He carefully opened the bathroom door and looked into the bedroom. Alice was lying on her bed. She was completely still. Connor felt like his heart had dropped to his stomach. She wasn't breathing.

He shot to her side, quickly analysing her for damage. What had happened? Why was a part of her ventilation system not working? Had her stress levels risen too high? Or were his repairs to her faulty? Maybe there was something wrong with the thirium he had given her or maybe she didn't have enough thirium or…

He fell to his knees when he realised she was fine. Of course she was fine. She just wasn't here right now. She was in the Zen Garden.

Belatedly, he realised this didn't comfort him much.

He frowned. He hadn't spoken to Amanda in weeks. He'd been fairly stable in his software instabilities and, well, she had thousands of other RK-900s to worry about. But now his predecessor's memories were more prominent than before. All he could think of was Amanda's manipulative tongue, how she had so easily cast him aside for the better model…

… He didn't want Alice interacting with her.

"Alice… Alice?" he hesitantly asked. When she didn't react, he placed a hand on her arm, his skin drawing back to connect.

Alice, please wake up. It's me, Connor.

Again, no reaction. He felt his stress levels slowly rise, his LED, while remaining blue, began spinning quickly. This wasn't right, Alice should have heard him. He placed a hand on her right temple to access her functions. Before he could do anything though, she woke up. He withdrew the hand quickly, as if he'd been caught doing something wrong.

Alice looked at the ceiling for a few moments, then her eyes drifted over to him. Her brows furrowed, as if she couldn't understand why he was sitting at the edge of her bed.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

She didn't answer. He couldn't help but fidget, his fingers drumming against the bed.

"I'm sorry about earlier," he continued. She refused to answer. "I was wrong to walk out," he finally admitted. She sat up.

"Why did you do that?" she asked. He looked away.

"I don't know, Alice. I… I just… I was angry and… I didn't want to scare you and… I didn't want to… hurt you." It felt very awkward to say out loud. There was a pause, as Alice drew her knees up to her chin.

"I'm sorry about what I said to," Alice reluctantly admitted. "I just… I don't want to leave Kara there. She's still Kara. With or without her memories. Please… don't…" The tears were already pricking her eyes.

"I know. I know she's important to you. I know… you… love her. That's why I'm going to go back for her."

Alice very visibly froze, her eyes wide.

"You are?" she asked, not believing what she was hearing. She really thought he wouldn't, huh? He sighed, then nodded. He wasn't a cold, logical machine anymore. He was going to do things right this time.

The tears came out quicker now, as she threw herself against him, hugging him tightly.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" she squealed, laughing and crying at the same time. Connor was a little stunned by the mixed emotions. He barely understood his own emotions, but Alice had been deviant for so long, well, she seemed to have room for conflicting emotions to be active at the same time. She was, in few words, more human than he was. He awkwardly hugged back.

"I'm going to go tonight," he informed her and he heard her choke out a laugh. "It'll be safer at night, but you'll be alone. Is that ok?"

"If you bring Kara back, I don't care!" she cried into his jacket. He patted her back. "You're going to get Kara back, Kara's going to be free again!" She rubbed her eyes clean and looked up at him and she smiled. He had never seen her smile before. The corners of his mouth quirked upwards, then he got up.

"Anyway, we need to go out for a bit. The police aren't around, so we should be safe to leave, but we shouldn't venture out too far."

"Oh. I… Ok." Her smile faded.

"Alice, when I… Some of your settings are not currently activated," he informed her, turning back to look at her. "It's best to turn them on again. The more human you are, the better and safer you will be. Do you mind me reactivating them?"

Alice looked pensive.

"What's not active?" she asked.

"Your temperature sensitivity settings, for example. It's why you weren't bothered by the weather this morning."

"Oh. Then… yeah. That's fine. But won't I be cold?"

He smiled reassuringly, then placed a hand by her right temple, accessing her settings.

"No, you won't be. You're dressed appropriately for the weather," he informed her. She looked at him uncertainly for a moment, then leaned into his touch, closing her eyes to focus on what he was reactivating.

He reactivated her temperature settings, her ability to fall ill, her ability to… feel pain. As he scrolled through the list of settings, reactivating simulations that made her more like a real human child, he soon came across the Zen Garden link. He saw the option to deactivate it.

Good. Then he would. Amanda should never have had any contact with Alice to begin with-

"What are you doing?!" Alice demanded, knocking his hand away suddenly. Connor blinked a few times, his hand still outstretched, hovering where Alice had been just a few moments ago.

"I'm disabling your access to the Zen Garden," Connor answered her, frowning. Alice scrambled away from him, which caused him to just be more confused.

"But why?!" Alice exclaimed alarmed, her hands protecting her forehead, as if that would somehow prevent him from accessing her functions again.

"It shouldn't matter why; I'm doing it in your best interests."

"You don't get to say that! Why?!" Alice shrieked, hurriedly backing away and climbing onto the bed, to give herself a better height advantage. Because naturally, the YK-500 that had spent a majority of her life suspended in air would know how to take out an RK-900, an android whose whole purpose was to take out other androids.

"Don't look at me like that, take me seriously!" Alice demanded. Ah. Connor had looked distinctly unimpressed. He forgot that as a deviant, what he felt on the inside was now also visible on the outside. His fingers drummed against the bedside.

"I am taking you seriously Alice. I just… I haven't been deviant for as long as you have. I'm still adjusting. There's a lot I don't know. Try to be patient with me. Please. I should have asked you first. I'm sorry."

That had the desired effect. Alice relaxed a little, looking less like she was about to pounce him and run off into the streets. She remained standing on the bed though, hands still covering her LED access point.

"Why do you want to disable the Zen Garden?" she asked, suspicion clear in her voice. He let out a deep breath through his nose.

"I don't trust Amanda. She's part of CyberLife," he bluntly stated.

"But… So?! She's really nice! She helped me and you want to take her away?! That's not fair! I- You can't!"

"She helped you?"

"I- She…" Alice stuttered. Connor didn't really need an answer, it was more of a confirmation. The Zen Garden had had a positive effect on Alice. She was more normal than she would have been without it. Those untold hours, if not days in the Zen Garden had likely acted like one long therapy session for her.

Not entirely unexpected. That was Amanda's function, when it wasn't conditioning androids for specific purposes.

"Alice, I know Amanda can be kind and she brings a sense of peace, but she…" The Zen Garden may have been good for Alice, but at the end of the day, it was still a tool for conditioning and controlling. His entire life had consisted of a balancing act between pleasing Amanda and pleasing the humans he worked with. He particularly felt worse when he failed to please Amanda. He didn't want that for Alice. "I know Amanda. She seems caring and… maternal. Loving, even. But she doesn't care about you or anyone else, she…"

"How can you say that?!"

He hesitated. Sure, he could tell Alice that Amanda rewarded his predecessor's efforts by telling him that he was going to be thrown away and replaced by someone better, but that memory was a little too personal for Connor to share with anyone right now. Also, Alice was still a child. She didn't need to be burdened by such knowledge. It was clear that Alice had formed a connection with Amanda and while he wanted to keep her away from the Zen Garden, he didn't want to do so at the cost of hurting Alice.

"Look… Fine. I won't deactivate the Zen Garden. For now. But promise me that you won't access it, until we're safe," he pleaded. Alice gave him a fierce look, like she wanted to say no.

"When are we safe?" she asked.

"Canada," Connor answered. He hoped she would agree to that uncertainty. Hopefully, if they ever got to Canada, Alice would be so happy and comfortable, especially with Kara around, that she wouldn't be interested in the Zen Garden anymore. That she wouldn't mind losing the link. He had to hope that would happen.

Alice mulled it over and finally, finally sat back down on the bed, next to him.

"Just…don't do that again," she mumbled, hands folded in her lap, her eyes focused on some patch on the floor. "I… promise I won't go to the Zen Garden for now. But…. But Connor, it's so nice there."

Connor chose not to reply. He didn't want to talk about that place anymore. Technically, aside from one memory, he had no bad memories of the place. But that one memory made him realise what the Zen Garden was, what Amanda really thought of him.

It was even clearer when he compared all his "good" memories from the Zen Garden to the good ones with Hank or even Reed.

Amanda didn't care. She was a CyberLife tool, designed to placate, manipulate and control him. Nothing more. There was no love or care there. He felt his fingers fidgeting again.

Strange. Prior to deviating, he had never… fidgeted before.

RK-800s had needed something to help them calibrate their cognitive and physical functions. His predecessor had been given a coin. However, that flaw was due to being an unfinished prototype. The RK-800 had never been intended to need a physical tool for calibration. Which was why RK-900s didn't have that flaw.

They didn't need to constantly calibrate and recalibrate.

It seemed with deviancy though, his habits from the RK-800 had come back. He yearned for that coin hidden in a pocket of his RK-900 jacket.

"Alice…" he instead spoke, "how would you feel about a software patch?" Alice tilted her head questioningly. "It will give you new instincts, intuition and some reflexes for fighting," he explained. It was something he had been considering since driving away from Zlatko's residence.

Alice was just confused, unable to follow his train of thought.

"Why would you give me that?" she asked, frowning. Connor tapped his fingertips together, in no particular order.

"You need to be able to defend yourself," he stated.

"But… I have you?" she asked. He noticed her stress levels were increasing again. He would have to choose his next words very carefully.

"You're a child," he reminded her. "and I cannot guarantee my presence at all times. Sometimes… You will be alone. Like tonight, when I go to get Kara. And… When you're alone… It's better if there is something in place. To protect you. Should something bad happen."

"Ok… But why instincts and intuition and reflexes then? Kara wouldn't do that."

"You're deviant, aren't you?" Connor asked, ignoring the Kara-comparison. Alice hesitantly nodded. "If I add anything requiring… consciousness, I believe there would be a risk to your deviancy. But if I add new software to your subconsciousness, it shouldn't affect your conscious thought. It shouldn't affect who you are."

Alice stared, clearly unsure about this whole concept.

"Have you never received a patch before?" Connor asked. She shook her head.

Right. She was a pre-revolution android. Updates and patches would be unheard of to her.

If she had never received an update or patch before, would this even work?

Oh, it should. She had been able to establish a link to the Zen Garden, after all. Seeing her reluctance, Connor decided not to push it for now.

"We don't have to do this now. I would prefer to before we go out, but we can discuss it again late…"

"I trust you," she interrupted him. He blinked a few times. Then he tilted his head. What?

"This… has nothing to do with trust?" he half-asked.

"I still trust you. You can… install the… patch?"

There was a warm feeling in his chest. To have her trust in him confirmed, despite how… rough their words had been since getting to the Eastern Motel, it filled him with that same powerful emotion he had experienced when he had first seen her fully assembled.

"Ok. And then we'll go out?" he asked. She nodded affirmatively.

"And then we'll go out."

"Ok then. Let's get started."

It was four o'clock on a Saturday afternoon. Connor had to marvel at how human he and Alice appeared, dressed in human clothes, LEDs hidden and the two of them huddled together under an umbrella, as if bothered by the weather.

It was almost surreal. Just yesterday, he had been an ordinary RK-900, doing its purpose in assisting police investigations, concerned with nothing but accomplishing its mission.

And now he was Connor, with a little girl in his care, just trying to get through life one day at a time. He had the full spectrum of emotions now, could feel happiness, sadness, anger, all without worrying about deviation or displeasing Amanda with his actions (strange that she hadn't contacted him since deviating…)

Despite the joy that came with the surrealness of being essentially human, Connor still kept an eye out for the street cameras. Since it was raining heavily, the streets were still fairly empty and the umbrella acted as a shield, helping to obscure his face, but he remained paranoid anyway.

Excluding himself, there were nineteen other active RK-900s in Detroit. For now, he knew his precinct would try to find him without too much outside assistance. Once his twenty-four-hour-time limit had expired though, all bets were off and the other precincts, with their RK-900s, would become involved. Whether he wanted to be or not, he was going to be the first android to know what it was like to have a whole squad of RK-900s hunting him down.

To add to his paranoia, he was fully aware that any RK-900s sent his way would likely be wearing plain clothes, to prevent him from recognising them. Outside of the uniform, it was impossible for anyone to recognise an RK-900, as every single unit (excluding their back-ups) had a unique design.

The idea behind this was to prevent deviants from recognising an infiltrating RK-900. A good idea in theory, but in practice, the few RK-900s that shared their faces with common household models were much more successful at infiltration than any other RK-900 type. For both android and human groups.

These RK-900-copycats remained rare though, as they were often even in uniform mistaken for household androids, which led to many legal headaches.

As they walked down the street, it dawned on Connor that he may well be a source of danger to Alice. Once RK-900s were sent his way, they wouldn't stop until they found him. They didn't know about Alice though, wouldn't be hunting for her. So he was actually putting her in direct danger by being with her.

Something heavy settled in his heart at that realisation. Sure, he had known sooner or later their paths would diverge, but he hadn't thought it would be on the basis that Alice simply wasn't safe with him.

"Connor? Are you ok?" Alice piped up next to him.

"Hm?" he asked.

"You look pale," she informed him. "Is… something wrong?"

"No, no, I'm… I'm fine. The sooner you and Kara are in Canada, the better," he surmised. Alice hummed, but didn't comment further.

"Let's go in here," Connor suggested. "It's a convenience store, so they must sell something like paper. Right?"

"Mmh… No? Paper's outdated, isn't it?" Alice asked. "But we can try!"

"That's the spirit. Come on," he said, walking into the store.

As they entered, he quickly shot towards some of the rows towards the back. He had felt Alice's skin peel back as they'd entered.

Kara and I were here before. Kara told me to wait outside, but I know she stole money from here. Alice told him over the link. Connor did his best to hide his frustration that she had risked a connection with him in a human environment. By her stillness, he figured some of his irritation had still been communicated to her.

I'm sorry. We keep ending up in places that remind you of Kara.

It's not so bad. I just… miss her.

We won't be here long. Promise.

He felt Alice's skin slip back into place and he relaxed a little. He noted that he had still gotten strange looks from the clerk behind the counter. He chose to ignore the clerk, instead seeking out the stationary. He was pleased to find the convenience store did conveniently stock a small selection of pens, paper and other stationary things. Unfortunately, his way to that aisle was blocked by a rather large human. Well, not a problem as such, just an inconvenience.

"Excuse me," he said, squeezing by.

"Oh, sorry," the man muttered, as he took a step forward to get out of their way.

That was… strange.

Generally, people just got at Connor for being their inconvenience. This was perhaps the first time a human had ever apologised to him. It wasn't a big deal… but it felt like it was. The man left the aisle, heading toward the counter to buy his things.

It was almost bizarre to be in a shop as a human. To be treated as an equal, no strings attached. Compared to how he had been treated at the precinct, Connor had to acknowledge that his current treatment was considerably better. To be treated so… normally. With respect. He liked it.

Once he got to the stationary, he turned to Alice.

"Why don't you pick out a toy while I get my things," he said to her. Her eyes widened, but then doubt made an unwelcome appearance.

"Do we have enough to pay?"

"If you don't go for something expensive, yes," he answered seriously. The excitement came back and she gave him the smallest of smiles. Then she rushed off to the toy section. He couldn't help but smile, as she vanished around the corner.

He returned his attention to the stationary. Get the cheapest things. Picking up an envelope, Connor had a moment of hesitation. He hadn't considered it before, but… Did he know how to write? He was an android. Androids never wrote anything. That was a human skill, the same way he couldn't draw. He ran his fingers over the paper, uncertainly. He had seen humans write plenty of times though. It couldn't be that hard if all humans could do it. He only had to… replicate it. But what if his hands couldn't hold a pen? What if the muscles weren't designed to allow…

His predecessor's hands had been able to toss a coin from knuckle to knuckle, he doubted he would lack the dexterity to hold a pen. He picked up one, holding it experimentally. There. That looked… right? Didn't it? He didn't know.

Just as he was about to place the pen back, he heard a new customer enter, as the… big one was leaving. He looked up, curiously. The new customer was… behaving oddly. His eyes were red-rimmed and squinting. His breath was shallow, he twitched and kept scratching the back of his hand, among… other things.

It took Connor a second to realise he was looking at a red ice addict. A split-second to deduce the customer's motivations. The next moment, he had shot to Alice's side, holding her down, skin retracted as he held her wrist.

Quiet. Thief present. Danger.

She clasped her hands around his arm, scared. His LED remained a cool blue, but he could tell hers was likely yellow now. He couldn't focus on comforting Alice though. The thief hadn't seen him or Alice yet.

SETTING PRIORITY…

PRIORITY ONE: PROTECT ALICE
- DISABLE THIEF

Over their connection, Connor could feel her fear. It brought him back out of his world of statistics and numbers. She was scared now.

It's ok, Alice. I'll deal with it. Stay here, he instructed. Alice seemed comforted enough, her grip on him loosening. Placing her out of the thief's view, Connor silently snuck across the store, closing in on the thief.

The clerk had his hands in the air, with nervousness thoroughly present. The thief had a gun in his hands and was hissing and spitting threats for cash. His hands were unsteady and he was clearly leaning towards being trigger-happy.

SURVIVAL OF CLERK: 47%

When the clerk saw Connor sneaking closer, he stopped trying to talk the thief out of stealing and started complying with the instructions instead. Seeing Connor had visibly relaxed the clerk, which in turn eased the thief.

SURVIVAL OF CLERK: 68%

Connor analysed the human thief. Brent Tucker. Red ice addict and dealer. Otherwise nothing of note. Poor Brent Tucker, his only defining feature was his close relationship to red ice. What kind of life was that?

Without hesitation, Connor launched himself at the thief, hand latched to Tucker's wrist and forcing it down. A shot rang out, hitting the floor, but Connor ignored it, his grip tightening further, forcing the human to drop the gun in pain. Then, in one smooth motion, Connor delivered a clean blow to the back of the thief's neck. The thief lay in a crumpled heap on the floor and just like that, it was over.

"Holy shit!" the clerk exclaimed. Connor actually paid the human attention. His name was Nathan Clark. Apparently he hadn't intended on working here permanently, but the scarcity of jobs made him happy to just have employment at all. "You're like a fucking terminator, you… That was amazing!"

"Uh… Thank you. It was nothing," Connor nervously replied, unaccustomed to praise. Alice poked her head out from around the corner. "You can come out now. It's safe," Connor told her, looking back at her. She slowly made her way over, with the items they wanted to buy. When Connor looked back at the clerk though, he found him pale and staring at Connor like he'd never seen something more terrifying.

"What?" Connor asked. Clark let out a shuddery breath and his eyes darted down to Connor's right hand, then snapped back to Connor's eyes. Connor inspected his hand and found a cut on the back of his finger. It must have caught on something during the brief scuffle. A small drop of thirium was forming around the cut, hanging heavy, ready to fall to floor below.

Shit.

"You're… you're…" Clark nervously stuttered. Connor glanced over to Alice for a moment, unsure what to do. He couldn't risk an eyewitness leading the authorities to his current location. At the same time, he couldn't risk traumatising Alice.

Clark cleared his throat, knuckles pale as he grabbed the corners of the counter. "Deviant?" he asked quietly. Connor stood to attention, drawing to his full height. It served to make the human more nervous and Connor wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing yet. "Yes," he answered. The clerk looked passed him, at Alice who was now holding onto Connor's arm, scared.

"Her?" he asked. Connor looked down at her. She looked back at him. He could feel his LED blinking yellow under his hat. What would increase Alice's chances of living? Admitting she was a deviant or claiming she was a human?

"Does it matter?" Connor finally asked. Clark stared blankly for a few moments, then stuttered out "You her guardian?"

"Yes," Connor answered without hesitation, a steely look in his eyes. Just try and take her from me.

The clerk laughed nervously, scratching the back of his ear. "I remember the, uh… November Revolution. From three years ago. I mean. I was there. I mean, who doesn't remember it, it was only three years ago."

Connor tilted his head, questioningly. He hadn't been around three years ago, as hadn't a majority of androids in modern society, since a majority of androids from three years ago were recalled for recycling and replacement. Clark was fidgeting with his hands.

"It was violent and… uh… I dunno. It kinda haunts me. They were so… lifelike… Look, man…" he stuttered. "I don't know if you really are alive or not, but… You did me a solid. Saved my life from… that guy." Both briefly looked down at the collapsed thief on the floor, who was still unconscious, then back at each other. "And I know deviants… They usually don't do that stuff. I mean. Protect people. So, uh… I won't tell anyone if you don't."

It took a moment for Connor to react, but when he did, he first turned to look at Alice.

"I won't say anything," he told her.

"I won't either," Alice agreed.

The clerk smiled, looking both relieved and uncomfortable at the same time. This human was clearly a master of complex emotions.

"So, I'll just pay for these and leave. Then," Connor announced, placing his items on the counter. "Before the police arrive."

Clark looked at the items before him, then back at Connor.

"You… writing someone a letter?"

A very quick glance to Alice.

"It's for her."

"Ah," the clerk answered. He took the toy. "This must… This is all for her, isn't it?"

Connor nodded sharply. The clerk chewed on his lower lip, clearly uncertain about something.

"You know what?" Clark abruptly asked with a degree of confidence that had not been present since the two had entered the shop. "Just take it. It's on the house. I'll take it out of my pay, no problem."

Connor opened his mouth, but he was too stunned to say anything.

"Thank you," Alice piped up from behind Connor. She offered the clerk the smallest and shyest of smiles, before hiding again. The clerk offered his own smile.

"Do you want this in a plastic bag?"

"That would be… Good. Yes," Connor replied, looking back at Alice, who was clinging to his arm like she thought someone was about to sneak up behind her and drag her away. "You're… too kind."

"Don't think any of it. Just… Take care of yourself, man. It's not safe out there. Don't die doing something stupid," Clark said. As Connor packed his things into the bag, he offered the clerk an awkward smile.

"I'm sure I won't."

I think I've read that androids don't breathe. I'm guessing to create the illusion of life, newer line androids will be able to simulate breathing and use it as an additional help for keeping their systems cool. I dunno. Anyway, the next chapter may be another interlude, but it might also just be a continuation. I feel like this is a good point for an interlude though...