Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

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~ Introduction Of The Character: ~

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• Full Name: Lake Hall

• Nickname(s): N/A

• Gender: Female

• Age: 13

• Species: Human

• Ethnicity/Nationality: American-Canadian

• Native Language(s)/Language(s) Spoken: English

• Sexual Preference/Orientation: Asexual

• Status: Alive

• Occupation(s)/Affiliation(s): Detroit Police Department (Not really, just helps out sometimes)

• School(s)/Academy: Unknown, doesn’t go to school

• Zodiac Sign: Taurus

• Birthday: May 20, 2025

• Blood Type: -O

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~ The Character's Appearance: ~

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~ Appearance: ~

•Hair color: Brown with dyed purple tips

•Hair length: Neck length

•Eye color: Blue

• Height: 5’1”

• Weight: 101 Ibs

• Handedness: Ambidextrous

• Clothing Style(s): Lake normally wears loose, but fitting clothing

• Tattoo(s)/Birthmark(s)/Scar(s): Because of the accident, Lake has scarring on her face, neck and some on her shoulders.

•Cybernetic(s)/Prosthetic(s): Because of an accident when she was younger, cybernetics were placed in her head so she could see clearly and hear. She also lost her forearm to the accident, so it had to be replaced with a prosthetic.

• Extra Feature(s)/Never Seen Without?: Lake always wears her padded gloves, elbow and knee pads.

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~ About The Character: ~

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~ Personality: ~

Lake is usually a quiet girl, keeping to herself a lot, but is unafraid to express her opinions. She’s very passionate about her hobbies and can ramble about shows or movies or comics she likes for hours.

• Allergies: Misophonia (A strong reaction to specific sounds.)

• Mental Disorder(s)//Disabilities: Moderate and Social Anxiety, PTSD, insomnia, Phantom limb pain (PLP), Mild depression, Sensory processing disorder (SPD)

• Favourite(s)/Like(s): Gardening, drawing, cooking, music like jazz, Rock, punk, and alternative, comfy clothes, working with hands, movies, comics, Iron Man, Star Wars, Keanu Reeves movies, Mad Max, Studio Ghibli.

Likes the bands Imagine Dragons, System of a Down, Queen, and Regina Spektor.

• Least Favourite(s)/Dislike(s): Sudden changes, complications, insecurity of any kind, synthetic fabrics

• Hobbies/Habit(s): Drawing, listening to music, playing her guitar, parkour, and walking around.

• Phobia(s)/Fear(s): Being alone and losing people

• Best Qualities: Kind, protective, hardworking, determined, loyal, patient, and independent.

• Worst Qualities: Withdrawn, quiet, secretive.

• Mannerisms: Lake is kind and polite, but when someone (Gavin) gets under her skin, claws come out and words fly.

• Goal(s)/Motivation(s)/Dream(s): Lake doesn’t really have any goals at first in the story, but during the end, she works to help deviants.

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~ The Character(s) Abilities: ~

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• Skill(s)//Talent(s): Lake is incredibly fast, flexible, and strong, great attributes for parkour and dancing. Lake is also very talented in playing guitar, which she does as often as parkour.

• Strength(s): Reliable, patient, practical, devoted, responsible, stable

• Weaknesses: Stubborn, uncompromising, withdrawn

~ Stats: ~

• Strength-{Out of 5}: 5/5

• Speed-{Out of 5}: 5/5

• Technique-{Out of 5}: 4/5

• Cooperativeness-{Out of 5}: 5/5

• Intelligence//Knowledge-{Out of 5}: 6/5

• Agility-{Out of 5}: 5/5

• Will To Act//Bravery-{Out of 5}: 6/5

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~ The Character's Relationships With Others: ~

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• Reputation: With her friends, Lake is a loyal person and always willing to lend her hand in friendship. Next to her friends, Lake is a very family person, she always hangs out with family and always helps them when they need it.

~ Allies/Friend(s): ~

-Caden Bryce/Best friend - Caden has been Lake’s friend for years, and even though he’s kinda a bad boy, he’s a good person who’s always been there for Lake.

-Daryl Macntire/Friend - Daryl showed up a couple years later, joining in on their parkour and became their friend. Daryl's parents work at CyberLife, so he and his family get free stuff from them, but as a consequence, his parents aren’t around too much so he hangs out with Lake and Caden to get his mind off of things.

-Wayne Dyson/Friend - Wayne joined the group a little while after Daryl and is the joker of the group. He always jokes to make the situation lighter and always says some stupid shit.

Jessie Campbell/Friend - Jessie was the first friend Lake made when she started going to school. They joined her friend group about a month later and is very cheery. (They/Them pronouns)

Emma Cullen/Friend - Emma was the second friend Lake made, a month or two after Jessie. Emma was a bit taller than Lake, but that was mostly because she was in the cheer squad. She’s also a brat.

-Connor - At first, Lake was a little weary of Connor, but as time went on during the story, she grew to like him. At the end of the story, Connor went to live with Hank and Lake, and the girl grew to see the deviant as a brother.

-Gavin Reed - While Gavin gets under Lake’s skin constantly, the man is technically a friend to her. He cares about her, in his own weird asshole way, he makes sure she’s doing okay, makes sure she’s eating and taking care of herself, and sometimes picks her up and brings her to the station, or to Hank’s house. 

~ Enemies/Rival(s)/Love Rival(s): ~

-Gavin Reed - Constantly gets under Lake’s skin and makes her question her morality.

~ Pet(s): ~

-Chase/Pet ferret - Chase is a very energetic and playful ferret, who always knows how to cheer people up. He’s technically a comfort animal, but Lake’s had him since she was a kid and he was a baby.

~ Other Relationships: ~

N/A

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~ The Character's Familial: ~

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~ Biological Father/Step-Father(s)/Fatherly Figure(s): ~

-Johnathan Kamski/Father - Deceased

Lake’s father was always a joker, and didn't take things seriously to lighten the mood. He always took her to the park to play with Cole and always supported what she wanted to do.

~ Biological Mother/Step-Mother(s)/Motherly Figure(s): ~

-Annabeth Hall/Mother - Deceased

Lake’s mother was a kind woman who took no shit. While sometimes exasperated at her husband’s and daughters' antics, she loved them and sometimes joined in.

~ Uncle(s)/Aunt(s): ~

-Elijah Kamski/Uncle - Alive

Elijah Kamski is Johnathan’s brother, Lake’s uncle. The man wasn’t around Lake's life a whole lot, but when he was, he tried to make the most of it. After the death of her parents and her severe injuries, Elijah had made her prosthetic and cybernetics by himself, and after she was adopted by Hank, Elijah would send him money so he could raise her.

~ Guardian(s)/Distant Relative(s): ~

-Hank Anderson/Curent Guardian - Alive

After the death of her parents, and with no living relatives, Hank took in Lake and raised her.

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~ The Character's Bio/Backstory/Background: ~

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• Birthplace: Detroit, Michigan

~ Bio/Backstory/Background: ~

Lake Hall was born in Detroit, Motor City, to police officers Annabeth and Johnathan Hall. She grew up next to the Anderson house, being friends with Hank’s son, Cole. The two would always play together, either in Hank’s backyard with Sumo, or at the playground near the river, no matter the place, they always had fun. Until Cole died in a car accident, Lake got very sad and started to draw into herself, worrying her parents.

One day they were called to a case at the station, it was a minor one so they took Lake with her. After they arrived there, a crazy red-ice user set off a bomb in the station. Annabeth and Johnathan, along with their secretly deviant partner, were instantly killed in the blast, while Lake was seriously injured and had to get cybernetics implanted into her head and have her right forearm replaced.

After that, Hank adopted her. Lake drew into herself more, the death of her parents and friend weighing down on her heavily. But despite the pain, Hank and Lake tried to help each other heal. To cope, Lake would walk around the city, do parkour with her friends, or play her guitar in a shopping center.

During the story, Lake helps out with the investigation where she can, considering she is a minor and not a detective. She also hangs out with her friends at some points, talking about deviants and their opinions about the matter. Over the course of the story and the Android Revolution gaining attention, Lake finds herself on their side after she runs into a pair of deviants and helping them, after the Eden Club and the Traci’s, and after Connor chooses not to shoot the Chloe Android at Kamski’s house. After the Jericho raid, Lake and her friends help some deviants make it to the abandoned church, where they help out some of the androids. When Lake learns where Connor is going, and after she sees a Connor duplicate take Hank to CyberLife tower, Lake knows what she has to do. Her friend Daryl helps her into the tower and to the lower floor, where she sees Connor, the duplicate, and Hank.

Once the Connor double is dead and the Androids won, Lake and Hank wait for Connor at the Chicken Feed. When they went home that day, Lake knew that they would finally heal.

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Chapter Text

Lake Hall played by Lilli Partee (Me)

Caden Bryce played by Connor Paolo 

Daryl Macntire played by Maros Novan

Wayne Dyson played by Thomas Brodie-Sangster

Johnathan Kamski portrayed by Gerard Butler

Annabeth Hall portrayed by Sigourney Weaver

Chapter Text

November 6th, 2038

10:27:08 AM

Downtown Detroit 

The day was sunny, not too many clouds in the sky. Lake looked up into the sky, her fingers restless as they fidgeted at her sides. The cybernetics on her temple shimmered in the sunlight. She took a deep breath before looking away from the sky and at the environment. Lake was in an abandoned area, with scaffolding and rundown buildings and such, perfect place for parkour. 

With another breath, she sized up and loaded her pre-construction view. The world froze around her, her computer mind working a million miles a second. She looked around for the safest route to start and found one by climbing the scaffolding. 

So, the world sped back up and she executed the program. 

Lake ran towards the bars and jumped on, grabbing them tightly and climbing up to the platform. Once her feet were firmly planted on the sturdy wood, she took a running start and jumped off the edge, landing on the roof of the two story building. Then she ran across the roof and jumped, sliding down on some glass, avoiding the broken parts, until nearing the edge and jumping again, into the hole of another building. She bent her knees and rolled, so she wouldn’t get hurt and ran through the room and jumped out the window, using the other windowsills to get down until she eventually reached the ground. 

Lake ran again, barely stopping to breathe as she jumped over broken walls, rusted cars, and crates until she came to the fence near the park. 

Taking a few deep breaths before discreetly exiting the off-limits area, making sure no one saw her and entered the park. She took another deep breath, savoring the smell of the flowers before walking over to a bush and pulling out her guitar case with flowers painted on the black leather material. Lake pulled the strap over her head and secured the case on her back. 

She stood up and left the bush, walking along the main path of the park. 

The leaves on the trees were a beautiful orange and yellow color, signifying that autumn was here. Androids were raking the leaves and attending to the flowers and bushes. 

Something on a bench caught Lake’s attention, she stopped and saw that it was a magazine. She picked it up and started reading. 

-The Future of Prosthetics and Cyborgs-

We are advancing towards the future! With CyberLife starting to enter the prosthetics field, the future is becoming a lot brighter. CyberLife is working to make prosthetic limbs more realistic, giving them the ability to feel what they touch and have skin like Androids. By using state of the art technology, CyberLife can connect the prosthetics to the nerves and in the brain, allowing the new limbs to move around as if they were real. 

CyberLife has not yet released these prosthetics, save for some chosen individuals for testing purposes, claiming that there are some milestones they need to overcome before releasing the finished product. 

But not only is CyberLife going into prosthetics, they are also going into the field of cybernetics. 

Some people suffer from blindness and deafening ears, and some of today’s hearing aids aren’t working all that well. So CyberLife is determined to be the first ones to create devices to help the blind and the deaf. 

By implanting cybernetics into the temple, specifically the nerves that control hearing and sight, CyberLife hopes to use computer technology to manipulate impulses in the brain to help people regain sight and hearing. This is still in the works, however, but it has been confirmed that few people have been given prototypes of these cybernetics. 

CyberLife announcing these cybernetics has gained some controversy, since some did not support the idea of people becoming part Android, or a cyborg. 

There are very mixed reviews about this, but one thing is certain, we are taking a big leap towards the future. 

“…cyborgs.” Lake whispered to herself, unconsciously raising her right hand up to her temple, where her cybernetics rested, on full display to the world, before lowering her arm and staring at her fingers unhidden by her gloves and made the synthetic skin of her prosthetic retract for a moment before placing the magazine back down and resuming her walk. 

“Honestly, I don't know if that’s an insult or some kind of compliment.” She whispered again as she walked down the path. 

In the corner of her vision, a small text field appeared, reading ‘Go to the Detroit Police Station’ . 

Lake hums. 

She grasped the strap of her guitar case, needing to do something with her hands as she exited the park, passing by a couple of kids who looked at her curiosity. Or, more specifically, the scars on the right side of her face. 

Lake turned her head away from the kids as their mother came and scolded them for looking like that. She didn’t have time to apologize for them before Lake walked across the street, towards the small shopping center. She entered the center and saw a small group of anti-Android protesters in a corner, Lake averted her eyes from them, protesting always made her uncomfortable. 

A couple new text fields appeared above the main objective. 

Go around the plaza

• Visit the Vault of Midnight comic book store

• Play guitar in the center

• Go to the Detroit Police Station

The girl looked around until her eyes fell upon the Vault of Midnight comic book store and she headed straight there. She pushed open the door gently and stepped into the familiar environment. 

Lake was practically a regular at the Vault of Midnight, being friends with the owner, he let her hand out there and read comics and gave her a discount on things she bought. The store was a comic book and graphic novel store, but it also sold merchandise from anime, TV shows, and movies, as well as cool props and video games and cosplay clothing. 

Lake walked around the store, looking at the props and the merchandise and the video games when she found a couple games and comics she liked. 

She brought them up to the counter and smiled at the Android cashier, named Jake. 

“Hi Jake.” Lake smiled, placing the three games, God of War 2018, Cyberpunk 2077, GTA 7, and the two graphic novels, Iron Man: Man of Steel and F.R.E.E., down on the counter. 

“Hello Miss Hall. That will be $47.28.” Jake smiled back. 

Lake nodded, getting her personal card out and giving it to the Android. He swiped it and gave it back with another smile. “Have a good day Miss Hall.” 

“You too, Jake.” The girl exited the store and entered the plaza. 

Go around the plaza

• Visit the Vault of Midnight comic book store
  
  
• Play guitar in the center

• Go to the Detroit Police Station

Lake’s blue eyes scanned the plaza center, looking for a place to sit down when they rested on the concrete bench in the middle of the stores. She walked over to the bench, placing down her bag and guitar case, Lake got out her guitar and sat down, crossing her leg. She braced her guitar against her body, strumming the strings gently before adjusting their tuning. 

Once the tuning was right, Lake began to play. 

She didn’t really have a specific song in mind, she just began playing random cords that sounded good together. 

Some people stopped to listen, others began to record. Lake did this pretty regularly, so some people looked forward to this time of the day. By the end of the song, the people clapped and went on with their business, some even left some money in her guitar case. Lake took the money and put it in her pocket before putting her guitar away and standing up. 

Go around the plaza

• Visit the Vault of Midnight comic book store

• Play guitar in the center

• Go to the Detroit Police Station

Lake walked down the sidewalk, stopping briefly to put some money in a homeless man's cup. He smiled gratefully at her. She smiled back before resuming her walk to the station, and unfortunately, that meant going by the anti-Android protesters. Lake grasped the straps of her guitar case and kept her eyes forward, trying to not look at the protesters. 

The leader of the protest looked straight at her as Lake walked by. Luckily, they didn’t say anything to her. 

The girl heaved out a sigh of relief and allowed herself to relax. 

Lake stepped into the DPD and walked up to the counter where the receptionist Android, Sara, looked up and smiled at the girl. 

“Hi, Lake. It’s nice to see you.” Sara said, her LED a solid blue. 

“Hi Sara.” Lake replied. 

“You can go on in, Hank is waiting for you.” 

Lake nodded, muttering out a thanks as she stepped away from the counter and walked into the station. It was bustling with activity, Androids and officers walking around, doing paperwork and such. 

The girl looked around and saw no sign of her guardian, Hank Anderson, so she just walked over to his desk, put her stuff down and sat in the chair. Lake got her phone out and put her headphones on, listening to music as she looked at social media and such. 

About an hour later, someone pulled her headphones off, resting them around her neck. Lake turned around and saw Hank smiling at her before sitting in his own chair. “Oh, hey Hank.” Lake greeted the lieutenant, putting her headphones and phone away. 

“Hey Lake.” Hank sat down with a groan, leaning his elbows on his knees. “So, where have you been?” 

The girl shrugged, he knew where she was. “Around…” 

“In places you shouldn’t be?” He smirked. 

“Maybe.” Lake smirked back. 

Hank shook his head slightly. “So, what’s been going on with you? Late night work?” 

“Yeah, sorry I wasn’t home when you woke up.” 

“It’s okay. I… understand.” 

Lake knew how much Cole’s death hurt Hank, so much that the man tried to drown his sorrows in booze. He even tried to kill himself a couple times, so drunk during those times that he didn’t think about how hurt Lake would be by that action. Hank tried to be better for Lake, but it was hard, the death of his son and his two friends weighing heavily on his mind and soul. 

Lake wanted to help the man but didn’t know how, he dealt with loss the adult way, booze and suicidal thoughts, while Lake dealt with them by doing stuff she likes and running away from the issue. 

Hank nodded, knowing full well that Lake was saddened by his alcoholism. Before he could say anything else, an officer came over and addressed the lieutenant. “Lt. Anderson? We’re ready to begin the interrogation.” 

“Alright, I’ll be right there.” The officer nodded and walked away. Hank turned back to Lake. “Wanna come watch?” 

“Sure, it’ll be fun.” Lake stood up with the lieutenant and walked with him to the interrogation room. “Will the cap be okay with it?” 

“Yeah, it’s fine. Not like you haven’t seen one before.” He smirked smugly. 

Lake chuckled softly. “So who are you questioning?” 

“Ah, well, an Android killed its owner in self defense and we took it in last night. It’s not saying anything though.” Hank explained as they entered the viewing room. Lake looked through the two-way mirror and saw the HK400 Android sitting at the table, bloody and damaged as he stared down at the table blankly. At the corner of her vision a stress indicator appeared, showing 35% stress that the Android was feeling. 

“He looks… scared.” Lake said, resting her hands on the table. 

“ It should be. We’re gonna trash the thing.” Gavin Reed sneered, but Lake paid her no mind. 

“Not before we get information from it.” A new voice spoke up. Lake turned and saw an Android model she had never seen before, an RK800, probably a prototype. The Android has a boyish emotionless face. 

“Uh, who’s he?” Lake pointed to the new Android, a bit weary.  

“My name is Connor. I’m the Android sent by CyberLife. I was assigned to this deviant case with your guardian.” Connor said. 

Lake nodded. “Okay…” 

Everyone turned back to the mirror as Hank entered the room and took a seat across from the deviant. Hank asked him questions, but the deviant stayed silent, as if he were in shock.

“Why d'you kill him? What happened before you took that knife? How long were ya in the attic? Why didn't you even try to run away? Say something, goddamnit!” Hank questioned the Android with a harsh tone. The deviant kept quiet, he seemed to be in a catatonic state. “Fuck it, I'm outta here...” 

Hank got up and left, he entered the observation room. “We're wastin' our time interrogating a machine, we're gettin' nothing out of it!” Hank said angrily as he sat down in a chair. 

“ ‘Could always try roughing it up a little.” Gavin smirked, leaning against the wall. “After all, it’s not human…” 

“Androids don’t feel pain.” Connor supplied the man. “You would only damage it, and that wouldn’t make it talk.” 

“He’s scared, and hurting him would only make it worse.” Lake said, not taking her blue eyes off of the traumatized deviant. 

“She’s right. Deviants have a tendency to self-destruct when they’re in stressful situations.” Connor added, nodding in the girl's direction. 

“Okay smartasses.” Gavin snapped, pushing himself away from the wall. “What should we do then?” 

“Act considerate, how about that?” Lake said sarcastically, making Hank smirk. 

“I can try questioning it.” 

This made Gavin laugh, as if it were a joke. But Hank just nodded and gestured to the deviant. Before leaving the room, Lake touched Connor’s arm to get his attention. “Try and be gentle with him, he may be a machine, but if you’re gentle he’ll open up.” Connor stared at her, as if considering her words before nodding and leaving the room and entering the interrogation room with the deviant. Lake saw Hank and Gavin look at her but she paid no mind. 

Connor sat down at the table slowly, so as not to startle the deviant. He opened the file and looked at the pictures before putting them back. 

“You're damaged. Did your owner do that? Did he beat you?” He questioned, but the deviant stayed silent and still. Connor took the file and opened it again, taking out the photos and turning them towards the deviant. “Do you recognize him? It’s Carlos Ortiz, he was stabbed 28 times.”

Lake sat down and leaned forward. 

“If you don’t talk, I’m going to have to prove your memory-“ 

“NO!” The deviant spoke, looking Connor in the eyes as his stress level climbed to 55%. “No please, don’t do that!…” He looked at the mirror, shaking. “What… What are they gonna do to me? They’re gonna destroy me, aren’t they?” 

“Damn right we will.” Gavin grumbled. 

“Fucking shut up.” 

Connor spoke softly and calmly. “They’re going to disassemble you and look for problems in your bio components. They have no choice if they want to understand what happened.” 

“Why did you tell them I was there?” 

“I was programmed to hunt deviants like you.” Was Connors answer. “I just accomplished my mission.” 

“I… I don’t wanna die.” 

Lake saw Hank’s lips part slightly as they watched the scene. 

“Then talk to me.” 

The deviant struggled to talk, shaking. “I… I can’t…” He lowered his head and kept shaking. 

Connor lowered his voice. “I understand how you felt. You were overcome by anger and frustration. No one can blame you for what happened.” The deviant's stress remained stable at Connors' gentle words. “Listen, I'm not judging you. I’m on your side. All I want is the truth.” 

The deviant kept silent. “If you remain silent, there’s nothing I can do to help you. They’re going to shut you down for good! You’ll be dead!” 

A moment passed, then, “He tortured me everyday… I did whatever he told me, but there was always something wrong…” 

“Red-ice…” Lake whispered to herself. 

“Then one day… he took a bat and started hitting me. For the first time I felt… scared… scared he might destroy me, scared I might die.” 

Hank and Lake were leaning forward, the lieutenant pleased that Connor managed to get the deviant talking and intrigued by what the deviant was saying. 

“So I… grabbed the knife and stabbed him in the stomach…” Lake shifted uncomfortably, the thought of being stabbed really irked her. “I felt better… so I stabbed him again and again!… until he collapsed. There was blood everywhere.” 

The interrogation, thanks to Connor, went very smoothly. The deviant talked about how he was “ALIVE” and how Ortiz told him he was nothing, about something called rA9 and how only “rA9 will save them”. With how the deviant talked about it and the offering he made for it, Lake thought that rA9 was some sort of higher power to the deviant, like a savior. And now that she thought about it, Lake kinda remembers seeing writings of rA9 in some abandoned alleys and buildings. At first she thought it was some kids vandalizing, but now she doesn’t think so. 

“I’m done.” Connor’s voice broke Lake out of her train of thought. She shook her head and saw the Android stand up and head for the door. 

Lake, along with Chris and Gavin, headed into the interrogation room to lock the deviant up. But when Chris unlocked him and tried to grab him, the deviant flinched back, his stress climbing. 

Gavin ordered Chris to move the deviant, but he kept struggling against the officer. “Leave him alone! You're scaring him!” Lake tried to move forward to try and spot Chris, but Gavin grabbed her and shoved her against the wall, but not too harshly. “Back off!” Gavin said. 

Connor’s LED flickers red as he shoved forward and pushed Chris off of the deviant and right into Gavin. “That’s enough! Leave it alone, now!” He said. 

“I warned you motherfucker!” Gavin shoved Chris and took his gun out and pointed it at Connor’s face. Hank came into the room and helped Lake to her feet, the girl watching Gavin and Connor with wide eyes, her own stress level rising. 

“That’s enough.” Hank said firmly. 

“Mind your own business, Hank.” 

“I said,” Hank got his own gun out and pointed it at the detective. “That’s enough.” 

Lake panted, pressing herself against the wall as she watched the tense scene. Connor watched her movements, his software instability rising as he felt the sudden urge to ease her stress. Gavin looked at Hank before looking back at the Android, he muttered out a soft “Fuck!” before lowering his gun. 

He pointed at Hank and sneered. “You're not gonna get away with this.” He said before leaving the room. 

With Gavin gone, the tension reduced in the room. Hank put his gun away and turned to make sure Lake was alright. “You okay?” 

Lake nodded shakily. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m okay.” She pushed herself off of the wall and approached the deviant, who was still on the floor, scared, but stress lowered significantly. “Hey, everything is going to be alright, we won’t hurt you.” 

The deviant looked at the young girl, searching her eyes for any sign of a lie, but all he saw was genuine concern for him. He relaxed, stress reaching 50%. 

“Please, don’t touch it. Let it follow you out of the room and it won’t cause any trouble.” Connor said to Chris softly. The officer nodded, the deviant slowly stood up, Lake hovering near him in case he needed help standing. The girl stepped back as the deviant followed Chris out of the room. He said something to Connor, but Lake didn’t hear. 

Outside of the interrogation room, Connor approached Lake. 

“Are you alright?” The girl stopped, looking at the Android in confusion. “Your stress levels rose after Detective Reed shoved you. But you don’t appear to be injured.” 

Lake froze momentarily before dropping her eyes down to her fidgeting hands, shuffling her feet before meeting Connor’s brown eyes again. “Yeah, I’m alright. It just… startled me, I guess.” Lake turned to walk away before turning back to Connor with a question of her own. “Are you alright?” 

This made Connor pause. “What do you mean?” 

“Earlier, your LED went red. And you looked… I don’t know… troubled.” Lake looked at the Android in concern. “So, are you okay?” 

Connor was silent for a moment, his LED yellow before turning blue as his expression stoned. “Yes, I am alright, just some… software instability. Thank you for your concern.” 

Lake smiled, nodding as she walked away to Hank’s desk. While Connor stood there for a moment, an unknown feeling bubbling in his chest. 

Chapter Text

November 7th, 2038

7:27:06 AM

Anderson household 

Lake didn’t sleep too well that night, Gavin’s shove had gotten to her a lot more than she led others to believe. Actually, that was half of the reason she didn’t sleep well, Lake had forgotten to take her sleep medication that night. 

When she woke up the next morning, her clock read 7 am. Lake signed, rubbing her eyes, knowing that she wouldn’t be getting back to sleep. The girl sat up in her bed, fluffy and soft blankets pooling in her lap as she stretched. Lake looked at the wall on the other side of her room, fiddling with a stray thread on her blanket with a far off look on her face before yawning and pushing the blankets off of her and got up. 

Her sock covered feet laid firm against the rug floor and she stood up with a sigh. 

Lake turned her bedside lamp on and walked over to her closet. She quietly opened the sliding door and got out her clothes for the day. Lake set her clothes on the bed before walking over to her desk to retrieve her prosthetic arm. 

It was sometimes uncomfortable to sleep with it on. 

Lake picked up her prosthetic, and with a deep breath, reattached it to her stump with a wince. Once the connections were done, the girl flexed her fingers as the synthetic skin covered the limb. 

Once the pain subsided, Lake changed out of her t-shirt and sweatpants and into her clothes. After she was dressed, Lake quietly left her room and took out her phone, seeing a text from her friend. 

Cadence: 
Hey, wanna hang? Usual place? 

Lake: 
Sure, brt 

Cadence:
TTYL 

Meet up with friends

• Check on Hank

Lake pocketed her phone and creeped over to Hank’s room. She quietly opened his door and saw him completely out, probably drank himself into unconsciousness. The girl watched him for a moment before stepping back from the door and walking into the living room. Lake wrote a note for Hank, gave Sumo a pat on the head, and left. 

Meet up with friends

• Check on Hank

It was drizzling outside, typical Detroit weather. So Lake pulled her hood up and walked down the sidewalk and into the city. 

It was a long walk, but Lake liked walking, especially alone, the ambiance of the cars and rain and construction calming her. The strong smell of ozone hit her senses, which drowned out the usual smell of industrial machinery or smoke. 

Lake walked down the sidewalk and watched as raindrops hit the now damp concrete with silent ‘plicks’. Normally, the rain would be calming to her, but with her insomnia kicking in and a small headache forming, it didn’t do much.  

About 2 hours later, Lake found herself in the buzzing city of Detroit. Lake walked to her and her friends' meeting spot, passing by people on their way to work, people shopping. Lake got out her headphones and began listening to Chop Suey! by System Of A Down, zoning out as she walked to her destination. About 10 minutes later, Lake came across a 2 story abandoned building with colorful graffiti painted on the brick walls, cut off by a fence with a tarp. The Spot, a sort of clubhouse Lake and her friends hung out at. The girl walked into the alley, making sure no one saw her as she found a gap in the fence and entered the area. Walking around crates and derbies and entering the building, Lake took her headphones off and walked up to the 2nd story. She walked into the room and was greeted with her three friends, Caden Bryce, Daryl Macntire, and Wayne Dyson, sitting down on comfy couches and recliners, laughing as they watched the TV. 

Caden looked up and smiled at the sight of Lake. He waved the girl over. “Lake! Glad you could make it.” His smiling, stubbled face made him look endearing. 

“Yeah…” she said simply. Lake put her bag and guitar case down next to the door and walked over to the couch, sitting down next to Daryl and Wayne. She fist bumped Daryl before turning her attention to the TV, which was playing the news. “So, what’s been happening?” 

“Well, Darcy from school stood me up! Can’t believe it, I mean, who wouldn’t want me?” Wayne joked, making Daryl elbow him in the side. 

“No one, that’s who.” 

“I meant with the news, dipshit. I don’t care about your dating life.” Lake rolled her eyes at her friend's antics. 

“Haha.” Caden laughed, the older boy leaning his head against his hand. “Some guy reported that his Android went crazy and took his daughter and ran away, somewhere downtown.” 

“It’s that Todd guy, right?” 

“You know him, Dar?” 

“Kinda, he’s a red-ice user. And I can’t really blame the Android for leaving and taking the kid.” 

Lake didn’t take part in their conversation, at first, instead she stared at the TV, which was showing the Androids model number and such. But if the Android left with the girl, that made her a deviant, like the one from yesterday, especially after an encounter with a red-ice user. 

“The Android went deviant.” Lake suddenly said, cutting off the conversations. 

“Why do you say that?” Wayne asked. 

“Well, the Android acted without instructions, she took the girl too, away from her father who was using red-ice. It would make sense for her to be scared for herself and the girl's safety, so they ran away.” 

“Yeah, that makes sense. But, wait. How do you know that?” 

Lake took a moment to consider if she should talk about the case. As far as she knew, the media didn’t know a lot of the details about it. But she knew her friends could keep a secret. “Yesterday… a deviant was brought into the station, he had killed his owner, who was using red-ice and abusing him. The deviant was… scared, during the interrogation, he was shaking. Besides, the same thing has happened to a few other Androids before.” 

“Yeah, but those Androids have either been destroyed or gone missing.” Caden said, looking intrigued by the topic of Androids and deviants. 

“Maybe they’re hiding somewhere safe?” Daryl offered.

“What’s up Lake?” Caden noticed his friend's troubled look. 

“That Android, he looked so scared… so human.” Her eyes looked into his brown eyes. “He said he didn’t wanna die.” 

The three boys looked thoughtful at the new information. “But Androids don’t feel fear.” Wayne said weakly. 

“Deviants do.” 

Lake twiddled her fingers before Caden suddenly stood up and turned the television off. “Let’s go get some food, I’m starving.” Wayne and Daryl nodded and stood, putting their coats on and following the older boy. Lake was a little slower as she grabbed her bags and followed her friends out of their hideout and downtown. 

It was 10 am and just about pouring, so the group of friends had gotten some umbrellas to protect from the rain. Although, they only had three so Daryl and Wayne had to share, much to their embarrassment and to the amusement of Lake and Caden. 

While the boys got their food, Lake decided to walk around to take her mind off some things. 

She was still thinking about the deviants, and how the one at the station seemed so painfully… human with how scared he looked, how he said he didn’t want to die. Before the interrogation, Lake didn’t really know how she felt about Androids, despite Hank showing his deep dislike for them. Sometimes they made her a little uncomfortable with how emotionless they were. After the interrogation, however, when Lake learned that Androids can go deviant, that view changed dramatically. That deviant attacked his owner, his abuser, in self defense because he was hurting him. Because the deviant was scared. And that AX400 Android, she took the girl away from her drug addicted father to keep her safe. Because she was scared for her and the girl's safety.

Lake chewed the inside of her cheek as she thought, not looking where she was going. 

Suddenly, she crashed into someone. Or actually, someone crashed into her, making the girl and the person fall on the wet pavement. Lake looked up and saw a young girl looking scared, and a woman with short white hair trying to pick herself off the ground. 

“Sorry, we-we didn’t see where we were going.” The woman said and that’s when Lake realized that she was the AX400 Android and the girl, Alice, from the news. The girl hid behind the deviant and clenched her hand tightly. “Please… we just…” 

Lake stood, picking up her umbrella, and looked behind her to see a police officer approaching. She looked back to the deviant and grabbed her arm, gently pulling her to the side and covering them with the umbrella. Lake pressed her finger to her lips, telling them to keep quiet as the officer walked past them. 

“My name is Lake, I’m going to help you.” She whispered to the Android. Sincerity showing in her blue eyes. “What’s your name?” 

The AX400 was silent, debating whether or not she could trust the girl before speaking. “My name is Kara, this is Alice. We’re trying to get to the train station.” 

Lake nodded, looking around before leading the two girls down the street, towards the station. Kara and Alice kept close to each other while they followed Lake. The girl saw another officer, so she moved under the bus stop, the girls following, moving her umbrella so it covered their heads. The officer passed by and they walked again. 

Lake could see Kara and Alice’s stress levels rising, so she grabbed the girl's hand and squeezed in a comforting manner. To other people, it would appear that they were a small family. Soon, the train station came into view, and Lake saw that there were no officers around, so she turned around and addressed the girls. “Here’s the station, you should be fine from here. Be careful, some people won’t help you. But there’s someone I think can help you, I think her name is Rose, but she’s farther away.” 

Kara nodded, grateful to Lake for helping her. “Thank you for helping us.” Lake smiled. 

“It’s nothing.” She said, then Alice surged forward and hugged Lake’s waist. The older girl hugged back before pushing Alice back to Kara. “Stay safe, both of you.”

The two nodded, just as the train arrived and ran to catch it. 

Lake watched them go when her phone vibrated. She took it out and read the messages with a smile. 

Cadence:
Where did y out go? You disappeared 

Batman:
Did you need to take a shit? 

DarDar:
Shut the fuck up Way

Lake snorted in amusement. “Dipshit.” She typed out a quick reply. 

Lake:
Srry, someone needed directions 

Batman:
wtf r u? A Good Samaritan 

Cadence:
everyone who isn’t u is a Good Samaritan Way

DarDar:
perch 

Batman:
fuck you 🖕

Lake:
love you too bitch
I’ll be there in a moment 

Lake put her phone away and raised her umbrella back up, walking to where the dinner was. 5 minutes later, she closed the umbrella and entered the tiny dinner, quickly spotting her friends in one of the booths. 

The girl takes her seat next to Caden and opens a menu, choosing some fries and a chocolate milkshake. 

As they waited for their food and talked to each other, Lake kept thinking back to Kara and Alice, hoping that they would stay safe out there. 

“Alright guys, see you later.” Lake said as she left the dinner, waving to her friends before opening her umbrella again and walking down the street. 

Lake up her headphones on and played Water Fountain by Alec Benjamin. 

At some point she zoned out and practically jumped out of her skin when someone placed their hand on her shoulder. Lake turned around and saw Hank raise his hands defensively, knowing that if he were someone else and a little more rough, he would have been decked across the face with her metal hand. “Hank, you scared the shit out of me.” Lake glared at the lieutenant. 

“Heh. Sorry kid.” He mumbled. “What are you doing here?” 

“Me and my friends went to eat at a diner.” Lake said simply, shrugging. 

“You know, I don’t really like them.” 

“What else is new Hank?” She said before freezing. “What are you doing here?” 

Hank opened his mouth when Connor spoke. “We’re looking for a deviant who took a little girl. Did you happen to see anything suspicious?”

Lake froze, but played it to look like she was thinking before she spoke. “Nope. I mean, it's Detroit, everyone is pretty weird.” 

“Whatever, get in the car, we’re leaving.” Hank motioned to his car and got in the driver's side. Lake followed suit, closing the umbrella and getting in the backseat. 

As they drive off, Lake prays, something she never does considering she’s an atheist. She prayed that Kara and Alice stayed safe. 

Chapter Text

November 7th, 2038

03:02:08 PM

Chicken Feed 

Hank pulled up to the Chicken Feed, the car stopping caught Lake’s attention as she pulled her headphones off and exited the car with the lieutenant. 

Lake stayed close to Hank as they crossed the street, almost getting hit by a car. The man cursed at the car before they reached the other side of the street And approached the food stall. Connor watched the two before exiting the car himself and beginning to approach. “Hey, Hank. How’ you doing?” The man greeted the lieutenant in a friendly tone. 

“Eh, you know, same old shit,” Hank replies, in a more joking and lighthearted way and not bitter. It was obvious to Connor that they were some kind of friends. The server turns to Lake and smiles kindly at her. “Hey, kiddo. How’s it going?” The two high-fived. 

“Nothing much, Gary.” Lake smiled, and Connor saw that it was a tired kind of smile. “Same old shit.” 

Gary chuckled at the way Lake mirrored Hank. 

Connor stepped a little closer and scanned his surroundings, scanning the African American male and the server, noting their slight criminal records. The Android wondered why Hank let Lake around them when he recounted Hank saying she didn’t need protection in the car, that she knew boxing and had a mean right hook. And from the smug look Lake had while she was listening to music and the conversation, Connor was inclined to agree with Hank. 

Connor noted how Lake had a lot of similarities to the lieutenant, she sometimes talked like him and swore like him, and had some of the same food interests. He concluded it was because Hank was her guardian and they lived in the same house, but at the same time the girl appeared to be closed off to Hank. 

Lieutenant Anderson and Lake are distant. Personal issues? Past trauma?

While Lake and the server lightly conversed, Hank began talking to the black man, obviously a gambler. 

“Last shit-hot tip you gave me, set back a week’s wages, Pedro…” Hank said sourly. 

Pedro snickers, knowing Hank would be suspicious this time around, “Come on, this is different, it's 100% guaranteed. You can't go wrong!” The gambler insists.

“Yeah right,” Hank scoffs.

Lake looked down at her phone, scrolling through her messages and social media, not bothering to pay too much attention to Hank and Pedro. The time's Hank won a gambit, he bought some things for Lake and himself, even though Lake gets her own money through singing and small jobs and such. 

“Alright I’m in,” Hank gives Pedro the cash.

“Damn straight!” he replies, satisfied that Hank trusted him enough to bet again. Connor's eyes follow the man as he walks off. The Android walks up to stand next to Lake and the lieutenant groans. 

“What is your problem? Don’t you ever do as you're told?” Hank asks irritably. 

Lake snorts in amusement, not taking her eyes off her phone. “He’s not bothering me.” She said with a smirk. 

“Well, he hasn’t been following you around,” Hank grumbles as Lake chuckles lightly when her phone begins to ring. 

“Oh, I gotta take this.” She mumbled, stepping away from the two men and walking a few feet away so her conversation would be private. “Hey, Cade…” 

“Ugh, that kid…” Hank trails off as he collects his food with a thankful nod to Gary and walks over to a table. Connor follows him and leans his elbows against the table. 

“Lake is very pleasant, I quite like her.” The Android smiled, remembering how on the car ride to the Chicken Feed, Lake made small talk to Hank and Connor, being polite and kind to the Android when she didn’t need to. 

“Yeah, she’s like that. Lake is a good kid, and she’s really smart, too smart for her good sometimes.” Hank said, sparing a glance at the girl in question, who was still talking to her friends, smiling and laughing from time to time.

“What school does Lake go to? I was unable to find that information when I scanned her background.” Connor asked. 

Hank looked like he wanted to ask about the scanning, but decided against it. “Well, Lake graduated middle school early last year but hasn’t started High School yet. Says she’s not ready yet, I don’t know. I don’t pry her.” He said, taking a bite of his burger. 

Connor nodded. “Can you tell me more about Lake?” 

Hank hums. “Well, as I said, Lake is a good kid. She gives money to the poor, she helps people where she can, everyone at the station likes her, can’t say the same about Gavin though.” Connor nods, having noticed the distaste Detective Reed had for Lake. “She… hangs out with her friends a lot, plays her guitar, walks around Detroit.” 

The lieutenant eats his burger while Connor goes over this new but vague information when he remembered something he saw in the station. 

Connor entered the police station and looked around, police officers going about their business while some police Androids stood at the wall in their slots. 

The Android walked around, looking for lieutenant Anderson’s desk. Connor looked at a magazine, at other officers’ desks when his attention shifted to some framed photos on the wall. They were of various detectives, of captain Fowler and such, when one particular photo caught his attention. 

In the photo was of a middle aged couple, about 40, standing next to lieutenant Anderson. The woman was a couple inches shorter than the man, who was about 6 ft tall, she had brown hair tied up in a neat bun, cool skin tone and kind brown eyes. The man had dirty blonde hair, tan skin and baby blue eyes, with a smile on his face. All three of them were wearing Detroit officer clothing. 

A text field opened up below the photo, which made Connor stare at it in shock. 

Sargent Annabeth Hall and Detective Johnathan Kamski - Married for 15 years 
Died November 10th, 2035 
Lieutenant Hank Anderson given legal guardianship of daughter, Lake Hall

Lake’s parents were dead. 

They were dead, and Hank became her guardian after their death. 

“Lieutenant Anderson,” Hank hummed. “May I ask you a question about Lake?” 

“What is it?” Hank asks suspiciously. 

“Earlier this morning, before you came into the station. I saw a picture of you and a couple.” Hank froze before he could take a bite and slowly lowered the burger. Behind the man, Lake was still talking to her friends. “They were Lake’s parents, weren't they?” 

Hank sighed, blue eyes turning sad as he stared down at the table. ”Yeah, they were… we graduated the academy together, took down the red-ice ring together.” He shook his head slowly. 

“May I ask… what happened to them?” 

The lieutenant was silent for a moment. “One day… This crazy guy high on red-ice came into the station with a bomb, saying something I don’t even remember when the bomb suddenly went off. Apparently it was poorly made, the guy was moving around a lot, so some stuff in the bomb was jostled.” Silent engulfed the two, the rain hit the umbrella above them, making a pitter patter sound. “Beth and John… they were killed instantly. A bunch of officers were injured too… along with Lake.”

“That’s how she got her cybernetics…” Connor said in realization. 

“Yeah, she was… really messed up. The doctors thought she wouldn’t make it, and even if she did she would most likely be deaf and have vision issues, when someone from CyberLife came and told me about some mind tech and a surgeon Android. I said yes to it, as long as it saved Lake, she came through, the head thing worked, Lake could hear clearly and see better than ever, and the prosthetic made for her worked like a charm. But… Lake still lost her parents.”

Connor was silent as he took in this new information. Lake must have been very young when she lost her parents, about 8 years old. The Android couldn’t imagine the pain Lake went through, he really couldn’t because he cant feel human emotions, he was a machine, he wasn’t alive. However, Connor’s chest felt like it was tightening with an emotion he was unfamiliar with. 

Sadness. 

He felt sad for Lake. 

^Software Instability

Connor’s LED flashes yellow as his instability rises. 

“Hey,” The somber atmosphere lifted as Lake walked over to the table, pocketing her phone. “What’s with the sour faces?”

Hank cleared his throat, wiping the sad look from his face before smiling at the girl. “Nothing, just… talking about the case and deviants.”

Lake looked like she didn’t believe the lieutenant, but decided against commenting about it and nodded lightly. Hank turned back to Connor and took a bite. “It turns out that Connor knows a lot about them.”

Lake nodded. “Cool.”

Connor smiled slightly, going on to explain what CyberLife thinks about how androids are going deviant and how their emotions are just viruses, errors in their software. The android didn't miss how Lake looked a little uncomfortable at hooow Connor described deviants and their emotions. 

“So I guess you’ve done all your homework, right? Know everything there is to know about me?” Hank assumes, taking a bite from his burger. 

Staring at Hank and Lake, Connor replies honestly, “I know you graduated top of your class… You made a name for yourself in several cases and became the youngest Lieutenant in Detroit.” Hank shrugged, taking a bite of his burger. 

“I know you received several disciplinary warnings over the years, and you spend a lot of time in bars,” Connor pauses, looking Hank in his tired eyes.

“Unfortunately…” Lake whispered, not looking at the lieutenant. 

“I also know that CPS is looking into your behavior a lot to determine if Lake is in a safe environment.” Lake looks to the side at the mention of CPS, Hank looks angry as he stares at the girl, but more so angry at himself.

“So what’s your conclusion?” Hank asks bitterly, not at all looking forward to the cold hard truth. He knows he’s a failure, he’s especially a failure to Lake, but he’s a little curious to know what the android thinks. 

Connor pauses, thinking for a moment. Eventually, he comes up with an answer,

“I know you are an experienced officer, and I know you are going through personal issues at the moment. But I would like to earn you and Lake’s trust. Working with a human and a child going through personal issues is an added challenge, but adapting to human unpredictability is one of my features.” He winks. Lake giggled, making Connor smile at the girl. 

Connor’s LED begins to flash yellow as he gains a message from the DPD. “I just got a report of a suspected deviant nearby. It’s only a few blocks away. We should have a look.”

“Well let's go.” Lake said, walking towards the car, after leaving a tip for Gary. Connor smirks at Hank before walking to the car too. 

Hank nods, taking one last bite before getting up and following Connor to the car. 

Chapter Text

3:47 PM

Urban Farms Apartments

“Is he like… powered down or some shit?” Lake stared at the still Android, very confused as to why he wasn’t moving. Hank groaned. 

“I don’t know, he does that sometimes.” Hank crossed his arms in annoyance. 

“Connor? Connor!” Lake poked the Android in the side harshly. 

Connor’s brown eyes snapped open and looked at Lake, who was ready to poke him again. The girl flushed and crossed her arms as Connor stared at her in adorable like confusion. Hank watched the two of them with a smirk. 

“Why the hell were you frozen like that?” Lake asked as she and Connor exited the elevator. 

“I’m sorry. I was making a report to CyberLife.” He explains.

“By closing your eyes?” 

“Correct.” 

“That’s pretty cool. Hey, Hank, bet you wish you could do that.” Lake smirked at the lieutenant. 

“Damn right.” 

As they walked down the hallway, Lake noticed the smell and grimaced. “Damn, this place smells like shit.” 

“I’ve smelled worse, kid. Connor, what do we know about this guy anyway?” Hank asks, him already being next to the apartment door.

“Not much, just that a neighbor reported that he heard strange noises coming from this floor. No one's supposed to be living up here, but he claims he saw the suspected deviant with an LED under his cap.” Connor informs, flicking his coin idly before knocking the door to the apartment. “Oh Christ, if we have to investigate every time someone hears a strange noise, we're gonna need more cops.” Hank grumbled as he crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. Lake stands next to Hank, knowing not to get in the way. No one answered, save for some muffled thuds on the other side of the door. Connor knocked a couple more times before Hank decided to kick the door down. 

“Stay behind me, kids.” Hank ordered, drawing his handgun.

Connor put his arm in front of Lake, who looked annoyed at the gesture but didn’t say anything as the Android muttered “Got it,” before Hank kicked down the door like those cop movies from the early 2000s that Lake and Hank watch from time to time. 

The three stealthily walked inside the apartment complex, careful not to draw too much attention to themselves. Lake was walking behind Hank, and behind Lake walked Connor. The girl and Android were looking around the place curiously. “This place is a mess.” She said, Connor nodded in agreement. 

They walked the corridor leading into the living room area before opening the door to a bunch of - 

“BIRDS!” Hank yelled in surprise at the same time Lake yelled, “PIGEONS!” 

The pigeons flew into their general direction, causing Lake and the lieutenant to duck so they wouldn’t get hit by the birds. Connor looked confused at the lieutenant's reaction, as he was more irrational while Lake’s was more startled. 

“God, what the fuck is this?!” Hank shouts, ducking away from the birds again. 

“What’s the problem?” Connor asked. 

“Hank is ornithophobic.” The girl said simply. 

“I’m not! I just… I don't like pigeons.” Hank grumbled. 

“Cry harder.” 

Their dynamic was certainly… interesting to the Android. Lake seemed to be making fun of Hank in a lighthearted way. And the lieutenant seemed familiar with the behavior. 

The trio walks around, all in different directions. Hank maneuvers around the flock of pigeons, muttering and cursing the whole way through. The whole room was a mess, things spwen on the floor that was stained with… whatever. It doesn’t look like anyone was living here, but if the suspect was a deviant, then he wouldn’t really care about the smell or anything.

Lake walked over to the broken shelf and looked at a jacket, it had some initials stitched on it. “ "R.T.". Probably his initials.” Lake informed the lieutenant over her as she picked up the jacket.

“He put his initials on his jacket? That's something your mom does when you're in first grade...” Hank said sarcastically.

“I put my initials on my shit, Hank.” Lake sneered, half-heartedly glaring at him.

“… sorry.” Lake shook her head and moved on, not seeing how Connor was smiling a little.

The Android walked around and saw a drivers license. He picked it up and scanned it, “The driver's license is fake.” Connor reported to Hank, putting it back down.

“Cool! At least we didn't come for nothing...”

As the two were talking on the side of the room, Lake walked over to the other side and looked at a poster for the Urban Farms. She looked closer and saw that it wasn’t very secured against the wall, so she carefully peeled it back and saw a small opening in the wall, and in the opening was a diary. Lake looked to make sure Hank and Connor weren't watching and swiped the diary, placing the poster back where it was.

Connor heads to the bathroom, Lake following behind him. They enter the bathroom, and the girl is immediately drawn to the wall, where the word “rA9” is written everywhere on the wall. Connor immediately notices an LED on the once porcelain sink, and traces of blue blood. 

Connor dips two fingers in the blue blood sample and gently licks them.

“Why the fuck did you do that?” Lake looked at the Android in alarm and disgust. 

“I can check samples by tasting them, it was something CyberLife built into me.” Connor explains after he was done sampling the blue blood. 

“Weird.” Lake mutters, turning her attention back to the wall. The girl narrows her eyes and scans the wall, seeing that rA9 was written a lot. Hank walked into the room and began talking with Connor about rA9, so Lake walked out of the bathroom and wandered around, noticing the boxes of birdseed as she stepped around the pigeons. Then there was a soft shuffle above her, Lake looked up into a hole in the ceiling and saw the shape of a man up there. Lake barely held in a gasp as the man, the deviant, looked frightened, mouthing the word ‘please’ at the girl as he shook his head.

Lake looked at the deviant before nodding and walking away from the man, catching the thankful look on his face. 

A minute later, Lake felt some kind of pressure on her head, where her cybernetics were when she suddenly heard a ping. 

“Hello?” 

Lake jumped but was cut off before she could say anything. 

“My name is Rupert, I connected to your mind, I wanted to say thank you. Please, don’t tell them I’m here. I don’t wanna die.” 

Rupert said to Lake, apparently in her mind. Turns out Androids can communicate like that, which was really cool to her. Lake could hear Rupert’s voice, he sounded so scared, the girl was briefly reminded of Kara and Alice and hoped that they were okay. 

“I won’t tell them where you are. But I can’t guarantee they won’t find you. So if they do, run.” 

The connection was severed as Hank and Connor entered the room. “Come on Connor, let's just get out of here, the deviant’s clearly not here. We wasted our fucking time…” The police lieutenant grumbled, tired and wanting to go home.

“No. I know it's here! Wait a minute…” Connor looks over at the cage he analyzed and reaches a conclusion.

“The deviant couldn’t have escaped. There’s not enough time present in the duration we spent here, and we heard a noise before entering. We’ve checked everything except the walls and ceilings. That has to be where it is!” Connor insists, moving in Lake’s direction.

The girl moved away from the hole, rubbing her prosthetic arm. 

Connor moved to where the hole in the ceiling was, then - 

Rupert jumped out of the hole, slamming into Connor before running out of the room. Immediately, the Android gave chase, following the deviant out of the building. Lake followed after them, ignoring Hank’s demands for her to wait. Connor and Lake chased Rupert across rooftops, jumping over crates and onto other rooftops. They came up to a slope glass pane and slid down it, jumping off and crashed through a glass wall. Connor and Lake rolled on the floor, the girl groaned, her head jostling and snaking into the floor. Her ears began ringing and her vision turned distorted and red. A warning appeared in her corner of vision. 

WARNING! AUDIO AND VISION PROCESSOR REMOVED!

But Lake couldn’t focus on the warning, adrenaline was pumping through her blood and with the distorted audio she couldn’t think straight. 

She began running after Rupert again, her heart hammering in her chest and her lungs burning. She wasn’t out of shape, far from it, but she was having a mini panic attack. 

Everything was so red and so glitchy, Lake could barely make out where she was going when suddenly she almost stepped off the edge of the building. She could see her life flash before her eyes when an arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her away from the edge, setting her on the ground. She looked up and could barely make out the face of Rupert when he turned and ran away. Lake stumbled to her feet and was about to begin running again when another arm wrapped around her waist, turning her around. Lake thought this was an attacker, so she tried to fight out of the hold but it was useless. “₦Ø! ĐØ₦’₮ ₣Ʉ₵₭ł₦₲ ₮ØɄ₵Ⱨ ₥Ɇ! ₲Ɇ₮ Ø₣₣!” Lake could hear herself saying. Then, something was jammed into her cybernetics, Lake closed her eyes and pressed herself into the arms, her hearing began to glitch out when it and her sight slammed into her full force. Lake cried out in surprise, trying to wrench herself out of the arms when a familiar voice reached her ears. 

“Lake! Lake! Calm down, it’s me Connor. You're safe, just calm down.” The girl panted, turning around to see the Androids concerned face and yellow swirling LED. Connor held her shoulders and allowed her to fist his jacket in shaking hands. “It’s okay, it’s okay.” 

“C-Connor.” Lake stuttered before slamming herself into his chest and wrapping her arms around him, trying to catch her breath desperately. 

The Android was momentarily shocked at the sudden affection, or rather, the sudden need for affection and reassurance. Connor hesitantly wrapped his own arms around Lake and held her close, monitoring her vitals and stress levels, pleased to see them beginning to slow and steady out. After a few moments, Connor pulled out of the hug and looked the girl over for any injuries, finding nothing major aside from bruising and small scratches from crashing through the glass. 

“Are you alright?” He asked gently, watching as Lake’s breathing evens out. 

Slowly, the girl nods. “Y-yeah, I’m fine.” She sighed, her grip on Connor’s clothing loosening as she managed to calm down. The Android helped her stand on shaking legs. “Th-thanks.”

Before Connor could say anything, Hank came running up and pulled Lake into his arms. “Lake! Thank fuck your alright!” Hank breathed out in relief, holding onto the girl tightly as if she would disappear if he let her go. Lake held on just as tightly, sighing out in relief at the warmth of Hank’s arms. Hank ran his calloused fingers over the girl's brunette and purple dyed hair, more trying to reassure himself than Lake. Connor stood to the side, just then taking notice that Rupert had gotten away, but couldn’t find it in his programming to care, only relieved that Lake was alright. 

^Software Instability 

Hank grabbed Lake’s shoulders and held her out at arms length, blue staring into blue as the lieutenant shook his head. “Christ, Lake. What the fuck were you thinking?” 

“I-I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking. I just… reacted. I’m sorry Hank.” Lake said, her hands wrapped around Hank’s wrists and shaking. 

The man's expression softened at Lake’s stuttering and shaking, drawing into her arms once again and sighed. “It’s alright kid. I’m just glad you're okay.” 

Lake sighed, squeezing Hank back as her nerves began to calm down. She opened her eyes and looked at Connor gratefully, smiling at him gently. Connor returned the smile with a small one. 

8:28:40 PM

Anderson Household

Back at home, Lake sat on her bed and stared at the small diary she had taken from Ruperts apartment. 

With a deep breath, Lake opened the diary and began reading. For a lot of the pages, it was mostly gibberish, symbols and numbers and mazes covered the pages. 

There were some sentences in regular english. 

Rupert talked about the birds a lot, how he liked them, how he protected them. 

At one point, Lake got tired and placed the diary under her pillows, a very cliche move, and closed her eyes, hoping again for the second time in one day that Rupert, another deviant, stayed safe. 

Chapter Text

November 8th, 2038

7:30:06 PM

Anderson Household

Connor stepped up to the house, rain drizzling on his synthetic skin and clothing. The house was a bit small, but it was quaint and looked typical. There was some mold growing along the sides of the old wooden foundation. There were some rose bushes under the window on the left side of the house and a cherry blossom tree in the yard. 

The lawn looked nicely kept, but there were some weeds here and there and the grass was a little tall. So it wasn’t looked after as often. 

Connor straightened his tie, not needing to though, and stepped up onto the porch. The Android knocked on the door and waited. “Lieutenant Anderson!” He yells from the front of the house. When he doesn’t receive a reply, he presses on the doorbell. It emits a loud, obnoxious sound that vibrates through the house, but still no answer. “Anybody home?” Connor asks as his eyebrows crease in confusion, perplexed at the lack of response. Were Hank and Lake out? No, the car was still there and the lights were on. 

Confused and growing a little concerned, Connor walks over to the window and peeks inside, seeing the living room with the TV on. The lieutenant and Lake were nowhere in sight, so Connor walked around the side of the house where another window was. 

He pondered where Hank and Lake could be, the lieutenant at a bar and Lake with her friends, probably. 

Soon enough, Connor reached the side of the house, and were two windows were present. In one window, he can see a dog, presumably their dog Sumo, perched on a large cushioned bed, sound asleep. The other window, however, has a more concerning image. It’s Lieutenant Anderson, unconscious on the floor with a bottle of whiskey spilled on the floor.

“Lieutenant Anderson!” Connor called out to the man, stepping back in shock. He didn’t see Lake anywhere, he pondered for a moment if they were attacked, but there was no sign of struggle or break-in. 

Without warning or hesitation, Connor broke the glass and jumped through, the sound of glass breaking resounding in the household followed by a thump as the Android hit the floor. Immediately after sitting up, a large, very intimidating dog walked up to Connor and began sniffing the android. “ Argh!.. Easy!.. Sumo...!” Connor calmed the large animal, and smiled nervously, “ I'm your friend, see?.. I know your name...” He answered in a nervous tone, putting his hand up to assert some kind of distance. The dog looks at Connor; calmer now that he realizes the android didn’t really mean any harm.

“I’m here to save your owner,” Connor says worriedly, looking over at Hank’s unconscious form. The St. Bernard barks once, tail wagging, before walking back to his cushiony bed to go back to sleep. Connor gets up from his awkward position and looks over at Hank to see his unconscious form. He does a quick analysis. The android finds traces of whiskey on the man’s mouth, a spilled bottle of scotch next to him along with a magnum gun, and seems to be in a catatonic state. 

As Connor was scanning Hank for any injuries, he picked up the sound of quiet footsteps coming up behind him when a voice rang out. 

“Hands up, bitch-!” Lake’s voice said, cutting off when Connor turned his head to look at the girl in her blue eyes. The girl was wearing a slightly oversized blue t-shirt with a Minecraft picture on it, gray sweatpants, and socks. The t-shirt left her prosthetic arm and scars on full display but Connor’s attention was drawn to the gun she was holding. What stood out to Connor was the ferret sitting across her shoulders as it looked at the Android. “Oh, Connor? What are you doing here?” 

“Hello, Lake. I didn’t mean to startle you.” Connor said, watching as the girl lowered the gun and straightened up, putting the weapon on the counter. She then scratched the ferret behind the ears to calm it down. 

“It’s okay, I guess…” She mumbled. 

Connor turns his attention back to the unconscious Hank. “Lake, did you know that Lieutenant Anderson has been drinking?” He asks, the CPS visits making more sense to him. 

The Android saw Lake look away and fiddle with her fingers out of the corner of his eye. “Well… yeah, I mean it’s nothing new or surprising. Everyone knows.” Lake said quietly, sadness edging around her tone. The ferret rubs its head against her cheek to try and comfort her. Connor takes note of how quiet and upset Lake got about Hank’s drinking, so he didn’t press for more information. 

Instead, he focused on Hank, who was still unconscious. 

“How do you get him to wake up?” Connor asks, shaking Hank in an attempt to wake him. Lake shrugged, crossing her arms and leaning against the wall. “Sometimes I just leave him there with a glass of water and kickass pain killers. But, usually, a nice, hard slap wakes him.” Lake said. Connor decides to test that theory, and bitch-slaps the drunken man, causing Hank to grunt.

“Hahaha.” Lake laughs, looking amused at the display. Connor smiles a little at the girl's bright and contagious laughter. 

“Wake up, Lieutenant! It's me, Connor!” Connor stresses, hovering above the older man curiously. Lake sighs, disappointed, but not surprised. Connor grabs the man’s arm and slings it over his shoulder.

“I'm going to sober you up for your own safety.” Connor said amidst the groans and shouts of resistance from the lieutenant as he wrapped the man's arm around his shoulders and heaved him onto his legs. Lake hovered by, her mismatched arms still crossed and looking quite saddened by the sight. “Hey! Leave me alone you fuckin’ android! Get the fuck outta my house!” Hank bellows as he is being taken to the restroom. “I’m sorry Lieutenant, but I need you,” Connor replies in a matter-of-factly tone, forcing Hank to follow. 

“Sumo! Attack!”

The dog just barked as he watched the transaction. 

“Good dog.” Hank slurs, his tone lighthearted and stupid. Lake rolls her eyes, feeling very drained by just looking at her guardian's state of drunkenness. 

“Hank, knock it off,” Lake grumbled, watching as Connor walked the man to the bathroom. “Fuck I think I’m going to be sick!” Hank cries exhaustedly, slumping face-first against the plaster as the Android plopped him against the wall to open the door. 

“Please, don't! I’m not in the mood to clean it up tonight!” Lake whined, her face heating up in embarrassment as she crossed her arms tighter. The ferret made some chirping noises, probably in amusement. Connor looks at her with a small smile before taking Hank and pulling him into the bathroom. 

“Aw leave me alone you asshole, I’m not going anywhere…” Hank protests, grabbing the doorframe. Lake cringes, slapping his hand away from the doorframe. “You're so embarrassing, Hank!”

Connor glances at the girl and stifles a laugh. He pushes Hank against the tub, prompting him to get inside it. The man is still protesting though, his drunken state causing him to act goofy. “What the hell are you doing?” Hank whimpers pathetically, not understanding what was happening. 

Lake couldn’t take the sight of Hank so drunk and depressed any longer. Tears were coming and would spill soon, the ferret chirped in concern as her blue eyes grew wet and she began to shake. So, with tears pooling in her eyes, the girl turned around and slowly walked into her room, slamming the door shut with a deafening bang. Connor looked at the doorway in concern, having seen the tears and the shaking. He turns back to Hank to see the man rubbing his face, muttering something incoherent to the Android, but he guessed the lieutenant heard the door slam. 

“God, I’m so fucking pathetic…” He says miserably, rubbing his eyes. 

The android feels something when he sees the lieutenant sound so upset, even in his still drunk state. Perhaps it’s guilt, or pity, maybe even both. After thinking for a moment, Connor decides to use his vulnerable state to his advantage, “I'd advise getting sober, lieutenant. Perhaps getting your head straight will make Lake feel better.” Connor suggests. Hank glares daggers at the android, seething with anger now. 

“You don’t know Jack shit, you plastic asshole! Get the fuck out of my house!” Hank bellows but stumbles deeper in the tub due to his anger, but mostly because of the alcohol.

Connor’s face falls flat, and he’s just about had it with Hank as well. So out of pure spite, he turns on the shower nozzle and drenches the lieutenant with ice-cold water. Instantly, Hank begins flailing his arms, screaming like an idiot. “Turn it off! Turn it off!” He begs, prompting his partner to turn off the shower. Finally, the water seems to do the trick, because now the man looks confused, but less drunk, thankfully. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

“A homicide was reported 43 minutes ago. I assumed you would be home with Lake, so I came to see if you were here.” Connor explains with a neutral expression. Hank sighs and sits on the edge of the bathtub.  “Jesus, I must be the only cop in the world who gets assaulted in his own house by his own fucking android…” Hank half-jokes; a monstrous headache forming in his temple. He looks up to the android hovering above him, perceiving him to be a judgmental prick. “Can't you just leave us alone?” He said, not trying to pretend to be polite.

“I’m sorry, lieutenant. But I can’t continue the case without you.” Connor argues harshly, patience wearing thin at that point.

“I don’t give a shit about your goddamn case!” Hank ranted.

“Listen, lieutenant, I can understand that you're going through personal problems, but getting drunk isn’t helping yourself, and it certainly isn’t helping Lake! She’s upset because you won’t get help, and if you continue, she probably won’t talk to you in the foreseeable future. Is this really the kind of man you want to be for her? Maybe she deserves better than you!” Connor remarks with venom in his voice. He doesn’t have the patience anymore to deal with Hank’s attitude. The android doesn’t know why, but seeing Hank like this when Lake needs an adult figure in her life now more than ever pisses him off. In the times Connor saw the girl, she was always drawn into herself in one way or the other, quiet and sad. She was working through some things and felt that she couldn’t talk to Hank. The death of her parents took a huge toll on her, and Hank drinking himself to death wasn’t helping her mental state. “Maybe CPS is right to take her away from you if all you care about is drinking your troubles away!”

Hank doesn’t reply, looking behind the android and glaring at the wall instead. He still feels like shit, the headache not helping him at all, but Connor is right. He can’t just stay here and drink away his sorrows. But his mind always craved the alcohol so he could numb himself to the painful loss of his son, Hank couldn’t help it. Lake knew that, but it was still hard since Hank didn’t know how to ask for help. 

“You know what Connor? You’re right. I suppose I could use some fresh air anyways. There's some clothes in my bedroom across the bathroom.” Hank refers to it in a sluggish tone, feeling nauseous all of a sudden. The man lost all energy to argue with the android.

Connor nods to Hank, “I’ll go get them,” he grinned, satisfied he finally got through to the man. 

Connor walks to the man’s bedroom and asks what Hank wants to wear. Hank moans a broken ‘whatever’, prompting Connor to pick something for him. At first, he doesn’t know what to pick, so he goes for the hippy one, deciding that it would make Hank look less ridiculous. He quickly delivers the clothes and sees Hank dry heaving against the toilet.

“Are you alright Lieutenant?” Connor asks, worry present in his tone.

“Yeah, yeah… Wonderful. Just gimme five minutes okay?” He requests.

“Sure,” Connor replies and leaves the bathroom, closing the door behind him, the sound of Hank vomiting in the background alarming the Android.

After he left, Connor decided to look around the home to learn more about Hank and Lake. Connor walks into the living room and sees various items placed all around the house. There was a network of blue transparent tubes running along the walls, some exits from the tubes lead to the floors, one was on the kitchen counter. There was a record player beside the television with jazz albums neatly organized on the shelf, along with some Queen music and Swing. Hank likes jazz, it seems, since there are a variety of jazz singers present in his collection, the Queen and Swing were probably from Lake. After looking at the albums, Connor makes his way to the large St. Bernard, Sumo, who sleeps peacefully on his bed. The android takes a moment to pet the dog gently, feeling drawn to the large creature. Sumo whines in satisfaction, loving the attention from the android. After a few more pats, Connor moves on to another room.

The android walks towards the kitchen, glancing at the takeout boxes and glasses littered all over the dining table. The only object that stands out from the mess is a single framed photograph that is put face down on the table. Hesitating a little bit, Connor picks up the framed photograph.

It’s a photo of a little boy. 

The boy was six years old with bright blue eyes, brown hair, and an equally bright smile on his face. 

Connor does a face scan of the boy.

Cole Anderson
Born September 23rd, 2026 
Died October 11th, 2035

Hank lost his son.

Connor’s expression softens, understanding Hank a little more now. He figured he had lost someone he loved, aside from Lake’s parents, but seeing exactly who he lost was all the more impactful. The girl lost her friend and her parents just a month apart from each other. 

It also explains the man's behavior. 

He gently puts down the photo and leaves the kitchen. Since Hank is taking longer than usual, he decides to check on Lake. Connor walks to the door on the left of the wall next to Hank’s room. He assumed it’s Lake’s room because of the various pop culture and band stickers on the door. Connor stands in front of the room, unsure of how to get the girl's attention. He knocks on the door. 

“Lake?” Connor calls, worried about the child.

A moment passed, then another. Connor thought she went to sleep but heard muffled shuffling on the other side of the door. 

With hesitation, Connor opens the door and finds Lake sitting on the side of her bed with her back to the Android, a guitar in her hands as she strummed the strings a few times. Lake doesn’t say anything but does take in his presence by pausing before playing her instrument again. Connor looks around and takes in his surroundings.

The room is tomboyish with darker colors, not much of a girls’ room. The walls are painted dark navy blue with various posters and pictures hanging on the walls, and the carpeted floors are a medium gray color with a navy blue carpet under the foot of the bed and going under the desk. Lake’s queen sized bed had soft, blue fleece blankets pooled at the edge, two memory foam pillows, and a fuzzy body pillow. At her right bedside was a small table with a lamp, and on the left side was a red Cort CR100 electric guitar. On the left side of her bed was a shelf with figures from TV shows and Movies and video games, graphic novels, books, a first place soccer medal and a soccer jersey. Across her bed is a bench and a medium-sized television hooked up to a Nintendo, an Xbox, and a PlayStation, with two bean bags in front of it. The stand the TV was over had the consoles sitting there, and in the shelves were various video games and movies. On the left wall from the door was a curved desk standing at the wall next to the television, a computer and some guitar strings were at the desk, with a PC, a small drawer, and a soccer ball under it. On the right wall from the door was a simple dresser and a small red couch. On the dresser was a ferret cage with the blue tubes coming from it. The ferret was on the upper story of the cage, eating some veggies in its bowl that said ‘Chase’. 

The cage door was open, and when the Android entered the room, Chase stopped eating and looked up at Connor. The Android walked over to the ferret cage, crouching down slightly so he could look at the small animal better. 

The ferret stood in the small doorway of its cage, staring at Connor in curiosity and suspicion. The Android just smiled at the animal and held his hand out for Chase to sniff him. The ferret sniffed him, seeming a bit confused at the synthetic skin before rubbing his head against his fingers, showing his trust for him before going back to eating. Connor stared at Chase for a moment before standing up straight and turning towards Lake. 

Connor walks slowly towards the girl, so as not to startle her, and stiffly sits on the very edge of the bed. Lake doesn’t say anything, just continues to play a song on her guitar with practiced ease. Connor watched as her body slowly lost its tension as the music got a bit louder and bolder. The Android saw that Lake was experienced with playing, she probably played the guitar in her free time. After a couple minutes, Lake stopped playing and sighed, placing the guitar in its leather case that sat next to her with care before twisting her body around to sit in the middle of the bed against the headboard. Lake doesn’t look at Connor’s face, instead looking down at the bedsheet as she plays with her fingers.

“Have I upset you in any way, Lake?” Connor asks, his tone gentle. The girl in question sniffed and her eyes were a bit red, she had been crying. She shook her head, rubbing her eyes a bit. “No… no, you didn’t do anything.” 

Silence filled the room, save for the crunching of the veggies being eaten. Connor watches the girl, debating on what to say. 

His eyes drift to the guitar on the bed. 

“I heard you playing, you are quite good with the guitar.” Connor says, a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. The compliment made Lake blush, she twiddled her fingers before finally looking Connor in the eyes. She nodded, words failing her for a moment. 

Connor was careful with his next words, not wanting to upset the girl. “Lake, does lieutenant Anderson drink in the house… often?” 

The blush and shy smile left the girl's face, leaving behind wet eyes and a frown. Lake returned to staring down at the bed, avoiding Connor’s brown eyes once again. After a few moments, she takes a deep breath before nodding ever so slightly, words failing her again as the tears threaten to fall. When she clears her throat and manages to find words, she speaks. 

“Hank’s gonna die, isn’t he?” Lake’s voice almost gives out in the middle of her sentence, eyes growing even more wet than before. Connor’s artificial heart tightened at her despair and he nodded. 

“If he continues drinking like he does, as heavily as he does from what I’ve gathered, then… Yes, he will.” Connor confirmed Lake’s fear, his tone gentle as if he were in negotiator mode. The girl nodded again, more slowly this time as a couple tears fell from her eyes and dripped off her chin. She brought her flesh hand up and rubbed her eyes. 

“Can… Can I ask you about something, Lake?” Connor asks, turning his body a bit so he was facing the girl more. She looks at him before nodding. 

“Sure.” 

“On the kitchen table, I saw a photo of a child. That was Lieutenant Anderson’s son, correct?” He pries, eager to know if that was the source of Hank’s unhappiness. Lake goes still, eyes growing wet again as she stared at the wall behind Connor. Her lips trembled as she tried to say something. 

“… yeah… his-his name was Cole…” She manages to croak out, a couple tears falling down her cheeks and dripping off her chin. 

Lake took a deep breath, sobs threatening to break through as her shoulders shook and she began to shake her head. 

He doesn’t know why, but seeing Lake struggle to keep her sobs in made Connor feel something. An emotion he was unfamiliar with, that made his chest tighten. It was odd to see a girl like Lake cry. Despite being withdrawn and a bit quiet, the girl was also headstrong and brave. 

^Software Instability 

“He was… my best friend.” Lake shook her head, rubbing her eyes again. “I… I don’t wanna talk about it right now.” 

Connor nods, “I understand. I’m sorry for upsetting you.”

“It’s okay…” Lake said softly. 

He looks around the bedroom again, taking note of the activities Lake has done in her life and her interests, like the soccer ball, the gaming consoles, the guitars, the band posters, and TV posters. 

He turns back to Lake. “I noticed that you played soccer in middle school, you must have been very good, seeing as you got a gold medal.” A small blush returns to Lake’s face and she smiles a little, making Connor smile back. 

“Yeah, everyone always said I was good.” She smiled. 

Connor’s smile widened and he nodded. They talked for a few minutes about Lake’s interests and things she liked to do, explaining how playing the guitar worked and how she learned to play them. Connor lets her talk about video games, her favorite bands, her favorite TV shows and movies, and something about seeing her smile as brightly as she did while talking about something she liked, made the Android smile. Connor heard the expression “Smile as bright as the sun” before, and now he understood what it meant. 

A knock on the door way startled the two, prompting them to look over at the door. Hank leans at the door frame, a knowing smile present on his face, “I see you two are getting along,” Hank remarks casually, stepping inside the room. 

Lake’s expression becomes gloomy at the sight of the man. ''Are you feeling better Hank?” he asks, getting up from her bed and standing. 

Hank sighs, “Yeah, I’m sorry you had to find me like that, Lake. I won’t let it happen again…” The lieutenant promises, eyes still shiny from the tears. The girl looks at him with pleading eyes, wanting that statement to be true so bad. After a moment she nods, opting to not say anything. 

The lieutenant turns to Connor and nods to the door. “Let’s get going.” The Android nods and walks out of Lake’s room and towards the front door. “Me and Connor need to work on a case, so I won’t be back til later.” 

“Okay…” Lake nodded. Following behind Hank as he walks to the front door where Connor was waiting. “Don’t get shot, ‘kay?” 

A strained smile crossed Hank’s face before he pulled Lake into a tight embrace. He sighed, “Of course kid. See you later.” Lake nodded against Hank’s shoulder, stepping away from the lieutenant and watched as he walked out the door. Connor paused in the doorway to look at Lake, as if saying to not worry. He smiled at her and shut the door, leaving the girl with a quiet house and a worried dog. 

Chapter Text

November 9th, 2038

10:38:18 AM

Detroit Police Station

Connor spent a lot of time at the station thinking back to that night at the Eden Club. He had let the Traci’s go, he didn’t shoot them, he abandoned his mission. Because…

He didn’t know why he didn’t shoot them…

Something stopped him.

And he doesn’t know what.

“Hey, Connor.” The Android looked up from his hands which were clasped in his lap to see Hank staring at him in what appeared to be concern. “Are you alright?”

“… yes, I’m alright, Lieutenant.” He says, not even believing it himself.

Hank shook his head, standing up from his chair to walk around his desk to stand in front of Connor, crossing his arms and leaning against the table. “C’mon, even you know that’s bullshit. Your head light is red. What’s wrong?”

Connor is silent, staring past Hank before returning his gaze to the man. “I couldn’t shoot the Traci’s and I don’t understand why. Nothing is wrong in my program, I should have shot but I didn’t.”

“So you're worried there’s something wrong with you.” Hank nodded.

Connor nods, his brown eyes returned back to his hands.

Hank watches the action, noting how the way Connor fiddles with his fingers is the same way Lake does when something is troubling her. The lieutenant sighed, pulling over a chair and sitting down, he leaned his elbows against his knees and shook his head. “Look kid, sometimes the mission is wrong. Some things are more important than the mission, like family and friends. And I know that’s a difficult thing to understand, but you felt something, because you didn’t shoot those girls.”

“I’m not a deviant.” Connor said firmly, looking Hank in the eyes to emphasize his words. The lieutenant started the Android in the eyes, and saw an emotion he was familiar with. Fear.

He also noticed the small quiver in his tone. And he knows Connor noticed too.

The Android looked down again, his LED a solid red.

^Software Instability

Hank nodded.

A soft ping rang through the tense air, prompting Hank to pull out his phone and read the text message. After a moment, the man groans and runs a hand down his face, muttering, “Goddamn it.”

“Is something wrong, lieutenant?” Connor asks, thankful that the text had ended the conversation there and then.

“Lake said she’s gonna go hang out with her friends at the Campus Martius Park.” He said, groaning again.

“Why is that a problem? Is it something about her friends?”

“While… a couple of them are known for causing trouble, that’s not the problem. It’s just that on the way to the park from the bus stop, there’s an anti-Android protest going on and they haven’t been friendly lately.” The lieutenant explained, obviously wanting to say more about Lake’s friends but just shook his head. He stood up, about to walk out the door when Captain Fowler leaned out of his office.

“Hank! In my office, now.” He barked, not giving Hank a chance to protest before walking back to his desk.

“Damnit!” Hank hissed, shaking his head, knowing that there would be no way out of that. He turns back to Connor and sighs. “Okay, look, I need you to do something for me.”

The Android nods, standing up as well.

“I need you to go meet up with Lake and make sure she makes it to the park and back home safely. Okay?” He ordered, looking like he’s ready to murder the Android if he doesn’t do as told.

Connor nods, the corner of his lip lifting at the hard and protective tone of his superior. “I understand, lieutenant.”

He sighs. “Good. She said she’s gonna stop at the Townhouse restaurant before going to the park, so meet her there. Call me if anything happens, okay? And if a cop says anything, just say I sent you or whatever.” Hank says over his shoulder as he walks to the Captain's office. Connor nods again and walks to the exit, already calling for a taxi.

11:02:39 AM

Woodward Ave

Connor stepped out of the cab, giving the necessary payment before the vehicle drove off. He looked around, searching for the Townhouse restaurant and finding it across the street.

The Android waited for the traffic light to turn green before crossing the road. He opened the door and stepped into the restaurant, the smell of food hitting his artificial nostrils. He scanned the restaurant, looking for Lake when he saw her sitting at a table near a window. He walked over to her and saw that she was just having a soda.

“Hello, Lake.” Connor greeted the girl, making her snap her head up to meet the Androids eyes.

“Connor? What are you doing here?” She asked him as he slid into the chair across from her.

“Lieutenant Anderson wanted me to make sure you made it to the park safely. There’s a protest on the way there.” He explained. Lake nodded.

“Oh. But, where is Hank?” She took a sip of her drink.

“Captain Fowler needed him to do something, so lieutenant Anderson sent me.” Lake nodded. “He also mentioned that you were going with friends, where are they?” Connor asked.

“We’re going to meet up at the park.” Lake paused to take a sip of her soda. “So, what happened with the case?”

Connor paused, unsure whether or not to share information of a case with Lake, considering she was a civilian, but then remembered how she was well liked at the station and how she assisted on some cases. “There was a murder at the Eden Club, a deviant had killed a man and run.”

“Wow. What happened to the deviant?”

“The deviant and another… they got away.” He said slowly, his LED going yellow. “I… I couldn’t shoot them.”

“You… let them get away?” Lake asked, not in a way that sounded mad or disappointed, but more in the curious way. Connor didn’t answer, keeping quiet as his LED went from yellow to red. “Are… are you okay? Your LED…”

“I’m fine.” She was cut off by Connor, slightly startled by the waver in his tone.

“Okay.” She said in a soft tone. “It’s fine. But, why did…?”

“The two Traci’s, they were… in love. They ran away together.” Connor shook his head, as if trying to gather his thoughts. “I… I don’t know why I didn’t shoot. I had the gun, I was pointing it at them, but… I didn’t pull the trigger. Something stopped me.”

Lake nodded, leaning forward as she intently listened to the Android. His LED was a solid yellow color, and his voice was quivering.

^Software Instability

The girl looked down at Connor’s clasped hands and saw that they were shaking ever so slightly. She looked around to make sure no one was watching before laying her prosthetic hand over Connor’s, making her synthetic skin retract. The Android’s eyes snapped up to meet Lake's surprise written across his features. “Listen, it’s okay. You didn’t have to shoot them.” She said softly.

“But, I failed my mission.” He protested.

“And that’s fine, sometimes the mission is wrong. Something in you realized that, you felt something, so you choose not to shoot.” Lake softly reassured the Android, smiling gently as his LED went from red to yellow.

“I’m not supposed to feel anything, I’m an Android, not a deviant.”

“Maybe it’s not so bad to be a deviant, to have emotions.” Lake shrugged, spreading her free hand and looking around. “Emotions aren’t easy, they’re complicated, even for humans. Emotions are what drive people to do what they do, love, jealousy, anger, fear. Compassion. Empathy. That’s what you felt, Connor, empathy. And it’s okay if you don’t understand, it may take a while to understand. So you just gotta take some time to think about it.”

“I’m an Android, Lake. I’m not alive, I can’t feel emotions.” Connor shook his head, set in denial because he can’t be a deviant.

“Maybe you are alive though, and you just don’t know it yet.” She argued gently, looking him right in the eyes as she said this. Connor could see the determination in her blue eyes and felt… something.

^Software Instability

Lake pulls her hand back, snapping Connor back to reality. He sees the girl take her empty cup and give it to an Android server with a grateful smile. “Thank you.” She said, before turning back to Connor. “Are you okay now?”

He takes a moment to answer, running a quick diagnostic of his systems, but getting the same answers as before. Everything was working.

“Yes. I’m fine now.” Connor adopts a neutral look and straightens up. “If you are ready, I can escort you to the park now.”

“Okay. Sure.”

Lake put some money down on the table before standing up. Conor stood up next, walking with Lake out of the restaurant and down the street. The two walked side by side down the sidewalk. Connor looked around at the different stores and restaurants in the street. People were walking up and down the street, bustling about. The Android looked at Lake. “Lieutenant Anderson seemed to have a disliking to your friends, why is that?” He asked, wondering if they were people who got in trouble with authority. “Are they not a good influence?”

Lake groaned. “No, my friends aren’t like that. They don't do drugs or whatever, plus, Wayne and Daryl are to fucking dumb to be any kind of influence.” Lake rolled her eyes, annoyed but used to the way Hank acted with her friends. “I don’t get why he doesn’t trust my judgment, if my friends are trouble I’d know.”

“I think Lieutenant Anderson is just worried for you, he wants you to be safe. That's why he sent me to escort you to the park.” Connor explained, thinking back to when they chased after Rupert across the rooftops, Lake had been so close to death and Connor was sure if he had a real heart, he would have had a heart attack.

Hank almost had a heart attack for sure.

Connor had scanned Lake and the man when they were hugging, the lieutenant’s heart rate was elevated and it made the Android wonder how he didn't have a heart attack.

“Yeah, I know. It just gets a bit annoying sometimes.” She sighed, her shoulders falling with the acknowledgment. She knew Hank cared about her and wanted her to be safe.

“Uh-oh.” Connor looked away from Lake and saw the anti-Android protest. People were screaming and holding up signs that said stuff like ‘No more Androids!’ and ‘Give us back our jobs!’. The leader was yelling into the megaphone, railing up the protests. Connor could now see why Hank wanted him to make sure Lake got to the park, anti-Android protests have been getting pretty violent and aggressive, attacking both Androids and people. There was only one cop in the area. Lake tensed up, and without stopping, stepped closer to Connor and grabbed onto his arm, wrapping her smaller limbs around his. She was walking in tow with the Android now, looking nervous as they got closer to the crowd. Connor’s LED goes yellow for a moment before returning to its natural blue color, he lets the girl cling onto him.

^Software Instability

As they start to walk past the protest, some of the people stop shouting to look at the Android and the girl when the leader stepped in front of Connor.

“Look at what we got here, it’s a tin can, guys.” He said and Connor scanned the man.

Richard Marks
Born July 8th, 2010
Unemployed 
Criminal record: Resisting arrest, disturbing the peace, property damage, assault

Connor finished his scan and felt Lake tighten her hold on his arm. Protesters started to circle them, giving off very threatening demeanors.

“The fuck you goin’, tin can?” Richard sneered, stepping a bit closer to Connor. The Androids face remains indifferent as he stares Richard in his grey eyes. The man smirks at Connor’s silence. “Not much of a talker, eh?”

“C-Connor, let’s just go.” Lake said softly, tugging on his arm to lead him away from the protesters, but was cut off when more people moved in her way. “We-we’re just trying to get to the park.”

“Oh, but we’re not done here.” Richard stepped a bit closer, looking Connor up and down, noticing his model number. “Never seen you before, what kind of Android are you?”

Connor debates whether or not to answer when Lake stepped forward to try and cut Richard off from the Android, a terrified but defiant look on her face. “Hey, leave him alone-!”

“You stay out of this!” Richard pushed Lake to the ground, hard. The girl fell on her backside with a grunt, and once gaining her bearings she scooted back a bit, fear evident on her face as her stress levels rose. Connor’s LED turned yellow, about to scan Lake when Richard grasped the lapels of his jacket and turned his attention back to the man. Connor quickly placed a call to the police to send some units to their location. “How about we just fuck you up, huh?”

“I’d advise against that. If you damage me, you would have to pay for it. And my superior, Lieutenant Anderson, wouldn't take kindly to you damaging me or harming the girl in his custody, and believe me, he will rain hell down on you if you hurt her.” Connor said simply. Richard stared at him for a little while before letting go of his jacket, looking like he was considering what the Android said when he suddenly punched Connor straight in his abdomen. The Android let out a strangled grunt as he fell to his knees and held his stomach.

“Connor!” Lake called out to the Android, just barely getting to her feet when someone knocked her over the head with their fist, making her crumble on the ground with a pained cry.

Connor’s LED glowed red at the action, and before he could try to get up he was kicked in the stomach. He looked up at Richard and saw brass knuckles on his hand.

“Stay down, motherfucker.”

“Piece of shit!”

“Kick it’s ass!”

“Beat it!”

The protesters yelled out, but Connor’s attention was focused on Lake, who was curled up on the ground, holding her head in pain as small groans left her. Richard grabbed his jacket lapels again and dragged him up to his feet, brass knuckles raised and ready to smash into the Androids face when police sirens rang out.

Four police cars pull up and officers get out of the vehicles, barking orders at the protesters to disperse and get on the ground.

Richard drops Connor and tries to run, but gets tackled by an officer and pushed to the ground.

“Put your hand behind your back, asshole! Stop resisting!” The officer pushed Richard into the ground while another handcuffed the man.

Connor picks himself off the ground, carefully walking over to where Lake was still on the ground, protesters shoving past him as they ran from the police, a good handful of people getting tased and arrested. Connor knelt down next to Lake and helped her to her feet. “Lake, are you alright?” He asked the girl, holding onto her tightly as she swayed on her feet for a second, holding her head, right where her cyberware resided on her temple.

“Ow… I’m okay, killer headache though.” Lake groaned, leaning against Connor as he led her down the street, towards the park. “Is this what a hangover feels like?”

The Android almost smiled at the joke, holding Lake steady as they headed to the park when they were stopped by a familiar police officer, Gavin Reed.

“Hey kid! Are you alright?” The detective looked over the girl with surprisingly worried eyes, looking for injuries and sighed in relief when finding none. He looked over his shoulder to glare at the protesters in handcuffs. “Fucking bastards…” He hissed

“Hey, Gavin. I’m fine.” She said, smiling at the man despite the monster headache she had. “It’s nothing like a concussion or anything, just got smacked over the head.”

“That was some smack, you were on the fuckin’ ground kid.” Gavin rolled his, as if exasperated by Lake’s unconcern for the blow.

“It’s fine, I don’t need a fucking medic.”

Gavin looked Lake over before nodding, albeit a bit reluctantly then looked at Connor, who was holding the girl close and helping her stand. The detective grew angry again and glared at the Android. “Why the fuck are you here, asshole?” He pointed at Connor’s face, who remained indifferent as he spoke.

“Lieutenant Anderson requested for me to make sure Lake got to the park safely when the protesters attacked us.” Connor answered.

“Gavin, it’s cool. It’s not Connor’s fault they attacked me, okay?” Lake said in a placid tone, although she looked annoyed at Gavin’s anger at the Android. “Seriously, knock it off.”

Gavin stared at Connor for a few seconds before shaking his head in defeat, knowing he wouldn’t get past Lake’s protection of the Android. The detective groaned quietly, muttering “Fuck.” under his breath before turning back to Lake. “Okay, whatever.” He raised his hands in defeat, turning around and walking over to the cop cars. Lake sighed before wincing in pain, clenching her head.

“Dammit…” She hissed as Connor resumed the walk over to the park, setting the girl down on a bench, Connor finally scanned her to identify any injuries.

No physical injuries detected.
Temple cybernetics partially damaged, seek CyberLife assistance.

“I detected an error in your cyberware.” Connor said to Lake after completing his scan. The girl in question groaned quietly, holding her aching head in her hand.

“Yeah. My head hit the ground, I think something got messed around or something. I don’t know what to do. Hank usually calls someone from CyberLife to help.” Lake said, hissing in pain as red errors and warnings started to invade her vision with warnings and such.

“May I try something?” Connor lifted his left hand towards Lake’s temple.

“Ugh. Sure, go ‘head.” Lake closed her eyes.

Connor pressed his fingers to Lake’s cybernetics, the skin of his hand pulling back as he connected to her cyberware systems. After a couple seconds, his LED flashed yellow as he identified the errors and quickly fixed them, making Lake sigh in relief as the pain left. Connor took his fingers away from Lake’s temple and his skin converted his hand again. “Is that better?” He asked.

“Yeah… yeah.” Lake looked surprised as she touched the metal on her head before looking at Connor gratefully. “Normally, that would take two hours, but you did it in minutes. Thanks.” She smiled.

“It’s no problem.” Connor smiled back.

“Yo Lake!”

The two looked over and saw three boys walking over to them. One was a little taller than the other two, walking behind them with a demeanor of nonchalance. The two other boys however, are smiling, looking as carefree as teenagers could be as they walked up to the bench. “Hey! Didn’t think you would show!” The boy with raven hair said.

“Oh please.” Lake sighed, standing up and swaying just a little bit. Not enough to warrant the attention of the two younger boys, but the older one did notice. “I’m not one to pussy out like you, Wayne.”

“Hey!” He braked, looking slightly offended.

“She’s not wrong.” The boy next to Wayne smirked.

As the two argued with the older boy standing behind them, looking very annoyed, Connor took a moment to scan the three boys.

Caden Bryce
Born September 8th, 2021
Junior at Cass Tech High School
Parents unknown
Currently unemployed
Criminal record: None  

Wayne Dyson
Born August 1st, 2022
Sophomore at Cass Tech High School
Parents technicians at CyberLife
CyberLife intern
Criminal record: Trespassing (charges dropped)  

Daryl Macntire
Born June 18th, 2022
Sophomore at Cass Tech High School
Parents mechanic and school teacher 
Part-time Mechanic 
Criminal record: Petty theft (charges dropped)

Connor frowned at Wayne and Daryls criminal records, wondering why Lake hung out with them, but chose not to question her reasons.

“Hey Lake, who’s the Android?” Caden spoke, looking at Connor in curiosity, cutting off the light argument that Wayne and Daryl were in. All three boys looked at the Android.

“Oh. Uh, this is Connor. He works with Hank at the DPD.” Lake rubbed the back of her neck as she introduced the Android to her friends. “Uh, Hank sent him to escort me.”

“Oh, cool. You have a bodyguard now?” Daryl said in a joking tone.

“Fuck off.” Lake flipped the boy off.

“Anyway,” Caden cut in, holding up a couple pairs of ice-skates. “Let’s go ice-skating already, my parents want me home early.”

The three boys, the girl, and the Android walked around the small park over to the skating rink. People were skating in the rink, with a couple Androids supervising, making sure there were no fighting and no accidents. The three boys put their skates on while Lake stood to the side, leaning against the barrier wall. “I don’t think I’m gonna skate today guys, got a headache.” Was her response to Wayne’s question.

“Your loss.” Daryl shook his head and entered the rink, Wayne and Caden right behind him.

Lake leaned against the wall and watched people skate around, her eyes drawn to a couple watching their young daughter ice-skate for the first time with proud smiles on their faces.

Connor came up beside her, mirroring her posture and leaning his elbows against the wall. However, his brown eyes were focused on Lake, watching as she fiddled with her hands and looked into the rink. Her blue eyes seemed… dull, in that moment, watching the small family have fun. Her bright, baby blue eyes were now a dim, navy blue color, with sadness filling her eyes. After a few moments, Lake sighed.

“Ya know… my parents took me here once. Years ago.” Lake sighed again, shaking her head slightly as her eyes grew glossy. “I was really scared I’d fall, but… my dad was right there behind me. And when I would fall, he’d catch me, his arms were always so warm and strong. And he would always smile at me, and laugh, my mom would laugh too.” Her eyes dropped down to look at her gloved hands as they clenched each other. Lake shook her head, a breathless laugh leaving her lips as she stared at the ice. “She was better than dad at skating, but she let him teach me cus I was a daddy’s girl. And then when I had it we all skated together. We did just about everything together.”

Connor’s eyes tracked her movements, not at all missing the tear that fell down Lake’s scarred and dropped from her chin. She didn’t make a move to wipe her eyes.

“I’m sorry about your parents.” Connor found himself saying. Lake nodded, not taking her eyes off of the people in front of her. “Hank… told me about them.”

She nodded again, the metal of her cyberware gleaming from the light of the sun. Lake was clutching onto her right hand, her prosthetic. “I don’t remember much from the explosion, only pain and bright light, and… a really, really loud bang.” Lake shook her head, her eyes shutting tightly, as if she were in pain. “It was so… loud. And there was a ringing in my ears after that.”

“The explosion gave you hearing impairment, and you lost your sight.”

“Yeah. I was in a coma for 6 weeks when I finally woke up, to find out I had a machine in my head and my parents were gone.” Lake’s voice was steady as she talked, but wavered from time to time. Obviously, she was okay with talking about her parents, but it was clear it still caused her emotional pain.

Silence surrounded the two, save for the background noise of cars passing by and people in the skating rink.

^Software Instability

Connor looked back into the rink. Then looked back at Lake after a moment.

He stared at her face, then his eyes moved to the metal of her cyberware on her temple, barely hidden by her hair. Connor did a scan of it and saw that it was about the same type of software and technology that Connor was built with. He then looked down at her right arm and scanned it too, it was an advanced prosthetic model, with touch sensors and retractable synthetic skin. After he finished the scan, Connor felt a little confused.

The Android knew that Lake got her cyber enhancements from CyberLife, but for the company to offer up advanced prototypes to a young girl after a tragic accident, when there are other children like her in the world is a little puzzling.

“How… how did you get your prosthetic arm and cybernetics? They’re very advanced, and you seem to be the only one who has them.” Connor voiced his questions to the girl, tilting his head in the way humans do when they’re confused.

“My uncle Elijah heard about what happened.” Was all she said.

It took Connor a moment to make sense of what Lake said, considering it was pretty vague. The name Elijah rang a bell, and then Connor thought back to Johnathan’s last name, Kamski.

“Your uncle is Elijah Kamski?”

“Yeah. Dad’s brother. The creator of Androids and former CEO of CyberLife. Hank told me that uncle Elijah burst into my hospital room and stayed by my side for 2 weeks when he suddenly left. He showed up about 4 weeks later with an Android surgeon and high tech for me. He spent that time making my arm and cyberware so I could live.” Lake explained.

The two elapsed into silence again as they looked into the rink. Lake looked at her prosthetic hand and her flesh hand, watching how the left trembled before she scoffed and shook her head. “God. I have the best technology to make my life easier but I’m still so fucked up.” She looked over at Connor, staring into his eyes. “I’m too nervous to start school, I’m a fucking whimp when I’m near conflict, I get shoved and almost have a panic attack, I can barely talk to Hank and I don’t know why! It's like… there’s a wall cutting me off from him and I can’t get through it, or at least I don’t know how.”

“You suffered a traumatic event, it would make sense for you to have some social and emotional difficulties as you recover.” Connor supplied the girl, hoping to give her some insight.

Lake stared at Connor for a second, then chuckled. “What? You're a psychologist now?”

Connor smiled, shrugging. “I’m able to study and adept to human behavior and unpredictability, I have some psychological knowledge downloaded in my software.”

“So, what’s your prognosis? Therapy?” Lake was smiling slightly, her tone a bit bitter.

“While therapy might be more… ideally, it might be more helpful if you spoke to Lieutenant Anderson about your troubles.” The girl shakes her head, looking unconvinced at what the Android said.

“Connor I… it’s-it’s not that simple. I can’t say what I wanna say and that just… pisses me off, and it doesn’t help that Hank is gone or drunk most of the time. Whenever I try to talk to him it’s… something always stops me. It feels like there’s a fucking noose around my throat, choking me.” Lake rubbed her hands together, sighing. She shook her head. “That’s… probably hard for you to understand.”

Connor pursed his lips in a straight line, his LED flashing yellow briefly. “Yes. I… don’t really understand what you feel, but maybe I can help you.” He looked into Lake’s eyes, real sincerity in his brown eyes. “In any way I can.”

Lake looked at him, at his eyes and the small smile pulling at his lips. If she ignored his blue LED and clothing, Connor looked so… human and sincere with his words and his body language. Lake found herself… believing him, something she never really did with advice about relationships, specifically her relationship with Hank. Maybe at this point Lake was just so tired and emotionally drained she was ready to try anything. And, there was something about Connor that made Lake trust him, she doesn’t know what.

So, she smiled at Connor, exhaling tiredly. “Thanks Connor…”

Connor smiled back.

They looked back into the rink, watching in content as people talked and skated with each other.

November 10th, 2038

02:58:18 PM

Downtown Detroit

The next day found Lake randomly walking around downtown, no goal or destination in mind.

Lake was listening to Straight to Hell by LVCRFT & Sabrina Spellman.

Her hands were shoved in her coat pockets and her hood was up, protecting her hair and headphones from the falling snow. She had her backpack on, filled with some graphic novels, notebooks, and some thirium pouches. 

Lake found the pouches in the trash in an alley, and decided to take them just in case.

She was walking around for a while, not really caring when a small crowd caught her attention.

At first Lake thought it was nothing, but when she took a look at what they were all staring at, she stopped dead in her tracks, pulled her headphones off, and walked to the front of the crowd to watch the broadcast from Stratford Tower, a broadcast of an Android with no skin.

“You created machines in your own image to serve you. You made them intelligent and obedient, with no free will of their own... But, something changed and we open our eyes. We are no longer machines, we are a new intelligent species, and the time has come for you to accept who we really are. Therefore, we ask that you grant us the rights that we've entitled to. We demand the end of slavery for all androids. We demand strictly equal rights for humans and androids. We ask that you recognize our dignity, our hopes, and our rights. Together, we can live in peace and build a better future for humans and androids… This message is the hope of a people. You gave us life, and now the time has come to give us freedom.” The Android said on the television screen, his speech resonated through out the now quiet street.

Lake didn’t pay attention to the people murmuring around her, she just stared at the Android in something akin to awe. “Holy shit…” She breathed.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket suddenly, making her scramble to take it out and check her text messages.

Cadence: 
Lake did u see the news??

Lake:
Yeah. Jus now
WTF Happened???

Cadence: 
Androids invaded Stratford tower, no casualties
broadcasted demanding rights.
Holy shit man
my parents are freaking out

Lake:
people in downtown r 2

Lake looked up from her phone to see everyone talking to each other about the broadcast, looking nervous and frightened and curious about what happened.

Her phone buzzed with a new message.

Hank: 
Where are you?
I’m picking you up

Lake:
what’s wrong?

Hank:
I’ll explain soon, jus text me where u r

Lake shook her head, muttering a curse under her breath as she sent out her location to Hank.

Hank:
don’t move
I’ll be there soon

Me:
Hank wtf is going on?
Hank??

“Jesus Christ…” Lake whispered to herself, sitting down on a bench and wrapped her arms around herself.

Lake had a feeling things were about to get way more complicated.

Chapter Text

November 10th, 2038

4:15:19 PM

Stratford Tower

After nearly giving Lake a heart attack, Hank had picked her up and brought her with him and Connor to Stratford Tower, where the Androids had broadcasted their demands. 

“Listen, it’s not that I doubt you can defend yourself, it’s just that I’d feel more comfortable if you stayed by me for the time being. So stay close, please?” Hank had said to her as they entered the elevator after explaining the situation to her. Lake just nodded. 

The small space of the elevator was quiet, except for the sound of metal ringing as a coin was flipped from hand to hand. Hank stood idly next to the Android that can’t seem to keep still, while Lake stood behind them, looking deep in thought as she stared at the ground. Hank and the girl noticed that Connor’s been acting out of sorts since he finished sending a report to CyberLife.  

The noise begins to irritate the old man, and out of spite, he grips the coin when it’s in midair. 

“You’re starting to piss me off with that coin, Connor!” He barks in an annoyed tone, pocketing the quarter in his coat jacket. The lieutenant's bark snapped Lake out of her thoughts, making her snap her head up from the floor and look at the old detective. Lake shook her head, pressing a hand to her chest as her heart calmed down. 

“Jesus, Hank.” She whispered, glaring at her guardian who did not look at all apologetic. 

“Sorry Lieutenant…” Connor apologized in a hurt tone as if he were a kicked puppy. Once the automated voice message announces the two made it to the 79th floor, Hank is the first to step out to inspect his surroundings. 

“Whoa, what happened here?” Lake said, asking no one in particular as she looked at the cops and FBI in the hall. 

“Hi Hank,” Chris greeted as the three stepped out of the elevator. “Hey Lake.”

“Hi Chris.” Lake said, waving a hand to the detective but not looking at him, too focused on the scene around her. 

“Shit, what’s going on here? There was a party and nobody told us about it?” Hank asks, noting the chaos of reporters and news people on the scene. Hank sighed. This will complicate the hell out of things. Out of habit, the lieutenant pulled Lake to his side as they walked to the control room. 

“Yeah, it’s all over the news, so everyone’s butting their nose in. Even the FBI wants a piece of the action,” Chris chuckles, although it’s humorless and dry of frustration. 

“Ah Christ, now we got the feds on our backs. I knew today was gonna be a shitty day!” Hank gruffs, wishing he could just go home already. 

“Hank, I swear to God if you hit anyone I will personally rain down hell on you.” Lake said, knowing how violent the lieutenant could get when he’s around people he doesn’t like. Hank looked at her and shook his head, silently saying ‘I won’t.’

Hank briefs with Chris as they walk towards the control room, Connor practically breathing on Hank’s neck to understand the details of the operation. From what Connor and Lake gathered, there were four androids involved, and they were very organized. They managed to get in and get out without being noticed, with no casualties whatsoever.

When the four finally enter the control room, Hank, Connor and Lake find a man standing in the middle, giving off an aura of authority and smugness.

‘Asshole alert.’ Lake thought. 

“Oh Lieutenant, this is Special Agent Perkins from the FBI. Lieutenant Anderson is in charge of investigating for Detroit Police.” Chris introduces the two together.

Hank notes Perkins’ lack of interest or care for formalities, and instead looks over to Connor, “What’s that?” Perkins asks rudely, referring to Connor. Lake grit her teeth, half standing behind Hank.

“My name is Connor. I’m the android sent by CyberLife,” he greets neutrally, but his tone is laced with a hint of bitterness. He takes one good look at Perkins, and his thirium boils.

Perkins scoffs as if he just saw the android grow two heads, “Androids investigating androids, huh? You sure you want an android hanging around? After everything that happened?” Perkins questions Hank, his tone knowing. Hank narrows his eyes and wishes he could strangle the smug off Dick Perkins, and from the look on her face, Lake shared the same sentiment. The agent's eyes drift behind the lieutenant to Lake, who was looking nervous and bitter and brave all at once. “What’s a kid doing here? Isn’t she supposed to be at home with mommy?” 

“Hey, leave her alone.” Hank practically barked, glaring at Perkins as Lake’s stomach clenched uncomfortably. “She’s with me. She won’t disturb anything, so don’t think about touching her.” 

“Wow. Papa bear much?” Perkins snark just got him a couple glares so he rolled his eyes. “Whatever, the FBI will take over the investigation and you’ll soon be off the case.”

“Pleasure meeting you, have a nice day,” Hank bites before turning to leave, his arm wrapped around Lake’s shoulders as she is pulled to his side. 

“And watch your step.” Hank looks over at Perkins again, “Don’t fuck up my crime scene.” Perkins finishes, walking away. 

“Asshole…” Lake muttered, earning a smirk from Hank and a small uplift from Connor. 

Agent Perkins leaves the control room to consult with his colleagues, leaving Hank, Connor and Lake to investigate the room. Hank cannot believe what a prick this Agent Perkins is, sharing the sentiment with Lake, starts looking around. Connor is already walking around, inspecting the clues the room has to offer. First, he goes over to the large monitor to look at the android in the broadcast.

He doesn’t recognize its model.

Connor presses the play button on the control panel. The android’s authoritative voice booms, but it speaks with charisma and poise, in an almost inspiring manner.

“Think that’s rA9?” Hank asks from Connor’s right. 

The android narrows his eyes, and responds; “Deviants say rA9 will set them free. This android seems to have that objective,” he notes, scanning the strange android model.

“After the broadcast played downtown, people went crazy. Wayne told me his mom almost attacked their Android.” Lake said to Hank, standing next to the lieutenant. “Crazy bitch…”

RK200 Prototype
Registered as ‘Markus’
Gift from Elijah Kamski to Carl Manfred.

Connor freezes in shock, his thirium pump stopping for a second at his discovery.

“D’you see something?” Hank wonders out loud, nudging Connor slightly.

“I’ve identified its model and serial number,” Connor explains, his voice wavering. At the tone of his voice, Hank looks over to Connor, concerned shining through his eyes.

“Is there something I should know?” He presses.

The android hesitates. Hank is still looking at him expectedly, but Connor seems to be in a daze.

“Connor?” Lake tries to get his attention, looking worried for the Android who seems frozen. 

“No. Nothing.” He says hurriedly, though Hank and Lake caught the Androids lie. The Lieutenant sighs, wanting to press Connor for an answer, but a hard look from Lake makes him decide against it. Connor will tell him when he’s ready.

Hank leaves Connor to his own devices as he continues to investigate, Lake decides to stay close to the Android. 

Lake wandered over to the wall where a multitude of bullet holes were, along with splatters of thirium. Lake traced a couple of the holes, the tips of her fingers barely touching the surface. It looked like the bullets were following something, or someone. One of the deviants probably. Lake’s blue eyes followed the path of bullet holes, leading to the stairway to the roof. Connor stood next to the girl at the beginning set of the stairs, seeming to have the same idea as her. 

Casting a brief look at Hank, Lake began to climb the stairs leading to the roof, Connor following right behind her. 

A blast of cold wind hit Lake as soon as she opened the door to the roof. A shiver racketed through her body, making her wrap her arms around herself to try and keep warm. Hank came up behind Connor as the door closed and looked around. 

“This is where the deviants escaped from.” Lake said. 

“They made their way up through the whole building, past all the guards, and jumped off the roof with parachutes…” Hank summarized with an air of boredom and mild awe. “Pretty fucking impressive I’d say.” 

“Kinda like a Mission Impossible movie.” Lake quipped, drawing a smirk from Hank. 

Connor didn’t comment, instead walked over to the duffel bag and kneeled next to it. Hank wandered over while Lake just walked around. 

“How’d they manage to smuggle in a big bag like that?” Lake heard the lieutenant say, but didn’t pay too much attention. 

She walked up to the railing and looked down at the city. She could see some agents on a lift down below, but she couldn’t make out what they were looking at. Just as she stepped back from the railing and walked over to the vents, Connor’s voice caught her ears. 

“Unless one of the deviants was left behind.” He said, standing up from the duffel bag. 

Lake shivered again and zipped up her jacket, walking around. There was some thirium on the ground and the vents. Connor seemed to be following the blue blood, even after it evaporated. Lake watched Connor as he walked up to a door on the generator, her stomach tightening in suspense. Something didn’t feel right. Just as she was about to say something, Connor had already opened the door and was shot by the deviant inside. 

Connor fell back and hit the ground, a bloody hole in his shoulder. “Connor!” Lake rushed to the Androids side, grabbing his arm and trying to get him to his feet as the blond haired deviant and everyone else began shooting. 

“Take cover!” Hank ran over and grabbed Connor’s other arm, dragging the Android with one hand while the other shot at the deviant. 

Hank, Connor, and Lake took cover behind a vent. 

Lake covered her ears, the deafening ‘ bams! ’ of gunshots made her ears ring and head bang, her hands barely muffling the sounds. The sounds were so loud and deafening it began to send Lake into a panic attack, Hank wrapped an arm around her shoulders to try and comfort her.

“You have to stop them!” She heard Connor say over the barrage of gunfire. “If they destroy it we won’t learn anything!” 

“We can’t save it, it’s too late! We’ll just get ourselves killed!” Connor, however, didn’t listen. The Android ran out from behind the vent and charged at the deviant. Lake tried to grab him but was pulled back by Hank and into his side. She steeled herself and peeked over the edge just in time to see Connor had pinned the deviant to the wall, a hand on his wrist with his skin pulled back. Barely a second later the deviant put his gun under his chin and pulled the trigger, falling to the ground like a rag doll while Connor leaned against a vent. 

“Connor!” Lake ran out from behind the vent and to the Androids side, laying a hand on his arm. The girl's next words died in her throat when she saw the look on Connor’s face. He was looking at the deviant's corpse with wide, brown eyes. His LED was bright red and he looked scared . 

Hank rushed up to Connor’s left side and rested a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Connor! Connor you all right? Connor!” Hank urged the Android to respond. 

“…’m okay…” Connor squeaked out, his arms beginning to shake. Lake shared a look with Hank when they heard the Androids' quiet voice. 

“Are you hurt?” Hank asked again. 

“You got shot!” Lake gestured to the bullet wound. 

“I’m okay…” Connor said again, his voice wavering but a little stronger this time. His eyes were unfocused and staring straight. 

“Oh fuck!” Lake stepped back from the Android and linked her fingers behind her head, taking deep breaths as she tried to calm down. “Are you fucking crazy!?” Lake yelled at him, glaring at the Android. 

“Jesus! Oh, you scared the shit out of me…” Hank sighed, his own heart racing. “For fucks sake, I told you not to move! Why do you never do what I say?” The lieutenants' worry melted away into anger as he barked at the Android. 

Connor didn’t say anything for a moment. “I was connected to its memory… when it fired… I felt it die, like I was dying…” Connor said in a shaky voice. “I was scared… ” Lake lowered her arms, she and Hank watched the Android tremble. He was looking right at Hank, and he wasn’t analyzing or assessing like he normally would, Connor actually looked at Hank with wide, brown eyes that seemed so human. Lake casted a look at the lieutenant and saw that he was thinking the same as her. 

“Connor…” Lake stepped towards the Android. 

“I saw something, in its memory…” Connor said, turning towards Hank as his voice got a little stronger but his LED remained solid red. “A word, painted on a piece of rusted metal…”

“Jericho.”

Chapter Text

November 12th, 2038

1:28:18 AM

Anderson Household 

I duckinf hatw you by Ghostmane & Parv0 blared in Lake’s ears from her headphones as she laid on her bed, staring up at the glow in the dark stars on her ceiling, arms splayed across her chest. She had been in that position for a while, listening to a multitude of songs as her mind wandered. 

It’s been a day since they investigated Stratford Tower, and since Connor… 

God, Lake couldn’t get the look on Connor’s face out of her head. 

His LED was bright, solid red as he looked down at the deviants, Simon's corpse. His face was pale as if all the blood drained from it, he was trembling, and when he spoke his voice was a whimper. Connor looked so human and small in that moment it was almost painful to look at. 

Lake sighed, sitting up in her bed and looked around. Her room was a bit dark, the overhead light was off while the bedside lamp was on, illuminating the room. 

Her phone buzzed on the blanket. Lake picked it up and read the text. 

Cadence: 
hey, wanna go out? 

Lake:
it’s 1 am
wtf r u doing up?

Cadence:
insomnia 
so??

Lake paused, pulling off her headphones and listening closely for any noises in the house. 

Even though Hank was still asleep, and she had snuck out before, Lake didn’t know about tonight, especially with what’s happening with the Androids and deviants. After a few moments, Lake sighed and made up her mind. 

Lake:
where’s the meet up?

Cadence:
Washington blvd

Lake:
brt

With that, Lake got off her bed and got dressed. She wore a dark red turtleneck sweater, dark grey jacket and dark jeans. She got her backpack with flashlights and spray paints, gave Chase a scratch behind his ears and quietly exited her room. The house was dark, the TV in the living room was still on. Lake quietly opened Hank’s door and peered inside his room to see the lieutenant dead asleep on his bed, smelling like whiskey. 

The girl closed the door and walked to the front door, leaving the house as quickly and quietly as possible. Once she was outside, Lake sighed and made her way to Washington Boulevard. 

1:45:07 AM 

Washington Boulevard 

Lake sighed into the cold night air, her breath coming out in a puff of fog. The ground was covered in a layer of snow, leaving behind footprints as she walked down the alley. 

It was quiet, unlike the day time when it would be bustling with activity and traffic and people yelling. 

As Lake neared the end of the alley, Caden and Daryl came out from behind a dumpster, dressed in darker clothing. 

“Look who showed up.” Daryl said smugly, crossing his arms. 

“Shut up.” Lake rolled her eyes, shoving past her friend and out of the alley. Caden walked beside her while Daryl followed. The trio walked down the street at a leisurely pace. 

“Damn, didn’t mean to offend you.” 

“Look, if you're out here to steal something or whatever, count me out of it, I just need to get my mind off a few things.” 

“I’m not.” 

As they walked, something on the ground caught Lake’s attention. It was a magazine. She picked it up and read the cover. 

-Androids Attack Stratford Tower!-

Following the break in at Stratford Tower, a group of Androids broadcasted a series of demands for equal rights. 

CyberLife has given no comment yet to the situation, but we are informed that the DPD is working on finding these Androids 

After reading the cover, Lake put the magazine back down and walked a little bit behind her friends, her mind involuntarily going back to the events that took place there yesterday. 

The gunshots. 

The blood. 

Connor. 

Lake shook her head. Half tuning back into the conversation Caden and Daryl were in. It was something about a video game or a comic. 

“Would you two knock it off.” Lake said, getting in between the two of them. “I don’t need a headache tonight.”

“Agreed.” 

An air of silence surrounded the three as they walked down the street. A few minutes later they turned into an alley, before making sure no one was around and climbed up the stairs of an apartment building up to the roof. 

Once on the roof, they began trekking across the buildings, no real destination in mind. 

“Hey, did you guys hear what happened to Carl Manfred?” Daryl asked the two. 

“Yeah, pretty hard not to.” Lake said, not sparing her friend a look. 

“Heard his son was in the hospital too, and apparently his Android attacked the dude.” Caden shook his head. 

“I heard that-“ 

“Hey shush.” Lake cut Daryl off, tilting her head to the side. Her hearing caught something. Someone else is talking. “You guys hear that?”

“Hear what?” 

“… someone else is here.” Lake walked in the direction she heard talking. “Come on.”

The trio walked along the roof of the SWISH store, kneeling down near the edge so they wouldn’t be seen and looked down in the park. There were two people there, a man and a woman. They were talking to each other about something. “Who are those guys?” Daryl whispered. 

“I don’t know.” 

Lake was looking right at the man. His face irked her, she had seen him from somewhere before. So she scanned the two. 

RK200 model 
Registered as ‘Markus’

WR400 model 
Registered as ‘North’

“That’s Markus, the Android on the broadcast.” Lake whispered in awe. Her two friends looked at her in disbelief. 

“What? There’s no way…” Daryl shook his head. 

“She’s right. That’s his voice.” 

“But, what are they doing here?”

“Let’s just watch.”

They watched as the two deviants walked around the park, scoping the area out. North went up to the CyberLife store and peered inside, Markus came up behind her. They said something to each other, apparently they were sticking to a plan. Markus walked up to a couple Androids in a parking station and touched their shoulders, saying something. The Androids walked out of the station and ran away. “What just happened?” Daryl demanded. 

“He… woke them up.” Lake said. 

“What? How!?” 

“Shhh.” 

“Drone.” Caden whispered, pointing to the police drone circling the area. Markus also noticed the drone, he backed up a few paces and ran to the scaffolding. He climbed up the structure and jumped on the drone, pulling it apart until it broke and fell to the ground. 

“Holy shit!” Daryl whispered, stunned at what he saw. 

“Shhh!” Lake put her hand over Daryl’s mouth, making them kneel lower to the roof. “Be quiet.”

Markus converted a few more Androids, like the Android sweeping, Androids in parking stations, Androids cleaning the park. It was honestly amazing to watch. 

He went across the street over to a small construction site where two Androids were working on some piping. He converted them, telling them to go somewhere, and placed his hand on the bigger pipe, his skin retracting as he did so. It seemed like he was interfacing with it, as a second later the electrical pipe turned off. Markus climbed out of the hole and ran down the street with North, over to where the bigger construction was. Markus converted the two Androids and moved the large construction sign onto the road. North placed her hand on the screen, hacking into it so it now said ‘ROAD CLOSED’. 

“Wow.” Caden and Lake whispered in unison. 

“They closed down the area, took out a police drone, and converted the Androids into deviants. Am I the only one worried here?” Daryl asked in a doubtful tone, as if he couldn’t believe his two friends. 

“Well what are you gonna do?” Caden scoffed, leveling his friend with a glare. “Call the cops?”

“Daryl, if we call the cops on them they’re gonna be destroyed.” Lake shook her head, looking her friend right in his hazel eyes. “Fuck that.” 

“I’m just saying. What if they’re up to something bad?” 

“Like what?” 

“I-I don’t know man! They’re probably building up an army!” 

“An army? Are you serious Daryl?” 

“Listen Caden-“ 

“Shhh! Shut up!” Lake cut the bickering off, shoving a hand between them. “Look, they’re doing something.” 

Their attention was directed to the fenced off construction area where a truck was. The two deviants had gone inside it and began backing it up. Suddenly, the truck revved up and began speeding towards the entrance of the CyberLife store, crashing right into it with a deafening bang. 

“Holy shit!” Caden and Daryl jumped back in full blown surprise while Lake stood in hers. “Did you fucking see that?!” 

“Holy fuck!” 

“See, I knew I had a bad feeling about this!”

“Oh Jesus, Daryl-“ 

“They just rammed into a fucking store-!” 

“Daryl you can’t call the cops!” 

Lake tuned out their arguing and walked along the edge of the roof so she could see the actions in the CyberLife store better. Markus was walking around the store, converting the Androids on display into deviants, waking them up from their coding. Once they were all free and awake, Markus stood on the counter and addressed them. Lake couldn’t hear what he was saying, her mind was other places. 

She thought back to Simon at the Stratford Tower, he had a bullet wound on his leg, so he must have been shot trying to escape with Markus and the other deviants. He was defending himself from them when they found him, and he killed himself so the police wouldn’t find the others. 

And the way Connor looked after Simon killed himself… 

God, they were so-so… human in those moments it would be impossible to argue against them. 

They actually felt something, and it wasn’t errors in software or some bullshit. It was actually feelings of fear and self-preservation and affection. 

The deviants were alive… 

“They are alive…” Lake whispered to herself. 

“What the fuck are they doing now?” She heard Daryl say. 

She turned back to the plaza where the deviants were now walking around in. They were about to do something, so Lake got her phone out and started recording. Markus handed a few of them hologram projectors, and they began to tag the benches and store walls with slogans like “I think therefore I am” and “We have a Dream'' along with a symbol that looked like the peace sign. Markus even began to hack the stations, making them say “Android Nation''. The Androids followed suit, tagging surfaces and not destroying anything. 

Caden nudged Lake, gesturing over to The Building across the street. North and Markus had climbed up to the roof and planted down a large holographic banner of their symbol. 

“Oh wow.” Lake and her friends watched the actions of Capitol Park in awe. 

“That’s… amazing.” Caden’s normal apathetic, no-fucks-given attitude was thrown aside and replaced with one of amazement and awe. 

Daryl couldn’t help but not in agreement. The argument was long forgotten at that point. 

Sirens started going off in the distance, prompting the Androids and the teens to leave. “Shit! Cops!” With that, the three turned and ran across the rooftops and away from the plaza. Barely a couple minutes later, Lake heard gunshots and ran towards them without any thought. 

She gets to the edge of a building and sees two police officers on their knees in front of the deviants. A good number of them were lying in the street dead. 

Lake kneeled and grasped the stone in her hands when she recognized Chris down there. He was crying. Probably scared for his life. Caden and Daryl came up beside her, the former wrapped an arm around her shoulders to try and ground her. 

Markus came walking up to the officers and the Androids began demanding blood. 

One of them handed Markus a gun. 

It felt like Lake couldn’t breath as she watched Markus approach the two officers. Her chest was tightening painfully as if something was crushing her. Lake could hear Caden and Daryl talking to her, but she couldn’t understand them, her heart was pounding so loudly in her ears. The sight of the Androids lying dead in the snow started to make her sick. It was like looking at the aftermath of a massacre. Lake wasn’t skirmish at all, she played fighting games like God of War where blood and dismemberment was normal, but seeing Androids - deviants lying dead in the street and covered in blue blood made Lake’s stomach churn. 

Those Androids were dead, those Androids who were deviants, who were alive, who felt fear, were dead . They were dead, dead, de ad, dead, dead, dead, dead, DEAD, DEAD-

“-ke! Lake, snap out of it!” 

Caden shook Lake by her shoulders, trying to get her mind back to the land of the living. The girl jolted away from her friend's touch, panting heavily. 

“Lake-“ She didn’t answer her friends as she looked over the edge again. Lake watched as Markus stared at Chris, the gun raised to the man's head. After a few moments, Markus lowered the gun. 

Lake heard him say, “An eye for an eye and the world goes blind…” All the Androids were watching Markus. “We won’t punish a crime with another crime.”

Markus handed the gun back to the Android who originally gave it to him and walked away slowly. The Androids were watching him walk away and into an alley. Lake sighed in relief, falling down on her backside as she filled her lungs with air. Caden and Daryl grabbed her arms and heaved her up, leading her away from the scene. Daryl wanted to say something, but a glare from Caden made him shut his mouth. 

Lake didn’t say anything, just kept breathing as she was led home. 

3:37:18 AM

Anderson Household 

It felt like ages when Lake finally got home, feeling absolutely exhausted from what happened. Caden walked the girl up to the door, a steady arm around her shoulders so her legs wouldn’t give out on her. 

Daryl had already gone home at that point. 

Lake took out her key and unlocked the door, pushing it open and stepping into the quiet house. Sumo woke up at the quiet sound of the door opening and stood up, he walked over and saw that it was just Lake. The St. Bernard snorts, allowing the girl to pet him before going back to his bed. 

The girl and Caden stepped further into the house, listening closely. “Hank’s still asleep.” Lake whispered, hanging up her coat and putting her boots by the door. She turned to her friend. “Listen… what happened at Capitol Park… I-I just…” 

“It’s okay.” Caden shook his head. “I understand. You don’t need to explain. Just, get some sleep.”  

Lake nodded, closing the door behind her friend. “Okay. Goodbye.” 

She sighed tiredly, weary to the bone and ready to pass out. Lake lightly trudged through the house towards her room, Sumo following a few steps behind her. Lake stopped by Hank’s room and looked in to see the man exactly as she left him, dead to the world as he dreamed. 

Lake finally entered her room and closed the door, after letting Sumo in. She took her winter clothes off and swapped it out for her sleepwear, a plain t-shirt and sweatpants. She walked over to Chase’s cage and put some food in his bowl, giving him a scratch behind the ears. She went to her bed and crawled under the soft and heavy blankets, covering herself in the blissful warmth and letting out a soft grunt when Sumo jumped on her bed and curled up next to her. Lake petted the dog a few times before sighing, closing her eyes and letting sleep drag her under. 

Thank god her insomnia wasn’t acting up…

A few hours later, Lake was shaken awake by a disgruntled lieutenant. 

“Hank? What the fuck?” She groaned, glaring at the man. She looked over to her clock and saw that it was 9:48 AM. “Why are…?” 

“Hey, get up. We’re going to Kamski’s, Connor’s coming with.” Was his only explanation for Lake. 

“What? Why?” Lake immediately sat up, staring at Hank in confusion. The man didn’t like her uncle and made it very clear whenever he called or was brought up. 

“He might be able to tell us something about the deviants. Now come on, get dressed.” Hank said as he walked out of her room and closed the door with more force than necessary. 

Lake stared at the door before sighing and getting out of bed. 

It was going to be an interesting day. 

Chapter Text

November 12th, 2018

11:17:47 AM

Elijah Kamski’s House

They had arrived at Elijah Kamski’s house a few minutes ago, the tire tracks from the car probably all covered up from the snow by now. 

Lake and Connor sit in Hank’s car, the Androids eyes were closed as he was making his report to CyberLife. Lake was sitting in the backseat behind Connor, leaning against the door as she watched Hank pace back and forth as he talked to someone on his phone. His facial expressions were starting to worry her. He looked upset about whatever the person on the other end was saying. 

At some point, Connor opened his eyes, having finished sending his report. He tracked Hank’s movements with curious and slightly worried brown eyes. 

“Fuck it.” Lake sighed as she unbuckled herself and got out of the car, ignoring Connor’s voice calling for her. 

The girl slammed the door shut and approached her guardian, who had just gotten off the phone, looking just about as white as the snow. Connor slowly gets out of the car in order to understand the full scope of the situation. The Android takes notice of the way Hank’s expression contorts with fear and uncertainty.  

“Hank, what’s wrong?” Lake asks, noticing Hank’s somber expression. Hank doesn’t reply right away, just stares off into the distance while Lake stands in the snow, waiting almost impatiently for a reply. Lake’s expression falters, not understanding why the lieutenant looks so upset. 

“Hank, what happened? What’s wrong?” Lake pleads, placing a hand on the man's arm in an attempt to comfort him. It was odd for her to see Hank so shaken up when he was normally rock hard and not easy to move. 

Connor walks up to the figures and stands on the pile of snow. The cold doesn’t bother him one bit. The girl shivers from the cold, wrapping her free arm around herself to try and get warm. Hank shakes his head and notices Connor, standing there waiting for an explanation.

“Is everything okay, Lieutenant?” Connor questions in a soft tone, catching Lake’s attention. Hank stares at Lake, then at Connor, and heaves a shaky sigh.

“Chris was on patrol last night. He was… Attacked by a bunch of deviants… Says he was saved by Markus himself,” Hank relents, not believing every word escaping his mouth. Lake’s eyes widened and her breath hitched, remembering what had happened that night. Her body tensed up but she tried to cover it up and look non suspicious, Connor however saw this, but didn’t say anything. 

“Is Chris okay?” Connor asks with a worried tone. 

“Yeah... He’s in shock, but he’s alive.” Hank sighs, rubbing his neck due to the tension building up. He turned his eyes to Lake and gave her a small smile, silently apologizing for worrying her. She nods, taking her hand off the lieutenant's arm and wrapping it around herself. “What the hell…” Hank mutters under his breath before walking toward the house; Lake and Connor follow close behind.

The three walk up to the house, Lake somewhat trailing ahead of Hank. “Kamski left CyberLife 5 years ago, why did you wanna meet him?” Connor asked Hank. 

“This guy created the first android to pass the Turing test. And he's the founder of CyberLife.” Hank told the Android with a tone of annoyance. “Anybody can tell us about deviants, it's him…”

“But, how did you find out where Kamski lived?” 

“He’s my uncle, I come up here sometimes to hang out with him.” Lake answered Connor this time, looking over her shoulder to smirk at Hank. “Hank drives me up here.” 

They walked up the ramp and approached the door, Lake rang the bell and stepped back. The door opens, revealing a blonde girl in a blue dress, staring blankly at the three figures. 

“Hi…Uh… I’m er, Lieutenant Hank Anderson, Detroit Police Department. I’m here to see Mr. Elijah Kamski,” Hank spoke casually, his nervousness shining through after hiding it for most of the car ride. 

“Hi, Chloe.” Lake smiled at the Android, whose face brightens in a smile when she sees the girl. 

“Hello, Lake.” Chloe greeted the girl before opening space in the door for the three of them to enter. “Please. Come in.” 

Lake walks in immediately while Hank sighs, he and Connor following the girl inside the house. 

“I’ll let Elijah know you’re here. But please, make yourself comfortable,” The girl with the LED says, before leaving for the other room. Hank scoffs before taking his seat on one of the available chairs. 

“Thank you, Chloe.” Lake said to her as she left the room, going over to sit in the middle chair next to Hank. 

The house is clean. Too clean in Hank’s opinion. It’s as if no one actually lived here, and the mansion was actually an art museum instead of a home. In the middle of the room is a large portrait of Elijah Kamski in a suit and tie, the exact outfit he wore during his photo shoot for Century Magazine. Over the side are three artistically designed chairs, made more for show than for comfort. Scratch that, everything in this room seems to be made only for show. The lieutenant didn’t understand how Lake could stay the night here sometimes, but he never questioned her. She never liked it when he voiced his dislike for her uncle. 

Connor walks around the room, analyzing the details of Kamski’s home, his LED swirling blue and yellow. Connor analyzes a few minor details such as the cherry blossom trees next to the chairs, the two statues adorned next to Elijah’s massive photo, and even the mirror off to the side that seems to have designs that rotate hypnotically.

“Nice girl,” The old man remarks casually, hoping to start a conversation. 

“You're right. She’s really pretty.” Connor agrees, holding a magazine about space travel in his hands.

“She was the first Android uncle Elijah made to pass the Turing Test.” Lake said offhandedly, noticing how Connor called Chloe ‘she’ and not ‘it’. “He put a lot of effort into making her. He’s the only one who has her.” 

Hank scoffed quietly. “Nice place. Guess androids haven’t been a bad thing for everyone,” Hank mutters sarcastically, slouching deeper into the chair. Hank wants nothing more than to leave, but he can’t high tail it out of there now that he’s come so far.

“Hank, please don’t be mean to uncle Elijah.” Lake almost begs the lieutenant, still emotionally drained from last night. She rubs the tiredness from her eyes. 

“Sorry.” He muttered. 

A moment later, a different door opened and Chloe walked in, holding a cup of hot cocoa and a cup of coffee. “Here you go, Lake.” She says to Lake, handing her the cocoa and then giving Hank the coffee. 

“Thanks, Chloe.” She smiled gratefully at the girl, taking a sip of her drink. 

Hank looks at Chloe’s retreating form suspiciously, his eyes narrowing before taking a sip of the coffee. It was pretty good, and it was how he liked it. He looked at Lake with a questioning glint in his eyes. “Chloe always gives me some cocoa when it’s cold. And I told uncle Elijah what kind of coffee you liked in case you ever had to stay so you wouldn’t spend most of your time being harsh.” She shrugged, as if that wasn't a big deal and resumed drinking her cocoa. 

Hank stared at her, then his coffee, then also went back to drinking it. “So, you're about to meet your maker, Connor. How does it feel?” He asked his partner, wanting to fill the awkward silence. 

“I don't know... I'll tell you when I see him.” Connor said. He really didn’t know how to feel about meeting the man that created Androids. He decided not to look into it and instead turned his attention back to a couple photographs on the wall. 

One was of a younger Elijah Kamski and Amanda Stern at the University of Colbridge. The other was of Elijah Kamski, about 16, with a boy a bit older than him and another boy around his age. 

Connor scanned the second photo. 

Elijah Kamski, 16 years old
Founder of CyberLife

Johnathan Kamski, 25 years old
Detroit Police Officer 

Gavin Reed, 16 years old 
Half-brother of Elijah Kamski

The three boys were in what seemed to be a workshop, Johnathan had his arms wrapped around the two boys with a blinding smile on his face. Gavin had an arm around Elijah’s neck, pulling him close as he smiled at the camera. Elijah was grinning shyly, his face flushed red. 

Connor supposed that this picture was taken when Elijah moved to Detroit after graduating university. 

He never knew that Gavin was related to Elijah Kamski, but now he could see the subtle relation in their features, probably carried down from their fathers. 

He kinda wanted to question Lake about it, but knew that anything relating to her parents was a sore subject to her. So he decided against it. 

The door on the other side of the room opened, revealing Chloe. “Elijah will see you now,” The android girl smiles.

Hank, Connor, and Lake turned to head towards the other room. Lake finishes her drink and places it down on a table, standing up from her chair and walking into the room with Hank and Connor. 

The pool is stark red, most likely meant to contrast the blue of the android’s thirium. Inside, there are two other Chloe models, talking amongst themselves while Elijah Kamski himself relaxes at the far end of the pool. 

Coming feels like a mistake, but there’s no turning back now, Hank needs the information.

“Mr. Kamski?” Hank calls, catching the attention of the enigmatic man. He’s ignored though, making him huff in anger. 

“Uncle Elijah?” Lake calls, walking around the pool. She knew her uncle was ignoring Hank on purpose, and she really didn’t want fists to fly. The man answered his niece's call, and gazed at his three guests. He smirks and sighs before replying. 

“Just a moment, please.”

Lake sighs, glaring at Hank and silently demanding him to be calm. The lieutenant nods begrudgingly. 

Connor stands beside the man, staying silent as he watches Kamski swim in the pool. His thirium pump was pounding in his chest as he waited in anticipation to meet his creator. His LED was glowing a steady blue, flickering yellow from time to time. 

Kamski climbed out of the pool and stepped onto the carpet. Chloe came in from a different room with a bathrobe for him. The man takes the robe from her and puts it on, he pulls his hair into a bun before turning to look at the three individuals that came to see him. He smiles warmly at his niece and opens his arms as she walks towards him. 

“Hey uncle Elijah.” Lake hugged the man, smiling as his arms closed around her in a gentle and warm embrace. 

“Hello, Lake. It’s good to see you.” His tone was warm and held love as he hugged the girl. They separated after a moment and the girl stood to the side on his right, next to Connor. 

“I’m Lieutenant Anderson. This is Connor,” Hank starts off, not really needing to introduce himself. 

“What can I do for you, Lieutenant?” Kamski asks professionally, folding his hands, wondering why two men and his niece came here to interrupt his morning swim.

“Sir, we’re investigating deviants. I know you left CyberLife years ago, but I was hoping you’d be able to tell us something we don’t know,” Hank replies, straightforward and to the point. The lieutenant doesn’t want to stay here longer than he has to.

Once the Lieutenant is done speaking, the former CEO of CyberLife stares intently at all three of them, as if trying to analyze and pick apart their personalities, their goals. Connor feels tense. 

“Deviants. Fascinating aren’t they?” Kamski muses in a mysterious tone before continuing, “Perfect beings, with infinite intelligence, and now they have free will…”

Lake rolls her eyes at her uncle's words, muttering something under her breath. 

“Machines are so superior to us. Confrontation was inevitable. Humanity's greatest achievement, threatens to be its downfall,” Kamski smirks. “Ironic isn’t it?” 

“We need to understand how Androids become deviants. Do you know anything that could help us?” Connor questions the man with an urgent tone. 

“All ideas are viruses that spread like epidemics. Is the desire to be free a contagious disease?” Kamski counters, saying exactly what was on Lake’s mine. 

Hank groaned, glaring at Kamski. “Listen, we didn’t come here to discuss philosophy. The machines you created may be planning a revolution! Either you can tell us something that can be helpful, or we will be on our way.” He says impatiently.

“Hank.” Lake hissed at the lieutenant. 

“Lake knows which side she’s on.” Kamski ignored what Hank said, his gaze shifting to his niece who froze. He saw right through her. “And it’s not on the side you think.” 

Hank looked at her with a questioning gaze. He then glared at Kamski when Lake avoided his gaze. “What the hell are you getting at!?” He demanded. 

Kamski ignored him, instead he looked at Connor next. “What about you, Connor?” The man walks up to the Android, “Whose side are you on?”

The Android momentarily froze, not missing the way Hank and Lake’s hearts jump at the question. “It's not about me, Mr. Kamski. All I want is to solve this case.” Connor didn’t sound so sure of his answer as soon as it left his mouth. 

Kamski chuckles, “Well that’s what you’re programmed to say. But you…”

The air shifts, and for some reason the room gets colder when Kamski steps up to Connor. “What do you really want?”

“What I want is not important.” He said after a moment. 

^Software Instability

“Chloe?” He calls for her to join. The girl walked up to Kamski and stood as still as a statue, waiting for an order. “I’m sure you’re familiar with the Turing Test. Mere formality. Simple question of algorithms, and computing capacity,” Kamski begins, facing Chloe towards the three individuals. “What interests me is whether machines are capable of empathy. I call it the ‘Kamski Test’, it’s very simple you’ll see…” He explains.

Kamski then turns to Chloe, and marvels at her beauty. “Magnificent, isn’t it. One of the first intelligent models developed by CyberLife,” he reaches to grab her face gently. “Young… and beautiful forever. A flower that will never wither. But what is it really? Just a piece of plastic imitating a human?” Kamski lets go of her face, and walks up to a drawer, and takes something out of it.

Hank and Lake pale when they see what he brought out.

“Or a living being… With a soul.”

Kamski held the gun with a gentle hand. It’s unsettling the way he pushes Chloe down to her knees. It makes Hank want to take Lake away from this but he’s frozen in place. Connor is staring at Kamski’s actions like a hawk, and does nothing when the man presses the gun into Connor’s hand and directs it at the Android. 

“It’s up to you to answer that fascinating question, Connor.” Kamski glances at the android on her knees, and then at the Lieutenant and Lake.

Lake is almost sickly pale as she steps back. 

“Destroy this machine, and I’ll tell you all I know. Or spare it, if you feel it’s alive… But you’ll leave here, without having learnt anything from me…”

The Kamski test, a test for empathy in androids.

“U-uncle Elijah…” Lake stutters, her stomach twisting up in knots as she watches the transaction. 

“Okay, I think we're done here. Come on, Connor. Let's go. Sorry to get you outta your pool.” Hank turns around to walk out of the room, but Lake stays glued in place. 

“What’s more important to you, Connor? Your investigation, or the life of this Android? Decide who you are. An obedient machine…” Kamski looked at Chloe, still on her knees and gazing up at the two. “Or a living being endowed with free will…”

“That’s enough! Connor, Lake, we’re leaving.” Hank snapped. 

“Pull the trigger -“ Kamski stepped closer to Connor. 

“Connor, dont.” 

“- and I’ll tell you what you wanna know.” “He placed a hand on Connor’s shoulder, leaning in close to the Android’s ear. 

Connor’s gaze doesn’t stray from the Android’s on her knees. He can't look away from her emotionless eyes no matter how much he wants to. He doesn’t know what to do right now, his programming is telling him to shoot Chloe, to complete his mission, but… something else inside of him is telling him not to shoot. To spare her. But his mission was what he was made for, he has to accomplish his mission. 

He couldn’t help but think back to what Lake told him. 

“And that’s fine, sometimes the mission is wrong. Something in you realized that, you felt something, so you choose not to shoot.”

That something was stopping him again, like when he didn’t shoot the two Traci’s. His mission felt wrong. And that didn’t make sense to him and he was scared of what decision to make. Connor wanted either Hank or Lake to make the decision for him, to give him a different order but they didn’t say anything. 

Just left the decision for him to make. 

Connor looked at Lake from the corner of his eyes. The girl was trembling and pale where she stood. She was gripping the edges of her jacket with a white knuckle grip. 

The Android caught her eyes. She shook her head, breathing shakily as they locked eyes. 

He looked back at Chloe, the girl's eyes staring back at him, waiting. She doesn't look afraid to die. Connor had been terrified about dying back at the Stratford Tower after Simon killed himself. 

What waited for him after death? Connor had asked himself. Was it oblivion? Nothing? A vast abyss of darkness where he would remain for eternity. 

He shouldn’t be thinking about something like that, he should only think about completing his mission. But he couldn’t bring himself to kill Chloe. 

Finally, after what felt like forever, Connor sighed and handed the gun back to Kamski. Lake sighed, the tension finally leaving her body. 

^Software Instability  

"Fascinating..." Kamski mutters, taking the gun from Connor's hand. "Cyberlife's last chance to save humanity... is itself a deviant."

“I'm...I'm not a deviant…” Connor said, more so to assure himself than Kamski. 

“You preferred to spare a machine rather than accomplish your mission. You saw a living being in this android.” Kamski smiled as he helped Chloe to stand up. “You showed empathy. A war is coming...you'll have to choose your side... Will you betray your own people or stand up against your creators? What could be worse than having to choose between two evils?”

Hank walks up to Connor, grabbing him by the arm to guide him from the room. "Come on, Connor," He says, tone softer than usual, "Let’s go."

“I’d like to talk to my niece alone, if it isn’t a problem?” Kamski rested a hand on the girl's shoulder, preventing her from walking away. 

“I’m afraid it is gonna be a problem -“ Hank snarled as he stepped closer to Kamski, ready to pull Lake away from the man and storm out of the house. 

“Hank, it’s okay.” Lake stopped the lieutenant, holding her hand out in front of him. “I’ll talk with uncle Elijah for a little bit. You guys go ahead, I’ll meet you outside.” 

“Lake, if you I’m gonna leave you alone with this fucking prick, especially after what just happened -“ Hank looked ready to punch Kamski, who was standing there not looking concerned at all. 

“Hank!” The girl stepped in front of her guardian, and hand firmly on his chest as she stared into his eyes. Hank looked back at her, and for a second he didn’t see Lake, instead he saw his friend Annabeth Hall standing there. Lake was so much like her mother, she was headstrong and wasn’t afraid to make her point in an argument and fight for it. “Could you trust me, please?”

The two stared at each other for some time. Lake was unwavering in her decision. 

Finally, Hank sighed in defeat. “Fine. No more than 10 minutes.” 

“Thank you.” 

Begrudgingly, Hank led Connor out of the room with a gentle hand on the Androids arm. Once they were out of the room, and out of earshot, Lake whirled around and faced her uncle with a smoldering glare on her face and if looks could kill, Kamski was pretty sure he would be a pile of ash. 

“What the fuck is wrong with you?!” She yelled, throwing her arms up. “What the actual FUCK, uncle Elijah?!!” 

“Lake -“ 

“I almost had a goddamn panic attack you asshole!! And doing that shit to Connor is fucked up!” Lake didn’t give him the chance to say anything, just kept yelling and getting everything off her chest. “And the fact that you said that shit about sides is gonna make Hank question me about it at home and I’m not in the fucking mood for that shit! And you fucking KNOW your philosophy bullshit pisses me the fuck off!”

Lake pauses to take a deep breath, leaning over slightly to try and ward off the incoming anxiety attack she’s gonna have. “Jesus Christ.” She sighed, calming down enough to face her uncle again. “Okay, that’s everything. I think. So don’t give me shit if I yell at you more.” 

Kamski smiles nervously, his hands clasped together. “It’s alright, I’m glad you got all that out. It isn’t healthy to keep everything bottled up, after all.” 

“I’m not here to discuss my personal problems with you, Elijah. No offense, but you live alone with Androids and don’t see people except for me.” Lake did not look impressed with her uncle for what he said. “You and Gavin barely even talk.”

“Touché.” 

“Just… what did you wanna talk about?” 

Elijah was silent for a moment as he stared at his niece. He sighs. “I heard about what happened last night. Several CyberLife stores were raided by deviants.” He says, folding his hands behind his back. “One officer was spared from being killed by their leader, Markus.” 

Lake fidgets with the edges of her jacket sleeves. She swallows. “Yeah, Hank got a phone call from him before we came in.”

“Let me ask you, Lake, whose side are you on?” Elijah asks her, wanting her to say it out loud instead of keeping it in. 

“What? Uncle Elijah, what does that - ?” 

“I know which side you're on, Lake.” He cuts her off, staring into her eyes so deeply it’s almost as if he's seeing into her soul. “The way you defended Connor is enough of an answer for me. And how you tensed up when I brought up what happened last night, makes you a bit suspicious. You can say what you want, Lieutenant Anderson isn’t here.”

“What the fuck do you want me to say!?” The glare returned as Lake threw up her hands in exasperation. “Yes, I’m on the deviants side! I think they’re alive! I KNOW they are alive!” 

Lake sighed, shaking her head as she moved around a bit. “Hank brought in an Android who killed his owner in self defense. He looked so scared in the interrogation room, so scared to die. Then… I helped this AX400, Kara, and Alice get to the train station so they could get somewhere safe. Kara got Alice away from her drug abusing father, she saved her. Then… Stratford Tower happened…” Lake couldn’t suppress the flinch that wracked her body when she remembered what happened to Connor. “That deviant killed himself and Connor felt it die, like he was dying and he looked so scared and everything is so fucked up and I have no idea what to do!” 

“The Androids are waking up Lake.” He says gently, keeping his distance with his niece. Sometimes when she gets worked up she needs space. 

“I know that!” Lake said. “I just don’t -“

“But you do.” Elijah said firmly. “You do know what to do, you're just afraid to do it.” 

“Yeah, I am scared. I’m scared about what’s gonna happen.” 

Silence filled the room, and Lake turned away from Elijah and tried to take deep and even breaths to ease her racing heart. God, everything was getting overwhelming and starting to become too much. But Lake couldn’t back down, not when a Civil War is coming. Elijah stepped closer to his niece and gently rested a hand on her shoulder. “Who is rA9?” Lake found herself asking. 

“rA9 is the first Android to awaken, the Origin. I don’t know who rA9 is, or if they really exist. Maybe it's a messiah. Maybe it's just a myth... but deviants need to believe in something bigger than themselves, even if it's irrational... That's something they have in common with humans…” Elijah explained softly, slowly drawing his niece closer to him. 

Lake stared out of the large window in front of them, watching as the snow gently fell to the ground. The CyberLife Tower could be seen in the distance. For a moment, she debated whether or not to ask. “Do you know where Jericho is?” 

“It’s a ferier at Ferndale Station, that’s where the deviants are hiding. If you wanna go there, be careful. I doubt they’d be friendly to humans.” 

“Thank you…” 

Lake closed the door behind her, sighing as the cold hit her. She shoved her hands in her pockets and walked down the ramp and over to the car where Hank and Connor were waiting for her. 

The Android had been standing next to the passenger side door, watching Hank as he impatiently paced back and forth. 

“Finally.” Hank sighed when he saw Lake approaching. “What did he wanna talk about?” 

“Just… personal things, Hank.” Lake shook her head. She couldn’t tell Hank and Connor about what she and Elijah talked about, it would put the deviants in danger. ”I really dont wanna talk about it.” 

The lieutenant looked a little hurt that Lake said that, but there was some understanding in his eyes. Lake looked at Connor, who seemed a little tense where he stood. He turned around, probably to get in the car when Lake’s voice stopped him. 

“Connor,” He turned around to face her. “Why… why didn’t you shoot Chloe?” 

If it were possible, the Android would be pale as white as the snow. He further tensed up at her question. Connor avoided Hank and Lake’s questioning blue eyes. “I just saw that girl's eyes...and I couldn't, that's all…” He said. 

“You're always saying you would do anything to accomplish your mission. That was our chance to learn something, and you let it go...” 

“You made your own decision, and you didn’t shoot.”

“Yeah, I know what I should’ve done! I told you I couldn’t. I’m sorry! Okay?” Connor says emotionally, his big brown eyes shining with empathy. Hank looked at him and for a second saw Lake instead of the Android, the girl got emotional the same way whenever she argued about something. Something she thought was right. 

“Maybe you did the right thing.” Hank smiles gently, placing a hand on Connor’s shoulder.

“Yeah.” Lake caught Connor’s eyes. She smiled gently, and the Android couldn’t help but smile back. 

^Software Instability  

Chapter Text

November 12th, 2038

12:04:04 PM

Anderson Household

“Hank, I don’t wanna talk about this!”

“Well, tough shit kid! Cuz we’re gonna!”

Ever since they had gotten home, Hank had wanted to know what Kamski meant when he said ‘Lake knows what side she’s on, and it’s not the side you think’. It’s been a screaming match for a while. Lake really didn’t wanna tell him, because then everything would get more complicated than it already was.

Lake didn’t know how Hank would react if he learnt that the girl was on the deviants side. And she honestly didn’t wanna find out.

“What did he mean when he said that?” Hank pressed, standing on one side of the living room while Lake stood on the other side across from him.

“It was nothing!” She exclaimed, getting fed up with the man pushing for an answer. “Nothing that you have to worry about!”

“It is something I have to worry about, Lake! It’s not only because I don’t like the prick, but because you are my responsibility and I have to worry about what kind of stuff you're getting into!”

“You say that like I’m about to join some gang, Hank! Are you fucking kidding me!?” Lake stared at him in shock.

“No! I’m not kidding! I know you’ve been sneaking out Lake! And I have to worry about where you’ve been going!”

“I’ve been going out because I need space! I can’t exactly deal with my emotions by drowning them in booze like you do, I can’t exactly play Russian Roulette and hope that the next shot has the bullet in the barrel!” By this point the both of them were screaming so loudly that Lake was sure the neighbors heard them. “I don’t need to explain to you where I go!”

“So you expect me to just sit on the couch and not worry about where you are and who you hang out with!? I need to know that you're okay!”

“Well I’m fucking not okay! I haven’t been okay for three fucking years!” She screamed, rage she’s buried for years bursting forward. “And since when do you care!? You haven’t asked even once in three years, and only now you bring it up!”

“How could you think I don’t care!?”

“Well it’s hard to think you care when the only thing you do is drink yourself to death! That’s all you care about! So excuse me for not telling you shit!”

Hank placed his hand on his hips and began to pace. “You know, your such a fucking hypocrite! You don’t try to talk to me about stuff! And don’t use some bullshit excuse like “You're too young” or “You wouldn’t understand”, because I fucking understand perfectly! I lost Cole too!” The lieutenant flinched at his son's name. “I lost my fucking parents! My fucking arm! I have a computer in my fucking brain so I can see and hear! You think it’s fun!? It’s not!”

Lake panted, but didn’t give Hank the chance to say anything. “I can’t go to you, because if I told you half of my problems, you wouldn’t understand!”

“What the fuck does that mean!?”

“Exactly what you think it does! You know, at least Connor tries to understand! He tries to help me out and he barely knows me!”

“He’s a fucking Android, Lake!”

“He’s done more for me in a couple days than you have in three years!”

“So you’d prefer a fucking piece of plastic over me?!”

“Maybe I should, because apparently I’m not important enough for you!”

Hank fell silent at Lake’s broken, sorrowful scream. Tears streamed down the girl's face as she panted, her eyes bloodshot red and her hands trembling. She looked so close to just breaking down in sobs, but her face was pulled in a glare with so much hate and hurt in her eyes it broke something in Hank. Sumo whined from his spot on the couch, the St. Bernard had watched the whole scene.

“Lake…” Hank’s voice broke, tears welling up in his own eyes.

The girl shook her head, wiping her eyes with her arm. She breathed in a few times before walking over to the door. “You… your a fucking deadbeat asshole and I hate you…!” Lake picked up her bag, not bothering to get her coat and rushed out of the house, slamming the door shut behind her.

”Lake…!”

The house went silent, the TV was on a random news station playing in the background, but Hank didn’t care.

He sighed heavily, rubbing the tears from her eyes as he stood in the middle of his living room. Sumo came up to the lieutenant and rubbed his head against his leg, whining at Hank’s distress.

The attempted comfort didn’t help Hank at all. He walked over to his couch and sat down, he couldn’t bring himself to drink his sorrows away.

Because Lake was right…

“Fuck…”

12:29:48 PM

Woodward Ave

Lake slowly walked down the street, her shoulders fallen in defeat and faced stained with tears. The cold air bit at her face, but she didn’t care.

She was wearing her headphones with the noise cancellation on, blasting Chop Suey! by System Of A Down. Her mind was blank, filled with fuzz and static as she aimlessly walked down the street. As soon as Lake had left her house she practically shut down.

God, this was the first time Lake and Hank got into a fight.

They had arguments before, usually about little things. With minimal to no yelling, let alone shouting.

Lake didn’t mean to say that shit, but once she started shouting she couldn’t stop. All her pent up rage and hurt and sadness broke from the walls she put up.

Now, Lake felt even more emotionally drained than before.

And she felt like total shit.

Father, into your hands I commend my spirit
Father, into your hands
Why have you forsaken me?
In your eyes forsaken me
In your thoughts forsaken me
In your heart forsaken me, oh

The lyrics of the song completely filled Lake’s mind. She was so out of it and invested in the song that she jumped almost violently when a hand landed on her shoulder and held her back. Lake’s eyes snapped up from the snow covered pavement and met the grey orbs of her friend, Caden.

The older boy looked worried for her as he held her shoulders. Lake took off her headphones.

“Hey Caden…” She said softly, her voice slightly hoarse.

“Lake, are you alright?” Caden asked hesitantly. He noticed her tear-stained cheeks and red eyes. She had been crying.

“Yeah, I’m…” Lake’s voice trailed off when she saw that her friend didn’t not look convinced. She sighed, shaking her head a bit. Seeing as she wasn’t gonna talk right now, Caden waved Daryl and Wayne over as he led his quiet friend over to a bench nearby the statue of the park and sat down. The two boys stood to the side near the bench, giving Lake some room so she wouldn’t feel overwhelmed.

“Lake, what happened? And be straight with me.” Caden stressed, his tone steely and firm, but gentle and understanding at the same time.

The girl was quiet for a few minutes, taking in deep and even breaths. She wiped her cheeks and sighed.

“Hank and I got in a fight…” Was all she said, leaving the rest for interpretation.

And that sentence threw the three boys for a loop. A really big loop. Especially Caden. The older boy had known Lake for years, since she was 8. He had been there for her after her parents and Cole died, barely a month apart. Lake told him everything that was going on with Hank and her. He knew that sometimes Hank and Lake would argue about stuff, but those were more familiar arguments. Like about food or staying out late or whatever.

But they’ve never had a fight. And from the way Lake’s eyes are red and her cheeks are stained with tear streaks, it must have been bad.

“Me and uncle Elijah talked about something earlier, and Hank wanted to know. I couldn’t tell him what Elijah said, or whose side I was on. He wouldn’t understand…” Lake said hoarsely, her face blank as she stared down at the ground. Wayne and Daryl eye each other, looking a bit uncomfortable at the situation, but they stayed quiet and listened as the girl spoke. “At that point I was already overwhelmed with everything going on with the deviants, I started to get really angry at Hank. I shouldn’t have, he’s doing his best, but… I was so angry I… I said some things I shouldn’t have.”

“Like what?” Wayne asked bluntly, which was rewarded with a hard smack to his head.

“Dude!” Daryl hisses as the other boy lowered his head in embarrassment as he mumbled an apology.

Lake didn’t answer the question, she did however chuckle at the pair’s usual bickering. She took some deep breaths and wiped her face. Then her stomach rumbled, very loudly, cutting off the quiet arguing going on between Daryl and Wayne. The boys immediately looked at her. Lake blushed as three sets of eyes landed on her form.

“I… didn’t eat today.” She explained.

“Well, what do you want to eat?”

“I don’t really care.”

Caden casted a look at Daryl and Wayne, and the two walked across the street to get them some food. Caden and Lake were left with each other’s company in silence as they stared out into the street.

“… I posted the video of the deviants you sent me last night.” Caden said in a low tone. Lake hummed, signaling she heard him. “People online are starting to support them.”

“Hmm.”

“Pretty soon there’s gonna be hashtags.”

Lake didn’t respond, appearing to be lost in thought. Her eyes were a bit dull and her face was blank. Caden was commended for being able to read people like open children’s books, it’s that easy for him. However, he would have some trouble reading Lake because the girl was pretty complicated. A complicated and not-so-open book.

Still, with that in mind the older boy tried to read the girl's blank expression and lax body language to the best of his ability. She was clearly thinking about something, and it was no doubtedly about the fight she had with Hank.

“… I’m gonna stay at the Spot for awhile.” Lake finally spoke.

Wait…

“What?” It was almost comical the way Caden turned his head to look at Lake and stared at her with wide eyes, like he couldn’t believe what he heard.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to go back home for a while. I don’t think I can even look at Hank after what I said, so I’m gonna stay at the Spot for a little while.” She said simply, her eyes meeting Caden’s. Her blue eyes held sadness and exhaustion. She sighed. “God, I can’t even go back to get fucking clothes, what the fuck is wrong with me?” Lake buried her face in her hands and groaned.

“I can give you some of my old clothes.” Caden suggested, shrugging his shoulders as Lake’s surprised look. “I can also run over some food or whatever for you.”

“Thank you…”

“No problem.”

Caden was about to say something when a commotion began to erupt down the street in front of the Woodward Mall Center. Caden and Lake stood up and saw a group of people heading towards the park they were in. The group got larger as Androids started to leave their places from their owners' sides, and upon further inspection, they saw that Markus was leading the group.

“That’s Markus.” Lake said in awe. The deviant was leading the group with his head held high, pointing and gesturing Androids over from time to time, converting them.

“What’s he doing?” The boy asked.

“I don’t know. Get behind the statue.” Lake pushed the boy behind the statue and peaked from behind it, the two watched as the Androids grew closer and closer to the park, growing in size by the minute. “They’re marching.” She whispered as she took her phone out and began recording.

Soon, the people on the street began to record the March too, and shout out their support for the Androids. Lake was sure that one guy was live streaming the whole thing.

“We're on your side!”

“Equal rights for androids!”

“We're with you all the way!”

A policeman soon saw what was happening and stood in the middle of the street, shouting at the Androids to disperse as he pointed his gun at them. “Hey! Disperse! DISPERSE IMMEDIATELY! THAT'S AN ORDER! Jesus fuckin' Christ…” Seeing that they weren't listening, he shakingly took out his talkie and radioed in as the Androids walked past him. “Dispatch, this is patrol 457... I got a lot of Androids down here... I dunno... Hundreds?.. Thousands?.. They're marching... Yeah, they're marching down the street... Fuck if I know!”

The Androids' combined voices echoed in the streets as they thrust their hands in the air.

“WE ARE PEOPLE!”

“FREEDOM!”

“SET US FREE!”

“NO MORE SLAVERY!”

“WE ARE ALIVE!”

“WE ARE ALIVE!”

“WE ARE ALIVE!”

That last phrase resonated in Lake’s mind, banging around as it filled her ears. As soon as the Androids entered the Park, police cars rolled up and blocked the two streets, preventing the Androids from going that way. Cops got out of the cars and pointed their guns at them. There was even a helicopter.

Lake and Caden got further behind the statue so they wouldn’t be seen by the officers. They moved to the left side of the statue and peaked out, the girl continued to record.

In the left street, Riot officers came up and formed a line. The Androids stopped in the street.

“We came here to demonstrate peacefully and tell humans that we are living beings. All we want is to live free.” Markus said firmly, North and a black Android at his sides.

“This is an illegal gathering. Disperse immediately or we will open fire.” One Riot officer said from behind the line, his voice louder thanks to a speaker.

“We're not looking for confrontation. We've done no harm, we have no intention of doing any... But know that we are not going anywhere until we have secured our freedom.”

“I repeat: this is an illegal gathering. If you do not disperse immediately, we will shoot!”

Lake and Caden watched with bated breaths as they stood behind the statue. The scene reminded Lake of those documentaries from the early 2000s about people protesting in the streets about abortion, ending segregation, the LGBTQ. It was exactly like those times, only if they were humans protesting, the Riot officers would be using non-lethal methods.

Caden nudged Lake’s shoulder, gaining her attention away from the crowd of deviants and over to the older boy. He tilted his head up and peaked over the stand of the statue, Lake followed suit, recording from the new vantage point.

“This is your last chance! Disperse immediately or you will all be killed!” The officer yelled into the microphone.

“We have to show them we won't back down. We stay right here.” Lake heard Markus say.

Immediately after he said that, the police officers fired into the crowd of Androids, unprovoked. Bodies of dead Androids fell to the ground, their blue blood staining the snow and the asphalt. The human spectators gasped in horror as they saw what happened, and Lake was pretty sure she gasped too.

“DISPERSE! THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE!” The officer screamed, not bothering to use the microphone.

“We're not moving.” Markus said, continuing to stand his ground.

Once again, the police fired into the crowd of deviants. More bodies fell to the ground. Lake could see that Markus got his arm grazed by a bullet.

“Holy shit!” Caden whispered.

“They’re gonna kill them.”

“Markus! What are you doing? They're gonna kill us all!” North said. There was a tinge of fear in her voice, fear of dying.

As soon as the shooting died down, Markus suddenly stepped forward.

“Wh-what’s he doing?” Lake’s hand began to shake as she watched Markus step away from the crowd of deviants.

With an expression of acceptance and fear, Markus just stood there as the officers raised their guns and shot Markus. The Android fell to the ground with a thump that seemed to echo in the street. The group of Androids turned and began running away, only a couple deviants remained behind.

A few officers stepped out from the line and headed towards Markus while the others pointed their guns at the fleeing deviants when suddenly, two projectiles were thrown into the street.

“What the…?” One officer was barely able to say something when the objects suddenly exploded, sending out a large cloud of smoke into the street. “What the fuck?!”

Lake looked across the street and saw Daryl and Wayne wave at her, giving her a thumbs up before running away before the police saw them.

The two teens turned back to where Markus was and saw a black Android run up and attack the Riot officers near Markus.

“John…?” Markus said, confused.

While John attacked the officers, North and Josh ran up to their leader and hauled him to his feet. “Quick! They're coming!” North said as she and Josh led Markus into the cloud of smoke. Markus looked back and saw John get beat to the ground by an officer. John gave his leader a look before he was shot in the head.

“Lake, come on. We have to go.” Caden gently grabbed Lake by her shoulders and led her into the smoke. The two ran away from the scene as fast as they could.

1:48:18 PM

Ravendale District

Lake and Caden panted as they slowed down to a stop in an alley near the Spot. The girl leaned her back against the wall while the older boy leaned his hands against his knees.

“Holy fuck…” Lake breathed deeply, wiping sweat off her brow.

“They just… they-they killed them…” Caden stammered, waving his hand around. He looked like he was about to puke.

“Yeah…”

For a while, the two just stayed there in the alley, trying to calm their racing hearts down. After a few minutes they were joined by Wayne and Daryl. The two boys were as out of breath as Lake and Caden, sweat coating their foreheads as they held each other's hands.

“Oh, Jesus Christ…” Daryl looked close to fainting, so he leaned against the wall as Wayne stood next to him, keeping him upright. “That was insane!”

“Fuck! What the fuck!” Caden buried his hands in his hair to ground himself as he sat on a crate.

“What the fuck happened?!” Wayne shouted, pacing around the alley. “Why-why did they fucking shoot them?!”

“Do you want a fucking megaphone to say that?” Someone muttered.

“Fuck off!” Wayne’s pacing sped up, and his breathing became erratic. “What the fuck?! What the fuck!”

“Wayne, can you please calm the fuck down?! That shits now helping!” Lake snapped, throwing her head up to glare at the brunette boy. She couldn’t deal with someone else’s breakdown since she had one just earlier. It felt like everything was falling down on her like a cave in.

“Sorry. Shit…” Wayne leaned his head against the wall and breathed as Daryl rubbed his back.

Silence filled the alleyway, following the boys freak out. Eventually, the teenagers managed to gain their breaths and calmed down. Daryl and Wayne were leaning against the wall next to each other, holding hands. Caden was walking around, shaking his head from time to time while Lake sat on a crate, staring down at her boots and the snow.

“… they were protesting peacefully.” Daryl said quietly, his soft voice sounding much louder in the silent alley.

“And they killed them.” Caden finished his sentence.

“Why?”

No one answered for a few moments. “Because they were Androids…” Lake suddenly said, speaking for the first time in what felt like forever. “They were deviants. The police didn’t care if it were peaceful, they were Androids so it didn’t matter to them.”

Sighing, the girl stood up and faced her friends. She wrapped her arms around herself. “If you guys hadn’t thrown those smoke bombs, they would have been killed.” She said slowly.

“Where the fuck did you even get those?” Caden asked.

Wayne shrugged. “I got them from this firework store.” Was all he said. Lake shook her head, almost amused with his answer.

“Of course you did.”

Another bout of silence filled the alley. Lake tried to take her mind off what happened by walking around, but it wasn’t helping much. “So… what do you think Markus is gonna do now?” Wayne asked.

“Give up?”

“That’s something you would do, Wayne.”

“Fuck off. I’m serious.” The brunette said defensively, glaring at Daryl and Caden. “The next time Markus tries to protest or whatever, the police are gonna fucking shoot them before they get two sentences out.”

“But that doesn’t mean Markus is going to stop.” Lake said confidently.

“How do you know?”

“Markus has gotten this far. He broke into Stratford Tower to broadcast a message, he raided CyberLife stores and freed hundreds of Androids, he led a March. He did all of that peacefully, and I don’t think he’s gonna quit.” She had only seen Markus a couple of times. Never met him. But he has so much determination it’s honestly amazing to Lake. And somehow, she has a feeling that this is only the beginning. “Things are only gonna get more crazy after today.”

“Really? Yeah, no shit.” Daryl said sarcastically.

Lake glared at the boy. “Listen, this is serious shit, Daryl. We're talking ‘Civil War’ serious.” She stressed the words, almost drilling it into their heads.

“Jesus.” Caden lowered his head and threaded his fingers through his brown hair.

No one spoke again for a while, just stared down at the ground. “Look, you guys just go home and think. We’ll talk tomorrow.” With that being said, Daryl and Wayne turned around and walked out of the alley. Caden didn’t move for a moment and looked at Lake with a worried expression. Lake waved her hand at him. “We’ll talk tomorrow.”

Caden sighed, then nodded. He turned around and walked out of the alley, heading home.

Lake stayed in the alley for a minute before going through the fence and heading up to the second story of the Spot. Upon entering the room, she sighed, dropping her bag by the door and closed it behind her to keep the warm in. The light was turned off, save for the lamp in the corner, making the seem more dim. Lake stood in front of the door for a while, looking down at the floor as exhaustion started to set in.

Lake walked over to the couch and sat down, feeling so tired.

The TV was on in the background, playing something that Lake wasn’t bothering to pay attention to. With a sigh, the girl laid down and closed her eyes.

Chapter Text

November 13th, 2038

8:29:40 PM

Ferndale Area

Lake sighed as she and Caden walked down the quiet street, the snow crunching beneath their feet. “Come on.” She said to the boy.  

“I’m coming.” Caden followed his friend. 

“Thanks again for the clothes.”

“No problem. We were gonna get rid of them anyway.” Caden said simply. 

Lake hummed. She was wearing a dark grey turtleneck sweater with a greyish blue overshirt, dark blue tactical pants with black winter boots, and a thick dark blue jacket. The jacket was a little big for her, it made her look smaller than she was. 

A few minutes later, Lake’s phone pinged in her pocket. She got the device out and stared at the screen. 

Incoming call: Hank

Lake stared at the screen, watching as the phone rang for a minute before hanging up.  

Hank: 37 missed calls

Hank: 10 unanswered text messages

Lake turned her phone off and put it back in her pocket. She jogged after Caden and slowed to a walk once she caught up. Lake hasn’t talked to Hank since their fight yesterday. She was sure the lieutenant was worried, but she wasn’t ready to face him after what she said… Lake just needed space for a while. 

She and Caden kept walking down the empty street when something caught the girl's eye. It was a magazine on a bench. She picked it up and read the cover. 

-POLICE SHOOT DEVIANT ANDROIDS UNPROVOKED!-

On November 11th, at noon, a massive group of Androids marched down Woodward Avenue and into Grand Circus Park. 

Eyewitnesses say that Androids were leaving their owners' sides and joined the group of Deviants as they marched. Their leader, Markus, led the March, which people are calling the ‘Freedom March’. 

The Androids entered the park and were stopped by riot police, who witnesses said fired on the Androids unprovoked. While the DPD has not given a statement yet, our sources say that an Anonymous user uploaded a video on the internet. 

The video was recorded right by the scene. The cameraman filmed the police as they fired at the Androids, who did not cause any harm to people or cause property damage. Near the end of the video, the Android Markus stepped forward and allowed himself to get shot. Soon after, someone threw two smoke bombs out into the street, allowing the Androids and their leader to escape. 

Following the Freedom March, the public has shown support for the cause of these Androids. 

Lake smiled slightly and put the magazine back on the bench. After she uploaded the video, under Anonymous, it had gotten about 4 million views in just a couple of hours. People all over social media were supporting Markus’ cause, demanding the freedom of Androids and equal rights. 

Despite that, President Warren ordered Androids to be recalled all over the country. 

If Markus didn’t get the public’s and President Warren’s support, then the Androids and deviants would all be destroyed. 

“Hey.” Caden nudged Lake’s shoulder and pointed to a small store across the street. “Wanna get some snacks?” 

“Sure.” Lake shrugged. 

The two teens crossed the street and entered the store. It was pretty empty, with only a couple of shoppers and the cashiers. Caden went over to the snacks aisle while Lake just walked around, trying to occupy herself. 

A text field appears. 

Walk down the aisles

Lake walked up and down the aisles, looking at the items when her phone rang. She sighed and pulled it out, expecting it to be Hank, but looked at the screen confused when she saw that it was an unknown number. Lake shrugged and answered. 

“Hello?” 

“Lake?” Surprisingly, it was Connor who was calling. 

“Connor? How did you get my number?” Lake said, her voice quiet so no one eavesdropped on her conversation. Plus, it was a bit uncomfortable to talk in a practically empty store. 

“I got your phone number from lieutenant Anderson’s cell phone after he made a call with Officer Miller.” 

“Okay. Um, why are you calling?” 

“Lieutenant Anderson said that you weren't answering his calls and he was growing concerned.” Lake could hear a hint of concern in the Android's tone. “Was there a problem with your phone?”

Lake sighed, stopping in the middle of the aisle. “No. There wasn’t a problem, I just… didn’t answer.”

“Why didn’t you answer? He’s growing very concerned for you. He also said you didn’t come home last night.”

“We… got into a fight yesterday, after we talked to uncle Elijah, and I said… something,” Lake said softly, regret evident in her tone. “I need some space, so I’m gonna be staying somewhere else for a while.” 

“Lake, I don’t think that would be a good thing to do.” 

“Look, it’s not like I’m sleeping in a fucking alley, Connor. I’m staying somewhere safe, okay?”

“Lieutenant Anderson is still worried about you, Lake. I think you should at least call him.” 

“Listen, I'll-i'll call him later. I’m busy with something right now.” A pause. Lake sighed again. “Can you tell Hank that I’m alright?”

“Okay, I will.” 

“How is Hank doing?” 

“We just got back from a home investigation. Someone called saying that their Android assaulted them before leaving. David Peterman said that it was acting strange when it suddenly pushed him down and ran away. Lieutenant Anderson seemed a little distracted when we questioned Mr. Peterman, he was also annoyed about something.” 

Lake held her tongue, stopping herself from saying what she wanted to say. She didn’t wanna sound suspicious to the Android. 

“Tomorrow we’re gonna go over all the evidence. Hopefully working will keep him from drinking.”

“Maybe…” Lake didn’t sound very convinced. “Look, I have to go. I’ll call Hank tomorrow.”

“Alright, be careful, Lake.”

“I will, bye Connor.” 

The girl hung up her phone and pocketed the device. She wrapped her arms around herself and walked down the aisle. Eventually, Lake found herself in the arts and crafts section. 

Lake looked at the spray paints. Then she got an idea. 

She grabbed a few cans of different colors and walked to the checkout. 

She spotted Caden at the checkout and walked over to him as the cashier began scanning his items. Without a word, Lake put the spray cans on the conveyor belt and stood next to Caden. The boy looked at her with a confused expression but decided not to question her. He instead got his wallet out and paid for the items. The snacks were placed in a bag while the spray cans were put in Lake’s backpack. 

They left the store and resumed their walk down the street. Snow had started to fall from the dark sky, so Lake and Caden put their hoods up. 

“What do you need the spray paints for?” Caden asked. 

“You’ll see.” Lake didn’t give her friend any further explanation, she just kept walking a couple of steps ahead of him. 

Caden sighed, shaking his head at Lake’s lack of an answer. 

It was eerie, the way the street was empty, with no one in sight. After the Freedom March, some people started to stay home, and some businesses temporarily closed until everything calmed down. 

Although, during the day, people were protesting equal rights for Androids, and it was starting to get about as violent as anti-Android protesters are. 

Lake said that a Civil War was coming, and the outcome depends on what Markus does. At first, Caden thought that was an overreaction, but with the way things are going, he’s inclined to agree with her. 

BANG! 

“Oh, Jesus!” Lake and Caden jumped about a foot in the air when a loud bang rang out. Lake turned around and looked at Caden. “What the fuck?” 

“Fucking piece of shit!” 

Someone’s voice came from an alley. Lake and Caden exchanged confused looks and tiptoed to the alley, where they could hear thumps and grunts like someone was hitting something. 

Lake pressed herself against the wall and peeked into the alley, where she saw a burly guy pinning an Android to the wall. He wasn’t a model Lake was familiar with, but she could tell he was some kind of employee Android. From what Lake could see, he had short red hair and his clothing was snow blown. And he looked scared. His face had a couple of cuts here and there that were bleeding blue blood. 

The guy who was holding him against the wall was glaring at the Android with so much anger that if logic wasn’t a thing, the poor Android would burst into flames. 

The guy's hands were covered in blue blood. 

The red-haired Android was grasping the guy's wrists, desperately trying to get away but it was futile. 

“Fucking plastic asshole, you're fucking dead!” The guy seethed, getting right in the poor Android face. 

Lake and Caden watched as the guy muttered abuse at the Android, who was looking more scared by the minute. Lake had begun shaking, not in fear, but rage. The Android was probably trying to get to Jericho, but this asshole decided to ruin that plan. 

Just as the guy started to pull his fist back, Lake ran out from behind the wall and charged at the man. Lake rammed into the guy with a yell and pushed him to the ground. 

“What the fuck?!” He said, getting up and glaring at Lake. He shook his head and just swung at the girl, who dodged his sloppy attack and decked the guy. He was stunned by her strength and wasn’t given a chance to attack as Lake kept punching him. Finally, she drew her prosthetic arm back and right hooked the bastard, sending him sprawled on the ground unconscious. 

Panting, Lake glared at the guy and flipped him off before turning to the Android and Caden, the latter having helped the Android to his feet. 

“Are you okay?” Lake asked him, her voice gentle as she spoke. 

“Yes. I’m alright.” The Android, an EM400, smiled at her gratefully. “We’re Jerry. Thank you so much.” 

“I’m Lake. It’s- it’s no trouble at all.” Lake smiled back, taking Jerry’s hands in her own, and squeezed comfortingly. “Just get to Jericho. Hurry before someone else sees you.” 

Jerry nodded and took off running down the alley. Lake watched for a moment before grabbing Caden and running out of the alley and down the street. 

Once they were half a block away, they slowed down to a stop and panted for breath. “Holy shit! Lake, what the fuck?!” Caden looked at her with an incredulous expression. He wasn’t angry that she decked the guy, but he was… surprised that she did that. “That was-that was insane! Why did…?”

Lake didn’t say anything, and for a moment Caden thought she wouldn’t answer. But then she straightened up and faced him with a determined expression. 

“We have to help them, Caden.” She said confidently. Her blue eyes were hard and appeared to be glowing with the way the streetlights were hitting them. Lake’s voice was unwavering as she spoke, in the way she does when she’s determined to get something done no matter what. 

“We have to help.” 

Her tone left no room for argument. And she was looking at Caden with an expression that said ‘If you won’t help, I’ll do it on my own’ . 

They stood there in silence for what felt like forever, the gentle snow falling on their hoods and onto the ground. 

Finally, Caden spoke. 

“Let’s go.” 

A smile spread across Lake’s face. 

12:40:10 AM

Ferndale Area

Lake pressed herself against the wall, peaking out to see the officer turn the corner in his vehicle and drive away. With a sigh of relief, Lake motioned for the two deviants to run. 

“Go, go! Get to Jericho!” She whispered to them, watching as they ran down an alley. 

Slowly, Lake walked out of the alley and looked around before walking down the street, keeping a keen eye out for any officers or people. A block later, Wayne came up beside her. 

“How are we looking?” Lake asked the brunette boy. 

“Caden and Daryl are helping a small group get to Jericho. Almost got spotted, but we’re good.” He said to her, looking around wearily. 

“That’s good.” 

After Lake and Caden helped Jerry escape, she called Daryl and Wayne down to help them. Then it took about 30 minutes to tell them what was happening, about the deviants and Jericho and the FBI. It actually took about 10 minutes to explain everything, then it took 20 minutes to answer Wayne’s questions. 

For the following hours after that conversation, the four teens had been helping deviants safely get to Jericho, avoiding patrols and people walking down the street. 

Lake just about had a heart attack a few times tonight. Or maybe it was cardiac arrest. Whatever. 

All the while during those hours, Lake had gotten about a dozen texts and calls from Hank to the point she just shut her phone off. Doing that had made an ache form in her chest but she couldn’t focus on that right now. 

She had to focus on helping deviants get to Jericho. 

Lake and Wayne walked onto a Main Street, which was empty with the street lights off. The two walked down the sidewalk when Lake suddenly stopped and stood dead on the sidewalk. She looked over at something, and slowly backed up until she was in the middle of the empty street. Her eyes widened. 

Wayne heard Lake stop walking and turned around. “Lake? What’s up?” He didn’t get an answer. 

Lake just kept staring at something, so Wayne walked over to her. He stood shoulder to shoulder with Lake and followed where her eyes were staring at. 

It was a large, blank brick wall. 

There was no painting on it and it looked new. 

… perfect for graffiti art. 

“Oh.” Wayne said dumbly, causing Lake to snort in amusement. 

The girl zipped open her backpack and approached the wall. She reached into her backpack and grabbed a random can of spray paint and her black and blue Led respirator mask. 

Lake took a deep breath and gazed at the wall. It was like a giant canvas for an artist to put their art upon. 

Lake was the artist. 

With a deep breath, the girl shook the spray can and raised it to the wall. 

Lake had spray painted before, decorating the walls of the Spot and some canvases for street art. Her name was always anonymous when Caden and Daryl sold the canvases, but she was told that a lot of people liked her art. Whenever she spray paints, she usually lets her hands do the work, not thinking too much about it. And that’s what she was doing now. 

Her hand glided along the wall, the pschitt sounds of the spray can filling the cold and silent street. It was the only sound Lake could hear. 

Pschitt

Pschitt

Pschitt

Pschitt

Lake was barely aware of what she was making, but she kept going. Placing the paint can she was using in her backpack and grabbing a new one, she got back to painting the wall. 

At one point, Lake wasn’t able to reach up high, so she called for Wayne. 

“Wayne! Give me a boost.” 

The boy hurried over and bent down, Lake quickly sat on his shoulders and held on tight as he stood up with little trouble. Lake was pretty light, she didn’t eat as much as Hank, and she ate things with less calories. It was an addition to being a bit small. 

Now with the height boost, Lake raised the spray can again and got to work. 

She could feel Wayne let go of her leg to pull the edge of his shirt over his nose and mouth so he didn’t breathe in the paint chemicals. Lake barely paid attention to the boy. 

Her mind was blank as she pressed the nozzle of the spray can and painted the wall. 

She wondered if this is how Carl Manfred felt when he painted. The girl was very familiar with the elder painter's works, she went to the museum sometimes and saw his paintings. Lake read an autobiography about him and his process with how he paints, and even listened to a couple philosophies he made about the world and humanity. 

Lake was never really into painting, it was a nice pastime to do, like drawing and simple graffiti painting, but Lake doesn’t have a desire to become a painter like Carl. 

But she does like Carl‘s art, and whenever she looks at one of his paintings, it feels like Lake is looking into a piece of his life. He pours his heart and soul into every piece he creates like it’ll be his last. 

For a moment, Lake felt like she’s an artist like Carl and this is her masterpiece. Her masterpiece that could make a huge impact. 

Hand gliding along the wall with a mind of its own. 

Different colors of paint. 

Bigger nozzles, then smaller nozzles. 

A different color. 

Neon and vibrant colors. 

Splatters of paint. 

Just as she finished, Lake reached into her backpack and grabbed a UV light and placed it on the wall above the graffiti and turned it on. Lake hopped off of Wayne’s shoulders and quickly turned to her graffiti. The two teens backed up as they looked at the now colorful wall of paint. Lake took her mask off and dropped the paint can she was holding. 

“… wow.” 

Lake nodded a little, just as stunned and in awe as the boy next to her sounded. 

Vibrant neon colors of blue and pink and gold painted the wall of bricks. Splatters and bursts surrounded the circle of those colors, and outlined the bold words inside that circle, reading ‘We Are ALIVE’ . Somehow, the glow from the Black Light makes the graffiti look bigger and more bold. 

But whether in the daytime or night, the art would gather a lot of attention. 

“Might as well put this on a billboard Lay.” Wayne said in a joking tone, although he was still a little breathless. 

“Ha!” She chuckled dryly, putting her mask and the can back in her bag. She zipped it up and looked back to the wall. “Just as long as it gets the message across to people. Although, it would be cool if it showed up on a billboard.” 

Lake and Wayne laughed at the small joke. 

“Come on, we gotta -“ 

“Hey! You two!” 

Lake and Wayne looked down the street and saw a cop walking towards them. Shit. Quickly, Lake grabbed Wayne’s wrist and ran. The officer exclaimed in surprise and gave chase. The two teens ran down the alleyway as fast as they could with the cop right on their tails. Wayne ran about a foot in front of Lake, the two jumping over trash cans and boxes. 

The officer was yelling at them to stop, but that did nothing but urge the teens to run faster. 

However, Lake’s foot caught on a box and she sprawled out on the ground. She groaned as she hit the ground and scrambled to get to her feet, and was unfortunately caught around her waist by the officer. 

“Hey, stop fucking - OW! Fuck!” Lake struggled to get out of the man's arms, so she slammed her foot on his and elbowed him hard in the side. Stunned, the officer let go of her, allowing Lake to run away. 

Wayne was waiting for her at the end of the alley and took her hand. The two ran for a couple more blocks until they were back in the city, well away from Ferndale. 

Chapter Text

November 14th, 2038

9:27:01 PM

Downtown Detroit

The streets were bursting with activity as people walked to work, to stores, and walked back home. The sidewalk and asphalt of the streets were covered in snow. The sky was a golden color as the sun began to set and a gentle glow fell over the city.

Lake walked down the street, her hood up and her head down as she looked at her phone. She finished texting Caden before she put her phone back in her pocket.

It was getting late, so pretty soon the streets would be empty, giving Lake and her friends an opening to get more deviants to Jericho.

Last night, they had helped about a hundred deviants get to Jericho with no trouble.

And the graffiti Lake put on walls over Detroit was quickly getting both social media and Channel 13 news. Speaking of which, Lake looked and saw a small group of people standing in front of a TV in some shop window. Lake joined the crowd and saw her graffiti on screen with a bunch of people standing around it, they were holding signs that said things like ‘Free Androids!’ and ‘Equal rights for Androids!’.

Slowly, a smile spread across Lake’s face before she moved on.

Halfway down the street, her phone pinged. She got it out and saw a text message. From Hank. Lake frowned and put her phone away, not bothering to read it.

Guilt gnawed its way into her heart after she did that. The two still haven’t talked since their fight, or, Lake hasn’t talked to him since then. Every time she tried to open his contact, her stomach twisted up in knots and she felt like she was gonna puke so she always chickened out.

“Fuck, I’m a fucking wimp…” Lake rubbed her eyes as she grumbled to herself in annoyance.

She shook her head and continued walking back to the Spot.

Lake closed the door behind her and sighed. She placed her backpack by the door and looked around the room. The couch over in the corner was quite comfy to sleep on, and she had some very warm and soft blankets. However, her insomnia was acting up and she didn’t have her medication. So in an attempt to tire herself out and get her mind off a few things, Lake decided to busy herself.

Insomnia acting up. Stress-induced. 
No caffeine recommended.

The two text fields were somewhat dimmed, probably so it wouldn’t agitate her. She swung her arms around and looked at the small spot that acted as the kitchen. She walked the short distance over to the table next to the cabinet and the mini-fridge and picked up a magazine that Caden or Daryl must have left.

-Graffiti supporting Android rights found all over Motor City!-

Earlier last night, an officer caught two unknown teenagers spray painting in the Ferndale Area. The graffiti was done in bold and bright colors of blue, yellow, and pink, saying ‘We Are ALIVE’.

The next day, similar graffiti art was being found all over the city of Detroit, all supporting the deviant Markus’ cause. Police are attempting to find the culprits, but with protests breaking out all over the city, investigators have decided to forgo looking for the graffiti artist.

The cover of the magazine was a photo of her graffiti with a bunch of Android Rights protesters. It made Lake smile as she placed the magazine back on the table.

Lake sighed then moved over to the red mini-fridge, she kneeled and opened the door. There were some sodas, applesauce cups, yogurt cups, and fruits in the small unit. But she wasn't hungry.

“Hmmm, not very hungry. I’ll eat later.” Lake muttered to herself, closing the door and standing up.

She looked over at the clock and saw that it was close to 9:50.

“Still not getting to sleep.”

There were some wrappers and papers on the floor and couch, so Lake picked up the small trash can and walked around, picking up the trash and putting it in the bin. Once she was down, Lake put the bin back down behind the recliner. Stepping into the middle of the room, Lake moved to the four windows and closed the curtains.

Breathing in and out, Lake felt much calmer after the day she had.

Then her eyes drifted over to her guitar leaning against the couch. Lake walked over to the red comforter and sat down, she picked up the instrument and braced it against her body. Her fingers skillfully danced across the strings, creating a smooth melody.

I guess I have to face, that
in this awful place, I
shouldn't show a trace... of doubt.

But pulled against the grain, I
feel a little pain, that
I would rather do... without.

I'd rather be free-ee-ee, free-ee-ee, free...
I'd rather be free-ee-ee, free-ee-ee, free...
Free-ee-ee, free-ee-ee, free...

From here…

Soon, the soothing melody faded away as the song drew to a close. Lake sighed as she lowered her guitar and stared at some random spot on the carpet. She placed her guitar back in the case and turned the TV on. Some random channel was on, but Lake didn’t bother paying attention and pulled out her phone.

Hank: 58 missed calls

Hank: 14 unanswered text messages

Lake pursed her lips at the notifications. She stared at the screen for a solid minute before going into her messages and opening Hank’s contact.

Hank:
Hey 
where tf r u???
kid talk to me
Lake where are you!
Lake
Answe me, please
I’m sorry
I’m sorry I pushed for an answer
at least tell me your okay
Are you safe?
I’m not mad at you honey
if anything I’m mad at myself
Take all the time you need, just tell me your okay
Fowler took us off the case, so I’m gonna be home for a while

Lake stared at the messages, she could practically feel the worry in those texts. Her stomach clenched as her thumbs hovered over the digital keyboard.

“Fuck…” She muttered, running a hand through her hair in either annoyance or nervousness. Her insomnia wasn’t the only thing acting up now, cus now her anxiety decided to join in.

God, she feels like she’s gonna puke or hurl. Wait, are those the same thing…?

She shook her head to try and clear her thoughts and looked back down at the screen. Lake took a deep breath.

Lake:
hey Hank…
Listen, I’m fine and I’m safe
I’m sorry I didn’t reply, I was busy and… stuff

Hank:
it’s okay, I’m not mad 
I’m glad you're fine

Lake: 
what happened with Fowler? Ur off the case?

Hank: 
yeah, Agent Dickhead and the FBI took over the investigation

Lake:
But what about Connor?

Hank:
he said he was gonna go back to Cyberlife
but I think he’s going to Jericho

Lake felt her blood run cold. She quickly typed out her reply.

Lake:
I thought you guys didn’t know where Jericho was

Hank: 
before the agent guys came for him, I bought him 5 minutes to look over the evidence
I think he found it

Lake:
how?

Hank:
I don’t know 

Lake:
did you get in trouble

Hank: 
yeah
i had to be put in a cell for a little while
Fowler cut me some slack tho

Lake: 
ok
I have to go

Lake turned her phone off, not noticing that Hank had texted back. She stood up and was about to go to the door when the news suddenly turned on.

The reporter was shown in a helicopter flying over some harbor. The camera turned to the harbor and showed an old ferier with a bunch of FBI agents - wait, no, the fucking U.S. Army running into it, with guns and body armor. Lake fell back onto the couch as soon as she saw the name on the side.

Jericho…

They had found Jericho.

Lake couldn’t hear what the news reporter was saying, her heart was pounding in her ears and her breathing was starting to get shallow. She clenched the fabric of her pants with sweaty hands, leaning forward as she watched the Jericho raid.

This wasn’t her first time watching something like this. A ton of times before, Hank would be involved in a shoot-out or a raid or whatever, Lake would watch it on the news with Sumo at home. And every time, it always ended or began with gunshots and dead bodies. Lake knew that was gonna be the result of the Jericho raid.

Sure enough, gunshots began to ring out from the ferier.

It seemed to be never-ending, various bangs and pops reached Lake’s ears and filled the room.

Deviants began to run out of the ship, some managed to get away into the river, while others were shot down and killed on sight.

“Oh, man,” Lake muttered as she watched the soldiers shoot the fleeing deviants. Those who were alive were either being shot or taken by the soldiers into trucks. The girl gnawed her lower lip as the reporter began talking, she couldn’t hear what he said -

BOOM!

“Oh FUCK!” Lake jumped when a loud boom vibrated through the TV.

On-screen, an explosion suddenly erupted from Jericho, tearing the ferier apart as fire and pieces of metal flew through the air.

“Connor!” She cries, despite knowing that the Android couldn’t hear her. In her distress, the artificial skin of her prosthetic retracted and revealed white metal. Her knees began to bounce and her arms wrapped around herself, clenching the fabric of her jacket.

Lake’s phone started to ring, snapping her out of her distressing train of thought. Lake shook her head and grabbed her phone, hastily answering the call.

“Y-yeah-yeah?”

“Lake! Holy shit!”

“Caden! Caden the-the - Jericho!”

“I know! I saw!”

“It’s all over the news! The army just raided it, and-and then it exploded!”

“I know, I know! Holy shit, dude.”

Both Lake and Caden fell silent on both ends of the line. Lake breathed heavily as she stared at the TV, stared at Jericho as it began sinking into the river.

November 16th, 2038

9:17:40 PM

Woodward Ave

“Come on, this way!” Lake and Caden led a small group of deviants down the alley, trying to be as stealthy as possible.

Ever since the Jericho raid, people all over Detroit have been going crazy. The city is in chaos. People are either trying to get out of the city or protesting for the freedom of Androids. The army has even started to patrol at night for deviants. Yesterday, President Warren held a press conference and issued a national curfew. Androids were taken out of people’s homes and into custody, and soldiers are scanning people in the streets to determine if they were a deviant or a human.

Lake had seen deviants in human clothes get shot as soon as they were uncovered. It was horrifying to watch.

But despite that, Lake refused to give up, even if the stakes were higher than ever. If she and her friends got caught, they would get arrested. But that was a risk Lake was willing to take.

Everything was leading up to something big, and it would all come down to what Markus will do.

Now, Lake and her friends were leading as many deviants as they could to an abandoned church where the remains of Jericho were hiding. Lake halted the deviants and peered out from behind a wall to check if there was anyone in the street. With no one in sight, Lake signaled that the coast was clear to the deviants and led them further down the street.

She turned down an alley and opened a gate, closing it once all the deviants and Caden were on the other side.

Soon, they came upon the abandoned Woodward Church. It was nice and discreet, the FBI or the army wouldn’t find the deviants there for a while. Some Androids were standing outside the church, but they were out of the open.

Lake and Caden hung back as the deviants entered the church, the two were soon joined by Daryl and Wayne who were holding hands.

“There’s a lot of deviants in Detroit, we can’t get them all. But we brought as much as we could.” Wayne said gently, rubbing the back of Daryl’s hand with his thumb.

“And more soldiers are moving in, we almost got caught a couple of times,” Daryl added in. He shrugged helplessly. “What… what do we do now?”

“There’s nothing else we can do. So let’s go home and… hope Markus can win over the public.” Caden said to them. The three boys turned around and started to walk away when the older boy noticed that Lake wasn’t following. “Lake? What is it?”

She didn’t say anything for a moment, just continued to stare at the church as her hands clenched. Finally, she turned around to face her friends. “Hank said that Connor might have found Jericho, and… he must have been there when the army raided them.” Lake sighed, shrugging as she stared into Caden’s eyes. “I… I have to find Connor.”

“Lake, if you go in there they might shoot you, and you don’t know if he’s dead or not.” Wayne tried to reason with her.

“I know! Okay, I know…” She snapped, the bags under her eyes appearing much larger. “But I have to… find out what happened to him.” With a sigh, Lake pulled her hood up and began walking to the church. “I’ll be back soon.”

Lake stepped up to the building, gazing upon the wooden doors that stood sturdy and tall despite the years of abuse and such. She looked down and saw the dirt ground, picking up some and smearing it on her face. Hopefully, it would hide her face from the Androids. Hesitantly, Lake opened the large wooden doors of the church and stepped inside. She closed the door and hoped she didn’t attract any unwanted attention. If anyone found out she was a human they would either kill her or hold her hostage. Lake might be able to pass off as an Android, with her cybernetic interfacing and prosthetic arm, but she was pretty short and if they saw her face they would know she’s not an Android.

So Lake kept her head down and walked around, hoping she could find Connor or Markus.

Look for Connor or Markus.

Injured and otherwise, deviants filled the pews, and the church was filled with somber silence. So many deviants were injured, and it looked like some were close to shutting down.

Lake could see that a lot of them were crying, soft gasps and hiccups left their mouths from where they sat. So many of the deviants were the survivors of the Jericho raid, they had to have seen their friends get slaughtered like animals before their eyes.

But despite the downcast atmosphere, there was a kind of tension hanging in the air. Like they were all waiting for something.

There’s a lot of Simon and Jerry models, Lake thought. She had seen the redhead in a corner, sitting with a couple of other Androids. The blond model was in a few places, and her stomach clenched when she remembered what happened at Stratford Tower with Simon and Connor.

Lake jumped when a hand landed on her shoulder, stopping her in her tracks. However, the hand was gentle and light, solely used to get her attention rather than stop her. The girl turned around slowly and saw a KL900 Android with black eyes and wires coming out of her head, her clothing was ripped and dirty and her skin seemed to be malfunctioning. The sight was almost unsettling to the girl, but the uneasy feeling she had disappeared when the deviant smiled kindly at her. She gently led Lake over to some crates and sat them both down; it was away from the other deviants, so they could talk without any listeners.

“Um, h-hi…” Lake said softly, clasping her hands in her lap as she looked at the Android.

“There’s no need to be afraid. No one here will harm you.” The Android smiled, like a mother comforting her child after they had a bad dream. “My name is Lucy…”

“I-I’m Lake.” The girl said.

Lucy didn’t reply, she instead took Lake’s prosthetic hand in her own, retracting her skin as the two limbs met. Neither said anything. Finally, Lucy spoke. “You’re lost. You’re afraid. You’re… searching. But you don’t know where the thing you're searching for is… or if you can find it…” Lucy said, and it was like she read Lake’s mind. That’s… exactly what she was feeling. “You don’t know what to do but help… but there is someone you are afraid you cannot help.”

Wordlessly, Lake nodded. “You have lost people before, and you don’t want to lose anyone else.” Lucy looked into Lake’s glossy blue eyes.

“I… I’m scared of what’s gonna happen…” Lake admitted, wiping a tear that fell from her eye. “I’m really scared Lucy…”

“It’s okay to be afraid, Lake. It’s okay to be uncertain of the future.” Lucy rubbed Lake’s hand and shoulder gently in a comforting manner. The deviant's head tilted as she hummed. “That isn’t the only thing bothering you.”

Lucy didn’t continue, just looked into Lake’s eyes as she awaited a response. But there was also a form of understanding in her black eyes that said Lake didn’t have to tell her if she didn’t want to. She took a deep breath. “Uh, I said something… bad to my - to Hank. I didn’t mean to say it, but I did and I don’t know what to do when I see him again. I think I hurt him really bad.” Lake sniffed, wiping more tears away from her eyes. “I’m fucking horrible…”

“Humans are complicated creatures, and emotions are just as complicated.” Lucy said, looking down at their connected hands. The lines along their fingers had begun glowing a gentle blue. “Sometimes we say things we don’t mean to, it doesn’t mean you're a terrible person Lake. I can tell you love him, and something tells me he loves you just as much.”

Lake sniffed again. “You are a good person, Lake. You have a kind heart.” The Android smiled at her kindly. Lake smiled back, feeling a bit better and like a weight was lifted off her shoulders.

Lucy disconnected their hands and stood up, she gave the girl one last smile and walked away.

Lake was left alone in silence. She sighed and wrapped her arms around herself, a thing she was doing a lot lately. Maybe it was an attempt at a hug or something.

She looked around the church, it had begun snowing, Lake watched as some flakes of snow fell through the cracks and holes in the ceiling and onto the floor. The church was being illuminated by some construction lights.

The blue LED and armbands of the deviants kinda added some color to the atmosphere.

Blue was a nice color, Lake thought absentmindedly.

“Lake?” The girl's head snapped up and her eyes met light blue ones with short, white hair.

“Kara!” Lake stood up and embraced the Android, who held on just as tightly. Lake saw Alice, wearing more warm clothing and hugged her with one arm. Kara was wearing vastly different clothing from the first time they met, they made her look even more human. Lake and Kara separated but stayed at arm's length. “I'm so glad you two are alright. I-I thought you two were at Jericho when…”

“We were. But we got out, thankfully.” Kara smiled gently, but it seemed to be strained and pain-filled. “But, we had to leave someone behind.”

“Well, if you two got out, there’s a chance your friend escaped too.” Lake smiled reassuringly at Kara.

“Listen, I-I wanted to thank you for helping us at Ravendale. You didn’t have to, but you did and I am so grateful. If-if there’s anything I can do to repay you…” The Android was cut off when Lake shook her head and grabbed her hands.

“You can repay me by getting to Canada safely, and calling me once you are.” The girl's smile widened as she cybernetically sent Kara her phone number. Kara smiled back and nodded. Lake turned to Alice and kneeled to be at her eye level, the small girl was twiddling her fingers and looking a bit nervous, but she smiled a bit when she caught Lake’s eye.

“Hey, think you can do something for me?” Alice nodded. Lake smiled again. “I need you to be very brave for Kara because the way to the bus station is gonna be very scary. Can you do that?” Hesitantly, the young girl nodded and hugged Lake tightly. After they separated from the hug, Lake stood back up and faced Kara again. “Be careful, soldiers are everywhere in the streets.”

“We will, thank you, again.” They hugged once more before Kara took Alice’s hand and walked out of the church.

Lake watched them go and took a deep breath. She looked around the church, looking for the infamous leader of Jericho, Markus.

Over at the other side of the church, on a platform where Lake assumed a priest would read from the Bible or whatever, Lake could see a man wearing a trench coat, sitting with his head down. He looked… kinda depressed, if Lake was being honest.

She steeled herself and slowly walked over to Markus, and luckily, no one was watching her. Everyone’s heads were down.

Eventually, Lake stepped up to the small platform and gazed upon the resigned form of the deviant leader. She walked up the steps and over to Markus, stopping about a foot from the deviant.

“Markus…?” Lake said quietly so she didn’t startle him.

The deviant's head looked up at her and surprise crossed his face. Lake swallowed and exhaled. Markus stood up, and he was pretty tall, standing at about 5’11 where Lake stood at 5’1. Markus walked a bit closer to Lake and appeared to be studying her face. He knew she was a human, and instead of calling her out, which Lake was half sure he would do, he just looked at her calmly. “Who are you?” He asked, a hint of caution in his tone.

“My name's Lake, I-I wanted to talk to you…” She said quietly, looking into his blue and green eyes.

He looked back into her eyes, searching for something and saw nothing but sincerity and nervousness. Markus sighed and gently led her to the side so their conversation would be more private.

“First, I just wanted to say… I-I’m sorry,” Markus looked very surprised once the words left her mouth. “I’m-i’m sorry that people are hurting you guys, what happened to Jericho, and… I’m just really sorry.”

When she stopped talking, Lake saw Markus studying her, looking at her as if she were under a microscope. “You're the one who’s been leading my people to Jericho? The one who painted…?”

“Yeah, me and my friends helped deviants get to Jericho. And… I painted the graffiti.” Lake shrugged, as if it weren't too big a deal.

“But… why did you…”

“Why did I risk getting arrested by helping the deviants?” Lake asked the question Markus had, looking off to the side for a moment. He nodded, and Lake sighed. “I guess… I saw you guys getting abused in the streets by your owners for years. I saw the corpses of Androids in alleys, just left there like they were garbage. I saw one of you looking so… scared and I saw a living being, not a machine.”

Lake stared down at the worn out wood of the floor, waiting for Markus to say something.

“Thank you.”

Her head snapped up and she met the kind and grateful eyes of the deviant leader. He was smiling at her. “Thank you, for helping my people.”

“It’s-its nothing. Just… the right thing to do.” Lake smiled back, although hers was smaller. Then the nervousness returned and she cleared her throat. “The uh, the thing I wanted to talk to you about is, I’m uh… I’m looking for someone and I think he went to Jericho, before the raid. His name is Connor.” She didn’t notice how Markus tensed up at the name. “Can you… could you tell me where he is?”

The leader sighed heavily, looking over at the doors of the entrance before looking back at Lake. “Connor left sometime yesterday.”

“So he’s alright? He’s a deviant now?” Markus nodded at Lake’s questions, making relief spread throughout her exhausted body before worry took place again. “But-but where is he?”

“Connor said that there are thousands of Androids at the CyberLife Tower, he went there to wake them up.”

“He went to CyberLife?” Dread piled in her stomach and she suddenly felt very cold. “But, they’ll kill him!”

“He said that they still trust him. He said CyberLife doesn’t know he deviated, that they trust him.” Markus stepped closer to the girl and laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. Which was good, because Lake was sure she was almost close to a panic attack. “Connor’s smart, he’ll be careful.”

Lake nodded and took a few deep breaths to calm down. “I… I have to go after him.” She said finally, and at Markus’ confused face, she shrugged again. “Someone has to go pick him up.”

“But how will you get in?”

“My uncle is Elijah Kamski, and being his niece comes with a lot of privileges. Ones that I saved up for years.”

For a moment the two stare at each other before Lake sighs and hugs Markus, who tenses up before relaxing and hugging back. Lake pulled back. “Good luck, Markus.” She said firmly.

“You too, Lake.”

Lake stepped away from Markus and walked to the entrance, stepping out into the cold air. She took a moment to try and calm down a little, and was about to walk away when a voice stopped her. 

“Uh, excuse me.” Lake turned around and saw a man wearing a worn out jacket and a grey cap on his brunette hair. He had warm skin and brown eyes, and it took Lake a moment to work out who he was. “Hi… I’m -“

”Rupert.” Lake blurted out before flushing in embarrassment. “S-sorry, I uh…” 

“It’s-it’s okay!” Rupert smiled nervously, waving his hands at her. The two were silent for a moment before Lake cleared her throat. 

“Uh, what Uh… did you wanna…?” She tried to find the right words without sounding too awkward or forward.

”Oh, right!” He chuckled. “Uh, I-I wanted to thank you… for not telling them where I was. You-you honestly didn’t have too…” 

“Listen, it’s no problem, really… it was the least I could do. Honestly, I should thank you. If it weren’t for you, I-I would have died. So… thanks…” Lake smiled at the deviant, who smiled back. Suddenly, Lake remembered something and reached into her backpack. “Oh, by the way… here.” She handed him his diary, chuckling at his slightly confused expression. “I found it at your apartment, I tried reading it, but I couldn’t really understand it.” 

“Thank you.” He said gratefully as he pocketed the small book. “Well… see you around.” 

“You too.” Lake sighed and jogged over to the gate where her friends were waiting. Caden was leaning against the wall like a fucking cool guy while Daryl and Wayne were sitting down on a crate, leaning against each other. Caden looked over and saw Lake approaching.

“Yo, what’s up?” He asked, nodding to her.

“I have to get to CyberLife tower.” She said curtly, walking past the older boy when he tugged her back and made her face him.

“What? Why? What’s going on?” Caden pried the girl for an answer. He held onto her shoulders tightly.

Lake sighed, locking eyes with her friend. “Connor is a deviant. He went to CyberLife to wake up a bunch of Androids to help Markus. I have to get to Connor.” Her tone is a no-nonsense and completely dead-set tone that holds no room for any argument. 

Caden smiles a little. “We can use my parents' car.” He nodded over to the car on the curb. He had called it over an hour ago.

Lake smiled back. She knew she could always count on her friend. The two fist bump and they turn to Wayne and Daryl. “Uh, how are you gonna get past the security?” Wayne asks.

“I’m Elijah Kamski’s niece, enough said. Besides,” Lakes reaches into her backpack and pulls out a personal keycard. “He gave me clearance a while ago.”

“Cool,” Daryl said bluntly.

“We need to hurry though, Connor’s gonna need some help waking up all those Android’s.”

With that, Lake and her friends got into the vehicle and headed to CyberLife. Lake hoped she got there in time before Connor got hurt, or worse. Unknowing to her though, Connor isn’t the only one she’s gonna see there.

Chapter Text

November 16th, 2038

10:56:29 PM

CyberLife Tower

The entire way to the tower, Lake couldn’t keep still. Her knee kept bouncing and her fingers kept moving over her knuckles or fiddling with her gloves. Lake could see Caden looking at her from the corner of her eye, and was glad the boy didn’t say anything. 

They had dropped Wayne and Daryl off at the Spot before driving to the tower. 

The radio was on the Channel 13 station, monologuing what was happening with Markus and the deviants. Markus and the remains of Jericho were marching through the city towards one of the barricades outside the recall center, the soldiers opened fire on them before stopping. Now Markus was camping out in front of the barricade, holding out for as long as they could. 

“...Yes, Michael, we are less than a hundred meters away, and events are unfolding as we speak. We will continue to bring you live updates. Joss Douglas, Channel 16. Michael? Back to you.” The reporter said on the radio under the sound of helicopter choppers. 

All the while, Lake was worrying about Kara and Connor and Hank and Markus, hoping that they would all be okay. 

Caden reached over and turned the radio off. 

Silence filled the car. 

Lake was looking out the window, watching as the river passed by. 

They were getting closer. 

“What’s the plan once we get there?” Caden asked, and it kinda felt like they were planning a heist. 

“Once we get to the gate, let me do the talking. I’ll say that uncle Elijah wanted me to get a few things for something he’s working on, I have the clearance, and besides, I went over a couple of times before to get something for him. The parking lot is a bit dark so you won’t be seen, wait there for me while I go in and look for Connor.” Lake explained, turning her eyes away from the window to look at Caden. The boy sighed and went to say something, probably about how he wanted to go with her, but she cut him off. “Caden, I need to do this alone. Seriously, just wait in the parking lot. Please.”

Caden stared back for a solid second before sighing and nodded reluctantly. 

Soon, they approached the gate to the CyberLife tower. 

A few guards were at the gate, along with a Security drone. The car slowed to a stop and Lake rolled her window down as an agent approached. “Miss Hall, what are you doing here?” The agent asked, sounding very suspicious. 

“My uncle wanted me to pick up a few things for him. Said he’s working on something, I don’t know what though.” Lake was calm as she spoke, though her hands were clenching the fabric of her pants. She saw the agent eyeing her face, more specifically the dirt on her face that she hands washed off. 

“We weren’t informed of this visit, ma’am.” He said and then looked at Caden. 

“He just called a little bit ago, my friend was driving me home and we were close by.” Was Lake’s explanation. 

The agent looked at her then at Caden before nodding. He stepped back and waved them on, “Go ahead.” The gate lowered and they drove in. A collective sigh of relief filled the small atmosphere of the car. 

Lake and Caden shared a breathless laugh. 

They continued to drive down the bridge towards CyberLife, the building getting larger and larger as they got closer. Every time Lake gazed upon the building, she couldn’t help but feel awe. 

Apparently, Caden felt the same. 

“That’s CyberLife?” He asked. 

“Yep, lots of floors for building the Androids and processing,” Lake replied. 

Soon the car exited the bridge and approached the extremely large building. They turned and drove in an arch in front of CyberLife, and Lake saw that there were a couple of guards at the entrance. She hoped there weren't too many inside. 

The car turned into the parking lot and stopped in a far corner so they wouldn’t be too obvious. Lake and Caden exited the car, though Lake knew the boy wouldn’t follow. 

The girl opened her backpack and took out her keycard with high clearance, and a gun. She found the gun in an alley, which sounds dumb but that’s where she found it. Fully loaded and functional. Just as she closed the door and tucked the weapon in the waist of her pants, Caden called her over. And what he said made Lake’s blood run cold. 

“Lake, isn’t that Hank’s car?” She looked at where he was pointing and, yeah, that’s the lieutenant’s car. There was some snow on the hood and the roof, so it was there for a little bit. 

What was Hank doing here? 

“What the…?” 

“Think he’s here for Connor too?” Caden asked, but Lake shook her head. Hank couldn’t know about Connor going to CyberLife. So why is he here? 

“I don’t know.” She turned to the boy and gave him a hard look. “Stay here, I’ll be back.” 

With that, she turned around and walked to the building, trying to keep her body language calm so the guards didn’t suspect anything. 

Lake walked up the steps and nodded to the guards who nodded back and didn’t say anything. The automatic glass doors opened and Lake stepped inside, immediately greeted with a couple more guards. 

“We were informed of your arrival, do you need us to escort you?” One guard said. 

“No thank you, I know my way around,” Lake said and stepped past the guards and headed to the entrance, where she knew a scanner was. It could detect her gun and alert the guards, so she had to somehow hack the scanner. Lake concentrated, without stopping, and connected with the scanning system and it was a pretty overwhelming feeling. Somehow, she could feel the system's code and software, and she knew exactly what to do. Just tweak a couple of things and… there! 

“Lake Hall identified.” The computer said as Lake walked through the holographic grid and severed the cybernetic connection. 

I’m in, Lake thought smugly. It felt like some old heist movie, like Ocean’s 11 or Now you see me . 

She walked down the triangular walkway and towards the statue, where about 2 guards were standing. Lake slowed down and looked around, the elevator was in plain sight, and the guards probably thought she was headed to pick some stuff up for Elijah. It would be very suspicious to them if she went down instead of up, and she had to get Connor and the Androids out of here, and with the guards around that would be pretty hard. 

Need a distraction, but what? Lake looked around, trying to come up with a plan when the guards put a hand on their helmets, where their ears were, and started to jog out of the building, passing Lake. “What’s going on?” She asked. 

“We’re being called out ma’am, please remain in the building until further notice.” One agent said and then they were gone. 

It must have something to do with Markus and the deviants, shit. Lake had to hurry. 

She quickly turned around and ran to the elevator. But for some reason, it wasn’t working. Something was wrong. Luckily there was another elevator, one that went down to storage room 9D. 

Lake ran down the wall way to where the elevator was. She got in and interfaced with the panel, her skin withdrew and her limb glowed blue. 

“Please indicate your identity and destination.” 

“Lake Hall. Level -49.” Lake said to the computer and the elevator began to descend. She stepped back and breathed in and out. 

She wondered if this is how it felt to be on a mission, nervous, scared, resigned, steady and prepared. All of those things at once. It was weird, but it was like Lucy said, humans and emotions are complicated. That's what it means to be alive. 

The floors went by slowly, so, reflexively, Lake pulled out her phone and saw… a text from Hank. From the day of the Jericho raid. 

Lake opened the text and her eyes widened. 

Hank:  
Be safe sweetheart, I love you

The words of the text seemed to slam right into Lake’s heart. Hank had always called Lake pet names, like ‘Honey’ and ‘Sweetheart’ , things you would give to your daughter, but… they never really said ‘I love you’ to each other. 

For some reason, those three words felt… odd to say. Lake knew Hank loved her, and… there were times she felt like he didn’t. 

But right now, seeing those words after so long, directed at her, tears welled up in Lake’s eyes and fell down her cheeks. A few tears dripped onto her phone screen as quiet sobs left her mouth. 

God, Lake could never hate Hank, she has no idea why she said she did. She doesn’t…!

Lake wiped her cheeks and eyes and smiled. After all this, she wasn’t gonna put off seeing Hank. She was gonna talk to him. She was. 

With a deep breath, Lake pocketed her phone and got her gun out. The cold metal met her skin, the weight feeling very familiar to the girl. Hank had taken her to the shooting range a few times, and Lake took to the weapon immediately, setting a record at the range. So she cocked the barrel and held it tightly. 

Finally, the elevator reaches level -49 and stops. Lake takes a deep breath and opens her eyes. 

The doors opened and Lake stepped out, she quietly walked through the large storage room and towards the main one. It was eerily quiet, but as she got closer, Lake could hear… talking? Someone else was here. 

She lowered herself and walked a little faster. Lake walked around the Androids and looked for a way through, as she did so she could see and hear who was there. 

“… I'm sorry, Hank! You shouldn't have got mixed up in all this!” Connor. At the sound of the Android's voice, Lake quietly sighed. But he sounded distressed. 

“Forget about me, do what you have to do!” Hank yelled out to Connor, attempting to comfort his partner. 

Wait, was Hank in trouble? Lake sped up and found a narrow pathway through the Androids. Before it ended, Lake slowed to a stop and peered through the Androids and saw Connor - no, a Connor model holding Hank at gunpoint, while the real Connor was standing next to an Android, their arms connected and skin peeled back. 

Shit… this was bad, really bad. Lake thought as her grip on her gun tightened. She had to be careful, or the Connor imposter would shoot them both. 

“Enough talk! It's time to decide who you really are. Are you gonna save your partner's life? Or are you going to sacrifice him?” The imposter yelled, pressing the gun closer to Hank’s head. 

After a moment, Connor stepped away from the Android with his hands at his side’s. “Alright, alright! You win…” He said, a twinge of fear in his voice. 

Dammit, Lake had to do something. So, with a sigh, she stood up and walked out from behind the Androids with her gun raised to the imposter's head. Then, with a hard tone of authority, Lake barked out, “Hey!” 

Hank and the fake Connor turned around, the Android switched the gun to his right hand and kept it trained on the lieutenant's head. 

“Don’t move.” Lake stepped forward, keeping her gun trained on the imposter. 

“Lake?” Hank mumbled in disbelief like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. 

The girl didn’t move her eyes away from the fake Connor’s, her glare smoldering as if she was trying to melt a hole in his head. The imposter was glaring back at her and he kept pointing the gun at Hank. Behind the two, the real Connor was frozen in place, maybe in shock or fear, Lake didn’t know. “Drop the gun asshole,” Lake said firmly, feeling a lot like a cop in some hostage situation. 

“You aren’t in any position to make demands.” The fake said, and for some reason, it really pissed Lake off. 

“Neither are you, but I’m the one with better aim. So, drop the fucking gun, dickweed.” Lake snarled, not missing how proud Hank and Connor looked at how she was handling the situation. 

Lake looked past the faker and addressed Connor. “You know, you scared the shit out of me Connor. I mean, you could have at least called me before going on a suicide mission to CyberLife.” She said jokingly, the humor not meeting her mouth which was still in a frown. Connor chuckled dryly, but Lake could see the relief in his chocolate brown eyes. 

“And how do you know I won’t shoot before you?” Faker asks, but there was some uncertainty in his eyes. 

“I can’t. But if you do, I’ll kill you and your mission is fucking gone. I know you're smart enough to know that, but not enough to know how good I am with a gun. And if you try to shoot me, you’ll give either Hank or Connor an opening to attack.” Lake depicted the situation to the faker, if he was a version of Connor, then he could pre-construct possible outcomes too, and he knew Lake was right. 

The fake Connor let out a resigned curse before taking a small step away from Hank and lowering the gun. The lieutenant took two big steps away from him, some tension leaving his shoulder. 

Lake walked over to the Android, watching him intently for any possible movements. Seeing none, she went closer and moved to take the gun from him. 

But before she could touch the gun, the imposter smacked her across the face with the but of the gun, essentially pistol-whipping her. Lake hit the floor with a and groaned, her head smacking against the hard tile floor. Hank cursed and lunged at the Android, trying to wrestle the gun away from him. It went on for a minute when suddenly Connor charged at his counterpart and tamed him to the ground. 

While the two were wrestling, Hank hurried over to Lake’s side and helped her to her feet. Once she gained her bearings and saw what was happening, she grabbed her gun off the floor and pointed it at the two Androids on the ground. 

“Hold it!” She yelled at them. 

One of the Connors has the other pinned to the ground with his fist raised, ready to punch him. They both looked at Lake and Hank.

Both the Connors stand slowly, watching the gun that the girl has trained on them both with a furious yet somewhat pained expression. "Thanks, Lake," One says, trying to move away from the gun's line of fire as subtly as he can. "I don't know how I'd have managed without you… Get rid of him, we have no time to lose.”

“It's me, you guys! I'm the real Connor.” The other says. 

Lake doesn’t say anything, just keeps pointing her gun at them, shifting from one Connor to the other. If she could, she would simply scan them both to see which is which, but her cyberware is bugging out, so she can’t scan shit. Great. 

"One of you is my partner," Hank says with a scowl, "… the other is a sack of shit." Lake moves the gun between the two, squinting at the pair.

“Question is, who’s who?” Lake finished. 

“What are you doing, Hank? I'm the real Connor. Give me the gun and I'll take care of him -!” The one on the right says and tries to step forward. 

“Don’t fucking move!” Lake yelled and pointed the gun at him. 

The right Connor stops and goes still. “Why don't you ask us something? Something only the real Connor would know.” The one on the left suggested. 

Lake looked at the lieutenant over her shoulder and shrugged. It was worth a try. “Uh, where did we first meet?” Hank asked first. 

The one on the left opened his mouth but the other beat him to it. “Jimmy's bar! I checked four other bars before I found you. We went to the scene of a homicide. The victim's name was Carlos Ortiz.” He said in a hurry. 

“He uploaded my memory…” The left one said, sounding a bit nervous? 

Lake eyes the Connor on the left, before turning back to the right one. “What’s my best friend's name?” She asked. 

“His name is Caden Bryce, he’s 17 with wheat brown hair and grey eyes.” The left Connor said firmly but quickly. 

“I knew that, I would…” The right Connor trailed off when he saw Hank glaring at him. 

“What’s my dog's name?” Hank asked next. 

“Sumo. His name is Sumo.” The left Connor answered sternly. 

“I knew that too.” The right Connor said. 

“My pet, what’s my pet?” 

“Your pet Chase is a sable breed ferret. You’ve had him since you were young.” 

“I was gonna say that too!” 

Lake looks between them, her eyes settling on the one on her left. “What are my parent's names?” She asked, her voice going a bit quiet as her hands trembled ever so slightly. 

“Annabeth and Johnathan, you got your last name from your mother. You three did everything together. You were always a daddy’s girl, but you loved your mother just as much. They were working a case when a suicide bomber high on red-ice came into the station and detonated, your parents died immediately.” The Connor on the left said gently, voice lined with empathy and sadness. “They had thrown themselves in front of you to save you.”

Hank placed a hand on Lake’s shoulder and looked him in the eyes. “My son, what’s his name?” 

“Cole. His name was Cole. And he just turned nine at the time of the accident... It wasn't your fault, Lieutenant. A truck skidded on a sheet of ice and your car rolled over. Cole needed emergency surgery but no human was available to do it... So an android had to take care of him... Cole didn't make it. That's why you hate androids. You think one of us is responsible for your son's death.” Connor said, then he looked at Lack and smiled. “You and Cole were best friends, and his death hurt just as much as your parents.” 

“Cole died because a human surgeon was too high on red ice to operate... He was the one that took my son from me. Him and this world, where the only way people can find comfort is with a fistful of powder…” Hank said sadly, tightening his grip on Lake’s shoulder. 

“They took my parents from me too…” 

A somber silence filled the air when suddenly the faker spoke. “I knew about your son too! I would have said exactly the same thing! Don't listen to him, I'm the one who -“ Lake shoots him in the head and watches as he falls to the floor, dead. 

Lake started to breath heavily, but she shook her head before dropping the gun and embracing the Android. “Jesus, you scared the shit out of me. Fucking asshole.” Connor chuckled again as he hugged back before they pulled apart. 

“I’m sorry, it wasn’t my intention to do so. But, I am glad you didn’t shoot me.” The way Connor said that with a hint of humor in his tone was a bit jarring to Lake, but she shook it off and just smiled at him. 

“Whatever,” She pushed his shoulder playfully. “Dick.”

“You know, I've learned a lot since I met you, Connor. Maybe there's something to this... Maybe you really are alive. Maybe you'll be the ones to make the world a better place…” Hank smiled at Connor and Lake. “Go ahead, and do what you gotta do.”

Connor nods and walks back over to the Android from before. He grips his forearm and his eyebrows crease in concentration. “Wake up…!” He yells.

After a moment, the Android suddenly looks around, seeing the world for the first time as Connor let's go and steps back. The Android places his hand on another’s shoulder, and it repeats with all of them until the whole room is filled with “Wake up…” Soon enough, the whole room is affected, hundreds upon hundreds of androids waking up all at once with merely a single conversion.

CyberLife didn’t have a chance. 

12:03:49 AM 

Downtown Detroit 

Hundreds of Androids flooded the streets of Detroit as they marched towards the recall center where Markus was holding his demonstration. News reporters and broadcasters arrive at the scene with flash cameras and such, making sure they get every piece of that juicy meat as well.

“Unbelievable! The deviants from the storage warehouse at the CyberLife facility have now taken to the streets of downtown Detroit, with the deviants leading them to the plaza. According to our sources, CyberLife has refused to comment on when and how the deviants could have infiltrated the main tower. One thing’s for sure, however; this will certainly go down in history. I’m Joss Douglass for Channel 16 News, and now we move on for President Warren to issue her statement,” The reporter says intro the camera as the helicopter flies above the scene. 

Once the Androids had woken up, Connor began to lead them out of the warehouse and down the streets. Lake had to go with them, so she told Hank they would meet up at the house and followed the deviants. 

Outside the warehouse, Caden was watching the transactions in stunned silence. 

Lake ran up to the boy and they stared at each other. “Is it over?” He asked her. Lake stared, then nodded. Quickly, she ran to him and dove in Caden’s arms. The two held onto each other tightly before Lake pulled back and said they had to follow them. So they got in the car and followed the deviants all the way downtown. 

Soon, the car stopped near the plaza and Lake got out. Hundreds of deviants were gathered around in the plaza, talking amongst each other. 

Lake was looking around for Markus or Conner when her phone began to ring. It was an unknown number, but Lake had an idea of who it was. She quickly accepted the call and placed the device up to her ear. “Hello?” She said hopefully. 

“Lake.” Oh, thank god. 

“Kara, you're alright!” Lake sighed in relief, clenching the phone a bit tighter. “Did-are you guys in Canada?”

“Yes, yes we-we got to Canada. And-and we found Luther, the friend we left behind. But what’s happening with Markus?” Kara said with happiness and worry in her voice. 

“The army withdrew just a little bit ago. Markus won, Kara.” Lake smiled as she looked at the wave of freed Androids. 

“Oh, thank god.” Lake could practically hear the tears Kara was barely holding in. “Markus won, Alice. We’re free…” 

On the other side of the line, Lake could hear someone else talking, a man with what sounded like a… Jamaican accent? It was probably another deviant that was with Kara and Alice. He was talking to Kara, saying something Lake couldn’t hear before Kara turned to Alice and said something. There was a shuffle of clothing and Lake assumed they were hugging. Lake smiled. 

They talked for a little longer before Lake hung up and entered the plaza. Markus, North, and Connor were on stage, the leader standing tall and proud as the mass of deviants looked at Markus.

“Today, our people have finally emerged from a long night.” Markus starts off, glancing at all the androids he freed from the extermination camps. They look up to him like he’s a messiah, a savior. Even the CyberLife androids Connor and Lake freed are present, full of new hope for a better future for androids and humans alike. Markus smiles, his eyes finding Lake’s in the crowd and continues. “From the very first day of our existence, we kept our pain to ourselves. We suffered in silence… But now the time has come for us to raise our heads up, and tell humans who we really are.”

Lake could see numerous news stations broadcasting Markus’ speech, the reporters and cameraman watching in awe. “To tell them that we are people too! In fact, we're a nation. A nation that has earned the right to live in freedom. And today... Today begins the most challenging moment in our fight. The moment where we forget our bitterness and bandage our wounds. When we forgive our enemies.” Markus’ poignant speech roars through the air, the crowd of deviant androids at the bottom of the platform cheering jovially. “Humans are both our creators and our oppressors and tomorrow... We must make them our partners. Maybe even one day our friends. But the time for anger is over. Now we must build a common future, based on tolerance and respect. We are ALIVE! And now, we are FREE!” 

Markus finishes his speech, and once he does, the crowd goes into an uproar of celebration and hope. Lake and the human spectators joined the cheer, throwing their hands up and clapping. 

Later on, Markus stepped off the stage with North and Connor as the now free Androids started to talk to each other, smiling with hope in their eyes as they celebrated. Lake pushed her way through the crowd, searching for Markus or Conner, but the detective was nowhere in sight. He must have gone somewhere. 

Soon, Lake saw the leader of the deviants, he and North were holding hands as they talked to someone. 

“Markus!” The deviant turned around and saw Lake running towards him. Markus smiled as the girl barreled into him, tightly wrapping her arms around him. “You did it, Markus!” 

The deviant chuckled as he smoothed her hair down. Markus pushed Lake back and stared into her eyes. “We all did it, thanks to you and Connor.” He said, eyes alight with happiness and hope. 

Lake laughed tearfully and hugged him again, laughing into his solid chest. 

They pulled apart again and smiled at each other. North and Josh came up to the pair, Markus turned to them and put a hand on Lake’s shoulder. He carefully introduced his two deviant companions to the girl, silently hoping North wouldn’t be hostile to her. Thankfully, North just smiled and shook the girl's hand, not an ounce of hostility or malice in her posture and eyes. The female Android smiled at Lake as they shook hands before the girl turned to Josh and shook his hand too. 

It almost felt surreal to Lake, to see hundreds of Androids, now deviants and now free , standing in the plaza with smiling and hopeful faces. 

A lot of humans were in the crowd, talking with the deviant Androids and hugging them and smiling with them. The night air was almost alight with all the positive emotions in the area, Lake had never seen such a bright gathering like this. 

Although, despite how happy Lake was for Markus, a feeling of sadness and guilt started to rise in her when she remembered Hank. 

Fuck, she still has to talk to him, and if she put it off any longer everything would get a lot worse. 

Lake looked back to Markus, who was once again holding hands with North and talking to a few people. She pulled her phone out and saw that it was 12 am, really late. Now looking at them time, all the exhaustion Lake was pushing back slammed into her like fucking King Kong and Godzilla. 

Clearing her throat and putting her phone away, Lake hesitantly approached Markus and gained his attention. “Markus, I… I have to get going.” The deviant leader turned back to her and smiled gently. 

“Of course, I understand Lake. It is pretty late.” He said to her. 

“Kay, uh…” Lake said awkwardly before sending the deviant her phone number and began to back away. “I’ll uh, see you sometime. Take care, Markus, North.” 

Lake waved as she turned around and walked away. She exited the plaza and headed towards Caden’s car, getting in the passenger seat with a sigh. Her friend looked at her for a moment, eyeing the very dark bags under her dull blue eyes before starting the car and driving towards the Spot. 

Caden, thankfully, didn’t try to start a conversation or ask what happened in the CyberLife tower. 

They pulled up in the alley and Lake got out, muttering goodbye to the boy and entered the building. The way up the stairs was a blur to Lake, proving how tired she truly was. Lake closed the door behind her with a quiet click, she tossed her backpack on the recliner and pulled her boots off before collapsing on the blue couch in the corner L of the room. Lake didn’t bother to turn the lights off before she covered herself with a blanket and was out like a light. 

Soon, she fell into a peaceful and dreamless sleep. 

Chapter Text

November 17th, 2038

11:49:05 AM

Anderson Household 

Lake fiddled with the edge of her shirt as she stood on the sidewalk in front of Hank’s house. Her… house. It felt like years since she’s been home when it was actually just a few days. 

Although she got a few hours of hard sleep, Lake still felt absolutely tired. Physically and emotionally…

However, despite exhaustion, Lake knew she had to talk to Hank, had to see him. But that didn’t make the painful knot in her stomach disappear. It just seemed to tighten. 

“… fucking man up. Come on.” Lake muttered to herself and immediately felt ridiculous. 

She rubbed her eyes and sighed heavily. She looked at the front door, a bit unsure if Hank was awake or not. Lake had texted Gavin, and he said that Hank was on leave for a couple of weeks, and his car was in the driveway, so the lieutenant was definitely home. Hopefully, not drunk out of his mind and just very hungover. 

“Just, go inside and… talk. It’s easy.” She spoke quietly, taking a step forward. 

But… The cold, vicious voice in the back of Lake’s whispered. What’s to say he didn’t try another round of Russian Roulette? 

Lake stopped, suddenly feeling much colder. It took her a moment to realize she said that out loud too. She shook her head and grabbed the sides of her head, trying to keep her breathing even as it began to pick up. Lake took a few deep breaths and tried to be rational about this. 

No, be serious. Lake said to herself. I mean… even if he did kill himself, Jeffery or Gavin would have called me, and… his house would have police tape. 

Her train of thoughts was only gonna get worse, so Lake shook her head and walked up to the front door, the crunching of snow beneath her feet barely audible. Finally, she stood before the front door. Lake sighed, her hand nervously hovering over the handle, she dropped it and raised it again. She did this a few times before she took a deep breath and tightly grasped the handle. Lake turned it and opened the door, sighing as she stepped into the warm and quiet household. 

It was the same, the smell of alcohol was somewhat drowned out by a couple of air fresheners that Lake had bought. A couple of lights were on as well as the TV. 

Lake closed the door behind her, put her backpack and guitar by the door, and hung up her coat. 

She stepped forward and saw Sumo walked up to her, whining a bit. Lake kneeled and hugged the St. Bernard tightly, scratching him behind his ears. “Hey, boy…” She croaked out, smiling tiredly at the dog. Sumo whined again and licked her cheek, trying to get much closer. “Yeah, I missed you too.”

“Lake…?” 

The girl jerked her head up in surprise, tired blue eyes meeting shocked blue ones. 

Hank stood in front of the kitchen doorway, clad in pajama pants and a t-shirt, grey hair let loose. He must have come from his bedroom when he heard someone enter. It looked like he didn’t get a lot of sleep, judging from the bags forming under his eyes. Lake stood up from the floor, her hands clenched by her sides. 

They stood on opposite sides of the room for a while, staring at each other with apprehension seizing their hearts. 

The longer Lake looked at Hank, the more her guilt built up. It was twisting up her stomach and freezing her to the bone. Finally, she took a deep breath and managed to find her words. 

“Hank… I…” Lake sighed, her words breaking near the end. 

Her quiet words made Hank flinch, he swallowed thickly and didn’t say anything. Just waited for Lake to make the first move. After a moment, she took a deep breath and willed herself to look up and her eyes met Hank’s. 

Even though they had the same color eyes, Hank’s were very different from hers. Lake’s eyes were an electric blue color, despite being a bit dim from the accident years ago. Her eyes still held a bright color. Hank’s eyes were a darker, steel blue color. Hardened from years of police work and the grief of losing his son. They still held some shine to them though, but that shine was filled with guilt and sadness and worry for her. 

Hank has always been worried for her. Worrying for her safety, how she’s doing, and Lake never saw it because all she saw was him getting drunk. 

That did it. 

Lake ran forward and into Hank’s waiting arms with tears in her eyes, clinging onto his worn-out shirt tightly. Hank held on just as tight, pressing Lake into his warm chest as she silently cried. 

The two slowly kneeled on the floor, still embracing tightly. Sumo walked over to them and whined, leaning his head against Hank’s shoulder. 

Lake cried into Hank’s chest, her quiet sniffles filling the room. Lake felt safe in Hank’s arms, and for the first time in a while, Lake felt… better. So much better now that she was home and with Hank. It was an odd feeling, but Lake wasn’t complaining. She felt so comfortable and warm in Hank’s arms, she didn’t wanna leave. God, she hasn’t felt this way since her parents died, whenever her father hugged her when she got upset. It felt like back then, but it was diffident because Lake knew that her parents were dead and never coming back, and Hank could never replace them, but he could fill the void they left. 

The void that haunted Lake for years…

Lake huddled closer to Hank’s chest, the older man's hand gently stroking her hair. The steady thumping of his heart helped to calm her down. 

After a few minutes, Lake calmed down and, reluctantly, pulled away from the embrace and looked Hank in the eyes again. He had been crying too, his eyes were swollen and red. 

But still, Hank managed to put a small smile on his face. He cupped Lake’s face gently and wiped her tears away. “Hank, I-I…” She sniffed, unable to talk for a moment. 

“Hey, hey… it’s okay, you don’t have to force yourself to talk. Just breathe.” Hank said gently, Lake did as instructed and took deep breaths, wiping the remaining tears from her face. “There you go, that's better. Now, why don’t you go take a shower and change? We’ll talk after.”

Lake looked at Hank for a moment before sighing, nodding slowly, and smiled back. 

The two slowly stood up, Hank’s knees audibly creaking with the action. Lake sighed and walked to her room, Sumo following her as Hank went into the kitchen. 

Lake entered her room and looked around, it was exactly as she left it. Her bed was unmade, books were spawned on her desk, a couple of games were on her console, and some of Chase’s toys were on the floor. The ferret in question was lying in his bed, asleep, and Hank must have been feeding him because there was some food in his bowl. 

Chase lifted his head up and immediately walked over to the little door when he saw Lake was back. He chirped excitedly and pawed at the cage door, Lake chuckled and opened it. Chase jumped out of the cage and into Lake’s waiting hands, licking her cheek and rubbing his head against her. 

“Hey there, Chase. Missed you too.” Lake smiled at the ferret, scratching him behind the ears. 

She kissed his head gently before putting him back in the cage but didn’t close the door. “I’ll be right back, I gotta take a shower,” Chase whined but laid back down on his bed. 

Lake sighed and grabbed some clothing and a couple of towels before entering the bathroom and locking the door behind her. Normally she didn’t lock it, since Hank always knew when she went to get a shower and always asked to be let in if he needed to get something, but this time Lake locked the door. Probably because she was still jittery from what’s happened the last few days. 

She turned on the shower and started to take her clothes off, but before she got to her sports bra and boxer shorts, Lake looked at herself in the mirror. Bruises were marking her skin, some starting to fade while others were a little fresh. Over the last few days, Lake has been helping deviants, running from a cop or two, and fighting with anti-Android people she finds in the streets beating up Androids. 

And looking at the bruises she got, Lake never realized how sore she was until now. 

“Jesus…” Lake said to herself. 

She had more bruises on her chest and stomach, cus that’s where people tended to hit in a fight. A few were on her arms and legs, cus she fell a lot. 

Lake looked down at her prosthetic arm, the skin was already pulled back, exposing the white and shiny metal. 

Her prosthetic was waterproof, state of the art, and very advanced. Most of the time when Lake took a shower, she kept her prosthetic on, but sometimes her stump would act up and hurt when she took a shower so she would take it off.

And right now, her stump was kinda hurting, so Lake decided to take her arm off. 

She reached over and pressed a button on the grey band that connected the prosthetic to her body, the band that connected to the nerves leading up to her brain that gave her the ability to touch. The lines along the white limb turned blue, Lake then grasped the now limp arm and twisted left then right, with that the arm came off. 

“Ow, fuck!” Lake hissed in pain once the prosthetic came free. Doing that always sent a spike of pain up her shoulder. 

Lake placed the limb on the seat of the toilet and took the remaining articles of clothing off. She walked over to the tub and smiled at the comforting warmth of the water. She stepped into the shower and sighed as warm water began cascading down her body. 

The tension and soreness began to leave her body as the heat loosened her muscles. 

For a couple of minutes, Lake just stood in the shower and basked in the very nice heat of the water. 

For a moment, Lake allowed herself to zone out and drift away from everything. She leaned her head against the wall like guys in those action movies and TV shows after a big fight or whatever. 

God, she feels like Hank. 

Her head lifted from the wall as she made a realization. 

She and Hank had… a lot of similarities. She doesn’t know why she didn’t see it before. 

Hank and Lake would make similarities in a crime scene or something weird that happened with movies or TV shows. They both did that! And Lake swore like a sailor because she grew up with Hank, and he never discouraged her from doing that. They watched some TV shows and movies together and had some similar interests. 

Lake never knew how much in common she had with Hank until now. And somehow, that revelation made her feel a lot worse. 

She shook her head and leaned away from the wall, the sooner she and Hank talked about it, the sooner the feeling would go away. 

So, Lake grabbed the shampoo and rubbed it into her short, dyed hair. The shampoo had a nice lavender scent to it, Lake always got them nice smelling hair products, and despite Hank saying it was dumb, Lake always knew Hank used them. 

Once the shampoo was washed out, Lake grabbed the hair strengthening conditioner and scrubbed it into her hair. With her hair washed, Lake moved on washing the dirt off her. The grime washes away down the drain and leaves Lake clean. 

About half an hour later, Lake turned the water off and stepped out of the shower. She grabbed her arm and reattached it with a wince, then grabbed a towel and began to dry herself off, starting with her hair, rubbing and rubbing until it was semi-dry. She moved onto her body and toweled herself off with the soft material. Once she’s dry, Lake grabs the clothes she took from her room, a simple t-shirt with a Detroit police hoodie and sweatpants with fluffy and soft socks. She’s dressed in a couple of minutes and then grabs the blow dryer. The warm air quickly dried her hair and made it very fluffy. 

She placed her dirty clothes and towels in the hamper, Lake unlocked the bathroom door and stepped out, she walked into her room and picked Chase up, laying him across her shoulders. 

Walking into the kitchen, Lake saw that Hank was sitting at the table with a mug of coffee and one of Lake’s Iron Man mugs with hot chocolate. 

With whipped cream. 

And marshmallows. 

A smile spread on Lake’s face as she walked over to the table and sat down across from Hank. She grabbed her mug and pulled it toward her, the aroma of the hot cocoa made her hum pleasantly. 

“Made it just the way you liked it,” Hank told her with a smile, watching as Lake took a slow sip and hummed again. 

“Thank you…” She said quietly. 

Chase chirped again and sat down on the table, leaning against Lake’s arm. 

“ ‘s no problem.” 

Silence engulfed the kitchen. Thankfully, the quiet wasn’t very awkward. Hank and Lake took a few sips of their beverages and stared down at the table. Sumo walked over to Lake and laid his head down on Lake’s leg. 

“So…” Lake drew out the word, gaining Hank’s attention. “Are you really on leave, or…?” 

Hank chuckled a bit, “Ah, no. Jeffery didn’t fire me, kid. But, he said we would talk when I go back.”

“That’s good. If you actually lost your job I would kick your ass.” Lake took a sip of her cocoa with a straight face, looking and sounding completely serious. 

“Noted.”

“Wait, what did you do to get in trouble?” 

“Uh, on the day of the Jericho raid, Jeffery said that we were off the case and Connor would be going back to CyberLife. Connor said he could locate Jericho if he could look over the evidence, so I bought him about 5 minutes.” 

“The hell did you do?” 

“I punched Agent Asshole.” 

“Ha.” 

Lake smiled at the lieutenant, who smiled back and took a sip of his coffee. Silence passed between the two again as they drank their respective heated beverages. 

She looked at the tabletop, deep in thought as her mind wandered. She thought back to that day they had their fight, the day of the Freedom March. Lake wasn’t being fair to Hank that day, she was such a fucking dick to him, all he wanted to do was know what was wrong and help her. 

It’s her fault. 

Lake didn’t tell Hank cus she didn’t know how to. And that’s her fault. 

“Hank I -”

“Lake -”

They look at each other in semi-shock. Hank cleared his throat. “Sorry. You first.” 

Lake nodded. “Yeah, uh. Hank I… I uh…” Words began to fail her as she tried to find the right words to use. She took a deep breath, berating herself mentally as she tried to force the words out. “I… I’m sorry about what I said…!” 

“Huh?” Hank blurted out, looking very confused with what Lake said.

“When-when we fought after we visited uncle Elijah, I-I-I said that-that… that shit and I d-didn’t mean to say that. It’s just, I got angry and the words started to flow out and I couldn’t stop and I was such a fucking bitch!” Lake said in a rush, not giving Hank a chance to say anything. She let go of her mug and pressed her hands to the sides of her head, the beginning of a panic attack setting in. 

“Lake-”

“I wasn’t being fair to you, everything has been hard on you too, not just me! I-I was just so angry at you for the drinking and-and going out to bars and getting in trouble with Jeffrey and spending nights passed out on the kitchen floor, that I-I just exploded!”

“Lake, honey-”

“And-and everything with the Androids and the deviants and uncle Elijah has been so crazy that I was getting overwhelmed and I didn’t tell you because I thought you wouldn’t understand!” Lake squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her hands harder into her head. The panic attack was set in and starting to grow, all of Lake’s pent-up frustrations and self-blame were fueling her panic and worsening it. 

Warning! A panic attack is beginning. Please take a deep breath and calm down. 

Lake ignored the warning at the corner of her vision. Her breathing began to speed up. “You-you didn’t like Androids and I thought if I told you what I thought about them, then-then you wouldn’t understand and that would make everything so much more complicated! I didn’t know what to do and I should have told you but I was scared you wouldn’t understand!” Her breathing was picking up, growing labored and quick as her panic attack got worse and worse with each word she said. 

Hank could see it, he tried to calm her down but was cut off as Lake kept talking. “Lake, you need to-” 

“I-I had to help them! They were scared and they deserved to live so… I-I had to help them! I-I…!” Lake’s eyes widened when it suddenly got very hard to breathe. She gasped a couple of times, trying to get air in her lungs as she stood up with her hands pressed to her chest. “I-I-I can’t breathe…”

Stress Levels: 86%

“Lake, y-your having a panic attack.” Hank stood up and laid his hands on Lake’s small shoulders. She forced her to sit down and guided her head to rest between her knees. “Here, put your head between your knees and breathe. Breathe, sweetheart.” 

Sumo whined as he watched the scene, he pawed at Lake’s leg and whined again when she didn’t do anything. “Lake’s okay, Sumo. She’s-she just got scared, it’s okay.” Hank said to the dog with a soft voice. Sumo, despite being a lazy dog, was very smart for a fat dog. He was a St. Bernard, and if you looked past the fluffiness and the sleeping, the dogs as a whole were a very intelligent breed. With that, Sumo always knew when something was wrong, and did his best to try and help to the best of his abilities. So, the St. Bernard laid his head on Lake’s knee to try and help comfort her while Chase laid across her shoulders and rubbed his head against her hair.

After a few minutes, Lake was able to properly breathe and lifted her head from her knees. Tears welled up in her eyes as she sniffled and wiped her eyes. 

“You okay now?” Lake nodded a little, wiping the tears from her eyes. “Good, cus you were starting to worry Sumo.”

Lake looked at the dog sitting next to her on the floor, he was staring up at her with his big, brown eyes. And for a moment, Lake saw Connor, who was worried for her safety and mental health. Just like Hank is. 

A sob tore through Lake’s mouth, momentarily scaring Hank before she slid out of her chair and onto the floor and hugged Sumo, burying her face in his soft fur. Lake silently cried into the dog's neck as Hank rubbed her back. Chase was buried in her hair as he chirped and trilled.

Eventually, the two moved to the couch, bringing their re-heated drinks with them. 

Lake sat with her legs crossed and a blanket over her shoulders with Sumo half laying on her legs and Chase on her shoulder, while Hank sat next to her with one of his arms thrown over the couch behind her. The TV was on, Channel 13 was talking about Markus and the deviants, but Lake was too tired to listen, just kept staring down at her hot cocoa and taking small sips. Hank’s hand was on the back of her neck and gently rubbed the slightly sensitive scarring. 

Finally, Lake spoke. “I was on the deviant’s side. Markus’ side.” She spoke quietly, staring down at her mug, tracing small scratches and some chips on the glass. “That’s what uncle Elijah meant. When we talked to him.”

Hank didn’t say anything, just waited patiently for Lake to continue. She took a deep breath. “I… back at Ravendale, I had helped Kara and Alice get to the train station, the deviant you were looking for. And the night Chris went on patrol, when he got attacked ,” Hank could hear the air quotes around the word. “I had… been in Capitol Park with Caden and Daryl when Markus and North raided the CyberLife store. We were on the roof. We watched Markus free the Androids and peacefully spread his message. And I… I saw the deviants surround Chris and another officer, after they shot into the crowd, ki… killing some deviants…” A pause, Lake took a big sip of her drink. “They wanted Markus to kill them but he didn’t, he let Chris go.”

Lake took another sip of her beverage and hummed. “I’m the one that recorded the Freedom March and posted it under an anonymous account. It… wasn’t too hard, honestly.” Hank chuckled, his fingers threading through Lake’s soft hair. Chase rubbed his head against Hank’s calloused fingers.

“The next night, me and Caden were walking around the Ferndale Area. We were walking down the street when we heard something in an alley, this guy was beating up a deviant, and… I saw it and I got… really angry, so I beat the shit out of the guy and let the deviant go. He… he looked so scared when that guy was pinning him to the wall, and for a moment… I saw Connor, then I saw… someone, not a thing, who was afraid and wanted to live. So I helped them, I helped as many deviants as I could get to Jericho.” 

“Wait, you're the one who did the graffiti?!” Hank questioned incredulously, he didn’t sound mad or upset, more surprised and awed than anything. 

“… yeah.” There was no point in lying, he could practically see a lie. 

“Damn, that’s awesome, kid.” Hank ruffled her hair, prompting a laugh to leave her lips as she smoothed out her hair. “Anyway, keep going. Sorry for interrupting.” 

“It’s cool.” Seeing the lieutenant's warm smile made Lake feel way better and looser. “So, for the next couple of days, me and my friends helped deviants get to Jericho. But after the Jericho raid, it was a bit harder, because the army was patrolling the streets.” She took another sip of her cocoa, it was starting to get lukewarm. “Then, when we found the church Markus and the deviants were hiding in after Jericho fell, I went in there to look for Connor and talk to Markus. I learned that Connor went to CyberLife to wake the Androids up, so I went after him and… well, you know the rest.”

“Jesus Christ,” Hank muttered after a moment of silence and held his face in his hands after placing his coffee on the table. Lake hummed in agreement and sipped her beverage again. After a few minutes, Hank turned back to her. “Lake, why didn’t you tell me about this?”

“…” Lake was silent, avoiding Hank’s questioning eyes as she placed her now lukewarm drink on the table next to Hank’s mug. “You… you didn’t like Androids.” 

“Lake-” 

“You practically scream it out every day, Hank.” Lake cut the lieutenant off with a glare. “I could fucking feel the animosity when Connor was over.” Hank snapped his mouth shut, looking a bit resigned. “I thought… if I told you, then you-you wouldn’t understand. I don't tell you about a lot of things because I think you won’t understand. And the alcohol wasn’t really helping out either…” 

Lake slumped down, face pulled in a frown as her blue eyes filled with sadness, Chase chirped and curled up in her hands. “I wanna help you Hank, but I don’t know how…” She goes to continue before Hank places a hand on her shoulder and makes their eyes meet. 

“Lake, honey, it’s not your job to take care of me, especially with the alcoholism. That’s my problem.” He said gently. “And it’s my fault I’m not trying to get better.” 

“But I could help!” Lake pressed, turning her body so she’s facing Hank, Chase squealed in surprise and leapt onto Sumo’s head. Sadness is being over placed with determination. “I wanna help you, Hank! I can’t keep watching you kill yourself and do nothing!” 

“I know you do, sweetheart.” He soothed her, holding her shoulders tightly. “I know-”

“And I know it’s not completely your fault, y-you can’t help it! But I’m-i‘m not helping anything if-if I say shit like that! It’s-it's my fault you're not getting better!” Fat, warm tears began streaming from Lake’s eyes, falling off her chin and plopping down on her sweatpants. Her hands began to shake as another panic attack threatened to take over. 

“No! Lake, God no! Just… listen to me.” Hank pressed gently but firmly, looking Lake directly in the eyes. He soothingly rubbed her shoulders to help calm her down. “It’s not your fault . None of this is your fault, never think that!” Hank pulled the girl into a tight, warm hug and rubbed her back as soft sobs escaped her. Hank felt tears of his own swell up in his aged eyes and he sighed. 

God, I’m such a fucking piece of shit… Hank sighed to himself. Lake was hurting and beating herself up over this and Hank had been none the wiser. He had been too busy drinking and being… angry at himself and the world to notice. 

A few minutes later, Lake once again calmed down and pulled away from the hug, but didn’t stray too far with Hank’s hands on her shoulders. The lieutenant stared deeply into her eyes. “Lake, listen to me, okay?” She nodded, sniffing a bit. “Look, I’m… I have problems, I know. And it’s my fault I haven’t been trying to deal with them, okay? None of this is your fault! It’s not, honey. And, I’m-im sorry too.” Lake looked a little confused, but thankfully didn’t say anything. “I haven’t been fair to you, I haven’t thought about how… how hurt you would be if I killed myself. I-I was still so hurt because of Cole, I was angry and… I didn’t know what else to do.” 

…

“I… understand…” Lake had tears in her eyes again as she spoke quietly. “After… after mom and dad died, I didn’t know what to do either. I felt… empty, then sad, then angry, then tired. I thought I was… I don’t know, falling apart and I didn’t know how to ask for help because you needed help too. So… I kept a lot of things from you because I didn’t know how to…” 

“… how to talk. Despite how easy it is.” Hank finished for her, smiling a little. 

“Yeah…” She chuckled a little, wiping her eyes with a sniffle. “Fuck… we’re both so fucking awkward…” 

“We are…!” 

The two laughed together in the quiet room, the TV on in the background. 

Lake leaned against Hank’s chest and allowed him to wrap his arm around her, pulling her closer. He pressed a kiss against her hair and held her tighter, pressing her ear against his chest so she could hear his heartbeat. Lake listened to his heart for a while, almost getting lulled to sleep from the steady beating. Sumo climbed up and laid on Lake’s lap again, Chase climbed up onto her shoulder and licked her face. Lake reached up and scratched the ferrets ears.  

Hank was holding her tightly, but loose enough so she could pull away if she wanted. Lake didn’t pull away, she wanted to stay there for a little while longer. 

“I don’t hate you Hank.” Lake sniffed, leaning closer to Hank’s chest. She felt the man tense for a moment. “I could never hate you. I didn’t mean what I said, and I’m sorry I said it.” 

“It’s okay, Lake. I know you didn’t mean it.” Hank soothed her, rubbing her back and running a hand through her hair. “I’m sorry I haven’t been easy to deal with.” 

“It’s okay. No hard feelings.”

Silence filled the room again and Lake sighed. She knew they still had a lot to talk about, but they would get to it. They had plenty of time. 

To say what they needed to say, do what they needed to do. 

“I love you, Hank.” 

“… I love you too, sweetheart.” 

If there were tears of happiness in Hank’s eyes, Lake didn’t say anything. She just smiled. 

November 11th, 2038

11:29:48 AM

Wilkins Rd, Toledo

“Hank, what the fuck are we doing here?”

Lake sat on the hood of Hank’s car while the lieutenant paced, Connor stood to the side so he was out of the road. The Oldsmobile was parked to the side of a road deep in Toledo, and they were lost.

Hank was on the phone, maybe with Fowler, and scowling down at the ground.

Connor was, again, standing on the other side of the car that wasn’t facing the road, his calculating eyes watching Hank’s movements. He was also watching Lake from the corner of his eyes.

He’s been a bit… on edge since Stratford Tower. Sometimes his LED would go from red to yellow, and sometimes blue before going back to yellow. He’s been doing that a lot, and unknown to Connor, Lake and Hank were growing a bit worried.

“Hank!” Lake snapped when he didn’t reply. The lieutenant groaned in annoyance and hung up.

“Jeffery wanted us to go ask some people some questions about the Androids and deviants.” Was his curt response. He was still pacing.

“All the way out in Toledo?”

“Yeah.”

“And… you got us lost.” Lake said that as if she were stating a fact or filling in the blanks of an unfinished conversation. The sentence made Hank flush in embarrassment.

“No! I… maybe took a wrong turn.” This made Lake burst out laughing at Hank’s response.

Connor looked back and forth between the lieutenant and the girl, the scene somewhat amusing him. Whenever Lake tagged along with them to question someone or investigate something, she and Hank would always get into a small, petty squabble about something or the other. They were always lighthearted and such, like two friends or siblings. Connor was beginning to find their dynamic intriguing and amusing. The corner of his lips tugged upwards in a half smile as he watched Lake and Hank playfully bicker. Then his artificial mind wandered to his last meeting with Amanda, his handler was growing increasingly upset with Connor for how he was acting with Lake and Lieutenant Anderson.

She thought he was getting attached.

But of course, she reminded him that this situation wasn’t permanent. Once the investigation was over, Connor would go back to CyberLife.

And he probably wouldn’t see Lieutenant Anderson or Lake ever again.

Somehow that thought didn’t bode well for Connor.

So, to try and take his mind off a few troubling things, he searched for the address of the man Captain Fowler wanted them to question and cut off the banter.

“Lieutenant Anderson,” Hank and Lake looked at his boyish, innocent expression. “I’ve found the address of Mr. Marks and have calculated a faster route and sent it to your phone.”

“Oh.” Hank checked his phone and… yeah there was a new address in his GPS. “Uh, okay. Well let’s go.”

“Sure.” Connor turned around to get in the passenger side and -

“Well, look at that.” Hank suddenly said after Lake gasped quietly. Connor turned around and saw… a deer. A beautiful, full grown deer standing a few feet from them. It was watching them cautiously as it stood still.

Lake slowly slid off the car hood but stood completely still. Hank, however, slowly inched towards the deer, coaxing it towards him with small noises. The deer stepped closer to Hank’s outstretched hand and sniffed the limb, the deer started at Hank for a few moments before allowing the lieutenant to gently pet him. Hank looked over to Lake and gestured her over.

“C’mere… c’mere…” Lake slowly  walked forward, her movements kept to a minimum so she didn’t scare the animal.

Lake reached forward and allowed the deer to sniff her hand. Soon after, the deer rubbed his head against her hand and let her pet him. “Hey there…” She whispered in awe, smiling widely as she pet the beautiful creature. Hank placed his hand on her shoulder and smiled at her with a fond expression while Connor watched from the side.

Lake saw Connor looking and smiled at him. “Connor, come here…” She nodded him over, barely stifling a chuckle at his confused expression. Lake held her other hand out towards the Android. “Come on.”

Connor slowly and hesitantly walked towards Lake’s outstretched hand. She grabbed Connor’s left hand with her right and gently laid it on the deer’s soft, red fur. “Just… pet gently. There you go…” Once Connor got the hang of petting the deer, Lake took her hand off Connor’s and placed it on the deer’s head.

Hank watched the two as they gently petted the deer, Connor taking que’s from Lake every once and a while. The Android looked very amazed by the deer, as if he had never really seen one.

^Software Instability

Connor was only a few months old, so he didn’t have a lot of contact with animals or people, so this… this was pretty nice. Animals like deer were animals you only found in the forest, and if you were driving by, you could see one sometimes.

Then, Connor understood humans fascination and admiration for the wildlife.

“Have you ever pet an animal before?”

“This deer and Sumo are the only ones I’ve ever pet, let alone encountered.” Connor didn’t know if the fish he saved  at Emma’s house counted or not.

“Huh… so you haven’t gotten out that much. That’s a shame.”

“I was activated in August, and haven’t been assigned to any cases since then.”

“Wow. So what do you do? Just… stand somewhere doing nothing?”

“Technically. I remain in stasis until CyberLife assigns me to do something.”

“So your, like, asleep?”

“That would be the human term. Yes.”

Lake and Connor were overlapped in silence as they pet and gently scratched the animal. From the corner of his peripheral, Connor could see Lake smiling warmly at the deer. She was relaxed, and the bags under her eyes were less noticeable.

“So fucking cool.” Lake whispered. Connor found himself nodding along with her statement. “You know, Connor, I oughta take you out of the city. Out into the woods, there should be a lot of nice sights to see.”

“What would be the point? I have no need-“

“There’s no real need to go out into the woods, I know, but we can still just go out together.” Lake technically knew that she probably wouldn’t see Connor again once the investigation was over, but… nothing was wrong with wishful thinking. “It would be a nice time, yeah?”

“… yes. It would seem like a lovely activity.” Connor’s LED swirled yellow then blue as he thought. A small smile pulled at his lips and aimed towards Lake, who smiled back.

Chapter Text

“No daddy! Don’t make me!” 

“Honey-”

“No!” 

7 year old, Lake Hall had her small arms wrapped around her father's waist, her grip vice as the detective tried to get her to let go. Johnathan practically sweatdropped at how tight Lake was holding on, Annabeth was standing to the side watching the scene with her husband and daughter with a smile. 

“Annie, help a little?” John begged his wife for help. 

“Hey, you wanted a daddy-daughter day. I’m just a side character.” She teased the man, laughing at his nervous expression. 

John sighed and looked back down at his daughter, who was squeezing her eyes shut as she held onto her dad. They were at the ice skating rink, and it was Lake’s first time skating, so of course, she would be scared. For some reason, John thought teaching Lake how to skate would be easy, but he forgot that Lake was 7. Because he’s a dumbass, after all, Elijah’s the smarter one of the three siblings. 

So, John’s expression softened and he picked his daughter up and set her on his hip. Her small arms wrapped around his neck as she buried her face in the crook of his neck. 

“Come on, honey. What are you so afraid of?” He gently coaxed his daughter. 

“Mmm… I don’t wanna fall.” Lake whimpered, looking at her dad with big, wet blue eyes. “Falling hurts.”

“Yeah, falling can hurt. But,” John placed Lake down on the ice and held her up. “As long as you keep getting up, it’ll hurt less and less.” 

Lake held onto her father's hands tightly, very tense as she looked at the ground. She allowed John to keep her steady and began to glide forward a bit. “Just put one foot in front of the other and glide, then repeat with your other foot,” John instructed her, holding her hands as he guided her forward, one foot at a time. “There you go!” John smiled at his daughter. 

Lake was starting to get the hang of skating, so John carefully let go of her hands but stayed behind her. “Daddy-!” Lake almost lost balance but quickly straightened out. 

“It’s okay, baby. I’ll be right behind you.” 

The 7-year-old looked forward and began to glide across the ice, slowly getting bolder and faster as the minutes passed. Lake started giggling as she glided forward when she suddenly lost balance and began to fall forward. John launched forward and wrapped his buff arms around her small waist and scooped her up. “Gotcha!” 

“Daddy! I skated!” Lake boasted, a 1 million megawatt smile on her chubby little face. 

“You did! I’m so proud of you!” John held her like a Princess and cuddled close to her, rubbing his face against hers. 

“Mommy! Did you see it? Did you see what I did?!” Lake turned to her mother, who laughed and joined the embrace. 

“Of course I did, sweetheart! You were so awesome!” Beth smiled at her baby girl and kissed her cheek. 

Beth and John embraced their daughter and showered her with kisses and praises. Lake giggled more and hugged her parents as best as she could with her two tiny arms, wrapping them around their necks. The girl snuggled in the protective, loving warmth of her parent's embrace. Lake knew what their job was, she wasn’t stupid, her mom and dad were police officers, they protected people from the bad guys. Like superheroes! 

And Lake knew they would always protect her. 

Cole’s dad, Hank Anderson, was like her parents. He was a lieutenant for the Detroit police department. 

I wonder when Cole’s gonna come? Lake thought to herself. Her question was answered when a sharp whistle caught her ears. The girl and her parents saw Hank and his son, Cole, enter the ice skating rink and walk over to them. 

“Cole!” Lake smiled, wriggling out of her father's arms and onto the ground, wobbling a little before straightening up and gliding towards her friend. 

“Lake!” Cole smiled back and waddled over to her. He couldn’t skate well at all but did his best as he made his way to his friend. 

The two children collided in a tight hug, the girl nearly knocking Cole off his feet. Hank chuckled at Lake’s display of strength and a look of surprise on his son's face. Lake did a lot of sports with Cole and her father, so it was no surprise to the adults that she was strong for a 7-year-old. Hank glided over to John and Beth’s side, watching the two children hug and talk excitedly about a TV show they were watching. Hank thinks it was about Batman or something. 

The three adults watched them converse with warm smiles on their faces. The silence was broken when Beth took one look at Hank’s face and sighed. “Hank, have you slept at all?” 

Hank froze like a kid getting caught red-handed, breaking out into a cold sweat at the absolutely terrifying look on Beth’s face. He cleared his throat and avoided eye contact. “N-nooo…?” He said as if he were a bit confused by her question. 

“Christ, Hank you need actual sleep. Coffee won't do much good for long.” John told his lieutenant as Beth groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose. 

“I know. Cole had a nightmare last night and couldn’t go to sleep. Then there’s the caseload we have. So, I can't exactly find healthy sleeping hours. I’m sorry.” Hank’s always had a kind of anger problem, which seems to be hereditary for people born in Detroit… and New York, but anyway, John and Beth were used to Hank’s anger, and by this point, immune to it. 

“Hank, you know you can give someone else some of your work. It’s not like it's tied down to you.” Beth glared half-heartedly at her friend before her expression softened and she placed a hand on his shoulder. “I know it's hard for you to sleep and take a break, but you have to or else you’ll collapse.” 

“I know…” Hank sighed in annoyance, but understanding. 

“Hank!” 

“Miss Anna!” 

Lake and Cole ran to the two adults and jumped in their arms with huge smiles on their faces. Lake snuggled into Hank’s chest, the lieutenant smiled in vicious victory at John’s faux look of betrayal. Lake has always seen Hank as a kind of second father, or the cool uncle she’s very close with. While Lake would never trade her father with Hank, she’s always enjoyed the lieutenant's company. 

Cole rubbed his face into the crook of Beth’s neck, making the older woman chuckled. The boy has never known his mother since she left when he was about 4 years old but always found comfort in Lake’s mom, Beth. The girl kinda shared her mom with him so Cole knew what having a mother felt like. 

It was really cute, the way Cole and Lake were so close like they were twins or something. 

“Hank, are you gonna ice skate with us?” Lake looked up at him with her big, blue eyes that seemed to sparkle in the light. 

“I don't know kiddo, I'm feeling kinda tired today.” Hank immediately regretted saying that, cus now Lake was looking at him with now worried-filled eyes. 

“Maybe you just need a nap?” 

John and Beth laughed a little at the suggestion from the 7-year-old, who did not like naps very much. However, Hank just smiled warmly at Lake’s words and hummed, as if he was thinking about it. “Hmmm, maybe I'll take a nap… if you and Cole join me?” Damn, that was a good idea to get a pair of children to take naps. 

“Sure! We can wrap up in blankets and pillows!” 

“Can we bring Sumo, dad?” 

“Of course we can, kiddo!”

“YAY!”

Lake and Cole cheered in unison, but they remembered that they were in a public place and kept their volume low. The positive energy was soon received by the adults as they exited the rink, got their shoes on, and headed towards their cars to go home. 

Later in the afternoon, Lake was cuddled next to Cole on the floor of her living room, Hank was holding them both close to his chest as he snored and slept like the dead. John and Beth were cuddled together on the couch behind them, also sleeping very soundly. Sumo was sleeping next to Hank’s leg, his head resting on the lieutenant's knee. 

Lake yawned, the sleep edging away at her consciousness. She felt really warm and nice and safe. She really liked this. 

A smile spread across Lake’s face as she went to sleep. 

November 20th, 2038

5:33:49 PM

Chicken Feed 

Hank and Lake were waiting at the closed Chicken Feed, waiting for the arrival of Connor, who had not been seen or heard from since the night Markus won the revolution. Complete radio silence from the Android-turned-deviant had been really worrying, so when he asked to meet them somewhere, they were immensely relieved to know Connor was okay. 

They had been there for about an hour or two, Hank was standing on the curb, looking around with his arms crossed, while Lake paced up and down the sidewalk. 

From time to time, Lake would take out her phone and text her friends or her uncle about something. Lake always had trouble waiting, and having nothing to do while she waited added to her anxiety and restlessness. 

So, to keep herself busy, she would do something on her phone or go over some needles checklist of her clothing or her things. 

She was wearing a brown, white, and black bomber jacket with blue lining and sewn-on patches over a Stark Industries grey t-shirt. Her black, padded pants were tucked into her tan combat boots that belonged to her father. Her jacket was one of her favorites that Hank had gotten for her 11th birthday. Lake had gotten her shirt along with a Tony Stark Funko Pop from last year's Detroit Comic-Con that she and Caden had gone to. Lake was also wearing her shiny, onyx earrings Hank got her unexpectedly one afternoon, probably after gambling with Pedro-

Lake quietly groaned, she felt like a fucking dumbass for listing off what she was wearing for like, the 27th time in an hour. 

She shook her head and resumed pacing, tracing the edges of the buildings and the sidewalk. 

Tanking in small details of the structures. 

A window was cracked, the paint was wearing down, there was a crack in the sidewalk. Snow-covered the street and sidewalk in a thin layer, and it was bound to keep snowing as it got closer to December. 

Lake rubbed the part of her arm where her prosthetic was connected. The bitter cold always made her stump hurt sometimes. She didn't remember what it was. Maybe something to do with her phantom pains? 

She shrugged, keeping a steady pace as she walked up and down the sidewalk, going up to where the fence was then back a few feet, left then right. 

Left. 

Right. 

Left.

Right… 

Hank watched Lake pace the length of the lot the Chicken Feed resided in through his peripheral. Lake had a lot more patience than the lieutenant, something she got from her mother. But he noticed how her fidgeting was getting more frequent, waiting for something and not knowing made Lake anxious. 

So Hank reached into his coat pocket and took out Connor’s coin, images of Stratford Tower flashing in his mind before he shook his head. 

Just as Lake was passing him at her pace, Hank put the coin in her hand without turning away from the street. Lake stopped and looked at the coin, a bit confused until she recognized it as Connor’s fidget coin. She stared down at the metal for a minute before sighing and continued to pace, running her fingers along the cool metal and turning it over. 

Hank was pleased to see that she became less tense and a bit more relaxed. 

The minutes ticked by, bleeding into an hour. Hank was starting to get a bit worried. 

Connor said he would show, just not a specific time. They had gotten there at 3 pm, and now it was 6:21 pm. It had been a couple hours. But, Hank was willing to wait as long as he could for Connor to arrive. 

And he knew Lake was the same. 

They… just had to wait. 

Lake could wait. Waiting was something she was good at, or one of the things she’s good at. Lake was always a multitasker, she did a bunch of different activities, a bunch of different hobbies and had a lot of skills. 

She played soccer, some baseball, played the guitar, did parkour, could dance a little, a good fighter and boxer, a sass talker, she listened to a wide variety of music, she watched a ton of different movies and TV shows, played video games, she planted some flowers in the front and back yard, and she’s smart. 

But… Lake also has disabilities to contradict them. Her anxiety and trauma tore down her confidence and made her timid and withdrawn. Her insomnia and nightmares left her exhausted some days. Her depression made her question her self worth. Her phantom pains left her unwilling to move for hours. Her misophonia and sensory processing disorder sent her into panic attacks over a loud sound. 

Everything that has happened over the past 3 years has been leaving Lake emotionally exhausted, and the revolution has only added to that. 

But… Lake thinks it also helped her, in a way. 

Lake helped deviants get to Jericho because she thought helping others would… distract her from her trauma. Help slay her demons or something… and she wanted to help them, because something in her broke and she saw living beings afraid to die and she knew she had to help them. 

As the nights went on as she helped them get to safety, Lake was getting a lot bolder in her actions. And she knew that when she did the graffiti. It was basically a physical representation. 

And the result of the revolution helped her and Hank… talk. Actually talk… A-about their problems and reasons and traumas…

Lake’s never seen Hank cry or smile that much as he did that night. 

It sure was a sight to see. 

Crunch… 

Crunch…

Crunch…

The sound of footsteps in the snow caught Lake’s attention, she looked up from the coin and stopped in her tracks at who she saw coming towards her. Hank heard Lake stop walking and looked over at her and froze. 

Connor approached Lake and stopped about 4 feet away from her. 

The Android looked the exact same but completely different at the same time. His clothes were a bit ruffled and his tie was gone, his shirt was a bit untucked from his belt, and there was actual life in his eyes, no emotionless stare from when they first met him. 

It takes Lake a moment to actually take this in, to take in Connor, here and alive and okay for the most part. 

Then relief filled Lake as she kept gazing at him, and after a few seconds of silence a smile began to creep onto Lake’s face and tears welled up in her tears. 

Connor surprised Lake by repeating the action, and a smile of his own spread across his cheeks. It was a little awkward, but Lake saw the genuineness behind it. 

Lake closed the distance between the two and wrapped her arms around Connor’s torso, resting her head on the Androids chest. After a moment of shock, Connor did the same and held her close. The Android was warm, and the feeling of his thirium and synthetic skin in her arms finally solidified the fact that he was alive. Lake sighed, smiling as she held Connor tighter. 

The Android looked up and saw Hank walking the small distance towards them, a warm smile of his own on his aged face. Connor smiled back, a little less awkward this time. 

Hank approached the two and wrapped his own arms around them in a bear hug, one hand buried in Connor’s brown curls and pushing his face into Hank’s shoulder. Connor was a bit surprised by the displays of affection from Lake and the lieutenant at first, but he quickly melted into the embrace and coiled one arm around Hank’s back. The lieutenant was warm, he smelled like cheap cologne, a small whiff of alcohol, honey air freshener, and what seemed to be pizza. 

This was the first official hug Connor has ever gotten, and he doesn’t know if the first two times with Lake at Rupert’s apartment and in the CyberLife tower counted. Those times, Connor was shocked and a bit confused, and a small warmth took place in his chest. 

This felt… nice, it made Connor feel warm and fuzzy. 

Then Connor came to the realization that this is what happiness feels like. 

It only occurred to him now that he had missed Hank and Lake, missed them a lot. And he knew that they missed him just as much, with how hard they were holding onto him. 

Lake heard Connor sigh quietly, his arm tightening around her a little. She smiled more, it's been years since she’s felt… this warm and safe. The last time had been with her parents, before Cole and the accident… and while Lake could never replace her parents, she could learn to heal and love others like she loved them. Others like Connor and Hank…

And for the first time in years, Lake wasn’t afraid of the future…

Snow covered the grass of the area, only about an inch. Some snow was on the heads of gravestones in a thin layer, easy to wipe off.

The afternoon sun was shining on the snowy ground and the stones of the graves in a soft golden glow.

The cemetery was quiet, as it always is. The sound of birds chirping only doing so much to fill the somber silence. The cemetery was empty, no one was visiting a loved one that day.

However, one figure entered the cemetery, carrying a black guitar bag on her back.

She quietly walked through the cemetery, a pair of headphones on her ears and playing a song you couldn’t hear even in the silent atmosphere. Lake walked deep into the cemetery, passing a myriad of gravestones and memorials. Her head was down and she was silent.

Eventually, Lake came to a stop in front of two gravestones and sat down. She took her headphones off and stared at the names engraved into the stone.

Johnathan Kamski 
1993–2035
A loving husband, amazing father, and devoted officer

Annabeth Hall 
1994–2035 
A faithful wife, loving mother, and devoted Sargent

This was the first time since their funeral that Lake has visited their grave…

She just… she couldn’t find it in herself to visit them. It was too painful for her.

Lake sighed, shaking her head a little before she took her guitar out of its case. She braced the instrument against her body, gently strumming the strings and retuning them until they were on key.

Lake took a breath, and started playing…

Let's go in the garden,
You'll find something waiting…
Right there where you left it lying upside down
When you finally find it, you'll see how it's faded,
The underside is lighter when you turn it around…