A/N: Hello all! I finally have this chapter ready. Quick note: I didn't bother writing Markus in the junkyard rebuilding himself. I figured it'd just be a waste of time, and we already know what happens there. Nothing changes in this narrative.

Iris walked the whole way from the police station. It was about a 45-minute trek, and her feet were killing her and her calves were burning and she was soaked to the bone, but she didn't give the discomfort any thought. In fact, she didn't notice until she opened the door to the convenience store and the alarm chimed.

That's when she saw the clerk looking at her funny. Iris blanched; great, she thought. Her hair was a wet mop, makeup ran down her face, and the train of her dress was ripped and tattered. More than once her foot caught on the fabric and she'd had enough and tore half the train off.

Iris Manfred looked like a mental institution patient.

"Hey," she mumbled, and while the automatic door was still open, tried to squish some water from her hair onto the pavement. Her dress was already uncomfortably stuck on her skin and she wasn't rude enough to let the water fall to the tiled floor.

"Evening." The clerk openly stared. He was about her age, maybe a smidge older.

Iris's eyes roamed around the store, finding herself the only patron. Makes sense, she thought. No one else was crazy enough to be out this late. She made her way to his counter, slapping her damp purse onto the glass of the lottery ticket selection.

"A pack of…" She stuttered, gesturing to the section of cigarettes on the wall behind the clerk. "Whatevers. I don't care."

The clerk nodded. "You got it."

He went to the section and pulled at the first one he saw, Davidoff's, and set them beside her purse.

Iris stared at it. One wouldn't hold her over.

"One more, actually. Thanks."

"Sure."

He grabbed another pack of Davidoff's and set it beside the first, his other hand beginning to type the order into his register.

"Actually, one more please."

"D'you want the whole row?" He teased, though Iris wasn't sure if he was ticked off or not. Right now social cues weren't her forte.

"Don't tempt me," she hummed under her breath, and was satiated with two packs landing beside her purse.

Four. Four would be good.

The door alarm chimed behind her and Iris unconsciously cocked her head to check the new arrival, and was surprised to see a female android with a little girl. Her short brown hair was kept in a half-bun, her outfit and plastic apron perfectly neat, and a gentle hand resting atop the shoulder of the child.

The android's model number—as indicated by the blinking numbers on her top—read AX400. A popular housemaid model. Iris remembered looking at one a few years back when she first moved into the mansion.

Iris also took note of the splash of blue blood adorning a section of the android's hair and cheek. Wonder how that happened, Iris mused.

The child, obviously nervous and hiding her face behind her hands, stared to Iris and the clerk with beautiful brown eyes. Her head shook—a small array of droplets flying from her hair—as her gaze flew to the tiles and she pulled away from her android, pressing further into the store to look at the abysmal section of stuffed animals. Her arms unconsciously crossed around her middle as she rubbed her hands into her sweater, raindrops seeping into the stripes.

Iris smiled to the pair. If their night was as good as hers, they could use a kind smile and friendly face.

"What do you want?" The clerk sneered, staring at the android with disgust. The response sent a jab of ice into Iris's veins and a swirl of red from the android's LED.

"I'm with a little girl, and we have nowhere to go." The android explained softly; hopeful. "Can you spare some money so we can get a room for tonight?"

The clerk chuckled. "Shit… A homeless android? Ah, that's the best yet."

Iris turned back to the clerk and quirked an eyebrow, gaze hardening. She was regularly against anyone being a prick to androids, but tonight? She just lost her best friend; the person who made her heart ache. If the clerk put a toe out of line Iris was sure she'd snap.

"Look," the clerk backtracked, biting his tongue. "this is a convenience store, not the Salvation Army, okay? You better go. If you're not gonna buy anything."

The AX400 put her head down with a soft, understanding nod, turning back to the child. "C'mon, Alice. Let's stay out of the rain for a bit and find someplace to stay. How's that sound?" She set a gentle hand atop Alice's shoulder, giving the girl a smile.

"I'm cold, Kara."

Kara pressed her lips in a thin line. "I know. We'll warm you up soon, alright? I promise."

"Okay."

The child rested her head against Kara's hand at her shoulder. Though Alice couldn't see it, Kara smiled and closed her eyes, as if savoring the familial action. Funny, Iris thought. She only knew one android who did that.

A deviant, then.

It makes sense, she reasoned. A named android, wandering for a place to stay with a young child late at night. The two were obviously bonded.

Iris let her mind wander. Blue blood on Kara's cheek. Was there a fight? Is that why they were without money and a home? They needed help then.

"That'll be $32.60, ma'am." The clerk said. His words flew in one ear and out the other.

Iris stared as the AX400—Kara—meandered around the back of the store, pausing as she passed by the sweets section. The LED swirled and blinked in yellow as Kara stared at a particular brand of chocolate. Iris figured she knew what was in the android's mind. Candy for Alice.

Such a motherly act. How long had she been a deviant?

"Ma'am?" The clerk repeated.

Still, Iris stared at Kara, her gentle, calculated steps hardly making a squeak as she moved on from the sweets to the hardware section.

"Ma'am, are you going to buy this—"

"Yes, one second." She huffed. Iris pulled away from the counter and meandered to the sweets, grabbing a chocolate bar and setting it beside her packs. The clerk furrowed his eyebrows and frowned; Iris replied with a cock of her head and a mischievous glint in her chocolate brown orbs.

For the first time tonight, she felt like herself again.

With a flip of her head—the sticky strands of her hair whipping around to her shoulder—she pressed onward to Alice. The girl still stared up to the half-baked pile of stuffed animals and dolls, quiet as she longed for a particular fox-like plush. It had black, pointy ears, strong black whiskers, brown fur covering most of the body, a white section for its mouth, and was fairly well-stuffed.

"D'you like that plush?" Iris asked softly. She was a few paces from Alice, not wanting to crowd the child.

Alice looked up to the stranger, her hands tightening their grip around her small form. Her eyes grew wide at the attention, shrinking from Iris. However, she felt brave enough to give a small nod.

"Do you want it?"

Alice shied away, opting to look at the tiles beneath her feet. "It's okay. We don't have any money."

Iris smiled. "I do."

With ease, the sculptor grabbed at the fox's middle and pulled it from the shelf, purpose growing with each step to the counter. Alice followed behind curiously.

"This, too." Iris told the clerk. While she couldn't see it, she could feel the growing smile at her back. Soft footsteps filled her ears, and she could imagine Kara pulling up behind Alice, confused.

He stared incredulously. "Seriously?" She bobbed her head. "Why?"

Iris thought about her words carefully.

"Because, indifference leads to hate. Hate leads to violence." Her bottom lip trembled at the flash of her family in the studio. "And I've seen enough violence tonight. So whatever these two want, they get. I'll pay."

Kara immediately spoke, "We can't pay you back, miss, I'm sorry—"

Iris turned with ease and rested a hand on the android's upper arm. "Don't worry about it. I'm more than happy to oblige." And she added, "The name's Iris, by the way. And I'm serious, grab whatever you need."

Kara's LED swirled heavily in yellow as she processed the information. Then she immediately turned and grabbed a small coat hanging on a rack by the door. For Alice, Iris thought with a smile. Kara set it beside Iris's growing inventory pile, and went back to the hardware section.

Iris raised an eyebrow as a single set of wire cutters landed beside the chocolate bar. "Really?"

Kara nodded silently.

"If that's what you want, fine by me." Iris shrugged. "Now total me."

The clerk did, and Iris paid, and Kara and Alice grabbed their items with a newfound spring in their step. Alice shrugged on the jacket while Kara zipped her up, and the wire cutters and chocolate were pocketed into the pristine white jeans the android wore.

"Thank you, Iris," Kara said earnestly.

Iris looked between the pair with a smile. The stuffed fox was pressed against Alice's front, her little arms hugging it tightly. "Glad to be of service. Take care, okay?"

The sun was in the sky by 5:40 AM the next morning. Iris knew that because she'd been sitting outside the front door at 4 and watched it rise.

She didn't sleep. She didn't expect herself to. Not after the festivities that transpired in her studio, or the fact that the hospital kept calling her after nearly every hour on the dot to update her on her family's condition. The images of last night played on repeat every time she blinked while the nurses and doctors talking flew into her eardrums with every stretch of silence—over and over and over.

It was exhausting.

Iris couldn't even walk through the automatic doors of her and her father's sacred space. No, she couldn't force herself to look at the blood on the ground—red and blue—or at the utter mess Leo made of her and her father's designs. The one thing she had from last night was the mini Monster sculpture. One of the policemen didn't want to trip on it and set it on the dining room table on his way out. Here it rested, in her hand, her thumb tracing over the jagged crack down its face and over the crescent break where his ear used to be.

"Mrow?" The real Monster bumped his head against Iris's arm. Iris chuckled softly and scratched behind his ear.

"Hey, handsome." She hummed softly, and traded the sculpture for a cigarette and set it between her teeth. That would be the 10th she'd had since coming home from the convenience store. "It's just you and me now, baby."

She lit up the stick and puffed at it silently, letting the soft November breeze wash over her. Wrapped around her neck was her father's favorite scarf, the one he wore out to almost every occasion. Iris also wore her paint splattered jeans and a simple long-sleeved shirt to combat the cold.

Monster let out a gentle purr and bumped his head against Iris again, this time nudging himself underneath her arm. She chuckled in response and brought her elbow up so he could shimmy into her side.

"I know, Monster, I miss 'em, too."

She ran a hand through his black fuzz, taking a deep sigh to recharge her thoughts. Okay, little flower, Iris could imagine her father saying. You can't avoid your problems forever.

After the next phone call, she would get up and make breakfast. Something nice and protein-filled. And Iris would have to face the studio sooner or later. The blood isn't going to clean itself. Take a shower, clean off the mess of blood and cigarette ashes from herself, maybe—

"Prrr-row?"

Iris cocked her head at Monster, raising an eyebrow. "Is something wrong, baby?"

Monster stared at the heavy tree-line of the woods beside the mansion, his tail swishing thickly. "What's wrong, kitten?"

The cat let out a guttural yowl from his throat before bounding off into the woods.

"Monster! Get back here!" Iris jumped up from her spot, smushing the bottom of her cigarette out before chasing into the woods. "Monster! Come back!"

He'd never acted like this before. No, he was a baby, always sticking by Iris's side when she let him out. Something must've spooked him bad to get him racing like this. Iris thought about the possible scenarios. Maybe there was another cat he could smell? A stray dog? God forbid he was chasing after a fox or a wolf. I swear to god, if anything hurts him. I can't afford to lose my baby, too.

"Monster!" Iris howled, setting her hands on her knees and huffing in air. The unexpected jog took the wind straight out of her. Her eyes dashed from tree to bush to the ground; no sign of her cat anywhere. "Monster, ple—"

She cocked her head to the side, listening intently. Purring? He was purring?

She took a few cautious steps forward, focusing on the motor-like hum from Monster. What the hell?

A few more quiet steps and a circular clearing gave way to the reason. A hand scratching behind his ear. The person bent down on his knees to get to her cat's level, and Monster was in heaven at the attention.

And Iris's heart jumped into her throat.

Bronze skin. Short buzzed hair. Chiseled features. A firm muscle build and intensely set eyebrows. One eye was green, the other blue. And there was no LED beside his right one.

His name escaped her mouth before Iris could think.

"Markus?"

She sounded breathless, his name a whisper.

His eyes shot up to her, the mismatched pair finding her deep chocolate brown as his hand froze on Monster's side. Monster shoved himself against Markus's thigh happily, not a care in the world.

The deviant stood slowly from the ground, whispering. "Iris…" This wasn't how he planned to greet her.

She stood by the opening of the clearing, mouth agape as she stared. No, couldn't be. He was gone.

Yet here he stood.

Markus felt like he was burning under her gaze. "I… I…"

Dammit, he felt stupid. He couldn't get a single word out in front of her. All he wanted was to apologize for last night. But, with his newfound deviancy, it was like every emotion he had—especially what he felt for her—increased ten-fold. He could barely stutter.

And she hated him. She had to. He was the reason Leo got hurt. Oh, this was stupid. This was an idiotic plan, he thought. Idio—

The sound of three heavy footsteps filled his ears, and Markus was surprised as a pair of hands wrapped themselves around his shoulders and a head buried itself into his neck. He blinked, and when his mind caught up, his own enveloped Iris's middle.

"It's you. It's really you." She sniffled into his jacket collar. She'd barely looked at it, but it was large, a leathery brown, and long; unlike anything she'd seen on him before. He looked human. No android identification; no glowing blue band or LED or even a triangle on his shirt.

But it was him; that, she could easily tell. The same warm hands, the familiar scratch of stubble on his chin. The thirium pump thumping in his chest told Iris that against all fucking odds, he was alive. Markus was alive.

"Iris," He tried again, shutting his eyes and savoring the feel of her tiny stature against his form. He tightened his grip on her sides, brow scrunching in regret. "I am so sorry. So, so sorry. Is he—"

"Leo's alive." Iris sniffled into the fabric. "He has a bad concussion and a couple stitches, but he's okay. Hospital thinks he'll make a full recovery."

"Thank god."

Iris held tightly to him, like he was an apparition that would float away if she didn't. "Markus… how. How? The police told me they—they dismantled you." The words felt like lead in her throat.

Markus let out a low chuckle as she pulled her head from the crook of his neck, opting instead to rest her forehead against his. "They tried. But they didn't succeed."

"How?"

His eyes looked to hers. "Some pieces aren't originally mine. But I'm still me, Iris. I promise."

She smiled softly and rested a hand against his right cheek, the tips of her fingers beside the new blue iris. "I believe you."

Monster chirped on the ground, weaving himself in between the pair's legs. Iris chuckled. "Looks like he believes you, too."

She shut her eyes and dropped her hand down to his forearm, savoring the moment of silence. Her best friend, her protector, her partner in crime, back from the dead. Iris silently thanked every deity in the sky for bringing him back.

Markus's hands dropped to her waist, resting themselves comfortably. But he wasn't ready to move from her. Not yet. Just like Iris, he wanted to savor their slice of heaven. "Carl, is he inside?"

Iris bit the inside of her cheek, lips pressing into a thin line. So he hadn't seen the news. "About that…"

"What?"

Iris pulled her head away and looked to the ground, at the wisps of snow and her cat resting beside her shoe. "Um… Last night, after they…" She took a shaky breath. "After you were gone, dad had a heart attack. He's been in the hospital since."

Markus stared, brow furrowing. "Is he—is he alright?"

Iris shook her head. "They don't know. They don't know if he'll be okay; he's stable, but they're not sure how long that's gonna last." She shrugged her shoulders miserably. "They call me to update his status. Last I heard, he was still under anesthesia."

"I'm so sorry."

"I…" She didn't know what to say. It damn well wasn't okay and though she wanted to comfort him, too, her words stuck in her throat. Instead, Markus pulled Iris back in to a hug, holding her tight. This, she could handle.

When she gathered her mental strength, she hummed softly, "Thank you."

Markus gently squeezed her sides in a silent response before pulling away. She almost huffed in protest, cold at the loss.

"I heard about something, when I was in the junkyard."

Iris furrowed her brows, and he continued. "A place for deviants. A place where androids are free. Where we're safe. Jericho."

"Jericho." Iris repeated. "Like a safe haven."

He nodded. "Where deviants like me can be free. Iris," Markus placed his hands on her shoulders, leaning close enough that she could feel his breath on her face. "Come with me. Come to Jericho."

She frowned. "Markus—"

"I know, it's a long-shot. I don't even know if this place is real. But if it is, I want you by my side."

She pulled away from his grasp, looking to the uneven dirt and muddy snow. "You make it sound like it's easy. I have a life, here, Markus! I can't just throw it away. I have Leo, Monster. Dad…"

Her arms crossed themselves along her chest, rubbing her hands up and down her arms to warm herself. Monster looked to her, cocking his head as if to ask, "What's wrong, mom?"

"I know you do." Markus took a cautious step to her. "And I'm not saying it'll be easy. I can't promise a warm bed and five course meals. But…" He took another step in front of Iris, looking at her intently. "We could be together. We could be safe."

His green and blue bore into her brown, silently pleading. God, Iris thought, Am I crazy for even considering this?

Well… Markus was always her soft spot.

"What do you say?"

Iris bit her lip, thinking.

"I'm in."

A/N: I can't believe we're finally getting to Jericho and meeting more Detroit characters! And, one more quick note, in this narrative, Kara and Alice spend the night in the house with Ralph. I thought that could be expressed via them getting the wire cutters :)