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In the back of his mind, Hank knew he was being idiotic. There were riots in the street. Everyone was either hiding or trying to get out of the city as fast as possible. Any sane person would be running in the opposite direction as Hank, but despite the cold, and Connor’s warnings only a few minutes ago, he had managed to secure a spot where he could see what was happening - the androids walking in the streets, the fire, the riots, the fear being passed from one person to the next.
And Connor shooting himself.
At first, Hank didn’t know what he was seeing, from this distance he had only made out the android – his friend – getting on the stage. And for a moment, Hank smirked, just imagining what Connor might say in his own analytical and awkward way. But he didn’t say anything, only stood there, until he reached behind his back and pulled the gun out, aiming it right under his chin.
Hank couldn’t process what he was seeing, but his feet started moving on their own, towards the stage, the crowd of androids.
“Connor what the heck are you doing?”
Click, boom.
Despite not being close enough to hear the trigger, Hank knew what it sounded like, heck he’d heard that sound dozens of times before. But it had never affected him liked this.
“CONNOR!” Hank yelled out without even thinking, even as his friend crumpled to the ground.
Screams echoed through the city, androids yelled at him, but Hank just pushed through, not caring if they hated him. Heck if they even knew Connor, they hadn’t been working with the awkward kid like he had.
And then he was on the stage, looking at him, crumbled on the ground, blue blood covering his face and hands, splattered all over his clothes. Not even a signal of life. For a split second, Hank remembered how there had been another time when Connor looked like this, so lifeless, only to come back the next day. But then he remembered the revolution, how Connor had betrayed Cyberlife. There would be no infuriating return this time – though Hank wished there was. He’d rather yell at Connor for being stupid again than never speak to him again.
Dropping to his knees, Hank rested a hand on Connor’s shoulder, glancing at his friend’s face only to look away quickly. This wasn’t right, it didn’t make sense. Why had Connor killed himself when the androids had won?
“What the hell were you thinking Connor?” Hank muttered ad he reached up and closed the kid’s eyes, making him look almost peaceful.
Just like Cole.
That’s when the tears came. Crying over an android, heck how had that happened? But Hank didn’t try to stop the flow, and when some random android noticed him he just cussed them out. Because this world was cruel, it was unfair, it was a disaster, and this time Hank wasn’t sure how much consolation his bottles would be.
Although he would’ve never admitted it, to Connor or anyone else, the android had…helped Hank heal, just a little. Connor had helped him see a spark of good in the world again, had made him wonder if maybe things could be better than they were. But now that hope was gone. Connor was gone, and Hank fell back into that hole he had fallen into all those years ago. And this time, he knew there would be no coming out of it.