"Markus!"
A choir of panicked cries rang out when the leader was attacked, but not just from Chloe and Hank. There was a third, unexpected voice that joined in with them, who's scream sounded fifty times more terrified than the other two combined.
Before anyone else could even take two steps towards the Android, Simon himself popped out from his hiding place in the shrubbery the second Markus hit the ground, running over to him so fast it was a miracle he didn't trip over himself.
"Markus! Markus, oh my god, oh my god, are you okay!?" The blond babbled frantically as he fell to his knees next to his fiance, fumbling to lift his head up and get a better look at his face. The leader flinched and made a strained groan when he was moved around, but didn't seem like he was in mass amounts of pain so much as discomfort.
"... I thought I told you to stay at Jericho," was Markus' only response as he opened his eyes, squinting disapprovingly at Simon as he began to pull himself up into a sitting position. Thankfully, it didn't look like he was critically injured.
"I know, I know, I'm sorry, but I was so worried about you," Simon deflated in relief when Markus responded, pulling him into a desperate hug. "Don't get mad at North and Josh. They tried to stop me from following you too-"
Hank and Chloe had been so caught up in the well-being of Markus and the shock of the sudden newcomer, they almost forgot about the killer, who had remained motionless and silent for those few seconds. But then he interrupted Simon's ramblings with a heavy outcry, almost sounding like he was yelling in pain as he bent into himself even further than he was already, his arm that had been held by Markus beginning to shake rather severely.
It was then that everyone's attention was drawn back to RK. As Hank and Chloe began to back away, a sense of dread overcame all of them at the imposter's increasingly disturbing behavior, the internal battle he was having with himself being put on perfect display.
"No, no, no, no, no, no, no!" The screams only got louder and louder until they made the very air around them vibrate, the faux 800 collapsing down to his knees, becoming much too weak much too quickly. He grit his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut, pulling at his own hair as he struggled to keep what little of himself he had together.
"Uh... Markus..?" Hank called back to the leader, not taking his eyes off of the RK as his hand began to hover over his gun once again. "Why's he freaking the fuck out like that..?"
"I broke through," Markus started, keeping his own solemn sights on the frenzied android "I started the deviation, but… It looks like he's trying to fight back somehow."
"W-wait, he wasn't deviant!?" Chloe, who had been watching the RK in wide-eyed alarm, whipped her head back around to Markus in bewilderment. "But didn't you say he was before!?"
"Well, he was, but only halfway," Markus shook his head, slowly wrapping a protective arm around Simon when RK made an unsettling choking sound. "It's hard to explain, but… His programming is extremely complex. Nearly twice as complicated as Connor's. He was deviated enough to the point where he could feel emotions, but... It was like they set up a backup barricade in case he broke through the first. I think it was a wall that never truly let him have free will... He's been acting under his original commands, which I assume was to hunt deviants. I don't think even he knew that there was another barrier. It was completely transparent, even to him."
"So he was never in control of his actions!?" Chloe cried out in complete shock, throwing her hands to her head and backing away even faster in absolute horror. "So none of this was his fault!?"
"-Mm- Mergen- Em-" The struggling android wasn't even speaking coherent words now, gasping and stuttering heavily when he fell down on all fours, the control he had of his muscles giving out all at once. "Exi- Emergen- Exit-"
He just kept grunting and groaning the longer he drew out his suffering, enduring what looked like literal pain at this point for as long as he possibly could. It was an absolutely awful scene, so much so that Chloe literally had to turn away from watching, unable to comprehend the truth of what this meant. He didn't choose to do any of this!? He didn't choose to commit the murders!? He didn't choose to abduct Connor!? He didn't choose to attempt to deceive everyone!?
He was… He was Innocent!?
Before Chloe could spiral into further consternation to the point where she couldn't pull herself out, her thoughts were interrupted by silence. A perturbing, startling silence that was sudden enough to make the girl snap her head back around in confoundment, at least somewhat attempting to mentally prepare herself for what she might see.
While the RK may have been in the exact same position as before, on his hands and knees with his head hung low, there was a considerably noticeable shift in the way he looked. Somehow, the space around him seemed to have grown lighter, the vague darkness that had surrounded him disappearing before her eyes. The ridged, sharp angles that had previously made up his structure and demeanor had rounded out, the aggressiveness and threatening nature of his body itself dissolving away along with it.
Hark, who seemed to sense the drastic change as well, squinted suspiciously as he began to inch his way back to the RK, who was shaking like a leaf on the ground, unnaturally motionless and silent. Chloe found herself following close behind, no longer overcome by a predatory energy in the RK's presence and thus gaining the courage to do so.
As the two of them grew ever closer to the imposter, they both looked at each other in mild surprise at the same time when they realized that the RK was saying something, his voice so quiet that one might have mistaken it for a gust of wind if they weren't listening close enough. It only took a few more steps for Chloe to be able to discern what he was saying, but once the words reached her ears, she gasped sharply from the weight of what he spoke, nearly getting whiplash from how quickly she went from feeling nothing but resentment towards the RK to utter heartbreak.
"... What… What Have I done..?"
The words were so fragile, so incredibly small and filled with overwhelming remorse that it made actual pain stab at Chloe's chest, freezing in place and watching the RK in what was now empathy, tears inevitably welling up in her eyes as she did so.
"What have I done..? What have I done? What have I done?" As his voice grew louder, it was clear that the android was half-sobbing at this point, which made even Hank put a hand on his face, mumbling a troubled "Jesus christ" as he hung his head in resignation.
"What have I done? What have I done!? What have I done!?" The hysteria finally came pouring out as the broken android screamed at the ground, literally shrieking in terror when the reality of his previous actions crushed him to pieces. Chloe almost immediately felt like she was going to vomit again from how distraught she had become, crossing her arms over her stomach as her face twisted up in dismay at the tragic sight before her.
"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry!" He cried when he finally turned around to look at everyone. The cold, empty nature of his face had undoubtedly been replaced by life and light, but it only made the anguished expression that was possessing his face only that much more horrifying to look at.
"I-I didn't- I wasn't- I'm so sorry- I-" The mess of an RK stuttered, not able to get a complete sentence out from how traumatized he had become, hyperventilating the further he sunk into his state of torment.
"Hey, hey, calm down. You... You weren't in control of yourself, right?" Hank attempted to calm the android on the ground, once again playing it cautious and taking hesitant steps closer to him. "Just tell us where we can find-"
"Don't come near me!" The android shouted out in a frenzy, scrambling away from the Lieutenant as his eyes overflowed with fear. "I-I could hurt you! I could kill you or-"
"Fucking hell, calm down!" Hank interjected exasperatedly, scoffing a bit as he approached the RK despite his pleas and got down on one knee in front of him.
"You're not gonna kill us, that's obvious. Just take it easy, okay?" While the man was obviously trying to keep the android's composure in check, impatience was more apparent than anything in his tone, evidently wanting to skip to the point as soon as possible.
"Now, tell me," Hank continued slowly, grabbing the RK by his shoulders and staring straight into his bewildered, silver eyes.
"... Is Connor alive?"
"Yes," The RK exhaled weakly as he nodded, making everyone in the group simultaneously sigh in alleviation, Chloe so much so that her legs nearly completely collapsed in on themselves, making her stumble forward for a second before she managed to catch herself. Yes, she had believed in her heart that Connor wasn't dead since the start, but it didn't make it any less relieving to hear that he really was still here.
"... Okay, where is he? What did you do with him?" Hank continued, his tone much more calm and collected now that he knew for sure that the boy was still alive. His stable composure didn't didn't last long, unfortunately, because the second the man asked his question, RK looked away, squeezing his eyes shut as an excruciated, utterly ashamed expression contorted his face when he didn't respond.
"What!? What is it!? What did you do to him!?" Hank almost immediately raised his voice again as he gripped the android harder, the fire that had ignited within the man's very soul bubbling over his furied eyes. "What did you do!?"
"I'm so sorry," RK only whispered his declaration of regret once again, still unable to look at anyone from the crippling amounts of shame that sank in his features.
Now Chloe found herself falling to her knees, the implication of the android's reaction alone tearing her heart straight out of her chest and replacing it with sheer dread. What did he do!? What could he have done that was so horrifying that he couldn't even say it!? As her trembling hands raised themselves to her mouth, she began to rapidly fall apart into a state of panic, the fear that gripped onto her seeming to make every bone in her body snap at the same time.
It had gotten so hard to breathe so quickly, she couldn't even spare any breath to tell Hank to stop when the man had reeled his arm back, only milliseconds away from beating the newly gained life out of the resigned android in front of him. Luckily, Markus was one step ahead of the Lieutenant. He hastily jumped up from the ground, running up to the two and grabbing Hank's fist before he had the chance to throw it.
"Hurting him now won't do any good," The leader spoke slowly and purposefully as he began to lower Hank's hand, making sure the man complied before he fully let go of him. "I can sense he's fully deviant now, and he obviously regrets what he's done. There's no need to get violent."
Hank growled in frustration at Markus' reasoning, but ultimately backed down, letting go of the RK with a huff. His glare still remained, however, staring at the android so hard that the veins in his temple pulsed with rage.
"I swear to god, you're paying for every scratch you left on my boy," the man spat at RK, standing slowly and keeping his predatory eyes locked on the android who trembled on the ground.
"Hank, please," Markus gave the Lieutenant a stern look of disapproval before turning to RK, wincing as he slowly lowered himself down, unintentionally revealing that he was at least slightly injured when he knelt next to him.
"Is what you've done reversible?" The leader looked over the android's face carefully, his voice quiet and almost soothing, despite the unfortunate subject matter. "Can you fix any damage you might've inflicted on him?"
"... Yes," the more he pondered Markus' question, the more RK's posture suddenly straightened out, his severe distress beginning to fade away as he mulled over his options. "Yes. Yes, I can fix him. I can. I can fix him..." He trailed off the longer he mumbled absentmindedly, carefully pushing himself up to his feet as his sights wandered back to the basement entrance.
Upon hearing that her detective really was going to be okay after all, Chloe let the air in in her lungs tumble out with an involuntary whimper, not even realizing that she had been holding her breath this entire time. She forced herself to let the muscles in her body relax, trying as hard as she could to recover from that brief bombardment of terror on her sanity as her face fell into her hands. Hank seemed to begin to get a hold of himself as well, the tension in his shoulders dropping a bit and a brief sigh escaping his nose.
"... Alright. But I'm coming with you," there was still a bit of a bite in the Lieutenant's words when he folded his arms, gesturing for the android to start moving. "I'll make sure you don't try anything sketchy, got it?"
"Yes, of course," RK nodded obediently, indicating for the man to follow as he began to walk back to the mansion's remains. "Please, come with me."
They had only gotten a few steps away before Chloe suddenly jumped to her feet, crying out a desperate "Wait!" As she followed after them, stumbling a little from how fast she ran to catch up with them.
"Ah- Chloe," RK stopped when he heard her call out to them, suddenly seeming a bit apprehensive now that she insisted on coming along. "I… I really don't think it would be a good idea to-"
"She's coming with us," Hank interrupted, his statement clearly final when he gave the android a humph and a dirty glare. RK looked a bit reluctant for a second, but didn't argue any further, glancing back over at the girl once more.
"... I'm sorry I kissed you," his whisper was barely audible, forcing himself to maintain eye contact before he quickly turned away and started walking again, evidently unable to look at her for too long, for some reason.
Chloe didn't answer, finding herself unable to conjure up anything to say. She almost felt like she was in a trance, the world around her becoming surreal as they began to step down the staircase. She was only moments away from seeing Connor now, but instead of feeling excitement or joy like she should've been, dread was the only thing that kept her heart pounding like a war drum. Whatever the RK did to Connor, it was enough to make him have a mental breakdown the second he turned deviant. And while he claimed he had the ability to reverse what he had done, her detective must still be in horrific condition. She honestly wasn't sure how ready she was to see just how bad it was.
"We'll wait here for you," Markus called out when Simon approached him, helping the leader back up to his feet. He wasn't able to stop himself from smiling when his fiance placed a loving kiss on his cheek, wrapping his arm around his lover's waist in return. "Let us know if you need us."
The leader's voice faded the further they went down the stairs, the knot in Chloe's stomach getting tighter and tighter with every step she took. As she stiffly began to observe her surroundings, pins and needles spread down her neck when she saw all of the cells surrounding her. Even though they were all empty, something about the dark, eerie, haunting atmosphere made it more than apparent that something horrible had happened in them. How far into the past, she didn't know. But whatever it was, it was terrible enough to leave a lasting impression.
"I know this is a lot to ask, but…" RK stopped once he reached a curtained off section of the cellar, looking back to the two with tentative eyes. "I need you to refrain from touching him until I've repaired him enough. He's extremely fragile right now, and might gain more damage if you move him in the wrong way."
It took a second, but eventually both Hank and Chloe nodded half-heartedly, seeming to decide at the same time that it would be for the best to follow the instruction. The tension in the room then grew so strong you could cut a knife through it when RK took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment and seeming to gather the strength he needed to reveal what terrible, terrible things he had done.
"... I'm so sorry," he whispered one last time, cringing heavily once more when he forced himself to throw the curtain open.
The blood.
There was blood.
There was so much blood.
Chloe screamed.
Hank screamed.
There was so much screaming.
He was so mutilated.
Even with the vital monitors beeping, he looked dead.
There was so much blood.
There was so much blood.
RK's request from only seconds before was immediately thrown out the window, both the girl and the man making a beeline for their beloved, maimed android. Chloe was bawling so badly that she didn't even make actual sobs half the time, the wails she made at the top of her lungs sounding more like screams of agony. She was completely beyond what could be considered hysterical as she threw her arms around Connor, gripping his unconscious body like it would wither away if she let go. Hank couldn't stop crying out "my boy, my boy, my boy," as he furiously yanked at the vices that held him in place, going absolutely berserk and borderline feral in the panic that swallowed him whole.
"Stop!" RK cried out as he sprinted up to them, desperately trying to pull them off of Connor. "Stop, you're going to make it worse!"
"You monster!" Chloe screeched at the android the second he touched her, reeling back and delivering every single ounce of fear, anger, and heartbreak she'd felt in the last day in a powerful punch directly to RK's face. He took the hit, not resisting the force that went into it whatsoever and letting it throw him to the floor. He didn't get up, either. He just sat there, his head hung in self-disgust as he awaited the next blow, almost like he was inviting Chloe to beat him senseless.
It was only then that she remembered that RK didn't actually want to do this. The regret that completely consumed the android in front of her slapping her back into reality. While she knew she should feel bad about attacking him like that, even that she wanted to feel bad, she didn't. She felt more gratification from that hit than she probably should have. However, she made herself back off, not giving him the punishment he thought he deserved and instead just glaring at him heavily.
Hank seemed to snap out of the terror-induced insensibility in that moment as well, briefly looking Connor up and down before he whipped out his gun again, panting as he put it right against RK's skull in two seconds flat.
"Fix him," the growl the man made was so aggressive that it almost didn't even form words, just an animal-like snarl of utter contempt as he shoved the android with his foot to get him to stand up. The poor RK nodded submissively, slowly raising himself to his feet and warily making his way to his worktable, his movements slow and deliberate as he picked up the tools he needed one by one.
The android kept his sights to the floor, unable to make eye contact with anyone as he made his way back to Connor. Hank had his gun aimed at RK's head the entire time, his heavy, erratic breaths accompanying Chloe's tragic whimpers and sniffles, covering her mouth with her hands as she watched her detective get the wires connected to him detached one by one, each one only making more and more therium drip to the blue-stained floor.
Aside from the wire that was screwed in to the back of his neck, which seemed to be attached to some kind of control panel device, RK managed to get Connor completely unstrung without breaking anything else. He made an audible sigh of relief once he did, making Chloe assume that was probably the most difficult part now over with.
"Hank, please flip the switch in the far left corner of the room," the android asked quietly, taking Connor's torso into his grip. "It will release the clamps that have him restrained."
Hank squinted skeptically at RK, briefly following the wire from the switch to it's source, which did indeed lead to the vices. However, he still kept his suspicious gaze on the android as he walked backwards towards it, his grip on his gun visibly tightening in anticipation as he flipped the switch.
There was a loud clang of metal, and then the clamps opened, Connor's comatose body immediately collapsing forward and making Chloe gasp heavily in fear. Luckily, RK had the perfect hold on him, catching the boy with ease and lifting him up, his movements extremely cautious as he laid the broken android down on his work table.
As Hank and Chloe gathered around the work area, RK gave Connor a once over, flinching again when he saw how damaged he was. But he seemed to get a sense of what he should do fairly quickly, starting with taking his arm and snapping it back into it's proper place, making a sickening cracking sound as he did.
"... I was made a few days before the android revolution," RK started out of nowhere, his voice quiet and reserved as he pressed the panel in Connor's chest down, making it fold back and reveal the inner workings. "I was made to be Connor's successor. My model number is actually RK900…"
And so 900 told them everything as he worked, from the mission, to his plan, to the murders, to what happened to Connor and why. Perhaps it was because RK900 was being so honest and admittive, or perhaps it was because the more Connor was repaired, his body began healing itself, slowly but surely beginning to close his wounds, but Chloe and Hank's hostile attitude towards the android began to fade away, the air around them becoming much more quiet and stable all around. Eventually, RK said that he was repaired enough that they could touch him now, at which point the man and the girl each took one of Connor's hands, gripping him desperately as they continued to listen to the android's story.
Soon, RK900 put his tools away, reaching into a drawer that had two or three bags of therium in it and attaching a cord to one. He then carefully placed a needle that was on the other end into Connor's arm, letting the blood flow into his body. It was then that the color really began to return to his face, and he started to look more and more alive with every second that passed by.
"... He'll wake up on his own now," at last, 900 carefully removed the wire that was attached to the back of Connor's neck, completely freeing him of every infliction he'd caused. "We just need to wait."
And so they did just that. They sat there, Hank and Chloe gazing lovingly at their detective, the therium provided to him speeding up his self-healing process significantly. He looked almost completely like his normal self now, and the relief that everyone felt was almost overwhelming. They were silent after that. Just waiting. Waiting hopefully. Patiently.
He'd be back soon. He really was alive. He really was okay again.
They had found him.
Connor had finally, finally returned to them.