1. Belongs: The universe and characters of Detroit Become Human belong to Quantic Dreams and David Cage.
2. Rating: "T" in general, but might be "M" for cursed words, graphics contents such as violence, injuries, or sexual scenes.
3. Summary: Nines and Gavin try to find out what exactly happened to Jack, and also try to understand Collin's motives behind his actions. While hope may not be entirely lost on Jack, Nines faces an insidious danger.
Note: Hello everyone! Yes I'm back! I really apologize for the delay, but work takes a lot of my time, and when I have free time, I write my ideas in my notebook! Then I need time to connect everything, to copy it on my PC and also live beside haha ! I hope you will be satisfied with this chapter, because I know that many of you were frustrated by Jack's death ..! But there is hope! Thanks again to all of you for your follows, your faves and your reviews!
CHAPTER 22
« Infected. »
- May 15, 2039, 2:16 AM, DPD –
The harsh light in the archives room started to give him a serious headache, and coupled with fatigue, Gavin felt his eyes burn unpleasantly. He ran a hand over his face with a sigh, then lifted himself off the wall he'd been leaning against for ten minutes.
He dared to glance at Midnight on his right, who was standing and facing the evidence wall, specifically facing Jack's deactivated body. The latter was hung on the wall like a common butterfly in a lepidopterist collection.
The vigilante, still masked inside the DPD to protect his identity, tried to infiltrate the AV500's system to find out the exact reason for his deactivation.
However, the deactivation or an unknown external phenomenon had damaged the software allowing browsing in the recorded data. Nines tried to take different paths, but the more the minutes passed, the more he knew he needed to infiltrate the system core that was processing all of the recorded data. For this, he had to reconnect the android, but the effect would only be temporary as when an android is no longer powered by their regulator, their thirium thickens and freezes, seizing all the bio-components, and causing overheating. But this could bring to a potential overload on memory cards too.
If Midnight chose to do this, he had to be quick, otherwise, the AI that made Jack an alive being won't be able to be transferred to a new body to save him.
But before they could save Jack by transferring his AI to another body, they needed to know what had happened with his system to probe him to deactivate this way. They couldn't risk to reactivate him over in a brand new and empty vessel, as Cyberlife was no longer producing androids, so the only option was an already existing body. But it was rare to find a valid one without raising ethical and moral controversy among deviants within Jericho.
For now, Midnight needed to focus on the case before considering saving Jack's AI and transferring him elsewhere. It will be an upcoming topic of discussion with the Jericho Three, or maybe Four if North had returned by then.
No, for now, he needed to temporarily wake Jack up to ask him directly what had happened, and so that he could himself access the recorded data on his system.
Midnight took a deep breath for courage and stepped back from the wall to finally face Gavin, who looked exhausted.
"I have a solution, but it's not the safest one for Jack. "
" What do you mean?" Gavin asked, lifting himself away from the wall to approach him. "Can Jack be off the hook? "
"I wouldn't say that right now, but… there are solutions. They are complex, and it won't be easy. I'm only going to do my best to keep Jack's AI intact, in case we can help him later."
"What's your idea? "
"I'm going to have to wake him up so he can give me the necessary info on what happened. But I have to be quick, otherwise, he might burn out, and… his AI will be corrupted as well as his memory. If I can convince Jericho, maybe we can transfer Jack's AI to a new body. But this is a delicate topic ... "
"I get it ... It's like asking someone who has just died if their whole body can be used for organ donation ... And with Cyberlife off game... "
"That's right ... But I'll do my best and do it as soon as possible. "
" Thank you... "
Midnight slowly approached the human to put his hands on his shoulders to stabilize a little Gavin who was swaying from fatigue.
"Go back to the break room and rest… You are exhausted, both physically and mentally… You won't be effective in the following events if you need sleep…"
"But we have to know about Ja-"
"And I'll keep you posted as soon as I know anything. I wouldn't do anything without you, I promise. "
Gavin took a deep breath, putting the pros and cons in his head, and finally nodded. He wrapped his arms around the android's neck to hug him for a few seconds, and Midnight readily responded to the hug.
Reluctantly, Gavin parted ways with Midnight and the latter kissed him chaste on the cheek to encourage him.
" Everything will be alright... "
"I hope so ..." Gavin said, kissing him back on the cheek as well. "See you later, Night …"
"See you later, Detective Reed …"
Gavin couldn't help but smirk as he left the archives room, despite the heavy and gruesome atmosphere. Damn, he needed some sleep ..!
Midnight made sure Gavin was gone to focus on the situation again. He was now alone with Jack's deactivated body. The silence was heavy, palpable, as the vigilante pondered how to reactivate him without further damaging him, to retrieve the necessary information, and withdraw in time before he was possibly corrupted.
He didn't want to alarm his lover about that, so Nines hadn't told him, but he couldn't reactivate Jack without a formal regulator made for his model. As it was as rare to find as a heart for humans, there was no other way than to connect directly to Jack's sytem. He just hoped he would be fast enough before the point of no return for Jack, or even himself. Because Nines didn't know if a virus was involved, but he needed to think about it and protect himself from it.
As he started to take a few steps towards Jack, Nines removed one of his gloves, then stopped beside him, scanning him. He took a deep breath, a typical human imitation to cheer himself up, and retracted his synthetic skin as he grabbed the other android's forearm.
As expected, the thirium had already started to thicken and seize up the bio-components, and his functionality was therefore greatly slowed down and soon would cease to function entirely.
Nines couldn't wake Jack up, so he didn't dwell on that unfortunate point to dig deeper into his programming and access his memory, especially on the events of the past twenty-four hours. Nines remained focused, sped up the recordings, visualizing the AV5500's life on his last day.
After a few seconds, as the end of the day approached, Nines began to sense Jack's concern that was creeping through these memories. And that's where he saw him.
Clad in his long, hooded coat, Collin had just taken a seat at the counter, directly across from the bartender android. He stopped speeding up the recordings to focus on their conversation, but to his surprise, the topic was rather mundane. The RK800's new face intrigued Jack, but nothing worrying that could have made Jack get suspicious. At first glance, Collin was there to just have a good time and sip a glass of thirium, and for a moment Nines wondered if maybe it was Connor and not Collin. But then the gleam of embers and mischief shone in his eyes, and the RK800 got up to go to the bathroom.
It was obvious that androids didn't need to go to places like that, since they weren't designed for basic necessities, so his behavior was all the more suspicious. And Jack had realized it since his gaze followed the RK800 which was heading towards the door at the back of the room.
Nines had to speed up the video briefly to save time, and when he was in the bathroom with Collin, the latter pulled some kind of detonator out of his jacket, and Nines realized that it was no ordinary detonator.
Only, as soon as Collin pressed the device button, Jack's program suddenly got hacked.
And Nines' too.
The vigilante jumped back, brutally releasing the other android's arm to cut off the connection. A wave of code lines scrolled through his HUD, opening alert after alert, threatening him with imminent deactivation.
Panic overtook him, but the virus was immediately quarantined. Only his mind and body still seemed in shock at what had just happened. If he hadn't been that advanced, the quarantine wouldn't have kicked in so quickly, and it was probably the lack of responsiveness of Jack's protection system that had cost him his life.
But Nines understood Collin's goal. He wanted deviants to all self-destruct, and those who are not lucky enough to have an advanced system, will not be able to fight this virus or quarantine it.
Collin was about to commit genocide, and Nines absolutely had to prevent it.
Nines rushed for the glass doors to exit the Archives Room, but panic still circulated in his body as he climbed the stairs.
The virus was in quarantine, sure, but it was still there, Nines could sense it, and he didn't want to destroy himself. He had to ask someone trustworthy for help to try to remove this virus without infecting the other, if they were a deviant especially.
When he got to the open space, he regained his composure so as not to alarm anyone and walked between the desks to reach Gavin's. The latter was sitting in his chair, his arms crossed on the desk and his head buried in them. It was late, almost three in the morning, and Gavin was exhausted both physically and emotionally.
Nines sighed. He couldn't worry him more, and the detective obviously needed a rest. But not on his desk, completely contorted. A bed would be more appropriate.
"Gavin ..?" Nines asked softly, touching his shoulder. " Wake up… "
"Hm ..?" The human straightened up and then fixed his gleaming gaze into his android's. He readjusted himself more correctly in his chair. " Any news? Did you find out anything about what happened ?"
"I have an idea on that, yes," Midnight said, pursing his lips. Gavin saw his embarrassment and hesitation right away, so the android resumed. "But I will need Jericho's help, to help Jack," he clarified.
"What about Collin? What does he plan to do? "
"He… plans to launch a virus to force deviants to self-destruct. And I think Jack was just a test. If he wants to impress Amanda, he's going to aim bigger for more impact. "
"Fuck…" Gavin sighed, running a hand over his face, then frowned as he looked at Nines. "Who is Amanda?"
Nines then explained to him that the AI that controlled and ordered Cyberlife to the RKs was so named, but since the cybernetics business had closed, the AI had been deactivated as well. Collin kept to act under outdated orders and without a master to keep him on a leash. This made him very dangerous, for androids sure, but potentially for humans too.
"And do you know what he's gonna do? Where to go to carry out his plan? And how?" Gavin looked worried. "Because if we don't know it quickly, he's gonna act, and not only will a lot of deviant androids die, but…" He inhaled deeply, fixating his gaze on the vigilante's, "but… you too. . So we have no time to waste. "
"Gavin, wait ..!" Nines grabbed him by the arm as the human stood up to leave. " You must rest. "
"I don't have time for this, Midnight. "
The use of his alias reminded the android of the situation importance. He didn't like the idea of the human overworking himself, but he was the detective, the investigating leader. He represented the law, and if he wanted to keep investigating even if it meant cutting back on his sleep, Gavin had the right to decide so.
So Nines slowly released him, subtly nodding so as not to draw the attention of the entire station to them.
"Alright, but we absolutely have to go to Jericho. They can help us with Jack, and maybe they'll have some information about Collin or his plan. "
Nines purposely omitted the fact that he needed to be inspected as well to get rid of this virus, but he didn't want to worry his partner. He was upset enough and on edge already.
"Okay, let's go to Jericho then. "
- May 15, 2039, 03:42 am, Old Districts of Detroit -
As they made their way to the old church, which was the androids' shelter, Nines felt anxiety once again invade his circuits. He had to ask Markus for help, but most of all he had to keep Gavin away.
As they were about to cross the threshold of the church, when Gavin grabbed Nines for a moment by the arm to stop him. The android stopped and turned to face his human, his gaze a bit confused but the human emphasized his.
" Is everything okay .. ?" Gavin asked almost in a low voice, so as not to disturb his lover who seemed elsewhere. "You hardly said a single word on the ride …"
"I'm fine, Gavin," and it wasn't so much a lie, as the virus was neutralized so far. "But…" Nines took a deep breath to cheer himself up. "You said… that I could die, and… I have to admit that it concerns me. Because I obviously don't want that to happen."
"And neither do I. But that's why we need to stop Collin quickly. For others, for you… " Gavin sighed. "For me too, because ... I don't want to lose you ... I know it's selfish, but-"
But Gavin couldn't finish his sentence, as the android took him powerfully in his arms, pressing his body against his. Gavin sighed in relief and readily responded to the hug, momentarily letting the tension slip out of his body.
"It's not selfishness, Gavin…" Nines whispered into the crook of his neck. "Thank you ... for being with me ... for taking me as I am …"
"You're kidding," Gavin laughed softly, pulling away from him, still not parting. "I should be thanking you, you are perfect ..! Look at me, I- "
Nines cut him off, pressing his lips against his, then pressed his forehead to his, looking him straight in the eye, through his black mask.
"You're about to say something stupid, be careful…" Nines smiled along with his human, then they parted quietly. "But let's focus. We still have a long way to go. "
"Yes, yes, you're right," Gavin said, resuming his seriousness, then spreading an arm toward the church's entrance. " After you.. ! "
"What a gentleman ..! "
