"I know, Steve...", Peggy cupped his cheek, "But they need you. They need hope, a motivation to keep going, to fight for their loved ones like you are. And please, don't mention it when we are on our vacation/honeymoon here, okay? I want you to focus on me, to enjoy chatting with my parents, to play ball or poker with Bucky, can you do that?".
Steve smiled lovingly as he leaned in to kiss her on the lips, "I can definitely do that, darling...Now, shall we have breakfast, or make love in the shower?", with a grin, and Peggy smirked, "What do you think?", before a thought came to her, "Do you think Jacques is going through the Azores Islands by now?".
"He's probably getting close. I have to assume that thing is much faster now that it's in open waters rather than trying to sneak down rivers in occupied Europe. And hopefully he's smart enough to quickly move and not cause any attention. Wouldn't want to freak out any convoys thinking they've got a U-Boat around.", Steve said.
"Yeah, I think those sailors have enough to worry about without a case of mistaken identity with Jacques' craft.", Peggy nodded.
Indeed, elsewhere, near the Azores Islands, Jacques is making sure that his craft is being swift, staying deep yet steady, checking his radar and everything, and all as he had drove all night, discovering that if he locks the wheel with a latch, he can use the bathroom when needed.
Hopefully, with the restricted convoys to be sailing across the Atlantic when they are needed to patrol the shore length of France, Spain, and England, Jacques can afford to catch a nap with a prepared radar detection alarm to warn him if he encounters any reefs or such, but he doubts with the Atlantic being so deep, it would be almost no trouble after he gets through the Azores Islands.
To his relief, after a hour of getting through the Azores Islands, he happily sees the expanse of the Atlantic Ocean before him, and holds his crystal, kissing it as he touches it with his ring, murmuring in French, "I'm coming home, Sia.", and sees with a smile that his crystal's glowing strongly to pass on the message, and felt, for a moment, Sia's joy and surprise and love.
He smiles, and focuses on driving his craft, intent to get to the air pocket down the Atlantic Ocean, already imagining the reunion with his mate, and his boys, hoping that he'd make it home soon by a week or less if this sub is really fast.
Meanwhile, Sia is crying happily and joyfully, "You hear that, Kory? Your papa is coming home!", as she was trying to help Korbyn stand, and he gives a happy squeal, smiling gummily with only a tooth.
"This calls for a feast, and I know what to get! Wanna see Aunty Kida and Uncle Milo?", Sia smiled, and Korbyn shrieks excitedly as she scoops him up, all but skipping from her bedroom, heading to the throne room.
Sia arrived in the throne room as Milo appeared to be absent, but Kida was in the throne, looking a tad bit bored. "The role of Queen already boring you?", Sia teased her sister.
Kida glanced at her, smiling widely as she chuckled, "A bit as I couldn't move around easily anymore...This little rascal is trying to cheer me up by giving me hiccups...I think they enjoyed the grapes a tad too much...", with a sigh, rubbing her baby bump.
Sia laughed warmly, "Well, I hope Kory will keep you occupied...He has been fed an hour ago, and he has been trying to stand by himself, but no luck there.", and Kida raised an eyebrow, "I'd love my nephew's company, but what's gotten you so excited?".
"Jacques messaged me from up top, probably going through the islands, that he's coming home!", Sia happily replied, and Korbyn clapped his hands, giggling with a nod to say that his mama is saying the truth.
"Really?", Kida's eyes widened hearing that. "I mean, I could probably guess the message came just from the crystal reacting and all that... but that's great!", as she smiled. "Hopefully, that means the war is over or at least his home has been liberated.", Sia nodded.
Kida smiled, "Oh, very much so, I hope of that as well. Now, what are you planning to do?", and Sia grinned, "Well, I was hoping to ask you to announce to the city through the city megaphones of my mate's percentual arrival, to prepare a festival celebration, and perhaps, hopefully with his account of the dates up there when he left, we can have a late Christmas/New Year's Eve and a Hanukkah for Abraham and Thaddeus like they wanted.".
"Oh, my, that'd be something...You know, you're right. We've been rebuilding Atlantis for 8 months now. The citizens deserve to have a break. And for the feast part, I presume you and the hunting team is going off to track and hunt on the Ketaks and Martags?", Kida asked.
Sia nodded, "Yep! We're going to track down that worm creature. He couldn't have gone far after we had wounded him last week, and this time, we will make sure he will go down!", with a determined look as the worm creature had been an adversary to Atlantis for a long, long time, with many hunters killed, as spears and arrows were somewhat ineffective towards the worm creature, though they really tried, but as the worm creature grew bigger and bigger, it became a rare occasion to hunt the worm monster during festivals and such, yet now, with the Ketaks and Martags, it seemed to be more possible to take down the worm creature, as they have wounded and tracked it down over the past 8 months, learning to hunt with the blue energy blasts when necessary for big creatures like an elderly lava whale or such.
"Please, do be careful though if you're so insistent on going.", Kida warned. "Look, maybe, maybe you should hold back since Jacques is coming and all...", she suggested.
Sia replied, "I'll be fine, sister, and besides, it would as well be a week as there's no alternative paths to the surface besides our roadway from the air pocket. I want to give the people the chance and their own time to smoke, grill, and all with the worm creature's meat. We can't afford to waste anything of our hunts, and such, and Jacques deserves to have a celebration for his return home. I want him to know that the people respect and admire him after all the stories I told about him, even if he may not think he's worth it to be a prince of Atlantis due to being my mate and all.".
Kida sighed deeply, "Very well. Be home before dark if you can. I know I can feed Kory with some of the bottles in the kitchens or breastfeed him if he wants natural milk.", giving her arms out to receive Korbyn. They have planted Atlantean torches in several tunnels and caverns after discovering that with their crystals' power to amplify the flames in the torches to last two days before repeating it.
"Sure... though I think Kory would prefer his own mother doing all that rather than his aunt.", Sia teased as Kida shook her head, "I swear, you being a mother has made you insufferable.". Sia stuck her tongue out upon Kida saying that.
Kory giggled, babbling with a smile as Sia gave him to Kida, patting her baby bump, and Kida winced at the kick in response, "I swear, you're happy to sense your cousin as you are, my little rascal.".
Sia snickered, and massaged Kida's baby bump, "Take it easy on your mother, nephew or niece. And Kory, behave for Aunty Kida, okay?", and Kory nodded, using his hand to gesture his lips in a kiss, and Sia smiled warmly, "I love you too, darling.", kissing him on the forehead.
"And oh, one last question. Where's Milo?", Sia asked, and Kida said, "He said he'd planned a class visit to the kids' school institute, with the 4th graders this morning, and then to check on Abraham and Thaddeus during their lunchtime meal, even with Nola checking on Abraham every few days, as it's looking like they'd come any day, like how twins usually are. And I believe your older son is either done with his royal lessons or having an off day, fishing and climbing trees with his friends.".
"Still a little hard to get used to that when you mention Vinny.", Sia admitted as Kida nodded. "I know, you'd think you wouldn't forget any children until you remember that Vinny's a special case.", Kida said.
"Yeah, he still sometimes finds it hard to call me Mom; but that's understandable, Jacques and I aren't his real parents, but we care for him all the same, and he knows it.", Sia replied.
Kida smiled warmly, "You have to admit that he's flourishing, and Kory absolutely adores his big brother.", and to prove that Kida's right, Korbyn claps his hands together with a gummy smile.
Sia chuckled lightly, "Very true. Well, I better get on and see if the team is up for another hunting trip. And perhaps, my little nephew or niece in there would like some worm creature burger meat or something of the sort.".
Kida shrugged, "We'll have to see about that. Love you, sis.", and Sia smiled, "Love you too, sis.", squeezing her hand before she left the throne room, heading out to find her usual hunting partners for the hunt.
An hour later, after announcing the news and taking care of Korbyn, Kida heard her throne guards greet Milo, and she smiled warmly, "Hello, Milo...How did your class visit and the checkup with your Opa and Pops go?".
"The class visit was great, and Opa is looking tired yet very much perky, and my cousins Klaus and Rachel isn't making it easy on him with the baby weight, but it's really looking like they could come today or tomorrow, or even the day after that, though there hasn't been signs of the water breaking or even a centimeter of dilation, yet he has been having Braxen-Hick contractions mildly, far enough to be hours apart.", Milo replied as he tickled Korbyn's belly, earning him to shriek in surprise, while caressing Kida's baby bump, feeling a kick against his hand, and leaning in to kiss Kida on the lips.
"Won't be too much longer with us...", Kida sighed as Milo nodded. "Yep... still hard to believe at times.", he admitted as she nodded.
"Yeah, with you feeling that you probably would be alone with that cat of yours while I honestly felt that we were getting close to our last generation...", Kida said as he agreed.
"Well, we can't be too complacent yet about that second part; we're making a turn, for sure, but it's still in the balance. We screw up...", Milo bit his lip as she nodded.
"I know, but I think we have strong confidence in ourselves and those around us that we'll make sure to guide things in the right direction.", Kida replied.
Milo smiled softly as he sat down next to them, "And that's why you're my queen, my love. Right, Kory?", with a wink at the newborn that's on the edge of toddlerhood. Korbyn gave a happy squeal, and Kida laughed warmly, "I swear if this is a boy, I'd have a husband, a nephew, and a son who are to gang up on me and try to prove me right on all things.".
"Let me guess, they didn't bother to reveal the gender today like always, huh?", Milo snickered, and Kida made a raspberry, "I swear they got my stubbornness more than your genius mind...", as Korbyn copied her.
Milo chuckled warmly, "Well, all the same, it sounds like they're doing great...", as he wrapped an arm around her, still stroking her baby bump, feeling gentle yet eager kicks.
"They're behaving thanks to Sia's orders. Speaking of which, did you hear my orders through the city megaphone system?", Kida smiled, and Milo nodded, "We all did. I suspect that's got the twins excited, yet taking their time, probably wanting to surprise Jacques like he's an uncle or godparent of sorts. I have heard that Sia and a hunting party had left the city through the chain of gossip from the people in the marketplace. What are they going after?".
Kida replied, "The worm creature. Sia figures that it's perfect for a festival celebration of Jacques's return, and I don't blame her as it would be a great success if they finally get that worm creature down after so many centuries. I've been after that creature, Milo, and I'm hoping the souls of our lost people, mine and yours, get the peace they've deserved after all this long, even after our ceremonies and our prayers.", with a deep sigh.
"Is it possible for it to be brought down? I mean, even with our equipment involving high caliber weapons and all, and we still didn't look like we truly could kill that thing.", Milo obviously had good reasons to worry, considering how he saw what it could take firsthand even with some of the most advanced military equipment America had in small arms.
Kida replied, "You know Sia and several hunting teams has been scouting out the caves and such, and with the Ketaks and Martags being swift flyers of dodging skills and turning well with Atlanteans in them, the worm creature has been wounded as much as it could be before it escapes or digs to safety the past 8 months since they put it to practice with the blue energy blasts, their arrows, and spare spears on the Ketaks and Martags. And Sia swears that they had wounded it nastily enough last week, so it should be weakened.".
Milo exhales deeply, "I hope you're right. Am I right to assume that you asked Sia to be careful?", and Kida nodded, "Yes. She is an excellent hunter, having been less well-seasoned of sorts than me, yes, but she knows that any creature is dangerous, including the worm creature. And I couldn't stop her like this...", with a gesture to her baby bump with a small smile.
"Ah, she's determined then...Well, let's hope they get to bring it down at last, or we'll never hear the end of it from Sia.", Milo chuckled with a grin, and Kida laughs warmly, "I can agree with that.".
Indeed, deep in one of the cavernous boundaries along the ancient highway, four souls are watching the battle of the Atlanteans on their awe-inspiring vehicles, and the worm monster they've lost their lives to, and became tied to the monster, being stringed along on the monster's travels, being unable to head to the heavens, perhaps unfinished business in a way; Sergeant Jerome 'Rome' Daniels, Corporal Alexander 'Alex' Hughes, Private First Class Sam Nicholson, and Private Nathaniel 'Nate' Fredericks.
They felt a bit of peace when they felt Joshua Sweet's prayers far away from their place of demise, but apparently, it wasn't enough for them to cross over, and they didn't know that Rourke intentionally planned for them to die someway, though he didn't expect it to be a worm monster himself, so they are stuck, wondering why they are chained to the worm monster, and now lately, within several months past, they saw strange people on those machines, and with every time they attempt to wound the worm monster every month or so, they are having hope again.
The hunting party certainly was getting frustrated with just how this worm kept surviving despite all that it had taken. Vinny explained to Sia that it should've nearly been dead already after how much ammo the expedition had unloaded into it when they encountered it in the first place, but somehow, either the thing was a fast healer, or it really was way tougher than even a whole bunch of small arms. Maybe a large caliber artillery shell from a huge howitzer would've done the trick but that was something that couldn't be brought during the expedition; or would've been difficult nearing impossible if the Grabacr had somehow brought a large howitzer down with it.
The worm roared, shrieked, and hissed in pain as it tried to grab, slash, smash, and pounce at the increasingly dangerously fast and strong things with those insect people, never imagining that it would be wounded more severely than it was, proud to be the top predator in all the territory of the caverns and such in this underground world, yet those insects were getting on its nerves with those blue energy blasts, far more painful than bullets or even a revolver gun!
As the worm was backed against a wrecked bridge wall, it became more and more wounded, bleeding green blood everywhere as it roared and shrieked in pain, furious and determined to get those pests out of the way, throwing its pincers, claws, body, and tail as it went on the attack.
In Atlantean and English orders, the hunting team quickly dodged, swerved, and ducked while keeping at unleashing all their arrows, spears, and the blue blasts at every weak spot they could glimpse through the bleeding of the worm, and just as the worm was rearing with shrieks of defiance, a spear and a blue energy blast got it in the throat, through the mouth, to the edge of the brains, sending it to the death within a few minutes.