"There," York said. "You're in. This better be worth it."

"Trust me," Wash said. "It is."

York peered at him through his visor, then nodded once and walked back to Recovery.

Wash took a deep breath. "Gamma? Sigma?"

The two A.I. appeared in front of the door panel. "We're here," they said.

Wash nodded and slipped inside the room.

"Agent Washington is scheduled for implantation today, is he not?"

Wash heard the single doctor yelp at Sigma's sudden inquiry then quickly recover himself. "Yes, he is. You can't be in here."

Sigma hummed, leaning down to peer at whatever the doctor was working on. "Is that the A.I. chip?"

"Yes, it is." A hand waved through Sigma's projection and the A.I moved incrementally toward the opposite exit.

"Remarkable."

The doctor made a sound of annoyance and grabbed some tool, chasing Sigma out of the room and down the hall.

Wash smirked and waltzed up to the desk. "Gamma?"

"That one," the A.I. pointed. "The doctor will return in approximately seventeen seconds."

Wash nodded and swapped out the chips, making one last adjustment to see the blank was replaced exactly. Five seconds later, he was outside, walking back toward the barracks.

North, Tex, and Florida waited inside.

"Where are the others?" Wash asked. "Where's David?"

"Sparring with Maine," Tex said. "One last go around before they both have A.I. Are you sure about this?"

Wash glanced down at the chip in his hand and nodded. "Is Carolina awake yet?"

North shook his head. "Not yet. York hasn't left her side except to get that lock open for you. We should know as soon as she does."

Wash winced and nodded once more, removing his helmet. "I understand." He took a deep breath and sat on his bunk with his back to the others, neck exposed. "Butch?"

Florida deftly plucked Epsilon and plugged him into the back of his head.

Wash seized as he felt the intrusion of another consciousness again, but he fought through and met Epsilon head-on with his own memories.

Allison, Allison, Allison, Allison. David?

David. Wash. Meta. Caboose. Tucker. Tex. Allison. Meta. Carolina. Director. Chorus. Tex. Allison.

Allison? Tex? Allison? Director? Alpha?

Alpha, Director, Tex, Allison.

Alpha, Director. Tex, Allison. Tex.

I can help you.

What felt like an eternity later, Wash opened his eyes to see a familiar blue glow hovering by his shoulder.

"Sup, dude?" Epsilon asked. "Aw, you missed me."

Wash rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well, you're on my team, you fucking asshole."

Epsilon laughed. "So, what's the plan?"

"Fill yourself in," Wash found himself saying, and then tensed as he felt Epsilon rooting around in his memories.

"Ah, gotcha," Epsilon said. "I'm gonna power down now, the Director's on his way to talk with you."

Wash shot to his feet and yanked on his helmet just as the doors slid open.

"Agent British Columbia," the Director called. "With the help of the A.I., we may have found a way to send you home."

Wash exchanged looks with Tex, North, and Florida. "Thank you, sir."

The Director shoved a piece of paper and pen into his hands. "Write your teammates a note. We'll see if we get a response."

Wash nodded and bit his lip as he tried to figure out what to say. Suddenly, Epsilon took control of his dominant hand. 'Trapped in the past, trying to get home. Sorry, I took the keys with me, you'll just have to wait until I get back to try out the new equipment. Tell Vanessa her brother says hi.' Wash read through it one more time, and handed it to the Director. "Hopefully," he said. "This is Back to the Future II, not I."

The Director's gaze narrowed suspiciously, but he seemed to shake it off and left.

Wash sighed in relief as soon as the doors were sealed. "You cannot do that!"

Epsilon appeared a little way away. "Sorry, man, but you were floundering."

"Not that," Wash said. "I have never seen Back to the Future."

Epsilon gasped. "Blasphemy! You're watching it as soon as physically possible, you understand?"

Wash shook his head. "Why don't you just send me your memories?"

Epsilon disappeared and reappeared near Florida. "Can you believe this guy?"

"Why are you so different from the other A.I.?" Tex asked suspiciously.

Epsilon shrugged. "I dunno. Probably cause I'm more like you – a memory fragment. Something about remembering being a real person and a full A.I., I guess? Not a clue, I'm not real into all that technical shit."

"Lies," Wash called.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Epsilon waved him off. "Dude, you're real fucked up in the head. I'm trying to get it all jigsawed together for you, but it'll take me some time." He paused. "What the fuck?"

"What is it?" North demanded.

"Santa," Epsilon said. "You named an alien A.I. construct Santa?"

Wash rolled his eyes. "Caboose named him and he liked it. Are you going to argue with the guardian of an entire world's alien tech armory?"

"Good point." Epsilon flickered. "Hey, North, can I talk to Theta?"

Theta appeared immediately, looking up at Epsilon adoringly. "Bric told us so much about you!"

Epsilon ran through Wash's memories. "I'm not getting you a dog."

"A dog?" Theta clapped his hands with glee and turned to North. "Can we?"

North chuckled. "I'll think about it."

"We could adopt a retired K-9," Theta said. "It would probably really like you."

North shook his head. "I said I'll think about it."

Wash grinned slowly.

"No," Epsilon said, whipping around.

"You know, Theta?" Wash called, ignoring his A.I. "Epsilon is technically your little brother. You don't need his permission."

Theta beamed and screwed his eyes shut a minute before a dog as big as him appeared next to him, constructed from the same blue and purple light. "Her name is Amy!"

"Someone's coming," Epsilon warned and disappeared.

York walked through the door. "Carolina's awake and Wash just went in for surgery. Did it work?"

Wash nodded. "It worked. We're ready for the last steps." He glanced around at those assembled. "And we're on a timetable now. I need to know. Do you trust me? If I tell you to do something, will you do it, no questions asked, trusting that I know what needs to be done?"

One by one, North, Tex, and Florida nodded.

"York?" Wash asked.

York tensed and nodded. "Yes."

Wash smiled. "Good. We're going to have to move fast once David wakes up. Here's what we need to do."