I'm With You 'Til The End Of The Line: A Bucky Barnes Fanfiction

The Last Chapter

Previously on I'm with You 'til End of the Line:

Bucky's POV

Then I saw her.

I watched her descend in horror. Things kept flashing into my mind. Something familiar. Something of my past. The fall.

My head screamed back into reality as I realized now Nikki was in that position. She was the one falling. And I was the one standing there and watching.

Move, James, move!

The next thing I knew, somebody threw their arm around me and turned me around as to not see the death of my daughter. Steve was there. He was breathing hard and squeezing his eyes shut, a tear slowly descending down his face.

My world fell as I heard the sickening crack of Nikki's body smashing into the platform.

Dakota's POV

I looked back at my dad as I heard the crunch of bones against metal. At that gut-wrenching moment, I felt a feeling in my gut. A mix of guilt, agony, sorrow, and... satisfaction. I stared into my father's eyes as I said, "Mission accomplished."

In that moment, I realized Taylor wasn't the only thing I loved.

Fitz's POV

"I'm just saying, if we did have a monkey, it probably would make a mess of the place! I mean, you know how much this technology costs! And what about the prototypes? We have rough sketches that are such a pain to redo," Jemma said.

"Y-you just want to... suck the joy... out of everything," I muttered in response.

Before she could respond, someone came bursting into the room.

"Can you fix her?"

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Fitz's POV

"Can you fix her?"

I looked up from my work. Nikki was lying limp in Tony's arms. Jemma rushed to him, checking her pulse. I couldn't see her face to tell whether is was good or bad. She pointed at the Hyper-barrack Chamber. "Put her in there," Simmons instructed.

Tony immediately responded, placing her gently onto the bed platform. Jemma pushed it in and sealed the closing. She observed the monitor, searching for signs of anything. I watched in anticipation. Nikki was my new friend. She was way too young- well... you know what I mean.

Tony left, saying he was going to get James and Steve. I took this opportunity to talk to Jemma.

"Is she okay?" I asked.

Jemma's head hung low. I heard a slight whimper from her.

"Jemma?"

"Oh, Fitz! There wasn't a pulse!" she exclaimed as she turned to face me. She came up to me and hugged me. "I don't know, Fitz!"

"Shh, it's okay. She'll be fine. I'm sure of it," I attempted to soothe her. She just whimpered more.

I heard voices in the hall. Jemma immediately let me go and and returned to the chamber. Her expression was still full of concern and worry. Tony, Steve, and James came in. James looked the worst of all. He was immediately at Jemma's side asking questions left and right. Of course, she didn't answer any of them right away. Once he quit asking, she began speaking, "I'm not sure of anything yet. I'm still getting a read on her. But she's in no great condition. I suggest we leave her alone for a while so the chamber can see what's going on. There's nothing we can do right now except wait.

One by one, the three filed out of the room. James gave a hesitant glance before exiting.

I looked to Jemma. She gave me no sign of anything. Then she spoke, "I'm going to check with Doctor Cho." Then she left.

Bucky's POV

"What if she isn't okay, though? What if this is it?" I responded to Steve.

"She'll be okay, Buck. Simmons just needs a reading. That's all," he said.

"But she wasn't breathing!"

"You survived a big fall, so she can, too, Buck. It runs in the family," Steve's voice grew slightly louder.

"You saying she's gonna lose an arm?!" I yelled back.

"Well it'd be a he][ of a better outcome than dying," he yelled in return.

That silenced me. It would be a better outcome than her death. Steve took that sign as the end of the discussion and left.

"I think we should all hit the sacks," Tony finally spoke.

I looked up at him from sitting of the couch. "You're not really going to go to bed, are you?"

"No."

I smirked and left for my own bed. Maybe the sun will come out tomorrow.

--

[NEXT MORNING]

I woke up to rain splashing against the window pane. The events of last night rushed fresh to my mind. Nikki.

I ripped the covers off my bed and raced to the room Nikki was in, passing Steve on the way. I threw the door open, hoping for some good news. When the door opened, I saw Simmons, Fitz, Cho, and Tony. They were all crowded around Nikki's chamber. Their heads all swiveled in my direction when the noticed me. None of their expressions looked promising. Not good. I slowly wandered up to the chamber, their eyes never once leaving me as if they were expecting some big reaction. Steve was soon at the door.

I looked into the chamber to see a motionless Nikki. "How is she?"

No one answered. Also not good. I looked to Steve for some hint as to what was happening. "Buck, the chamber gave a reading last night. We've been up all night, making sure it was true. Nikki..." he started choking up.

Then again, so was I. I knew what was coming. I had known since the sickening crunch. But I didn't accept it in my heart. A war had been raging between my brain and heart. A battle between reality and hope. But now I knew for sure.

Steve choked out the last words. The words that doomed my dreams and hope.

It closed the curtains to block the sunshine. The lamp was unplugged. The light had gone out.

I always knew this wasn't going to end well. I'm a militant. I'm an assassin. I'm a tragedy. I cause tragedies. I finish stories. I put the night into day. I leave the world with nothing but fear and desperation. Nothing good could've come out, anyway. It was a dead end. This was a tragedy story. And this was the last page. This was where the story ended. The brutal truth was being told. And that was it. The end. The end of this. The end of me. The end of her. It had to be said.

"Nikki is dead."