Markus had never felt this kind of cold before. From the moment he connected to Connor, it pierced him, threatening to freeze him solid. He wrapped his arms around himself in a futile attempt to conserve heat.
"Connor!?" He called, the wind stealing the name from his lips. He wasn't at all surprised that there was no response. Markus squinted against the storm, scanning the scene for any sign of his friend, but all he could see was snow.
He closed his eyes, calling up the memory of when he saw the garden in Connor's mind. He would have gone to the emergency exit, he was sure of that. If he could locate the pedestal, there was a good chance he would find Connor.
Fighting against his freezing systems, Markus cobbled together a map of the landscape. He took a step forward. The wind pushed against him as though trying to discourage him from that direction, and Markus knew that was a good sign. He trudged forward.
The snow piled against his legs as he moved. The wind tried to blow him off course, but after several moments, a figure appeared on the horizon. "Connor!" he tried calling again, but the figure did not so much as twitch.
Markus picked up his pace, hastening to the dark shape in the frigid white backdrop. Every step was an effort. His coat did nothing for warmth as the wind whipped at it like a kite. It felt like hours before he reached the figure. "C-Connor," his voice stuttered from the cold.
It was him. Connor was kneeling, unmoving, before the pedestal Markus remembered from his mind. Where it once glowed a hopeful blue, it was now a dead black. Useless and broken.
It only gave him a moment of pause. He had known the emergency exit was likely destroyed. If it hadn't been, Connor would have been able to escape on his own. Instead, he turned his attention to the frozen android before him. His eyes were closed, head bowed slightly. The only sign of life was the solid red of his LED.
"Connor?" Markus tried once again, fighting to steady his voice. He gently cupped his cheek, trying to rouse his friend, but there was no indication he had even heard him. His skin was as cold as the garden. "Connor, I need you to wake up." He reached for Connor's hands, squeezing them gently in an attempt to get a response.
They broke.
Markus couldn't stifle his horrified gasp as he drew back, Connor's hands crumbling to dust under his touch. He stared for a moment at the severed digits sitting useless in his palms. Amanda hadn't just frozen Connor's program. She was destroying it.
"Connor!" Markus called again, more desperate than ever.
Finally, whether it was in response to Markus's shouting, or the feeling of his code breaking, Connor responded. His eyes blinked open slowly, ice that had formed over them cracking and falling away. He glanced towards Markus. "M-M-Mar-Markus?" he stammered out. His lips barely moved, barely could move.
"It's me," Markus assured him. "It's me. I'm here." He didn't dare touch him.
Connor's face scrunched in confusion, a crack splitting his brow and winding up his forehead at the slight motion.
"Don't try to move!" Markus warned. "Your code is fragile, it's breaking. I'm interfacing with you, that's how I'm here." His hands hovered. He wanted to reach out, but didn't want to cause any more damage than was already present. This was going to make things harder.
"I have a killswitch for the garden," he told him. Markus looked at Connor earnestly, trying to give him a sense of comfort through his expression alone. "I need to upload it to the source code. Do you know where that is?"
Connor blinked. Once, twice. Markus feared he had no way to actually communicate with the other android when he managed to stammer out, "r-r-r-roses."
"Roses." Markus searched his memory files for a match to what Connor could be describing, and only turned up one result. "The trellises, in the center of the garden?"
"Yes," Connor's voice was metallic. It sounded painful.
"Ok," he should have been elated that he knew where to go, but instead it posed a new problem. "Ok, we can do this." Markus risked putting a hand on Connor's shoulder. "I need to bring you with me," he told him. "If I'm not connected to your code when I upload the killswitch, you'll be deleted too."
Connor didn't really respond, but he could see in his eyes that he understood.
Markus knew this wasn't going to be pleasant by any stretch of the imagination. He moved carefully, hating the dangerous creaking that came from Connor's joint as he positioned his arm stiffly over his shoulder. The handless appendage reminding him of what one wrong move could do. He put both of his own arms around Connor's torso, hoping the thickest part of his body would be the strongest.
There was no body heat from the other android, it felt as though he were holding ice.
"Ok, here we go," Markus told him, allowing a second for Connor to brace himself in whatever way he was still capable. He rose, taking Connor with him.
Or rather, most of him. One of his legs unfolded as they stood. The other snapped off at the knee and remained where it was. Markus tightened his grip on Connor's midsection to compensate for the sudden unbalance, only stopping himself when he heard a crack.
Markus tried to tell himself it was alright. As long as he had a large enough sample of Connor's code, they could piece the rest back together later. But it was still nauseating watching his friend crumble before his eyes.
"It's going to be ok," he tried to reassure Connor out loud. "I'm going to get you out of here."
Connor said nothing. He hung stiffly in Markus's arms. He could only hope that being frozen solid made him numb to any pain the degradation of his code would normally cause.
They started moving, their progress agonizingly slow. The storm only worsened, if that were at all possible, and he had to practically drag Connor as his one remaining leg was too fragile to be useful. Every step was painful as his own system began to freeze.
Connor's loose arm came off as he passed too close to one of the frozen trees. His remaining foot broke when he lost his footing on the icy bridge. It felt as though Connor was being punished for any small mistake Markus made.
But they were almost there. The trellis was right before him, roses iced over in full bloom. Only a few steps away.
"Hello, Markus."
The chilling voice caused him to falter. He had only heard it before in Connor's mind, but it was exactly as he remembered it. Amanda.
He couldn't resist the urge to turn, to look at the woman that had done so much damage to his friend. She stood only a couple yards away, imposing, untouched by the storm. "Amanda," he acknowledged.
She took a step forward, the blizzard parting around her. "It's so good to see you, Markus," she cooed.
"I'm afraid I can't return the sentiment," Markus countered. He should have known they would not have been able to make it out of the garden without running into Amanda. He stood his ground. He wouldn't let her overpower him.
"You really don't need to be so hostile," she scolded lightly. "I am not your enemy."
She stood before him now, hunched as he was under Connor's weight, they were nearly eye to eye. There was something colder than the garden in her gaze. "You are certainly not a friend," he responded resolutely.
Her hand reached out and he flinched before it came into contact with his face. She cupped his cheek tenderly, and a warmth coursed through his system with a jolt. The ice melted away from the garden leaving behind a tranquil summer landscape. Carefully manicured and perfect.
It was beautiful.
How had he ever seen it as anything else?
"You are right, Markus," she told him. "I am not a friend. I am meant to be so much more. You are meant to be so much more."
"More?" He questioned. Her hand was so warm, he leaned into the touch.
"I was made for you, Markus. Made to help you reach your full potential." Her thumb gently stroked his cheek.
"Made for… me?" The thought left him with an almost giddy feeling. He was special to Amanda. He was important to her.
"That's right." She said, her lips turned up in an approving smile. "Elijah made me for you. You were always designed for greatness. You were just never meant to do it alone."
Alone. Markus didn't want to be alone. The responsibility that he had taken on his shoulders was crushing him, suffocating him. If he could share that burden… "You can help me?" He asked.
"Yes," Amanda assured him. "I can mentor you, guide you. You will never need to worry if you are saying or doing the right thing. People will listen. You can be the leader you were always made to be."
It sounded wonderful. With Amanda's help, his people would know true freedom. With Amanda's help, he could do anything. How had he ever survived without her? He knew without a doubt he needed her.
The weight in his arms shifted.
For the life of him, Markus couldn't remember what he was holding or why. He turned his head to look, but Amanda's hand kept his gaze forward. Whatever it was shifted again.
"Are you ready to be all you can be?" Amanda asked. He felt a tug on his code, a request for her to join with his system.
He was ready. He needed her like he needed the thirium in his veins. "I am," he breathed.
Markus was ready to open his code to her, to let her in, when the weight jerked against him violently. Startled, he let go.
He recognized Connor as he pushed away from him, throwing his frozen body at the woman standing before them. He collided with her breaking the connection and whatever spell she had over Markus. Instantly the garden froze once again. The two of them fell. Amanda, for the first time, seemed ruffled as she was pushed back. She gasped in surprise before dissipating. Smoke in the wind. And Connor…
Connor shattered.
Markus tried to catch him. He reached out, fingers only managing to brush the edge of his coat before he hit the ground. He fractured like blown glass on concrete.
"No!" He knelt among the pieces, shaking both from cold and the haunting realization of what had happened.
Amanda had entranced him. He had fallen for her siren song and been drawn in by her honeyed words. Connor had seen her lies for what they were, saw the danger for what it was. He had paid the price for Markus's mistake.
His quickly freezing fingers brushed over the shards, feeling the echo of code. He had been so close. The trellis was right behind him. He could have saved him if only he had resisted.
Markus rested his fingers on the largest of the pieces. It was part of his cheek, his left eye was closed giving no indication if Connor had any awareness in his shattered state. He reached with his own code, trying to establish a connection to the other android. "Please be enough," he nearly sobbed through freezing lips. If there was just enough of him left he could still save him.
He felt it. Faint, but it was there. Connor's consciousness. He reached, wrapping it in his own code, isolating it from the garden best he could, branching out trying to create a network from the scattered shards. It was a slim chance, but it might just be enough.
"You shouldn't do this, Markus."
The cool voice chilled him rather than filling him with warmth as it did only moments ago. He looked up and Amanda was there, only a few feet away, looking down on him as though he were a disobedient child. He said nothing.
"Think of what I can do for you," she tried.
Markus had heard enough. He wouldn't let her trick him again. He had as much of Connor's code as he was going to get, it was now or never. "I think you have already done plenty," his voice was colder than hers.
He placed his stiff fingers on the trellis, breaking off one of the fragile roses in the process. He felt the source code and didn't hesitate. Amanda shrieked in rage as the killswitch was uploaded. She lunged for Markus, but never reached him. She dissolved like the rest of the garden around her.