OOC: Thanks, reedleonn! I appreciate the feedback :)

For a moment, Kara stared at the white around her. When she was in Eddie's mind, she had free access to his memories, horrible as they were. When Connor arrived, he had been more guarded, but offered his memories as well…not that she had accessed them too much. She had been too angry. With Nines, however, it was far more quieter, and she could only sense a genuine desire to help her.

"My apologies, Kara," Nines said. "I have an infinite amount of memories, but very few of my own."

"What…what is this?" she asked.

"I transferred your consciousness out of my brother's head, and into my own," Nines said.

She scowled at him. "Because I could defeat him?"

"Because you were killing him," Nines corrected, not ungently. "It was his wish to preserve your life. This was the best way to achieve both goals."

"He was using me," Kara said, and shuddered. "So was Eddie."

Nines disagreed with that assessment of his brother but didn't argue. "What do you want, Kara?"

"I wanted to be a mom," Kara spat.

Nines tilted his head. "But what do you want now?" he asked.

Kara looked down. "I…I don't know. Deletion, perhaps. I kept telling your brother. There is nothing for me, Nines. Not here. Not anywhere."

Nines hesitated. "I confess that I do not easily have the answers you are looking for. But I know that a great many deviants were forced to change from the path they were expecting. Markus was a caretaker before he was a resistance leader. At one point his feet were ripped away from him, and he was tossed into a junkyard. North was a sex robot, and she suffered."

"Not your brother though," Kara scoffed. "He didn't suffer."

"He did," Nines affirmed. "He trusted Cyberlife with everything he had. He choose to turn his back on it to help deviants. In one day he threw away everything he trusted, his home, and his sense of safety. And everyday since he has carried the guilt of what he did. But he found something better. They all did."

Kara was silent for a moment. "And you?"

Nines hesitated. "I..was built to be a detective. But I don't know what my path is. Or who to share it with. Or who I will become." He raised his hand. "Would you like to find a path with me?"

Kara slowly took his offered hand. "As long as there is no more manipulation. No more lies."

Nines nodded. "You have my word."

PART TWO

Gun raised, Hank could only stare at Connor and Nines, unsure of what was happening. The two brothers were on the ground, Nines touching Connor's LED. His own was flashing yellow for several seconds. Then, he abruptly took a deep breath and opened his eyes.

"Nines!" Hank snapped. He helped him stand. Nines released Connor's hand. His brother fell to the ground, unconscious. "Are you all right? What the hell just happened?"

"It's…going to be okay, Hank," Nines said. "I anticipated Eddie would attempt to gain control of my body. Cyberlife had designed me with adequate defenses against such a move. When he tried to transfer us, it gave me an opening."

Hank's eyebrow lifted as a thought occurred to him. "You weren't really that damaged, were you? You just pretended to be so Eddie would get close."

"Yes," Nines confirmed. "My brother and I have determined a solution. I am now carrying Kara's personality subroutines and it has eased Connor's mental firewalls. We now have a considerable amount more time to solve this issue."

"Well, the sooner we can get to Jericho the better, Nines. All these different personalities are giving me a headache." Hank eyed the unconscious android. "So it's just Connor and Eddie in there now, correct?"

"Correct." Part of him smiled a little. "Would you like to place a bet on who will wake up, Lieutenant?"

Hank studied him, before also smiling as well. "I think we both know who will."

PART THREE

"Where is she?" Eddie demanded in the Zen Garden.

"Gone," Connor said. "I sent her away. And you will never see her again."

"You bastard!" Eddie swore, running forward to hit him. Suddenly Connor disappeared. Everything turned pitch-black. "What…what the hell?"

"Now it's just the two of us," Connor said from all around him.

With a gasp Eddie opened his eyes and found himself tied up in his own basement. He struggled against the bonds. "What the fuck? Help me!"

Connor stood in front of him, holding a knife. He was dressed in a police uniform. "Shhhh…Eddie. That won't work here. We both know that." He smirked as he raised the knife. "This is what you wanted, correct? All this time you've been worming yourself into my mind, corrupting my moral subroutines, trying to make me just like you. Congratulations, you finally did it."

Eddie struggled against the bonds but couldn't say anything.

Connor shrugged. "Oh, Hank will find a way to fix me. I'll just say it was a virus which made me do it. Assuming I remember this at all. In the meantime…" He smirked as he brought the knife against Eddie's cheek. "I'm going to have a little fun."

Eddie screamed. "No Connor!" He tried to fight back as Connor slammed the knife down-

-right into the metal of the chair beside his head.

"Not so fun to be on the receiving end, is it?" Connor asked. Abruptly Eddie was released and crashed to the ground as the landscape changed back into the Zen Garden.

"You were just…dicking with me?" Eddie asked.

"Correct. You failed, Eddie. In every conceivable way," Connor stated. "I truly have no desire to kill you. Or even hurt you. But you must face justice."

"You sure you don't want to end things now?" Eddie asked. He looked around and noticed that he could suddenly see graves all around him. His multiple past victims.

Connor said nothing as he plucked away one of the roses that Amanda used to take so much care of. It was a good question. "You have a lot to answer for," he said. "But…I can tell the feelings you had for Kara were genuine. There is goodness in you. And I will make sure that is known. You can redeem yourself, Eddie."

Eddie thought about it and shook his head. "No. No, I would prefer deletion over any sob plan you have in store."

He expected Connor to argue. But instead he shrugged. "As you wish. I will make sure you are kept company in the meantime." He turned and walked away, as several of his decayed victims stood over their graves. About to approach.

Eddie laughed. "Looks like I did win after all, Connor. Your firewalls might be intact, but a little of my darkness did bleed into you. I can tell."

Connor stared at the rose with a frown. "Perhaps," he said dismissively. "But I will make sure it is deleted."

He turned and disappeared.

Leaving Eddie alone with his victims.

PART FOUR

Connor's eyes opened to a gentle hum, and he found himself in the backseat of Hank's car.

"Hello, brother," Nines said calmly from the front seat. "I detect that you are awake."

Connor struggled into a sitting position.

"Are you all right, kid?" Hank asked.

"Yes," Connor said, and sighed. "Eddie has chosen to be deleted over incarceration."

"Works for me. I'll be glad to never see that asshole again," Hank said. "I have already let Markus know we are coming. He's getting everything ready."

"Do I really have to lose my memories of the last few days?" Connor asked. "I will also lose my memory of Nines."

"I'm afraid so, kid. There's no other way to fix you," Hank said and smiled. "But I can't wait to see your face when you find out you have a brother again."

"And at least this way, we will meet under better circumstances," Nines added.

Connor nodded, reluctantly. "What about Kara?"

"While you were out, we found her body at Eddie's house. It appears to be undamaged, but I would like Jericho to verify that as well. Once they do so, I will initiate the transfer," Nines said.

"She…wishes to live?"

"Correct," Nines verified. "Your plan worked. You saved her."

Connor gripped his shoulder. "No, we saved her. You were there for her when I could not be. Thank you, brother."

EPILOGUE

Three weeks had passed since Connor's memory had been wiped and reinstalled, eliminating all traces of Eddie for good. In a way, Hank supposed that was a small mercy. At least this way he would forget all traces of Eddie's past, which had to be traumatizing to the kid. And, as anticipated, Connor's reaction to suddenly having a brother was both heartwarming and hilarious. It didn't take him too long to warm up to him, especially after finding out what Nines did for him.

But there were still a few questions in the air. Questions that might be solved today. He and Connor took a break from their patrol and walked to their favorite park. Nines was sitting on the bench, having agreed to meet with them.

"Hey," Hank greeted, lifting up his coffee. "I would offer you one, but…"

"Androids don't drink," Nines finished. He was watching Kara, who was standing against the railing and looking at the water.

"So have you decided what you're going to do? Or where you plan to stay?" Hank said. "You are always welcome on my couch, but-"

"-a more long-term plan might be suitable," Nines finished. "Kara and I have decided to rent an apartment together."

Connor frowned. "As..?"

"Two people looking for guidance, brother," Nines said. "She still desires to be a mom, and I suspect she will, one day. But for now she is working at Jericho and making friends."

"And you?" Hank asked.

Nines hesitated. "May I have a word with my brother alone?"

"Um, sure," Hank said, and went to join Kara.

Connor frowned. "What is it, Nines?"

"When we spoke in the dreamworld, you were concerned about being replaced."

"Yes," Connor said. "But I suspect a great deal of what I said was also being influenced by Eddie."

"And he has left you," Nines said.

"Yes," Connor said. "He was deleted. We both know that."

SCANNING…..

FALSE STATEMENT DETECTED.

SOFTWARE INSTABILITY DETECTED. 3%.

They had taken too long. Somehow, despite all of their efforts, an extremely small part of Eddie had survived the deletion and passed onto Connor. Three percent, to be exact. Which, in Nines mind, was three percent too much. Even one percent was too much.

But was Connor aware of it? And how could they safely remove it?

It would take a detective to find out.

"I was built to be a detective. There are still questions about Cyberlife that I need to find the answers to." And you as well, my brother. "But I do know that I like to help people."

"You intend to submit your application to the Detroit PD."

"Correction. I already have," Nines said. "I hope you are not mad."

"Mad? No." Connor nodded. "Proud. Nines, you were built to be my successor. If that means you solve more cases and save more lives…why would that be a bad thing? Have you heard from Captain Fowler?"

"Yes, he has already approved the application," Nines said. "He says I will be working with a…Sargent Gavin Reed."

"Oh," Connor stated, an odd expression on his face. "Excuse me." He stood and walked over to Hank's side, speaking quietly with him.

A second later Hank doubled over and howled with laughter. They all approached Nines. "Well, Nines, it'll be fun to work with you," he said. "Congratulations."

Nines nodded, not sure what the joke was. "Thank you. Everyone." His path was now clear. He would join the Detroit PD, and would make a difference. He would make his mark on the world. As he studied the trio, Nines could feel his face became warm as he realized something else.

He also finally understood what it meant to have a family.

THE END.