#it's literally just: Epsilon and Wash blend during the initial implantation because Wash's brain brains weird

[january-summers]

Hmmm, what's new in Plot Bunny Land today?

Pre-series canon divergence where Epsilon's self-destruction left Wash in a vegetative state, his brain is completely intact physically, but it's a case of the lights are on and no one is home.

Not one to waste resources, Director decides to use Wash's empty brain to house Alpha instead of Private Jimmy. And Alpha creates a version of himself that blends what little is left of his own sense of self with the remnant memories of Agent Washington.

So Alpha wakes up in Blood Gulch convinced he's David Church, Dr Leonard Church's son and Agent Carolina's older brother and he worked for Project Freelancer in Command and oh god oh fuck oh NO, he's responsible for his sister's death. His father had him reassigned to the backwater Blood Gulch outpost as punishment because Alpha David is still his son but Director cannot even look at him right now.

(Worse, he thinks he got his sister killed because he was distracted by an affair/breakup with Agent Texas. Allison Beth, he calls her Beth, it's her middle name and she honestly preferred it and Allison was his mother's name.)

And Florida Butch Flowers thinks: good enough.

(There's still huge gaps, but Butch manages to convince him it's from brain damage when the MOI went down, so Church rolls with it.)

Except Wash isn't gone. He was just recovering.

Tucker has many concerns about his team, his CO is... certainly something, and he's convinced Church has a split personality disorder he doesn't seem aware of.

Church's ability to hit a target with a gun is inversely proportional to how much of a prick he's being. (or: Wash can hit his target, Church still cannot.)

Caboose likes Church. All of him. The nice-ish one and the mean one and the psychotic one. All Churches are good Churches and shall be his Best Friend. Yes.

(Wash is trying not to lose himself to the trauma Epsilon left behind, tries to cling to the outgoing and social person he was before, but sometimes he just really wants to do a violence. There's nothing wrong with that.)

Obviously Wash does not die by friendly fire, but he does maybe get severely injured which still prompts additional Freelancer backup.

Freelancer reactions start with "Oh, so this is where they hid Alpha" (for those in the know) to "Why does Church seems so familiar at times? ... HOLY FUCK WHAT DID THEY DO TO WASH?!?!"

Florida's survival is optional. Options are Optional.

(Ohhhh, Florida having Wash's emp unit in case of absolute emergencies.)