It was a cold, rainy night in Detroit. A standoff with the police against a group of anti-android bigots holding out inside a defunct six floor office building had been filled with gunfire, shouting voices and deep threats against the lives of the police officers; and all of the deviants throughout the city alike. There were at least twenty confirmed members of the group who had devised a plan to blow up as many Android Emergency Care Facilities in the city as possible, and end with an attack on New Jericho Tower itself.

An anonymous tip had warned the police about the group and resulted in a massive response from every available officer in the city. While it wasn't uncommon for Hank and Connor to deal with criminals that had threatened androids, dealing with an underground group of domestic terrorists who had taken the liberty of planning numerous attacks with high grade explosives was a new kind of experience in which they'd have to quickly adapt.

Hank was crouched down behind a squad car with his gun drawn, and Connor was at his side his own gun drawn as well. Keeping low and out of the line of sight from the deranged bigots the two detectives listened carefully as Captain Fowler took charge of the scene and issued his commands to end the standoff as quickly, and to do so with the least amount of bloodshed as possible.

"How many idiots are we dealing with?" Hank asked his partner as he peered over the hood of the car toward the office building.

"My scanners indicate there are twenty-two people inside. All armed." Connor's L.E.D. flashed yellow during the scan, then to red for a moment. "Six of them are wearing bomb vests."

"Shit! Can you isolate them from the others?"

"Yes." Connor's L.E.D. blinked yellow rapidly as he pinpointed the exact locations of the six individuals with the bomb vests where inside the building. "Four of them are on the top floor. Two are on the second floor. Three men, three woman. The four on the top floor are planted at the four corners, and the remaining two are standing against the Eastern and Western walls."

Hank looked over his shoulder to Chris and motioned him over to where he was was crouched down. "We have twenty-two very dangerous, and very unpredictable people inside. All have guns, six have bombs. The top floor has four of the bombers and the second floor has two."

"Oh, shit..." Chris's eyes went wide with controlled fear upon hearing the new information. "Alright. How do we take them down?"

"Tell Fowler to send S.W.A.T. into the second floor." Hank instructed calmly without drawing attention from the people inside the building. "Take out the bombers nearest the ground first; East and West walls. Afterward have S.W.A.T. descend from the roof to disarm the other four in the corners. Once the bombs had been deactivated we'll rush the other sixteen members afterward. No one goes in until the bombs have been cleared. Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

Turning back to Connor, who was closely monitoring the situation, Hank asked for an update. "Are the android care facilities on lockdown?"

"Affirmative. ...All facilities in the city have been put on emergency lockdown, no one in or out for the next forty-eight hours."

The stoic look on Connor's face upset Hank a little. "Something wrong?"

Connor glanced at Hank with heavy emotion in his eyes. "If the facilities are on lockdown that means androids who are in need of emergency repairs can't be aided. They could shutdown as a result of this standoff."

"A necessary evil, Connor. It's the only way to ensure that no one dangerous sneaks into the facilities to do something terrible until the police are available again."

"I know, but I still don't like it."

"Just sit tight." Hank encouraged as he watched the S.W.A.T. team enter the building quickly. "We'll take care of this as soon as possible. Hey, did you reach Markus at New Jericho?"

"Yes. The entire tower and the entrance drive is on lockdown well."

"Good. As long as we can keep this group contained we'll be able to keep all the androids in the city safe."


Remaining patiently in place for nearly an hour as S.W.A.T. subdued the suspects who had armed themselves with bomb vests, Hank and Connor were given the clear by Captain Fowler to lead the charge into the building to locate and disarm the other suspects brandishing numerous guns and other possible weapons. Leading a group of highly trained officers into the building to finally end the standoff Hank took charge and Connor followed his every command.

Floor by floor the police located and coaxed the remaining members of the volatile group into surrender. However, four of the members weren't going down without a fight.

Ducking down behind abandoned pieces of furniture and desks the officers took cover from the incoming barrage of bullets from the four desperate suspects.

"BACK THE FUCK OFF!" The leader of the group shouted angrily as he repeatedly squeezed the trigger, his bullets thankfully missing the officers and becoming lodged in the walls or furniture around them. "THIS PLACE IS GONNA' BLOW!"

"Find a way to get behind them!" Hank shouted as he returned fire and crouched down out of their line of sight again. "Don't let them leave!"

Nodding to acknowledge the order Connor scanned the interior of the building and located a secondary corridor that looped around the main room where the gunmen were holding their ground. Staying as quiet as possible Connor holstered his gun and used the corridor to his stealthy advantage. Swiftly the android snuck up on the nearest of the four gunmen from behind.

Wrapping his arm around the the nearest violent man's neck as he clamped his hand over the gunman's mouth to choke off his air and blood supply. Within a matter of seconds the gunman was unconscious and fell limp in Connor's arm, the gun falling harmlessly from his hand onto the floor. Kicking aside the gun Connor dropped the man to the floor and did the same to the next gunman just a few feet away.

The two remaining gunmen became suddenly aware of their comrades no longer firing and turned in time to see an android, the very being they despised more than anything on the planet, successfully bringing their plans to an end.

"Son of a bitch!" The leader turned to fire at Connor but Hank stopped him with a bullet to the shoulder. As he fell to the ground the last standing gunman, who was evidently either the leader's wife or girlfriend, dropped down beside him.

Staring at Hank with a pure anger she aimed her gun at the detective's head and readied her grip to squeeze the trigger. "DIE PIG!"

Spotting the danger regarding Hank's life Connor reacted to the threat immediately. "Hank!"

Connor approached her from behind to try and restrain her arms behind her back, but as it turned out she was wielding more than just a gun. Turning around quickly the woman revealed a large hunting knife gripped in her hand that had been concealed up inside her sleeve. Slashing a deep cut into Connor's left cheek below his eye she managed to stun the android long enough to gain the upper hand.

"FUCKIN' PLASTIC PIG!"

The woman plunged the long, sharp blade down into the center of Connor's chest with a forceful stab. A splash of blue blood erupted into the air as Connor let out a pained, surprised gasp as the blade penetrated his chest and caused his Thirium pump; his heart, to falter. The android's legs suddenly buckled and he fell backward onto the floor in a limp heap in his own blood.

"Connor?!" Hank shouted as he watched his partner collapse defenselessly into a growing puddle of his own Thirium; the knife still embedded in the middle of his chest. "Fuck! Connor!"

As the woman drew her gun to fire at Connor's head to finish him off Hank took his own shot, and struck the woman in the shoulder and in her arm with two bullets. Letting out pained screams she fell over onto her side and dropped her gun as she clutched desperately at her fresh wounds beside her husband on the floor.

"Take care of them!" Hank commanded as he ran past the two suspects and knelt beside Connor. Pressing his hand down on Connor's chest Hank tried to take the android's pulse but he couldn't get his hand close enough to the Thirium pump to register an accurate count. "Connor? Connor, how bad is it?"

The android was staring with wide eyes at the ceiling, his bloodied chest slowly rising and falling as blue blood drenched his shirt from the massive stab wound in the center his chest. The L.E.D. in Connor's temple was blinking red, not cycling, as his systems fought to identify and assess the catastrophic damage to his chest.

Connor tried to focus through the blaring warning alarms sounding off in his own head and dismissed the visual warnings from his sight. There was a shutdown timer already ticking down before his very eyes: 00:59:27.

"H-Hank." Connor's voice sounded shaky and uncertain, a trickle of blue blood ran down from the corner of his mouth down his chin as he lifted his head and looked at the knife in his own chest. As he put his hand up to his chest he pressed down lightly and winced in pain. "Hank... I..."

"Connor," slipping a hand under the android's head Connor held him for a moment as he watched Connor's frightened eyes staring into nothingness. "how bad is it?"

Connor's brown eyes lifted from the knife and locked onto Hank's blue eyes with a forced and utter focus. "Bad." Swallowing once as blood collected in his mouth Connor's eyes began to glisten with heavy emotions and dread. "...It's bad."

"Shit, we'll get you to-" Hank suddenly realized a horrifying reality, the facilities were still on lockdown; no exceptions. Even a member of the police wouldn't be permitted entrance due to safety protocols. "I'll get you to the precinct, okay? Joel can-"

"No." Connor reached up with his blood covered hand and grabbed onto Hank's shoulder in a weak grip. "...I need to go to New Jericho. Only technology from... CyberLife... can aid me."

"Stay with me." Putting his hand over Connor's hand as it clutched as his shoulder Hank nodded his head and slipped his hand from Connor's head and down under Connor's upper back to lift him upward carefully. "Okay, yeah. I'll get you to New Jericho." Letting go of Connor's hand Hank put his other arm beneath the android's legs and lifted him up from the floor to carry his wounded partner out of the building in his arms. "I got you, son."

"...I know." Connor's reply was a passing whisper as he fell quiet from pure weakness in Hank's arms.

His own arm was wrapped in a light grip around Hank's neck and shoulders as the detective held him in a tight grasp. Unable to support his own body Connor's head rested against Hank's chest and shoulder as he he could only watch the countdown clock in his vision continue to tick away the last few fleeting minutes of his short life.

The other officers stepped aside and cleared a path as Hank carried Connor's bleeding body out of the office building and over to his own car parked just around the corner. Captain Fowler and Chris watched with worry at the sight of the android covered in his own blood, but didn't say anything as Hank walked pass them. Even Gavin held his tongue at the gruesome sight of the knife sticking out of the android's bloodied chest as Hank carried Connor to safety.

Fowler did jog after Hank and pulled open the backdoor to the car to allow Hank to gently place Connor down over the backseat. Connor's arm fell heavily away from Hank's shoulders as he was laid down, his eyes refusing to close out of sheer force of will. Removing his dark coat Hank draped the warm garment over his bleeding partner, careful not to disturb the knife still stabbed into Connor's chest.

"Hold on, I'll get you to New Jericho as soon as I can."

Connor nodded weakly and forced a weak smile to his face as he against dismissed the warnings in his visual sensors as he watched the countdown clock with a frightening stare: 00:56:48.


Driving as fast as he could through the rain drenched streets Hank focused on getting his dying partner to New Jericho Tower as quickly as possible. Pulling his phone out of his jean pocket Hank dialed Markus's number and put the phone on speaker so he could keep both hands on the wheel. The phone only rang once before Markus replied with a worried greeting.

'Lieutenant, what's going on?'

"Markus, Connor's been stabbed." Reaching one hand into the backseat Hank grabbed onto Connor's bicep briefly before returning his grip to the steering wheel. "I can't take him to any android facilities because of an emergency lockdown. You need to let me through the drive or else Connor's going to die."

'Shit.' Markus seldom swore, but when he did it was with purpose. 'Alright, I'll have security let you through and have a technical team standing by. How bad is it?'

"It's bad. That's all Connor said," he glanced over his shoulder into the backseat and stared at his partner's bleeding chest while Connor's hand weakly had futilely tried to stem the bleeding around the knife's blade. "and I think we both know that means it's fucking life or death."

'Where was he stabbed?'

"Center of his chest. If he had a sternum the blade would've shattered the bone."

A nerve-wracking palpable pause over the line made Hank's own heart grow cold. 'Can you give me his vitals?'

Remembering the special 'app' Joel had devised for Hank's phone a few months back Hank picked up his phone and turned it on. Fortunately the function was still synchronized with Connor's system and it produced a reading of Connor's weak, but stable vitals. "Pulse is one-hundred forty-four. Respiration at twelve. Thirium volume down to seventy-two percent. And his core temperature has risen to one-hundred point two."

'I'll relay the information. And Lieutenant?'

"Yeah?"

'...Don't let him fall asleep.'

Somehow those words were more threatening than the idea of being blown up or told to die by a crazy woman with a gun pointed at his head. "Yeah... I'll do my best." Ending the call Hank reached one hand back between the front seats and grabbed onto Connor's arm once more. "You heard that, stay awake. Stay with me, kid."

"Hank..." The calmness in Connor's voice was unnerving. His shutdown clock was still counting down: 00:51:59. "Thank you. For everything."

"Hey, hey. Don't talk like that!" Hank scolded as he turned to glance over his shoulder again. "I can hear it in your voice Connor, don't give up now! Not after all this..."

"I truly enjoyed our time together." Connor continued somberly. He swallowed once as Thirium began collecting in the back of his throat. "You helped me in more ways than I can ever say. You are a great partner to have in the field."

"Stop it!" Hank squeezed down on Connor's arm firmly, not to hurt the android but to get his attention. "We're nearly there! Hold on!"

"It's okay, Hank. I'm not scared."

"Connor... You're starting to freak me out."

"Hank... You're my best friend. I didn't think it was possible for an android to have one, but... here you are." Connor blinked slowly and reopened his eyes, a serene smile was resting on his face around his bloodied lips. "I could even say you were like my... father."

Hank's hand remained where it was on Connor's arm, though he felt his grip suddenly weaken.

"Not that I know what it's supposed to feel like to have a father..." Connor's breath suddenly hitched in his chest causing him to wheeze until he found his voice again. "...But I suspect this is... accurate. I'm glad you were my... father."

Speeding down the drive to New Jericho Tower with utter fear in control of the wheel Hank passed through the concrete barricade as it lowered into the drive and gave him full access to the tower in the distance. Outside the tower Markus, Lucas and Simon were all outside waiting for the car. The three had a gurney as well as an android cardiac monitor waiting with them as they stood in the cold rain silently watching the drive.

Hank took his foot off the accelerator enough to coast to a gentle stop without jostling Connor in the backseat. Forcing the car in park he threw open his door and practically ripped the back door off the hinges as he knelt over Connor laying in the backseat.

"We're here. You're safe." Pushing aside his coat Hank gave Connor's bloodied chest and abdomen a grimace before he made a move. "Everything will be okay."

Sliding his arms under Connor's upper back and legs again Hank lifted the android out of the car and carried him over to the others waiting for their arrival. Connor never said a word to Hank as he was carried out of the car. His arm never returned to Hank's neck and instead hung limp over his bloodied chest. Blue blood stained the front of Hank's shirt and his hands as he placed Connor down on the gurney and stepped back to watch the trio work in perfect union to save Connor's life.

"They're going to take care of you."

Connor never uttered a sound or show any sign of reaction as his limp body was placed down on the gurney. Carefully Hank pulled open the buttons on Connor's shirt to fully expose the wound, and in the process scare himself further as the lack of reaction from the android, and the weakened motion of his damaged chest being able to rise or fall was evident of his waning strength.

"Come on son, stay with me." Hank pleaded as he watched the very life drain from the android's eyes. The falling rain made Connor appear all the more vulnerable, cold and weak. "Stay with me, Connor."

Lucas, the reformed RK-900 who had been dubbed Connor's 'little brother' took the lead over Connor's care.

Unlike Markus and Simon who were wearing normal street clothes Lucas was wearing an altered CyberLife technician uniform and white coat over his shoulders. In the time since his inclusion to New Jericho as a productive member Lucas had slightly altered his appearance to give him more of a sense of individuality compared to Connor. Lucas had changed his color from dark brown to raven black and altered the style so that was almost slicked back in appearance. Keeping his pale green eyes the same color and having removed his L.E.D. Lucas looked more human than Connor but his mannerisms were still very machine like.

"Connor?" Lucas pulled aside the stained fabric of Connor's shirt and pulled away the black tie around Connor's neck. The knife was embedded into Connor's chest up to the hilt like a gruesome flag of pain, hatred and death been planted on his person. "What does your system say?"

"Shutdown in forty-eight minutes, eleven seconds." He let out a shuddering breath that became increasingly shallow with each pained inhalation.

Hank's eyes went wide with abject horror. "Shutdown?"

Markus heard the fear in Hank's voice and approached the detective calmly. "Lieu- Hank," the need to be a friend was more important than any rank in this dire moment. "we're going to do everything possible to save him."

Looking past Markus to the gurney where Connor was laying Hank watched as Lucas used an audioscope to listen to Connor's chest, his attention primarily focused on Connor's Thirium pump; his heart. "Significant faltering in the Thirium pump, it cannot fully expand or contract to cycle Thirium properly. I think the blade is jamming main internal couple within the pump keeping it open."

Simon attached the monitor to Connor's chest and studied the display intensely. The rhythmic line representing Connor's heartbeat was rapid and thin. The display for his Thirium volume was shown in red digits and low and sixty-five percent. "He needs Thirium."

Lucas draped the audioscope around his neck. "Agreed. We need to get him down to Sublevel fifty-one for emergency repairs."

Connor's eyes began to shut, and his breathing hastened only to ceased altogether after a shallow exhalation.

"Connor?" Lucas pressed his fingers to Connor's L.E.D. and looked at the monitor only to see that his rapid heartbeat had suddenly stopped as well. "Connor!" Lucas positioned his hand on the center of Connor's chest just below the knife and began compressing in a perfect rhythm. "His Thirium pump has failed. We need to get him on artificial external bypass until the pump can be repaired, or replaced!"

"Connor?!" Hank tried to rush over to the gurney as soon as he saw Lucas pressing down on the android's chest to perform C.P.R., and Simon throw a respiration pump over Connor's mouth and nose, but Markus held him back with one arm. "What's happening?"

"The knife is preventing his Thirium pump from functioning properly." Markus replied honestly out of his tremendous respect for Hank. "It's like cardiac arrest for androids, and his heart is no longer beating."

"Cardiac- Wait... His heart?" Hank asked as he pushed Markus's arm down. "You're saying the damage is to his heart?"

"Yes..." Markus nodded slowly. "And it's just like Connor said. Bad."

Lucas motioned to the tower and gave the order. "We need to move him inside, NOW."

As Lucas and Simon wheeled the gurney inside the tower; Lucas using one hand to manually force Connor's stopped pump into motion, Hank watched in frightened fixation as his partner was taken away leaving only a faint trail of blue blood on the drive that was quickly being washed away by the cold rain that continued to fall from the dark sky overhead.

"Hank," Markus grabbed lightly onto Hank's arm to get his attention and prompt him to move forward. "we'll do everything possible to save him. Lucas is the best technician New Jericho has ever seen."

Walking silently beside Markus, the rain washing the blue blood from his shirt in massive streaks, Hank just watched in horror as the gurney carrying Connor's body was loaded into the elevator in the center of the tower. Watching the elevator descend deep down to the emergency repair wing only made the moment all the more grim.

Connor was being lowered into the ground, like a coffin into a grave.

Markus continued to try to reassure Hank, but he too was afraid for the life of the android. "Connor's strong, you know that."

"...Strong enough to live without a heart?"


Lucas pressed down against Connor's chest as the elevator descended to the necessary floor in the depths of the tower, his hand becoming drenched in blue blood as every compression caused more of the vital Thirium to seep around the blade that had struck Connor's heart. Simon continued to force cool air into Connor's ventilation biocomponents with the ambubag and pump. All the while the two androids were watching the Thirium volume on the display dwindle away slowly as each passing second threatened to end what remained of Connor's fading life in an instant.

"Simon," Lucas gave the stoic android a stern glance. "do we have any spare RK parts in stock?"

"No." The answer came heavily as he refused to make eye contact with Lucas. "CyberLife disposed of any and all spare parts from their prototype division after being forced into bankruptcy."

"We need to find a way to modify the closest compatible Thirium pump." Lucas stated as the elevator reached its destination. Josh and North were already on the floor and had prepared the area for Connor's emergency repairs. "Do we have anything of an AX model?"

"Maybe, but it'll be an AX-700." Simon elaborated as he and Lucas wheeled the gurney into the center of the room. "It won't be of an advanced enough design to properly function as a replacement."

Josh wheeled over the artificial bypass pump before he helped Lucas and Simon slide Connor from the gurney and onto the exam table. North had positioned a dozen bags of Thirium on the small cart beside the exam table and was preparing to insert the long transparent tube for artificial respiration down Connor's throat.

As soon as Connor was on the table Lucas pressed his fingers against Connor's temple to manually deactivate the wounded android's artificial skin over his chest and abdomen before he took hold of the handle of the knife he gave the three androids assisting him an uneasy stare.

"As soon as I pull out the knife he's going to bleed heavily. His shutdown timer is already at forty-four minutes, twenty-three seconds."

North looked down at the knife in Connor's chest warily. "It's going to drop by half once the knife is removed." Crossing her arms defensively over her chest she just stared with worry for the horrifically damaged and dying android before her. "Can you work that fast?"

"We're about to find out." Lucas stopped compressing Connor's chest and grabbed onto the handle of the knife. Using one swift yank he pulled the offending object from his brother's chest, out of Connor's heart and dropped it on the floor with an indifferent 'clatter'. Thirium rushed out of the wound like a damn had burst and the surrounding androids responded quickly. "Apply pressure to the wound!"

The knife was gone in a flash.

While Simon continued to keep Connor breathing, continued to keep the android's core temperature as cool as possible, Josh pressed his hand down over the gushing wound while Lucas pressed down on the plastimetal frame in Connor's chest to gain access to the panel beneath.

Exposing Connor's damaged heart disabled the use of the monitor and had caused additional Thirium to leak out all over the table onto the androids who were fighting to save his life.

North reacted to the scene quickly and grabbed a nearby pouch of blue blood. "Shit! He's going to bleed to death before we can even get the damn pump out!"

Lucas responded by pressing his hand down over the stab wound in the pump itself to block the leak with his fingers. "Simon, go find the part." Taking the respiration pump from Simon's hand Lucas began a morbid cycle of using one hand to pump cooling air into Connor's system and using his other hand to force the stopped Thirium pump into a weak, but crucial rhythm between his fingers.

A healthy Thirium pump carried a soft blue glow that would darken and brighten in rhythm with the pump's beat. Connor's Thirium pump, his heart, was a bright purple and beginning to turn red from the damage and distress it had been subjected to.

Josh pulled his hand away as soon as he saw that Lucas was keeping everything under control. Pressing the sensor pad of the monitor down against the side of Connor's chest rather than over tome, and he took a look at the new vitals on display only to shake his head. "Thirium volume is critically low, core temperature at one-hundred and two degrees and rising... Lucas, he can't wait any longer."

"Simon doesn't have the part yet!" Lucas nearly shouted in frustration as he fought to keep his brother alive. "We can't replace what we don't have."

"Put him on bypass." Josh urged vehemently as he rolled the proper equipment over to the exam table. "It'll give him a few more hours."

"If I stop compressing the pump he'll go into shutdown. I can't remove this pump and put him on bypass quick enough."

North stepped forward and gave Lucas a confident stare. "Yes you can!" She encouraged sincerely. "You pulled out that knife in less than two seconds, you can hook up the bypass pump just as quickly."

"And if I can't-"

"Here." North pushed Lucas's hand aside and began compressing Connor's heart herself between her own hands. "Josh, help him breathe."

Following North's lead Josh took the pump from Lucas's other hand. Together they worked to keep Connor's systems from shutting down while they waited for Simon to return with the replacement part.

"Alright. We have to do this FAST." Lucas stepped aside and wheeled the bypass machine closer to the table. Taking the two large plastic tubes; one for circulating the Thirium into what would've been the top chambers of Connor's heart and the other tube doing the same for the bottom chambers of the heart, he held the tubes into the position in which they would need to be fitted once the damaged heart was removed. "North, I'm going to unlock the top of the pump. When I say pull down, move as quickly as you can."

"Got it."

Working quickly Lucas located the connecting valve between the pump and the large ascending Thirial line and unlocked it. Holding his breath Lucas held his hands steady and kept his eyes focused on the task at hand before instructing North on her own task. "Now."

North pulled down on the pump all the while she kept compressing it between her hands to force Connor's heart to beat.

Securing the first tube into place with precision motion Lucas ushered North to the same as he unlocked the second valve. "Again."

Once both tubes were secured in place Josh reached over to turn on the bypass machine and watched as it quickly began circulating the remaining Thirium in Connor's system in place of his damaged heart. The pump wasn't beating on its own, but the bypass forced the blue blood to cycle through all the same.

Lucas looked at Connor's L.E.D. and sighed in relief as he saw the circular light still glowing. It was red instead of blue, or even yellow, but any color was preferable over death gray. "His systems are still online." Glancing at the attached monitor recording Connor's vital signs he gave the two assisting androids a cautious glance. "Vitals are stable."

North held Connor's damaged heart in her hands, the now useless pump still leaking blue blood all over her palms and through her fingers.

Gently Lucas took the heart from North's hands and held it for himself. The design of the pump was far different than the structural design of any of the other models that he had studied while working to become an android technician.

Despite following the same overall design to mirror that of the human heart, the design and overall functional capacity of Connor's heart; that of a prototype, was entirely unique and subsequently rare. It was highly advanced, equipped with far more sensors and relay components to allow Connor's system to work harder for longer, but it had its drawback; as it allowed more Thirium to circulate through his system more quickly and efficiently it also left Connor far more vulnerable to bleeding out.

That very flaw, maybe just an oversight, was made evident on that dreadful night. Such a unique pump would far more difficult to repair once damaged.

Josh spoke to North in a low tone. "We should get the manual respirator hooked up, too. It'll do a much better job at keeping his core temperature cool than anything we can do ourselves."

"Right." North didn't wait for Lucas to say anything. She knew he was too preoccupied with the damage done to Connor's Thirium pump; to his brother's heart.

Josh removed the smaller pump from Connor's face as North gently snaked the hollow twin tubes down his throat; one tube to force the cool air in and the second tube to let the warmer air back out. Connor never reacted to the extreme measures that we taking place in an effort to save his life as he continued to bleed out, as his heart failed to beat on its own.

"Got it."

North turned on the respiration machine and watched as Connor's exposed, bloody chest began to rise and fall with the artificial rhythm of the machine that was forcing him to breathe while he was unconscious in emergency low power mode. It was so cold and indifferent, like watching a shell of a former being had been manipulated into false motion.

Lucas cleared his throat a little as he looked down at Connor's surprisingly peaceful face. There was little solace to be taken in such a grim moment, but the idea that Connor at least wasn't in any pain would have to do.

"I'm going to see how Simon is doing. We might be able to find a way to repair the damage to this pump."

With her voice low North continued to do her part in keeping Connor alive. "I'll start adding the Thirium to the bypass machine. Hopefully we can get his volume up from critical levels without waking him up in the process."

"Yes, do what you can." Lucas stared at his brother with mounting worry and deeply seeded fear. "...It'd be for the best if he remains unconscious."


Alone with his thoughts Hank was sitting in a chair in what used to be a CyberLife conference room. It was now a New Jericho social room that allowed androids who were new to their deviancy to speak with other deviants, and help each other learn to adapt through group therapy sessions. The room was surprisingly warm and welcoming with the numerous brightly displayed images and homey touches of pottery with flowers on the tables.

Despite the somewhat comforting atmosphere it was still a waiting room all the same.

Sitting quietly with his hands folded together on his lap and trembling slightly from the rain cold and unspoken fear, Hank just sat and stared at the floor at his feet in silent contemplation. Markus had left Hank alone just long enough to get an update on Connor, and had returned with a heavy heart. Sitting next to Hank with an understanding demeanor Markus took it upon himself to break the tense silence.

"They removed the connections to his damaged Thirium pump and put him on artificial bypass. He's still unconscious, but he isn't in any pain."

Hank didn't reply as he rubbed his trembling hand over his bearded chin in quiet thought.

"Lucas is trying to repair the damage to the pump itself and Simon is trying to locate a replacement, but the odds of either succeeding-"

"It should've been me."

Markus turned to look at the detective, his mismatched eyes flashing with confusion. "Hank?"

"Tonight. I'm the one who should be... Connor got stabbed because he stopped a crazy bitch from putting a bullet in my head." Hank took in a deep breath and let it out slowly before he continued. "And what does he get for his trouble? A fuckin' knife to the heart."

"That doesn't mean it should be you fighting for your life, Hank. One life isn't equal to another."

With his head bowed down slightly his gray locks partially concealed his face as he spoke in a despondent voice. "That's what Jeffrey told me the night Cole-" He stopped himself short and pressed his face down against his hand as the emotional and mental strain of the night was beginning to take its toll. "It's happening all over again."

"Hank, your friend was right. You can't blame yourself because of what befalls the people you care about. It isn't-"

"I can't lose him, too. Markus, he's like... He is-" Hank suddenly lifted his head and crossed his arms over his chest defensively as he forced himself to speak the truth he had been trying to deny for so long. "I heard it in his voice. He was ready to just give up, to let himself die. And he wasn't afraid. Damn it, he's never afraid."

Markus could see that Hank's eyes were red and that there tears were still welling up against his blue irises. "In a few minutes Lucas wants to try a procedure that can save Connor. It means either finding a suitable replacement for his damaged Thir-"

"Heart." Hank interrupted coldly without looking at the android to his side. "It's not a pump, it's his heart."

"Lucas can either replace his... heart, or try to repair the original. But with Connor being so advanced and having no other RK models to work with... It'll be a risk."

"Connor's no stranger to risk."

The flat tone of Hank's voice resonated with Markus deeply. It was like listening to Carl trying to explain away the evils of the world around them.

"Before it begins... Would you like to see him?"

Hank turned briefly to look at Markus, his blue eyes searching all over the android's face as if looking for something in particular before he finally gave his answer. Nodding 'yes' once he let Markus show him out of the room and escort him to Sublevel fifty-one where Connor was waiting to either live, or to die.


Lucas was sitting in the emergency repair ward next to the table where Connor was resting. The wounded android's clothing had been removed and a white sheet covered him from the waist down to preserve his modesty. With Connor's chest still wide open a small suction pump had been inserted to remove the excess leaked Thirium that had pooled in his chest around his other biocomponents to clear out the cavity.

North walked quietly into the room and stood behind Lucas. It was a little to eerie to see Connor, the once famous 'Deviant Hunter' laying so vulnerable and broken with his heart torn out of his chest. What made it all the more disturbing was seeing the android that had been designed to replace him sitting idle and keeping vigil at his side.

Despite North's silence Lucas knew she had entered the bay.

"Simon couldn't find a suitable replacement." Lucas stated as he sensed North standing behind him. "He and Josh are currently looking through the manifest of the remaining CyberLife crates stored in warehouses around the city, but the chances of finding a suitable Thirium pump is still incredibly low. Less than four percent chance of success."

"What about the original pump?"

"I could only repair so much of it without any compatible replacement circuitry. Even if we placed it back inside his chest his self-healing program wouldn't be able to repair what I could not."

"So, what do we do?"

Lucas bowed his head sadly but didn't answer.

"Shit..."

The elevator doors opened as Hank and Markus walked into the room together. As soon as Lucas saw Hank he turned his gaze away as if ashamed and stood up from his seat to walk away to give the detective some space.

"I'm going to check in with Josh and Simon." Lucas stated quietly as he walked away from Connor, away from Hank, and disappeared from sight in the adjacent room. "They'll need all the help they can get."

With Markus at his side Hank walked over to the table and stared down at Connor, stared at the massive hole in his chest where his heart should be and shook his head sadly. The excess blood had been wiped away from Connor's artificial skin and the heavy bleeding had been stemmed off, but the lack of a heartbeat kept the android's appearance like that of a corpse rather than an existing being.

"North," Markus whispered respectfully to the android watching from afar. "let's give them some privacy."

Remaining silent she agreed and joined Markus as they stepped through the doorway to the adjoined room where their other colleagues were searching for any compatible parts for Connor.

Taking the vacated seat beside the table Hank grabbed onto the top of the sheet covering Connor's legs and pulled it up a little higher over the android's torso to try to cover the brutal damage to his chest. Resting his hand atop Connor's head Hank ran his hand lightly through Connor's dark locks of hair before he grabbed onto the android's limp, cold hand and gave it a tight squeeze.

"It's okay, son." In a low, heartbroken tone, Hank gave Connor his final words of comfort to the dying android before him. "I'm here. ...Dad is here."


Lucas spoke with Josh and Simon regarding their very limited options, and the three of them all agreed that there was no suitable replacement Thirium pump that could be used to replace Connor's damaged heart. The only way for Connor to recover revolved solely around repairing the damage to his original heart and replacing it within the next four hours.

If Connor's systems remained on bypass for too long they'd be unable to integrate with another Thirium pump and would reject any type of replacement.

"You've done everything you can." Simon lamented as he looked down at the partially repaired, red tinted Thirium pump contained within a protective plexiglass box on the nearby desk. "There's nothing more than can be done. You tried your best."

"There has to be a way!" Lucas stared at the heart with an almost hypnotic gaze as he refused to give up. "What if we took the circuitry from an AX model and used it to temporarily replace the damaged parts until Connor's self-healing program heals the more critical components and adapts the circuitry to update it to his own model?"

"That's only theoretical." Josh shook his head somberly. "Besides, it can only be done with advanced parts being used to replace obsolete parts. And even if we did have the parts Connor's a prototype. There's no guarantee that his system would even accept such a transfer."

Markus and North had entered the room and overheard the tail end of the conversation. The heavy emotion of the room only confirmed the grim subject being discussed.

"Lucas," Markus addressed the android as kindly as he could. "maybe you should go sit with Hank and Connor until..." Markus trailed off for a moment before finishing his statement. He didn't want to admit that Connor wasn't going to make it, but he knew the odds were to low to not accept the macabre possibility. "You'll need closure."

Lucas turned to look at Markus with defiance in his pale green eyes. "So, that's it? We're just giving up?"

"We did everything possible, but there are some things that are just too broken to be fixed. I'm sorry."

Lucas sank down into a chair beside the desk and pressed his forehead to his hand as he leaned forward. "Markus... I'll tell Hank what's happening. It's... It's my responsibility. After all, Connor's my... brother."

Sighing quietly to himself Markus motioned for Simon and Josh to leave the room before doing to same to North. Standing beside Lucas empathetically Markus put his hand on the android's shoulder in a gesture of sincere compassion. "I know how much it hurts to lose a family member. Take as much time as you need. We'll be upstairs if you need us."

Lucas nodded slowly as Markus let his shoulder go and exited the room to give the skilled technician some space to think. Sitting alone beside the partially repaired ruby red heart of his own brother inside the box Lucas stared at it then looked down at his own left hand still stained in Connor's evaporating blood. Closing his fingers into a tight fist an intriguing thought popped into Lucas's mind.

A thought that was worth exploring.

"I'm an RK model. I'm more advanced than Connor." Relaxing his hand he placed it atop the box and stared at the blue tinted, motionless heart within. "The circuitry doesn't have to be from an identical Thirium pump, it just needs to come from an identical source."

Moving quickly Lucas shrugged off his white lab coat and rolled up the sleeve of his uniform shirt from his left arm. Pressing down on his wrist with his two forefingers from his right hand Lucas retracted the artificial skin from his forearm then pressed down again to slide open a panel of the plastimetal frame to reveal the inner components of his arm within.

The small, delicate tools that Lucas had used to repair Connor's heart were still resting nearby, just begging to be used again.

Selecting a piece of equipment similar to that of needle thin forceps Lucas began isolating and removing delicate pieces of his own circuitry from his arm with a painstaking accuracy normally reserved only for the greatest marksmen on the planet.

"...If this doesn't work then I can at least tell Hank that I did everything I could to save Connor."


Hank stared at the rhythmically blinking red L.E.D. in Connor's temple, watching as the blinking began to slow its rate as Connor's systems started to shutdown one by one. It wouldn't be long before the android's L.E.D. shifted to gray, his body dying and his mind turning off permanently. It wouldn't be long before Hank had to say goodbye.

Say goodbye to another partner.

To another friend.

Another son.

Connor's breathing began to slow again as his system started to have a negative reaction to the external ventilator being used to keep him alive. The device was straining his weakened biocomponents as his system struggled to properly initiate his self-healing program properly. A program that wouldn't be able to undo the damage in time.

"Connor... when you get to the other side, I need you to do me a favor." Hank absentmindedly began to squeeze Connor's hand tighter as he spoke. "I need you to find Cole and tell him that I'm sorry I couldn't save him, and that I never stopped thinking about him. Tell him that for me, and then... Stay with him until I come to join you, alright? I'll find you both when my own time comes."

The door to the adjoined room opened and Lucas all but sprinted back over to the table on the opposite side of Hank with the repaired red tinted Thirium pump clutched protectively in his right hand. Beneath the long, baggy sleeve of his tecnician's coat Lucas's left hand and arm were secured beneath an external plastimetal cast as if to protect it from damage.

"Hank..."

"Lucas? What's-"

"I managed to repair his heart, but I need your help!"

"M-My help?!" Hank shot up from his chair and leaned over the table to look directly into Lucas's green eyes as the android hovered over Connor. "You need me to help?"

"Yes. This needs to be done quickly and we don't have time for the others to rejoin us down here."

Eager to do what needed to be done Hank threw off his coat and rolled up his sleeves readily. "What do I have to do?"

Lucas held out Connor's heart, reaching over the android's motionless body, to give it to Hank. "I'm going to turn off the bypass machine, and once it's off we'll only have two minutes to replace Connor's heart."

"...Two minutes?"

"Connor's shutdown timer is down to six minutes, but after everything that's happened I suspect that it might be inaccurate. Here." Lucas pulled back the sheet from Connor's chest and pointed to the hole where his heart needed to be place. "Put the pump right here. I'll unhook the top bypass tube, and once it's free press the connecting valve on the pump to where the tube was and lock it into place by turning the top bracket off the valve clockwise into the coupling."

"Like this?" Hank asked as he placed both of his shaking hands protectively around the heart and held it over the hole in Connor's chest.

"Yes. Exactly." Lucas reached over to the bypass machine with his right hand and hovered his finger over the operational switch. "Ready?"

Hank took a deep breath and held it. "Ready."

Moving with swift precision Lucas switched off the bypass machine then pressed his fingers around the top bypass tube with the same right hand. Disconnecting the tube from the interior valve of Connor's chest he pulled back his hand and watched as Hank pressed the pump into position and turned the bracket clockwise until he heard a 'click'.

A faint blue glow began to emanate from the replaced heart in Connor's chest as Thirium began to circulate through the biocomponent again.

"Good." Lucas stated as he repeated the motion for the second tube of the machine. And again Hank pressed the pump down against the valve and twisted the bracket until there was another 'click'.

Hank pulled his trembling hands away from Connor's heart and watched as the blue glow became brighter and stayed bright. While the pump itself was stable in position and blue blood began to flow through the absolutely vital biocomponent as normal, the pump itself wasn't moving. Connor's heart still wasn't beating.

Connor's blinking L.E.D. slowly began to shift into a steadier cycle, though it remained red in color.

"Did it work?" Hank asked as he stared down at the motionless heart worriedly, unsure of what to expect. "Is he...?"

"Yes, but his heart needs to be jumpstarted." Lucas replied confidently as he rolled the bypass machine a little closer to the table.

Atop the machine there were two circular electrode paddles attached to the machine via thick black wires. The paddles were of modest size and had flat metal plates on one side and plastimetal handles on the other side. It was very similar to the android defibrillator that the precinct technician himself had for emergency use.

"I hate doing this, but it's the only way to ensure that the replacement circuitry within the pump will respond correctly." Lucas placed one of the paddles down over the center of Connor's heart and the other at the apex of his chest. "Lowest possible setting should be enough to coax the pump into activity without causing any electrical burns."

Hank never questioned Lucas or tried to stop him. Stepping away from the table he just stared and waited for something, anything to happen. "Do it."

Lucas nodded once as he tightened his grips around the paddles, his left hand struggling somewhat, and pressed the release button near the top of the handles. As he did a controlled flow of electricity surged through Connor's heart causing the android's back to arch upward from the table and slam back down again.

The L.E.D. in Connor's temple cycled red rapidly three times before transitioning into yellow as his systems began to respond.

Pulling his hands back Lucas and Hank looked down at Connor's heart and waited. One second passed, then a second, a third... Then at last the pump contracted and relaxed with a single beat. The motion repeated to provide a second beat. Than another, and another...

Connor's heart was beating.

Lucas all but collapsed back against the bypass machine in relief as he watched his brother come back from the brink of death before his very eyes. It worked.

Hank pressed his hands down against the edge of the table for support as he let out his breath at last and leaned over the revived android. "...You did it. You saved his life."

"I... It worked." Lucas all but huffed as he stood upright again and leaned watched Connor's heart beating again. "It was a successful procedure."

"Lucas." Hank lifted his head and on shaking legs walked around the other side of the table to stand before the android. Wrapping his arms around Lucas in a tight hug Hank felt a sense of lingering resentment he was secretly harboring toward the RK-900; still mistrustful of the android for his previous actions as a machine, finally lift from his shoulders. "You did it, you saved your brother's life."

Lucas lifted his arms up slowly to reciprocate the hug. "...We saved him."


Word quickly spread throughout the tower and the precinct that Connor had survived the attack. The repaired android would need time to fully recover after enduring such a brutal assault, but the fact that he survived we deemed somewhat miraculous. Though still unconscious Connor was responding well to the treatments being provided by Simon and Josh as they monitored Connor very closely. Hank was sitting beside the android with his hand resting atop Connor's arm just waiting for his partner; his friend, to open his eyes again.

Markus and North, however, were up on the top floor of the tower reprimanding Lucas for his risking his life in such a dangerous, and secretive manner.

"You could've crippled your arm permanently, or done worse!" Markus all but shouted at the scolded android as he flexed his substantially weaker arm where he sat. "What you did was dangerous, reckless and stupid!"

"I'm sorry Markus, but I had to do something." Lucas argued as he stood his ground and stood by his actions. "I couldn't just let him die. He's my brother!"

Markus didn't know how to respond to the defensive remark and held his silence in turn. But North on the other hand has a few thoughts of her own on the matter and wasn't about to hold them back.

"Lucas," she sounded more frightened than angry. "you're the most advanced android on this entire planet. If you permanently damaged yourself then there would've been absolutely nothing we could've done to help you. Not to mention the fact that you're our chief technician! If something happens to you then all of our people will be affected. We need you."

"I'm sorry North. But it was the only way, and it worked. Besides," Lucas kept his right hand over his left arm as his self-healing program tried to compensate for the now missing circuitry in the limb. "now we know that is it possible to transfer advanced hardware into obsolete models. Think how many more lives we can save now that we know this can work."

"Don't try to use this breakthrough as some type of excuse for recklessness."

"I'm not." Lucas defended himself sincerely without any form of hostility to his voice. "But I am saying that while what I did was impulsive and foolish, some good did come of it. But seeing as I am apart of this community I will accept whatever discipline comes my way."

North sighed and crossed her arms as she looked over at Markus to see how'd handle the situation. "Well? What are we going to do with him?"

Markus bit his lower lip for a moment before he spoke up again. "...First time offense. You get a warning. But if you ever, and I mean ever, under any circumstances put yourself at risk like that again, there will be consequences. Clear?"

"Yes." Lucas nodded without any protest. "I understand completely."

"Good. Go check in with Simon. Let him examine your arm, I want a full detailed report on your condition."

"Okay, Markus. I'll report to Simon immediately."

As Lucas left the room Markus found a hole being burned in the side of his face from North. Sensing her stare he turned to look at her and dropped his arms at his sides. "What?"

"First offense gets a warning? Since when?"

"...Since he saved Connor. But I wasn't bluffing when I said there'd be consequences for any further misbehavior or misconduct."

"Let's just hope it doesn't come to that." North uncrossed her arms and wrapped her hand around Markus's hand tightly. The two retracted their artificial skin and connected to one another through direct contact of their plastimetal frames. "For both of our sake."


Connors L.E.D. was cycling blue in color again as his systems fully rebooted and stabilized as he rested. The tube down his throat that had been forcing artificial breaths into his body had been removed, and now he was breathing on his own. As his chest slowly rose and fell in a steady rhythm it was evident to all who passed by that Connor's heart was beating once more.

The android was still alive.

Hank watched over Connor diligently at the android's bedside. Staring at Connor's repaired chest; the panel now closed, his artificial skin regenerated, the blue blood wiped away and no sign of the stab wound anywhere on his person, Hank found himself absolutely awestruck by the vitality androids. Despite being alive and well Hank was still worried that it was too good to be true.

Reaching over Hank gently rested his hand down over the center of Connor's chest and felt the repaired heart beating under his palm with a palpable thrum. The beat was strong, consistent and steady.

"Connor?" Speaking softly Hank put his other hand atop Connor's head and rested his palm against the android's soft, dark locks of hair. Lightly Hank's thumb absentmindedly brushed through the dark locks in a comforting manner. "If you can hear me I want to let you know that tomorrow morning I'll be able to take you back home. You're going to be just fine, son."

The android remained quiet as he rested peacefully under Hank's watchful eyes. As the detective kept his palm over Connor's chest he managed a weak, but sincere smile as he watched Connor's chest rise and fall.

"Thanks for staying with me, son."

...next story...