Three Times
The first time is right away. Bryce is dead, and being dragged away by some thug. The scary guy is pointing a gun at him. Chuck is surrounded by men pointing guns at him, but they won't get it, they won't get the Intersect because Chuck destroyed it. The only copy is in his head, again, and if they kill him it would be okay because they still wouldn't get it. He's proud of himself but at the same time he knows his 'real life' is over, he's chosen this over that, and now that he's chosen everything is different.
But he can't do anything about a gun pointed at him. Sarah and Casey are brought in, tied up. The scary guy is saying things, and Chuck is saying things back.
He has to do something but what is he supposed to do? They're surrounded and, now the gun is pointed at Sarah, and Chuck Flashes.
Afterwards.
“Guys,” he tells them, as if it wasn’t completely obvious, but somebody needs to say it, “I know Kung Fu.”
And then he passes out.
When he wakes he is very sore, from head to toe, because his brain figuring out how to do things didn't mean his muscles were anywhere near to being ready to do them.
He kind of wishes he could tell Morgan about that perfect set-up for a Matrix quote.
They start him on training right away. He needs a body that can keep up with his head. And they need to figure out how to get him to actually be able to do the Kung Fu, because he can't always.
Sparring sucks. Sarah is frustrated because she can never get him to do it. Casey can, sometimes. Mostly Chuck gets bet up a lot.
He's started actually going jogging with Awesome.
Two.
The second time is their fourth mission since the upgrade.
And Chuck is on his own. Sarah's unconscious but he knows enough first aid from Awesome, who's been teaching him more and more stuff ever since he found out, to know that she was pretty stable, for now.
Casey got thrown out of the freaking plane. But he had a parachute, so he should be okay too, right? Which was more than could be said for three of the five bad guys that had followed him.
But now Casey was gone, and Sarah wasn't going to be up anytime soon, and even the Ring agent left on the plane wasn't going to be able to help, because he was unconscious too (Chuck had checked) and now Chuck was in a plane that was somewhere over the Pacific, and he was by himself.
He doesn't even know which switch is for the radio system.
He's getting a serious case of déja vu.
Maybe it works like the helicopter? Maybe he can pretend he's playing a videogame and figure the controls out enough to just land, even if it's on the water, because even though he's a real spy now, Chuck Bartowski has got no business flying a plane.
Sitting at the controls with the headset on seems like the right thing to do, but it's no use. There are too many dials and switches and buttons and Oh God, we're going to die. I'm going to die because the stupid intermittent Kung Fu Intersect decided to throw the pilot out the side door.
Sarah's going to die, and it’s all my fault.
And his hands are on the controls; he's leveling the plane off. He contacts the NSA to clear the runway 32 miles southeast and get somebody to pick Casey out of the water and watches himself expertly land the plane.
After.
Sarah is fine. Casey is fine. They're all going to be okay. He has to keep repeating this to himself.
But they come so close, all the time. That’s what the sparring is for, they tell him, to get control. We’re the ones who keep taking you out. You didn’t do anything wrong.
Except almost kill all three of them.
Three.
The third time is an accident.
Awesome's organized a huge paintball game, and everybody is playing. Morgan is leaving day after tomorrow, so it's part of 'A Weekend of Morgan'. Chuck is alright at paintball but he still feels awkward handling guns that aren't made of plastic, and thinks it's not nearly so fun when you regularly have real guns pointed at you.
Unsurprisingly, Sarah is kicking ass. Chuck got put on the other team and has narrowly dodged her twice, already. Once was only because Casey pulled him down in time.
Jeff and Lester drop out of a tree and Sarah's yelling, and Chuck is there, and both of his friends have been shot once in the head. Or would be, if it wasn't paint.
He barely hears the two complain that they weren't supposed to aim for the face, man, and that they're supposed to be on the same team anyway. Chuck is hyperventilating, with his head between his knees, and Sarah is patting him on the back.
He doesn't play in any of the next three rounds.
After.
Sparring still sucks, but after a few weeks at least he’s at least built up a bit more endurance. Casey gruffly tries to tell Chuck he responds to ‘emotional stimulus’. Sarah is hurt, because no matter what she does, she still can never get Chuck to do it.
They stop sparring together.
Casey has started calling them both 'Moron'.
But he can't do anything about a gun pointed at him. Sarah and Casey are brought in, tied up. The scary guy is saying things, and Chuck is saying things back.
He has to do something but what is he supposed to do? They're surrounded and, now the gun is pointed at Sarah, and Chuck Flashes.
Afterwards.
“Guys,” he tells them, as if it wasn’t completely obvious, but somebody needs to say it, “I know Kung Fu.”
And then he passes out.
When he wakes he is very sore, from head to toe, because his brain figuring out how to do things didn't mean his muscles were anywhere near to being ready to do them.
He kind of wishes he could tell Morgan about that perfect set-up for a Matrix quote.
They start him on training right away. He needs a body that can keep up with his head. And they need to figure out how to get him to actually be able to do the Kung Fu, because he can't always.
Sparring sucks. Sarah is frustrated because she can never get him to do it. Casey can, sometimes. Mostly Chuck gets bet up a lot.
He's started actually going jogging with Awesome.
Two.
The second time is their fourth mission since the upgrade.
And Chuck is on his own. Sarah's unconscious but he knows enough first aid from Awesome, who's been teaching him more and more stuff ever since he found out, to know that she was pretty stable, for now.
Casey got thrown out of the freaking plane. But he had a parachute, so he should be okay too, right? Which was more than could be said for three of the five bad guys that had followed him.
But now Casey was gone, and Sarah wasn't going to be up anytime soon, and even the Ring agent left on the plane wasn't going to be able to help, because he was unconscious too (Chuck had checked) and now Chuck was in a plane that was somewhere over the Pacific, and he was by himself.
He doesn't even know which switch is for the radio system.
He's getting a serious case of déja vu.
Maybe it works like the helicopter? Maybe he can pretend he's playing a videogame and figure the controls out enough to just land, even if it's on the water, because even though he's a real spy now, Chuck Bartowski has got no business flying a plane.
Sitting at the controls with the headset on seems like the right thing to do, but it's no use. There are too many dials and switches and buttons and Oh God, we're going to die. I'm going to die because the stupid intermittent Kung Fu Intersect decided to throw the pilot out the side door.
Sarah's going to die, and it’s all my fault.
And his hands are on the controls; he's leveling the plane off. He contacts the NSA to clear the runway 32 miles southeast and get somebody to pick Casey out of the water and watches himself expertly land the plane.
After.
Sarah is fine. Casey is fine. They're all going to be okay. He has to keep repeating this to himself.
But they come so close, all the time. That’s what the sparring is for, they tell him, to get control. We’re the ones who keep taking you out. You didn’t do anything wrong.
Except almost kill all three of them.
Three.
The third time is an accident.
Awesome's organized a huge paintball game, and everybody is playing. Morgan is leaving day after tomorrow, so it's part of 'A Weekend of Morgan'. Chuck is alright at paintball but he still feels awkward handling guns that aren't made of plastic, and thinks it's not nearly so fun when you regularly have real guns pointed at you.
Unsurprisingly, Sarah is kicking ass. Chuck got put on the other team and has narrowly dodged her twice, already. Once was only because Casey pulled him down in time.
Jeff and Lester drop out of a tree and Sarah's yelling, and Chuck is there, and both of his friends have been shot once in the head. Or would be, if it wasn't paint.
He barely hears the two complain that they weren't supposed to aim for the face, man, and that they're supposed to be on the same team anyway. Chuck is hyperventilating, with his head between his knees, and Sarah is patting him on the back.
He doesn't play in any of the next three rounds.
After.
Sparring still sucks, but after a few weeks at least he’s at least built up a bit more endurance. Casey gruffly tries to tell Chuck he responds to ‘emotional stimulus’. Sarah is hurt, because no matter what she does, she still can never get Chuck to do it.
They stop sparring together.
Casey has started calling them both 'Moron'.