A/N: If anyone's still keeping up with this story, you're probably thinking that this is gonna be a letter from the author stating how busy things have become and that they'll get back to the story as soon as they can and to keep looking for it. Nope! This is the real thing; an actual update. Probably not the cleanest thing I wrote but I want to complete this story. For those who haven't read this story, just take note that I started this way waaay before, like when season 2 had just gotten finished. So a lot of stuff has happened since then and this is completely not coinciding with the show.

By the way, still don't own Chuck.

Round 1:

Sarah knew that there was a definite difference between acting charming and being charming. These two yahoos, Bryce and Cole, were the perfect example of people who were acting. There was no doubt that these two could charm any woman they wanted and get them to do whatever they wanted. But ask any of those women who had fallen for them, the first thing they would say is that it seemed good on the outside but it had felt so shallow. Examples like puddles and thimbles of water seemed to come up often when describing their personalities.

Now Chuck on the other hand did not need to act, he was charming by nature. What made him even more dangerous to womankind was his naivety; he didn't even know how charming he was and that fact made him all the more irresistible to the opposite sex.

Sarah moved up to the monitors showing the interior of the Buymore. With a smile on her face, she watched a cute scene. Apparently a little girl had gotten separated from her mother and Chuck was helping her. She watched he held the little girl's hand as they walked around the store. Sarah could see that Chuck was doing his best to soothe the little girl because every once and a while she smile and laugh a bit.

This did not go unnoticed by the multitude of women who decided to do some electronics shopping that afternoon. Sarah watched as each woman's head turned towards her Chuck and how each one had a smile and quite the predatory smile on them. She continued to watch her boyfriend help the little girl until she realized that all those women (more that half of them brunettes) were after him. Jealousy finally skyrocketing, Sarah quickly rose from her seat in front of the monitors and rushed but the castle's stairs.

If anyone was watching the castle's monitors at that point would've have undoubtedly seen a blonde streak rush up to Chuck and engaged him in a kiss which told all women in the store that day who he belonged to.

Round 2:

Sarah looked at her two so called "protectors" and shook her head. The mission had started off as planned but quickly went downhill after one of the two fools tripped the alarm and alerted the whole Fulcrum base. So here they were hunkered down behind some metal shipping containers while the entirety of Fulcrum's forces took aim at them.

"Fine mess we're in now, aren't we" fumed Sarah.

Bryce popped off a few shots with his assault rifle before countering, "It's not my fault that some gorilla couldn't avoid a simple floor laser sensor."

"Can you get off it already?" shouted Cole. "I wouldn't have tripped it if some metro sexual pretty boy didn't push me into the room."

"Shut it, both of you" screamed Sarah. "I hear a lot of talking but nothing about how we're going to get ourselves out of this mes..."

Before Sarah could finish her sentence, all three spies ducked for cover as they heard the sound of thousands of bullets bouncing off the side of their metal barrier. Waiting for a single moment within the barrage of bullets, the three spies carefully looked over their safe haven at the monstrosity that lay before them.

"Uh, do you guys see what I see?" asked Sarah.

"Yeah you mean the sleek black Escalade parked in front of us?" replied Bryce.

"No mate, I think she means the minigun attached to the roof of that Escalade" countered Cole.

"Yeah I saw that. I was hoping that by not mentioning it, it might go away."

They all quickly ducked as the minigun churned out more fire directly aimed at their position. "Obviously no such luck mate. This tin can we're behind ain't gonna be around for too much longer."

"Hey guys, quite a party you guys are having."

All three spies quickly turned their heads to the newcomer and two of them had incredulous looks on their faces. As for Sarah, she knew he would be coming. "Hey Chuck" said Sarah with a smile.

"CHUCK! What the hell are you doing here! You do know we're under fire, right!" screamed Bryce.

"Uh yeah Bryce, that's why I'm hiding here with you guys."

"I thought we told you to stay in the car."

"It's not always safe in the car."

They were interrupted with the sounds of thousands of bullets ricocheting off their hiding place. Chuck quickly looked over the metal container to survey what they were up against. "Is that what I think it is?"

Sarah answered "Yup, a shiny black Escalade. With a minigun attached"

"I didn't even know that was an option."

"Oh it is. It's listed after the rear camera and the side airbags. Too bad it only comes in one color."

"Personally I would've liked a laser guided rocket launcher. Miniguns are so yesterday."

Bryce noticed the easy going talk between the two and quickly interrupted. "Excuse me, I didn't want to interrupt the flirting but do the words 'under fire' mean anything?"

Chuck smiled and remarked "I'll take care of it" while he took out his Walter PPK. He looked up to the two other men and noticed their choice of weapons, assault rifles compared to his dinky pistol. It wasn't his fault that the Fulcrum guard he took out had a thing for James Bond.

Coles quickly saw Chuck's glance at their armament. "Don't worry Chuck, Bryce and I will take care of it. You can't bring a knife to a gun fight." Obviously referring to his diminutive weapon.

With a chuckle, Bryce added "you know what they say, bigger is better" and gave Sarah a quick wink.

Sarah rolled her eyes as she watched the two men prepare to launch their counterattack. As they jumped out and unleashed their barrage back towards their Fulcrum attackers, she and Chuck shared a look as they waited for the inevitable to happen and it seemed that they didn't have that long to wait.

"Ok, so that didn't work" announced Bryce who quickly hid back behind the container holding an empty rifle.

It didn't take long for his cohort to join him. "Damn wankers."

Chuck smiled. "I guess it's my turn. Showtime."

The three other spies watched curiously as Chuck peeked around the corner once and then on the second time, fired a single shot towards the Escalade.

"That's it? One shot from your dart gun?" asked Bryce. "Did you actually hit anything?"

"Of course I did" fired back Chuck. "I suggest you brace yourself against the wall of the container." Chuck once again peered out from their hiding spot and fired a single shot. This time Bryce didn't need to ask if he hit anything because each one of them heard and felt the heat of the blast coming from the other side of the container.

"What the...?" asked Cole as he struggled to figure out what just happened.

"Like I said, I took care of it. I shot a hole in the gas tank of the SUV and my second shot ignited it" smiled Chuck. "Frankly I didn't think it was going to be that big of an explosion. I thought that only happened in the movies." Chuck stood up and cleaned himself off. "You know what they say boys: it isn't the size of the gun, it's how you use it." With that, Chuck left them behind the container, speechless, while he scouted out the damage.

Feeling like they needed to be kicked a little bit more, Sarah looked over in Chuck's direction and added "although it doesn't hurt to have a big gun and know how to use it." With that she walked off to join Chuck.

"Did she just say...about Chuck?" asked Bryce.

"Frankly, I'd rather not think too deeply into it" replied Cole. "Let's go help them clean up."

Round 3:

Bryce and Cole both rushed out the elevator and cased out the scene; they were breaking into a previously unknown Fulcrum headquarters located in the center of Los Angeles. Disguised as a normal, fully functioning office building, this was actually one of the hubs of information for the whole Fulcrum network within the west coast. But of course this standard operation had to turn into a macho contest between the two agents. Chuck, on the other hand, either didn't notice the competition or didn't care because he happily followed the group as they took out enemy agents one by one.

"That's two for me" Cole proudly announced.

"That's nice that you finally caught up to me" replied Bryce.

"Would you guys focus for a second? There's more than enough baddies in here for the both of you" admonished Sarah. She motioned for everyone to stop and quiet down as she put her ear to the wall.

The rest of the team quickly understood from the look on her face that the room was full of enemies. Cole and Bryce walked up to the either side of the door and after counting to three, both men rushed into the room. Sarah rolled her eyes and leaned against the wall waiting while the two man-childs went to play. She noticed Chuck moving on to another room down the hall but unlike missions before, she felt no need to worry about his well being and let him go on his own.

Sarah noticed that the sounds of fighting had died down and calmly walked into the room and took note of the thirteen men lying in various states of consciousness.

"That's seven for me" announced the MI6 agent.

"What are you talking bout seven?" the CIA agent asked back. "I could've sworn I had to help you out with that one. Half point for you my friend."

"Fine, six and half for both of us."

Bryce looked over to Sarah and noticed the missing person. "Where's Chuck?"

Sarah shrugged and looked out into the hall.

"Sarah! Why didn't you keep an eye on him?"

"Uh, cause he's an full agent now. He can take care of himself" answered back Sarah as she watched Bryce and Cole rush out looking for the missing member.

Both men stood outside the door and looked out in both directions down the halls. They were clueless to his location until they heard the slamming of a door. As Sarah joined them out in the hall, they all rushed to the door from where the sound was heard. Bryce slowly pushed the door open and the three of them walked into the room. Both men expected to find Chuck in some peril but instead found him happily typing away on one of Fulcrum's workstations. Surrounding him and strewn out across the room were various baddies. Bryce and Cole couldn't help but have their jaws hit the floor. Sarah walked up to Chuck and looked over his shoulder as he searched the Fulcrum database.

"Oh hey guys" greeted Chuck.

"Chuck...did you do all this?" asked Bryce incredulously.

"Huh? Did what?"

"The...the..." stuttered the dark haired agent.

"I think he means the men" said Cole as he completed Bryce's thought. "Did you take out these eleven men on your own?"

"Eleven?" asked Chuck. He looked around the room. "No."

Bryce let out a sigh.

"There's four more in the locker over there."

Sarah smiled as she watched the shock wash over the faces of the two other agents.

"I think that's it" announced Chuck. "I downloaded the entirety of their database. Should keep General Beckman and the people in analysis happy for a while."

Final Round:

Bryce stared at the scene before him, fear creeping throughout his whole body. CIA training had taught them that fear was inevitable; there was no avoiding it and those who says they don't have any were idiots waiting to die. The best recourse was to use that fear, that fight or flight response to turn things into their advantage; by either making a strategic retreat or by taking the challenge on.

Unfortunately he knew that this time it wouldn't work. The fear he felt now was a different sort of fear, the type that doesn't feed into your fight or flight response. No, this fear rendered you useless. This is the fear you feel when you know there's no other options available; you can't fight and you can't run. This fear you only feel when you are the prey facing a top predator. There is no running away, there is no fighting back; just resignment to your fate.

As Bryce looked up, he saw the instigator of this feeling. Silhouetted against the moonlight that poured in through the windows was his friend, Chuck barely straining as he held their captor by the neck several inches off the ground.

Earlier:

Bryce opened his eyes and found himself strapped to a metal chair. As he looked around, he found Sarah and Cole in a similar restrained state. From what he could see they were in an empty warehouse. As he struggled against his restraints, he thought back to what happened, but the last thing he remembered was walking out of the secret exit to the castle and after that, darkness.

He looked over to his comrades and whispered to them to wake up. "Cole, Sarah. Snap out of it already. We're in trouble here." As Sarah slowly shook away the cobwebs, Bryce looked over to see Cole was knocked out for the count. Turning towards the door, he watched his captor walk in. "Who are you and what do you want?"

"Seriously Mr. Larkin? Starting off our conversation with such boring and standard questions?"

Bryce just shrugged his shoulders.

"Fine then. My name is Daniel Shaw."

"Sorry never heard of you, Shaw" spat out Bryce. "And I know almost everyone in Fulcrum."

"Fulcrum? Tsk tsk. I'm not associated with that small time op. I'm with the Ring."

"The Ring? Never heard of them."

"I don't think you would Mr. Larkin. You may not know us, but we control Fulcrum."

Surprise instantly registered onto Bryce's face. He thought that Fulcrum was all there is and that by taking them down he could ensure the safety of the United States.

"What's wrong? Don't tell me you thought Fulcrum was the end all. Amateurs like them?"

Bryce asked "so what do you want from us? If you're that big and bad of an organization, then what do you want from us?"

Shaw smiled "nothing at all. Actually you're helping me right now."

Bryce looked over to Sarah and Cole with a confused look. "How are we helping you?"

"I thought it was clear; you're the bait. The fish we're trying to catch is your partner, Charles Carmichael." Shaw quickly looked over to Sarah, who had laughed. "Something funny Miss Walker?"

"Yes, the fact that you actually called out Chuck. You have no idea what you just done." Despite their predicament, Sarah smiled at the fact that Chuck would be coming to her rescue.

Shaw replied "I know exactly what I've done. We've been watching the situation with your tea and Fulcrum for a while now. We know that no matter how big the attacking force is or how devious the plan, your team always comes out smelling like roses. We believe he has something to do with it." With that, he walked over the door and let two men dressed in full tactical gear. "Report gentlemen."

"Yes sir. The team is set up and ready to handle any attack."

"Very good, let the men..." Before Shaw could even finish his sentence, the sound of gunfire erupted from the adjacent building. "What the?"

One of the two soldiers pulled out his walkie talkie. "What's the situation?"

Suddenly the little black box came to life. Sounds of gunfire could be heard in the background along with the shouts of the men stationed there. "Sir, we have engaged the target. Single intruder, heavily armed."

"Good. Remember, orders are to capture him alive."

"Understood."

Sarah laughed. "Shaw, you have no idea who you're messing with."

Matching her smile, Shaw replied "Oh I do and don't think I didn't come prepared. These aren't just any soldiers I brought with me. These men are trained to a level beyond your imagination."

"Oh trust me, I can imagine a very high level" said Sarah as she thought about Chuck. Sounds of gunfire continued to ring through the building.

Just as Shaw was going to make a retort, his walkie talkie sprung to life once more. Although this time the voice on the other end was not as calm as it once was. "Commander? What's wrong?"

"What is...ghost...can't find...eliminating...one by..."

Anger start to show on Shaw's face. "Commander, it's one man. Can't you handle it?" Just then a large explosion rocked the building. "Commander? Answer me. Any one on the team, reply." Shaw stood there looking at the little black box waiting for any word to come through. As he turned towards the two soldiers left with him, a dark figure crashed through the ceiling of the building.

Sarah barely had time to register any type of emotion as that dark figure crashed into the two soldiers talking with Shaw. What she didn't notice at first was the two combat knives that also swung down and lodged themselves through the back of the neck and out of the throats of those men. She was not surprised when that dark figure turned out to be Chuck but what did surprise her was the lack of fear in Shaw's eyes.

"Why hello there Charles Carmichael or should I say" Shaw paused and seemed to go into a little seizure before continuing. "Charles Irving Bartowski. From Burbank, California. One known living relative, sister, Eleanor Faye. Ever finish up that degree from Stanford?"

The shock registered onto Bryce and Sarah's faces. They knew the implications from what Shaw had just said; they saw the tell tale sign. Shaw had an intersect. What further confused them was the laugh coming from Chuck.

"Very nice. So the Ring has an intersect. I didn't think you guys had the abilities to create one. Kudos to you."

"You don't seem too impressed, Charles."

"No, not really." Chuck paused for a second. "Not when I'm able to do the same thing, Daniel Shaw. Not too bad of a service record with the CIA. Well, except this little thing about you being Ring that is."

"Very nice, Charles. I didn't even see you lose yourself for a second in the flash."

"Ehh, the whole eye fluttering thing is for beginners."

Shaw laughed. "Well I did just get this thing only a few days ago. Let's get started, shall we?" As soon as he finished, he placed his guns onto the floor near to the prisoners. "Hand to hand ok?"

Chuck smiled as he placed his weapons down as well. "That's fine with me. Just to warn you, I'm pretty good hand to hand."

"We'll see."

Sarah watched as her boyfriend took on the intersected Ring agent. But unlike the time before at the training facility, Shaw seemed to be holding his own against Chuck. If anything, she could even say that he had the advantage. But still her hope laid with Chuck and she continued to watch the two men exchange punches and kicks. The two men moved and fought as if they were characters in a martial arts film: jumping off walls, back flips, extremely close near misses.

Bryce on the other hand couldn't believe what he was seeing; his nerdy college friend knew how to fight. This couldn't be his friend from those years ago who had trouble even confronting women. This was someone different and if he let himself think it, a bit scary.

Shaw extricated himself from Chuck's grasp and smirked. "Not bad, Charles. I have to say that the CIA has really upped their training regiment for recruits."

Chuck smiled. "Who ever said I was trained by the CIA?" Just as the words left his mouth, he started again on Shaw. Except this time he completely overwhelming his opponent. Noticing the confusion in Shaw's eyes, Chuck smiled "Having trouble understanding? Well let me in you on something." Chuck dodged a wild left hook from Shaw and repaid him with a wicked shot to the kidneys, leaving him instantly breathless. "The CIA actually had an updated version of the intersect like yours, intersect 2.0 if you will. But I refused it. You know why?"

Shaw narrowly dodged a roundhouse kick from Chuck but didn't see the backhand that followed it. "Fine, I'll bite. Why?"

He smiled. "Cause it's so darned linear. Like this right here. Intersect sees karate straight punch and it reacts with the best counter. But what if I suddenly change it up to a muay thai forearm to the face." Shaw reeled back from the blow to the head. "Here intersect sees a muay thai knee to the ribs." Shaw prepared himself to counter the knee, but was greeted with a side kick to the chest. "But I'll change it up to a straight kick. Don't get me wrong, the intersect is a good teacher but just has no creativity. So now you see why I didn't get the upgrade; I'm already better than what the 2.0 can do."

Utter confusion filled Shaw's mind He was the CIA's golden boy and now he had the intersect 2.0 in him; he should be unbeatable but here stood a man who didn't even seem like he was working that hard at taking him down. He concentrated on Charles' face; he knew that the intersect should have something more in it about him. These skills were never even mentioned during the first flash. So he concentrated hard trying to force a flash and get more knowledge of who Charles really was.

Chuck noticed the intense stare coming from his opponent. "Trying to ask the intersect who and what I am?" He quickly shortened the space between them and landed a swift blow to the gut. "Sorry to tell you this Shaw, but I'm not in the intersect."

Shaw's eyes widened. "Everything and everyone is in the intersect. The Ring made sure it encompassed the knowledge of all intelligence agencies and police forces. We had access to top secret data."

Chuck laughed. "What I am is higher than top secret, Shaw. What I am and those I work with are beyond the comprehension of the little ol' intersect."

"That's impossible."

"Not really. You and spies like you keep secrets from civilians all the time. This time we're keeping one from the spies."

"You're implying that you're better than us."

"Of course, to the point that you're skills are no better than a civilian's to us."

"Impossible. There's no way."

"Sorry to shatter your world Shaw, but in this world there are agents whose skills make you look like a toddler. And unfortunately for you, you antagonized one of them."

Shaw closed his eyes and focused. He refused to believe that an agent of his caliber augmented with the intersect 2.0 could be so easily manhandled by a mere agent. So he engaged the 2.0 and desperately tried to find a solution. He flashed on some obscure martial art and tried a last ditch attempt to overwhelm his opponent. But just as quickly, Chuck had side stepped his attack and Shaw ended up completely passing him by. One handed, Chuck grabbed Shaw by the back of his neck and slowly lifted him off the ground.

"I'm sorry Shaw; I truly am. The intersect told me what happened to your wife and how that has made you into the man your are today but I cannot let you go knowing that you have an intersect in your head as well." Chuck turned his head and finally acknowledged his comrades still tied to their seats. "Sarah, please close your eyes."

Sarah nodded once and slowly shut both eyes. She knew he didn't want her to see him give the final killing blow to Shaw and a second later she heard the sound of a neck snapping and a body falling to the ground. The next thing she knew, Chuck had come over to them and started undoing the ties to her arms and legs. "Are you ok, Chuck?" As her sentence finished, she saw a fleeting look of guilt come across his face.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Let's get you guys out of here first." Chuck turned to work on Bryce's binds. "Take Cole and Sarah and leave from the north exit."

Bryce rubbed his wrists as he eyed Chuck up and down. This was definitely the man he knew from before.

"What is it Bryce?" Chuck asked as he saw the look on his face.

"What are you? And where's the Chuck I know?"

Chuck smiled. "Trust me I'm the same man. As to what I am, that's more complicated and best saved for another time. Go."

Sarah slowly transferred Cole to Bryce and watched as the two of them walked out into the hall. She looked up at her savior's face and saw guilt and remorse painted across it. "Chuck, let's go." As she pulled at his hand, she felt resistance to the movement.

"Go ahead Sarah. I need to finish some things and await the clean up team."

Sarah nodded slowly. "I'll see you at the castle." Giving him a hug, she walked backwards into the hall not taking her eyes off her love.

As Sarah left, a long sigh left Chuck's lips. He knew that the situation has changed; Sarah had seen him at his worst and most definitely have changed her opinions. Solemnly, he walked out into the night. Shaw had changed the rules of the game and therefore changed the course of his life from now on. Things will definitely not be the same.

As Bryce and Sarah carried Cole into the infirmary within the castle, they were shocked to see the main screen come to life and General Beckman looking them over.

"Agents, report. How are you doing?"

Sarah answered "We're fine ma'am. Cole took a bit of a beating and is currently sleeping it off after the shot of morphine we gave."

"That's good to hear. Do you have any need of more medical assistance? I can have CIA doctors there in a few minutes."

"No need ma'am. Bryce and I didn't sustain any injuries; they focused on Cole mostly. He'll have some bruising but nothing too serious."

"Good. I'll notify MI-6 about his condition and arrange for his pickup."

Bryce asked "How about Chuck, ma'am? He didn't come back with us. Any news from him?"

"Yes Agent Larkin, he called in a few minutes ago reporting that he was fine and needed some time to himself." She looked over to Sarah. "Agent Walker please locate Agent Bartowski and tend to him."

"But ma'am, didn't he ask to be alone?"

"That he did Walker, but when did you ever follow orders when it came to Bartowski?"

Sarah smiled. She did have a penchant to disregard orders when Chuck's well being was on the line. "I understand. I'll locate him."

"Good. Larkin, please remain in the castle after Barker gets picked up. We can't have you being seen by anyone that knows you."

"Understood, ma'am."

Sarah's Porsche rolled into the parking lot of the beach; she knew that this was where she could find the love of her life. This was his thinking spot, where he worked out his demons and made sense of his crazy life. After recent revelations about who he really was, she fully understood the need of this beach locale. She usually opted for fifteen minutes of quiet time at least twice a week before sleeping. She smiled as she saw the sitting form of Chuck, silhouetted against the night sky and the crashing waves. He had his knees bent towards his chest and was resting his arm on his knees. She slowly walked over to where he sat, trying not to interrupt his time.

"There's no where I can run, is there?" asked Chuck as he looked up to the smiling face of Sarah looking down at him.

"No, not from us."

A playful look came upon his face when we answered "wanna bet?"

Chuckling, Sarah replied "ok fine. I meant that there's no where you can run from ME. I'll find you wherever you run and hide." She sat down in the sand next to Chuck. "Talk to me."

"Just worried."

"About?"

"What you think of me now."

"Did you think it would somehow change?"

"I killed people tonight Sarah. A lot of people."

"They were all bad Chuck. They signed their death certificates the moment they went against the oath they took when they joined their agencies. You also saved three people."

"I know but I didn't want you to see me do that."

"Chuck, like I told you before: I love you for who you are. The fact that despite all that you've seen in this world of ours, you still are able to trust people and not be jaded. I love that about you."

"I thought you love my dashing good looks."

"Well that too." Sarah gently nudged his shoulder. "I would be quite the hypocrite if I judged you with stricter than I judge myself. So if you can still love me despite knowing all that I've done, I'm pretty sure that I can love you."

Relief fell over Chuck and he decided to quit sulking. "I love you Sarah."

Warmth fell over Sarah as she saw Chuck's smile. "I love you too." She promptly stood up from next to Chuck and proceeded to walk in front of him.

"Uh Sarah, is everyth..." Chuck didn't have time to finish his sentence as Sarah plopped herself in-between Chuck's knees. She reached over and grabbed his arms and wrapped it around herself.

Letting out a breath, Sarah uttered "much better."

Smiling a bigger smile than he had all day, Chuck hugged Sarah tighter. "So you said you'd find me anywhere, eh?"

"Of course. There would be no place for you to hide."

"I see. I must be special to elicit such devotion."

"I would say so. After finding how good you are in the sack, you're lucky you weren't permanently handcuffed to our bed."

Feigning shock, Chuck answered "I knew it! You always wanted me for my body."

"As if you didn't know" Sarah mocked. After a few moments, she asked "So what happens now Chuck?"

Looking towards the crashing waves, he answered "everything changes. Everything."