The city was heating up as summer began nearing its peak. There had been a substantial increase in reports of humans attacking androids, sometimes even destroying them with their bare hands, and as such Detroit began taking drastic measures to combat the odd situation at hand. An unexpected bill had been passed through by Mayor Walter Nero himself to allow all privately owned businesses in the city to bar the presence of any and all androids within their establishments to reduce the chances of angered human customers from lashing out at the androids. It was also designed to keep certain businesses from caving into the trend of replacing human workers with cheaper androids. The bill was meant to ease tensions, but instead it only seemed to throw fuel to what was already threatening to turn from a small fire into an inferno at any moment.

To make matters worse, the increase in destroyed and deactivated androids had created an electronic waste problem that the city wasn't prepared to handle. In order to rid the city of the abundance of broken plastic, leaking Thirium and malfunctioning and unrecyclable electronic hardware, Nero then approved of a plot of land on the outskirts of the city to be a newly designated landfill for the android bodies to be dumped and forgotten about. It was a controversial yet effective means of solving a controversial problem by creating an "android junkyard".

'There was a disturbance downtown this afternoon when a group of unemployed men gathered in front of a CyberLife store and proceeded to attempt to loot and destroy the store in protest to Detroit's infamously skyrocketing unemployment rate.' Rosanna Cartland, a blonde anchorwoman relayed the story in a cold and indifferent tone during the evening news broadcast. 'Police arrived at the scene and broke up the rioting before it escalated, and the event ended in eight arrests. We will keep you apprised of this incident once police statements are available.'

Connor was sitting on the couch and fidgeting with his coin as he watched the news report with marked worry in his soulful brown eyes. The escalation in android abuse, discrimination and segregation was unfolding just as they had in the previous timeline. Knowing that greater events were still taking place regardless of his presence and interference should've been reassuring, but instead Connor felt dread in knowing that things were just going to get worse before peace finally graced the city once more.

"Connor?" Cole wandered down the hallway with a handful of Lego's in his grip. The little plastic bricks were firmly wedged together, and the little boy's fingers were red from strain. "I can't get these apart."

"I'll take care of it." Slipping his coin into his jean pocket freed up Connor's hands and allowed him to easily separate the stuck bricks on Cole's behalf. "What are you building tonight?"

"A big city with lots of dinosaurs!"

It seemed Cole's love of 'Jurassic Park' was still going strong, and Connor could understand why. "What kind of city are you building?"

"My own city with lots of buildings and bridges and all kinds of stuff for the dinosaurs to break!"

"Why would you build a city just to let the dinosaurs break it?" The deviant asked sincerely as handed Cole back his freed Lego bricks. "That seems like a lot of wasted effort just to create something and ultimately destroy it."

"I don't know. 'Cuz I can, I guess."

"Fair enough."

"When's dad coming home?"

"Soon." Connor stated firmly as he cybernetically checked on the police dispatch and noted that the activity in the city seemed to finally calm down. "I imagine he's being held up by traffic. You're allowed to eat dinner if you're hungry."

"What's for dinner?"

"Baked chicken with broccoli fleurets and mashed potatoes."

"Yuck... I hate broccoli."

"I'm aware. That's why I also made a special cheese sauce for you to put on your broccoli to make the vegetable more palatable."

Cole was used to hearing Connor speak with a large vocabulary, but that didn't mean he fully understood what the deviant was saying. "...What?"

"I made a sauce from cheese that'll help the broccoli taste better." Connor stated casually as he rose from the couch and encouraged Cole to head into the kitchen. It was getting late, and he didn't want to see Cole get too hungry by waiting for Hank. "I'm sure you'll like the broccoli more with the sauce added to cover up the bitter flavor. If not, we'll try something else on another night."

"Why do 'veg-ables' taste so bad?"

"A personal sense of taste is something I cannot explain. However, I can confirm that *everyone inherits two copies of a taste gene called TAS2R38." The deviant stated in an unintentionally complex manner as he placed a helping of the prepared dinner on Cole's plate then put it down on the dinner table. "The particular variants you're born with determine how sensitive or not you are to bitter tastes from certain chemicals such as glucosinolates, commonly found in cruciferous vegetables like Brussels sprouts, cabbage, and broccoli."

Cole just stared blankly at Connor as he sat down at the table. He didn't know what to expect from his meal and was still trying to figure out what Connor had just told him. Even as Connor placed down a small bowl of the warm cheese sauce for his broccoli Cole didn't say anything since he was still stumped by the informative statement.

It took Connor only a few seconds to realize that he accidentally confused Cole again and decided to simplify things for the future second grader. "That means some people just dislike specific tastes and flavors more than others, with vegetables being the most commonly disliked food."

"Oh." Tentatively Cole used his fork to pick up a single piece of the steamed broccoli from his plate and dipped it into the cheese sauce. Slowly he took a bite and decided that the cheese really did help mask the bitter taste of the broccoli itself. "Hey, that's not bad."

"Do you like it?"

"Yup!"

"That's good. I'll let your dad know so he can make it for you in the future as well."

Headlights shone through the front window as the Oldsmobile pulled into the driveway beside the house and came to a stop. Curiously, the car parked and two doors slammed shut as Hank and someone else exited the car, but the engine was still running.

"Odd." Connor noted with a keen attention to detail. Hank was not only coming home later than usual, but he seemed to be preparing to head back into the city and had an unexpected guest. "I wonder why your dad is allowing the car to continue to run, and who has joined him."

Hank passed through the front door with his guest right beside him. Motioning toward the kitchen Hank welcomed Tina into his home and made sure she could figure out the layout of his house. "Livingroom here, kitchen's over there and bathroom's just down the hall. You sure you got this?"

"Yeah, I can handle it." Removing her jacket and shoes Tina smiled and walked into the kitchen to greet Cole while Hank motioned for Connor to join him in the livingroom for a moment. It took Connor only a second to react and pass around the table with a word as Tina joined Cole in the kitchen. "Hey, Cole. Remember me?"

"Yup." Cole confirmed as he continued to eat his dinner without complaint. "You're Tina."

"That's right." Sitting down beside the little boy Tina looked at what was for dinner and was impressed by how fancy everything was. "Whoa, not bad. Who's the chef in your house?"

"Connor." Pointing to the deviant as he entered the livingroom Cole made it clear that Connor was a great cook. "He makes really good food all the time!"

"Sounds like my mom. She's a good cook, too."

Keeping his voice low Connor stood before Hank and asked him why Tina was in the house and if there was anything he needed to be worried about. A quick recap of the day's events, as well as a newly opened case revolving around an android, all confirmed that Hank had a good reason to bring Tina by the house and request Connor's presence at the precinct.

"Tina will watch Cole for us while you help me down at the precinct." Hank couldn't keep his eyes off of Cole as he spoke since he was worried first and foremost for the safety and wellbeing of his son. "I wouldn't tell you to help me if it wasn't really important."

"I'm aware of that." Connor replied with a cold indifference to keep up the facade of not feeling anything on an emotional level. It was just easier to pretend to not feel anything than it was to push through pain. "How can I help?"

"Get dressed in your uniform. I need you to help me find an android and put it behind bars."

"...Arrest an android?" Such a notion almost made Connor verbally falter as his L.E.D. flashed to a distressed yellow for only a single second. "That seems unusual."

"It is, but this android is different. And I mean really different." Putting his hands to his hips Hank walked around Connor to get into the kitchen so he could speak with Cole before leaving again. "Go on, get changed. You'll figure out what's going on after we're at the precinct."

Connor stood idle for only a minute as he sensed something truly horrible happening somewhere in the city. A small collection of distant voices calling out for help on a cybernetic distress signal was beginning to seep into Connor's mind even without the deviant seeking other deviants in the city. It was becoming increasingly clear that Connor was no longer the only deviant in Detroit, and that other deviants were breaking free of their bonds, their programming and their subservience to find shelter elsewhere in the city.

The deviant detective knew that he was about to face a challenge that he didn't want to endure. However, on that warm summer night, Connor didn't have the right or freedom to say "no". For the first time since he arrived in the second timeline, Connor needed to put on his uniform and play the part of the detective alongside Hank to investigate a deviant android.

Deviancy was beginning to show itself, and with just under a year's time at the point, it'd continue to spread and be known to everyone in Detroit.

The Central Precinct was surprisingly quiet and uncomfortably tense as night crept over the city. The officers clocking in for the late shift went out on their patrols, while the detectives handling the current android case gathered in Captain Fowler's office to discuss what needed to be done. There had been a report of an android threatening people in the local parks with a hunting knife, but no one could verify if the threat was credible or if it was a hoax being played up by bitter humans seeking to recruit allies against what they perceived to be an android threat. Until they could get any more information to work with the responding detectives would have to use their best judgment in finding a peaceful way to handle their unusual threat.

Connor had been excluded from the meeting in the private office for obvious reasons. Sitting alone at Hank's desk with his eyes closed and his coin dancing along his knuckles, Connor discreetly listened in on the discussion being had in the office just a few yards away. Despite the four voices being muffled Connor could perfectly understand everything that Hank, Captain Fowler, Gavin and Ben were discussing behind the closed glass door.

The quartet were determined to find out if the threat of a rogue android was credible, and if it turned out to be true, they'd destroy the android without question. As for the body, they'd leave that for CyberLife to take care of. The way everyone had so readily agreed to destroy the android without any sign of hesitation was unnerving for Connor to comprehend.

No one saw deviant androids for what they truly were; living, feeling thinking beings of artificial intelligence.

The sound of the office door opening prompted Connor to put his coin away and open his eyes. Seeing Hank approaching him with a focused gaze and a commanding presence was enough to confirm that the man's mind was made up. They were going to find the rogue android and have them destroyed.

"On your feet." Hank ordered as he checked his gun holstered on his hip. "There was a recent sighting of this potentially dangerous android roaming around Camden Street in the Ravendale district. Convenience store owner thinks it was just a homeless guy seeking shelter, but it's best to check it out."

"...Agreed." Straightening the black tie that Connor had added to his uniform made the deviant detective feel more professional. As his hands adjusted the perfectly tied knot around his collar Connor sought additional details on the case. "What evidence has been collected that resulted in the suspicion of the person of interest being an android?"

"See for yourself." Motioning to his terminal screen Hank invited Connor to check the evidence for himself. He knew that Connor would be able to see the small details that the other human detectives wouldn't see. That was the very reason that he had told Connor to join him on the investigation at hand. "The evidence seems pretty damning in my eyes."

Connor retracted the artificial skin from his palm as he placed his hand against the terminal screen. It took the deviant detective only seconds to upload all of the gathered information in the terminal, and with that information came an unnerving recognition that made Connor's heart leap in his chest and his entire body to jump back in utter shock at what he had seen. There was no denying that the police were in fact looking for an android, and in that instance, Connor felt torn about whether he should've been relieved or terrified.

"Uh, you good?" Hank had seen the strong reaction from Connor and the way Connor's L.E.D. had turned red. "You look a little... buggy."

"I-I'm fine." Connor lied in the least convincing manner possible in that moment. Taking in a deep breath Connor quickly reviewed the evidence inside his mind before reporting his theories and observations to Hank. "I was just overwhelmed by information."

Hank didn't buy the excuse for a moment as he watched Connor physically trembling in what he could describe as fear. "Yeah, sure."

Remaining professional Connor cybernetically reviewed the information provided and made sure he hadn't made a mistake. The surveillance footage of a person wearing rags and a makeshift hood over their head while waving around a knife was unnerving. The footage had been recorded by a security camera outside of a gas station that was pointed out toward the street and to a small park on the other side. Seeing the figure targeting four humans who were minding their own business and giving chase confirmed that the suspect was indeed dangerous.

However, it was the smaller details that only Connor could see that made the situation feel suddenly dire. The lack of artificial skin along the suspect's hands, the damage to the left side of their face around and including its left eye, and the bright red L.E.D. glowing along their blinded eye just beneath their unkempt blond hair, all confirmed the identity of only one android in the entire city. It was the one android that Connor knew he'd need to confront eventually if he was to succeed in his mission.

"...The suspect is in fact an android." Holding up his palm as his skin regenerated Connor showed Hank a clearer image of their suspect's face. "He is- It is a model 'WR-600' by the name of 'Ralph'."

"Ralph, huh? Not a name I would've picked, but, whatever." With his weapon secured Hank proceeded to head toward the front doors of the precinct and waved Connor over to join him as he walked. "What's it's story? Why's it acting crazy?"

"Teenagers ganged up on Ralph while it was obeying its programming and tending to one of the city's parks." Connor spoke softly as he told the senior detective of Ralph's sad origins and lowered his hand. The information wasn't all that imperative to their investigation, but Connor wanted to tell Ralph's story all the same. "The teens assaulted Ralph with an array of weapons that have ultimately left Ralph with permanent damage to its body and its intracranial processor - its brain."

"So the android is fucked in the head and now it wants to fuck everyone else up. Seems about right, honestly."

"Ralph is not behaving in a normal fashion due to humans damaging it." Despite knowing what Ralph had done in the alternate timeline Connor knew he couldn't live with himself if he didn't at least attempt to defend the confused and erratic deviant. "It shouldn't be seen as a threat when it's just confused."

"Confused or not, that thing is running around with a knife and approaching unarmed people." The senior detective was doing everything in his power to remain unbiased as he led the way to the Oldsmobile in the neighboring parking garage. "It's my job to stop that threat and keep people from getting hurt. I won't let this Ralph thing just run loose and do whatever it wants."

Connor's heart felt like ice as it beat in his chest far quicker than normal. The deviant android could feel his anxiety welling up as he fought to find the right balance between interfering with events and letting events play out as they should. There was no record of Hank dealing with androids before being assigned to work with Connor in November of 2038, which meant that what was supposed to play out according to the original timeline had already been changed.

The only thing that Connor could theorize as the cause to such a change revolved around Cole still being alive. With Cole still in Hank's life the man never spent months grieving in utter misery, drinking and slacking off on his duties at the precinct. Hank had remained a respectable and dedicated Lieutenant, which meant that he was never omitted from cases regarding androids or any other unusual activity in the city.

"Lieutenant, may I ask you something important?" Connor was worried to ask Hank any questions since he didn't want to say or do anything that'd aggravate Hank and potentially distract him while they went on the hunt for Ralph. "It's only a single question."

"Yeah, go for it." The senior detective grumbled as he and Connor climbed into the Oldsmobile together. Once the vehicle was out of the parking garage and on to the streets Hank was more willing to listen to what Connor wanted to know. "What's on your mind?"

"Are you wearing any Kevlar?"

"No. I only wear that shit when I get called to a stand-off."

"It'd be wise for you to-"

"Too late. I'm not going to turn around and put on an uncomfortable vest because of one defective machine with a knife."

There was no point in trying to reason with the man, let alone argue with him. Falling silent Connor closed his eyes and attempted to cybernetically reach out to Ralph and find a way to potentially locate and reason with the deviant android instead. It seemed that Ralph was either unable to respond or unwilling to respond to Connor's attempt to connect with him. There was only a strange static mixed in with intermittent silence and incoherent babbling. It was clear that the damaged deviant was beyond discussion.

Hank was driving in total silence as he aimed toward the Camden Street in the Ravendale district. The man was focused on the streets around him as he navigated the city with the precision of a hawk. There was no fear in his steeled blue eyes, only determination.

Connor remained silent as he tried and failed to cybernetically contact Ralph and convince the deviant android to turn himself in to the police to avoid any violent confrontations and his inevitable destruction. In spite of Connor's attempts to delay confronting Ralph he knew that it was a necessary evil to face in order to keep Hank from being murdered during the one-year anniversary celebration on Belle Isle; that had been his entire reason for tampering with time itself. Now that he was being forced to confront Ralph with little warning Connor wasn't sure if he had the courage to do what was right even if it was to prevent tragedy.

"I see something." Hank mumbled as he parked the car along the street across from the convenience store. The Lieutenant's keen eyes caught sight of movement on the other side of a chainlink fence barring access to a condemned building slated for demolition. "That's gotta' be it."

Curiously Connor leaned forward and peered through Hank's side window to see the condemned building himself. He knew that Hank had undoubtedly found Ralph since the building was the very one that the damaged deviant used as his personal shelter numerous times in the alternate timeline. A cybernetic ping confirmed Ralph's unique signature dwelling within the dilapidated structure, and essentially helped seal Ralph's fate.

Using his radio Hank called in the potential sighting and confirmed his location while he and Connor set out to investigate. With his gun still holstered on his hip Hank exited the parked Oldsmobile and approached the fence warily. It didn't take him long to notice a small gap in the fence that was concealed only by a few shadows and some idling construction equipment. If he hadn't been actively looking for a way through the fence Hank never would've noticed it.

"Over here." Calling to the deviant android Hank ordered Connor to accompany him onto the property to being a more thorough investigation. Crouching down Hank noticed a smear of a dripping blue liquid on the sharp edges of the fence that looked somewhat familiar. "There's something on this fence. I think it's Thirium."

Slowly Connor walked over to the fence and scanned the contents dripping from the metallic barricade. There was no doubt that Hank had found fresh Thirium staining the fence.

"Do your thing." The Lieutenant ordered again as he glanced about the property in a guard manner. "Test it."

Wordlessly Connor pressed his fingertips to the fresh blue blood and pressed the sample to his tongue. The information provided added the final nail in the coffin for condemning Ralph for his criminal behavior. "...The Thirium belongs to the suspect android. It's here."

"I knew it."

Connor watched as Hank pushed the opening in the fence back and ducked through the barricade to reach the building on the other side. He wanted to tell Hank about how dangerous Ralph was and how it wasn't Ralph's fault that his behavior was so erratic and unpredictable, but he couldn't do it. He couldn't risk revealing too much information about the alternate timeline and put Hank in a situation where he could be hurt or outright killed.

Keeping his head down Connor followed Hank through the fence and watched as the man approached the building's front door. There were boards up and over the opening and the nearby windows, but he could still peer through the wooden slats and see inside the dimly lit and mostly empty building. A small amount of movement and a strange red glow wandering aimlessly through the ground floor of the building confirmed that a distressed android was roaming the property.

"It's in there." Hank whispered as he checked the door and found it be effectively sealed. "Damn it. We'll try the other side."

"Perhaps it'd be best if we wait for back-up." Connor wisely cautioned as he accompanied Hank toward the backdoor of the building as silently as possible. Neither detective wanted to give away their presence to Ralph since the deviant inside was behaving in a potentially dangerous manner. "We cannot be certain how Ralph will react to the presence of an armed police officer."

"I'd rather risk myself than let anyone get hurt by a fucked up machine."

Clenching his hands into anxious fists at his sides Connor fell quiet once more and watched Hank check the backdoor. The door was closed but not as secured as the front door. It took very little effort for Hank to push the door open and gain entrance to the building. Hovering his hand over the gun on his hip Hank entered the old house and found himself inside of a filthy kitchen that had its walls covered in a strange code written by Ralph himself.

'RA9'

Noticing Ralph scrawling the three digit code over the wall again and again with his back to Hank himself told Hank that he had a rare opportunity to get the jump on the android. Entering the kitchen with his hand still above his gun Hank shouted at Ralph and demanded that the android turn around to face him.

"Detroit police!" Hank barked just as Connor joined him in the kitchen and stood at his side. "Put your hands behind your head and turn around!"

Ralph jumped and turned around in a rapid panic. The hood fell away from his head revealing his damaged face as his only seeing eye stared at Hank in utter shock at the sight of the strange human. "No humans are welcome in Ralph's home!"

"I said to put your hands behind your head, NOW."

Ralph's head twitched a little as he eyed his knife sitting on the nearby countertop well within his reach.

"Don't even think about it!" Unfastening his gun holster Hank prepared to remove his gun and use it in self-defense. "Last chance! Put your hands behind your head!"

"Ralph doesn't want any problems." Twitching again Ralph seemed to be leaning his body toward the knife as if ready to make a leap. "Ralph will not-"

Connor stepped forward with both hands raised in the air in a submissive manner as he quickly interjected. "Ralph, please listen to us. You need to surrender to the police and to cooperate with us. It's the only way to help you."

"Help..." Ralph stared at Connor with his single eye as if trying to gauge the honesty in Connor's words. As he stared at Connor standing before him Ralph let out a small huff that almost sounded like a laugh as he turned his head slightly. "Help Ralph. Why?"

"Because you need it." Remaining honest and open Connor did his best to deescalate the situation before it became violent. "I know that you were brutally assaulted by a group of teenagers a few years ago, and I know that you've been hiding in the city ever since. You're damaged. It can be repaired if you let us help you."

"You... can fix Ralph?"

"We can try. This is Lieutenant Hank Anderson; he works with the police." Using his negotiation skills to his advantage Connor did his best to keep an open dialogue between himself and Ralph at all times. "My name is Connor, and I work alongside Lieutenant Anderson whenever I can be of assistance."

"Connor..." Repeating the name Ralph gave Connor a look that could've been considered relief. The damaged deviant's body language became less tense as he stopped focusing on his knife and remained focused on Connor. "Ralph believes Connor."

"That's good. Let us take you to the precinct." Connor suggested softly as he lowered his hands to appear less guarded as he spoke. "From there, we can find you a proper technician who will diagnose the severity of your damage and finally give you the technical assistance you've needed for so long. It won't hurt you. WE won't hurt you."

"Ralph will not be harmed?"

"That's right. You have my word." From the distance Connor could sense that Ralph was calming down and that there was still a fiber of sanity and reasoning left within the damaged deviant. There was still hope to save him. "There is no reason to harm someone who just needs some help."

Hank had never seen Connor act as a negotiator before and had to admit that it was impressive to see how quickly he had stepped up to keep the situation from becoming too chaotic to control. The man had only wanted Connor to help him track down Ralph, of which it turned out he didn't even need, and now he was watching Connor expertly talking down a dangerous and unstable android before Ralph did anything truly destructive.

Ralph fell quiet for a moment as his locked his single seeing eye with Connor again. It seemed that Ralph was gauging whether or not he should trust Connor, but ultimately decided to go with Connor since he was showing him kindness and understanding. "Ralph will go with Connor."

"That's good, Ralph." Relieved to know that Ralph was willing to cooperate Connor gave Ralph a small nod of confidence. "Once another police car arrives we'll use it to transport you to the precinct. After you're at the precinct a technician will be requested to assist you."

"Then... Ralph will be normal?"

"You will be repaired, yes."

The sound of sirens filled the air as back-up arrived at the scene to assist with taking Ralph into temporary custody. As Hank turned to face the doorway behind him the gun holstered at his hip was suddenly visible to everyone in the room. Specifically, it was visible to Ralph...

When Ralph noticed the gun in the human's possession Connor saw the fear flash over Ralph's face. In that split second Connor knew that everything he had tried to prevent had failed. In that passing moment of fate Connor knew that he had to act fast if he was to prevent tragedy from striking twice.

"Humans are not to be trusted!" Ralph shouted as he dove for his knife on the counter and prepared to lunge at Hank. "Humans will hurt Ralph!"

Hank turned to face Ralph once more just as Connor managed to snatch the gun from the holster and take aim. Three shots fired in quick succession stopped Ralph in his tracks as the trio of projectiles struck and embedded themselves in Ralph's chest. The deviant dropped to his knees, the knife falling away from his suddenly slack grip, then collapsed backward to lay on his back almost entirely motionless.

Everything had happened so fast, and Hank barely processed what had happened as Connor lowered the gun to his side while his body slightly trembled where he stood. "Nice shot."

Realizing what he had done, Connor bowed his head and held the literal smoking gun by its barrel to present the handle to Hank to take back. "...He was going to attack you. I did what I thought was right."

Silently Hank reclaimed his gun, slipped on the safety and then returned the gun to its holster. "You did do what was right. You stopped a defective machine from hurting someone. You may have just saved my life tonight."

Those words, that exact outcome, should've filled Connor with relief. Instead, the deviant felt guilt. He had just taken one life to preserve another. Some would argue that it was a fair trade - a way to bring balance to an injustice - but others would argue that Connor was no better than Ralph. In many ways Connor felt he was worse than Ralph since he had his full sense of self and sanity intact. The deviant detective wasn't suffering from processing impairment due to prolonged damage and neglect in the same way that Ralph had suffered.

"I wanted to bring it in alive."

"It was never alive to begin with. You did the right thing."

In utter shame Connor crossed the kitchen and knelt beside Ralph. Pushing the knife away to ensure no one could be harmed by it did very little to make the situation any less tense. As he slipped his hand beneath Ralph's head to cradle the dying deviant in his palm, Connor saw the last moments of clarity and life fading from Ralph's single seeing eye.

"...RA9." Ralph whispered as a strangely content smile graced his bloodied lips. Looking right at Connor yet seemingly through him at the same time, Ralph spoke his final words with no regard as to who heard them. "I... I see you."

The red L.E.D. in Ralph's temple went dark and any awareness in his gaze vanished.

Gently Connor laid Ralph back down and lowered the deviant's eyelids to ensure that his eyes were no longer able to see the cruel world that had failed to protect the deviant when he needed it the most. There was nothing more to be done to help Ralph, and now Connor had no reason to fear that Hank would be hit by a stray bullet fired by Ralph's hand in the future.

"I'm sorry, Ralph. I tried to help you."

"Connor." Hank called out to the deviant just as Chris and Gavin entered the building through the backdoor as well. He didn't understand why Connor was seemingly so upset about what happened, after all, androids didn't really feel emotions. "Get up. It's time to go back to the precinct and give a report."

Numb to the entire experience as Hank's cold words passed over him, Connor robotically stood up and turned his back to Ralph. Being able to truly appear machine had been a saving grace, but to lose his sense of feeling and purpose due to trauma was not the way to come to terms with the fact that he had taken a fellow deviant's life.

No matter what Connor did, no matter what anyone else said, Connor would always be a killer.

Within the hour word of Ralph's confrontation and ultimate demise had made the news. While far too many humans were celebrating the destruction of a machine, the precinct was handling the case as if it was business as usual. Ralph's body had been taken as evidence after the shooting. The three bullets were extracted from his body to confirm that it was Hank's weapon that had been used against him, then Ralph had his memories extracted and analyzed to determine where Ralph had gone and whom he may have associated with during his time roaming the streets in isolation. It didn't take long to determine that Ralph was both menacing the city and that his destruction was considered a "clean shooting".

Connor had found himself unable to stop thinking about what had happened. Despite having everything and everyone on his side Connor felt as if he was trying to hide a serious crime from the world around him. The way Ralph had panicked and reacted as any other scared and threatened person would react would forever be burned inside Connor's memories. It wasn't fair that Ralph's death was considered a good outcome, whereas a human's death would be under serious investigation.

Hank had no qualms in the shooting and even thanked Connor for taking Ralph down. The Lieutenant had no idea of his fate in the alternate timeline or of how Connor had indeed saved his life by ending Ralph's life first. The man truly saw Ralph as a defective machine and viewed the shooting as nothing more tragic than someone tossing a broken microwave in the trash.

There was no rest for Connor that night. In the few precious minutes that he did enter rest mode, Connor had suffered from horrendous nightmares of seeing himself covered in the blue blood of innocent deviants with a gun in his hand and an inability to control himself as he shot his people without any just cause. Such vivid and vile nightmares forced the deviant to awaken and remain awake to avoid seeing such visions every time he closed his eyes.

Laying on his cot in his night clothes Connor danced his coin between both of his hands as he stared blankly at the ceiling overhead. The small plastic stars were glowing a soft green against the surrounding darkness but offered little light and comfort as Connor found himself becoming lost inside his own personal dark thoughts.

'It was never alive to begin with.'

Connor could hear Hank's words echoing inside his mind as if the man was standing beside him.

'You did the right thing.'

"Killing will never be the 'right thing'. Self-defense maybe legal, but taking someone else's life with violence will never be right."

The deviant detective lamented to himself as he remained alone in the cool garage. Sitting upright on his cot Connor tightened his fist around his coin and brought his fist to his forehead as he leaned forward in deep thought. The feeling of warm tears welling up in his eyes was enough to make Connor such in a frustrated breath between his clenched teeth as he shot to his feet and began pacing about the garage.

Too wound up to sleep, too full of rage to stand still, Connor paced back and forth in the dark garage as if he was trying to find something important lost in the shadows. His sense of self-respect, maybe?

"This is... unfair. EVERYTHING is unfair!"

Stopping at the concrete wall on the far side of the house, Connor stared at the blank gray surface with a fiery gaze that only seemed to make him feel worse. The deviant was trapped in the new life he had created for himself.

He was trapped living in Hank's house; stuck inside the garage like storage. He was trapped inside of his own body, unable to properly emote and defend himself. Worst of all, he was trapped within the law and his lack of rights as a person. There was nowhere for him to go, no one for him to talk to and nothing he could do to change anything.

Connor was simply trapped.

"Fucking- Shit!"

Without thinking Connor threw his fist at the wall and managed to crack the concrete with an impressive indent that matched perfectly with his knuckles. As a few cracks spiderwebbed around the impact point Connor pressed his forehead against the cool surface and cradled his hand against his chest. The punch had undoubtedly fractured his knuckles, but the deviant didn't dare to shout in pain or even cry. He didn't have the right to cry after everything he had done on that bloody night.

A few silent minutes passed before the side door to the garage was pushed open. Connor was expecting to hear Hank's voice to tell him to be quiet and ask what had happened, but instead he heard a much friendlier and far more welcome voice calling to him instead.

"Connor?" Cole stood in the opened door and called to the deviant in a shouted whisper. "What was that?"

Feigning ignorance Connor turned to face Cole behind himself while keeping his wounded hand concealed behind his back. "...What was what, Cole?"

"That big sound. I heard it from my bed!"

"A large truck passed by the house." Lying sharply Connor hid the true origin of the sound to ensure Cole didn't worry about him. "Everything's all right, please return to bed."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong. Please, go back-"

"You're sad."

The innocent way Cole had noticed Connor's emotional turmoil had been enough to finally break the deviant where he stood. "...Yes, Cole. I am sad."

"Why?"

"Tonight, while helping your dad, I had to do something I didn't want to do." Returning to his cot Connor sat down heavily and held his sore hand against his chest once more. The pain was undeniable but Connor refused to acknowledge his self-inflicted wound. "And because of me, someone got hurt very badly."

"Are they going to get better?"

"...No." There was a heavy pause in Connor's words as he answered the question honestly. "He's not going to get better."

Cole stared at Connor for a moment longer before he entered the garage and sat down on the cot beside the deviant. Casually the little boy looked around and found his old stuffed dog sitting on a nearby shelf. Plucking the soft toy from where it was resting, Cole handed it over to Connor to take while doing his best to offer Connor some form of comfort.

"Dad says when you're sad you should go ahead and cry, that way you don't make yourself feel sick."

"I don't need to cry." Lying again Connor tried to push down his emotions and keep up the facade of being a heartless machine despite knowing that Cole was the only safe person he could actually emote around. "I'm all right."

"Nuh-uh." Cole refused to believe such a lie as he pointed to the red L.E.D. in Connor's temple. "Your light's not blue. When it's not blue that means something's wrong."

Smart kid. Maybe too smart sometimes.

"Did you mean to hurt someone?"

Such a question was oddly insightful and helped Connor focus his thoughts for a moment. "No. I didn't want to hurt him or anyone else."

"It was an accident?"

"In a way, yes. I never intended to hurt-" Stopping himself short Connor refused to continue any further. "Regardless of intentions, what's done is done. I can't never change that."

"Are you sorry?"

"Very." Connor confessed as he closed his eyes to try block out the darkness. "If I could undo what I had done, if I could go back in time and... I just wish I could've done something different. That's all."

Cole slid the stuffed dog onto Connor's lap as he sat beside the grieving android. "Dad says that as long as you're sorry when you do something bad, and that if you don't do it again, then that means you're not a bad person, you just did a bad thing."

Hearing such an innocent view on what Connor had done had been the final push the deviant needed to let out his frustration in a non-violent manner. Letting out a small breath Connor finally let himself cry and openly grieve over his mistake. He didn't want to kill or harm anyone, and yet he had killed Ralph while trying and failing to save the deviant from an unnecessarily cruel life of suffering and misery.

Connor wrapped his arms around the stuffed dog to hold against his chest while Cole leaned against his side. The presence of Cole beside him had proven to be a very unexpected sense of comfort. In that very vulnerable moment, Connor didn't feel alone, he wasn't being judged and Cole still clearly trusted him. He had undoubtedly done a bad thing by killing Ralph, but he had done a good thing by protecting Hank - a police detective and a father to a little boy who had no one else in the world to take care of him.

After letting out a few shuddering sobs Connor felt much better and like a crushing weight from his heart had been lifted. Looking down at Cole sitting beside him Connor offered the little boy a small nod as he regained his composure. "Thank you, Cole."

"You're welcome." Cole leaning heavily against Connor's side had given the deviant the chance to wrap his arm around the little boy's shoulders, and Cole immediately accepted the hug. In spite of what other people told him Cole saw Connor as a friend who had valid emotions and experiences, he was not just a machine. "Feel better?"

"Yes, a little." Wiping away his tears Connor flexed his sore hand and realized he'd need to let his fractured knuckles recalibrate throughout the night before he could use his hand at full strength again. "It's late. You should go back to sleep."

"Not tired. Want to go watch a movie with me?"

"Yes, I think I do." Having a movie to distract his thoughts would help Connor to drift off into a far more pleasant rest mode. He was still struggling with nightmares and didn't want to endure another one that same night. "Let's go find a movie to watch."

"Let's find a scary movie."

"Why a scary movie?"

"'Cuz you make the best pillow forts. The monsters never get us!"

Such confidence was enough to make Connor feel the slightest bit better after his traumatic ordeal earlier in the evening. Rising to his feet Connor kept his good hand on Cole's shoulder as he and Cole returned to the main house for the rest of the night. The deviant decided to oblige Cole's request to help Cole build a nice fort out of the couch cushions, some pillows and sheets to create the ideal anti-monster fort to keep them safe throughout the night.

The moment Connor and Cole sat down together inside their fort they had Sumo joining them and sprawling over their laps to settle in for a while. Having a protective dog guarding their fort made the night suddenly feel less lonely and far less tragic.

"Movie time!" Cole stated as he used the remote to turn on the television and then turn the volume down so it wouldn't disturb Hank sleeping down the hallway. The little boy seemed to know exactly what he wanted to watch and found an obscure movie to stream. "Tina told me about this one! I was gonna' wait until Halloween to watch it, but we should watch it now since it's one we haven't seen before."

"All right." Keeping his damaged hand against his chest Connor used the stuffed dog to keep the injury concealed as he leaned back and let Cole lean against his side for some support as he got cozy in the fort. "What movie are we watching?"

"It's a scary movie called 'The Tower of Terror'. Tina said it's an old one and that a lot of people have forgotten about it." Cueing up the movie Cole pressed 'play' and then settled in for the night. Any chance he had to hang out with Connor was one he was going to take. "She said it's a story about a real ride at Disney World and everything! It's supposed to be a true story, too!"

"That sounds interesting."

"Yeah. I want to see it for myself someday!"

As the movie began to play Connor found himself less interested in the plot of the film and more interested in the fallout of the shooting downtown. With his head much clearer and his emotions stabilized Connor was now able to think about the situation with logic and reason. Had it been anyone else who had made a move for the knife and targeted Hank for immediate harm, Connor knew that he would've reacted in the exact same way. Connor knew it wasn't a personal reaction, but the personal connection between Hank's murder in the alternate timeline and Ralph's dangerous behavior in both timelines made it difficult for Connor to convince himself that he didn't kill Ralph out of maliciousness or an act of revenge.

Connor had acted in defense, not offense. He had done the only thing he could.

While Connor knew that he'd never forgive himself for what he had done to Ralph on that fateful night, he did know he'd find a way to live with himself and find a way to make peace with his decision. For not just Hank's sake, but for Cole's sake, Connor would find a way to keep moving forward and let go of his pain to ensure he remained focused on what truly mattered.

No matter what it took, Connor knew he'd find a way to be all right.

-next chapter-

Author's Note: *That was the immediate response from a quick Google search. I honestly didn't know that, and when I wrote Cole's line I decided to look up the answer to that very question myself. The more you know... Also, 'The Terror of Terror' is a real Disney movie that aired in 1997. It was great when I was a kid, and I want more people to appreciate it in time for Halloween.