6:02pm- Jericho Remastered.

Ruby

There were many androids bustling around the church, carrying boards of wood and tools to fix the roof. Some were carrying desks and chairs into the building.

They followed Connor over to two androids who were chatting at the door. They glanced suspiciously at the others behind him.

Connor raised his hand. "It's fine. They're with me. Is Markus here?"

"Yes, he's just overseeing the maintenance inside. Go right in," the blond android smiled. Although they watched the humans closely as they went by.

Inside, laughter shot from all corners of the church hall. The sun streamed through the stain-glass windows, striping the newly placed pews. It looked more homely with the pews facing each other and the roof almost completely patched up. Blue blood machines were dotted against the walls.

Finally, enough for everyone…

Ruby spotted Markus across the room, kneeling next to a small girl. North stood next to him, looking down at them. The little girl stopped speaking as they approached and tilted her head at Ruby.

"You're the girl in the memories…" she said quietly.

Ruby blanched. "What do you mean?" Markus stood to let Ruby kneel across from the girl.

"The man who saved me. I saw his memories before he helped me get away. I knew he was dying… But I thought he would have a chance to live too."

Ruby listened silently, biting her lip. Then she smiled a little.

"It's okay, all that matters is that you got out of there in one piece. Caleb knew what he was doing." She blew out a breath. "What's your name?"

The girl tilted her head again, scanning the assassin's face.

"My name is Elira." She grasped Ruby's arm as the latter stood. "You were the person he thought about when he was shot, I was the second and he, himself, was the third. He cared for you. A lot."

Ruby pressed her lips together and nodded at Elira in thanks. She turned away quickly. Finn placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Markus?" Connor cut in, moving to the front of the group. The leader of Jericho lifted his head as Connor moved towards him. "How are things coming along here?"

Markus took in a deep breath as he looked around.

"Good. Finally, we're making some progress here. I think this is a sacred place for everybody and it'll keep us busy repairing it at the moment. We don't have to hide anymore, but we need somewhere to reconvene. Somewhere where our people can come to recuperate."

Connor nodded, mulling over his words. "Will I be able to come here and help out? When I'm not working at the police station." He added swiftly.

Hank raised his eyebrows. But Markus just smiled and gripped Connor's shoulder.

"You're one of us. You're always welcome here at Jericho."

Ruby smiled as Connor's face brightened. He nodded.

"Thank you. I need to speak with you about another android, and what I should do…"

Markus frowned. "Alright. Come with me." The two of them stepped away, wandering through two doors at the back.

Ruby glanced around the hall at all of the androids, watching them laugh and hug one another. They were finally all free to love and laugh with whomever they choose. Nothing was over yet, but the worst was.

I wonder if Kara, Alice and Luther ever made it…

She brought out a piece of paper from her pocket. A number was scrawled on it in Rose's handwriting.

"What's that?" Vera asked, peering over her shoulder.

"Rose's brother's phone number. I was thinking I could ring them and see if Kara, Alice and Luther arrived safely in Canada."

Vera gave her a small hug. "You should. What's stopping you?"

Ruby shrugged. "I don't know. I guess we just haven't stopped long enough yet. I'll do it at the motel tonight."

Vera nodded slowly with a small smile. But Connor was coming back, listening intently to what Markus was telling him.

Hank scoffed as he joined them.

"Come on. Let's get outta here. I'm starvin'."

7:32pm- Hank's House

Vera

The sun had already disappeared, and the first dark clouds had already rolled in by the time they arrived at Hank's place. The stars glinted at them as they filed through the front door.

As the humans ate at the kitchen table silently, Connor sat on the couch with Sumo on his lap. His fingers stroked the Saint Bernard's head gently.

Hank placed the empty carton back on the table, glancing over at the android and his dog. Both perfectly content in their own world.

Vera watched Hank's lips lift distantly as he watched them. She could see Finn glancing at her out of the corner of her eye. Ruby leant on Vera's arm that lay flat on the table, blinking sleepily. Vera smiled at her.

Hank opened his mouth to speak after he'd slurped at his drink.

"So, Connor, what did Markus say?"

Connor blinked at him for a moment, pressing his lips together in thought.

"He told me that I—"

Connor stopped as a light flooded the room and an engine roared onto the driveway. Ruby sat up sharply. Each of them glanced out of the window and then at Hank who shrugged.

"Anybody expecting anyone?"

"No, Hank. But you should probably go and see who it is," Vera advised.

Connor edged to the window first, parting the curtain a little. Then he shrank away.

"It's Gavin and Nines," he hissed.

Not a moment later, they banged on the door. Vera jumped out of her seat just before Gavin's voice came through the door.

"Open up, Hank! We know Vera in in there with you and your plastic pet!"

Connor scowled at that. Ruby turned to her quickly.

"Get out of here! Right now, before they kick the door down! We'll find you later," she said hastily.

Finn clutched her arms. "Go, Vera. You need a head start…" She stared at him, agitated.

"They'd better not kick my fucking door down. I'll teach that little prick—" Hank interjected, heading towards the door. Ruby stopped him. But Gavin yelled again.

"Nines, kick it down!"

Vera ran to the window and pushed it up. She dived out, just making it as the door crashed open inside. Then she ran into the night, Gavin's angry voice chasing her into the darkness.

Ruby

Ruby quickly closed the window just as Nines and Gavin hurtled into the room. Hank angrily stormed towards Gavin. But Nines took one look around the room and ran back outside.

"Nines!" Gavin shouted after him. "Where the hell are you going?" But it was too late. The android had already disappeared and leaping over the fence where Vera had gone.

"Fuck sake," Ruby whispered, running after the android, closely followed by Connor. Hank grabbed Gavin's jacket to stop him from following. Finn blocked the door after Ruby left.

"I can find him!" Connor bellowed as he passed Ruby through the streets.

"I'm not letting you do this alone. She's my friend too. Nines will never find her."

"He's a more efficient model than me. He will find her. That's why he solved it so quickly."

She sighed. "Find him. I'll follow in my own time. I'll try and find Vera before he does."

Connor nodded once and raced ahead, vanishing into the dark folds of the shadows before she could blink.

She glanced at the roof and stepped back, hopping on the wall opposite to get a grip on the roof's edge. Ruby pulled herself up, taking a deep breath of the fresh air. She squinted at the streets below. They were quiet.

I thought it'd be busy this time of night… She sighed. I hope Vera hasn't gone far.

Ruby climbed to the next roof, scaling over the edges as she watched below for any sign of movement.

Then she heard a shout a few blocks away.

"Stop!"

That was Nines.

"Nines, wait!" Connor was saying.

"Connor, don't!"

Vera…

Ruby hurried along the rooftop and dropped down into the alley where Vera was pressed against the railings—staring into the barrel of Nines' gun.

She could easily get out of this…

"Nines, you don't have to do this," Connor pleaded again, his hand was raised without his 'skin'. He hadn't seen Ruby behind him. She knew he'd heard her drop though.

Vera's eyes hardened. "What about Gavin? He's not here to help you arrest me…"

"I don't need help. Detective Reed is safely at Lieutenant Anderson's house. He won't be in danger here." Nines moved closer to Vera and Ruby pulled out her own gun. "Turn around and put your hands behind your head."

Vera scowled. "I don't want to hurt you. So just back off!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that. I'm an android, I don't feel pain. You must come with me."

"Vera, don't!" Connor snapped as she turned around, gun pointing at the android in front of her.

Ruby held her finger on the trigger as Nines prepared to shoot. But Connor was faster. He grabbed Nines on the shoulder with his hand tightly. They both went still.

A moment later, Nines dropped the gun at his feet and glanced down at his hands. Then everyone around him. He turned towards Connor, an anxious expression on his face.

"Nines!" Gavin's voice reached them from the street. "Where the fuck are you?"

"Go," Nines told them. "I'll deal with it."

"But—" Ruby began.

"Go now!"

They didn't need to be told a third time.

They hurried onto the roof, Vera and Connor running in the opposite direction. But Ruby lingered to watch the scene below.

Gavin ran up to his partner and took him by the arms. He glanced at the gun on the floor and back to the android.

"Are you hurt? What the hell happened?"

"They got away, Detective…"

"Shit!" Gavin wiped his hand over his face. "Did she hurt you?"

"No, Detective. I'm fine. But I think we have the wrong person."

Gavin frowned. "What? But you said you were sure."

"I know. Perhaps there's something wrong with my scanners. I will get it checked tomorrow and I'll be in better working order."

"Yeah, well you'd better be. I can't have a partner who gets things wrong, can I?" His eyes shifted over Nines again.

"We should go, Detective. It's cold and you'll catch a chill."

Gavin squinted at him. "I'm not cold—"

"You can't lie to me, Gavin."

Gavin blinked. "Alright, let's go, smartass." He glanced at the android carefully for another moment. Then he scoffed and walked away. "Shit…"

Nines glanced up and made eye contact with Ruby. She nodded gratefully. He didn't smile. He just looked away and followed his partner.

Ruby breathed a sigh of relief. Then she left, hurrying after Vera and Connor.

The Siren Motel

Ruby

The room was quiet. Vera sat on the floor between the beds and Ruby sat at the grubby table staring at the phone number before her. Finn sat on the bed above Vera, stroking her hair. She didn't seem to notice.

Ruby felt sick. But she picked up her phone, slowly typing in the number. She held the phone to her ear, nibbling at the nails on her other hand.

The phone trilled. It started to seem like an eternity.

After a few moments, Ruby took her phone away, hovering over the red button. When a voice suddenly broke down the phone.

"Hello? Hello?"

Ruby snapped the phone back to her ear.

"Hello? Um, my name is Ruby, I was wondering if Kara was there?"

"Kara? Yes, there is a Kara here. Hold on, please."

Ruby closed her eyes briefly. Kara made it?!

"Ruby? Is that you?"

"Kara? You made it! You're safe!"

Kara laughed. "Yes. Yes, we're fine here. Rose was at border control…" Her voice became solemn. "They were doing temperature checks. We didn't know if we were getting out of there alive… But thanks to Markus and his peaceful demonstration, the guard let us go."

"What? Really? But—"

"Ruby?!" Alice's voice shrieked down the phone. Ruby pulled the phone away, laughing.

"Alice! How're you doing?"

"I'm okay. Rose got me into a school with lots of other kids! I start next week!"

"Wow, Alice! That's amazing. I bet you'll fit right in."

"Rose said the same thing. I finally get a life like other girls."

Kara whispered something to Alice who said her goodbyes, yelling at Luther further away. Kara chuckled, coming back to the phone.

"How are you doing, Ruby? What happened after the demonstration?"

"Connor broke free and became deviant. He freed all the androids in Cyberlife Tower. That church we went to after the attack is the new Jericho. Markus wanted somewhere familiar for androids to go, so they're rebuilding it." Ruby frowned as she thought. She opened her mouth to say something, then changed her mind. "I don't think there's anything else. The President is in talks to give androids more rights. What will happen with that is another matter entirely."

"I'm just glad we're safely in Canada. I'm just glad not to be afraid. I have Alice and Luther and Rose… We're happy here."

"I'm so happy for you, Kara. You're starting a new life. It's exciting!" Vera gave her a pointed look from across the room. "I'm gonna have to go. But I'm glad I got to speak to you, and that you're doing well. I'll probably see you again someday."

"Well… thank you, Ruby. We will see you again. I'm sure of it."

They said their goodbyes and Ruby hung up, staring at the screen for a while afterwards.

"They made it okay then?" Vera asked quietly.

"Yeah," Ruby said without looking up, "Alice is starting school next week."

"Wow. Already?"

Ruby laughed through her nose. "I know. But at least they got there and they're safe. That's all that matters."

Vera batted Finn's hand from her head as she rose. Hurt flitted across his features for a moment before he smiled strangely. Ruby sighed as she put her phone down.

"The council have asked us to return to receive a new mission…" Finn cut in before Ruby could speak.

"What?" Ruby exclaimed sharply. "But our mission here hasn't finished."

Finn shrugged. "They seem to think it has. They have the piece, and that's what matters most. We can't let our feelings cloud our judgement remember."

"Fuck that!"

Vera blinked out of her stupor. "Ruby! They are still our mentors, remember!"

Ruby felt her anger rising at Vera's patronising tone. She struggled to keep her voice calm.

"You know as well as I do that that is bullshit! Our 'feelings' are what make us human. They may have the piece, but we aren't done here, Finn."

He held up his hands. "Hey, don't shoot the messenger."

"Sorry." Ruby shrugged. "I'm still not going back. Not yet. We have work to do here."

Finn stared into his lap. "Very well. If that's what you wish. Vera? What about you?"

Vera turned to him from where she was looking out of the window. She wore an anxious expression.

"I don't know. I don't want to go against them, but Ruby's right. Our work here isn't finished. No one is safe yet."

"What else are we going to do?"

"I think it's time I joined you on the DPD, Vera…" Ruby said, and Finn agreed cheerfully.