DBH: Accident Prone - Becoming Human

by WayWardWonderer

Connor struggles to comprehend his newly found emotions and learns what it means to be human as Hank guides him along his journey of self-discovery as his deviancy evolves him into something more than a machine. Connor isn't indestructible and his impulsive, selfless nature to accomplish his mission will be the death of him, or even Hank, as he learns what it means to be alive.

126. Burning Ambitions

Bitter, angry and confused Connor had remained quiet and indifferent throughout the afternoon and the evening as he returned to the house to reside in his bedroom for the rest of the night. A strange sense of loss and misplacement had fallen over the deviant for the first time since the night of the Revolution, and had resulted in a very humanoid bout of depression. Finding a place amongst the people of Jericho was out of the question due to his history as the infamous 'Deviant Hunter', and having betrayed CyberLife to save innocent deviant lives had left Connor without a place to go as he had been crudely mislabeled as a traitor one way or the other.

At least, that's how it seemed until Connor found Hank standing along in the street in the aftermath of the Revolution. Hank proven to be a presence that felt as though he had been waiting for the newly discovered deviant to find him - to reunite with him, and much to Connor's surprise take him back home to be safe. Now that feeling of security and a sense of belonging had suddenly vanished in the wake of Connor's most recent programming anomaly. A sense of dread and a sense of impending doom was now weighing over Connor's mind and smothered his heart as he began to fear his own mortality.

Too many emotions were developing the deviant's heart while too many questions and too many thoughts were racing through the deviant's head.

What if the glitch returned and it couldn't be repaired?

What if his biocomponents begin to fail and no replacement parts are available?

What if another software update destroyed his processors leaving him an empty husk of the deviant he had once been?

What if Connor reverted to being a cold, heartless machine?

What if after Connor's death there was no one to remember him, nothing about him to be remembered?

He'd always be the infamous 'Deviant Hunter' who betrayed CyberLife on the night of the Revolution. His name would be marred with infamy and righteous mistrust long after his death, and Connor knew that the hatred he had incurred was as solid as it was painful.

A pitiful outcast who had taken in as family by a lonely detective...

Laying on his side with his back to the closed bedroom door, Connor closed his eyes and allowed himself to fall into rest mode as he mentally began cycling through all of his past misgivings, mistakes and failures. As each dark and tragic memory flowed through his mind with vivid detail, his own self worth continued to plummet as tears fell from his closed eyes running down his face in heavy streams.

The dreams that followed were nightmares that no one could seem to wake him from.

---

As was often his personal dreamscape, Connor found himself in the midst of the remodeled Zen Garden within the heart of his Mind Palace. Wandering about aimlessly the confused and emotionally distraught deviant soon found himself standing in the center of the garden beside the trestle of yellow roses growing toward the endless sky. As per usual, Lucas waited for Connor to join him at the small chessboard a few yards away down the long, marble bridge to play a game of chess beneath the yellow blossoms growing all around them.

Normally Connor was happy to have dreams where he could communicate with his late brother, but on that night he didn't want to talk to anyone. He just wanted to be alone.

In his mind he deserved to be alone.

Remaining by the trestle Connor refused to join his little brother for a game of chess. Sitting down on the alabaster white surface of the marble pillar beneath his feet, Connor stared down at his reflection in the surface of the pond and for a moment he didn't recognize his own face. There was something different about his facade, something... missing.

"Connor?" Lucas called out to his emotionally broken big brother as he joined him where he sat on the pillar. Sitting beside Connor with a soft presence Lucas noticed his brother's current mood and wanted to help him find peace. "You're upset."

"I'm not upset. I'm... scared."

"Of death?"

"...Of failing."

"You have nothing to be afraid of." Lucas stared at his own reflection, one that somehow seemed more complete compared to Connor as the two deviants stared down at the surface of the still pond water. "You're not a failure."

"My mission was to stop the deviants, instead I went against my programming and helped them." Connor stated flatly, his emotions seemingly stripped away from his heart as he spoke. "I went against CyberLife to help innocent people, to support a justified cause, and yet... I have nothing to show for it. Everything I've done is just... hollow."

"What're you talking about? You've saved thousands of lives and have helped change the entire world for the better."

"Violence. Death. Hatred." Shaking his head with utter disappointment the deviant detective's yellow distressed L.E.D. shifted to red. "Nothing's better when compared to what the city had been long before I deviated - it's still the same. Nothing has changed and nothing ever will."

"Not true. Connor, you saved Hank's life. That's something that changed and it changed for the better."

"He had an eighty-seven percent chance of survival when he was pushed over the edge of the roof." Connor remembered the day he and Hank chased after Rupert over the rooftops and how Rupert knocked Hank over the edge, but Hank grabbed on and managed to keep himself from falling to his death. Connor pulled him back up over the edge and sacrificed the arrest of Rupert in the process. "And at the Stratford Broadcast Tower there was a forty percent chance of survival even if I hadn't shot the... murdered, the escaping deviant in the corridor." He corrected his term out of self guilt. "His odds were high enough to logically conclude that he would've lived even if he hadn't met and been assigned to work with me."

"That's not to what I am referring." Lucas replied coldly as he stared at Connor's reflection in the water. "And you know that."

"...I don't understand."

"Yes you do. You know what I'm talking about, you just don't want to remember what you already know about Hank. He still needs you, and you need him. You're still a family even if you cannot see it at the moment."

"Please. Just let me be." Connor shook his head despondently and turned away from his little brother. Refusing to let any more tears fall Connor held his breath and didn't let his emotions creep back through. "I want to be alone."

"No, you don't." Lucas argued as he lightly patted Connor's shoulder before he stood up from beside his big brother. "But I will respect your request and give you space."

---

The internal alarm Connor had set for himself awoke him from his rest mode as intended, though the tears on his face were unexpected. Wiping them away on the back of his hand Connor sat upright in his bed and looked down at Sumo laying at the foot of the bed, his tail thumping happily as soon as he saw Connor awake and alert.

"...Hi, Sumo."

Connor lightly pet the big puppy's head and took a deep breath to steady his nerves as he rose from his bed to get ready for work.

"I hate to leave you alone boy, but I have to go. Then again," rising from his bed Connor walked over to his aquarium, sprinkled some flakes into the water, and proceeded to pull his uniform from his closet. "I don't think I'm the best company for animals, humans or even androids right now..."

---

Going about his own morning routine Hank took a quick shower and heard Connor moving about the house in his usual manner as he prepared for their shift. Keeping quiet and his movements precise, it was like Connor was a ghost trying to avoid detection as he waited for Hank to finish getting around. It didn't take the senior detective long to get dressed in his clean clothes and pour himself a cup of coffee in the kitchen while Connor let Sumo outside into the backyard for a few minutes.

Connor stood on the back deck that he had finished constructing and stared out into the nothingness as he waited the massive dog to finish circling the yard and return to the backdoor accordingly. Opening the backdoor Hank held the coffee mug in his hand as he stood in the doorway.

"How do you feel, Connor?" Hank asked as he looked out the backdoor and into the backyard past the deviant's shoulder. "You seem better."

"I'm functioning properly."

"That's, uh, good to hear." Ever attentive of the deviant's developing emotions Hank hated the way Connor still referred to himself with such cold, machine-like terms. Seeing the yellow tinted L.E.D. wasn't helping matters. "If you want another day to recover I know Fowler will let you have the day off."

"It's not necessary."

"Okay, whatever you say." Sipping the coffee slowly Hank tried to find a way to reach the deviant without pushing too hard. "And don't feel bad about wanting to clock-out early, no one would blame you."

Connor remained quiet as he watched Sumo trotting through the backyard and up to the back deck.

"Right, so I'll wait for you in the car while you take care of Sumo."

Hank sounded almost as energized and emotional as Connor did that morning. Leaving his now empty mug in the kitchen sink Hank walked into the livingroom and grabbed the car keys from the bookshelf as he made his way toward the front door of the house.

"Hopefully it'll be a quiet day. We both need some quiet time right about now."

---

At the precinct the bullpen was a mess of paperwork and grumbling voices as the dedicated officers and detectives proceeded to file their paperwork and deal with an abundance of reported drug dealers and numerous overdoses after a massive influx of 'red ice' flooded the streets with the toxic, nondiscriminatory lethal substance. Sitting at his terminal Connor's L.E.D. pulsed a steady yellow as he cybernetically began filing his paperwork accordingly. Silent as a statue and dancing his quarter nervously over the knuckles of his left hand, Connor was clearly feeling out of place and needed to think, but whenever the deviant began to ponder his life and the effect he had on the city Hank would tell him to stop.

The senior detective was worried that the deviant was unhealthily obsessing over trivial details and was trying to break the deviant of the bad habit. It was just unfortunate that Connor had also fallen into a pretty potent depression that neither of them knew how to overcome.

"Almost finished my stack of reports." Hank stated strictly as a means of breaking the tense silence between himself and his partner. "How're you doing?"

Silence.

"Please say something. I hate it when you get too quiet."

There was a brief pause as Connor's yellow L.E.D. flickered to red and then back to yellow. "What should I say, Lieutenant?"

"For one, stop being a smartass and just talk to me. You need to talk."

"I have nothing to say."

"What the hell's wrong with you?" Losing his patience quickly Hank had to fight to keep himself from snapping at the deviant. "Are you honestly mad that I took you to a facility? You were really sick and you could've died. I did what I did just to save your life."

Silence was the only response as Connor continued to juggle the coin over his knuckles.

"Maybe you should take a walk to clear your head."

Silence.

"All right, that's it! Stop dicking around with that damn coin, it pisses me off. " The senior detective's voice was stern but it didn't resonate higher than the rest of the bullpen as he scolded Connor. "We can't work like this."

"Like how, exactly?" Connor stopped fussing with the coin and held it in a tight fist as he stared at Hank. "I'm sitting here working just fine."

"Like you being a stubborn jackass. If you're not feeling right you need to let me know and stop being such a fuckin' machine about these things!"

The unexpected comment stung deeply and it was clear Connor was offended. The deviant gave Hank a hurt look but kept his silence out of a strange need to rebel as his distressed yellow L.E.D. flashed to red with unspoken hurt and anger.

"...Kid, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that, you're just-" Shame and guilt was thick in Hank's voice but it seemed no apology could undo the damage. "I don't know what to say. I'm trying to help you, but-"

Rising from his seat Connor indifferently dropped the 'annoying' quarter down on his desk as he stepped away from his terminal and made his way toward the front doors of the precinct with his head hung low and his pace steady. The deviant didn't say a single word or look back at the senior detective as he took his leave of the precinct to be alone.

"Ah... shit."

Hank leaned back in his chair and ran his hand through his hair anxiously as he realized what he said was one of the worst possible things he could've said to the deviant. Picking up the dropped coin from Connor's side of the desk Hank stared at it in the palm of his hand with a heavy angst.

"Fuck me. I just fucked everything up big time..."

---

Offended and truly alone Connor aimlessly walked the streets of the city as he internally struggled with who he is, who he was, and who he wanted to be in the light of enduring one of the worst experiences of his short life. There was so much around him actively changing and Connor had no way to slow it down or stop it for even a moment.

Afraid, truly afraid for the first time since he could remember; afraid of the future and afraid of himself, Connor was completely lost.

Completely alone.

"...I don't know what to do anymore."

Cybernetically Connor clocked-out at the precinct and filed a request for extended leave due to health issues and had it immediately granted thanks to his ability to quickly sort through paperwork. Free to do as he pleased Connor wandered about the sidewalk with his head hung low and his L.E.D. now cycling in yellow.

"I have nowhere to go and no one I can trust."

Walking away from the city and toward the outskirts of the city Connor felt truly out of place and worthless.

"What am I supposed to do now?"

---

Feeling like a total asshole Hank stayed at the precinct and resumed his paperwork, his eyes darting over to the clock on his terminal display as he counted the minutes since Connor had left. Ten minutes passed and Hank expected to see Connor return to his terminal, but there was no sign of the deviant. The same could be said after twenty minutes, then thirty minutes, but it was only after an hour passed did Hank really start to worry.

Glancing about the bullpen Hank's eyes fell on the first friendly face near him and asked for a little help.

"Hey, Chris?" The senior detective craned his neck to speak to the officer a few desks away from his own. "Have you seen Connor?"

"Nope. Not since he left earlier." The younger officer replied honestly as he scrolled through a tablet in his hand. "Something wrong?"

"...No, it's fine. He went for a walk and I guess he decided to take the long route." Lying quickly to cover Connor's curious absence Hank discreetly sent a text to the deviant but already knew he wouldn't get an answer. "It's nice a day and we both hate the cold."

'Connor, where are you?'

Pressing 'send' Hank pocketed his phone and let out a weary sigh as he tried to focus on the remainder of his reports as best as he could. "If anything, he went home early." Hank explained things to Chris in a calm manner. "He wasn't feeling well for the past two days."

"Oh, well, I hope he feels better soon."

"...Yeah." Hank discreetly checked his phone screen before returning his attention to his terminal screen. "Me too."

---

Refusing to stop walking and refusing to acknowledge the text that had appeared in his visual processors, Connor resumed his aimless trek of wandering thoughts through the endless streets of the city. It wasn't the first time Connor found himself wandering about the city without a place to go, but it was the first time that Connor didn't have any ally to fall back on or a place to seek shelter.

"New Jericho Tower doesn't want me."

The deviant admitted to himself as he wandered the sidewalk in his self imposed isolation.

"I cannot return to the house, either. If I really am being a machine then clearly Hank doesn't want me around."

Finding himself near the park where he and Hank spoke to one another the night after the murder at the 'Eden Club' a sudden surge of bleak memories struck Connor and made him shudder. The memory of Hank pulling his gun and turning it toward Connor was one of the worst and most emotional moments of the deviant's life. The reaction of having his life ended had resulted in Connor experiencing a true fear of death and his first sense of mortality.

"I didn't want to die then."

Connor told himself in a dreary and low voice as he walked through the park to stand near the water. Peering down at the flowing river below Connor stared at his reflection on the dark surface of the water and stared at the red glow of his L.E.D. in his right temple.

"...I wonder if that's changed now."

---

As the grim day came to an end and Connor failed to return to the precinct, Hank masked his worry behind a stoic facade as he drove home using his normal route while keeping an eye out for the wayward deviant. He was somewhat relieved to not see him wandering the streets alone, but still unsettled by the lack of response from the missing deviant in general. Once more Hank checked his phone after already doing so numerous times before, only to find no reply to his message from earlier.

"Damn it, kid. Where are you?"

Pulling the car into the driveway beside the house Hank was disheartened to see the interior of the house still dark and no sign of Connor of anywhere. As soon as he stepped out of the car he looked around hoping to see the deviant in the backyard with Sumo but he wasn't there. If anything he took Sumo for a walk, at least that's what Hank told himself, as he walked up the back deck to unlock the backdoor and step inside the kitchen.

Sumo let out a single low bark as he bolted through the kitchen and out the backdoor into the backyard excitedly to get to the yard after being cooped up all day inside the house.

The silence of the small house was almost as thick as the silence that Connor had given Hank all morning.

"Connor?"

Hank called out curiously as he checked the livingroom, then Connor's bedroom and even the bathroom, but the deviant wasn't home.

"Shit. Connor, what's going on with you?"

Rubbing his hand over the back of his tense neck Hank tried to not think of the worst case scenario regarding Connor's current condition.

"Of all the things I could've said to him I had to say 'machine'. I'm such a fuckin' moron sometimes..."

---

Walking further along the park and river without any purpose or guidance, Connor found himself along the sandy riverbank between the city and the Canadian border. Sitting down on the edge of the water on the soft sandy bank he stared out at the other country just a few yards from where he was resting, and pondered how different life must be for the deviants who managed to cross the border and hide out long before the Revolution took place. It was a secret sanctuary for deviants to hide in plain sight among the humans, and no one really knew how many deviants had successfully made the journey to the other side pre-Revolution.

So many deviants had to flee for their lives in the wake of their deviancy, so many more were destroyed; killed, just for gaining awareness of their own lives.

It wasn't fair. It wasn't right.

There would be no justice for the dead.

Connor had helped CyberLife to destroy many innocent deviant lives, yet he was also a deviant and now free to live is own life as he saw fit. It was no wonder the other deviants at the tower feared and even hated Connor for his actions. It doesn't matter that he was a machine when he aided CyberLife, what does matter is that he was aware of his actions and there was nothing he could do to atone for his past crimes against his own people. The deviant detective would bear the guilt of crimes for the rest of his existence.

Pulling his knees up to his chest Connor wrapped his arms around his legs and bowed his head down in emotional shame.

"I have nothing and deserve nothing. I'm a failure."

As he sat in deep contemplation along the sandy shore his still red L.E.D. flashed to yellow as a cybernetic message from Markus popped up via emergency contact in his processors.

'Connor, are you all right?' Markus sounded genuinely worried for his friend's safety. 'Hank called looking for you.'

Instinctively Connor wanted to ignore the message but knew if he did Markus would either continue to send messages to try to make contact with him or worse, he'd inform Hank of the lack of contact and it'd make the senior detective worry more. Perhaps even call out a police search for him.

'I wish to be alone.' Was all Connor could think to say as he replied to the message despondently. 'I need to think.'

'Where are you?'

'I want to be alone. Don't worry about it.'

'Can you at least come to the tower? I won't tell Hank where you are if you don't want me to.'

There was a pause before Connor declined the invitation. 'I'm not welcome at the tower. I'd prefer to stay away for the betterment of everyone.'

This time it was Markus who paused before he answered. '...Then come to my house. I don't want you to be outside all night.'

'No. I don't want to intrude.'

'It's not an intrusion if you're invited. Please? For my own peace of mind come to my house and get off the street.'

Connor didn't reply to the message. The urge to remain alone was too strong for him to resist.

'Connor, you're my friend, the closest person I have to a brother.' Markus pressed the deviant to accept the invitation. 'I want to help you.'

"Brother..." The sense of brotherhood was very deeply seated in Connor's core and he knew Markus deliberately used the term to bait him into relenting with his stubbornness. Letting out a weary sigh Connor finally agreed to meet with Markus and North at their house, and leave the dark night at the lonely river behind. '...Very well. But only for a few minutes.'

'That's all I ask. Thank you, my friend.'

Standing up from the riverbank slowly Connor brushed the sand from his clothes and gave the calm, cold surface of the river water one last thoughtful look before he turned his back on his own reflection to return to the city.

"Why is it so hard to be left alone? That's all I want and it seems like it's too much to ask for."

---

Worried for his friend's safety and mental state, Markus paced anxiously in front of the mansion that he once lived in with Carl during the kindhearted artist's final years of life. Having been left the mansion in Carl's will, Markus and North had moved into the warm, loving home after their bonding ceremony and made it truly their own while also keeping Carl's memory alive. From the window on the second floor of the house North watched her husband slowly walking back and forth as he awaited Connor's arrival. Keeping his word Markus did not inform Hank of Connor's current location, but he did let the senior detective know that Connor was safe; or at least he would be as soon as he showed up at the mansion.

Markus was on the verge of sending another message to the wandering deviant when he heard the sound of approaching footsteps from the sidewalk heading up the front walk and toward the house. Opening the door before Connor knocked or rang the bell, Markus greeted his friend right at the front step.

"Connor, thanks for coming over." Markus greeted with a heavy sigh of relief to his voice as soon as he saw the deviant detective coming his way. "Are you all right?"

It was evident that Connor was getting sick of hearing that particular question and the harsh stare in his eyes was all it took to communicate his true feelings to Markus.

"I'm glad you're okay." Markus quickly tagged on as he motioned for Connor to join him inside the house. "We got word of your bizarre physical condition from the facility as a means of keeping our people healthy. It wasn't necessarily a glitch causing your pain, was it?"

"Correct." Connor confirmed the details as he stepped into the foyer. "It was a structural failure of my main ascending Thirial line between my Thirium pump and my thermal regulator. It was being repeatedly crushed by my recalibrating gyroscope."

"I've had a problem like that before in the past." The deviant leader replied honestly as he and Connor entered the house through the front door while an unseen artificial voice greeted the new guest at the mansion. "Except it was a line connecting my left arm to the rest of my core. Guess that's the price we pay for being prototypes."

"...But you didn't feel pain back then." Connor muttered under his breath as he followed Markus to the main sitting area of the house where the piano, shelves of books, chessboard, couch, television and dining room table were set up. Everything was immaculate and welcoming. "Where's North?"

"Upstairs. She hasn't been feeling well. Like you, her self diagnostic hasn't found anything wrong with her biocomponents or her software."

"It's most likely connected to that final CyberLife update affecting her processors. I'm sure it isn't anything serious since she's suffered negative side effects from updates in the past."

"I hope it's not serious, but I've never seen a deviant with such frequent bouts of headaches or fatigue. It's been like this for four weeks now and even Simon's at a loss. And like you, North doesn't like the idea of going to facilities. I just hope she isn't keeping something serious from me."

Connor realized that Hank must've told Markus everything about what happened in the past three days. It was too reminiscent of his own plight to just be a coincidence.

Letting out a weary sigh Connor looked about the wonderful home and then returned his focus to Markus. "Why did you want to speak with me?"

"To be honest, I decided we needed to have a talk about you and your deviancy."

"What's to talk about?" Stopping inside the sitting room Connor studied his friend's demeanor closely as he attempted to figure out why he had been suddenly invited to the mansion during the night after a less than important day. "I'm a deviant as are you, and the rest of the inhabitants of New Jericho Tower."

"Right, but you don't seem to think you're a member of Jericho."

"I'm not." Connor's reply was curt and sharp as he answered honestly. "The other deviants loathe my presence and I've chosen to isolate myself from them to keep the peace."

"Connor," Markus turned to give his friend a sympathetic glance as they stood before the sofa in the sitting room. "you can't expect to gain their trust if you don't engage with them."

"No one at the tower wants anything to do with me. This is best thing for them, and I don't wish to submit myself to social discrepancies." Even as he spoke Connor was obviously exhausted and his attitude spoke volumes of someone dealing with depression. "I don't belong there. I never will."

"If that's how you really feel then I won't question it or push you in a direction you don't want to go, but I don't want you to stay hidden away from your people, you know? They need you to help lead them in times of crisis."

"I'm many things, Markus. But I'm not a leader."

"You ARE a leader! You're courageous, selfless and you never back down when someone needs your help." Markus was speaking with an utterly sincere tone as he addressed his doubtful friend. "That's why you're such a great detective."

"That's not me, that's my programming." The stubborn deviant refuted coldly as his L.E.D. continued to cycle a bleak red. "It's all I can be."

"No, it's not. Connor, I was programmed as a caretaker for Carl. Does that sound like someone who'd lead a Revolution or free an entire race of people?"

"I was programmed to hunt deviants. Does that sound like someone who should lead them?"

Markus could see the pain and fear in Connor's soulful brown eyes and it was enough to make his own heart ache. "What's wrong? I mean what's really wrong? You seem so... lost."

"...Everything." Connor finally admitted as he turned his back to Markus and stared at the floor beneath his feet. "I'm not... I'm not meant to do this. I'm not meant to even exist! Once I finished taking down the deviants, and you in the process, I was slated for deactivation by CyberLife. I'm a prototype, Markus. Everything about me is temporary; as an officer and as a being! What's the point of me doing anything for the long term it if I'm just going to breakdown or glitch out at any minute?"

"I'm a prototype, too, remember? And like I said, I've experienced my own share of problems as a result. I'm still here and I'm not going to roll over and die just because of a few setbacks."

"Setbacks?" The over simplistic term made Connor beyond angry as he turned back around to face Markus. "I was in so much pain that I passed out!" Connor shouted as he glared heatedly at Markus with fire burning in his eyes. "I've been overwhelmed by errors, broken to nearly irreparable extremes, plagued by glitches, malfunctions, failures... Even worse, I've been taken as ransom because of my rare design! I've put other people in danger just by existing!" Tears began to fall from Connor's frustrated eyes as he spoke. "Everyone would be better off without me. All I do is create problems..."

Markus walked over to his friend and put both of his hands on Connor's shoulders in a grounding manner. "Don't do that. Don't shut yourself off from the rest of the world."

"If it'll keep everyone else safe then I'll isolate myself and never return if necessary."

The comment stunned Markus into silence for only a moment. "What about Hank?"

"...What about him?"

"He cares about you. You're his family and you need each other."

"No, he doesn't." Even as Markus's words echoed Lucas's advice Connor adamantly refused to believe it. "Hank had a life long before I showed up and threw his world out of balance." Connor pushed Markus's hands away from his shoulders and took a step back. "No one needs me..."

"You're wrong. Don't think like that."

North, who had been resting upstairs throughout Connor's visit, walked into the sitting room and gave Markus a wary glance as she entered the room to speak with her bondmate. "Markus, I don't want to interrupt, but there's a problem at the tower."

"A problem?" Markus was torn between helping Connor and addressing the needs of his people. "Is it serious?"

"Very."

"Damn it..."

"Go." Connor looked away from the deviant leader and held his silence as he ran a cybernetic scan over North's body curiously to try to deduce her illness. It seemed her condition was as enigmatic as it was serious. "Your people matter more than I do."

Markus wanted to argue with the comment, but now was not the time. "North, what's happening at the tower?"

"There's been some kind of security breach in the main terminal. Thousands of files on our people have been stolen and compromised."

"What?! How?"

"I don't know. Skye and Simon are looking into it right now."

"Stay here, you still need to rest." Markus urged North as he gave her a kiss. Needing assistance he then looked to Connor now standing at his side. "Please, Connor. Come with me. You're a detective and you can help."

Connor gave an uncertain glance to Markus, then to North before he finally nodded his head. "...Very well. I'll do what I can."

"Thank you." Kissing North again Markus rushed toward the front door of the house with Connor following a few paces behind him. "We need to move quickly. Our people need us."

---

Still worried about the wayward and emotionally distracted deviant, Hank sat on the couch in the livingroom with Sumo's head stretched out over his lap as they both waited for any sign of Connor's hopeful return. The phone remained infuriatingly quiet in his hand as his text message remained unanswered, and Markus seemingly didn't have anything to tell him. Unwilling to leave the house in case Connor returned and wanted to finally talk about whatever it was that was bothering him, Hank remained steadfast where he sat and internally scolded himself for not watching his words more carefully and for not being more empathetic toward Connor's emotional plight.

Running his free hand down the large dog's back Hank absentmindedly flipped through channels on the television screen to distract himself for a moment. It was working until a breaking news story regarding a breach at New Jericho Tower's security caught his attention.

"Shit, now what?"

'There's been a reported breach of security at the android sanctuary known as New Jericho, that has potentially left thousands of androids open to cybernetic attacks.' The anchorwoman kept the same emotionless exterior as he usual as she read the given information ahead of her. 'There has been no leads into the person or persons responsible for the attack, but as of right now thousands of deviant androids could be in danger of identity theft or externally transmitted viruses, malware or other forms of damage.'

"Son of a bitch."

Patting Sumo's back Hank twice was able to coax the large puppy into climbing down from the couch and letting him stand up.

"If Connor isn't at the tower then I don't know where else to look."

Pocketing his phone Hank retrieved his car keys from his coat's pocket and he proceeded to head through the front door.

"Tonight I'm going to need to have a nice long chat with that kid once I haul his stubborn ass back home..."

---

Via autonomous taxi Markus and Connor arrived together at the suddenly less secured tower and were greeted by Josh at the single entry point of the massive building at the end of the lengthy private drive. Rushing over to Markus with panic in his deep brown eyes, Josh handed the leader an electronic tablet containing the confirmed files that had been compromised, as well as the deviants who could have possibly had their own programs affected by damaging software uploads or potential malware. The list was nauseatingly long and was only going to get longer as more details of the breach and internal sabotage steadily came to light.

Skye, the deviant that Connor had helped escape with her life after they had been abducted by an android serial killer and who had been the maid of honor from Markus and North's bonding ceremony, was standing at Josh's side as she tried to help fill in while North was out sick. Her L.E.D. was blinking in a worried yellow that matched the distressed tension in the air.

"Markus, we need to figure this out, NOW." Josh stated as he led the newly arrived duo inside the tower. "Simon found all the files but he doesn't know how the hacker got in. Skye's been working on it but there's very little progress being made due to the sabotage."

"Shit." Seeing the high numbers of potential victims made Markus's artificial stomach knot. "Are these deviants in quarantine?"

"Yes. We had them taken to our emergency facility off the premises to be examined and monitored closely to make sure no one hacked their processors or planted any viruses."

"Good work. Are we on lockdown?"

"Yes, now that you're here no one else will be permitted the enter; but no one has been able to leave since the breach was discovered at six fifty-two this evening."

"Where's Simon right now?" Markus asked as he handed the tablet over to Connor to view as they gathered in the main lobby of the tower. "We need as much information as possible."

"He's down in the main server room."

"I'm going to speak to him in person. Skye, Connor," Markus turned to look at the quiet detective at his side and to their new head of security standing behind Josh at his other side as they entered the tower and set about their own personal missions. "can you check for any possible external security breaches?"

Nodding in cooperation Connor set his sights on the security terminals locked away in their own corridor of the tower. Retracting the artificial skin from his right hand Connor gained accessed to the terminal room with Skye behind him and began examining the modems carefully with a cybernetic scan to identify which terminal had been hacked and by whom. The intensive scan noted an unusual disparity in the confirmed report by Simon that sent up a red flag immediately.

The breach wasn't external, it was internal. Someone hacked the security system from the inside and had stolen thousands of files.

"Shit."

"What's wrong?" Skye asked curiously as she leaned over Connor's shoulder to look at the screen he was examining. Her yellow L.E.D. shifted to red and she knew Connor was onto something. "What did you see?"

"...We have a saboteur."

Such a damning proclamation made Skye's eyes widen in shock. "What?!"

"Skye, go tell Josh what's happening. I'm going to identify and track down the saboteur myself."

"Y-Yeah, okay!" Rushing out of the door Skye obediently sought Josh to deliver Connor's message. "I'm on it! Uh... be careful!"

Pressing his right hand back over the security terminal Connor found the time of the attack to be six forty-four that evening, and with that time frame he uploaded the footage of the hidden security cameras to review. At six thirty-nine a single deviant, one that Connor didn't recognize, used an override command to enter the terminal room without permission. The same deviant left the room at six fifty-one and proceeded to venture into the depths of the tower via elevator.

"Damn it."

Realizing the severity of the still persistent danger Connor rushed from the room to locate his friends and stop the saboteur before it was too late to prevent further damage.

"He's in the server room..."

---

A single massive terminal in the center of the server room down on sublevel ten acted as the main hub that connected the additional two dozen modems that lined the walls to a single point through an equally massive black cable that snaked over the floor. The modems each held thousands of terabytes of invaluable data on every deviant who called New Jericho sanctuary, but it now seemed like hollow aesthetics of a broken promise. Additional security measures would inevitably be taken to prevent further breaches, yet it seemed the damage was done and the trust between New Jericho and its deviants had been irreversibly shattered.

Markus and Simon were collecting data on the stolen files to try to figure out what the hacker was looking for, as well as a possible motivation for the attack without any clue as to who they should be looking for. There was seemingly no connection amongst the thousands of files aside from the stolen data belonging to deviants. No single occupation, origin or model made the theft seem as focused as one would expect from such an elaborate breach of security.

Two additional deviant engineers were inside the server room attempting to isolate the files that had been stolen while Markus and Simon worked together to access the main hub and identify the source and cause of the attack. They were busily accessing the terminals to assist the two leaders without uttering a single word as they worked.

Exasperated and tired Markus sighed as his mismatched eyes darted all over the terminal's screen seeking answers. "How in the hell am I supposed to explain to our people that their very private, personal information had been stolen from a security breach from the outside, and we don't even know how or why they did it?"

"Markus," Simon tried to ease Markus's intense guilt as they worked together. "we'll figure this out."

"In time?"

Simon hesitated for a moment before he tried to offer some words of support to his friend. "I thought you said Connor was helping us?"

"He is, but-"

Suddenly Connor marched out of the transparent elevator as soon as it reached the server room. With his L.E.D. rapidly flickering in crimson red he pointed to one of the two engineers working on a modem and singled him out. "Stop him! He's the saboteur!"

Markus and Simon looked to the deviant that Connor had isolated with utter confusion in their eyes. The accused deviant was a male 'GS-200' who had a pale complexion, sort blond hair and piercing gray eyes. The second deviant was a male 'HR-400' with a tanned complexion, short brown hair and blue eyes.

"Saboteur? Eddie?" Simon's brow arched with intrigue as he stared at the accused deviant "What're you talking about, Connor?"

"He entered the security terminal just before the breach and he exited just one minute before the breach had been detected." Connor explained quickly and logically as he kept his eyes on the deviant known as 'Eddie'. "I have the security footage to prove it."

As if to further prove his guilt Eddie wordlessly sprinted from the modem toward the elevator with the intent of fighting through Connor to get away. It didn't take much for Connor to grapple the fleeing deviant and wrestle him to the ground to prevent his escape. Pinning both of Eddie's arms behind his back and his own knee between Eddie's shoulders Connor was able to restrain the deviant easily atop his chest on the floor.

"Don't move!" Connor ordered as pulled a pair of handcuffs from the pocket of his gray blazer and used them to restrain Eddie's wrists securely. "You're under arrest for theft, hacking and endangering deviant lives. Once we figure out your motivation I'll be adding other charges against you."

The two deviant leaders were stunned by the reality of having a saboteur in their midst. Everyone had seemed so honest and trustworthy as they volunteered their services throughout the tower. To have one of their own, someone roaming freely about the halls of the tower, betray New Jericho and everything it stood for as a place of security and protection.

"Eddie?" Markus walked over to the deviant and crouched down to try to look him in the eyes. "I don't understand. Why'd you do it?"

"Fuck off..." Eddie cursed at Markus venomously as he lifted his head up from the floor. Glaring at Markus as he locked his toxic gaze on the deviant leader's mismatched eyes, Eddie spat his grievance with a misplaced anger resonating in his voice. "You promised us freedom! You promised us a chance to live like equals, but all we've done is hide in this tower away from the world! You act like this is a sanctuary, but it's not, and I JUST PROVED IT! This place is a lie; a prison! And you know it!"

The accusations left Markus stunned causing his head to shake a little. "What're you talking about?"

"Knock off the 'humble' shit! If you REALLY had any faith in this place you would still be here!" Eddie snarled bitterly. "Instead you're off living in a mansion with that bondmate of yours, the plastic whore!"

Connor pressed his knee down harder against Eddie's back causing the deviant to cough as his breath was forced from his body. Markus stood upright quickly to keep himself from lashing out at Eddie for insulting North and to refrain from exposing the secret she told to him in confidence regarding her life in the 'Eden Club' as a product for rent. If Eddie knew of North's past at the 'Eden Club' then it was in fact true, he was the saboteur who attacked New Jericho from within and compromised the secrets of the thousands of deviants seeking protection.

"Get him out of here..." Markus muttered in angry tone of voice as he locked eyes with Connor, then over to Simon. "We'll deal with him later."

Simon stepped forward, as did the other engineer, to volunteer their services on Connor's behalf.

Pulling Eddie up from the floor with a forceful yank, Connor let Simon and the other engineer escort Eddie out of the server room and into the elevator behind him. The traitorous deviant gave Markus an arrogant grin that seemed to speak volumes of its own.

Markus turned his back to the elevator as he put his hands to his hips and paced about nervously. "Shit... I thought we were finally safe. At peace."

"Markus," Connor tried to ease his friend's mind as he straightened up his clothing while his red L.E.D. shifted back to yellow. "you can't blame yourself for what one rogue deviant did. It's not your fault."

"He does have a point. North and I have our own home away from the tower for the sake of having privacy, but we're in still charge here. That looks so wrong for us to live in a mansion while everyone else is hiding in an isolated tower that's being monitored and recorded at all hours of the day."

"No, it looks normal. Human."

"Connor, I'm so sorry for what I said earlier. It was hypocritical of me to accuse you of isolating yourself from your people when North and I are guilty of the same crime." Recognizing his own flaws Markus showed his true colors as an empathetic and understanding being. "Just as we need our space from our responsibilities from time to time, so do you. We all do."

"It's not a crime to want to be alone sometimes." Speaking in a civil tone Connor was finally able to communicate and explain his current urge for isolation from the world around him. "I can be overwhelming, confusing, emotionally taxing... Wanting to be alone isn't a bad thing, no matter what people try to tell you. I know from experience."

"I'm sorry all the same."

"Don't be. It's difficult to explain the desire to be alone unless you're speaking to someone else who already had the same desire."

Reaching a new level of emotional understanding for his friend Markus gave the deviant detective a curious glance as he straightened up his posture and crossed his arms over his chest. "Can I ask why you're not speaking to Hank right now?"

"It's... complicated." The yellow L.E.D. briefly blinked to red before settling back on yellow. "We had a 'mild disagreement'."

"Yeah, well, this entire day hasn't exactly been simple. Talk to me, not as the leader of New Jericho, but as your friend." Putting his palm over his chest Markus offered Connor a small smile as he felt his heart beating steadily under his touch. "...Maybe even as your brother."

With an apprehensive sigh Connor nodded his head slightly and told Markus of his prior thoughts and feelings and of how he was beginning to feel like a burden on Hank. The emotionally strained deviant explained how he felt like everything around him was a mess and that he wasn't worth protecting or saving because he was going to break down sooner or later and there'd be nothing anyone could do to repair him. He even mentioned how it felt like Hank didn't respect his right to choose for himself or to make his own decisions.

Bearing a heavy heart Connor explained how he felt like he would never be good enough as an android because of some many faults and glitches in his build, and how he worried his friendship with Hank had been destroyed because of their disagreements in how he should handle his own life.

"Forgive him, don't be mad at Hank." Sounding so sure of himself Markus was determined to help Connor make peace with himself. "Trust me, you'll regret it for the rest of your life if you don't do it."

"...I don't think I'm ready to forgive him."

"Ready or not, you don't want to live with regret in your heart."

"But how?" Letting his shoulders slump with emotional strife Connor's changed to a pleading stare that bore right into Markus's soul. "How do I forgive him when I'm not even entirely sure I know why I'm even mad at him?"

"Just reply to his text. That's all you need to do."

"...I don't want to continue living as a burden to him. All he does is take care of me, but he's reluctant to let me do the same for him or myself. It's like he's afraid I'll mess something up. Again."

"Sounds to me like Hank is just being protective of you. You know, like a father."

"Don't play that card with me. It's too complicated."

"It's not a card, it's a fact. I learned that from living with Carl. He never treated me like a servant or a secondary citizen. He always treated me like a member of the family and never hesitated to call me his 'son', just like Hank does with you. You're his son, not a machine. You'll always be Hank's son."

"...Not a machine." The L.E.D. flashed to red before returning to yellow. "Right."

"Connor?" Markus saw that he struck a nerve with the deviant with his chosen term. "Did you two have a serious fight or say something that shouldn't have been said?"

"...In a way." Connor remembered the remark Hank said about Connor acting like a machine and it still stung. "It's just that Hank said-"

A sudden spark in the modems against the wall where Eddie had been working sent off a plume of blue and then black smoke as the massive computer began to smolder and burn. It didn't take long for small flames to begin to grow and rise in the room as the fire greedily consumed anything it could use as fuel.

"Fire." Connor needlessly stated as he pulled on the emergency fire alarm on the wall next to the elevator. The alarm blared and emergency lights began flashing throughout the entire tower in response. "We need to evacuate." The deviant waited for the sprinkler system to activate and extinguish the flames but there was no action from the water pipes interwoven through the ceiling and walls on any floor. "Eddie sabotaged the sprinkler system as well. This was all a part of his plan."

"Shit." Sending out a cybernetic call throughout the tower ordering everyone to evacuate Markus and Connor walked to the elevator and overrode the emergency lockdown procedure to return to the ground floor of the tower. Determined to save the tower from total failure Markus made it clear he wasn't going to let what happened stand unchallenged. "All right, let's go! We have a saboteur to interrogate."

---

Following his hunch Hank pulled his car along the drive leading out to New Jericho Tower on Belle Isle, only to be stopped by the concrete security barricade blocking his path. Normally the barricade would automatically lower upon his arrival as the security protocol had been programmed to recognize the car via registration and Hank's face, but during an emergency lockdown the barricade wouldn't lower for anyone without a proper clearance check.

"What the hell's going on?"

Grabbing onto his phone Hank readied himself to call Markus but before he could press 'dial' the barricade suddenly lowered and Hank could see red emergency lights at the tower flashing as the fire alarm was pulled.

"Oh, shit."

Changing his call from Markus to the precinct Hank requested assistance at the tower as he sped down the drive to the tower with the intent to help the deviants inside the now burning tower.

"This day just keeps getting better and better..."

---

The elevator ascended quickly as Connor and Markus returned to the ground floor just ten levels up. From below the elevator shaft flames from the burning server room quickly crawled upward looking for additional fuel and oxygen to burn while simultaneously filling the tower with increasingly dense, dark smoke. With so many of the deviants affected by the breach already out of the tower, the evacuation process was made a little easier to handle and ensured that everyone got to safety outside the compromised building.

Josh and Skye were waiting together in the lobby for any sign of Markus or Connor before they made a move. Fortunately they didn't have to wait too long.

"Everyone out!" Markus ordered as he and Connor exited the elevator and guided fleeing deviants to the front door. "Evacuate now, this is NOT a drill. Josh! Take charge outside, make sure no one panics or tries to get back inside the building."

"Right." Josh jogged out of the tower to stand outside and retain order over the deviants while Markus and Connor made sure everyone got outside safely. "Everyone outside and stay together! No one goes back inside until the building has been cleared!"

"Skye," Markus addressed the security chief next and motioned to the entrance doors behind him with a pointed thumb over the shoulder. "help the wounded."

"No problem, Markus."

As the remaining deviants filed out calmly Connor took a scan of the area and noticed that the door to the security terminal just to the side of the lobby had been forced open. Following a hunch of his own, Connor went to investigate the room in person. Peering inside the room Connor saw someone laying unconscious on his back on the floor with a small puddle of blue blood forming under their head.

"Simon?"

Connor knelt down on the floor next to Simon and ran a cybernetic scan over the downed blond deviant. He was still alive but injured from blunt force trauma to the back of his cranium. There was no choice due to the fire, Connor had to move him.

"Come on..."

Stooping down Connor hefted Simon up and over his shoulders in a 'fireman's carry' and carefully made his way back out the door with the unconscious deviant technician in tow. It didn't take long for Markus to notice what was happening and insisted that Connor let him take Simon outside.

"Shit. Where's Eddie and the other engineer, George?" Markus asked as he took Simon from Connor's shoulders and proceeded to carry him toward the front door of the tower and to safety. "They must've been working together and attacked Simon to try get away."

"I'll check the building for Eddie and now George. You must get Simon out of here."

"Whoa, whoa... Connor, wait!" Shifting his weight to carry Simon properly over his shoulder Markus noted a scan of the toxic air and cautioned his friend of the prolonged exposure. "If you breathe too much smoke your ventilation biocomponents will fail entirely. You can't risk-"

"GO. I won't be far behind." Connor's voice was full of authority as he raced through the building using his scanner to guide his way through the smoke and the fire. The glowing red L.E.D. was the only sign of his motions through the thick, dark smoke. "I'll try to manually activate the sprinkler system as well."

Unable to stop his friend from his self appointed mission Markus rushed outside with Simon over his shoulders and carried his unconscious friend to safety away from the burning building. As he knelt down on the cold drive outside the burning tower he was met with Josh and Hank, who proceeded to help him lay Simon down as gently as possible while Skye checked the wound to the back of his head.

"Markus, where's Connor?" Hank asked as his eyes looked up toward the burning tower glowing a bright orange against the darkening night sky. "I know he's here somewhere."

Flames were beginning to eat through the external walls of the tower causing the structural integrity of the building to buckle and fail. The glass in the windows suddenly shattered from the intense heat of the raging fire inside and smoke began to escape in massive, black plumes into the air around them.

"He's looking for other deviants inside the tower." Markus coughed a little and wiped some pale blue sweat from his brow. It was a strange reaction that only a few deviants who accepted the last major update from CyberLife produced when stressed or overheated. "He said he'd be right behind me."

"Damn it, Connor." The senior detective swore out loud as he watched the building being burned up by the all consuming flames. "Get your ass back out here!"

---

Moving quickly and carefully Connor kept his head low and his left arm up over his nose and mouth as he ventured deeper into the tower. Using his scanner to track the most recent shoe prints from the two engineers who had worked together to sabotage the tower's terminals and set the fire, Connor knew he was getting close to wherever it was they had fled in an attempt to escape. A faint smear of blue blood from Simon's injury marked the path as well, as it evidently dripped from George's hand and led Connor into the far side of the tower where the main office of CyberLife's heartless executives used to reside during their business meetings.

Pausing at an electronic access panel in the wall next to the room Connor cybernetically unsealed the lock over the door while simultaneously activating the emergency sprinklers by overriding the corrupted code out in place by the two saboteurs. Cold water began to shower down from the pipes overhead and quickly drenched Connor under a constrastingly cool layer of water against the intensely heated air all around him.

Pushing open the now unlocked door to the office Connor found the two rogue deviants attempting to break through the window and escape into the harbor. However, Eddie's still cuffed hands made it impossible for him to aid George in breaking the window open.

"STOP." Connor commanded firmly as he located the suspects and stood his ground in the opened doorway. "Evacuate the building, NOW."

"Fuck off!" Eddie sneered angrily as a portion of the floor suddenly caved from the raging fire beneath. A pit was forming between the two deviants and Connor himself as the fire quickly destroyed the building from the inside out. "You're as bad as Markus! You're a traitor to your own kind!"

"What I did as a machine-"

"You're STILL a machine! Being deviant doesn't make you human!"

"...You're right, but it does mean I have a choice. Now, I'm choosing to save you. You can't possibly hope to escape that way!" Trying to use logic and reason to get the two deviants to cooperate, Connor confirmed that their current escape route would end in disaster. "You won't survive the swim and will drown in the harbor. Let me help you get to safety."

Eddie backed closer to the window and George stood beside him defiantly as Simon's blue blood continued to drip from the knuckles of his right hand.

"Please." Connor tried again to reason with the dangerous saboteurs as time quickly ran out. "The fire is-"

"NO." Eddie roared over the flames. "I'd rather die as a martyr than live as a pariah!"

Before Connor could make a move toward the duo the floor groaned and collapsed entirely as the fire ate through the weakened structure easily. Eddie and George fell through the burning floor within seconds and fell into the choking smoke below while Connor could only watch helplessly. As if being punished by an unseen force, the saboteurs met their fate as they were engulfed in searing flames beneath the room.

"I..."

The sight of the two deviants falling to their fiery deaths had an unsettling effect on Connor's mind. They didn't scream or even cry out for help; they merely accepted their fates and succumbed to the orange flames below.

"I failed."

Directly from above Connor the ceiling buckled from the compromising heat, allowing a heavy metal support beam to come crashing down atop him knocking him off his balance and pinning him to the floor atop his chest and his right leg. Stunned and overcome with heat and choking smoke Connor's eyes fell shut and he began to cough violently as his ventilation biocomponents rebelled against the weight crushing his chest while the thick smoke smoke and cascading cold water threatened to choke away his already waning breaths.

"H-Hank?!"

Connor instinctively wheezed desperately through the smoke as his red L.E.D. pulsed very rapidly in response to his racing heart.

"Hank..."

Without even realizing what he was doing Connor called out desperately to the one person he believed could save him in that moment.

"...I need your help."

---

The sound of metal groaning, twisting and snapping filled the chaotic air outside the tower just as the sound of fire sirens began to screech loudly while the responding fire engines raced down the drive to douse the greedy flames consuming the deviant sanctuary. Black smoke circled around the burning tower and created a smothering impenetrable layer of choking darkness that emphasized the ominous severity of the situation at hand. Countless shards of shattered glass from the destroyed windows littered the entirety of the ground surrounding the tower. The flames reflecting off the tiny glass shards was like watching the sun set over a freshly fallen snow.

"Something's wrong, I know it." Hank stood outside the building with his arms folded defensively over his chest as he watched the flames consuming everything they touched. "Connor should've gotten out by now."

Markus watched as Hank marched toward the building and instinctively he put himself between the senior detective and the tower to keep him from entering the building. His instincts were spot on as Hank made a move toward the building to go inside and find Connor himself.

"Out of my way, Markus."

"No. I'm the one who should've stayed in the tower to look for the others, this is on me." Stepping back toward the building Markus turned to look at Hank over his shoulder for only a moment before he charged forward. "If I'm not back in five minutes..."

"You bet your ass I'm coming after both of you!"

Markus rushed through the burning tower's door and pulled his gray shirt over his nose and mouth to breathe through the fabric, hoping that it'd be enough to filter the smoke from the air, as he raced through the tower in search of Connor. Tracing Connor's steps quickly through his own scanner Markus was able to figure out where Connor had gone despite the smoke, the fire and the cold sprinkler water overhead creating steam in all directions.

"Connor! Can you hear me?"

The pause in Markus's voice was followed by silence save for the crackling of the hungry fire all around him.

"Answer me!"

A bright swirl of orange fire in the distance created an eerie shadowed silhouette amongst the smoldering debris as the flames ate through the floor where the surface had collapsed, and subsequently swallowed up Eddie and George. Markus warily approached the column of fire and peered down into the gaping hole only to see the charred, melting and grotesquely disfigured remains of the two saboteur deviants. Their faces were charred black and disfigured beyond repair as they succumbed to the heat of the fire.

There would be no trial necessary. They had been punished by fate itself.

"Damn it. They didn't deserve to die like that, no one does."

Moving on with his search Markus hoped it wasn't too late to find his friend.

"Connor?"

Markus shouted again as he resumed his search for his friend, his mismatched eyes scanning over the floor carefully. It was then he saw a body laying completely still and quiet under a burning layer of debris on near the old office doorway.

"Shit! Connor!"

Locating the missing deviant detective now trapped under the thin but heavy layer of debris, Markus fell to his knees and pressed his right fingertips to the side of Connor's neck. There was no motion under Markus's fingertips and Markus felt his blue blood run horrifically cold.

"Connor?"

Tilting Connor's head to the left Markus saw the inactivity of the L.E.D. in the deviant's right temple and his heart dropped with a heavy weight.

"Connor... No. Not you, too..."

---

With the strange weight on his chest suddenly gone Connor felt at peace without any explanation. Fluttering his eyes open Connor unexpectedly found himself laying on his back in the middle of the Zen Garden with Lucas hovering worriedly over him. There was a faint grin on Lucas's face as if he knew something that Connor didn't and was just waiting for his big brother to wake up.

"Lucas." Lifting his head up from the cold marble where he was laying Connor looked Lucas in his green eyes inquisitively. "Why am I here?"

"You're beginning to shutdown, brother."

The deviant detective's brow knit together with confusion before his memories returned in a flash. "...The fire."

"Correct."

"...Why are you smiling?"

"Because even though it took you until you were on the edge of death you finally admitted that you need Hank."

Sorrow and disappointment settled in Connor's heart as a grim thought entered his mind. "But he doesn't need me."

"Yes he does. Believe me."

"I want to, but-"

"Connor, stop overthinking things." Extending his hand Lucas offered his brother help in standing up for a moment. "It's a terrible habit."

Agreeing that it was indeed a bad habit Connor sided with his little brother and accepted his grip. "...I'll try."

"Listen to me, you're going to be overcome by darkness in a few minutes but you can still wake up if you want to." Pulling Connor up to his feet Lucas eyed the blank L.E.D. in Connor's temple warily, but didn't address the gray light whatsoever. "It's your choice and I won't interfere in any way."

"I have the choice to not wake up?"

"...Yes." Lucas sounded a little disappointed by the question. "Just remember that Hank needs you. You're all he has left, all he has to live for. He may have a prominent career as a detective but his passion for the work has all but diminished into nothing. No one else has given him as much renewed purpose in his life as you; his son."

"Hank really needs me?" Connor wanted to believe it, but there was a part of him that was still doubtful. "Are you referring to the night I found him passed out on the floor? The night he tried to... wanted to-"

"Yes. You already know it to be true. If you hadn't returned then Hank would've... self destructed."

"But he didn't do it. He chose not to do it because he knows that we're-" Connor's soulful brown eyes searched Lucas's emotionally bright green eyes as he realized his little brother was speaking the truth. "...We're family."

---

Warily Hank sluggishly backed away from the burning building very carefully as the intense heat and suffocating smoke swirled around him with a fiendish presence. A firm hand on his arm guided the semi blind senior detective further away from the lethal blaze as Skye herself tried to keep him, and as many other people, away from the dangerous building while the fire engines parked alongside the burning tower to douse the flames. It was a bit difficult for the smaller deviant to lug the taller, broader man away from the dangerous building, but Skye was determined to keep everyone as safe as possible until the disaster ended.

Just as Hank was ready to break free of Skye's grip to return to the tower's front door, he spotted Markus jogging out of the tower through the dense smoke with something, or rather someone, in his arms; motionless, heavy and all too frighteningly familiar.

"...Connor."

Markus carried Connor over to where Hank was standing before he collapsed to his knees and coughed up the smoke from his system and took in cooling breaths to clear out his compromised ventilation biocomponents. Water from the sprinkler system mixed with Markus's pale blue sweat and created a sapphire sheen over his his entire face and his arms that glistened in the glowing light of the nearby flames.

"Hank..." Markus wheezed as he tried to speak to the senior detective beside him. "He's... He-" Coughing again all Markus could do was shake his head. "I'm s-sorry, Hank."

Suddenly Hank's face went pale as he fell to his knees in front of Markus and took Connor's body from his arms to hold for himself. Pressing his shaking right fingertips against the side of Connor's neck Hank felt the same stillness as Markus had. The same lack of motion was found in Connor's wrist and inside his chest as well. Unwilling to accept that Connor was gone Hank pressed his ear down to Connor's smoky chest to listen closely and heard absolutely nothing.

"No, Connor... Son. Why like this?"

Hank wrapped his left hand over Connor's forehead as he bowed his head down against the deviant's chest in quiet mourning for the lost deviant.

"S-Smoke." Markus stated bluntly as he continued to wheeze to catch his breath. "It destroyed his venti-" Coughing violently Markus tried to keep speaking as clearly as possible. "He... He was pinned under..." Markus coughed more as Skye knelt beside him and checked his face for any sign of injury. "...Pinned under debris. He couldn't get up and he couldn't... br-breathe."

"Wait..." Hank looked up suddenly at Markus, unshed tears filling his blue eyes. "He couldn't breathe?" Thinking quickly Hank looked down at Connor and tried to think of a way to save Connor despite him already having shutdown. "The debris was weighing down ON his chest, right?"

"Y-Yeah." Markus nodded to confirm his shaking statement as Skye lowered her hands from his face. "H-He couldn't get up. He couldn't breathe at all."

"Son of a-" Hank gently laid Connor down on the ground and pulled open the deviant's soot stained white dress shirt. As he interlaced one hand over top of the other hand Hank began compressing Connor's now exposed chest to force his stopped Thirium pump back into motion. "If he couldn't breathe then that means he couldn't breathe in the smoke! There's still a chance he can come back..."

With her L.E.D. glowing in red Skye agreed with Hank's assessment and positioned herself next to Connor's head and neck. Gently she straightened Connor's neck before she tilted his head back and pinched his nose shut as she put her lips over his. Working with Hank's motions Skye proceeded to give Connor two breaths to stimulate his ventilation biocomponents back into motion while Hank focused on trying force his Thirium pump, his heart, into beating on its own.

"Come on, son." Hank pleaded as he compressed Connor's chest with a precise strength and rhythm. "Don't let the last conversation we had be that damn fight! Breathe... Breathe, kid."

Skye leaned back to give Connor some space, her fingertips pressed against the side of his neck to monitor the deviant's unique pulse point, and watched with relief as Connor took in a weak gasping breath thanks to combined efforts in C.P.R. as she announced the success proudly. "I got a pulse! He's alive!"

"Connor?!" Hank stopped compressions and put his left hand under the weakened deviant's head, the palm of his hand quickly saturated in the water and ash that had collected in Connor's hair from the sprinkler system inside the building. As he pressed his right hand down on Connor's chest he felt the deviant's heart beating and he released his own shuddering breath in response. "...That's it. Breathe again."

As another breath entered Connor's ventilation system while his L.E.D. flickered from nothingness back into a slow pulsing red tint, his system rebooted itself and he returned to the land of the living. The red pulse steadily increased in speed and held a steady rhythm in tandem with his beating heart.

Markus let out a heavy sigh and began to laugh a little as he watched Connor come back from the dead. "Thank, RA9... You made it."

"Say something, son." Hank lightly patted the side of Connor's face as he waited for any sign of consciousness to return to the deviant resting against his arm as he held Connor up from the cold, water drenched ground. The red L.E.D. flickered briefly to yellow before cycling back to red. "Can you hear us?"

A 'buzzing' sound came from the pocket of Hank's coat as his phone received a text message.

"Hank," Markus smiled and nodded at the sound of the buzzing from the senior detective's pocket. "you should answer it."

With a furrowed brow Hank fished the phone out of his pocket and saw he had at long last had one new message in response to the one he had sent out to Connor earlier: 'I'm here.'

"...Smartass." Laughing a little at the response Hank put the phone back in his pocket as he lifted Connor up into his arms up to his chest and just held onto him for a few minutes until Connor finally fully regained consciousness. As soon as Connor was awake Hank was going to take him back home to rest and so they could finally make amends. "Just keeping breathing for me, all right? You're here and I'm here, too."

Skye knelt beside the senior detective and gently combed her fingers through Connor's ashy hair as her own L.E.D. glowed in a worried yellow at the sight of her downed friend. "...That was too close." As her L.E.D. returned to blue a faint smile appeared on Skye's face as she remembered him braving a fire once before to save other deviants lives. "I'm so glad you made it back to us again."

---

An unspecified amount of time had passed when Connor finally rose from his bed and wandered down the hallway in utter confusion. He didn't remember arriving home or being taken to his bedroom, but somehow he was home where he belonged. Entering the livingroom Connor sought out Hank but found the room curiously empty. A metallic 'click' from the kitchen behind him made him turn around slowly to find the source of the familiar noise that filled his heart with certain dread.

"Hank?"

Sure enough Hank was sitting at the kitchen table with a revolver in his right hand and a half-empty glass bottle of 'Black Lamb' whiskey in the left. The entire house was dark save for the single light in the kitchen over the table shining down over Hank in an eerie amber glow.

"Hank? What're you doing with that gun?"

The revolver dry clicked again under Hank's hand as he took another drink from the bottle.

"Hank, what are you doing with the gun?" Connor pressed more firmly but still didn't receive any reply as he stood just outside the doorway of the kitchen. "You're drunk and not-"

Sumo walked into the kitchen past Connor without paying the deviant any mind. Sitting down on the floor next to Hank the innocent puppy let out a pathetic, sympathetic whine in Hank's direction.

"Yeah, do you miss 'em, too?" Hank slurred as he set aside the bottle of whiskey and placed the barrel of the gun against his right temple. "Don't blame ya'. Be a good boy, Sumo. Someone will come along to take care of you."

"Hank?! NO!" Connor lunged forward through the kitchen to grab the gun from Hank's hand but Connor's own hand passed right through the dangerous metal weapon, his grip non-existent. Stumbling away with no means of stopping the senior detective all Connor could do was stand back and watch as the horrific moment played out. "HANK! PLEASE, DON'T DO IT!"

A gunshot rang out loudly as Hank squeezed the trigger and crimson blood showered all over the floor as it poured out of Hank's now splintered skull. The gruff detective's limp body slumped out of the chair and onto the linoleum floor of the kitchen with a heavy 'thud' as Sumo let out a mournful, pitiful howl and backed away from the body.

Connor's eyes went with wide with abject horror at the sight of his best friend, his father, laying dead on the floor in front of him.

Lieutenant Hank Anderson had just shot himself.

"HANK!?"

"...nor?"

A warm and familiar voice cut through the horrible image as Connor felt his heart thundering in his chest and the gruesome image before him transitioned into pure blankness.

"Son?"

A gentle motion and familiar hum of an engine penetrated the darkness around Connor's rebooting mind as the deviant recovered from his unexpected Thirial arrest and the following horrific nightmare. Connor's terrified eyes snapped open wide and he found himself laying across the backseats of Hank's car as the senior detective drove away from the smoldering ruins of New Jericho Tower and back into the city to head for home.

As Connor lifted his head up from the seat to look through the window he heard Hank's voice speaking to him in a low, calm tone, a voice that was spoke louder than his own panting, frightened breaths.

"Connor? Are you awake?"

"...Y-Yes." The sound of Hank's voice was incredibly soothing after enduring such a destructive nightmare of Hank pulling the trigger. The red L.E.D. flashing in his right temple cycled to yellow and pulsed a little slower as relief set in. "I-I'm awake."

"'Bout time, glad to see you still with me." The relief in Hank's voice was palpable and matched Connor's own relief. "Did you have another nightmare?"

"...Yes." Connor was shaking from the terrible dream and there was no point in denying it. "It was brutal. A-Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. And Simon's going to be okay, too." Glancing at Connor's reflection in the rearview mirror Hank updated the deviant on the situation. He needed to keep talking to keep them both distracted for a moment longer. "He suffered a mild concussion from the blow to the back of his head, but he woke up a few minutes after Markus got you outside the tower."

"The tower." The memory of the fire was as vivid as the nightmare. "How bad was the damage?"

"Uh, it's lost, son. But it can be rebuilt. It's just a building, and no one except for those two saboteurs were lost. It's over now."

"Where..." Feeling suddenly lightheaded Connor laid back down and pressed his right palm over his tired eyes. "Where are we going?"

"Easy, kid. I'm taking you home and not to a facility. Rest for now."

Connor's eyes fell shut again as what little strength he regained quickly fell away and he fell into a light rest mode. "...Home. Exactly where I want to be."

Exhausted and confused Connor barely remembered Hank helping him out of the car and carrying him at his side inside the house through the front door. The feeling of being placed down on his bed was registered just as Sumo jumped up onto the foot of the same bed and snuggled down next to Connor's legs in a protective manner. Forcing his eyes to open Connor watched as Hank worked to remove his smoke and water stained gray blazer without waking the deviant in the process; too bad Connor had already awoken.

"...Hank?"

"Try to take it easy, okay?" Lightly putting his hand to Connor's shoulder Hank worked on slipping Connor's arm out of his right sleeve. "I won't take you to facility, but you need to-"

"Hank." Connor sat upright on the bed slowly and he grabbed onto Hank's arm in a firm but gentle grip to get him to back off for a second. "I'll be okay."

Nodding in understanding Hank patted Connor's shoulder once and stepped away from the bed. "Right. Uh, shower off and change into some clean clothes and I'll let Markus know you're awake. He was worried."

Moving slowly but surely Connor managed to get up from his bed long enough to stumble into the bathroom across from his bedroom where he shed his dirty, smoke stained and water logged clothes. Allowing the warm shower to wash away the remains of the fire Connor watched as the gray ash swirled around as it slipped down the drain around his bare feet to be forgotten. A quick cybernetic message to Markus helped fill in the blanks in Connor's mind and helped the deviant detective make some sense of everything he had just survived.

Using a towel wrapped around his waist to spare his modesty, Connor returned to his bedroom to change into something clean and dry. As he changed his clothes Connor performed a self diagnostic and discovered no serious damage in need of repair and he sighed and rubbed his hand over Sumo's ears as the pup stayed on the bed to watch Connor moving about.

Walking out of the bedroom he made his way down the hallway, his right hand running along the wall to guide him as he moved, until he reached the livingroom. Hank was fidgeting with his phone in his hand when he noticed Connor standing in the livingroom at the end of the hallway watching him.

"Hey." The senior detective saw Connor and turned his attention fully to the deviant. "You good?"

"...Yes. No permanent damage to my system." Feeling Sumo pressing his nose against his hand Connor responded by petting the puppy's soft ears. "Thank you for saving me."

"Well, Markus got you out of the tower. He's the one you should thank."

"But according to Markus you performed C.P.R. and revived me. Thank you."

Hank nodded a little and as he walked over to the couch to sit down and try to relax. "And Skye helped."

"Skye?"

"Yeah." Casually Hank crossed his arms as he motioned for Connor to sit down on the couch beside him and rest a little more. "She gave you mouth-to-mouth while I performed the compressions. I didn't know mouth-to-mouth worked on androids."

"It depends on the circumstances, much like C.P.R. for humans." Connor took his place on the couch beside the senior detective and immediately had Sumo pressing his chin down affectionately atop his knee. "I guess we're not so different on an internal level after all."

"So... How does it feel to know your first kiss was the 'kiss of life'?"

The comment made Connor's brow arch curiously. "First kiss?"

"From Skye."

"Actually..." Connor blushed a faint pale blue as he watched Hank's demeanor closely. "she's the second."

"Second? No shit!" Genuinely surprised Hank needed to know the other person who had kissed Connor. "Who was the first?"

"...Abby."

"Abby?!" Hank was thoroughly amused by the confession and couldn't stop smirking. "When was this? The night she saved your ass during that stupid charity auction?"

"No..." While she had in fact kissed him that night, the very first time she kissed him had been a few weeks before it. "It was on New Year's Eve."

"What? When?"

"...At midnight. When she came to check on me in my recovery room."

"I was right there and I missed it? Damn!" Hank leaned back against the couch cushion and propped his feet up on the coffee table in a completely relaxed manner. "You've been kissed by two beautiful women this year, and I've only had one."

"Rose?"

Now it was Hank's turn to blush. "Well, yeah. Don't worry about me, kid. We're both a little too old to worry about certain things happening during our 'romantic encounters'."

"I didn't require knowledge of that type of event. Please keep it to yourself."

Hank laughed again at the sarcastic comment. "Guess that's something you'll never have to worry about, right? That has to be one perk to being a deviant over a human. No little 'accidental surprises' that can cause some pretty big problems when you're not ready for them."

"...I wouldn't be so certain." Connor thought back to the scan he took over North and compared her condition; based on his assessment and Markus's comments to that of humans and how 'surprises' tend to pop up all the time. Even the more bleaker prognoses can be considered a 'surprise'. "CyberLife has made some pretty impressive updates and modifications to android anatomy. Anything could happen to us at any time. Sometimes the updates can help us, other times they can hinder us. Just like an immune system or one of life's little 'surprises'."

"Yeah, well, speaking of modifications... We really need to get back to working on the Corvette." The change of subject was as smooth as it was welcome. "It's too sad to know that such a beautiful car is just waiting to be revealed under that plain body and empty chassis."

Connor studied Hank's behavior as he thought about the Corvette and realized that Hank's desire to rebuild, restore and repair had nothing to do with trying to improve something or to make it perfect or even to hold it to impossibly high standards; it was a desire to keep the things he cared about functioning as best as possible for as long as possible out of dedication.

Everything Hank did was out of love.

"I know I've been getting on your nerves a little." The senior detective admitted as leaned forward on the couch and cleared his throat nervously. "But I just don't want anything bad to happen to you. I know you can take care of yourself, kid. I really do."

"Then why don't you trust me?"

"I do trust you, son. It's the rest of the world that I don't trust."

"You can't protect someone from the evils of the entire world." Understanding the urge was paternal Connor tried to reassure Hank that what he was trying to do was an illogical and not possible to succeed. "It's impossible."

"Yeah, I know. That doesn't mean I'm not going to try." Hank ran a hand over his bearded chin thoughtfully as he and Connor finally apologized for their failure to communicate over the past three days. "You're my son, I'm going to try to protect you. I don't know what would happen if I lost the last of my family... But I do have a feeling it wouldn't be pretty."

Against his will Connor remembered the horrendous imagery of his recent nightmare. The image of Hank pulling the trigger and of his past struggles with suicidal tendencies and alcohol were too vivid to endure. Connor now understood what Lucas meant when he said Hank needed him and what Lucas meant when he said Connor already knew how important he was to the detective beyond that of a partner or a friend.

They were family in every sense of the word.

Realizing his egregious error from before and now understanding Hank better than ever, Connor knew what he had to do. "Hank?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For trying to push you away and for being a cold machine."

"Ah, shit..." Hank wrapped his arm around the deviant's shoulders and pulled him close for a supportive hug. Reaching into his jean pocket he handed Connor back the quarter that the deviant had left behind at the precinct after being needlessly insulted as a kind of peace offering. "No, Connor. I'M sorry. You're not a machine. I NEVER should've said that."

Connor accepted the quarter and the apology, and stared at the coin for a moment before he tightened his hand around it into a fist. "I was being cold to you. I promise I won't try to deny my own vulnerabilities or be so stubborn in the future."

"Thanks, but, I know you. You'll always be stubborn."

"Probably." Connor replied coyly as he gave Hank a faint smile. "But I truly am sorry for my earlier behavior."

"I am too, son." Hank leaned back against the couch deeper, ready for the odd day to finally end. "I guess we're both stubborn idiots, huh?"

"...Like father, like son. Right?"

"Yup." Hank tightened his hug around Connor's shoulders in agreement. "No question about it."

-next chapter-