Author's Note: Oh look at me just popping in to say hello between chapters on Endless Numbered Days. I'm not giving up yet and I know this chapter may seem confusion. I know the plot of RE5, I swear. It will make sense within a few chapters, I promise!

.:Chapter 5:

Not As We

Chris awoke alone in his bed. It took him a long moment to remember the events from the night before but once he did, he was rolling over and groaning at all of the stress suddenly back on his shoulders. It took a full hour until he was in the right state of mind to consider his options. After a fresh shower and new clothing, he ended up back in bed shirtless and empty.

Albert was right. Albert was always right. The blond hadn't actually hid anything from Chris in the long run and if Chris wasn't smart enough to put two things that were in front of his face together then that was his own fault. That didn't make Chris love Albert any less despite the sudden revelation of Albert wanting to change the entire world.

Perhaps if Albert could get the virus right, it wouldn't be bad- Or maybe it would end as another Raccoon City.

Either way, Chris had signed up for this—Chris chose this and he wouldn't back out. He loved Albert too much to back out now and if he did back out he wouldn't have anywhere to go though he was sure he could come up with something if he really had to leave but Chris didn't want to leave. He wanted to stay and stand by Albert's side while the two fought the world together but Chris wasn't entirely sure just how comfortable he was with corrupting the world in the same exact way Spencer had tried.

When Albert hadn't shown up after several hours and Chris had exhausted all of his entertainment within the room, Chris decided it was best to venture out and find his significant other. So, the brunet pulled on a shirt and made his way out the door.

This time when he passed by scientists and the like, he returned the pleasantries before asking them where Albert could be found. They responded and pointed him in the correct direction which was, apparently, Experiment Room A.

Chris made his way to where he thought the room was and sighed in relief when the metallic door opened to reveal a room full of scientists and his boyfriend. The blond in question was currently examining something being shown to him by one of the scientists who looked far too excited, bouncing on his heels and fidgeting with his fingers while Albert looked. Chris smiled at the scene of all of the scientists stopping what they were doing to stare at what was happening.

"I believe this may be what I have been searching for. However, I want everyone in this room to test their own blood. I need different samples to assess how the virus will respond to different blood samples."

"Yes sir," the group said in unison as they all began to stand and exit the room.

"Nice work," the blond muttered to the scientist beside him who had yet to move as he finally pulled his eyes from the microscope. Albert looked up to find Chris watching him with a smile. "Christopher, I didn't expect you," he directed his following words to the scientist. "If you'll excuse me?"

"Of course," the blond male scientist responded instinctively.

Albert stepped away from the table and maneuvered to the front of the room, flashing a smirk to Chris as he approached him. The two stood across from each other for a long moment, both quiet but challenging in their stance.

"Hey," Chris muttered finally as his stubbornness faltered.

"Hello," Albert responded simply.

"Can we…. Talk?" Chris asked slowly, the words slipping from his lips carefully but blindly. He hadn't actually thought any of this through like he should have. He really should have spent hours in front of a mirror rehearsing what he was going to say over and over again but instead he just went.

"Of course. I just finished with work. Have you eaten? Perhaps we can talk over dinner?"

"Is it really that late?" Chris asked quietly more to himself than Albert. "Yeah, alright."

The two began their casual walk to the kitchen. Neither said anything and it was, for the first time in months, awkward. Chris had always been so comfortable with Albert after growing accustom to the man's physical changes and had yet to have that peace disrupted until now. Chris, in turn, had suddenly turned his attention to the metallic walls and the way each passing light bounced so easily off of the walls and bright white floor.

The sound of Albert's dress shoes tapping against the floor with each step tore harshly through the silence. Chris, shoved his hands into his jean pockets and listened to the rustling of Albert's coat as they walked. His eyes remained on the tiled white flooring and the way his black boots contrasted it so abrasively.

"Did I fall asleep in one of the hallways?" Chris asked suddenly if only to break the silence.

"Unfortunately," Albert responded with a dry smile, "I carried you back to our room not long after you fell asleep."

"Right, thanks," Chris muttered awkwardly eyes not daring to glance to the blond.

"My pleasure."

Silence overtook the two again as they continued through doorways and hallways until reaching the dining hall. It was, again, empty besides two place settings and the large room felt wrong. Chris longed for it to be filled and quietly questioned why scientists never ate in the dining hall but he wouldn't ask Albert, not yet anyway.

Albert took a seat and Chris chose the other. The place settings were across from each other and the food had yet to be served which meant the table was empty of food and drink. Chris settled carefully into his seat and inched the seat closer to the table before glancing up at Albert who had his legs crossed under the table gracefully.

Chris' eyes wandered to the empty spots around them and sighed at the sudden emptiness he felt. Albert noticed this and followed Chris' gaze around the room until Chris' eyes fell back to Albert.

"Well?" Albert asked expectantly.

Chris inhaled.

"First, you were right about one thing. You haven't actually hidden anything from me and just because I didn't think it through doesn't mean you lied to me. I'm not happy about using humans for experiments but I knew what you were doing here was something the B.S.A.A was originally fighting against and it was my choice to come. You were right, I was looking for trouble and I'm sorry."

"Apology accepted."

"Second, I think we need to talk about your dream."

"My goal, you mean?" Albert asked, a blond eyebrow rising in slight interest.

"Yeah sure, your goal. I think we should talk about it."

"Perhaps later, in bed?"

Chris smiled fondly at the blond's sudden jump of topic and nodded, "Fine but you can't avoid the topic forever."

"I don't plan to, Christopher. I would simply rather enjoy dinner with you."

Chris didn't quite believe that but he smiled and accepted the response.

Albert returned to work after dinner, assuring Chris he would be done by eight at the latest. Chris chose to make his way to the shooting range for a relaxing few hours of wasting ammo on paper targets he already knew he was going to hit. When Chris returned to their room it was to find Albert back rather early and with a grin Chris rarely saw. Chris smiled at the sight as he entered, closing the door behind him.

"You seem happy."

"Of course," the blond said as he sat on the bed that Chris felt far too odd calling theirs.

Chris was still mildly angry. Possibly at himself—he wasn't sure. He didn't regret accompanying Albert to Africa and he knew his morals would be challenged far greater than he could even comprehend but he hadn't thought it out. He was bored, being used, and chose the side that the man that he loved was part of—Even thinking it out now, Chris wouldn't have denied the offer but at least he would have been better prepared for all of this.

"I suppose we should talk now?"

Chris gave a nod.

Neither spoke, though. Chris didn't quite know how to begin a conversation like this as he had never had a goal that included killing over half the planet and he couldn't say he was necessarily happy about it either.

"You never told me about it."

"If you had listened—"

"Don't, Albert. You know I listen. You have never outright told me your plans beyond setting your own serum straight and I don't—I'm not comfortable with this. This is more than just experimenting. I can't turn my back on it and pretend I don't see it like I can with the Majinis."

"How can you be so sure of the outcome? You are making a rather large amount of assumptions for someone who claims to know nothing."

Chris sighed. Albert was right.

The blond was always right.

"Right, okay. So how do you plan on doing this? Do you want them like you?"

"Certainly but less advanced as I want to guide them. It wasn't very hard to lower the strength of the virus to allow lessened similar results," he explained standing and crossing his arms over his leather clad chest.

"And you're sure this isn't your superiority complex coming out in your work?"

"What do you possibly mean?"

Chris walked to the opposite end of the room where he took a seat.

"You enjoy being in control, Albert. You're a leader, you always have been. But you don't need to be any type of ruler or a god of anything. We don't need this. We could leave. Sell it to the highest bidder and run."

"I believe you are missing something rather important. I am not simply doing this for my work. I believe the world needs this change. Humans have destroyed everything already. The world is overpopulated. This could weed out the weak from the strong."

"And what happens if I'm not strong enough."

"I've already tested it with your blood, Christopher. Why do you think I'm happy? I've done it. I've successfully bonded them. I've tested and retested the serum and have yet to fail."

Chris nodded slowly. His eyebrows furrowed and he sighed.

"Albert… what did you have to do to that serum to make it adapt to my blood?" he asked slowly.

Chris wanted the blond to see what he was doing was wrong. He couldn't just watch him go through with this. The world was at stake. At least the world could handle the events selling the serum would bring—Terrasave and the B.S.A.A have prepared for years for that exact scenario. People would die but the world would have a much better chance.

"Are you not equally pleased?"

"Answer the question," Chris quietly demanded, looking at Albert with pained eyes.

"It's Science, Christopher. Chemistry. I mixed various serums together, added elements, took away elements—it was a process. A long, tedious process for what I assumed you wanted."

"That isn't my point."

"What is your point?"

"Did you test it with the blood of the scientists like you had told them to do when I walked in earlier?"

Albert nodded.

"What happened?"

"The serum wasn't specifically altered for any of them. It—"

"-Didn't work."

Chris sighed and lowered his head, resting his forehead on the back of the chair.

"If you had to do all of that for my blood just to make sure it bonded together—imagine the things you would need to do to every single other person you want to administer this to."

"Chris, you misunderstand. I don't plan on—"

"No, you misunderstand," Chris snapped, raising his head. "The entire planet will die. It won't adapt to a single person. Even the Wesker children had already been tested with some of the Progenitor virus before—"

"I'm well aware of what I went through, Christopher."

"And you want to put the entire world through that? For what? Revenge?"

"Humans are weak."

"Humans are stronger than you think."

Chris' tone was hard but quiet. He wasn't angry. He wasn't sad. He didn't feel betrayed or as nearly hated as the look in Albert's eye let on. He was just confused. He knew Albert had plans, knew they would push his morals far, far past their limits and he had been very prepared to turn his back on the world that he had saved countless times.

But this.

This was a step too far.

"Humans are full of mistakes but so are you, Albert. You are no better than any other human. You aren't some supreme creature. You are a person with enhanced abilities. That still makes you a person."

Albert looked insulted under the narrowed eyes and ajar mouth. He equally seemed confused, Chris realized. The blond actually thought what he was doing was right.

"I'm not going to simply cease my plans."

"I don't expect you to."

"Then what do you want, Christopher?" Albert hissed.

"I want you to rethink this."

Chris' voice was calm and at such a treatment, the blond sighed and uncrossed his arms.

"And what do you want me to do?"

"Give the world a better chance than what you're giving them, that's all. Injecting the world with various forms of the Tyrant and Progenitor virus and hoping for the best will do nothing. Try something else."

The blond grew quiet and the corner of his mouth twitched. His eyes widened for a slight moment but the appearance change was gone almost as quickly as it had come. Chris saw it though. He saw the idea spark in Albert's head almost as it came and in a blink of an eye, the façade Albert enjoyed far too much was back and covering the giddy excitement underneath.

"Perhaps you're correct."

Albert's words were distant, slow, as if he wasn't necessarily talking to Chris.

"What are you thinking, exactly?" Chris asked carefully.

Albert didn't speak though he didn't react to Chris' words either.

Chris thought about it for a moment—they were lying to each other. Already, things were messing up. Albert hadn't told him anything about releasing the progenitor virus to the world. This entire time, Chris assumed Albert's only goal was to fix the daily serum he was confined to. Of course Tricell would have another—Wait, was this actually Tricell?

Chris froze.

"Albert, who wanted to release the virus on the world?"

"What do you mean?"

"What is Tricell's role in all of this?"

"Their plan was to sell the serum. Instead, Excella and I plotted to administer it to the world."

Chris couldn't really believe it. Albert had wanted this. It wasn't Tricell threatening him or demanding anything of him. They just cared about profit. But Albert…

And he was working with Excella on top of it?

"Right, sure," Chris sighed.

Albert didn't hear him.

"You've supplied a rather interesting alternative idea. I'll return at a later time."

Chris watched Albert grab his coat and leave the room, bypassing Excella at the doorway who chased after him into the elevator. Chris watched it close and remained staring at the spot for a long, long time.