A/N: Yay, I'm actually sticking to my deadlines so far! So here is the next chapter as promised. Thank you guys so much for actually reading my stuff and being so kind in your reviews!

Stardust16: Thank you! You are always so thoughtful in your reviews. Btw, I read chapter two of Bionic Behind Bars and it was awesome!
Dirtkid123: I kept my promise and updated on time. Thank you so much for the review!
daphrose: Aww, thanks! And you're right, there is much more to Andy than meets the eye...
BasketballQueen: XD Okay, you officially win the prize for Reviewer of the Year. Thank you so much for making me laugh so hard! And a thank you to your new friend as well. Welcome to fanfiction, Katrine. ;)
girlface187: Glad you're enjoying it so much. I hope you enjoy the rest of the story as well. Thank you!
PurpleNicole531: Thanks! And things will be explained slowly throughout the story. There's a good reason for everything that is happening, it just won't be revealed quite yet.
Asori: Thank you so much! I'm glad you liked Andy; I was nervous how he'd come across.
ADayWithNoLaughterIsADayWasted: Hi! Thank you for reading my story and for leaving a review. It is really appreciated!

Chapter 3: Cover of Darkness

Chase fell back to sleep a few minutes later and didn't wake back up until Andy returned later on carrying a backpack full of supplies. He sat down on the floor in front of Chase and proudly displayed his findings. As it turned out, the kid was rather adept at foraging. The bag contained several dinner rolls, three bottles of water, a tourists' map of D.C., some miscellaneous bandages, and a sweatshirt and pair of jeans. These last two items were for Chase, whose clothes were looking rather battered after everything he'd been through. He changed into the new clothes and discarded the old ones in a nearby trash bin. This was the first time he noticed that he'd previously only been wearing casual pants and a tee-shirt.

So I wasn't on an official mission when all of this started. That still doesn't help me a lot.

The sweatshirt felt good against the cool air blowing into their hideout. Chase was used to the warm California climate and, even though it was only autumn, D.C. felt unusually chilly to him. He moved closer to the fire while eating one of the dinner rolls. He noticed that Andy wasn't eating anything and made a comment about it.

"Androids do not require the same forms of sustenance that humans do," Andy stated. "They are not- we are not programmed to function that way."

Chase looked at him curiously. "You don't like androids, do you?"

"To dislike what I am doesn't seem rational," Andy said slowly. His small face scrunched into a puzzled frown. "Yet I can't supress the feeling that I'd rather not be an android. You humans do not realize how fortunate you are to be sentient beings. That is not a gift to be taken so lightly. When I escaped from my inventor, I already knew quite a bit about humans. I decided to learn as much as I can about your species. That is why I came to this city. It is, after all, your capital city."

"So you're here to do a field study on humans?"

"Essentially, yes."

"Well, I hope you're not too disappointed with what you find out about us," Chase said. Leaning back against a box, he unfolded the map in front of him. He had Andy point out their current location and then consulted the map key to figure out a good route. He needed to make good time while staying off the main roads whenever possible. After plotting out a course to follow, Chase scanned the map onto his bionic chip so he could consult it when needed. He decided that, for now, it would be safest to disable any satellite connections. That would make it too easy for someone to track his whereabouts.

Andy watched him fold up the map before speaking. "You are leaving."

Chase nodded.

"Soon?"

"As soon as it gets dark."

"I would not recommend such a course of action given your current medical state," Andy said.

"Well, I don't exactly have much of a choice," Chase told him. "There are a lot of people after me and I don't even know why. Keeping one step ahead of my enemies - uh, pursuers - might at least give me a small advantage. Also, I'm hoping that revisiting some key places may trigger my memories. I need to figure out what's going on here and how I got mixed up in all of this."

"That makes sense," Andy said. "We depart at dusk?"

"Wait, hold on a minute," Chase said. "Who says you're coming along?"

"I wish to study humans. You are a human."

"Can't really argue with that, but-"

"And you may require further medical assistance," Andy pointed out quickly. "I am rather knowledgable in human first aid. That could be of use in your journey."

Technically, Chase also knew quite a bit about first aid, but he also knew it would be difficult to tend to his own injuries in the field - especially if he should suddenly lose consciousness on the side of a road somewhere. He didn't fully trust Andy yet, either, so keeping the mysterious little android under close watch might be a good idea; Chase had a strong feeling that there was something Andy was keeping secret. And, he hated to admit, it would be nice to have some company. Between his concern for his family and missing his siblings, he wasn't really in the mood to be alone. He didn't realize just how much he could miss Adam's dumb jokes and Bree's constant complaints. If only there was some way of knowing that they were all right.

They will be, if I complete this mission. I can stop this, but not from there.

He wasn't exactly sure where that stray thought came from, but it brought him a small amount of comfort. Yes, he would complete this mission and protect his family. And maybe along the way he would find some of the missing pieces.

"Okay, fine," Chase said at last. "You can come along. Just try not to get in the way too much, okay? And, remember, I'm leading this expedition."

"Certainly. When do we depart?"

"In about an hour." Chase glanced down at his watch and noticed for the first time that the screen was smashed in. Apparently, during all the fighting he'd been through, he'd also destroyed his new watch. Undoing the velro strap, he pulled it off and was about to throw it in the dumpster when Andy protested.

"You do not desire that anymore?"

"It's broken." Chase held it up for the android to look at. "I must have smashed the screen somehow."

Andy walked over and gently took the device in his hand. Tilting back his head, he looked up at Chase with a hopeful expression. "May I keep it?"

"It's broken," Chase repeated.

"It does not matter," Andy said. "Androids can keep track of time internally."

"Then why would you want it at all?!"

Andy strapped on the watch and took a step backwards. "It is what humans wear." With that, he walked back over to the doorway and sat down to keep guard.

With a slight smile of amusement, Chase settled back down on the floor and stretched out to take a nap. Now that his injuries had been properly dealt with, he didn't feel nearly as weak as before, but he was still a long way from being in top shape. Besides, he wanted to get as much sleep as possible before they left. He had no intention of sleeping tonight. Nighttime was the safest way for them to travel and Chase intended to use every second of the protective darkness. He needed answers, and he was going to get them.

The heat of the fire and the comfort of his fresh sweatshirt combined into a soothing warmth that soon had Chase drifting back to sleep. As the last bits of conscious thought left him, he could feel himself sinking into a confusing mix of dreams and memories.

The moon was being rather cooperative that night. It was staying mostly out of sight behind the thick cloud coverage, casting an eery darkness into the city streets below. Two figures took advantage of this lack of illumination and hurried through one alley after another. Their zig-zag pattern carried them in a particularly roundabout route, but they eventually arrived at their intended destination.

Standing on the roof of a nearby building, Chase first scanned the area for hostile forces before settling his gaze on the capitol building. He didn't like how well-lit this particular area was; there were too many lights that could help reveal their presence. Unfortunately, that couldn't be helped at the moment. With any luck they'd only have to be here a few minutes anyway. His attention shifted to the lawn in front of the massive building.

It all felt too familiar. Brief memories kept flashing through his brain, fighting to be let out. It aggravated the pain in his head to try sorting them out, so he instead relaxed his mind and let all the thoughts flow through at their own pace.

He can see the capitol building. There are important dignataries on the building's front steps. He's on the steps, too. No, he's on the lawn. There are people everywhere. They're scared. They're screaming. He has to move. Now. He's running through the crowd. He has a mission to complete. He can see the president on the steps now, shaking hands with the other dignataries. There is something wrong. Something missing...

Just like that, the memories evaporated into thin air. Chase groaned in frustration and anger. He was the smartest person alive, but he couldn't remember something as important as this. He slammed his good fist into the building's roof and turned away from the view of the capitol. Taking a deep breath, he tried to calm himself down.

Okay, I can still do this. I just need to find something else that will spark a memory.

"Chase," Andy said. "Not to cause undue alarm, but I hear a helicopter approaching."

Chase nodded. His bionic hearing had already picked up the sound a few minutes ago. "We'll have to get away from all these lights before they get close enough to see us." He glanced down at the android. "I don't suppose you could geoleap us somewhere safer?"

A momentary expression of fear passed over Andy's face before it settled back into that blank composure. "I cannot geoleap," he stated.

"You can't what?"

Andy let out a sigh. "I cannot geoleap," he repeated. "More accurately, I cannot geoleap without undesirable, and potentially frightening, consequences. If you wish to maintain your current molecular construction, then I recommend against an attempted geoleap. Do you have an alternate plan?"

"Give me a minute." Chase visually scanned the area around them and compared it to the map he had stored on his bionic chip. He wanted a route of escape that would keep them out of sight as long as possible. Right now, avoiding another fight with the FBI would probably be ideal. Locating a side street that looked promising, Chase motioned to Andy and ran for the edge of the roof. Aided by his molecular kinesis, he quickly scaled down the building's side and landed as quietly as possible on the pavement below. The climb put too much of a strain on his shoulder, but he'd have to worry about that later.

"Which direction?" Andy asked.

"This way," Chase whispered back.

They hurried through some shrubbery and emerged in the street beyond. Keeping to the shadows as much as possible, Chase led them from one street to the next. Ducking through alleys, behind garages, and even into a few drainage pipes, they gradually worked their way farther and farther from the capitol area. It wasn't long before the two found themselves once again in a run-down district of the city. At least they knew they were relatively safe from being spotted in this area; it was unlikely any of these people would call the police even if they did recognize them as fugitives. By the time they stopped to rest beside an old paint factory, even Andy looked a bit winded.

"How is your shoulder feeling?" he asked.

Chase tried to shrug away the question, but the movement sent a wave of pain piercing through the wound. Grimacing, he admitted, "Not good."

"You should not be so active this soon," Andy said.

"Can't be helped. We have to keep moving if we don't want them to catch us."

"What is our next plan?"

"We need to get back to Mission Creek," Chase said. He'd been giving it a lot of thought during their retreat from the capitol, and he finally decided it was the best option. "Maybe we can find my family and figure out what's been happening here. They'll at least be able to tell us where all the bionic people are."

Andy nodded. "I did a scan for bionic activity a few hours ago and only picked up your own chip. If your friends are out there, they are no longer transmitting bionic signals."

"Come on," Chase said, standing up slowly. "We'd better get moving."

The android jumped to his feet and looked out at the darkened city around them. He drew in a deep breath of the night air and turned to Chase with an excited gleam in his eye. "Which direction?"

Chase pointed to the west. "Towards home."

A/N: If you notice something a bit "off" about Chase, there's a good reason for that. It will be explored a bit more within the next few chapters.

NEXT CHAPTER: "Trouble" - The two fugitives attempt to escape D.C.
I'm hoping to post by Thursday or Friday, but most likely it will be on Friday.