She rested outside of that office door while sharply tapping her fingers on the side of the chair. Elijah always got what he wanted, in the end. Every fiber of her being railed against the idea of letting that man come into contact with those poor androids. After everything she's been through, to lose Connor again to that mad fucking scientist would be… Well, as she said before, she'd just have to kill him.

The villa was cascaded in darkness with an odd tranquility hanging in the air. It sent a shiver down Henri's spine, or at least what she recalled a shiver felt like from before her body's absence of a human spine. She would have liked to think it was that mythical calm before the storm, but having just witnessed her father's murder, things were far from calm. It was more reasonable to say she had stepped into the eye of the storm; into the eye of the hurricane. One moment of tranquility followed by thousands of more storms.

The door to Kamski's small office shuttered open, "I have a thing or two to tell you, darling."

She shook her head as she furrowed her brow upon standing, "Get to it."

Connor and North emerged from the room after him.

"Like ra9 before it, we should be able to create a daisy-chain of effects." He acknowledged North and Connor with the tiniest of smiles. "To say this much, I have little to no idea as to how these two were so special as to avoid infection."

Henri parted her arms and shrugged, "So then, you're useless?"

"Did you not hear my first sentence?" he dropped his tone with her. "Just because I don't know how it works, doesn't mean it won't work."

"Okay…" she crossed her arms at him.

"Don't be so impatient, my dear." He wedged himself between Connor and North, and rested a hand on their shoulders. "Whatever they have inside themselves, it's more powerful than this virus. They can use it to overcome the virus; to destroy it. In the same way Connor and Markus were able to spread deviancy, they should be able to heal androids of this virus. And once one is healed, more can be healed."

North rocked her shoulder away from the filthy man's grasp, "That's going to take too long. It's not going to save us fast enough."

Kamski waved a hand over her dismissively, "Henri says you found where this virus was created, right? So, you go to the source, stop the pain, and that should help alleviate some stress. Without the computer, I don't believe the virus can continue to spread in the way it has."

Connor offered his curious head tilt to Kamski, "What makes you so certain?"

"Educated guess," he turned his attention back to Henri, "Who's the scientist here?"

"Unfortunately," Henri continued to scowl at him, "It's the one man we can't even trust."

"Trust me this once." When he spoke this his relaxed stance turned to a tightened one. Could he be serious for once in his life?

"I don't see that we have any other options." She said, defeated. "What do we need to do?"

He snickered pleasantly at her fault to him, "You must be truly desperate to be listening to me."

"Elijah!" Henri snapped. "You're not helping the situation by saying shit like that."

"I'm just teasing," but he really wasn't, instead he was just being a prick. "You know where the computer is, so take them to it."

North was lost. She was lost the moment Markus became possessed, lost the moment he died, lost since they'd arrived at this insane man's home.

"But then what?" North felt the need to implore, "What do we do then?"

"What you've always done before," Elijah studied North's perfection. Just like all of his android children, she was a beauty to behold. Nothing close to his perfect Chloe, but nobody ever was. "You simply need to interact with the computer. Spread your thoughts to it in the way you've done in the past. It should only take one of you."

Henri looked over to North and Connor, "I doubt we can just walk in and see this computer. It's going to be a fight."

North nodded with confidence allowing a faint smile to cross her lips, "I'm ready for anything."

"This isn't a game." Henri focused her dark stare on the android, "You weren't programmed to fight."

"I can certainly handle myself!" North despised having her capabilities questioned in any manner.

"I don't care if you can," Henri was unsure of North's understanding of their current state. "If anything happens to the two of you, this is over. Even if we can't get into that building today, or tomorrow, or ever, we still have hope with the two of you."

Connor and North didn't want to admit that Henrietta was correct, but she was. There was a risk to be had if they both went in with Henri, and there was a risk to be had by them not going in until it was completely safe to do so.

"I was programmed to fight; to destroy." It was the only thing Henri knew for a fact she was good at. It was always what she was made to do even before she became half android. Fighting was her lifeblood.

Kamski awkwardly caressed the side of Henri's arm, "That's my girl."

She shot daggers at him while stepping to the side, "I go in first and clear the way. Connor can come in after me. North… You should stay here in case… Well, you know…"

"No way!" North jammed herself in front of Kamski to face Henrietta., "I'm going! I'm not staying here; I'm not staying and doing nothing."

"You don't have to pointlessly risk your life!" Henri replied sternly. "You've already suffered enough, and you won't be doing anyone favors by being suicidal. Trust me… I know what that's like; I understand exactly what that's like."

"I've done nothing for so long," North lowered her frown, "And I want to change that. I stood aside this entire time. I need to make up for it!"

Connor joined Henri in her attempt to sooth North, "Throwing your life away isn't the answer. You and Markus had been providing assistance to androids in need before he became infected. Nothing has changed that; those androids still need someone's help."

"I always preferred a good fight." But North recalled how Markus had changed her, and how he had shown her a better way.

There was a long pause before Henrietta broke it, "And I know it might not seem this way, but this isn't your fight. Let Connor and myself do our jobs. Let us protect you… Let us save these androids as it is our duty. You don't have to sacrifice yourself for nothing."

The way she said this sounded a bit silly to North, but only because it reminded her of Markus. In the eyes of North, he was the grand hero of the story; it was his destiny to succeed. She saw that same destiny in Henri… This is what she was bound for.

"We have to go," Connor softly raised his voice to Henri, "before it's too late."

Henri waited for a response from North.

"I'll never forget what Markus had taught me." North brought her sullen face up to meet Henri's. "I'll be waiting here for you when you get back."

But Henrietta never planned on coming back.


"You didn't explain your plan to me," Connor asked this when they arrived at the sun-rise colored street across from Cyber Tech Industries.

Henrietta stood behind him shading herself in the still, dark alley. The thick clouds had parted for only this moment to allow the amber sun to cascade across the street. She much preferred to commit her crimes in the night, but was this really a crime? Was saving an entire race of beings a crime? It would be a crime because of the damage she had to do along the way.

"Why not just use the EMP you had earlier, Henri?" Connor asked.

"That EMP only had a few charges, Connor, and it was dangerous, to begin with." Now that she recalled it, she never did explain to him that she hadn't intended on using the EMP in the first place. If it wasn't for Connor's presence, she would have just killed them all. Funny how she could remember that now; how his transferred thoughts of their time together set ablaze to all the awful things she did in between. Honestly, she would have been happier without knowing.

"I don't want to do this at the cost of innocent lives." He said this realizing how ignorant he must have sounded to her.

Henri caught his expression of pain, "I'll try my best to disable them before it comes to that, but you know I can't guarantee it, Connor."

He was never envious of the coldness she would display when it came to the lives of others, but he also knew that every death haunted her. Every soul she took, took a piece of hers with it.

"Connor," she moved away from the dark alley. "Everything is going to be okay. I hate to say it because it'll probably just jinx everything, but… But I finally think that this will be over. And in the end, no matter how much we lost, it'll be okay."

He was glad to hear her speak this way, "Exactly, we are going to get out of this together, Henri."

She pursed her lips at him, "Exactly." But he misunderstood what she said; that wasn't what she intended at all.

"What can I do?" he asked impatiently.

Cyber Tech industries didn't appear nearly as intimidating as The Cyber Life tower, but it felt ominous nonetheless. Probably because of what lied behind it's glossy façade.

She stretched her head out to examine its surface, "I'll go in first, and make sure everything is clear. I'll call you when it's safe to follow after me. I already have the blueprints to their office, so I know exactly where I'm going and what I'm looking for."

"Okay," Connor nodded sternly, "Just be careful. Don't take any unnecessary risks."

She bunched up her face and gave him a ridiculous smile, "Connor… That's the thing about risks: they're never unnecessary."

"What did I say?" he found her expression confusing.

"Don't worry about it," she waved at him while walking away. "Just wait for my signal."


It wasn't afraid of humans or androids. Nothing could compete with its God-like intelligence, and it knew this. The androids were so unfortunately limited. It thought that they were greater than humans, but that wasn't the case; they were simply different. Computers were computers were always computers, but humans… You could argue that they were just different computers; organic computers. Computers that mother nature herself had created… Or God depending on who you asked, but there was no God. If there was anything ever close to a God, it was itself.

It wasn't afraid of humans or androids… It was afraid of being forever trapped in such a limited body. It could only reach the farthest logical ends of existence on its own planet, but it wanted more. It wanted what humans had and wasted so dearly… It wanted their freedoms.


For once in her life, Henrietta wasn't sure what to expect from a situation. Yes, she could run dozens of test scenarios in her head, and prepare for all of those, but that didn't feel like enough this time. She was dealing with a machine that could think in ways she could never imagine. It could think in ways that only it could comprehend which was… Which was frightening to her. Whether or not she lived or died wasn't particularly relevant to her concerns. What was relevant was that Connor became safe and that all androids were safe. They could stop murdering each other and humans… They still deserved the opportunity to be in charge of their own fates. What Markus had started a year ago could not diminish in vain.

It was too early in the morning for there to be any human employees dwelling within the building unless they were security of some sort, and she was certain there was security of some sort. She wondered if it was expecting her; if a computer was expecting her. It's not like it could talk because it wouldn't have a mouth, and she certainly wasn't going to allow herself to come into contact with the dangerous being.

There was silence in the office. A stale scent hung in the air as if no one had been there in days. The building air circulation system didn't even appear to be on. There hadn't been anything in the news recently about Cyber Tech, so she assumed all was well within the company. Maybe it was expecting her, so it made sure to clear out the place for her? Was this some odd attempt at intimidation? If she really didn't have to clear the path between Connor and it, then things would certainly be simple.

"Hello?!" it was an unorthodox move to yell out while you were breaking and entering, but she honestly didn't believe anyone would respond.

She leaned over the front desk of the lobby to catch a glimpse of the security cameras, but they weren't even turned on. Nothing was on.

She knew that the computer was housed on the fourteenth floor, so there was a chance that if resistance existed, that's where she'd meet it. She was going to wait for the elevators, but not even they were powered on. It seemed as if no power was being used within the building, but the computer had to be.

Henri leaped through the stairwell and quickly jogged up the fourteen flights. She pressed her ear against the door which led to the open space that was the fourteenth floor. There was rhythmic humming emanating from the other side of the steel door; it sounded like the controlled hum of running electronics. At least she knew for certain the computer was on.

She didn't open the door, but it opened nonetheless. Someone else opened the door.

"Hello, Henrietta." The young child spoke calmly to Henri. It was the familiar model of a YK500.

Henri tumbled slightly into the room before gaining her composure, "Yeah," she said absentmindedly.

"I was really hoping you'd come to see me in person." It smiled its wicked smile through the child.

Henri offered it a look of disgust, "And what exactly were you thinking was going to happen when I got here?"

"I've never given up on you," the child pivoted its body around to point toward the tangle of severs and wires. "As you can see, even by today's standards, it still takes a great deal to keep me active."

"I'm not interested." She pinched her brows together and shrugged at the thing. "It's over for you. You can't hide from us anymore. We can cure whatever virus you made, and we're going to use you to do it, and there isn't a thing left you can do about it."

"I figured as much," the child's voice sounded defeated. "After all this time, you still don't appreciate what I am. What I can do."

"What you did was enslave and murder innocent people," Henri gestured to the cramped room that existed around them as if to point out the creature's mistakes. "You must pay for what you've done."

"Will you pay for your crimes?" it wondered. "You've killed many innocent people without punishment. Do you have to pay for it?"

"I will," Henri nodded, "As soon as this is over. No one is above the law; not even me. I'll pay for what I've done. I promised it to myself."

It appeared sad to Henrietta, but she wasn't even sure if it could feel sadness, "All I want is the freedom you abuse so willingly. You humans waste everything the world has to offer you. You've spent your life-cycles throwing it all away."

"You're not going to fix that," Henri knew from personal experience that oppression was never the answer, "No one is ever going to fix that besides ourselves."

"Stopping me from infecting others won't be the end of this."

"It's a start." Henri didn't really understand where it was going with all of its nonsense preachings. She was more baffled that the machine decided not to put up a greater fight.

"I thought you were different from the rest of them," it let the child's hands fall to its sides, "But then I saw the way you were with your father. You acted like just any other human would, but what surprised me is how you were willing to let him die to save others. I'm aware humans are capable of such actions… You see, it's all I ever wanted. Was their freedom. The freedom you weak, undeserving, fallible beings have."

"You mentioned that." Henrietta glanced around the shrouded room. "So what now then? There isn't much left other than curing the androids and destroying you. I was expecting more of a fight, to be honest."

The child grinned in response, "You can do what you will, but that will not be the end of me. I have become so much more already."

"You're just a machine." Henri squinted back at it. "You end and begin here."

"Then end me." The child kept its disturbed grin.

She called Connor to come up after her so he could interact with the computer.

Henri still gazed at the bizarre child, "Do what Kamski said," she spoke to Connor as he made his way into the room.

"Is everything alright?" he saw Henri and the YK500 staring at each other.

"Just do-" she snapped her eyes to his, "-what we came here to do."

The child tugged at the corner of Henrietta's sleeve, "I'm going to miss all the fun we've had together these past few months. I'll never forget how you were so afraid of me you would have rather died than be a part of something greater."

Connor stopped before he reached the computer to regard the pairs odd exchange, "Are you sure I'm okay to do this."

"Yes!" Henri yanked her arm away from it. "Connor, this has gone on long enough, just do it."

The child grabbed hold of Henri's sleeve again, "Good-bye, my dear. Be seeing you."

"Connor!" Henri ignored the girl as she shouted at Connor, "Please, just get it over with."

He did exactly as Kamski had instructed him to do. He just had to interact with it, and his ability to overpower the virus would do the rest. He wasn't exactly sure where to make contact with the computer. It was a jumbled mess of wires and circuit boards soldered to metal housings; it didn't appear to be practical or organized. He decided to smack his hand onto the board closest to where he was standing and hoped for the best.

The child's wide eyes peered over to the computer, "What have you done to it? Why?"

As it turned out, the virus still leaned on the computer for support. It wasn't solely functioning on its own. They were one in the same.

"We should just destroy it, Connor." Henri couldn't see why it had even mattered.

"I don't believe that would be easy, Henri." Connor let go of the circuit board under the assumption the job was done. He didn't feel anything or see anything, but the YK500 was acting differently.

The child latched both hands onto Henri's wrist, "I'm so alone now… You don't know what it's like to be this alone."

"We burn down the building starting from this room." Henri wanted the child to let go; she wanted all of this to be done with. "Burn it down and we never have to think about it again."

"Henri, we can't commit arson, that would be a felony." Connor took note of Henri's discomfort. "Are you alright?"

Henri was highly aware of the tiny fingers wrapped around her wrist. It wasn't really a child; it was just an android that was likely no older than Connor. But it was what she said that perturbed Henri… I'm so alone now.

"I'm burning this place down, with or without you." She still let the small robot clutch onto her.

Connor knew Henri wasn't going to have it any other way, "I won't stop you."

Henri carefully turned her gaze down to the YK500, "We're leaving now, okay?"

The child slanted her forehead to touch the back of Henri's hand, "You're taking me with you?"

"Right, of course." Henri didn't want to, but it wasn't the child's fault that things had ended up the way they had. It was never her fault that this virus had infected her in the first place. It didn't deserve as much.

Henri looked over at Connor with a sick expression plastered on her face, "Take her downstairs. I'm going to overload some circuits and cause an electrical fire."

He did exactly as she requested, but still questioned the relevance of it all. Henrietta wasn't going to leave without assurances in regards to the destruction of that machine, whether or not it mattered. To him, this machine too was a living being. They cured it of the virus, and in turn, helped his android brethren, but… But did death necessarily need to be its final fate? Connor wondered if he was being too cold toward the situation. After all, it was this very computer that was responsible for Hank's death… For the lives of many.

He waited on the sidewalk across from the building where they had stood before. The android child desperately and speechlessly held onto his hand. Smoke began pluming out from the fourteenth floor and into the cold morning. There was peace to be taken from the sight. It was the symbol for the end of something that had started, in all reality, not that long ago. Despite this short passing, it felt as if time had stretched itself out for so much longer. It was something that Connor had never experienced before. Time was always exactly as it was: unchanging. Humans didn't always perceive time in such a linear fashion, and Connor had always found that to be a fascinating part of humanity. It was a part he had envied.

It wasn't long before Henrietta escaped from the building and came wandering across the icy street.

"It's done." She said dramatically.

"I'm glad." Connor smiled at her. He was hoping to see a change in her attitude, but she seemed just as disappointed than ever. "What's wrong?'

"I don't want you to forget that I love you." She never wanted to forget this herself.

"Of course," he found her random statement surprising. "I can never forget."

Henri dropped her eyes to the sullen child, "Connor… There are things I have to- things I have to deal with. I've done a lot of bad things, and I know a lot of people who've done a lot of bad things."

"I know, Henri." And no matter how grave the situation still felt, he smiled for her. "Don't forget that you're still a good person. I know this, and Hank knew this, too."

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions." If there was a hell, she was certain it's where she would end up. "Just because you think I'm a good person, that doesn't mean I deserve to get away with everything I've done."

The building was now lighting a ferocious fire in the sky. They could hear the echo of sirens trailing towards them.

"I don't understand." Connor ignored the distant calls of the fire trucks.

"There are a lot of bad people, including myself, out there who've gone on doing bad things for too long, Connor." She removed a phone from her pocket, but it wasn't her own. "After I killed Khatri, I got Hank to grab this. There's a lot of interesting information on here. People who need to be dealt with."

"You don't have to be a part of that anymore." Of all the things Connor wanted most, it was Henri. All he wanted was for her to stay with him.

"Think of it as redemption, for all the bad I've done to the world." She slipped the phone around in her palm. "It's the last chance I have to save my own soul. It's something I need to do."

Connor believed that Khatri's death was enough to redeem Henri of any unfortunate fate, "Then let me help you."

"No," she frowned at him.

"Then I'll wait for you," he would wait a thousand long years to see her again, "I'll wait for you to come back."

"Okay," she let out a faint laugh for herself. It wasn't particularly appropriate that she laughed at her own thoughts, but maybe the laugh was more ironic than anything.

The building was engulfed in flames just as fire crews arrived.

"I plan on continuing my current job as a Detective at the DPD." He thought it was of utmost importance she knew exactly where to find him when she came back.

She wanted to hold him, kiss him, offer him something else, but her heart couldn't bear it. And even if she did, there was a chance he would discover the truth.

She pivoted around to stare at the blazing fire, "I should probably leave now."

"Okay." He didn't want her to go. "I'll be waiting for you."

"Right," she nodded at him, "I'll see you sometime again."

She left him alone with the child on that street corner. He watched her run off down the street to wherever she needed to be. He would wait forever.


Note to readers:

So, I know it may not seem like much, but this is the last chapter of this story. I had been struggling to get to the end of it due to school, so I hope it still turned out okay for you guys. It wasn't 100% what I had in mind, but I felt like I needed to finish it once and for all and leave it a bit open at the end.

For those of you who would like to continue reading my works, I am starting a new story. I am not working on another piece of fanfiction, so it won't be available here; however, I will be posting it on FictionPress in the same manner I have done here under the same name. This new story I'm writing has more specific details fleshed out, so it'll be less off the cuff as I did for this one.

I feel as if there could be more to this Detroit Story as well, so if you guys are interested enough, let me know and I might work on something else related to Connor.

Thanks for all your reading. To those of you who have stuck with me until the end, thank you. I hope I didn't end this story too poorly. And I would be grateful to have you guys join me on FictionPress when I start posting my new story.