Steve had been so, so wrong. He had thought that his heart couldn't hurt any more than it had right after Bucky had fallen, but this hurt worse. So much worse. He stumbled backwards, unable to hear anything the others were saying over his own heartbeat, and nearly fell as he sank into the first seat he bumped into. Still he couldn't take his eyes off the Winter Soldier, whose eyes were tracking his movements in return but he otherwise remained still.

"Steve!" Steve jumped at Sam's sharp call and then he realized that Sam was crouched in front of him, obviously concerned. "You okay, man?"

"He's Bucky." Steve whispered and Sam gave him a sympathetic look.

"He's not. He just looks like him." Sam reminded gently and he nodded.

"Still hurts." He said quietly and Sam nodded as he gave his leg a squeeze. Steve swallowed and took a breath. "I'm okay." He promised, at a proper volume. Sam didn't seem convinced but stood up and moved to stand next to him, one hand coming to rest on Steve's shoulder comfortingly. All the Avengers, Fury, and Hill were all watching him closely, mostly with concern in their eyes.

The Winter Soldier was watching him too, still with that furrowed half confused-half wary expression on his face. His eyes were identical to Bucky's in a way that was comforting and disturbing in equal measure. They held none of the emotion or familiarity. But the longer they stared at each other, the more he thought maybe there was a little familiarity in those eyes. Steve didn't pay any attention to the others as they spoke. Sam was talking with them too, but Steve could feel the way his friend occasionally eyed him.

He heard voices rising and then finally Sam moved away from him. Steve knew he should put a stop to their argument, but he just didn't want to get up yet. He just wanted to stay in his seat watching the Winter Soldier. And the Winter Soldier was watching him back. So they stayed as they were and stared at each other. Slowly the assassin started moving towards him. Not in a threatening way, more like he couldn't help himself.

He was still out of Steve's reach when he stopped. He looked less frightening now. He wasn't tense or prepared for a fight. His shoulders were curled in almost protectively, his head was slightly bowed, and the Winter Soldier's eyes kept flicking away from Steve's only to come back moments later. Steve would even go so far as to say he look frightened. Finally he spoke and it was maybe the last thing Steve expected him to say. "I know you."

Steve was sure he wasn't the only one in the room that was shocked by the statement as the other voices in the room trailed off (which may have just been his suddenly very selective hearing). Slowly, not wanting to frighten the man, he stood up from the seat. "You do?" Steve asked and the Winter Soldier gave the tiniest nod.

"I don't… remember. But I know you." He repeated. And Steve was sure now that they had the attention of everyone in the room. The Winter Soldier looked almost anxious as Steve moved to stand in front of him and Steve had a sudden flashback to an anxious Bucky, looking down into a deep snowy ravine. And with an almost audible click in his brain Steve made the connection to his 'Not a fan of heights comment': Bucky had been warning them, in a way, about what was going to happen to him. They just hadn't realized it.

But that could wait until later. Much later. "Yeah?" Steve whispered and the Winter Soldier nodded stiffly. He was definitely cowering now, barely able to meet Steve eyes. "We were friends. Are friends." Steve offered and the Winter Soldier frowned. "My name is Steve."

"Steve." He repeated softly and Steve nods.

"Yeah. And your name is James Buchannan Barnes. Bucky." Steve added and for a brief moment the Winter Soldier's expression looked pained.

"I know that name." He whispered and Steve gently reached out to touch his cheeks. The Winter Soldier dramatically flinched at the touch but didn't actually pull out of Steve's hands.

"Yeah?" Steve asked, barely above a whisper himself. He kept his touch gentle as he cradled the brunet's jaw.

The Winter Soldier nodded and finally met Steve's eyes. "I… fell." He whispered and while a knot formed in Steve's throat he nodded. "You tried to catch me." He continued and again Steve nodded. "We fought together…"

"Yes, we did." Steve confirmed. The Winter Soldier pressed his human hand to his head as his expression became pained.

"Head hurts." He muttered and Steve faltered. He didn't know what to do to help besides pull the brunet into a hug. So he did. The Winter Soldier tensed up at first, then slowly he relaxed into Steve's hold. After a few seconds he heard a gasping sound that bordered on a sob. Steve held him a little closer when the man in his arms started trembling.

Steve could feel eyes on them, but he ignored them all. "I've got you, Bucky." Steve whispered and he felt the brunet's hand tighten into his shirt. Steve rubbed his back. "I've got you." He repeated gently.

After a few moments the brunet pulled back to meet Steve's eyes. He was obviously terrified but even more startling the silver ring in his eyes was flickering. "Bucky?" Steve asked softly.

The brunet groaned as he shook his head. "That's not my name… But I don't remember. Is it? My head hurts." He whimpered.

Steve quickly held him close. "Shh, easy. It's okay. I've got you." He promised again and Bucky groaned as he buried his head against Steve's shoulder. Steve rubbed his back gently as he finally looked around the room. Everyone was watching him. Tony and Sam looked concerned, though for possibly different reasons, and everyone else looked more wary. Still, they all waited until Bucky had stopped quivering (Steve was the only one who knew about that though) and pulled back.

His expression still looked pained and the silver rings were flickering, now incongruently from one another. Tony had slowly approached, only to inhale sharply when he saw the flickering. "That's not possible." He muttered. "Shouldn't be… unless…" He studied Bucky for a few seconds.

"Unless what, Tony?" Bruce asked after a pause, during which Bucky curled back into Steve's chest. Steve was happy to hold him close.

Tony took a breath as he looked between Bucky and the others in the room. "Unless he's not actually an AI."

"Tony, what are you talking about?" Steve demanded sharply.

Tony sighed. "It's the only reason I can think of that Bucky wouldn't always have a silver ring in his eyes. Basically, he's an NPC but not he's not an AI. He's a player like us and someone programmed the silver ring into his model, but it doesn't stick because he's not an AI. Someone who's kept him connected and logged in for months, maybe even years. It makes sense. Steve, you told me about some of the weird things you saw him doing? It all adds up if he's a player who's been made to believe he's a character."

"That's just a bit far fetched, don't you think?" Natasha commented.

"How else do you explain how he remembers Steve? There is zero reason Red Skull would program in those memories. The Winter Soldier isn't even supposed to be part of a full fledged storyline. As far as we're aware he's only supposed to kill Fury. The only answer is that he's a player who remembers what happened to him as Bucky, even though they tried to make him forget." Tony said.

Steve didn't know why it took him so long to realize what Tony was saying, but it struck him at that moment what it meant. Bucky was a real person. He had a real name and a real body and was almost certainly being abused by Red Skull. And had been for at least a year. "Oh god." He muttered. He pulled Bucky back to look at him again and he couldn't help wondering what Bucky looked like in real life. Did he look anything like this? Maybe he was totally different.

"What is it?" His thoughts were interrupted by Sam's question and he actually jumped.

"I just… It just hit me that Bucky has a real body that's been in Red Skull's hands for a year, or longer. A real name and a real family outside of here." Steve muttered. Bucky still looked terrified and Steve couldn't help reaching out to touch his cheek. He hated seeing Bucky so afraid. "Tony, is there any way you could free him when you alter the code?" He asked suddenly.

"I could, but honestly, Steve, I don't think that would help much. Even if we get him out of the game he wouldn't be able to get free from Red Skull without help, because he's certainly at one of the facilities. I can only imagine what state his body is in; he's practically been in a coma for at least a year. He wouldn't be able to walk out under the best of circumstances. We'll have to put him somewhere safe in game, where Red Skull can't get to him, then get ourselves free, and find him in real life before we can free him from here." Tony said.

Steve swallowed but nodded. "You're right." He agreed. "Buck, are you okay with that?" He asked the brunet.

"I can help." He whispered and Steve nodded.

"I know. You're a great fighter, but…" Steve started only to stop when Bucky shook his head.

"I know where the coding rooms are inside the Triskelion and can open the doors without setting off alarms. I can get you in." He explained. The fearful expression was gone now, replaced by a determination Steve had seen before on Bucky's face, though never this powerfully.

Steve smiled and Bucky gave him a slight smile back, but before Steve could speak Tony interrupted. "Forgive me, but we need a reason to trust you. Because less than ten minutes ago we were fighting you and you wanted to kill." Tony said firmly.

Steve was ready to tell him off, but Bucky once again spoke up first. "I don't remember much, but I remember one thing pretty clearly. I remember waking up somewhere strange, feeling weak, too weak to move. I was cold and there were men I didn't know poking and prodding me. They hurt me and put me back in here where they hurt me more. And… no one ever touched me as gently as Steve does. I'm not an idiot. I know what it means to be a prisoner and if I can help you stop them then I will." He said firmly.

"Okay. Okay." Tony agreed and backed off with his hands up. "God, you've got a terrifying glare." He added in an undertone. Bucky just rolled his shoulders and straightened up, just a touch of smugness in his expression at the comment.

"Well, since you've got the knowledge, what's the plan?" Clint asked and Bucky looked them over before he started speaking.