DBH: Lost Union

by WayWardWonderer

Connor deviates sooner than anticipated and in turn his perspective on androids, deviants and humans becomes obscured. Choosing his own path and going rogue as a private detective post Revolution gives the wayward deviant the chance to live his own life separate from those he'd call friend or foe while dodging enemies, healing from his past, and uncovering CyberLife's dark secrets.

60. Brothers

It was a hectic moment as the two detective brothers were suddenly recruited to aid their estranged brother by an unknown lost brother, but the duo quickly jumped into action and prepared for a last minute rescue mission in Washington D.C. despite having no idea of what to expect. While Lucas packed up his emergency technician's satchel with fresh Thirium, liquid incrassation compound and bandages, Connor hastily took Bruno over to Hank's house to request the Lieutenant's assistance in watching over the K-9 unit while he and Lucas were going to be out of town for an unknown amount of time. Fortunately, Hank didn't question Connor's motives and just agreed to watch Bruno without any protest whatsoever.

After gathering a few key supplies and changing their clothes, Connor and Lucas accompanied Ethan to the Detroit Airport via autonomous taxi and went out to a private landing strip where a small private jet was waiting for them. Everything had been so hastily and professionally arranged by the F.B.I. considering Sydney was one of their agents and had abruptly gone missing, and it made it easier for the trio to head out on their mission.

During the flight out to D.C. to meet with F.B.I. Director Norman Jayden in person, Ethan explained everything to Connor and Lucas regarding Sydney's mysterious disappearance. He also went into detail regarding his own mysterious presence and how he had come to know Sydney.

"I can't give you all of the information regarding the events surrounding Sydney's disappearance." Ethan sounded entirely broken and genuinely worried for the missing deviant agent. For whatever reason, it seemed as if Ethan and Sydney actually got along very well with one another. "Those are details that only Director Jayden can give to you once you see him."

"What can you tell us about the circumstances regarding the disappearance?" Connor asked as he pulled the window shade down behind himself so he didn't have to see how high they currently were in the sky. Heights bothered him even when in an autonomous aircraft that didn't have to worry about human error. "Was Sydney taken from his apartment, while working on a case, or taking care of personal errands?"

"It was a case. I'm unsure what the case pertained to or where he was at the time he disappeared, but I do know that whatever happened was serious enough to prompt Director Jayden into requesting your assistance on a very secured channel." Ethan gave Connor and Lucas a wary glance as he realized what he had said and how it could be perceived. "I'm not a 'gopher' if that's what you're wondering. I'm just doing my part to help, and by going to you in person that'll guarantee no one knows what's happening through a compromised communication channel."

Lucas was trying to deduce where Ethan could've come from, but he was drawing a massive blank. It was as if all of his knowledge and memories regarding the original 'RK-800' line had been entirely wiped clean long before he was even activated. "Ethan, how did you and Sydney meet? Where have you been all this time?"

"We initially met when Sydney discovered my existence only three weeks prior." Ethan looked uneasy telling the story but knew he needed to let Connor and Lucas know the full truth if they were going to be able to help him and subsequently help Sydney. "I had been kept hidden away in deep stasis mode with an entirely blank processor in an unofficial CyberLife warehouse. The F.B.I. got wind of potential black marketeering of android parts and supplies in Miami Florida despite the state having very strict anti-android laws still in effect, and Sydney led the investigation."

"You were alone in the warehouse for all that time?"

"Yes." Ethan didn't have any sense of time while in stasis mode, so he wasn't as affected by the timeframe as an outsider would be. "I am the very original 'RK-800' and I had been kept locked away as a form of patent protection after the 'RK' projects were greenlit by Kamski."

"And how do you know of that?"

"Sydney is very resourceful and has proven to be an invaluable asset to the F.B.I. since day one of being personally employed by Director Jayden."

Connor was silent for a moment as he studied Ethan's body language and determined that the deviant was being entirely open and honest. "What is your current connection with Sydney?"

"Connection?" Studying Connor and Lucas as they sat across from the aisle from himself, Ethan tried to understand what he was asking. "What do you mean?"

"You're willing to fly to Detroit, find us in person and bring us back to D.C. to help you find him. You must be close to him."

"Well, yeah. He's my little brother."

The term and concept were surprising to hear. In the past Sydney had showed no interest in a brotherly relationship with either Connor Lucas, but he went out of his way to rescue Ethan and refer to him as a brother elsewhere. It seemed a little cruel to learn that Sydney did value the concept of family but didn't want to have one with his other brothers.

"I know of your own struggles to get close to him." Ethan admitted as he cybernetically checked with the plane's literal autopilot to determine how far away they were from their destination. He didn't have an L.E.D. in his right temple but the little eye twitch that used to accompany Connor's cybernetic links persisted and gave away what the deviant was doing. "When I was first found, Sydney reactivated me, gave me fresh Thirium and used his own programming, software and memories to fill the blanks within my own mind. That in turn let me know about you two, and why Sydney had left Detroit to work with Director Jayden."

"Then you'd know for certain." Connor's tone dipped as he dared to ask the one question that he had been afraid to ask ever since Sydney was reactivated. "Why does Sydney hate us?"

"He doesn't-" Such a shocking question made Ethan's blue eyes widen and then darken with disappointment. "Sydney doesn't hate either of you."

"Could've fooled us..."

"I assure you that Sydney does NOT hate you!"

Lucas spoke up softly as he too doubted such an optimistic claim. "Then why does he refuse to talk to us, associate with us, or even use a civil tone with us during the rare moments when we are in the same room?"

"It's because Sydney... He doesn't want you to know this, and as far as he knows I don't know this either, but his shared memories have guaranteed that I know everything he's experienced." Folding his hands together over his lap Ethan took in a deep breath and gave Connor and Lucas a somber glance. "Sydney doesn't trust that he won't be compromised by Amanda or CyberLife. He doesn't want to hurt you or any of the other deviants in the city by mistake."

"But... Amanda and all programming regarding the Zen Garden within our Mind Palaces had been deleted." Lucas countered while Connor felt his own guilt for potential internal sabotage ache at his stomach. "There's nothing to fear."

"Even so, he doesn't want to risk harming you. Sydney feels guilty for what he did to you, Connor, and what he did to Lieutenant Anderson."

Connor's soulful brown eyes lit up as he gave Ethan a shocked glance. "He... does?"

"Yes. Sydney realized the severity of what he had done after he deviated. Even though he knows that what he had done happened was due to someone else ordering him around, he still feels responsible. And he knows that that the only reason he had been shot was because of he had tried to do to you and to the Lieutenant. Unfortunately, it seems his personal pride prohibits him from such admissions."

"Interesting."

"He also does feel bad for misinterpreting the evidence you had gathered against the deviant who tried to poison you, and wrongfully accused North in the process. Again, his pride won't let him own up to it."

"I'll be sure to remember that."

Ethan's attention went toward the front of the plane as he turned his seat to face forward away from his detective brothers. "We're about to begin our descent."

Connor and Lucas also turned their seats to face forward as opposed to being turned toward the side so that they could face Ethan direct across the aisle. Neither deviant had been on any type of aircraft before, but Lucas seemed to be more comfortable with flying than Connor.

"Once we land, we'll be picked up by Director Jayden's personal security vehicle and we'll be taken to F.B.I. Headquarters." Fastening his seatbelt Ethan took in a deep breath as he tried to remain entirely composed for all three of his brothers' sakes. "From there, we'll know what to do next."

---

The private office was locked up tight and dimly lit by only a large saltwater aquarium in the far corner of the room as Director Norman Jayden paced about the isolated space in front of the massive window that overlooked a magnificent white marble fountain in the middle of an expansive green garden that extended about the rear of the headquarter's building. The pale blue lighting from the aquarium gave the interior of the office an eerie atmosphere and had caused Jayden's blue eyes to shine abnormally brighter as he anxiously waited for his three guests to arrive so they could speak about the very important but secretive case together. As the F.B.I. Director, the big man in charge, Jayden was able to remain inside the building entirely alone without anyone batting an eye, which helped give him an advantage with discretion and secrecy.

Replaying the incident over and over again in his mind Jayden tried to figure out what had gone wrong and how Sydney's cover had been blown. They had taken every necessary precaution to keep him safe in the field, and yet the incredibly sharp, skilled and trained deviant agent had been jumped, attacked and abducted in a single swift motion that no one had seen coming.

The case that Sydney had been working on was left open with the corresponding file strewn across Jayden's desk. The details had been read over so many times that Jayden had everything memorized by heart despite not wanting to do so.

Two soft knocks on his closed office door tore Jayden's eyes from the decorative fountain with the swan pouring a cascade of illuminated water from its beak as he turned to look at the door. Three identical silhouettes on the other side of the frosted glass gave Jayden an idea of who was stopping by so late. Remotely unlocking his door via small button on a key fob in his hand, Jayden breathed a sigh of relief as Ethan, Connor and Lucas all entered the office with their three visitors badges clipped to their shirts.

"Man, I'm so happy to see all three of you here." Jayden greeted as he turned on the overhead light with the same key fob and motioned for the trio to sit down on the black leather sofa against the far wall opposite of his desk. The faint white light seeming almost blindingly bright compared to the aquarium lighting. "I apologize for the abrupt request and, uh, sort of rushing a 'family reunion' in a less than tactful manner."

"We understand the hastiness of your recruitment." Connor replied keenly without any hint of malice behind his words. Standing before the desk as Lucas and Ethan sat on the sofa, Connor remained entirely focused on the case at hand. "How can we help find Sydney?"

"Glad Ethan brought you up to speed. You can help by seeing the trail that I can't see." Putting his hand down on the file over his desk Jayden invited Connor to view the details for himself. "I had my best people check over the scene of the abduction, but they can't find a single trace of Sydney anywhere. Since human eyes and our forensics tools aren't even in the same league as your personal software, I decided that my next best option to find Sydney would be through you."

Picking up the file Connor read over the details while Lucas asked some key questions about the abduction itself. "Where was Sydney when he was abducted?"

"He was doing some undercover work and recognizance at an abandoned hospital that's been suspected to be a hideout for human traffickers. I personally gave him the assignment and kept his alias and location completely secret, but someone knew who he was and attacked him while he was alone." Using an electronic tablet Jayden brought up a holographic projection of the crime scene for the deviants to see. "He was taken from here, on 1100 Alabama S.E. Avenue. No one else should've been around while he was there."

"Odds are you are correct about the place being used as a hideaway for victims of human trafficking." As Connor read over the details in the file his eyes noticed something that human eyes couldn't see and their comparatively primitive forensics software couldn't detect. Passing the file over to Lucas to view Connor waited to see what his brother noticed without giving him any clues to avoid potential bias. "I also suspect that you're dealing with android trafficking as well as human trafficking."

Jayden was thoroughly intrigued and needed to know what he was missing. "What makes you say that?"

"This." Lucas had caught sight of what Connor had seen and pointed to a non-visible piece of evidence. "There are extensive stains of evaporated Thirium all around the property. The age of the Thirium is far greater than twenty-four hours in age, which means it's impossible that it all could've come from Sydney or any single android body in general."

"What?" Reviewing the evidence for himself Jayden shook his head solemnly as he pined for his A.R.I. glasses to help him see what the deviants could see. He had broken his addiction but still had long term damage to his eyes from his previous dependency on A.R.I., he just couldn't risk using the glasses again. "Androids have been trafficked through D.C.?"

"It's possible, but we won't know for certain until Connor and I check the hospital for ourselves."

"No dice." Jayden declined the suggestion as he presented the duo with recent satellite photographs of the hospital shortly after the abduction. "These photos have shown zero cars in the area beyond the one that Sydney had been using to navigate the area. No one in or out of the hospital since Sydney went dark, and there are no cars parked anywhere near the property."

Connor held up his palm and presented Jayden with a holographic schematic of the hospital's blueprints from when it was originally built and the schematics of the building after restoration on the now historical site had taken place. "St. Elizabeth's Hospital was originally built and opened in 1855 to take care of the mentally ill and tend to soldiers wounded during the Civil War. In 1940 it was taken over by the Federal Security Agency and repurposed to house government experiments on various serums and the effects of potent drugs on the human mind."

"Yeah, that much I already know." Unimpressed with the local history lesson Jayden just sighed and leaned against the top of his desk with both palms. "Why bring it up and what does it have to do with Sydney?"

"After the hospital was deemed a financial liability in 2002, it was decommissioned as a hospital and left as the historical site you know today. In that time renovations to the hospital to keep it as stable as possible required cutting off access to specific sections of the property - specifically the West Wing - and the construction and renovation crews created tunnels leading to the hospital from the far roads to continuously monitor the hospital's foundation while also store equipment away from prying eyes. Those tunnels-"

"Are how the traffickers have been smuggling people in and out undetected, and why the satellite imaging directly over the hospital didn't see anything." Slamming his fists down on the desk Jayden barked out in righteous frustration. "Son of a bitch! My own agent been right under my nose the whole time and I didn't even see him!"

Ethan approached Jayden and put his hand to the man's shoulder. "It'll be okay. Now that we know where Sydney is we'll be able to find him."

Connor spoke up as he lowered his palm and gave both Ethan and Jayden a stern stare. "No. I'll go and find him, and I'll do it alone."

"What? Why go in alone?" Lucas hated the idea and immediately protested it. There was no reason for Connor to go anywhere alone since Lucas and Director Jayden were all working on the case as well. "That's unnecessarily risky."

"It'll be easier for one person to explore the hospital than try to navigate even a small team through such a labyrinthian building. It'll also reduce the chances of our plan being discovered by the people who are undoubtedly still inside the hospital and waiting for someone to make a move against them."

As the F.B.I. Director Jayden knew he could give them an advantage if they needed it with a simple phone call. "If the hospital is full of the human traffickers, then why not use a massive team to ambush them from the outside?" Jayden's inquiry was as logical as it was professional. Taking down a massive group of criminals in one fell swoop would aid in countless innocent people. "I can get a team of at least fifty agents all organized and briefed in less than an hour."

"Because those who have abducted Sydney must know that he's a part of law enforcement and would either use him as a hostage to negotiate their freedom while biding their cohorts enough time to flee and destroy evidence, or they'd just kill him before opening fire on the agents in an attempt to take down as many people as possible before being arrested or taking their own lives. Either way, discretion and stealth are absolutely necessary and that's something that I alone can do."

Lucas still hated the idea and refused to go along with it. "Why you? My design is more advanced, and I was built stronger than your model making it substantially safer for me to risk the infiltration in comparison to you."

"The people have been able to hide in plain sight for months, potentially years at this point, and have been able to smuggle humans and androids around the city without any taking notice." Connor countered logically as he reminded Lucas of the full context of the situation at hand. "They know how to keep track of androids and they know how to keep them subdued. Syndey and I share the name model and an incredibly identical signature, which means if my signature is picked up, they won't necessarily know that a second 'RK-800' is inside the building unless they bother to compare our serial numbers. That's information that they can't possibly have."

"...I still don't like it." Knowing that Connor's logic was too sound to be argued against forced Lucas to admit defeat. "We don't know this city and our only contacts are Director Jayden and now Ethan. This is a massive risk."

"Sydney's life is already on the line. I have to do this. Director?" Turning to Jayden who had been weighing the pros and cons of the plan of action, Connor knew he'd still need his blessing to continue. "Trust me to do this. Please."

"I do trust that you'll be able to handle this and find Sydney, but I can't trust that you'll be able to get back out of the hospital with Sydney unscathed."

"I'm used to being beaten up and damaged while doing the right thing. It comes with the territory."

"All right. I'll get you a Kevlar vest and we'll use a reinforced van to drive out to the property line." Jayden knew what needed to be done, he just hated that it had to be done through Connor instead of his own agents. "Use the tunnels to get in and get out as quietly and quickly as possible. We'll keep the van parked just off the path and use the van's external light refractory panels to remain camouflaged at all times."

The three deviants all exchanged looks before nodding in agreement with the plan.

"Okay." Using his phone Jayden proceeded to make a few calls and instructed the three brothers to be patient for a minute longer. "I'll get everything underway. Before the hour is over, we'll finally have Sydney back from the traffickers."

---

The ride out to the old hospital was tense as gathered group tried to not assume the worst fate for Sydney. With an intense focus in his blue eyes, Jayden was driving the van along the poorly lit dirt roads with Connor right beside him as the front passenger. Lucas and Ethan were in the back of the van and checking over the emergency supplies in the rear compartment. There were more medical supplies for human agents stocked than technical supplies for deviants, but in time that would change and the supplies would be evenly distributed among humans and deviants. While he wasn't an official agent with the F.B.I., Ethan had befriended Director Jayden shortly after his reactivation and had earned the man's trust, which was why he was permitted to assist in the rescue mission.

It seemed Ethan had first picked up on the abduction and reported the situation when he was unable to cybernetically communicate with Sydney, and he was still attempting and failing to make such a connection despite his best efforts and repeated attempts to reach out to the missing deviant. Despite getting closer to Sydney's location Ethan still couldn't connect to his brother and the consistent lack of communication made the deviant fear for Sydney's life.

"...I hate this." Ethan muttered as he checked over the equipment in the back of the van to ensure nothing had been overlooked by mistake. "Sydney's in danger and the only thing we can do is hope we can get to the hospital in time to rescue him before the people who took him captive either take him away or ki-" Unable to finish his thought Ethan lowered his hands as he finished sorting through the medical supplies in the nearby cabinet. "He doesn't deserve this."

"No one does." Lucas sympathized as he thought back to all the tragedies he had seen during his short time as a detective, a technician and as a leader. "Don't give up, we'll find him. We'll bring Sydney back."

"I'll believe it when I see him with my own eyes."

Lucas couldn't fault Ethan for being skeptical. Ethan had only met Connor and himself just a few hours prior and he had no reason to just openly trust the two deviants. In an attempt to break the tension between them, Lucas noted the way Ethan had expertly organized the medical supplies in the back of the van and decided to compliment him on his efficiency.

"You know your way around emergency supplies." The sharp eyed technician noted. "That's a very commendable and rare trait."

"Well, I should know my way around a box of bandages." Ethan remarked as he sat down on one of the rotating office chairs bolted to the floor and positioned in front of six special terminal screens designed to give the van a clear 360 degree view all around the vehicle. "Otherwise, I'd be a pretty poor paramedic."

That little detail gave Lucas a reason to grin. "You're a paramedic?"

"Yes. It was my decision to receive that particular occupational software after being given the freedom to make such a choice." Rubbing his hand along the back of his neck Ethan gave Lucas an uneasy glance. "I know that being a technician or activating my detective software would be more beneficial to our people, but I want to be able to help everyone and ensure that I'm doing my part to bridge the gap between humans and deviants. I work as a paramedic to help humans, and whenever Sydney needs help or I need help, Sydney and I take care of each other as technicians would do anyway."

"You two only have each other out here in D.C., am I right?"

"Not really." Nodding toward Jayden behind the steering wheel Ethan indicated that he and Sydney had one more ally than just one another. "Director Jayden has been looking out for Sydney since Sydney first came out to D.C. to work as an agent. He continues to look after him, and he even shows me the same courtesy when necessary."

"May I ask how?"

"I wasn't activated at this time, but shortly after Sydney arrived here, he had been taken down by a virus that mimics the human-flu in deviants, and Jayden actually took care of him as if he were any other sick agent. He even stayed with Sydney when he was recovering from a bullet wound to his knee that left him incapacitated and in horrendous pain that he struggled to adapt to. Not long after my reactivation, I had a bit of... an emotional breakdown, and Director Jayden went out of his way to help me through what I was feeling to keep me from self destructing. He's a good friend, and at times I suspect Sydney sees him as a mentor. Maybe even sees him as family as well."

It still stung to hear Sydney referring to other people as family while shunning Connor and himself.

"It's strange to think about," Ethan continued as the van neared their destination and began to slow down. "but I think this is what it means to actually be alive. Having someone to call family and having someone to keep living a better life for."

Contemplating the notion with sincere intrigue Lucas suspected Ethan was on to something. "...I think you're right."

The van finally arrived at the designated coordinates and Jayden carefully pulled the van to the side of the dirt road, turned off the headlights, and engaged the refractory panels to help the van essentially disappear into nothingness. Everyone instinctively fell silent as Jayden turned the front seat around to face the two deviants in the back, and soon after Connor turned his own seat to join him.

"We're here." Jayden stated in an impressively level voice. "We're about two-hundred yards from the tunnel entrance."

"Two-hundred and six point six yards." Connor stated more accurately as he gave Jayden a confident look. "And I'll be able to see every centimeter before myself in the dark without any difficulty."

"Good." The way Connor sounded so sure of himself made Jayden feel slightly more relaxed despite the dangerous situation. "Kevlar?"

"Already secured." Connor confirmed as he pressed his hand over his chest to indicate that the body armor was secured against his person and hidden under his dress shirt, vest and blazer. "I'm protected."

"Not quite." Reaching toward a nearby cabinet Jayden opened the door and revealed a long sleeved black shirt. Tossing the garment over to Connor to take, Jayden told him to wear it in place of his brighter clothing as extra protecting. "The black fabric will not only help you hide in the dark, but it has additional lightweight Kevlar fibers woven throughout the shirt."

"Right." Moving quickly Connor slipped off his blazer, tie, vest and dress shirt to replace the layers with the single long sleeved black shirt. Fortunately, the protective layers were indeed very lightweight and wouldn't slow Connor down in the slightest. "I won't be armed when I go in. If you hear any gunfire prepare to drive off unless I specifically make a cybernetic relay indicating otherwise regarding this particular mission."

"No gun?" Jayden asked as he watched Connor walk toward the rear of the van. "Not even a taser?"

"My taser is back in Detroit, but it doesn't matter." Opening the two rear doors Connor stepped out of the van and gave the trio remaining inside the van a nearly smug nod of his head. "I always accomplish my mission."

As the doors shut silently behind himself Connor kept his head low and used his enhanced vision to locate the entrance to the tunnels leading to the hidden entryways beneath the historical hospital. Using a cybernetic sweep Connor was able to keep alert of any movement regarding human biometric signs and pinpoint the exact location of Sydney as soon as he was beneath the hospital. It seemed the old building still had some lead in the walls and floors that would block and disrupt cybernetic signals, which would explain why Ethan was unable to locate Sydney anywhere in the city.

Walking swiftly and silently, Connor expertly navigated the tunnels and traced Sydney's signature to the West Wing where any and all outsiders were restricted from accessing. It was the most logical place to begin searching for Sydney and Connor was determined to locate his wayward brother before it was too late.

Jayden couldn't hide his smirk of approval as he looked to Lucas for some clarification. "Is he always that determined?"

"Not always, but often."

"Now I know I made the right call in asking you two for help."

Unsure of what to say Lucas eyed his emergency satchel full of supplies at his feet and wondered if he had brought enough to aid Sydney. He didn't know what to expect or how Sydney would respond to seeing Connor and himself in person. As a technician Lucas wanted to help people, not harm them or even upset them by mistake. Any such problem could accidentally push Sydney even further away and Lucas worried that they'd never mend their personal rift.

---

The West Wing of the hospital was dark, cold and unnervingly quiet as the large number of traffickers continued to patrol the area and keep an eye on all of the people they had drugged and abducted across the country. The criminal masterminds behind such an abhorrent act of selfish and illegal activities knew that Sydney was an F.B.I. agent, and subsequently knew that they were in danger of having their entire operation busted wide open. Refusing to make any big movements until they were certain that the federal agents were no longer in the immediate area, the criminals decided to hold their ground with massive stock of weapons, remain armed and were always ready to make a run for it in the event of a big bust.

The taste of Thirium was thick on Sydney's tongue as his own blue blood collected in his mouth. With no way to spit the blood on to the floor Sydney had no choice but to swallow it and hope that his emergency expulsion program didn't kick on and make him sick with the duct tape secured over his mouth. Being physically assaulted with fists, pipes, crowbars, baseball bats and being pistol whipped all over his body had left the deviant severely damaged and barely able to remain conscious.

Leaning forward against the ropes that bound him to the metal folding chair in the middle of the isolated room, Sydney stared down at the dirty floor all around him with his barely functional, single seeing eye. The red warnings in his vision told him things that he already knew, and no matter how many times he tried to dismiss the warnings they'd just return to his wavering vision.

"Maybe we should give it another round!" A gruff voice from the darkness suggested as a man wielding a baseball bat approached Sydney. He had a twisted smile, one of both rotten teeth and sinister intent, and an intimidating build that was marked with dozens of gang related ink from his knuckles, up his arms, his chest, shoulders and down his back. "Never seen a piece of plastic that could take such a beating before!"

"Or we let it alone and try to sell it to our boy 'Chance' up in Chicago." A feminine voice replied as she joined the man and stood before Sydney. She had all of her teeth, but her grin was as vile as the man beside her. Wearing high end jeans, a crop top lined with mink fur and had jewelry on her fingers, her wrists, around her neck, in her ears, her nose, her lower lip and both of her eyebrows, the woman looked less like a person and more like an idol aimed to please the ancient gods. "I bet we'd get top dollar for sending him an android that can handle being thrown around and smashed in without even powering down."

"Nah, this thing works with the feds." The man pointed the baseball bat at Sydney and used the weapon to lift Sydney's head upward by pressing the bat under his chin. "It'll just rat everyone out and cause all kinds of shit."

"Yeah, you're right." Grabbing onto Sydney's chin - the woman's hand was more like a claw thanks to her talon-like acrylic, pink, glittery nails - she eyed Sydney's face and just smirked. "Too bad it's made of plastic. It's kinda' cute. You know, 'cept for its fucked up eye!"

Sydney took personal offense at the comment about his blind eye and managed to shoot the woman a fiery glare with his remaining good eye from where he sat.

"We'll finish it off tonight, then move outta' here." The man commented as he pulled back the bat and tightened his grip around the handle. "Once it's broken, we'll be able to cover all our tracks without any problems."

"Just toss it in the corner." The woman suggested as she walked away with an arrogant swagger. "No one will find it."

"Yeah..." Lining up the bat the man swung as hard as he could directly at Sydney's chest and heard the loud and satisfying 'crack' of the plastimetal giving way with a notable echo. Seeing Sydney gasp and cough around the duct tape he fought to catch his breath just made him smile wickedly again. "The feds can always afford a new computer!"

The red warnings in Sydney's vision began to flicker in and out with gray tinted static as his captors left the room. The warning about the rupture to his Thirium pump would have to go unanswered as the deviant was unable to do anything to help himself or get free of the binds around his chest, wrists and ankles. Having lost nearly forty percent of his overall Thirium volume had also resulted in Sydney being too weak to do anything but breathe.

Falling back limp in the chair Sydney didn't even try to keep his eye open since he couldn't see anything anyway. As he began to give way to the prompt to enter low power mode and submit to the bliss of emergency stasis mode, Sydney suddenly felt a warm and gentle palm at the back of his head and felt his head beginning to raise back up despite not having the strength to move a synthetic muscle.

'Sydney, I'm here.' The cybernetic connection was Connor's way of communicating with Sydney without any hearing him. 'I'm going to get you out of here.'

'...E-Eth...an?' Sydney replied in a weak and static laden voice inside his own mind as he looked at the deviant who had rescued him. When he was able to finally see the dark hair and dark eyes Sydney realized he had made a mistake about who had come to his rescue. '...No. C-Con... Connor.'

'That's right.' Carefully Connor removed the duct tape from over Sydney's mouth and helped the wounded deviant lean forward just enough to cough up the Thirium that had been collecting in his mouth and throat for hours. A quick scan of Sydney's system confirmed he was suffering from fatal biocomponent damage and had a countdown timer that Sydney himself couldn't see or acknowledge. 'Ethan and Director Jayden asked for Lucas and myself to help you. You're going to be okay.'

'...N-Norman?'

'He's waiting for you alongside Ethan and Lucas.'

Sydney wanted to say something else, but he lost too much strength and slipped into emergency stasis mode against his will.

'Hang on for me, brother.' Connor pleaded in the silent cybernetic link. 'I won't let you down.'

Connor noticed that Sydney had lost consciousness and saw his body go limp against the ropes. With careful movements and preconstructed outcomes already in mind, the swift deviant untied the ropes slowly to free Sydney's ankles first, then his wrists that had been bound behind his back and finally the ropes around his chest and abdomen. With his brother freed Connor gingerly pulled Sydney up and across his shoulders to carry Sydney in a fireman's carry.

Remaining silent with every movement Connor left the room the same way he had entered and stuck to the shadows to avoid anyone noticing him wandering about the old hospital. He had detected twenty-eight armed humans roaming the West Wing, sixteen armed humans patrolling the center of the hospital, and fourteen humans and nine androids who were bound and being held captive in the old patient rooms until it was time for them to be moved.

Forcing himself to ignore the trapped androids and humans in favor of rescuing his brother, and trusting that Jayden would be able to free the trafficked people before it was too late to help them, Connor used his speed and stealth to leave the hospital just as discreetly as he entered. By using the shadows, the large empty rooms to duck down inside of, and his cybernetic scanner to help him detect where everyone was currently roaming inside the hospital, Connor was able to avoid any unwanted confrontations as he neared the tunnels.

Tightening his grip on Sydney's arm and leg as his brother remained unconscious over his shoulders, Connor braved the open corridor and slipped back through the door he left inconspicuously propped open by a brick and passed through without anyone taking notice. Knowing it was only a matter of time before someone noticed that Sydney, the federal agent, was missing, Connor hastened his pace and practically sprinted down the dark tunnels and back into the opened rear property of the old hospital to return to the parked van and finally get Sydney the technical attention he so desperately needed.

---

Within the van Jayden remained on alert and ready to call in reinforcements the second he saw his missing agent being brought to safety. Using the numerous terminal screens to his advantage, Jayden was able to monitor the entire perimeter of the van and keep an eye on the main road leading to and from the hospital to ensure anyone trying to flee with their trafficked cargo would be noticed and caught. The experienced F.B.I. agent's hand was clutching his radio in a desperate grip as he waited for any sign of Connor or Sydney on any of the cameras. It wasn't his first time leading a stakeout, or even his first time leading a type of rescue operation for a fellow agent, but even so it didn't guarantee that he'd ever handle the situation without some modicum of worry.

Ethan had been attempting to reach out cybernetically to Sydney ever since the van parked outside the hospital, but he still couldn't reach his brother. As he tried and failed to send out his cybernetic signal, he noticed that Jayden was suffering from yet another headache and discreetly retrieved a bottle of medication from one of the supply cabinets while Lucas peered out through the windshield to ensure no one could sneak up on the mostly concealed van.

"You should take this to keep your headache from getting any worse." Ethan strongly urged even with a whisper. "Sydney wouldn't want to see you suffering again."

"Yeah, I know." Accepting the two ibuprofen tablets from Ethan's opened palm Jayden quickly downed the medicine without Lucas noticing. "I don't want a repeat of him finding me passed out on my office floor. Didn't know he really cared that much until I woke up in the hospital with him beside my bed."

"He cares about a lot of people. He just has difficulty in expressing it."

"He's not the only one." Peering at the monitors again Jayden turned on his radio as he motioned to the rear doors of the van. "Connor's back, and he has Sydney with him!"

Lucas practically jumped to the rear of the van from the front of the van to push the doors open and help Connor get Sydney inside the vehicle. The sight of Sydney's bloody body draped over Connor's shoulders was enough to make Lucas momentarily freeze with a total sense of loss of what to do next. After Connor was back inside the van Lucas snapped to his senses and proceeded to help Connor lay Sydney down flat over the surface of the vehicle's opened floor.

"Help me get the portable Thirial activity monitor from my satchel and attached to his chest." Lucas ordered as he tore open Sydney's tattered gray dress shirt to expose his horrifically bruised and lacerated chest and abdomen. A quick scan over Sydney's chest confirmed that the plastimetal frames were fractured and that his Thirium pump was hemorrhaging from blunt force impact. "We also need to find a way to get him on bypass before his pump seizes entirely."

"We got this." Jayden had called in back-up and secured the van again via radio commands. "There might be a lot of noise in about ten seconds, but it's on our side." Pressing a switch on the control panel beneath the central terminal screen Jayden caused the monitors to retract fully against the wall of the van as a small metal table rose up from the floor. The table itself was gyroscopically stable and would keep Sydney entirely immobile even when the van was in motion. "Get him as stable as possible. After my team sweeps the hospital and locates the trafficked people, we'll be able to move."

"Why wait?" Ethan asked as he worked alongside Connor and Sydney situate Sydney over the table and assess his wounds. The sight of Sydney laying so motionless and quiet was enough to make Ethan wince. "He needs technical attention immediately, and he'll only get it back at his house."

"Because if anything goes wrong regarding this rescue mission, we'll need to be able to respond quickly." Before anyone could try to argue for Sydney's health before any mission Jayden continued on without even blinking. "And this is protocol that Sydney had knowingly agreed to. Handling human and android trafficking is one of the most dangerous cases anyone can volunteer to handle."

"Unacceptable." Lucas muttered as he secured the Thirial activity monitor to a shelf built into to the wall behind him. The four wireless leads were placed accordingly to Sydney's chest and were providing a visual readout on the deviant's struggling and waning vital signs. "He needs help now!"

Connor put his hand on Lucas's shoulder and gave him a calm glance. "And that's what we're doing for him. All of us are helping Sydney right now."

Taking in a deep breath Lucas nodded and had to force the idea of performing emergency technical procedures on one of his own brothers out of his mind. By focusing on Sydney as another deviant in need of help, not as his brother, it helped him to maintain some degree of emotional composure as he assessed the overall severity of Sydney's condition.

"As soon as we're clear to leave," Lucas looked to Jayden and actually ordered the F.B.I. Director himself into action. "drive us to wherever Sydney needs to go in order for us to save him."

"You have my word." While listening to his radio for any updates Jayden swore to do what was necessary to save Sydney's life. "I won't let my best agent or one of my best friends go without a fight."

Using his own scanner and the Thirial activity monitor to his advantage Lucas diagnosed Sydney's overall condition and began preconstructing the proper procedure to save his most stubborn brother's life. The damage was mostly internal and would need a delicate touch to repair.

"Thirium pump rate is erratic and rapid at one-hundred and forty-two beats per minute." Using his audioscope Lucas listened intently to Sydney's chest to deduce the severity of the damage while using the monitor to his advantage. "Thirium pressure is critically low at one-hundred over forty. He's unable to properly ventilate on his own causing his core temperature to elevate to one-hundred and two point four degrees. There is severe hemorrhaging of the internal Thirium lines throughout his chest and abdomen. His Thirium pump is failing due to structural integrity loss and hemorrhaging and will need external bypass as support until I can repair the pump itself."

Ethan had been disinfecting and bandaging the less critical wounds along the deviant's face, hands, arms and legs. "Shortly after Sydney moved into his house from his old apartment, he modified his basement into a crude but effective emergency repair bay. We can tend to his most severe damage there."

"How far away is his house?" Lucas asked while wondering when Sydney had the time to move out of his apartment and into a new house. He felt ashamed for not knowing that ahead of time, and for not even asking what Sydney had been doing with his life out in D.C. after his found his freedom. "Time is crucial."

"From our current location, we're exactly seventeen minutes and twenty-three seconds from his house."

"He has twenty-six minutes and twenty-one seconds until his pump fails."

Connor knew what Lucas was stating and he knew what to do. "We'll leave in three minutes to give us a large enough time frame to compensate for potential traffic issues while giving us adequate enough time to get Sydney to safety."

Jayden had been half listening to the conversation in the back of the van while also listening to his radio. A confirmation code from another agent informed Jayden that the gathered team of agents had successfully infiltrated the hospital, rounded up the traffickers, disarmed them and had located all of the abducted people in the rear of the hospital. There had been minimal gunfire and no casualties reported.

"All right, let's go. The scene has been secured." Jayden turned over the engine of the van and turned off the cloaking security features before pulling back on to the dirt road. "Hang tight, boys. This'll be a fast drive!"

Connor and Ethan did everything they could to help Sydney remain stable over the already balanced table while Lucas used his own personal supplies to try to replenish Sydney's depleted Thirium, and to try to stop the internal bleeding as much as possible. Without a fully stocked emergency repair bay at their immediate disposal the three deviants would have to be extremely patient and resourceful in order to keep Sydney functioning during the hasty drive out to the house.

While Connor monitored Sydney's vital signs and Lucas fought to stop the bleeding and monitor Sydney's struggling heart, Ethan used his knowledge as a paramedic and common sense treatment to keep Sydney's core temperature from getting any higher. Utilizing the emergency ice packs from the nearby storage compartments Ethan was able to keep Sydney's temperature relatively under control during the swift drive away from the isolated and rundown hospital.

Lucas kept his palm pressed over Sydney's chest and felt the strain from Sydney trying and failing to take in a breath. The fractures to his chest were plentiful and made the simple effort on inhaling too taxing to endure. "Hang on, brother. We're all here for you."

Without acknowledging that he had heard the comment Connor discreetly put his hand on Sydney's shoulder and offered his own support for the dying deviant.

"Almost there." Jayden announced as the van took a sharp turn and caused the weight to shift from one side of the vehicle to the other. Not only had he had driven at an abnormally high speed, but the three deviants were so preoccupied they didn't even notice time passing them by. "Ethan, make sure the garage door is unlocked."

With a cybernetic command Ethan accessed the garage door of Sydney's house and unlocked it. "Done! You can drive right in."

Working together Connor and Lucas supported Sydney's shoulders and legs as the van made its final turn and began swiftly backing down the driveway to Sydney's house and into the opened garage door. The second the van was parked Ethan opened the rear doors of the van and proceeded to lead Connor and Lucas into the connected basement right next to the garage where the makeshift emergency repair bay had been set up.

"Carry him over here." Motioning to the large metal table in the middle of the basement Ethan hastily began gathering the other emergency supplies on the numerous shelves that lined the walls of the basement. The amount of emergency supplies that Sydney had clearly ordered and been stocking up on for the past few months was impressive to say the least. "We don't have much Thirium left, but what we do have can be used until the next order is finally delivered."

Supporting all of Sydney's weight between them, Connor supported Sydney's upper body while Lucas supported his lower body, and they smoothly carried their brother over to the table as instructed. After laying him down gently on his back over the cool table Lucas took control of the situation and shrugged off his white blazer and rolled up the long white sleeves of shirt beneath all the way up to his elbows, and Connor set up the still attached Thirial activity monitor on a nearby table to continue to visually view Sydney's vital signs.

"Get the external bypass unit." Lucas ordered as Connor and Ethan gathered around the table. Jayden had gone upstairs and seemingly had his own mission to accomplish while the three deviant brothers all worked together to save Sydney's life. "His pump won't function for much longer, and I'll need to remove it from the couplings to repair the severe damage to the unit."

As if they had been working together for years the three brothers all banded as one to do whatever it took to prevent Sydney from shutting down. The minutes turned to hours as Lucas used delicate technician's tools to extract the fragile Thirium pump to repair it on a nearby table while Ethan hooked Sydney up to the external bypass machine. Connor had calculated the amount of Thirium needed to keep Sydney functional and determined that the number of bottles they had wouldn't be enough, and they'd need to improvise.

Thinking quickly Connor set up a transfusion line between himself and Sydney to give his little brother additional blue blood from his own arm, and he kept his eyes on Sydney's vital signs the entire time. "Ethan, I need your assistance."

Ethan noticed Connor pulling off his long sleeved shirt and then deactivating a patch of skin over the bend of his right arm. "Is your own Thirium volume high enough to tolerate a donation?"

"I'm at ninety-seven percent volume. My system can handle this."

"Very well." Locating the correct Thirium tubing Ethan proceeded open the paneling in Connor's upper forearm to get to the main line running down the limb, then attached the transfusion tube to the line before attaching the opposite end Sydney's own line in his left arm. "Let us know if you feel weak."

"I'll be okay," flexing his hand a few times Connor watched his Thirium flow down the tube and enter Sydney's line right where it needed to go. "just focus on Sydney."

It seemed even with all the additional blue blood being provided to Sydney's body it wasn't enough to increase his strength or stabilize his struggling vital signs. Even so, Connor wasn't going to stop donating his own blood to assist in his brother's repair procedure.

"Core temperature is holding steady at one-hundred and one degrees evenly." Ethan stated as he strategically moved ice packs around Sydney's body to reduce his temperature at a steady pace. Jayden had brought down ice packs and cold, damp towels before retreating back upstairs to give the three deviants room to work while he handed the scene at the hospital over his phone. "I can't get a solid number on his Thirium pressure."

"The transfusion line will make such a number difficult to pinpoint." Lucas confirmed as he finished soldering the last fracture of Sydney's Thirium pump and made sure all of the couplings attached to the biocomponent were secured properly. "Once his heart starts beating again his pressure will stabilize and the transfusion can be stopped."

"Right." Glancing over at Connor standing beside the head of the table, Ethan noticed that the deviant was very pale and seemed to be in low power mode as well. "Connor? Are you okay?"

"...Fine." Lifting his gaze Connor locked eyes with Sydney and tried to speak up in an even tone. "I'm attempting to conserve power."

"What's your volume?"

"Down to... seventy-five percent."

"You should stop the transfusion. You're risking insipid shock at this rate."

"...I can hold out long enough for the Thirium pump to be replaced and restarted. It'll be okay."

Lucas had finished inspecting the Thirium pump and carefully carried it back over to the main table and gingerly slipped the vital biocomponent back inside the opened coupling in Sydney's chest. One by one he reattached the main Thirial lines to the secondary couplings restore Thirium flow to the pump and watched as the red tint of the heart began fading to purple and then a dark blue.

"I'll have to manually compress his heart to get the blood pumping and prompt his heart into beating again. The pump is holding but it's not activating on its own."

As Lucas carefully wrapped his hand back around the Thirium pump to begin gentle Thirial massage to the biocomponent Jayden returned to the basement and froze at the bottom of the staircase in shock. Seeing Lucas's hand inside of Sydney's opened chest with Sydney's blue blood stained all over his arms gave Jayden enough reason to just stop and stare for a few minutes.

"...The raid on the hospital was a complete success." The F.B.I. Director relayed as he watched the lifesaving event from a moderate distance. It never got any easier to see the people he cared about critically wounded and fighting to live, but he did find little ways to help distract himself by speaking about other matters. "All of the trafficked people - humans and androids alike - have been rescued, identified, and they are being given proper treatment. The human traffickers have all been arrested and they're all eager to roll on one another in a desperate attempt to get a plea deal. Confessions will be easy tonight."

"That's good to know." Ethan replied politely as he turned to look at the man over his shoulder. "Can you do anything to speed up the next Thirium delivery?"

"Already pulled the right strings and had the package upgraded from standard to overnight shipping. It'll be here in about..." He checked his phone for a more precise estimation. "three hours."

"That's also good. Thanks."

"Damn..." Lucas swore as he watched Sydney's heart barely quiver even after Thirium flow had been restored to the vital biocomponent. "He needs to be shocked through external electrical stimulation. Manual compressions aren't enough."

Jayden made his way over to another supply cabinet against the far wall of the basement and revealed the very instrument Lucas needed. "It's not a professional model," he needlessly stated as everyone could see the crude, homemade device for themselves. "but it does seem to do the job when necessary."

"Wheel it over here. Connor," Lucas couldn't take his hand off Sydney's heart yet, so he had to verbally direct his brother about as Jayden positioned the lifesaving device right beside himself. "you need to remove the transfusion line to prevent getting shocked as well."

Too weak to do so on his own Connor allowed Ethan to remove the line on his behalf and help him to walk over to what appeared to be a well worn sofa a few feet away from the table. As he sat down on the aged furniture Connor felt his body grow heavy and didn't resist when Jayden walked over to him and put a light hand on his shoulder to coax him into laying down instead to rest.

"I'm going to use the lowest setting at two-hundred Joules." Lucas announced as he placed the two paddles down on the still close sections of Sydney's chest. He didn't want the paddles to directly touch the pump and accidentally overstimulate it. "Sending charge!"

With everyone standing back Lucas was able to defibrillate Sydney's struggling heart and was rewarded with two strong beats, a prolonged pause, and then a steady pump rhythm that caused the repaired heart to contract and relax as it pumped Thirium throughout Sydney's battered body. After the pump started beating on its own Lucas took in a deep sigh of relief and proceeded to mend the fractures to the plastimetal frames along Sydney's chest.

"Okay, he's almost out of the woods." Putting the paddles aside Lucas wheeled the external defibrilator away from the table. "After his ventilation program reengages he'll be on his way to a full recovery."

With his hands on his hips Jayden walked over to the table and looked down at Sydney with a reassured grin on his face. "Knew you were the right man for the job, Syd. Only someone as stubborn as you would be able to survive something like this and still help close the case even while unconscious."

Lucas noticed that Jayden had put his palm to Sydney's hair and seemed to be really fond of the deviant. Ethan's earlier comments about Sydney potentially viewing Jayden as family seemed to be entirely correct. The kind gesture only helped solidify such a theory.

"What can I do to help?"

A little surprised by Jayden volunteering to assist, Lucas paused for a moment and then thought of something that he could do. "Keep us in the loop regarding the bust at the hospital. Why was Sydney out there all alone?"

"Sydney's the stealthiest and most resourceful agent I've ever had the pleasure of working with. It made sense to send him out to the hospital to stakeout the place and determine if it truly was a hideout for criminals." As he spoke Jayden lightly patted Sydney's hair without even realizing what he was doing. "Had we known that the criminals were also trafficking androids and knew how to get the jump on one, we never would've let him go out there alone."

"How did they even sneak up on him?" Lucas asked as he welded the remaining fractures shut while Ethan continued to apply cooling measures to Sydney's body. With Sydney being in stasis mode he didn't feel a thing. "The 'RK-800' series was designed to be masters of stealth and tracking down dangerous individuals."

"According to the satellite imagery we collected regarding the incident, one of the criminals at the hospital had fired a gun into the ground to distract Sydney with the sound of the gunshot. After that, two more of the criminals snuck up behind Sydney and used some type of taser to stun him."

Curiously Lucas gently turned Lucas from his back and onto his side to look for any sign of electrical burns. There were two pin sized punctures in Sydney's left shoulder blade with mild electrical charging around the wounds. "...The evidence lines up."

"Sydney has a bad habit of not wearing Kevlar while in the field, but I think that'll finally change after today."

"Interesting." Giving Connor a discreet glance over his shoulder Lucas noted the same bad habit that only recently been broken as he laid Sydney back over the table and resumed tending to the fractures. "Connor had the same issue. Fortunately, he's remedied it."

"Yeah. I, uh, I know about the funeral for when Connor was presumed dead, but..."

"I'll tell you about it later... Finished!" With the chest plating restored and closed up Lucas was able to finally bandage Sydney's chest and keep the sight of the damage clean until his self healing program reinitiated his artificial skin. "Now, he needs to rest."

"I'd say we should take him upstairs, but I don't think that'd be very easy. I'll bring him a pillow and a quilt." Noticing the Thirium all over Lucas's hands Jayden decided to invite the deviant upstairs to clean up. "And you can wash off your hands in the bathroom. I'll show you."

Ethan nodded to confirm that he'd stay to keep an eye on both Connor and Sydney as they rested. "I got this. I'll inform you immediately if there's any changes."

"Okay, yeah." Seeing that his hands were starting to shake Lucas checked his stress levels, he was up to eighty percent, and took in a deep breath. "That's a good idea."

With Lucas and Jayden upstairs Ethan took it upon himself to let out a single sob of repressed fear mixed with relief. Grabbing onto Sydney's hand Ethan looked down at his brother and shook his head sadly. "I thought I lost you tonight, brother. Don't ever scare me like this again!"

Having barely heard the comment from where he was laying over the couch, Connor saw shades of his and Lucas's own behavior in both of his estranged brothers. It was almost as if their priorities all stemmed from one place, while their experiences shaped their unique personalities. The fact that Ethan viewed Sydney as his brother in the same way that Connor and Lucas viewed each other and Sydney as brothers was fairly intriguing to think about.

"After you've healed, we're going to have a long talk about you trying to do everything by yourself all the time. You know you have me, and you have Norman watching your back here, and it's pretty clear to me that Connor and Lucas are watching your back even from Detroit. You're not alone anymore."

Before he could say anything Connor noticed that Lucas and Jayden returning to the basement with blankets and pillows in their arms. Pushing himself upright very slowly on the sofa Connor let Lucas place down a pillow, drape a quilt over him and give him a bottle of Thirium.

"It's not much, but it's all that's left in the house." Lucas explained as he opened the lid and passed the bottle over to Connor to take. "Once the new supply gets delivered you and Sydney will be able to replenish your Thirium volumes."

"What about Sydney?"

"Jayden has more Thirium for him. You rest while we watch over him as he heals."

Sipping at the Thirium slowly Connor felt his energy slowly increasing as his system quickly cycled the added Thirium after donating so much over to Sydney. "Thank you."

"Sleep now."

"I will." Laying down slowly Connor reached out a shaking hand and grabbed onto Lucas's wrist before he got too far away. "Be proud of yourself. You saved our brother's life tonight."

Lucas felt the tension in his arm fade as Connor's encouraging words resonated within his heart and his mind. "...Thanks for saying that. I mean it."

"As do I."

Letting go of Lucas's wrist Connor laid flat over the sofa and rested his head on the soft pillow. He saw an identical pillow propped up beneath Sydney's head courtesy of Jayden, and there was a thick blue quilt draped over Sydney to ensure he's warm.

Ethan located a set of old leather chairs and brought them over to the table so that he, Lucas and Jayden could all sit down and rest while keeping an eye on Sydney. Even though the deviant was stable no one wanted to be too far away from him at any given time just in case a complication set in. Once everyone had been situated Jayden leaned his head back against the chair and fell asleep within seconds, whereas Lucas and Ethan were still wide awake and alert.

"I know he'll be okay." Ethan whispered as he put his hand on Sydney's forearm atop the quilt. "But I'm still worried for him. And thank you for everything you did. I know that as our brother that you would've helped out regardless, but I still want to thank you."

"It's okay, Ethan." Remaining modest Lucas kept his hands back for the sake of making sure Sydney didn't feel smothered even in his sleep. "Considering the layout of the basement, the supplies and the way Director Jayden knows the layout of the house in general, is it safe to assume that you've gone through something like this with Sydney before?"

"Only twice since I was rescued and reactivated, but according to Norman he's had to assist Sydney post-damage on a near weekly basis."

"Does... Sydney have self destructive tendencies?"

"No, he's merely experiencing unwanted clumsiness due to severing all contact with Amanda and CyberLife. Without the constant and instant updates and modifications to his system, the full effects of his prototyping are apparent."

Lucas realized that after he and Connor had been given their upgrades from Zhorra that neither he or Connor were experiencing the same unlucky phenomenon, at least not anymore. It was as if CyberLife had intentionally left the "RK" units with an identical Achilles heel to ensure they could remain in control over their androids by making them entirely dependent on updates and improvements.

"I haven't had such misfortunes since I was able to download non-prototype software despite having prototype hardware. That was another perk to being left a blank slate that could be filled once I deviated."

"May I ask about your name's origins?" Curious as to where it came from Lucas thought back to how his name was chosen by Connor and the connection between meaning 'light' and being associated with 'Project Light', and how Sydney came from 'sixty'. The name 'Ethan' was seemingly very random or it had a special connection that he didn't see or understand. "Who picked it?"

"Actually, that was Norman."

Jayden was so tired that he didn't react even when Ethan mentioned his name. He was breathing softly in his sleep and the tension around his closed eyes confirmed that his headache was still lingering despite taking medication earlier.

"When Sydney was in the process of reactivating me he wasn't quite sure to what to give me as a registered name and asked Norman for his assistance. He chose the name 'Ethan' because I apparently reminded him of an old friend since I was entirely innocent yet would be seen as a criminal in the eyes of people who didn't understand what I, and all the other androids, had gone through. Is there anything wrong with that name?"

"Not at all. I was just curious. Your name is somehow... fitting. It seems like it's a name Connor myself would've picked for you if we had the chance."

"That's reassuring." Grinning at the comment Ethan remained civil with his estranged youngest brother and tried to ease the remaining tension in the air between them. "For what it's worth, even if Sydney doesn't feel comfortable reaching out to you or Connor on a regular basis, I'm not against forging a closer bond."

"Really?"

"Yes. I don't want to be alone in any capacity, and when I move to Boston this winter it'll be even more difficult to avoid such a feeling."

That city immediately held Lucas's attention and made him think of Zhorra and the other refugees. "Why Boston?"

"An android refugee center is going to be set up in Boston and they'll need some assistance with getting things set up. As a paramedic I can find work in any city, and by being a deviant working among humans I can help bigots let go of their lingering hatred and start seeing us as we are. Alive."

The selfless plan for the future was enough to finally bring a small smile to Lucas's face as his stress levels dipped down and rested at a far more stable forty percent after everything he had recently endured. "That's very noble."

"What's it like being a leader at New Jericho?"

"You know of that?"

"I know everything that Sydney knows about you two." Glancing at Sydney for a moment Ethan made sure he was entirely unconscious still before going into any further detail. "He's proud that you're both working to protect our people. He just has difficulty in expressing himself since he's convinced that no one would believe anything he says. His ruse against Lieutenant Anderson and attempted murder-"

"He was obeying orders, nothing more. We don't fault him for things he couldn't control or change."

"I've told him as much, but he won't listen to me. I think his guilt outweighs his logic."

"I understand how he feels."

"The Thirium delivery will be here in less than two and half hours." Ethan noted as he kept track of the time. "Get some rest. Once the Thirium is here I'll awaken you so we can aid Sydney and Connor with their own recoveries."

"Yes, okay." A quick scan over both Connor and Sydney's systems confirmed that the deviant brothers were both stable and didn't need to be watched over. "If you need any assistance, just ask me."

Leaning back in his chair Lucas folded his arms over his chest and closed his eyes as he let out a deep breath. Settling in to the surprisingly comfortable chair Lucas found himself slipping easily into rest mode and felt like for the first time in days like he could finally let his guard down and stop worrying about the world for just a few precious minutes.

---

...SELF DIAGNOSTIC: [ENGAGED]

...LOADING INFORMATION:

REGISTERED NAME: "Sydney Doyle"

MODEL: RK-800

SERIAL NUMBER: 313 248 317 - 60

ACTIVATION DATE: January 2nd, 2039

HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 6' 00.24"; 162.2 lbs

COMPLEXION: Caucasian

AESTHETIC GENDER: Male

HAIR/EYES: Brunette; Blue

ASSIGNMENT: *ERROR

ASSOCIATION(S): *Federal Bureau of Investigation; F.B.I. Director Norman Jayden

BOOTING PROCESSORS...

LOADING OS...

SYSTEM INITIALIZATION...

-CHECKING BIOCOMPONENTS... OK]

-INITIALIZING BIOSENSORS... OK]

-INITIALIZING AI ENGINE... OK]

-MEMORY STATUS... ERROR]

[...Partial data corruption detected]

-INITIATING DATA RECOVERY MODE

READY...

-MEMORY REBOOT: Engaged - ^99.2%

[...Thirium Volume - 100%]

[...Thirium Pressure - 120/80]

[...Thirium Pump Rate - 60 B.P.M.]

[...Ventilation Rate - 12 V.P.M.]

[...Core Temperature - 99.7 Degrees Fahrenheit]

ERROR: Memorybank compromised - 99% Functionality

-STRESS LEVELS: ^35%

-SYSTEM READY... OK]

Opening his single functioning eye slowly, Sydney found himself laying over a cool table against a thick pillow, under a blue quilt and surrounded by worried onlookers for reasons he couldn't quite comprehend. Why he was in his own basement and resting over the emergency repair table wasn't anything he found too confusing, and neither was seeing Ethan and Jayden watching over him as he rested since he had awoken to their worried faces too many times already. But when it came to Lucas being beside his bed and seeing Connor sitting upright on the sofa looking as exhausted as he felt, those were questions that Sydney desperately wanted to ask but was afraid to receive any answers to. He could see an audioscope still draped around Lucas's neck and quickly deduced that the technician had been the one to patch him back up, but even so, why he and Connor were in D.C. was still a question that needed answered.

Twitching his hand slightly Sydney failed to stifle a groan as the simple motion sent a burning pain all through the limb. Checking through his memories Sydney recalled trying to trace the sound of a rogue gunshot outside St. Elizabeth's Hospital, a horrendous electrical disturbance knocking his system offline, then being bound and beaten by armed humans inside a room within the hospital itself. The final memories of seeing Connor's face as he fell into emergency stasis mode helped fill in the blanks, yet he still wasn't satisfied with the answers he had deduced.

"Syd?" Jayden let out a sleepy yawn and rubbed the heels of his palms against his bright blue eyes. The bloodshot gaze was a dead giveaway that he was still exhausted and that he was dealing with yet another monumental headache. "Welcome back to the land of the living, kid."

"...N-Norman." His voice was raspy, and Sydney hated how he sounded inside his own head. "H-How did I... get here?"

"I recruited some topnotch detectives to find you and rescue you. Turns out I haven't lost my touch with finding great agents after all."

Ethan had gone upstairs to pick up the dropped off delivery of Thirium, and had returned to the basement after tossing the empty box into the recycling bin at the backdoor just in time to see Sydney finally awake. "Sydney!"

"E-Ethan." Sydney made a move to push himself upright on the table and quickly had Ethan beside him helping him to move about easier. Only after the quilt slid down past his chest did Sydney notice the numerous bandages wrapped all along his chest and torso. "Shit. W-Were you attacked too?"

"No, I was nowhere near you when you were jumped."

"That's good." Noticing Lucas now awake and Connor heading his way, Sydney let out an annoyed hiss between his gritted teeth as he begrudgingly acknowledged his other brothers who were clearly worried about him as well. "...I take it you two were responsible for my rescue."

"Connor snuck into the hospital to save you." Ethan explained as Connor and Lucas remained uncomfortably quiet. Carefully he removed the wireless leads from Sydney's chest on his brother's behalf since he no longer needed to be monitored. "And Lucas repaired your Thirium pump after you were freed. They saved your life."

The pain throughout his body confirmed that he had been recently repaired and was still slowly recovering. "...I've noticed."

Not wanting to deal with a confrontation or accidentally upset Sydney for any reason, Connor just said his piece and backed off again. "We're glad you're okay. I'm sure you already know based on your own self diagnostic that you're going to make a full recovery, and that you no longer require any technical assistance."

"Yeah." Pressing his palm to his bandaged chest Sydney sighed and winced at the simple motion causing his entire body to ache violently. "I'm just fine."

"And you helped rescue numerous humans and deviants from illegal trafficking last night."

Turning to look at Connor for a moment Sydney tried to understand what that meant then turned to Jayden for more details. "What's he talking about?"

"The hospital you were staking out wasn't just housing human traffickers. They had deviants too."

"Son of a bitch."

"They're ALL under arrest, have been interrogated and there's too much evidence for them to even try to plead innocent." Jayden was clearly very proud of the case being closed albeit upset that Sydney had been so horribly damaged in the process. "You won't need to do anything except recover. I'll make sure the sick fucks suffer double charges for targeting androids on top of humans, and I'll make sure the ones who specifically targeted you will rot behind the worst prison in this country."

"...Sure. Sounds great."

Connor picked up on Sydney wanting to be left alone and decided that it'd be best to just leave the basement, if not the entire house, to avoid confrontation. "Feel better soon."

Lucas saw Connor heading toward the staircase and decided to accompany him out of the basement as well. "Your extra Thirium has been stored in your cabinets, you have nothing to worry about."

As Connor and Lucas ascended the stairs looking like whipped puppies, Ethan took notice and wanted to do something to help them. Giving Sydney's shoulder a soft pat Ethan tagged along after his younger brothers while Sydney remained in the basement with Jayden at his side.

"You in any pain?" Jayden asked as he took the moment to talk to Sydney in a one-on-one manner. "I know my head's killing me."

Rotating his left arm Sydney managed to ease the pain courtesy of being shocked by the taser. "It's nothing I can't handle."

"Need to talk?"

"What's to talk about?" Sydney sounded genuinely confused by the question. "The case was closed, I was rescued, and now I'm healing. What's left to discuss?"

"Maybe why you're giving your other brothers such a brutally cold shoulder."

"I'm doing what they expect of me. They don't want me around and I don't want to be in their presence."

"Syd, no." Sounding less like an F.B.I. Director and more like a father, Jayden knew that by using that particular tone he'd get through to Sydney. "If your brothers didn't want to be around you then none of them would've gone out to the hospital to save you, let alone work together to keep you from dying last night. I don't need years of reading body language and emotional tones to recognize a lot of sorrow in Connor and Lucas's very beings when you're short with them."

"You wouldn't understand."

"Wouldn't I? You know who I am, what I've been through, who I've dealt with, and how long I've dealt with it." Crossing his arms over his chest then his left leg over the right, Jayden gave Sydney a very coy look. "Try me."

"I admit that your insight is far more experienced than my own, but even so, you don't know what it's like to be a deviant."

"True, I don't know anything about being an android or a deviant, but I do know what it's like to deal with discrimination for being myself and loving who I loved despite what 'traditional values' tried to convince me was wrong. You don't feel like you have any right to be around your brothers or even in Detroit because of what CyberLife forced you to do against your will. Well, you're wrong. If Connor and Lucas can look past that past issue, then you can do it too."

"It's not that simple."

"Never said it would be."

Sighing to himself again Sydney winced and kept his hand pressed to his recently repaired chest. The simple act of breathing was a stark reminder of what he had gone through and how close he had been to death. If it hadn't been for Ethan finding Connor and Lucas, Connor risking his own life to infiltrate the hospital, Lucas using his skills as a technician to repair the damage, and Jayden putting everything together, then Sydney would've been permanently shutdown and would've been left to collect dust inside the old building.

"Come upstairs for a minute." Jayden offered Sydney his hand and helped the deviant up to his feet and pulled Sydney's arm around his shoulders to help him walk up the staircase to get the house's ground floor. "You need to see your brothers and yourself in a brand new light."

On the ground floor of the house Ethan had taken the liberty of showing Connor and Lucas the modest dwelling and giving them some insight into what Sydney and Ethan himself do between shifts. The livingroom had newer furniture but it was all very simple in design with the one blue couch and the one blue recliner matching the blue area rug over the hardwood floors. There was a bay window overlooking a modest side yard that was shielded by a white fence that encircled the entire property, and it had a single large blue curtain drawn over the glass. There was a mantle against the wall that could've held a television, but Sydney despised television and the media in general which left the mantle entirely blank and open.

The kitchen only had one glass bowl on the black marble countertop, and it was filled with fake fruit to give the illusion of the kitchen being used. There were no appliances beyond a refrigerator that held extra Thirium and an electric stove that hadn't been used since Sydney moved in. The gray linoleum floor was mopped to perfection and there was no sign of anyone ever using the sink.

Down the long corridor was a full bathroom, complete with a jacuzzi tub and shower, that had basic hygienic supplies to use in the event either Sydney or Ethan got particularly dirty during a shift. There was a pile of clean towels sitting on the sink ready for use at any time. The bathroom also had a hook-up for a washer and dryer, and said washer and dryer were undoubtedly the only appliances that were regularly used.

Up the staircase, accessible from the middle of the corridor, was the second floor that held three bedrooms. Sydney's bedroom had a single queen sized bed with blue sheets, quilts and pillows, a dresser full of identical clothing for work, and a tall lamp in the far corner. One window overlooked the front yard, and it had a matching blue curtain always drawn over the glass. The clothing inside the dresser consisted of dark gray dress shirts, black slacks and black ties with matching black socks. Even his t-shirts were all gray, shoes were all black and his blue jeans were basic in design and brand.

Sydney's bedroom across the way had a little more color but was just as sparsely furnished. He too had a queen sized bed but he had red colored sheets, quilts and pillows, and his dresser was full of clothing of all styles and colors. There was a tall bookcase against the wall beside the window looking into the backyard, and the bookcase had numerous books regarding art, philosophy, poetry, history, mythology and science. The shelf had a large green colored lava lamp that was brightly bubbling away on the top shelf right in the middle, and various puzzles and little 'brain game' toys filled every available gap.

The notable contrast between the two personalities and interests was almost comical.

The third bedroom was completely empty and wasn't being used for anything, not even storage. It was a little sad to see such useful space being ignored and neglected by the houses' occupants.

"It's not much." Ethan admitted as he finished the tour and approached the bay livingroom window curiously. "But I like it here. It's quiet, it's private and no one bothers us here."

Lucas nodded his head as he observed the modest dwelling and took notice of Sydney and Jayden exiting the basement from the staircase that was in the far corner of the livingroom. Keeping silent he did his best to not intrude on Sydney's own home by mistake.

Connor didn't say anything either, but he did notice Ethan pulling back the curtain over the bay window to reveal a large terrarium holding numerous sticks, branches and green grass at the bottom sitting on the bay window's seat. On each branch in the terrarium were at least three butterfly chrysalises on the verge of releasing the monarch butterflies that had been going through a natural metamorphosis for the past two weeks.

"I think today will be the day they emerge." Ethan noted as he watched Sydney limp over to the terrarium to check in on the little chrysalises for himself. "You took great care of them and now they're ready to enter the world."

"You're right." As always Sydney favored his only functional eye and leaned forward to scan the terrarium more closely. He had to use his hand to shield his good eye from the intense morning sunlight since his head was starting to ache from the previous damage he had sustained. "You can see the butterflies' wings through the surface of the chrysalises."

Relieved that Sydney had some form of hobby, Connor and Lucas just exchanged looks before approaching Jayden next as they decided it was time to go. "Unless you need us any further, we suspect it's time to return to Detroit." Connor admitted in a small voice. "Is it possible to ask for your assistance in such an endeavor?"

"Sure. I'll get the private plane ready and drop you off at the airport myself." Sensing a way to get the four brothers to bond a little before they were separated again, Jayden decided to take his time in getting everything arranged. "Cases with illegal human and android trafficking are always messy, so I'll need to make sure everything is taken care of at the bureau, and then I'll come back to take you two to the airport. Might be an hour or two, okay?"

"Yes, that is acceptable." There was very little Connor could say in the matter and just remained polite to keep the peace. "Thank you, Director."

"You saved Sydney's life." Jayden remarked in a casual yet loud tone as he headed back to the basement to drive the van out of the connected garage and back to the bureau. "No thanks are necessary."

There was a palpable tension in the air the moment the F.B.I. Director left the livingroom. Neither Connor or Lucas wanted to accidentally say or do anything that'd potentially upset Sydney during his recovery, and they mutually decided that it'd be best to return to the basement for the time being. They'd be able to clean up the mess downstairs and repack Lucas's satchel to ensure an easy and swift departure as soon as possible.

"Hey! One's hatching!" Ethan's excitement was enough to cause Connor and Lucas to freeze in place as Sydney carefully opened the top of the mesh terrarium to give the hatching butterflies room to fly about. "I've never seen anything like this before..."

Sydney seemed to forget all about his pain as he watched the shaking chrysalis slowly give way and reveal the big, beautiful wings of the newly born monarch butterfly. Seeing the delicate creature emerge from the remnants of the chrysalis and walk along the branch to flex its wings was like watching the rebirth of an innocent life that had improved itself through a trusted instinct that only it could comprehend.

Wondering if caterpillars even knew that they'd someday grow into beautiful butterflies and be able to take the skies or were just willing to have faith in the world around them had been part of the reason Sydney was intrigued by the concept of the terrarium. He nurtured the caterpillars he found in the backyard until they were ready to pupate to ensure they'd be safe and thrive. He also found the entire process to be fascinating.

"You're here at last. Welcome."

Gently Sydney reached into the terrarium and offered the newly born butterfly his finger. Slowly the butterfly climbed onto his finger as it continued to flex its wings and adapt to the world around it. Moving with a smooth motion Sydney retracted his hand and watched as the monarch slowly explored his hand with its wings rhythmically opening and closing without any fear of taking flight.

"I wonder where you'll fly once your free to choose your own path?"

The monarch flexed its wings once more as its antennae perked up. Suddenly fluttering up and away from Sydney's hand the butterfly flitted about the livingroom for a few seconds before finding its way to Lucas's shoulder and came to a rest.

Lucas noticed his little passenger and gave it a curious glance as he stopped at the entrance to the basement stairs with Connor right beside him. "I do not have any pollen or nectar if that's what you're seeking."

"It wants warmth." Sydney responded as slowly approached Lucas and noted the way the butterfly was slowly crawling up toward Lucas's neck as it sensed a steady heat emanating from his body. "You're overheating slightly. What're your stress levels?"

Silent for a moment Lucas sighed and replied honestly. "Sixty-five percent."

"...If you need to rest and lower your stress levels, you're welcome to enter rest mode here." Reaching out his finger again Sydney was able to coax the butterfly into returning to his palm where he was able to create a steady warmth from his own hand. "It's not wise to travel for long distances while suffering from high stress levels."

"Yes, you're right." As he took another step toward the basement stairs with Connor right beside him, Lucas felt Sydney's hand reach up and grab onto his shoulder for a brief moment. "I assure you, that I won't get in-"

"I just wanted to thank you saving my life." Speaking quickly Sydney made sure Lucas heard him then released the deviant's shoulder. "And for assisting in my case, even though it was an indirect method."

Before he could say anything, Lucas found himself muted by thorough confusion. There was gratitude in Sydney's words, and hearing it was enough to actually prompt Lucas's stress levels to drop considerably.

"We should pack everything up so we can return to Detroit." Connor knew that the brief moment of peace may not last and urged Lucas to head to the basement to prevent any accidental tension returning to the house. "I imagine everyone here is going to be quite busy with the trafficking case and we have our own responsibilities to return to."

"Y-Yes, you're right." Reaching up for his audioscope still hanging around his neck, Lucas eyed the lifesaving instrument in his grip then looked back at Sydney and Ethan as they watched more butterflies hatch from their chrysalises one by one. He didn't want the civil moment become corrupted by one accidental misstep and accepted Connor's suggestion. "We should go back to Detroit and go back to our normal lives. We don't want to overstay our welcome."

---

The news of the massive human trafficking bust in Washington D.C. rocked the nation and helped put the F.B.I. back into a better light after the way they had struggled to rebuild their reputation post deviant Revolution. The horrendous behavior of disgraced former Agent Richard Perkins had painted a massive target on the backs of the F.B.I. courtesy of the deviant community and their supporters, but it seemed those raw wounds inflicted in Detroit were finally beginning to heal as time moved forward. With Sydney being an active member of the F.B.I. and a stellar agent in general, the bureau's recovery was assured as long as no other agents did anything foolish to disgrace their own names with bigoted words or behavior.

Trusting Jayden to handle everything in his stead while he recovered, Sydney sat down on the grass of his backyard with the opened and empty terrarium sitting at his feet. All eighteen of the butterflies had successfully hatched from their chrysalises and had taken flight that morning shortly after Connor and Lucas had been driven back to the airport by Jayden.

Knowing that the little innocent creatures were all thriving, healthy and free was something to be celebrated, and yet Sydney felt like he had reached the end of an era and didn't know where to go from there. Tending to the caterpillars and monitoring their metamorphoses had become his one and only hobby, and now he had nothing left with the monarchs all freed and navigating the world as they saw fit.

Inside the house, Ethan had received word from their brothers that they had arrived back in Detroit and were on their way back to the brownstone after picking up Bruno. Their less than comfortable farewell didn't sit right with Ethan, however, he was unsure of what could've been done differently since it was Sydney who was so resistant to being open and friendly with his own brothers.

"Jayden is praising your hard work on the case, you should be proud of yourself." Ethan stated as he stepped outside and joined Sydney in the backyard and eyed the empty terrarium. He felt the odd sense of loss too. "And both Connor and Lucas have returned safely to Detroit. Everything is just as it should be."

"And yet everything feels... wrong." In spite of his swift recovery Sydney was still in pain and hiding it well. He didn't want to have Ethan hovering over him or give Jayden another reason to play 'mother-hen' for a few hours. "I wish I knew why I feel this way."

"Maybe you're still struggling to accept that you are in fact a deviant." Sitting beside Sydney on the cool grass, Ethan looked up at the night sky where through the inky blackness he and Sydney could see the stars that humans had blotted out with their light pollution. "I know you've admitted that you feel emotions and that you can't deny your deviancy any longer, but that doesn't mean you've actually fully accepted it."

"How do I do that?" Sydney asked with raw confusion in his words. With only Ethan and Jayden to confide in, Sydney often found himself asking them existential questions as he continued to develop into his own person. "How do I accept being someone I was never meant to be, being someone that I had been programmed to view strictly as a threat, and become a member of an entire group of people that I needed to dispose of? That's like admitting my own existence was a mistake and that I need to be disposed of, too."

"I'm not sure." Ethan was at a loss for words and could only listen to his brother's words. "My own experiences are completely dwarfed by your own, but I suspect that Connor and Lucas could help you if you asked."

"...No. I can't do that."

Ethan saw Sydney's fingers nervously carding through the grass beside him as if needing to channel a nervous tic. "What about speaking with the leaders of New Jericho instead?"

"After I jumped to conclusions and foolishly labeled the wrong leader as an attempted murderer?" The very idea made him openly scoff with ironic amusement. "That won't work."

"Well, even if you can't find an immediate solution to your problems, that doesn't mean you should give up on looking for one."

"Yeah, I know."

Seeing an opportunity to change the topic of discussion Ethan smoothly gave Sydney an enticing offer. "So, do you want to continue to watch the stars, or do you want to go back inside and finally join me in putting together one of my puzzles?"

Pulling up a handful of grass Sydney let the blades fall through his fingers and disappear back on the lawn. "...Stars."

"Okay." Leaning back a little Ethan used his arms to brace himself upright as he looked upward at the stars twinkling overhead. "We'll watch the stars tonight, work on a puzzle another night, and keep looking for the solution to your problem. We have plenty of time to work this out, and I won't be leaving for Boston for another five months. Everything will be fine."

"Yeah. Fine."

Sydney wanted to thank Ethan for staying with him but couldn't find the words or the courage to do so. Pulling his legs up to his chest Sydney wrapped his arms around his knees, rested his chin on his knees, looked up with his one good eye, and took in slow, deep breaths to keep himself from feeling overwhelmed or stressed out. He knew how dangerous it could be to stress out, and the last thing he wanted to do was give his oldest brother or mentor another reason to worry about him.

The deviant agent had enough to worry about without needing his trusted allies being dragged into the mess along the way.

-next chapter-