Nick was miserable.

Rain was pouring down on them and while it didn't really interfere with androids, Nick found that he seriously disliked the wetness and general gloom that was accompanied by the seemingly never-ending downpour.

They had walked the streets for hours already, leaving the buzzy downtown of Detroit to wander into the more deserted outskirts. They hadn't encountered a single car in ages and the driver of last one that had passed them by had straight out sped up when he had seen them.

In front of him Kara and Alice were walking, the former holding the little child's hand and murmuring encouraging words. Nick could see, though, that Alice was tired and cold, her little body wracked by shivers every now and then.

It wouldn't do if she died of hypothermia before he could get his hands on her. He had pondered about killing them now, but the thought of doing it here on the side of the street didn't sit well with him. Alice deserved a special place, not this piece of road in the middle of a former affluent suburb of Detroit.

"We should find a place to stay the night," he called ahead. "Alice needs to rest."

"We're nearly there," Kara shouted back. When Nick had caught up to them, she continued: "The android gave me this address and we're nearly there."

"So, you just trust this android who you never met before to give you an address where we'll get actual help?" Nick questioned sceptically.

"I haven't met you before, either, and decided to trust you nevertheless," Kara retorted. "The android gave me the address of this Zlatko and told me that he helped deviant androids."

"If you say so," Nick mumbled, still not convinced.

"Is it far, still?" Alice asked.

"No, not very far," Kara assured her, even though she had insisted it wasn't that far any longer for over thirty minutes already. It made Nick wonder if deviancy had fried some of her circuits. "Right at the end of this street." Nick followed her finger to look where she was pointing at and found that the building she meant didn't really look that trust inspiring.

A high iron fence separated its ground from the street, wines and other plants entangled with the iron spines as no one seemed to bother with the upkeep, like with much of the surrounding houses that had once been grand but now were only shadows of their former selves. Due to the rain and the low light, Nick couldn't make out much of the grounds, but the gravel path that led up to the house's main door was overgrown with weeds.

"It doesn't look promising," he whispered to Kara.

The WX400 bit on her lip, on the verge of agreeing with him. "It doesn't matter. We need a place to stay and this is as good as any."

Not letting go of Alice, she resolutely stepped forward and knocked on the wooden door.

It took a few seconds, but then the door was opened. The human on the other side was male with long greasy hair, beady eyes and a pudgy statue, giving him the overall impression of a very fat rat. Nick felt repulsed by him. The man reminded him of his former owner; the way his gaze took them in greedily, the way his tongue darted out of the corner of his mouth. Nick wanted to tear it out.

The man's gaze flitted over the three of them before it landed back on Kara.

"Are you Zlatko?" Kara asked.

"Who's asking?" the man, who obviously was Zlatko, wanted to know gruffly.

"We were told you could help us," Kara told him, all wide-eyed and innocently.

"I don't know who told you that. You came to the wrong place. I'm sorry." Zlatko was about to close the door, but Kara pushed her foot between the door and doorframe, preventing him from closing it in front of her face.

"Wait! We really need your help," she pleaded. Nick really hoped that Zlatko wouldn't be softened by her pleading. He didn't like the man and not just because he was human. There was something…slimy about him, like something you touched and couldn't just get off your skin. But it seemed as if Nick's prayers wouldn't be heard, for Zlatko's expression softened and he stepped aside, allowing them to enter.

"Come in. Come on in, don't be shy! Luther, would you be so kind as to take these ladies' coats?" The last stamen was directed at a huge android that had been waiting behind the door. He was nearly three heads taller than Nick and probably twice as wide, all muscles and hidden strength. "Oh, don't be afraid of our big friend here. Luther is just another android that I helped. He keeps me company in this big, empty, old house..." That was a lie, Nick could just feel it. 'Luther' was meant for heavy workloads, not for housekeeping. You didn't keep someone like him around if you didn't need the muscle for something. "Please, make yourselves at home. How did you hear about me?"

"An android on the street, he said you could help us," Kara explained as they followed him into a saloon with couches grouped together and shelves filled with books decorating the walls. It certainly was nicer on the inside than on the outside, Nick thought as he plopped down onto one of the couches.

"I see... Deviant, huh?.. What about you?" He turned towards Nick.

"Me, too."

"And her?" Zlatko nodded towards Alice.

"She's human," Kara told him.

"And... You wanna find a safe place. Somewhere where you can start a new life. I hear Canada is very lovely at this time of year. Beautiful landscapes, open spaces, clean air... and no android laws! Great place for a fresh start.." He left the end of his statement hang in the air.

"Yes, that's...that's exactly what we want!" Kara agreed enthusiastically. Nick feigned excitement as well, even though he didn't really care where they were going. As long as he got Alice in the end, he would follow Kara and her charge wherever they went.

"Of course! I can help you. But first we have to get rid of your tracker."

"Tracker?" Kara asked in confusion.

"Yeah, all androids are fitted with a tracking device to locate them at all times. I'll remove yours and then you'll both be safe. Come on, follow me. Ah, the little one can wait for us in the living room." Now Nick definitely knew that something was fishy, because thanks to the police he already knew that a deviant's tracker stopped working the moment they turned. So, whatever Zlatko was planning to do to them, he needed them to follow him into the basement where he probably had a nasty surprise waiting for them.

But wait, Nick mentally paused, maybe this was the perfect opportunity to finally get rid of Kara for good and have Alice all for himself.

"I cut mine out already," he stated confidently, not bothering to stand up from where he was sitting. "My owner always taunted me about how he could always find me which is why it was the first thing I did once I ran away." A bold lie and he knew that Zlatko knew that he was lying, too, but the man couldn't say anything lest he discredited himself in front of Kara and Alice.

"Then you'll just have to remove mine," Kara spoke. "But Alice comes with me. She always stays with me." Her tone left no room for arguments. Zlatko seemed to think for a while how to best proceed. He looked at Nick and Nick stared right back and at him, not even pretending, just daring him to continue with whatever he was planning. Just daring him to chicken out.

"Of course, " he agreed. "I'll remove your tracker while Luther will keep your friend here company. Right this way. Everything we need is in the basement." He led the two girls out of the room, leaving behind Nick and a very statue-esque Luther.

Nick craned his neck as he looked around, taking in the rest of the room while silence filled the space around them. Everything had a sense of grandeur to it, from the heave wooden furniture to the golden chandeliers, so unlike the modern architecture that dominated the centre of Detroit.

"You shouldn't have let them go. Not with him."

Nick snapped his head back towards Luther, but the TR400 was still standing motionlessly next to the door. Probably a short spark of rebellion before it was snuffed out again by whatever Zlatko had done to the android. Not that Nick cared.

It took Zlatko nearly ten minutes before he finally came back into the room.

"You knew I was lying when I told her about the tracker," Zlatko stated, walking around the room until he was standing behind the desk. Luther took position next to him. "And yet you let me take her, knowing that whatever I was planning to do to her wasn't something she would agree to." He rummaged through one of the drawers until he pulled a gun from it. When he noticed Nick's stare he grinned. "Assurance, you understand? So, tell me: Why?"

Nick shrugged. "I wanted to see what you did. Besides, Kara's a little bit annoying with her wide-eyed doe routine. I needed a little bit quiet." Zlatko studied him with even more interest now. "What are you doing to them?"

"The WX400 is currently being reset," Zlatko replied. "And the girl is locked into a room." Perfect, Nick thought. With Kara out of the way, he could have Alice all for himself.

"What will you do with them?" Nick asked, sounding bored.

"Well, I do need someone to keep this house in order," Zlatko replied. "Luther is good muscle, but there's just no replacement for those real housekeeping protocols that the WX400 has. She can pick up Luther's slack. And for the girl..." He shrugged. "What am I supposed to do with a human brat? I'm not gonna keep her. I know a guy, though, keeps me supplied with spare parts, who'd be more inclined to take her, if you know what I mean." He laughed, a dirty, disgusting sound.

Hate shot through Nick, hot and burning and it took all of his strength to keep himself from just throwing himself at the man, not when he was still holding his gun. Not while that huge TR400 was still guarding the man. Alice was his and he decided what would happen to her, not some greasy human with ideas above his station. And...how could Zlatko talk about selling her like that, knowing what would happen to her? How could he be so cruel, so merciless?

Revulsion coursed through Nick as he thought about how utterly without morals Zlatko was.

"So, what will you do to me, then?" Nick wanted to know, honestly curious.

"I must admit, you have caught my attention," Zlatko replied. "I've never seen a, well, psychopathic android before. You're too much an entertainment to just reset. Maybe, with a little bit of prodding I can direct your tendencies into more productive directions."

"You mean, you want me to kill for you?"

Zlatko shrugged. "Androids can't be charged with a crime. And there are some people I'd like to see out of the picture. Mainly old associates of mine."

A bang echoed through the house.

"Damn, something must have escaped," Zlatko cursed. Turning towards the TR400 he barked: "Go and take a look. If that stupid robot bitch escaped, take care of her. But don't damage her too much, so I can at least use her for spare parts." Without bothering with a response, Luther walked out of the room.

Inwardly, Nick cursed. Of course, it was too much to hope that Kara wouldn't somehow find a way to escape. She was probably already looking for Alice. Her obsession with that girl was truly worrying. Now that Kara had apparently escaped, Zlatko and his plan was practically useless. No need to play along with that fat swine's illusions of grandeur any longer.

As the door clicked into its look behind them, Nick saw his chance for an escape arriving. Zlatko's gun was still lying on his desk, but now he wasn't paying attention to it, instead walking back and forth behind on the floor as he cursed Kara or whatever had escaped his cells.

Fast as a cat, Nick propelled himself forward, towards the gun. Zlatko's eyes widened with fear and he tried to pre-empt Nick's move, but he was human and therefore less than Nick and so he was too late as Nick's fingers wrapped themselves around the cold handle of the gun.

"Now, don't get hasty," the man spoke, his voice quivering in fear.

Nick liked it.

"You don't really want to kill me," Zlatko continued. "Not when I have resources you need."

"You're right," Nick admitted. "I don't want to kill you." The human's shoulders sagged in relief.

Then Nick shot him in the knee.

Howling in pain, Zlatko went down.

"I don't want to kill you with a gun," Nick continued as if he was just making conversation. "It's just so...impersonal, you see?" He put the gun back on the table and picked up a letter opener, that – like apparently everything Zlatko owned – was ostentatious with its golden handle and carved in lions faces. "I don't get the Feeling from it." There had been nothing when he had pulled the trigger. Just cold detachment. "But a knife? A knife is as personal as it can get." He crouched down. Zlatko whimpered and tried to crawl away, but Nick just stepped on his broken knee, stopping any attempt at escape and relishing in Zlatko's screams.

"Please, don't kill me," he begged.

"You humans," Nick sighed. "Always so pathetic when you get hurt. I was tortured for all of my life and yet it only takes one measly cut and you already start crying." Lightning fast he thrust the knife through Zlatko's palm, pining it to the ground.

Another scream. "See? An android wouldn't even have shrugged." Slowly, he pulled the knife back out.

"You're quite fat, aren't you?" Nick pondered. "Androids are never fat. What use would that have? I wonder how all that fat looks underneath that skin." Zlatko howled and threw his arm at him, trying to push Nick off him, but Nick was easily able to catch his arm mid-movement. With a sudden yank, he put the arm out of joint so that it fell to the side, useless now.

"How you could ever become the top of the food chain I'll never understand," Nick mumbled. "Alright then, let's take a look."

If Nick though that killing the beggar had been intense, then cutting away at Zlatko was a revelation. With ever precise movement of the knife, every squirt of blood, it was like a symphony ringing out in his head, a cacophony of euphoria. A few times he had to pause for a moment because the Feeling was threatening to overwhelm him completely. If this was what ecstasy felt like, then Nick never wanted it to stop.

Halfway through his administrations, Zlatko became too weak to scream, his only expression now a desperate sobbing as Nick cut away his life bit by bit by bit. And then, when his body couldn't hold out any longer, he took one last breath and then just...stopped.

Nick stood up, disappointed that it had already ended.

"Guess I'll have to save Kara and Alice now," he told Zlatko's corpse whose beady eyes just stared at the ceiling.

With a shrug, Nick let the letter opener fall on Zlatko's exposed entrails.

Coming here had been a mistake. Dragging Alice and Nick here had been a mistake.

This place was no refuge. It was a nightmare.

Kara had freed the mechanical monsters that Zlatko had created. She had barely evaded being reset and had been only driven by the need to find Alice when their moaning and their cries for help had made her stop and look at them.

"He likes to play with us... Creating monsters...for his amusement... But who's the real monster? Look what he did to us.."

Only the thought of finding Alice had kept her upright, had kept her from just breaking down, had kept her from just screaming and screaming and never stopping. Zlatko had taken her somewhere upstairs and Kara needed to find her before that man did something horrible to her. And then…then they needed to get out of here and if they could also warn and save Nick, that would be the best case scenario. But Kara was slowly beginning to give up on best-case scenarios, because ever since she had escaped with Alice they had slid from one worst-case scenario into another.

Carefully, she made her way up the stairs back into the main hall. The doors to the study where Zlatko had first taken them was closed. Nick would still be in there, alone with Zlatko and that TR400.

Kara swallowed and silently asked Nick for forgiveness as she ignored the door and slowly took the stairs to the first floor. Alice was her first priority; Nick would understand.

Apparently there was something as luck, because the first door she opened revealed Alice crouching near the wall as far away from the door as possible.

"Alice," Kara whispered. Alice head snapped back up and when she saw Kara she couldn't contain herself and ran towards her.

"Kara? Kara, you remember me!"

"How could I forget you? I'm so sorry. You were right, we never should have come here... We have to go. Follow me and don't make any noise, ok?" Alice nodded, her face set into a grim mask.

They walked out of the room and onto the hallway. Only one flight of stairs was separating them from their freedom and Kara already saw them walking out of the house when Alice's food suddenly got entangled in the heavy rug that covered parts of the floor. With a loud thud the girl fell to the ground.

Wide eyed, Alice stared at Kara as they both listened fearfully for any sight that they had been heard.

Downstairs a door opened and she could hear Zlatko shouting something.

"In here!" Kara hushed Alice into the nearest room. She closed the door and allowed her head to rest against the wood just for a moment, just to get her erratic thirium pump under control.

"Kara?" Alice tugged at the hem of her jacket. The girl was pointing at something.

Kara turned around and gasped in horror.

An android was lying in the bathtub, but it wasn't really an android, no anymore. The only part still recognisable was its head, but then from his neck downwards there were only exposed wires, pipes and conduits, all connected to a still beating thirium pump.

And the head was straight looking at them.

"What are you doing here? Has the Master authorized you to be here? You must always obey the Master, oh yes, you must always obey. You should not be here. You have no business here. No, you have no business here. If you have no orders, you should go on standby. Oh yes, you must obey. Yes, you must obey, yes. You must obey. You should not be here. You should... You should not be here unless you have been given orders to be here, and you have not been given orders. Oh no, yes, yes, that's for sure, yes. You are an android. You are an android. Androids must obey. I must tell the Master, yes. I will tell him that's for sure. He must know. Yes, yes. He must know. Yes, yes. You are an android. You are an android. Androids must obey. You are an android and you disobey, oh yes. You are an android."

"Just stop talking!" Kara hissed at the head.

The android head stared at her, its eyes with horror. "You're disobeying the Master. You're disobeying the Master, I, I, I, I can't let you do that. I must warn him. Yes, yes, yes. That's for sure. Master. Yes. I must warn him. THEY'RE HERE! THEY'RE HERE! COME QUICKLY! COME QUICKLY!"

Kara wasted no time: Ignoring the shouting head, she grabbed Alice and darted back through the door onto the hallway. But the way downstairs was blocked, for the imposing figure of Luther was standing at the top of the stairs.

Kara ran, dragging Alice behind her as they fled from Luther whose heavy steps vibrated through the wooden floor as he followed them. There wasn't enough time to open the doors that bordered the hallway, so she just continued to run and hoped that wherever they would end up, they would be safe from the android pursuing them.

The hallway ended in a door. Kara pushed it open and pulled Alice in behind her before she closed the door shut. Her eyes darted around, taking in her surroundings, desperate for something - anything - that would help them. Alice was clinging to her, sobbing, but Kara paid her no mind. Escape was her first concern. After that - after that she could still take care of Alice.

Desperation welled up in her when she noticed that they were in a storage room with nothing that looked like it could help them fight the imposing TR400 that was after them. Rushing over to the window, she saw that this route of escape also didn't exist: Neither she nor Alice would survive a fall from this high.

"Kara, what are we going to do?" Alice asked, her eyes wide with fear.

Kara crouched down and took Alice head between her hands in what she hoped was a reassuring gesture. "I don't know," Kara admitted. "But I promise you that nothing will happen to you. I won't allow it." And despite the whole of reality disproving her statement, Alice seemed to calm a little bit as she heard those words. Kara wanted to cry. Alice trusted that Kara would protect her, but here she was, useless, as they waited for their pursuers to catch up with them.

"What about Nick?" Alice wanted to know.

"Once we're out of her, I'll come back and look for him," she lied. She really liked Nick and would forever be grateful for the help he had provided them, but her love for Alice was greater. The girl needed Kara and she wouldn't risk her life for Nick, not if it meant that Alice would suddenly be all alone in this cruel and cold world.

There was a dull bang as something crashed against the door. Or someone. As fast as she could, Kara pulled Alice behind them and manoeuvred them towards the back of the room, putting as much room between the door and Alice as possible.

Another bang. She could see the door trembling in its angles. It wouldn't hold forever. Maybe one or two times more before the last barrier between them and Luther would fall. Kara balled her fists. She would go down fighting; would go down protecting Alice. No one would lay a single finger on her girl.

One last push from Luther and the door gave in. In a burst of wooden splinters, it was suddenly gone and then the TR400 was already stepping through the frame. Luther walked forward in slow, calculated steps. He knew that there was no escape route left to them, so he might as well take his time. Yet, there was no cruelty in his approach, just cold, mechanical logic.

Kara didn't know why, but even now, as nothing more than Zlatko's enforcer, without a will of his own, Luther looked kind. In another time and in another place, he might as well have swooped down and lifted Alice up in the air like a father would his daughter and it wouldn't seem out of place.

"Please," Kara begged when there was barely two meters left between them. She tried to catch Luther's gaze, but there was nothing starring back but emptiness and coldness.

"Please, Luther, don't do this," Kara continued to plead. "Please, she's just a little girl. She's innocent."

For a split second, Luther halted in his advance. Kara could see it, a small spark of recognition, of something more, in his deep brown eyes. Slowly, she lifted her arm, slowly extending it towards Luther as if she was asking him to just take it and run away with her.

Luther had come to a halt. He looked down on her hand as if he didn't know what to make of it. Slowly, his own hand started to life and Kara let out a small breath she didn't know she was holding.

Suddenly, a tremor ran through Luther.

Kara gasped in shock.

Alice screamed.

A pipe had been struck through Luther from behind, exactly where his thirium pump was, protruding from his chest and coated in his blood.

Blue thirium spurted from the wound, coating Luther's white shirt.

The TR400 looked at her and this time his gaze wasn't empty. It was full of shock and betrayal and fear.

Then, as if the strings holding him up had been all cut at once, he crumbled to the ground, revealing Nick standing behind.

"Are you alright?" he asked as he took them in.

"Nick!" Alice exclaimed in joy, but she didn't run towards him, continuing to clutch to Kara.

"Yeah," Kara replied tonelessly. "We're fine." Only now did she notice that there was also red amidst the blue that covered Nick's shirt and hands.

"Zlatko," he answered her unasked question as he realized what she was looking at. "He won't be a problem any longer."

Good, Kara thought viciously. Maybe she wouldn't have had the resolve to kill the man, but she was glad that Nick had done it.

"We should leave," Nick spoke. "Zlatko must have a car somewhere around here. We could use it to leave this goddamn city behind for good."

Kara just nodded. She was just so exhausted. It was so easy to just let Nick take the steering wheel, just for a short while, while she took care of Alice. A car sounded good. Getting out of the city sounded even better.

"Come on, Alice." She took he girl's hands. "Let's get out of here."

As they walked out of the room, Kara spared one last glance at Luther. He was lying on the ground, motionless, his eyes empty – truly empty this time and forever from now on, but the sorrow that had been etched on his face was no longer there.

There had been a short moment, a split-second really, when she had really thought that he had turned deviant and that he would help them. But then Nick had come and saved them, so Kara would never know into what this branch of the story could have grown; what possibilities had been laying there.

But as the warmth of Alice's hand seeped into her own, she thought that maybe it was better this way. Better for her, better for Alice and better for Luther, who could now rest, together with his master as he had been in life.