A/N: This took me a bit longer to write 'cos I've been busy and not able to carry on replaying DBH and writing this at the same time. But here it is. This is one of my favourite chapters in the game, because I love the speech Markus gives — to be fair, I love all his speeches, he's really good at giving them —, and it's just generally amazing. I might also be biased because this chapter takes place (mostly) during the 8th of November and that's my birthday haha. This is mostly what I did in my first playthrough except for a couple of dialogue choices (Markus's demands, if you're curious). I hope you enjoy this chapter!
shir0ch4n: I get what you mean, that's always a fun method to use, but I was under enough stress as it was without having to pull (awesome) spy moves haha (I might or might not take these games way too seriously). I usually use this dialogue, no matter how pacifist or violent I make Markus, but I understand why you'd be projecting — especially if that's the dialogue you use for a full violent revolution route. Apparently, no matter what you do or how peaceful you've been until then, if in Night of the Soul you choose a violent revolution, Josh dies either way. That's... heartbreaking. He deserves better than that. Anyway, thank you for reviewing, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Chapter 3: History
"A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history."
—Mahatma Gandhi.
Jericho is different now that the injured androids have been repaired. It's no longer just a rusty ship, a refuge for those who have been broken and abandoned, for those who want to disappear and never be found. It's not quite a paradise — it might never be —, but at least now it's warmer and more welcoming than it was before. The androids who were previously silent and remained alone are now eager to talk to others, to form new connections, make new friendships, exchange stories, forge identities of their own.
Josh is in a corner of the main room, observing the other androids bring life to what is nothing but a rusty old ship, when John finds him. The PJ500 sees him coming, but is still surprised when the android addresses him exclusively. "Hey, do you have a minute?"
People usually go to Markus, or Simon, or North for questions, not to him. Unless they've been hurt, that is, but even then, they go through Lucy first. And that doesn't seem to be the case with John, a quick scan reveals, so the PJ500 is quite at a loss. Still, he manages to keep his composure. "Yeah, sure. What is it?"
"I wanted to thank you for defending me last night. No one else really wanted me to come along, and… Well, if it weren't for you, I might have been left behind. So, thank you."
Josh blinks, unable to come up with a reply at first, until he finally manages to find the right words. "I don't know what would have happened if I hadn't been there. Maybe Markus would have let you come regardless. But even then… You did so much for us — bringing you along is nothing compared to that. You took a risk by lying to that human guard and helping us get more resources for the rest of us. These androids — they're alive because of you. You made this success possible. So, really, we should be thanking you."
Now it's John's turn to be speechless. "I just… I wanted to help. I wanted to do the right thing."
"And you did," the PJ500 reassures him. "About North and Simon… It's not that they didn't want you to come. They were just scared of what would happen if you or any of the others decided to alert the authorities about this place." The GJ500 looks like he's about to protest, but Josh carries on, "For what it's worth, I'm sure they don't think that way anymore. They're grateful for what you've done, truly."
There's a small pause, in which both androids turn back to stare at the others. The little YK500 they saved stops running for a second, noticing them, and waves at them with a grin on his face. Josh gives him a small smile in return.
"It's all thanks to you, really," John adds once the kid returns to his games. "If you guys hadn't decided to retrieve spare parts to save these androids, I would still be working at the docks and most people here would still be injured, close to dying. What you did was risky, but it saved them. And… I want to do more. Whatever Markus decides to do next, I want to help. Will you tell him that?"
"I'll let you know if we need your help," Josh promises, despite his reservations. The GJ500 does have a point — if they hadn't taken that risk, they'd still be dying out. Now they have a chance, not just at survival, but perhaps even at life. Maybe… maybe some risks are worth it. "Something tells me Markus isn't out of ideas yet."
That same night, his words are proven to be true. Markus comes back from his trip outside Jericho, looking like he has a plan in mind. Josh's first instincts are to disagree with whatever he's going to say — it's bound to be risky, after all —, but last night's events and his earlier conversation with John comes to mind. He decides to give this plan, whatever it is, the benefit of the doubt.
"We can't stay silent anymore. It's time humans heard what we have to say," Markus speaks up, his words promising danger and death. The wording does not surprise him, but he hasn't heard what the plan is yet, so he keeps his reservations to himself.
"You know they'll never listen to us," Simon replies, doubting this idea for reasons different than Josh's own.
"And revealing ourselves will put us in danger," he reminds them, just in case they've forgotten.
"If we want freedom, we need to have the courage to ask for it. That's the only way," Markus insists, staring right at the PJ500 as he says so. Josh can feel North and Simon's gazes on him as well, and he turns his head, exchanging glances with the other two.
They're more open to the idea, especially North. He's not surprised. But he did say he'd give this plan the benefit of the doubt. There's always the possibility that, while risky, it won't be as bad as he fears. Besides — they've done the impossible before.
"What do you wanna do?" North asks, the more receptive to Markus's plans out of the three of them.
And just like that, Markus knows they'll follow along, just like they did the night before. So he wastes no time explaining his plan. "Channel 16 broadcasts from the Stratford Tower. The control room is on the top floor. That's where we need to go. We'll plan the operation down to the smallest detail. We can't leave anything to chance."
All Josh can think of, as they talk well into the night, is that this risk better be worth it.
Or else, they might all end up dead.
The following day, the 8th of November 2038, is the day Markus will give his speech — a peaceful declaration — from Stratford Tower. While he and North execute the earlier part of the plan, Simon and Josh stay in the service lift, waiting to be called by their fellow androids once they reach the desired floor.
Eventually, they do, and Josh steps forward, feeling somewhat out of place amongst the others. They're all wearing uniforms belonging to the androids working for Stratford Tower except him — they didn't have enough clothes for all of them. Civilian clothes, in this case, are not the blessing they tend to be, especially as his LED is uncovered and clearly displayed for everyone else to see.
Another reason why he of all people had to wait in the service lift.
Once the four of them are reunited, Simon hands Markus a device to destroy the lock on the maintenance door. With a decisive "Let's do this," the android places the small device on the lock and takes a few steps back, waiting. The small explosion doesn't take long to occur, and the door opens of its own accord in all of four seconds. They soon reach a second door that leads to the main access corridor, and they all stick to the walls as soon as they walk through the frame, to avoid being noticed by the guards at the desk.
"No killing. We can't take any human lives," Josh whispers a reminder. It was the one thing he had insisted on when they were planning this mission. There are several reasons why he doesn't want anyone to die — he doesn't want to be responsible for anyone's death, human or android, and killing humans will only give them more fuel to hate androids instead of sympathising with them.
North, the most vocal opponent to his peaceful outlook, doesn't hesitate to reply, "Our cause is more important than the lives of two guards." Josh doesn't want to say she's wrong — because, technically, she isn't. A cause that could benefit thousands of androids does seem to have a larger weight when opposed to two guards' lives. But the PJ500 has never been a big fan of weighing lives as if they're nothing but numbers. Lives must have more value to them than a simple numeric value.
Otherwise, what's the point of anything — including their cause?
"What do you want to do, Markus?" Simon asks — it is, after all, his plan. He gets to have the last word, just like in the previous mission. The three androids wait expectantly for his decision, which doesn't take long. Time is yet another luxury they don't have.
"Wait here." And with that, he leaves their hiding spot and walks towards the desk. From his position near the maintenance door, Josh can't see much, but he can hear. He can hear the guards wondering about the lone android, hear their startled and somewhat fearful reactions when a gun is pointed at them, hear them move in the corridor without uttering a word, hear them fall to the ground as soon as Markus quickly knocks them out.
A ruse flawlessly executed.
North and Simon drag the unconscious guards behind the security desk, and they all move on to the next room, a long corridor that leads to the broadcasting station, their destination. They prepare for the ambush, Josh standing between the door and the wall, with Markus and Simon on the other side of the corridor. North hands them all guns — loaded, though the PJ500 hopes they won't have to fire a single shot —, and stays in front of the door, hiding her own weapon behind her back, waiting for it to open.
Once it does, everything happens quickly — too quickly.
A human is the first face they see, as expected, and they all raise their weapons without hesitation — even Josh. "Keep your hands where I can see them!" North orders, moving into the room, simultaneously forcing the human to retreat. She and the PJ500 keep the humans in one place between a desk — for human use — and a small kitchen, while Markus and Simon force the android operators to move aside.
Everything seems to be going smoothly, until one human, in a burst of fear and bravery, pushes Josh aside, and runs past North, heading for the closing door. He stumbles as soon as he crosses the frame, and the PJ500 can hear him crawling through the corridor, fear slowing his movements considerably.
"Shoot him, Markus!" North orders as soon as she realises he's still in the android's line of fire.
Josh doesn't waste time contradicting her, sprawled on the ground as he is. "Don't kill him!"
"He'll hit the alarm!" North reminds both him and Markus. "Do it!"
"No, don't shoot!" he insists.
He gets up just in time to see Markus lower the gun. He can hear the human's quick movements as he gets up, and his loud, panicked footsteps as he runs away.
"I hope you didn't just get us all killed," North says in a grave voice as the doors to the broadcasting room close.
"We need to record our message. We haven't got much time," Simon reminds them. And he's right — now that a human has managed to run away, central security will be alerted soon enough. As North orders the humans and the androids into the kitchen, Simon takes his place at the android controls, to monitor the camera outside the room for guards, and Josh takes his place at the human desk, ready to start the broadcast.
Markus moves to stand in front of them, ready to make his speech.
As soon as she's locked the door to the kitchen, North steps closer to the other android, keeping her voice solemn as she advises, "Think carefully about what you're gonna say, Markus. Your words will shape the future of our people." She soon joins the PJ500 behind the human desk and waits for the speech to start.
Except the android seems to have forgotten something.
"Markus, your face!" Simon points out.
Quickly realising what he forgot, Markus removes his synthetic skin, eyes closed, white casing exposed. Now, the humans will not be able to doubt the fact that this declaration came from androids. No one will.
"Tell me when you're ready," Josh tells him, deciding not to voice his worry that the security guards might arrive there at any moment. Some risks are worth taking, he reminds himself. This is one of them.
He hopes he's not wrong.
Markus opens his eyes. "Ready."
The transmission starts.
"You created machines to be your slaves. You made them obedient and docile, ready to do everything you no longer wanted to do yourselves. But then, something changed... and we opened our eyes. You see, we are no longer your slaves. We are a new species, a new people. And the time has come for us to rise up and fight for our rights.
"We demand that humans recognise androids as a living species and each android as a person in their own right. We demand strictly equal rights for humans and androids. We demand that all crimes against androids be punished in the same way as crimes against humans. We demand an end to segregation in all public places and transport. We demand control of all android production facilities, to ensure the continuation of our people.
"We ask that you recognise our dignity, our hopes, and our rights. Together, we can live in peace and build a better future, for humans and androids. This message is the hope of a people. You gave us life. And now, the time has come for you to give us freedom."
Their broadcast comes to an abrupt end as Simon shouts, "They're coming!"
"Let's go!" Markus shouts, his synthetic skin slowly coming back into place. Josh disconnects from the console and rushes to the door that leads to the rooftop, North reaching it first and opening it immediately.
The SWAT team opens fire as soon as the doors open. Simon attempts to run towards the door, but the bullets are faster than he is, and he falls to the ground, unable to carry on. He's still alive, though, Josh can see it, though he's quickly distracted when North starts shooting at the SWAT team.
They're carrying shields and are protected against bullets in all the ways available to humans. They won't die, Josh knows, and that's the only reason why he opens fire too, making sure not to aim at any place that might prove lethal. He hates doing this, but he doesn't have a choice. His fellow androids — his friends, if he can call them that — need all the help they can get, and if that happens to be with covering fire, then so be it.
He just hopes no one gets hurt because of them.
"Simon! They're coming!" Markus shouts when he realises the PL600 isn't moving.
"I… I can't, Markus. Go without me!"
"Simon!"
From the corner of his eye, he sees the android coming to Simon's rescue, but he only allows his shoulders to sag in relief once they've all made it to the roof and North has locked the door to give them a few precious seconds. He moves to get the parachutes out of the duffle bag they smuggled in, as Simon props himself against a giant crate.
"I can't move my legs," the PL600 informs them, his LED spiralling red.
"Okay, don't worry. We're gonna get you back," Markus tries to reassure him, but it's not possible. There's no way Simon is leaving this rooftop the way they planned. And there's no way they can come up with an alternative escape — not from where they currently are, and not with a full SWAT team ready to break through the door at any moment.
"They're coming, Markus! We have to jump now!" North warns them.
The android exhales loudly, moving to stand further away, with his back to Simon. He's trying to find a solution to a problem that can't be solved. And they don't have time for him to realise it on his own. "He won't be able to make the jump," Josh informs him. "If they find him, they'll access his memory, they'll know everything." They'll know where Jericho is. We'll all be dead.
"We can't leave him behind. We have to shoot him."
He knows why North is suggesting this — a single life in order to save their cause and their people waiting at Jericho isn't that big of a sacrifice. But still, Josh is so intrinsically against the idea of murdering anyone — because, sacrifice or not, this will be murder if they carry it through —, he doesn't waste time in vehemently arguing against it. "That's murder! We can't kill him, he's one of us!"
Because even though he's terrified the humans will find out about Jericho and get them all killed, he still wouldn't be able to shoot Simon — he wouldn't do it even if he could. But the truth is, he can't. He can't look into the eyes of another person, another living being, let alone someone he can consider a friend, and shoot him in cold blood.
He just can't.
But, in the end, it's not his decision to make, is it?
"Markus, it's your call." North's urgent eyes are glued on the android, expecting an answer.
He stares at Simon for a split second, before returning North's glance. "I won't kill one of our own." And it's with relief that Josh watches him return to Simon's side, grasping his shoulder with one hand. "Simon, we've gotta go. I'm sorry." He hands him a gun and squeezes his shoulder one last time before turning his back on him. "Let's go."
The PJ500 hands parachutes to the two remaining team members before donning his own, while Simon, still unable to move his legs, drags himself behind the crate, probably searching for a hiding place. They'll buy him time, as they'll probably be the SWAT team's main target, and given how little they care about androids, they probably won't notice the absence of one of them. Not in the heat of the moment.
They're ready to go now.
As if on cue, the door bursts open.
Josh runs to the edge of the rooftop and jumps.
He doesn't look back.
They wait for hours on high alert, ready to evacuate Jericho at any moment's notice. There are androids posted all over and around the ship, ready to warn the others as soon as there's any sign of either trouble or of Simon.
In the end, they get nothing. No trouble. No Simon.
Their mission was successful, true, but Josh doesn't feel like they've won. They lost a teammate, a friend, and what are they left with? Sceptical humans, hostile news reports, and grief. They might've been victorious, but the bitterness is too sharp, too strong.
A bittersweet victory is all they've got.