Winter's End [winter soldier//Bucky Barnes AU]

Chapter Twenty Four

*Sarah's POV*

In short, the big battle we were expecting to happen, did not.

We arrived at the small shop that hid Hydra, through the same bedroom we had come into. And no one was there. No one was waiting for us at all- it was eerily quiet. Which obviously sent off a warning light in my mind.

We walked out, extremely confused, and cautiously headed towards the front of the store. There, we found a sliver of what we were expecting to find.

Several Hydra bodies lay dead on the floor, including the poor shop owner, and I felt a pang of sadness that we couldn't save her. But then a new thought dawned in my head- if all of these people were wearing Hydra clothing, then who exactly killed them?

"Guys...who killed these people?" I asked aloud, and several others looked up in surprise, the same thought just now occurring to them. Banner walked over to the window at the front, moving the curtain aside and peering out. He smiled briefly, and I immediately grew hopeful that for once, we were going to hear good news.

"Well. Looks like Coulson found some people still loyal to S.H.I.E.L.D." He said, and we gathered around the windows to see Coulson and around fifty soldiers guarding the area. I smiled- the man was always pulling strings to get what he wanted.

"Thank god! Backup!" Peter said, looking completely exhausted- his arm in a makeshift cast that I hadn't noticed before. I guess he actually had broken it.

I turned and pushed the door open, leading everyone outside. We jogged over to Coulson, who was wearing a huge grin on his face as he waved like a dorky dad. His black suit was a stark contrast to the bright green woods, and he looked as alive as ever.

"Where have you been?!" Tony questioned immediately, his suit flashing on and off and making whirring sounds as it tried to fix itself. Tony himself looked extremely pissed off. But when didn't he?

"Stark, let's not get into this. You know that I have my secrets. And I'd like to keep them secrets for the time being." Coulson replied. Tony grumbled something and shook his head, leaning over a piece of his armor and beginning to tinker with it. Phil rolled his eyes at the actual five year old Tony, and continued speaking.

"Anyways, I'm really glad to see so many of you alive. We came too late, I'm afraid, to really do much, but I couldn't get here sooner. The government doesn't really like us anymore."

Phil gave an apologetic smile, and Steve clapped him on the shoulder, nearly making Coulson collapse. Whether he was hit hard or swooning, I couldn't really tell.

"At least you're here now. We killed a lot of them, but I know there's still a ton left. Hydra is nowhere near done with us." Steve told him, and Phil nodded, in a sort of trance. Good old, star-struck Phil.

Steve shook his head at Phil's fangirling and started calling out orders, telling us where we should go.

"Bucky, Sarah and Peter, you guys go behind the bushes and attack the first few lines. Natasha and Clint, hide anywhere and shoot anyone who gets too close or too far. Banner and Stark, you handle the big guys- take out the strongest ones quickly. No point in you guys hiding. May and Skye, you guys do what you can to help our own, and I'll bang some guys up so you all can kill them. Everyone got it?"

We all nodded and set out.

Taking Steve's advice, we fell in behind the loose blockade that the soldiers had created. I kneeled down next to a nearby bush, with Bucky and Peter, and watched the house. We silently waited for any movement or sign of attack from Hydra-but nothing stood out.

We saw nothing for what seemed like an eternity, and my nerves were starting to get the best of me. I started to wish they'd just come out already so we could kill them and end it- a stupid thought, but it was mine nonetheless.

After an excruciatingly long hour later, I saw one of the curtains inside move slightly, and I immediately focused my attention to the door. The fatigue I had previously felt vanished. Bucky sat up straighter next to me, and we waited for something to happen.

Suddenly the lawn in the front of the house blew sky high, a giant red orange fireball exploding from the ground. The sound deafened me almost immediately. Bucky's body shielded me as the shrapnel began to fall, and when my hearing slowly came back, I was met with the sound of heavy artillery. One glance at the house told me that Hydra was finally attacking.

They wielded giant machine guns, and the bullets rained down on our line of defense. Bucky yanked his gun from his holster and added to the mess, and I joined in as well, freezing as many Hydra men as I could to the ground.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Tony take to the sky, shooting down soldiers left and right with his blasters. Steve's voice travelled across the battle field, relaying commands, giving orders. and calling out patterns. A giant roar from behind me announced the arrival of the Hulk, who tore through our line and began physically ripping our enemies apart; a gory sight.

We cut through a good amount of soldiers, never missing a beat; Bucky shot round after round, I froze them to the ground, Cap's shield slammed into every soldier that came out of the house. It wasn't long until they were all on the ground-a fast defeat for such a tough army.

"...you..okay?" I heard, my left ear still ringing. I frowned and turned, seeing Bucky watching me with concern. I gave him a thumbs up as the ringing started to die down.

I rubbed my ear and sat up, scanning for any more threats. Finding none, I got to my feet, the others standing as well. The sun was slowly setting, and the trees cast long shadows on the old store; giving it an eery look, that matched the feeling of uneasiness now that the clearing was quiet.

My ear and leg ached, my head pounded. Someone's blood was on my arm, and I have no idea who's- I just hoped it wasn't someone from the team. A glance around the clearing revealed so much death and gore that I had to look away.

It's a sight I would never get used to, even though I know this will not be the last battle I will ever be in.

The team was also in bad shape, their clothes smeared with red and a distant, tired look in everyone's eyes, that showed pure exhaustion. We have been up for hours now.

The few remaining soldiers that had come to back us up were gathering around the store, checking for any more signs of life. After a few silent minutes, they gave the all clear- it was time to blow the place up, and completely obliterate the center of Hydra.

"Let's clear out." Steve called, tiredly beginning to head towards Coulson's van. My eyelids heavy, and my feet even heavier, I followed our fearless leader and the rest of the team to the van that would take us away from this hell. With every step my feet sunk into the soaked soil; and I tried not to think about what it was soaked with.

Now that the adrenaline from the battle was over, my body was stuff with not only fatigue, but pain- nearly every muscle was screaming in pain right now.

My body begged to rest. My head told it to keep going.

We neared the van, Coulson waiting next to the door for us to get in.

My sluggish thoughts made it impossible to notice the lone soldier still in the woods, who was desperately trying to defend the ideal that Hydra was good. He didn't know that Hydra has been lying to him since he started, so he set his gun off its safety, and aimed. I wish I had seen the shot coming.

I could've done something if I had seen it, but instead I got to watch.

--