stop the tears from welling up in my eyes, as we held each others hands. I know that they would prep him first, and would make me watch, before they would do the same thing to him… Make him watch as they prepped me. So I didn't know if it was worse to watch and forget, or forget and then watch, because the Soldier would remember it happening to me, but I wouldn't remember it happening to him until the vague memories started to come at the end of the mission.

A couple of the agents pulled me away from the Soldier and held me in place, while two doctors pushed him back on the chair, and put the gum guard in his mouth; a look of defiance on his face as the metal clamps secured him in place, and the electrified plates came down around his head.

He screamed around the mouth guard, and it echoed round the vault. I could tell he was scared, because who wouldn't be scared as an electric current pulsed through your head, making you forget everything but what they wanted you to remember… And Pierce and Rumlow just walked away.

"You're cowards!" I screamed at their retreating backs, which just earned me a solid punch to the jaw as they restrained me, but that didn't stop me, "Men like you will never win… Not in the end."

The head of HYDRA briefly turned back to face me. "But we already have." And then he continued to walk away from the Soldiers screams, and I knew full well that my own would be following soon after. And I knew that it would be just as painful as the Soldiers was, only I knew I wouldn't remember any of it happening.

~oOo~

Once the both of us had been briefed on what our mission was, guards came to collect me. I was given my mask to put on, but I noticed some swelling and bruising on my jaw, but I couldn't remember how it came to be there, or even how I got it. Everything but the mission, my training, my victims, and HYDRA was gone, like there was a big, blank space where I knew something had to have been there, but it wasn't there anymore.

None of that mattered though. The only thing that mattered, was the mission. I could figure out what the blank space in my mind was later, but given the other times that it had happened in the past, it most likely came from the memory wipe before missions, and would come back at some point if it was important. Most important things came back in the end.

In the end, the agents had to sneak me into S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters, and take me up to Pierce's office via a long, and convoluted way so that nobody would see me entering, and run the risk of our whole plan failing before it had even started. That would've just been a pointless waste of time and effort, if it happened.

So while Pierce was downstairs greeting the World Security Council, I made myself at home in his office. He hasn't told me why I was there, only that he wanted me there for a little bit, and that I was then going to join the Soldier when he told me to.

And after exchanging some pleasantries, Pierce was finally able to talk about the main reason they had flown all the way to Washington D.C.. "I know the road hasn't exactly been smooth, and some of you would have gladly kicked me out of the car along the way." He turned round to look at the 'Countdown to Launch' on the glass screen, "Finally, we're here. And the world should be grateful." He held up his champagne glass and took a small drink, before somebody over the intercom interrupted.

"Attention all S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, this is Steve Rogers." The look on Pierce's face said everything I needed to know, "You've heard a lot about me over the last few days. Some of you were even ordered to hunt me down. But I think it's time you know the truth." There was a pause, and I went to get up, but Pierce held up his hand to stop me, "S.H.I.E.L.D. isn't what we thought it was. It's been taken over by HYDRA. Alexander Pierce is their leader." The four Council members turned to look at him as he made his way closer to me, "The STRIKE and Insight crew are HYDRA as well. I don't know how many more, but I know they're in the building. The could be standing right next to you." Pierce got something out of his pocket, "They almost have what they want. Absolute control. They shot Nick Fury. And it won't end there. If you launch those Helicarriers today, HYDRA will be able to kill anyone that stands in their way. Unless we stop them. I know I'm asking a lot. But the price of freedom is high. It always has been... And it's a price I'm willing to pay. And if I'm the only one, then so be it. But I'm willing to bet I'm not."

"You smug son of a bitch." Councilman Rockwell came out with, while Councilwoman Hawley asked, "What have you done to Diana?" at almost the exact same time.

Pierce just has a slight smile on his face as he continued to pace up and down the room. Obviously he was angry about getting called out, but the smile also said that he still owned some of the cards. "A Hydra is a monster from Greek Mythology, but some names changed when Greek Myth turned into Roman Mythology." The Council members were looking at him like he'd lost his mind, but none of them dared to interrupt him, "Zeus got turned into Jupiter, Hades was Pluto, and so on. But the one which is more important in this conversation isn't a God or a monster, but rather, a Goddess. The Goddess of the hunt, forest and hills, the moon, and archery. In Greek Mythology, her name is Artemis, but in Roman Mythology –" Pierce walked over to me, and led me to the centre of the room; removing the mask which he had insisted that I wear while not bothering to tell the Soldier to put his on, "– her name is Diana." And he stepped away from me, letting the Council see my face.