"You alright?", Steve asked as he deflected another shot while trying to get off of Bucky. "More worried about Sweet right now, these fuckers got us pinned down!", Bucky cursed as once Steve got off of him, he took a few pot shots at the HYDRA troopers.
The other trooper fired again as Steve just barely deflected it while Bucky took aim; trying to catch the firing soldier right in the eye with the shot he was trying to make.
The Hydra soldier shouted in pain and shot again in anger and pain as Bucky saw that he was almost out of ammo, grunting as the last bullet was jammed, and Steve went to deflect it as he shot back at the soldier, killing him just as the deflection was almost barely in time, causing him to lose the shield.
The other dying Hydra trooper, with the bullet in his neck thanks to Sweet, was choking up on blood and all, but was determined and shot a big charge, and Bucky, seeing that it was at Steve, he picked up the shield, and stances against it, shooting with the last bullet in his pistol at the trooper, shouting in pain and such as the big charge was powerful, ripping the shield out of his arm barely, nearly took the side door out like a hole, ripping out, bringing Bucky out by force, clinging to the hanging door and such as he tried to hold on.
"Bucky!", Steve shouted as he moved to try to get him as the other man was hanging on for dear life. Bucky tried to grip his feet into anything on the side door piece as he held on, but the speed of the train, the wind, everything, it was too fast as he tried to reach out to his brother, "Steve!".
Steve reached down, "Reach, Bucky, please! Come on! Grab my hand, do it for Audrey!", and Bucky grunted, trying to inch along the bar, seeing Audrey's beautiful smile in his mind's eye, reaching out, feeling the bar shaking underneath his hand, "I'm trying, Steve!", before he screamed as the bar broke further down.
Steve screamed, "Bucky, reach!", trying to get to him, and Bucky looked at him, tears in his eyes, "Steve...End of the line...Tell Audrey that I love her!", trying to reach him but the whole struggle finally broke the bar, and then he fell, down and down, holding his crystal tight as he closed his eyes, memories of Audrey looking at him in bed, in the hanger on the motorcycles or cars, the mess hall running through his mind, giving a last prayer, "If there is someone watching over us...Please make this at least quick for me...At least I could think of Audrey all the way...Make it easy for them to find me in this mess...If there's even a trickle of strength left of me, I'd fight to live...I wonder if I'll see Atlantis on the way to heaven...".
Steve was in complete shock at that moment as he watched Bucky fall to the foggy abyss below. He had never had that sense of invincibility that was known to happen to some soldiers when they and a group of their comrades were able to survive countless battle upon battle, but after everything that had gone through; Steve would be lying if he didn't feel some of that. Only for that idea to be completely shattered by the reality of seeing Bucky fall like that.
Mole saw it all happen, along with Dugan, and as the last car of the train passed the spot Bucky fell, Mole ran and jumped into the cliff, intentionally going to find Bucky's body, alive or dead, or in between, digging a tunnel down through the cliff to the ravine bottom.
Steve then heard a scared voice, "Steve, Bucky? Where are you?", a couple of moments later after he clenched into the side, tears falling in grief, and his voice clenched, remembering Sweet, and ran to Sweet, "Sweet! Are you okay?".
Sweet blinked, "Didn't get hit bad...Steve...I can't see color...I can't see you...I only see the shape of your crystal...", and Steve widened his eyes in horror, "Hold on, Sweet, we'll get you to stable ground...", before realizing that he was thinking of Bucky, and a sob escaped him.
"Steve?...What happened? Where's Bucky?", Sweet whispered, and Steve spoke ever so softly, "He...He fell from the train...We were reaching for each other...Gods, how am I going to tell Audrey?...".
Sweet gasped, "No...", before widening his eyes, "The train, it's still going...you gotta stop Zola, don't kill him, capture him, remember?...He might have a plan of derailing the train or something...Go, I...I'm fine, I can stand and all, just go, Steve...for Bucky...".
Sweet heard him exhale sharply and heard the familiar ching of the shield as Steve's boots stomped, running, hearing an enraged scream of grief and anger, and Sweet closed his eyes, trying to upright himself, tears in his eyes as his heart grieved for Bucky, having a vague idea of how Audrey would react when she finds out.
"Joshua? Joshua, you're back!", Nola's voice was heard, sounding like she was happy, surprised, as he felt the familiar sheets of her bed, and then heard her concerned tone, "Joshua? You're crying...Did something happen?", feeling her shuffle and sit into the bed.
Sweet opened his eyes, hoping to see color and all, but no, it was the same as before, and he choked up, seeing Nola's crystal, "Nola...Nola...I can't see...I only see darkness, barely the shape of your crystal, with gray around it...I can't see color...".
"What happened?", Nola asked as Sweet sighed, "Got hit by some gas when we were fighting; I don't know if it's only temporary or permanent.", as he told her, "But... that's not the worst part... we... we lost a man, Bucky... Steve's brother, and Audrey's lover...".
Nola gasped in horror, "No...Oh, my gods...Jacques told so much about Bucky...and now...to hear that Audrey found love...and lost it...The others will be shocked...Gas...That's not something here in Atlantis, but I had some patients who had temporal blindness thanks to underwater spear hunting, from squids, plants, and such...Luckily, I have some backup herbs for that kind of situation, and hopefully, on the other side, with either Steve or one of the others up there, like Audrey or Peggy, to help heal as well.", before she got up from the bed, with Sweet watching her crystal flying about here and there, hearing sounds of cabinet doors opening and closing and the rush of water, hearing slight mutters, "I know. Good, that's fresh.".
Sweet heard the slight grunting of wood hitting wood, smelling the aroma of herbs, some faint burning grass and then heard her murmurs of Atlantean, hearing the faint thrum of water against a wooden bowl, seeing her crystal coming closer, hearing her footsteps, and in the back of his head, he had sworn that her footsteps were a bit lighter, but figured that the bowl is heavy.
He saw the crystal drenching into the water as Nola sat presumably with the bowl in her lap, hearing the flutter of fabric, and the squirting sound of a sponge or two.
Nola replied, "Okay, I'm going to grab your hands, take them up to your eyes, and when you touch your ridge of eyebrows, hold there until I give you the sponges, and then gently press them to your lids of your eyes, keeping them closed, and hold them there while I wrap around your head, so it can keep the sponges in place without you having to hold them.".
"Alright. Hopefully, this works...", Sweet sighed as Nola nodded, "It is the way it has worked the other times, part of me doesn't see why it wouldn't be too much different in this case.".
Sweet nodded with a small smile, "I missed your confidence.", as he followed her instructions, and under five minutes, he's now feeling better as he didn't realize that the pain of the gas and all was there until it ebbed away under the healing presence of the sponges and the blindfold bandages, feeling the water soak into his eyes all over, and through the lids with the healing presence.
Nola replied, "It usually took about two hours in the other cases as it's repeating, delicate work...Anything happen on the good side, at least?".
Sweet chuckled, "Actually, yeah...Turns out Peggy had a successful pregnancy...there was a close scare this time, but with my memories of your healing ways and my modern ways of medicine, I saved the baby, and as of last month before we went on this mission, a lovely, healthy, and hearty baby girl was born. Brookyln Michelle Rogers. Said to look a lot like her father, yet smart and determined like her mother, and I think it had to do with the Atlantean genes and the super soldier serum that advanced her more than normal.".
"Oh, that's wonderful news! Wait, this time?", Nola sounded delighted, and then confused, and Sweet sighed deeply, "There was another baby, months ago before she carried Brookyln, I think, and unfortunately, the genes didn't work right, and she suffered a horrible miscarriage, and I wasn't there since I was at the time when I got captured, and you know the rest.".
"Anyway, since it was a considerably dangerous place of people finding out since she wanted to work until maternity leave, she never had the chance to bury the tiny baby. It took weeks of healing and grieving before she got back to normal, with Steve's support, and the others' distractions and such, but eventually, after the close call, with putting Brookyln gratefully out of the danger zone for miscarriages, she became better, less worried, and happier, and last I heard from Steve, was that she was practically glowing in joy every time she fed Brookyln and all.", Sweet then finished.
Nola cooed and sighed in relief, "Thank goodness. I would never have wished the worst on Peggy as she's such a formidable fighter and all...", before huffing, "A few minutes, please.".
Sweet frowned, "Nola? Were you talking to someone else before I came?", and Nola gave a warm chuckle, "Yes, and don't worry, I made sure everybody knew that I'm your mate and wife, and no, it wasn't the guard down the hallway...I guess this is better than shocking you way later when you get here...", before taking his hands gently, squeezing them lovingly as she kissed his lips nervously yet excitedly, putting his hands on her baby bump which is larger than a usual two-month-old baby bump.
Sweet's eyes widened as he felt her, almost completely stunned upon the information, "Nola... is that...?", almost whispering. "Yes...", Nola nodded, "Looks like I was right... despite the distance, the crystal made sure that you were able to sire a child...".
Sweet exhaled, wishing he'd see, but knowing he has to be patient with the healing time of his eyes, and stroked her warm skin, feeling the baby bump shape, and he murmured, "You're bigger than I would figure the math...It only has been two months and some change...Is it a big baby, trying to be like me?".
Nola giggled softly, "You'd think that, but the truth is...I'm carrying triplets...", as Jacques, Milo, and even Abraham and Thaddeus told her that African Americans and African natives are more prone to have more fertility in conceiving children, and that women from the African groups up there carries multiple pregnancies, and considering that Atlanteans communally have singles, rarely twins, it was an entire shock to her when the other healers checked her out at the healing center after she threw up thrice one day between meals.
"T-triplets?", Sweet stammered as Nola chuckled, "Yeah, it was a shock for me too, I thought one would be enough but three... sometimes I worry that it may be a bit much these past few weeks.".
Sweet traced her arm as he wanted to comfort her, finding his way to cradle her cheek in his hand, "I wish I'd see you right now, but I will be patient with the healing process here. But I promise, one way or another, I'll get here for real, no soul traveling or any more dangerous missions...This is more than I'd ever imagine...I have a feeling my parents would be over the moon to have grandchildren at last...considering that I'm in my late 30s, almost to 40s, like you...You'll need my help...I know the crystal can heal any tearing and such, if that comes to it, but I'm worried too...Triplets...Wow...Is the morning sickness rough or anything?".
Nola sighed, leaning her cheek into his hand more, touching his other hand on her baby bump, "They're picky sometimes, and it's rough at times, but other times, it's mild and they're less picky...I have a strange feeling that two of them is a boy and a girl, and they are our preplanned children; Jivin Daniel Sweet, and Rirra Mosi Sweet...And we'd have a surprise in our third baby...", tears falling in hope and joy.
"A bit too early to tell, right? I mean, imagine if we were wrong and had three girls or boys...", Sweet chuckled as Nola shook her head, "Perhaps, but I feel fairly confident at least that we'll have at least one boy and girl...".
Sweet smiled, cradling her cheek as he stroked her baby bump, "That's fair...I can't believe it...You realize that you'd eat way more than usual as time comes along?".
Nola giggled, "Of course...The other healers agree that I'm able to work with patients and such for at least three more months before they get to the point of tiring me out more than I could handle...But for the last 3 months, I'd have to find something to do...I don't like to be bored...".
Sweet replied, "Oh, we will figure that out soon enough after I get here, I promise...And now, my parents would be demanding to meet their daughter-in-law, and all, especially when I get back to America...Gods, that'd be a story to tell.", before hearing the faint sounds of the train braking, and hearing footsteps, with Steve's voice commanding, "Dugan, take this trash out of my sight!".
Sweet replied, "Sounds like Steve's coming back...I better talk to him..", and Nola replied, "Do that...I'll keep repeating the healing sponges and bandages on this side...You aren't disappearing on me for some time.. Looks like the crystal is keeping you protected in a defensive way.".
"Okay...I know I will see soon with you around, Nola...I love you...", Sweet replied, and Nola kissed his lips tenderly, "I love you too, Joshua...", before Sweet turned his full attention, opening his physical eyes, seeing darkness still, with Steve's familiar crystal shape, "Steve? I am not seeing you yet... Did you...".
Steve leaned down to squeeze his shoulder, "I didn't kill him...Gods, I wanted to, so badly...I bashed him instead to be unconscious for some time so he wouldn't make trouble and saw that he didn't have a cyanide suicide tooth, as you were right...He thought he was too important.".
"Figures...", Sweet scoffed as Steve sighed. "How you holding up now?", he asked as Steve shook his head, "I don't know... I honestly feel like I almost wish someone would shoot me... put an end to all of this...". Steve clearly was in a dark place at the loss of Bucky.
"Yeah... I get the feeling; it would feel like just dying would make things so much easier, but you know you still have Peggy and your daughter that you have to live for, just for starters.", Sweet said. Steve sighed, hearing that as Sweet was right, of course, but it didn't make the pain any less terrible.
Steve replied, "I...I have to get this train rolling back...The train stations the teams did must have been detonated by now...And we got to get out fast...".
Dugan's footsteps were heard, and his voice replied, "Tied Zola in the back car...Something you gotta know...Mole had jumped into the cliff...I think he's going to try to find Barnes' body...I'm sorry, Captain...We can't risk more Hydra or even Nazi jumping us like this vulnerable...We have to get back to camp...We have to radio the general for orders in morse code and...we can't risk names over the radio if Hydra is listening in somehow...".
Sweet replied, "Steve...He's right...You...we will grieve once we're in camp, and on the way back to France on our route and ask a team to accompany us...I need help, and Mole...we...can't wait too long...".
"Fine...", Steve sighed; hoping that Mole might at least find Bucky's body... at least give them a chance to send his body back to the states.
"What are you going to tell Audrey?", Sweet asked as Steve shook his head, "I don't know... I wouldn't even know where to begin...".
Sweet sighed, "Me neither, especially when I see her as a niece...", and Steve helped him stand up, keeping a hand on his shoulder as he knew he had to distract himself, commanding Dugan to rig the controls while checking the incredible high-class cameras for the back of the train.
He can hear Sweet muttering in Atlantean, and he replied, "Is...Are you in Atlantis right now?", and Sweet said, "Defensive mode, due to my blindness...Nola's helping on the other side...Hey, hey, I know what'd cheer you up.", as they felt the train revving backwards.