"They're fine!" Emma announced, coughing from the gas. Quickly she stuck her head out of the room and coughed some more. "Both of them are still intact!"

"N-No!" Albert shouted. "Those vaccines are mine!"

Midge didn't listen, just kept her eyes closed as she dragged Albert out of the room. Shielding her eyes as best as she could, Emma ran back in and grabbed Bradley, who was writhing on the ground.

***

After some time out of the room, everybody had settled a bit. Their eyes were still stinging badly, and Bradley needed to stay by Einstein because he was affected badly by it.

"We need to decide what to do with him." Midge sighed, indicating Albert.

"If we don't give him a vaccine, he'll die anyway." Emma pointed out. "There's not much need to murder him."

"Please." Albert looked at them with genuine eyes. "I know what I've done, but Blaketon is innocent. You can't punish him for this, he deserves a vaccine."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Miss Midge?"

"Yeah, Bradley?"

"If we decide to kill him...can I have your knife? I wanna do it."

Emma's eyes widened. "Bradley, there's no way we could let a child do this."

At that comment, Bradley started to cry. Tears and snot rolled down his face. "Why? H-He killed Mister Teddy and V-Vi-Violet and...Ghost." He sniffed again. "I want to make sure he dies."

What do we do?

“Well then…this is actually kinda interesting.” Albert gave a strange chuckle to himself. “Who would have thought this would be coming up again?”

He laughed as he looked at the picture on the magazine that Violet handed him. She had found it one of the desks of the outside-vault area. He was on the cover, ranked one of the top young science minds after he gave his lecture. “I’d love to tell you two about it, but it doesn’t seem relevant.”

"I'm not stupid, you'll be able to explain it to me." Violet huffed.

“Alright, I’ll give you a rundown.”

Albert suddenly straightened up and went into a rather detailed lecture without missing a beat.

“I should, first of all, clarify one crucial point to the rest of you first. I’m a college student studying in the field of neuroscience- the study of the human brain- perhaps the most complex structure of the human body- no, the most complex structure in the universe. It has evolved quite significantly since the age of the Neanderthals. But we humans are different from other organisms, in our desire to learn and adapt. That's not to say other organisms don't have this instinct, or even that all humans do.” He fave a light chuckle, inviting the other two to do so as well.

“Which brings us to the question...can we ever understand the human mind? What even is human consciousness? There are divisions of science and medicine that seem to believe we can, yet we are still a long ways away from making any significant milestones in those studies. Why do humans get depressed and desire suicide when it goes against our base instinct to survive? Do vices like gambling, drug use, and criminal mischief only exist because our society has pushed us away from baser instincts? Or is there something deeper?” He gave the two a rather questioning look, especially Teddy.

“Well, now that’s exactly what I attempted to do. I made a prototype of a device. It was a rather complex device which could be attached to a person with several sections on their head. The device could read brain wave patterns…but that’s not all. It could convert thought processes…to data.”

“Now, first off, I had the subject- who was unharmed, I assure you both- perform a rather simple action- to simply eat their favourite cereals. The device converted that simple action alone into…ten million lines of code. Then I had them read a passage from A Search of Lost Time. It got converted into one hundred million lines of code. Then I pointed a fake gun at the subject- except they didn’t know it wasn’t fake. Ten billion lines of code. This data is unique to every person, and will look immeasurably different for different subjects performing the same action. This is also only the conscious level. I can't even begin to imagine how much more complex the data gets if you analyze the subconscious level.” He shook his head in a rather thoughtful manner.

“But anyway, you might be wondering- “How could this data get used if we can’t possibly ever hope to decipher it?” Well, first off, this data can technically be deciphered…just not in this lifetime. But even then, this data has a lot of theoretical uses. Let me give you an example. Imagine getting a terrible concussion that leaves you with a part of your brain damaged. Alternatively, imagine a patient developing Alzheimer's. If this theoretical patient simply had a copy of their consciousness, memories...their entire mind. All they'd need to do is upload it back in their head. And then they’d be back to normal.”

His eyes lit up, taking great excitement in reliving his particular part. “I’m sure you both can see how powerful this technology can be now. “One particular member in the audience that evening asked me whether the device could be used for learning skills. For example, if you wished to be well versed in karate or some other forms of martial arts, what if you could simply download the memories of a black belt? But, unfortunately, I believe we'd have to understand the data first. We are several generations away from that. I do not know what could happen from downloading the data of another person, but most of my research indicates the results could be...disastrous.”

He paused, taking a deep breath and then snaps his fingers. “And that’s about the entire lecture! Hopefully you managed to actually understand a little bit of that, heh heh.”

The others could see that reciting all this had resulted in a huge change in Albert’s demeanour. His stutter had vanished and he had confidently spoken on the subject with no sign of nervousness. He almost appeared… competent that way.

"Huh..." Teddy remarked at the end of Albert's lecture. It was...unclear whether Teddy found it interesting, or if the entire thing just went over his head.

"Ugh. Bor-ing!" Violet yawned at Albert's lecture. "Did you really need to go on that long?"

***

"T-that's a lot of money", Albert said, somewhat staggered by the vast amount of cash. He suddenly turned towards Teddy. "H-hey...since I opened this, y-you can consider all this repayment for then...right? T-take all you want, it's all yours!"

“Violet’s the one who solved it, dumbass.” Teddy began sifting through the money, while Violet looked in another spot.

Albert walked over to another part, feigning that he was looking for stuff.

“Propane tanks. Awesome.” Violet sighed. Albert could just hear her, but he was mostly focused on the headset in his hand.

I’m so scared. I really need your help right now.

He put it on.

[Meta-note: This ‘future’ is after he switched with Sherrington in the vault. Don’t get too caught up wondering if the future should change based on deaths in C1 and yadayadaya. There’ll be more detail later but at the end of the day it’s still time travel wobbly stuff].

Albert Blaketon woke up in a body that wasn’t his...no, that wasn’t right. It was his, but it still almost felt like he was being rejected.

He was tied to a wooden chair, unable to move. He sighed at the usual routine. Sherrington certainly didn’t trust him to move around on his own…

More time passed. Albert started to get nervous.

What the hell did he do? Why hasn’t he switched back yet?

More time passed.

Did he die? Is that even possible?!

“Sherrington!” He futilely shouted.

Frustrated, he spat on the ground. Slowly, he used his body’s momentum and threw the chair backwards. It shattered beneath him. He shook the rest of the rope off of him.

Quickly, he got a sense of his surroundings. He was in a...bunker of some sort? It looked more like a food pantry and there seemed to be other rooms, but the exit door was closest to him.

Albert stood up, but fell immediately on his face in pain. He grit his teeth and looked down at his legs.His ankles were in a completely unnatural position...no doubt by Sherrington.

Albert used his arms to pull himself across the room, eventually finding a single crutch. He stood himself up as best as he could and headed to the exit. "H-huh...finally, I might be able to get outta this fuckin' shithole."

He immediately saw stairs climbing upward...great. He moved his way through, unlocking the hatch above him as he reached it.

The air hit Albert like a ton of bricks. He suddenly felt like vomiting, but couldn't. He wanted to let out a cry of horror, but all that came out was a shrieking breathless noise. He heaved in a terrible panic, over and over.

He was standing in the middle of an abandoned city. Dead bodies were littered everywhere, already decayed past the point of recognition. Flies were still hanging around some. There was no sign of destroyed buildings, fires, or anything. Just...death. The city itself felt like a completely empty shell.

He wearily looked up at the sky. He could still see the stars...a great many of them in fact. He tried to use them to discern his location, but quickly realized it was useless without knowing the time of year.

He tried to stay standing, but was unable to. He collapsed to his knees, crutch falling beside him. He trembled, trying to summon the strength to stand. He looked around at the buildings, realizing he recognized them all too well. Monte Carlo…it was so sick. Almost planned.

It was like hell. No...hell was never anything he believed in. This was magnitudes above comprehension.

"N-no...this is...this is fucking impossible..." Albert shook his head. "S-so this...this is what Sherrington l-lived in? I-I... No... Get me out...Sherrington!"

He suddenly looked up at the sky, madness on his face. "Sherrington, can you hear me?! Bring me back! S-switch with me! SWITCH WITH ME, GODDAMMIT!" He shouts upwards with absolute despair, looking like he was about to faint.

All too quickly, he noticed a change in his disposition. It was as if he suddenly caught a case of the flu.

N-No...it's just a pl-placebo...this couldn't be...Blight? Goddamnit...can this get any fucking worse?!

"Hey!" A voice shouted from some distance away. "Is someone out here?!"

“W-what? Who's that?!" Blaketon shouted in the direction of the voice.

A large man steps out from the shadows, flashlight in hand. He smiles upon seeing Albert. To Albert it's an all too familiar smile.

“What are the fucking odds? Hey, Al. How ya doing?”

Teddy Bianchi.

Albert couldn’t believe his eyes. It was The Bear, and he looked exactly the same. Better than ever, in fact. He was all dappered up in an Italian suit.

“Man, look at this. Teddy and Al, the dynamic duo reunited!” He smiled. “I have to tell you, I didn’t think you’d be here of all places. I just had a hunch that you’d crawl up close to home.” Teddy pointed his flashlight at Monte Carlo. “Guess I was right.”

All Albert could do was stare at the sky. He could already feel the tears welling up in his eyes. He had nowhere to run...everybody was dead...he was infected with Blight...and who was here to share his final moments but Teddy fucking Bianchi.

“H-How are you he-here?”

“Huh? Oh I’m not Teddy.” Teddy waved his hand at the idea. “I just have his memories.” He said it nonchalantly, like that was normal.

Albert still didn’t know to react. His heart was beating. He wanted to scream for help. He wanted to beg for mercy. He wanted to…

“Heh…” A strange noise came out of Albert.

“You know, they said only the important memories would survive.” Teddy seemed to be continuing the conversation with or without Albert’s help. “I don’t remember any of my old clients, debtors, hell even some of my crew. I see so many failures and degenerate fucking gamblers that it’s just impossible to keep track of.” Teddy paused before continuing, trying to not laugh while finishing his story. He grabbed Albert’s chin. “But your face. I remember your face. I’ll never forget that fucking face when you lost that last poker game. I still replay it in my head when I need a chuckle. It’s a good one.”

“Hahaha…”

Teddy laughed too. “See? Now you’re getting it.”

Albert wasn’t done though. He kept laughing, louder and louder. He laughed so loud that even Teddy was a bit taken aback. And he kept going, long past the point where he should’ve ran out of breath.

Albert had thought this was the most miserable he could be, but he realized that he’d already bottomed back when Isaac died. There was no way it could get worse, only more ridiculous. And the reality that was confronting him...he didn’t reject it. He embraced it. At a time like this, all he could do was laugh. So that’s what he did.

“Alright, Al.” Teddy tried to interrupt. “You can stop.”

Albert had settled down a little, but still found it hard to not let out a chuckle here and there. "We both know why you're here... Just...do it." He raised his hands defeatedly. "I'm already fucked. Just end me now...if you have the balls to do it yourself."

Teddy shook his head, annoyed. “What the fuck’s wrong with you, you weirdo? You’re no use to The Leader if I just kill you.”

“What…? The Leader?” Albert’s eyes scrutinized Teddy. He said he wasn’t Teddy...but he still looked just like him.

“Are you honestly…?” Teddy shook his head in disbelief. “Al, I’m a ghost.”

Teddy said the words like it should all become apparent. But it was more unclear than ever.

“Don’t think too hard about it, okay? I’m just a copy of Teddy’s memories, plus some improvising added in. I guess The Leader liked the real me, so I’m lucky enough to be here.”

Albert laughed again. Now things weren’t just miserable, they were completely batshit.

“If you’re not gonna kill me, what do you need with me?”

“I never said I wasn’t gonna kill you.” Teddy smiled. “Alright boys, get it done.” He pointed to Albert lying on the ground.

“What-” Albert didn’t even get to ask before two more people--they seemed to be random strangers--propped his head up and stuck a piece of metal in it.

“AH! FUCK!” Albert yelled, attempting to thrash.

“Calm down, calm down.” Teddy said. “We’re downloading your data, it’ll just take a minute.”

“My...data…?” Albert spit out the words through gritted teeth.

“Your memories, wonder boy.” Teddy lit a cigar as he said that. “We’ve been waiting for you to crawl out of your hole to retrieve you. Grab those memories out of you.”

“W-Why...the FUCK…?”

“That’s what The Leader wants. What he says, goes.” Teddy shrugged. “Come on, take it as a compliment. Probably thinks you’re a brilliant guy. He needs guys like you, we’re at war after all.”

They ripped the reader out and then nodded at Teddy. He smiled and nodded at them, prompting them to walk off.

“Well, that’s it for us.” Teddy sighed. “I enjoyed this time, however short-lived.” He walked away, leaving Albert behind to die.

“Wait.”

Albert didn’t mind dying. He would just look at the stars, and let this fucked up nightmare of a life end. But there was one thing he had to know.

“Who’s The Leader?”

Teddy turned and goofily smiled at Albert as if to say ‘the balls on this kid’. “I wouldn’t tell you even if I did know. And you know what? I don’t know. I never met him.”

“Huh?”

“He uses an alias, even when talking to us.” Teddy shrugged.

“What is it?”

“He wants us to call him Zero. I’ll admit, it’s a little weird.”

“Zero…” Albert breathed, listening to his own heartbeat. “Zero…”

Teddy pulled out a gun. It looked just like a gun Albert was all too familiar with. “Welp. Now I gotta finish the job. Smile, Al.” He pointed the barrel right at Albert’s face.

Albert did. He put on the biggest one he could. The last thing he saw was the flash before him. The light at the end of the tunnel.

ALBERT ~ END

Everybody has just completed their room phases.

Just inside the vault, Teddy was standing over Albert. It was the most eye-catching thing in the room, despite it being filled with an obscene amount of money. Stacks of cash were all around in small piles.

Albert was in terrible shape. The front of his coat was stained red, and his breaths were heavy and ragged. It seemed like he was trying to speak, but couldn’t say anything. The hole in the back of his shoulder seemed to be the main cause of his predicament.

Teddy looked beaten, and his bloody fists hung limply by his side. “I swear the god, this kid just went fucking crazy.”