Arie's POV:


My head sharply turned as he delivered a hit into my face with his fist.

I laughed maniacally at him before spitting out the blood that gathered in my mouth, and throwing him off of me as if he weighed twenty five pounds as opposed to two hundred twenty five in muscle.

"Where is he, Arianna?" He asked as he tried to hit me again.

He had surprised me the first time, but now I had grown accustomed to his fighting technique and quickly blocked it and delivered my own without breaking a sweat.

"He is nowhere near here. Long and too far gone for you to find. You don't need him and neither does Strone. So, get that idea out of your head." I replied as I pinned the other two men to the wall.

"You're missing the point here, Arianna. Don't you remember how good it felt to do Hydra's work? How powerful we felt?" Cole asked.

I dropped the men slowly, realizing they were unconscious.

Cole stared at me, a smirk spreading on his features. "See? You do remember. We can make an incredible team. You and I can finally bring peace to the world… hell even Winter if you still want him…" he said.

I smiled, pretending to be compliant for a second before. Before I moved my hand.

With the twist of my fingers all men died at my hands. Now, all that was left was the base in Iceland and this would all be over.

"No, thank you, that isn't peace, dumbass. That's tyranny." I muttered in disgust.

I shook my head at this moron's words. How could he think that Hydra was right?

No human being deserved to die for the idealistic beliefs of someone else. Sadly, it seemed the world was running like this. That is what I had to get rid of before being able to return to my family. To make them safe.

I shook my head as I turned around, stopping and blinking in disbelief.

Standing there before me, were none other than Tony, Steve, Clint, Pietro, Nat, Wanda, and Bucky.

I hesitated taking a step back as I stared at them.

"Arie, don't." Bucky warned.

I took another step back, away from them, only to be surprised by someone hitting me from behind.

I felt myself go airborne for a second before my head and body hit the metal wall harshly.

"Noo!" I heard as I hit the wall hard, pain radiating on my head as everything began to swim.


Bucky's POV:


I rushed towards Arie's still form as Steve, Clint and Tony took care of the other three guys who came out of nowhere.

"How is she?" Nat asked as Wanda frowned.

"She hit her head pretty hard. We need to take her to the emergency room to get it checked out. " Wanda said, with a frown.

Pietro rushed around the room clicking buttons as the rest of Nat and Clint gathered the Intel we needed to finally take Hydra down. Tony and Steve moved to make sure no more people surprised us.

After they all were done, I carefully picked her up and made my way towards the quinjet.

I quickly laid her down in one of the seats. Hovering over her.

"That won't help. Give her room to breathe, Barnes…" Wanda said.

Tony hushed her as Clint and Nat quickly got us out of there.

Moments later, we landed in a small town, and rushed Arie to the hospital.

Nothing would rip away from her side.

Three Weeks Later:

"You should go and get some rest…" Nat commented as I sat next to bed, holding her hand.

"I can't leave her." I mumbled.

"Jamie and Becca need to see at least one of you. They're growing irritable." She said, sitting down on the other side.

I sighed nodding. It's only been four hours since I got here. Still we have not seen change in her.

At this point I don't know if it's good or not.

"She'll be ok, Buck. She's stronger than you think." Nat said as she looked at me.

I sighed nodding in response, before looking away. "It's not that I think she's weak. She's the strongest person I know. But I need her by my side. Without her—*clears throat*— without her I'm nothing." I whispered as I felt a hand clamp down on my shoulder.

I looked up to see Steve looking at me, a sad expression in his face.

"She'll be back, Buck. She would never leave any of you." He said as a beeping suddenly filled the room.

"Or those kids. You three are her strength. It's what kept her alive those two years you were apart." Nat added.

I nodded wordlessly, trying not to let my emotions get the best of me.

"You should go back home and take a nap, my niece and nephew miss you two like crazy. Go get some rest, shower, eat… then come back. If there are any changes with her. You'll be the first person to call." He promised.

I knew there was no point in arguing. They both ganged up on me.

And wouldn't stop until I caved.

"Alright, but anything— and I do mean anything— changes with Arie and you're going to call me or I'll kick your ass." I warned as I got up.

I turned to give one last look at my doll, taking her in as I slowly bent down and kissed her forehead.

As my lips touched her forehead, I felt a movement on the bed, pulling away slightly, I stared down at her, hopefully.

She sighed, her brow furrowed as she slowly opened her eyes. "Who are you?" She asked, confused.

As she spoke my heart slowly sunk to my stomach.

I pulled away, trying to hide the hurt before quickly walking out of the room.

Without another thought mounted my bike and made my way towards the compound.

Ignoring the pain in my chest as I did.