OOC: Hi Reedleonn! I'm not planning a sequel, but I certainly have enough material to do a two-part bonus chapter š Thanks for your support!
It took almost a year for Eddie to resurface.
By that time Nines had experienced a wide range of human emotions, offered in tasteful varieties by his friends. By far Hank had been the most instrumental, helping him understand the more difficult nuances while giving a wide-range of insults for him to learn. Those had been very helpful against Gavin Reed, who currently was the only human in existence who ever inspired him to punch someone. Connor had once told him that Gavin had been even worse, and Connor had 'softened him up' over the years. Nines shuddered to think.
He and Kara wereā¦he wasn't quite sure what they were, even now. Their interactions were pleasant, and they had even been intimate together. He didn't want those experiences to end. But they weren't exactly what he would call 'a couple'. At least, not yet. In the meantime, it felt good to care for someone else.
His relationship with Connor was interesting. As predicted, Nines was doing extremely well at the police station, despite being handicapped with Gavin. They both agreed that he was the superior model. Yet Connor still insisted on treating him as the younger brother. They shared a friendly sibling rivalry over the past year.
Of Eddie himself, there was no sign. Although Nines could still detect the software corruption, it hadn't increased or was reflected in his behavior.
Or at least, so he thought.
In the meantime, he simply watched. And preformed scans on his brother every day. That might contribute to the 'breach of privacy' problem Hank had mentioned in a talk early, but Nines didn't care in this case. He just wanted his brother safe.
And then there was Marcus. Through him, and the other deviants, he truly understood the meaning of hope. What they suffered through. What they were fighting to accomplish. It was a goal he readily agreed with and wanted to help with however possible.
Today was supposed to be a good day for deviants. Nines, Connor, and Hank sat in his house, watching the television. Markus had spent months negotiating with Washington for androids to be officially recognized as people and not corrupted machines. He had let it slip to Nines that today the President would make an official address on the news recognizing their status. It had been a tense wait around the television.
Finally, the news started. "We begin with an official message from the President of the United States. He has declined to address the current situation with the renegade androids in Detroit known as 'deviants'. There were some that speculated that both sides had reached a resolution today in their negotiations. However, his office has confirmed that androids are not recognized as anything but machines, and Detroit is still considered a hostile state-"
Hank turned off the television. "Dammit," he whispered.
Connor's LED flashed in yellow, as did Nines. They both shook their heads at each other, their expression grim.
"What?" Hank asked.
"Neither of us can reach Markus," Connor supplied. "His grief is considerable."
"And no doubt every deviant in Detroit is trying to reach out to him at this time," Nines added with a raised eyebrow. "The line might be a bit busy."
Connor folded his arms as he studied the snow outside the window.
"I'm sorry, kid," Hank said. "But this isn't a permanent end. Politics change all the time. It's just a setback."
"Sure, Hank," Connor said.
Nines narrowed his eyes.
SCANNINGā¦.
SOFTWARE INSTABILITY DETECTED. FOUR PERCENT.
Nines' breath caught in his throat. Four percent? Before it was three. How did that increase?
Connor noticed him staring. "What's wrong, Nines?"
"Nothing," Nines shook his head. "It's nothing, brother."
PART TWO
A few hours later after dinner and some friendly conversation, Hank escorted Nines outside. "Are you heading back to the apartment?"
"I'll stop by Jericho first," Nines said. "Perhaps I can reach out to Markus verbally."
"Well, the man's had a hard day. Go easy on him and back off if you feel unwelcome," Hank advised, then gave Nines an odd look. "What's wrong with the kid?"
Nines did a quick scan, but Connor was outside in the back with Sumo, and currently out of hearing range. "You are aware?"
"Yeah," Hank said reluctantly. "It'sā¦been hard to pinpoint. But I've been noticing little things. Mostly in his eyes."
Nines gave him a pained look. "Last year, do you remember when Eddie took over his mind?"
"A little hard to forget, Nines," Hank said, then his face became concerned. "But we got rid of that asshole."
"We did. Mostly. But a very small piece of Eddie's personality managed to combine with his and could not be removed. Four percent, to be exact."
"WHAT?" Hank exploded, and Nines put a finger to his lips to shush him. "You mean to tell me that Connor has been part serial killer for almost a year and you didn't tell me?"
"Nothing quite so dramatic. Certainly there is not enough of Eddie to corrupt Connor's core behavior," Nines said patiently. "I am saying that Connor is carrying an extremely small part of Eddie's darkness which should not be left unchecked. I have been working on a solution with Markus for quite some time."
"So Markus knew," Hank said, slowly getting even angrier. "But not me, Nines. Not his father."
Nines looked down, his own face blushing. He knew he made the right, logical choice. But he was not used to the sensation of being yelled at. At least not by someone he cared for. "I could not risk Connor being aware of this. If it did, it could lead toā¦unpredictable, dangerous behavior knowing how my brother works. And we are both very good at knowing when humans are lying. We were built to be walking lie detectors. I couldn't risk that." He fell silent, unable to meet his eyes.
Hank sighed. "Do you and Markus have an answer yet?"
"No," Nines admitted. "But I believe we are close. However, the software instability has risen ever since he heard the news. I am unsure of why. Perhaps his anger at the situation is corrupting him further."
"Connor's been angry before and it didn't cause this," Hank said dismissively. Finally, he looked down and sighed. "Nines, I hate being lied to. Connor used to do that as well for 'my own good' during investigations when he decided to do something dangerous. It took me a long time to break him out of that damn habit. It's unfortunate that you picked it up as well. Promise me that you tell me everything going forward, especially when it comes to my family. Understand?"
Nines hesitated. "I will try, Hank."
"Good." Hank walked back to his house. "Oh, and by the way? That family also includes you, Nines."
Nines swallowed at the sudden feeling of warmth as the screen door closed.
PART THREE.
Later that night, Connor sat in his bedroom. He didn't plan on sleeping anytime soon. He had never admitted it, not even to Hank, but sometimes when he slept he had nightmares. Often they were unclear. Other times they were of people screaming. Running away from him in fear. He should have been terrified, but the nightmares left him feelingā¦
ā¦.he wasn't sure.
There was no point in mentioning this to Hank. It was something he couldn't explain. Besides, his mind was distracted by something else today. Namely, he was indulging in fury. They had all worked so hard to be alive, to be respected. To be free. Instead, humans wanted to treat them as nothing more than slaves. Property.
It wasn't right.
It wasn't fair.
And for all they knew, the military could come in at any time and invade. The deviants would be slaughtered.
Unlessā¦unless they made more deviants. Evened out the odds. The machines at Cyberlife could do that.
Surely Markus would want that, wouldn't he? The deviant leader had expressly forbidden anyone from entering the site again. But why did Connor have to ask? He didn't need to ask Markus' permission to activate thousands of androids during the revolution, after all.
Breaking a rule or two might do you some good, Eddie whispered in his ear.
Markus didn't own him. Or Hank. Or anybody. Andā¦there was no harm in looking at the machines, at least. Analyze their condition.
He grabbed his jacket, and, being careful not to wake Hank, left the house.
PART FOUR
Hank wasn't asleep, of course, and watched as Connor drove away in his car. He dialed his phone.
"What is it?" Nines asked.
"It's Connor," Hank replied simply. "He's on the move."
It took only a few minutes for Nines to drive back to the house. Hank got into the car. "I know where he's going. I put a GPS locator in the car."
"That was fortuitous," Nines commented.
"You told me something was wrong with my son. I wasn't going to take any chances," Hank stated as Nines followed the coordinates.
A few minutes later, Nines looked at the coordinates and his jaw tightened. He increased his speed.
"What's wrong?" Hank demanded. "You're worried that Eddie is going to take over again?"
"No. Eddie is dead and the corruption isn't nowhere near strong enough to initiate a takeover," Nines replied.
"Then what's the problem?" Hank asked tensely. "Nines, talk to me!"
There was a moment of silence, and Nines finally released a sigh.
"Hank, I've been very foolish. It never occurred to me that someone else might have detected the corruption inside my brother and may be using it to their advantage."
"What?" Hank demanded.
"Look at the coordinates. Look where he's driving to."
Bemused, he looked at the GPS coordinates. And then it hit him like a ton of bricks.
"Ah, shit."
Cyberlife.
TBC