Warning: Spoilers to That Cheap and Scarce Thing- a visual novle more information about the subject matter down below in the Authors notes.

The kiss, even if done from a spur of the moment want or from a sense of duty- to grant him his dying wish. Was short. It was short and sweet, almost everything Autumn could've dreamt for in a first kiss. Jude didn't force her to rush faster or kiss deeper- he just rested his only working hand on her hip and kissed back tenderly.

It all ended so quickly...

With flying sparks and the smell of burnt metal, he was gone. His red eyes turning dull as he went slack against her, finally powering down. Her cheeks were still wet, no matter how hard she scrubbed the tears away new ones would replace the old. No matter what she did she couldn't stop crying. Snot dripped out of her nose as she hastily scrambled for her discarded blue hoodie to wipe it onto, to gain some form of control over herself.

"I'm a murder." Autumn choked out weakly, voice raw. Even if Zoe's response to her blubbering would be that, "it was just a stupid machine." She just couldn't- Zoe was wrong about androids. Jude was alive, he was alive and he knew it, how Autumn convinced him he was or showed him what free will was she didn't know. Somehow she showed him what living was or at least pushed him in the right direction...

Autumn's fingers curled around where Jude's main hard drive was and with all the strength left in her weeping body, yanked the machinery out. She held his hard drive in her hands, clutching it tightly to the point where she almost bled. Relaxing her fingers she stared at the indentions the metal made on her skin as if in a trance-like state.

"I have to get rid of the evidence." When Autumn spoke she was taken aback by how different she sounded. It didn't sound like her voice, it sounded hollow. Dead. She felt numb but at the same time, she felt so many feelings at once- and wasn't that a contradiction in itself!

How could Zoe stand to even raise a hand to her MyPals and at such a young age too? It was hard enough for Autumn to swing this bat at Jude and to listen to Zoe talk about how she trashed her mypals on the daily- as if it was an accomplishment, (to some it would be mypals were extremely durable and to break one was impressive show of strength.) as if her reasoning to do such a thing were valid.

"To test if they would still forgive her my ass," she muttered as she stood on weak legs. Jude was nothing but nice to her, he didn't deserve this fate. Still, Elly came first, she was her first friend, the only person who mattered in her life Autumn loved her, would do anything for her!

Before her thoughts could go down that one road again- to a place where she was afraid to admit, to admit of her sexuality, to admit she wasn't as straight as she thought she dropped the hard drive to the ground. Using the tip of the bat she smashed it into the drive over and over again counting the dull thuds she heard until it was shattered completely. Scooping the shards up Autumn sprinkled them into his chest in an attempt to make it not look as obvious that this was done to destroy that in particular. Though she was starting to have a thick sense of dread curl in the pit of her stomach at the realization that, if the police looked hard enough it would be obvious that someone ripped the hard drive out. Or would it? Was she just worrying too much about it and making it bigger then it seemed? Maybe she should have left the hard drive inside and smashed the bat against instead of ripping it out... But she wanted to make sure it was completely destroyed and she couldn't do that unless she ripped it out to be sure nothing could be reconstructed.

With a worried heavy, mind Autumn was left to clean the room which was done meticulously so nothing could connect her to the crime. She hadn't been in the room long so it was quite easy to clean up and go. She was positive that nothing was left behind. At least to the best of her abilities. She even scoured the floor for stray hairs that could have fallen off her head and onto the floor! Doing one last sweep and coming up empty handed she headed for the window wiping the frame as she left with a towel she snatched from the bathroom. With her snot rag of a hoodie wrapped around her middle, she shimmying down the fire escape and into the alleyway below. In her left, she held the bat and the towel was thrown over her shoulder. She could throw it away here, but that thought was a fleeting one she kept everything on her person deciding she would get rid of the evidence later after she got home.

It was hard getting back to the hotel she originally stayed in, by now it was 5 pm it was three when she started but she waisted an entire hour in that hotel room destroying Jude and cleaning up. She was just thankful that the other hotel was close by and that before she left she remembered to leave the window open so she could get back in. Quickly gathering the leftover pizza she was about to leave the room when she realized, it would look suspicious to have a bat just out in the open like this. A rusted bent out of shape bat that whoever was at the front desk at the time they checked in wouldn't remember her bringing in. Thank whatever higher power was out there that the place her friends booked her was cheap as hell and didn't have cameras.

Who knew she'd be thankful for staying in a dusty, dirty motel for once?

In the end, she decided to just go for it and made her hoodie into a bag to carry the bat in along with the motel's cheap soaps. Might as well take them along right? Before she left she cleaned herself up not wanting to draw any unnecessary attention with her red eyes and snotty nose. Once clean and presentable she left the room, trying to appear as calm as possible even though on the inside she was freaking out.

The trip back home was done in a haze, she didn't even respond to Mary's greeting. Not that it mattered, Mary didn't care, she never cared. Not that it was her fault but... Autumn hated that- hated having to talk to her or interact with her when Mary was nothing but an empty shell. She was full of possibilities within her but Cheryl kept that at bay. She sometimes wondered if her mother knew that she was the cause to Elly's malfunction, that it was all her fault, that Tessa wouldn't have died if Elly didn't love her as much as she did. It seemed like a ludicrous thought, Cheryl never hid her spite from her, and if she actively did something wrong Cheryl was always there to point out her mistakes. If it was as something as big as this- with someone dying, she's sure Cheryl would only keep it a secret to keep her own name clean but punish Autumn viciously for it. She wondered sometimes what her dad was like and how he could have loved a woman like Cheryl. Chyral was spiteful bitter a workaholic a person who blamed a child for losing her promotion. Was Cheryl different then? Was she more loving to her father? All Autumn knew of him was that he was a family man, he had asked Cheryl over and over again for a child even saying they could adopt.

This was the most information she'd gotten out of Cheryl and that was because she was drunk.

Autumn didn't blame Cheryl for her bitterness, she was a mistake, after all, not wanted by her own mother, only loved by her father. Cheryl never knew that he would die and leave her curing his existence with a baby she didn't even want. This is what happened when women, were forced to conform to the norm of society by being forced to have children. People are left surprised when the mother doesn't suddenly gain motherly instinct after the kid is born. That's how so many kids like her get hurt, how they get left only with their mypals all day for entertainment.

"Autumn."

Mary's monotone voice breaks her out of her thoughts, alerting her to the ring of the smartphone and to the fact she has just been standing in the middle of her room staring at the wall.

"Your phone is ringing, Autumn. It reads that it is Nadiya."

With a quick, "thank you, you can leave now." Mary left as fast as she appeared, leaving Autumn with the ringing phone. She took this time to drop the soaps in the corner while her hoodie was set in the laundry basket; then placing the crooked bat against her bedside table. Throwing the pizza box haphazardly onto her desk, she grabbed her smartphone. It was one of the older models, Cheryl didn't want to pay too much money for it after having to buy her a new mypal.

Not that Mary was new, she was second hand as well as the phone.

Both cheap, affordable and easy to get.

Flopping onto the bed she pressed accept and was met with a chorus of voices. Looks like she'd have to correct Mary- It wasn't just Nadiya it was her Zoe and Rick. All asking annoying questions and squabbling with each other all determined to be the loudest and get their questions answered first. Well, Rick and Zoe where Nadiya was more soft-spoken at times, even if she yelled you wouldn't be able to hear it.

After the night she had though, she felt close to snapping at them and telling them to shut up.

Zoe had to be the worst of the bunch.

"So did you finally get laid~," She asked in a sing-song tone of voice, making Rick choke on his own spit in the background while Nadiya asked in sincerer confusion. "I thought we weren't going to ask her up front like that?" I could practically see Zoe's eyes roll over the phone. "As if Nadi I want the sweet details."

She sincerely hoped that her, "unimpressed expression" could be felt over the phone. Apparently not as Rick oh so helpfully stuttered out, "W-What so you're going to ask our friend if it felt good? Isn't that a bit too personal?"

His words made her groan inwardly, what was him and obsession with her pleasure- even if he so apparently seemed against asking her of it. The conversation last night came to mind, of the group teasing him about him having feelings for her and all around brushing it under the rug after... She suddenly got a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach, for a second she thought that maybe she would throw up her pizza. Not that Rick was a bad guy but, for him to like her that way? Was he messing with her, where they messing with her? This just felt like bating, as if he wanted to talk about this but he didn't want to make it obvious that he wanted to and pretended to be against it. The very thought of this all being a ploy made her shudder in disgust, she hated those underhanded tricks to get what you wanted- these little mind games that always spun her head around in circles.

"Well duh if I wasn't going too you were, and you were going to do it in a creepy way." Zoe was starting to allude to it again and she's not sure if she could take it without actually throwing up in worry. "You were the most insistence, not to mention excited to get her this gift! What does that say about you?" Rick began to stutter and stumble all over himself- if it was yesterday she would have laughed all this off, pretend that nothing was wrong and try to dodge questions, but now with blood roaring through her ears she opened her mouth and said-

"How could I get "laid" if he's just plastic and metal? Ask me that again when I'm dating a real guy Zo."

It was suppose to come off as jokingly to get them to switch their attention to something else. Instead, it came off cold and harsh, harsher then she meant it too.

There was a pause for a beat then a- "Shit Autumn it's close enough for a real guy ain't it?"

"Not by your standers Zo. Don't you remember what you said last night? That androids were just stupid machines, so if I even slept with him it wouldn't have counted he was just a walking talking dildo that doesn't matter in the end."

Zoe instead of talking social queue's and noticing my tone of voice jumped on the words 'if I slept with him.' "I knew it! So you did sleep with him, I knew you had it in you grandma!" She almost sounded proud. If it was yesterday maybe she would've laughed or rolled her eyes. Not today. After what she's done she wasn't putting up with this.

"I didn't fuck him, Zoe, we went to the movies, had pizza then we went back to the hotel room. I shooed him off so I could sleep since some people" she growled out people, unable to contain her disdain. "Forced me into a hotel room with him."

The other end was silent, deadly so. Maybe it finally got through their thick skulls that she didn't want to have a one-night fling with some sex android, that whenever she had her first time it would be special and with someone, she loved, loved like Elly-. "If you're all so interested in my damn sex life and my pleasure then gets me a fucking dildo next time- it's way cheaper then an AmorBot." She spat out into the silence since nothing else was said itching to get some frustration out.

A few more moments passed until Nadiya's soft voice came warbling out from the other end. "I'm sorry Autumn, we just wanted you to have a fun time."

"Yeah chill out god it sounds like something crawled up your ass and died." Zoe spat back, like a whip tone dismissive. It was just her way to calm the situation by ignoring it and continue forward and forgetting about it entirely. It was an unhealthy coping mechanism but who was Autumn to judge, she had her own just as unhealthy ways of coping too.

"It was okay. I didn't have a bad time but it was honestly a waste of your guy's money. You all knew I wasn't going to have sex with him." She couldn't pinpoint her exact feelings or what she was trying to get across to them. She sounded mix parts defeated, tired, and upset. She was too tired to yell at them but aggravated enough to want to try. Though it would all just go down in flames if she did yell at them. She's just thankful enough that she held her tongue and didn't spit out one of the fleeting thoughts she had, which was to rudely turn Rick down. Which would be mean- she wasn't even sure if he liked her that way or not, no matter how damning the evidence was she wasn't going to outright say no until he asked, not wanting to embarrass him in front of their friend group. Even though at this very moment she had that itch to do so, to be mean and nasty, to lash out at them all, hurt them in any possible way. They didn't deserve it, after all, they spent so much money, on her all people. It made her feel guilty as if she owed them something back for it- what that thing could be she wasn't sure.

"We were hoping you'd get curious or something grandma, you must be so pent up, fingers can only do so much. I know you've got to be aching for something bigger to be inside of you." There was a click on the other end signaling that someone left the call. Before she could even ask she had an idea who it was, he always got embarrassed when the talk of "womenly" parts came to life. He'd always awkwardly leave and make a run for it if they were having what he called "girl talk" she thought that was really small-minded of him, not all girls had vaginas and not all boys had penises after all.

"Zoe stop being crude you scared Rick off," Nadiya chided not seeming to care of Zoe's said crudness. Not that she would, she bought out AmorBots by the dozens all the time to go have fun with. Everyone knew her as a sex feen and she was even teased for it, others asking her why she didn't just buy one of the companies if she was using AmorBots so often.

"Not my fault the guy gets squeamish at the thought of a woman touching herself. He seriously needs to grow up, if he stayed for once he'd learn how to please a girl."

"Zoe..."

This was it, that was the last straw, she felt humiliated by Zoe and wanted this conversation to end. She contemplated hanging up the phone, they'd be pissed at her sure- Zoe would be the one who would be the most upset, Nadiya would be a little hurt by it but hopefully, she would respect it. Then again if Nadiya wasn't listening to her last night she would be confused- not that she wouldn't listen out maliciousness, she was just oblivious to other peoples feelings on things.

"We know better, next time when you're eighteen we'll get you a dildo okay!" Nadiya said it all so cheerfully and with too much conviction to think she was saying just to calm her. Not that Nadiya would be the type to say something, she was very blunt and forward with her thoughts and feelings on things. Nadiya's words only gained a half-hearted snort from Autumn. The last thing that she wanted from them was a sex toy actually, she just wanted to get away from the three of them for a while to sort through her feelings.

They would never know how their actions had affected her, nither how that night with Jude and Elly changed her...

It was the best and worst night of her life. Yes, It changed her but changed her how? She's not even sure, though she does know now she had the power to show an android was freedom was, what choice was. She was going to test this new found skill out more, on what she's not sure maybe on the more public working androids so she's not connected back to it if she did it to a friends android. She definitely can't do it to her friend's androids...

"Look, I'm just tired, okay? This whole thing was so awkward. When I went out to eat our waiter looked at me weird for the rest of the night and I know he was gossiping with his co-workers, some were even snickering at me." Autumn was left gulping for air at the end of her rant, not pausing to breathe so she could get it all out there, so she could finish this nightmare of a conversation.

"You sure you didn't do anything else with him," Zoe asked in a tone that said she didn't believe the words she was hearing. She would be right to think so Autumn did kiss Jude after all. That was only done in a swell of emotion- of sorrow, it was a goodbye, a see you later. How later was the question on Autumn's mind. How long would it be before she would be able to get a body for the both of them? It all cost so much and with the way she was now, a school student trapped in her mother's house, without a car and without a job it felt as if it would be years of waiting.

"No, I didn't do anything with him," Autumn spoke firmly not backing down to the silent challenge Zoe gave her. "I'm going to sleep I'll see you guys at school." Before they could protest or even say good-bye she hung up on them making a sigh of relief leave her.

Laying down on the bed she stared up at the ceiling spreading her arms and legs out taking deep shuddering breaths. The tears were back with a fierceness, blurring her sight and leaving her blind to the world around her as her eyes burned. Rolling to her side Autumn clutched the memory disc in her hand letting a few stray tears trickle down her cheek. She curled up tightly in a fetal position wishing that being curled up like this could hide her away from the world, from Cheryl from Mary from her friends.

"Deep breaths Autumn, It will be okay..."

But would it really?

Authors note: Hey, guys guess who's back, back again~ It's me! I know people have been asking for an update on Adoption works and for a second chapter to the First Steps to Healing but honestly? I just haven't been feeling it lately, I'm not sure where I would even take the plot with them anymore. I do hope one day to get it figured out but for now, I hope you guys enjoy this little thing.

Now if you're wondering "hey what's this who are these people?" Well back when I was younger I watched someone do a let's play for a visual novel. Since I got into Detroit: become human I remembered this visual novel and so with nostalgia, I went back and watched it. Since I'm thirsty for more AI's becoming human, feeling and going against their programming to do what's right or to protect the ones they love I wrote this.

Will it have more chapters? Who knows really! This is sorta a sequel to the visual novel- which there was planning for one but it's been years now since the writer updated on that. Even though I could have sworn there was some demo out there for the sequel to this? I remember something about Autumn's friends grilling her and asking about what happened to the AmorBot she was with and where she left him- ble or it's just my mind making up stuff. If you're wondering what mypals are they're basically robots that watch over kids and protect them- while amorbots are what the writer described as being seen as dildos.

Also, you can probably tell with the way I write I don't favor Zoe too much! Not at all! She's far too abusive in my opinion and the fact that she easily admits to breaking her mypals if they were nothing really gives me the creeps! They look human, they act human, and some even become what we would call human. So to admit to abusing them gives me the feeling you aren't really a nice person- because what's stopping you from going out and lashing out humans? Your little excuse that a human would get pissed if you punched them means jack shit! There are people out there, humans, that wouldn't fight against you if you punched them and you know it. You just want a way to feel powerful and not get in trouble for doing it so you use Androids as a punching bag.

Rant aside I don't want to write her in a way that's all around despicable. I want to be able to get her to grow as a character to show that people aren't just black and white in the morality appartment.