2014

Reader's POV

I shuddered when I was snatched out of sleep by a singeing slap across the face.

"Soldat. Your eyes tell me you were dreaming."

A soldier with a thick Russian accent stood looming above me, his gaze cold and resentful. "What exactly did you see?"

What I saw... I have absolutely no idea. Some kind of amusement park... and two men. One brunette, one blonde.

"I..." I grimaced as I strained my mind, ravaging my thoughts for a clear answer. "I was with people, two men. I don't remember their names. We were out somewhere."

He stared at me sourly, sucking on his teeth.

No... it wasn't enough.

"Come along then." He yanked me up onto my feet by the arm, his talon fingers digging into my flesh.

"I couldn't have been asleep for too long." I thought to myself as I was led down the dungeon-like corridor. I don't know who those men were. Why the hell were they in my thoughts? The people, the laughter.

That certainly never happened here.

The thought of a life like that was almost laughable, like a fairytale told to small children before bedtime. Not a drop of blood stained on your hands, no war at stake of being lost. The entirety of my life has been as an asset of HYDRA.

Nothing more. Nothing less.

The soldier unlocked the door to the room to reveal that machine. I fought the urge to shake his grasp from my arms and run. But to where?

It didn't matter what I did. It didn't matter the soldiers injured in the process or the amount of time it took; I'd end up strapped down to that thing one way or another. The searing pain was unforgettable, despite that being the sole purpose of the machine. Regardless of the amount of times they threw me into this chair and stuck the prongs on my temples, the feeling would never numb.

"Sit down."

I obeyed without question. A few other scientists and soldiers were scattered around the room, some hovering their shaky fingers over their firearms in case of an attack.

Typical.

They placed the attachments on my temples and strapped down my limbs from head to toe in steel restraints. I heard a saying somewhere, think happy thoughts when faced with pain.

Doubt there will ever be a time where I could even manage that.

I clamped my eyes shut, preparing myself for the lasting sensation that would come at any moment. I took a deep breath, clenching my jaw, as the scientist began the wipe. I was... The Winter Shadow.

Winter Soldier's POV

I didn't bother turning my head when I hear the screams from that notorious room down the hall. Every soldier here always passed by the room with an uneasy side-eye. I'd do anything to be one of the lucky majority that might never even catch a single glimpse of that machine.

My next mission was in Spain somewhere, as if that was significant to me. I'd be shipped off as early as tomorrow morning and given instructions on the objective. For the meantime, I'd have to ponder around in one of those closet-sized cells for the next few hours.

Being out of cryo freeze for such time has left me feeling more unhinged than I knew I was supposed to be. I'm reminded every day who I am, what my purpose here is, that I'm nobody else but the tool I've been made as.

That was true, up until last night.

People. Memories. I'd seen them as clear as daylight. What they had denied for so long might possible be true, like having a name or a family. A real reason to why I was here.

All I've been to everyone is The Winter Soldier, the first asset who had successfully bourn the metal arm assembled just for me, as functional as a real one would be.

A soldier led me to a cell and threw me in with a harsh force. There was no point for retaliation against these soldiers, what good would hospitality towards me be for them? My purpose to HYDRA was to obey their orders and complete my missions, to which they promise to make the world a better place. Maybe it's true, maybe it isn't. Regardless, my opinion doesn't matter.

But Goddamnit, giving me so much as a T-shirt this time would've been nice.

I dragged myself towards the end of the cell and sat down, heaving out a long sigh once the agent was out of earshot. I leaned my head against the wall and let my eyes close for a moment. It was frigid and damp in this part of the building, but the chill was almost unnoticeable, compared to the cryo freeze.

A series of footsteps and pained moans suddenly pulled me from my daydreaming, the sounds drawing nearer from the end of the hall.

Oddly, the sound made my chest feel heavier.

A girl I strangely recognized was being practically dragged down the hallway by her hair. Judging by her frail state, she had to have been the one being wiped a few minutes ago. Her body was limp as she fought to stay conscious so the guards wouldn't pummel her awake themselves. Her  white tank and shorts were stained with crimson stains that revealed that the machine was not her only offender in the last hour. 

Why did I recognize her? Maybe we went on a mission together or something.

Before she could enter, she collapsed on the ground outside of the cell next to mine. "Get up!" The guard scoffed and kicked her in so he could shut the bar doors behind her.

I noticed to my left a small hole in the wall that could see into her cell. I peered through to see she was still out cold, her breaths labored and uneasy.

I shuffled back to my previous spot at the back of the cell. Maybe it would be best to get some sleep before the mission. I laid down on the concrete floor, and used my forearm as a head rest.

At some point, I'd drifted off.

Winter Shadow's POV

My body shivered as I felt a chilly draft whisk through the bars. Where was I? Where was... here? Mission, asset, Winter Shadow; words that seemed to linger in the back of my mind. I felt the ghosts of bruises and cuts litter my whole body, but the pain was dull enough to ignore.

As I rubbed away the sleep from my eyes, the sounds of shuffling and gasps came from the cell next to me.

There was a jagged hole carved into the right side wall. I brought my eye up to look through it and squinted to see someone. A man with mid-length, chestnut hair, was breathing heavily in his sleep, his bare chest rising and falling in staggered arrays.

He looked... familiar? No, that can't be right.

I took another glance at his face, his eyes squeezed shut which pulled together his brows, like someone had asked him a difficult question. His voice had yet to even speak a word, yet it resonated in my ears as though it had countless times before.

I'd definitely seen him somewhere, but I couldn't recall where. My eyes travelled to his left arm, a ragged scar lining the edge of his shoulder where his real arm had been replaced with a silver, metal one. A faded red star was plastered at the top, and I was then reminded of where I was.

He suddenly shot up, panting as he glanced around his cell. He sucked in deep breaths and ran his flesh hand down his face, bunching up his hair into his fist.

His eyes suddenly flew right towards the hole I was looking through. I fell backwards and quickly scooted away from it, until I heard his voice.

"Were you watching me?" He croaked, his voice husky from sleep. He attempted to clear his throat.

"Uhm, well you were having a nightmare." I murmured, expecting my voice to come out louder than it had. I was surprised he was even able to hear me.

He let out a tired sigh. "Sorry if I woke you." I didn't expect such an answer, he was much more gracious than I imagined.

I shook my head, "No, it's alright. I was awake."

It went silent for a few minutes. I looked at him and noticed his eyes. They were a beautiful shade of deep ocean blue, but were clouded with something melancholy. A storm in the midst of a vast sea.

I peeled my gaze away from him, aware that my staring was undeniably creepy, not to mention invasive. He was truly quite handsome, but I quickly stashed that thought away.

I soon remembered something from before I was wiped, which was odd considering the whole purpose of wiping was to make a soldier forget. I couldn't remember any details, but I remembered being unsure of a dream I had. I couldn't recall the dream, but I remembered one name.

"Bucky." I unintentionally said out loud.

"Who?" I had forgotten the soldier next to me could hear me.

"I.. don't know." Who was Bucky?