Jericho wasn't what you expected. You weren't really sure what you had expected, but a rusting freighter wasn't it. Still, it was smart. Not the kind of place someone would snoop around unless they had to, hiding in plain sight. And it had been for quite some time, if the lived-in status of the ship was any indication. The only safe haven for deviants in the city of Detroit. It stood to reason that they would be protective of it, and suspicious of any outsiders. Especially a human.

It didn't make the looks you were getting from them any more comfortable, though.

Androids picked up on the fact that you were human almost instantly, no doubt running a scan of your face the minute they saw someone unfamiliar to them. What followed was a series of glares and suspicious glances. At least until they saw Simon limping beside you, his arm around your shoulders. Then, most of them could care less about you being there.

Most, because when two androids stopped you to check on Simon - a man and a woman - they both looked at you like you were a match dropped in the middle of a forest.

"Simon," the man spoke his name like he had never expected to say it again. He rushed to his side, inspecting the blond android with wide eyes. When he turned his gaze to you, you were thrilled to find it even the tiniest bit softer than before.

"I . . ." you felt compelled to explain what you were doing here but found it hard to get the words out. You started with your name. "I did what I could to fix him," you didn't like your word choice, but you kept going. "He asked me to bring him here."

"And you let her?" the woman hissed, eyeing you with what was perhaps the most vicious glare you'd ever received. "She's a human. She can't be trusted."

"North," the other android cautioned, about to speak more when Simon interrupted them.

"She saved my life. She risked her own life to help me."

North scoffed, obviously not impressed. "How do we know that she didn't do that just to find out where Jericho is? So you would lead her back here and then she could have us all slaughtered?"

"Because if that was my plan, the army would already be here!" It was your turn to speak up, though you didn't remember deciding to do so. Still, it stopped all three of the androids from talking, focusing their attention on you. Waiting to see what you had to say, and ready to deal with you if they didn't like it. "If I was going to give up Jericho, I would have just turned Simon in to the police. I came here to get him help, that's all. I even ditched my phone on the way here, no one's gonna be tracking me." It was true. You had left it stuffed between a gap in the bricks of a building in Ferndale when Simon had brought it up. Hopefully it would still be there when this was all over, but you knew that you had to be cautious. "If that's not good enough for you, ask Markus."

That seemed to get their attention.

"How do you know about Markus?" The man counter to North asked, almost fearful.

How much to tell them? Admitting that Markus hadn't exactly wanted you to be there probably wasn't a good idea. "He's a friend," you said, truthfully.

North didn't seem convinced. She narrowed her eyes - despite the fact that you weren't sure it was possible - and sneered. When her friend didn't return her sentiment, it seemed to only make her mood worse. "Josh," she pressed, expecting a response.

The man - Josh - didn't answer her, instead looking to Simon for confirmation, not hiding his surprise when Simon nodded. Josh looked back to North, his eyes soft against her hardened stare.

"Thank you for helping him," he murmured, clearly unsure of what to do. "We can take him to Lucy. She'll be able to help."

You nodded, thankful when the android went to Simon's other side, slipping his free arm around his shoulders. You supposed that you could have let go then; androids were much stronger than humans, so one of them would be more than able to handle Simon's weight. Instead, you kept yourself at his side. You had carried him across downtown Detroit. His blue blood had soaked your clothes, and your muscles ached from the effort. You could have been arrested or worse. You were seeing this through until the end.

North didn't seem to appreciate your continued presence. At all. She followed the three of you, watching you like a hawk as you wove through the mass of androids that were congregated around the ship. You tried not to pay too much attention to her glares, focusing instead on Simon.

He looked, for the first time that night, at ease.

You certainly couldn't say the same when the friendlier of the two androids led you around a corner, bringing you face to face with a woman who had starless skies in place of eyes. "Simon," she spoke like she was about to cast a spell, "you've come home." She gestured for you to bring him forward, and you and Josh helped him sit on a crate that doubled as a chair. It very well could have been your imagination, but you could have sworn that Simon winced as you set him down.

"Is he gonna be okay?" you asked as you helped Simon lay back, directing your question at the broken down android you assumed to by Lucy.

She didn't answer you. Not at first. Instead, she took Simon's hand in her own, her synthetic skin fully disappearing to reveal the true one beneath it. Simon's hand followed suit, and both of them closed their eyes for a moment. Are they sharing information? You had never seen androids do it before, although the knew that they had the capacity. When she opened her eyes again, she looked up at you and you finally understood what people meant when they said someone's gaze could pierce your soul. "He will be." You nodded, relief flooding you as she set to work.

Lucy looked like a ghost. Her skin rippled, showing the milky white of an android's true skin in cloudy patterns, her synthetic skin offsetting it. Even more unsettling was the portion of her head that was missing, exposing wires and lights that ran down into her neck. Still, despite her appearance, she was exceedingly gentle with Simon, moving like a wisp through the air. Even when she sealed his wounds with a hot metal poker, she did so with an air of gentle mercy.

All the while, you watched from the corner, doing your best to remain out of the way. "I don't know how much you know about what happened," Josh kept his voice quiet as he spoke to you, eyeing North as he did, "I thought Simon was dead. We all did." You looked over at the android, finding a sincere look in place of the untrusting ones from earlier. "Not many humans would have helped him. Thank you."

You gave him a small smile, but you let it go just as quickly as it came. "How long have you been here?"

Josh shook his head. "A couple of weeks. Feels like longer though," he conceded, and from the tiredness in his eyes, you believed him. "But since Markus has been here, things have been different."

Simon sitting up pulled the two of you out of your conversation, and you let out a sigh of relief you didn't know you'd been holding in.

Josh and North rushed to his side, and for the first time you decided you would keep your distance. You would want to be with your friends, were you in Simon's shoes. Plus, you could do with a breather.

Lucy had other plans for you. You hadn't even realized she'd come up to you, her steps were so quiet. "You brought him here," she said, jump-starting your heart. Her voice was calm despite your reaction, like she was just pointing out that it was snowing or that there were clouds in the sky. "You throw yourself into danger if it means protecting others." You weren't used to being deconstructed on the spot, much less by someone you had just met. "Be careful that you do not fall to danger in doing so."

All you could really do was nod, avoiding making eye contact with the android.

"Lucy gives good advice." Simon's voice pulled your attention - much to your delight - as he took steady steps toward you. Josh and North stayed back. Josh looked content enough, but North . . . you had to assume that she just always had a scowl on her face. You didn't pay attention to her for long, turning your focus back to Simon. Blue blood was still flecked on his face but his limp was gone.

"You gonna be okay?" you asked, more to gage how he was feeling now than anything else.

Simon nodded. "Thanks to you."

You shrugged, purely out of instinct. "I would say it was nothing," you grinned, finding it in yourself to try a joke, "but we did almost die a couple times."

The android offered you a small smile. "We should go find Markus."

Ah, there it is. The thing you'd been both excited and terrified for. You tried to ignore the possibilities of how this meeting could go, keeping your face as blank as you could. You nodded in agreement, ignoring the way your words got stuck in your throat. "I guess we should."

You didn't make it more than two steps before North stopped you, fixing you in place with a hard stare. "You saved Simon. That's the only reason I'm letting you stay." You bristled, suppressing your urge to fight the woman on the spot.

"North," Josh tried to interfere, but North brushed him off.

"If you're here to get sympathy, or to make us a charity case, you're in the wrong place. If you're here to hurt us, we'll hurt you."

Step away before you do something stupid. You nodded, because if you responded with words it would probably end in punches. Against everything your instincts were telling you to do, you continued past North, pushing your anger down.

Now, it was Simon's turn to lead the way. He stepped out of Lucy's little enclave, and you trailed close at his heels. You took the opportunity to really look at the androids around you now, at the people fighting for their freedom. Many of them still wore their CyberLife-issued clothes, the bright blue triangle glowing against the dim lighting of the ship. They must have been the ones freed from the CyberLife stores just the night before. People experiencing their first few hours of freedom, being able to make their own choices.

There was something almost child-like about them. Wide eyes and uncertainty. Was deviating like waking up? You counted yourself thankful that you would never have to find out.

Then again, you supposed that your actions last night were the actions of deviant as much as anything any of these androids had done.

The rational part of you reasoned that you had done the right thing. Regardless of what happened now, you knew that it wouldn't change your mind about that. You would never regret helping Simon. You would never regret at least trying to take a stand for androids.

You did regret not thinking of something to say to Markus when you and Simon rounded a corner, finding none other than the newly dubbed leader of Jericho heading straight towards you. You and Simon both stopped in your tracks, watching as Markus registered what he was seeing. You willed yourself to become smaller and less noticeable, shrinking into the hall you had just come from. It seemed to work for a moment, with Markus' attention fixed on Simon, his serious expression falling to one of disbelief.

The pair didn't exchange any words, instead moving into what should have been a strictly human interaction. You couldn't help but smile at the sight of the two androids hugging.

Then Markus' eyes met your own and your smile faded.

He pulled away from Simon, staring at you. He didn't speak at first, looking between you and Simon, piecing the story together. He held Simon's gaze and you could have sworn an entire conversation passed between the two of them. When Markus looked back to you, his eyes were wide.

"You found him," he realized, taking a few steps towards you.

You nodded, not enjoying the feeling of uncertainty that built in your stomach. "I did. He needed help, so I helped him."

Markus murmured your name, but you interrupted him.

"And you need help too. I don't know how much I can really do, but I'm not going to just stand by and do nothing. I'm not going to let you do this alone." You could have sworn that Simon looked impressed, though your attention wasn't really fixed on him in that moment. You were focused on Markus, on the serious crease between his eyebrows and the storm behind his eyes. He looked so sure, so stern, but also scared. Scared of what might happen if he said yes to you.

You had stopped begging for things at a very young age. Your parents taught you that if you wanted something, you worked for it. You were very proud of what little you had in life because you had not been given a single piece of it. Now though, with no other option, you swallowed your pride. "Please, Markus."

Whoever had designed Markus had put a painstaking amount of effort into it. You watched as he registered your words, his eyes softening and his brow going slack in a way that was undeniably human. He still didn't speak, but you didn't need him to. For the second time in the last twenty-four hours, you and Markus fell into a tight embrace. This time though, he had been the one to initiate it. This time, there was something more dire behind the gesture, a fear shared between the both of you, given what was sure to come, that this would be your last opportunity to do this.

Tightening your arms around Markus, you promised yourself that that wouldn't be the case.