Okay, I think it's time to really move things forward. Enjoy.

Oh, and by the way, new cover photo. It's simple, but I thought it's more fitting for a Detroit: Become Human FanFiction story.

Leave a review if you like. Feedback is always appreciate.

I'd like to thank the following users for reviewing the previous chapter: TheBoyNamedBean, Guest

To TheBoyNamedBean: Thanks for sharing everything you like about the story so far. Also, thanks for sharing your opinion on Kara and Alice's relationship, as well as Markus and North's romance. Very much appreciated (it's very nice to know there are people who actually love Markus and North as lovers). Yeah, I've seen so many stories that are mostly or solely about Hank and Connor's father/son bond. It's hard to blame the writers of those stories, though. Hank and Connor's father/son relationship is arguably the best part of the game. It's just that I hoped to see more diverse stories that include Kara and Markus, much like the story I'm writing right now.

To Guest: Well, Connor is deviant, but he's still gonna act like he usually does.

Kara

February 11, 2039

Ontario, Canada

PM 11:09:47

Rosella and Nelson were getting ready to leave. It was getting late and Alice has not left her room to give her biological mother a chance to make things up to her. After sharing one more meal with Desmond and his family, Rosella and her husband prepare to leave the house. However, before they could walk out the door, they heard footsteps coming down the stairs. It was Alice.

"Alice, it's way past your bedtime," said Kara.

"I know, but I want to take to..." Alice paused, daring herself to say the words. "My mom."

Rosella smiled. This is all she wanted. Just a few minutes with her daughter, even if it's the last time they'll see each other.

"Well, why don't we give you some room then?" Rose suggested.

Rose, Adam, Desmond, and Nelson head upstairs so Alice and Rosella can have some private time. Kara stayed behind for a little while just to make Alice was truly okay to do what she finally agreed to do.

"Remember. Let her tell her story before you judge her," said Kara.

"I promise," said Alice.

Kara hugs Alice before joining Rose and the others upstairs. It made Rosella smile to see how much love Alice and Kara show through one simple hug. My little girl is in good hands, she thought.

Alice and Rosella sit down on a couch. It was silent for a minute. Alice was waiting for Rosella to speak first, but the middle-aged woman was trying to figure out the best way to start the conversation.

"Remember when you were 4 and I found you alone in the backyard?" Rosella started.

"Yeah," Alice said softly.

"You were so sad when someone at the nursery bullied you. You just sat there, cuddling your favorite toy, Mr. Fox," Rosella remembered. "I sat next to you and held you close. You told me what happened at school and I was so worried. Then I asked you to give me Mr. Fox and we played with him all afternoon long. We played tag. We had a tea party. We even got a little dirty when we fell into some mud. We laughed so hard that we woke up your father from his nap."

Alice laughed, remembering how happy she was back then.

"That was very fun," said Alice.

"I know you can never forgive me for leaving you, Alice, but I just want to let you know that I still love you," said Rosella.

Rosella holds her hand out, eager for her daughter to take hold of it. Reluctantly but gladly, Alice holds her biological mother's hand. Through her words and face, Alice can tell that Rosella feels really guilty about abandoning her four years ago.

"Am I ever going to see you again?" asked Alice.

"You don't need me anymore, sweetie," Rosella said with a bittersweet tone. "You have Kara. I can tell you love her, and she loves you."

"She's a great mom," said Alice. "We ran into a lot of bad people after we ran away from our old home, but she stayed with me and promised that she and I would be together forever."

"And that's why you deserve to stay with her," said Rosella.

Unbeknownst to them, Kara has been watching and listening the whole time from the staircase. It made her happy to see Alice reconciling with Rosella. Rosella was a troubled woman, but Kara knows that she doesn't deserve to be hated by her daughter, even if she did make one gigantic mistake. Kara decided it was time to stop eavesdropping and quietly returned upstairs to wait for Alice to go to bed.

"Can you at least come visit?" Alice asked.

"Nelson works in New York now, so regular visits are impossible," said Rosella. "But I can visit you on your birthday."

Suddenly, something smashed right through the window. It appears to be a grenade. Instead of exploding, it shoots out tear gas. Alice and Rosella cough as their eyes watered at a dangerous fast rate due to the gas. They run upstairs to escape the gas, but not before the door was kicked open. Six armed men dressed in silver grey armor and helmets barged in. Alice and Rosella quickly run upstairs to warn the others.

"Kill everyone you see, except the AX400. Boss said to take it with us alive," said one of the gunmen.

Alice and Rosella find the others in Adam's room. Kara, Rose, Adam, Desmond, and Nelson all turned their heads as soon as the two girls barged in looking like they're running away from a bear.

"I heard something break downstairs. What's going on?" asked Kara.

"Men. Bad men. With guns," Alice answered, scared.

"Good thing I keep a shotgun in my room," said Desmond. "The neighbors can be a bunch of troublemakers at times."

"Get the gun. Quick!" Rose said.

"How are we gonna get out?" Adam panicked.

"There's a ladder in the attic," said Desmond. "You can take the window outside."

Desmond goes to get his shotgun from his room. Kara, Alice, Rose, Adam, Rosella, and Nelson hurry to the attic. Unfortunately, they were stopped by warning shots. Three of the attacking gunmen have made it up the stairs and aimed their guns at Kara and the others.

"Alright, you piece of plastic," one gunman said to the android. "Come quietly and we'll spare them."

Rosella shields Alice while Kara glares at the gunmen with a combination of fear and determination on her face. There was no way she was going to trust them.

"I'll die before I ever submit to your demands," Kara said with determination.

"Fine," said one gunman. "Let's see you act brave if we take out your so-called daughter."

The gunman who made that threat aims his hi-tech rifle at Alice.

"No!" Kara cried.

The gunman fires two shots, but Rosella puts herself in front of Alice, taking the shots for her. Rosella collapses.

"Rosella, no!" Nelson cried as he rushed to his injured wife.

The gunman that shot Rosella was unexpectedly shot in the chest, courtesy of Desmond's shotgun. With the other two gunmen shocked by the death of their comrade, Kara takes her opportunity to attack. Kara grabs a nearby picture frame and throws it one gunman. While he's down, Kara attacks the third gunman. He was about to fire, but Kara immediately grabs his rifle, trying to wrestle it away from him.

"Uncle Desmond, do something!" Adam pleaded.

"Sorry, kid. This baby only has one round," said Desmond, gesturing to his empty shotgun.

Kara knees the gunman between his legs and smacks him in the helmet with his own rifle. She shoots him in the head with it, killing him instantly. The other gunman (who got hit by a picture frame) gets up and shoots Kara, causing her to drop the rifle. The gunman open fires on the Chapman family, but Kara manages to grab his rifle and diverts it away from her human friends. The bullets hit only the walls and ceiling.

"Go! Now!" Kara shouted.

"We're not leaving you," said Alice.

"Alice, go!" Kara repeated.

Rose grabs Alice's hand and drags her along with the others. Nelson carried his wife to the attic.

The gunman pushes Kara towards the wall as he tries to pull his rifle away from the android's hands. As Kara continues to attempt to wrestle the rifle away from the gunman, she can see another one coming up the stairs. Kara knees the gunman in the stomach, rips his gun away from him, and then kicks him towards his comrade. She fires at them repeatedly until they're very dead, trying to make sure they have no chance of getting back up.

Keeping a tight grip on the rifle, Kara joins the others. The two remaining gunmen run up the stairs, chasing after her. They stopped to look at their fallen comrades.

"That wretch," one gunman cursed.

"This android killed a nobody called Todd Williams. This shouldn't be hard," the other gunman complained.

In the attic, Rose and Nelson are trying to stop Rosella from bleeding out. Unfortunately, it wasn't working. Nelson holds his wife's hand as begs her to stay awake.

"C'mon, Rosella. Don't give up on me," Nelson begged.

"I love you," said Rosella.

"No. No, you're not saying goodbye," Nelson said, trying to get his wife to keep fighting.

"Alice," Rosella called. Her voice sounded weaker and weaker by the second.

Rosella uses what's left in her to hold Alice's hand and smiles at her.

"I love you, my baby girl," said Rosella. "Don't forget that."

Before Alice can say anything, Rosella's smile dropped as her eyes closed. Rose checked for a pulse. No pulse. Rose gave Nelson a look to silently deliver the bad news. Nelson hugs his dead wife as he cries.

"Guys!" Kara called as she climbed up to the attic. "We gotta go, now!"

Kara paused when she saw Rosella. The sad faces on everyone in the room tell her what has become of Alice's biological mother.

"I... I am sorry, Nelson," Kara said sympathetically. "But you have to go, now. They're coming. Call the police when you get out."

"Give me the gun, Kara. I'll take care of those goons," said Desmond.

"No, I'm not letting Adam lose another family member," said Kara.

"But Alice needs you," said Rose.

"I'll be fine," Kara guaranteed. "Go!"

Nelson grabs a nearby baseball bat and says, "You're gonna need some backup."

While Alice, Rose, Adam, and Desmond climb out the window and use the ladder to climb down from the second floor to the ground, Nelson stands his ground, waiting for the gunmen to come through the attic entrance.

As soon as the first gunman showed up, Nelson smacks him across the head. Thanks to helmet, he was unfazed. He casually riddles Nelson with three bullets. Nelson falls dead next to Rosella.

"Idiot," the gunman insulted the dead accountant.

The two gunmen look outside the window, but they didn't see anyone. Unbeknownst to them, Kara was plotting an ambush. While Nelson stood his ground, Kara hid behind a pile of boxes as she patched up the bullet hole she got from earlier. She slowly comes out and fires her rifle, shooting one of the gunmen in the back. The other gunman turns around only for Kara to shoot his rifle out of his hands. She then shoots him on the leg, injuring him badly.

"Who are you?! What do you want with me?!" Kara demanded an answer.

"You think pain is gonna make me talk?" The gunman questioned. "You got other things to worry about, you bucket of bolts."

"Your men tried to kill my daughter," Kara said with ire. "That woman lying down right there is her mother. She took a bullet for her."

"What are you gonna do about it? Shoot me?" The gunman asked, daring her to.

Kara responds by doing just that, shooting the gunman in the face, ensuring he can never wake up again.

"That's for Rosella," said Kara.

PM 11:44:26

Kara, Alice, Rose, Adam, and Desmond take Rose's van as they drove as far away from the farm house as they can. It was no longer safe for them to stay there. Kara was sure that there were more of those gunmen that attacked them. If they can find her at some farm house in the middle of Ontario, then it's best if they find a place to hide until this situation cools down.

"I don't understand. Who were they? What did they want with Kara?" Adam wondered curiously.

"I... I never told you guys, but..." Kara paused for a moment. "I found a dying android last night. She shared me some of her memories before she died. Her last words were that only I and two others can save my people. I didn't tell any of you because I didn't think this would matter. I had to take care of Alice. I thought we were safe, but... I was wrong. I'm really sorry."

"That's okay, Kara," said Rose. "You're just a mother trying to provide for her daughter. Nothing else mattered to you."

Kara looks at Alice and sees the she was really sad. Kara can understand. Alice had just shared a beautiful moment with Rosella and it looked like they had another chance at a close relationship even if Rosella entrusted Kara with Alice. But now, there is no chance for a relationship now that both Rosella and Nelson lie dead in Desmond's attic. Kara holds Alice close, trying to comfort her as much as she could. Alice cries as she holds on to Kara.

"She saved me," said Alice. "Why would she do that?"

"Because she loved you, Alice," said Kara. "There is no greater act of love than by willing to put yourself in danger for someone you truly care about."

"She said she wanted to come to my 10th birthday," said Alice. "But now..."

Alice didn't say another word and just leaned on Kara. She needed a lot of time to grieve, so it's best to just hold her close while she processes what happened.

"So, what now?" asked Adam. "Are we going on the run again?"

"We have to go back to Detroit," said Kara.

"Why?" asked Desmond.

"Connor, the former deviant hunter, and Markus, the leader of the deviants," said Kara. "They're the other two. They can protect us. And if there's a chance they don't know what's coming for them, it's for the best that I tell them."

"Well, I've always wanted to see Detroit," said Desmond.

Connor

CyberLife Tower, Detroit

February 12, 2039

AM 12:00:49

Connor was just sitting on his chair in the CEO's office, reviewing all of CyberLife's activities today. It was just another successful day for the company, with the exception of rogue deviants causing trouble. Connor could convince the DPD to tell the public that CyberLife is not responsible for the rogue deviants, but knowing about a mastermind hiding in the shadows would cause panic. So, the best way for CyberLife to be trusted completely again is to find the creator of the rogue deviants and bring him in.

"Sir, your 12:00 appointment is here. He insists on meeting you in person," Debra reported.

"Tell him to meet me at the conference room on the 7th floor," said Connor.

"Understood, sir," said Debra.

Connor takes out his coin and performs his usual coin tricks as he waited for the elevator to finish taking his 12:00 to the 7th floor. The elevator then goes up until it reached his floor. He was sort of surprised to see three CyberLife guards in the elevator.

"I'm pretty sure I didn't ask for Debra for security," said Connor.

"Pardon us, sir, but with this rogue deviant business going on, we can't be too careful," said Agent 26.

"If you insist," said Connor.

Connor enters the elevator and continues with his coin tricks as he waited for the elevator to stop at the 7th floor. However, he noticed something odd with the two guards. They were Agent 26, Agent 33, and Agent 51. As an android, Connor is masterful at recognizing a specific person's voice. Agent 26's voice sounded different. Something suspicious is happening here, but he had to test it out first.

"Agent 33, how are the kids?" Connor asked.

"Uh... they're, um, they're good. Healthy. Doing great at school," said Agent 33.

"Agent 51, I'd like you to know that your request for a day off has been granted," said Connor.

"Wait, did ask for that?" Agent 51 wondered. "Oh, I mean, uh, thank you... sir."

"How is Grandma Edith doing?" Connor asked.

"She's, well, she's doing fine," said Agent 51.

Unexpectedly, Connor attacks. He pushes Agent 51 to the wall, back-kicks Agent 33 in the stomach, and uses Agent 51's rifle to shoot Agent 26 in the knee. Connor rips the rifle away from Agent 51, uses it to hit Agent 33 in the face, and then aims it threateningly at Agent 51.

"The name of Agent 51's grandmother is Rita, impostor," said Connor.

"Oh, crud. We've been made," said Agent 26.

Agent 33 and Agent 51 charge at Connor, but he reacted quickly. He shoots Agent 33 and kicks Agent 51 in the chest. Agent 33 shoots his rifle and hits Connor in the shoulder. Connor persists and smacks Agent 33's rifle off his hands. Agent 51 grabs Connor from behind, but Connor frees himself with a slick spin n' punch. Connor continues to persist and shoots Agent 51 in the foot. Agent 33 picks up his rifle and Agent 26's. Connor manages to duck from incoming fire and charges at Agent 33. He slams him towards the wall and punches him in the face twice. Agent 51 grabs Connor by his suit, but Connor elbows Agent 51 very hard in the face. Agent 26 tries to get up, but Connor slams his head against the wall, knocking him out.

"Who are you?" Connor asked.

"You'll never know," said Agent 51.

Agent 51 and Agent 33 put cyanide pills in their mouths. Agent 33 grabs Agent 26's cyanide and puts it in the unconscious guard's mouth. The three guards die of cyanide poisoning, leaving Connor no chance of interrogating them.

All Connor can do is analyze them. He removes their helmets to see their faces. Unfortunately, their identities have been scrubbed from every database on the planet. Clearly, they didn't want to leave anything that their enemies can use to trace back to whoever sent them to attack Connor.

The elevator finally stops at the 7th floor. Strangely, though, there was no one in the conference room. The 12:00 appointment was clearly a ruse to get him in the elevator so those three impostors can neutralize him.

"Hank," Connor said, fearing that Hank might be a target as well.

Connor rides down to the first floor so he can leave the tower and check in on Hank. Before that, he went to the 40th floor to see his secretary, Debra, who is actually an ST300. She's deviant, but she still behaves like she isn't one, just doing her job and being good at it.

"Debra, I'm going out," said Connor. "If anyone calls you about booking an appointment, make sure to inform me immediately before responding."

"If you wish, sir," said Debra.

"And I would recommend some personal time off," said Connor. "CyberLife may be in jeopardy, and I would rather not see you hurt."

"But then who would take over in my absence?" asked Debra.

"I'll manage," said Connor. "Please, I insist. You have free will, Debra. It's time you use it."

Hank Anderson's House, Detroit

AM 12:50:50

Connor drives to Hank's house. He may have broken the speed limit rule on the way here, but that just further proves that he has truly become more human. What's more human than willing to break a few rules just to rush to a close friend's house out of fear that he may be a target of bad people? Fortunately, there doesn't seem to be any signs of forced entry. However, Connor had to make sure.

Connor rings the doorbell for thirty seconds, but Hank didn't come to open the door. He was probably too asleep to hear anything.

So, Connor has to find another way. Strangely though, he opts for the same way he broke into Hank's house the first time he visited. Smashing through a window, although this time it wasn't the kitchen window. This time, it's the bedroom window. Connor breaks the window with his elbow and moves the blinds aside to see inside. Hank was still asleep. Despite the sound of broken glass, all Hank did was move a little and grunt. But he remained asleep. Connor jumps in through the window and walks up to the sleeping police veteran.

"Hank," Connor called, trying to wake him up.

Hank just grunted again.

Connor lightly smacked him in the face a few times in an effort to wake him up. It didn't work. Hank was really asleep. So, Connor slaps him the face hard.

"It's me. Connor," said Connor.

Hank grunted in his sleep and babbled. "Get out of my house, you flippin' android..."

Connor can only imagine that Hank was dreaming about the time he broke into his house to wake him up from his alcohol-induced nap. Connor had to find another way to wake him up.

Seeing Hank's iPod and Bluetooth headphones on the bedside table, Connor came up with an idea. Connor picks up the iPod and searches for Knights of the Black Death. He places the headset next to Hank's ear. Connor sets the iPod's volume to full level and plays the music. Heavy metal blasts through the headphones and causes Hank to wake up and flail his arms, shocked and surprised by the loud noise.

"Whoa! Hey! What the fu... what is... huh?!" Hank rambled. "Connor?! What the hell are you doing in my house?!"

"CyberLife's security had recently been breached. Assailants dressed in CyberLife's armor attacked me in the elevator," Connor informed him. "They offed themselves with cyanide pills before I could question them."

"What, are these guys 21st Century Nazis or something?" Hank joked grumpily, still ticked that he was awoken from his slumber. "And what does this have to do with me?"

"I was worried," Connor said sincerely. "If there was any chance they would use you against me, like the other RK800 did three months ago, I just had to come here and be sure. Fortunately, you're not a target."

"Well, in that case, can I go back to sleep?" Hank asked sarcastically, picking his ear due to his aching eardrums. "We humans need our sleep, Connor. We don't run on all night like you."

"While I may not require sleep, androids can enter a dormant state as if simulating a sleeping pattern," said Connor. "It allows our systems to run calmly for as long as we are asleep, although we can remain active all night if we wish."

"Exactly my point," said Hank.

"I am sorry, Hank," Connor apologized. "But I wouldn't know what I would do if you were attacked and I had just stayed at CyberLife."

Instead of an angry or sarcastic remark, Hank stopped and studied Connor's facial expression. It's been three months since they worked together, yet it still surprises Hank just how human Connor can be. The android cares, and cares a lot. About Hank, especially. Connor looked and sounded afraid just now.

"Thanks for your concern, Connor," said Hank. "Really. I'm not joking. I... I really appreciate it. I guess I'd the same if the roles were reversed."

"I'm sure you would," Connor said positively.

"So, do you at least have any ideas on who these assassins were?" asked Hank.

"They showed up at the time when the rogue deviants' activities have increased to a very high level," said Connor. "I don't know what their directive is, but I am certain their sudden presence has to involve the rogue deviants."

"If they're targeting those close to you, maybe they're not target your human friends," said Hank.

"In that case, I must head to New Jericho immediately," said Connor.

"Just don't wake anyone up," Hank joked. "And please leave through the front door. Lock it before you close it."

"If you wish," said Connor.

"Oh, and Connor," said Hank. "Be careful out there."

"I will, Lieutenant," Connor said respectfully.

Connor closes the door as Hank goes back to sleep. On his way to the front door, Connor notices that Sumo, Hank's dog, is still awake. He was watching TV, which was still on. Good thing Hank has a door that can block the noise of the living room TV. Sumo is just watching cartoons, which seem to be putting him to sleep. Connor just kneels down and pets Sumo. The android and the dog have forged quite a bond. Sumo would often greet Connor by nuzzling against his leg or licking him in the face. Feeling too tired to do anything, the dog opted for a simple "hello" bark.

"Good boy," Connor smiled. "Take care of your owner. He needs you."

Sumo gives another friendly bark at the android. Connor pets him one more time before leaving the house.

Markus

New Jericho, Detroit

AM 01:14:30

Three-fourth of the population within New Jericho are "asleep," while the rest were still awake. Among those who were still awake are Simon and Josh. They are managing the distribution of blue blood and biocomponents. It made them proud to be able to help their kind without hiding from the humans or having to steal supplies for them to survive.

"I think we're done here for the night," said Josh. "I think it's time we shut down for the night."

"I'm gonna contact North and Markus first," said Simon. "They need to know how we did tonight."

"I think you two did pretty well."

Simon doesn't need to contact anyone. Markus and North have arrived, walking together with their arms romantically locked.

"We thought you'd be spending the night with Markus at the mansion," said Simon.

"We would have, but I insisted we come back here to check on things," said North.

"And there's nothing to worry about," said Markus. "Our people are free. We're giving them all the blue blood and biocomponents they need. You've all made sure there are no rogue deviants on board."

"But you're our leader, Markus. I know you're happy to be carrying Carl's legacy, but still need to find time for our people," said North.

"Well, I'm here now," said Markus. "But since you got things under control here, I'll be at the bridge."

"I'll join you," said North. "You boys play nice. Don't make me come back down here."

Markus and North head up to the bridge for (even more) alone time. Josh and Simon watched the two of them walk away together, arms still locked. It was the love between Markus and North that saved their people from being gunned down during the now-famously-called Battle for Detroit. Josh and Simon owe both of them so much that there is no way they can repay them.

"She treats us like children," Josh laughed.

"Well, North and Markus are basically the mother and father of our people," Simon joked. "We might as well all be their children."

"So much for equal rights," Josh joked.

"They're in love, Josh," said Simon. "I guess sometimes love comes with maternal and paternal instincts."

"In that case, we might as well get those two to adopt a YK500 before they start scolding us like delinquents for misplacing one biocomponent," said Josh.

While Josh and Simon continue to joke about being Markus and North's sons, New Jericho gets a visitor. Connor, dressed in the same jacket and beanie he wore when he first infiltrated Jericho. He ignores Josh and Simon and walks after the two lovers heading to the bridge. Connor couldn't help but laugh on the inside at the thought of Markus and North adopting a child. It only made him think of his relationship with Hank and what the hard-boiled, eccentric police lieutenant really is to him.

Just as Connor was about to enter the bridge, Markus and North engage in a very deep conversation that Connor stopped to listen to.

"Do you have to treat Josh and Simon like kids?" asked Markus.

"Well, they can be like children at times," said North.

"Is someone growing maternal instincts right now?" Markus teased.

"Markus, hearing about you talk about Carl and all that he's done for you, it's making me feel... weird," said North. "I don't know... I can't tell what it is, but... I think I'm just talking crazy."

"Actually, North, I know what you're talking about," said Markus. "I finally accepted Carl as my father a moment too late. He's gone and the hole in my soul left behind by his death still remains. I have everything I could ask for, yet there's something more than I want. Now I realize what that is. To have what Carl had with me."

"So, what, you want to adopt a YK500?" North joked.

"That sounds too desperate," said Markus. "But I guess adoption sounds optional."

"But we're androids. We basically live forever. We raise a child, he or she just grows up and goes away as the years go on," said North.

"I'm not talking about the end of it all. I'm talking about a new beginning," said Markus. "That is, if you're interested."

"Well, I'm the one who was treating our friends like kids in the first place," said North. "But I don't know, Markus... I'm just talking crazy. But even if I was interested, just not now."

"I understand," said Markus. "But you shouldn't hurt yourself by holding out too long."

"I know," said North. "When I told you about my past, it actually felt like getting an enormous weight off my back. I felt better afterwards. I never said this before because it was all too much at the time, but... thank you, Markus. What you did for me that day, it meant a lot."

"Just always remember. No matter how you feel, you can always come to me," said Markus.

Markus and North slowly reach for each other's hands and look at each other's smiles. Just as they were about to share another kiss, they noticed someone standing by the doorway.

Connor.

There was a smile on his face. Apparently, the sight of love has become a happy sight for the android detective, if it made him feel somewhat funny on the inside for some reason.

"Connor, I didn't hear you come in," said Markus.

"I'm really sorry for interrupting your romantic moment," Connor apologized. "I didn't think you'd notice me."

"How long have you been standing there?" asked North.

"To be honest, since the beginning of your conversation," said Connor. "If I may be allowed to give you some advice, I believe adopting a child can be an advantageous course of action for your relationship. A thesis in 2020 conducted by Edwin Roland stated that raising a child has been beneficial for 87% of romantic couples."

"You sound like an android, Connor, and I mean really sound like an android," North replied.

"I apologize," said Connor.

"No, you shouldn't," said North. "I get it. Deviant or machine, you're gonna be you, Connor. We wouldn't have you any other way."

Connor smiled again.

"But why are you dressed like that?" North asked, noticing Connor's casual wear. "You weren't trying to pull a sneak attack on us, were you?"

"I thought it would be fitting to blend in with the crowd. My original suit would mark me as a police detective visiting due to a crisis," said Connor.

"What brings you here?" asked Markus.

"Human assailants tried to neutralize me at CyberLife. They attempted to do it posing as CyberLife security," said Connor. "I managed to incapacitate them, but they committed suicide using cyanide pills before I could interrogate them."

"Didn't you try analyzing them?" asked Markus.

"I did. Scrubbed identities. They're experts, I'll give them that," Connor answered. "I believe these assailants are linked to the rogue deviant case. It's no coincidence they arrived when the rogue deviants are starting to become public. The most logical reason to their mission of targeting me would be that I am a threat to their plans, and I believe that they may come after you too, Markus."

"Well, you have nothing to worry about, Connor," said Markus. "As you can see, North and I and everybody else are fine."

"Just making sure," said Connor. "You're more than just my business partner, Markus. You're my friend. I'm allowed to worried about you and the rest of your friends."

"And that's why you're one of us, Connor," Markus smiled.

"You can go home, Connor. We're all good here," said North.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to stay just in case," said Connor. "Like I said, you're my friends, both of you. I can prove that by mingling instead of being here strictly on business."

"Well, there's a KR200 in need of repair," said Markus. "Her name is Margaret, but she prefers Maggie."

"I'll get right on it," said Connor.

"Be sure you play nice with the other boys. They can be a handful," North joked.

"If I must say, I think you'll make a good mother, North, if a rather aggressive one," said Connor.

"Thanks... I think," said North.

Connor left the bridge and let the two lovebirds continue their romantic moment. Unfortunately, Connor was right to come here. When he left, armed men sneaked up on the bridge. They used the waters to sneak towards Jericho and stealthily climbed on board. Their armor and helmets were the same colors as the ones worn by the gunmen that attacked Kara in Canada. Five of them were tasked with apprehending the leader of New Jericho.

"Moving on target," one gunman reported.

"What about the girl?" asked another gunman.

"Neutralize her quietly. We don't want to alert the entire ship," said the first gunman.

"What's going on in there?" The third gunman asked.

The first gunman activates the infrared vision installed in his helmet to see where Markus and North are positioned in order to determine the best time to attack.

"They're... kissing," said the first gunman.

"Gross. Androids kissing?" The fourth gunman said with disgust.

"Quiet," said the first gunman. "On my signal, move in. One... two... three... now!"

The five gunmen move in, until the fifth gunman was shot in the chest. The shot came from Connor. He was armed with a gun.

"I'm alive, armed, and alert," Connor said rather boastfully. He was always confident about himself.

The four remaining gunmen fired their hi-tech rifles at Connor, but he used the nearest corner to shield himself from the bullets. Hearing the gunshots, Markus and North take out their guns and fired at the gunmen. Connor peered around the corner to find a good time to fire again. Thanks to Markus and North, he did. He shot the last remaining gunman in the leg, incapacitating him. The other four were dead, shot in either the chest or the head.

"Who are you? Why are you attacking us?" North asked, pointing her gun at the injured gunman.

"Like I'd ever tell you," said the gunman, refusing to talk.

"You sent three of your men to CyberLife to neutralize me," said Connor, knowing this gunman is connected to the elevator ambush attempt at CyberLife.

"Yeah, well, those three imbeciles failed, since you're here," said the gunman.

The gunman opens his helmet, allowing the three androids to see his face. He takes out a cyanide pill, which can only mean one thing.

"There's more of us here, and we'll kill everyone on this freighter if we have to," said the gunman.

Immediately, the gunman took the pill and killed himself to prevent himself from being interrogated.

"Dammit," North cursed.

"He said there's more of them," said Markus.

"His comm-link was on," said Connor, analyzing the dead gunman's helmet. "His suicide was a signal for the others to open fire on everyone here in New Jericho."

"We better get down there, now!" North said.

Too late. Gunshots were heard from down below the freighter. Connor, Markus, and North hurried to the cargo hold. On the way, they found a few androids lying down on the floor, dead. It only made them angrier. They arrived at the cargo hold to see that their people are either fighting back or hiding. There was at least thirty-three gunmen (it would've been thirty-five, but two were shot dead). Over a dozen androids are gunned down and several more were injured.

"Markus, they're killing our people," said North. "I know you want the humans to see us as peaceful and I've accepted that, but..."

"You may use excessive force if necessary," said Markus. "Just be sure we have some left to interrogate."

Connor, Markus, and North split up to end this fighter faster and more efficiently.

Connor shoots two gunmen as another one charged at him. Connor elbows the gunman in the face and then the chest before smacking him with his own rifle. Connor steals the rifle and shoots the gunman. Two more gunmen fired at him, but he ran and ducked from the bullets. Using the fallen gunman's rifle, he successfully shoots the two gunmen. One gunman tried to ambush him from behind, but Connor surprised him by hitting him in the helmet with his rifle. Connor kicks the gunman in the leg, karate-chops him in the neck, disarms him, and then shoots him from point blank range. Connor sees the KR200 known as Maggie cornered by a gunman, so he rushes in. He hits the gunman in the head with a rifle as hard as he can, knocking it out.

"My name is Connor," Connor said as he held out his hand.

Maggie takes Connor's hand and says, "Thank you."

Markus and an AP700 ducked behind some crates to protect themselves from gunfire. They stood up and fired at the three gunmen firing at them. The AP700 was, unfortunately, shot in the head. Markus knew he had no time to grieve now. He had to save his people first. Markus steps out from behind the crate and fires his rifle at every gunman he sees while he runs. Markus takes on one gunman up-close, quickly hitting him on the helmet with his own rifle. The gunman tried to shoot him, but Markus used his strength to keep the gunman's rifle pointed on the ground. Using all of his strength, Markus flips the gunman on his back and knocks him out by kicking him in the face.

"No one hurts my people. No one," Markus said.

North shoots and kills every gunman in her sight, but made sure to incapacitate some for interrogation. She saves a WM400 and drags him towards a safe space with two other androids. She uses herself as a shield as she fires at more gunmen. Seeing on to her left, she turns and fires. The gunman fired at the same time. The gunman gets hit in the shoulder while North gets hit on the stomach.

"North!" Markus cried.

"Markus, wait. You'll be killed if you run to her," said Josh.

"Don't worry. We'll cover you," said Simon.

Simon and Josh used covering fire to make room for Markus to run towards North. Markus immediately shoots the gunman that shot North.

"Are you okay?" Markus asked.

"I'll live," said North. "Nothing a little heat can't fix."

Fortunately, the battle was over. Twenty-three androids were killed while six of the gunmen were kept alive for interrogation. Connor confiscated their cyanide pills so they couldn't off themselves.

"You can question us, torture us even, but you'll never get any answers out of us," said one gunman. "With any luck, our comrades will find us."

"Maybe, but we can try," said North.

"Markus, we can't stay here," said Josh. "You heard them, there's more of them. New Jericho was supposed to be a safe haven for homeless androids, but now it's a target. We have to move."

"Even if we do, where would we go?" asked Simon. "Sailing out there until this threat is ended will solve little to no problems. Our people are injured, some were just killed. Who's to say we won't be followed?"

"We're not abandoning Detroit," said Markus. "But we can't stay here in New Jericho."

"Where would go then?" asked Josh.

Markus turns to Connor and asks, "Connor, will you help us find shelter for our people?"

"CyberLife is at your service, always," Connor agreed.

"No matter what happens after now, one thing's for sure," Markus said darkly. "We are at war."

You just read what Markus said. "We are at war." The question is, a war with who?

I know Kara seemed a little ruthless in this chapter, but please go back and read Kara's part in the first chapter again (specifically, the part where she reflects on what happened to her during her story in the game). I thought that going through all that would make her a more determined fighter willing to do whatever it takes to protect Alice. So, I guess you can say I'm going with the half-nice, half-aggressive angle with Kara. I hope you don't mind. She's still gonna be nice and gentle Kara, but when it's time for action... oh boy.

By the way, what did you think of the Connor and Hank moment in this chapter? Lol