You had gone swimming in Lake Michigan, once. For years your friends had planned a huge graduation road-trip. The original plan had been to pile into a car and drive half-way across the country, or even going up into Canada to celebrate making it through high school. In the end, each of you had been too broke for anything more than a drive to the lake. You remembered complaining about how cold the water was that day, taking forever to convince yourself to even get in up to your waist.

I was such a little bitch, you thought, wrapping your arms tightly around yourself. Now, after jumping into a river in the dead of a winter night, you knew what real cold water felt like.

And it sucked.

You tried desperately to stop your teeth from chattering, huddling against a wall. The church that Markus had found was at least shielded against the wind, but without heating it wasn't doing much to help your situation. You couldn't remember ever being so cold, which was saying something for having grown up in Detroit. That, and your head still hurt from where you'd hit it. No concussion, you were pretty sure, but it still hurt like hell. It was impossible to hide, but that didn't stop you from bristling a little when you heard North approach, snickering a little. "You look terrible." You glared at her until she handed you a dry set of clothes. The idea of changing out of the wet clothes you were wearing was nothing short of blissful.

"Thanks," you muttered, taking the clothes.

North shrugged. "Can't have you freezing to death," she said, dryly. You thought that the conversation was over and went to take off your frozen jacket. You only stopped when you realized that North hadn't moved. You looked back up at her, tilting your head in a silent question. She watched you, her eyes empty of malice - a substantial change from just a day ago. "That was pretty stupid of you, going after me like that," she said, but there was no anger in her voice. "Thank you."

She didn't give you the chance to say anything else, turning and walking off into the crowd of androids. You stared after her in disbelief; you never thought North would have anything but criticism for you. You supposed that almost dying had a way of bringing people together.

You found an out-of-the-way corner, changing as quickly as you could, leaving your still-wet clothes on the ground. You still shivered, but having something dry to wear was a vast improvement, even if they weren't quite the right size. There was something comforting about that too, though; you had grown up wearing hand-me-downs. It was almost like being a kid again.

A kid in a war who was surrounded by robots.

You pulled your new jacket around your shoulders, rubbing your hands together to try and get your blood flowing again as you stepped out into the growing crowd. It would be a while before all of the survivors of the attack would show up; they had scattered across the city when they ran. That's what Markus had told you anyway.

He was talking with Simon and Josh on the other side of the church. They stood on the elevated platform, each of them murmuring with solemn looks on their faces. Quite the survival party. You walked forward, weaving through the few androids between you and Markus. They looked at you as you passed, like you might have some answers. Like you would be able to tell them why terrible things happened to them, why they kept happening. You didn't have any answers other than the world was a terrible place. A terrible place with a few bright spots here and there.

A hand on your arm stopped you from getting past the pews, gentle but enough to halt your walk. You turned, meeting a familiar pair of wide, brown eyes. The android I saved. And who saved me back. She made it. Both of you made it. "I . . ." she stammered, letting your arm go. "You saved me, back at Jericho . . ."

"And you saved me," you smiled, despite the grim memory of thinking you were going to die.

She looked thoughtful, like she was reliving the memory herself. "You helped me when no one else did. I was afraid but then I saw you," something in her gaze had steeled. "I had to help you." She couldn't have been a deviant for long; she was still wearing her CyberLife issued uniform. Maybe one of the thousands that Markus woke up during the march. Either way, she hadn't lived for long, and she chose to help save you, risking her life in the process.

"I'm glad you did, probably be dead now if you hadn't." You grinned, but it didn't reach you eyes. You would be dead without her. And she would be dead without you. Both of you had risked yourselves for someone you had never met before, someone who was of a different species entirely. It was strange and surreal, something you hadn't let yourself really think of until now. Would either of you live out the month? The week? You couldn't say. What mattered was that you had given each other the chance to. "Thank you," you found yourself saying, purely sincere.

"Thank you," she whispered, her own voice quivering.

You nodded, about to turn away when she spoke again.

"I'm June." She said, with an urgency that surprised you. She wanted you to know who she was, and you supposed that you understood that need. How many people had she told her name to? Had she chosen it herself or was it picked for her? You didn't know, and you supposed that it didn't really matter. It was who she was, and she wanted someone to care about her, just like any other person. Just like you.

You smiled back at June, giving her your own name in a hushed tone. "It's nice to meet you, June." You offered her your hand.

June shook it, her grip gentle. "It's nice to meet you too."

Your name being called pulled your attention behind you, and you saw the crowd parting for Markus as he made his way toward you. He looked between you and June, an apologetic expression on his face, but it was evident enough that he wanted to talk.

You turned to June, who started at Markus before looking back to you. You gave her a look, asking for permission to leave. She nodded once, enough of a signal for you.

"I'll see you around," you offered, earning you a small smile. June stepped away, rejoining a small group of androids. You turned back to Markus, watching his expression shift to one of concern. "Are you alright?" you asked, taking a step towards him.

He shook his head. "I should be asking you that. You're still cold," he observed, taking your hand in his. The action made you painfully aware of how many eyes were focused on the two of you. You also realized that you were too tired and cold to give a damn. "Come on," Markus murmured, leading you through the crowd. He directed you to an unused bench, away from the largest group of androids. He took a seat beside you, taking his coat off and draping it over your shoulders before settling in close to you. You couldn't help but chuckle.

"Thanks," you smiled, wrapping his jacket tighter around you. Markus nodded in an it was nothing sort of way. You let yourself lean in to him, feeling the warmth of his body through the layers of clothing you were wearing. You envied androids for being able to control their own body temperature; you would kill for that ability right now. Still, you couldn't complain if Markus used it as an excuse to be this close to you. With all the shit that had been happening, you would take comfort where you could find it. Markus, it seemed, felt the same way.

The two of you sat in silence for a while, becoming lost in your own thoughts - and there were plenty of thoughts to get lost in.

"What's on your mind?" you finally asked, seeing him wrestling with something.

Markus looked to you, his eyebrows knitting together. "You asked if I was willing to fight for my people's freedom," he began, and you knew by his grave tone that something was very wrong. "They aren't giving us a choice anymore."

Your breath turned to smoke as it left you, your eyes darkening. He was right. The army had invaded Jericho with the intent to wipe everyone out, unarmed or not. This wasn't a war, this was an extermination. "So what are you gonna do?"

"They only understand violence. I don't know if we can do anything other than fight them." Markus responded almost too quickly, like he was trying to justify the words not just to you but to himself as well. You knew that you would have launched an attack after tonight. You would have pulled all the androids together and started a fight against the unjustness of the whole thing. Your first instinct was to fight. Markus' shouldn't have been. It was strange that you, who had so often advocated for Markus to push back against the world, were almost hurt to hear him talk about fighting back now. It hurt because it wasn't him, you supposed, because the world was forcing him to become something he wasn't.

Still, you knew that he had to do something.

"I killed people tonight." His admission was a bolt of lightning. A car skidding on ice. Something unexpected and impossible to ignore.

You couldn't help but gape at him, putting two and two together. You'd seen him pull the trigger on someone, you knew that it was life or death but there was something about him saying it out loud that made it real. The soldiers had guns, and they had tried to kill him, of course Markus couldn't have survived without killing some of them. Hell, you had been prepared to do whatever it took to survive too. Still, the realization, coupled with the look of complete guilt on Markus' face was enough to tie your gut in knots.

"You did what you had to do, Markus." You did believe that, you truly did. That didn't make any of this less difficult.

Markus shook his head. "There had to have been another way-"

You knew where he was headed, what spiral he was about to fall down. The cold now forgotten, you rested a hand on his shoulder. "Don't do that to yourself. You didn't make them attack you, you didn't force those soldiers to fight." He grimaced, like he didn't fully believe you, but you kept going. "Maybe there was another choice, but you did what you had to do to stay alive." And I'm grateful for that much, at least. "That's all any of us can do."

Markus closed his eyes, thinking for a moment. When he opened them, he looked out into growing crowd of androids. "I don't know what to do," he finally admitted.

You shook your head. "Neither do I." It was a true, humorless admission, but one that came with an idea. "But you know who might?"

Markus looked at you, his expression one of understanding, joy and fear all at the same time. "I haven't seen him since . . ." Markus trailed off, not needing to finish the sentence. You nodded, waiting to see what Markus would say. It was several long moments before he spoke again, his tone stronger than it had been all night. "Will you go with me?"

You nodded. "Of course I will."