I feel like this is a rather weak chapter, so I kept this one quite short.

Sorry for both the poor quality and quantity xD

EM

XoXo

XXX

Lily didn't hesitate as she ran towards the edge of the building.

"Please god! Please, please can they both be alright!", she silently begged, dropping to her knees, crawling in desperation, finding her legs had turned to water. Despite her concern, she was terrified of looking over the edge of the rooftop, afraid of seeing the broken bodies of the two androids. Hank ran to her, peering over the edge.

"Holy shit", he breathed, his face white as he leaned over.

Daring to look over, Lily hesitantly gulped as she peered to view the alleyway below the building. She saw…

"CONNOR!"

XXX

The RK-800 felt time stop as he fell over the edge, the sight of Lily's terrified face would be something that was forever imprinted in his head as he felt a shot of artificial adrenaline course through him.

With his excellent reflexes, Connor reached out and grabbed the thick metal drainpipe that lined the building's walls, and managing to simultaneously grab a hold of Rupert's denim jacket. The deviant had fallen further than himself, but with superhuman strength he could keep a firm grip on both the drainpipe and the jacket.

Luck seemed to be on his side. For a second or two at least.

Rupert was still handcuffed, and Connor couldn't do anything but hold on, as the deviant's jacket began to tear at the seams.

"Shit", he thought, swearing was a mannerism he had picked up from Hank. Luckily, it was that moment that the grizzled lieutenant appeared, tilting his head over the side of the building.

"Holy shit", he swore in unison, as Lily peered over the edge as well.

"Connor!", she cried, desperately trying to reach down to the android. "Hang on Connor, we'll get you out of there!"

The RK-800 gazed up at her, his guardian angel, in adoration; taking in every feature of her face. It was likely he wouldn't survive this fall, and if that was the case, he didn't want his memories of Lily to be something that didn't pass through the data transfer when CyberLife replaced him.

Hank and Lily struggled, eventually managing to reach down to Connor.

"He'll have to let go of the deviant, we can't save them both", Hank explained. "He needs both hands if we'll be able to pull them up"

"Could either of them survive the drop?", she panicked, fear flooding through her veins.

"Maybe…? I just don't know", Hank spoke concernedly.

"Save the deviant, we need him as evidence", the android called up to the two lieutenants.

"No, Connor. NO", Lily immediately refused, she wasn't planning on sacrificing either lives.

"I'm a machine", he said through gritted teeth, the strain of having to hold both himself and Rupert up was starting to take a toll on him. "I'll be rebuilt, CyberLife can send another version of me to replace the old one"

"But… you'll die", Lily choked up, tears running down her cheeks. Connor looked up at her, feeling his robotic heart break in a way that could never happen through death alone.

"Don't cry, Lily", he said softly. If he had either of his hands free he would've reached up to gently stroke her cheek. The young lieutenant felt her own heart melt at Connor's sad, caring expression.

The RK-800 knew he was going to die – his scanner had already completed the calculations, and a fall from this height would be fatal - he just didn't want to show his true fears in front of someone he cared so much about.

Suddenly, the metal drainpipe creaked under the weight of the two heavy androids, warning everyone who was present that it wasn't going to hold for much longer. Hank and Lily both tried to grab hold of the two young men who were dangling off the edge of the building.

"Quickly, Connor!", Hank called, trying to reach for the deviant. Without warning however, Rupert (who was still hanging, only suspended by Connor's grip on his jacket) tried to yank himself free of the android's hold, which only made his jacket tear and the drainpipe groan dangerously from the strain.

"Shit!", Hank swore loudly as the deviant's jacket ripped violently open, making Rupert fall from Connor's grip as the android tried to catch him. Lily watched wide-eyed as Rupert tumbled into the alleyway below… but there was no crash.

"Hang on, Connor, hang on. I've got you, son", Hank heaved, pulling up the RK-800 onto the rooftop by the arm. The android scrambled up, managing to push himself back up onto the ledge.

"Connor oh my god!", Lily cried, rushing forward and hugging him tightly. The android was taken aback, never having experienced such an action before as he could hear his own blood rushing through his ears with intense pressure. He paused feeling Lily's warm arms around him, wanting to live in the moment forever, before comfortingly holding as she sobbed into his jacket.

"Why the hell did you do that!?", she demanded angrily, tears streaming down her face as she stared him in the eyes. "You nearly died!"

"I was trying to stop the deviant", he tried to explain. Lily's eyes widened in shock, remembering Rupert. She got up quickly and ran to the edge, the two men following her.

When falling into the alley, Rupert had swung his arms under his legs, bringing his cuffed hands to the front in one smooth somersault and managing to land on a huge dumpster in the backstreet. He stared up at the trio, particularly at Connor with smug confidence, before running through the alleyway and into the maze of Detroit's backstreets.

He was gone.

"Man, that android's good at parkour", Hank marvelled. "Don't worry, we've seen his face. He won't get far", he shook his head dismissively. Connor moved forward to Lily, putting his hand on her shoulder, trying to console the lieutenant.

"I'm sorry, Lily-"

"Don't ever do that again!", she snapped angrily, although it was clear she was just recovering from the shock of nearly seeing him plummet to his death.

"You're upset with me?", he asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Of course, I am! You nearly fell off the dang roof!", Lily cried. "I thought you were going to die!"

"You were… concerned for me?", Connor was clearly having trouble processing the whole event.

"Well DUH! I almost just watched one of my friends die right in front of me, how could you think I wouldn't be scared for them!?". To her shock, Connor smiled at her!

"Her kindness knows no bounds", he thought to himself, leaning down to the younger lieutenant's height.

"I'm sorry if I worried you, Lieutenant", the RK-800 said to her in earnest, his face so close to Lily's that she felt herself turning bright pink, and she found she couldn't look at his eyes directly, only his lips. "As I said before, if I am destroyed, another model will be sent to carry on where the previous Connor left off, so you have no worry of losing me"

"So we're stuck with you indefinitely, is that it?", Hank rolled his eyes with a grin. Lily was still confused.

"But what about…?", she began. Connor explained.

XXX

"So even if you die, you'll still have your memories fully intact?", she asked as the trio sat in the rooftop garden. They had been talking for a few minutes now; Connor had told Lily about himself being replaced before, but he'd never specified about how his data transfer worked.

"Yes, but some data from my memories can be lost", he rubbed the back of his neck, a little embarrassed. He was programmed to only succeed, and found slight shame at the few faults in his system.

"I think I understand now", Lily confirmed, feeling comforted at the knowledge of Connor still being with them; however, it still wouldn't stop her worrying about him.

"I suppose being an android does have some perks", she thought.

"Well, we're glad you're not dead, Connor", Hank joked, patting the android on the back. It felt nice. Connor was really starting to enjoy his company!

"See? Even Hank's happy that you're okay", Lily grinned, making the older lieutenant cough nervously and cross his arms.

"I'm not happy about him being with us", he pointed his nose away stubbornly. "I'm just glad he's not... well… splattered on the pavement", Hank said bluntly.

"I appreciate your concern, lieutenant", Connor smiled, making Hank turn red himself and look away.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever", he shook his head. "Let's get going", Hank nodded to the rooftop door which led back down through the Urban Farms. Connor agreed and the trio followed.

Before leaving however, Lily looked over the edge. She was worried for Rupert; would he be able to manage being handcuffed and on the run?

"There's a place I know where I can be safe", Rupert's words echoed through her mind as a cold November wind blew through her hair, making Lily shiver. She had no clue where the deviant was now, she only hoped he was okay.