AN: From the moment I saw Simon I thought he'd make a great dad, and now I'm making him a dad!
Behold, a different take on Simon's escape from the Stratford Tower and what he might have encountered along the way while returning to Jericho.
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Simon panted as he slowly walked down the abandoned alleyway, leaning heavily against the brick wall as pain wracked his frame.
He had managed to wait out the police and FBI, remaining hidden in an air cooler unit. The entire time he had been stuck in that metallic box he had been tense and anxious, but luckily enough none of the humans saw fit to thoroughly check the roof, allowing him to escape their detection.
Then again he had also heard shouting and what sounded like gunshots coming from the broadcast room...
The android hoped none of his friends had gotten hurt.
Of course it had been difficult to get out of the tower, not only had he been wounded his leg had also been damaged, making moving around nearly impossible. However there were several stairwells that ran through the building, easily accessible to androids, which he had used to flee.
There was no way he was risking jumping from the roof of the tower since the snowstorm had cleared up. It would have been too easy to track him in the mild weather, or shoot him down.
One of the stairwells had led down to an entrance at the back of the tower, once again free from human eyes. It had also, thankfully, still been blocked off because of the police investigation, making it even easier to get to the alley where he currently was.
Granted, there were still several problems he had to deal with.
His wounds, LED, Thirium stained clothes, all of it gave away the fact that he was an android, and he was still limping.
A grunt of pain escaped him and he collapsed, barely managing to catch himself before he slammed into the cold, unforgiving ground. Static danced before his eyes and for a moment he wondered if he would die here.
"Markus." He wheezed, remembering the one who had entered his life and brought hope to Jericho.
"Josh." His closest friend, the one he relied on in times of fear and despair, one of the most compassionate androids he had ever known.
"North." Cold to those she had first met but completely loyal to the ones who earned her trust, a fierce fighter to the end who would do anything to protect those she cared about.
He had to live for them, and the other androids at Jericho.
He had to!
He braced his hands against the ground and grit his teeth, slowly pushing himself up so he was now sitting, no longer collapsed against the snow covered ground. He used the wall of a nearby building, propping himself up against it so he could no longer fall, and decided to rest.
Simon was uncertain how much time had passed as he leaned against the cold wall, venting his systems in an attempt to manage the pain radiating from the bullet wounds. His eyes were closed as he focused further repairing his leg, but he had lost quite a bit of Thirium, which made it difficult to properly direct his repair system.
He was broken out of his meditative trance by a sudden intrusion, an unexpected, and unpleasant surprise, considering the fact that the alley had been empty.
Something gently nudged the android's shoulder.
His eyes snapped open. They were blurry at first, allowing him to only see the vague outline of the short figure that was kneeling in front of him, but as they sharpened he was able to make out more of what the person looked like.
Wait... is that-
A gasp escaped him as he realized exactly what he was looking at.
A child.
The girl crouched in front of him could not have been older than nine. Her dark skin helped her blend in with the shadowy alley along with the grey jacket and black pants she was wearing, though from what he could tell the clothing was dirty and worn down. A purple toque sat on top of her head, doing little to control the tangled mass of hair that ran down to her shoulders.
Her large, brown eyes looked at him with nothing but concern, and he was taken aback by how worried she looked.
However he knew that where human children went, adults usually followed. He had to get her away from him, fast.
"Please, leave me alone." He whispered. "Don't tell anyone just leave, please."
Simon prayed that if his appearance did not scare off the girl then his glitchy, pain filled voice would.
Instead of going away like he hoped she would, the silent girl sat down on the ground, eyes scanning over his form as she took in the various injuries that littered his frame.
The child shrugged off a backpack he had not noticed until now and placed it in front of her. The bag was made out of fabric that was ripped and torn in certain areas. His eyes focused on a patch that had been sewn into the flap that covered the bag.
The image displayed a white bird carrying some sort of branch in its mouth. He only caught a glimpse of it before the flap was thrown back as the girl rummaged around for something.
For a moment pure fear slammed into him. He could easily imagine her pulling out some sort of phone and calling her parents, or worse, the police.
He had to get back to Jericho! Markus, Josh, and North were all waiting for him-
A heavy, metal bottle was held out towards him, snapping him out of his panicked thoughts, and Simon cautiously took it. The girl watched as he gently moved the container back and forth, listening to the liquid slosh around inside. It was most likely water, or some other drink.
Did she think he was a human...?
"I'm okay-" He tried to say, but the child cut him off. She vigorously shook her head and gestured to the water bottle.
The android sighed and gripped the cap, deciding it was best to play along with whatever the human child had planned so she would leave faster. Leave, and not tell anyone what she had seen.
He unscrewed the top and glanced at the fluid, nearly dropping the bottle in surprise.
A familiar, blue liquid rested inside.
Thirium.
He looked up at the girl in front of him once more, noting the fact that her messy hair hid the right side of her face.
Was she a child android? A deviant child android?
Simon had only known two others, one of which who had died not long after arriving at Jericho. Though the boy's systems had been fine he seemed to have lost his will to live, no matter what Josh or Lucy did, and shut down after spending two days in their care.
It was actually somewhat embarrassing he had not thought of that until now. Clearly the pain was messing with his sensors.
"Is this for me?" He asked, now feeling hesitant for taking the child's supplies.
He knew how difficult it was to get Thirium, remembering the several raids Markus had helped to organize in order to get supplies for Jericho, including the first one he had been a part of.
His savior nodded, gently smiling at him, and gestured for him to drink.
Simon lifted the water bottle up, ignoring the heavy guilt that burned in his chest, and slowly drank the Thirium. Once he drained the blue fluid from its container he could feel his repair system kicking in, healing the damage that had been done to his body which would make it easier to move.
Simon smiled.
It looked like he would make it back to Jericho after all.
He lowered the bottle and opened his eyes, when had they closed, to thank the child that had saved his life. Unfortunately it appeared as though she had disappeared while he had been savoring the blue liquid.
Interestingly enough she seemed to have left her, now closed, backpack behind.
The android tugged the bag close, pulling it until it was resting beside him. He had no intentions of snooping and seeing what was inside, but he felt that it was best to keep it close to him until the child returned.
About ten minutes later his mysterious helper returned, carrying a large bundle of what appeared to be clothing.
Simon could tell right away that the pants, shirt, and jacket were far too large to fit her, so they must have been for him. Once more he was stuck by the compassionate nature that was being displayed in front of him, even if she was an android.
It was obvious to him that the child had been on her own for quite some time, based on how worn down her clothing was, and it was highly likely he had just drank that last of supplies, which would put her own well-being at risk.
And yet she had not hesitated to help him and even went as far as to find clothing for him.
The child paused in front of him, eyes scanning the ground for something. It dawned on the blond android just what she was looking for. He pulled her bag away from his side, attracting her attention.
"I wanted to keep it safe while you were gone." Simon explained, pushing the backpack towards her.
She smiled and bowed, nearly dropping the clothing in the process. The older android swiftly reached forward and grabbed the bundle before it fell. He placed the clothing beside him, making sure there was no snow on the ground as he did so.
"Do you get these for me?" Another nod was his answer.
"Thanks for helping me out." The girl beamed, a toothy smile taking up most of her face. She then sat down, pulling her backpack close. Simon opened his mouth to continue speaking, but stopped when he noticed the child continuing to move.
She lifted her right hand up and he watched as the dark skin slowly faded and was replaced by white plastic.
"So you are an android." He muttered, relief flowing through him at the confirmation. "A deviant as well?"
The child smirked and stuck her tongue out at him, the gesture being the only answer he needed to confirm his earlier suspicions. A soft chuckle escaped him while she sat back, appearing proud at the fact that she had made him laugh.
Silence reigned for a moment over the duo before he decided to break it.
"You've been very quiet." He noted, glancing over at the child beside him. "Can you speak or..?"
The child tugged open her bag and pulled something out, a small, leather bound book. She opened it and flipped to a certain page before presenting it to him.
The page consisted of several different words that had been written down. None of them formed a proper sentence and based on the spacing between them it looked more like it was a list of words, rather than something cohesive.
Simon watched as she gently tapped one of the words. He looked at it and read it aloud.
"My."
She grinned, flipped the page, and repeated the same process with yet another word. This time it was "master".
They continued to do this for a little while longer, the child pointing to a specific word she had written down and Simon repeating it. Slowly the individual words formed a cohesive, grammatically correct sentence.
"My master thought I made too much noise, so she fixed it."
Now typically Simon was not a violent person, he preferred to leave those feelings to North, but reading those words...
He had never wanted to kill a human so badly.
He took a deep breath in and let it out, not wanting to frighten the child android in front of him. A part of him wanted to remain silent and not risk upsetting her, but he wanted to learn more about her.
"What's your name?"
And he wanted to stop mentally referring to her as "the child".
Instead of answering like he hoped she would, she started to nervously fiddle with her journal, eyes looking down as she ran her thumbs over the spine of the book. At the sight of the distressed look on the child's face he panicked, easily imagining the vibrant red her LED must have been.
"It's okay!" He did his best to sooth her, holding his hands out in a placating gesture. "You don't need to tell me."
Change topic! Change the topic!
"Can you use our communication network to speak, or sign language?" Once more these questions were met with that tense look, and Simon mentally cursed himself for upsetting the one who had saved him.
Think of something else!
He opened his mouth but before he could speak that journal was presented to him.
"My master did not want me to have a way to speak to anyone."
"She's not your master anymore!" Simon blurted out, LED flashing bright yellow as his emotions began to spike, rage filling him at the sight of the words on the page. "You don't have to keep calling her that!"
Shock danced across the child's face and guilt immediately flooded him. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled-"
He was cut off when she pointed out yet another sentence, the sound of paper rustling filling the silent alley.
"You are right, I should not continue calling her that."
The girl glanced at the ground, a bittersweet smile appearing on her face. Once more her fingers danced through the journal.
"I am free."
Simon felt the corners of his mouth turn up at the words. "Yes you are, and I'm sorry about upsetting you."
The child shrugged. She understood his curiosity, her situation was pretty unique amongst androids. His questions had just...
Brought up bad memories.
She shook off the despair that threatened to drown her and focused back on the blond android in front of her. He seemed pretty nice and she was happy to help him, especially now that he was talking to her!
It had been a long time since she had last "spoken" to someone.
"Now you need to answer one of my questions."
Simon hummed, reading the words on the page and feeling a slight amount of nervousness fill him. What exactly did she want to know?
"Go ahead."
The child smiled.
"What is your name?"
He blushed, realizing he had forgotten to introduce himself. "I'm Simon, and it's nice to meet you."
She nodded and he watched as she flipped through her journal. Once she reached whatever page she had been looking for she grabbed a pen from her bag and wrote something down. When she was done she turned the book around, allowing him to read what she had written.
"Simon."
"So I'm worthy enough to get a place in your book now?" He joked, and was more than a little surprised when a burst of static escaped her.
Her shoulders hitched and she buried her face in her hands. She made a sound similar to a snort and then the static happened again.
It took Simon a moment to realize what she was doing.
She was laughing.
And a laugh like that could only mean extensive damage had been done to her vocal processor. He clenched his hands but did not dare talk about it, not wanting to ruin the child's happy mood.
But now that he was at least partly healed, he had some thinking to do.
The blond android narrowed his eyes, dozens of scenarios running through his processor as he tried to make a plan for what he would do next. The obvious answer was to make his way back to Jericho, but he needed to figure out how he would get back, considering he was going to bring the android child with him.
He refused to leave her behind, no matter how much danger he might put himself in because of his choice.
"Listen," Simon began, gesturing for the girl to sit beside him. She scooted over until she was curled up at his side, nearly snuggled against him. "I know somewhere you can go if you want to be safe."
Her head tilted to the side and curious light filled her eyes.
"Have you heard of Jericho?"
The light dimmed and she shook her head. For a moment he was taken aback, how could she not know about Jericho, but then he remembered how isolated she must have been in order to survive.
A lone child on the streets? Many humans would have noticed her presence, especially with the poor state of her attire.
And such attention would lead to the police discovering her, and what she was.
"Jericho is a special place, a place where androids can be free and you won't have to worry about hiding."
She was now sitting up, hands pressed against his leg as she leaned up towards him. Her excitement was written across her face, and she almost seemed to bounce up and down with glee.
Simon chuckled and placed a hand atop her head, making her sit still while he continued speaking. "I was wondering if you wanted to go to Jericho with me."
He was not at all prepared for the child sized body that was flung at him, nor the arms that wrapped themselves around his neck.
She was hugging him.
Another laugh escaped him and he hugged her back, more than a little amused by her antics. "I take it that's a yes, then?"
The child eagerly nodded and Simon could feel her hair brushing against his face and neck. It was actually incredibly soft, a stark contrast to how dirty her appearance was.
He would have to see about getting her a shower, or something else to clean off the grime...
The older android did his best to lean back so he could look her in the face. It was time to focus on figuring out how to get back to Jericho, unharmed. "I need to plan the best route to get to Jericho, but I have to get cleaned up first."
There was still some blue blood smeared on his face and hands, after all.
The journal was swiftly pulled out and another sentence was formed before his eyes.
"I know somewhere we can go, but we should leave soon."
Before he could even ask what she was talking about, shouting suddenly echoed from the entrance of the alley. The voices were masculine, and he could faintly hear that they were shouting something about stolen clothes.
Humans.
Simon did not hesitate to scoop up the girl, her bag, and the clothing.
The child clung to his shoulder, placed her journal back in her backpack and then made sure it was secure. She gave him a thumbs up when she was ready to go, smiling encouragingly at him. The android holding her nodded and sprinted down the alley, dodging trash cans and debris as he went.
At least his leg was healed enough for him to run without it bleeding everywhere.
The voices behind them slowly faded as the duo made their escape deeper into the core of the city.
As Simon ran he promised himself he would do whatever he could to make sure both he, and his new charge, made it to Jericho safely, no matter how long it took.
Within his mind palace for the first time in years, a new objective appeared.
Protect the child.
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AN: And that's it for the first chapter! I wonder what adventures Simon and our nameless child will encounter during their journey back to Jericho...
Please leave a review telling me what you think of the story so far, and how I'm doing with Simon's characterization, and I'll see you in the next chapter!