A/N: Okay, so this is going to be on the wacky side of things, but hey, isn't Chuck just like that sometimes? This is my first full-length Chuck-centric story (my others have been focused more on Casey) so I hope it turns out okay. Your support by way of reviews would be of the good please! ;-)

Important: (1) I have seen all of Season 3 but none of Season 4 - I would appreciate if anyone who does review doesn't mention any details of Season 4 to me - many thanx! (2) This is an AU version of very early Season 3, and Shaw is not here... yet.

Chapter 1

"Y'know these missions never come at a time when I'm free to go on them?" Chuck lamented in a whisper from his place crouched between Sarah and Casey behind a stack of cardboard boxes, "I was in the middle of a John Wayne movie marathon with Morgan, just the westerns, but I still could've used a little more time!" he complained.

"John Wayne starred in eighty-four westerns, Bartowksi" said Casey with a growl, "You really thought you were gonna watch them all in one night?"

"Eighty four?" Chuck's eyes went wide at that claim, "Wow, there were only twenty in the box set and we only expected to get through one of the four discs..." he considered.

"Could you two cut it out!" Sarah snapped, though her volume never rose above a whisper, "Mission first, movie club later" she advised, peering out around their temporary barricade to see what the bad guys were doing.

Chuck couldn't blame her for being pissed. Things had been strained between them at best since the whole Prague thing and now really wasn't the best time to be chatting about dvds, he guessed. Beyond the boxes that kept them hidden, Team Bartowski observed the dodgy dealings of what seemed to be a Ring Agent and some other men that Chuck had yet to flash on. That was confusing in itself but not completely unusual. The Intersect could only hold information on people the government knew about, and new people were joining the bad as well as good teams all the time.

"I'm going to try and get a little closer" said Sarah, inching away to get a better view and perhaps hear a little more of what was being said too.

"See, this all seems weird to me" said Chuck in a whisper, "If these are bad guys, why isn't anything bad happening?" he asked Casey as they watched the men in their sights having what appeared to be a friendly chat, no guns in evidence, nothing dangerous at all, "and why can't I flash on anyone else?"

"Beats me, Bartowski" said Casey as he watched the scene before him with evident boredom, "Maybe that idiot brain of yours is sapping the decent intel out of the computer in your head" he sneered, "Besides, you're the one that said Hernandez was bad news, marked as Ring"

"Marcus who?" said Chuck, not paying proper attention to his buddy because his eyes were fixed on Sarah as she got closer to the men up ahead.

"Marked. As. Ring" Casey over-pronounced on purpose, "Moron" he added with an eye-roll as he shifted his cramping legs, moving over a little, in part to get away from Bartowski's stupid-ass rambling, and partly to be in a better position to cover Walker if a fight broke out sooner than they expected.

"Hey!" complained Chuck, perhaps a little too loudly as he shuffled over to Casey again, "There is no need to get... personal" the last word got disjointed from the rest of his sentence as the cocking of a gun caught both Agents attention.

Turning as one, Casey and Chuck found themselves looking down the business end of a gun, one of the bad guys apparently having sneaked around behind them without their knowledge. Still Chuck didn't flash, but honestly, he was grateful for that right now as the inevitable major-ass fight part of the mission broke out.

Rolling away, Bartowski ducked down behind the boxes from before as Casey swung into action and Sarah appeared out of nowhere to do the same. In a flailing mass of arms, legs and bullets, all Chuck could do was try and find his calm, access the Intersect, and get the knowledge he needed to help with the fighting back. Unfortunately, there was no weapon in his hand for him to focus on, and Chuck panicked as he glanced around at his severely outnumbered team mates.

"Okay, okay, okay" he rambled, looking frantically at his barricade of boxes.

Every one was marked up with its contents, making Chuck think what a very efficient stocking system this place must have. It was a fleeting calm thought amongst so much panic and badness, and Chuck suddenly grinned when he spotted a box marked up as kitchen knives. Tearing his way in, he had a large dangerous looking serrated blade in his hand in a second and forced himself to concentrate on it. Suddenly the flash came, how to handle these simple kitchen implements and make them serious weapons.

"Sarah, Casey, down!" he yelled as he popped up from his hiding place, needing to ensure he caused no damage to his own team.

In a flurry of shining silver, half the box of knives came flying across the space between Chuck and the supposed Ring agents, successfully pinning each one to the wall of the warehouse by their clothing. Each blade dug in close enough to vital areas that nobody was going to dare to try and move, even if they weren't literally speared through the flesh.

Unfortunately, though Chuck appeared to have caught all the bad guys with his skills, his victory was short-lived. Sarah and Casey got up from their ducked positions, just in time to realise there was one man left and able to fight.

"No!" yelled Walker, taking aim and firing past where Chuck was stood, but it was too late.

Even though her bullet hit its target, the guy in the black ski mask barely winced, his own gun going off at point blank range into Chuck's back.

Casey was up and running after the aggressor, but as he came around the corner it was as if the guy had just evaporated or something - he was absolutely nowhere to be seen.

"Casey!" Walker called him back and with a growl of frustratration he went.

Bartwoski didn't look so good, out cold on the floor, his head now across Sarah's lap as she did her best to help him. Both she and Casey were stunned to find no blood seeping through their fellow agent's shirt, after all he had just been shot by a guy with no chance of missing.

Crouching down by the prone body of the former-Asset, Casey inspected the damage done and was very surprised to find that the supposed bullet lodged near Chuck's shoulder blade was not exactly what he'd expected.

"This isn't out of any ordinary gun" he frowned, as Sarah fumbled in taking Chuck's pulse and checking he was breathing.

"He's still alive" she said with a sigh of relief, but no less panic as she watched Casey do his best to pull the strange non-bullet from Chuck's back.

Though the part that looked most like a normal projectile came away in his hand, a short needle remained stuck in Bartowksi's flesh.

"Oh my God" gasped Sarah as she relayed what this could mean, "It's not a bullet meant to kill him. They put something in his system... maybe poison?" she said, thinking fast.

"Sarah?" said Chuck, very vague and drowsy to the point where his eyes were still closed and her name slurred into almost nothing more than an odd noise, "Casey?"

"Hold it together, Bartowski" he advised the younger guy, "We'll get you outta here" he assured him, taking hold of the geek and lifting him clean up off the ground out of Sarah's arms.

She got to her feet and looked back at the agents all pinned against the wall. Sarah could happily shoot every one of them for what they were part of, for whatever it was they'd done to Chuck, but now wasn't the time for petty vengeance. They had to get Chuck back to the Castle and hope they could save him from whatever was in his system now. The clean up of this scum would wait til later.

"Hold on, Chuck" she urged him as she ran along side Casey back towards their bunker, "Please hold on"


Chuck woke with a start, unable to remember for a moment where the hell he was or what was happening. As his mind ran fast with possibilities, he looked from left to right, fully expecting to see the usual surroundings of the Castle, possibly his bedroom, or on the off chance a hospital room. Chuck was stunned to find that not only was he in none of these places but also that he was in a moving vehicle... of the no-engine variety.

"What the...?" he began as he took in the sound of horses hooves outside what appeared to be a stage coach.

Wide-eyed and pale with shock, Chuck leaned out of the nearby window hoping some air would clear his head, but he only found himself further panicked by the sight that met his eyes. A sandy road and landscape to matched whipped past him, a few stray cacti dotted around in the distance as a man sat atop of the coach he appeared to be in whipped at the horses and urged them on to town.

Sitting down gingerly in his seat, sweat pouring from his brow, Chuck looked down and took in the sight of his own body. Boots with spurs were jammed on his feet, blue jeans covered his legs and he wore a cowboy-style shirt and jacket too. He reached for what felt like a noose around his neck and found it to be a red neckerchief fastened there, the surprise of which meant his hand moved away fast and knocked the Stetson hat he'd been unaware he was wearing straight off his head and into his lap.

"Oh my God" he gasped, just as the coach pulled up to a stop and the strangely-familiar voice of the driver yelled out to him.

"Welcome to Nerdville, Sheriff Carmicheal" he called down, with the kind of laugh that made Chuck's blood run cold in spite of the fact he was sweating still.

Tentatively pushing open the door, he stepped out onto the dusty non-pavement and peered down into the town that was laid out before him. An old fashioned western town, apparently in the middle of nowhere, met his eyes, complete with over-bearing saloon, various men on horseback, and women in long dresses fetching water from a well. It was as if Chuck had stepped into the TV whilst watching a John Wayne movie or similar, except he was really here. He could taste the dust kicked up by the horses and stage coach as it was driven away. He could feel the heat of the midday sun on his face, as well as a decided sense of panic rising in his chest.

"Okay" he said shakily as he looked around, turning full circle to do so properly, "I don't think I'm in Burbank anymore"

To Be Continued...