Of course Tony and Sam noticed when Steve suddenly stopped logging into Redemption. He wasn't surprised. All his free time had been spent in the game for the last several months and all of a sudden he couldn't even touch his helmet. He'd told them the truth of why when they asked, partially because he wanted reassurance he wasn't crazy for feeling very much like he'd lost his mother all over again, except it was Bucky. An NPC. An AI in a video game.
It was a long two months of sadness, during which he was informed by Clint that the War had been won.
Steve had had this nightmare before. Multiple times, even, where he experienced Bucky's death all over again in brutal detail. But this time it included a detail he'd forgotten. Bucky's terrified blue eyes looking at him, pleading for help. The silver ring disappearing moments before he fell.
Steve woke up panting and tried to dismiss it, but the thought lingered. And the more he thought about it the more he was sure that it wasn't something his dreaming mind had drawn up. It was 4:30 am when he couldn't stand waiting any longer and called Tony. He paced anxiously, gnawing on his nails as he waited for Tony to answer.
A mumbled and somewhat slurred "Hello?" was the greeting.
"Tony, I need to ask you an important question." Steve said and he heard a groan he was pretty sure Tony meant to muffle.
"And it couldn't wait until a more reasonable hour? I only feel asleep like thirty minutes ago." Tony grumbled.
"Sorry, Tony, but please." Steve begged and he heard Tony sigh.
"Alright, alright. Since I'm already up. What is it?" Tony asked.
"You helped SHIELD write the AI for the NPCs in Redemption, right?" Steve questioned and Tony made a noise that Steve assumed was a confirmation. "Is there any reason the silver in an NPC's eyes would disappear?"
"No, Steve. That defeats the entire purpose of having it there." Tony said tiredly and Steve nodded as he bit his lip. Tony sighed again. "What happened?"
"What do you mean?" Steve asked and Tony groaned.
"Steve, I can hear you thinking from here. Something happened and I assume it had something to do with Bucky. So what was it?" Tony asked.
"It's just… I had a dream. About when he fell? It's not the first time, but this time, right before he fell, the silver ring disappeared. And I thought it must just be my brain playing tricks on me, but the more I thought about it the more I think that's actually what happened and I'd just forgotten." He explained, with perhaps a touch too much energy.
Tony was silent for a little while, long enough Steve got nervous, before he spoke. "I don't know, Steve. I wasn't involved with the Barnes AI at all, although I do know it's a completely unique script to the rest of the game. Some outside company was called in to do it. I never even got to see the scripting for him and I didn't know any more than the average player about what his story was supposed to be. Honestly, I think you probably just imagined it because I can't think of any reason why that would happen. Sorry."
Steve sighed heavily. "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have woken you up over this. I just… I can't get Bucky out of my head. And I know it's dumb but…" He trailed off and heard Tony sigh, but this time it was more fond than aspirated.
"Steve, come on. The AI for Redemption is unprecedented. And you spent so much time with Bucky it's only fair you'd consider one another friends. And in that sense, you lost someone close to you. It's okay to grieve." Tony assured. Steve nodded, though Tony wasn't there, as he refused to let the tears fall. "Hey, you know what might help? Come back into Redemption with me tomorrow. We won't go to the War Zone, but you should see the other sectors. Things have changed since The War ended and it might do you some good."
Steve hesitated then nodded again. "Okay." He agreed softly, because it wouldn't hurt. And if he were honest he missed the game. He missed the Avengers and the Howling Commandos. He was pretty sure he'd always miss Bucky, but that didn't mean he had to miss his other friends because of his self-imposed isolation. "Okay. Tomorrow afternoon, let's play." He said.
"Deal. Now I'm going to bed." Tony hung up immediately and Steve couldn't help chuckling at his friend's response. He set aside his phone and curled back up in bed. He had classes in a few hours, but he could afford a little more sleep. He'd need it if he was going to be playing Redemption again tonight.
Tony had been right. The entire atmosphere of the game had shifted from the last time he'd been here. There were entirely new sections with modern and even futuristic architecture and everyone seemed happy. And sure, the lower sections had always had a lighter atmosphere than the War Zone, but this just felt different. Like a dark presence had been lifted from the whole game.
He was recognized of course as he, Tony, and Sam wandered the cities. The other Avengers popped in at various times and even a couple of the Howling Commandos swung by to say hello and tell him they were still running missions in the War Zone (taking out the 'remaining' aka occasionally spawning HYDRA bases) if he ever wanted to join them. But it was the other players, the ones he didn't know, who were so utterly excited to see him. He felt like a genuine hero and so many of them gave him credit for ending the war when he actually hadn't been there. But he stayed polite and it was actually nice to experience the popularity (because he had never had that in real life).
What surprised him most was that Tony had been right. Being back didn't hurt as much as he thought it would. In fact it even helped settle the ache in his heart, because he and Bucky had done this. And even though Bucky was gone, the result of that loss, of all the missions they'd been able to accomplish first, was right here in the faces of all the happy players. In the lighter atmosphere that had become pervasive throughout the entirely of the game.
And so he kept coming back. He didn't return to the War Zone, and even changed his primary spawn point to the Avengers Tower (Tony had changed the name because he thought Clubhouse was dumb and Tower was more accurate since it was now its own towering building in the city). He didn't visit as often as before, but he was just as excited as everyone else about the Anniversary Celebration. It was a huge deal and there were rumors that Nicholas Fury, the actual CEO of SHIELD, was going to make an appearance.
So of course he went. Sam and Tony were with him. The game wasn't even laging, despite the nearly 1 million players online for the celebration. There were only about 3,000 players at the courtyard designated for Fury's speech, but there were all kinds. Some hovered in the air or had claimed seats high on the walls (the ones who could fly, anyway). Most were standing around in the courtyard chatting. Steve was a bit impressed that so many people had shown up for a speech, but he was sure that many like him were hoping for a hint into what was coming next since HYDRA had been beaten (and less than a year after the game came out; Steve couldn't help feeling impressed with himself for having a large role in accomplishing that).
A white light announced Fury's arrival to the stage and the players cheered. He wasn't quite what Steve was expecting, especially with the eyepatch, but then again this was just Fury's avatar. And if you owned the game why not make your avatar exactly the way you want it? So, stoic and imposing in all black with an eyepatch it was. Fury waved politely and waited for the crowds cheering to die down before he spoke.
"Hello. I am Nicolas Fury, the CEO of SHIELD. I'm so glad to see you have all been enjoying Redemption and want to thank you for making it one of the most successful games of all time. I especially want to congratulate you on your quick work ending The War up north. Some of our writers were quite startled by the quick timeline." That got a laugh, if for nothing else but Fury looked absolutely serious about it, and Steve couldn't help smiling too. "That being said, we are working on Phase 2 for Redemption and don't worry. You should start seeing things soon. But until then, please enjoy the game and…"
The gunshot ran loud and clear through the courtyard and Fury collapsed with a grunt. Everyone had different reactions and Steve's was to look for the shooter. The moment he saw the man (in so far as he saw a shadow and a rifle aimed in Fury's direction) he started running. He outpaced Sam and Tony easily and followed the shadow out of the courtyard's walls.
The sky had darkened ominously, but Steve could still (barley) see the black clad figure leaping across the rooftops. Steve had no idea where the shooter was going but once he got close enough he threw his shield. To his complete and utter shock, the man caught it one handed almost without looking. The metal left arm that had caught it glistened not unlike the metal on his shield before the shooter threw the shield back hard enough Steve's breath was knocked away when he caught it as he slid backwards a few feet. By the time he looked up the man was gone, but there was a new mission prompt in his vision.
All it said was 'You've begun a new quest storyline; The Winter Soldier.' It chilled Steve to the bone, because missions and quests never had such simple descriptions. It chilled him almost as much as the fact that his chest was still a little sore from the shield hitting him and that had never happened before either.