"Mr. Barnes, Mr. Wilson."

James 'Jimmy' Woo faced the two men with a small nod and a half-hearted smile. It slipped off his face a few seconds later like rain on a window panel. "I'm James Woo," he introduced himself, holding up a badge. "FBI."

At small introduction, Sam was flooded with relief. The whole drive up had been silent, with only grunts he could barely hear from Bucky whenever he said something or tried to make a joke.

They stopped a few feet in front of him. "What's going on that's so serious we had to get called up here, Agent Woo?" Sam wondered, crossing his arms, while Bucky stayed stone faced and silent behind.

"I've got a witness set up down the road in Westview, and this morning it looked like he flew the coop," Woo explained, eyebrows furrowed.

"Wow, this is why we're here," he muttered, and Woo gave him an unimpressed look which he cast aside. "So, uh, your missing person is in the Witness Protection Program?" Sam asked, an eyebrow raised at the fact.

Woo nodded. "I have contacted known associates, relatives-"

Sam interrupted him, "And let me guess, none of them have seen him either?" he wondered, frowning. He had done some missing persons cases before, so he knew how most of them usually went.

"No," Woo confirmed, shaking his head. "None of them have ever heard of him." Sam couldn't help the way his eyes widened. He exchanged a glance with Bucky who proceeded to ignore the both of them. "Something seemed hanky to me," he continued. "So I took the first flight out to Oakland to interface with local law enforcement which is when I encountered a new wrinkle."

Bucky took a step forward, barging past Sam with his shoulder which the smaller one scowled at. "And what is that, exactly?"

Woo tilted his head a little to the side and walked forward. Sam and Bucky followed him to the two officers standing in front of a police car, both eating donuts. How cliché.

"Excuse me, Sheriff," Woo called, and the officers looked up. "Would you remind repeating your claim about Westview to my colleagues here?"

One of the officers answered. "No such place."

Sam let out a small laugh. "You're saying the town of Westview, New Jersey-" He glanced at the sign next to them, waving a little at it. "-doesn't exist?"

The same officer huffed in annoyance. "It's what I keep telling this agent here, but he just won't listen." Again, Bucky and Sam glanced at the sign before looking at Woo. He sighed at the two officers.

"I see, and what town are you from?" Sam asked, both of his eyebrows raised.

"Eastview," the officer replied, looking dead serious before taking another sip out of his coffee and talking with the other one.

Woo did that little, half-hearted smile again. "Thank you, Sheriff. I'll reach out if we need any further assistance." They walked back to the old car Sam and Bucky had driven up in. "I, uh, pulled phone numbers for all the residents," he explained, waving his phone before shoving it in his pocket again. "I'm only through the Ds, but so far I got Diddly Squat."

Bucky paused and looked at Sam who offered a shrug in return.

"So you can't reach anyone inside," he summed up. "And everyone on the outside has some sort of selective... amnesia?" He shuddered on the last word, reminding him of his time as the Winter Soldier and the amnesia he received during.

Woo sighed, pinching his brow. "This isn't a missing person's case, Mr. Barnes. It's a missing town." He looked towards the sign. "Population 3,892."

Sam pushed past Bucky, elbowing him back. "Why haven't you gone inside to investigate?" he asked. That seemed like the obvious thing to do.

"Cause it doesn't want me too," he replied. "You can feel it too, can't you? Nobody's supposed to go-"

He closed his mouth when Bucky started down the road, metal arm glinting in the sun. "Give me a minute," Sam muttered to Woo who nodded before he started jogging towards Bucky. "Buck, wait!" he called, catching up with him.

Bucky was holding his flesh arm up to something.

"What's happening down there?" Woo called. "Are-"

Sam approached slowly and Bucky's flesh fingers touched something. "This is insane," he murmured, taking another step forward. "This is-" He didn't get to finish his sentence because all of a sudden he was swallowed into whatever he was touching.

And Sam was too.

<><><><>

The morning sun shone through the windows, waking Bucky up from a restful sleep.

The bed he was sleeping in was warm, and he almost didn't want to get out. He rolled onto his side and opened his blue eyes, only to be faced with the shock of his life.

What. The. Hell.

He sprung backwards, falling off his bed and onto the carpeted floor, causing a loud thud! "Buck?" came a sleep-addled voice from the bed. "You okay, baby?"

Bucky stood up and slowly crept away until his back was pressed against the wall. Shit, shit, shit, shit sh- His racing mind paused when Sam met his gaze with a small grin. "Still horny from last night?" He wiggled his eyebrows. "Don't worry, I am too. Come on, get back in bed."

His eyes widened at Sam's words. Bucky gulped. "I, uh, have to- toilet." He ran out of the room, tripping over his feet when he stumbled down some stairs.

He caught himself by gripping the banister, steadying himself. He stared in shock at his left arm which was aching from where it slapped against the metal rail. Bucky held it up in front of him and he choked on his breath, half-relieved, half-horrified at his arm which once was vibranium, now flesh.

"Bucky, are you okay?" Sam called, jogging down the stairs to where he was. "You seemed pretty shaken up." His eyebrows were furrowed in concern and his lips were pursed. He leaned towards Bucky and pecked him on the lips.

Bucky blinked once. Blinked twice. Blinked a third time.

Then he choked, though it probably sounded like he was coughing.

Sam looked at him. "It's early in the morning," he murmured, his hand squeezing Bucky's, sending shivers down the other's spine. "Maybe you're just a little unwell. Come on back to bed, please."

What the hell was going on?

He let go of Sam's hand, stepping slowly down the staircase. "I'm unwell?" he exclaimed; eyebrows raised. "Wha-what about you? Acting like we're a-a-a couple. We are not a couple, Wilson, we're not even friends!"

Sam was silent and Bucky took that as a window for him to leave.

He sprinted down the stairs and unlocked the front door, racing out into a street which looked nerve-rackingly familiar.

The surroundings, the buildings, the cars, the clothing... he's been in a decade like this before. Did he go back in time?

A voice snapped him out of his daze. "Mr. Barnes-Wilson." Bucky's heart jumped and his throat clenched. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. "Lovely to finally meet you. I assume your settling into Westview well?"

"What kind of sick and twisted reality is this?" he breathed, shaking the woman's shoulders. "What the hell is going on?"

She looked at him with a weird look in her eyes before laughing and smiling again. "Do you and your husband need a tour? I can give you one if you're feeling lost." She didn't even acknowledge what he said.

Bucky raised his head and quickly scanned the town – Westview – he was in. His eyes landed back on the woman and he forced a smile, despite how uneasy it was and how uneasy he felt – on his face. "No, I'm-I'm good, thank you." He swallowed the rising bile back down his throat and itched the back of his neck. "I'm good."

He had a feeling he wasn't going to get out of here anytime soon.