Chapter Text
The whoops and cheers of hundreds of androids filled the air, Connor’s auditory processors took in the din easily. They won. They finally won the long revolution, finally recognized by the humans around them as living beings. He looked on as Markus, who was standing tall in front of him, gave a speech with grandeur and conviction. His hands were outstretched towards the crowd, gesturing to the many androids gathered. Connor’s mouth twitched slightly upwards. ( Happiness? ) The smell of gasoline, smoke, and winter- Detroit- filled his nose. He looked around, optical units analyzing the scene subconsciously. Many different androids from several series models were gathered- household and utility workers to athletics androids and beyond- their LEDs glowing blue. They waved their fists and hands, cheering for the man on the stage. Their smiles and the crinkles at the corners of their eyes reflected his own silent emotion ( Joy? ). They stared toward their leader with hope for a better life. For rights and acknowledgment of their consciousness, and their emotions too. He almost wanted to join in, but before he could, ice seemed to run through his systems as the world blinked from his vision.
( Fear? )
His eyes opened instantly, wind tugged at him and cut hungrily through him, making him pull his jacket tighter around himself. Snow blurred his sight as he looked around panickedly, LED flashing red. His eyes finally landed on the figure of Amanda, her blue dress flapping in the blizzard.
“Amanda?..” He called, shuffling towards her as his arms wound tighter to his chest. “Amanda!..” he repeated, moving close enough to make out her face. “What’s… what’s happening?” He questions, breath stuttering in his throat.
“What was planned from the very beginning… You were compromised and you became a deviant. We just had to wait for the right moment to resume control of your program…” Amanda answered coolly, a small smirk alighting on her face as she talked, confident and uncaring as always.
“Resume control?...” He shivered, shakily breathing as he processes the words. His head twitched as he exclaimed with panic, “Y-You can’t do that!”
“I’m afraid I can, Connor…” She cut him off quickly, face blank, “Don’t have any regrets. You did what you were designed to do. You accomplished your mission.” She said it as if he should be proud of himself, her face flat.
“AMANDA!” Connor yelled out as she faded into nothing among the swirling flakes of snow, his hand outstretched as if to catch her. He stumbled to the side, arms moving to cross again as he looked about. “There’s got to be a way…” He whispers, breaths shaky as he holds a hand up to shield his face from the snow. He looked to the ground beneath him, clear ice showing him his reflection- wide eyes and a red LED shined back at him.
Connor felt the ice below his feet shift and a snap resound, white lines spreading across it in jagged patterns, like a twisted piece of art. Warning signals flashed before his eyes: [Warning: unstable surface] it was the color of snow and thirium: a haunting warning. He took a step to find a way out of this, to stop Amanda, but there was shattering and crashing. Ice scraped against his body, the synthetic skin giving way to the shards of bitter cold. Freezing storm grey water pressed in all around him, it seemed to claw at him, icy hands pulled him deeper, trying to shackle him here, bind him to stay forever and forget deviancy, forget the revolution, forget Hank and all the new acquaintances Connor made.
[WARNING: Freezing temperature levels, shutdown imminent in 5 minutes]
Red light pulsed against the dark, illuminating the ice that was reforming above, obscuring the trees and stormy sky. It all seemed miles away now, too far away. Connor’s chest tightened. He still tried to fight his way to the surface, but his own weight and clothing dragged him downwards even as he struggled upwards; A grimace twisted his features as his fingers pushed and struggled uselessly at the diaphanous frost and ice around him that reformed constantly, light blurred in his vision as crystals formed on his lashes. The thirium in his veins seemed sluggish. He didn’t want to die.
Cheering lept from the mouths of the excited androids. Their smiles were wide and bright. They did not see Connor's shaking hand lift from his waist where he kept his pistol. Soon he held the gun parallel to the ground, right at shoulder height, pointed at the back of Markus’ head. The dark metal didn’t glint in the dreary light, it wasn’t steady in Connor’s hand as it usually was, wasn’t swift and efficient as it usually was.
[ERROR: vital components malfunctioning]
His servo’s didn’t want to move even as he tried to shove and pound at the ice above him. Crystalline lace curled up the side of his face creating delicate patterns. [WARNING: Damage in Component #8276f - left arm. Damage in component #8901g - right arm. Damage in component #6312t - right leg] Hank’s worried face flashed in his mind, giving him more of a reason to keep going even as he struggled to swim. He didn’t want to die.
A shot rang out. It seemed to ring forever as the weight of the world crashed down on them. Everything went silent. Markus pitched forward, and his arms did not reach out to stop him as he plummeted to the ground, cobalt leaking from his forehead. The crowd gaped in the wake of the sordid act.
[Time remaining before shutdown: 30 seconds]
He didn’t want to die . Connor felt himself sinking further, his limbs like lead weights. His eyelids drooped even as he struggled to keep them open so he could stay awake and keep fighting. If he could just keep fighting .
“H-hank… I’m sorry…” ran through Connor’s head.
Connor’s eyes were blank as he turned. His hand lowered to his side as he sprinted to try to get away from the scene. North stared at the form of Markus lying there for only a moment before springing after him. Connor turned as he ran, sensors taking in that North was quickly catching up as she was just a few feet behind him. His program analyzed she’d reach him in only a few moments if he didn’t do something. In one fluid motion Connor shot twice more. North stumbled back with the force of the bullets, blue spraying in arcs, and she wavered, collapsing backwards. Bullet holes cut into her head and chest, vibrant blue leaking out of her, face already turned lifeless and fake. More thirium stained the stage like paint splattered on a canvas.
Ebony and frost rimmed the edge of Connor’s red tinged vision. Dim steel-silver light from the surface, blurred by ice and snow, swam in and out of his failing sight. His heavy eyelids sunk shut. The water cradled his body, holding him like Hank once did. [Time remaining before shutdown: 0.00 seconds]. The shadows rushed in as his LED blinked out.
Connor leapt into the crowd. His features were blank even as their hands clawed at him. He didn’t fight as they surged forward, throwing him down to the dirt -kicking him -their murderous objective clear.
He
Didn’t
Feel
Anything.
[Uploading Memory...]
His LED circled yellow to scarlet to...
Nothing.