Whoever hit him recovered first and leapt up, pulling him up as well. Steve barely had time to take in brown hair and tattered clothes before the man was pushing at him and ordering him to "Hurry up and start running already!"
So he got his body moving and actually kept pace with the brunet who'd run into him. Once he was no longer dazed from their collision he was able to take in a few more details. The man was tall and muscular like him (though a very small bit shorter), with brown hair and icy blue eyes. He was dressed in worn military pants and boots with a weathered green long-sleeved undershirt. There was a rifle on his back as well as a pistol in his hand.
"What's going on?" Steve asked and the man gave him a strange look before whipping his head back around to face forward.
"Get down!" He shoved Steve behind some boxes and a moment later the air where they had been was filled with bullets. "What do you mean, what's going on?" He asked roughly.
"Um, well, I'm new and I thought I was supposed to be going to a tutorial and instead I'm here so…" Steve began to offer. He was cut off by a heavy groan from the brunet.
"Of course I get stuck with a newbie. Alright, listen closely, we're in an enemy base and need to escape. The way out is through them." He pointed towards where the bullets were coming from. "Don't hold back fighting; they don't feel pain. And keep an eye on your health. Any questions?" The brunet spoke quickly, but Steve was able to keep up.
"Not for the moment." Steve offered.
"Good. Then just follow my lead." The brunet had a cocky warm smile and Steve's heart actually skipped a beat because he was gorgeous. And then the brunet had launched himself over their cover, returning fire with a spray of bullets of his own. Steve hurried after the brunet and found that using the shield was almost instinctive. His body moved with a sense of fluidity he'd never had in real life. And he quickly discovered he could hit hard enough to send enemies flying several feet back.
He also fought in synchronicity with the brunet, whose unfailing aim was slightly terrifying. This guy had to be an experienced player to move like he did and together they mowed through the enemy troops easily. Steve was surprised by how intuitive fighting was to his new body. The underground levels were still tricky because they had enemies coming at them from both ways, but it didn't take them long to find a stairwell leading up.
It opened into a warehouse or factory of some kind and they had to fight their way through it, too. But here Steve had more room and quickly realized that his shield just did not obey the laws of real world physics as it could bounce off multiple surfaces before always finding its way back to him. It was also totally bulletproof and even withstood the larger cannon-like guns that fired blue energy at them even if it knocked him back a bit. Steve had a feeling it was way more powerful than a new arrival like him should have, but he was thankfully for it anyway.
They eventually broke out of the now flaming warehouse and ran into the woods surrounding the building. They still had people chasing them, but they were getting further and further behind. Steve's health was a little lower than he was comfortable with (in the orange) but considering it was his first time in VR Steve thought he'd done very well.
He also wasn't all that tired either. The game didn't have a stamina bar in the traditional sense, but players would experience fatigue just like in the real world. But Steve wasn't feeling it yet. He and the brunet ran for a while, until the sounds of people chasing them began to fade, and Steve couldn't help marveling at their surroundings once he wasn't in immediate danger. It looked like a northern forest, filled with enormous pine trees that rustled as an almost icy wind blew through. The air itself felt chilled and it smelled like a real forest. There wasn't any clipping or artifacting or lag. For all intents and purposes, it felt real.
"You don't have a compass or a map, do you?" The brunet asked suddenly and Steve frowned.
"I don't think so." He said and the brunet sighed. He turned his gaze skyward and after a moment nodded.
"Alright. We've got to go this way. South, to reach the base." He said, as he pointed slightly off to their left and Steve nodded. He let the brunet lead them and they walked in silence, side by side, for a few moments before Steve had to speak up.
"So, hey, I think I know the answer to this, but this isn't how the game usually starts for new players, right?" Steve asked and the brunet shook his head.
"Hardly. The tutorial is in a separate area and then you should have been sent to Corewyn, the world's capitol. How you ended up in Azzano, I don't know." The brunet said.
Steve sighed. "Well, Redemption is still new. There are bound to be some bugs. Sorry to make you give me a tutorial." He said and the brunet laughed.
"It's fine. You got me out." He replied and Steve tilted his head.
"Were you a prisoner?" Steve asked and the brunet slowed down from a jog to a walk before he stopped entirely, looking Steve over with confusion as the blond came to a stop beside him.
"Yes. Why do you sound surprised by that?" The brunet questioned. He still looked confused and now Steve was confused too.
"I didn't think players could be captured like that." Steve said and the brunet's eyes widened.
He opened his mouth only to close it and sigh. "Right. Newbie. You really didn't do any research about the world before coming here?" He asked and Steve shook his head. The brunet sighed again. "Okay. Look at my eyes closely." He instructed.
Steve frowned but did as instructed. After studying the man's eyes for a few moments a ring of reflective silver suddenly appeared around his pupils. Steve gasped softly and the brunet nodded. "You see it? That silver ring differentiates NPCs from actual players." The brunet informed him.
For several long seconds Steve could only blink. "You're… an NPC?" He finally mumbled, because he couldn't believe it, and the brunet nodded.
"Pretty impressive, right? Not all of us have AIs as advanced as mine, though, because I'm… well, I have a story arc, for lack of a better term. I'm important." The brunet offered and Steve was pretty sure his eyes wouldn't get any wider. He was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that this man was a program. He seemed so utterly real.
"A story arc?" Steve finally repeated and the brunet smiled but waved a finger at him like he was scolding Steve.
"Nuh-uh. I'm not allowed to give details. Technically, I shouldn't be saying any of this at all, but you're a unique case. Oh! I need to give you credit for completing the mission." The brunet suddenly straightened up as he put the rifle back onto his back and offered his hand to shake. "I'm Sergeant James Buchannan Barnes and thank you very much for rescuing me from Azzano." He declared brightly.
Steve accepted the offered hand with a cautious "you're welcome?" As soon as they shook hands a box popped up in his field of view stating 'Congratulations, you've completed stage one of The POW quest storyline, The Rescue, and received the following rewards', followed by a list of items and bonuses and gained skills.
James was still smiling at him when he finally looked up from the popup and added "You can call me Bucky" with a playful smirk on his face and even a wink.
Steve couldn't help laughing a little and then he frowned. "I don't know how to close the popup." He finally admitted and Bucky doubled over as he burst into laughter. He was laughing so hard he could barely breathe and it took him a while to finally take a breath deep enough to say anything.
"Just swipe it." He wheezed as he struggled to straighten up. Steve swiped it and it disappeared but Bucky's smile hadn't faded in the slightest and he was still snickering.
Steve couldn't help smiling back and for a few moments they just stood there smiling at each other. "We should probably keep going, right?" He reminded and Bucky nodded.
"Yes." He agreed and they started walking again, side-by-side. It was comfortable and companionable and every time he met Bucky's eye he noticed that little silver ring that reminded him that Bucky wasn't human. But he felt human, down to the little mannerisms Steve wasn't even sure Bucky knew about. And Steve was absolutely sure he'd never met anyone like him.