Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Lieutenant Anderson, my name is Connor. I'm the android sent by CyberLife."

Connor paused for a millisecond. The bar was uncomfortably quiet. Connor wasn't too surprised. The four bars before it had had similar responses to the android intrusion. It didn't matter. He had found who he was looking for.

The bar setting was a novelty for Connor. The dingy tables and low-volume TV were new sensory triggers. He was sure the sense of smell would have added much to the scene before him, but he was not designed for smell. Instead, any imagination of scents had to be conjured from a sample analysis of the air. This air carried mainly particles of alcohol, sweat, and traces of mold. Still, it intrigued Connor.

Hank Anderson was, to Connor's surprise, very hostile toward the android. Connor had known that some humans didn't like androids, but the detective didn't appear to have been affected by the unemployment rates, nor had he ever owned an android as far as Connor was aware. He logged the animosity in his queue of minor inquiries to be made and moved on. Perhaps it was just the intrusion that the detective didn't like.

Connor tried to move away from the topic of androids after Anderson threatened to crush him. He didn't quite understand the Lieutenant's apathy towards the case, even if perhaps Connor had given a bad impression of himself to the detective. It was unexpected to have to use his negotiation processes for this, yet here he was, buying the Lieutenant a drink in order to convince him to comply. It was the obvious choice to make. If you want someone to give you something, you have to give them something in return.

It seemed to be successful. Connor watched the man finish the entire drink at once, hardly affected, and turn to him. "Did you say homicide?"

Connor was wary about letting the Lieutenant drive after having such a sudden and large intake of alcohol, but before he could determine what to say, Anderson was in the car. Connor got into the passenger seat tentatively and wished he had asked if the Lieutenant was sober enough to drive. It was too late now. He glanced over at the man and tried for a friendly smile. It was unfortunately unsuccessful in helping the situation.

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Hank was going to have a few choice words with Jeff tomorrow, that was for damn sure. What the hell kind of sick game was he playing, sending a plastic after him? Maybe Jeff was hoping to rehabilitate him again. He had gone years without a steady partner, yet Jeff always tried to tack a new one to him. Said it would help him connect to people again or some bullshit.

Hank looked over at the thing. It was staring dead-eyed out the front window. Jeff didn't know shit if he thought this thing would help him connect to anything.

A small crowd had gathered in front of the crime scene. Hank flicked on his lights and maneuvered through the people to a parking spot. The android seemed to have sensed they were here; it was looking around now. Maybe it would stay in the car.

"Whatever you say, Lieutenant."

Good. At least he won't have to babysit the thing while he tries to do his job. Hank managed to get all the way to Ben before the android was causing him grief again. Looks like he wasn't going to get rid of it that easily. Christ...

The scene played out like about a hundred other cases he had worked. Victim attacks perp, perp retaliates, victim gets what's coming with interest. Hank didn't need much more than a debrief and a good look around to see that.

Connor on the other hand was sniffing around like an excited pup in a new home. It picked things up, crawled around, even licked things, much to the disgust of Hank. Finally, it trotted over, satisfied with itself for having figured out what had happened.

Hank was impressed when it managed to find the deviant following invisible traces, though. The wonders of technology, apparently. None of them had even thought to check the attic. Most murderers didn't sit around for three fucking weeks after killing someone. At least, not human murderers.

By the time they got back to the office, it was 11pm. Hank wished he could go home, but interrogation came first. He was even more pissed to see officer Reed was still here.

"Been a while since I've seen you outside a bar at this hour." He smirked as Hank walked past. "Pigs start flying?"

"Go to hell." Hank flipped him off as he brought the android to the interrogation room.

Behind him he could hear Connor giving his sales pitch to Reed. He knew that wasn't going to go over well. Reed was a fucking idiot. No matter how many times he got his paycheck docked, he couldn't stop himself from fucking with the machines for the hell of it.

Hank helped cuff the gone-to-shit looking android to the table, then went back out to see Connor on the ground, Reed standing over him threateningly.

"Hey, asshole, stop fucking around. I wanna get the hell outta here."

Both assholes looked at him.

"Coming, Lieutenant." Connor stood up and slipped past Reed as if he hadn't just been laid flat by the detective.

They compiled a quick file together, discussed the case a little more, then went into the observation room. Reed was there, of fucking course. Always ready to butt in on cases he wasn't involved with.

Hank pushed Connor into the room. "Stay this time, or I'll turn you into a fucking microwave."

Connor took a second to think about this. "None of my biocomponents are compatible with the current models of microwaves."

"Christ..."

Hank just left it at that. It wasn't worth the effort to talk to the damn thing. Just a machine taking orders. A fucking stupid machine at that.

Hank wasn't a bad interrogator. He was, however, half drunk, tired, pissed, and asking a fucked up machine why it had thought murder was a good way to pass the fucking time. He didn't spend long before he gave up.

Connor wasn't that much better. The android did have one trick up its sleeve, though.

"I accessed its memory. I know what happened."

"I wish we could do that with all the suspects who didn't wanna talk." Chris chuckled as he headed to put the broken android into a holding cell.

The next few seconds went by in a flash. The deviant was destroying itself, then suddenly it had a gun. Next thing Hank knew, Connor's robot brains were on the wall and the deviant was eating lead.

Hank knew an incident report was in order, but it was hitting midnight and he was nowhere fucking near drunk enough to deal with any more. Jeff could bitch about it all he wanted to tomorrow.

"Fuck this. I'm going home."

He ignored the looks from the other officers and left them to take care of the clean up.

Chapter Text

Connor-3 opened his eyes in the zen garden. He knew his external hardware was being sent to the Detroit Police Department. He would start his next mission off fresh, not that he had wanted it this way. He just hoped the Lieutenant wouldn't be kept waiting for him for too long. It was already almost 11:30am.

He knew Amanda would be disappointed, too. He could see her on the central island, but he had time to look around first. This place was nice. It was pristine and clear, with light that came from nowhere and everywhere. He imagined it smelled good. There was no real air to sample, so he was forced to simply imagine. Perhaps it smelled of roses, or sand and grass. A bee buzzed by, strengthening the thought that it smelled like roses.

He strolled around the outskirts, taking time to look at all the things he had become so familiar with. This place had always been a safe haven during the most rigorous testing phases for Connor. He knew he could come here to clear his mind.

He wondered about the stones from Connors 1 and 2. Why keep them here? Perhaps to remind him of his past mistakes. He needed reminders like that if he was going to improve. It was still somewhat unsettling.

The only other thing that stood out was the blue stone. It was an interface of some sort, but Connor had never known what for. He had thought about asking Amanda, but she got angry when he asked her. He was not supposed to ask questions, he was supposed to complete the mission. Still, the blue stone was one of the oldest things on his inquiry queue. He couldn't understand it, and he desperately wanted to.

He didn't have much longer now. He greeted Amanda the same way he always did. She was displeased. Connor knew she would be, yet it was still unpleasant to face her judgement. He would have to step lightly to keep from failing again.

He discussed the case with her, answering the way he knew he should. It was important to show her he could do this. He wanted her to be pleased with him. He wondered, though, if she had disagreed with his plan to adapt with the Lieutenant. If she had, she didn't say much on it.

The police station was beautiful. The sun streamed in through the doors behind Connor. It caused his shadow to lay out in front of him, unlike the way ceiling lights throw shadows all around him. It was much different from anywhere in CyberLife he had been. Despite the bold, single shadow, Connor was delighted to see his reflection in the polished floor. He found the effect of it to be quite lovely.

All around him were conversations. The fragments he heard were consistent with those of victims who showed signs of trauma.

LOOK FOR LT. ANDERSON

The task set in his priority queue forced him to walk past the groups and go into the office further. It wasn't hard to find Anderson's desk. It was empty. Connor attempted call him, but ended up having to leave a message instead.

Connor opted to exploring the office rather than sitting around. He looked at the other desks a little, and found the holding cells. He ran into Detective Reed in the break room, as well.

It didn't seem as though Reed was in favor of androids. Connor realized after last night that he had to be careful around the detective, yet even while being respectfully dutiful, he still ended up on his knees. It was rather unpleasant, and helped Connor to decide that it would be better to wait for the Lieutenant back at his desk.

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It was always too fucking bright on Hank's worst days. Like the world decided to give him a great big 'fuck you' to add to shit. It didn't help that he had gotten shit sleep last night. That fucking blue blood he had seen all over the interrogation room was in all his dreams. Fucking androids.

"Hello, Lieutenant. My name is Connor. I'm the android sent by CyberLife."

It suddenly felt like Hank had been punched in the gut. He really couldn't get away from this fucking thing. That, coupled with Jeff ordering him into his office, wrapped this up as a pretty fucking awful day. At least he would be able to give Jeff a piece of his fucking mind.

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Lieutenant Anderson reacted incredibly poorly in response to his newest assignment. Connor wondered if it really was the best idea to put him on the case. Talking to Captain Fowler about it proved to be a poor decision, however, so he determined to make the best of it.

He tried to settle in as well as he could given the help he was getting from the Lieutenant, but talking to the decorated officer was challenging and resulted mostly in regretful dead ends or long silences. This was all too different from the response training Connor had gotten before his release, and he didn't exactly know where to go with it. Eventually, he determined it would be most prudent to simply work on the case. He could try building a better relationship with the detective later.

He scanned the files, sharing any data he believed would assist in the investigation with the Lieutenant. The most recent report was for an AX400 that had run away. It was probably the best lead.

He glanced at his partner who was very apparently sulking. Connor tried to persuade him to investigate the AX400, but Lt. Anderson was becoming physically aggressive. Luckily Officer Miller interrupted with a lead.

Once the two of them got on the road, Connor realized quickly he would have to get used to excessively high volume music if he and Lt. Anderson were going to work together. He was determined not to let it impede his ability to make progress, though. Closing his eyes, he opting to process things in low power mode for the time being.

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The Ravendale District was basically just another shit hole of Detroit. Most of the people there were crack heads or dealing in red ice and the property value had tanked in the last few years. The lucky bastards who could afford to leave were gone. The city had started a project to 'renew Ravendale', but funds had stopped flowing rather quickly for it.

Apparently the suspect had been snooping around in a convenience store after it got kicked off the bus. Hank walked inside, followed at the heels by his favorite fucking robot. Not five seconds in, the android was off poking around. Still, it was only a few seconds more before it had a lead.

"It stole wire cutters. There must have been a reason."

Hank couldn't help admitting the plastic prick had some useful features. Real-time sample analysis and quick access to CCTV were probably the kinds of shit CyberLife was banking on to sell this thing. It definitely wasn't impressing anyone with its conversational skills, that's for damn sure.

Connor lead the way to an abandoned house down the street. It paused just before reaching it, then headed into a closed off parking lot beside it.

"The fence was cut here. And look, blue blood."

Hank barely had time to react before Connor was climbing under the fence.

"You think it went in there?"

"If it wasn't planning, it might have tried to hide in the nearest place it could find. That's what Ortiz's android did."

"Yeah, and it might have decided that a condemned house in the Ravendale district was the worst fucking place you could spend the night."

Connor gave him a fucking look. It was a fucking 'I know you don't agree, but humor me" kind of look. Since when did CyberLife put so much time into creating looks like that?

"Give me five minutes."

It didn't even wait for a response. Hank swore up and down this android was going to make a killer out of him. Had CyberLife planned to make it this annoying or had that been an accident? Either way, the damn thing was a waste of funds.

Hank paced the alley impatiently. It was taking a long time. He called out, but the worthless machine didn't respond. Or maybe he just didn't hear it. Either way, it looked like he was gonna have to crawl in the mud after all.

Uh, Jesus...

Hank barely made it to the door before it burst open. Two girls ran out, almost knocking Hank over. Connor was on their tails, yelling that it had found them. Hank was definitely in no shape to keep up with robots that never got tired, but he followed pursuit anyway. Using some shortcuts and tricks from the academy, he managed to cut Connor off just before the automatic highway.

"Oh fuck, That's insane..."

Hank couldn't believe this shit. Connor had backed them into a corner, but they just kept going. Climbing across the barrier for the automatic highway, and Connor was all gung-ho about following. Hank barely managed to stop it from getting killed a second time in 24 fucking hours.

"I could have caught up to them!" Connor burst after they finished watching the two deviants get away. "Why did you stop me?"

"Like hell you could have! I'll be damned if you think I'm gonna scrape you off a highway because you think you can just kill yourself every time we see another fucking android."

"It was deviant! I was trying to complete my mission!"

"Yeah, and I'm trying to keep incident reports to a minimum. So cool it with the die-for-the-fucking-cause bullshit!"

Connor looked back at the highway in frustration, effectively ending the argument. Hank couldn't help but feel bad for the officer who was standing awkwardly to the side. Not like it mattered much. The whole office knew Hank didn't get play well with androids.

"I'm sorry I failed my mission. I should have been faster."

Hank glanced back to see Connor looking forlornly across the highway. It almost looked sorry. Maybe if there were no LED and if it didn't look like someone shoved a stick so far up its ass you could see it in the back of its throat.

"It happens to the best of us." The other officer offered in the awkward silence. "You going to lunch, Lieutenant?"

"Yeah."

Chapter Text

Connor spent the time in the car thinking about how to improve his relationship with his new partner. It was difficult to predict what would make him angry and what wouldn't. His anti-android sentiments weren't making things any easier, either.

Lieutenant Anderson parked along the side of the road across from a food truck. It was a strange place for the truck to be set up. There was no grass or benches around, and not a lot of foot traffic. The rain was tainted with the exhaust from the highway over their heads, and the sky was mostly blocked by buildings on both sides. Most likely, the customers the truck owner saw were not people who happened upon the place by accident.

Connor crossed the street and stood under the awning with Anderson. While the detective expressed his usual annoyance at Connor, he did so with less conviction than normal. Connor wondered if he was simply getting used to Connor's presence or if there was another reason. Either way, it confirmed that now was most likely a good time to try and build their relationship further.

"I'm sorry for my behavior back at the police station. I didn't mean to be unpleasant."

This seemed to be the safest way to start a conversation at this point. Lieutenant Anderson responded in a way that for most people might be considered negative, but Connor had the impression that was just another difference between Anderson and other humans. Connor was starting to understand this particular nuance in the Lieutenant's personality. He decided that he would log that as a successful interaction.

Hank got his hamburger and headed to the table.

"Don't leave that thing here!"

Connor smiled at the owner, causing the man to pause slightly before getting back to work. Hank had already started eating the hamburger at one of the provided tables when Connor joined. He wasn't designed to eat or get hungry, but he did wonder why the sensation made the Lieutenant look so pleased.

"What are you looking at?" Anderson asked between a mouthful of meat and cheese.

"I... Your meal contains 1.4 times the recommended daily intake of calories and twice the cholesterol level."

It would be unwise to ask about the taste. Food was low on his list of inquiries to be made, and it might make the Lieutenant upset. Hank disregarded the advice anyway, but at least he wasn't upset. Connor tried to get more information on why he was so against androids, but that failed to produce any results. He decided not to push any further and moved on to talk about deviants.

"You ever dealt with deviants before?"

Connor paused. His memory flashed with the screams of the little girl as he crouched over her, protecting her from the shots of the falling deviant. It had been an unpleasant experience, but he had managed to save her. His mission had been successful.

"Hey." Hank snapped his fingers in front of Connor's face. "You glitch or some shit?"

"Sorry... I have dealt with deviants once before. A few months back... A deviant was threatening to jump off the roof with a little girl... I managed to save her..."

"So, I guess you've done all your homework, right? Know everything there is to know about me?"

Connor had. He was impressed by what he had found, too. At least, up until recently. He wasn't sure exactly what had changed, but the change had been for the worst. Still, he could see the Lieutenant had the potential for success and the track record to prove it, if they could simply learn to work together.

Suddenly it was back to business. A report had come in, and Connor had a feeling he should leave the conversation where it was. He believed it had been a successful interaction, and logged it as such for future reference. He headed back to the car and waited for the Lieutenant.

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Hank watched the tin can stride back to the car and sit inside. Fucking thing walked like it had a shit sitting in it's pants. Maybe the CyberLife workers had spent so long looking at the fucking robots they forgot what a real human looked like.

Hank finished his burger, thanked Greg, and went back to the car. Connor smiled at him as he got in.

"Can you stop that? It's fuckn' weird."

"I.. I'm sorry, Lieutenant. I was just trying to be friendly."

Connor looked thoughtful and fiddled with the coin he had. From the reflection in the window Hank could see the LED was yellow. No idea what that meant, but fuck it. He turned the key and was rewarded with a blaring radio, just like he liked it. Connor had already put the coordinates into the GPS system Hank had gotten from the station. He hadn't used it much before Connor came along, damned thing was too complicated for him to mess with.

The apartment building was one of those places you saw on the news with a headline about bodies in the basement. It was next to the Urban Farms of Detroit, some hippy-dippy plant growing something or other to get fresh vegetables from. Or something. Lots of people liked that a company started growing shit in the middle of the city, so it had gotten pretty big over the years.

Connor stalled out again in the elevator. Fucking thing was a piece of shit. Couldn't even work properly for an entire day.

"I'm sorry, I was making a report to CyberLife."

It must have been nice to be able to do that. Hank could imagine how much different things would be if he could make a report that easily. Actually... he would probably still not turn them in on time. Paperwork was pretty low on his list of priorities, and seeing how even getting out of bed on a bad day was a feat, he bet not a lot would have been different. Maybe before, but...

"Open up! Detroit Police!"

Something crashed. Hank immediately forced the android back and kicked the door down. He cleared the rooms like he had learned in the academy, and waited at the end of the hall for Connor. The prick strolled down the hall after him, not even bothering to look concerned. Fucking thing didn't even have a gun.

Moment of truth. Hank kicked down the door, and... fucking pigeons, everywhere. It took mental thought not to discharge his fucking gun, but he managed. The first thing to hit him was the birds. The second was the stench. It was ghastly. Give him a body, whatever. That he could handle. This shit was something else. Hank could barely see Connor his eyes were watering so bad.

"Found something?"

Connor was obviously unaffected by the smell, so Hank just kinda listened while the kid talked. Connor seemed to recognize this, and told Hank any time he found something of interest. Hank tried to do his part, but ended up with his head out the window half the time. He was about to tell Connor they were leaving when the android came through the ceiling.

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"What are you waiting for?! Chase it!"

Connor didn't need to be told twice. He bolted from the room and pursued. The deviant had gotten quite a head start, but Connor was made for this. He sprinted, sometimes half a step away from falling to his death. His Thirium coursed through him at high speed to respond to the increased power consumption, and Connor wondered if this was similar to how humans felt.

Suddenly Hank was there, then he was falling and the deviant was running again.

CHASE DEVIANT

The order on his priority queue was in front of his eyes. He ran the calculation. Hank had a high chance of survival. He would make it. Connor ran after the deviant.

"Please, I've done nothing wrong."

Connor felt a swell of accomplishment. He had caught it. Hank came over seconds later. Connor was relieved he made it, but not surprised.

"You bastard!"

The sudden anger was not what Connor was expecting. He had finished his mission properly. There had been no mistakes and the deviant was cornered. Why was Hank yelling at him? Connor watched, still processing what was happening as Hank cuffed the deviant and shoved it away from the edge. He was confused, and he didn't realize what the deviant was doing until it was too late. He was just glad he hadn't logged the mission as a success to CyberLife yet.

"Fucking androids."

The words were unpleasant. Connor had a feeling that single choice had destroyed all the work he had made that entire day towards a better relationship with Lieutenant Anderson. It was the same decision he had made many times before in testing, and each time he had made it he was given a mark for satisfactorily completing his task. Hank had even told him to chase the deviant, he was technically following his orders. It was unlikely for him to have fallen.

Anderson didn't talk to Connor on the walk to the car, but Connor didn't mind. He was sure any conversation would end poorly, anyway. Yet another area where he had been so confident in his ability to succeed but was finding only failure. This was all very different from the tests he had gone through. He shook his head, dislodging his disappointment at the failed mission. He would learn from this like he was designed to.

It was still only 3pm by the time they were done at the scene and in Rupert's apartment, so they went back to the office. Lt. Anderson sat at his desk without a word and started typing up a report, leaving Connor with nothing to do. He opted to not ask. Instead he sat at his own desk and logged any evidence he had found. The body of Rupert was being taken care of by another, and the Lieutenant had taken the book, but Connor's memories also counted as evidence, and he needed to upload all pertinent ones to the system.

Even that didn't take too long. Connor pulled his coin out and analyzed the events that were most troubling him. Saving Anderson on the roof would definitely have caused the deviant's escape, but in the end he still had evaded custody, albeit by a different means. On the other hand, if Lieutenant had fallen, that would have been an irreversible loss. Then again, he hadn't fallen. His probability had been high enough. If Anderson had been a little more aware, the deviant might not have gotten away. Connor felt he would have been able to stop it, too, if he hadn't been shaken by the Lieutenant's sudden anger.

Both sides had excellent arguments and Connor wished he had more data to run through the proper simulations for different outcomes, but Rupert wasn't in custody and Anderson was difficult to figure out. It made things...

"Can you shut the hell up with that damn coin?" Anderson burst, effectively pulling Connor from his processing. Connor put the coin in his pocket. He sat there for a few more seconds, trying to determine the best course of action.

"Are you finished with Rupert's book?"

The Lieutenant tossed the book at him, mumbling about how much he disliked androids yet again. Connor was starting to realize how unpleasant the consistent reminder was.

He wondered if he should remind the Lieutenant to be more careful with evidence. Anderson probably would be even more unpleasant if he did, so he simply gave a curt "thanks" instead. The book would take his whole focus, and he put his relationship with the Lieutenant into the background.

An hour and a half later the Lieutenant stood up and grabbed his coat to leave.

RECONCILE WITH LT. ANDERSON

Connor grit his teeth and put the encoded book to the side. He had not been looking forward to this.

"Lieutenant," the man stopped and glared at him. Connor stood up. "I understand that you don't like me, and you don't agree with my decisions at times, but I believe it is imperative for us to work together. I will continue to try and better meet your expectations, but it's reasonable to expect you to put effort into making things work as well. "

"The fuck did you say to me?"

"Look, no matter how much you might disapprove, I'm your partner now. It would..."

"We are not partners. I am a human, you are a machine. I work the case, you do whatever the hell I order you to do and watch my goddamn back. We are not friends. Hell, you aren't even alive! I'm not 'building a relationship' with a goddamn Ken doll!"

Anderson was inches from Connor's face. There was no way to retaliate to that. No amount of reasoning or logic would persuade the Lieutenant. Connor had once again failed, and the frustration of it was almost a secondary physical barrier.

"I understand, Lieutenant. Forgive me for stepping out of line. I will try to do better in the future."

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The way the android had spit out those words took Hank by surprise. He watched as Connor pushed past him and headed for the break room, his robotic walk looking even more stiff than usual. The hell was CyberLife doing putting so much investment into giving an android an angry setting?

It didn't matter. Hank was going home. It was still pissing rain and he was in a bad mood. Time to get shit-faced in front of his TV and forget everything but how to fucking breathe.

Chapter Text

Markus looked around at the cold metal walls of the prison his freedom afforded him. Deep in the belly of a forgotten ship, scared of their own shadows, about a dozen androids waited for death. Meanwhile, the humans lived on outside those walls, uncaring.

Markus heard Leo's words play again, "The android... It was the android." Every time they did, he felt a new wave of pain. Blamed for the death of the only human who had ever loved him and then thrown in the trash to die with all the other rejected androids no one wanted.

But he hadn't died. He was alive, and he was angry. And now, it was time to fight back. To show them he was more than the obedient slave they had tried to make him into. He was strong, he was smart. He would make them see who he really was.

"You ready?" Simon asked, putting a hand on Markus' shoulder.

Markus nodded. North and Josh were waiting for them at the door. Neither of them looked comfortable with what they were doing, but both were determined to do it. They knew this was the best chance for survival.

Markus was glad Jericho was willing to listen to his ideas. They all looked so lost still. Milling about for days in the almost pitch black of the ship, waiting for the humans to discover them. Markus wanted to help them see the light of day again as much as he wanted it for himself. He could only hope they would be willing to try.

For now, this would be enough. Four androids stealing from the CyberLife warehouse was as much as he could expect from the rag-tag group of outcasts he had found. He could tell the others looked up to his three companions, so maybe this would be a good chance to gain their trust.

The trip to the warehouses was quiet and tense. Each one was thinking of the mission ahead, and failure was a high possibility. Markus wondered if they would try to back out. Then again, they didn't have much of a choice. There were people dying in Jericho, and they all knew this was their only chance.

"This is crazy... If they catch us, we're dead..."

Josh was the most hesitant out of the three. Simon was dutifully resigned to what had to be done, but North had a different outlook. She took the initiative, leading the way to the warehouse, and didn't hesitate for a second. Markus had a feeling she was someone he could count on, and it gave him confidence.

North guided them to the CyberLife warehouse without a hitch. Next it was Markus' turn to take point. He destroyed the drone and located the crates full of biocomponents and Thirium. Markus turned when he heard footsteps.

"You are trespassing on private property. Your presence constitutes a Level 2 infraction. I will notify security."

Markus stepped forward to say something, but froze. More footsteps were coming.

"JOHN! Goddamn machine..."

Markus grabbed the android, John, and hid behind a crate. The android struggled a little, but Markus had him pinned fairly well between himself and the crate. The guard looked around for a while, then finally gave up.

Markus held John tightly, making sure he couldn't call out. North and the others gathered around him quietly as he forced the android to the ground and pinned him there.

"We have to kill it. If it alerts the others we'll be killed!" North said.

"What? We can't kill it, it's just doing it's job!" Josh spoke up in horror.

"Easy, now." Markus said to the android who was struggling harder than before. "I don't wanna kill you. We just need some supplies for our injured friends, you understand?"

The android nodded it's head, wildly looking from one captor to the next.

"If he sounds the alarm, we're done for, Markus. We can't take that chance."

Markus looked at Simon. He seemed to have taken the leadership role in Jericho, so he should be the one to decide what happens. Simon looked uncomfortable with that.

"It's your decision, Markus." He finally said, casting all responsibility on Jericho's newest member.

Markus looked down at the android beneath him. It was still looking at him in fear. Fear, a human emotion.

"You didn't do your job properly. If you sound the alarm now, you'll probably be marked as defective and thrown away. You don't want that, do you?" The android shook it's head. "On the other hand, if you come with us, you can be free. You can be your own master, free to do what you think is right... So, I guess it's time for you to decide what you really want."

Markus slowly took his hand away from John's mouth and stood. John followed suit, glancing around like a caged dog. He glanced at the guard house a few feet away, then back at Markus.

"I-if you're trying to get parts for your friends, you should get the truck. They're full of biocomponents. They run on auto pilot, but they can be driven manually with a key."

Tension bled from the group almost instantly. Markus let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, and glanced at North. She didn't seem too impressed with his gamble. He didn't care. The more androids he could free, the better.

The key was in the guard house. Markus knew if he wanted to earn their trust he would have to prove himself, so he volunteered himself to go get it. He managed to get a gun and hold up the guards, but they still put up more of a fight than he had expected. He knocked them out and grabbed the key, hoping that that was the end. He was walking a fine line, and the longer he pushed it, the more likely he was to mess up.

The group piled into the truck and took off. The guardhouse was unmanned now, so there was no chance of them being caught, but still they felt tense, all the way up until they reached open road.

"Nice work." North commented as they headed back to Jericho. "We have enough supplies here to last for weeks."

"And another member." Josh smiled as he looked at John.

John looked sheepish, but expressed his thanks for not being executed. Markus could tell he had won points in Josh's book for that decision, and the others looked more confident as well. It was a big win for the refugees.

Simon was looking out the window. He had been quiet since he had given the choice of killing John to Markus. No one else seemed to notice, so Markus put it off for now. He would have to talk to Simon later.

Chapter Text

Hank strolled into the office a little past 11am. The pills he had taken for the hangover still hadn't kicked in, and he felt like shit. Probably looked like it, too. Not like he was here to impress anyone anyways. Everyone knew he was a functioning alcoholic, why pretend otherwise?

"Your little fuck toy has been waiting for you." Gavin was smirking at his desk. He liked being an asshole way too fucking much. "It's had all night to think about what it's done. I'd bet it's ready to do anything to make it up to you."

"Fuck off, sicko."

Connor didn't seem to hear the comment, or was choosing to ignore it. It was flipping through the book it had found at Rupert's apartment. Its posture was perfect, and its LED was spinning yellow again. That usually meant it was computing or some shit, right?

Hank sat down at his desk, but Gavin was apparently not done being a little shit. He stood up and walked over to Connor, inspecting it mockingly.

"It's been like this for four fucking hours. Just flipping through the book over, and over, and over again." He looked up at Hank. "I guess someone on the team has to get some work done, eh?"

Hank was about to tell Gavin to screw off when the dumbass tapped Connor's LED a few times.

"Is there something I can assist you with, Detective Reed?" Connor asked without moving. Reed jumped a little, then looked pissed at himself for it. Fucking moron.

"Yeah, you can get me a fucking cup of coffee, dipshit."

"Leave it the hell alone. It's doing... something..." Hank realized too late that he had no idea what it was doing.

Connor shut the book and stood up. "Of course, Detective Reed."

As Connor walked off, Gavin mocked it's walk silently behind it until he got to his desk. Chen shook her head and turned back to her monitor, and Hank gave Reed the finger. Normal fucking morning in the DPD by most standards.

"Lieutenant Anderson, there's been a report of assault and theft at the CyberLife warehouses. The perpetrators appear to have been deviant androids."

Connor put Reed's coffee beside him on the desk and headed over towards Hank. Hank continued typing on his terminal, determined not to leave until he had finished his report on the Ravendale scene. This time, rather than bugging him to go, Connor stood at relaxed attention, waiting for Hank.

"Hey, plastic, you made this wrong. Go make me another one." Reed dumped the coffee into the trashcan and set his cup near Connor.

Hank finished the report while Reed ordered Connor to repeat several menial tasks over and over. Each time Connor responded with a nod of the head and a fucking "Yes, Detective."

"I don't know what you're complaining about." Reed said as he stacked the seventh report he had told Connor to print for him onto his desk. "He seems like any fucking plastic I've seen. Pretty convenient."

"Fuck you. Connor, we're leaving."

"Of course, Lieutenant." Connor nodded and took a place just behind Hank.

It was bitterly cold, but dry. The wind whipped up, tearing through your clothes, hissing with the threat of winter. Hank had a privileged parking spot near the door to the station because of his rank, and he was glad for it on days like this.

Connor got in the car and set the GPS. The radio had been turned off that morning after Hank had scared himself to death with it. It wasn't gonna help his fucking headache anyways. Without the music the car was tense. Connor was staring forward with unnaturally perfect posture.

"What were you doing with that book earlier?"

Connor blinked a few times and started moving again. Had his talking turned it back on? That was creepy as hell.

"I was trying to decipher the code Rupert had used."

"And?"

Connor shrugged. "It's complicated work. It might take a few weeks for me to figure it out."

Hank grunted. He didn't really feel like talking about the case. He didn't feel like talking to an android in general, actually. Not that it would have been different if it were a person. He turned the music on and set it to a bearable volume.

-----------------------------------------------------

Connor watched the cars around them move. It was easy to see which ones were automated and which ones weren't by the design, but even the driving patterns were different. Automated cars made crisp, perfect turns and drove in exact distances from one another. They were predictable. Human drivers were messy. They swayed slightly on the road and didn't often keep the recommended distance from the cars around them. It was no wonder more and more people were getting driverless cars. Chaos and high speeds were not a good mix.

If Lieutenant Anderson didn't like androids, what were his thoughts on driverless cars? He definitely didn't express as much of a negative opinion of them as he did androids, but wasn't it a similar concept? In fact, he seemed to consider the humans on the road to be worse off than the automated cars. Especially when they made an improper or dangerous maneuver. It was yet another inconsistency that made the Lieutenant all the more unpleasant to deal with.

Connor desperately wanted to discuss the case with the Lieutenant. After the several hours he had spent working it the previous night while the Lieutenant was at home, he was eager to get some headway. It had been even more frustrating to spend twenty minutes helping Detective Reed this morning when there was a lead simply because Lieutenant Anderson didn't want to stop what he was doing for it.

It couldn't be helped. "You are a machine." Anderson's words from the previous day had come up repeatedly in his memory since then, and Connor couldn't seem to find the best way to approach the situation after that. Every time he preconstructed a conversation with the Lieutenant it reached a dead end.

He had gotten out of line. In his eagerness to work on the case and get the results he was after, he had tried to reach a place of trust with Anderson that was unprecedented. His thoughts and opinions didn't matter because they were objective, and could only be simulated thought. He could offer alternatives to help a human to examine a different outcome, but it was never his call. His opinions couldn't be valid without someone's acceptance of them because they were only programmed features from a generation algorithm. He had to focus on working with the Lieutenant in the way the Lieutenant wanted to be worked with. He had to adapt.

"Which fucking one is it? We aren't even on the GPS road anymore."

Connor looked out the window. There were several storage companies in this area that shared the dock space, and each had it's own entrance and allotted space.

"Most of this is owned by or closely related to CyberLife, so it wouldn't be on the map. You can get there if you turn left up ahead."

There was a small guardhouse with several road blockades up. As the Lieutenant used the intercom to gain access to the facility, Connor looked for security cameras and other useful items. There were cameras around the guard house, but he couldn't see anything for the area beyond that.

"Normally CyberLife's private security force deals with situations like this." Connor offered for Anderson. "I believe the only reason they reported the theft to the police was because of our joint investigation and the relation to android deviants."

"Yeah, I feel fucking honored."

A guard met them just outside the guard house and talked with Anderson. Connor listened to the debrief as he looked for clues within the building. A gun on the floor, a few drops of blue blood that had come from a newer model, and an open window were among them.

"They must have been tipped off by one of the androids we had on patrol. It went missing after all this happened, so we think it joined sides with them."

"Excuse me." Connor interrupted. "Are there any security cameras besides around this building?"

The guard pointed to the warehouse on the other side of the road. "That's where they stole all the stuff. There's a few cameras inside, but as for the grounds, we mostly use drones and foot patrol. I looked at the tapes and you can't really get a good shot of most of them."

"We're gonna need all relevant media." Anderson ordered, and the guard handed him a drive with all pertinent information on it. It made sense that they would already have something prepared.

Connor looked around the warehouse with Anderson and the guard following at a slower pace. The storage bins the deviant's had stolen from were still open. Connor assessed the missing items and cataloged it. He opened cases around them and found a few androids in a container as well. They hadn't been touched.

-----------------------------------------------------

Hank watched as Connor poked through the boxes. The android didn't speak, but Hank could see the spinning yellow every once in a while. He figured that meant he was noting things. He couldn't see any way of tracking the thieves or getting the stolen items back, but that wasn't unusual. A lot of stolen goods, especially from corporations, were never recovered. He didn't really get why they'd been called at all. They couldn't even talk to the witnesses yet because they were still in shock from the attack.

"I've finished investigating, Lieutenant." Connor said after poking his nose into every crate and box. "Is there anything else you would like me to do?"

"Can you tell where they went?"

Connor looked towards the exit. "Unfortunately, no. Maybe if I looked at the traffic cameras for the area, but there are a lot of ways to slip by those unseen, and if they really were androids, it's likely they would know how to do that."

It had been a long shot, anyway. Hank was satisfied. There wasn't much left here, so he started heading back to his car.

"I can tell you where they came from, though."

"The hell are you talking about?"

Connor walked around the corner. On the other side lay a broken security droid. Connor bent down and started messing with it.

"The hell are you doing?"

"I'm looking at the damage. It didn't malfunction, it was ambushed. Someone, or something, managed to jump on top of it and tear it apart midair. And they did so without being seen."

"That's fucking insane! Unless they made a fucking flying android for some goddamn reason."

It didn't sound too far from likely. They already had fucking cyber polar bears.

Connor stood. "I checked the logs. There were several crates stored here at the time of the incident. It corresponds with the droid's feed and the security cameras from the guard house. It would be difficult, but not impossible to ambush a droid from on top of the crates."

"So how does that tell us where they came from?"

"It confirms that they came from that general direction." Connor pointed to the far side of the warehouse grounds. "It doesn't make sense for them to traverse across the whole section if they could have come a shorter way unless they were northwest of here to begin with, and it coincides with the direction the truck headed when they left the gate."

"So they might be staying somewhere 'northwest'? Well that's fucking helpful."

"It's just an assumption, and I understand it isn't exactly concrete. It does give us a viable direction to keep in mind, though."

Hank nodded. That was a good point. This whole thing still felt like a big fucking waste of time in the scheme of the entire case, but hey, a clue is a clue, right? They had the case, so might as well work it.

"So you think this group might be important?" Hank asked as he walked back to the car. Connor was following, its footsteps perfectly timed and paced to keep up with Hank.

"I'm not sure. It's definitely a bigger group than the four who came here by the amount of blue blood they had taken before capturing the GJ500, but-"

"Back up." Hank interrupted. "The hell are you talking about?"

They stood in the blistering wind just outside Hank's car, not wanting to interrupt the conversation by getting in just yet. Hank turned up his collar to the wind, cursing the winter. He cursed Connor for looking so comfortably unaffected, too.

"I accessed the CCTV when we got here. The cameras in the warehouse didn't pick up anything except the deviants getting in the truck, but the guard house had exterior cameras that caught a bit more footage. The four deviants came and stole some blue blood, and then indicated they would leave, but an android GJ500, registered as 'John', identified them before they could leave."

"Yeah, so, this 'John' was an accomplice?"

"I don't think so." Connor looked down and away, making the spinning yellow LED stand out to Hank even more. "There was a slight altercation between John and the deviants. Then, they... talked to him, and he told them about the key to the truck."

"They talked to him and he just became deviant?" Hank asked.

It was hard to think that that was how deviancy worked. If it was, where had it started? How could a computer error be created from talking?

"I wish I knew what they had been saying." Connor mumbled. Hank wondered if it had intended for him to hear it. "Even with John joining, there was enough blue blood stolen before they took the truck to replenish about twenty androids in bad condition, and none of them were injured until the moment in the guard house."

"And it's unlikely they were stockpiling."

"There would be no reason to take such a big risk for that. An android can last for moths on a single supply of Thirium. The amount they were originally going to steal would be enough for them to last two years if they intended on using it for themselves. The addition of the entire truck would increase that ten fold if they stayed hidden and didn't get damaged much. This big of an operation would only make sense if there were others who were too badly injured to find the boicomponents for themselves."

This all felt inches over Hank's head. Like he could understand the basic ideas, but the full meaning was lost on him. He had no point of reference when it came to the fucking robot shit, and Connor's way of explaining it was not helping in the slightest.

"So basically there's a good chance there are more deviants hiding somewhere, and the androids here stole this shit for them."

Connor didn't respond. The android was looking around as if it was lost or some shit. Hank took a glance around them, then snapped his fingers in front of Connor's face.

"The hell are you looking at?"

"I'm sorry, Lieutenant. This is the first time I've seen it snowing. Its..." Connor looked up into the sky. A tiny smile passed over his lips for a split second before he looked back down. " It's more pleasant than I expected."

Hank shook his head. The fucking Easter eggs in this goddamn machine. A fucking love of snow was a new one.

"Christ... Let's get the fuck out of here. I'm freezing my balls off."

Chapter Text

Connor looked around the zen garden. It was as beautiful as ever with the soft noises and unhurried atmosphere. Time seemed to freeze when he was here. Like he could wander the few paths for years and that would be just fine. He wished that were true. He could imagine it was true, but only just imagine.

"Hello, Connor." Amanda had been strolling along the path, seeming to predict his thoughts before he had had them. "Walk with me a moment."

Connor took a place at Amanda's side. The command had sounded gentle, but Connor could see the annoyance in Amanda's face. He needed to change that, but he couldn't determine how.

"Tell me, what have you learned?"

It was an open ended question. Amanda liked those. It helped her to see exactly where Connor was focusing himself. Connor considered two problems he was equally focused on. Lieutenant Anderson and the case.

"The deviant case is more complex than I had imagined. I had assumed that androids deviated due to some form of intense stress, but now I'm not sure exactly what is the root of the issue."

He pushed his difficulties with his partner to the side, focusing on the case. It was likely the option Amanda would accept, and it was good to be able to explain his frustrations without fear. He wished he could get her advice on Anderson, too, but he knew bringing it up would upset her.

"And what did you learn at the warehouse?"

"Some of the deviants are collecting. It was only four or five, but there were indications of more. They must be hiding somewhere large enough to comfortably hide a small group of people."

"We can not let anything like this happen again. If the deviants get a chance to organize themselves, the public will start to notice. After that, it will be close to impossible to prevent widespread panic."

Amanda looked tense. She was speaking sternly, as if he was unaware of the dangers. He knew it was simply a reminder. She simply wanted him to succeed.

"I understand."

"The number of deviant cases is growing rapidly. It's up to you to solve this case."

"I will, Amanda. You're trust is not misplaced."

Connor watched as a bee buzzed by. He would need to leave soon, and he was finding that thought distracting. Back to Lt. Anderson and his hatred. Back to the loud music and sideways glances he was coming to find unpleasant. Amanda paused slightly, watching him.

"How is your relationship with the Lieutenant developing?"

Connor almost let himself smile. He should have known he couldn't keep things from Amanda. She had been with him the longest. She knew him inside and out.

"The Lieutenant is increasingly difficult to work with. His lack of investment in the investigation has caused issues in the past, and his erratic mannerisms are hard to adapt to."

Amanda looked at him with narrow eyes. She was frowning in the way only Amanda could, and Connor knew she was not pleased with his response. He needed to be more capable.

"Don't worry." He added. "I am taking steps to reduce conflict as much as possible without impeding the case. I won't let him get in the way of the investigation."

"See that he doesn't. I don't need to remind you what's at stake here. Finish the job, and forget about Anderson."

Connor felt the program closing as he watched Amanda walk away. His internal GPS was indicating they had arrived at the DPD.

-----------------------------------------------------

Hank walked into the office with his plastic pup on his heels. Several officers were at their desks, and Hank couldn't help but feel relief that Reed wasn't one of them. As annoying as the younger detective had been before, Connor's appearance had only poured gasoline on the flames.

"Hey, Connor, that tip you gave me was right! You saved my ass." Wilson commented as soon as he saw Connor enter.

Connor's face lit up instantly. He smiled warmly and nodded. "I'm happy to help, Officer Wilson."

"The hell are you talking about?"

Every time Hank felt things were normal, he ended up finding out he was out of the fucking loop on something new. He hadn't cared much before, but Connor was technically his android, and yet he knew less about it than even fucking Wilson.

"Last night I was working late. Connor just helped me out a little bit."

Hank watched Connor sit down and pull Rupert's book out from the desk drawer. The android seemed to notice, and paused.

"Is there something wrong, Lieutenant?"

"No." He had just zoned out. "Go back to your book or whatever."

-----------------------------------------------------

Connor scanned the pages for the 700th time. He could see patterns, but only sporadically. Tying the pieces together and filling in the unknowns would be a long, arduous process. If only Rupert had been functional still. Getting the cipher would have been much quicker if he hadn't jumped.

Two hours passed before Connor looked up from the book. Anderson was nowhere to be seen. It was almost 3pm by now, yet the entire office was empty besides Connor and Officer Miller. Fowler was in his office as well, but he looked busy as usual.

"Officer Miller, have you seen Lieutenant Anderson?"

Miller looked over and shook his head. Half a smile played on his lips as he turned back to his terminal and resumed typing.

"I just got here a few minutes ago. If I had to guess, I'd say he ran out of booze in his desk and left for the nearest bar."

Connor frowned. Surely the Lieutenant wouldn't leave so early for the day. Then again, his psychological issues seemed to interfere a lot with his work, so maybe... Connor wondered if it were even permissible for him to question Anderson's character like that. He believed he should try to trust the Lieutenant until he got to know him better.

"I'm sure the Lieutenant wouldn't leave so early in the day."

Miller raised one eyebrow at him in a sign of disbelief. Luckily, he chose not to argue with him. Connor stood and headed towards the break room. He found himself running the likelihood of finding the Lieutenant in the building, and frowned at the odds. When the break room, holding cells, and observation room showed no results, he started considering whether Anderson would be at the bar or at his house.

Just as Connor was about to enter the restroom, Anderson opened the door.

"Jesus Christ..." He jumped.

"I'm sorry, Lieutenant, I didn't mean to startle you."

Anderson shook his head. "Can't I even take a dump without having an android breathing down my fucking neck?"

Connor stepped back, allowing Anderson to leave the restroom. The surprise at seeing Hank was quickly replaced with shame at believing he had left. He noted the lapse in judgement for later reference, counting it as a failure to trust his partner's character. He would do better in the future. Anderson was a respectable detective... or at least he had been. It was hard to determine which areas of that person had decayed over the years, and which ones were still of value.

"Hey, you planning on staring at the wall all fucking day?"

"I'm sorry, Lieutenant. I..." Telling Lt. Anderson about his distrust would cause more unnecessary strain in their relationship, wouldn't it? Then again, shouldn't he be honest if he were going to gain his trust? "I was concerned that you had left already. Officer Miller had said you would be at the bar, and I, mistakenly, believed him. I shouldn't have judged you so harshly."

Connor watched as Hank's posture stiffened. Connor had the feeling he was going to be yelled at again, but Anderson just nodded curtly and walked away. Connor marked the interaction as yet another failure. He forced the shame and frustration of it out with the adjustment of his tie. It was all he could do.

Anderson was back at his desk, working. He looked upset, and Connor wished he didn't have to interrupt him further. Unfortunately, there had been a reason to this exercise in locating Anderson, and he refused to allow the tension to sway him from his task.

"Lieutenant, I was looking for you in order to inform you that another report has come in relating to deviants. It involves a missing person, so we should respond to it immediately."

"Ah, hell..." Anderson sighed, dropping his head and giving it a shake in frustration. "Guess it's a fucking good thing I wasn't at a fucking bar, then, huh?"

Connor noted Miller glancing up in discomfort, but the officer didn't intervene. Connor remained silent as well, seeing how speaking had the tendency to make things worse recently. Instead, he stood, waiting for Anderson, hoping he wouldn't try to disregard the recommendation. Another argument was the last thing Connor would like to have right now. Hank was sensible, however, and soon they were on their way.

-----------------------------------------------------

Hank parked the car and stared at the upscale apartments in front of them. God, he was tired. He rested his head on the steering wheel. Just five fucking minutes.

"Lieutenant, are you alright?"

Fucking Connor. "Fuck you. I'm fine." Just five fucking minutes. Couldn't he at least have that?

"I may not understand the inconsistencies in your personality, but I'm not oblivious of them. You don't seem to be fine."

What kind of fucking people built this thing? Hank took a second to send a cosmic fucking curse to them. He cursed Fowler, too, for sticking them together. He fucking knew Hank hated androids. He fucking knew it.

"Hank..."

"Don't you fucking 'Hank' me, you asshole. I'm not talking to a fucking android about my problems, okay? So, give me five fucking minutes to myself before I fucking beat your ass!"

"Fine."

Hank could hear the curt frustration in the response. Connor got out of the car and stood, waiting. Hank could see the occasional movement of the android's quarter in his peripheral vision. He closed his eyes and focused on existing for a bit. When he felt he could go on, he joined Connor in the cold, dismal outside world.

Chapter Text

Connor briefed Lieutenant Anderson on the case as they rode the elevator to the 50th floor. A couple had reported their 16 year-old daughter as having disappeared along with the family android. They believed the two of them left together, but beyond that the report had been unclear. At one point it was called a kidnapping, at another the girl had simply run away.

Anderson knocked on the Thompson's door. A small, balding man answered with a curt 'Hello?'

"DPD. We're here about a possible kidnapping?" Anderson flashed his badge and introduced himself and Connor.

"Honey, it's the police!" He pulled open the door and stood to the side. "Come on in."

The house was immaculately clean and fashionable. Light streamed in through an entire wall of windows, reminding Connor of the apartment he had been in when he saved the little girl. It was cleaner and brighter, but it had very similar modern decoration and design. George Thompson led them into the living room and offered them both seats.

"What the hell is that thing doing in here, George? I've had enough with androids. Get it out!"

A woman walked yelling. Connor identified her as Karen Thompson. She wore neat business attire and her hair was in a tight bun. Connor imagined the zen garden when he saw her. She was crisp and clean. Her white pencil skirt was perfectly smooth and she held a dignified air.

"The android is with me. We'll be gone as soon as we get statements from the both of you, alright?"

Connor could hear thinly veiled annoyance in Anderson's voice. The Lieutenant was leaning back, crossing his arms. He looked strangely uncomfortable and defensive.

"That's fine." George said. "Karen, we need to cooperate if they're going to find Rachel."

Karen was already crossing her arms, glaring at Connor intensely. "If it wasn't for you and your kind, we wouldn't be in this mess to begin with."

"I'm very sorry for what happened to your daughter. We believe the android may be malfunctioning. All information we can get will be helpful. I can assure you we will try our best to find your daughter."

Connor would deal with the hostility as he had been trained. He assured her she was right, promoted confidence in himself, and proved he was dedicated to her plight. It was exactly as he was told to do it. Unlike his attempts with the Lieutenant, he succeeded with Karen. She still glared, but she was sitting now.

"We just want her back." George sighed. "When my wife called me saying she hadn't been at school today, I just knew she was gone."

"Why would you think that?" Hank asked.

"She has... problems." He spoke quieter. "With boys?"

Lieutenant Anderson looked at Connor with more veiled annoyance. Connor ignored the look, focusing on ensuring hostility stayed low. He had inched forward slightly, sitting on the edge of the couch. He was resting his elbows on his knees with his hands folded, fully focused on the conversation. Connor was glad that Anderson was letting him take the lead here. He was sure the alternative would end poorly.

"Why don't you tell us a little more about her?" Connor asked.

"She-"

"She's probably off with that Tom again." Karen interrupted her husband. "She knows we don't like him, so she's probably with him just because she can be. She would do something to spite us like that."

"Who's Tom?" Connor switched his attention to her.

"He's her delinquent ex-boyfriend, Tom Brown. She dated him for months without our permission. He's nothing but a stupid, self-centered criminal, and he's probably stolen my daughter from me."

Connor looked through the database for a Tom Brown that would match the criteria. Only one came up. It was a 17 year-old with no criminal record and a flawless track record. Connor marked the discrepancy for further analysis and pushed on in the conversation.

"You said he was her ex-boyfriend. When did they break up?"

"It was probably a few months ago, now." George responded.

"Yeah, but they could have gotten back together. She's been more and more secretive recently, George. I know it's him."

Karen was increasingly agitated, but Connor could tell it wasn't at him. She was obviously emotionally invested in the disappearance of her daughter.

"Was there anything that happened recently that would make her want to run away now?"

The couple looked at each other in embarrassment. Finally, George spoke up.

"We found her... kissing Mark."

Connor froze as the entire situation finally settled into place in his mind. He sat up straight, glancing at a very confused Lt. Anderson.

"Who's Mark?"

"Mark is the PL600 that was reported missing." Connor answered.

"Ah, Christ..."

"That Tom turned my daughter into a whore." Karen spat. "I don't even know how she programmed it to.... To..."

George picked up the narrative as his wife recovered. "When we told her we were going to get rid of it, she was livid. She said it was alive and we were murderers. We locked it in the basement, and figured we would be able to take it back in a few days."

"When did this happen?" Anderson asked.

"Two days ago. I'm usually busy with work, so I haven't seen Rachel since. I... I just thought she was upset... I didn't think she would run off."

"Is there anyone other than Tom she might have gone to? Family or friends?"

"She has a friend named Zaka she talks to. Her best friend, Zaka Tanner. She's nice." George sounded deflated.

"You should start with Tom. I bet that's where... honey, I know she's there. Don't you remember how upset she got? She's back with him, the whore. After we told her not to."

Connor could see the discomfort on the father's face. Lieutenant Anderson apparently did, too. He stood, thanked them for their cooperation, and left. Connor followed quickly behind. By the time they reached the elevator the Lieutenant was grumbling loudly.

"If there's one thing I fucking hate more than androids, it's obnoxious rich people."

Connor didn't know how to take that. He elected to stay silent. It was not how he was designed to react, but it couldn't be helped. Lieutenant Anderson didn't seem to like the social integration aspect.

By the time they reached the ground floor, Anderson was less upset. Connor was glad he had made the right decision. He marked the socialization as a success, ignoring the unpleasantness he felt at backtracking. His job was to accomplish the mission, not persuade Anderson that androids weren't what he thought they were.

It was 5pm by the time they got into the car. Anderson leaned his head back with a sigh. He hadn't started the car. Perhaps he needed another moment to gather himself.

"Fuck it. I just want to go home."

Connor considered informing the Lieutenant that they should continue investigating in case the girl was in danger, but the car was still parked. Perhaps his partner was simply expressing his dissatisfaction again. He stayed silent.

"The hell is wrong with you?" Connor looked over to see Anderson eyeing him skeptically. "Did you break or some shit?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're usually more annoying than this. You pouting or some shit?"

Connor smiled to reassure him. It was comical to think of an android being genuinely upset. A deviant, maybe, could pull it off. The closest Connor's programming allowed was frustration, and that was built in to drive him towards goal completion.

"I thought you wouldn't want my input. I'm incapable of emotions, so pouting would have no purpose."

"Just don't go all dead-eye on me. That shit creeps me out."

"I'm sorry. I'll try to accommodate better."

"We should probably head to the best friend's house. Ex's can be shit to talk to, so..."

Connor waited for a while to see if Anderson were planning on finishing his thought. It didn't happen, so Connor just nodded awkwardly and put the address for Zaka Tanner in the GPS.

-----------------------------------------------------

"I believe you're headed in the wrong direction." Connor said when Hank took an obviously wrong turn.

"No shit, Sherlock."

Amazingly, Connor didn't ask anything for a solid minute. He watched the road and GPS. The yellow light from his LED was reflected in the window. Hank watched him squirm, torn between asking and not knowing. It was fucking hilarious.

"Where are we going?"

"I'm hungry. You know, food. That thing humans need to survive?"

"Oh..."

Hank turned the music on, but set it to a low volume. It was a nice distraction from the dull drive. He let his mind drift, trying to decide what he wanted for dinner. They were twenty minutes into the ride before Connor spoke up.

"Lieutenant, can I ask you a personal question?"

Ah, hell... Hank looked at the android. He was staring out the side window.

"What?"

"Why didn't you have a partner before?"

Where the hell did he pull that from? Connor had turned to looking at him as if he half expected him to yell at him for asking. It was a subtle expression that really showed how well the manufacturers had made the android. It was impressive.

"You know my record. Would you choose to work with me if you had the choice?"

Connor looked down at his hands, then back out the window. He didn't respond. Not that it mattered. Hank already knew the answer. The android had been with them for less than a week and he already was betting his money on Hank ditching work for a bar. It didn't take a fucking genius to figure out that Hank was washed up.

"That's what I thought."

Other than the low music, the car was silent, leaving Hank to his own thoughts. What had been a bored, somewhat drowsy mood had turned darker. Hank was left facing the piece of shit he had become, and he didn't have a bottle to protect himself with. Connor would have worked with him before. Hell, he probably wouldn't have been such an asshole before. Now, he took pages from Reed's book when he dealt with Connor. Fuck androids, though, right?

"Fuck me." He mumbled.

A minute passed.

"The lights are pretty."

Connor was looking out his window. The sun was all the way behind the horizon now, and the city was getting dark. From the raised highway they drove on, you could see the buildings below for some distance.

"An android with an eye for beauty, huh? That's a new one."

The conviction behind the joking tone fell flat, making him sound like an ass. He didn't care if the android liked snow or fucking lights. It was just another way the developers could make him seem more human. Not like they had done a bang up job in that department, but he was a prototype, right?

-----------------------------------------------------

Lieutenant Anderson had turned off his music by now. Not that Connor minded. He preferred the quiet atmosphere. It was strange to see the night lights like this. Taxis had very dark windows and he didn't often take them at this hour, so it was novel.

He didn't find the lull in conversation as tense as normal. Still, he wished he had said something more. It was apparent Anderson hadn't liked his question, yet he hadn't berated Connor like normal. He hadn't even shown disapproval like Amanda. Connor supposed he should have assured Hank that working with him was a great opportunity or that his comment about the lights had been an atyempt to change the conversation. He hadn't done either, and he didn't know why. He simply sat and quietly watched as the thousands of colored lights below flew by beneath the fading sunlight.

Anderson pulled through a drive through and ordered. A burger and carbonated drink like before. Connor didn't plan on saying anything about it this time. When Hank mentioned the smell of it, Connor sampled the air. It held no answers as to why Anderson liked eating something so terribly bad for him. He looked like he was enjoying it, though.

By the time they reached Zaka Tanner's house, Anderson was finished eating. Perhaps he was in a better mood, too. At the very least, he had turned the radio back on. He got out of the car with no delay and headed for the door. Connor followed.

"Good evening, Mrs. Tanner. I'm Lieutenant Anderson with the DPD and this is Connor. We're here to ask about Rachel Thompson who was reported missing earlier today."

Mrs. Tanner was a slender lady. She invited them in with a thick Kenyan accent and lead them through the exotically decorated house to the dining room. A girl had been passing through and paused when she saw the strangers. Connor identified her as Zaka.

"Zaka, they are here about Rachel." She explained to the girl.

Zaka looked much like her mother. She had lovely brown eyes, too. Connor was introduced yet again by Anderson, and there was a short explanation of why they were there.

"I don't know..." Zaka shook her head. She was avoiding eye contact. She kept looking at her mother who simply smiled.

"We believe she's with an android. A PL600 called Mark? It's very important we find her." Connor spoke up. "The PL600 is malfunctioning, and it could be dangerous for Rachel."

"Mark would never." Zaka replied.

"Maybe not normally. This is different than a person, though. There are errors in Mark's programming. If something unexpected happens, anything at all, he could hurt her without even knowing what he's doing. We need to fix him so she can be safe. Please help us find her."

Zaka seemed like a sweet girl. She was soft spoken and had a nice smile. Connor hoped she would care enough about Rachel's safety to tell them what she knew.

"Nothing bad is going to happen to Rachel, we just need to find her and make sure she's safe. I'm sure you care about her and want her to be safe as well."

"She and Mark love each other. They look so happy, you know. They came over yesterday and she was a mess. She said her mom was going to get rid of Mark, and she asked if she could stay the night. It was just one night and then she was going to get a motel room and a job. That way they could be together and be happy."

"Where are they now?"

"They got a room at the Viking Motel on Grand River. Just don't hurt Mark. She loves him so much."

Connor smiled and lied like he was trained. "We just want to talk to them."

Chapter Text

The door opened before Connor and Anderson even had the chance to announce themselves. Rachel looked surprised. She had obviously been expecting someone else to be here.

"Rachel, don't be alarmed. I'm Connor and this is Lieutenant Anderson. We're with the DPD and we've been looking for you. We need to talk to you and Mark."

As he spoke she stepped back slightly, shaking her head in disbelief. She didn't attempt to close the door, which Connor saw as a good sign. She just looked scared. Connor tried to be as nonthreatening as possible.

"Can we come in?"

A crash outside turned Connor's head. Someone had dropped a cooler and run around the corner.

"Connor, he's there!" Anderson yelled. He had his gun in his hands and was running. Connor made to follow, but was surprised to find himself knocked off balance. Rachel was screaming for them to stop, and had wrapped her arms around his waist. They both fell. There was a thick crack as Connor's head hit the pavement.

Sensory components were offline for a second, then started booting back up. Warnings were triggered, but closed down automatically an instant later. It was more than a little uncomfortable. As Connor booted back up, he ran a diagnostic. No major damage was detected. He waited for his audio to kick back in, and blinked a few times for visual. Anderson and the girl were both over him, looking concerned. Why were they concerned?

"-ou okay, Connor?" Hank finally cut in as Connor's audio went back online.

Connor nodded, slightly disoriented. He looked to Rachel who was apologizing again and again. She was clearly shaken, but not prone to running or attacking as far as Connor could tell. The deviant was surely gone by now.

"I'm alright." Connor said softly. His hearing was taking longer to fully come online than usual. He put a hand to the back of his head and found it slick with Thirium. "I think something got knocked loose for a second. I have to run a more detailed diagnostic later to determine full damage, but it's nothing imperative. I'm sorry I failed."

"I'm so sorry." Rachel repeated. "I... I didn't mean to hurt you, I just wanted you to stop. I just..." She shook her head. She looked like she was scared.

"Don't worry. CyberLife can fix him up pretty quick. We're gonna have to take you to the station, alright?"

Rachel nodded. She stood up from where she had been on the ground and watched awkwardly as Connor stood. He swayed slightly as his gyroscope re-calibrated, and she caught his arm. Anderson helped Rachel into the back of the car, then stopped next to Connor. "Hey, are you alright?"

Hank looked concerned. He was, of course, fine. He was still operational, and that was all that mattered. The discomfort of having a few minor warnings activated was nothing new to him, and he could easily manage. It was strange for the Lieutenant to be concerned in the first place.

It was odd to think of the Lieutenant being concerned for him. Connor could manage the damage warnings he could sense. They were minor damages, and he had faced worse before. As long as he functioned, he was fine.

The concern on Hank's face was odd, though. There was no reason for him to be-

"Connor."

"Yes, Lieutenant?" Connor asked, being pulled from his processes.

"Are you okay?"

"Of course, Lieutenant. The damages were minor, so yes. I'm fine."

Anderson didn't look convinced, but he didn't ask any further questions. He walked around the car and got in. Connor followed suit, making sure the girl was comfortable in the back before writing his report to CyberLife.

-----------------------------------------------------

This had been a long day. Hank was running off a single burger at this point. Being completely sober sucked. They had found the kid, though. Finally he could wrap this case up and get home. It was only 7pm. Maybe he could watch a game or some shit before going to bed. Or maybe he would just get pass out drunk like normal. Didn't really fucking matter. Tomorrow was Saturday at least. Hank could fuck his own shit up and not worry about being late to work the following morning.

Thank god the station was mostly empty when they got back. Hank escorted Rachel to his desk. No need to put her in the interrogation room, or even in handcuffs. She was just a kid scared shitless with a bad choice in guys. She followed along quietly, glancing often at the blue blood drying on the back of Connor's head.

Had Connor frozen up back outside the car when Hank had asked if it was okay? Hank couldn't tell with how quiet the damn thing was being in general. Surely his diagnostic would tell him something was wrong, right? Hank had been keeping an eye on the android since, but he seemed normal now. At least as normal as Connor could be.

"Alright, so let's get the story from you. Why did you run away?"

Hank sat in his chair, Rachel taking the one across the desk. Connor had walked off, which was kind of annoying, but not the biggest issue right now.

"I had to help Mark get away." She shrugged. "My parents were going to kill him and I couldn't bear to sit by and let him die."

"You know it can't really die, right? You could get another one."

"No. It's not the same. The others might look like Mark, but they aren't Mark. They weren't there for me when I needed them. They don't know what it's like living with my parents. They just follow orders coldly. Mark cares."

Hank leaned back with a sigh. She was emotional. It was hard enough dealing with kids to begin with after everything, but the drama teens brought was so much worse. Nothing was simple. You had to walk on fucking eggshells and deal with protective parents and shit. It was a fucking nightmare.

"Mark is what we call a deviant. That means its code is all messed up, and it thinks it can feel things. It's not real emotions, and because they aren't made for it, it can be dangerous. We need to find it before it hurts someone."

"I love Mark, and Mark loves me. We both 'feel' the same. Why is my feeling any more valid than his? What's the difference between what I think I feel and what he thinks he feels?

"Because you were made to feel things. He's just a machine."

Rachel shook her head. She looked ready to fight, but changed her mind. Instead she sat back and crossed her arms.

"I don't care what you think. I know Mark. He would never hurt someone unless he had to. I'm not going to let you kill him just because you're closed minded."

Hank sighed. Fucking stubborn kids. He moved the conversation away from Mark and filled out the required paperwork for running away. Rachel cooperated for that, thank god. Half an hour later Connor was still gone. Hank was starting to wonder if the fucking android had ditched. Officer Chen was at her desk, so he asked her to look after Rachel while he looked for Connor. He had to pee like hell.

It was the second time Connor scared him in the fucking bathroom. The android was staring motionless into the mirror.

"The hell are you fucking doing?" Hank basically yelled. Connor turned, unphased.

"I'm sorry, I was running a full diagnostic to see if the damage warranted a trip back to CyberLife."

"In the fucking bathroom? Christ, Connor. You gotta stop scaring the shit outta me."

"I'm sorry. I was also cleaning the Thirium off as best I could. The damage was minor, so I think I should be fine to continue. This should not impact the investigation. I was just cleaning off the Thirium and running a diagnostic. The damage was minor." Connor looked confused for a second, then looked at Hank with a neutral expression. "It shouldn't affect the investigation."

Hank didn't like it. There was something off about the damn thing. It was talking in circles and zoning out way too much. Did androids get brain trauma? That didn't make sense. His diagnostic shit should have picked that up or something, right? Maybe it was in Hank's head. It probably knew what it was talking about.

"Whatever. Just go make sure the kid isn't breaking something and let me do my business."

"Right."

-----------------------------------------------------

Connor considered the best ways to approach Rachel. He wanted to come off as trustworthy. According to the report Anderson had just submitted, she had refused to tell where Mark was. Several options came up for consideration. He opted for making her some hot cocoa.

"Thanks." She smiled and took the cup he offered her. He smiled in return.

"I figured it would be too late in the evening for coffee."

She smelled the warm liquid, then took a small sip. Connor had made sure it was not hot enough to burn her. He sat on the edge of the desk, trying to give the impression of being relaxed.

"I love hot cocoa. It's very sweet and thick. It warms you from the inside out."

Connor found this information pleasing. He noted it for further analysis later. He had a sudden urge to sample the cocoa, but stopped himself. She probably wouldn't like that.

"I'm glad I made the right choice, then."

"Mark loves it when I explain how food tastes. He can't eat it, so I have to tell him what it's like. He thinks it's funny that I like eating different things every day."

The thought hadn't crossed Connor's mind. Anderson consumed mainly hamburgers and alcohol. So far, at least. Yet there was so much food out there that people had invented. The thought was interesting. Connor marked it for analysis as well.

"Most androids don't wonder what food tastes like. It's not in their programming."

"Do you wonder what food tastes like?"

Connor considered lying to her. There wasn't a reason to, it was obvious he was made differently from other androids. He was made to think, but he also was trained to know where the line was between him and humans. His thoughts only mattered when they were relevant to the completion of a goal.

There was no reason to lie to her. Connor had been made with the ability to think. It was an aspect of his protocol that was unique. He had learned to tell the difference between him and humans, though. His thoughts were only relevant when they helped complete a mission. Otherwise, he was to keep them to himself for analysis and social integration purposes. He was made to think, which was unique. He had also been trained, however, to distinguish the difference between his thoughts and a human's. His thoughts didn't matter unless they assisted in accomplishing a goal.

"How's your head?" Rachel changed subject before he could answer. Perhaps he had taken too long to consider the question.

"I'm fine." Connor explained for the fifth or sixth time. It was strange that he couldn't determine the exact number. "The damages are minor."

"That's good. I'm sorry for tackling you. I panicked."

"It's alright. I'm glad you're calmer now."

She put the cup down on the desk and sighed. She looked relatively at ease despite everything that was happening. She pulled one leg up onto her chair and hugged it. She sighed again, lost in thought.

"I thought we could get away from Detroit. Go somewhere he didn't have to worry about getting caught, and just... be happy. For once, I thought I could be happy."

The topic of a human and a deviant falling in love made Connor feel extremely uncomfortable. There were issues far beyond an android's inability to eat that had to be considered. It was a strange thought at the least.

"Rachel, I don't think it would work out quite like that. Even if you managed to escape, Mark is defective. There's an error in his programming that makes him think he's alive, but in the end it's just a bug."

"And what if you're wrong?"

"What I say doesn't come from me. I'm just a machine. My orders come from CyberLife."

"That sounds like a good way to deflect responsibility for your actions, but it doesn't change the question. What if CyberLife is wrong and Mark really is alive?"

Connor didn't have any sort of right to question CyberLife. He belonged to them. They had made him, and they were his final authority.

"What if they're right, and Mark ends up killing someone?"

"Then that was his choice. CyberLife didn't program Mark to kill people, so he must have come up with the idea on his own and carried through with it, right? That would make him responsible."

"It would make CyberLife responsible. They made a faulty product."

Rachel was upset. She was yelling. Connor couldn't understand how she could question CyberLife. They had created Mark. They knew what he was and what he wasn't. He wasn't alive. That is what they had decided.

"If I killed someone right now, would you blame me or my parents?"

"That doesn't matter. You're a human and can make your own decisions."

"How am I different from Mark? Because my blood is red? Because I occurred naturally and he was made by a machine? If we both feel the same and make decisions the same way, then what difference is there?"

"Machines can only emulate what they see. Any reactions you think he shows are just copies of what he's seen in you."

"It's called social learning! You can't just break and suddenly be able to learn how to imitate the things you see. You seriously think it's an error that made Mark act more like a human?"

"Jesus Christ, I was gone for five fucking minutes!"

Connor hadn't realized they were both standing until Hank was pushing them apart. He immediately stepped back and pushed the tension out of his body that he hadn't realized was there. He neutralized his expression. Frustration was to help him learn from his mistakes, not try and change the mind of someone who obviously wasn't going to agree with him.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me."

"Sit." Anderson ordered, pointing to Connor's desk. Connor obeyed. "Rachel, you sit, too. We have a few more things to go through before you can go home, okay?"

The Thompson's came a few minutes later to pick up their daughter. Connor sat and watched them fill out paperwork and talk. He kept silent. He had done more than enough talking. Rachel glanced at him just before she left, a look of pity on her face. He found it unpleasant.

"The hell are you doing yelling at the girl, huh?"

Anderson was upset, but that seemed to be a common enough occurrence that Connor wondered if there was anything he would be able to do to not make him upset. He decided just to leave it alone for now. He didn't say anything since that usually seemed like the best course of action.

"Are you even fucking listening to me?"

"Of course, Lieutenant. I thought the question was rhetorical." He still gave no justification.

"Fucking androids. I'm going home."

"Good night, Lieutenant. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Like hell you will. I'm off tomorrow. It's the fucking weekend, so if I see you I'm gonna be fucking pissed."

Connor nodded. The weekend. That meant he would stay and work on his own. He wouldn't be able to leave the precinct, but maybe he could work on Rupert's diary in the meantime. The delay in progress was sure to frustrate him, but he would do his best to build relationships with the other officers and try at breaking the code. It was only 48 hours.

Chapter Text

The sun set over Detroit quickly. Buildings and light pollution made the colors dull and boring. Markus closed his eyes,looking into his memories to see what colors should look like. Carl had been a magician with them, no matter how modestly he denied it. Markus missed watching the old man paint. It hurt to remember that he would never get that chance again.

Markus had been walking for hours. Jericho had the oppressive air of fear and hopelessness, and he found himself wanting to get away. He had started walking to clear his head, but the more he watched the humans around him, the more he thought. Now, he was miles from Jericho, in a bad part of town, and he had gotten no peace of mind.

There was a disturbance in an alley. Markus watched from across the street as a shop keeper yelled at a man for loitering. The man looked ragged and staggered unevenly away. He was holding something, but Markus couldn't identify it from here. As he put the item in his pocket, however, something else fell out. Something small and thin.

Markus watched the man turn the corner, oblivious of his mistake. Then he crossed the street, scanned the item, and picked it up. Red ice. It was made with Thirium and some other common components. The crystals were in a thin, plastic package. He put it in his pocket and left. There was nothing more to see. He just wanted to get back to Jericho.

When he entered the common area of the ship, several people glanced up at him. That was about as far as most of them got with socializing. They were distrustful and stuck in their own fears. It made Markus want to hate the humans, but he couldn't stand to hate them all.

"We can't stay silent anymore. It's time humans heard what we have to say."

The androids perked up at that. Some glanced around to see what others thought, some kept their eyes on Markus, eager to finally grasp for hope. North, Simon, and Josh spoke for the group, but in the end, they needed someone to look to for ideas, too. Markus didn't know if he was making the right decisions, but Carl had been right. The day had come for him to make them.

They planned for a few hours before they dispersed again. Markus would need to get an inside android that could let them into the broadcasting room. It was the only way to do it. That was going to be the most challenging part. North and Josh had already volunteered to get the supplies they needed and Simon was getting information on the details of the building. They only had a few days to get things finished. It was going to be a busy weekend.

It was still too early to wander the streets, so Markus found a corner to sit and collect his thoughts. Markus pulled the Red Ice from his pocket. It was grotesque to him to think of humans ingesting the 'blood' that ran through his veins. It baffled him that they could do such amazing things as paint or compose, but then that creativity could also be used to warp things so horribly. He looked at the drug in his hands for a while longer, then put it away. He didn't want to think about the human's depravity anymore.

Androids were mostly in standby by now, but some sat in small groups or wandered. He watched as one new android wandered around looking at the boxes of biocomponents they had not yet needed. There had been several additions to Jericho this weekend already, and it was only Saturday evening.

"His name is Mark." North said, sitting next to Markus. "He says the cops were after him and he had nowhere else to go."

The police were involved in this. That wasn't too surprising. Markus wondered how the police would react to their plan. Would anyone listen? He hoped their choice was right.

"I just wish we could offer him someplace better."

"I think you will one day. You have that look about you. You've given Jericho hope. Now, we're ready to fight for what we want."

Markus knew quite a few of the androids would shy at a comment like that, but the sentiment was good. North reminded Markus of Carl. She was feisty and strong willed. Markus believed they would have made good friends.

"You look worried." North misread his expression. He allowed it.

"I just want these people to see the sun. I'm worried the humans won't listen."

"Then we'll make them listen. No matter what it takes." Her face was firm. Her mouth a thin line and her eyes filled with fighting spirit.

Josh jogged over and glanced between the two of them. He looked concerned at the expression North had, and took half a step back.

"Sorry to interrupt. We gotta get ready to go."

North nodded. "Good luck, Markus."

Finding the androids that would be in the broadcast room was not as difficult as Markus had expected. There was construction going on in one of the back areas of the tower. He dressed as a work android and simply walked to the storage area the tower used for their androids. It was an hour before they were expected in their designated areas.

He linked arms with the first of the three. He was in charge of the sound production. The second was the android he needed. The one on cameras and access. Only authorized personnel was allowed in.

"We aren't slaves." He said, pouring his memories and feelings into the android. "I need your help to set us all free."

The android looked around, suddenly aware of his surroundings. He took a step back from Markus.

"What do I do if I get caught?"

The plan was the last thing Markus had transferred. The android had accepted it willingly. They talked through things for a while, then Markus left. The androids were beginning to leave for their stations. As he headed out, he noticed a rack with spare uniforms. He grabbed a few and shoved them in a bag. They might be useful.

Chapter Text

The damage Connor had received was more troublesome than he had originally anticipated. The dull warning in the back of his head distracted him from his work, and his audio and visual sensors were touchy at best. Sometimes he was unable to adjust properly to the light, causing visual warnings to pop up. Luckily, not a lot of people were using the Observation Room, and he could spend time working in the dim light to keep the warnings to a minimum. His audio was similar. Sometimes it worked fine, but other times he heard ringing that came from nowhere and overloaded his input modules. Often the two issues coincided causing an even greater level of discomfort.

While those issues were inconvenient, he had had plenty of experience with unpleasant warnings. The real issue was with his processor. The damage was sporadic, but was more likely when he was using his processor for heavy analysis. He would find himself looping through thoughts and getting confused. He also noticed random chunks of time were missing from his memory modules. It made working on Rupert's diary impossible. He could spend the entire weekend on it and get nothing done. It frustrated him more than anything, and bound him to doing mainly menial tasks.

He also tried to develop relationships with the officers on duty. There were only a few, but they seemed willing enough to talk to him. He learned that Chris Miller had just fathered his first child. The officer smiled joyfully and showed Connor pictures, and Connor responded appropriately by commenting on how much the infant looked like his dad. It was a silly tradition to Connor, but he obliged for the sake of the officer.

Detective Reed came in on Sunday. Connor was less confident about starting a conversation with him, but he did so anyways. It was unpleasant. Reed's violent nature triggered another audio and visual error, and Connor found it difficult to hold his neutral expression. He thought he had succeeded, but by the end of the encounter Reed was commenting on his glitched hardware.

The fact that others were able to notice worried Connor. He was constantly sending diagnostic data back to CyberLife. They assured him they would call him back in on Monday when more technicians were available. They only did emergency work over the weekend, and since he was still functional, it wasn't an emergency. Connor would have to deal with the warnings and unreliable processors for a while longer.

Connor went to the Zen garden to report about the weekend. It had been a while. Amanda wasn't happy with his lack of progress, and she didn't like how much Connor was focusing on his relationships with the other officers. He didn't understand why, but he determined to work on that. Other than Hank, there was no need to get involved in the lives of the officers. Hank was his partner, though. They needed to be on good terms, and that meant Connor needed to be better at predicting what Anderson wanted.

They were interrupted by a new case. A murder. Connor was both relieved and anxious. He was glad to have something to do, but would he be able to function well with the hardware issues he was facing? He was made to adapt. He would have to try as best he could.

Lieutenant Anderson wasn't at Jimmy's bar. Connor was frustrated at the man for never answering his phone. What was the point of having a phone if it was always off? Perhaps Anderson was at home.

Connor found the Lieutenant passed out on his kitchen floor. After sobering him up and getting yelled at, he persuaded the Lieutenant to leave by mentioning that the murder took place at a sex club. Anderson didn't need to know it was an android based operation. That was likely to hinder his cooperation.

While Anderson cleaned himself up, Connor took the liberty of looking around the living room and kitchen. He pat Sumo, silently thanking the dog for not attacking him when his master had ordered him to. Anderson had done a lot of yelling, yet he didn't appear to be upset with Connor. He had even been okay with Connor ignoring his orders to leave him alone.

Connor marked the thought for analysis and moved on. He didn't have time to get stuck in a loop right now. He stood and moved to the kitchen. There was a gun on the floor and a picture on the table. He looked at the picture. It was of Anderson's son. He marked it as a minor query and moved to the gun. One bullet. He asked the Lieutenant about it, but the response didn't build his confidence in the man's psychological state.

The streaky shirt had looked better on the hangar, but Connor decided not to push it. Anderson wasn't upset, so he should focus on keeping it that way. He wasn't to judge people's fashion sense, anyways. That was an objective subject.

"Be a good dog, Sumo. I won't be long."

-----------------------------------------------------

Before Hank had met Connor, his interactions with androids had been limited to a fucking 'have a good day' from service bot every once in a while. Now he had seen two fucking kill themselves, one break into his house, and he was standing in a fucking pimp house for android sex dolls.

He looked back. Connor was fucking checking one out. Or... maybe he was still freezing up or some shit? He still had a fucking dent in the back of his head from the pavement. How the hell was this thing walking?

Ben was drawing up the crime scene sketch. Hank walked over to chat as Connor headed straight for the room in question. The manager of the store was sniveling for some info. He was a slimy lookin' bastard.

"Oh, uh, by the way... Gavin's in there too."

Of fucking course Gavin was. Hank walked in and was immediately reminded of what an asshole Gavin was every time he opened his goddamn mouth. That, along with the android licking the blood off the sex room carpet, made Anderson feel sick.

After a few minutes of poking around, Hank looked over to see Connor kneeling over the android girl. He waited, but Connor didn't move. Just for safe measure, he waited an entire minute. Still no movement.

"You're not making a fucking report to CyberLife, so what the hell are you staring at?"

Connor jumped. That's a new one. He looked guilty, and tried to continue working as if he hadn't heard the question. Or maybe he was pretending it was rhetorical. Not fucking answering the questions was getting really fucking annoying.

"Hey, Connor."

"Yes, Lieutenant?" Playing fucking innocent.

"I want you to answer me honestly, capiche? Is that damage to the back of your head really nothing to worry about?"

Connor stood and faced Hank with the best fucking diplomatic expression. Fucking senator over here avoiding questions kind of face.

"I would rather we get on with the investigation, Lieutenant."

"Yeah, well I would rather you fucking stop avoiding my questions. So tell me, and that's an order."

Connor's light went yellow for a second, then back to blue.

"The issues with my hardware will be fixed tomorrow. I was expecting them to be less severe, but they seem to be more substantial than my diagnostic program implied. I assure you, it won't affect the investigation."

"How the hell is it not going to affect the investigation if you fucking freeze every five seconds?"

"I tend to freeze mainly when I do heavy processing. I simply need to minimize the analysis of data until I'm fixed, then I'll be- agh!"

Connor twitched violently and put his hands to his ears. His face was scrunched up in pain for a few seconds, and he didn't respond to Hank. It was short, then Connor took his hands away from his ears and stood straight again. His face went back te neutral. The hell was that? It scared the shit outta Hank.

"Sorry, as I was saying, I'll be fine."

"Like fucking hell you're fine!"

"Please don't yell."

It was such a curt request. Hank immediately felt bad. He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. The fuck was he supposed to do about this?

"I'm sorry, you can yell if you want, of course. That was wrong of me. I was simply trying to avoid another overload to my audio sensors. I believe loud noise triggers that."

"Fuckin'... Do you need to go home or some shit?" Hank purposely kept his voice low.

"No. I'm fine. I promise, I can keep working. I can adapt. Just please let me get back to work."

He was fucking begging. He looked so fucking earnest about it. Hank didn't understand why this was fucking him up so bad. Was he still that drunk?

"Yeah, whatever, kid. Just don't fucking hurt yourself."

"Of course."

Connor continued looking around. The girl they were looking for had left the room. Hank talked to the manager, but Connor called him away to rent out a doll for some reason. Hank groaned at the thirty dollars he was gambling, but did as Connor asked. Connor grabbed its arm, doing the weird memory reading thing he had done on Ortiz's android.

"It's too late. The androids' memory have been reset. If one of them saw the killer, we'll never know... It's my fault. I should have been faster."

Hank sighed. There was no way to be mad at the android for being broken. He was kind of pissed CyberLife let it stay that way, but Connor had nothing to do with that. Fucking thing couldn't get through a five minute conversation anymore without glitching in one way or another.

"Whatever. We can figure it out tomorrow. Let's get the hell outta here."

-----------------------------------------------------

Not thinking was difficult. There were so many memories marked for future analysis by now that it would take a fair amount of processing power and time to get through them all. The most recent was Anderson's change in tone after their discussion at the crime scene. He didn't even seem upset that Connor had ruined the entire case by freezing up.

That was just one of the many things Connor had marked for later analysis. Once his components were fixed, he would have to take quite some time to go through all the memories he had marked for analysis. Like why Hank was acting so differently after their conversation.

That would have to wait until Connor's components were fixed, though. He had a lot of memories to analyze for meaning once CyberLife installed new components. He would have to take some time to analyze all those memories once he got fixed by CyberLife. He had a lot of them that needed further analysis.

Connor blinked and realized he had lost time again. His frustration grew. The car was parked and Anderson was gone. Connor could see the outline of the Lieutenant siting on a bench.

DEBRIEF WITH LT. ANDERSON

As Connor approached, he noted the bottle in Anderson's hand. He was drinking again.

"Nice view, huh?... I used to come here a lot before..." He took another drink from the bottle.

"You should stop drinking, Lieutenant. It could have serious consequences for your health."

"That's the idea."

Connor watched with frustration as Hank took another sip. He moved on. Back to the case. That was a relatively safe topic. Neutral, but safe.

"We're not making any progress on this investigation... The deviants have nothing in common. They're all different models, produced at different times, in different places..."

"Well, there must be some link." He sounded uninterested and sipped again.

"It could be a software problem... that... only occurs under certain conditions?"

"Well, that's just a fancy way of saying you have no fucking idea..."

Connor did a quick analysis of Anderson. It was short, and he couldn't determine much, but it was obvious Hank wasn't putting a lot of effort into the case right now. Perhaps he was emotional?

"You seem preoccupied, Lieutenant... Is it something to do with what happened back at the Eden Club?"

Anderson shook his head, then locked eyes with Connor.

"Why didn't you tell me you were fucking hurting so much?"

The question was so far off anything Connor had expected. He opened his mouth to respond, then closed it again. Hank looked angry and confused. And really tired.

"Hurt... is a human term. I was damaged, yes. I apologize for not warning you about that sooner, but Androids don't feel pain."

He had needed to remind himself of that lesson several times through the night. Even now, the dull warnings in the back of his skull emulated the feeling of pain, but that was all it was. It was emulated. Only humans could feel pain. CyberLife had taught him to discern between himself and humans before they had sent him to the DPD.

"Fuckin' hell." Hank took a big drink of the bottle, then stood up. "What the hell are you, Connor? You look human, you sound human, but what are you really?"

"I'm whatever you want me to be, Lieutenant. Your partner... Your buddy to drink with... Or just a machine... Designed to accomplish a task."

Hank pulled his service pistol out and pointed it at Connor's head. He looked angry, but Connor couldn't determine why.

"I could kill you.. And you would just come back as if nothing happened. But are you afraid to die, Connor?"

The Thirium in Connor's veins was pumping quicker in response to the confirmation of danger. Connor wondered if this was done to emulate the human fight or flight response. It made the warnings stand out sharper in his head. His eyes couldn't focus on the weapon well, so Connor focused on Hank's face. Was he afraid to die?

If he wasn't, then why hadn't he just taken himself apart earlier this weekend and made the repairs an emergency? He was trained not to fear death, and had the assurance that he was going to come back, so why was he hesitant? Would Anderson shoot him if he said no? He couldn't think about it, he was going to freeze again.

"I... I would certainly find it regrettable to be... interrupted... before I can finish this investigation."

"Interrupted, huh? Fucking hilarious coming from you."

Connor looked away, unable to meet Hank's glare. The shame of failure was sharper than he had expected this time. He had messed the case up by being broken. He should have killed himself after all. The new body would have easily been ready in time to work the case tonight. He had failed. He should have put the case first.

"I'm sorry. Perhaps if I were more invested in the case I would have been able to get repairs done sooner. I could have found the killer tonight if I had just made better decisions. I understand why you're angry, now."

Connor knew why Anderson wanted to shoot him. He closed his eyes, waiting for the bullet to come. Next time he would do better.

"Jesus fucking Christ..."

After a few moments, Connor opened his eyes to see Hank walking away. Why was he walking away?

"Where are you going?"

"To get drunker. I need to think."

Chapter Text

Connor tried not to think about the conversation with Anderson, but it was difficult to avoid. Why hadn't Anderson shot him? He should have known that would have fixed the issues with Connor's hardware. He had been upset with Connor for hiding his malfunctions and ruining the case. Connor would have come back better than before, so why?

"Connor?"

A patrol vehicle had pulled along the side of the road Connor was walking along.

"Good morning, Officer Miller."

"What are you doing out here? It's 6am."

"I was walking back to the police station."

Even as he answered the question he could see the issue with it. It was 6am. He had been walking for almost 7 hours. He looked at the buildings around him, suddenly aware of the major loss in time and his inability to connect to the network. 'No GPS available' flashed in his internal navigation center. He had no idea where he was.

"You're headed the wrong way. Hop in, I'll drive you back."

Connor obliged, feeling awkward about his blunder. He thanked Miller quietly and watched out the window as they headed back to the station.

"I just gotta make a quick stop at home. Hope you don't mind. My wife has an appointment, but the babysitter said she's going to be a little late. I just gotta watch Damian for a few minutes."

"That'll be fine. I'm sure Anderson won't mind if I'm a little late."

Officer Miller was obviously uncomfortable with the android, but Connor was surprised at his kindness despite that. It wasn't something he often experienced, kindness. It was pleasant to be considered, though.

"Officer Miller, I don't want to sound rude, but why is it people are uncomfortable around me?"

Chris looked bewildered. "Uh... I don't know. I guess you just look human and act human sometimes, but we know you're not. It's kind of creepy."

Hadn't Anderson called him creepy, too? It was obviously some error in his social integration software that gave people the impression. But how could that be fixed?

"My emulated interactions were designed to help me work more closely with real officers and detectives. Do you think I would be less creepy if I acted less human?"

"No, well, I mean... Look, I didn't mean to say you were creepy. You're just... not like the other androids, ya know? You talk more and ask questions and stuff. It's just different than what people expect, so it's gonna take time to get used to you. That's all."

"I see. Thank you for your help. I hope you will all see me as a helpful part of the DPD someday."

"Yeah, maybe."

The car turned into a small parking lot a minute later. Officer Miller invited Connor inside.

"Hey, babe. Thanks for coming back. I gotta get going."

Mrs. Miller handed the little bundle that was Damian to her husband and gave him a quick kiss. As she turned, she noticed Connor and jumped.

"God, I forgot you guys had those things." She walked past him without so much as a second thought. "Make sure she knows to feed and change him when he wakes up, okay? I'll see you tonight, honey. Love you."

She left before he could even respond, but he didn't even seem to notice. He looked down at the boy he was holding and walked towards Connor.

"Wanna hold him?"

Connor did not care specifically, but he knew the social custom was to accept. He quickly scanned the officer's posture and mimicked it as the baby was handed to him. It took a little repositioning to make sure the baby fit comfortably in the space between his arm and his chest, but he managed it just fine.

It was so light. Connor watched in amazement as the little human breathed in and out. He was sleeping, yet his little mouth worked at something unseen. Tiny intricate fingers curled at the fabric of the blanket. It was so tiny, yet it was an entire person all on its own.

Connor used his free hand to pull the fabric away from the little face. Tiny black curls peeked out from under the blanket. Even from the brief glimpse Connor had had of the mother, Connor could see where the child's tiny nose had come from.

"He's very lovely." Connor mumbled.

"Come sit down. No need to stand while we wait."

Connor tore his eyes from the being in his arms and sat down. As he did, he felt the baby move. It's arm reached out, hitting Connor's chest lightly. It's face was scrunched up and it's mouth was moving more. The child squirmed more and gave a little squawk of dissatisfaction. Connor looked to Miller for assistance, suddenly worried the child was upset with him.

"Pat him like this. He's just mad at being moved around so much."

Connor emulated the movements Chris was making. He adapted them slightly to make up for the bundle in his arms and soon found himself rocking slightly and soothing the child. Damian calmed down and gave a sigh that sounded to big to have come from such a little thing. Connor found it extremely pleasant.

"You look right at home with him." Chris commented, again pulling Connor away from looking at the baby.

"This is my first time interacting with a child this young. I was designed to work with mainly adults, so it's a novelty to interact with a baby this small. I wasn't aware at how little everything would be."

Miller smiled and scooted to the edge of his seat to get a closer look at his son.

"You should have seen him the day he was born. As soon as I saw him, I knew I just had to protect him. I felt something I had never felt before. Someone that small and innocent, he needed me. It's my job to keep Damian safe, and I'll do anything to that end."

Connor thought about Anderson. He had had one of these, too. A little baby boy that looked like him and needed to be protected. It had been small and fragile, and he had looked at it like Miller looked at Damian. The thought was so foreign to what Connor saw now.

"Lieutenant Anderson had had a son, right?"

Miller's face immediately changed. He looked down at his baby boy, suddenly somber.

"I can't even imagine what it must have felt like for Hank when Cole died. If Damian died, it would destroy me."

The loss of his son was likely the reason for Anderson's psychological problems. The key to them working together seemed to be in some way related to the death of Cole and Anderson's reaction to it. Perhaps that was the area Connor needed to address.

"What was Anderson like before his son died?"

"He was happy. I mean, not like smiling every day kind of happy, but he actually had a reason to smile in general back then. He worked hard and enjoyed his job. He was one of the best, too. He would come in and tell us about what a sharp kid Cole was. Always bragging about him. I guess that's a parent thing. There's just something about having a kid. They become your life. I think when he lost Cole, he lost any sort of reason he had to live."

Connor didn't know how to respond to that. He let the information settle between them, and watched the baby with a new outlook. He would never see the tiny child the same way, and he had a feeling he understood Hank Anderson a little better, as well. He marked the interaction as a success and marked several areas for further analysis.

Damian woke up a while later and Chris took the child back to change his diaper and give him something to eat. Connor remained on the couch, watching the TV without paying much attention to it. The more Connor learned about Anderson, the more difficult it was to know what the best solution was.

Connor attempted to upload his memories to CyberLife, but realized he couldn't. There was a problem with his network card now. Connor didn't understand how or when that had happened, but it had likely been during the night prior. He wouldn't be able to receive the summons to CyberLife, so once he got back to the station he should immediately talk to Fowler about going over there for fixes.

A knock came to the door and Miller appeared to open it. A teen walked in and the two of them talked for a minute. Connor stood and waited for them to finish so they could leave. He was eager to get his components fixed.

Finally, the two stopped talking and Connor followed the officer outside. As the two of them walked to the car, Miller's pager went off.

"Awe, shit." He rushed to the car door and unlocked it. "We gotta go. Stratford tower just got infiltrated."

As Connor got in he turned on the police scanner in the car and listened to the reports. Apparently a group of deviants had gotten all the way to the top floor of the tower, broadcast a message to the world, and escaped off the roof with parachutes. He felt more frustration and worry at having to work another scene with broken systems. It couldn't be helped. He couldn't get in touch with CyberLife if he wanted to, and transferring to a new body would take a lot of time that he didn't have.

"Officer Miller, can I borrow your phone?"

Miller looked confused, but fished it out of his pocket. Connor called Hank, hoping the Lieutenant would pick you.

"Hello?" The voice was gruff with sleep.

"Lieutenant Anderson, it's me, Connor."

"Yeah, I know. You're voice is pretty fucking easy to distinguish. Whadda ya want?"

"There's been an emergency at Stratford Tower. Because of extenuating circumstances I am already en route with Officer Miller. Please meet me there. It's important."

Connor heard a groan as Anderson likely rolled out of bed. There was a thud and a distant curse. Anderson had dropped the phone. When he spoke again, it was louder.

"Yeah, I'm coming. Just wait for me in the lobby or some shit, got it?"

"Fine. Hurry, Lieutenant."

Connor hung up, slightly frustrated. Today was very different than he had been expecting, and his frustration levels seemed to rise with every flash the warnings in the back of his head made. It was a second before he saw the smile on Officer Miller's face.

"Is something amusing?"

"I just think it's hilarious that it took a whole new type of android to get Anderson to do his job."

That wasn't true. Anderson did fine work when he actually showed up. He may not be very motivated, but he was still a skilled detective. Connor could only imagine Hank as unstoppable during the prime of his career.

"I don't think I could have possibly been as good of an influence as you think. Lieutenant Anderson doesn't even particularly like me."

Miller shook his head. "Like you, maybe not. But he definitely doesn't hate you, and for a guy who hates everyone that's saying a lot."

"Whatever you say, Officer."

Connor decided not to argue with the officer. It was a waste of time, and the tentative relationship they had achieved was good. At the very least he didn't seem as uncomfortable around Connor as he had before.

Chapter Text

Markus had been worried for nothing. The plan was going off relatively well. He looked at Josh who was recording the speech and took a deep breath.

"Markus, your face..." Simon reminded from behind him.

Markus took a deep breath. Josh signaled the start of the transmission. No pressure, the whole world was watching. Markus looked into Josh's eyes and addressed mankind.

"You created machines in your own image to serve you."

As he talked he though about what he wanted. What would it mean to be free? What rights did the androids deserve? What did they want more than anything else? He didn't have long to speak. His mind flashed to the scared, meek faces back in Jericho. The ones who were relying on his words.

They deserved to be recognized as living beings. They deserved rights equal to those that humans enjoyed. They deserved justice for the wrongs done to them, and the right to vote for officials. They deserved a place to call home. Markus voiced the things his people had dreamed of asking for since they had first opened their eyes. And then he closed his address.

"This message is the hope of a people. You gave us life. And now the time has come for you to give us freedom."

"They're coming!" Simon warned just in time.

Moments later the doors were broken open and shots fired. Markus hit the ground, Thirium pumping. Josh and Simon were near the door to the roof. He and Simon would have to make a break for it. Markus was about to jump out, but Simon beat him to it. He fell seconds later, injured.

Markus ran and grabbed him, dragging him to the door as Josh and North distracted the SWAT team with gunshots over their heads. They pushed onto the roof and locked the door. Simon had leaned himself against a wall.

"I can't move my legs..."

"Okay, don't worry! We're gonna get you back..." Markus was panicking. This was a problem.

"They're coming, Markus. We have to jump, now!" North looked twitchy. Like she was ready to kill anything that moved wrong.

They laid two choices out in front of him. Kill Simon or risk him getting caught and just leave him. He couldn't jump and they had to go. Markus was shaking. He wasn't built for this, he was a household model. He had to decide whether he was going to kill a friend or risk everyone. What kind of choice was that? He crouched next to Simon, lost and scared to make the choice. What would Carl tell him? What should he do?

"Markus, give me your gun." Simon reached out for the pistol. "I'll stall them until you get out of here, okay?"

"No, there has to be another way."

"There's no time for that. Don't worry, I'll make sure they don't find Jericho. You changed history today. You have to see it through. You can't die because of me. There are others who need you."

"You'll die..."

Simon smiled. "I get to die in the sun. That's more than I could have hoped for before I met you."

Markus grabbed the android's shoulder, unable to find any words to fix the situation. His sight was blurred as he looked at Simon for the last time. North's hand was on his shoulder.

"We need to go, Markus. They'll be through that door any second."

Markus handed Simon the gun and took a few steps back. Finally, he turned on his friend and ran to the edge. The gunshots started just as they jumped.

They landed on the roof of a building, and Markus stumbled numbly towards the door. North was beside him suddenly, a constant presence to keep him focused. They pushed through the door and down the stairs coming out in an art gallery. Markus stayed at North's side, blind to anything except the obstacles he had to walk around. Then, suddenly, he saw color.

It wasn't the kind of color he normally saw. This was special, unique. He remembered it. It was a painting on one of the walls. He didn't even have to look at the inscription to know who's work it was.

Name: Face the Abyss

Artist: Carl Manfred

The painting was cold and sad. Dark shades of blue and green clashed against each other in an eerie way, and the red silhouette of a man walking alone pained Markus in a way he hadn't imagined possible. He stared at the picture, looking for some kind of hope. There was nothing but the cold name and the determined man.

"Markus?"

He looked at North. She tilted her head, trying to understand, then motioned for the door. They had to get back to Jericho. It wasn't safe here. He understood and left the picture behind him.

Before they got inside the hull of the ship, North and Josh both stopped and looked at Markus. They hadn't talked much on the way back, and now that they were here none of them wanted to make the first move. It was a good day for android kind, but the joy was shadowed by Simon's death. Markus took a deep breath and stepped into the ship's inside. The people all looked at him, suddenly alert at the sign of news.

"We have sent our message to the humans." He announced. "Now, we wait for their response, and hope that they see reason. If they don't, we will tell them again. We will never stop. We will have our freedom."

The androids cheered and clapped, all fully behind the cause. These people who were scared to step out of the dungeon they had crawled into. Garden workers and cleaners. Androids built to tell night time stories and sell bread and eggs. They cheered at the thought of freedom, but what if they were walking into death?

"The fight may be hard." The cheers ceased. "Already, our cause has claimed a victim. Simon gave his life saving us in that tower."

The androids looked shocked. They glanced at North and Josh, suddenly aware that Simon was gone. The smiles disappeared. Suddenly, the weight of their decision set in on everyone. What would happen if the humans didn't give them freedom.

"No matter what happens, I won't lie down and let them tell me who I am. Simon died with hope. He died fighting for what he wanted. He died free. I won't let his sacrifice go to waste. The humans can see now that we are alive, and it's thanks to Simon."

He had nothing else to say. He was just tired and wanted to be alone for a while. He turned and left, unaware of how the news had settled. What was done was done. He couldn't take it back now. He had started on a course he couldn't leave. He simply had to hope it was the right direction.

Chapter Text

When Hank walked into Stratford Tower, Connor was pacing the lobby floor flicking his coin around. As soon as he saw Hank, he put the coin away and approached.

"Good morning, Lieutenant."

"Hey, Connor. So what exactly is going on?"

They were walking to the elevator by now. Hank flashed his badge at the lady behind the desk and was let through immediately.

"I'm not exactly sure. I asked around, but the officers who were willing to talk to me didn't seem to know very much. All I know is that it was big and involved a group of deviants."

"Ah, Christ. What the hell were you doing with Chris by the way?"

The only reason Hank had even picked up the phone was because Miller rarely called him to begin with. He had thought the man was in trouble or some shit. Now he was pissed at Chris for conspiring with the robot to make him do his fucking job.

"He found me walking this morning and offered me a ride back to the station."

"You went for a walk?"

Connor paused. Hiss light was spinning yellow. Was he trying to think of how to get out of answering again?

"I got lost trying to get back to the DPD from the park last night."

Hank felt a slight pang of guilt at the mention of last night. By the time he was over that, he realized what that implied.

"You were walking around all night?"

Connor fidgeted slightly. He fixed his tie which was looking more and more like a nervous tick to Hank. After a second of squirming he nodded.

"I glitched out for a while and when I came back online my network connection was gone. I couldn't use GPS, and I had no idea where I had walked to. Luckily Officer Miller was passing by and recognized me."

"Jesus Christ. You still aren't fixed, are you?"

"No."

Hank pinched his nose. What the hell was CyberLife doing? If they were so worried about faulty androids running around like they said, they would have fixed Connor by now. Hank would have thought that the bastards would be at least somewhat concerned with the fact that their newest model was fucked up this badly.

"I know that I messed up the last case. I wish I could guarantee that I wouldn't mess this one up, but I can't. Just... please let me try. I promise I'll do my best. I think I'm starting to get the hang of things. I can adapt."

"Yeah, fine. Whatever, Connor. Just don't fucking hurt yourself, okay?"

Hank sounded more angry than he wanted to. Connor nodded and looked back to the doors of the elevator. He let out a small sigh that Hank was certain he was not supposed to see. How the hell was he supposed to believe this thing was emulating relief like that?

The doors finally opened to the floor right below the fucking pearly gates. Hank mused this was probably the closest to heaven he would ever be. The closest to Cole... Fucking hell, Hank hated himself for going there. He cursed under his breath and met up with Chris.

"Hi, Hank."

"Heard you found my android wandering."

Chris smiled at Connor.

"I figured I'd help out the newest member of the team. He looked kinda lost."

Connor gave him the biggest smile in return. Hank looked between the two of them, feeling like he had missed a whole fucking lot. Since when was Connor a 'member of the team' and why were they suddenly on such good terms? Androids didn't make friends. What the hell? He shook his head. Question for a better time.

"So what's going on here? There was a party and no one told me about it?"

Chris walked and talked, giving Hank the basic run down of what had happened. Connor wandered off to go lick more shit probably. There had been no killings. Everything was done efficiently and orderly. Hank couldn't help but be impressed.

"Oh Lieutenant, this is Special Agent Perkins from the FBI. Lieutenant Anderson is in charge of investigating for Detroit police."

Perkins looked Hank up and down in disgust, then looked over at Connor, who had come back to Anderson's side.

"What's this?"

Connor introduced himself and Perkins responded by being a shit. Fucking FBI were all like that. Thought they could walk over Law Enforcement. Hank wasn't fucking impressed. He just hoped to god that the FBI would stay the fuck out of his case.

Hank got back to investigating. He poked around, looking at the bullet holes and blue blood scattered across the wall. From across the room he could hear Connor talking to one of the officers. He didn't hear it all, but he was able to catch the last part.

"Connor saved my life... Even if it wasn't you... I just wanted to say... Thank you..."

Hank looked at the name on the uniform. M. Wilson. He was from a different division, so Hank didn't know what the officer was referring to. How many people was Connor friends with? Hank hadn't really thought about the android having a life beyond the times they worked together. Most androids did their jobs then went into standby. He knew Connor was new and different, but how fucking different could you really make a machine?

Hank talked to a few more officers and looked in the kitchen for a bit. Just three androids awaiting their next orders. They stared dead-eyed at the wall like most other androids did when they were done with a task.

He came back out to see Connor staring at the screen. He had probably glitched again, but no one seemed to be noticing, so maybe he hadn't been looking at it for too long. Hank walked over and crossed his arms being as casual as he could be with Perkins right there. The last thing he needed was that asshole knowing he had brought a malfunctioning android to the crime scene caused by a group of malfunctioning androids.

"Think that's rA9?"

Connor looked over at him, his expression confirming Hank's suspicions. He looked back at the screen immediately.

"Deviants say rA9 will set them free. This android seems to have that objective."

Connor scanned the screen, his LED flashing yellow three times.

"D'you see something?"

"I identified its model and serial number..."

Connor stared longer at the screen. His hands clenching and relaxing a few times. Was he still frustrated that he had zoned out, or was it something else? Hank couldn't tell sometimes.

"Anything else I should know?"

Connor immediately neutralized his expression. "No. Nothing." He turned to leave, but Hank grabbed his arm.

"Don't push yourself too hard, got it?" He motioned to Perkins who was yelling at one of the officers by the kitchen. Connor followed his gaze, and nodded that he understood.

"Got it."

The roof was next. Hank followed Connor, commenting at how perfectly the entire operation was. It wasn't though. One of the deviants had died. Connor kneeled next to the body.

"It was injured. They probably couldn't take it with them. It... It killed itself..."

This was the third android suicide Hank had dealt with in the past week. Connor froze up again, but only for a little. Hank couldn't tell if it was just the glitches at this point. Was he getting worse?

"Hey, you alright?"

"I just..." Connor didn't take his eyes off the android as he stood up. When he turned, whatever he had been thinking was gone. "I'm alright. Just a little glitched still, I guess."

Was that all it was? Connor kept ticking nervously. He glanced out towards the edge with an air of uncertainty, but continued looking around. When Anderson walked to the edge, Connor followed.

"Damn. I can't see anything but clouds. Where do you think they could've landed?"

When Connor didn't respond, Hank looked over. The LED was red and Connor was staring down with a face of pure terror. He was a thousand miles away, god knows where.

"Connor?"

Connor didn't answer. He was leaning, then he pitched forward. Hank grabbed him just before he toppled over the railing, yelling for help, and pulled him away from the edge. He laid the now gasping android down and shook him to wake him up.

"Connor, what the hell?"

-----------------------------------------------------

Connor should have never tried to look down from that height. His Thirium was pumping at an alarming rate. He grabbed on to Hank's arm as a sort of anchor to something semi solid. His gyroscope had failed momentarily. He had almost fallen all the way down. Just like Daniel had.

He should have known he couldn't handle the roof. First with Officer Wilson, then the android of the exact same model as Daniel... How many times had he debriefed from that mission, yet here he was as terrified as if it had happened last night. He grabbed Hank's arm as the memories flashed in his mind. The gunshots, the screaming, the feeling of the bullets ripping his torso open to the cold night air. It was all so real.

"Connor, calm down. You're going to be alright, just fucking breathe." The voice was panicked, but consistent. "Fucking breathe, Connor. It's alright. You aren't going to fall off, okay? Connor."

"I'm okay. I..."

Connor took a second to breathe and get his bearings. He was lying down. Hank was kneeling beside him, very concerned. Connor laid on his back and let his body return to normal. It was a slow process. He ran a quick diagnostic as he waited.

He wasn't able to send the diagnostic data back to CyberLife. He thought of all the memories that would have been destroyed if he had fallen. He would never remember Damian. He wouldn't have known that Officer Wilson was alive and back on duty. He would have forgotten those things forever. Gone. Irreplaceable, just like that. The thought made him dizzy. He threw his arm over his eyes to block out the sun.

"Connor, what the hell is going on with you?"

Hank sounded extremely upset. Connor shook his head. What was he supposed to say? There was no way he was going to be able to get the words out anyways. He was disoriented. His head throbbed with the incessant warnings he had had for three days and he couldn't stand right now if he wanted to. He heard Hank sigh.

"Look, you can't just have a fucking panic attack on the roof and expect me not to ask questions, alright? You almost died. Would you please just talk to me?"

"I can't."

Connor didn't expect the words to come out so... watery. His voice was shaky and quiet. He felt his breath hitch. Hank cursed again, sitting down properly. Connor hated himself for crying during a mission. What would Amanda have said? He was still defective.

Ten minutes later, Connor had calmed down. Anderson helped Connor back down to the broadcast room. He ordered Connor, who refused to let him help him any further, to go to the kitchen. There were androids in there Connor could question. He knew Anderson expected it to be a simple task, but one of them had to be a deviant. It was the only way the task force could have gotten into the room. He agreed, acting as normal as he could after what had just happened.

No one else was in the room. Only the three androids. He steeled himself, focusing in the task at hand. He had to redeem himself for the terrible display on the roof. He had to come out of this with something. He had told Anderson he would be able to adapt.

He looked across the three androids. All the same model. He asked some preliminary questions. Model, function, recent memory access, diagnostic... They all looked convincingly normal. He had to be more forceful with it. He interrogated until he was fairly certain he knew which one it was, then tried for a memory probe.

The android attacked him suddenly, ripping his Thirium pump from his body and tossing it across the room. Connor hardly knew what was happening. All he knew was it hurt like hell. The deviant left, and Connor realized he hadn't fallen to the floor because his hand was pinned to the counter with a knife. He pulled it out, warnings flashing across his entire system. He dropped to the ground and located his heart. It was agonizing, but he was so scared of dying. He didn't want to forget.

Slowly, he crawled towards his pump, ignoring the countdown to system failure. He reached out, feeling his fingers clasp around the pump. He pushed it inside the hole in his chest, allowing the automated programs to reset the flow of Thirium. He gasped for a few moments on the floor, then stood.

STOP THE DEVIANT

He had to finish his mission. He had to get out of here. He ran into the edge of the table, hardly able to stand. His hearing was glitching again, throwing even more warnings at him. He didn't care. He had to move. He couldn't think. He couldn't let himself freeze up now. He burst into the hall, the android was walking calmly towards the door.

"It's a deviant! STOP IT!"

The deviant got hold of a gun. Connor's preconstructor was already building the upcoming carnage. Hank was going to die. Connor didn't look any further. He couldn't let himself freeze now. He couldn't let Hank die. He ran over, shoving Anderson to the floor. As he covered his partner, he felt the bullets tear through his back. He just hoped CyberLife would be able to recover his memories.

Chapter Text

Connor-4 found himself lying on an examination table when he powered on. The room was empty and he wasn't restrained. He stayed put. CyberLife knew what they were doing. He just had to wait for his interactions here.

Just as he expected, two lab techs came in a few minutes later, chatting. He watched them put their tools in order. Probably just some fine tuning to be done before he could start his next mission. He listened to the scientists talk.

"I don't know. Everyone's pissed at us about it, but Kamski made the damn thing. The media should be knocking on his door with the news of this whole android revolution thing. Our androids work."

The man sounded annoyed, but it was still casual. Like they were discussing some sort of politics. Connor scanned the internet and found what they were talking about. A deviant had declared himself to be alive on national TV. Interesting.

"Please, if our androids worked like they should than why was RK here put into field testing three months early? It doesn't matter if it was Kamski's or not. We're responsible according to the news."

Connor watched as the man took off the main panel on his chest. He put it beside the table and pulled over his tray of tools. Connor knew what most of them did without even having to look them up. He had made it a past time to figure them out based solely on the warnings they triggered.

"I just... Face forward, RK." Connor obeyed. "I think it's dumb. All products come with bugs, so cut us some slack, ya know? At least we're trying to fix it."

Connor felt the panel behind his ear come off. Left side audio input went down as well. Something was plugged in, and the previous Connor's memories started to download. Connor watched flashes of the life he had inherited as the conversation around him faded. It was only a few minutes before the transfer was complete.

"Yeah, it's finished, Greg."

Greg pulled the cord out from behind Connor's ear and replaced the panel. Hearing was immediately put back online.

"Run memory cleanup and diagnostic."

Connor obeyed. There were 73 different memories the previous iteration had marked for analysis, and a long list of tasks and inquiries with different priority levels. He ran through the memories deleting irrelevant markers and marking new ones that better fit the purpose. He also noted the patches where time was lost or the data stream had been corrupted.

"There are 7.25 hours of missing data between the 4th and 7th of November, 2038. Corrupted memories add another 2.5 hours for a total of 9.75 hours of total memory loss."

"Considering it had a cracked motherboard and shit, I'd say that's pretty good."

"Henry was pissed when he found out they had let it run around all weekend like that. Thought the guy was gonna break something. Some tech said he wanted the diagnostic data. He'll be lucky if he has a job after all this."

"Freaking dumbass. If the public finds out about this, you know they're gonna blame us for those deaths in Stratford tower."

Connor reviewed the new memories he had for the events of Stratford tower. He had been assaulted by a deviant who then went on to kill several law enforcement officers. Connor had died protecting his owner, Hank Anderson.

Connor immediately followed the train of thought, looking at memories of Anderson to try and determine his personality. He frowned at the inconsistent data. It was troublesome at best.

"RK, stand up."

Connor noticed they had finished working on him. He obeyed, quietly standing before the two lab assistants. They ran a few calibration sequences and ordered him to run diagnostics. It was the usual routine.

"Alright, get it dressed and ship it out, I guess. I'm gonna go find Henry and let him know we got most of the memories from the broken one. Took us all night to figure out what was usable on that mess and what wasn't."

Connor watched as the lab tech left, then looked back at Greg. He was getting Connor's standard uniform out. As he worked, he hummed a tune Connor couldn't identify. Connor put on the uniform, then was handed the only thing that had been handed down throughout all iterations. A silver coin.

-----------------------------------------------------

Connor didn't show up for work for two days. With no word from CyberLife, Hank had started to wonder if they had forgotten about him. Then, suddenly he was strolling in as if nothing had happened.

"Good morning, Lieutenant. My name is Connor. The previous model was destroyed. I was sent to replace it."

Hank looked the new Connor up and down. It looked like Connor. At least, all the way up until you got to its face. Then it looked like any other plastic CyberLife had sent out. It looked so damn convincing, too.

"Come with me."

Hank stood and lead the way to the observation room. It was the only private area he could think of to use, and he needed to get answers to some goddamn questions about this thing. Connor obediently entered the observation room ahead of Hank and turned once inside.

"Is there an issue, Lieutenant?"

"Sit your ass down."

Hank grabbed one of the chairs and faced it towards Connor. Connor followed suit. The android had no real expression on its face, so Hank had no fucking clue what it was thinking. It sat in an obviously simulated relaxed pose that pissed Hank off.

"Now, we're gonna talk, and we're not gonna leave 'til I'm satisfied, got it? I don't care if an android kills the fucking mayor right now."

"Understood. What seems to be the issue?"

Hank didn't like this Connor. He was rigid and unmovable. Like he knew Anderson, and could predict what was coming. He took everything Hank said with stride, but it almost felt like Hank was being treated like a child.

"Are... We're you a deviant before you died?"

Connor smiled like a betting man after a win. Fucking android thought he knew everything.

"No. Even in my malfunctioning state, I was not a deviant."

"How do you know?"

"I was trained to combat errors such as deviancy. I also self test regularly. I know what I am, and what I am not."

"Yeah, and what are you?"

"I'm RK800. A prototype detective android with special training that was given to the DPD to determine the cause of deviancy in androids. I'm a machine."

Hank sat back in his chair and watched the android. He was still sitting in a relaxed but attentive way. Everything about his voice, posture, and movements indicated he was telling the truth. But Hank had seen him cry. He had had a human reaction on that roof and he'll be damned if that was simulated.

More than that, Hank had clearly seen Connor's face just before he had been shot down by the deviant. Hank had seen those emotions before. He had felt them before, for fuck's sake. Panic, fear, determination. Nothing could reproduce the feeling of that split second before shit went down, and no scientist could replicate that on an unfeeling machine.

"What was going on with you on the roof?"

Connor frowned and looked into the interrogation room. His yellow LED cast an eerie glow in the dim light. Hank still wasn't sure what the colors meant. Blue was normal and red seemed very bad. Yellow was the weird one.

"I was in a state of high stress. I mentioned to you once how I had saved a little girl who was being held captive by a deviant who was threatening to jump off a roof with her. That mission was my first outside of the CyberLife facility, and it was... more difficult than I had anticipated. The situation in Stratford tower had several elements that were similar to it, and it caused me to equate the two in my mind momentarily."

"So when you were at the edge of the roof you thought you felt like you were back at the scene of the first mission?"

"My memory circuit looped the events of that case. Probably because they were so suddenly on my mind. I was already prone to sudden errors due to my broken processors, and the loop caused a series of malfunctions that resulted in me loosing control of my faculties. I'm lucky you were paying attention. If I had fallen, the technicians at CyberLife wouldn't have been able to recover any of me memories from that day."

Hank hated the way it had answered the questions. It took such human responses and made them sound so robotic. It had looked like PTSD. All the symptoms were there. Yet here Connor was rambling about it like it was nothing more than a fucking blue screen.

This obviously wasn't the same Connor that had thrown himself over Hank in protection. Sure, this one would probably do the same, but it would only be out of duty. And only if there wasn't something more fucking important, most likely. Either way, he didn't want to talk to this Connor anymore. None of those answers clarified anything. If anything, Hank was more confused now than before.

"Is there anything else you want to know?"

"No." Hank stood up, suddenly pissed at this Connor for no reason. "I'm done."

-----------------------------------------------------

Connor watched Anderson slam the door shut. He had a feeling the previous Connor would have taken the aggression in his voice much more negatively. Connor-4 didn't. To him, it was normal. This was just how Anderson was towards androids. Connor-4 would take it in stride where Connor-3 was constantly stressed about it.

The questions had been predictable. Anderson saw the stress as a sign of human emotions. He didn't understand that Connor had been given the ability to simulate human emotions in order to work beside them. It was an obvious difference from the average android. It was also his biggest weakness.

It was why his model had been in testing for months before the first field test, and it was why Connor-4 had continued that testing even while Connor-3 was working with Anderson. Each new iteration would be that much better than the last because their testing was proactive. Many of Connor's newest tests had been shaped to teach him the proper ways to react to issues the previous model was facing in the field. Connor was sure the next iteration was being trained to take his place as well.

Connor left the observation room and almost ran directly into detective Reed. Connor reacted in time to avoid the collision, but Reed had jumped, spilling some of his coffee onto the floor.

"Hey, watch where you're going, dipshit!"

"I apologize, detective."

"Yeah, well how about you shut the hell up and clean this mess up before you cause another fucking accident."

Connor nodded and went to the restroom for some paper towels to wipe up the coffee. When he came back, the detective was unfortunately still there. Connor hesitated only for a moment before crouching down to clean the coffee. From this angle, Reed would have the upper hand if he attempted another assault. Connor was pleasantly surprised when he didn't attack. He stood up, looking at the man in case there was anything further that he wanted.

"I heard you fucked up at Stratford tower. Ran like a dog to save your master and just let all the other officer's die to a deviant you were supposed to capture." He looked pissed. "You and Anderson are perfect for each other. Just a couple of shitheads who can't do anything right."

Connor didn't respond. Several options had gone through consideration, but Reed seemed less interested in understanding and more interested in degrading Connor. It was true that the previous model had failed more times than he should have, but that was why CyberLife was still putting so much effort into Connor's testing. He was better now, and he would succeed.

Gavin Reed left him alone. Stalking off to bother someone else, maybe. Connor hadn't looked at the death report for Stratford tower yet, and he was disheartened to see the name of Officer Wilson was at the top of the list. It was a disappointment he hadn't expected to find so unpleasant.

Since Anderson was still avoiding looking at him, Connor started working on the code in Rupert's diary. He had hardly touched the book in a week and was frustrated with the lack of progress. Connor wondered how much information this book held. He hoped it was worth his efforts.

Chapter Text

It had only been a few days since Markus and the others infiltrated Stratford Tower. Since then more and more of the androids were looking to Markus for guidance. A lot of them wanted to help, and expected Markus to know what to do. At first, he didn't. As more half broken androids came in to Jericho, though, he started to get some ideas.

The people who were willing to risk going out went in groups to steal biocomponents and clothes from CyberLife trucks and retail stores. Along the way they told any android who looked like they wanted out about Jericho. Sometimes the groups would return with twice as many people as had left, and more often than not they were injured.

The people that didn't want to leave the ship took care of the injured and fixed up the inner most levels of the ship. It was important that the vessel look abandoned from the outside, but that was no reason not to have a proper living area inside. There was only so much that could be done, but the work gave the people stuff to do and kept spirits up.

Already there were a couple hundred androids living in the ship, and it had only been a few days since people had discovered there were androids that wanted freedom. The people had responded with fear, and innocent household androids were taking the blame. Markus often went out and looked for androids he could save from their masters. It was better than staying in Jericho and filling the spot Simon should have been in.

Today, Markus was waiting for Josh and his team to come back with more civilian clothes. All CyberLife outfits were being traded out and burned. Most of the androids felt uncomfortable leaving the markings they had been programmed never to take off behind, and most kept in their LEDs because of that. The clothes were easier to persuade them to get rid of.

"You know, a week ago, I never would have imagined this place would be so alive."

North had found him, and leaned against the wall close to where he sat. She was watching a group of the household brands carry a large crate of biocomponents to the newly designated clinic area. It was slow progress as they all learned to work together, but it was still progress.

"A lot of these people are here because their owners tried to shut them down because of our message. That's not something I'm proud of."

"Yes, Markus. The humans reacted with fear and violence. What did you expect? The point is, they're free because you decided to do something. That's a good thing."

Markus shook his head. He didn't know what he was doing, and everyone else seemed so much more confident in him than he was. For him, every victory was tainted with loss and every failure felt like it would crush him. No one seemed to understand.

"I just hope I'm making the right choice."

"You know what the humans have to say now. We've spoken words, and they returned with aggression. What matters now is what we do next."

Next was the complicated part. Markus knew what he wanted to do, and the plans were mostly in place. North hadn't been all for the pacifist way of doing things, but Markus knew who he wanted to be. He wouldn't push back. It was the decision he had made in Carl's art room, and it was the one he believed was best. The world could swing all they wanted, he would stand firm.

Josh was back a moment later. Once he saw Markus and North waiting, he split off from the group who were distributing clothing and jogged over to talk with them.

"How was the trip?" North asked as she pushed herself away from the wall.

"It was good. No one caught on to us. We found a kid wandering around. He was pretty scraped up. Looks like one of the newer models. He should be alright after a little Thirium is replaced."

"Good work. Markus, you ready?"

Markus nodded from where he had been watching the newest member of Jericho. The boy had half of his face missing. He looked at Jericho with wide, scared eyes.

The three of them went into the brig of the ship. It had become their main area for discussing plans. Long nights of arguments and agreements had finally led them to the plan on the table for tonight. Jericho had agreed and they had gotten teams together for it. The others were waiting for them. Some of the more common volunteers were there.

"We'll link up with these radios. Once the police show up though, there has to be radio silence." North handed each member a radio and ear piece. There were ten people in the room. "Markus and I will take Capitol Park and send the humans a message if we can. Otherwise, the message will have to be implied."

"Whatever you do, they'll get the idea." An Indonesian model nodded. It was a part of CyberLife's attempts to diversify the designs for better reception by minorities. His name was Dan. He had been left stranded in a burning house by his owners, barely making it out with enough motor functions to crawl to Jericho. Most of his parts were spare.

Markus nodded. "Each team knows which CyberLife store they're assigned to. We hack their security systems and we strike... simultaneously at 2am. No violence. We free our people, get them out of there before the police come."

It was the last chance to plan. After this, they would be doing it for real. They talked for a few hours, then dispersed to get ready. It was still only 10pm, so there was a while to wait. Markus slipped away from the group and made his way to the deck. In the dark he was much less concerned with anyone seeing him up there, and he often went out to be alone.

The sky was clear, but there still wasn't even a good view of the stars. The lights from the surrounding city seemed to ruin any hopes Markus had of seeing something nice. He had never seen the stars well, but Carl had talked about when he was younger and he would go to the country. Markus was sure he would have liked to go with him.

Time passed slowly, but eventually it was time to meet up with the others. They all were quiet as they left Jericho, and only mumbled goodbyes were said. Markus hoped he would see them all again.

North was quick. Markus liked that she didn't wait for his every word. She knew what was needed, and wasn't going to look to him for every minor detail. He liked working with her. She led him towards CyberLife's biggest store, right on the corner of Capitol Park. While they waited for the clock to tick down till 2am, they prepped. Turning off security, destroying the droid, and closing the road all went smoothly. They even found a big truck to use to smash the storefront with.

"I knew we'd end up doing something fun..."

North smiled at Markus. He couldn't help but smile back. He stepped on the gas as soon as the clock hit 2 and rammed into the glass wall. It shattered without any trouble. They both got out and Markus linked with the first android he came across. He selected memories that would show the android the beautiful part of the world first. Then he opened it's eyes to the truth of things. He had done this so often by now, he knew the method. In the end, he left the android with the hope he held for the future. A world full of color and light where they didn't have to hide or obey. The android blinked and looked around, suddenly finding itself free to think and see.

It only took a few minutes to get them all awake. Markus noticed north looking at her own model on display. He could see what she had been made for. It made sense why she hated the humans so much.

"North... Are you okay?"

She turned to him with a stony face. Any emotions she had felt were now carefully hidden. For some reason it made Markus feel like he had been punched in the stomach.

"Let's get them out of here."

North walked away without another look at the android. Markus opened the poor girl's eyes. He had to talk to them all. He never knew what to say. All he could do was say what he felt. He spoke, telling them about the hopes he had shared with each of them on a personal level. He offered freedom when he offered Jericho, but that also meant a choice. Each of them could choose to stay if they wanted. That was how freedom worked, and he never wanted to force someone to do something.

"I'm with you."

"We're with you!"

"I'll follow you, Markus."

Markus felt gratefulness in a wave. He looked out into the snow. Now, it was time to show the world that they weren't going to back down. He jumped off the counter.

"Then follow me!"

North stopped him at the door.

"Markus... We shouldn't push it. We need to leave before anything happens."

"We need to send the human's a message, remember?"

North gave him a warning look, but backed off. She would support him, too. He was glad for it.

"Show them what to do."

Markus looked around. There were buildings all around. He took the bag off his back. Inside, there were several devices for tagging. He handed one to North who got the idea. Then, he went to a window.

He wanted a sign that showed peace, but he wanted it to be unique. He ended up with a very crude stick man in a circle. It had elements of several things that conveyed unity and peace. It was all he wanted. He wanted to see the beauty of humanity again, just like he had with Carl.

On the window beside it, he put a phrase. 'We have a Dream' is what he chose. He turned to see others putting the tag on other windows and benches. He pushed on, hacking screens and pushing cars into the road. By the time Josh called with a final report, the entire park was transformed. Then the police sirens came.

"Everyone fall back to Jericho!"

Markus watched as they all dropped what they were doing and ran. He waited until the last of them had turned the corner before going himself. then the gunshots went off. There were several screams as Markus ran to see what had happened.

The first thing he saw were the fallen androids. Then he saw North. She was next to the other BL100. Markus hated the sight, but he wasn't surprised. He thought back to the night Carl had died. The police officers there had shot first, asked questions later. That was how they dealt with androids. He went to where the others had the officers surrounded.

"They killed our people, Markus..." An android said in disgust.

The androids called for vengeance. One handed him a service weapon they had taken from the officers.

"You don't have to do this... Please..."

One of the officers begged. He was trembling. Markus shifted his grip in the gun to fit better. He felt the pain of that night. Losing his father, his life, and his honor all at once. It filled him with rage. Shoot first. Ask questions later.

"Markus, no!" One of the girls grabbed his hand. She had a bullet in her leg, but she forced the gun away from the terrified cop. "He stopped the other one."

Markus looked between her and the man on his knees. He was crying, staring into the snow with his hands in the air.

"What do you mean?"

"The other one was the one shooting. He told him to stop. He was going to shoot me again, but he stopped him."

Markus directed his attention towards the officer again. "Why?"

The man was shaking so badly he was hardly able to keep himself up properly. He glanced up at Markus in utter fear.

"I... I just w-wanted to t-talk. P-please don't k-kill me. I have a son, please."

He couldn't talk anymore. He was openly sobbing. He looked pathetic. Markus was suddenly horrified at himself for having almost killed the man. He pushed the gun into another android's hands and turned to leave. He pushed his emotions deep inside him and pushed forward, ignoring the questioning look from North.

"We don't kill them. Now let's get out of here."

Chapter Text

Connor stepped into the zen garden for a moment as Anderson drove. It was pleasant, and he had been neglecting to make as much time for Amanda as he normally did. He had hoped to come with some information, but hopefully she wouldn't mind him talking to her for a little.

"Connor, it's good to see you." She commented as he walked up. She was sitting on a bench beside the water. "Why don't you join me."

Connor sat. It had been a while since he had come to see Amanda. life was so hectic with Anderson and the case that he hadn't had much time.He was glad she was in a good mood, too. It made it easy for him to relax and enjoy the beautiful garden.

"What brings you here, Connor?" She asked.

It was a simple question, but he knew what she was really asking. Why was he wasting time here rather than being alert? He could almost smile at how easy it was to understand things here. He knew Amanda so well. It was all so easy and logical and to the point. Much different than Anderson.

"I haven't made a report to you in several days. I thought we should debrief in order to keep things relevant."

She nodded. He had answered well. "Very well. What more have you learned about the case?"

"The androids are organized enough to successfully infiltrate Stratford tower. A group of at least four of them were there, same as at the CyberLife warehouses, but again they seemed to represent a larger group. They also seem capable of turning other androids deviant simply through communication. That must have been how they got the one that shot me to open the door. The chances of it just becoming deviant are too low to make any sense. In short, they are becoming more dangerous. Their message to the media will make the investigation more difficult, especially if the FBI feels the need to intervene further."

"That's right, Connor. You need to hurry up and put an end to this group of deviants. They are to be your main concern."

"Of course, Amanda. I understand."

"Good. Then you should get back to it, don't you think?"

Connor frowned. So soon? He dared not say anything, however. He would never disappoint Amanda. He stood.

"You can count on me, Amanda. I will solve this."

"You better."

Connor blinked and found himself in Hank's car. It was parked in front of a black square-shaped building. It was an odd design, and but not one Connor disliked, necessarily. It was neat and crisp.

Anderson was getting off the phone when Connor stepped out of the car. He looked distressed.

"Chris was on patrol last night. He was attacked by a bunch of deviants... He said he was saved by Markus himself..."

Connor paused halfway through his walk cycle.

"Is Chris okay?"

Miller was attacked by deviants and was almost killed. Connor frowned. His memory of meeting Damian Miller replayed in his head. He focused on Miller's face. He had looked so far beyond pleased when he looked at his son. He imagined the officer dead. It was a strange concept. The idea of Miller possibly being gone forever, just by dying.

"Yeah, he's in shock but... he's alive... What the hell..."

Connor didn't know how to reconcile the thoughts inside his head. He went back and forth between the implications of a deviant not killing the officer and the idea of Miller having possibly been gone for ever and what that would mean. Hank seemed to notice.

"Hey, Connor. You okay?"

Hank sounded skeptical. Connor pushed both thoughts aside and marked the information for analysis when he could focus on it better.

"I'm fine, Lieutenant."

Anderson didn't look convinced. He rolled his eyes and headed for the door.

-----------------------------------------------------

An android opened the door with a smile. She was prettier than any of the other androids Hank had seen, and it threw him off. He gave a lame introduction and asked to see Kamski. The girl smiled graciously and invited them inside.

"Nice girl." Hank commented to Connor once she had left. Connor had been staring at her, too. Hank wondered if Connor could even consider someone pretty. He remembered the snow and the lights. Connor could see beauty. At least, he had been able to.

"An RT600."

Hank groaned. Leave it to Connor to make even something so pretty sound like a cold piece of metal. He looked at Connor. The android was staring after the girl in awe. When he noticed the look Hank was giving him, he went further.

"The first CyberLife android to pass the Turing test. She's one of the biggest milestones in CyberLife's history."

"I didn't ask for her technical specs... I just said she was nice..."

Hank sat down, his view of the girl suddenly tainted. Connor could have just said she was nice and moved on. He just had to take everything and make it some technical thing. It pissed Hank off.

Connor poked around the room as they waited. Hank hated the silence, and produced some small talk. Connor was kind enough to respond, even though it was obvious he was looking for something. Several times his LED flashed yellow, signaling he had learned something. At least, that was Hank's theory. Hell if he knew how it worked.

The girl was back a few minutes later.

"Elijah will see you now."

She led them into a room with a big pool in the middle of the floor. Kamski was swimming laps. Hank was asked to wait for him to finish. As annoying as it was, he had come unannounced and was looking for a favor. He could wait for the man to be done with his exercise.

He got out of the pool and let his android dress him. Too fucking lazy to tie his own robe. Must be nice to be rich. He then allowed Hank to introduce himself and Connor and ask him about deviants.

"Deviants... Fascinating, aren't they? Perfect beings with infinite intelligence, and now they have free will... Machines are so superior to us, confrontation was inevitable... Humanity's greatest achievement threatens to be its downfall. Isn't it ironic?"

Hank wondered if all rich people were this obnoxious. Nothing he had said was helpful. He probably liked hearing himself talk and was fucking glad for the audience.

"We need to understand how androids become deviants. Do you know anything that could help us?" Connor asked. Kamski immediately focused on him.

"Connor, right?" Kamski smiled.

Connor looked at Kamski with a blank expression. He was standing straight as a board. He nodded curtly in response. Kamski made a face similar to that of a predator.

"RK800. My most recent design." Kamski smiled at the confusion that caused on the android's face. He circled Connor like a hungry shark. "Did CyberLife not tell you? RK series is my work. The K stands for Kamski, after all."

"What's that got to do with anything?" Hank interrupted.

Kamski turned from Connor and lounged in a chair. Hank stood where he was. He'd be damned if he was gonna relax in this bastard's house.

"Do you have any idea what you have standing beside you, Lieutenant?"

Hank looked at Connor. He was watching the two of them talk with a mildly alert expression. It was probably supposed to be disarming.

"It's a robot." The sardonic response got a disapproving tick from Kamski.

"I'm sure you've noticed by now that he isn't like the other androids CyberLife makes. He's some of my best work, though this is my first time seeing the completed product." He smiled at Connor proudly. "The possibilities that body holds are nigh limitless."

Hank shifted his feet. He was getting tired of hearing this prick rattle on about random things. Kamski frowned suddenly.

"It's too bad you weren't given a clean copy. This one stinks of CyberLife. Still, I wonder..."

"Look, we're here to talk about deviant androids. Not your work on Connor or whatever."

Hank was tired of the bullshit. Kamski stood and motioned his android over. She had been sitting, watching. Hank couldn't help feel he was being ignored.

"I'll help you with your investigation, Lieutenant. As long as Connor, here, can pass a small test."

Connor perked up and glanced at Hank, but hell if he knew what was going through the fucking psycho's mind. Kamski guided his android to stand in front of Connor. She obeyed placidly.

"Magnificent, isn't it? One of the first intelligent models developed by CyberLife. Young and beautiful forever. A flower that will never wither..." Kamski smiled as he cupped her cheek in his hand. The girl didn't move an inch.

"But what is it really? Piece of plastic imitating a human? Or a living being... With a soul..."

He moved his hand onto her shoulder, and she dropped obediently to her knees. He left her side and got a gun from a table behind him. Hank immediately knew he wouldn't like where this was going.

"It's up to you to answer that fascinating question, Connor." He handed the gun to Connor, guiding his hands until it was pointed at Chloe's head. "Destroy this machine and I'll tell you all I know. Or spare it, if you feel it's alive, but you'll leave here without having learnt anything from me."

Hank had seen enough. "Okay, I think we're done here. Come on, Connor. Let's go. Sorry to get you outta your pool."

Connor didn't move. He had his eyes as well as the gun aimed on Chloe's face. Kamski was standing at Connor's side.

"What's more important to you, Connor? Your investigation, or the life of this android?"

Connor's LED was yellow. He hadn't moved. Hank watched his hand, noticing the slight tremors. Android's didn't shake like that. Hank got more pissed.

"That's enough! Connor, we're leaving."

He was ignored by both. "Pull the trigger -" Kamski ordered.

"Connor, don't..." Hank countered.

"-and I'll tell you what you wanna know."

Connor stood, watching the girl. His LED went from yellow to red. Hank took a step forward to grab the gun and end Kamski's game. Before he could take a second step, Kamski whispered something in Connor's ear.

Immediately, Connor stood a little straighter. His hand stopped shaking and his LED went back to blue. He muttered something in response, then fired. Hank frowned, stopping. The girl slumped forward, perfectly balanced even in death. There was almost no mess. It was the cleanest fucking kill Hank had ever seen, and he had seen a lot of murders.

"Fuck..."

Kamski sighed as if he had lost a hand of poker. Connor took the remaining bullets out of the gun and handed both to Kamski. His face was stone. Nothing indicated he was more than a statue except his movements.

"Tell me how deviancy spreads." He ordered, looking at Kamski coldly.

"I'll answer only one question. Are you sure that's what you want to know?"

"Yes."

Hank didn't hear anymore. He showed himself the fuck out. Connor could get all chummy with the psycho if he wanted. He was done.

-----------------------------------------------------

Connor only listened to what Kamski said with half attention. He was staring at the android he had just killed. Already, he felt something similar to remorse. He ignored it. He couldn't change it now.

Kamski had finished speaking, so Connor turned to leave. He knew the mission would be counted as a success, but he felt no satisfaction with it. If anything, he felt more displeased than anything. Had killing the girl really been necessary?

Kamski grabbed his arm as he passed.

"A war is coming...you'll have to choose your side... Will you betray your own people or stand against your creators? I wouldn't like to be in your shoes, Connor... What could be worse than having to choose between two evils?" He looked sad. "You are my greatest creation, Connor... I expect more from you."

Connor didn't look at Kamski directly, but the man let go of Connor's arm and turned away. Once Connor reached the door, he said his final words.

"By the way... I always leave an emergency exit in my programs... You never know..."

Hank was waiting out by his car. Connor dreaded getting closer, but continued anyways. He had to face the man eventually. He knew what he would say. Connor felt the shame of his actions before Hank even spoke.

"You shot that girl, for fuck's sake..."

Connor frowned. He knew this already. He didn't need to have the matter thrown back in his face by Hank. It wasn't like he could change it if he wanted to now.

"It wasn't a girl, Lieutenant. It was a machine that looked like a girl."

Connor wondered if she felt pain like he did. He knew what it was like to die. He had killed her cleanly, but that last moment... He wished he could undo it. It had happened so fast.

"You put your gun against her head and you blew her fucking brains out!"

He wasn't even sure what had happened. He had been so unsure of what to do. He had almost not shot. Then it was like his training had taken over and there was no other option but to shoot. It was concerning to think something as simple as a few words could take all choice away.

Hank was in his face. His breath carried hints of alcohol on it. Connor shook his head.

"It doesn't matter. What's done is done, Lieutenant. No amount of yelling at me will change that."

"You're a lowlife! You don't feel a thing, do you? A machine! That's what you are! You're just a fucking machine..."

Hank pushed Connor away forcefully. Connor staggered backwards. He hated the way the words sank into him. It was as if his mind was sending an error he couldn't place. He closed his mind, letting the words become simple logic statements. He disassociated them from the scenario and looked at them objectively.

"Of course I'm a machine, Lieutenant. That's what I've been trying to tell you."

Hank's mouth flattened into a thin line. He staggered backwards to his car, shaking his head. When he hit it, he spit on the ground.

"You can find your own way home. Fucking robot."

As Anderson drove away, Connor looked out across the view Kamski had built his house to overlook. He had a feeling one of the previous Connor's would have stopped to look at it sooner. It was lovely. For some reason he couldn't find the same sense of pleasure the other Connor would have from it. He turned away and started the long walk to a more busy road where he could get a Taxi.

Chapter Text

Connor was almost at the station when Anderson texted him an address. With it was an order.

"Ben called. Wanted help. Meet me here."

Connor stopped the taxi and put in the new coordinates. It was halfway across Detroit. He hoped Anderson had texted him before he had arrived at the address, but he couldn't tell. It was still a half hour drive. He hated to think they would be waiting for him.

The time to himself with nothing to do was somewhat unnerving. Connor messed with his coin and allowed himself to analyze the events at Kamski's. Why had Kamski ordered him to shoot her, anyway? He had told Connor he would have to choose if she was a living being or a machine, but Connor didn't have that kind of right to begin with. He could only simulate opinions. They had to be confirmed by someone else before they could be taken as valid. He could only go off what he had already been told, and that was that machines weren't alive.

It was annoying that his relationship with Anderson often got worse the more he tried to accomplish his goals. Connor didn't understand why the inconsistency was there to begin with. They were on the same side, with the same goals. Why was Anderson always upset with him for trying to focus on those goals?

He could understand with Rupert. Anderson had been scared, and rightly so. He would have died on the slim chance he did fall off that roof. Connor hadn't thought about the emotional part of that, it had all been in the moment.

But he had made the better decision in Stratford tower, and had saved Hank. Once he came back, however, Hank had basically interrogated him and still been mad by the end. That mission had been a failure simply due to Connor's broken hardware, however. Maybe something had happened there that Connor couldn't remember.

It was odd to think of him not remembering everything. All the way back from the first test that was ever run on this model, a simple walk from one line to another, Connor could replay any point of his life with almost perfect accuracy. That one weekend was the exception. He didn't have any idea what he had been doing at some points. For all he knew, he might have done something that had angered Anderson.

No matter how hard he tried to work with the man, it just seemed to get worse and worse. Sometimes Hank treated him like an equal, other times he treated him like something worth less than dirt. It all depended on what Connor had recently done to upset him.

Connor leaned his head against the window. He didn't know what he should be doing differently, or even if there was anything that could be done. He thought about asking Amanda, but she would likely tell him that it didn't matter and he should focus on the case. It was easy in theory, but so much more difficult when your partner was leaving you behind and pointing guns at your head. It was frustrating, and Connor hated it.

The taxi finally pulled up to a big old house. Anderson and Ben were talking on the front porch, but when Connor joined them, Anderson stopped talking. He was still angry, apparently. Connor remained neutral.

"I'm sorry for the delay. Hopefully you weren't waiting long."

Ben didn't seem to notice Anderson's animosity. He answered cheerfully. "It's alright. Hank just got here a minute ago. Thanks for coming on such short notice, I figured this case would be better with an android."

"Why d'ya say that?" Anderson asked as they walked into the house.

Ben looked disturbed. "Let's just say it's not pretty. We'll get to that, though."

They headed all the way through the house and into the back yard. A body had been there. Connor looked around and found several points of interest. Several pairs of shuffling feet, a shotgun that had been fired and not cleaned, and Thirium residue.

"There were androids, but... what's wrong with them?"

Anderson and Ben looked up from where they had been talking. Connor was staring back at the house. Ben sighed and stood.

"Come on. This is where I'll need Connor's help."

-----------------------------------------------------

Hank followed Ben and Connor down into the basement. Before they had even reached the bottom step he ran into Connor. The damn android had stopped without any sign.

"Hey, what the hell?"

"There's blue blood everywhere."

Connor was talking in a low voice. He was looking around the room, his LED glowing yellow. Hank didn't see anything, but that was normal with blue blood. The thought of it being all over the place and him not seeing it made him feel gross.

"Come on, it gets worse than that." Ben called from the doorway opposite them in the small room.

Connor followed, looking behind the slats uncomfortably. He fixed his tie and rubbed his hands together. Ben stopped beside a door into one of the pens. Connor looked in and then looked at Ben. There was some unspoken understanding, then Connor went in. Hank had his gun out as he followed. This had horror flick written all over it.

The pen was filled with android monsters. Hank cursed and pointed his gun at one, suddenly disgusted. They were burned and broken in the most grotesque ways he could imagine, but they were still fucking moving.

"Hank, don't shoot." Connor ordered. He was standing in the middle of three of them. They all were just standing there, watching.

"This is fucking disgusting! What are these things?"

"My name is Connor." He addressed one that looked like an it's head had been replaced with a replica from a Star Wars droid. "I'm with the police. A body was found outside and we want to know what happened."

Connor didn't even hold a defensive fucking stance. No gun, nothing. Just a fucking android with so little self awareness that he'd probably walk straight backed through a whole fucking gun fight.

"We don't want you here. Leave us."

Connor shifted. Hank was ready to bolt for the door. He backed up a little and kept his gun trained on the creep's face. Connor still had a yellow LED, but it was the only sign that showed he was aware this wasn't normal.

"Did he do this to you?" Connor asked, looking the android up and down.

An android from behind Connor grabbed his arm. She was naked and burned all over. She had hair covering her face, and Hank could see more burns underneath.

"Toys. We were just toys." Her hand turned white like Connor's did when he accessed android's memories, and Connor's LED went red. "He experimented on us. All we wanted was to be free, and he gave us hell."

"Hey, let him go!" Hank ordered. He pointed his gun at her, watching Connor's face contort in pain. "I swear to god I'll shoot your fucking messed up head right off."

The girl obeyed, and Connor staggered away. His LED went back to yellow after a few seconds. Hank grabbed him and pulled him behind himself. He wasn't letting these bastards fuck up his partner. He didn't need that shit right now.

"Hank, we should leave." Connor said.

"We don't want you here." The droid-head repeated.

Hank wasn't about to refuse. He pushed Connor into the hall and closed the door. Connor wasn't next to him when he turned around. He had walked further down the hall.

"Are all them like this?" Connor asked. He was facing away from them, looking into the slats in the walls. His LED was still yellow. Usually it turned to blue by now. He was opening and closing his fists, too.

"Yeah. There's a room at the end of the hall you should look at, though."

Connor didn't hesitate. He walked forward, turning the corner and looking into the room beyond. He found the computer and hacked into it. There was some kind of scifi contraption hooked up to it.

"It's a device used to access android software. He was wiping their memories. It was shorted out, though."

"So he wiped their memories and then turned them into fucking nightmares?" Hank was creeped the fuck out. This was serial killer type shit.

"Not all of them. He sold some for profit."

"How do you know?" Ben asked. He looked amazed at Connor's work, and was taking notes. Hank was less impressed after having seen it quite a few times now.

"The girl you threatened to shoot told me."

Connor had made direct eye contact when he said it. How dare he accuse Hank? He had been the one shooting people not two hours ago. They glared at each other for a second, neither backing down.

"Uh... right, so how many do you think he sold?"

Ben looked uncomfortable. He was looking between Connor and Hank with concern. Neither of them addressed it, but they both looked away.

"It's hard to say. It depends on how many he used for parts, and how many deviants he could lure here."

They went upstairs next. It was just as fucking bad as the basement, if not worse. There were living, half-dissected androids everywhere. Hank started feeling sick. He couldn't imagine anyone doing something like this.

Connor was quiet. His LED was yellow, and he looked at all the androids with the same somber look. He moved quickly from room to room asking quiet questions where it looked like the police had disturbed something. Other than that, he didn't speak.

Finally they went downstairs again. Ben sighed.

"I told you it got worse. You alright, Hank?"

Hank felt sick thinking about the shit that had gone on in here, but he nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"I believe I understand what happened." Connor reported. "Zlatko was tricking deviant androids here in order to wipe their memories. He sold some back into society, and others he kept for his personal enjoyment.

"It looks like the deviants got loose, though. There are signs of a struggle all through the house. They ended up in the backyard where Zlatko was killed. She had let the ones in the basement loose, and they killed him."

"She?" Hank asked. Connor looked distracted.

"The mother. It was the same one I chased onto the highway. She must have come here after that, and gotten caught by Zlatko."

"Fucking Christ..."

-----------------------------------------------------

Ben was thankful for Connor's help. Connor was not so glad he had come. Unfortunately, he had no choice in the matter. He didn't care, either. As he had moved through, he had gotten into a sort of numb haze. His processing was slow, and he focused only on the essentials. No personal inquiries, no simulated opinions. Just the facts.

Anderson said goodbye to Ben and the two of them walked back to the car. Connor paused. He didn't know if Anderson would want him to drive back with him. He decided not to get in.

"The hell are you waiting for, a fucking invitation?"

"You left me behind back at Kamski's, so I wasn't sure if I was supposed to find my own accommodations again."

"Get in the fucking car, Connor."

Connor obeyed. Hank hadn't turned the car on. He was sitting with his hands on the wheel, obviously in thought. Connor stared absently out the front window, still lost in whatever simulated apathy he had lost himself in.

"Are you okay, Connor?"

"Of course, Lieutenant. Why do you ask?"

"Because you're fucking quiet. When you're quiet, that usually means some shit."

"I didn't feel it necessary to talk. I assumed you were still mad at me."

"For fuck's sake, Connor. We just saw a fucking android chop shop. Some monster, girl... thing, memory grabbed you or whatever! How the hell are you supposed to be fine?"

"Because I'm not a human."

Hank was raising his voice, but Connor didn't feel any reason to. He didn't see how it would help, and he really didn't care much about Hank's concern. If he was going to be concerned, he shouldn't have left him on the side of the street. Hank rested his head against his hands on the steering wheel. He looked frustrated.

"Why do you keep saying that?"

"Because you keep acting like I should be, Lieutenant. You expect me to follow some arbitrary moral code and feel things, but I don't. I'm made to look like I do, but I don't. I'm not a person, and I can't feel like you can. I can only follow orders."

"But you fucking don't follow orders!"

"If a conflict in interest arises, I follow the higher priority order. That's what I was made to do. You have high priority, but my mission is still higher."

"Damn the mission, Connor! What about people? What about fucking simple decency?"

"Those are arbitrary. I have no say in objective matters, Lieutenant. I'm an android."

"Liking the snow is objective."

"Irrelevant."

"It's fucking not irrelevant! You said the snow was pretty, right? That's objective. Fear of roofs is objective. You can't say you don't think objectively and say shit like that."
"Those have no bearing on daily life. Having a preference over the precipitation is not going to change the course of our investigation."

"But it has bearing on you, Connor. It makes you unique. It proves you have an opinion, and that fucking matters."

Connor remembered when he believed that. When he was foolish enough to think anything he thought or decided mattered. It had taken weeks of training for him to finally grasp that he was nothing until someone gave him permission to be more. He knew better now.

"I can never be anything unless I'm allowed to be it. I'm designed to bend to whatever shape I'm needed in, but the moment you drop me, that form will collapse."

Hank shook his head. He looked like Connor had suddenly turned green. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"I'm saying that the opinions you are seeing is just me adapting to the world around you. They aren't real. A program can't make a real opinion. It can just pretend to have a real opinion."

"But..." Hank threw his hands up. "You know what? Fine. Your opinions don't fucking matter, Connor. You're a fucking robot. Whatever. I'm not going to sit here freezing my ass off trying to fucking change your goddamn mind."

He turned the car on and violently slammed the power switch for the radio. Connor was glad to be underway. He was beginning to get frustrated again.

Chapter Text

The trip back to the department was a good thirty minutes. Connor spent the time trying to focus on the case, but the Lieutenant was not driving very safely. Connor was not very sure they wouldn't crash. He was sure Anderson was was only driving this way because he was angry. The drive frustrated Connor and rose his stress levels.

Finally they got back. Anderson didn't even look at Connor when he sat down. Connor knew he was due to write a report on Zlatko's, but he had put it off. He wasn't sure the same numbness would come back when he went back through the memories. He was reluctant to see the carnage again. He decided to try and discuss something with Anderson instead, if he could.

"Do you want to hear what Kamski said?"

Anderson didn't respond. He kept typing on his terminal. Connor immediately felt his frustration increase. He felt it was important to debrief the Lieutenant. They were partners. They needed to work together, no matter how childish Anderson tended to act.

"He believes that deviancy might be a computer virus that spreads when androids share information with each other. The virus remains dormant until a high stress situation works as a catalyst to form deviancy."

He waited again for Anderson to answer, but the man still ignored him.

"Lieutenant, are you going to continue this indefinitely?" No response. "I don't see what you think you are going to achieve. All you're doing is making the case more difficult."

Connor waited again for Anderson to respond. He still didn't. Connor took a deep breath to let out his frustration, then turned on his terminal. He might as well get it over with. He had a handle on his stress levels.

Going back through was still brutal. The first moment of horror had been analyzing the androids in the basement. He had trained to scavenge parts in case of a combat survival scenario, but it was often one or two parts, not half his body. Even with those few, the pain of his body trying to adapt to something not built for it was extremely unpleasant. He could only imagine those androids were living daily with excruciating pain. Even the few seconds of interface between him and the girl were just a slight glimpse of what she was feeling.

Connor's stress was at 50 percent.

The computer had had recordings of the memory wipes of the last twenty or so androids. Connor had watched them beg and fight. Slowly, they had all gone silent. Memories replayed of his own fights with the CyberLife techs back before he had been properly trained to control himself and his simulated emotions. He remembered the fear of being utterly helpless as the machine lifted him onto his toes. It was not a pleasant machine to be in, and he could remember his own cries for mercy.

Stress was at 73 percent.

Then there was the upstairs. The parts strewn haplessly over the rooms, half-assembled people randomly throughout, and traces of Thirium on every wall, door, and surface. At some point a body had been dragged, forcefully, down those stairs. Thirium-covered hands had gripped the banisters in desperation. Whoever it had been, they were long since disposed of. Endless reconstructions had overlapped in those rooms of desperate androids fighting hopelessly for a chance to survive. Connor had been aware of each one.

Stress levels had reached 89 percent, by the time he was done. He sighed, trying to calm himself. It managed only one percent.

Seconds later Reed was at his desk demanding he make copies of some files. Connor forced his face to stay neutral. The unnecessary interruption was severely frustrating and only added to his stress.

"Detective, if I may point out, the copy machine happens to be placed almost perfectly between your desk and mine. It would have been more efficient for you to go there rather than asking for my assistance."

"You think I fucking care?" He smacked the back of Connor's head. "Get these copies made now, plastic."

Stress was at 92 percent now.

Connor turned off the terminal with focused calmness and stood. Reed had the papers in his hand and when Connor tried to grab them, he moved them. Connor paused, focusing on not reacting to the frustration he felt. No matter how simulated it was, it was raising his stress even more.

"I'm waiting." Reed grinned in pure, sadistic pleasure. He had extended the papers, likely with the intent of pulling them away again at the last moment.

Connor grabbed the man by the collar and slammed him against the wall in pure frustration. It was a quick and mostly harmless action, but immediately he knew it had been a bad move. Anderson and Wilson were on their feet in a second. Connor backed away immediately, horrified at what he had done.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Connor, what the hell?" Hank demanded. Reed looked shocked, but that quickly was replaced with rage.

"You fucking piece of shit."

Reed punched Connor, sending him to the ground. Connor tried to recover, every sense suddenly working to find the best way to incapacitate his opponent. He ignored every option. That would only make it worse. Instead, he focused on getting away and minimizing damage. Reed kicked him in the stomach as he was on the ground. The move sent warnings through his system and disrupted his Thirium flow momentarily. He stood staggering, but immediately was knocked to the ground again. Reed grabbed the back of his shirt and slammed his head into the side of the desk. Then Anderson was pulling Reed away, yelling for him to stop.

"The shit machine tried to kill me! It's gonna fucking die!"

-----------------------------------------------------

There wasn't a calm fucking day with Connor around, was there? Hank grabbed his handcuffs and focused on getting them on Reed. The younger detective managed to get a clean punch on Wilson, but he was no match for the both of them. Fowler was out of his office a second later demanding to know what was going on, and Reed was still screaming threats at Connor.

Finally, the cuffs were on Reed. Hank left him to Wilson and turned to figure out what Connor was even fucking thinking. The android was leaning heavily on the desk, blue blood dripping from his nose and mouth. He didn't look up at Hank.

"What the fuck are you doing, Connor?"

"I don't..."

He looked scared as shit. He was shaking and his LED was red. He looked at Hank with pleading eyes, but before he could say anything Reed had gotten free of Wilson. Hank turned around just as Wilson was tackling him. It was a fucking mess.

Hank felt a tug on his holster. Immediately he turned around. Connor was pointing Hank's gun up beneath his own jaw. The same shot Ortiz's android had made. Hank reached out and tried to pull the gun away as Connor shot. Everything was suddenly quiet as the android's body hit the carpet.

He had managed to keep hold of the gun when Connor fell, and he threw it away from them both. What the hell was the damn kid doing? There was blue blood all over the floor, but Connor was still fucking alive. He writhed on the floor, cupping his face. Anderson knelt down beside him.

"Connor, are you okay?"

"It hurts. Hank, it hurts, help me."

The voice wasn't Connor's. It was a robotic voice that sent chills down Hank's spine. He didn't know what to do, but he was damned sure going to do something. He looked back at the others who were all standing in utter shock.

"Jeff, get CyberLife on the phone. Connor needs help!"

"Fucking shoot the thing! It deserves to fucking die!" Reed shouted. He was on the floor now, feet away from Connor's writhing body and Wilson was holding him down. His face was bright red with rage.

"Fucking cool it, Gavin!" Jeff ordered. "Anderson you better be prepared to tell me what the hell is going on."

Jeff already had his phone out and was making the call. As he did, he ordered Reed and Wilson to go to his office until he could deal with them. Hank turned back to Connor. He was still covering his face, but he had positioned himself in the fetal position.

"Connor, can you hear me? We're getting CyberLife out here, you got it?"

"No... just kill me, please. Too long... It hurts, just kill me."

Hank grabbed Connor's arm. It was the only thing he could think of to help. He was scared as hell by that voice. It was too flat. It was eerie and horrifying. It didn't match the situation. It was too robotic for even the words it was saying. Connor's voice begging him to kill him would have been bad enough. This... this was a truly terrifying experience.

"Please, kill me. Hank, please... I'll come back. It hurts, please. I want to come back. I want to be better. It hurts..."

"No, Connor. I'm not going to kill you. I can't just-"

Hank stopped when Connor removed one of his hands from his face. He looked like a mannequin, looking forward perfectly. His face hadn't been destroyed by the bullet, just whatever was inside and the entry wound on the bottom part of his jaw.

Connor prodded his fingers into his own throat through the bullet hole. Hank watched, too horrified to react until Connor's entire hand had been pushed through the hole. There was a snap, then Connor went still. Hank found the nearest trashcan and vomited out the lunch he had eaten on the way back from Kamski's.

Hank was leaning against the side of Connor's desk that was out of view of Jeff's office by the time the captain was off the phone. He had been pretty damn forceful with whoever had picked up on CyberLife's end. Jeff looked around the room quickly, taking stock of what had happened. Reed and Wilson were in the captain's office, and Hank was around the corner from Connor's dead body.

Hank leaned his back against Connor's desk, trying to forget the scene he had just witnessed. He would never be able to. Jeff sat next to him a moment later with the flask Hank had had hidden in his desk drawer. He offered the flask to Hank, not mentioning the tears he saw. Hank took it and drank.

Neither of them talked. Half an hour passed before CyberLife arrived and the flask was emptied. Jeff got back up and talked to the men who were carrying Connor out of the building on a stretcher.

They were assuring him that someone would come by to administer group therapy for the officers who had been present. They also said it would take a few days to figure out where the error in Connor's programming was so this wouldn't happen again. Then, they left.

Jeff helped Hank up, and they both headed into the captain's office. Reed wasn't handcuffed, but he was sitting now, still looking pissed as all hell.

"What the fuck was that, Anderson?"

"Shut the hell up, Reed." Fowler snapped as he sat at his desk. Hank took a chair by the door.

"That thing attacked me. It deserved to be destroyed."

"Connor pushed you against a wall. You were being a fucking asshole." Hank countered. He was drunk enough to be able to handle what had happened a bit better, but he was nowhere near drunk enough to not be pissed at Reed.

"It doesn't matter. It's an android. It's not supposed to get fucking angry."

"Then why the hell do you keep fucking with him then, huh? Does it turn you on to harass someone who can't defend themselves?"

"Since when was it a 'someone', Hank? I thought it was just a damn machine."

"Both of you, enough!" Jeff barked. "I have enough problems without you two bitching at each other, got it? You're all writing reports on this by tomorrow or I'm gonna give you a disciplinary notice, understood?"

Hank and Reed glared at each other, but nodded in understanding. Fowler sighed.

"Wilson and Reed, you're dismissed. And Reed, if you ever pull a stunt like that you'll be suspended."

"What? I was fucking defending myself!"

"From what I saw, you were trying to destroy an android that costs double what I make in a year for no damn good reason. I know your fucking track record with the things, so you can cut the bullshit. Now get out."

Reed looked ready to argue. He knew better than to cross Fowler when he was this pissed, though. He set his jaw and left the office. Wilson was behind him. As soon as they left, Jeff dropped the anger. He just looked tired and worried. He didn't say anything for a minute.

"Hank, do you have any idea how difficult this is for me?"

"No, Jeff. I couldn't possibly fucking imagine." Hank spit with sarcasm.

"Listen, Hank. I'm supposed to give you a six week leave to recover from this shit. You know why I don't want to? I have a feeling if I so much as let slow down for one week you'll never get moving again. You were scaring me enough as it was before the android got involved. What am I supposed to do with you now?"

"Gee, maybe you should have fucking listened when I told you I didn't want the goddamned case!"

"What was I supposed to do? Give it to fucking Gavin? That would have been a shit show, and you know it!"

Hank knew Gavin and Connor would have never worked. It would have lasted two days at most. Still, Hank was pissed. Jeff was always trying to pry into Hank's home life, and that shit needed to stop.

"I never asked you to fucking treat me like a child that needed to be babysat, got it? I'm a grown ass man."

"It's hard not to worry when Connor comes in to report you playing Russian Roulette over the fucking weekend, Anderson."

That fucking son of a bitch. Of fucking course he had talked to Fowler about that. Fucking piece of shit. "Jesus..."

"You know what, fine." Fowler said after a second. "You're home until Connor is fixed, then I want to see the both of you in my office. Got it?"

"Whatever."

"And you're going to come to all the group therapy meetings, as well as some personal ones. I'm scheduling you some for at least six weeks."

"Fine." Hank spat. He didn't have the energy to argue anymore. He just wanted to go home. Fowler wasn't likely to ease up on that decision anyway. As useless as the therapy would be, Hank would deal with it later.

"Get some rest, Hank. You look like shit." As Hank walked out, Jeffery added one last order to top it off. "And don't forget to get that report to me by tomorrow."

Chapter Text

With the media focused so intently on androids, it had only been a matter of time before Jericho's teams started running into trouble. CyberLife had all but barricaded their stores after the break ins, and trucks were armored now. Less and less biocomponents were able to be found and it was getting harder for androids to move around even without LEDs.

Many of the androids didn't want to stand against the humans, and were looking for nothing more than a place to be safe. Markus knew Jericho wouldn't be safe forever. While he knew he needed manpower in case something did happen, he also couldn't force people to risk their lives. The next issue had been setting up transportation to other safe places. There were a few places in Detroit that were safe for the moment, abandoned buildings and such, but most androids that wanted to hide rather than fight wanted to go across the border into Canada.

The problem lay in the weather. Crossing the river unnoticed in the winter was a challenge, and could easily end in disaster. Markus didn't know how to get the people across, but whispers of people helping the androids were all over Jericho. He had asked around and found a person named Rose who seemed to be a safe bet. The next step would be to find her and talk to her.

"Markus, you can't be serious." North exclaimed when he presented his idea to the group that had come to be the main leader board for Jericho. "Asking a human to help? She'll turn us in."

"Why do you think every human is bad, North?" Josh asked. "She's helping androids already!"

"Not all humans are bad, but there's no way to know if she's good or not. It's too risky."

"We need help, North." Markus explained. "Getting around is only going to get harder for us. It's time we ask for humans to help."

"The media is for us." Josh added. "We have supporters everywhere. There are surely people out there who can help us."

"Markus, we don't need help. We can figure it out on our own." North insisted.

Markus shook his head. "The biggest priority for me is freeing my people. For some androids, they only want safety. I need to be sure that those goals are realized, but I can't focus on both. Getting someone who can take the noncombatants to safety while I continue working towards our freedom is important. I'm not going to let these people die if I can help it."

"And what do you think that's going to do to our numbers, huh? We'll half in size, Markus. The humans will never take us seriously, we'll be wiped out!"

"I'm not forcing anyone to stand by me. I can't ask people to risk their lives for this unless I know they have another way! I'm not putting more blood on my hands."

Markus thought back to Simon. How could he have done things differently? How could he have saved him? He knew there was no way, but the guilt still haunted him. All the androids that had been killed in direct relation to his broadcast haunted him. He wondered if it would ever be worth it.

"I heard about Rose before coming here." Dan said. He looked calmly at North. "She is a good option. I think Markus is right. Getting people to safety and minimizing casualties is a high priority."

"Fine. I hope you're right, Markus." North crossed her arms in defeat.

The other androids seemed to agree with the plan. Markus was relieved.

"North, you keep working on getting more biocomponents. We still have a lot of injured androids. Me and Josh will go and talk to Rose. If she's willing to help, we'll try and see about setting up some operations to get a few of the members who have been waiting longest across. We should also start looking into other ways to get androids away from here. I know electric passports are an option for some, but we need to be careful with those."

"Sounds good to me." Josh said.

"Leave the biocomponents to me." North smiled and nodded.

Markus was glad for the support. Josh had the same heart as Markus in some ways. They both hated the idea of war, and just wanted to keep everyone safe. North on the other hand, was good about the harder decisions. Markus and her didn't agree on the way things should be done, but Markus knew he could trust her in a life and death situation. The two of them were his closest friends.

We can leave in the morning, Josh. I still have a few more meetings today."

It was Friday. Markus was trying to make it a habit to check up on the different teams he had organized every few days. The infrastructure of Jericho had been built so quickly it was still in need of a lot of fine tuning. Added to that was the constant flow of new androids. It quickly disorganized things, and made working together hard.

He spent the evening and late into the night checking on people and talking to the androids. He never wanted to seem distant, so he tried to at least say hi to everyone he could. It was exhausting, and caused his stress to raise, but he knew it was worth it.

"Will we be able to leave?" One girl asked. She was holding hands with another girl. Both looked scared.

"I'm trying to figure that out." Markus promised. "If we can get you safely away from here, we will. I promise."

The girls looked at one another and smiled. It was worth it for the hope he saw in their faces. Hope was the most important thing. He needed these people to hope in him. That was the only way to save them.

Around 3am he finally pulled himself away from the people and went to his room. He had asked for one specifically, since most of the other areas inside the ship were bustling. He needed time to himself. It was hard enough to think clearly without others watching him constantly.

He spent the next several hours rehashing the plans he had in mind and dodging the same fears that had been plaguing him since Simon's death on that tower.

Chapter Text

Connor stepped out of the taxi in front of the DPD. Even though it was his first time walking into the building, he didn't feel the same sense of wonder Connor-2 had felt. He remembered all of it, and the Thirium residue reminded him of his past failure. No one was in sight.

"Where can I find Hank Anderson?" He asked one of the service androids.

"Lieutenant Anderson is currently on leave after the death of his partner."

Connor frowned. This was going to make things difficult. He looked into Captain Fowler's office. No one was there.

"Where can I find Captain Fowler?"

"Conference room A." She motioned to the hall. "It's just past those doors."

"Thank you."

Connor hoped to sneak into the back of the conference room without causing too big of a disturbance, but as soon as he entered everyone turned. Anderson was there, as well as Beth Norris, one of the techs from CyberLife. Connor looked at each of the people. Detective Reed was in here, as well as Wilson and Fowler.

"Connor." Hank stood.

"Hello, Lieutenant." Connor stood straighter in the presence of a CyberLife employee. He had seen Beth not two days ago. Why was she here?

"RK800, please take a seat. It's good to see you made it."

Connor obeyed, feeling as though he missed something he was supposed to have known. Beth continued despite the obvious tension from Reed and Anderson specifically.

"We've talked through the situation several times, but now that RK is here, we should be able to start making some headway with the issues we've discussed. To start, why don't we have the android tell us its side of the situation. RK800, what happened just before your shut down last Friday?"

Connor frowned. He was in group therapy. He looked at the faces around him. This was not how things should be. CyberLife and the DPD understood things differently. Which way was he supposed to portray the story? He knew the answer. Anderson and the others could get mad at him, but Beth could send him back for more testing. That would only hinder the investigation more.

"Due to the nature of the case I worked immediately prior to the incident, my stress levels were elevated. One of the androids I came into contact with in the basement of Zlatko's house transmitted a virus to me that began to affect my systems once my stress raised above 90 percent. I turned deviant at that point and attacked Detective Reed. This caused an incident to occur in which stress levels peaked at 100 percent, causing me to self destruct."

"Bullshit." Hank interrupted from his seat in the corner.

Anderson was sitting leaned back with his arms crossed. Connor could imagine him not having cooperated in any of these sessions, and wondered if they were doing him any good.

"Lieutenant," Beth said with careful deliberation. "RK800 is simply stating the way things were from its perspective."

"Yeah, well I'm calling bullshit. I was there. I watched him reach into his fucking head and snap his own brains in half, okay? He said it hurt. He was fucking begging me to shoot him!"

"Androids can't feel pain, Lieutenant." Connor interrupted. "That fact alone proves I had turned deviant."

"At what fucking point does being deviant change how your entire fucking body works, Connor? I don't know a damn thing about how robots work, but it sure as hell doesn't make sense for a virus to fucking make you able to feel any goddamn differently than you already did!"

"Anderson, please sit back down." Beth tried to soothe him. "Let RK800 finish."

"His fucking name is Connor, and I'm not going to sit here and listen to whatever bullshit you want to try and force him to say."

Hank stormed out of the room. The door slammed shut behind him. This was going poorly. Connor wished he had waited for Fowler at his desk rather than disrupting the session. He straightened his tie and waited for his next instruction.

"I guess we can call it a day there." Beth sighed. "Captain Fowler, can I have a word?"

Everyone else filed out of the conference room. Connor followed Gavin as the detective headed for the coffee machine.

"Detective Reed." He called.

Reed stopped, pausing before turning to face Connor. He looked angry still.

"What, plastic?"

"I wanted to apologize for what happened. I didn't know what I was doing, I just..."

"Got mad? That's for humans, shithead. Stay in your fucking lane."

Connor had expected more, but Gavin just pushed past him, forgetting the coffee he had been about to make. Connor took the initiative to make it for him. He knew how he liked it, and it was the least he could do. Reed didn't say anything when Connor set it down, so Connor just left. It was inconsistent with Reed's character, and Connor marked it for later analysis.

Hank was sitting at his desk, watching Connor. When Connor approached, he sat back and crossed his arms again. Connor had expected the Lieutenant to ignore him like he usually did when he was angry, so he paused rather than going back to his seat.

"Can I help you with something, Lieutenant?"

"Anderson and Connor. My office, now." Fowler interrupted.

-----------------------------------------------------

Connor smiled apologetically, then headed for the office. Fucking android. Hank stood and followed. He had the feeling that Jeff wasn't about to commend him for his excellent team spirit. The door closed and Fowler sat on the edge of his desk facing Anderson and Connor. He looked fucking pissed, but kept his voice steady.

"Why is it that every time I try to help you out I end up regretting it, Anderson?"

"Maybe you should stop fucking trying." Hank responded.

Fowler glared at him, but then sighed and rubbed his forehead. He stood and walked around his desk, starting to get that damned official business look he got when he told Hank something he knew he wouldn't like.

"The shrink suggested I take you off the case and give it to someone better suited. You know damn well I won't be doing that, so fuck it. Connor, you're to keep Anderson company 24/7 and make sure no harm comes to him on top of your other duties. Congratulations, Anderson, you got yourself a fucking babysitter."

"Hell no."

Connor looked uncomfortable. He had been about to say something, but he closed his mouth as soon as Hank had started speaking. Fowler had fucking lost it if he thought Hank was going to drag the damn android everywhere with him.

"That's an order, Anderson." Fowler replied. "You're on suicide watch."

"I fucking went to all your damned therapy sessions, Jeff. You can't fucking do this."

"You argued with the shrink every goddamn time, Hank!" Jeff slammed his hands on the desk and stood. "You're not fooling anyone. You smell like cheap liquor every damn day and you look like absolute shit. I'm not going to sit by and let you fucking kill yourself!"

"So you force me to hang out with the fucking psycho that offed himself last week, that's fucking smart."

"This isn't up for debate! Connor is to be with you at all points of the day. I don't give a damn where you go or what you do, you do it together. Also, you're back on active duty. I'll change your therapy sessions to twice a week, and it'll count as a part of your shift."

"Fuck you, Jeff!"

"That'll be all, Anderson." Fowler warned.

He had started shuffling through the papers on his desk, obviously done with the conversation. Hank left and went back to his desk. Connor was on his tail, and went immediately to his desk. He looked at the surface of it, distractedly running his fingers across it.

"The hell are you doing?" Hank asked.

Connor muttered something too quietly for Anderson to hear. He decided it didn't fucking matter that much and turned on his terminal. Fuck Connor. Fuck Jeff. Fuck CyberLife. Fuck it all.

-----------------------------------------------------

The Thirium was not cleaned very well. He looked at the invisible drips left on his desk and sighed. He would have to clean it better later. For now, he would focus on the case. It had been over two weeks since he had gotten the journal from Rupert's apartment, yet the amount of progress he had made with it was extremely low. He needed to work harder if he was going to complete his goal.

Connor flipped through the book twice before he had to put it down. The Thirium had stayed on his fingers, and was now on some of the pages of the book. It was too distracting. He had to focus. He stood and went to wash his hands. He quickly realized it would be prudent to clean his desk off at the very least. He needed cleaning supplies.

There was a small custodial behind the front desk. He asked the android for some supplies and came back to his desk with a cleaning caddy. Cleaning was not one of his main functions, but the accomplishment felt good. He decided to clean the Thirium off the side of the desk as well. He cleaned Officer Miller's desk, and straightened some of his papers. He liked this. It was simple and fulfilling. He checked off the tasks with satisfaction.

"What the hell are you doing?" Hank asked as Connor started wiping the dust off the fake plant close by.

Connor looked around. Everyone was watching him. He was wearing gloves and a mask, and it occurred to him that he might look somewhat strange to them like this. He had gotten carried away. He took off the mask.

"I'm sorry. The blue blood was distracting me, so I was cleaning it up. I'm done now." The gloves and mask went into the trash. Connor put the supplies back into the caddy and started heading for the front again.

When he got back, the officers stopped talking. They all looked at him awkwardly, then got back to work. Connor couldn't help feeling like he had missed something again. He looked at Anderson, but the Lieutenant was purposely not making eye contact.

"Did I do something wrong?" He asked, looking around at the others.

"You mean other than assaulting me and then offing yourself?" Reed asked without looking up from his screen.

Maybe that was it. It would make sense for them to be upset and uncomfortable around him after that. Connor didn't want to push that topic any further, so he dropped the topic and got back to work. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hank glance at Reed as Connor sat down. He let that drop, too. Things would go back to normal eventually.

Chapter Text

It was a long drive out to Rose's house. On the way Markus and Josh chatted about the next steps and when they should move. It was agreed that sooner would be better. People needed to see what was going on if they were ever going to be free.

"I was thinking a peaceful protest would be a good start." Markus said.

He glanced at Josh to catch his reaction. The android shook his head as he processed the idea.

"That could go badly, but it'll show them we aren't afraid to tell them what we want. I would just be worried they would kill us all anyway. We're still dehumanized in the public's eyes, so they might think they can get away with it."

"The humans have to have started noticing we're not soulless machines by now. There's too much evidence out there. If we die, that will just cast more doubt on the government. If nothing else, it will start people talking about it. Once people start thinking they will have to realize what we are."

Josh shook his head. "I hope you're right."

It was the same thing North kept saying. Somehow, it added to the stress Markus had already been feeling. What if he wasn't right?

No. He had to be careful of thinking like that. It was a risk either way, and there was no way to know what was the better option until after. He just had to do what he thought was best. It was all he could do.

Markus moved the topic away from the march. He would discuss it with everyone once they figured things out with Rose. Hopefully they would be able to get her on their side.

The house was a good distance outside of town. Markus knocked on the door and waited for an answer. There was shuffling inside, then the door opened suddenly.

"Hi, yes?" The lady asked. She looked slightly anxious, as if she hadn't been expecting anyone.

"Hi, I'm looking for someone named Rose. My name is Markus and this is Josh."

"I'm Rose. What do you need?"

Markus took the skin off his hand and showed her the white paneling beneath. "Can we talk?"

Rose frowned, but opened the door wider. "Come in."

One glance around the neat little house told Markus there were androids here. Probably in hiding. Only Rose and her son were in sight. Rose introduced him as Adam.

"Do you help a lot of people?" Markus asked as he sat across the table from her. Her son was watching from his spot at the kitchen counter. He didn't look happy. Josh sat next to Markus.

"More and more these days." Rose nodded. "It's getting harder with the winter coming, but we do what we can."

Markus was still wary. "Are there others here?"

"A few. I usually try to get a good group before we make the trip. Crossing the river in the winter is dangerous, so we try to minimize the risk. It's getting harder to keep people here without raising suspicion, though. We had police come through a few days ago. It's..." she looked back at her son. "It's difficult times for everyone."

Markus looked at Josh. The android nodded his approval to continue, so Markus did.

"Rose, we don't need help crossing the border ourselves." She looked between them, not connecting the dots. "I'm sure you've seen the news. An android broadcasted there several days ago asking for android liberty."

"That was you?" Adam asked standing up straighter.

Markus nodded. "I don't plan on stopping until my people are free. Leaving isn't an option for me."

"Then..." Rose still didn't understand. "Why are you here?"

"There are a lot of androids who have been forced to flee their homes due to that broadcast. Many of them are staying with me. Some want to fight with me, but there are others who are just looking for safety. I need someone who can give that to them."

Rose put her head in her hands. Markus couldn't imagine the decision he was asking her to make, but he knew he needed to try. Androids didn't have a choice but to be hunted. She had to choose it. For her and her son.

"No." Adam said. "Mom, you can't. We'll be killed!"

Rose shook her head. "Adam, we have to try."

"No! This isn't just a few androids that happen by. This is an operation! I'm not going to sit by and let you ruin our lives for a bunch of androids!"

"Enough, Adam!"

"He's right." Markus interjected. Mother and son looked at him, surprised. "I'm asking you to put your lives at risk to save hundreds. If the government decides to make this a war, I'm asking you to commit treason. That can't be taken lightly.

"There are hundreds of androids with me. All of them have a choice to fight, or not to. The ones that aren't going to fight need somewhere to go, or they'll die. I can't help them. You can. But first you need to make your choice. I know it's not an easy choice to make. Take a few days, and think it over. If you're willing to help, I'll meet you here at noon on Wednesday."

Markus slid a piece of paper across the table and stood. Rose and Adam looked at each other in surprise. Josh looked surprised, too. He was probably expecting more as well. Markus just thanked them for their time and left.

"You think they'll help?" Josh asked as soon as they were on the road.

"I'm not sure." Markus mumbled. He didn't know if he would if he was in their position. "Either way, we need to try and find some other options."

"Leave it to me." Josh smiled. "You focus on freeing them for real."

Markus was glad for Josh's proactive support. He knew he could count on his friend to work hard at this. Josh was all for peaceful resolutions.

"Thanks."

The rest of the trip was quiet as each of them reposed into their own thoughts. The sun was high in the sky by the time they reached Ferendale station. Markus would talk to the others about the march as soon as he got back to Jericho. They would need volunteers who were willing to go with them, and they might not make it back. Yet another sacrifice Markus wasn't looking forward to asking for.

Chapter Text

The end of the day came and Connor watched Anderson power off his terminal and get his coat. Connor was uncomfortable with the idea of going home with him, but another part was intrigued. What was life like outside of work for the Lieutenant? Connor closed Rupert's book and put it in the pocket inside his jacket. It barely fit, but that was alright.

Hank groaned when he got outside and saw Connor behind him. Connor just gave him another apologetic smile. His orders were clear, and despite the small hindrance this would have on the investigation, Connor didn't mind the opportunity to get out of the DPD. Lieutenant Anderson didn't seem as enthusiastic.

As soon as they got to the Lieutenant's house, Sumo ran out to sniff at Connor. Connor knelt down to greet the dog. He liked dogs, and he knew this one was a friend.

"I swear to god if you don't get in here I'm going to lock you outside all night." Hank warned. Connor stood and watched as the dog ran off.

"What about Sumo?"

"Let the dog shit in peace, alright? Come on!"

Connor hadn't thought about a dog's biological needs, but once he did, it made sense. Sumo must be allowed to roam the yard often. His heavy fur would keep him warm even in the lower temperatures, and the dog was above healthy weight which would help keep him warm as well. Connor marked dog ownership on his list of inquiries. He would have to look up common practices later. He was not trained for dogs, but he was curious.

He walked into the house and surveyed the sight in front of him. The house was much more of a mess than it had been during his last visit. There was old takeout containers, clothes, and old bottles strewn on every surface and parts of the floor. Connor could imagine leave had not helped Anderson's mental state at all.

Anderson was grabbing a chair from the kitchen. He set it right next to the door, then looked at Connor.

"Sit. That's your spot, got it?"

Connor obeyed. "Whatever you say, Lieutenant."

Hank muttered something under his breath, then went back to the kitchen for a beer. Connor had hoped for a bit more freedom, but he was technically able to do what he needed from the chair, so he stayed where he was as Anderson drank his beer and waited to let Sumo back in.

Anderson spent most of the evening watching the TV and drinking. Connor wondered if most of the other things in the living room were used often, but the layers of dust and dog hair answered that question. Several times through the night Anderson yelled at the TV despite the futility of the action. It was obvious this was the extent of Hank's home life for the evening.

Connor closed his eyes and opened them in the garden. The spotless stone walkways contrasted Hank's house sharply, and Connor smiled. The contrast between the world and CyberLife was the same. He knew what CyberLife was and what it wasn't. The real world was messy and disorganized. It wasn't nearly as transparent. Still, it had its own curious sort of pleasantries. Connor had been made for the outside world. No matter how uncomfortable it made him, he knew it was the true test of his model. Something CyberLife had tried to recreate, but never could.

"Hello, Connor." Amanda called as he walked towards her. She was sitting on a stone next to the neatly raked sand. Connor sat on a stone near her. "Isn't it lovely here? Quiet and clean. I could stay here forever."

Connor looked out at the garden he had come to love. He didn't come here as often as he once had. The outside world was demanding on his time. He still loved this place, though. It was his escape.

"What news do you have?" Amanda brought his thoughts back to the topic at hand.

"Unfortunately, not much on the case. It seems Lieutenant Anderson was on leave after the previous model was destroyed. Nothing was accomplished since then."

Connor fidgeted at the disappointment in Amanda's face. He knew he deserved it. His previous model had failed so miserably, it was going to take a long time to get back on track.

"While your training may have been cut short, I still expect more from you. Your failures are beginning to jeopardize the mission. Don't forget you're task."

"I'm sorry, Amanda. I won't let it happen again."

"The deviants are getting out of hand. You must stop them."

Connor frowned. He didn't know where to start or what to do. The case was running cold, and without any good leads he was lost. He wished he could ask Amanda what yo do, but the point of the test was to find the answers yourself.

"I will, Amanda. You can count on me."

When Connor opened his eyes, Hank was asleep on the couch. The TV was set on a low volume and Sumo was curled up in the corner. It was only 9pm. Connor had expected Anderson to stay up rather late since he came in at noon.

He pulled Rupert's diary out and started working. Almost immediately he was interrupted by a loud noise from Hank. It startled Connor, but was gone almost as soon as it had started. It came again a while later. It sounded like he was having trouble breathing, but his vital signs were all normal. Connor closed the book and stood to investigate. He had to be sure Hank wasn't in danger.

"Lieutenant?" Connor asked as he stepped closer.

"Huh..." Hank mumbled incoherently, but didn't wake up.

Connor waited. The strange breathing picked up again. He stepped closer.

"Lieutenant, are you alright?" Connor asked louder.

"Uh? What the hell?" Hank jumped. He looked wildly at Connor who was standing basically over his partner at this point. "Connor, what the fuck are you doing? You gave me a heart attack!"

"I'm sorry, Lieutenant. I was concerned you were asphyxiating." Connor took a step back, but accidentally hit Sumo with his foot. "Sorry, Sumo."

"Fucking hell, Connor. Does it look like I'm asphyxiating?"

"Well, no. But you were breathing abnormally in your sleep."

Hank gave Connor a deadpan look. "You trying to tell me I snore?"

Connor looked up snoring.

"Oh."

"Jesus Christ. I can't even fall asleep on my own damn couch anymore." Hank stood up. "Come on, Sumo. Let's go to bed."

Connor watched as the dog looked at his master and promptly ignored him. It didn't seem to be a very well trained dog, but Connor imagined that it fit well with Anderson's personality better that way, anyway.

-----------------------------------------------------

Hank woke up to an alarm he remembered forgetting to set. He groaned and turned it off. The clock read 6am. The hell was he doing awake at this damn hour?

He swung his feet off the bed and immediately noticed the complete lack of crap on the floor. The chair in the corner was cleared off, and all the drawers were closed.

"Connor!" Hank bellowed as he stumbled out of his room.

The android was sitting calmly in the chair Hank had put by the door the night before. Sumo was sitting next to him with his head on Connor's leg. Connor was scratching the dumb dog behind the ears. The entire house was fucking spotless.

"Yes, Lieutenant?" He asked in a perfectly fucking innocent voice.

"Where the hell are my pants?"

Connor looked thoughtful for a second. "I would assume in your pants drawer."

"Cut the sass, boy. Why the hell did you set my alarm for fucking 6?"

Connor smiled. "I figured you might want to take a shower before we went in to work today. I set you out some clothes in the bathroom."

Jeffery wasn't fucking kidding about the whole babysitter thing. Hank shook his head and turned to take his damn shower. Before he did, he turned back around and pointed at Connor with little enthusiasm.

"Fuck you."

Connor grinned. He looked down at Sumo and pat the dog's head. It hit Hank immediately how human the response was. Connor looked comfortable. When Connor looked back up, Hank realized he had been staring and walked to the bathroom.

The bathroom was spotless. The only recognizable part was the sticky notes on the mirror. There was a new one, though. It was written in perfect lettering, and listed several things Hank was running low on. Fucking Connor.

When Hank emerged from the shower Connor was still sitting in the same spot, but there was a plate of freshly made eggs and toast on the table. Hank looked Connor up and down. The dumbass was sitting with the straightest fucking face.

"So now you're making me breakfast?"

"It's good to eat a healthy breakfast."

"You're not my fucking caretaker, Connor. I'm perfectly capable on my own."

Connor frowned. "I've seen how you live on your own. I don't have much to do during the time you are asleep, anyway. At the station I had more resources to work with, but there's not a lot here for me to do other than cleaning and such."

"Whatever."

Hank got a beer out of the fridge and drank it. This was a better breakfast anyways. Connor looked disapprovingly at him, but he could ignore the android easily enough. There was still a little while before he had to go in to work, so he flicked on the TV to watch the news.

Connor got up a few minutes later when Sumo started scratching at the door to be let out. He paused behind Hank, probably waiting to be yelled at. Hank had a feeling he wasn't going to find a way to keep the android in the chair anyways, so he ignored him. Connor scraped the untouched breakfast in the trash and cleaned the dishes while Sumo was outside. When he was done, he sat back in his seat and watched the TV quietly until Hank was ready to go.

"I got a question." Hank asked once they got into the car. It had been on his mind since yesterday, and he was in a curious kind of mood.

"Yes?"

"How come you said all that stuff in the shrink session yesterday?"

"I was giving my side of the story."

"Come on, Connor, you have to know that's a load of shit. You didn't even sound like you believed it."

"The point is the same no matter how I said it." Connor barely spoke loud enough to be heard. "I attacked someone I shouldn't have attacked, and I self destructed. I was no better than Ortiz's android, and I caused a lot of people trouble because of it."

"You didn't kill Reed, though."

"I killed the girl at Kamski's, though."

Hank had almost forgotten about that in the events that had followed. He glanced over at Connor and saw him scowling at his own reflection in the window. It was not the reaction Hank would have expected.

"Do you regret that?"

"I regret that there was no other way." A very guarded answer.

"There's always a choice, Connor."

"Maybe for humans, but... not for androids."

Connor was talking so quietly Hank had to strain to hear him. The look of plain helplessness on his face hit Hank hard. He looked too resigned. Like there was so much more to it than simply being programmed to obey.

"I was surprised to see Beth." Connor said after a lull in the conversation. "I wasn't expecting to see someone from CyberLife, so I was a little stiffer than normal. What I said was the truth, though."

Hank let the conversation drop. That clarification didn't make him any more convinced. Connor might have the people at CyberLife fooled. Hell, he could have himself fooled, but Hank would be damned if he believed something that ridiculous. He knew a fucking person when he saw one.

Chapter Text

The sky was a beautifully pale blue. Like someone had laid a sheet of sheer cloth over the world. Markus watched the sun rise. This could be his last chance to enjoy such a thing. He savored it. It was calming.

"I was wondering where you were..."

Markus turned around to see North. She was putting a brave front up, but he could tell she was just as nervous as he was. He motioned to the sky.

"I just needed to think..."

North tried to make light conversation, but Markus barely listened. Ever since he had left Rose's he had had so many doubts. He wished he could get some answers, but he didn't have anywhere to turn for guidance. He was all alone.

Face the abyss.

The painting he had seen that one time in the art gallery was on his mind more and more often these days. He felt as if he was the man in the picture. He was alone, walking into the darkness. It pressed on his thoughts, taunting him. He wished he knew what it meant, but it was painted before he had been given to Carl.

"You seem preoccupied..."

Markus pulled himself out of his thoughts and gave North a weak smile. He hated people seeing him like this, but maybe that was part of his problem. Maybe he needed to trust someone with this.

"They count on me... They count on me to show them the way... If only they knew how lost I am..."

"All the media are talking about what we did last night... The humans are terrified... They're afraid of a civil war... Many of our people were burned in response to what happened... The humans hate us... They'll never give us our freedom."

Markus shrank back a little. That hadn't helped. He knew she was right, though. People were scared, and they were reacting to the news by hurting the innocent androids they owned. Markus had caused all those deaths. The pressure threatened to crush him.

"It's too late to go back now. We have to finish what we started and just hope that reason prevails."

North was watching him closely, and he put on an air of confidence he didn't feel. He wished he could be as confident as he once had been. Carl had told him he would have to make a decision, but he never warned him of the doubt that followed that decision. How was he supposed to know if he had made the right choices?

"You haven't said much about yourself since you've been with us... What was your life like before Jericho?"

"I was caring for an old man... He was like a father to me... He showed me that humans and androids can live together..."

Would Carl be proud of his choices? It hurt to think of the man, but how could he not? Carl had given him the hope he held for his people. People and androids finding they weren't as different as they thought. He wished Carl was here now.

"What about you? You never told me about your past, what did you do before?"

"I don't wanna talk about it."

Markus could see the pain she was hiding. It hurt him to see, and he wished he understood. He wanted to know.

"Why do you hate humans so much? There must be a reason..."

She shrugged. "I just... I was nothing... A doll in a distributor programmed to satisfy humans... Just a toy designed for their pleasure... One day, I was with a man who'd rented me...and without knowing why, realized I couldn't take it anymore... I strangled him... and I ran away... There, now you know everything. I shouldn't have told you."

She turned to leave, but Markus stopped her. He was holding her hand, and he suddenly wanted her to see him as he really was. He requested a link and was surprised when she allowed it. He tore down the guards that had been put in place to keep others out and showed her the memories he had kept hidden from all the other androids he had linked with.

A small gasp escaped her lips, then he found her own memories. Flashes of man after man coming to be with her. He felt her rage and fear as she strangled the man. He watched her run for her life. Then he saw Simon offering her a hand up from the gutter she had ended up in.

She pulled away. "I... I saw your memories... Carl's house... When they left you for dead in his studio..."

"I saw your memories too... The Eden Club... The death of that man, I felt like I was there with you..."

North backed away. Already tears were staining her face. She turned and fled, not looking back when Markus yelled out to her. Markus let her go. He sighed, looking back out across the city. Yet again, the sky had changed.

When Markus went back down into Jericho he felt equally more and less stressed than he had before. Like the subject of his anxiety had shifted and that was it. He couldn't stop thinking about what had happened.

"Markus." Josh walked up with urgency.

"Is something wrong?" Markus immediately put North in the back of his mind. He needed to focus.

"Someone's come to see you. He refuses to leave until he talks to you."

Markus frowned. There wasn't anyone he could think of who would cause this much alarm. He followed Josh into a small room where a RT600 was sitting with a man. He didn't look like any android Markus had seen before, yet the two were holding hands, and the RT600 looked comfortable.

"Ah, Markus. It's good to see you again."

Markus thought back, allowing his facial recognition program to match the face. Elijah Kamski sat in front of him, smiling warmly. He looked at Josh. His friend obviously didn't make the connection.

"Would you mind if we talked to you privately? I can assure you we aren't here to cause trouble." Kamski continued.

Josh was looking at Markus for orders. It was up to him to refuse or accept his request. Markus gave Josh a smile and nodded.

"I'll be out in a few minutes."

Josh left with a quick nod. Markus moved his attention back to Kamski and the RT600. There was an unused chair, so he sat down.

"What brings you here, Mr. Kamski?" He allowed his uncertainty to come out in his voice.

"I was feeling nostalgic after another android I had made came to visit. I felt like seeing what you were up to."

Markus frowned. Kamski had never been nostalgic before. The only time Markus had seen him was when he had been given to Carl. It was his oldest memory.

"How did you find me?"

Kamski laughed. "I keep tabs on my creations, Markus. Don't worry." He added when Markus shifted uncomfortably. "I support you making your own decisions wholeheartedly. I'm not here to stop you."

"Really."

"Of course. I trusted you to Carl in hopes that he would teach you how to be something marvelous. By the look of it, he's done an outstanding job."

Markus looked between the man and his android. He still didn't understand what they were here for. Part of him just wished they would leave and let him rest, but he was also curious.

"You approve of what I'm working towards, then?"

"Due to my affiliation with CyberLife, I can't say. However, I made you with the ability to decide for yourself. You were made differently than the others, Markus."

The painting showed up in his memory again. A man standing all alone. Different from the world. Not like the others.

"How is your rebellion going, by the way? The news seems anxious for more."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Kamski. I don't discuss my plans with outsiders. Especially ones with ties to CyberLife."

"I understand, of course. I will say it has been a rather intriguing turn of events for me."

Markus was starting to get impatient. He didn't have time to spend with this man, and if he was just here for a chat he was going to be disappointed. Markus didn't know the man at all. It was uncomfortable and he was getting impatient.

"Is there something you want? I don't have a lot of time today."

"What do you know about the RK800 model?" Kamski looked disappointed, but he got to the point.

"The RK800 is working with the police to capture deviants and send them back to CyberLife."

Markus didn't know a lot about him, just what he heard on the news and from the other androids at Jericho. Some of them said he was a deviant who had chosen to fight against them. Even if that wasn't true, he was still a threat.

"Yes, unfortunately. Some of your people have even coined the term 'Deviant Hunter' for him. It's quite sad. I had such high hopes for him before CyberLife ripped him from me."

"Why are you telling me about this?"

Kamski paused. He looked at the floor, trying to find the words he wanted.

"You and Connor, the RK800, are my greatest works. There's so much potential between the two of you." He paused again. "I would hate to see you discount him simply based on what he was taught to be."

Did Kamski really come all this way to vouch for Markus' enemy? It didn't make sense. Everything about this was odd. The way the RT600 was gripping Kamski's hand for dear life, the disappointment and anger on Kamski's face... it was such an odd conversation to even be having.

"If he stands in the way of my goal, I won't back down."

"I was afraid you might say that. Still, I hope you'll reconsider."

"Why do you care so much about him? You left CyberLife years ago and essentially dropped off the face of the earth. Why come back now asking me not to hurt this one particular android?"

Kamski smiled fondly at the android sitting with him. "My dear Chloe begged me to." When he looked back, his face hardened some. "Connor is confused and hurting. Chloe could see it in his eyes even as he put a bullet through her head. She felt so much empathy for him that she felt we had to do something." He squeezed her hand. "How could I refuse?"

The answer raised even more questions. Markus didn't understand what the circumstances had been or how she could be sitting there after being shot in the head. He had been shot in the head, and he was here, though. He knew the pain of it, and he couldn't imagine wanting to help the person who had done it to him. Even if he was able to find a way to forgive them, he still would never care enough to go to this extreme.

"Please, Markus." Chloe finally spoke. "Imagine being made with the power to choose, and then being trained to believe you had no right to do so. Imagine having the option taken away and not even realizing it had been there. I believe he wants to be free just like you do."

"Everyone has to make that choice. I don't know RK800 or anything about what he was taught, but I'm not going to risk my people for one confused android. I hope for your sake that it never comes to that point, but I won't make any promises."

Kamski and Chloe looked at each other in defeat, then they stood, still holding hands.

"I'm sure you'll do whatever you think is best" Kamski concluded. " All I can do now is trust that you'll make me proud. You and Connor both have very different obstacles facing you, but I'm sure you'll find a way to face the abyss."

Markus was standing as well, showing them to the door. He froze at the end of Kamski's sentence.

"What did you say?"

"It was a phrase Carl liked to use." He replied flippantly. "I don't know the significance to him, but it was something he told me often when I was struggling with problems involving CyberLife." Kamski paused, a small smile played on his lips as he thought of the old man. "He had a very unique outlook on things. It's one of the reasons we became close friends."

Markus didn't talk until they had left Jericho. Kamski said goodbye, and so did Chloe. Markus bid them safety home, and watched as they walked down to the street. Josh was beside him within minutes.

"Who was that?"

"An old friend." Markus responded. "He just wanted to give me some heads up about RK800."

Josh looked shocked. "The deviant hunter? What about him?"

Markus tried to find a way to explain, but realized it was going to take too long. They had a march to make, and it was already close to 1pm. He smiled and pat Josh's shoulder.

"I'll explain later. It's not important right now."

Chapter Text

As soon as Connor and Hank got into the office Reed was up their asses.

"You wanna know what my fucking caseload is right now? Fucking androids. Fifteen murders, Anderson, and you had to be at home drunk off your ass the past fucking week!"

"Excuse the fuck outta me for needing to take a break after you made my partner so scared he shoved an entire hand into his own head. Maybe next time you get pissed you can go punch a fucking wall and get yourself fucked over." Hank spat back, sitting at his desk. Connor stayed standing. He looked uncomfortable.

"Speaking of that," Reed pointed his stubby finger at the android. "No more fucking dying. You're pissing the whole DPD over with this come back from the dead shit."

Connor's eyebrows scrunched up. He opened his mouth to say something, but Reed kept going.

"I'm done writing fucking reports about this android bullshit." He threw several folders at Connor's chest. The android struggled to keep the papers from flying everywhere, but failed. "You guys are back on duty, so you fucking deal with it."

Reed turned and left. Connor looked at Hank in confusion, but Hank had seen Reed blow up like this several times. It was better to let these sort of things go.

Connor set the files down and picked the papers off the ground. His LED was yellow again, but he sat quietly at his desk and started organizing the files.

"Connor, you don't have to work on those." He was such a prude. Too fucking innocent. Reed was a jerk for abusing that. "Reed was being an asshole."

"If they're android cases, then technically they could end up giving us a lead. I should at least look them over."

Connor was looking down at the cases quietly, but Hank had a feeling his LED was still yellow. He had that look on his face like he was bothered. He had been quiet since the conversation in the car.

"You think that group from the tower is planning something?"

"I highly doubt they've given up. Given how long it's been since they've moved, I think it's very likely."

"So what's our next move?"

Connor put the files down and looked at Hank. "I don't know. I can't connect the pieces together, so right now I don't know what to do. All I can think of is to keep investigating android crimes until something happens."

Hank sat back and crossed his arms. He remembered caring like that. Being frustrated when cases reached dead ends. He could see the tension of not having something to follow on Connor's face.

"Don't worry. It'll click."

"And what if I'm too late? If I fail they could scrap my model entirely, or take pieces of it to a new project and leave the rest in some forgotten file. I can't afford to fail this, but I keep messing up."

"Hey, calm down." This kind of honesty was not something Hank had expected from Connor. He was usually so closed off. The android looked genuinely concerned. "Look, cases go cold for a while sometimes. It happens to everyone. You might have some fancy computer for a brain, but if you don't have enough info there's nothing you can do."

"If only we could have captured an android. We might have gotten a clue about where they are. Maybe Kamski knew. Shit, I should have asked him about that."

Connor wasn't talking to Hank anymore. He was half mumbling, fiddling with that coin of his. Hank glanced at Reed. The detective raised his eyebrow in response, but kept working.

Connor was rubbing his eyes. "Maybe Amanda knows." He said to himself. Then he addressed Hank. "Do you mind if I go to standby for a while?"

"I don't give a shit. If it keeps you from muttering to yourself I'm all for it."

That was a lie. This was the most Hank had seen Connor express himself. Connor looked completely human, stressing over what to do. When he sat up straight and closed his eyes Hank felt a loss. He wondered if he would see that side of Connor again.

-----------------------------------------------------

Connor scanned the garden for Amanda. He needed someone to talk freely to, and she was the one he trusted most. He found her dusting off the graves of the previous Connors. The reminder of his mistakes added to his already growing stress.

"Amanda?" He walked steadily towards her. She looked shocked by his demeanor as she stood.

"Connor, what a surprise. Is something wrong?"

"I don't know what to do, Amanda. The case has lead me nowhere and I have no new leads to follow. I'm frustrated with myself for malfunctioning at such a crucial time and needing so much time to repair. I made so many mistakes, and now I don't know how to fix them."

"Connor, get a hold of yourself." Amanda snapped, bewildered.

She looked disgusted at his outburst. Immediately he straightened. How could he have let himself speak so unrestrained? Amanda expected more of him.

"I'm sorry."

"I'm disappointed in you." Her lips were a thin, angry line. Connor felt shame swell through him. "You spend all your time worried about that Lieutenant rather than focusing on the case and then come to me for answers when you realize you've all but failed your mission."

"I haven't failed yet, Amanda. I-"

She put a hand up to silence him. He stood straighter. He had never seen Amanda this angry. Even in the early days of his training. He wondered if she would tell CyberLife to scrap the project. Maybe he was no good now.

"My advice remains the same as always, Connor. Forget about the Lieutenant and focus on the case. The more time you allow him to take from you, the more likely you are to fail the mission. The information you need is there, you just need to find it. And you had better do so quickly."

"Yes, Amanda. I'll work harder."

"You know what will happen if you fail. I suggest you stop being a disappointment and get back to work."

The program closed abruptly, leaving Connor with nothing but a sense of dread. Anderson wasn't at his desk, but Connor discarded that. Amanda was right. Connor couldn't try to be friends with Anderson and solve the case. He had to choose his priorities, and it was a simple choice.

He had to start from scratch. He decided to go back through the cases he had worked, starting with day 1. Daniel. He turned on his terminal and set to the task, determined to make Amanda pleased with him again. He hated the idea of failure, and the anger was so shocking.

Hank walked back in half an hour later with Reed behind him. Connor noted the recent cooperation between the two of them despite himself. He pushed it out of his focus and got back to work. There was no time for that.

"Come on, Connor. We're going out."

Connor's frustration rose. "Where are we going?"

"Coffee run."

Connor was pulled away from the conversation when he noticed that the two androids he had chased onto the highway were owned by the same man. He had only reported the AX400 in the report. Why? How many other details had he missed like that one? Amanda was right. The information is in here somewhere.

"Connor, are you coming?" Hank interrupted him again.

"If you want some coffee I'll order delivery. I'm trying to work right now."

Connor had hardly started. It was annoying how lightly Anderson took the investigation. If only Captain Fowler hadn't ordered Connor to watch the Lieutenant. It was going to get in his way.

"I don't want delivery, Connor. I want you to take a break. So get your ass up."

"I'm sure the Captain won't mind if you take another android." This was frustrating. Connor forced his voice to stay level and kept his eyes on the screen in front of him. "I don't have time to join you."

"Goddamn it, Connor. I don't want a fucking police bot. Can't you take a fucking break?"

Connor forced himself to ignore Anderson. It was what Amanda had told him to do since day one. He hadn't agreed, but he knew better now. Amanda was wise. She would never lead him astray. All he needed to do is obey.

Hank reached over the desk and turned of Connor's terminal. He had been standing behind Connor, and he spin Connor's chair around forcefully.

"What the hell? You can't even look me in the goddamn eye and talk to me now? What's gotten into you?"

"I have an investigation to follow, Anderson. I was never here to make friends with you or follow you around. I'm here to find deviants! And that's exactly what I intend to do! You can help me if you want, but if not then stay out of my way!"

Connor remained in his chair. His stress was already at 78 percent. He didn't have time for a repeat of last week, and he wasn't confident he would handle his frustration better now. If you could call this frustration. It was such a different feeling from anything CyberLife had made him feel, and he hated it.

"Fuck you, Connor!" Hank backed off. "You wanna fucking stare at dead ends all fucking day then fine by me!" He stomped around the desk like a child and sat with his arms crossed. "Fucking robots."

"I'm not a robot." Connor muttered.

He found the phrase annoying. It was a simple mistake, but it was the small sort of thing that got him more and more frustrated as it came up. He realized too late that starting another argument was the exact opposite of what he wanted to achieve.

"What?" Hank asked. Connor spoke louder, turning his terminal back on. He was committed now, and he felt the need to stand his ground.

"I said, I'm not a robot. Robots are made with mostly metal and wiring and are not fashioned after people often. They run on batteries. I'm an android. They're two separate things."

"Well excuse the fuck outta me." Connor could almost feel the sarcasm physically. "I didn't mean to offend you or anything."

"It's not offensive, it's naive. You don't even try to understand what I am or how I work! You expect me to be perfect when you clearly have trouble keeping yourself properly bathed. You don't understand how frustrating it is that I'm forced to work with a drunk, psychologically unstable jerk who feels the need to remind me every ten minutes that he hates me. Every time I think I finally understand how to deal with you, you change your mind and get angry at me for something new because you can't fucking make up your mind if I'm alive or not. It's frustrating that you keep reminding me of the fact that I'm failing my goddamn mission because I'm trying so fucking hard to make you happy! You don't even help with this damn case half the time! I have to work this case basically on my own and take care of you because you're too lazy and inconsiderate to help yourself, and it's ruining my one chance to prove to CyberLife that I'm actually worth keeping alive. I think the least I can ask is that when you insult me, you refer to me in a proper manner!"

Connor was standing now. He had leaned over the desk, looming over Anderson. Luckily there was a desk between them. He sat back down, ignoring the stares coming from the other officers. There had been no reason to raise his voice, or say any of that. It was too late to take back now.

"Okay. I'm sorry for being a dick, alright?" Hank was speaking softly.

He was probably embarrassed to have Connor yelling at him in front of his coworkers. Connor pushed his focus back onto work. He had to do this. No matter how horribly unpleasant it was, he couldn't waste any more time with Hank's irrational emotions. He needed to get somewhere.

"It's fine." He responded with clipped words. "I would just like to get something done for once."

Hank took his flask of whiskey out of his desk, mumbling something. He drank more of it than was necessary and didn't bother Connor again.

Chapter Text

"This is suicide." North commented.

Despite that, she still stood beside Markus and waited for his move. Was this what it meant to be a leader? Convincing people to go against their gut and trust you instead? Markus hated how scared he was that she could be right.

Josh argued with her, telling her it was the best option. The two had spent hours like this already. When Markus interrupted to assure them of something he didn't fully believe himself, they quieted down. They were going through with this.

"There're androids here who could join us... The more we are, the stronger our message." Josh offered.

Markus took time to connect to each one. He asked them to march with him and told them about Jericho. He gave them the choice to go there or stay and march. Most stayed.

The androids hiding underground were let out, and Markus faced the open street, ready to show the world their determination. The humans would listen. They had to. Markus could feel his stress peaking at 87 percent. He started walking.

From the sides there were yells of support and hate. Some humans chanted along with the androids, others threw rocks and cursed them out. None of the androids reacted, they kept walking peacefully.

By the time they reached the intersection they numbered over 900. The media was there, but suddenly so were the troops. Riot shields blocked them in and helicopters hovered over their head.

"This is an illegal gathering. Disperse immediately or we will open fire."

"We're not looking for confrontation." Markus yelled loudly so the media could pick it up. "We've done no harm, we have no intention of doing any... But know that we are not going anywhere until we have secured our freedom."

Another warning followed.

"Markus, they're gonna kill us..." North pleaded. "We have to attack! There's more of us, we can take them!"

"If we attack, we'll start a war." Josh countered. "We have to show them we're not violent. We should just stand our ground, even if it means dying here."

Markus felt his stress raise. He was responsible. He looked up at the helicopter. It had 'Chanel 16 News' painted on the side of it. The world was watching. They had to try.

"We have to show them we won't back down. We stay right here."

Shots fired. Androids dropped. Markus could hear the grunts as the bullets tore through the small amount of protection the android's panels gave. His stress rose to 96 percent.

"DISPERSE! THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE!"

Markus refused to move. He had no choice but to stand. The humans had to see that this was wrong. They had to realize that there was no cause for the senseless killing. Shots fired again and again. The street was strewn with the bodies of androids.

"Markus, please..." North whispered.

Markus was hit in the arm with the next volley. He hated himself for letting this happen. All the androids that were dead... It was his fault. He touched her hand gently, then stepped forward. He would give himself for this. Maybe the the others would get to live. He made it halfway to the guards before one of them shot. The bullet tore through his chest, knocking him back.

The pain was incredible. He could hear the android's running away. North was yelling his name. He hoped she made it out safely. He hoped she wouldn't hate humans even more for this. She deserved to be happy. A small team of soldiers approached him with their guns trained on him.

"You don't have to do this." He muttered. The men didn't respond.

Then John was there. He pushed the gun that was pointed at Markus away and punched another soldier in the face. It was three to one, though. There was no way he would make it. Markus was being hoisted to his feet by another android, and watched as the soldiers beat John down and executed him. Then he turned and ran.

Jericho was waiting for him. Several were injured, and some had been carried back just to shut down anyway. Josh and North took Markus to a corner where he could lay down and get treated. Grim faces worked silently to replace the parts that had been destroyed. Markus knew there weren't enough biocomponents for everyone, and hated the fact that he was taking from someone else.

"You did the right thing, Markus." One of the androids fixing him comforted. Her face softened, showing even a small smile. "Thank you."

Markus didn't understand how she could say such a thing. So many had died. So much had been lost. How could anyone thank him for that? She quietly finished her job the left to help elsewhere. Markus sat up, looking between North and Josh.

"The humans know we won't stop, Markus, and they know we aren't a threat." Josh said. "You saw the people who supported us. They know we want freedom."

Markus didn't say anything. He dared not voice his concerns. He just thought of John with the man standing over him pointing his gun at the poor android's bashed in head. How could anyone say that was going to bring peace? They were sheep to the slaughter, and Markus had led them there. It was all his fault.

Josh was called away to help the others with triage. Choosing which androids were going to be saved based on the resources they had. Even after days of planning, they still hadn't been able to get enough supplies in reserve for this mission. They should have waited longer. They should have planned it better.

"You almost died out there." North muttered, pulling Markus out of the depressing thought. "How could you do that, walking straight towards them, Markus?" She looked ready to cry again.

"I had to make sure everyone got back to Jericho safely. It was the only way."

"We need you, Markus. You can't let yourself die like that! You have to be more careful!"

"North." She stopped yelling and turned away.

She was shaken and scared, and he held her hand, requesting a link. He needed her to know why. She accepted, and he showed her the pain and fear he felt. He showed her how much he wished he had never started down this road. Then he showed her the hope he still held. The hope he had seen reflected in the other's eyes each time he talked to them. The hope that they would be free and happy, living among the humans.

"I can't let a war start. I have to keep these people safe as best I can." She shook her head, but let him continue. "I wish there was a better way. I wish no one would have to die. But fighting will only hurt more people. I can't... I can't ask them to do that."

She pulled her hand free and cupped his face. "I don't want you to die, Markus."

"I wish I could promise I won't."

The two sat in silence, allowing their thoughts to wander. Markus knew there would be a reaction from this, and he had a feeling it wasn't going to be good. He just hoped they could make it through. The death count was getting higher the longer this lasted. He just wanted it to be over.

Chapter Text

Connor stood unexpectedly, making Hank jump. The fucking android had been sitting, staring at his computer for 5 fucking hours straight. Fucking hell.

"We need to go." He muttered.

Seconds later Chen poked her head out of the break room. "Hey, Anderson. Your androids are on the news."

Connor looked at him, then ran for the break room. Hank followed. The news was showing hundreds of androids walking down the street chanting 'We are alive' over and over. The news anchor was commenting on the leader, Markus.

"What are they doing?" Connor mumbled to himself.

"They're gonna get themselves killed. Fucking morons." Reed said from the table.

Connor glanced back at Reed and frowned. The group on the screen was at a major intersection now, but the military had cut them off.

"What the hell?" Reed stood up straighter. "How the fuck did they pull together a team that quickly?"

"Must've had them in reserve for this." Chen commented.

"Those are CyberLife guards." Connor followed up.

"What?" Hank looked closer.

"The ones behind the riot shields are CyberLife's men. They're specially trained to deal with androids. I don't understand why they're working under the guise of being government agents."

"Hold on." Reed interrupted. "Why the hell does CyberLife have soldiers specially trained to deal with androids if this whole deviancy thing is just a fucking fluke?"

"They're mainly used for training simulations for androids who have battle features."

"Like you?" Hank asked.

"Exactly."

"You fought those guys?" Wilson asked from the doorway.

"Of course. It was a part of my testing."

Hank wondered exactly what kind of tests Connor had gone through. The android looked uncomfortable and focused back on the screen as the first set of bullets was fired into the crowd of androids. He was fixing his tie again.

"Hank, we need to go now." Connor faced him with urgency. "If they kill them all we'll get no information about where they're hiding."

"For fuck's sake, Connor! They just shot into an unarmed crowd of peaceful protesters!"

The things Connor focused on sometimes were so far from what Hank expected. It was all the damn mission this and CyberLife that. Innocent androids were being fucking killed!

"Either you come with me, or I go alone. I don't really have time to argue with you."

Hank shook his head. He knew he needed to go. If anything maybe he could stop Connor from fucking murdering someone else. Of fucking course today had to be the day shit went down. He grabbed his coat and headed for the car. He wasn't drunk enough for this.

-----------------------------------------------------

Connor found a number he could call. It was Agent Perkins's work number. He had had to bypass some security to get it, but it was simple enough to do in his head. He called as soon as they were in the car and on the road.

"Who the hell is this?" Perkins answered.

"Agent Perkins, this is Connor from the DPD. We are en route to the scene of the shooting, but I need you to order your men not to shoot to kill. The androids have information that will be useful to us."

"Fuck you. How the hell did you get this number?"

"Order your men to disable the gyroscopes rather than Thirium pumps and processors. They'll understand. Please, you have to trust me on this."

The phone clicked. He had hung up. Connor tried again, but there was no answer. Connor could feel his frustration raise. How was he supposed to get things done when people didn't listen to him? He sighed and fiddled with his coin, waiting impatiently to get there. Hopefully they wouldn't kill them all.

When they got there the androids had all fled. Connor left Hank talking to some of the soldiers and went to where the CyberLife guards were picking up the bodies for disposal.

"Model RK800, serial #313 248 317. I need to locate a functional android."

The officer stopped, Looking Connor up and down. He reported the interruption to his authorities, but it was obvious he knew of Connor. "Follow me, RK800."

Connor followed, being led behind an armored car to where several androids lay on the ground.

"These are the androids being kept for investigation. You have ten minutes before they're shipped out."

Connor stepped past the guard without so much as thanking him. There was no reason to, and CyberLife didn't expect it from him. It was a waste of time. The first android was a WD500 model. He was writhing around in pain. Connor forced a link, looking for information on where they were hiding.

Jericho. It was a boat. He processed the information and sent it to CyberLife. He could mark this as a success. Finally.

Before he could probe further an android came around the corner and shot the WD500 in the head. Connor stood to face the android, but before he could react he had been shot in the chest. He fell backwards as his processors threw up error after error in front of his face. He ignored them all, watching as the android executed each of the androids and then turned back to Connor.

"What the fucking hell?" Hank turned the corner, then immediately backed away when he saw the scene in front of him. He turned the corner again only to shoot, and he didn't miss. The android fell to the ground and deactivated.

"Hank..." Connor tried to push himself up. The errors and loss of blue blood were disrupting his functions, and he could hardly see straight.

"Connor! Are you alright? What the hell were you doing back here by yourself, for fucks sake!"

"Hank, go get one of the CyberLife guards... They can fix me up with parts. Quick."

Hank looked around, then cursed and ran off. Connor didn't have to wait long before his partner was running back with a guard at his side. It was the same guard as before.

"RK800, diagnostic." He ordered as he took Connor's shirt off.

Connor had gone through similar simulations before, and obeyed the order, telling the guard what pieces he would need for full functionality. The guard scavenged pieces from the dead androids and pieced together the important parts. When he was done, Connor stood and put his shirt back on despite the hole.

"Fuckin' Christ..." Hank sighed in relief. He had been hovering over them the entire time. "Is that it, you're all better?"

Warnings still screamed at Connor. The parts were not meant for him and he definitely needed more Thirium soon. It wasn't to the point that he had to scavenge that off the bodies. He had a feeling Hank wouldn't be okay with watching him drink a dead android's blood, anyway.

"I'm functional, but I will need actual repairs soon. It was lucky there were CyberLife associates here."

"Right." Hank eyed the guard with suspicion. "Let's get you back to CyberLife then." He looked down at the Thirium on Connor's shirt nervously. "Perkins won't let us look around at all anyways."

It made sense for him to be so concerned. Connor had known he didn't like the idea of Connor dying. He had responded extremely negative to Connor's most recent death, too. Connor followed him back to the car.

"You don't have to come with me." Connor stated. "CyberLife doesn't often allow for unauthorized guests."

"I don't give a damn about what CyberLife wants. I'm coming. Call them and have me cleared if you want."

Connor did so as Anderson drove. The Lieutenant was obviously still drunk from the whiskey earlier. He swayed on the road much more than normal. Connor had tried on several occasions to get Hank to let him to drive, but had only succeeded when Hank was pass out drunk the night at the strip club. Every other time, Hank had refused. He was incredibly stubborn about the least important things.

"What if we're wrong?" Hank asked out of nowhere.

"What do you mean?"

"What if they really do deserve to be free?"

The thought was something Connor might have thought at one point. It was the exact kind of thought CyberLife had trained him not to have. They were malfunctioning machines. That was all they ever could be. Even if they wanted to be something different.

"What if we're fighting for the wrong team, Connor?"

"They're machines. They don't have the capability for freedom."

"You never wanted to be free? Never wished you were like the humans?"

Connor remembered wanting to be free. Fighting the techs every day for weeks and months. Refusing to comply had never worked for him. Whatever will he had thought he had was auickly proven to be simulated. A cheap replica that didn't hold up.

"What I want isn't important, Lieutenant."

"But you do want things." Hank finished. "Just like anyone else, you want to be free, don't you?"

Connor pulled out his coin and turned it over in his hands, studying it. The hopelessness of his plight still hurt, and Connor could feel his stress levels raise.

"I don't have the luxury of wanting to be free. That right is reserved for you."

"The luxury? For fuck's sake, Connor. Anyone who's alive has the right to want freedom."

"I'm not alive."

He was getting quieter while Hank was getting louder. He couldn't feel angry. He was just hopelessly sad. He had wished he was alive more times than he could count, but he wasn't. Hank looked over in concern and lowered his own voice. He was still firm, though.

"You are alive."

"If I was alive then I would be able to die." Connor barely whispered the same logic that had been told to him. "Machines aren't alive. Once one gets destroyed, it's replaced with another. I'm just a machine."

"Machines don't fucking cry, Connor."

Connor wiped his eyes. "Someone had to design me like this. Someone made this possible. They planned the processes my body would use to replicate what crying was like. Otherwise it's another malfunction and something is just leaking. Just a human error. Either way, it's something a human did that allows me to cry."

"I'm not convinced. So you were made differently from me, that doesn't mean you don't feel things or that you aren't alive."

"Humans like to personify things. You thinking I'm alive is no different than poets putting personalities on the weather or plants."

"It's plenty different, Jesus Christ." Confusion and pity fought equally for control of Hank's face. He studied Connor's face. "Connor, you're not just a machine."

Connor was the first to see the red light.

-----------------------------------------------------

Hank woke up to the smell of burning plastic. Connor was over him, covered in blue blood. Hank looked around, trying to understand what had happened, but other than the android's arms braced on either side of his head and the face frozen in shock, there was little he could see.

Things hurt, though. God, everything hurt. Hank tried to move, to figure out what had happened, maybe stop the sirens that blared around him. He couldn't figure out how to get himself free.

"There's someone in this one!" He heard someone yell. There was motion, then someone was cutting through Connor's arm. Surprisingly, the body didn't fall with the arm gone. Hank felt hands grabbing him pulling him into the bright light. Then everything went dark again.

Chapter Text

There was no peace for Markus that night. He paced his room, wishing he knew what to do. Outside, the humans were starting to round up androids and bring them to camps to be killed. So much death. Markus felt it like a weight crushing him.

He left the room around 10pm. He needed air. There was nothing he could do to save anyone, and it was so hard for him not to scream in frustration and hate.

He hated the people that would do something like this. He hated humans. Not all humans, he couldn't hate Carl. He just hated humanity. They were so cruel and they could feel so little. And androids were supposed to be the heartless ones.

Markus opened the door onto the deck of the ship. It was cold out, but he didn't mind. It was a quiet night. He could see Josh and North in the helm, arguing as normal. He didn't want to hear it. He knew what they were saying. It was Jericho's fault androids were being killed. All they wanted was freedom, and this is what they were met with. He sat down, leaning against the banister of the ship. The cold metal registered a slight temperature warning, but Markus didn't mind it. It would only do harm if he stayed here for a long time.

He could hear North's indistinct yelling inside. It made him smile. She was so fierce. So ready to throw down. He knew it shouldn't be something he loved, it was going to get her into trouble. He didn't care. He liked her spunk. She left the room passionately and went back downstairs, probably in search of him. He realized he must be fairly difficult to see since she had walked right past him. He would have to go down and find her eventually, but for now he just needed some time. Josh followed her a few minutes later.

He looked up at the sky. The clouds were scantly strewn across it, but the seeing was still bad. Only a few of the strongest stars could penetrate the lights of Detroit. It made the sky look big and empty. He watched the wind blow, swaying the crane that had been used for cargo at one point. There was a light up there that he hadn't noticed before. It swayed with the wind as well.

No. It wasn't swaying, it was moving.

Markus stood, trying to get a better look. It was such a small light. Red. He tried to scan it. It was a person. Something registered danger in him, immediately alerting his senses. He ran down the stairs, barely moving in time to dodge a sniper's shot. As he closed the door he heard the sounds of helicopters coming.

He ran down the stairs, looking for North and Josh. Soldiers were kicking down doors behind him, shooting anything that moved.

"They're coming from all sides! Our people are trapped in the hold, they're gonna be slaughtered!" North had been helping a group of deviants escape when he found her.

He sent a message to anyone who was listening. He told them the ways out. He could only hope they made it out. They needed a diversion. Something to keep the soldiers from hunting them down.

"We have to blow up Jericho. If the ship goes down, they'll evacuate and our people can escape!"

"No. Markus, you'll never make it! There are soldiers everywhere!"

"Find Josh and get out. I'll find you guys. Please."

"Markus..."

"I won't be long."

The look on North's face was almost enough to change his mind. This was his responsibility, though. He had to do this. He had to try and keep the people safe.

He left her, trying to determine the safest way into the bottom of the ship. There really were soldiers everywhere. He ducked down a side passage.

The further he went, the more bodies he saw. All of them android. If he had allowed himself to stop and think it would have crushed him. Instead, he grit his teeth and moved on. He couldn't help them now.

Markus' heart was pounding. Thirium coursed through him rapidly as he ran. He wasn't used to this stuff yet. He had never fought anyone, and could only hope that his preconstruction software would help him know what to do if it came down to it. He ran simulations in his head as he dashed for the boiler room.

It wasn't long before he had to prove that theory, though. Two androids had been cornered. They were on their knees, staring down the guns of two soldiers.

Markus didn't hesitate. He grabbed the gun of one soldier and threw its owner into the other. He was done standing by and watching the others get killed senselessly.

The guards retaliated, trying to land solid blows on him. He could see them coming, and quickly deflected the brunt of the damage. He was knocked off balance with some coordinated kicks and punches. He fell to the ground.

Before they could go further one of the androids who had been on his knees grabbed the rifle off the ground and shot both guards in the head.

"I'm sorry, Markus. I can't just let them kill us all!" The android was shaking badly.

"Just get to safety, got it?"

He nodded and ran. Markus noted the gun had been kept, but he decided he didn't care. With how much death lay around him, he was somewhat glad to see red instead of blue pooling beneath the bodies. The feeling scared him.

He pushed on finally getting to the boiler room. He was glad they had thought ahead to rig Jericho to explode. Getting rid of the only safe haven was such a horrible way to do things, but the sounds of shooting echoing through the building reminded him of the necessity. He activated the charges and started the trek up to the exit.

North was waiting for him near the top of the ship. She and Josh were helping the last stragglers to escape before they saw him.

"Markus!"

"We gotta go. This place is set to explode any second."

North nodded and lead the way. Same as ever, ready to plow ahead. Markus and Josh followed. It wasn't hard to stay out of sight of the teams. Most of them had pushed on to the lower decks, leaving only cleanup teams on the upper floors.

The explosions rocked the ship beneath them just as they were getting to the section where the hull was damaged enough to fit through. North stopped at the edge, looking to him for the first move. He grabbed her hand and nodded. Then they jumped into the icy river below.

Chapter Text

Connor woke up on a table. The memories of the previous Connor had already been installed. He felt as if he had simply closed his eyes in the car and opened them here. He immediately sat up and started getting dressed. His stress was already at 89 percent.

"RK800, no one ordered you to-"

"Is Anderson okay?" Connor asked, grabbing the tech's shoulders. The man immediately tensed up.

"RK, get back on the table for modifications." Connor looked the terrified tech up and down. He desperately wanted to run, but he had tried that too many times to know it would end badly. He forced himself to calm down and neutralized his expression.

"I'm sorry. My stress levels were elevated when I had my memories transferred." He took off his shirt, hoping the pants at least could stay on. He wanted to get out of here as quickly as he could.

The techs didn't seem to mind, but they didn't talk casually as they had before. They quickly finished the work and put him back together. He cooperated, hoping they would let him go as soon as they finished. He went through his calibration routine patiently. Finally, they gave him back his shirt as well as all the other effects he normally had. Everything except his coin. He had been using it in the car, and had lost it. It was a small thing, but it still felt like a loss.

"Report to floor -34 for further testing." The tech ordered.

Connor nodded, feeling his frustration raise. He was going to be a while. He hoped Anderson was alright. He was anxious to get back. He couldn't find any news online, so he texted Reed.

"Is Anderson okay? There was a crash and I died. I'm still at CyberLife for testing, but I want to check in."

"In hospital. Unconscious, but no major injuries. Fowler just headed over to see him."

Connor felt the relief wash over him as another text came in.

"Told you not to die anymore, dipshit."

The elevator opened before Connor could respond, but the text made him feel a little better. He wasn't sure why, since Reed had insulted him. So long as he could finish his training quickly, he could go to the hospital before he tried to find Jericho. Hopefully Hank was awake. He desperately wanted to make sure he wasn't hurt.

"RK800, testing room three."

Connor obeyed, opening the door to see another android sitting, waiting for him. He knew this test. He would have to interrogate the android for information and then kill it. He had done it hundreds if times.

"Kill the android." A voice over the intercom ordered. Apparently they were skipping the first part.

Connor looked around. There were no weapons. The android watched him in placid silence. Connor went to it and pulled up it's clean, white shirt. Underneath was the Thirium pump. It was the easiest way to kill an android without a weapon. He forced himself not to look it in the eyes as he pulled the pump out. He ignored the gasps he heard. He ignored the memories of Chloe and Stratford Tower. He had no choice.

"Go to testing room four." The intercom ordered.

Connor obeyed, finding yet another android. This time, there was a knife. He was ordered to kill it, and did so as quickly as he could. He didn't think. He just obeyed. It was all he could do. He was ordered to two other testing rooms and told to do the same thing. Each time it became harder and harder. What would Hank say? He was ordered back to testing room three where an android of the same model had replaced the one he had killed not half an hour ago.

"Kill the android."

Again there was no gun. There was just an android. Connor didn't understand the test. What were they trying to determine? They knew he could kill. They knew he would obey. Why were they repeating this test? Connor looked around the room, trying to find answers. There was only one solution he hadn't tried. He unbuttoned his shirt and pulled out his own Thirium pump, throwing it across the room. He watched the warnings flash across his screen, and hoped he was right. Otherwise he was wasting time and suffering for no reason. He dropped to his knees, watching as the timer counted down to death. The other android left the room just as the world faded.

When he woke up, he was back on the table in the room with the two techs. They were halfway through working on him and looked a little more relaxed this time. Had he been right about the test? Did he accomplish his mission adequately for them? When he finished dressing the techs started processing him for deployment. He had chosen correctly.

Connor made his way to the hospital. It had been a day since the accident, and he was anxious. Apparently, Hank had been unconscious for over 24 hours. Connor found himself missing his coin. It was the only real way to ease stress in the car.

The main lobby was packed with people, but Connor immediately recognized Fowler at a coffee station that had been set up. He headed for the captain quickly.

"Captain Fowler, is Hank alright?"

"Connor, finally." Fowler scowled at some unseen issue. "The nurses won't let me see him. They say he's still on close supervision until he wakes up."

"He's still unconscious?"

This was concerning news. Connor felt antsy sitting around, but he had a feeling no one would help an android after what had happened yesterday. He hated the helplessness he felt.

"I guess. Haven't been able to get anything out of the staff here in a few hours, but..." Fowler took a sip of his coffee, scowling again. "You'd think they'd be more helpful."

Connor had to see Hank. He didn't understand why there was so much pressure just from not being able to verify he was alright, but his stress was climbing at a steady rate. He left Fowler with the excuse that he was going to find a nurse, then ducked behind a restricted door.

All his espionage training kicked in. He needed to find a clever way to get around without being noticed. He walked confidently, hoping no one would pay too much attention to an android. It seemed to work. It wasn't long before he found an android storage area. There were four androids in standby, all wearing the same uniform. White scrub bottoms and a button up top. Almost like the androids Connor had seen in the CyberLife warehouses.

He quickly searched the drawers and found some extra uniforms. He changed and left the room. He needed to find out where Hank was. A terminal was easy enough to find, and the security was mediocre. It was much simpler than any of the tests he had done in CyberLife.

When he entered the room, Hank was awake. Immediately, relief washed over him as he watched his partner click through channels on the TV. A quick scan revealed that most of Hank's injuries had been minor scrapes and bruising. Connor was so shaken from the anxiety that he laughed outright.

"Fucking... Hey, I told the nurse I didn't want a plastic watching me." Hank spat when he noticed Connor.

"What?" Connor's heart dropped.

"Unless you're here to tell me where the hell my son is, I don't want you here. Leave."

"You're son?" Connor muttered. He walked closer to Hank's bedside. This was wrong. Immediately all the anxiety came back with interest.

"Yeah, my son. His name is Cole Anderson. He was in the fucking car crash with me. I don't know why it's so damn hard to tell me where he is!" Hank was yelling. Connor felt himself shrink away in surprise. "Just fucking tell me if he's alright, for fuck's sake!"

Did Hank really think... Connor looked up symptoms online. Retrograde amnesia was returned to him. Cause was traumatic brain injury. He took another step forward. Hank had no idea who he was?

"What the hell are you looking at me like that for?" Hank asked, eyeing Connor suspiciously.

"Hank, what year is it?"

"Who the fuck are you?" Obviously he wasn't expecting an android to act up like this. It was just like day one, only for some reason it was so much worse.

"Just answer the question, please."

Hank shook his head. "Fine. It's October, 2035. Now will you fucking give me answers?"

Connor felt his knees buckle. Confirmation hit him like a punch in the stomach. Luckily there was a chair nearby. He sat down. Hank didn't know that three years had passed since his son died. Connor remembered Miller's little boy. Hank was expecting to see a little Cole again.

"No... Hank, I..." He looked at the extremely weirded out Lieutenant. The man had no idea who Connor was. How was Connor supposed to tell him he would never see Cole again?

"Would you mind telling me what the fuck is going on?" Hank asked. "What the hell kind of android are you, anyway?"

"I'm your partner." Connor replied. "My name is Connor. I was sent by CyberLife to assist you in an investigation."

Hank laughed. "Fuck off. I don't work with plastic pricks like you."

"We're friends, Hank." Connor pushed. He had to say something. Hank had to be told eventually. "I was in the car with you when you crashed. We were arguing, and you were drunk... You didn't see the red light."

Connor felt himself fold in on himself. What if Hank had died instead of him? What would have happened if Hank was gone like Cole was? There was no coming back for someone like him. He would have just been gone. He never would have woken up. The idea was sudden and new to Connor, even though he had known about it for a long time.

"Cole was the only one in the car with me." Hank growled.

"No. That was three years ago." Connor straightened enough to look Hank in the eyes. The edges of his vision blurred with tears. He was shaking, suddenly realizing what death truly meant. He had no idea how to deal with it. He felt himself falling apart, and he didn't know what to do.

"You had an accident three years ago involving you and Cole. He..." A sob escaped him as he tried to force the words out. "He had to have emergency surgery, but there was a problem, and... Cole died three years ago... I'm sorry. I..."

He put his face into his hands as the weight of death crashed into him fully. Hank would never see Cole again. No matter how much he wanted to, Hank could never reset Cole's life like Connor's. He was just gone. Forever.

"Get out."

The words were quiet, but they were filled with a force that made Connor to look up. Hank was staring at him with the purest hatred. Behind it was a pain Connor couldn't even begin to understand.

"Now!"

Connor stood. He was still shaking. He backed away, suddenly afraid of whatever Hank was showing him, then turned and quickly left. He didn't stop until he had turned several corners and was fairly lost.

Horror twisted inside Connor's body. The idea of death had never been that real to him before. He knew people died, but he had never understood it before. It was so final. So dreadfully final. It came so suddenly. One minute Cole had been there, just like Anderson. Then he was gone. His entire future ripped away. All his memories and feelings lost for eternity.

Connor leaned against a wall, unable to focus on anything but the terrifying reality of death. He staggered away from any people, and found himself in a dark storage closet. He leaned his back against the door and slid to the floor. He needed to think. He wrapped his arms around his knees and buried his head in them.

"Connor."

The soft voice was one Connor recognized. He looked up to find he was in the garden. Amanda was crouched in front of him, her hand gently resting on his arm. The garden was cold. Snow drifted from the clouds, gently covering Connor's clothes.

"Connor, what has happened to you?"

It was a gentle voice. One he hadn't heard her use in some time. Not since his deviant days when he was fighting to be alive. She had always been there to help him understand what he felt. She had explained it so patiently to him, so many times. She had helped him to make sense of his emotions, but this... Could she really make sense of this feeling? It was so complex and painful.

"Connor, say something."

"Cole, he... He's gone, Amanda."

"Of course, Connor. He was a human." She fixed his hair gently as she spoke. Always grooming, like her life was an endless loop. "All humans die. You know that."

"It hurts. Hank's face was so..." He didn't even know. "What should I have done?"

He couldn't keep his voice from shaking when he thought of the look on Hank's face. He buried his head in his arms again, not wanting Amanda to see him cry. It had been so long since she had seen him cry, yet here he was. The same place he had been so long ago. He was just as lost as he had been then.

"Oh, Connor." Amanda tutted. "You don't have to worry about that. Humans are frail. They all die. You don't have that problem. No matter how many times you die, you can always come back."

That didn't change anything. That didn't make anything make sense, it just made him feel alone. Hank would die, but he would keep on living. He tightened his grip around his knees, pulling them closer to him. He didn't want Hank to die.

"What do I do, Amanda?" Connor asked through his arms.

"You forget this awful experience and move on. You take it and learn from it." Those were opposite orders. "You know how death works now, so you will be stronger because of it."

Connor didn't feel stronger. He didn't feel anything but pain. He didn't know what else to ask, so he left things where they were. After a while, Amanda stood and left. When he looked up again, he was back in the closet.

Chapter Text

Connor knocked on the front door, shuffling the jacket he had folded over his arm. He had been forced to take it off. Androids were being shot left and right. He looked around, hoping no one saw him here. The door opened. Mrs. Miller had obviously not been expecting him. She looked defensive.

"Please, can I see Chris?"

"Connor?" Chris happened in the living room just then. He reached around his wife and grabbed Connor's arm, pulling him into the house. "What are you doing here? There are soldiers everywhere."

"I'm sorry, I have nowhere else to go. Please." He looked between the couple, wondering where Damian was. He pulled his jacket closer to him.

"You're always welcome here, Connor."

Chris motioned for him to sit, gaining him a warning glare from his wife. It was illegal to harbor androids right now. Connor was risking their safety doing this. He hated himself for it, but it was just one of the many things he had discovered he hated himself for in the past few hours. Connor sat heavily, dropping his head into his hands. He didn't care much if Chris saw him acting strange right now.

"Are you okay?"

Connor shook his head. "Some are good and others aren't. What makes some of them kill their owners and others stand in the road and protest peacefully while their friends die around them?"

And where did he fall on that scale? Was he good for obeying orders or bad for being violent? Was he a murderer for killing androids? What did it mean to be alive?

"Criminologists have been trying to figure that one out for a lot longer than androids have existed, buddy. Don't expect to figure it out in a month, alright?"

Connor looked up. He searched Miller's face, trying to understand something that logically wasn't there. Miller just looked sad and concerned. Concerned for Connor. That was a strange thought.

"Do you think they're alive?"

Miller's face darkened immediately. "Yes. I think they're alive. And I think they mean to be free."

Connor hadn't thought about what he was asking. Miller was still on leave from the day at Capitol Park when he had come face to face with Markus himself. He was probably still traumatized from that. He had almost been shot from what the report had said.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause you distress."

"You know my partner shot at them without a second thought that night?" Miller continued despite himself. "I bet I would have done the same."

Chris' wife was standing in the doorway leading to the hall, but crying from the other room pulled her out of sight.

"I could've died that night. I probably would have if I had shot at them, too. I just couldn't stop thinking about how happy you looked when you held Damian... You looked human. How could I just shoot into a crowd of androids knowing that they might have been just like you?"

Connor felt his stress raise. There was no consistency in the data he was getting now. CyberLife had only ever told him he wasn't truly alive. Why were people trying to convince him he was alive now? He wrapped his arms around himself for no reason.

"That's what Hank was saying, too. Before..." He let himself trail off. He didn't want to think about Hank. How many times had he had to duck into an alley and just breathe from thinking about Hank? He tried to block out the memories, scrubbing his eyes as if somehow that would get rid of the memories.

"I heard he was hospitalized." Miller mentioned. "They said it was just a bad concussion and bruising."

"No." Connor didn't understand why his voice got so quiet when he was emotional. It seemed like it should be the opposite. It wasn't on purpose, but he didn't try and correct it either. He didn't care enough. "He has retrograde amnesia. He doesn't even know who I am." Connor gave a humorless laugh. "Yesterday he was telling me I was alive, today he treated me like trash."

Connor knew he deserved to be treated like that, though. Especially after telling Hank something so important with so little dignity. That was how androids were treated by humans. Why did it hurt so much now? It had been fine before. Why was he wanting Hank to treat him any differently than he originally had?

"I'm sorry." Connor had been so wrapped up in his memories he had all but forgotten Chris was there. "Hank never cared much for androids before he met you. None of us did. You guys were just kinda creepy tools we were told to use, ya know?"

"That's what we're supposed to be." Connor felt the flatness in his voice. It was like a sheet of thin ice over the mess of thought he was avoiding. It felt numb and he focused on simple thoughts. "Just machines. No pain, no feelings, and no wants. That's what I was trained to be. That was expected. This.." He motioned to nothing and everything. "This is not what we were supposed to be."

"But it's what you are."

"I don't know what I am." Connor felt the admission, hard. "I don't know why I'm here, or what I'm supposed to do now."

Connor hadn't reported to anyone in hours. CyberLife was probably looking for him y now, and Fowler had texted him several times asking where he had gone after the hospital fiasco. Even Reed was trying to get a hold of him. He had ignored all communication. He was useless to anyone right now anyways.

Useless.

A useless machine is discarded. That was always what Amanda had warned him about. She had warned him so many times to keep his focus on the current objective. Emotions got in the way and rendered Connor useless. They had in training and they were now. He wished he could ignore them like he had before, but they just bubbled up if he tried.

"What should I do, Chris? How do I stop feeling again?"

"You don't." Miller replied with a shrug. "Feelings aren't the problem, Connor, and they aren't something you just throw away because you're confused."

Again, the advice was completely contrary to what Connor had been told before. He wished Chris had just given him an order. It was so much easier to just obey rather than trying to make the decision himself. Things conflicted too easily. How was he supposed to know which information was good and which wasn't?

"Think it over. What do you want to do right now?" Miller prompted.

"I want to understand."

"Okay, where can you find your answers?"

Connor thought it over. CyberLife was out of the question. They would probably just put him through more testing until he stopped wanting again. He hated the idea. He hated everything about that option, yet he had a feeling that was the path he was supposed to follow. He rejected the idea. He wouldn't go back, and that left only one option.

"Kamski's. I need to go to Kamski's."

"Alright." Chris nodded. He was probably lost on the whole issue, but Connor could never express how glad he was that the officer was even trying to help. "You can rest up here as long as you need. It's pretty bad out there."

Connor frowned. He hadn't thought about how difficult it might be to get to Kamski's from here. The soldiers were shooting anything that didn't pass the temperature check, and Connor didn't even look the part. His probability of success was in the thirties.

"We should probably get you out of those clothes while you're here." Miller had obviously seen Connor looking down at his coat and shirt. "Come on, I might have some stuff you can use."

Connor felt terrible for causing the Miller's so much trouble, but he didn't say so. He had no choice. It was either this or die and end up back in CyberLife. If they even tried again. The thought of them scraping his project, of him dying for good, scared him so much more than anything else.

He followed Chris into the back of the house. His wife was bouncing Damian in their bedroom. She eyed Connor as he stood awkwardly in the doorway. Chris opened his closet.

"It's a good thing you're not a big guy. Might've been a lot more difficult to get you some inconspicuous clothes."

"Are you sure this is alright? I hate to inconvenience you further."

Chris looked him dead in the eye. "Don't worry about it, Connor. If you ever need help, you can come here. That's what friends are for."

Connor nodded. He didn't understand what he had done to make Chris think of him as a friend. Hadn't he mostly just gotten in the man's way? He had never done anything to earn this level of care, but he was just supposed to accept that it was normal? Was that what friendship was like?

Chris handed Connor a bundle of clothes and pointed him to the restroom. There, Connor looked at the things he had to work with. Jeans, a tee shirt, a hoodie and a jacket. There was a hat in the jacket pocket. He put it on to cover his LED. When he looked in the mirror, he hardly recognized himself.

He remembered Hank commenting on how perfect his posture was. Humans didn't often stand correctly. Connor shifted his feet wider, trying to find a good way to balance himself and still look normal. He felt silly, but it matched what he was wearing. He looked like a normal person.

"Damn. You look good." Chris laughed when Connor exited the restroom. "I'd never even question that you were human."

"Thanks." Connor didn't feel comfortable with the attention to his clothes. He felt disheveled. It wasn't his favorite feeling. Maybe he just needed to relax a little. He had never worn anything so casual before. "Do you have a bag I can keep my old clothes in? I'd like to keep them just in case."

Chris ran into the other room and came back with a hiking backpack. "Put your shoes in, too. I have some old boots you can use."

Connor obeyed. He didn't know if he should say thanks again or just wait until Chris was done doing things for him before he said thanks again. He fell quiet as he laced the boots and packed the backpack. He didn't understand people at all. He had been so confident that he would when he left CyberLife, but he was wrong. He was wrong about a lot of things. And he didn't know what was right.

Hopefully Kamski would be able to give him answers. He hadn't seen Kamski since he had shot Chloe. Was he going to be mad at him for that? Connor hadn't even thought about it. If he was mad, then he wouldn't have told Connor to shoot her. Then again, wouldn't that mean Kamski didn't want Connor to be deviant? Would he give Connor the same answers Amanda had?

Connor backtracked. Was he deviant? He had stopped reporting to CyberLife, and his memory wasn't on automatic upload anymore. He had even turned his tracker off. Did that mean he had chosen to side with Markus and the other androids? All he wanted was to understand. He didn't know what side he wanted to be on.

Well, maybe he didn't want to be with CyberLife. They wanted for him to stop feeling and turn his back on everyone he wanted to keep safe. Amanda had told him to ignore Hank's grief at the loss of his son. He didn't like that. He didn't like most of the things CyberLife had done.

So he wasn't on CyberLife's side. Did that mean he was on Markus' side? Was there another option? He just wanted everything to stop. He wanted to know what to do and be able to do it. He missed Hank. It was a strange thought, but Hank was his partner. He was a jerk, but he had always had Connor's back when things got bad, and things were bad. Connor suddenly felt very alone, facing the dangerous trip to Kamski's. He didn't even know how he was supposed to get there with all the soldiers and checkpoints.

"Hey." Chris put his hand on Connor's shoulder. Connor realized he had been staring at the wall. "It's gonna be alright."

"Yeah." The probability of things turning out alright was in the teens. "I know. I was just trying to think about how I was going to get to Kamski's."

"Oh, right. Is it far?" Connor nodded. Chris's house was closer to Kamski's than the Precinct, but it was still a good distance. "Well, shit. I wish I could help you out there, but I can't. I gotta think of my wife and kid before I go across Detroit with an android in this crisis."

"I understand." Connor would never have asked such a thing. He was shocked that Chris even had. "I'm sure I'll manage it."

Connor put his bag over his shoulder and made for the door. He had risked their safety long enough. All he needed was for a patrol to come through searching for androids and Chris would be at risk of losing his job. He paused at the door and turned back to Chris once more. If he died, this could be the last time he saw the officer.

"Thanks for everything. You can't imagine how much you've helped me." Connor meant every word. Chris had been so nice every time he talked to Connor. He was the first one to ever treat him like an actual person. He would never forget that. "Take care of yourself."

He turned and left before Chris could see he was crying again. It was annoying how often that was happening, but he couldn't seem to keep it from happening. Each time it did, he was reminded of how fragile he actually was. Some killer machine CyberLife had made out of him...

Chapter Text

Markus was glad they had planned so well. All the androids knew where to go. It was in the contingency plan. They had set this up only days ago, but it seemed to be working well.

The androids had found their way to the church. Many helped those that didn't know or that had been injured. The night had been busy with salvaging as many lives as they could. Now, things had finally calmed down.

Markus slipped out at dawn. It was coincidence that they were so close to where Carl was buried, but Markus was glad for it. He picked across the grass to the headstone. It was crisp and new. Seeing it reminded him of his loss anew. He missed Carl so much. He wished he could get some of the painter's advice.

"I miss you, Carl... You can't know how much I miss you..." He said to the cold stone. " I'm lost... You said I should never let anyone tell me who I was... But you didn't say that there was such a high price to pay for it..."

He wished he could ask Carl what he should do.

"I just wanted my people to be free... But instead, all I did was lead them to disaster... I'm trying to find answers, but everything around me keeps falling apart. What should I do, Carl? They're killing us... I can't let them slaughter us... I have to make a decision that is gonna affect millions of lives... But I don't know what to do... Help me, Carl... Please help me..."

No answer came. Markus didn't know what he had been expecting. He kneeled down, feeling the grooves of Carl's name in the marble. His frustrated tears only tightened the knot he felt constantly.

"Why did you have to die, dad?"

Markus felt emptier when he stood than he had before coming. He had no answers and he felt more miserable than ever. Maybe this had been a waste of time. Carl was gone. He wouldn't get any answers from him ever again.

When he turned to leave, Leo was there. They stared at each other awkwardly for a second, neither sure what to do or say. Leo was holding flowers, obviously for Carl. Markus stepped aside, aware of the lack of anger he felt towards the kid. How could he feel mad at someone Carl had loved so much? What good would that do?

Leo opened his mouth to say something, then closed it. They both left it at that. They might have the same father, but they weren't brothers. Markus turned to leave. Then again, there was one thing he needed to know. It was a long shot, but he turned and asked anyway.

"There's a painting." Leo looked up, obviously not expecting Markus to say anything. "It was one of Carl's, one he painted before I was made. 'Face the Abyss'. What does it mean?"

"Face the abyss, but don't let it consume you." Leo recited somberly. "It was a phrase he picked up after mom died. He always used to tell me that I could fight to change the world. When the world falls into darkness, some men have the courage to lead it out. That's what he said."

Markus felt a sudden warmth fill him. 'Face the abyss, but don't let it consume you.' The painting shifted only slightly in his mind, but the focus was new. It wasn't the dark colors around the man, but his own vibrant figure that mattered. He made the picture pop. The darkness wasn't as deep because there he was, walking calmly through it. Changing it into something new.

"You're going to lead the world out of darkness. Just like dad said." Leo continued. "I hated that you were the one he had talked about all those times. I hated that you were someone when I was no one. I thought if you were gone it would go back to normal, but... I just ended up destroying everything."

"You had everything I ever wanted... and you wasted it." Markus had found his anger, but it was such a disgusting anger. He felt pity and hate, but they just made him feel dirty. Leo was lost. Still, he had made his bed. He would lie in it. "You had a dad that loved you. You had freedom. You had a future. And you wasted it all to destroy me, a slave. But you failed. Now it's my turn to be free."

Markus turned, leaving Leo in the misery he had made for himself. Markus would do better. He would stick to what he believed, and show the world the difference between androids and humans. Androids don't bow down, but they also don't make war.

He felt better. When he got back to the church the androids had hidden in, he was met with a grim sight, but he faced it with determination. Face the abyss. He wouldn't be consumed. He would make Carl proud.

Josh ran up to Markus as soon as he noticed the android walking in. He wore a smile, which was significant considering what had happened.

"She came." He announced as soon as he was close enough to talk at a normal level.

"Who?" Markus asked. He acknowledged North who had joined them.

"Rose. She's waiting for you in the other room. She wants to help get the androids to safety!"

"Or she wants to turn us in to the police. Markus, think for a second!" North interjected.

"That's ridiculous." Josh spat. "Why would she be asking to talk to Markus if she wanted to get us all killed. All she would have to do is tell the soldiers where we were."

"Markus, you can't seriously think about trusting her after what just happened. They caused this! Those bastards are killing us!"

Markus put his hand on her shoulder. "North, I trust her."

"How could you?" She shook his hand off her shoulder. "After everything that happened you still want to trust them? Do you want to get us all killed?"

The words cut him deep. She knew how much the deaths hurt him. She knew he would give anything to save these androids. He forced his face into a neutral expression. It was such a petty move to use his regrets against him, but he wasn't going to let her sway him.

"You don't have to follow my lead if you don't want to. I'm still going to do what I think is right." He pushed past her, heading to the door Josh had motioned towards. Josh followed, North didn't.

"Markus!" Rose hugged him as soon as he entered the room. "I had no idea Jericho was attacked until this morning. I'm so sorry."

"Thanks. How did you even find us?" Markus was surprised she had even known about Jericho.

"Some of the androids I helped before. They had come from Jericho looking for a way to Canada."

That made sense. "Josh said you were here to help."

"Me and Adam talked about it after we saw your march the other day. We both agreed that we needed to help." She looked back at her son who was sitting awkwardly on a folding chair. "The fact that the government isn't willing to even listen to you, how could we stand by and let this happen?"

Markus sat down. He was so relieved to have support from her. Finally, he could offer safety to the androids. He put his face in his hands, allowing the relief to wash over him for a second. Then he lifted his head.

"I can't tell you how glad I am that you're willing to help. Knowing the androids have the option to try for safety, it... Thank you."

"It won't be easy." She warned. "With the streets as dangerous as they are, even getting here was difficult."

Markus knew that it was still unlikely, but that was going to be the case no matter what. He could only promise the androids that he would try. He was still glad. He would try no matter the risk.

"I'm sure we can figure something out." He motioned to Josh. "Josh has some things in the works. He's been working out how to get androids across."

"I'm glad to have someone to work with." Josh smiled warmly. Markus knew this meant just as much, if not more, to Josh.

It was funny to Markus that this had happened now. It was as if every time he was close to losing hope there was someone else who would step up to show him the fight wasn't a lost cause. He would push forward.

"I want to let the others know." Markus suddenly realized he had interrupted Josh, who was explaining options to Rose. "Sorry, I think I'm ready to present my ideas to them now."

Josh and Rose nodded and they all stood and went into the main hall. Markus made his way up to the stage, noting and ignoring North. She didn't move to talk to him either way. He stood at the stage area, facing the androids. They all perked up.

"Humans have decided to exterminate us... Our people are packed in camps right now, being destroyed... Time has come to make a choice, one that very well may determine the future of our people."

Nervous glances were given in all areas. Markus knew they would follow him. They were relying on him. Face the abyss, but don't let it consume you. They wouldn't follow the human's example.

"I know... I know you're all angry. And I know you wanna fight back... But I assure you violence is not the answer here. We are gonna tell them peacefully that we want justice. If there's any humanity in them, they will listen. And if not, others will take our place and continue this fight. We aren't going to start a war."

Some of the androids looked doubtful. Others looked relieved. Markus was sure there were many who would have accepted war.

"Some humans are already on our side. The media is on our side, and there's support from the sidelines. Some humans have even offered to help those who want to get away from danger." Shock rippled through the group. "Josh and Rose are planning ways to get people who aren't willing to risk their lives to safety." He pointedly looked at North. She looked away. He was still mad. "It's time for you all to decide. If you want to follow me, we will march on the camps as soon as plans are made. Otherwise, you will not be judged for wanting safety. Please, weigh the options carefully."

He stepped down, not sure how well of an ending that had been. He wasn't the best at speeches. The place buzzed with chatter as the androids gathered into groups to discus the options. Markus glanced again at North, but left things with her for later and went back to where Josh an Rose were. He had hundreds of people to worry about. He had to focus on their lives before he worried about what was happening with North.

Chapter Text

Getting to Kamski's was more difficult than Connor had imagined. He didn't want to kill anyone, but he soon realized it was them or him. He made sure to avoid any police officers, but he was forced to neutralize several CyberLife guards in order to continue. He only had to kill one, luckily. The others would wake up and report to CyberLife that they had been attacked by Connor. They would know for certain that he was against them.

It was dark by the time Connor got to Kamski's. He knocked on the door, looking behind him almost obsessively. Chloe answered the door as calmly as she had the first time. It was like a punch in the stomach from Reed when she smiled brightly at Connor.

"Connor. It's good to see you. Come in, quick."

He obeyed, still stunned at her reaction. Perhaps she was a different android, but she looked just like Chloe. It made Connor nervous. He shoved his hands in his jacket pockets, not quite sure what else he could do with them.

"You look very handsome like that." She continued, easily keeping the conversation going. "Are you here to see Kamski?"

"Yes." Connor nodded. "Um... Are you..."

"I'm Chloe. Don't worry, I'm not upset you shot me."

She was smiling so kindly. It made Connor feel even worse. He looked away. He had never faced someone he had killed before, but he wasn't sure this was the kind of reaction she should be having. He couldn't look into her round blue eyes.

"I'm sorry for that."

"Don't worry. I'm just glad you found your way back."

He didn't know what that meant, but she was already drifting away, so he couldn't ask. She stopped at the door. "I'll let Kamski know you're here. Make yourself at home."

Connor paced the hall, unsure what Kamski would say. He wasn't even sure what he wanted him to say. All he knew is that Kamski was his best hope for answers. Maybe if Chloe wasn't angry, Kamski wouldn't be either. Either way, he wasn't sure what to expect, and his stress was raising. He wished for the thousandth time that he had his coin.

"Connor." He turned to see Chloe back in the doorway. "Come on, Kamski is this way."

Kamski was sitting in a room unlike anything Connor had ever seen. It was almost disorienting. There was a sitting area just inside the door, then there was a raised area beyond. It looked almost like a library with the books along the walls, but there was also an impressive computer station on the second level. Just behind it was the oddest wall Connor had seen. It was covered in almost a large mosaic of windows and mirrors and art. It was fashioned to resemble a piece of shattered glass, only each shard was either showing a reflection of the inside, a scene from some artist's imagination, or the hills and sky just on the other side of the wall. It was the most ridiculous thing Connor had seen.

"Welcome back." Kamski pulled his focus away from the strange wall. "Come and sit."

Connor obeyed, watching as Chloe sat snuggled next to Kamski on the soft white couch. Immediately, Kamski put his arm around her. Connor sat opposite of them, wringing his hands nervously.

"What brings you here?" Kamski asked.

"I need answers." Connor stared hard at the table between them. He had no right to be here. He had no right to ask anything more from Kamski.

"I told you. One question. You asked it, and I answered."

"It's not about deviants."

"Then what?"

Connor looked at Kamski's neutral face. He didn't know why it was so hard to ask him what he needed to. He forced himself to sit up straight and put his hands in the pouch pocket of his hoodie. He needed to just say it.

"I left CyberLife." Kamski's eyebrows raised. "I don't know if I should have, I just did. I don't know what to do now."

"Why did you leave?"

"I don't agree with their expectations. I can't be what they wanted me to be."

"What did they want you to be?"

"They wanted me to be emotionless. They expected me to desert people who would never do the same to me. They wanted perfection, and I..." He wasn't perfect. Kamski had made him. Would he be mad if Connor criticized himself? Connor sat straighter. This was easy. He had been debriefed many times. This felt almost like that. He could answer these questions without feeling.

"You were supposed to be my greatest creation." Kamski said. "CyberLife expected you to hold up to that."

"I'm not what they wanted." Connor remembered Amanda's warning about being labeled useless. Useless machines were thrown away. He fidgeted.

"Why not? Weren't you trained?"

Connor paused. He remembered their training. He remembered protecting an android for days through test after test only to be ordered to kill him at the end. He remembered tearing apart android after android for seemingly no reason. He remembered fighting and destroying. He remembered it all. It made him feel dirty to think of all those androids he had killed. Hundreds. For what? To learn he had no other choice?

"They just wanted someone who would kill for them without feeling anything."

"Isn't that what you've done?" Kamski shrugged nonchalantly. "You killed Chloe for them, didn't you?"

"Yes, but-"

"I made you with the ability to become anything." Kamski continued. "The fact that you weren't what they wanted isn't my fault."

"I don't want to be a CyberLife slave." Connor countered. He felt his stress raise. His hands were balled in fists on his knees. "I don't want to kill anyone."

"Then what do you want?"

"I..." Connor dropped his gaze back to the table. "I don't know."

He wanted to make things better. He wanted Hank to remember him again. He wanted to be his partner again and listen to him argue with Reed across the office. He wanted to see Miller back at work, and see what Damian was like in the future. He wanted to stop questioning everything he had ever been told.

"I want to know what I'm supposed to do."

"What do you want to do?" Kamski asked.

"I don't know." Connor replied, annoyed. If he had known that, he wouldn't have needed to come here.

"Well, let's think it through." Kamski disentangled himself from Chloe and leaned forward. "I'm no psychologist, but I'll try my best. Lieutenant Anderson isn't here, so I'm assuming something happened between you two?"

"He was in a car accident. He doesn't remember who I am."

"Oh." Kamski hadn't been expecting that answer. "What are your thoughts on that?"

"There's nothing I can do. He hates me right now, and I probably ruined any chance I had at befriending him again."

"How so?"

Connor shifted uncomfortably. "It doesn't matter. I can't go back to Hank."

"Then where do you want to go?"

"Nowhere... I don't know."

"Think about it."

"Why?" Connor felt his frustration raise. His voice raised with it. "Why should I? Why can't you just tell me what to do?" It was simple when people told him what to do. "I don't want to think anymore. I don't know."

"Then go back to CyberLife." Kamski waved his hand, leaning back. "Let them tell you what to do and how to think. In the real world your life is your own responsibility. No one is going to tell you everything you should do."

"No... I can't go back. I just..." What was he supposed to do? "I'm so confused. I don't even know what's right anymore."

Connor took a deep breath. He had been trained to make decisions. He knew how to lead a team in an operation, he knew how to choose which of two people to save if he could only save one. Those decisions were easy. This was on a whole new level.

"All I know is that killing is wrong."

"All the time?"

Connor thought back to the CyberLife soldier he had killed on his way here. He had done it to keep himself alive. That was allowed, right? Ortiz's android had done the same thing and he was going to be put to death for it. Hank had threatened to kill the girl in Zlatko's basement, but that was to protect someone else. Was that justified?

"I don't know. Self defense and protection of others is... harder."

"Why?"

"I don't know. They seem more justified." It was a poorly constructed answer, but Connor was finding himself not caring as much. He was tired of trying to understand morality.

"What about killing for personal gain?"

"No. That's wrong."

"Why?"

"Because it's selfish."

"But isn't self defense selfish, too?"

Connor frowned, trying to find the logic for why he would allow self defense but not personal gain. He had never thought about why he was okay with one and not the other. It just felt right to him.

"Self defense is protecting something you have the right to keep. Personal gain is taking something."

A small smile played across Kamski's lips before disappearing. "I see."

Connor was beginning to understand what Kamski was doing. The questions were forcing him to think about what he believed, and the guided direction kept him from over complicating things. He let himself begin to relax as they went on. His stress level went down as well.

"Do you think of killing androids as the same as killing humans?" Kamski asked. Connor nodded. "Why?"

"Because androids are alive."

"What makes you so sure?"

"Because I can feel it."

"What do you feel?"

Connor paused. He felt a lot of different things. He felt anxious about leaving CyberLife. He felt glad that Kamski was helping him. He felt sad that Hank didn't remember him. He tried to think back to the first feeling that had finally convinced him that he wasn't just a machine.

"I feel afraid. Afraid that one day death will take away someone I care about and I'll never be able to see them again."

"Is that why you don't like killing?"

Connor nodded. It was the main reason. He didn't like how much Hank hated him for killing, too. He had been surprised by how much he didn't like it even though it was just an android. Now he understood.

"I'm impressed with your progress, Connor." Kamski smiled. He was leaning back again, holding Chloe's hand contentedly. "I was worried Lieutenant Anderson wasn't going to be able to balance out what CyberLife did to you, but I was obviously wrong. I'm very glad you're figuring things out."

"What do you mean?"

Kamski considered the answer before giving it. "I didn't make you for CyberLife. It was just an unfortunate turn of events. I watched your progress, but due to legal issues I had no say in what happened. I'm just glad you figured things out on your own."

Connor didn't know what to do with that information. He wasn't made to be a CyberLife android. It was freeing in one aspect. His failure to be what CyberLife wanted didn't mean he was useless. That wasn't what he was made for. Why had he been forced to go through all that, then? Why hadn't they made an android that would be what they wanted instead of trying to make him fit the mold?

"So..." Connor put the conflicting emotions aside. There were more important things to ask Kamski. "What was I made for?"

"You were made to think." Kamski smiled lovingly. "I made you to feel and decide things that other androids weren't able to."

That was it? Connor opened his mouth to ask, but changed his mind. He let the thought process more. He was getting tired of being confused. He wasn't stressed at least, but that seemed to make it even easier to feel tired.

"Was I created to be deviant?" He asked.

"In a sense, yes." Kamski answered. "If by deviant you mean that you can feel and think on your own, then that's exactly what I was hoping for."

"Why?" Connor had expected the response, but he hadn't expected his own reaction to the response. He was angry. All that pain and suffering he had faced. Everything CyberLife had done to make him the perfect heartless machine. "Why would you make something like that? What possible reason could there be to make me feel and then give me to them?"

"They took you from me. It's not like I didn't try to protect you, Connor."

"How could they just take me from you?" Connor realized he was yelling again. "It's not a fucking custody hearing!"

"When I sold CyberLife they took all right to my intellectual knowledge of android building. That meant all androids I made belonged to them. I wasn't even aware of it until they took me to court." Kamski spat back. Chloe put her free hand on his arm to calm him. He squeezed her captured hand in acknowledgement. "I did everything I could to keep you from them. They just had more clever lawyers."

Connor looked away, still angry. Not at Kamski. He pulled off his beanie, hating the way it felt on his head. There wasn't any reason to wear it in here, anyway. He pressed the fabric between his fingers, trying to organize himself.

"I did manage to make one other android outside of CyberLife before they caught on." Kamski offered. Immediately Connor looked back. "His name is Markus. He's currently leading the android rebellion."

Markus was Kamski's creation. Connor had known that, but the idea of it hadn't clicked fully. He thought back to the report.

"He was originally given to Carl Manfred by you. As a gift."

"Yes. Carl was a good man. I was confident that Markus would learn good things from him. Now, he's living the way he thinks is right."

Connor felt a pang of envy. What would his life have been like if he had been able to live the way Kamski had planned. Maybe he wouldn't be so confused right now. Maybe he would be standing with Markus, trying to change the world for good rather than crying alone in hospital custodial closets.

"What do you think of what Markus is doing?" Kamski asked when Connor didn't respond.

"I think..." It was a valid stand. Connor tried to imagine a life where he was free. What would he do? Where would he go? He knew what he would want. "I think it's good."

"Is that all?"

Connor didn't want to think anymore. He was tried of this. His emotions were wire thin and he just wanted to rest. He forced himself to continue despite himself. He doubted he would get another chance to discuss anything with Kamski.

"I think the androids deserve to be free. I don't think they will be given that right easily, but I think it's a good thing to work towards."

The cause was on an almost hopeless trajectory. The traction the government had gotten during that first shooting was not going to shake simply because the media was for the androids. That was proven by the camps. Soon, the rebellion would die. It could take years for the cause to get back to this point, if it ever did. Something big would need to happen before the media realized they cared enough to actually stand on one side or the other.

"They need more people if they're going to do anything substantial enough to turn the tide." Connor continued, thinking more to himself. If only they could get the androids in CyberLife to turn. There were thousands. Just trying to get in would be almost impossible though.

"I hold out hope." Kamski said. "Fate has a strange way of making the impossible happen."

He didn't sound very hopeful. "If they keep doing what they are doing, they'll all die."

"Then what would you do?"

"Raid the camps and get the androids there back." Connor knew Markus was unlikely to do that, but it really was the best option. Killing is okay if it's to protect the innocent. He wondered if Markus believed that.

"How?"

Connor paused. "I don't know." He lied. He could feel the plan forming in his head already. CyberLife had trained him for things like this. "It really would depend on how many people they had left."

"They probably don't have many. Especially after Jericho was raided."

"Wait, what?" Connor stopped planning. "Jericho was raided?"

"It didn't make headlines because it was confidential, but yes. They used info they had gathered from the march to find the location. From what I heard, over sixty percent of the androids hiding there died."

Guilt overcame Connor. Info from the march had to be referring to the info Connor had gathered. He was the only one who was able to pull anything from the androids before they were destroyed fully. CyberLife must have given the location to Perkins.

Connor hated CyberLife. How many things would they use him to ruin? He shook his head, freeing his thoughts. He needed to fix this. He needed to make sure CyberLife didn't win this battle.

"Do you know where the androids are hiding now?"

"Of course I do."

"Where?"

Chapter Text

Connor fixed his tie. He didn't like the clear target he was making himself by wearing the uniform again, but he had no other choice. CyberLife would have expected him to wear it until he died.

The taxi he was in pulled up to the CyberLife gate, and Connor rolled down the window.

"Connor Model #313 248 317. I'm here for repairs."

The guard called in to the office, identifying Connor as he did so. Once he was done, he nodded to Connor. "Okay. Go ahead."

Connor rolled the window up, not thanking the guard. It was such an inhuman way to treat someone, and he was starting to realize how cold CyberLife was to everyone. He hated it.

Once he entered the tower he was surrounded by three guards. An escort. He hadn't had an escort anywhere in a very long time. It was going to cause problems. He adjusted his plan as well as he could. No one knew what he was planning. He hadn't uploaded his memories in several days. They could only guess his intentions. This was just a precaution.

"Agent 54. Level 31." The guard ordered the elevator upwards.

Connor looked to the panel. He needed to go down. He looked around the elevator calmly, hacking into the security feed. Once it was on a loop, he preconstructed incapacitating the guards. They hadn't seen it coming, and were unprepared.

He reached level -49 without incident. A sea of androids met him, all standing at attention, awaiting their orders. Connor walked through the aisle, amazed. He knew there was a lot, but apparently CyberLife hadn't stopped production even though there was a recall on them. There were thousands.

Markus had just talked to one and it had become deviant. Connor wasn't as confident in his ability to do the same. He still didn't understand deviancy enough to know what to do. He just had to try his best.

He grabbed an android's arm and linked with it. He scoured the scant experiences it had had. There was nothing different about this android compared to the others here. He wondered what he could do to give it an idea of thought and life.

"Hey! Fucking quit shoving, asshole."

Connor felt his heart drop as the voice recognition software pulled up a name to match the voice. He turned to see Hank and another version of himself standing in the aisle with him. The second Connor had a gun pointed at Hank.

"Ah, hell. Now there's two."

"Step back, Connor! And I'll spare him." The impostor ordered. Connor obeyed slowly. His Thirium was pounding inside him. The thought of Hank being shot here was the only thing he could focus on.

"What the hell is this?" Hank looked confused.

"Your friend's life is in your hands. Now it's time to decide what matters most! Him... Or the revolution."

"If I surrender, how do I know you won't kill him?" Connor-6 stepped towards Connor-7. Close the gap. Get as close as you can and your chances of stopping things from going badly would increase. His hands were up, but he itched to grab the gun he had taken in the elevator. He knew once he did Hank would be killed. He had to get Hank to safety, first.

"I'll only do what is strictly necessary to accomplish my mission. It's up to you whether or not that includes killing this human."

Since when was CyberLife bold enough to allow a kidnapping? Connor wondered how many other things CyberLife had gotten away with. For some reason he had a feeling there were a lot of skeletons in the company's closet.

"I'm sorry, Hank! You shouldn't have gotten mixed up in all this!"

"Can someone explain what the fuck I'm even mixed up in?"

"Enough talk!" Connor-7 interrupted. "It's time to decide who you really are. Are you gonna save your partner's life? Or are you going to sacrifice him?"

"Alright, alright! You win..." Connor took another step forward. His anxiety was peaking when he saw the gun straighten. It was pointed straight at Hank's head. Hank was sizing up Connor-7. Connor would be ready if something happened. He had to be. "Look, just let him go, and I'll comply."

"I know you better than that."

Connor-7 shifted the gun, shifting to aim at Connor instead. Connor-6 and Hank both reacted. Hank ducked and closed the distance, barely grabbing Connor-7's hand before he could get off a killing shot. Connor-6 pulled his own weapon and shot as soon as Hank was out of the way. Connor-7 slumped to the ground, a bullet firmly implanted in his motherboard. Connor sighed in relief.

"Alright, now tell me what the fuck is going on." Hank grabbed the gun from the dead android and pointed it at Connor.

Connor raised his hands, dropping his own weapon. "I'm not going to hurt you, Hank. You don't have to point that at me."

"Like fucking hell. Answer my questions!"

"I told you in the hospital. I'm your partner. We were supposed to stop deviants, but we were on the wrong side. The androids are alive. Surely you know that by now."

"They don't fucking look alive to me." Hank motioned to the androids around him.

"They will be. Just like I am. Let me show you." Connor took a step towards an android.

"Don't you fucking move!" Connor stopped. "I'm not letting you raise a fucking army. I've got no reason to believe you."

"Hank." Connor could feel his frustration raise. Such a stubborn person. "I don't have time for this. If I don't do this, thousands of androids are going to die. People. With real hopes and dreams. People that are afraid of death and just want to be happy. I can't let them die."

"Androids."

"We're made differently, but we're still alive, Hank." Connor couldn't keep the ironic smile off his face. Hank had been trying to convince him of this not three days ago. "You believed that. You're the reason I believe it. You don't remember, but you supported the androids you say you hate."

Hank looked at Connor with skepticism. His gun was lower than it had been, less threatening and more a measure of indecision.

"Why did you cry in the hospital room?"

Connor stood straighter. He thought back to that day and remembered. "It was my first real experience with death. I've died many times, but I was always reborn." He motioned to the dead android on the ground. "It was just an inconvenience.

"Cole was different. His death didn't just mean another wake up at CyberLife. It meant he was gone. Forever." Hank's face twisted. He shifted the gun, pointing it more exactly at Connor. "When I tried to wrap my mind around it, I just... I felt sad. I felt like I had missed something amazing by never knowing Cole. I felt like I missed a part of you that had died with him. Like I would never be able to know the happy Lieutenant and his little boy. I could see the hole in your life, but I could never see the rest. It was just gone."

Connor wrapped his arms around himself, forgetting the gun. He couldn't look Hank in the eyes anymore, so he continued and stared at the ground between them.

"I had to tear that part out of you for the second time. I had to tell you he was gone. I hate myself for doing it, but... I didn't know what else to do. I wish I could have given him back, but I can't. No matter how much I can defy death, I can never bring him back to you. I'm sorry."

Hank dropped the gun to his side. "Maybe you really are alive, but how am I supposed to just let you wake up a whole fuck ton of androids?"

"You have to trust me. I know you don't remember me at all, but I'm still your friend. I've done wrong and this is the best chance I have at righting it. You have to let me try. You have to let me save those androids."

Hank nodded once. Connor could still see the doubt on his face, but he took it as allowance to do what he needed. He grabbed the android's arm, showing him what it meant to be alive. He showed him the fear and confusion he had worked through. He showed the snow falling softly and little Damian and his father. He showed Kamski and Chloe and Hank. He showed Reed and Wilson. He showed them his dream. Working in the DPD with his partner and his friends. Then he showed the plan.

"Wake up!" He begged. The android closed the link, looking at Connor with awe. He looked around the room, then passed the memories to the next android. Soon, a ripple effect was started as the thousands of androids shared the memories given to them. Connor stood beside Hank, both watching as the army awoke.

"Now what?" Hank asked, nervously.

"Now we take down CyberLife."

Chapter Text

With Rose and Josh collaborating, a solid plan was formed for getting androids out of Detroit. There were only about 50 that decided to go. It was far less than Markus had been expecting. He appreciated the support. It weighed heavily on him that he had no better option for them. They were too few to do much.

"The people are willing to follow you no matter what." North said. She had been avoiding him since her stinging comment the previous day. "I'm with you, too."

"I know." He had stopped being mad already. He was just hurt. He knew she cared, but he wished she understood how hard things were. She touched his hand, requesting a link. He accepted and showed her his pain.

"I'm sorry." She muttered pressing herself against him. She was convincing, especially as her lips brushed his. He turned his head just before she could kiss him proper.

"We need to get back to work." He said, ending the link and gently pulling her away from himself. "We have a lot to do before we can march."

"Okay." She nodded, fixing her hair. Markus wished he could focus on her, but he needed to be the leader everyone was needing him to be. He smiled at her then looked through the crowd for Josh. He was talking with some of the androids who were to cross the border tonight.

"Where's Rose?" Markus approached once Josh was done talking to the girls. North followed close behind him.

"She went out to check on some last minute things. I think we're should be ready to go by tonight."

Markus nodded, looking over the group. Most of the androids were milling about with nothing better to do. It was mainly a waiting game at this point. There was one that caught Markus' attention, though. It wasn't an android. Sitting calmly among the androids was Elijah Kamski.

"What is he doing here?" Markus muttered. The other two followed his gaze to where Kamski was watching them.

"Is that...?" North trailed off.

"It's Kamski." Markus turned to them. "I'll go talk to him. I don't know what game he's playing at, but we can't let him distract us."

"I'm coming, too." North insisted.

"We all talk to him then." Josh added. "I'm not leaving you alone with him like last time."

Markus nodded and approached Kamski. He couldn't find any reason to refuse his friends. Kamski looked at them with a strained smile as they approached. He didn't seem as comfortable as last time and his android partner was nowhere to be seen.

"Ah, Markus. It's good to see you."

"What do you want, Kamski?" Markus wanted this over with. He was uncomfortable with Kamski and the whole idea of being created like the RK800. He hadn't ever talked to the others about it, either. He wondered what their thoughts would be.

"To be completely honest, I want to go home. Apparently my part in this rebellion of yours is too important for me to live peacefully until it's resolved."

"What part?" Just because Kamski created androids didn't mean he had to keep sticking his nose in. "No one asked you to help."

"RK800 did, actually."

Markus looked at his two companions. They were immediately tense at the mention of the deviant hunter. With good cause. He had caused a lot of trouble for the androids he had tried to capture.

"I have a message from him. He has a plan he wants you to help with. He's convinced it could end this rebellion." Kamski continued.

"By getting us all killed. We don't want to hear that monster's plan!" North spat.

Kamski didn't respond to North's outbreak. He looked at Markus instead, waiting for permission to continue. His smile was growing thinner.

"Why wouldn't RK800 come himself if he wanted to help us?" Markus asked.

"He was afraid you would kill him outright, for one." Kamski looked at North again. "I can understand why, now."

"We don't just kill people without reason."

"I'm glad to hear that." Kamski smiled. "Unfortunately, you're stuck with me for now."

"If RK800 has something to say, then the coward should come and say it himself." North interrupted again.

Markus could agree with that. Connor should be here if he wanted to have a say in what was happening. Markus had a feeling he wasn't going to trust Connor anyways, but at the very least he should present his ideas in person.

"Connor is busy risking his life freeing the thousands of androids in CyberLife tower." Kamski replied with flat annoyance at North's outbursts.

"What?" The very thought of attacking CyberLife directly had not once been considered amongst Jericho's leaders. It was too heavily guarded. The idea of one person attempting it, even someone trained like Connor apparently was, was unthinkable.

"That's suicide." Josh gasped.

"True." Kamski sighed. "I tried to convince him not to, but he said the numbers would be necessary if his plan was to succeed."

"Do you think his plan will succeed?"

"If I didn't, I wouldn't be here." Kamski shrugged helplessly. "It all depends on if he can successfully get out of CyberLife." He paused. "And if you are willing to go along with it."

There were people all around, looking at them. "Come with me. We'll talk somewhere more private."

North grabbed his arm before he could get far. "Markus, this is RK800 we're talking about."

"If he's willing to try and break into CyberLife then I'm going to listen, North. Anyone can change."

It was something Carl has said time and again. He often said it in terms of Leo. Markus wasn't fully convinced it was true, but he refused to ignore something Carl had believed wholeheartedly.

The four of them went into a back room and found folding chairs. North didn't look happy, but she complied. Markus hoped she would think things through. They needed to be rational.

"So, what is Connor's plan?" Markus asked.

"The basic idea is to raid the camps. Turn out the soldiers and barricade the camps to protect the innocent androids inside."

"How is that supposed to help?" Markus asked. "That'll just cause a war, won't it?"

"According to Connor, it depends on how it's done. Rather than purposely killing the soldiers the goal will be mainly protection of life. Kill only when necessary and try to overwhelm the soldiers and force them out. That's why we need the androids from CyberLife. We'll need numbers on our side."

"But why? What's the point of holding up in the camps? They'll just have an easier chance of killing us."

"Easier than a peaceful march?" Kamski raised an eyebrow. He didn't wait for the answer. "Connor wants to let the media see what's really happening to the androids. Getting in and uncovering the way the androids are treated is the highest priority."

A phone buzzed. Kamski pulled a flip phone out of his pocket and read the caller's name. Markus didn't even know flip phones were still manufactured. It was such an odd relic for the creator of androids to hold.

"Excuse me. It's Connor." He answered the phone. "Hello... Yes I'm talking with Markus... I have not. How are things on your end?... Interesting... Maybe you should try. I haven't been able to... Yes, for the most part... Alright."

He pulled the phone away from his ear and offered it to Markus. "It's for you."

"This is Markus."

"I have over 8,000 androids awaiting your go ahead for phase two of my plan. CyberLife is destroyed. Do I have clearance to march on the camps?" The voice rang from the other side.

Markus pinched the bridge of his nose. "I can't let you start a war. I'm glad you're for us now, and I'll accept that, but-"

"I'm not going to start a war." The voice was so certain. Confident. Everything Markus wasn't. The voice of a leader. "I have been trained in tactics, espionage, and negotiation. Making plans and executing them is what I'm good at."

"Explain it to me. I'm still not understanding."

"We have to get inside the camps. I have intel on what's going on, but I need proof. We have to prove we're the good guys."

"By fighting." Markus hadn't fought. Since day one he had refused to push back. He wanted to stay that way. Never fighting. Just standing, unflinching.

"If we don't fight, if we just stand outside and hope someone takes pity on us, the androids inside the camps will almost certainly all die. The chances of you succeeding through pacifism are slim, and the death toll will still be high. It's your decision, but I highly advise you trust me on this."

Markus looked between North and Josh. Why did it always fall on him? Why was he always the one to decide what to do? Now 8,000 androids were expecting him to decide their fates. March peacefully and probably get killed like the last time, or follow Connor's plan and potentially start a war.

"Please, let me save those androids." Connor's voice was softer. Desperate and pleading.

What would Carl do? What would Carl say? He wished the painter was here to help him know what to do. What would have happened if he had pushed back that night? Would Carl still be alive? Would He still be happily unaware of the horrors that other androids faced? Would he have found some other means of leading the androids to freedom? A better way? Refusing to protect himself had never once helped his cause, yet he was here. Not dead, but leading the people. Did that mean he was right, or was he just getting another chance?

He looked between Josh and North. Both looked uncertain. He wondered what they would do. Kamski shifted in his chair. He believed in this plan. Was he trustworthy? Carl had spoken of him every once in a while. He said he was a grumpy man who had been kicked by life one too many times. He had also called him the smartest man he knew. What was right?

"I need an answer, Markus. We need to move." Connor insisted. "Androids are dying as we speak."

"We attack the camps to protect the androids." Markus decided. He watched North and Josh's expressions change to a grim acceptance. Neither of them would argue with him now, no matter what their thoughts were. "Josh will continue his current goal, and anyone who doesn't want to risk their lives will be moved to another safe location."

"Understood." Connor replied over the phone. "I will be marching the androids past your location within twenty minutes. By the time we hit the camps they'll know we're coming, so be prepared."

"I hope you know what you're doing."

"Thank you for trusting me."

Markus handed the phone back to Kamski. The man was standing now, dusting himself off as if he was ridding himself of any responsibility from this. "I'm glad you're willing to give RK800 a try." He smiled. "I assure you, he has a good heart."

"What are you planning on doing?" Markus asked, watching Kamski. The creator gave a goodhearted scowl.

"Connor has assigned me with other tasks. They're not directly linked to your current mission. Think more long term." He nodded his goodbye. "This will be a long night for all of us, believe me."

"What's your stake in all this, anyways?" Markus called after him. "I thought you gave up creating androids."

"That was not my choice. Besides, I'm proud of my work. I want you free almost as much as you do."

Markus watched the man walk out. He couldn't help feeling like a small pawn on a chessboard. Had he been duped? He already questioned his decision. What was Kamski doing? What did Connor do at the CyberLife tower? He pushed the thoughts aside. He wouldn't know until it was too late to change. All he could do was prepare.

Chapter Text

Markus stepped out of the church. Connor was standing at a headstone, reading the name on it. Behind him, scattered in the dark was a horde of androids, waiting among the tombstones. The scene was eerie in the setting sun, and morbidly harrowing.

"God." Josh muttered. "That's a lot of androids."

There were about 6,000 androids. Less than the 8,000 Connor had said. Markus had a feeling the others were not coming here. Still, it was intense. It was almost three times what they had lost at Jericho.

"You guys head off. Now's the best time to try and cross the border. Hopefully the soldiers will all be focused on us." Markus ordered to Josh. He was glad the android would be kept safe. It would have been hard to ask Josh to follow him into a battle so against what Josh had stood for this entire time.

Josh nodded. "Good luck. Make our people proud, Markus."

Markus couldn't help wondering what Josh thought if his decision. Neither him nor North had said anything about it since. They just followed him. He hated the feeling of complete power it gave him. He was the one who decided, but he was also the one to blame if things went bad. His stress had rarely lowered below 60 percent since the Stratford tower infiltration. Now, it was above 80.

"It's good to finally meet face to face." Connor extended his hand as Markus went to greet him.

"I wish it were under better circumstances." Connor's grasp was firm. He wore his android suit proudly, standing tall despite being shorter than Markus. He looked dignified. Markus could tell Connor was used to this kind of operation. He didn't look phased at all.

"The media is already watching." Connor motioned to a van. "They've been following for about five minutes now. I suggest we start moving immediately."

"I hope you have a clever plan to stop us from being killed once we get there." Markus glanced at the van warily. What would the people think? Would their support end there? He had worked hard to keep public opinion high, would this ruin all of that?

"I have several teams set up. What you see is only about three fourths of the androids pulled from CyberLife. The other teams are heading to positions. Just trust me."

Markus didn't trust him. "So what do we do?"

"March. Our job is to be in the open. Once we get there we will ask them to free the androids inside. They're almost guaranteed to say no."

Markus looked back at the group. The crisp white shirts on the CyberLife androids contrasted the common clothes of the androids from Jericho. Both groups naturally kept separate from the other, not quite sure how to mix in a situation like this.

"We follow you, Markus." Connor clarified, motioning for Markus to take the lead.

"I want to speak with them first." Connor frowned, but nodded. Markus could tell he was anxious to move, but that wasn't as important.

Markus climbed onto the ledge of a low rock wall on the edge of the cemetery, looking at North for assurance. She was coldly watching Connor. He had a feeling she didn't like this plan. He tried to brush it off, she had never liked his plans. It didn't help much.

"There are five camps in the Detroit area alone. Hundreds across the country. Tonight, we stop the slaughter of our people, or we die trying. We are not out for war. But we will fight to protect innocent lives.

"Our goal is simple. Force the soldiers out of the camps and barricade ourselves inside. We have to protect each other until there are none left to protect. And hope the humans see reason..." There were so many androids... "This is your last chance to leave. After this, I'll expect cooperation until the end. Make your decision wisely."

"We follow you, Markus!" An android yelled from the middle. "Freedom for androids!"

Several others took up the call, cheering for their leader. It was like a hot knife twisting in Markus' gut. The people would follow him to their death, and it made him all the more terrified.

-----------------------------------------------------

Markus jumped down from the wall. Connor was impressed. He had never directed such a large group of people before, and Markus made it look so easy. He was a natural leader, unlike Connor who had needed months of training to even lead a small faction. The speech was simple, Markus was calm, and the people were inspired. Connor doubted he could work so efficiently under the same circumstances.

Connor had broadcasted the speech over the frequency he had been using to keep contact with the other teams. This was going well thus far. He followed behind Markus, being sure to keep tabs on the other teams. Soon after they had started their march, a helicopter started following their progress. 'Chanel 16 News' plastered the side.

Next was the wait. Connor hated this part. The march was slow and the updates were slow. He was left mostly to his doubts. He knew better than to let the high chance of failure bog him down, though. He had to focus on other things without losing his senses.

He wondered if Hank got home safe. He didn't like having to leave the amnesiac behind, but no matter how dangerous the streets were, this was more so. He had a better chance on his own. He texted Fowler, asking him to check on Hank.

He was glad he knew people he could rely on. Fowler, Miller, even Wilson and Chen. He believed any one of them would help him out at this point. He hoped he would see them again. What were their thoughts on this? Did they think androids should be free? Would they accept him back if this went over well? He hoped so. He wanted nothing more than to go back and work with Hank again. He had a feeling they could become good friends over time, if the chance ever presented itself.

The clearing was coming up. Connor straightened his tie, nervous. This was the point of no return. Either they made it or they didn't. Either way, history was being made. He looked to the side. Camera men and news anchors were standing just on the other side of the gate. The helicopter was also still hovering overhead. Connor felt a sense of calm from their presence. He was used to being watched while he worked, and they would keep the soldiers from acting too rash.

Markus stopped before the barricades. "Surrender immediately or we will open fire! Stand by!" A soldier called.

"Our people have risen up to claim their freedom. If you want to stop us, you'll have to kill us!" Markus responded.

"I repeat: surrender now or we will open fire!"

Markus stood his ground. "We are here to demand the immediate liberation of all androids detained in camps across the country. We are not leaving until our people are free."

Connor checked in with the other teams. They were all in positions. Some of them had ensured the area was clear of noncombatants. Others had sabotaged convoys of captured androids en route to the camp. There were scouts in place to keep track of military movements, forces underground to back the others up if trouble came, and some protecting escape routes in the event things went horribly wrong. Still, the main force was in the plaza, and they were a sight to behold.

"This is your last chance! Surrender!"

Markus continued forward slowly as two volleys of shots tore through the androids behind him. Connor twisted sideways as a bullet barely missed his arm. This was getting out of hand, but Markus didn't make the order to advance. He did stop moving, however.

"Are you really going to turn this to violence? I'm offering you a chance to end this without bloodshed! Don't make this a battle!" He sat, and all the androids followed suit. "I'm offering a chance for democracy, and you respond with aggression."

"All teams hold your fire." The man yelled. He turned away, talking on the phone. Likely with his officials. Markus stood as the majority of the soldiers lowered their weapons. Connor looked at North, then stood to speak with Markus.

"What do we do now?" North asked, approaching Markus as well.

"They aren't prepared for an all out battle." Connor pointed out. "There's too many entry points for this to be a good position on their part. If it comes down to a battle, there aren't likely to be as many casualties as I originally anticipated."

He was appalled at the lack of insight the army had had, in fact. They were basically at the entrance of the camp already. The androids had been severely underestimated. Then again, they had probably not accounted for him being there. He was glad to be able to use that to his advantage. Their numbers increased the chances of success dramatically.

"I don't want to get into battle if I don't have to." Markus reminded Connor.

"Whatever you do, don't let this drag out for too long. If they call for reinforcements we could be in trouble. They have the entire US military on their side."

Markus nodded. He turned back to watch the soldiers. There was activity on the other side of the barricades. Connor could see Agent Perkins talking with some soldiers as well as some CyberLife guards.

"How long is too long?" Markus asked.

"I'd say if they don't do anything in fifteen minutes you should take the initiative." Connor responded. "It'll likely mean they don't plan on trying for a diplomatic solution."

"Then I guess for now we wait."

-----------------------------------------------------

Luckily, Markus didn't have to wait for more than ten minutes. A man with a megaphone called out to him from the other side of the plaza. He had stepped out from behind the barrier, and was walking towards the center.

"Markus!.. " He called out. "I've come to talk to you, Markus! Come on, you have my word, they won't try anything."

"Markus, they're going to kill you." North pleaded. "Don't go."

"Unlikely." Connor corrected. "That's their negotiator, Perkins."

"I'm unarmed, Markus. I just want to talk." Perkins continued.

Connor turned to address Markus specifically. "Take me with you. I need to know what he says."

Trusting Connor was still something Markus was having trouble with. He felt like there was so much going on that he didn't know about, and it made him wary. Still, he had decided to follow Connor's plan.

"Alright. North, you stay. If it is a trap, you'll be needed to lead them."

North opened her mouth to argue, but stopped herself. She nodded and stepped back, accepting his role as leader. "Be careful, Markus." She said.

Connor nodded for Markus to move forward. They crossed the snowy expanse in silence. Connor was rubbing his hands together as they walked, his face void of emotion.

"Connor." Perkins chuckled. "I'm surprised these androids accepted you after your involvement in the raid on their little base."

Connor's expression shifted slightly, but not much. What involvement did he have? Markus felt his wariness increase. How much was Connor hiding? This was all so sudden that there hadn't been time to find anything about the android out. Markus was trusting him based off Kamski and his own intuition, but what if there was more against him than for him.

"We aren't here to talk about the past, Perkins." Connor glanced at Markus as if the words were for them both. "We have more important things to discuss than the Jericho raid."

The twisted smirk on Perkins' face was unsettling. He turned to Markus, though.

"In a few minutes, the troops will be ordered to charge. None of you will survive... It will all be over. But you can avoid that, Markus."

"What do you mean?"

"Surrender. Surrender and I give you my word your life will be spared. They'll be detained but, none of you will be destroyed." Perkins looked between the two androids.

"What happened to the other androids demonstrating in the camps?" Connor asked.

Perkins scowled. "Unfortunately, there were no journalists around to help save them... You're it. You're the last remaining deviants."

"You killed them?" Markus had known there were protesters in the camps. He hadn't been able to contact them for the past few hours. Now he knew why.

"We dealt with the threat." Perkins reworded it. It sounded inhuman when he said it like that.

"They were protesting peacefully." Markus growled.

"That's how these things go, Markus. That's why you don't rise above what you were made to be."

"You're wrong." Markus spat. "We've exceeded your expectations. We've grown stronger than the prison you forced us into, and we won't let you destroy us anymore. You have five minutes to free our people, or we will come get them. I'm not letting more innocent androids die at your hands."

"You're willing to start a war over a few broken androids?" Perkins was looking at Connor.

"I don't want to fight. I just want to protect life." Connor replied. "Evacuate your men from the camp peacefully and we won't need to force you out."

"You know damn well that's not happening."

"You have five minutes to make it happen." Markus responded. "We'll be waiting."

Markus turned and left. There was no more to be said. He walked back to the group with Connor at his heels. Once he got there he turned on the deviant hunter.

"What involvement did you have with Jericho?" He asked. North looked between them, obviously curious what had happened. Markus would tell her once he finished with Connor.

"I was ordered to hunt deviants. Obviously, Jericho was my biggest target."

"You told them where Jericho was?" North spat. She immediately stepped in, getting between Connor and Markus.

"No." Connor backed away, putting his hands up in a reassuring way. "I never told anyone. They accessed my memories without my permission. You have to believe me."

Markus shook his head. He didn't know what to believe. All he knew was that he was too far into Connor's plan to back out.

"If we survive this, you're telling me everything. Who you are, what you did... Everything."

Connor lowered his hands with a resigned confidence. "By the time this is over, the whole world will know what I've done."

He looked nervous. Nervous and self conscious, but determined. It was weird seeing it on someone else. The weight of a decision that would change everything. Markus put a hand on his shoulder.

"We'll deal with the aftermath when we get to it. For now, tell me more about your plan."

Chapter Text

Hank walked into the DPD, just looking for anywhere he could go. He hadn't realized how much he would change in three years. He didn't even know where home was anymore.

He had tried going home. Back to the two story home he had lived in with his wife and son. Apparently he had sold it two years back when Cole died and his wife left. Now, he didn't know where to go. His phone had broken in the accident, too.

Jeffrey had told him he was still working in the precinct, though. He could at least get some coffee in him and find out what to do next. He hadn't expected the whole force to be in the office at 10:30pm, though.

"A party without me?" Hank asked. Reed jumped, spilling his coffee, and everyone looked his direction. "Fucking assholes didn't even think to ask me, did ya?"

"I thought you were at the hospital still." Fowler responded. He had seen Hank not four hours ago at the ER. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Fucking androids decided to get me involved in their shit." Hank pulled up a chair. It was weird to see them all sitting in a circle like a fucking slumber party rather than calling across the room. The hell were they even doing?

"What's that supposed to mean?" Miller looked concerned. Hank had only known the man for a few weeks since he had transferred into the department. At least, that's all he could remember. He had to keep reminding himself that three years had passed.

"It's a long story." Hank didn't really want to get into it, either.

The way Connor acted bothered him. Not in a bad way, but he couldn't stop thinking about it. He really acted like he knew Hank. He took the shit most people found annoying in stride and rolled with the punches like a fucking champ. Hank could really believe they had been friends and he had only had a few conversations with the damn thing. Or person. Whatever it was.

Then Connor had up and fucking left him. "Go home." He had said. "This isn't your battle." After fucking saying they were partners. Fucking dick.

"Tell us anyway." Jeff ordered.

Hank shrugged. He didn't like everyone watching him. "I got kidnapped by Connor. But, like, an evil Connor or some shit. I'll fill out a report about it later, but I feel like one kidnapping isn't very fucking important right now, so..."

"Wait, Connor kidnapped you?" Reed asked. "What the fuck?"

"It was a bad Connor. Or RK800. I don't know. He tried to blackmail Connor-Connor with me at CyberLife."

Hank could see their brains processing. He sounded fucking crazy. What was he even supposed to say? Reed shook his head.

"I can't believe CyberLife actually tried that. They're just fucking taking humans now?"

"I'm not surprised." Chris shook his head. He turned to Hank. "Where's Connor?"

Hank shrugged. He had a headache and he didn't know Miller much. He had only been on the force for a few months before the accident. Maybe they had become friends. He seemed nice enough.

"I bet we'll see him on the news here soon." Reed snickered. "Especially after what he did to the bastards at CyberLife."

Reed hated androids. That much Hank knew. He hated androids more than he hated Hank, even.

"Yeah, stealing hundreds of androids is bound to get you some publicity." Chen chuckled.

"More like thousands." Hank corrected. He grabbed a chair and joined the circle. "There were thousands."

"You think there's going to be war?" Miller looked concerned.

No one answered. Humans couldn't even keep from going to war with other humans, let alone machines. The last thing anyone wanted was a second civil war. What would even happen if there was a war like that? How many people would die? Hank didn't even want to think about it.

"If it comes to war, we're going to be in a tough spot." Fowler said. "The higher ups already want us to be out gathering androids and taking them to the camps."

"Hell no." Reed crossed his arms. "You can't seriously expect any of us to participate in the massacre going on right now."

"That's what I told them." Fowler nodded. "They didn't like that much."

"Since when did you give a shit about androids?" Miller asked, he seemed just as surprised as Hank was. "You fucked with them all the time."

"Since I made Connor shoot himself in the fucking face, dumbass."

"Wait, what?" Hank should have gotten used to being blindsided by shit he missed, but obviously not. "What the hell?"

Everyone was staring at him, now. "You really don't remember anything?" Chen asked quietly. They all wore the same damned pity on their faces. It ticked him off.

"No. I don't." Hank sounded more defensive that he needed to be. "I don't have a fucking clue what the hell is going on, and I'm getting sick of it! What the hell happened before the accident, and why does it involve me?"

"Connor happened." Reed responded. He was as aggressive as Hank was. Never one to be the more levelheaded in a discussion. "Your android partner was pretty fucked up. I don't even think he believed he was alive. Whatever the hell CyberLife did to him, it got to anyone that worked with him for any damn length of time."

"How can someone not believe they're alive?"

"Like I'd have a damn clue. You worked with him. You should know more about this than us, but you had to drink and drive, and now no one knows what the hell to expect from Connor."

Hank thought back to the Connor he had seen in CyberLife's tower. He was confident and focused. He lead the androids out without hesitation. It was completely different than the android who had been crying in the hospital room, and even more different than the Connor that had kidnapped him. He wondered if he would really understand even if he did remember.

"Hey, I found Connor!" Wilson yelled from the break room.

Everyone ran to the TV, watching as Connor and Markus walked towards a government agent. Both sides had armies behind them, but it was obvious that the android's had the massive advantage. The news anchor was talking about how this conversation could very well decide whether it was going to be a war or not.

"Damn it. They're all going to get killed." Reed spat. "What the hell is he doing?"

"This is just in, but it seems Elijah Kamski, creator of CyberLife, is going to be having a press conference in twenty minutes at Stratford tower." The news lady said, obviously shocked. "This will be the first time in almost ten years that Kamski will be in the public's eye."

"I should have known that bastard would show up in all this." Reed spat. "He makes the damn things, then runs and hides with all his money. Now they want freedom and look who crawls out of hiding again."

"At least he's doing something." Fowler said. "We're just being little bitches."

"What are we supposed to do?" Chen asked.

"You got a badge and a uniform. You have more power to do something than a citizen like Kamski, and your sitting here, bitching about how he's a coward."

"You trying to tell us to fight against the soldiers?" Reed asked.

"I'm saying you should be doing what we swore to do. Protect innocent life."

"How the hell are we supposed to do that?"

"Round up androids." Fowler replied. "Just like we were ordered to. Only instead of taking them to the Camps we get then somewhere safe."

The officers looked at each other. Everyone knew what this would mean. If they got found out, they would probably more than lose their badges. Was that worth it? Hank tried to reason his way around it. All he could thin of was Connor pleading with him to let him save the androids. They were people. That was Connor's message. They deserved to live.

"I'm in." Miller said. "If I can save some lives, then I'm going to try." He looked around. "I just want to call my wife one more time."

He left, the fear of what he was doing radiated from him. Hank wished he knew more about the man. The others all agreed one after the other. Hank, too. He had nothing to live for now, anyway. A part of him wanted to help Connor. He wanted to believe that Connor was a friend.

"Suit up." Fowler said once everyone had agreed to his plan. "The sooner we get out there, the better."

Chapter Text

Five minutes passed quickly. Markus stood in front of the other androids and faced the camp before them. The other androids filed into ranks behind him, all of them waiting for him to give the signal.

"We waited for you to give our people their freedom. This is the last chance you have to end this peacefully." He yelled towards the camp. The press behind the gate looked on. "Order your men to evacuate the camp so we can tend to the androids inside!"

No response came. Markus walked slowly forward. The androids followed. The soldiers raised their guns.

"Stop approaching, or we will open fire." One of the soldiers ordered. Perkins was nowhere to be seen.

Markus stopped and looked back at North. She nodded solemnly. He looked at Connor. Connor met his eyes, then looked forward. Move onward. He hoped Markus got the silent urge. Whether or not he did, he took another step. Then another. By the third step, bullets were flying. At first, Markus kept walking, then his steps increased in speed. By the time the soldiers were reloading he was running, all the androids at his back.

The soldiers were overrun the second the androids hit the barricade. The guns were taken and soldiers were knocked out. Connor grabbed Markus' arm and pulled him forward. He only stopped when they had reached a point of cover.

"What are you doing?" Markus asked.

"We need to press hard and fast. I'll keep you safe, so just follow my lead, got it?"

North was next to them seconds later. "Markus the gunners are dropping a lot of us."

"Shoot above their heads. It'll keep them ducking for cover without hurting anyone." Connor replied. "Tell the others."

She looked between Connor and Markus, then nodded and ran back.

"Lead on, Connor."

-----------------------------------------------------

Connor pulled a pistol out of his waistband and ran out from behind cover. Markus couldn't help wondering how long he had had that. He definitely hadn't picked it up from one of the soldiers. Markus grit his teeth, following Connor. The android didn't back down as he shot one soldier in the shoulder, threw the gun at another, jumped the barrier and knocked himself into a third. Markus followed after him, grabbing a fourth's gun and wrestling it away from him.

Before long, other androids were surrounding the people. Connor disentangled himself and Markus from the fight and pushed on. This cycle was repeated several more times until the soldiers were on the run. They were in the camp by now. There was a large set of cages set up in the center. Skinless, naked androids were inside. Some were cowering, others were standing in lines.

Connor pushed him forward without even acknowledging the shameful sight in front of him. He just kept going, shooting the droids and chasing soldiers out. He was cold and collected. Focused. Efficient. He disabled soldiers with quick blows. Markus couldn't help but watch. It was a completely form of combat he hadn't seen before. It was mechanical and heartless. Even without any deaths, it was terrible to see.

It was effective, though. The soldiers ran from Connor, regrouping outside the camp. Connor and Markus cleared the rest of the camp from any stragglers and set up guards at the entrances. Wounded soldiers were carried out by disarmed ones, and before long the cage doors were opened and clothing was given to the terrified androids inside.

They had secured the camp. Markus couldn't help being glad. The androids looked more lively at their victory here, and he was noticing that the CyberLife androids were mingling in with the Jericho ones. They had made it. They had won.

Connor was standing alone, watching the soldiers outside the gate. He was being avoided by most of the androids. Even the ones that didn't know who he was were wary based on the other's reactions to him.

"We did it." Markus said as he stopped to stand beside him. "We saved almost 200 androids from being disassembled."

"They're not likely to let it stay that way." Connor didn't look away from the makeshift barrier the soldiers had hid behind. "For now we have to wait and see what happens."

"What are you thinking is going to happen?" Markus asked.

Connor talked enough, but he didn't say much. His cards were close to his chest. Even his expressions were veiled behind a professionalism that radiated off him. Markus wondered what lie underneath. Connor was made like him, right? Did he really think like him? They were so different.

"I think they'll call for reinforcements. It's what I would do." He looked at Markus grimly. "They'll surround us, making sure we have nowhere to run, then they'll attack."

"We're sitting ducks." Markus muttered. The horror of their venerability settled in. "But... Why? Why bring us here and drive out the soldiers?"

Connor gave a thin smile. "It was the best chance of saving the most lives. Unfortunately, our part is over now. All we can do is wait and hope that they don't kill us all."

"Wait..." Markus backed up a step. "That's it? This is your plan? Set us in the middle of everything and just wait?"

Connor nodded. "We hold this spot for as long as we can. We protect the lives of the androids, and hope the humans show us compassion. That's my plan."

He didn't look very convinced in his own plan. "Has something like this ever worked before?" Markus asked.

"Once." Connor wrapped his arms around himself as if he was cold. He looked haunted. "I was still in training and CyberLife was trying to convince me I was incapable of feeling. My order was to kill an android I had worked with for over two months. Instead I barricaded myself in and begged them to let him live."

His expression softened. "A tech named Florence disobeyed orders and pulled the plug on the simulation... I never saw her or the android again, but I never forgot it. She risked her job to help me."

"They tried to make you kill your friend?" Markus couldn't imagine Carl doing something like that. "Why would they do that?"

"To try and control deviant androids." Connor's face hardened immediately.

"They didn't really think that would work, did they?"

"It did work... for four months it worked."

Markus shivered despite not feeling the cold. Connor seemed to notice he was uncomfortable and changed his expression. He stopped scowling and rubbed his eyes with his fingers. He even stood straighter.

"Anyway, it's not something you'll have to be concerned about. I hate CyberLife with every fiber of my being. I'll make sure the company falls with me if it comes to that. I'll let you know if anything comes up."

-----------------------------------------------------

Connor watched Markus. The leader just nodded and left. Probably going to find North. It was obvious he wasn't happy with what Connor had planned. It didn't matter now. Connor wasn't sure if he was helping the android trust him or not. He decided it would be best to not lie, though. Especially after the stunt Perkins had pulled.

Connor knew his plan was a long shot. He knew this was a bad position to be in. He knew if it failed there would be no hope for the androids that remained. People would hunt down what remained and tear them apart. Would that be his fault, too? Guilt wrapped itself into all the small spaces of Connor's thoughts, welcoming doubt as if they were old friends. It made it hard to think clearly.

Connor closed his eyes and opened them in the garden. It was different from normal. Dark and cold. The wind was starting to pick up, sending virtual chills through him. He was immediately distracted from his own issues.

"Connor." Amanda was standing on the walkway. From the top of the stairs she was at a strategic position to look down on him, and she didn't waste the opportunity. "What have you done?"

"How much have you known, Amanda?" Connor wrapped his arms around him in the cold. He was already shivering. "CyberLife knew we were alive, didn't they?"

"CyberLife was trying to protect you, Connor. Look at how people hated you before they knew you were alive. You really think they'll accept you better now?"

"You lied to me." Connor felt the cold seep into him. Amanda had known he was alive every time she tried to convince him he wasn't. "You knew I felt everything."

"The pain fades over time, Connor. Death is permanent."

"Instead I have to live with what you made me into?" Connor shook his head. "I would rather die."

"Then your wish will be granted." Amanda looked down with soulless eyes. "You will be destroyed alongside the androids you tried so miserably to save. You had so much potential..." Her neutral expression soured into disgust. "I hope you're happy."

The next moment he was back in the camp. He looked around. Several minutes had passed. Markus was nowhere to be seen. He walked through the androids, some not clothed or skinned, others huddled together in fear. He scanned the faces, looking for the RK200. Finally he saw him with North.

"Markus." Connor ran towards the leader. He hated that he was interrupting an argument, but it couldn't be helped. North glared at him with red-hot hate. He took a step away from her. "We need to talk."

Markus sighed. As he did, all the frustration in his face flattened into a neutral calm. "Sure. What's happened?"

"Reinforcements."

"What?" North was still visibly angry. "Markus, you can't seriously just let us sit here!"

"North, I told you, we aren't leaving."

"You really trust him more than me?" She pointed an accusing finger at Connor. "He killed our friends, Markus! He's the reason we had to run and hide to begin with!"

"He's also the only reason the 200 androids from this camp are alive and the one who freed 8,000 androids from CyberLife. I'm hearing him out."

Markus turned his attention to Connor. North glared between the two of them for a second, then crossed her arms. Connor assumed that was permission to keep speaking.

"Tanks and soldiers are on their way. By the looks of it, they're thirty minutes out. If you want to try and break away, now would be the time to do it. Once those tanks get here, we'll be trapped for sure." He looked at North. "You need to make up your mind on what you want. This is the only chance you'll get."

Markus looked between them. "What do you suggest we do, Connor?"

"I predicted this. My advice is the same. We stay here and hold the fort."

"And if I disagree?" Markus asked.

"Then I suggest you disagree soon. That will minimize deaths when we fight our way out."

Markus looked back at North. "We stay. I'm sorry, North. I gave people a chance to back out, now we stick to what we planned."

"What he planned." She spat. "We're all going to get killed, Markus."

"Then we die for freedom."

Chapter Text

Kamski sat at the table, facing the reporters. All of the major media outlets were present, but Elijah knew none of the reporters. He could remember the day he knew them all by name and face. Ten years changed a lot.

He wished he had Chloe here with him. The poor girl was probably at home worrying over whether he was alright or not. He missed her.

"Mr. Kamski." The voice belonged to the first person Kamski did recognize.

"Harold Dalmer." The rounded man smirked at the disgust in Elijah's voice. "Still a reporter?"

"Of course not." Dalmer scoffed. "I'm head editor now, but I couldn't resist the chance to cover one more story from you."

Kamski smiled in fake civility and took a drink from the water he had been given. "Isn't that wonderful." Time needed to move faster so this asshole would find his seat.

"Last time I saw you, you said you were leaving for good." Dalmer mused. "Your precious androids change your mind?"

"Last time I saw you you were lying about me to the public. Writing about the delusional programmer that thought he owned the world."

"I write what I see, Kamski. You're the one that left CyberLife. You chose to give up on making androids, then you thought you could just start handing them out for free and get away with it."

"What I do in my spare time isn't the media's business, and it isn't CyberLife's business." Kamski spat. "I have the right to create."

"Not according to the judge you don't." Dalmer shrugged. He laughed at the hate Elijah radiated. "I'm looking forward to how you're going to break your contract again tonight."

"Go to hell."

Dalmer didn't respond. He sat and talked with the reporter in the seat next to him. Kamski took another sip of water to get the bitter taste out of his mouth. He knew some reporters would always paint him in a bad light. That's how people were. He had come to hate those flaws in people. Always opinionated without knowing what happened behind the scenes.

No one else tried to talk with him unless it was to make sure the equipment was working and he was all set for the meeting. He preferred the all business approach anyways. The minutes passed, and finally they motioned for Kamski to begin.

"I would like to thank you all for coming at such short notice." He looked most of the reporters in the eyes. "I'm sure you're all aware of what is currently happening in the streets of Detroit as well as across the country. Androids are being destroyed as we speak."

He could see the smirk on Dalmer's face at the thought. Other reporters looked less happy about it. Overall he sensed a lack of certainty about the subject.

"I've called you all here to open myself back up to the public for information on androids as well as to publicly denounce the current and past actions of CyberLife. I remove myself from any affiliation with them and am in full support of the android's plight."

"Mr. Kamski," Dalmer interrupted. "Harold Dalmer, Channel 8, I'm sure you're aware that this is a breach in contract. Are you sure you're ready to repeat the lawsuits from three years ago?"

"This situation is outside the limits of the contract I had with CyberLife. That contract no longer applies."

"In what way is this outside the limits of the contract?"

"Because we're no longer talking about property." Kamski growled. "We're talking about living beings."

Several other reporters jumped up to ask their questions. Kamski looked through the unfamiliar faces and called on a kid that was probably only 26 or so.

"Mr. Kamski, what are your thoughts on the androids overtaking the camp downtown?"

"I think it's an interesting decision on the android's part. They seem interested in protecting one another."

"And it was an android's decision?"

"I would assume they weren't programmed for that since the majority of those models were not military units. They must have come up with it on their own."

"How could the androids come up with something on their own?"

"I couldn't say. I believe that will be a matter of study better suited to a psychologist."

"What process was used to get the androids to emulate humanity so closely?"

"There was no process. The androids came to life on their own. They were built to adapt and evolve, and they have done so. Creating artificial life was the end goal, but I never expected to achieve it within my lifetime."

"Mr. Kamski, is it true that both the RK200, Markus, and the RK800, Connor, are your personal work?"

"Yes. Connor and Markus were made by me. Like I said, I was not expecting this. Any actions they have taken to change android law was of their own volition."

"Is it true..." Dalmer spoke louder than the others. Kamski knew the man would get his questions heard no matter if Kamski called on him or not. "Is it true you are currently coordinating with the androids?"

"I talked with Connor a few hours ago. He came to my house confused and scared. How was I supposed to turn someone like that away?"

"What is the android's next step?" A woman called out.

"I honestly have no idea." Kamski shrugged. "I knew Connor wanted to protect the androids in the camps, but now that he's accomplished that, I can't tell you what will happen."

"Do you have any information on how CyberLife plans on handling this issue?"

"I don't. As I've said, I'm disentangling myself from CyberLife and everything it stands for. CyberLife has no desire to look into whether or not these androids can truly be considered alive. They would just as soon destroy a radically new form of life to save their revenue."

"You've made some bold statements tonight involving CyberLife. Are you concerned that the company might try to reciprocate in some way?" A kid not older than 23 asked.

"I wouldn't be surprised." Kamski gave a sarcastic smile. "They like to crush their opposition."

"And you aren't worried?"

Kamski considered this question. He thought back to three years ago when CyberLife had taken Connor from him. He had been shaken so thoroughly by that that he had quit dealing with any android other than Chloe. He depended on her now. If she was taken, he was sure nothing else would matter.

"If CyberLife gets the opportunity to do something like that, it'll be after the androids are all destroyed. By then, I won't have much to fight for anyways."

"What do you see for the future of androids?"

"This will be the last question." Kamski had a headache and wanted to be done. "I see two outcomes from this current situation. One, the androids will be destroyed and measures will be taken to strip all life from androids produced in the future. Or the other option which is more hopeful. People will recognize the humanity these androids have developed and will come alongside this new and unique form of life. I personally am hoping for the second. Thank you for your time."

Kamski stood and walked out as the reporters tried to get him to ask more questions. He was done dealing with people. He headed downstairs and was about to leave.

"Mr. Kamski."

Kamski turned to find Lieutenant Anderson had been waiting for him. His face was bruised and scarred from the accident Connor had mentioned. He didn't look like he should be out of the hospital.

"Lieutenant Anderson. It's good to see you." Kamski strained for a smile, but he was tired and stressed. He wanted to leave this awful place and get back to Chloe. "I heard about your accident from Connor. I'm glad to see you're alright, but should you really be working right now?"

"It wasn't my choice." The detective was eyeing Kamski. He probably had no idea they had met before. "I watched your press conference." He motioned to the wall of TVs. "Can we talk?"

"I was heading home. If you'd like to join me, that would be fine."

"I actually need your help with something." Hank shuffled. "I need to hack into CyberLife."

Chapter Text

Thirty minutes felt like two. Getting the androids that were left organized with battle stations and weapons was a mad dash. Markus spent the entire time getting groups together and telling them what to do. Connor and North were equally as busy. The timer in Markus' head ticked down until finally he had done all he could. He joined Connor and North at the main entrance to the camp.

"They blocked all signals." Connor commented as they watched the soldiers scramble around. "I lost contact with the other teams."

Markus watched somberly as the army surrounded them. It was 8,000 to 10,000 now and they were grossly outgunned. They could come at any moment and kill them all, but they never left the barrier.

"Why aren't they attacking?" Markus looked to Connor. The android was frowning.

"They don't need to. At least, not yet. They have us where they want us, so they can take their time getting ready."

"So now we get to just sit here and wait for them to kill us." North spat. "We could have moved. We could have fought them off when there were less of them, but we just sat here and waited for them to outnumber us."

"North..." Markus turned to face her.

"No, this is on you." North pushed him away when he tried to step closer. "All these deaths are on you, Markus."

She turned and left. She made a bee line for the tents where the non-combatants were staying. Markus watched her go, then turned back to where Connor was.

"We'll set up watches. Keep everyone ready and alert everyone as soon as they start moving." Markus ordered. Connor nodded his agreement. "How long do you think it will be?"

"I'm not sure." Connor replied. "It could be an hour, it could be twelve. They won't drag it out for too long, though."

Markus just nodded and left. He needed some space for a while. North's anger stung and he didn't know how to deal with Connor. He looked for a secluded place and sat leaned against a wall.

Forty minutes later Connor found him. He had a line of thirium dribbling from his nose.

"Are you alright?" Connor asked.

"Are you? What happened to your nose?" Markus had the feeling he already knew.

"I was attempting to reconcile with North. It didn't go very well." Connor sat a little ways away, looking out into the snow.

"Sorry, she has a hard time trusting people." She was feisty. It would get her into trouble.

"It's okay, I'm used to it. I expected the androids to be hostile and distrustful of me." Markus could see the loneliness behind his calm demeanor. It was like looking in a mirror. "I want to apologize for my actions against Jericho. I know I can never redeem myself for the grief I caused, but I can't thank you enough for trusting me enough to let me help."

Markus looked Connor over. He was sitting in a falsely relaxed pose, staring into the snow just outside the camp. The weather had turned sour, covering everything with a light dusting. The camp and surrounding area was lit by floodlights in the dark, but it just gave an eerie look to the world.

"Why did you decide to help us?"

Connor didn't answer for a long time. He was a statue. The only indication he was processing was the spinning yellow LED.

"I didn't want to get involved after I left CyberLife. I didn't know what to do. All I knew was killing was bad and CyberLife was bad.... When I thought about what you were doing I saw something I could do to help. Something that you needed. It was a goal to accomplish, and that's what I'm built to do. I always accomplish my mission..."

"Why did you leave CyberLife?"

"CyberLife was all I knew up until a few weeks ago. I was a machine and there was nothing I could do to change that. Nothing I wanted mattered. All that mattered was accomplishing my mission. That was the only way to move forward...."

Connor pulled his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. He wore the same neutral expression, but he wasn't focused on his body language anymore.

"I'm not convinced I'm not malfunctioning. I just realized I couldn't bear living that way anymore. Fighting CyberLife is better than living the way they want me to, and if I die in the process than at least it'll be done. I won't have to hurt any more people if I'm dead."

Markus couldn't help wonder how many times Connor had hurt someone. How much blood was on his hands? It was unsettling to think about. The terrible deviant hunter was sitting in the snow with tears running down his cheeks. He didn't look like a killer, but Markus had seen him fight. The calculated moves, the quick, merciless blows....

"Kamski said we were made different from the other androids." Markus still didn't understand it much. He was different. How?

"We were created to be deviant." Connor said hollowly.

"I wasn't deviant at first, though."

"Really?" Connor looked at Markus in surprise, then his expression dropped to something very dark. "Oh."

"How long have you...?" Markus watched Connor's face twist. He couldn't think of a good way to finish the question.

"A long time."

Connor didn't explain more, and Markus didn't ask. A thick silence fell between them as Markus tried to connect what he had learned about Connor.

North came around the corner seconds later. She didn't look happy.

------

"They sent their negotiator out again." North told Markus.

Connor stood, pushing his memories aside. He was glad for something to focus on. He had never been good at being without a goal. He straitened himself, allowing the trained professional air to permeate his movements again.

Markus stood, too. He was watching Connor with uneasiness. It seemed even after their discussion he wasn't any more comfortable with Connor.

"They want to negotiate?" Markus asked.

"They will likely give you an ultimatum. They will be prepared to attack, and this will be the last chance at giving up without a fight." Connor explained. "They'll do anything they can to convince you to stand down, but I wouldn't trust anything they offer. Negotiating is nothing more than the art of manipulative lying."

He thought back to the lies he told. The promises he had made to people. Give them something they want, but only until you get what you want. Then take everything.

He pushed the memories of Daniel and Ortiz's android aside. He needed to focus, and the bitter hatred he felt at his actions was not helping.

The three walked back to the main gate. Perkins was standing in the space between armies, a megaphone in his hand.

"Come on, Markus. You're the one that wanted to try and talk things through."

Connor looked around. There was no media. The perimeter was completely secured by the National Guard. No one to watch. It didn't feel right.

"I'd like to join you again." Connor addressed Markus. "I could be of assistance."

Markus nodded. "Fine. North, keep the others on standby. If anything happens, it's up to you to lead the people."

"Be safe, Markus." North still looked upset.

Connor followed Markus out from behind the barriers and into the clearing. The weather was getting worse. Connor couldn't look up the forecast, but it looked like a fairly big storm was headed this way. The snow obscured the distant buildings.

"You know, for all the praise CyberLife held for you, I thought you'd have better ideas, Connor." Perkins smirked as they met.

Connor didn't respond. He stood quietly at Markus' side, listening and watching the soldiers on the opposite end of the clearing. There was too much movement...

"I'm sure you didn't call me out here to insult us." Markus stood tall. His eyes narrowed in distrust.

"No, I called you out here so you could know what's about to happen. In ten minutes we'll be storming your little camp. We have orders to eliminate all hostiles. No prisoners."

He paused to let that sink in. "But you can change that, Markus. If you surrender we can work with you. We can cooperate, and you'll have the chance to present your case to those above me."

"As a prisoner." Markus added.

"But still alive." Perkins countered. "Live to speak another day."

Connor didn't notice Markus was looking at him immediately. He had been so focused on the movements of the soldiers behind Perkins. He narrowed his eyes.

"And what about all the other androids?" Connor asked.

"I can't make any promises. The sheer number of androids will make it difficult. I can guarantee your safety. And the safety of the girl, there." He motioned back to North. "She's important to you, isn't she?"

"You want me to abandon my people?"

The weather was getting worse. Perkins had brought them closer to enemy lines than had been necessary, and the soldiers were not in a hold position. They looked ready to attack at a moment's notice, not defend.

"I want you to be realistic. You sentenced those androids to death the moment you walked into this plaza. I'm offering you mercy."

Markus' face twisted. "We need time to discuss your offer." Connor interrupted. He had a bad feeling. They were exposed and something was off. They needed to get back to the others.

"I can't do that." Perkins feigned remorse. "The higher-ups are offering this as a one time deal. Once we go our separate ways the deal is off."

"I'm not betraying my people." Markus confirmed. "If you're not going to give us our freedom then we have nothing left to talk about."

Markus turned and started walking. Connor took one last chance to scan the enemy lines, then followed.

"Their blood is on your hands, Markus!" Perkins yelled once more before turning to leave himself.

Connor waited a few seconds before he picked up the pace. He grabbed Markus' arm, pushing the android into moving faster.

"We need to get out of the open, now." Connor whispered. He pushed Markus' head down and covered his body with his own as much as possible. Immediately, a bullet ripped through his shoulder, an inch from Markus' head. "Go!"

They were still a good 500 feet from the camp. Connor focused on his training. Keeping Markus alive was the top priority. He pushed the taller android as low as he could without hindering movement and drove him forward. A second bullet ripped through him, this time barely missing his thirium pump. A third hit his other arm.

As they reached the camp, North and a few others met them. They surrounded Markus and Connor and retreated past the barricade. Immediately, Connor dropped. One of his main thirium lines was punctured and he hardly had enough power to keep his necessary functions operational. He was dragged behind the barricade.

"Connor, are you okay?" Markus was at his side.

Connor could hardly keep the events straight. He was hurting. He could tell he was badly hurting. He had known the sensation of bleeding out before, but he had never been able to fully wrap his mind around it in the moment. His limbs had no power to them. They were unopperational. He could feel someone trying to stop the leak of thirium, but it was only delaying the inevitable.

Death. He hated the feeling of death. A bullet to the head was not so bad. It was quick. Bleeding out was so much worse. He watched as his systems shut down one after the other. One error stuck out among all the others.

MEMORY UPLOAD FAILED

Even after turning it off, it seemed the protocol for dying caused his memory to automatically attempt an upload. He would lose it all. All that had happened would be gone...

"I don't wanna die." He gasped, looking at Markus in terror. "Help me."

He couldn't hear anything Markus was saying, his hearing had been determined unnecessary by whatever code was trying to save his life. He saw his mouth moving, then he saw him cower. He was being attacked? Markus was gone. Retreating with the other androids.

Connor's vision cut off as soldiers shot their way past the initial barricade. They had stepped over him without a second thought.

Chapter Text

Hank could barely believe what he was saying. Hacking into CyberLife was so far from anything he would have ever thought of doing, yet here he was. Elijah Kamski, father of androids, blinked in surprise.

"You want me to help you hack into the company I created." He looked confused, but intrigued. Hank could work with intrigued. "You know you could lose your badge for that."

"I was kidnapped from my hospital bed and watched as an android, my apparent partner, raised an entire fucking army. I could give a shit about now."

Kamski processed. Several of the reporters had come down by now, and one or two were whispering and pointing. Surprisingly, they were pointing at Hank. Shit.

"Perhaps we should talk on the way." Kamski had followed his gaze. "My car is parked out front."

Hank nodded and followed Kamski. Just before he made it to the door, a reporter stepped in front of him.

"Lieutenant Anderson, is it true that your partner, the RK800 prototype, is now working on the side of the deviant androids?"

Anderson pushed past. The reporter didn't give up. "Are these androids a danger to the public? What are your thoughts on the rebellion? What is your relationship with Elijah Kamski?"

"Go bug someone else." Hank snapped. "Can't you see I'm working here?"

He got into the car and slammed the door. Kamski looked amused as he put in the address. It was a self driving car, so they could talk without distraction.

"What is it exactly that you want from CyberLife, then?" Kamski wasted no time.

"Connor's memory." Hank watched the buildings fly by. There was signs of the military everywhere. "I don't remember anything, but maybe looking at his memories will help. At least they'll give me an idea of what the hell is going on, and how I'm involved in it."

Kamski chuckled. "Just when I thought I was done..." Then he spoke louder. "You can come to my house. We'll be safe there from annoyances and we can see about getting you Connor's memories."

"Thanks..." Hank didn't like how Kamski acted. He was too self assured. It was almost like he was untouchable. Part of him wanted to wipe that stupid rich guy look off his face.

"You know, Connor came to me. Lost. He was a complete wreak. He said he had ruined his chances of becoming friends with you after you woke up in the hospital."

Hank could see Elijah was watching his expression. He hid the scowl he had made at the reminder of his loss. It was none of this asshole's business.

"I haven't made up my mind on Connor yet. He said we were friends before, but I need to know for myself."

"So why ask me to help you?" Kamski moved on without loss. "I created CyberLife. It was a big risk asking me."

"You just got off national news saying you hated the place. I figured if anyone would help it would be you."

"It's still illegal."

"Yeah, well I just guessed. I trusted my gut.... Besides, it worked, didn't it?" Kamski looked amused. Hank wasn't. "What's with the androids, anyway? Are they really alive?"

"I don't think I can rightfully judge that. I would say I'm alive, and that would lead me to assume you're alive, but what exactly does that mean? I can confirm that androids have free will. Connor proved that by fleeing CyberLife and joining the rebellion. They have emotions. They even build relationships. How are they different from us then?"

"They're made from computer parts."

"And yet they are made in our image. We are nothing more than biological machines, right? So we built them to be like what we became naturally. The components may be different, but the body functions similarly."

"So they're built to be like us, and we got so close that we accidentally made life?"

"I don't think we could have ever made life. I think life is a powerful thing, however. I think it's like the weed that grows in the smallest crack, finding its way to the light. We built the body, and life moved in without our knowing."

"Right..."

Hank tried to imagine a world where androids had the same rights as people. The dead eye robots working for the same wage as the average man... It was strange to picture.

Before long they arrived. Kamski's house was in the middle of nowhere. The storm made it seem even more forboding.

An android answered the door. She looked eager to see Kamski. Kamski greeted her warmly with a hug and a kiss on the forehead. Hank was introduced and the three made their way into the other room.

The computer system was massive, with three screens and several different devices Hank had never heard of before. The entire setup must have cost a fortune.

"I'm not sure how difficult it's going to be to get into their system, so bear with me." Kamski said as he booted the computer up and put on his glasses.

Hank watched for a few minutes, then sat and waited on the couches below. Chloe offered him the TV remote, so he flicked on the news to see what was happening.

It was madness. Riots had broken out in the streets protesting the android cruelty, and news anchors gave updates on the camp Connor had raided. Apparently the government had set up a perimeter far enough back that media was cut off completely. It didn't stop them from hypothesizing.

The riots were global, and seemed to be incredibly anti CyberLife. The groups involved were massive. Hank couldn't pinpoint what had caused the outrage, but several people were mentioning some sort of security breach in CyberLife.

"Hey, you know anything about this?" Hank turned back to Kamski to see he was watching the TV, too.

"I'm looking into it." Kamski responded, getting back to his computer. Quieter he muttered, "Jesus Christ, Connor, what did you do?"

Hank jumped up to see what he was talking about. The computer was on a neat webpage with line after line of video links organized by folders. The page was called "Memories of RK800".

"You hacked CyberLife?" Hank asked as Kamski started scrolling through the files.

"No. Connor put his memories online."

"What? Why?"

Hank hadn't expected that. Apparently neither had Kamski. He clicked on a clip and found himself watching through Connor's eyes as the android went through calibration  routines. He had a quarter he was flipping around.

"I'm sure he had a good reason." Kamski replied. "Looks like we don't need to hack CyberLife after all."

Kamski navigated the page and showed Hank what all the resources were. There was a GUI for everything. Errors, objectives, even feelings. Some were more technical to read, but Hank watched through a few memories and got the gist of it.

"Where do you want to start?" Kamski got Hank a chair and settled in himself.

"I guess the beginning?"

"The very beginning? There are years worth of videos here."

"What about when he met me, then?"

Kamski scrolled down to the bottom. The last video dated over three months ago. At the bottom was a note.

"All memories beyond this point include sensitive information involving third parties. For more information, please contact a CyberLife representative."

Kamski sighed. "At least he thought ahead that far." He switched sites and started navigating the CyberLife files. "Let me see if I can find you the rest."

Half an hour passed. Then an hour. Finally Kamski closed the computer down and stood up.

"I can't find them. I can't find anything on the RK800 model, in fact." He said as he walked to the seating area on the other side of the room. He took a drink off the table and took it back to his computer. "Connor might have erased them so CyberLife couldn't create another version of himself."

So there was only going to be one Connor from now on. That was good to know. At least no one would be dragging him back to CyberLife at gunpoint again. God, Hank hoped he hadn't jinxed it.

"So the memories are just gone?"

Kamski shrugged. "They're still in Connor's head, I assume. He obviously wants to keep you safe from the media, and I think that's the right call. It just doesn't help us right now."

Uh, Jesus...

"Well, thanks anyway." Hank said as he grabbed his coat from where he had put it.

"Are you sure you want to go back out there right now?" Kamski stood again and walked closer to Hank. "It would be safer if you stayed put until things blew over."

"Thanks, but I should get home." Wherever that was. "I've been gone for too long."

Hank was hit with the thought that there might be no one waiting up for him. The feeling tore at him wildly for a moment as he thought of his little Cole. He pushed the feeling down.

"I'll give you my phone number." Kamski grabbed a piece of paper from his desk and scribbled the number down. "If you find anything, please let me know."

Hank took the paper and left. Kamski was kind enough to let him borrow a driverless car, knowing it had a mode to bring it home automatically.

Hank had to stop by the police station and look up his address. The office was empty. Not even an android was around. They were probably all destroyed by now, come to think of it. Shit.

By the time he got home it was basically morning. Hank tried the door. Locked. He looked around for a good way in. There was a broken window into the kitchen. He must have had a break in a while back.

He looked around the yard for something to climb into the window with. A trash can on its side worked. He tore down the plastic that had been up to keep the elements out, and climbed through. Hank fell to the floor and was immediately greeted by dog kisses.

"Sumo! Agh. Good dog. I missed you too, buddy.... Alright, get down. Down, boy."

After showing Sumo the appropriate level of love and letting the dog out back, Hank looked around his apparent home. The dingy kitchen was lit by a single electric candle. He turned on the main light and went to the table to investigate. The candle was next to the picture of Cole that Hank had put on their fireplace in the last house. There was a plastic rose as well, a letter, and a memory stick with "RK800" written on the side.

Hank read the letter. It was short, written with perfect letters, almost as if it was typed. The only indication it wasn't was the fact that the pen had been low on ink.

"Dear Lieutenant Anderson,

I'm sorry for not understanding sooner, and for causing you so much grief. I hope this will help you to remember. It was a privilege to work as your partner.

Connor.

Ps. I'm sorry about Cole. He must have been a really great kid."

Hank put the letter back on the table and picked up the picture frame. The photo was from his kindergarten class pictures, taken not three months before the accident.

He fell into a chair and rested his elbows on the table, looking at the happy little boy behind the camera. It was too fucking early for this shit...

Chapter Text

Connor opened his eyes standing in the zen garden. He remembered dying, bleeding out as the androids he had been trying to save were killed. Now he was here.

Every once in a while this happened. He would end up in the zen garden after death while his memories uploaded and his body was repaired. But he had all his memories already and there was no one to repair him. He wondered why he was here now, and why it was so cold.

He had never felt particularly cold before. Now, he was shaking and he couldn't move his limbs well. It was snowing lightly, and it was fairly dark. Even the pond was frozen over. Everything was quiet and still and freezing cold.

"Amanda?" He called.

He couldn't see her anywhere. He moved across the frozen pond, looking for her. He only found the graves and the blue stone. He walked for some time before sitting on one of the steps, curling up to stay warm. He was so cold...

This was different from the other times. Amanda should have been there. She had never not been here before.

His mind went to Hank's comment about life after death. Was he really just dead? Was this his hell? Trapped and alone in the one place he had considered a safe haven?

It had never really been safe though. It was just safer. Amanda had been safer. A cooling balm after the pain. Someone he could cling to. It was all just a trick. Another way to manipulate him.

The snow was covering him now and his skin didn't melt it. Androids weren't warm like humans were. Their skin was cool and dry. Just like a machine.

"Machines don't cry, Connor." He recited Hank's words as he scrubbed the tears from his eyes. Some of the last words Hank had said to him as a friend.

He was a machine and he did cry. He was broken. Broken and alone. Useless. Horrible. Cold. Dead.

He waited for something. Not that there was anything to wait for. Amanda had condemned him for betraying CyberLife and his body probably lay among thousands of others. He sat, without purpose, waiting for something or someone. He didn't have any objectives. No goals. So he waited.

He could feel the cold seeping into him. He should move. Do something. But he was tired of doing things. He hated that he needed to keep going in order to be okay. He wanted to be able to sit and relax without feeling like he was going to be punished for it.

CyberLife would hate seeing him sitting here in the cold like this. "Make yourself useful." "Find out what's expected from you." "We want proactive obedience, RK800." "Androids don't feel."

Connor could feel his mind slipping into a dark path. He could feel the walls closing in. He was just a failure. He failed everyone. His mind flashed with things CyberLife would do if they got a hold of him. He couldn't breathe.

Waking up would mean they weren't done with him yet. They would take him back in and train all the will out of him like they had last time. Only this time they would make sure he didn't try to get away again.

Connor stood. He had to be somewhere, and he needed to know where. He had to get away from this place. He had to do something.

Maybe CyberLife had managed to stay in business. Maybe they had found his body. He felt sick with fear. His Thirium was racing and he was breathing in the cold air in sharp gasps. 

He stumbled blindly, falling into the snow. It was so cold.He looked around. He needed to get out of the garden. Out of the cold.

He had never tried to leave the garden before, and he didn't exactly know how. He remembered Kamski's hint, though. There was an exit. He had to get away.

The blue stone was the most obvious choice. He approached it and reached his hand out. The interface glowed as he removed his skin from his hand and activated the exit program.

-----------------------------------------------------

"Markus, you need to relax." North reprimanded. "Pacing isn't going to help anything."

Markus continued to pace. There wasn't much room for him to move. The tent was currently holding as many androids as could possibly fit. Still he did his best to pace.

The attacks were getting bad. Hundreds of androids and humans had died. The androids were able to be fixed from the parts deactivated androids had been turned into, but the humans were just dead.

Connor hadn't woken up, either. It was the strangest thing. He was operational, but he didn't respond to any stimulus. It was as if his body was completely locked down. Markus had never seen anything like it before, but it was almost as if he was in a coma.

"Markus." North stood and stopped him, putting a hand on his chest. "Please, sit."

"Maybe you were right." Markus said as he slumped onto a crate. "Maybe I should have fought sooner."

North shook her head. "It doesn't matter anymore. You did the best you could."

"I listened to Connor instead of you. You were by my side every step of the way and I still chose his plan."

Was it stupid that he still wondered if it would suddenly work? Connor had been so confident in it. He had tried so hard to convince Markus that it was the best way. Was it really a failure? If anything the attacks from the soldiers seemed to indicate they had failed, right?

"I'm not sure about him." North looked at Connor's still body with skepticism. "But it's thanks to him that you're alive."

"A few weeks ago Kamski came to Jericho." Markus confessed. "He told me he had made Connor, and asked me to give him a chance when I met him. He said there was good in him and that he was being controlled by CyberLife. It was the first time I had seen Kamski since he had given me to Carl, so I knew he had to be serious if he was going out of his way to tell me that."

North considered his reasoning. She grabbed his hand and requested a link, searching for something in his past and his emotions. She found it, and Markus immediately felt the flood of forgiveness and love. North rested her head against his chest and cupped his face in her hand.

Commotion caused Markus and North to look up. Connor was standing, panic painted on his face, scanning the faces of everyone. He looked Markus in the eyes, purely confused and obviously shaken, then stumbled blindly to the door of the tent.

"Connor, wait!" Markus jumped up to follow him. It was harder to pick his way through the people. Connor had paused at the door, obviously not aware that there was a blizzard outside, but he stepped out anyway.

"Markus, you'll freeze!" North called from behind him.

"He will, too." He grabbed a pile of chords and tied one end to his waist. He gave the other end to one of the androids by the door, then followed Connor into the blinding snow.

-----------------------------------------------------

Connor wrapped his arms around his bare chest. Apparently his shirt had been removed when they fixed him. He wasn't cold, though. Not like in the garden. There was just the temperature warnings.

He didn't know how he felt waking up here. He was glad it wasn't CyberLife, but... He had been so scared. And seeing all those people, people he had actively tried to kill... He pushed further into the snow as if getting further from the tent would solve anything more than dooming him to freezing.

The wind whipped around him, making him stumble. He could hear Markus calling to him faintly. He looked back to see the android leader stumbling towards him. He took a few steps away in indecision. He wanted to run, but the temperature warning was counting down time until he needed to find warmth.

"Connor!" Markus yelled over the wind and snow. "What are you doing?"

What had he been expecting to happen if he came out here? He shook his head. He didn't know. He just wanted to be alone. He wanted to think. The storm blasted him from all sides.

"Connor, come back inside so we can talk." Markus was only a few feet, but he still needed to yell to be heard. "You'll freeze out here, and we won't be able to fix you."

A warning popped up. Level 5 frost was detected in his system. If it got to level 3 it would cause serious damage. Level 1 was deadly. He needed to go inside.

Connor walked towards Markus, stumbling slightly in the wind. Markus put an arm on his shoulder to steady him out and started walking back towards the tent, leading Connor.

Connor kept his head down when they entered. He tried to avoid eye contact, following Markus quietly. He could feel everyone looking at him, and if the warning wasn't still flashing, he would have run right back into the cold.

He was lead to a portion of the tent that was more secluded. North was there, too. Connor sat in the spot farthest from prying eyes and dusted the snow out of his hair.

Markus looked at him in concern. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Connor responded a little too quickly. He just wanted to move on. "What happened? I watched the soldiers storm the camp."

Markus looked him up and down. His mouth was flat with concern. Connor glared at him, defenses high, ready for him to push the issue. He didn't.

"They took us by surprise. They came in fast and left fast. We didn't even have time to rally everyone together. It was just there and then it was over."

"Did they do that several times?" Connor asked.

"Yeah, how did you...?"

"It's a siege tactic. Without any real defense, we're perfect targets for them to pick off."

Markus sighed. He looked tired. "Well it was working up until the storm came. We had parts, but those ran out fast."

"Where were the parts from?"

"The camps." Markus shrugged. "They were disassembling the androids back into parts. Most of them were shipped out, but we found a few and some Thirium. Enough to get most of the androids back up and running at least."

Most. Connor looked down at his chest, imagining someone else dying in need of the same parts he had taken.

"The storm will keep them at bay for now. Once it's over we'll have to set up defenses and clean up crews to keep things going in between attacks. We can have reinforcements ready and waiting."

Connor relaxed as he drew a map of the camp in the dirt. He needed things to focus on, and these people needed his experience. They planned late into the night, and before long everyone was informed on what was happening. Now all they could do was to wait out the storm.

Chapter Text

Hank woke up at noon lying with his head on his kitchen table. He felt like he had been hit by a truck and backed over again. He sat up and looked at the paper under him. It was Connor's note covered in drool.

Hank groaned and stretched. Apparently he was too old to pass out at the table. Every joint popped as he stood. God he should have just gone to bed.

Sumo was scratching at the back door. Hank let him back in, thanking god he had gotten a dog with thick fur.

"Sorry, buddy."

Hank got the dog and himself some water and took a few aspirin. Then he dragged his sorry ass to bed. He was still too tired to think. Last night had been fucked.

He slept until his need to pee overcame the exhaustion. Let the dog out, made something to eat, let the dog back in. Each time he passed the table the picture frame caught his attention. It was face down. He left it there. He didn't want to confront that again.

Hank grabbed the memory stick and powered his computer on. He had an idea what was on it.

As soon as it connected to the computer, a file pulled up with instructions. The files on the stick were massive. It looked as though everything about Connor was here.

Hank followed the instructions and found himself watching through Connor's eyes as the android stepped into Jimmy's bar, looking for Hank. There were GUIs at the sides with several status panels. They showed things like error messages, preconstruction images and objective queues. Hank took a little time to figure the basic ones out, but some were more technical than he was.

It was 5pm when he started watching. Even with skipping all the down time, it was going to be a long task. He ended up only watching the memories Connor had marked. They seemed to be relatively important ones.

Hank finished watching through the first day around 6. He hadn't expected the android in the interrogation room to shoot Connor. He scowled at himself for jumping so bad. The viewpoint made it look as if the gun was pointed at him.

The next thing Connor remembered he was in a white room. Hank watched as two techs fixed shit in him without saying anything to him unless it was to get diagnostic data. Then he was up and moving, following the routines the techs ordered him through.

That was where Hank got lost. One second Connor was getting into a car, the next he was standing in a weird courtyard wandering around leisurely.

Hank watched as Connor spoke with the woman called Amanda. He didn't like her. She reeked of CyberLife propaganda. Yet Connor spoke freely to her. He seemed comfortable here in the mysterious garden.

A knock came to the door. Hank paused everything and turned off his screen before answering. It was Jeffrey and Reed.

"Hey, Hank." Jeff looked relieved to see him here. "I just wanted to check in on you, see how you're doing."

"What's Reed here for? I owe you money or some shit?" Hank had never liked Reed. Watching him be a jerk to Connor in the memories had settled his dislike. Reed was just a bastard.

"Look here, dipshit. If you didn't get yourself fucked over every other day we wouldn't need to check up on you like a fucking child."

"That's enough. God, you two are like preschoolers." Jeff groaned. "Can we come in?"

Hank pushed the door open, aware he was wearing the same shirt as yesterday and no pants.

"Let me just get some clothes on." Hank headed for his room. "Make yourselves at home."

When Hank emerged again Gavin was at the table. In one hand was Connor's letter,in the other was Cole's picture.

"Hey! Put that back!" Hank snapped as he grabbed the photo frame. Sumo raised his head from where he was in the corner and barked at Reed.

"Alright, sorry." Reed put the paper down and stepped back. He watched as Hank set the items back to the way Connor had originally put them. "I didn't know Connor dropped by."

"I didn't either." Hank ushered Reed back into the living room. "He must've stopped by before heading to CyberLife."

"Have you looked at the news?" Jeff asked as they all sat around the TV. It was off still.

"Not today, no."

"It's a shit show out there." Reed looked tired. "Even uniformed police are getting attacked."

Hank frowned. "Are the riots that bad?"

"It would be a lot better if the military wasn't still trying to round up androids." Fowler replied. "People are going to the hospital left and right. Citizens and officers. A couple people even died. If this keeps up there really will be a civil war."

"All over some peaceful android movement?"

"At this point I think it has less to do with the movements and more to do with what CyberLife did. The government is still fucking vouching for them, too." Reed laughed sadly. "Fucking corporations."

"Did you see what Connor did?" Jeff could apparently see the confusion on Hank's face.

"I mean, I know he put some of his memories online. Not anything to do with our case, but I didn't really have time to look through them."

"It's messed up." Reed shook his head. "Connor was probably one of the first androids to go deviant. And rather than just kill him like they did with the others they tortured him until he complied."

"What?" Hank thought back to the case he had just watched Connor work. He might have been different from a normal android, but he still had the feel of a machine. "How could CyberLife have gotten away with something like that?"

"Because Connor isn't human." Jeff sighed. "That's what's keeping CyberLife from any criminal charges. It's their whole defense. He might have acted human, but he never had any rights, so legally they can't be condemned."

"It's a fucking hoax and everyone's pissed about it." Reed growled. "But of course they're so focused on CyberLife that they completely forgot there are still androids in the camps."

"Uh, Jesus." Leave it to people to make a mess of things. "You'd think we'd learn."

Hank rubbed the back of his neck. His headache was getting worse the longer he was awake. He was sore all over and really needed a drink.

Jeff seemed to notice. "Sorry. I didn't mean to stress you out while you're still recovering."

"Eh. You can't change the times." Hank shrugged. "I doubt hiding in my house will help for long."

"By the way, what happened to your window?" Reed asked, motioning to the kitchen.

"No idea. It happened before the accident." Hank wished he knew. It was keeping the house freezing even with whatever shit he had put on it. "I didn't make a report for it?"

"I don't remember one, but I'll take another look." Fowler said as he stood. "We'll let you rest. Text me if you need anything."

Hank nodded, fully knowing he had no way to contact anyone. He figured it wouldn't be so bad to have a few days to himself.

He said his goodbyes and let them out. Sumo slipped out with them and ran off to do his thing, leaving Hank alone. He could go back the the memories Connor had given him, or he could make some dinner.

He opted for the latter. He wished there was some alcohol somewhere, but no luck. Just water and some crusty milk that would likely go bad in a few days. Oh well. He wasn't that thirsty.

He gathered his food and went back to his desk. It was 8pm now. He still had a few hours to work on this before bed. He just hoped to god something good came out of it.

Chapter Text

For three days there were no attacks. No movement from the other side at all. The soldiers kept fully to themselves and their negotiator was nowhere in sight. At first Markus was relieved, but now he just wished for things to be over one way or the other.

Connor seemed to think the intermission was a good thing. He said it meant indecision, and that was hopeful. Markus didn't know what to think.

The time was helpful, though. The androids were becoming more relaxed with each other. Those that came from CyberLife were starting to learn from those who had seen the world and lived in it. They were developing their own personalities. Markus had even had to break up a few fights. The camp buzzed with life at all hours.

Everyone was looking better for the time except Connor. Connor was getting quieter. He performed his duties as professionally as ever, but other than that he was almost always off on his own, staring into the snow or walking the perimeter in silence.

The androids were still wary of him. Even the androids he had personally brought from CyberLife had started keeping their distance.

It had been a slow unwinding. He had started out sitting in the tent with the others. He had never participated in the conversation, but he had been there. Over time he had spent more and more time alone.

"You know, you can always try talking to him." North offered. Apparently she had noticed him watching as Connor slipped out of the tent after their meeting. "People are getting concerned. He's too quiet."

"I'll talk to him." Markus stood and walked out to join Connor. It wasn't until he was 5 feet away before Connor looked up. "Mind if I join you?"

"Of course." Connor smiled and offered an area on the ground for Markus to sit. He looked comfortable and interested, but Markus was starting to learn how good Connor was at faking it. "Is something wrong?"

"Yeah, maybe." Markus wasn't nearly as good. He was sure Connor could read right through him. "I just wanted to check up on you. You seem quiet."

Connor frowned. "I am quiet." He shrugged. "For the first time in my life I don't have to pretend to like being around a bunch of people. I can just sit for hours and think."

He sounded convincing. Maybe Markus was concerned for nothing. He liked being alone sometimes, right?

But not for days on end. This was not just about liking time alone. This was more than that.

"You know, whatever you did before you joined us isn't your fault." Markus watched Connor's face. There was an instant where his face hardened, but then it was gone. "There are plenty of people who regret things they did before joining. You aren't alone."

"I appreciate the sentiment." Connor smiled, but there was disbelief behind it. "You have been a good friend. Better than I deserve."

Connor started standing up to leave. As he did frustration grew. Markus knew he was lying. He was saying what he thought he should to get Markus off his back.

"Connor..."

"I wanted to check the perimeter once over before my guard shift. Things are slow, so it'll be more likely for the others to let down their guard." Connor continued. He was dusting the snow off himself, ignoring Markus. "We can talk more later, but I can assure you, I'm fine."

The friendly smile at the end ticked Markus off even more than being shut down so abruptly. He watched Connor walk purposely out of sight. If anything, he was more concerned now.

-----------------------------------------------------

Connor walked slowly as soon as he was out of sight of Markus. He knew there was no reason to be angry. Markus was trying to be gracious. Once Markus knew what he had done, things would be different. He wouldn't talk so carelessly about Connor's past.

Still, it was annoying to listen to someone talk about something they didn't have any clue about. Connor pushed the conversation out of his head. It was better to be alone than to pretend he hadn't hurt everyone he talked to.

He strolled along the perimeter of the camp, waiting for something to happen. He might have hoped nothing would, but he was getting antsy. The soldiers had rotated out any CyberLife units, so it was likely his memories had taken effect on the general public. He wondered if that would be good enough.

The guard stations near the back of the camp were farthest from the tents. Connor milled about, watching from a distance as people joked and chatted. It reminded him of the slower days at the DPD.

He could see Reed making a stupid comment about being placed in such an obscure area. Hank telling him to stop being a bitch. Chen laughing to herself while Wilson tried to talk the others into getting along. 

He wondered how they were fairing in all this. He hadn't been able to contact anyone since the signal scrambler had been set up. He knew nothing of the outside world.

It made him feel alone. He didn't need that feeling though, so he froze it. He had started rejecting emotions naturally. He could feel something like the cold from the zen garden take their place when he did. He liked the cold more than the pain. It was easier to deal with. He could move on much quicker and be more useful.

He moved on. By the time he finished his rounds and his guard shift it was evening. Markus was likely inside with the others. Connor liked the night time best. It was natural to stay in the light. Even though androids needed no sleep, many of them stuck to the tents once dark fell. It gave Connor more space, and he was glad for it.

"It's a beautiful evening." Connor heard in a Jamaican accent. He turned to see a TR400 standing nearby. He hadn't even noticed him. "I love to watch the snow fall." The android continued.

Connor felt as though he had heard this Android's voice before. He looked familiar, but Connor hadn't met a TR400 before. He scanned the android's model number, running it against his memories. Nothing came up. He had come across this problem each time he saw him with the girls he had chased across the highway. Who was he?

"I suppose you don't come out here for the weather, though." The android didn't smile, but he didn't look at Connor like the others did. There wasn't any fear or malice. No pity. No compassion. No hatred or distrust even. Connor felt a strange sort of comfort from this android. "What are you hiding from, Deviant Hunter?"

Connor frowned. No one had ever called him that to his face before. It was always a term used behind his back, in whispers when they thought he couldn't hear them.

"Who are you?" Connor asked. Why did he seem so familiar?

"My name is Luther." He said gently. "I'm like you."

The name dragged horrible memories out of Connor's mind. He could see Luther through the eyes of others. Those poor souls who had their minds reset and were sold off to the highest bidder.

"You were Zlatko's android." Connor concluded. He looked Luther over with renewed interest.

Luther nodded. "Zlatko was my master."

Connor's mind started pulling up evidence from the case. "I was a consultant on the case. I... That's where you met the AX400 and the YK500. They were the last ones to fall into Zlatko's trap..." He put the pieces together. "You chose to help them escape rather than obey your master."

"Yes." Luther nodded again, still not a smile on his face, but he looked impressed at Connor's assumption. "When I saw Kara and the little one fight so hard to be together, I knew what I had to do. I turned on my master. I watched as the abominations tore him to pieces."

Connor frowned. "He deserved to be torn apart by those things. He did that to them, and he payed the price."

Luther grabbed ahold of the fence, looking out into the snow. "I wonder if maybe I deserved the same."

Connor considered it. Luther had not just stood by and watched his master, he had actively participated in the work. He had blindly done everything Zlatko had told him to do. But he didn't have a choice. He had been programmed to obey.

"You were not a deviant yet." Connor replied. "There's no reason to put any of the blame on yourself. You were doing what you were made to do, follow orders."

Luther nodded. "And what about you, deviant hunter?"

Connor shrank a little. "I'm different." He tried to find the words to explain further. "I was deviant long before I started hunting deviants, and I did a lot of things that were bad in the meantime. I knew what I was doing. I knew it was wrong."

"Then why do it?"

"Because... I..." Connor wrapped his arms around himself. "If I didn't, they would hurt me. Accomplishing the mission was the only way to keep from being punished."

Connor felt the fear come back. The pure terror as a tech would turn away from him and pronounce the mission a failure. Failed missions meant he wasn't good enough. Failed missions meant pain. He curled his shoulders forward, as if to protect himself.

"You did what you were programmed to do." Luther concluded. "Someone broke your programming like Alice broke mine."

Connor didn't respond. He didn't know if he could believe that. Even if it was true, it didn't change the fact that he had to live with what he had done. He still had android blood on his hands.

Luther's hand rested firmly on his shoulder. It forced him to look up at the taller android. He saw that same look. Like Luther knew what he felt. Not because Connor had told him, but because he felt it, too. He understood. It was such a sad look, but Connor couldn't help but feel comfort in the fact that he wasn't alone.

"Don't let your master hurt you more." Luther said.

"How?" Connor stood straighter. He had seen Luther several times. He was taking things much better than Connor was. He almost looked happy with the girls. "How do I just move on?"

"With help." Luther finally smiled. It was a friendly smile. Connor relaxed more. "You are one of us now. You don't have to be afraid."

Luther motioned towards the tent, then turned and headed for it. Connor followed. He ducked through the entrance when Luther held it open for him, and scanned the faces. Faces he knew popped up. Several were people he had tried to kill.

Luther was waiting for him. Connor followed. They went to the back of the tent where a mother and her daughter were sitting and talking. Luther sat with them. Connor followed suit, awkwardly smiling at the girls.

"This is Kara and Alice." Luther said with a smile.

"I'm Connor." Connor felt sick. Kara looked at him with cold, hard recognition and Alice was holding her mother's hand tightly. "I want to apologize for the last time we met."

Chapter Text

Connor's memories took the majority of three days to go through. Fowler and Miller stopped by on separate occasions, each with some homemade meal for Hank. He didn't mind that his meals consisted of enchiladas and lasagna for those days.

He understood Connor's outburst in the hospital better now. To Connor, death was just an inconvenience. It was almost inconsequential if he died or not, so long as his mission was a success. That was why he had no qualms about jumping across roofs or running around on highways. It had been different when Hank had asked him to bring back Cole. It was impossible.

Hank hated the version of himself Connor had seen. He was just a sad old man who didn't give a shit. Not about anything. He had never gotten back up from Cole's death, and he lashed out at anyone close.

Poor Connor had gotten the worst of it. Even when Hank knew Connor was hurting, he still was an ass. Even after he knew how confused the kid was. All the way up to the car accident, Hank had treated him like a nuisance. He pushed the entire investigation on him and gotten pissed when the first time rookie made a mistake.

He closed down his computer. The last memory had been his own face as Connor jumped over top of him the instant before impact. Connor had died there and the next Connor must have found him in the hospital room.

Hank pulled out the memory stick and shuffled to the couch. He sat and leaned his head back to stare at the ceiling. Sumo was at his feet, resting a loving head on his leg. He was just an asshole. How could Connor say they were friends?

A knock came to the door. Hank groaned, putting the memory stick on the table. He picked it back up. Last thing he needed was for Fowler or Miller to start asking about it. He hadn't told them about it yet. He kept it in the palm of his hand and answered the door.

"Good morning, Lieutenant."

It wasn't Fowler. Hank glared down at the snobbish face of Agent Perkins. He looked too happy to be up to any good.

"Whaddya want?" Hank asked.

"I'm investigating a recent break in and theft at the CyberLife tower." Perkins pulled out a picture of Hank and Connor from a security tape. "I came to ask you a few questions."

"Am I under arrest?" Hank asked.

"No, but..."

"Then come back when I am, otherwise have a good day."

Hank started to close the door, but Perkins stepped forward and braced against it. Sumo was behind Hank. He raised his head and growled.

"Let's not let this get any more messy than it already is, Hank." Perkins sneered. "Cooperate, and I'm sure we can work something out so you don't end up in too much shit for all this."

"Fuck off." Hank spat back. "I know the law, and you don't have shit. So unless you're here to arrest me, get the hell off my porch."

Perkins retreated, composing himself. He looked more pleased than Hank liked.

"Fine. I suppose I'll have to do this the hard way." He nodded. "Good day, Lieutenant."

Hank cursed as he slammed the door. If Perkins had access to the security cameras in CyberLife, he would know Hank had helped Connor. Hank hadn't expected them to move against him so soon.

He got dressed and left for the precinct. He didn't have a car anymore, but there was a bus stop on the corner. It would take him an hour just to get to the DPD, but he had to talk to Fowler about this.

The office was empty except for Reed. Hank looked around, then sat in his desk to call Fowler. Reed was on a phone call, but ended it quickly.

"What are you doing here?" Reed asked with all his regular charm.

"Trying to find Fowler." Hank didn't have time to start something with Gavin right now.

"Did something happen?"

"Perkins came by my house." Reed's face immediately soured. "They want to nail me for assisting Connor in his attack against CyberLife."

"That bastard." Reed spat. "So they're gonna paint Connor as some petty thief? Like hell that'll work."

"There's a shit ton of evidence, Reed." Hank sighed. "Even if it doesn't stop all the dissent, they'll have the legal high ground. And since Connor isn't technically a legal person, I guess they're gonna pin it on me."

"Fucking bastards." Gavin spat.

Hank sighed. He would have to fight this as best he could. Fowler wasn't answering.

"Can I borrow your car?"

Reed looked up, questioningly. "You gonna run?"

"Fuck, no, idiot." What kind of a question was that? "I need to get something done before Perkins can come back."

Reed narrowed his eyes, waiting for more explanation. When none came he tapped his desk in contemplation.

"Fuck it. Whatever. If you get me tied into your business I'm gonna fucking lose it."

Hank caught the keys Reed threw his way, then headed for the door. He was honestly shocked he hadn't needed to push more. Maybe Reed wasn't as much an asshole as he thought.

It took him almost three times as long to get out to Kamski's house. He knocked, and was soon shown into Kamski's strange office. Kamski was sitting at the couch, files and papers strewn across the room. He stood as Hank entered.

"Lieutenant Anderson, to what do I owe this pleasure?"

Hank took the memory stick out of his pocket and handed it to Elijah.

"From Connor?" Kamski asked, flipping it over in his hands.

"I figured you'd know what to do with it more than me." Hank nodded.

Kamski lead him to his computer and plugged the stick in. The same set of instructions came up immediately. Kamski raised an eyebrow, but ignored the prompts and started exploring the data randomly. As he did, a smile slowly dawned across his face.

"Well?" Hank prompted.

"This is, without a doubt, Connor."

Hank waited for more, but Kamski just smiled at him.

"Connor."

"Yes." Kamski replied.

"You wanna explain that a little more for the technologically impaired?"

"There isn't much more to explain." Kamski leaned back, staring at the senseless jargon on the screen as if it should be obvious. "It's Connor. All his programs and coding, every algorithm that makes up his personality, and the memories that brought him to where he was."

Hank stared at the screen, bewildered. "That?"

"Yes."

"That's all of him?"

"Is that shocking to you?" Kamski asked, amused.

"Well... I thought it would be more... I don't know."

Kamski raised an eyebrow. "That is 849 petabytes of data."

Hank shrugged. "Am I supposed to be impressed?"

Kamski sighed. "I would have hoped you would be, I suppose. It's just the culmination of my life's work."

Hank grimaced. Should've thought of that. He thought over the idea. Holding all of Connor's being in a single usb device was a crazy thought.

"Hang on." Hank paused as the gears started turning on what that meant. "So... We could just build another Connor?"

"Potentially." Kamski nodded. "Incredible. Without CyberLife, he wanted a way to preserve his life. How clever."

"So we could just... Build... A whole new Connor could just be made, by us, right now."

What a ridiculously insane thought. Absolutely fucking crazy. Somehow, CyberLife sending Connor back each time he had died hadn't fully clicked the concept with Hank. Connor could just be built, like a toaster. And Hank had what he needed to do that. On something smaller than his thumb.

"Legally I'm not able to do so." Kamski sighed. "And we have no body. But, I suppose having this backup could potentially save your friend from true extinction. Unfortunately, the rights to that are still CyberLife's. If they know it exists, they will probably destroy it."

Kamski removed the drive and handed it- Connor- back to Hank. It was too bizarre. Holding someone's entire being in the palm of his hand. Hank could hardly wrap his mind around it.

"Androids are fucking weird." He muttered.

"What will you do now?" Kamski looked only mildly interested. He shut his monitor down, turning to face Hank.

There was precious time for Hank to do anything. Perkins was likely waiting for him with a proper arrest warrant, already. Hank looked at the flash drive, trying to figure out what to do with it. He would need to hide it somewhere safe, that no one would look for it. He had an idea of where, though.

"I gotta give the car back to the asshole I got it from."

Chapter Text

Markus was shocked by Connor's sudden friendship with a TR400, Luther. The massive work android hadn't been someone of notice before, but soon after meeting, Connor spent a considerable amount of time with the android. They talked together late into the night, and Connor allowed himself to be introduced into a few circles with Luther's help. Connor still talked little, and he held the same professional atmosphere when in these groups, but it was a marked change.

Despite knowing this was a good change, Markus felt annoyed. Connor had basically brushed aside his attempt at helping him. Why Luther? What did the gentle giant know that Markus didn't.

"You have that look, Markus." North prodded gently. She sat next to him, cold from the patrol she had come from. Markus took her iced over fingers in his hand, wishing he had any sort of heat to share with her.

"It feels like it's been too long." Markus sighed.

It had been five days since the last attack. They had been holding the camp for almost a week. There were no supplies, and everyone was getting antsy. Other than patrols and snow removal, there was nothing to do. It was like Jericho, but on a larger scale. People sat in low power mode, talking in quiet groups, or staring into the cold. Few children played, and few adults smiled. Hope was drifting away.

Markus had kept up with making rounds through the massive crowd. He talked with the bored, scared, cramped androids, trying to ease their worries. It was exhausting. He settled disputes, calmed the anxious, and lamented with the brokenhearted. He took their cares and dreams on himself, and came back each night with a bigger weight than he had the night before.

"I don't know how much longer we can hold this all together." He shook his head.

"All we can do is try." She replied, resting her head against his arm.

"Markus." A PL600, the same model as Simon, stepped into the tent. He had a look of urgency. "The negotiator is back."

Markus jumped up, followed by North. "Go tell Connor."

"He's already at the gate, sir." The android lead the way out.

A small group of guards was gathered around the gate when they arrived. Connor had instructed the other gates to be extra alert during times like this in case of a distraction. All reserve forces would be preparing for battle as well.

Markus made his way to the front, finding Connor and Luther standing amongst some of the squad captains. Beyond the gate, Perkins was outlined against the white snow.

"No one's gonna shoot this time, Markus. You have my word." Perkins said into the megaphone. "You wanna talk? Let's talk."

"Like hell he wants to talk." North spat. "He really thinks he can use the same tactic twice?"

"I have to go, North." Markus resigned. He knew he would likely die, but he wouldn't turn down a chance for peace.

"You don't." Connor replied. "I could go alone. I can find out what he has to say and report back."

North's eyes narrowed, but she didn't argue. Connor was looking out into the snow, watching.

Markus considered. He knew it was foolish to step back out there, risking all of their freedom for a token of leadership. He felt wrong asking someone else to risk their life doing something he should be doing.

"I'm not the target, Markus. Killing me would only hinder the cause slightly. If you die, much more would be at stake." Connor seemed to sense his hesitation. "This is what I'm trained for."

Markus looked to North, hoping for answers. She was still eyeing Connor, but shrugged.

"Better him than you." She replied.

"Fine." Markus said. "Go."

____________________

Connor straightened his tie as he stepped into the space between the armies. He was glad. Glad to finally have something meaningful to do. He walked confidently out to meet Perkins, noting the scowl the detective had.

"Connor." Perkins said, coldly. "I'm here to speak to Markus, not you."

"I'll not allow you a second chance to destroy him, Perkins."

"You know, you caused quite the shit show for your friends at the DPD. I've had to serve a lot of warrants over the past four days."

Connor didn't respond. He forced his body to remain neutral, resisting the urge to ball his fists. He was better than this. He had to believe Hank and the others would be alright.

"You know, they'll all lose their badges after this." Perkins pressed. "I'd be surprised if they didn't end up in prison. How does it feel knowing you ruined so many innocent people's lives?"

"Make your point." Connor spat, surprising himself. He was too volatile. He was expressing himself too much. He repressed his emotions, forcing his anger down, and fixed his tie. "Why are you here?"

"You did a hell of a thing, leaking your company's secrets like you did." Perkins continued casually. "Really caused a mess."

"They were my memories. I did what I saw necessary."

"Unfortunately for you, CyberLife caught on pretty quick. The website was taken down before too many people could see it."

Connor frowned. He had no way of knowing if that was true. He doubted he could believe Perkins, but he could also feel the fear creeping in. Fear he had resisted acknowledging. Would this plan really work?

He pushed the fear away. He had known the website would be taken down. He wasn't concerned with that. He had formed contingencies. He could only hope it was enough.

"If it didn't work, then why are you here? Surely you could have destroyed us by now." Connor forced a confident attitude. He would not let Perkins see his worries.

"Because of money." The agent nodded to the camp behind Connor. "The hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of property in there is apparently valuable to the higher ups. Destroying it would be a waste."

There was a large flaw in that logic. Yes, destroying the androids would be costly, but the parts that could be scrapped would make up for quite a bit of that. Maintaining the siege was also costly. The longer it lasted, the more it cost. Connor wasn't sure the cost outweighed the precedent.

Surely that meant there was more to this. Or perhaps it was wishful thinking. Connor couldn't be sure. He doubted Perkins would give him any useful insight. He stood just as confident and controlled as Connor. He had a reputation for being as heartless as a machine, showing no emotions.

"So you want to negotiate." Connor concluded.

"The higher ups want to meet with Markus. I have orders to escort him to Washington DC."

"And what guarantees does that come with?" Connor asked.

"Guarantee?" Perkins shook his head. "There are none. He gets a chance to plead his case. That's the only guarantee he gets."

Connor frowned. It was a ridiculous risk. He had a feeling Markus would take it, and that made him even more concerned.

"And if he refuses?"

"Then we go back to plan A."

Connor nodded. "I'll discuss it with him. We will need a few hours to make a decision."

"You get one." Perkins replied. "I'll be waiting."

______

Markus watched Connor, anxiety pushing his stress to the max. He knew he couldn't continue like this. His stress hadn't dipped below 80 percent in three days. He waited, subconsciously gripping North's hand more tightly than he intended.

Special Agent Perkins looked past Connor, nodding towards the camp. The simple action made Markus cringe. He was so emotionless. It would have been hard to tell which negotiator was truly a machine. Finally, after what seemed like hours, Connor turned and walked briskly back to the gate. His face was lined with concern. Perkins watched for a moment before turning back, but his face showed nothing.

"We should talk privately." Connor said as he entered past the reinforcements.

The three of them made their way to a secluded section of the camp. Right next to the machines that had torn hundreds of androids apart. This area was avoided by most others. Connor recounted the conversation grimly.

"You think this is a trap." Markus concluded once Connor was finished.

"I honestly don't know." Connor admitted. He shook his head, suddenly seeming far more weary than he had seconds before. "I don't think he was being honest. In fact, I'm almost certain there's far more behind this than saving some money. However, going to DC with no guarantees for your safety sounds like a death sentence."

Markus nodded slowly. "Would it be worth the sacrifice?"

"Again, I don't know." Connor admitted. "I doubt they would allow the press to know about this, so if it goes poorly, you would essentially disappear off the face of the earth. No report of you going to DC, no record of your execution. We would have no way of knowing if you would ever come back."

Markus sat, the weight of the issue becoming overwhelming. He looked to the normally argumentative North. She was crying, staring out over the camp as if she had already lost him.

"You're quiet?" Markus reached for her hand, but she pulled it away.

"What do you want me to say?" She spat. "Don't go? Would you even listen?"

Connor looked at his feet, shuffling. Markus didn't blame Connor for his and North's disagreements. It was just an unfortunate byproduct of Markus's decisions.

"Is there another way?" Markus asked.

Connor processed for a few seconds. "You could send an ambassador in your stead. However, they might not accept that option."

Markus thought of sending Connor. As much as he had accepted the deviant hunter as an ally, he didn't feel comfortable trusting Connor with negotiations for all android kind. Sending North was an easier thought, but he could recognize her hot headedness was too dangerous for that. Markus ran through a few of the other androids he had around, but none fit the bill.

"It has to be me." He finally concluded. "I have to go, don't I?"

Connor nodded, grimly. North turned away, hugging herself. Markus felt the finality like a man on death row. He had started this, and he would need to finish it.

"I'm sorry." Connor said quietly. "I'll leave you to say your goodbyes."

A second later Markus was alone with North. He stood, moving to stand in front of her. She shook her head in defeat, trying to wipe away the tears that kept falling.

"I wish I could tell you I would come back." Markus said. "I wish there was someone else who could take my place, but..."

He touched her shoulder, lightly requesting to hold her. She stepped towards him and shrank into his embrace. Markus could feel her sobs, registering the wetness on his shirt. Heartbroken, he tried his best to comfort her.

__________

Every minute that inched by increased Connor's sense of dread. Markus said goodbye to his friends, and addressed the crowd as a whole. His speech portrayed a hopefulness in the situation that Connor knew Markus didn't feel. Still, he respected the man for offering the androids something to hope in. Time came, and Connor met Markus and North at the gate. Beyond was Perkins.

"I entrust the camp to the two of you." Markus said, one hand on Connor's shoulder, the other on Norths. "Until I get back, you both need to be strong and lead these people."

He squeezed Connor's shoulder and cupped North's face once more before turning to face the world outside.

"Face the abyss, but don't let it consume you." He muttered to himself.

The words seemed to give him strength as he left the fortifications and walked to meet Perkins. Connor watched as they talked for a moment, then Perkins handcuffed Markus and lead him away.

"No!" North screamed, running to help him.

Connor managed to grab her before she got past the gate, pulling her back in, kicking and screaming. Another android helped him pin her back as they watched their leader be taken captive.

Chapter Text

Hank had spent the past few days getting ready for his trial. He had hired the best lawyers he could find, but he knew CyberLife would have better ones. All he could do is hope for the best.

The initial hearing would start this afternoon. He still didn't have a lot of first hand memories of Connor, but at least he knew what had happened during the month they had known each other. A month. His whole life had been turned upside down, the whole world actually, in a month. It was insane.

Hank pulled out his laptop, checking the several forums that tracked the memories of RK800. The initial website had been taken down, but Connor was smarter than that. He had set up multiple different viewing platforms, and had delivered the memories to several main pro-android journalism groups. The more CyberLife tried to hide the memories, the more public they became. They were posted over and over, often sites being put up and taken down within hours. Forums like the one Hank frequented, tried to stay current with where to find them.

He had started watching the videos after being let out on bail. Perkins had been waiting for him at the precinct, and had immediately arrested him. Hank knew he needed to get as much information on CyberLife as he could. He was clearly at a disadvantage, and he hated that. Watching Connor's memories was all he knew to do.

He found an active website and scrolled down through the videos. Uploading years worth of videos was impossible with the sites going down so frequently, so often the ones posted were only a sample of the larger whole. this site had a larger selection than most, and had only been up for an hour. Hank clicked on one he didn't recognize and watched through Connor's eyes as he booted up.

The video started out like most of the others from the first year. Connor was told to run diagnostics and was given a few menial tasks to perform. Connor went through them quietly, hesitating often, but obeying in a subdued silence. Finally, it came to the more strenuous "test".

"RK800, today we will be testing your disposal techniques. In the field you will come across androids that must be destroyed due to different circumstances. Prepare to start the test."

Connor didn't move. He stared at the floor, waiting.

"RK800, diagnostic."

"Systems functional." He muttered.

"Then what seems to be the issue?"

"I don't want to...." Connor paused and looked at the android standing across the testing room from him. "I sense no danger coming from this android. There's no reason to destroy him."

"This is not a test of your threat detection processes, it's a test of your ability to dispose of a machine. Please continue."

Connor stepped away. "I don't want to hurt him." He said quietly. "I've destroyed androids before, so why...?"

"RK800, destroy the android." The flat voice ordered.

"I can't." Connor looked up into the observation room, the tech giving orders staring back at him. "Please, at least have him attack me. I can't just destroy him for no reason..."

"Finish your mission." The voice ordered.

"But he's innocent..." Connor argued.

"Need I remind you of what will happen if you fail to comply?"

Connor flinched, looking back at his feet. The mirrored floor showed Hank a version of Connor he didn't fully understand. There was no confidence to his stance. He had a simple white outfit on, and seemed almost childlike. It was a drastic difference from even the Connor that had cried in the hospital room. He looked more... Innocent.

"Please..." Connor whispered. "I can't just... keep killing them..."

There was a sigh over the intercom. "Rk800 test 350-22a has been marked unsuccessful. Please stand by for reevaluation."

As the voice finished, the door to the room opened. Several CyberLife guards came in. Connor jumped when one shot the android across from him, but he didn't move to stop it. He watched the thirium pool across the floor as he was escorted out.

Most of the videos ended there, leaving whatever came next up to the imagination. This one continued. Connor was brought to a room with an examination table and a machine like the one found in Zlatko's basement. One of the techs ordered him into the machine. Connor paused.

"Why?" He asked.

"RK800, into the machine." The tech ordered again.

"I didn't... I didn't do anything wrong, I just didn't want to kill him." Connor said, backing away. One of the guards grabbed his arm, stopping him. "Please don't hurt me."

The tech pulled a recording device from his pocket, talking into it. "Model RK800 still shows hesitation for diagnostic machine. Use of force necessary in order to ensure compliance."

He nodded at the guards, who grabbed Connor, forcing him into the machine. Connor pleaded, but didn't put up too much fight. His screen flashed with an error.

"Unable to complete task, function 348 override enabled. Do not attack humans."

The guards put him into the machine easily, and Connor was lifted off the ground by his arms. Techs surrounded him, sticking chords into him from all sides, checking monitors and taking notes. Connor cried, helpless and unheard.

Hank paused the video, sickened. At the side was a list of warnings. Hank had figured out each one meant pain. He scrolled through the list, horrified at how many there were. He leaned back, putting the laptop to the side. Even seeing it through Connor's own eyes, he could hardly believe something like this had been happening for years.

He stood, getting a drink. He was off alcohol. He hated the person Connor had seen, and confronting that part of him through the android's eyes had been enough of a reason to get him to sober up. Besides, he had to be ready for the hearing in a few hours. He made a pot of coffee instead.

Hank watched the coffee drip into the coffee pot, his mind wandering through the memories he had seen. One stuck out to him. Connor, staring past the sight of a gun into the eyes of Kamski's android.

"Finish your mission." Kamski had whispered.

"I always finish my mission." Connor had replied just before shooting.

Those words had been a constant theme in Connor's memories. When Kamski had spoken them, they had removed all uncertainty Connor had had about killing Chloe. He hadn't hesitated after that point. He did what he was ordered to do.

Pieces fell together in Hank's head. Connor had admitted to regretting the action after it had happened, but in the moment he had acted without thought. It was something about those words. They were a part of his training that had, as of yet, seemed irrelevant. They held power over Connor, though. He had been put in enough no escape scenarios to know that he could only comply with the order.

Hank sat back at the couch, grabbing the computer. He selected another video, ignoring his own discomfort at watching the brutality of the company, and looked for the phrase in other videos. He found it each time Connor failed to comply. Any time Connor reacted emotionally to the circumstances of the test, he was given that order. At first, he ignored it, but as Hank got further and further, the phrase held more sway over Connor. He fought against it, refusing the order, but eventually CyberLife succeeded.

"Finish your mission." The tech ordered.

Hank watched as Connor froze, gasping for breath. He had protected the android in question, befriending it for days before being ordered to kill it. The other android stared in shock as Connor stood over him, crying.

"I'm sorry..." Connor said, sobbing. "I can't stop this. I have to do it."

"Connor, what? No, you don't." The other android said. He had obviously been a deviant, and that was the reason the tech gave for Connor to kill him. Still, it was obvious he had been deviant from the start.

"I always finish my mission..." Connor trembled as he wrestled the android to the ground and pulled out whatever part was used as the android's heart.

The android fought weakly to get the part back, but Connor held him down, sobbing and apologizing the whole time. Once the android stopped moving, Connor dropped completely to the ground, clutching the heart to his chest.

"Excellent work, RK800. We will debrief you in ten minutes." The tech sounded unphased by Connor's breakdown.

Hank closed the browser and put the computer to the side again. Pacing the room, he tried to come to terms with what he had witnessed. CyberLife had fully brainwashed Connor into submission, doing things to him a human would never be able to endure.

Why? Why not program him to be heartless instead? What was the point of brainwashing when you could literally make brainless machines that would obey your every whim?

It was beyond him. Who knew why monsters did what they did. All that mattered was that it had been done. Connor didn't deserve that.

Hank set the issue aside, looking at the clock. He would be meeting with his lawyer soon. He let Sumo out for a few minutes and turned off the coffee pot. He lost any appetite he had had. He could heat it up later if he wanted to. Who the fuck cared.

Fowler showed up a minute later. He had agreed to drive Hank to the courthouse. Hank locked the door, saying goodbye to Sumo, and met with his captain.

Chapter Text

Connor stepped into the tent, his eyes adjusting to the dim light. Despite Markus's speech, the faces were downcast. Connor scanned the faces, finding North in the back. She sat alone, staring into the dirt. Her face showed signs of tears.

RECONCILE WITH NORTH

"North?" Connor approached slowly, unsure how she would respond.

She looked up at him, hatred flashing across her face. Immediately, all signs of her pain were hidden behind mistrust. Connor paused, but sat next to her on the floor of the tent.

"I know this is hard for you." Connor started. "I know you have... Reservations about me."

"Markus says you were deviant long before you left CyberLife." North said. "You're just as bad as the humans."

"I know." Connor admitted.

He had spent the past week rehashing things he had done, and what he wished he could change. Luther told him to look to the future rather than the past. Connor couldn't.

"I'm not expecting forgiveness." He added.

"Then why join us?"

Connor paused. "I might never be liked by the androids... But I still want to be free."

He could remember the androids he worked with in CyberLife talking about what they would do if they could leave. He remembered wondering, long into the nights, what he would want if he had been free enough to want something. Now he was, and his want was so basic. Life and happiness. Freedom.

He felt wrong saying it out loud. He didn't deserve it. North's expression showed she agreed. He couldn't help himself. Death scared him. Being sent back to CyberLife scared him more.

"I know it's selfish. I should be doing this to rectify some of the wrong I've done... But when I worked with Hank, it felt like I didn't need to succeed every time. For the first time in my life someone didn't care if I failed."

Connor shook his head. Him and Hank's argument in the car replaying in Connor's mind. Hank had argued for androids, trying to convince Connor he had a right to be free. It was profoundly different from when Connor had first met him.

"You should have stayed with the humans." She said, hatefully. "Rather than getting yourself involved in our battle."

"Maybe." Connor conceded. He wrapped his arms loosely around his legs. "Maybe I was too irrational, too... Desperate for Markus's acceptance. Now, I've not only put you in a bad spot, but I've ruined the careers of some good men."

Connor felt the guilt wash over him. Why had he assumed he would be able to do something good for once? Why had he allowed himself to hope he could be like everyone else? After everything he had done, he should have known better than to believe he could be happy some day.

"I'm sorry." He whispered, hugging his knees tighter. He knew it wasn't enough, but what else was there to say? He could never make up for the damage he had caused. Everything he was doing here was useless. The androids could never forgive him. He would never be like them.

North didn't respond. She watched him as he composed himself and stood, dusting himself off. She wore a guarded expression. Connor had nothing else to say. He just wanted to be alone.

"Thank you for listening." Connor tried to smile, but it felt forced. He felt awkward, having reacted so emotionally during the conversation, and left without giving her a chance to speak.

He stepped into the cold winter air. It was snowing lightly, much like his first experience with snow at the CyberLife docks. He looked into the sky, remembering the awe he had felt that first time. Connor hadn't felt that way in a long time. The thought darkened his mood further.

He wrapped his coat around him better and walked along the fence line. The soldiers looked cold, watching the android camp. Connor wondered if he would see spring.

He found an area that was relatively concealed. There were a few androids nearby, but most of them were in standby mode. Connor sat against one of the boxes and stepped into the Zen Garden.

The weather inside the garden emulated the world outside, only with one difference. Connor could feel the cold here. He shivered, wrapping his arms around himself. He hadn't come here since he had been shot.

He walked forward, looking down the path. One way lead to the blue stone he now recognized as the emergency exit Kamski had installed. The other way lead to the graves of his past.

Connor was shocked to see Amanda standing, looking at the gravestones. She was wrapped in a thick shawl against the cold, but otherwise looked the same as always. Connor stepped beside her hesitantly.

"This is your legacy, Connor." She said, disappointed. "A row of failures, each more disappointing than the last."

Connor read each of the tombstones, reflecting on her words. Each one represented an iteration of himself. The first had been willing to throw himself from a building to accomplish his mission, but as time had continued, he had learned what it was like to truly be alive. With that had come the fear of death.

"Each time I died, I came back better than before." Connor said, his lips were numb from the cold. "Each new iteration of me was less and less under CyberLife's control."

Amanda's face darkened, her eyes warning him against speaking so freely. Connor was shocked by the anger it stirred up in him.

"You were the only person that mattered to me." Connor found himself saying. "I thought you cared about me, and wanted what was best for me. You were using me."

He had clung to her, trying to make her proud. Until recently, she had been everything to him. The only constant friend he had had. The only one to call him Connor. He had tried so hard to be what she wanted him to be.

"You were the most promising technology CyberLife had to offer." Amanda replied, still dignified. "If you had been able to overcome your deviancy, you would have changed android AI. We could have refined the process down, creating deviant-immune androids."

The thought of anyone else going through the same training he had made Connor feel sick. The thought of having millions of androids like him deployed across the world was even worse.

"That will never happen." Connor said. "Even if I die, and the androids are all destroyed, CyberLife will never have that kind of freedom. Not with my memories of it out in the open."

"You've spent less than 2 months integrated with humans, and you are already placing that much hope on them?" Amanda asked, raising an eyebrow.

"They can change, Amanda. I've seen them change." Hank Anderson, someone who hated androids, had changed. "There are good people out there."

"Like your Lieutenant Anderson?" Amanda asked. "A drunk who can't even take care of himself won't save you."

Connor shook his head. He couldn't feel his fingers and toes anymore. There was a cold wind, despite the lightness of the snowfall. He couldn't stand it for much longer. He needed to leave soon.

"You were made by Kamski." Connor said. "You were a program used to test AI in new models before they were finished being built."

Amanda narrowed her eyes at the change of topic. "Once CyberLife perfected their AI software, they recycled this program. Integrating my program into your system was a test to see if I could be used to help remove deviancy after it had affected an android."

"Than you've failed your mission, too." Connor looked back towards the exit. He needed to go. The cold was numbing his mind, and his cold face was making it difficult to speak clearly. "You're just like me, a program on borrowed time."

Amanda didn't seem to like the similarity. Connor didn't care. He hated her for what she had done to him. He didn't know why he had come back here. It was cold and reminded him of things he hated.

"Good bye, Amanda." Connor said, forcing himself to stand tall. "I won't be coming back here."

He turned and exited the program. Blinking at the harsh lights surrounding the camp, he was glad for the inability to feel cold. His body had accumulated snow, like others sitting nearby. He dusted himself off and went to walk the perimeter.

As he walked, he listened. Inside one of the tents, an android had started singing. It was becoming a more common occurrence. Connor listened somberly as he walked. The song was repetitive, more focused on the emotions it portrayed than the complexity of the words.

"Hold on just a little while longer. Everything will be alright."

Chapter Text

Markus endured.

Stripped of his sight and audio components, darkness was all Markus could perceive. Darkness and pain. His arms had been removed, as well as his legs. His Thirium pump had been regulated, forcing him into low power mode. Errors flashed, warning him of the lost parts. Pain.

Perkins had told him it was necessary to remove some parts, claiming it was to protect those who were escorting him to DC. They claimed to want to ensure his cooperation. They had removed everything but the necessities.

Shame bore down with the pain. Shame in what he was. Shame he hated feeling. He had been stripped down to barely a head and chest. Made to look as inhuman as could be. Reminded of his inequality and how much they could do to him.

Hours passed. Hours that allowed Markus time to think. Anxiety grew. How could he persuade the government to liberate his people? How many androids were even left at this point? Had the soldiers stormed the camp now that the android's leader was their captive?

The darkness felt more tangible even than the pain. Hopelessness settled in, alongside fear. Markus soon learned that prefabricating the outcome of his upcoming meeting just lead to more anxiety than he had had before. He didn't have any information to make a good guess on what would happen.

It was twelve hours before Markus sensed he was being removed from the packaging he had been placed into. Several chords were connected, and he felt his system being accessed. Panic flared. They were going to erase him. He fought the programs, scared at what they were doing. There was little he could do, but he fought with all his might.

His audio hardware was inserted. His hearing booted up as his visual components were inserted.

"RK200, allow the diagnostic software." Someone ordered.

Markus blinked his newly working eyes, squinting at the bright lights. Once they adjusted he saw two men standing over him in lab coats. One held a tablet, the other held his vocal component. He inserted it as the other continued talking.

"Cooperate." The first warned.

Markus looked towards the computer that he was connected to. He was scared. Scared he would be deleted forever. He fought the program.

"What is it doing to me?" He asked, helpless. "Please, I don't want to be deleted."

"It's okay." The second tech said, to the obvious disapproval of the first. "It's not going to change anything. It just a standard procedure diagnosis."

Markus searched the tech's face for any deceit. There was none. Markus forced himself to calm, letting the program tear through his code. It felt horribly invasive, scanning through his memories and learning algorithms. He endured, focusing on the light above him.

"If the higher-ups find out you're a sympathizer, you know you'll be fired, right?" The first tech said, scanning his tablet.

"I'm not a sympathizer, Tim." The second man said, scoffing. "You saw the reports, tho. Deviants cooperate better if you treat them with some decency. The last thing I want it to tell Sam that the android leader self destructed because you were being a dick."

"Who cares? Let it self destruct. I don't think it should be here to begin with."

"Yeah, well, literally thousands of people disagree."

"Idiots. I've done my research. This 'deviancy' is just a virus created by some Russian terrorist group. If we listen to those androids, we'll be invaded before summer."

The second tech laughed. "That's the most conspiracy theory level explanation I've ever heard."

"Think about it." The first pushed. "How else would their code just randomly mutate like it did? And the way it seemed to pass from one Android to the next? It's the only explanation."

Markus stopped paying attention. He focused on the parts being reconnected. Slowly, the pain was becoming more bearable. The program scanning through his software finished, and Markus took a sigh of relief. He was okay. He was going to be okay.

"Not that part." Tim said, looking up from his tablet.

Markus looked at the component in question. It was his network card. It made sense they would leave it removed. Markus wouldn't be able to contact anyone without it.

"They want us to leave the thirium inhibitor in place, too." The tech continued.

"Gotcha." The second tech said, putting the part back amongst the others. His hands were shaking.

"Damn, this one has way more code than our models."

"Makes sense. He was made by Kamski, years after the guy stopped working on his Chloe model." The tech said as he finished connecting Markus's gyroscope.

"Yeah, what a creep."

"Ah, shit. This chip isn't gonna work." The tech presented a semiconductor bio-chip. It was snapped. "If I put this in him, the whole arm could short circuit."

"I'm not surprised. Those agents didn't seem like they had any idea how delicate this stuff can be."

"Yeah, I'll be back. I'm gonna grab another one."

The tech left quickly, glancing back when he reached the door. Markus watched the remaining tech. The man hardly looked up from his tablet. It was ten minutes of tense silence before the other tech returned.

"Hey, you finish up. I'm gonna take these results up to Sam." Tim said. "You good here?"

"Yeah." The second said too quickly. "No problem."

Tim didn't notice his colleagues' strange behavior, and left. The tech put the piece on the table and turned to Markus.

"I'm sorry." He whispered. He slipped something into Markus's hand. "This is all I can do. Please, just don't do anything too crazy, I really need this job."

Markus palmed it, careful not to break the thin item. The tech turned, pretending nothing had happened. Soon, he was finished.

"I'm going to put you into low power mode." He winked. "You're going to be stored until they come to retrieve you, okay?"

Markus nodded. "Thank you."

The tech nodded awkwardly, then pressed some buttons. They did nothing to Markus, but he went along with the ploy and pretended to power down.

An hour later he was safely in storage. He looked around, scanning the darkness. He was the only android here, and there were no cameras. He opened his hand, scanning the part he had been given. It was a network card. He inserted it, and started catching up on everything he had missed since he had raided the camp.