Savage

by awalkerlifeforme

She was everything people feared. She wanted to defend the world but also wanted revenge on those who wrecked hers. The ones who forced her to leave Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes. Now she's back and while Steve attempts to get back the woman he's always considered his sister, Bucky hopes to thaw the ice that has formed around her heart. A heart that he had always believed was his.

25. Chapter 25

Bucky's P.O.V.

September 20th, 1943
Padova, Italy

There was another fight on the horizon. Bucky knew that. All of the soldiers knew that. They had known from the beginning that one day there would be a large battle. And it seemed that they were about to enter one. Bucky was sitting with the rest of the soldiers as they spoke about everything that was coming. They only knew so much about the fight at this point. All that Bucky knew was that they needed to be prepared. The Nazi's were getting more and more vicious with every passing month. He was currently cleaning his M1903 A1 Springfield rifle in preparation. The other men were also cleaning their own weapons.

The air around the camp was still and tense. They were just a few days away from the invasion. They were attempting to fight back against German forces that were invading a civilian area of Italy. The last that Bucky had heard, it was called Azzano. It was in the northeast corner of Italy. They had managed to gather a large amount of troops. The soldiers that had been with them beforehand, from the 69th and 92nd Infantry Regiments, were also joining the fight. There would be five companies deployed for the battle. It made for over two hundred soldiers. Many were from other Allied countries.

Placing his rifle back down on the ground, Bucky began to run his fingers through his hair. He wasn't looking forward to the mission. Mostly because he never knew what was going to happen. He didn't know how this was going to work out. And the worst part was that they'd been off of the grid for so long that he hadn't been able to send a letter to Vika in a long time. Bucky was sure that the last letter that he had sent to Vika hadn't gotten to her until the beginning of July. And he didn't know when the next letter that he would send her would actually get to her. He didn't want her worrying. But he was sure that she was.

It had now gotten to the point that even Bucky was worrying. It had been a year and a half since he had deployed and they had gone on plenty of smaller scale invasions. They were actually reasonably frequent. And Bucky had worked as a sniper on some larger missions that they had gone on. But this was only the second of the severe missions that they had gone on. They had lost almost twenty soldiers during that mission, and Bucky had very nearly been shot. But he had managed to escape unscathed, and he had never mentioned the incident to Vika. But this one... He knew that this one was dangerous.

"Ready for this?" Dugan asked, distracting Bucky from his thoughts.

He shook his head and picked his rifle back up, continuing to clean out the barrel. "Hell no," Bucky said honestly. He was never ready for missions, but he had to be. "But we gotta do this."

There was no way out of this one. And when they made it back, he knew that he would have racked up quite a few points. He would just be that much closer to getting to come home. "Can't even imagine what we're gonna see out there," Jones muttered from Bucky's other side.

"Best not to think about it," Bucky said.

They weren't left in peace for very long. Their Colonel stepped forward and cleared his throat. The men all glanced up from everything that they had been doing. "Gentlemen!" he called. Any remaining chatter died. Everyone wanted to know what he had to say. And, mostly, they were still hoping that there might have been a way out of the fight. "Four days from now we will be in Azzano to fight back against German forces. It's going to be a big fight. We may lose some friends. But we continue fighting on for them. For your friends and families back home. Get some rest. We march towards Azzano tomorrow.

"If you've got any letters that you want to write... write them now," he continued, trailing off slightly. Bucky found himself feeling sick. They were already heading towards Azzano. Bucky pushed his hands into his legs. He didn't want to do this. He didn't want to have to leave without letting Vika know what was happening. He didn't want to have to write a letter that Vika would only read if she was attending his funeral. "Leave 'em here at base. In the event of a death, we will send them back to your homes."

The Colonel nodded at them all before turning and walking off. Some of the men immediately scattered to write letters. Bucky remained seated, not wanting to recognize the terrifying thought that the letter that he was about to write might be the last one that he would ever write. But it couldn't be. He would see her again. There was so much that he had yet experience with her. With everyone.

"Cheery," Dugan said, making Bucky smile.

He was always good with making the men laugh, even during the darkest of times. "We're making it out of this mess, boys. Don't you worry about a thing," Jones said confidently.

And they would make it out of this. Bucky believed that. He had enough things to live for. "I don't know about you two, but I've gotta get home," Bucky said, remembering Vika's warning before he deployed.

"Why's that?" Dugan asked curiously.

Both men watched as the edges of Bucky's lips turned upwards in a smile. He did miss her very eloquent way with words. "Because my girl said that she'd break my nose if I didn't. And I believe her," Bucky said.

The three of them all laughed at the thought. Women were not supposed to be tough like that. They were supposed to cry when their men left. Not threaten to break their noses if they didn't come back. But that was why Bucky loved her. Because she wasn't the normal type of woman. She was the type of woman that was looked at as strange or abnormal. He knew that those were things that had always hurt her. Just because she was different, people looked down on her. But it was the same reason that Bucky had always looked up to her.

Dugan patted Bucky on the back, still laughing softly. "Barnes, man, I can't wait to meet your girl," he said. Bucky smiled and nodded. He wanted Vika to meet both Dugan and Jones. He had a feeling that she would like them. "She got a sister?" Dugan asked after a beat.

Bucky laughed and shook his head. "Only child, I'm afraid," he said.

A moment later, Jones started patting Dugan on the back. "Dugan, we all know that she'd kick your ass. Hell, any woman would kick your ass," Jones teased.

They both smiled at Dugan's look. Bucky didn't bother saying that Vika could have kicked anyone's ass, including his own. "Funny," Dugan snapped at them.

"Maybe she's got a friend," Jones put in.

She wasn't exactly the kind of person that really had friends. She only had a few that she trusted. But she did have Agent Carter. "She does have a friend, actually. Agent Carter; a friend of hers that works with the S.S.R. just like her. British. Pretty dame," Bucky said truthfully. She was pretty. She was sweet, too. But she was nothing compared to Vika. "But I think she's trying to get my buddy with her."

He was no fool. He knew that Vika was trying to get Steve together with Agent Carter. She was probably bored without him and looking for someone to harass. "Thought she didn't like that kind of stuff?" Jones asked.

Bucky shook his head. "She doesn't. I think that she just likes to stir the pot," Bucky said. The other two smiled. "But I wouldn't mess with Agent Carter either. She might not be quite like Victoria, but neither one of them are good to start a fight with."

All Bucky could see was the first day that he had seen them. Agent Cater had punched one of the men and Vika had done... he wasn't quite sure what she had done. All he knew was that it was incredibly impressive. "Women are getting stronger and tougher," Dugan said.

Only some of them. Bucky remembered Connie and Bonnie from the night before he had deployed. They had been typical women. "Well they've always been smarter," Jones said.

The three men nodded in agreement. Some men didn't think so, but Bucky knew that the only way to really be happy in life was to recognize that your girl is always smarter than you are. They sat in silence for a while as they went back to cleaning their weapons. They had been ordered to give them a good once-over before starting on the foot march towards Azzano. Bucky had just finished cleaning the barrel and was now putting the weapon back together. Once he had it back together, he slipped it into his things and sat back on the grass, twisting the chain with Vika's pictures around his fingers.

He knew that Dugan and Jones were watching him. They weren't that focused on women. Dugan wasn't with any women at the moment, and Jones had been with his woman for a long time. He'd already had time with her. Not to mention that they had been on the rocks when Jones had left. He wasn't sure if she even wanted to see him again.

They were silent for a little while before Dugan spoke again. He had a mischievous look in his eyes. "Saw you eyeing that jewelry shop the other day when we were downtown, Barnes," he said.

A small smile fell over Bucky's face. They had been doing a quick run downtown the other day to check for German officers that might have been wandering around. They hadn't found any, but they had been walking back and forth to see what was happening. Mostly it was just a way to keep from having to go back to the camp early. They had walked by a jewelry store and Bucky couldn't help but stopping to look in the window. He had spotted a few engagement rings and had smiled. Not that he had been ready to buy her anything like that, but he had thought about the day that he would be ready to buy one.

He hadn't realized that the other two had seen him. Bucky shook his head at them. "Not ready quite yet. We haven't really even been together that long," he said.

"Considering the two of you grew up together, I think time's kind of irrelevant," Jones said. Steve had said the same thing before Bucky had deployed. They had known each other for so long. Time seemed to be a little different in their case. Jones motioned around them. "And look around you. Time might be kind of short."

A lump formed in Bucky's throat as he started nodding. "Write it in your letter. Just in case," Dugan offered.

Bucky smiled and looked at his two friends that were sitting on each side of him. This was going to work for the best. He'd see both Vika and Steve again. "I got you two watching my back?" Bucky asked them.

"Hell yeah," Dugan said.

"Damn straight. And that better go both ways," Jones said.

All three of them laughed and nodded. They would always protect each other. "We're not gonna need those letters. These Nazi bastards, they're going out," Bucky said, patting the other two on the back. "But I guess I'll write the letter anyways," he muttered.

Maybe it was just something that he wanted to get off of his chest. Maybe he just wanted a chance to write down everything that he was feeling towards her, and everything that he hadn't gotten the chance to say yet. Either way, he got up from the ground and headed into the tent that the men shared. The other two stayed outside as they began packing up their things. They would be leaving at first light. That meant that everything had to be packed up tonight. Bucky grabbed a piece of paper and a pen and took a seat on his mattress roll. He had to write all of the things that he wanted to tell her. Just in case something did happen.

Vika,

This isn't a letter that I wanted to write you. Everything that I'm going to write in this letter are things that I'd much rather tell you in person. But in a few days we're going out on a dangerous mission. We're trying to beat back the Nazi's in a town in Italy called Azzano. We don't really know what we're walking into. We've been warned to write letters just in case. We're really off the grid right now, so I can't just send the letter. They said in the event of a death, they'll send the letter as soon as they can. And, if not, the letter will never get to you. We'll hope for the latter.

Where do I even begin? There are so many things that I want to say to you. So many things that I can only hope that I'll still have the time to tell you. And I honestly believe that these are all things that I'll get to tell you at some point in our lives. So I'm not afraid to say this. As far as I'm concerned, this is just something to help me get to bed tonight. But - in the event that I'm wrong - you deserve to know all of this.

So let's start the entire list. Sorry that it's so long. I suppose that you'll forgive me. If something happens to me, I want you to move on. I know that this is going to be the one part that you ignore. But, please, for me, don't. Don't ignore this. I don't want you to be by yourself for the rest of your life. I really don't. I want you to find someone else to love and I want you to be with them. The one thing that I've always wanted - more than anything else - is your happiness. That's the only thing that matters to you. And I know that I'm not the only person that can make you happy. So find someone else. If something does happen to me, nothing would make me happier than to see you move on.

You have always been the best person that I knew. Now don't tell me that this is something that every man has to say to their woman. You know me, Vika. You know that I don't lie. You really are the best person that I know. In every single way. Maybe that's why I waited so long for you. Because I knew that once I'd met you, there would never be anyone that could ever live up to you.

There is nothing about you that I don't love. And I mean that. There isn't a single thing about you that I don't love. Your hair is different, and so are your eyes, but they're stunning. Everything about them is perfect. And the way that you dress? So some people make fun of you for not wearing 'womanly' clothes. Screw them. You're perfect just the way that you are. You're the smartest person that I've ever met, and I love that about you. You're so driven. You don't care if people say that a woman can't do something. In fact, I like to think that when you hear that, it just makes you want to do something even more.

Never let anyone get you down. Bad things happen sometimes, Vika. And people will use those moments against you. But I trust that you won't let it get to you. Because you're stronger than them. You're the person that I know can make it through anything. I know that you can make it past not getting a Harvard degree. I know that you can make it as a woman in a man's world. Because that's exactly who you are. You can do anything that you set your mind to. Just remember that you've got people rooting for you. Always.

Keep an eye on Steve. And make sure that he keeps an eye on you. You're both little punks. I swear that you're the exact same person, just split up into two separate bodies. You both get into things that are far bigger than the two of you. Getting into fights with people that are ten times bigger than you. I should talk, right?Either way, the two of you are siblings. Do me a favor and don't forget that. Protect each other, okay? And tell Steve and I love him, too. And never leave each other. He's been so glad to have you back. So stay with each other. Remember all of the good times and support each other.

I don't care what happened for all of those years. This is something that I think that you need to know. I don't care where you went and I don't care what happened to you. I don't care if you did anything bad. The only thing that I care about is that you came back to me. I know that whatever happened out there was something terrible. I could see it in your eyes every time that you spoke about it. And I never wanted to drag up all of those memories. I never did. Like I said, the only thing that mattered to me is that you came back.

Maybe something else that matters is what happened while you were gone. Not a day ever passed that I hated you. And not a day ever passed that I didn't think about a long time I was just worried about you. I was terrified that something had happened to you. But I should have known better. You're too strong for that. When I finally came to the realization that you were alive, but something had caused you to leave, I wanted to be angry. I wanted to hate you. But I couldn't. I was always in love with you. And the only thing that ever mattered to me was that you made your way back to me. For a long time I thought that you never would. I'd never been so glad to be wrong.

Every day that I've been out here, something has reminded me of you. I think that I'm constantly thinking about you. So, actually, everything that happened to me out here was your fault. I'm kidding, I'm totally kidding, please don't take that to heart. I mean when I'm walking. It's why I've walked into trees and holes and fallen over boxes. But as for the things that remind me of you... They're all over the place. The wind reminds me of the way that you speak. The sun reminds me of your smile. And those are just some of the many reasons that I'm not a poet. But I mean it, Vika. I see you everywhere out here.

Maybe this isn't something that I should tell you. But I feel like you do have the right to know. Because you've never had anyone that you really loved before me. That's what you said. And I believe you. I know that you and Howard Stark shared a kiss. And I don't care. I really don't. I know that the two of you are friends. That never bothered me. But you deserve to know that there was someone before you. Not... physically. Never that. I do still believe in waiting for the person that you're going to marry.

Her name was Betty. I dated her for over a year before coming to Camp Lehigh. But she started talking about marriage and I wasn't ready for that. So I called it off and told her that she deserved for someone else to be with her. I told her that she deserved someone else. I always thought that it was just my way of getting out of a relationship that I wasn't ready for. I just thought that I might have been too young. But now I know the truth. No one before you ever stayed in my life too long because it was just that...They weren't you. You were always the only person that I wanted. So, for all of those years, I waited.

So I suppose that leads me to the last thing that I wanted to tell you. Wow... Even writing it, I'm nervous. You should know that I've been saving up money since I first saw you again. I spent a good chunk of it on the Murano Glass that I got you for your birthday, but I've been saving up since then. I wasn't going to do it for a while. There were still things that I needed to take care of. But I was going to buy you a ring. I was going to ask you to marry I never get the chance to see you again, you should at least know how I really felt about you. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you.

There are so many other things that I want to tell you. There's so much that I could tell you that it would take up the rest of our lives. Just know that I meant every words that I wrote to you. Know that I'll always mean everything.

And since I'm going to see you again soon, this was just a test to myself to see how mushy I could be. And I passed with flying colors! Good for me. I really hope that you don't ever see this. Makes me feel like a little girl for writing all of this. But it is the way that I feel. Honestly. I just wish that I could see the look on your face.

Know that you're always in my mind. And even my last thought will be of you. You always have been the love of my life.

Make me proud. Even prouder than I am now.

From your love (I better be),
James Buchanan 'Bucky' Barnes.

Placing the letter on his lap, Bucky read over it more than once. He read over it three times before finally deciding that he had to stop somewhere. He could have spent the rest of his life writing all of the things that he never got a chance to tell her. He folded up the letter once he was sure that it was satisfactory and pushed it into an envelope, scrawling Vika's name across the front. He gave a deep sigh and turned back. Jones and Dugan had reentered the tent and were heading to their own bedrolls. Like everyone else, they wore a grim smile.

"You writing a novel, Barnes?" Dugan teased.

Bucky smiled and shook his head, holding the thick envelope in his hands. "Just writing down everything that I was too much of a coward to say to her before I left," he said.

Jones shook his head. "You're wasting your time, Barnes. You're going to get back to her. We're all going to get back," he said.

But as the two men moved about their business, getting ready before the foot march to Azzano began tomorrow morning, Bucky noticed something with the other men. They were both carrying letters of their own. And they were just as thick as Bucky's. He let out a little sigh and shook his head. He wasn't the only one that was thinking that something was going to happen. Bucky stood and brought the letter over to the Colonel, praying that it would never be sent.

September 24th, 1943
Azzano, Italy

It was the dead of the night as explosions echoed all across the field that the fight was taking place in. A flare was shot high into the air and Bucky turned back as the bullets began to fly near him. They were getting closer and closer. He knew that it would only be so long before the German troops would be right on top of them. Fires were burning everywhere from the explosions that were coming from the German troops and tanks. There were more soldiers than they had been expecting. That was why they were currently in the process of retreating. The fight was lost. They could only hope to have another chance to attack soon.

Even as Bucky ran from the hail of bullets, he found himself thinking of her. He knew that he wasn't the only one. As they ran, that was all that they could think of. Not the fear that a bullet would hit them or an explosion would dismember them. The only thing that they could think of were the people that they were running for. The fight was not over. Bucky knew that there was still a chance to at least beat back some of the troops. But as an explosion came very close to knocking him off of his feet, Bucky started to think that maybe she would be getting that letter from him. At least he had written everything that he wanted to tell her.

As Bucky and the rest of the troops began to retreat, dashing around a broken tank, an explosions rocked the ground. One man was thrown off of his feet and hit the ground roughly. Bucky didn't stop, knowing that stopping would mean his own life. As he ran, Bucky hopped down over a hill and ducked behind it, pushing back his Kevlar helmet. It would keep the bullets from hitting him. He had gotten lucky with his timing as a large explosion went off not far from the hill, spraying fire and dirt everywhere. Bucky turned back, gripping his rifle tighter, Dugan dove down next to him, covered in dirt and looking exhausted.

Dugan rolled onto his side and looked at Bucky. "There's got to be at least five more of the companies out there!" he shouted over all of the screaming and explosions.

"Radio B Company, tell them we need cover!" Bucky shouted.

A moment later, Jones dove under the small cover that they had as well. He was the one that had been carrying the radio, in the event that they needed backup. And it turned out that they definitely needed backup. But Bucky's hope almost immediately deflated. The radio must have been destroyed as Jones was running. It was smoking and had a large hole in the corner of it. There was no way that they were going to be able to radio anyone else for help.

"That might be tough!" Jones yelled.

Bucky and Jones stared at each other for a moment, wondering what they could do now. "Bucky, behind you!" Dugan shouted.

Without bothering to think about another answer for the radio, Bucky whipped back around. Dugan was firing at German troops that were now heading towards their hiding spot. Bucky placed his rifle up on the top of the small hill, got down on his stomach, and began to fire at everything that he could see through the darkness. It didn't take long before the explosive charges that had been laid out by the Germans began to set off, very close to where they were. They had to duck down, barely able to avoid the heat.

Dugan's hat was knocked off at the blasts. "Here they come!" Bucky shouted.

Bucky hopped upright and sprinted over to the other side of the raised dirt mound that they were hiding behind. He could see more of the German soldiers heading towards them in the distance. He could only hope that there were enough people to shoot at them. If they could kill them all before they got over to them, they might stand a chance. Jones joined him a moment later as they continued shooting at each other. Bucky simply shot one man down after another, unwilling to lose.

"I hate these guys," Dugan growled.

Placing his hat back on his head, Dugan ran after Bucky and Jones and got down in the dirt with them, his rifle in his hands. They started to fire once more, Bucky firing at soldier after soldier. One by one, they fell. But it seemed like every time they fired, more would take their place. Bucky was looking through the sight on top of his rifle to fire again when a bright blue light hit two of the German soldiers, evaporating them. Their skeletons were visible for a moment before they vanished. Gabe jumped backwards as Bucky watched with wide eyes, no longer firing. The Germans had stopped firing, too.

It didn't take long before more and more blue lights were fired. It was to the point that they were lighting up the entire field. The German forces were taken out within a minute, each man turning the startling blue before vanishing before their eyes. It was a minute later that all of the soldiers were gone. Shouts and cheers were echoing in the background as Bucky and the others looked up. People slowly began to get to their feet, wondering if someone had come to help them.

"What the hell was that?" Dugan asked.

No one answered him. No one could understand what had happened. Vika had once mentioned to him that there were all sorts of new weapons that were being designed for the war. But he had thought that she meant something like a new tank or new guns. He certainly had never heard of weapons that evaporated people. Men were screaming behind them - with fear or excitement, he couldn't tell - as Bucky, Jones, and Dugan got to their feet. They made a move to head into the battlefield and thank their saviors.

They had just stepped over the hill, with a few other men following them, when another one of the blue lights was fired over towards the mountain range that the German soldiers had come from. More and more of the blue lights were fired and the three men stopped in their tracks, wondering just who it was that had come and stopped the Germans. They weren't left wondering for long. A tank, almost three times the size of any other one that Bucky had seen, began to roll over the hill, the lights nearly blinding.

"That looks... new," Dugan said.

It wasn't just the three of them that were entranced by the giant tank. They all were. The nearly three hundred men that remained alive on the battlefield were all watching the new addition. Bucky looked all over the tank, but there was no indication as to who had helped them. The tank stopped moving at the top of the hill and Bucky watched curiously. He had a suddenly terrible feeling. Why had no soldiers come out to offer their help? Bucky watched as the barrel of the tank began to move. And it was moving straight towards their troops, something that Bucky realized almost too late.

"Down!" Bucky shouted.

But it was too late. He could hear the engine of the tank winding up. The light began to flood through the field as Bucky, Jones, and Dugan all hit the ground. The others did, too, but it only worked for so many of them. The explosion was deafening. The tank had been aimed slightly higher than where Bucky and the other two men had been standing, but they were blown backwards from the blast. Bucky hit on his back and rolled over, dirt and blood covering his entire body. His head was rolling backwards, trying to process everything. He had to get up and move. They had to get away. They could bring back help.

As Bucky looked up - managing to get his vision back after blinking a few times - he realized that it was too late. Bodies were strewn all around him. So many men had already died. He was glad to see that Dugan and Jones were trying to recover on either side of him. His ears were ringing as soldiers began to march towards them. They were circling everyone that was on the ground, trying to recover. Bucky could see the soldiers walking back and forth, shouting in what he thought was German. He watched people from his side, friends of his own, be killed right off the bat. Others were merely shouted at. All he could see was that they were being pushed together.

Bucky's heart was pounding as he looked around them. He caught sight of one of the soldiers not far from him, and coming straight towards them. Bucky unsteadily got to his feet and looked over the newcomers. He was wearing an all-black suit that had silver linings on it. They were carrying two large guns on each one of their arms. Bucky had a feeling that they were flamethrowers. Their masks completely covered their faces, but he knew who they were. The black octopus symbol on the chest of the soldier told him everything that he needed to know. They were Hydra. And they were incredibly dangerous.

Jones and Dugan were close on either side of Bucky. They were trapped in between five Hydra soldiers, about twenty of their own soldiers caught in the fold. Dozens more were caught on all sides of them. "Can we make a run for it?" Jones asked Bucky.

Bucky immediately shook his head. Running wouldn't work. Not with so many people around them. "I wouldn't. We're surrounded," Bucky advised.

"Auf dem boden! Auf dem boden!" one of the Hydra soldiers began to shout.

"Can you translate?" Bucky asked Jones.

He knew that Jones spoke German. He could only hope that the fact would work in their favor. "He's saying to get on the ground," Jones said.

All of the men were smart enough to follow their orders. They knew that they would have to cooperate in order to stay alive for a while longer. Two Hydra soldiers made their way over to stand in front of Bucky and Jones, seemingly knowing that they were the two that they could actually speak with. Bucky dropped onto his knees, wiping dirt and blood out of his eyes. They were all kneeling nervously as the Hydra soldiers walked back and forth, taking any of their weapons that they could find, and searching all of the men.

Finally they seemed to have gotten everything that they wanted. The same Hydra soldier that had spoken first turned around and glanced at Bucky. "Wo sind sie?" he asked.

Bucky glanced over to Jones. "He's asking where we're from," Jones said.

"The United States and its Allies," Bucky answered.

Obviously Jones didn't need to translate that one. The Hydra soldier laughed and shook his head. "Americans," he sneered in a very thick German accent.

"Ask them what they want from us," Bucky told Jones.

"Was wollen sie von uns?"

Jones's German accent wasn't that wonderful, but it was obviously enough for the Hydra soldier to understand. He glanced at Bucky before speaking to Jones again. "Ich habe noch nicht entschieden," the Hydra agent said.

Bucky could feel the tenseness in Jones's stance. He turned to Bucky. "He says that he hasn't decided yet," Jones said.

With a little hint of fear, Bucky realized that it had fallen to him to try and save the lives of all of the men that had survived the attack. He thought as hard as he could for something to say. Come on, Bucky... What would Vika say? "Tell him that he didn't kill us for a reason," Bucky finally settled on, feeling that it was the safe answer.

Jones nodded and turned to the Hydra soldier. "Sie haben uns noch nicht für einen grund getötet," he said.

"Sind sie der führer?"

There was a hint of amusement in the tone of the Hydra soldier's voice. Jones swallowed and nodded, turning back to Bucky. "He wants to know if you're the leader," Jones said.

For a moment, Bucky hesitated. If he said that he was the leader, they might just take it out on him. Or maybe they would kill all of the men and leave Bucky to watch. He wasn't sure what to say. "Tell him that we all work together," Bucky finally said.

"Wir arbeiten zusammen," Jones said.

"Dann werden sie gemeinsam sterben."

Jones stiffened slightly and Bucky felt a hint of fear seep into his stomach. Had he said the wrong thing? "He says that we'll die together," Jones repeated to Bucky.

But he was not going to die. No one was going to die. Not anyone else. So Bucky straightened up and looked in between Dugan and Jones, speaking loud enough so that the others could hear him. "We're not going to die. If they haven't killed us yet, there's a reason. They're looking for prisoners. They aren't going to kill us unless we fight. So we keep calm and wait it out," he announced.

No one looked happy about not fighting, and neither was Bucky as he saw all of the dead friends that surrounded them, but he knew that this was the only chance for the rest of them to live. "You're sure about this?" Dugan asked him.

"We can't run. We'll be shot the second that we move," Bucky said.

Another Hydra soldier walked up to the first one. "Sollten wir sie töten?" the first one asked the second.

"Nein. Sie an das werk senden," the second one said.

Bucky noticed that Jones was listening closely. Once they had stopped speaking to each other, Bucky turned to Jones. "What did they say?" he asked, only understanding the no from the second soldier.

"The one asked if he should kill us. The other said no. That we should be brought to a factory," Jones said.

"Bewegung!" the first Hydra soldier shouted.

"Move," Jones said.

One by one, everyone got to their feet. They were put into lines of two as they walked. Hydra soldiers outnumbered them at least three to one. Maybe more. There was no way that any of them were getting away from this. Not by running. Bucky walked alongside Jones, Dugan following with a dark-haired man. They were brought to a march by the Hydra soldiers and Bucky let out a breath as he glanced back. There must have been nearly two hundred men that were marching to this new factory. Bucky was terrified to move through the now-silent battlefield, stepping over the bodies of his allies. He might be alive, but he was now a prisoner of war.

September 27th, 1943
Austrian Alps

They had spent the last three days hiking up into the Austrian Alps. No one was speaking. Hardly anyone had spoken over the last three days. They had learned the hard way that speaking would only earn them some form of punishment. Bucky had only been hit once, on the first day of hiking, after asking where they were going. But it was hard. Bucky was exhausted from the entire trek. He had a terrible feeling that he might have been falling sick during the trek. He found himself getting weaker, coughing more often, and nearly falling. But Jones and Dugan had been helping him along, ensuring that he wouldn't fall.

Some of them over the past three days had dropped from all sorts of different things. Some of them men had dropped from sickness or exhaustion. Something must have passed over the battlefield. If a man fell, they were shot in the head so that no one could find and save them. There had also been a few men killed simply because they had irritated a guard. It was something that had shocked the men the first time that they had seen it happen. A man had been shot in the head because he had refused to march. Bucky had seen about fifteen men die on their way to the Hydra base.

They had stuck mostly to the woods. Bucky had a feeling that it was too dangerous for them to go into the cities. It made escape impossible. If they ran, there would be no cover. Everyone was exhausted as they hobbled through the cold air. The Hydra soldiers had simply forced them to continue walking. They hadn't eaten or drank anything since they had left Azzano. It didn't help that they were only allowed to stop and sleep for two hours a night, in the coldest hours of the night.

"Barnes," Dugan whispered, not wanting to attract the attention of any of the guards. "You were saying the other day that you know who these guys are."

Bucky had told them that he knew who they were because Vika had told him about them. "My girl told me about them. Hydra. They're a Nazi Deep Science Division. The guy that leads these people, Johann Schmidt thinks that he's more of a god than a man. He's been trying to harness types of powers that were only known in legend," Bucky said.

"That thing that we saw the other day..." Jones trailed off.

The things that Vika had told him about were impossible. There was no way that anyone could actually make those things. It seemed that Dugan shared Bucky's sentiment. "Those are fairy tales. They aren't real. It's just some new kinda gun that they've got," Dugan said. They all nodded their agreement. "These Hydra... They're dangerous?"

"You tell me," Bucky said.

"Holy shit," Jones said slowly.

The building that they were looking at was towering over everything. Guns seated on top of bunkers were pointed out towards the road that the men were walking up. Lights were blasting out towards them, despite the fact that it was the middle of the day. A gate was opened and they were allowed inside. Trucks rumbled back and forth, all carrying more and more weapons. The actual facility towered in the air, quite a few stories about them. On the far left side of the building was something akin to the skyscraper. There were even helicopter landing pads that surrounded the building. They were currently passing a security building.

They were almost immediately sent into the main portion of the building. They walked into the main floor that looked mostly like a weapons manufacturing plant. They must have been brought here to be workers. That was the only thing that Bucky could think made sense. They were led through the main section all the way towards the back of the building. There was a cat walk that was lifted about two stories up into the air and Bucky glanced up. There was a shadow of a man in the far corner.

The man walked back and forth for a moment before coming to a stop. He stood tall and proud as he looked over the men. He had a mustache very typical of German men and cold blue eyes that were shining down on the prisoners. He was wearing a Colonel uniform and Bucky stared at him. On his upper arm was the Hydra band. It was the same one that was on the soldier's uniform, but this one was bright red. He looked very amused as he began to speak. Bucky was very surprised to hear that he spoke English.

"Gentlemen. My name is Colonel Lohmer." He had a very thick accent but he was easy enough to understand. "I am in charge of this Hydra Weapons Facility. For those of you who do not know, Hydra was founded on the belief that humanity could not be trusted with its own freedom. Some people think that we are bent on world domination. In some ways, this is true. But, in other ways, we are only here to help. To show humanity what the truth is. That you are not free. You need to be free from freedom.

"Hydra was formed in ancient times. We are a scientific branch of the Nazi Schutzstaffel. Most recently, our leader, Johann Schmidt has separated Hydra from Nazi Germany to start his own conquest of the world. That's why you saw us attacking German troops, saving your very poor attempt at an attack. You may think of us as draconian anti-freedom principles. It matters not to us. We are dedicated to this newfound political doctrine. World War II is won by Hydra. Do not think otherwise. The Reich shall win because we are unified. In blood as in purpose. While our enemies are the polyglot peasants of Europe and the mongrel masses of North America.

"And that is where you come in. You are now honored to have become some of Hydra's newest workers. This is the way that it works. You do what we tell you to do, and you live to see another day. You fight us, you die. We have taken it easy on you. Over the next few days you will be shown where you will work and where you will sleep. Perform satisfactorily, and we will treat you with respect. You will be fed and unharmed. Fail on your duties, and you will be treated accordingly to your failures," Lohmer said with a cruel smile. "This is Lieutenant Kleiber. He will be assisting with you all."

Bucky and the other men glanced over to see another man that had come to stand with Lohmer. He was wearing a typical German Lieutenant's uniform. He was younger than Lohmer and wore glasses. He had a curious face, rather than the cruel one that Lohmer had, but Bucky knew that neither one would be wise to cross. A hat with the Hydra symbol on it blocked Bucky's view of the rest of him. He came forward to stand with Lohmer on the cat walk.

"One by one, you will come and speak with us. We will be learning your names. We will also be assigning you to your spaces and your duties. Be prepared," Kleiber said before turning off and heading downstairs.

It was exactly as the men said. The prisoners were taken down to holding cells and tossed into barred cages. Bucky found himself being manhandled poorly, and it was not something that he liked. But he didn't fight to get away from the men. He knew enough to know that he had to keep calm. The men were taken one by one to go and speak with the German men. The rest of them were left in cells to wait until they were called in. In the meantime, as the hours passed, the men were fed scraps. It was enough to keep them alive, but not enough to make them strong enough to fight back against their captors.

Dugan and Jones were sitting with Bucky against the back corner of their cage. They had to speak softly so that none of the guards heard them. "Alright. What do we do?" Dugan asked.

"We wait," Bucky said, as much as the thought pained him. "We can't just leave immediately. There are almost two hundred of us. We can't all get out at the same moment."

They would be shot if they all tried to leave at once. "What if only a few of us leave at a time? Two or three of us leave. Get to a base and organize an attack to free everyone else," Jones suggested.

Bucky and Dugan exchanged a look. They'd be risking the lives of everyone else that remained at the factory. "And what happens the moment that they realize that some of us have gone?" Dugan asked, shaking his head.

They had to come to the conclusion that no one wanted to say out loud, but they'd all known from the moment that they were captured. "We can't get out. There are cameras recording every movement and guards everywhere. They're watching us too closely. We would have to organize an attack or something of the like," Bucky said.

"We don't know the way that they work," Jones put in.

And he was right. They would need to know the shift times, the men that worked and lived here, and the building layout. It was too dangerous to enact an escape for now. "They've promised not to kill us. So let's work with that for now. We do what they need. They obviously want us working on construction. That's a good thing. We can see what they're building. People got away from the fight. They'll let everyone know what happened and they'll come for us," Bucky said, a sinking feeling in his stomach telling him that it wasn't the truth. "In the meantime, we keep our heads down and learn everything that we can."

The men all nodded, knowing that they were going to have to bide their time. "How long before someone comes for us?" Dugan asked, leaning back against the bars of the cage.

Bucky shook his head. "I don't know," he muttered.

"We're going to get out of this. I'm not dying in this hell-hole," Jones snarled.

And neither was Bucky. He was going to live. "And I'm not gonna have a letter tell her everything that I want to say. We wait it out for a while. Get them to trust us. We make our move in a few weeks," Bucky said determinedly.

It wasn't just the three of them. There were a few other men in the cage that had been listening. They all nodded their agreement before falling silent once more. The guards were passing over the open air top of the cage so the men stopped speaking, not wanting them to hear their plotting. Bucky merely stared down at the dirty floor. He couldn't find it in himself to speak about anything. Not even just to hear something other than the German conversations above them. The situation might not have been the most hopeless that it could have been, but it seemed very unlikely that they would actually ever be able to get out of this.

September 29th, 1943
Hydra Weapons Facility, Austrian Alps

Two days had passed since arriving at the Austrian Hydra Weapons Facility. It felt like there might have been months that had passed. They were only keeping the days because Dugan was scratching the days into their cell so that they could keep count. Bucky was glad to see that they were getting close to the end of the interviews that the Hydra agents had been conducting. Since they had arrived here, men would vanish for about five or ten minutes at a time to answer questions from the officers. There were only a few men left to speak to them. Bucky was one of the few that hadn't spoken to them yet. He had been trying to put it off as long as possible.

Two more men had been killed since arriving at the factory. Bucky didn't know why. No one actually knew why it had happened. He just imagined that they had said something unsatisfactory during their meetings. They had been warned to watch what they said to each other. They knew that something rude would earn them an early grave by this point. He had just been praying that the last shot that he'd heard during one of the meetings yesterday would be the last one that he would hear at all. Bucky, himself, was exhausted. He had been given barely any water or food, just like the rest of the prisoners.

Things had been so miserable that Bucky had come to simply trying to block out everything that was happening. He found himself preferring to just think about Vika. He just wanted to think about her. It was better than thinking about everything that could happen to them during their time here. He found himself constantly wondering if he was ever going to get back to her. It had become a harsh reality that even though he was alive right now, he might not ever get out of here. It broke his heart that the letter that he had thought was just a way to vent everything that he'd wanted to say might be the closest that he'd ever come to proposing to her.

As much as he wanted to think about her, he was sick of wondering whether or not he would ever get the chance to really be with her. So he forced himself to think about his interview with them. He was actually probably the last person to be called in. They had slowly been putting everyone into cells that had become their temporary homes. All that Bucky knew was that he had to be short and polite with his answers when he went back. Someone had been killed for giving a rude answer. Jones and Dugan had both been taken earlier in the day and Bucky was very glad that they had come back in one piece.

"You," a Hydra soldier called, pointing to Bucky. "Come with me."

Nodding at him, Bucky stood weakly, feeling a little dizzy. He had been feeling weaker and weaker with the passing days, but he was still pushing it off to just having not eaten or slept much over the past two weeks. He walked out of the cell with the guard and headed into a little room that wasn't far from the holding cells. It was just visible from the production floor, where the men that had already gone through their conversations were working. Bucky walked into the room and sat at a desk with another man that seemed to be in his late sixties. He glanced up at Bucky and nodded for the guard to leave the room.

Bucky knew that this was a test on whether or not he would attack the guard. He wouldn't, knowing that it would only get him shot. "My name is Alric Weber," the man said, opening a blank file. "What is yours?"

"James Barnes. Most people just call me Bucky," he answered.

Alric wrote his answer quickly before looking back up at Bucky. "Where are you from, Bucky?" he asked.

"Brooklyn."

"How old are you?"

"Twenty-six," Bucky answered.

He sighed softly. He had just recently turned twenty-five the last time that he had seen Vika. He would have much rather had another birthday at Coney Island. "What is your birth date?" Alric asked once he had scribbled down the other two answers.

"March 10th, 1917," he answered immediately.

Alric nodded and wrote down the answer. Bucky's stomach turned, wondering if his date of death might be coming soon. "Where were you serving?" Alric finally asked.

Bucky very nearly laughed and said something rude. But he managed to stop himself and take a deep breath, answering as politely as he could. "Here. With the 107th Infantry Regiment," Bucky said.

"How long have you been deployed?" Alric asked.

Way too long. "About a year and a half," he answered.

"Did you leave anyone?" Alric asked.

Bucky's heart lodged in his throat. He almost immediately wished that Alric hadn't asked that question. He knew that he should have told the truth, but couldn't bring himself to tell Alric about Vika. So he shrugged it off. "Some friends. Some family," Bucky said nonchalantly.

"Parents?" Alric asked.

A little twinge of hurt shot through Bucky. He tried very hard not to think about the parents that he had lost so many years ago. Bucky shook his head. "No. My mother and father both died a few years ago," he answered.

Alric nodded and made a note. "Siblings?" he asked.

Bucky nodded. "Two older sisters. One is married with a child of her own. The other is engaged to a man that is deployed. One younger brother. He works at a steel mill," he answered, not wanting to say their names.

He was very grateful that Alric didn't press the issue with his siblings. "A wife? Any children?" he asked.

Not yet. "I'm not married. No kids," Bucky said, glad that he didn't really have to lie.

Alric glanced up, surprised. "A woman, perhaps?" he asked.

"No," Bucky answered, maybe a little too quickly.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

They both stared at each other for a moment before Alric nodded. Bucky let out a breath, glad that Alric hadn't continued the questioning. "Why did you join the war, Bucky?" he asked.

That question definitely threw Bucky. He hadn't been expecting them to say anything like that. "Because I wanted to put a stop to the fighting. I wanted to help the United States win the war and defend the people that I have, back at home," Bucky said, fiercely enough that he made his point, but not enough that he would be shot.

Alric gave a nasty smile. "And you are doing very well..." he trailed off.

Bucky realized that he wanted to know the ranking. "Sergeant," he answered.

Alric nodded and jotted down a few notes. "Sergeant Barnes. Did you bring anything with you?" Alric asked.

It was the exact thing that Bucky had been expecting, but praying that he wouldn't ask. "No. All of my things are back at my old camp," Bucky said, hoping that Alric wouldn't question it.

"Turn out your pockets," Alric ordered.

Sucking in a breath, Bucky nodded. Alric motioned for him to stand and he did so. He knew that this would happen. That was why he had placed the locket with Vika's pictures in his pocket. He should have known that this would happen. Bucky gulped and dug his hands into his pocket, turning them out. The chain slipped out of the pocket and hit the ground. Alric smiled and stood from his own chair. Bucky didn't make a move, knowing that it wouldn't own well. Instead, Alric crossed the room and grabbed the locket off of the floor. Bucky tensed as Alric ran his hands over one of Bucky's most prized possessions.

He placed his hand on the lock and gently pushed it open. "Sister?" Alric asked with a smile.

Knowing that it was not a wise choice, Bucky settled on staying silent. He hated that Alric was even seeing what she looked like, despite the fact that he would never see her. Vika was safe back in the States, and she would not be making her way out here anytime soon. Even if she did, she would stay far away from the Hydra camps. Bucky watched with clenched fists as Alric looked over the pictures. His grin eventually faded and something akin to recognition flooded his eyes.

"What is her name?" Alric asked sharply.

Something struck Bucky as being very odd. And a fierce nature to protect her kicked in. He would never let anyone hurt her. "Why do you care?" Bucky asked harshly.

"Her name, Sergeant Barnes," Alric hissed.

"No."

But the denial went over about as well as Bucky had been expecting it too. Alric grabbed a gun that had been strapped to his waist and pulled it out. Bucky thought that he might shoot him, but he needed answers. So, instead, he reared back and hit Bucky over the head with the barrel. It was much harder of a hit than he had been expecting, so Bucky was thrown to the ground. Bucky was laying on the ground as he blearily attempted to get back to his feet. Blood was sticky on the back of his head and some had welled up in his mouth. He spit the blood out as he stood back upright. The door to the room was open and the men were watching what was happening through the doorway.

"Her name!" Alric shouted.

He stumbled slightly as he faced Alric once more. He had already been feeling terrible. This only made things worse. "She's just a woman. What difference does it make to you, what her name is?" Bucky asked.

Alric seemed to know that he wasn't going to get anywhere by asking Bucky about her. Bucky would die before selling her out. "No matter. I know her name," Alric said. Bucky found himself standing with a straightened spine. He didn't know her name. He was just lying to get Bucky to say something. "Victoria, correct?"

It felt like Bucky's heart had stopped. He wasn't lying. Somehow Alric knew what her name was. "You stay the hell away from her!" Bucky shouted, moving towards Alric, forgetting about the punishment.

A Hydra officer moved into the room and grabbed Bucky's arms, holding him back. "Me?" Alric asked with a little laugh. "Oh, no, Sergeant Barnes. I am the least of her worries."

No... No. Nothing could happen to her. His heart was thumping rapidly in his chest as some of the other men were watching what was happening. Bucky was trying to fight back against the man that was holding his arms still, but he was unable to move. He was already weak and the man that was holding him was obviously larger than he was anyways. Alric turned around to leave the area, but Bucky realized that he was still holding the locket in his hands.

"Hey! Hey! Give that back!" Bucky shouted.

Alric laughed once more as the guard released Bucky. He made a move to run after Alric, but the guard acted faster. He was holding a broken pipe and reared back, hitting Bucky over the back of the head with it. Bucky collapsed to the ground as both men left the room. Alric dropped the chain and tossed it back to Bucky. He barely managed to reach out and grab the chain, tucking it back into his pocket. He groaned, watching the figures walk away through bleary eyes. He noticed two men - presumably Dugan and Jones - running into the room to help him back to his feet.

"Schmidt zu informieren. Wir haben ihren mann gefunden," Bucky heard Alric say to the guard.

Bucky was helped back to his feet as Jones blotted at the back of his bloody head. The two men were holding most of Bucky's weight until he could stand up himself. "What did he say?" Bucky asked, his voice shaky.

"Inform Schmidt. We've found her man," Jones said.

Schmidt... Johann Schmidt... What the hell could the Red Skull possibly want with Vika? It was obvious that it was nothing good. "Get back to work!" Lohmer shouted at the men that were standing around and watching.

They were forced to go back to work, but Bucky found himself staggering around the work site. The blows to the head had not helped with how terrible he was feeling. As much as the men tried to get Bucky to focus on his work, he couldn't. His mind kept slipping back to everything that had happened in the room. Bucky's stomach turned at every thought that went through his mind. There had to be something terrible that was happening here. What did they want with her? He was forced back to working on the parts of the plane that the men were being forced to build, the entire time desperate to know what they wanted with her.

Third Person P.O.V.

Doctor Arnim Zola was racing through the halls of the Hydra Weapons Facility as fast as he possibly could. Someone had to inform Schmidt of what they had just discovered. They had been wondering if her loved ones were out on the battlefield. They had thought that she probably did have someone in the war, but the chances of finding them had been so low that it was almost impossible. But the impossible had happened. Her loved one was right here, a captive in their home.

Zola burst into the weapons room that Schmidt spent so much of his time in. He ran up to the platform that Schmidt was standing on, breathing heavily. "Sir!" Zola called.

Schmidt turned back to him irritably. Everyone knew to never interrupt Schmidt when he was in deep thought. "What have I warned you, Dr. Zola, about interrupting me when I am thinking?" Schmidt asked, his voice becoming louder and more threatening.

It normally would have terrified Zola. But not this time. He knew that Schmidt would drop the anger the moment that he knew what was happening. "You may want to hear this, Sir," Zola said.

That seemed to have captured Schmidt's attention. "What is it, Dr. Zola?" he asked.

"You are aware of the two hundred soldiers that were captured from Azzano just last week?" Zola asked.

"Yes."

Dr. Zola smiled and moved towards Schmidt. "One of the men that was taken carries a locket. And inside that locket are two photographs of Victoria Davies." Schmidt's face fell. Not that he was angry. He merely looked impressed. He moved down towards Zola, a victorious look in his eyes. "He is her loved one," Zola continued.

Schmidt started to pace back and forth. He was wrapping his hands around each other. He had never heard news quite so pleasing. At least, not for a long time. "You are sure?" Schmidt finally asked.

"Yes, Sir."

Schmidt grinned before turning back. "Colonel Lohmer!" he shouted.

Lohmer appeared a moment later. "Sir?" he asked respectfully, his hands knitted behind his back.

"Please pay special attention to our friend..." Schmidt trailed off and looked down to Zola.

"Sergeant Barnes."

"Sergeant Barnes," Schmidt repeated.

A grin fell over Lohmer's face. "Yes, Sir," he said, saluting the Hydra leader.

Schmidt watched Lohmer leave before calling back to him. "Lohmer?" The man in question turned back. "Do not kill him. We need him alive. Miss Davies will be drawn to him like a moth to a flame. Make his living conditions as deplorable as possible. Make him feel like he will die. The worse that he becomes, the more tempted that she will be to come for him," Schmidt instructed.

"Yes, Sir," Lohmer said, saluting him again.

They watched as Lohmer turned to leave the area. He walked through the doorway as Schmidt grinned to himself. Zola turned to Schmidt uncomfortably. He had just realized something that might not have been the best idea. "Sir?" he asked. Schmidt hummed at him. "Are you sure that you want her here?"

Schmidt whipped around to Zola, startling the smaller man. "Do not question me, Dr. Zola," he warned. "I am well-aware of the creature that I am antagonizing. But we have things to discuss, good doctor. It will only be a matter of time."

And so Zola followed Schmidt out of the room, both men knowing that it would only be a matter of time before Savage appeared at their doorstep - just as they had been hoping for. While Zola feared finally meeting the woman that was known to live up to her name, Schmidt felt a deeper pleasure settle over his body than he had felt in months. He was finally getting somewhere with all of his plans. Plans that had started just because of her existence. It was high time that she knew them.

Bucky's P.O.V.

October 1st, 1943
Hydra Weapons Facility, Main Floor, Austrian Alps

The men were currently working out on the factory floor. There were pieces of metal in front of Bucky as well as cases of ammunition that they were supposed to be sorting. The men had given Bucky the job of sorting the ammunition, as he was becoming weaker and weaker by the day. But he did have to pretend that he was working on the actual project of constructing... whatever it was that they were constructing. He couldn't tell. He had to work on it whenever Lohmer walked by, as that was what he had instructed Bucky to work on. They were all in silence as they worked. They could only speak when the guards passed them. They couldn't risk talking when the guards were watching.

It appeared that they were working on something like an airplane. They were only building pieces and parts, so it was hard to tell what it was that they were building. All he knew was that it was way too big to be an airplane. At least, any one that Bucky had seen before. And he had seen some big airplanes. He also knew that there was lots of technology in the craft that he didn't understand. The guards only taught them enough so that it could be properly assembled. To Bucky's horror, he did know enough that if this was an airplane that they were building, it appeared that it was something like a massive bomber.

The guard that had been watching over them passed by and Jones leaned over to Bucky. "I don't get it, man, did she ever live over here?" Jones asked, referring to Vika.

They had been talking about her since they had realized that the officers obviously knew who she was. Bucky shook his head. "Not that I knew of. She was always in New York. They shouldn't know who she is," Bucky muttered.

"She ever maybe go steady with someone that was of German descent?" Jim Morita asked.

Once more, Bucky shook his head. "She said that she had never been with someone before me. So I wouldn't think so," Bucky said, feeling a little guilty that he was revealing that she had never gone out with someone before him. "She knew a German scientist, but he was on our side. He was murdered because of what he was doing against his home country."

The men were silent for a while. "So what does she mean to them?" Jacques Dernier asked.

No one spoke for a long while as another guard passed by and stopped behind the men. That was a very important question that no one had the answer to. Bucky would have been just as curious if it had been someone that he hadn't known. What could a woman from New York mean to them? The five of them - and James Montgomery Falsworth - were constantly batting back and forth the curiosity of who she was to them. Jacques Dernier and Jim Morita were some of the other Allied prisoners that Bucky had met. Their sleeping positions had been given, and they were the last to be sorted. They were either eight other men in their cage. That was the way that it went. Ten to twenty men per cage.

Bucky was very glad that there were men that he knew in the cage with them. Not that he wouldn't have gotten to know them. Living in such close quarters meant that they all got to know each other pretty quickly. Even the men that were in other cages had gotten to know each other. They were so close together that it was hard not to overhear conversations and get involved. Bucky was grateful that Dugan and Jones were in the same cage as him, as they'd all been keeping their promises to watch out for each other.

He had met some of the other prisoners that were in the same cage as he was. One of the men was Jim Morita. He was a Japanese-American soldier who was born in Fresno, California. It had taken Dugan some persuasion to actually attempt to get along with the man. Originally he had served in the US Army Nisei Squadron as a Ranger under the command of Captain Happy Sam Sawyer. He was a communications specialist. Bucky had thought that it was rather funny that he was born exactly a year and a day before Vika. October 20th, 1919. He did feel a bit badly for him that he would have to experience his birthday in this place.

There was also Jacques Dernier. It had taken a while for the men to manage to actually speak with him. After living in Marseille, Jacques had joined the French Resistance. He really got into combat when World War II began and France was occupied by German forces. He was one of the older men that had been captured. He was born on January 2nd, 1911, making him six years older than Bucky. To the amusement of the other men, he was an explosive expert, something that they intended to use in time.

The last of the men that Bucky had gotten to know was James Montgomery Falsworth. In some ways, Bucky really did like Falsworth. But, in other ways, he wanted to knock his teeth in. He was a rather nice man, but sometimes he was too stuck-up for everything that was happening. He was a member of His Majesty's 3rd Independent Parachute Brigade of the British Armed Forces. Bucky had asked if he knew a woman named Peggy Carter, but he claimed that he did not.

They had also gotten to know Colonel Lohmer a little bit better, much to Bucky's displeasure. He held a strong hatred for the man in his heart. He wasn't particularly nice to any of the prisoners, but he seemed to hold a special hatred for Bucky. He had singled him out time and time again to beat him mercilessly and viciously. It was the reason that Bucky was covered in bruises and cuts, and felt like he might die at any point. He knew that after everything that had been done to him, he was now one of the weakest prisoners here. He constantly felt terrible.

"Chatting, gentlemen?" Lohmer asked as he walked by.

The men all straightened up, unaware that Lohmer had been around them. Bucky turned back, fury settling in his chest. "Just getting to know each other, Colonel Lohmer. Might be here for a while," Bucky said.

The comment was not well-received. "I don't like your attitude, Sergeant Barnes," Lohmer snarled.

Very much surprising Bucky - as they were rarely threatened with guns - Lohmer yanked out one of Hydra's strange guns and pressed it underneath his chin. Everyone tensed and dropped what they were doing to watch the exchange. Lohmer merely smiled and slowly put the gun back into his holster. Bucky relaxed slightly, but it didn't last long. A moment later, Lohmer reached past Bucky and grabbed a panel about the size of a car window, smashing Bucky over the head with it. He grunted and fell to the ground, rolling onto his back as pain shot through him.

He was groaning and trying to blink back the tears of pain. He felt terrible. His head was spinning and killing him. Some of the men made their way to help Bucky, but they were shoved back into line. "Leave him! Get back to work. Jetzt!" Lohmer shouted at the others.

Regrettably they moved back into line. Bucky wasn't angry. They knew what was happening. They knew that they couldn't get beaten themselves because they were trying to help Bucky. It took him a few minutes before the pain had subsided and he was able to pull himself back to his feet. He rubbed the back of the head in pain. His hair was soaked with blood and there was a lump forming on the back of his head. He weakly stumbled back over to his work station, gripping the edge of the desk, trying to keep himself upright. He was no fool. He knew that he was getting sick. It wasn't surprising with the way that he had been living during deployments, meeting so many people, and the beatings.

Once the guards had passed by them once more, Jones walked over to Bucky and gently pressed against the back of his head. Bucky cringed in pain. "Concussion. Watch the head. We'll watch over you tonight," Jones said.

Bucky nodded at him. "Thanks. I'm not feeling so hot," he admitted.

He hadn't seen his reflection in quite some time, but he imagined that he couldn't look that good. "You're not looking too hot," Jones said.

"Take a break. We'll watch out for the rest of them," Jim offered.

Bucky opened his mouth to thank them, but nothing came out. He began a coughing fit as Jim and Gabe helped Bucky down to the ground. Bucky hit the ground and leaned back against the table. Gabe stayed underneath the table to help him stop the coughing fit. He was the closest thing that they had to a doctor. Bucky spit out some more blood and leaned back against the table leg, ignoring the look in Gabe's eyes. He sighed sadly and closed his eyes, motioning for Gabe to get back to work. For the first time since being captured, Bucky was starting to think that there really was a good chance that he would never see Vika again.

October 17th, 1943
Hydra Weapons Facility, Sub-Levels, Austrian Alps

Things had gotten no better in the past two and a half weeks that the men had been at the Hydra Weapons Facility. Colonel Lohmer was still in charge of the Facility, and Bucky wished desperately that he wasn't. He was a terrible man that had taken no shortcuts when it came to beating down Bucky. He had done everything that Bucky could think of. He had beaten him to the point where Bucky couldn't walk, he was sure that he had a few breaks, and he had threatened Bucky more than once to tell him everything that he knew about Vika. But Bucky always remained silent. He wasn't sure what they wanted to know about her. But he was saying nothing.

During the few times that Lohmer wasn't trying to maim Bucky, he was trying very hard to keep divisions in the men. He had devised a strategy to reduce the potential number of mutinies among the prisoners of war that had been captured and enslaved inside the factory, based on his beliefs that the Third Reich would win World War II because its members were unified, while the enemies of the Reich were of different nationalities and ethnicity, and that would cause conflict among them.

As such, that was part of the way that they had been locked together. It was something that had taken the prisoners a few arguments to understand. After a particularly nasty fight, they'd all understood what was happening. Lohmer split the prisoners by nationality, keeping members of different factions and brigades within the Allied Forces in cages together, and trying to keep friends apart. It was all in the hopes that they would all be too busy fighting each other rather than trying to fight their jailers.

Lohmer thought that his plan was brilliant, obviously. He had put in the same cell, a British member of the Third Independent Parachute Brigade, James Montgomery Falsworth, a member of the French Resistance, Jacques Dernier, a member of the 92nd Infantry Division, Gabe Jones, a member of the 69th Infantry Regiment, Dum Dum Dugan, and a member of the 107th Infantry Regiment, Bucky Barnes. This must have seemed like the perfect plan at the time as a joke made by Dum Dum while they had all been introducing themselves had raised tension between the cellmates, and a brawl started, proving Lohmer's point.

But little did he know that they had started to get along easily, upon realizing their precarious position. He didn't understand the the 92nd and 69th Infantry Regiments had been working together for months. That was how Bucky knew Dum Dum and Gabe. While the men might not all have loved each other, they had been managing to get along well enough so that they weren't constantly at their throats. They had frequently been pulled together because of Bucky's injuries, teaming up to help him.

They were once more working on the airplane that they had been constructing since arriving. Bucky had finally learned that it was an airplane that the men were all building. It was to be called the Valkyrie and seemed to be something akin to a super-bomber. It made Bucky sick that they were having a hand in building it. Bucky was still stumbling around as he tried to get everything together. The men were all smart enough to know that Bucky was getting extremely sick and there was no medical care to help him. They simply had to hide the fact that he was sick from the guards, so that they didn't take him away.

It had just been lucky that none of the other men had fallen sick. They had been unable to plan an escape since the first time that they had spoken about it. The gates were constantly locked, there were cameras everywhere, and all of the guards were armed. They'd be dead before they took two steps. They had lately just been trying to keep each other in high spirits and reminding each other that they weren't dead yet. They would survive. There was a way out of this. They knew that there was a way out. There had to be.

"Sergeant Barnes?" Colonel Lohmer's voice cut through the air. Bucky tensed and turned back, feeling the world spin for a moment. "I'd like to speak with you."

"I wouldn't," Bucky said.

Some of the men looked like they were in between laughing and hitting Bucky. He knew that he shouldn't have said anything, but Bucky was unable to stop himself. He already felt so terrible that he was inclined to think that things couldn't get much worse for him. Lohmer smiled and moved towards Bucky, who knew that nothing good was coming. Just as he thought, Lohmer grabbed onto his hair and ripped Bucky's head off to the side, slamming his head down onto the table. Bucky groaned in pain.

"I think that we're going to talk, Sergeant Barnes. Come," Lohmer hissed in Bucky's ear.

He had no chance to argue that he wasn't going to tell him anything. Lohmer yanked Bucky upwards and began to drag Bucky with him. They marched down the hallway and Bucky found himself barely able to stand upright. He wanted to fall over and die. But he couldn't. He had sworn to Vika that he would be back. Bucky was taller than Lohmer, so he had to lean down from the older man's grip on his hair. They crossed the building into a room where Lohmer locked the two of them in a room. Bucky was thrown into a chair as a guard proceeded to tie him up. Lohmer stood on the far side of the room with a small metal table.

Lohmer waited until the guard had tied up Bucky and moved to stand in the corner. "Let's start easily," Lohmer said. Bucky stared him down, knowing that he was going to question him on Vika. "Where did you meet Miss Davies?"

He must have known her for a long time. She hadn't gone by the name of Davies since she was eight. Maybe they had known each other... Bucky knew almost nothing about her childhood. "How do you know her?" Bucky asked.

Lohmer grinned. "I don't think that's what I asked you, Sergeant Barnes," he said.

He turned back to the table and Bucky watched closely. His gaze was blurry and it was very difficult for Bucky to focus. But he did manage to focus long enough to realize that Lohmer was placing something on his hand. And Bucky's stomach turned when he realized what it was. A pair of brass knuckles. Lohmer smiled as he turned back to Bucky, walking up to him, rearing backwards, and punching Bucky dead across the face. Bucky was knocked to the side as his head started to spin, pain spreading over him. He doubled over as far as he could, spitting out blood.

Lohmer rubbed the brass knuckles. Bucky could see that there was a little streak of red on the metal. "Where did you meet Miss Davies?" Lohmer asked.

"Go screw yourself," Bucky growled, spitting out more blood.

"Wrong answer."

Just as Bucky expected, Lohmer moved closer to him again. Bucky tensed as much as he possibly could, knowing that Lohmer was going to hit him as hard as he could. And he did. The only good thing was that this hit was not to his face. Instead, Lohmer punched Bucky directly in the stomach. Bucky bent over double, wheezing for breath, trying to suck as much air as he could back into his lungs. Bucky began to cough up blood, knowing that Lohmer had ruptured something.

By the time that Bucky finally managed to right himself, he could see Lohmer pacing impatiently. "You know not of what she is," Lohmer hissed at Bucky.

"I know what she is. And I know what you are," Bucky said, barely able to breathe.

Lohmer scoffed at Bucky and shook his head, wringing the brass knuckles. "You think yourself brave, Sergeant Barnes. How will Miss Davies feel when she knows that you died to protect her?" Lohmer snarled.

"I'd die for her. Any day," Bucky said.

"Would she do the same?" Lohmer asked.

"Yes," Bucky said, without hesitation.

She was not a normal woman. He knew that she would give her own life for his. He found himself very grateful that it was the other way around. He couldn't bear something happening to her. It was the exact reason that he was taking all of this. If he died to protect her, he would be okay with that. She was worth every beating.

"Let's see how far we can push her," Lohmer said, moving towards Bucky once more.

There was almost no chance that Bucky got to ponder Lohmer's words. He reared back and struck Bucky across the face again. But it didn't stop there. He was hit over and over again, never slowing down. Lohmer's brass knuckles hit against every inch of his body. His stomach, his chest, and his face. Bucky could feel everything soaked in blood and he was positive that Lohmer had broken something. Multiple somethings. It must have been nearly five minutes before Lohmer ceased his assault on Bucky. Both men were breathing heavily. Lohmer from frustration and Bucky from the excruciating pain.

Lohmer shifted the brass knuckles on his hand. Bucky could see that there were bruises forming on his hands. "Have we had a change in heart?" Lohmer asked Bucky.

"I'm not telling you a damn thing."

Lohmer sighed irritably. Bucky was not going to make this easy. "You really won't speak?" Lohmer asked. Bucky shook his head, blood dribbling from his chin. "Not even to tell me where you met her?" Bucky stayed silent. "When you met her?" He still didn't speak. "How much do you really know about her past?"

There was very little that Bucky knew about her past, but he wasn't going to say a thing. "Screw yourself," Bucky sighed.

"Did you know that she murdered her own parents?" Lohmer asked.

And suddenly the pain faded. The only thing that Bucky could feel was shock. Her parents had died in a house fire. Vika had told him that. He knew that. She hadn't murdered them. She would have never done something like that. Sure, Vika had always hated her parents, but that didn't mean that she had committed a felony against them. She was only eight years old when it had happened, anyways. He knew that Lohmer was just trying to get him to break. He didn't believe him for a second.

So Bucky shook his head. Lohmer smiled at him. "Sergeant Barnes... You know not of the woman that you care so deeply for. You have no idea just what she is capable of," he said.

"I know that she's ten times the person that you could ever have the potential to be," Bucky snapped.

"Funny wording," Lohmer said.

It was very obvious that Bucky didn't understand what Lohmer had meant. It did not sit well with Lohmer, though. He had clearly gotten to his wits end with Bucky. So he reared back and clocked Bucky across the jaw. It was so hard that Bucky was sure that his jaw had been broken. He leaned over in searing pain, feeling his hair that had grown longer brushing across his neck. Bucky groaned and straightened up once more, refusing to let Lohmer win.

"One last time, Sergeant Barnes. Tell me about Miss Davies," Lohmer demanded.

"Not a chance in hell."

And that comment was the final straw. Bucky was hit so hard across the head that the chair went flying. The legs were lifted up from the ground and Bucky hit the ground as it toppled over. He was coughing at the sudden impact, blood running down over his eyes. Lohmer dropped the brass knuckles and marched over to Bucky, carelessly cutting him out of the chair. Bucky hissed as the knife slashed into his limbs. Lohmer yanked Bucky off of the floor, feeling his head spin. He was thrown to two guards that held him carelessly between the two of them. His legs were barely touching the ground, which was a good thing. Bucky was sure that he couldn't hold up his own weight.

"Bring him back to the cell," Lohmer ordered.

He was essentially blind as the men dragged him throughout the compound. Bucky could only see flashes of color as he was brought back and forth. His feet were dragging against the floor as they marched him through. He had no idea how much time had passed, but considering that he no longer heard the buzzing of drills and slams of hammers, he assumed that the work day had ended. Bucky could feel himself being brought down the stairs and heard the clink of the cell door. The guards opened the door and tossed Bucky to the ground. He rolled onto his back, coughing in pain, as the door was slammed closed.

"Barnes!" Bucky heard Dugan shout.

"Step back. Give him some room," Jim warned.

"What happened?" James asked.

The men all came to kneel next to Bucky's limp form. "Lohmer. Questioning me about my girl," Bucky said, spitting out more blood.

"What the hell does he care so much about her for?" Jacques asked.

"I don't know," Bucky muttered.

He noticed that Jones was trying to push the others out of his way. "Let me take a look at you," Jones said. Bucky nodded his consent, not wanting to speak. "Any spare cloth that anyone has! We need to stem the bleeding. With pneumonia, he can't afford to lose any more than he already has," Jones shouted to the other prisoners.

Bucky's head started to roll on his shoulders. "Barnes, man, come on. Wake up. Come on, man," Dugan called.

But his voice sounded like it was echoing. The darkness began to cloud around him as the men began to fade away. It wasn't long before they vanished. He felt like he was on his own in the darkness for a moment before he spotted a flash of white. Slowly forming was Vika's figure. She leaned above him and smiled. Suddenly he no longer felt cold. He only smiled, trying to reach for her. But he couldn't touch her. So she merely pressed a cold hand against his chest and leaned down. She pressed a small kiss against his cheek, and then he remembered nothing.

October 21st, 1943
Hydra Weapons Facility, Holding Cells, Austrian Alps

By now Bucky was staggering around constantly, feeling absolutely terrible. He knew that he was essentially on death's door. He knew that he was going to die very soon if he wasn't allowed to stop working. He had managed to avoid any more brutal beatings, which was probably a good thing. He knew that more beatings would only bring him closer to death. He was no fool. He knew that he was lucky to have survived as long as he had. He could tell that the men were shocked.

The men were still working on the Valkyrie. The airplane was only becoming bigger and bigger with each passing day. As sick as he was, Bucky tried to remember everything that he could about it. In the event that he could get out of here, he needed to let the Allies know exactly what it was that Hydra was planning to do. He knew that even Germany needed to know. Hydra was planning on eliminating everyone. Not just the Allies. The other prisoners were doing the same thing. But Bucky knew that they were losing faith. They had been here for almost a month with no indication that they were getting out of here anytime soon.

Bucky knew that he had made a terrible mistake the moment that he spoke to Lohmer. "I think I caught pneumonia on the battlefield. You wouldn't happen to have a doctor in this dump?" he asked snappily, uncaring of what he would do.

"What was that, Sergeant Barnes?" Lohmer asked.

Despite himself, Bucky opened his mouth to say something to Lohmer, but he didn't get the chance to say anything back. He was hit over the head, Lohmer's hand clapping over Bucky's ear. He hit the ground, his ears ringing. Bucky saw the other men watching. They all looked very tempted to make a move. Lohmer hit Bucky over and over again until his eyes were rolling backwards in his head. Finally, Lohmer stepped back and ordered Bucky back to his feet. He did so, but very nearly fell back to the ground.

Bucky tried to work with Lohmer watching over him, but he was only nervous for what the German man would think of everything that he was doing. For a long time, he was yelled at to move faster. He was the only man that was working without a partner, at the request of Lohmer. Bucky knew that the restrictions of his ailment meant that he was unable to satisfy the quotas of production. And that always led to a shortage of food. Not that it mattered to Bucky. He was barely given food anyways. The men banded together to give him theirs. It wasn't long before Bucky let some munitions fall while moving a cart.

This action did not go over well with Lohmer. Shouting at Bucky for messing up such a mundane task, Lohmer marched over to where Bucky was down on his hands and knees - feeling very much that he was going to cough up a lung - and immediately shoved a boot into Bucky's back. He hit the ground and groaned as Lohmer picked up a large shell casing. It was the size of Bucky's thigh. Lohmer immediately reared back and bashed Bucky's entire body with the shell casing, over and over again until Lohmer was finally called away by a smaller man wearing glasses. Lohmer dropped the shell casing with the order for Bucky to clean up the mess.

It was only with the assistance of the other prisoners that Bucky was able to get back to his feet. He was leaning up against the table, almost unable to stand. He would not be able to fill their quota for the day. He merely leaned against the floor and laid his head against the table leg. They were going to kill him. He was unable to stand. He couldn't work. Not any longer. Not today. He couldn't do anything more. He could tell that something was broken. There was probably more than just one thing that was broken.

Jones came to his side after a few minutes, trying to pull Bucky back to his feet. "Come on, Barnes. Come on. Get up. Pretend that you're alright. For now," Jones muttered to him.

They were trying to move as fast as possible under the watchful eyes of the guards. "Remember your girl. You're getting back to her," Dugan said.

That was all that it took for Bucky to nod and let the other men walk away from him. He was given a chair to work in, but it didn't do much. It just kept him from falling to the ground. Although he still felt like he might collapse backwards and fall from the chair. Bucky was suffering the entire time, from more than just the pain of the beating. He had a bad cough that was echoing across the workroom, a fever that kept him constantly sweating, chills that seriously contradicted the fever, and difficulty breathing. There was a sharp pain in his chest every time that he took in a breath. It didn't help that there was a shortness of breath and fatigue.

He stumbled around the workplace for most of the day. His thoughts were consumed with the one person that he was trying his hardest to protect. Vika... Every time that he moved around or looked up, he wished that he could see her. He didn't even need to be with her. He knew that he was going to die. He was no fool. He just wanted to see her one last time. He wanted to hear her laugh. He wanted to know that in his last moments, she was proud of him.

They were finally allowed to go back to the cells for the night. Bucky was sure that it was the longest workday that they had ever had. He was brought back between Dugan and Jones. The rest of the men were watching him closely, making sure that he was alright. Once they walked into the cell the men allowed his arms to fall from around them. That was all that it took. Bucky collapsed to the floor, the cool stone feeling good against his face. The men all gathered around him to check on him. Jones, being the best medic, pushed everyone back so that he could look over Bucky and check that he was okay.

The men were silent for about five minutes before Dugan spoke. "What's going on?" he asked. Bucky could hear the note of panic in his voice.

Jones shook his head. "Nothing good. Contusions and broken ribs. Potentially a few other breaks," Jones said, rubbing a hand over his face. "All of that coupled with the pneumonia... If Lohmer makes you go back out there and work tomorrow, you won't see the next day."

Bucky nodded. It was the conclusion that he had been expecting. "He won't let me stop working. They kill the men that can't work," Bucky said.

"Is there a way to get him out of hard work?" Jacques asked.

Jim immediately shook his head. "Not with Lohmer around," he said.

Bucky knew that there was no way out of this one. He was going to die. "Lieutenant Kleiber might actually let him out of the hard labor," Dugan said. The other men nodded their agreement. Kleiber had recommended Bucky be taken out of hard labor before. "But we'd need to get rid of Lohmer. He'll never let him out of the hard labor. He'll kill him first."

"He can't go back out on the floor tomorrow," Jones argued.

Bucky shook his head. "Doesn't matter. I can make it," he said determinedly.

Jones shook his head at Bucky. "You can't, Barnes. You go back out there tomorrow and you'll die. Rest will at least stave off the sickness for as long as we can," Jones suggested. It was something but it was no solution. "Hopefully until we can get out of this place."

"Even with proper rest. How much longer does he have?" James asked.

"A few weeks," Jones said softly.

James nodded. Bucky could practically see a light bulb go off in his head. They were planning something. But Jones was right. Bucky was only going to last a few more weeks. There was no way that they would be rescued in that amount of time. "I've got a plan. I'm a strategy expert. That's what I'm used for with His Majesty. We get rid of Lohmer," James suggested.

The men exchanged a look with each other. "How?" Dugan finally asked.

So James delved into the explanation of everything that he was planning to do. They had to stop and start the conversation over and over again to ensure that no one heard what they were talking about. Bucky listened to the plan, but he felt like he was listening from underwater. James devised a plan to get rid of Lohmer that would require Dugan, Jones and Dernier to work as a team using their respective expertise's. It was a dangerous plan, and if they were caught, things would only become worse for the rest of them.

And that wasn't something that Bucky could live with. He didn't want other people risking their life for his. "I'm not gonna survive this. Even without the hard labor, it'll kill me eventually," Bucky muttered, his head rolling back and forth.

"Shut up, Barnes. We're trying to save your life," Dugan said.

"You need to get some sleep. That's all that will help at this point. As much rest as you can possibly get," Jones advised.

Bucky nodded. He felt like he was definitely about to pass out anyways. "No way for medicine?" Jim asked.

Jones shook his head at them. Bucky knew that it was useless to hope for medicine. "I don't know where it is and we'd make things even worse if someone got caught stealing them," Jones muttered.

"Here. Get some blankets on. Try to keep your head off of the floor," Jacques recommended.

"We'll save you as much food and water as we can," James added.

Bucky shook his head at them. "Don't worry about it. Take it for yourself. You guys need to get out of here. I'm not sure if there's anything at this point that can save me. Even if this plan works," Bucky said.

Dugan shook his head. "You aren't dead yet, Barnes. You've got a woman to propose to. Hit the hay," he said.

And despite everything that had happened, Bucky found himself smiling at them. He glanced over at the scratches in the wall, doing a mental count of the date. He hadn't been bothering to count the days, but he did so at that moment, not wanting to face the harsh reality of everything that had happened. He realized that today was October 21st. It was her twenty-third birthday. Bucky smiled. He had promised her that he would be home for this one. It was a lie. He knew that now. And, deep down, he knew that there was no way that he would make it to the next one, either. He would never get to see another one.

It wasn't like pneumonia was something that people couldn't recover from. People got it all of the time and were always able to make recoveries. But that was with the proper medication and treatment. With the lack of food, water, poor living conditions, and constant physical strain, along with the brutal beatings, he had no way to heal. It was only a matter of time before he could no longer work on the Valkyrie. And he knew that it meant that he would be taken to solitary. A place that no man returned from.

Victoria's P.O.V.

October 21st, 1943
New York City, New York

Today felt like any other day. Even though I was sure that Steve was planning something stupid for the two of us to do together, I found no significance for the day. It was my twenty-third birthday, but I really wasn't fond of celebrating things like birthdays. There was no need for me to make a big deal about them, considering that I would have an innumerable amount. But it was a good excuse for Steve and I to spend the day together. At least until he had to do the show tonight. As usual, they were getting larger and larger.

In almost every moment that Steve wasn't doing one of his Captain America shows, we were training. Steve had gotten to the point that he was so determined to make it out to the war front, that he was doing anything and everything in his power. Between training with me and on his own, he had become quite the master combat specialist. He had even managed to get a hit in on me the other night - something that was practically unheard of. It had never happened before. Steve had seemed quite proud of himself. Until I had kicked him in the ribs so hard that I had broken them.

But things were good. The USO Tour was coming to an end anyways. I had lately become very paranoid though, considering that I hadn't heard from Bucky in months. It was the end of August, the last time that I had gotten a letter from him. This was now the longest that I had ever gone without hearing from him. But I couldn't panic about things. He was fine. He was just somewhere off of the grid and he was unable to write to me. I had known that something like this might happen.

There was a knock at the door to the adjoining room that Steve was in. I called for him to wait just a moment as I pulled on the rest of the suit that I was planning on wearing for tonight's performance. Once I had everything in place, I crossed to the door and opened it. Steve was standing with a flower in hand. I laughed and took the flower from him as he grabbed me in a hug, effortlessly lifting me from the ground. He placed me back down a moment later and the two of us walked into the room. I dragged Steve with me to take a seat on the edge of the bed.

"Happy birthday, Vic," Steve said.

"Thank you."

"What do you want to do today?"

Shrugging my shoulders, I began to pick at my nails. They had become very jagged from the recently developed habit. "Oh, I don't know. We can go out to eat if you want?" I offered.

Steve's brows furrowed. "You alright?" he asked me.

Forcing a smile on my face, I nodded. "I'm fine, Steve," I said.

Steve sighed at me and placed a hand on my own. "Still no letter?" he asked.

The other day I had shared my concern that I hadn't gotten a letter from Bucky with Steve. I shook my head at him. "No. It's been almost two months. The longest that I've ever gone without hearing from him was just over a month. And he always sends me a letter if they're going on a mission," I said, feeling sick at the thought.

He's not dead. He promised me that he was not going to die. "They might be out in an area too far from a post office," Steve said.

"You're worried about him, too."

"Stop reading my mind."

"I'm not," I snapped. "I can feel emotions on people. I can feel the worry on you. And it's not for me. There's only one other person that I can imagine that you'd be worried for."

Steve sighed again and brought me into a hug. I knew that I'd been a little quieter lately, and it was all because of my concern. "He'll be fine, Vic. He's always fine," Steve said.

"Tell me that when you actually believe it," I snapped at Steve.

He laughed under his breath, reaching down a hand to pull me back to my feet. I took it and came to a stand. "Come on. Smile. We're spending the day together and we're going to have fun. We can't change anything so let's be happy," Steve said.

He was poking at me and I smiled, pushing his hand away. "Okay. Let's go out," I conceded.

So the two of us went out to dinner together. I found myself genuinely enjoying myself for the first time in a long time. It didn't even matter that people thought that Steve and I were going steady. I couldn't have cared less. It was just nice to have a friend. It wasn't particularly happy when we finally had to head back to the hotel to get ready for the show. Steve and I headed upstairs to my room so that we could chat until Brandt came to collect us, probably yelling at us that we were going to be late again.

We sat in silence for a while as I sipped on the glass of wine that I had gotten from the bar downstairs. "You know he promised me that he would be here for my birthday this year," I muttered.

"If he could have been here, he would have. You know that," Steve said.

I nodded at him, twisting my hair around my fingers. "I know. Maybe Christmas?" I asked jokingly.

Both Steve and I smiled. The thought of having Bucky back by Christmas was appealing. "I miss him, too, Vic. But he's going to be back. He's got unfinished business here," Steve said, giving me a small smile.

They thought that they were so clever. But I knew. I knew what Bucky's unfinished business was. "I do know what you're talking about, just so you know," I told Steve.

He looked very affronted. "Would you stop -"

"I'm not reading your mind, you brat!" I shouted over him. "I'm a woman. We know these things."

Steve laughed and shook his head, taking a drink of his own glass of wine. "He knew. Even when we were kids - he knew. He always knew that it would be you," Steve said.

"So you would be okay with it?" I asked.

Steve nodded at me. "Of course. You're like my sister. Trust me, Vic. I wouldn't have liked anyone that you were with. No matter if you could handle yourself. No one would have ever been good enough," Steve said, making me smile. Even the protective older brother. "But, Bucky... I think he might be."

Blushing softly, Steve laughed as the pink tinge flooded into my eyes. "I do, too," I whispered. And I really did. If there was someone that I could see myself with for the rest of their lives, it would always be Bucky.

Bucky's P.O.V.

October 28th, 1943
Hydra Weapons Facility, Factory Floor, Austrian Alps

"Up and at 'em gentlemen!" Lohmer shouted.

The men slowly rose to their feet as they stumbled out to the weapons manufacturing floor. Bucky found himself barely able to move. By managing to avoid the strenuous work over the past week, Bucky had somehow managed to survive. But things were only getting worse. He was getting weaker by the day. Lohmer shoved Bucky out onto the floor and he collapsed over the table, sure that he was going to die at any second. Jones was right. He couldn't keep going like this.

So he sat at the desk and kept his head in his hands. He couldn't do much more. Anything more and he would die. He was impressed that he had even managed to stand upright. But it didn't matter, because that day, Falsworth's plan was carried out. Some other men had been causing distractions over the past few days so that Dugan, Jones and Falsworth could smuggle components for Dernier so he could make a substance to melt the chain of a crane carrying scrap.

It was not a pretty plan that they were working with, but it was everything that they needed to happen. It had to look like an accident. Bucky was grateful that Kleiber had considered him far too sick to work, just as according to plan. Unfortunately, Lohmer didn't seem to share in that sentiment. Bucky was sitting against one of the cranes so that he could stay out of the way of the workers so that the men could carry out their plans. A few hours had managed to pass before Lohmer spotted him not working.

"Get to work, Sergeant Barnes," Lohmer said, kicking Bucky's boots.

Lieutenant Kleiber made his way over to the two men and shook his head. "He is too sick to work, Colonel," Kleiber said.

That comment did not go over well. "He'll die working, then!" Lohmer shouted, wrenching Bucky to his feet and shoving him onto the floor. He then glanced at the crane. "Why is this not up and running? Get this crane moving! We have a schedule to keep!"

The men all smirked. Lohmer had fallen right into their trap. And he would never see it coming. Bucky just wished that they could make him suffer a little bit more than they were going to. The crane was started by one of the prisoners and shifted right above Lohmer. But the sudden movement caused the already melted chain to break. It gave way without warning and Lohmer was unable to move. The bits of junk that it was carrying fell over on Lohmer as he passed, crushing him. Blood splattered all over the floor, showering some of the workers.

People were screaming in horror as Kleiber sprinted over to the fallen man. "Colonel!" Kleiber shouted.

Everyone was gathering around the mess to see if the broken chain had killed Lohmer. They could only hope that it would. They knew how dangerous this plan was in Lohmer was not killed. Judging by the bloodstains on the floor, Bucky had a good feeling that Lohmer was dead. The man was not moving and blood and brain matter were sprayed all across the floor. Bucky knew that someone would have to clean that up. The prisoners were all trying to suppress grins. Their plan had somehow worked. And it wasn't just for Bucky. Lohmer was awful to all of the prisoners.

A Hydra soldier turned back to their large ground. "Return to your cells! Sofort!" he shouted.

There was no arguing with that. Within minutes, all of the Hydra soldiers made every prisoner return to their cell. Bucky was being carried back to the cell by a few of the other men. The second the doors were closed behind them, Bucky was gently dropped back to the ground. It took nothing more than that. He had passed out immediately. He knew that a few hours had passed before he was shaken awake again. The men only let him sleep for a few hours at a time to ensure that he was still alive. Bucky didn't like the planning, but he did appreciate that they were all taking such care to ensure that he was alive.

Dugan was leaning over him. "Lohmer is dead. He's not going to cause you any more harm. Our role in his death can't be proved, so they can't take it out on us. The punishment is just reducing our food rations for a week. We'll all be alright, Barnes," Dugan reassured him.

Bucky merely smiled at him. "Do me a favor. Stop calling me Barnes. Just Bucky," he said.

Stunned at the request, Dum Dum nodded. "Get some rest, Bucky," he told the other man.

And, with that, Bucky fell back asleep. It was almost useless for him to try and stay awake. He simply couldn't. So his head lolled backwards as the men began to speak softly between them. He was out like a light within seconds. He kept picturing Vika as he fell into the darkness. He smiled at the sight of her. Maybe without all of the hard labor that Lohmer would make Bucky do, under the slightly less cruel Kleiber, Bucky had a chance at a full recovery over the next few weeks. Maybe he wouldn't need that letter after all.

November 2nd, 1943
Hydra Weapons Facility, Factory Floor, Austrian Alps

But those hopeful thoughts didn't last long. It wasn't just the sickness that was taking its toll on Bucky. It was from the vicious beatings that Lohmer had given Bucky before his death the week prior. Between everything that had happened to him, Bucky was now unable to perform his duties. He knew that the soldiers were talking about bringing him to solitary. His condition hadn't worsened, but it certainly wasn't getting better, either. In the middle of attempting to weld a piece of metal, Bucky collapsed to the ground, unable to get up.

Dum Dum sprinted over to him. The men had been desperate to keep Bucky alive over the past few days. "Bucky. Come on, Bucky. Get up. For Victoria, alright?" Dum Dum asked.

Whenever they felt that Bucky was losing hope, they would always bring her into it. But he couldn't do it anymore. "I - I can't," Bucky muttered, barely able to breathe.

"You can. Get up. Come on," Gabe said.

Off in the distance, Bucky could hear Kleiber speaking with someone else. "He needs to be off of the floor. He can't continue working like this," he said, referring to Bucky.

"Then he won't work at all," the soldier said.

Dum Dum and Gabe were pushed away from Bucky as the Hydra soldier aimed one of the strange guns straight at him. Bucky nodded and closed his eyes, prepared for his life to end. He had fought so hard. He knew that the men would tell Vika that he had tried his hardest to get back to her. She would at least be able to live with that knowledge. But he still hated himself for not being there for her. He was supposed to always be there for her. But just before the soldier pulled the trigger, a smaller man wearing glasses stepped in front of Bucky and held up his hand. Bucky's eyes widened at the change of events.

"Remove yourself, Dr. Zola," the soldier shouted.

The smaller man named Zola shook his head, staying in front of Bucky. Bucky had never been so grateful to a German. "I can use him. Schmidt does not want him dead. Allow me to take him," Bucky said.

As much as the thought of Johann Schmidt wanting Bucky alive unnerved him, he was grateful to stay alive a little longer. The soldier sighed and dropped the gun. "Fine. We will humor you. He is weak. He may not survive much longer," the soldier warned Zola.

"I know this," Zola said.

Even though Bucky was not going to die, he knew what was about to happen. He was going to be taken somewhere that he would never return from. Bucky, still on the floor, called out. "Dum Dum. Come here," he said.

Dum Dum darted over to him. "What's up, Bucky?" he asked.

Bucky reached down into his pocket and took out the locket with Vika's pictures in them. He saw the horrified look in Dum Dum's eyes. "You're gonna make it out of here. You all will. Find Victoria. Sergeant Victoria Phillips. Her father is Colonel Chester Phillips. Give this to her," Bucky pleaded with him.

She deserved to have them. "Bucky -"

"Please. Give it to her. Tell her that I tried. Tell her that I love her," Bucky pleaded.

Dum Dum stared at Bucky for a long time before nodding. "Okay," he conceded.

"Thank you," Bucky said. He watched as Dum Dum took the locket and slipped it back into his pocket, giving Bucky a sad nod. All of the men were watching him with sad eyes.

Far too soon, Bucky felt four hands grab onto him from two different soldiers. The men were watching him, giving Bucky salutes and nods as he was dragged away. Bucky was unable to raise himself back to his feet. He didn't need to, anyways. The soldiers were doing it for him. They yanked him off of the floor and dragged him down the hallways that he had never been down before. Bucky tried to make a mental map, but he was unable to do so. He was brought into a small, dark, and cold room and strapped down onto a metal table. He was unable to move as he simply stared up at the stone ceiling.

The man named Zola that had saved him earlier came in not long after Bucky got gotten into the room. He had a team with him that immediately began working on him. Hours passed... Or was it days? He didn't know. All that he knew was that he was being poked and prodded at. Things stopped hurting after a while. It just felt like Bucky was moving towards death and things were becoming peaceful. He could feel himself being given injections rather frequently and he heard men speaking to each other in German. But Bucky tried desperately to tune them out.

He wouldn't let them dictate his thoughts in what would be the end of his life. So he looked up at the ceiling, blocked out everyone that was standing around him, and let the world fall away. The pain was fading. He didn't feel anything. He didn't even feel himself. It just felt like he was floating on a cloud. Darkness began to surround him and Bucky sighed. He knew that death was coming for him. At least he would no longer be in pain. Before letting himself fall, he let out one last thought.

"I'm sorry, Vika..."

Victoria's P.O.V.

November 6th, 1943
New York City, New York

More and more days had passed. Things seemed to have just slipped into a dull and monotonous life. Training was getting boring - as there was only so much that we could teach each other - the tour was getting to the point that I wanted to gouge out my eyes, and talking on the telephone with the others wasn't enough. It also didn't help that Bucky still hadn't given me any indication that he was alright. The letters from him had halted, something that made me sick to my stomach.

The show finally ended and I made my way to the back of the room so that I could nap until it was time to leave. I really wasn't in the mood to watch Steve kiss babies, flirt pathetically, or kiss Brandt's ass. But just as I made my way to leave, Brandt caught my arm and motioned for me to walk with him. I nodded and watched as Brandt shut down the meet-and-greet stand, much to my confusion. That was always the most popular time of the show. He claimed that Captain America was sick before grabbing Steve and I, ushering us outside and into the car. Steve and I exchanged a very confused look.

He was no more in on this than I was. We were seated in the car before Steve gave Brandt a scrutinizing look. "What's going on?" he asked.

"Got news for you two," Brandt said.

"What news?" I asked.

"We're going overseas."

My jaw dropped. I had to have heard him wrong. There was no way that I'd heard him right. But a glimpse into his mind told me that I had, indeed, heard him correctly. "You're joking," I muttered, knowing that Steve wouldn't speak.

Brandt shook his head at us. "I'm not. We head out in the morning. We're going to Italy. There are some troops that have just returned from combat scenarios. It'll be a morale-booster," he said.

My heart fluttered. Italy. Bucky... "Do you know what camp we'll be staying at?" I asked.

Brandt missed what my excitement was for. "You'll get to see your old friends. The S.S.R." I smiled anyways. It might not be with Bucky, but at least we would see them. "You aren't there to become soldiers. At the end of the week we'll be heading back here and we're going to get back to touring. Head to sleep. The flight is early in the morning," Brandt snapped.

The car ride was made in silence as everyone processed what we had just been told. I could tell that Brandt was upset that he was losing money, considering that the show overseas would be done for free. Martin didn't seem to care. He got paid no matter what we were doing. I knew that Steve had ignored what Brandt had said about not going over there to be soldiers. He was going to go over there and prove himself. And as for me... I would get the chance to see Howard, Chester, and Peggy again. And that was what I wanted. I smiled brightly and got out of the car as we arrived at the hotel, walking upstairs with Steve.

We headed straight into my room. Steve and I stood in the middle of the room, neither one of us speaking for a while. "Steve?" I finally called. He looked at me, still surprised. "I think things are finally starting to look up."

The two of us stared at each other for a long while, not even daring to believe what had just happened. We had just had a major turn of luck. We might have been going out there to have a show, but it didn't matter. We were going to go out there and show Chester that we both deserved to be out there. Not just me. The two of us began to smile as laughter escaped us both. We wrapped each other in an excited hug, knowing that things were about to get better. Our luck was changing.

A/N: So a lot of these dates are semi-accurate, however, the precise dates are from my own mind as they are not indicated in The First Avenger. Also, I am not a German speaker, so the few German comments are taken from translators. I'm hoping that they're right. So this is not a particularly happy chapter, but the next chapter will feature Bucky's rescue! So I hope that you guys will like that. I'm looking forward to it! Thanks for all of the follows and favorites! Please review! Until next time -A

rebelforcauses: Thank you! I hope that you're still loving it!

nightwingbaby1: Well I'm glad that you're reading it now! I'm glad that you're obsessed, too, lol. I've never really thought about a face claim for her, since it's all in my imagination. I guess you could say that she's got kind of a Scarlett Johansson kind of look, tough but feminine, but with white-blonde hair and yellow eyes.

.2017: Hope that you liked this one!