Chris just clenched his eyes shut, tightly, and nodded quickly.

"Do it!" he said.

And so she did. It was awkward, and it barely worked... but it worked.

And when Chris opened his eyes again, he had a blank expression in them.

He was silent, and looked at Ashleigh intently.

Expectantly.

And she knew why. He was awaiting orders.

"..." Chris was silent.

He then closed his eyes and seemed to slump forward slightly.

He was doing as he was told.

And she had no idea who would emerge from this new... 'shell'.

One thing was certain, though... it seemed like he genuinely cared Ayla.

Even being the scummy little worm he was known to be, she could see the sincerity in his eyes.

For better or for worse, his life was genuinely about Ayla now, it seemed.

She was sitting there, waiting, for hours. However, she could see he was trying.

Every so often his facial expressions changed slightly... and she could tell that he was fighting with his memories... and what little remnants were trying to take over him once more and make him Vanessa's.

However, eventually, his eyes opened again, and he looked at her.

"..." he was silent, and she could almost see the tears threatening to emerge from his eyes.

"...my whole life has been a mistake..." he said quietly.

"I've taken all the wrong turns..."

"....not even that..." Chris muttered.

"Even before your sister... I was taking the wrong turns." he told her.

"Or... well... being led down the wrong turns." he continued.

"I never thought for myself." he said.

"My siblings always made decisions for me. Said that I should leave everything to them because they loved me." he went on.

"...they were just using me." he then said.

"....everyone's just used me in my life..."

"...." Chris was silent, and just nodded.

There was nothing more he could say here.

He knew what Ashleigh told him was right. He was finally in charge of his own life, for better or for worse. He now had at least SOME control over what happened to him in his life... barring whatever the Council and Triad decided to do with him.

And she could see that a lot was weighing on his mind right now.

Even if he meant trouble, he was far too distracted with everything right now.

The weight of all he'd done previously, and what his freedom meant to him currently, was heavy on his shoulders.

And he was merely trying to process it all.

"....I know." Chris replied quietly.

"...this is ironically cruel." he then said with a small smirk.

"I finally have some semblance of free will... and I'm at a point in my life where my fate will still be decided by others." he commented with a small laugh, though there was sadness to it.

"Oh well." he mumbled.

"I made a decision. I got Ayla away from Vanessa, and freed her from that damn shadow." he commented.

"...how IS she, anyway? Do you know?" he asked her.

"And what about Hazel?" he asked further.

"I see." Chris replied bluntly.

"...I hope they'll both be okay." he said.

"They've suffered so much... and Hazel continues to suffer..." he went on.

"I really want them both to recover." he sighed.

"But there's nothing I can really do at the moment." he mumbled, before looking at one of his hands.

"...but what CAN I do now, I wonder...?" he then muttered to himself.

"..." Chris was silent for a moment.

"It feels..." he said, trailing off a bit.

"Well, I mean..." he went on, before she saw the gears in his mind start to turn.

"Wait..." he muttered.

"I think I can-" he started to say further, before they heard some panic and commotion outside his room.

"Huh?" he mumbled.

"Wonder what's going on...?"

"...." Chris was silent for a moment.

"Um..." he mumbled, but it was too quiet for Angela to hear.

He then cleared his throat loudly, causing them to look over.

"I know, I'm awake." he said.

"But not important." he went on.

"...what's going on?" he asked.

"Is someone not in good shape or something?" he asked further, knowing that, since this was a medical wing, the chances of such an emergency were pretty high, all things considered.

"......" Chris was silent for a moment, and then Ashleigh saw the lights go on in his mind, the gears turning at full speed.

"Ah!" he exclaimed.

"We can reminisce or bicker or whatever about the past later!" he told her.

"Time's a factor here, yes?" he asked.

"...assuming she has a chance of survival, yes." Alicja replied.

"Then she CAN be saved!" Chris insisted.

"Just let me in the room where they're trying to save her!" he pleaded.

"Have Ashleigh follow me, have someone else follow me, but let me in that room!" he insisted.

"If you do, then odds are her chances of survival will increase drastically!"