Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Running fast through the incredibly daunting and incandescent city of Megapolis, he weaved through trash cans, soggy boxes, crumpled leaves and an immeasurable number of pedestrians to escape the one who pursued him. Swift he were with his hand gripping onto the young human’s as he eased through traffic and tuned out the rising anger in those he’d interrupted. Macaque dashed as though he’d done this a million times before, like he’d memorised the routes of the city and almost predicted each car that would come expeditiously speeding down the highway.

The human at his side stared at the robot with wide eyes as he was lead through the bustle, refusing to look back—, as Macaque always told him not to do. Whilst they fled, he wondered how it was he knew how to dance through the crowds with ease, how he saw an event MK hadn’t even considered to occur moments before it happened and how, despite all the trouble he’d caused him, Macaque stuck by his side; protected him endlessly.

Turning down an alleyway, MK was positioned against the wall and lightly shoved behind a bag of trash. The kid allowed for the android to hold him there as he watched the city, pupil darting laboriously, searching—, or rather scanning for the danger they’d been forced to flee from in the first place. As MK caught his breath, Macaque observed, both in silence, until finally, he’d turned back to the human with a familiar glint in his eye.

"MK, are you alright?" He’d ask, robotic hand cusping around the other’s lightly grazed cheek. The kid winced, nodding away his concern.

"Yeah, yeah… was—, was it him again?"

Macaque sighed, stepping away with his eye darting back to its favoured spot watching the chaos they’d unleashed from the city a front.

"That bastard," Mumbled the android from under his nonexistent breath, ears twitching as the kid rose behind him, their hands intertwining once again with his head leaning tiredly against Macaque’s side.

"I’m tired. How much longer do we have to run?" MK whined.

"We run until he’s gone."

"How long will that be?"

Macaque shrugged, "Days, weeks, months, years?"

MK pushed himself from the robot, frowning. "What?! Can’t you—, make a prediction or something? With your AI?"

The taller sighed angrily, his eye blinking repetitively for a duration of five seconds, before it halted, gaze returning to the human.

"With how diligent he is, and since we’re now wanted across the city, transportation scarce… we have less than a week before we get caught."

"What?! A week?!" MK gasped vociferously, fingers clutching the scratchy fabric of his protector’s yellow t-shirt. Macaque was about hush him of his blatantly loud decelerations, until the fairly distant sound of rats skittering away from their place nibbling at age old beef alerted the android to unwanted detection.

He was quick to shove MK behind him, eye narrowing as a figure from the distance made itself known.

" You. " Macaque growled.

"MS600! Great to see you again!" The voice chimed in a voice so sweet, the undertones of malice was sickening.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Detective? My name is Macaque."

The figure shook his head with a perpetually irritating finger waving in the air.

"You belong to nobody, therefore your name is now unregistered. Thought you’d know that, you being a detective yourself."

"Ex -detective."

"Right, right. So, you coming quietly this time? Or are you going to continue this game of cat and mouse?"

Macaque furrowed his eyebrows downwards, LED flickering as he gained anger and hands clenching into firm fists, the lighter android staring back at him, pretentious grin stirring the deviant like a pot of boiling animosity.

"Who’s the cat and who’s the mouse?" He replied, smirk matching the smile that Detective Wukong bore. His emotionless opposite just laughed.

"You wanna find out?"

"Try me."

Another laugh, "You’re on, MS600, just know that when I catch the kid, you’re never seeing him again. You’re never seeing anything again, in fact."

Macaque’s second growl grew fiercer as a protective programming in his circuits sparked, hand clasping around the kid behind him with a deep, crimson icon flashing aside his vision ordering him only one thing.

'Protect MK.'

His own program, his own will. He protected MK not because the cash grabbing humans who created him told him to, but because he cared for him, he loved him. He was family… and he would protect him to his own end.

His own end that would not be today.

"Shut up and chase me."

"Thought you’d never ask."

Vaulting chain fences and sliding through small neighbourhoods overrun with enough discord to keep the android behind them short circuited, Macaque separated his attention; half on the route ahead and half on quickly downloading all security footage and precise camera locations situated nearby. Once he’d singled out the turns without cameras, it was only a matter of knocking Wukong off their track in order to slither down one. Kicking over a large and overflowing trash can, he halted the detective long enough to lead MK away down an isolated slip road.

"Come on!" He hissed, gripping MK’s shoulder and pushing him forward, only barely grazing the hand of the detective who’d surprisingly already made haste in locating the two. It wasn’t exactly an easy task hiding from an advanced super machine—, but then again, that’s exactly what Macaque was, too.

Boxes crashed as debris was flung their way, MK clumsily stepping over such as to avoid being caught in the crossfire of tumbling trash. Looking over his shoulder, he could see Macaque was also having to plant his feet in awkward positions evading the mayhem—, and in a quick, strategic pivot of his body, he’d grasped at Macaque’s arm and tugged him down the alleyway opposite to what Wukong was expecting of them; because no android would take the route to a dead end.

"Shit," MK breathed out as he came face to face with a brick wall. Macaque glanced at the boy, then back at the robot emerging from the everlasting mess he’d painted the streets with.

"Littering now, huh? That won’t look good on your records," Macaque chuckled, hoping to Hell that Wukong hadn’t noticed his LED was flashing a stressed yellow.

Wukong hummed, metallic tail swinging around comfortably, shoulders relaxing and eyebrows evening, like he’d known he’d won.

"My orders were to capture you whilst taking any procedures necessary."

The deviant suddenly smirked, "Any procedures, huh?"

"Macaque, what are you doing? We need to go—," A small voice said, all whilst yanking at the same hand he refused to detach from.

Macaque ignored his worries, eye remaining locked on his target, so to speak. "What about CAA law 765-2?"

Wukong’s smile fell.

"Androids are strictly forbidden from carrying or using any type of weapon," The deviant continued, all whilst slowly inching closer, almost temptingly.

"Well… obviously not that one," The detective responded, crossing his arms. It made the ebony laugh, his own tail now being the one to spiral cockily.

"Androids are forbidden, sure, but when’s the last time a deviant played nice?" There it was, the moment he’d been anticipating; the gun that was pulled straight from his plaid jacket and locked against the detective’s head. MK froze, now finding comfort by the wall that previously bound him to this side of town.

The ginger haired monkey’s brows tilted with disappointment.

"Don’t do this, Macaque."

"Using my name now that I’m threatening your life? I almost feel pity."

"You’re not threatening my life," He corrected, hand jutting at the monkey’s shoulder in attempts to distance them slightly, "I’m not alive."

Macaque rolled his eye, stepping back and fiddling with the gun.

"’Course you’d say that." He laughed, before raising it again. "Then you shouldn’t have an issue with dying."

"A replacement will take my place."

"Mhm."

"There wouldn’t be any point. It would be easier for you to turn yourself in."

"Haha! You know, sometimes you’re really funny. Maybe my deviancy’s rubbing  off on you?" The robot cackled, ignoring his words completely and only further driving annoyance into the android’s face.

"Like hell," He hissed, tail flicking unhappily. It only made Macaque laugh more, the soft sounds of his rare elation silencing the moment he turned to MK—, who was hugging the wall as though he was about to sink into it.

"MK, close your eyes."

"I always do."

Macaque smiled, foot digging into the concrete riddled with soot and tar and meeting the eyes of his opposer.

"Next time, if you’re going to chase us into a secluded area without your little human friends, bring a gun." Wukong opened his mouth to protest the bible of reasons he couldn’t execute as he’d suggested, but he was cut off before the words could fill his sensors.

"Goodbye, Detective."

Bang!

"Macaque!" MK shrieked, the darker monkey collapsing to the floor in front of him, bullet piercing his upper arm and tearing wires and Thirium from his plastic shell.

Standing behind Wukong was a pig with a Lieutenant’s uniform on… and a smoking pistol.

Chapter Text

Thirium was everywhere. It covered his hands and stained his pants, it spewed from the gash of his protector and lined the concrete with an azure hue so bright, it was all his eyes could focus on. Holding his palm firm against the wound like one would a human, MK attempted to keep the liquid electricity inside Macaque’s body. He didn’t know how severe the injury was, all he could hope was that his hand was doing the job of a tourniquet.

The deviant’s eye was blinking rapidly throughout the entire three minutes he was unresponsive, sensors blaring at him. Systems searching eagerly for a diagnosis, they soon began to calibrate;

— Processing data…

— Shoulder joint component critically impaired.

— Thirium -40%

— LOW POWER MODE SUGGESTED.

Macaque twitched, head cocking and fingers tingling as two smaller hands held him close and pushed at his chest in attempts to wake up a person incapable of sleep. Flickering his eye over to the detective and his lieutenant, he observed as they discussed their next steps in relocating MK. Then, there they were again; the orders that blew into his mind palace at hyper speed.

'Inbound hostiles detected.'

'Protect MK. '

He had to protect him.

— Activate LOW POWER MODE?

• Yes.
• No.

It wasn’t going to end like this.

— Activate LOW POWER MODE?

• Yes.
• No. 

"Come on, Kid, don’t make this any harder than it already is. You knew this was how it was going to end up," Groaned the pig, stubby hands pulling MK from the robot.

"No! Stop, get off me!" He cried, pushing and shoving at Pigsy as he was hauled away from Macaque.

"Kid, you need a meal, a place to sleep—, you can’t stay on the run with this fuckin’ thing," The lieutenant argued, MK now planting his feet into the ground to avoid being dragged further.

"I’m not going anywhere, I told you that!" He continued to fight, jerking his arm out from Piggy’s claws until he’d given himself enough space to allow his hand to join his feet, and before either Wukong or Pigsy had realised, MK was picking up the discarded gun Macaque was to use against his android opponent.

The lieutenant squealed, stepping back and immediately gripping his own pistol.

"MK, put the gun down…"

His hands shook against the painted metal. He cocked the gun with his heartbeat pounding in his fingertips and his irises shrinking from the gravity of it all. He was aiming a gun at someone. He was planning to… to… hurt someone.

"If you shoot that, there’s no going back. You’ll be a criminal, Kid." Pigsty’s voice remained calm, which confused Wukong, considering the rate in which he was breathing and how clammy the pig’s body had become.

"Leave! I, I want you to leave!" The boy ordered, lurching the gun forward to further intimidate the swine into doing as he say, no matter how much he shook like a leaf. Pigsy narrowed his eyes, shaking his head with hesitance.

“You know I can’t do that. You deserve a home, I just want to give you that."

"You want to kill him!" He yelled back, teeth gritted and hand significantly steadying. "When I was left there, abandoned for something I can’t fix, you know who was there for me? It wasn’t the police, it was Macaque."

"I understand…"

"You don’t!"

Pigsy sighed, rolling his hand over his face, before turning to his partner who stood idly by, waiting for a command with his hands placed politely behind his back. He then glanced to the kid, pity in his eyes.

"I’m doing this for your own good. Wukong, get the kid."

"Yes, Lieutenant."

Bang!

MK shot the bullet off against the wall, missing completely and falling to the floor with overwhelming anxiety as the robot neared him, dead expression scaring something permanent into the innocent eyes who gazed back at him.

"No, no, please, I don’t want to go!"

'Inbound hostiles entering dangerous proximity.'

'Immediate lethal action suggested.'

— Rebooting…

Polished plastic disguised by a furred outer skin clamped down on the arms of the boy who could suddenly no longer thrash his way out from a hold so strict, he felt blood flow cease. Snatching the gun from MK, Wukong flung it to his partner with ease and picked him up like he wasn’t almost fully grown.

"Please, please don’t hurt him. He hasn’t done anything wrong."

"All deviants are to be shutdown and researched for imperfections."

"No… No, you can’t do that! Please!"

— Reboot complete.

'Protect MK.'

"Please don’t hurt him! "

It felt instantaneous, how Macaque’s hand was sealed around Wukong’s tail and had him smashed against the wall behind him in less than a second . As he flew, MK fell to the floor, only to be caught by the robot who was now standing, blue blood still pouring from his arm and trickling down synthetic skin.

"Wukong! You—, fuck," Pigsy exclaimed, aiming his gun at the robot as quickly as he could comprehend what happened; but playing with bullets when Macaque was expecting it was basically… impossible. Due to his intensively advanced AI processor, predicting human actions depending on stature, emotion, stress and blood pressure was an easy task—, especially if he was familiar with the person’s movement patterns already. Pigsy knew he was in shit, especially with Wukong’s forehead cracked against the bricks, but that didn’t stop him from taking shot.

Each bullet that pierced the air offered a blast amusing to Macaque’s ears, they sounded similar to the beginning of a rock concert; and what with the way he choreographed himself past each, it was like he was dancing through the music. His extravagant movements were not in vain however, for he was following the pre-construction in his processor to not only lead MK around the pig, but to also make it so he runs out of bullets before they reach safety.

Once they’d done so, Macaque set off with MK at lightning speed through a hole in one of the chain fences across the street. He calibrated a new route, one that would lead them to a much more remote area of Megapolis; far from MPD… and far from Thirium.

•

Hours later, cooped up in an abandoned garage, lit fire in front of the two sizzling on the floor, MK’s stomach churning from lack of sustenance. He was starving, but he wouldn’t complain. They’d been through a lot today.

He knew Macaque wouldn’t feel the same.

"I’m going to find you some food," He declared, standing after some time stuck staring at the fragments of flame that blazed off burning wood.

"What? No, I’m fine! You need to rest !" The kid insisted, hands thrusting out and waving them in attempts to rid Macaque of the idea.

"Androids need Thirium, not rest. There’s a convenience store nearby, they might have a top-up point."

"How are you going to pay for that?"

Macaque thought for a moment, before smiling. He then leaned down, ruffling MK’s hair and pushing his head, gently.

"Quit worrying," He chuckled.

"Urgh, I’m serious!" The boy growled, fixing his hair. "We don’t have any money!"

"I’m not listening~."

"Macaque!"

He turned to the entrance, approaching the shutters and waving the boy off, dismissively.

"I’m walking away now."

"Macaque!"

"Byeeee!" He lifted the shutters, slipping out into the night before MK could muster another word.

Chapter Text

In stark contrast to the latter of Megapolis, the outskirts were barren of those profoundly blinding lights and boisterous crowds. In fact, the lone convenience store Macaque had located through his IP tracker was the only source of light in miles, for the streetlights were either damaged or exiled of bulbs entirely and the only cars that dared to ride down the cracked tarmac of a neighbourhood dormant of much life were criminals escaping the city in haste.

Luckily for them, the deserted atmosphere made for a perfect place to hide whilst they figured out where to go next. This was how it had always been. Run, hide, camp, repeat. In retrospect, they’d only been together for a matter of months; but to them both, it felt like an endless cycle they couldn’t recall starting.

He only walked five thousand steps to make it to the store he’d marked, the deviant rolling up his hood and covering his right eye with tuffs of fur to avoid seeming out of the ordinary. He couldn’t however manage to hide the sparking circuits drenched in Thirium adjacent to his neck, therefore he simply covered his shoulder with a hand, acting as though it was aching. He reached the door, eye scanning over the illuminated ‘Accompanied Androids Only!' sign, causing the robot to assume they harboured top-ups.

He took a breath, easing the nerves that jittered around his mind palace, before twisting the knob and slowly stepping inside.

Ding Ding!

"Welcome…" Yawned the voice of an exacerbated teenage girl who hadn’t even looked up from her magazine. Macaque stood by the door, training his pupil on her and focusing cautiously on the information that floated next to her face.

Syncing…

Sync Done.

Collecting data…

Data collected.

Processing data…

'Dragon, Mei

Born: 2019/04/10 // Student at Megapolis College of Engineering

Criminal Record: Theft, 2035.'

Fidgeting nervously, he approached her kiosk. The girl didn’t look up, simply swiping the page of her magazine.

"I was looking for a top-up point," He spoke, the girl pointing left, eyes not leaving the page. He nodded, before walking over to the corner she’d directed him to. He grabbed a bag of Thirium, then turned to the refrigerator and took: a ham sandwich, a mountain dew, a packet of salted lays and a box of ready-to-go chicken strips.

Macaque held each product up, scanning them indecisively.

Scanning…

Scan complete.

'Ham Sandwich,

248kcal, Fat (3.3g), Added Water (32%), Salt (1.15g).'

His eye flicked to his right,

‘Chicken Strips,

110kcal, Fat (2.5g), Added Water (2%), Sodium (22%), Cholesterol (25%).'

"Maybe both? He’s growing, after all," The robot hummed to himself, before discreetly slipping what he’d chosen into his jacket pockets, Thirium tucked safely under his shirt. Then, he returned to the cashier with an apologetic look.

"Sorry, couldn’t find the right amount. Know of any other points around?"

The girl sighed, shaking her head.

"My parents don’t let me near any of that cool stuff, I’m lucky to work here. If they knew androids could come and go in this place, well, they’d FREAK." She placed her head on the desk, a miserable expression on her face.

"You don’t live in Megapolis, then? Just the outskirts?" He questioned, curiously. Truthfully, he’d never heard of someone who lived here willingly.

She nodded, "It sucks."

Macaque chuckled, "Why don’t you move? You look like you can afford it," He said, noting her expensive earrings and leather jacket. Mei shrugged, running a hand through her hair.

"I don’t wanna upset them. They let me go to college there, I guess… but it’s so boring without people my age around, you know?" Macaque nodded, when really he’d never been any age, so no, he didn’t know.

"Well, if I were you… I’d just do what makes me happy. Humans live short lives, best to spend your time doing what you want."

She raised her head, eyebrows pinching quizzically.

"You said that like you’re not a human."

"I said nothing." He spun on his heel, stolen food visibly peaking out from his pockets, but Mei was only focused on the potential she was cooking up in her mind.

"You’re one of them, aren’t you?! Oh my god, that’s so cool! Wait, wait!" She attempted to slip out of her desk, but the bolt had to be lifted before that was possible and—, and he was out the door before she could even grab the key, the girl left whining from the only interesting thing that had ever happened speeding away from her.

•

"Pigsy, report."

"Uhh, well—, Wukong chased it, as usual… we actually came really close to capturin’ it! Then…" He tugged at his collar, nervously.

"Then?" The bull growled, claws tapping against his arm rest with impatience in his glare.

"It… uh, escaped with the boy."

What followed was possibly one of the loudest sighs of disappointment he’d ever heard his captain exert, the power of it all sending his skin cold and blowing the fur of the android who stood behind him.

"MK072, I want you reassigned to a new partner. Register his name."

"Wait, what? You can’t replace me!" Pigsy argued, throwing his arms up in complete aversion to Captain Bull’s commands.

"And why can’t I? As far as I’m aware, you haven’t managed to catch this bastard for three fucking months!" The bull yelled, slamming his hand on the table as Pigsy felt his face heat in anger.

"Do you know how difficult it is to track an android literally meant for stealth? It’s a fuckin’ state of the art! The only one who can even sniff it out is Wukong!"

"Exactly my point, MK072 needs a partner who’s specialised in this field! Tracking, catching, not leaving your partner without backup for half the mission!"

"Hey, Wukong told me that was the best route to take!"

"Tell me, is it your job to listen to the machine you’re meant to be ordering?"

"I—,"

"MK072, register your partner’s name."

"Yes, Captain."

"You can’t do this! Please, just give me one last chance! I can get it!" Pigsy interrupted a second time, which he could tell sent another gush of blood shooting through the bull’s eyeballs.

He sighed, taking a moment to compose himself, hoping neither of them brought attention to how his claws were now digging into the flesh of his own hands. "You know how serious this is. There is a child out there most likely without food or shelter who is furthermore being lead all around Megapolis by a deviant! Do you know what this could do to the MPD if the news chose to release this? A deviant capturing a child? That’s what they’d say, the world would be in turmoil."

"I understand, Capt’n. I promise, I’ll get it."

"You have two days, Pigsy. Capture it, I want the boy in that interrogation room by Friday."

Chapter Text

Calming glimmers of flame that swirled in the oxygen around the otherwise forlorn garage were the boy’s only focus, his mind temporarily shutting out all that permeated his conscience—, most being negative scenarios that could have, or had potential to happen in the future. For now, that was quiet; the sole sound in the atmosphere being the fire mere feet from him.

Casting a hand out over the blaze, he flinched at the feeling of heat lightly burning his fingertips. A sensation he regret feeling, already anticipating the memories that would ensue.

"You can’t stay on the run with this fuckin’ thing."

"It’s just a machine, Kid, it can’t look after you like they can at the home!"

"It doesn’t care."

"It doesn’t feel."

It wasn’t fair.

Pulling his knees to his chest, he felt fury in his heart; a growing enmity that was fuelled by the memories of those who opposed Macaque, reminded MK of what he was. A machine, an object, a thing ,  incapable of pain or hunger, real physical sensation… what the hell did that matter?

It’s like the world had been corrupted by this idea that people had to fit a box in order to be seen as living, he didn’t understand it. They both knew how much they cared for one another, why was it society’s decision to deem him alive or not? They’d never even given the chance to get to know deviants.

In a way, this newfound sense of antagonism was a way for the boy to push past the fears that coiled around his senses. He was always scared of violence, the idea of hurting someone continued to plague him, yet… when he thought about what had happened only a few hours ago; he was ready to protect Macaque.

He was… ready to hurt someone, which sounded so impossible, but after all he’s been hurt, maybe taking back that power was the answer?

Maybe he had to fight?

"I’m back!" MK jolted out of his thoughts like a bolt of electricity had just sodden his soul. Looking around frantically, he’d noticed the android stood by the shutters, lowering them with a hook on his tail and wandering over to the human with the promised grub in hand.

MK gave a suspicious look to the amount of food he’d endowed him with. Taking out a small blue bag from his chest, the robot sat opposite him in the fire and began to slice it open.

"If I ask, will you tell me how you got these?"

"Nope."

The boy sighed, deciding it best to leave it at that and beginning to pour the chicken pieces into his mouth, frankly ravenous . As he ate, Macaque slid off his jacket and rolled up his shirt until his shoulder cavity was fully exposed. Leaning into the fire, he grabbed one of the longer pieces of bark nourishing it and burnt it until charred, giving it a stronger grip, before lighting the end and holding it up to his wound.

MK watched with wide eyes, coughing when the chicken went down the wrong pipe.

"Wait, what are you—?"

"I’m trying to fix it."

He didn’t know how to respond, but felt remorseful when he became slightly curious for how Macaque felt nothing with the harsh flames pressed upon against his plastic skin in which began bending around the exposed wires, until he’d managed to fold them over, sealing the wires back inside. The white shell then began to change, adapting to its new placement and taking the shade of Macaque’s own back to a tan, fraudulence of real flesh.

With his wound now healed, Macaque drank from the slit he’d made in the Thirium packet until his sensors alarmed him to have fully restored the lost blue blood.

"Woah," MK gaped, he’d never seen anything like it. Even when Macaque had his eye shot out, he never tried anything like that. The deviant laughed, leaning over the fire and tossing the wood back into it.

"Eat up, we have to leave early tomorrow," The android sighed, darting his eye like he was checking something.

"Whaaat? I thought we were safe here now." MK sighed, eyebrows pulling together in disappointment. He could tell the kid was tired of running, tired of… everything.

"All androids have built in trackers that are deactivated the second they become deviant, don’t know why, but the point is; Wukong is nearing close to the outskirts. Guess they figured we’d flee to somewhere remote," Macaque replied, leaning back with his palms as leverage for keeping him upright.

"Is this… how it’s gonna be forever?"

"Huh?"

"Running, hiding, never just—, having a place to… feel safe."

Macaque frowned. "What, like you would at a home?"

"No! I just, I don’t… I’m—, scared." He hugged himself tighter, food packets discarded and empty, mountain dew shrivelled. The fire crackled between them, Macaque’s LED rotating yellow for a moment.

"Come here."

MK looked up suddenly, seeing Macaque was offering an arm. Smiling gratefully, the boy scooted closer to his robot companion, resting inside the lax hug of a form that offered no heat, yet somehow comforted him to sublime silence.

Wrapping an arm around MK, Macaque hung his jacket over the boy’s shoulders, using his other hand to play with the messy hairs atop his head, an activity they frequented in whatever dump they’d had to shelter in that night. He always welcomed Macaque’s silent comfort. Often, it felt better than words.

After what felt like a handful of minutes spent keeping one another calm in this less than favourable situation, a soft voice soon interrupted the air, not to MK’s unease, however.

"I’m going to figure this out."

He stayed silent, Macaque scanning his heartbeat to decide if he was sleeping or not.

Collecting data…

Data collected.

55BPM, 100/70mmHg.

STATUS: RELAXED.

"Get you somewhere safe, until then… we—, we just have to stick it out, yeah?"

The boy smiled, nodding slowly.

Macaque mirrored the expression he could barely make out from the corner of his cheek.

"Goodnight, Kid."

•

"Stop!" Called the android from inches away, tail latching onto Macaque’s leg and wrestling him to the floor with a frown. Pinning him to the ground, the two began to kick and punch at one another, Wukong’s objective to keep him restrained and Macaque’s to, frankly, fuck him up. Punching circuits out of their stations encased in Wukong’s pristine plastic, he eventually managed to shove the metal monkey from him, firing his gun at the robot’s leg and grabbing MK’s wrist before booking it down the street.

"Grrr! Fuck," Wukong stood, grabbing his temple, "Lieutenant, subjects approaching your perimeters. 250yds, 200yds, 190yds—,"

"Yeah, yeah! Focus on chasin’ them!" The pig called out from Wukong’s mind palace, the two talking as though he had a built in communicator inside him—, which he did.

Rushing back onto the route of pursuit, Wukong waded pedestrians, lampposts littered with broken glass, destroyed furniture and just horrendous amounts of litter down multiple streets to where he assumed Macaque had taken the victim.

"You sure this is gon’ work?" Pigsy said through their communicator, Wukong smirking something devious .

" Positive , Lieutenant."

"I hope you’re right."

"Now!"

Jumping out from the corner of the street Wukong had predicted, Pigsy grabbed Macaque, forcing his arms behind his back and allowing for MK to skid along the street, shocked by the sudden ambush—, but without any room to move as another figure soon emerged, arms locking MK in place.

"Kid! Get your fucking hands off me!" Macaque growled, tossing the lieutenant back like he were nothing, only briefly losing eye contact with MK, yet when he turned back to where he were—, the boy was gone.

"MK? MK?!" He scanned around, but the only life signatures he could pick up were Pigsy’s. Wukong soon joined behind the erratic monkey, smiling.

"The child has been taken back to MPD for questioning," Wukong said, not fully expecting the hand that ended up around his throat in primitive rage.

Hissing out like a cat stolen of its kittens, Wukong only chuckled in response to Macaque’s tantrum .

"You can come with us to CyberLife, or you can make it difficult. It’s your choice."

"Give him to me. Give him to me now!"

" That’s not possible."

"You fucking what? What did you just say to me? You piece of shit!" His fist slammed into Wukong’s face as hard as he could conjure, forcing the robot back, until Pigsy finally interjected.

"Hey, hey! Come on, Macaque. You really think this life is healthy for him? He needs a home," The pig attempted to reason, hands up and waving in an easing expression.

" I’m his home! I promised to give him somewhere, and if it wasn’t for assholes like you, he’d be able to live with me without issue!"

"He can’t live with you, he’s just a kid—, and you’re a deviant!"

Smash!

Just like that, something broke inside of Macaque. Those words in which used to hold so little meaning to him, suddenly dawned. Brimming with Thirium that began to boil from the sheer amount of terror in his eye and madness in his mind, a second punch came straight to Pigsy’s snout, requiring Wukong to fixate on his partner, which gave Macaque the perfect opportunity to run.

He ran as fast as his motor would carry him, eye squinting as though he wanted to cry, but incapable. He tore his way through roads into the city centre with only MPD on his tracker and objective above him now flashing a bloody red that matched his LED.

'Protect MK.'

Chapter Text

Syncing…

Sync Done.

Collecting data…

Data collected.

Processing data…

'ID: 92829638

Born: 2021/06/24 // No Data

Criminal Record: None.'

"Well?"

"No records apart from hospital ID and birthdate."

The red head growled, hand slapping the desk a front of him and peering close to the horned robot with thick, velvet ponytail swooping partially over his face.

"Parents? Relatives? Anything?" He pried, squinting his eyes at the screen the android had seemingly scanned in seconds. Finding little luck in seeking the information manually, he stood upright, adjusting his glasses and casting a glance through the glass at the boy seated with his head in his hands.

"You, Tin-Bull, file another search. There must be something out there about him."

"Sir, we are not authorised for searches beyond public—,"

"Are you disobeying me?" He asked,  eyes shaking; hues of ruby irises oozing like magma from its crater.

The robot flinched, looking to its identical clones, shaking heads collectively. The fiery eyed man hummed, placing his hands on his hips before pointing to the monitor. "I doubt my father would care if for the sake of a child’s safety. Override it."

The android looked down at the keyboard, guiltily. It sighed, then nodded.

"Yes, Officer."

He smirked, pulling up his gloves before tapping his card into the interrogation room. His next task pending in his mind.

MK looked up as the figure entered in, tears staining his cheeks and hair distorted on his head. He sniffled, casting a confused look when the same officer who’d taken him hostage, as he thought it, offered him a tissue, almost regrettably, from the look on his face.

"Huh-?"

"Don’t get snot all over the table, Boy."

"…"

The officer sat down, badge identifying him as 'Ofc. Red son'. MK recognised him vaguely, he recalled him being admitted to MPD a few years back. He wasn’t much older than him, yet already managed to surpass multiple units in the police force. That wasn’t a surprise, considering he was the son of the captain.

MK took the tissue hesitantly, wiping with a polite swipe of his fingers, before stuffing the used paper in his pocket. Red son sighed, staring down at the blank table usually surrounded by files on the victim.

"There’s very little known about you. Care to tell me why?" He began, tone much more agitative than he’d expected. The teenager swallowed, looking down at the monochrome paint of the plastic table.

"I was abandoned… thought you knew that."

Red son warbled, curious.

"Well, yes, probably. My father knows a lot about you, but as for how much he shares with public records… that is some to none. I suppose he’s conscious about how the city will react, what with how… sensitive your case is. This city is far from alternative civilisations, if they knew your parents were as cruel as they were, well, they could start a coup," He explained, unnecessary humour in his tone, as though he was bragging for just… knowing said information.

MK tensed, his eyes refusing to shift from their pattern watching the plastic.

"So, tell me about this android. M… something or other? How did that end up with you?"

He looked up then, creasing his eyes uncomfortably, whilst the officer just pressed forward with an intimidating grin. He was scared, not of Red son, but of what would happen to Macaque.

"He… took me in."

"Go on…"

"Uh," He wasn’t getting out of this. Keeping it vague would at the least help his case, right? "Well, after I was… left, I got sent to a home. I lived there for a while, until the police realised it… wasn’t licensed, or even sanitary. I never spoke up about it because, well, it’s just what I’d known. Then, I went to another, a real one. They… kicked me out because I was, well, different ." He scratched at his hand nervously, not expanding on that aspect that luckily, Red son didn’t seem all too interested in.

"After the third time, I supposed I wasn’t really meant for a family. I mean, nobody wanted me. So, I lived alone… on the run from the police, I didn’t—, I didn’t want to experience that again. Being abandoned, over and over again… it was like a never ending cycle of just… torment."

Stopping once he’d realised just how much he’d said, the boy met eyes of the crimson haired to see genuine shock in his gaze, softness in his brows. He looked strange.

"Then… then what happened?" He asked, voice more detached than before.

"On one… particular day, I was running from them and got super banged up. I kept falling, I was just a kid. I didn’t even know how to tie my shoes, I always got scraped like that, but then, he found me—, and he… he thought they did it to me. He took a guy’s arm off, and Wukong, this other android, he… shot Macaque’s eye out. It was horrible, they just kept fighting and fighting, but the minute Pigsy got his hands on me, Macaque went… like, insane. Like a real deviant. He wasn’t right. He was scary! Even so… he saved me. He took me away and… most importantly, he kept me safe."

The officer didn’t know what to say, or do. MK did, his eyebrows pinching with unattainable confidence. This was what he needed to do, he just needed to show people Macaque wasn’t bad, or any deviants!

Make that most deviants.

Some deviants?

"So whatever you plan to do with him, he’s not a bad guy! He cares about humans just like you do! He’s just… he’s been through a lot, we both have. That doesn’t mean he deserves to die !" MK said, with a righteous tone and a determined glare pushing him to smack his fist against the table, further driving the point of passion to the man opposing him.

Red son took a moment, expression in his face shifting, like he didn’t know how to respond. Truthfully, he was shitting himself. He was just an officer, he wasn’t even meant to be interrogating until Lieutenant Pigsy got there. He thought to handle something so simple, thought it an easy way to make his father reconsider his position—, but this? This is way more complex than he’d sought it to be. Who was really in the wrong here? Who were they meant to prosecute?

Where was he meant to draw the line of law? If it’s not human, but acts human, loves someone and cares for them… protects them like a father, what is he meant to do?

"Uh… well, I—," He stammered, looking around anxiously. "Would you… uh, haha, excuse me for a moment?" Zipping out at the speed of light, MK watched as the officer screamed at the androids by the monitors for his father’s contact, and location of the Lieutenant—, anything to get the weight of that boy’s eyes brimming with pain off his conscience.

In the dire search of the captain’s phone number on their systems, a sudden announcement shot from the speakers above them.

"Code 10-71D, I repeat, code 10-71D all units to main entrance with heavy ammunition."

"It’s father."

"Wait, what does that mean?" MK yelled suddenly, rushing to the glass as quickly as he could muster. Red son frowned, taking his pistol out from the sheath of belt and cocking it.

"A deviant with a gun."

Chapter Text

Collecting data…

Data collected.

Analysing data…

Data analysed.

— Status: Moderate.

— Fractured nose, internal haemorrhaging of nasal cavities.

— MEDICAL ATTENTION REQUIRED.

ALLOCATE MEDICAL ATTENTION?

- Yes

- No

"Lieutenant! Lieutenant! Are you alright?" Called the monkey shaking his superior with concern in his irritatingly blue eyes. Pigsy was quick to bat him away with anger, despite the burning pain fissuring his nose by the second, all he could think about was the captain’s echoed words of dreaded replacement consistently bouncing around inside his head.

"I’m fine! Will you get off me? What about Macaque?!"

"I’m sorry, Lieutenant, but I have a priority of caring for my partner over the mission. This was an order given to me by CyberLife officials. If you’d like to alter this code, please contact CyberLife—,"

"Wukong! Will you fuckin' focus?" Pigsy growled, slapping a hand against his robot friend and forcing himself up without the assistance handed to him, perhaps in a declaration of independence.

Wukong watched with unamused eyes, Lieutenant Pigsy brushing himself off before checking his radio for sightings, grabbing his gun and getting ready to run; almost like he’d forgotten repeated movement could potentially meander his internal bleeding elsewhere.

"Right, access city security footage. Let’s see where the bastard’s snaked off too," Pigsy sighed, wiping his hooves of the dirt he’d fallen in.

"The deviant has likely fled to the child’s location, MPD interrogation room 08, but you have no place being there, Lieutenant," Wukong responded plainly, still staring at the question hovering next to his view.

"What? Are you kiddin’ me? If we don’t catch it, my whole job is in jeopardy! Don’t you understand that?"

Wukong smiled for a moment, a new approach wiring its way into his suggested approach selectors.

"I understand."

Pigsy raised an eyebrow.

"You… do?"

"Completely. Let me just file a status report to Captain Bull."

ALLOCATE MEDICAL ATTENTION?

— Yes

— No

•

Hijacking the flow of traffic without an ounce of consciousness left rattling inside, the robot ran at light speed, gun cocked and clearly scaring all nearby pedestrians into stifled shock. They made way as he charged past without much care for their safety, after all, that wasn’t his priority.

‘Destination in 500yds.'

His body was numb, number than it usually were. He felt nothing of the emotion that typically drove a deviant’s mind, almost as though he was shut down from it all and encased in an ulterior mode designed to accomplish a mission—, just like… his original programming. Chasing down deviants and criminals alike without mind for anything else, Macaque was a monster on the field. It was a mode taken away from future models due to its instability and incapable awareness of the android’s surroundings.

Perhaps a manifestation; a sick mutation of his coding into something much more sinister with the derivative of anger feeding his footsteps.

'Destination in 300yds.'

A virus that swept the carbon mesh of his mind with sole intention to protect a being the world shunned him for being anywhere near.

What a miserable disaster.

'Destination in 150yds.'

— Processing route…

- Identified subject 50yds from entrance.

- Two lefts, locked door.

Macaque growled, squinting his eye and entering the system before he’d even arrived, the door holding MK now unlocked and ready for rescue.

Then finally…

'Destination reached.'

"Fire!" Called one of the many police officers shooting bullets at the intruder who’d shattered the glass entrance seconds after breaching. There were around twelve armed officers shooting continuously at the expectant deviant dodging each shot and firing a few of his own. His, in which, did not miss.

LED a fiery flame, hands stained with the blood of many he’d ended the lives of in seconds, all Macaque had sustained in response were the odd scratches from a barely missed bullet. He wasn’t there to play with steel, however; and had slipped away to the first left long before the captain could arrive with reinforcements.

He was chased through the corridors with new shots from more experienced hands catching him. His back, his leg, his ear, they were all severely damaged. This didn’t stop him. Seemingly, nothing could.

Pulling the door open, Macaque was met with a new problem; several androids and a very familiar looking officer. Red son could tell from the Thirium dripping out each crevice attacked by bullets that he was weakened. Aiming his gun, however, he felt his hand shake nervously as a voice behind him cried out repeatedly.

"Don’t hurt him! Please, don’t hurt him!" He screamed, banging his fists against the hardened glass and staring longingly with desperate gloom and panic in his slit irises.

"I don’t have much choice! Shit!" Red son groaned, Macaque’s shot bouncing off against the glass and blowing one of the eye’s off a Tin-Bull’s head. Projecting a single glance over to the boy contained by the unbreakable scorched sand, MK’s face was quick to drop. That eye, suffused with robotic conviction, it was the same gaze that saved him. Terrifying, but brilliant… and incredibly dangerous.

"Wait! You—, you gotta get away from him!" He suddenly splurged.

"Huh?" Red son turned back, giving the younger a confused look, before feeling it; his shoulder suddenly numb and his legs jelly, riddled with disbelief. He fell to the floor hissing out in pain, thick blood staining his hands and shoulder embossed by metal.

Punching the circuits out of the remaining Tin-Bulls, Macaque was all too quick rushing inside of the interrogation room, fulfilling his objective and casting two strong arms around the boy.

Gasping out both from surprise and sudden compression agaisnt his chest, MK quickly completed the hug, only briefly, before his eyes went wide, inspecting the blue blood coating his protector’s clothes with serious heed in his eyes.

"Are you—, are you okay? You’re hurt, Macaque…" His voice cracked like the dam of tears that beckoned to unleash, the boy overwhelmed by a plethora of emotions he couldn’t even name, yet knew them strong enough to overtake him.

The monkey just smiled with a simple nod, eye closing with arms pulling MK back against his neck. He needed this, just for a moment more. A warmth he thought he’d never feel again, a child he thought he’d never… call his own again.

'Mission successful.'

Chapter Text

Five minutes.

"This is Jian with C6 news. Megapolis Police Department is currently under attack from an android known to be a police prototype. Police are surrounding the area, casualties are unknown at this time."

Ten minutes.

"We have here a CyberLife specialist able to allocate the model of said android who infiltrated just fifteen minutes ago with a gun and a very damaged exterior."

"Thank you, Jian. This model is a highly trained prototype that has seemingly deviated against the police department. Until now, CyberLife were unaware it had been off the team. The serial is presumably MS600, manufactured in 2037 before its predecessor was distributed."

Fifteen Minutes.

"The android has emerged, it has a human captured!"

Covered in blood of both man and machine, Macaque stumbled out of the police department with MK by his side, wincing as he stared at the cameras in his face. Baring his gun- and his teeth- he ushered one sentence.

"Just- just leave us alone."

They were both tired, traumatised and incredibly uncomfortable. All they wanted to do was leave this place, he never wanted to return here in the first place, especially with how much blood he’d shed. He didn’t even mean to- it was like a switch was flicked, he couldn’t control it. It was like an ulterior mode, one that shut down all other capabilities; it was almost like he reverted back to before he was a deviant, only wishing to accomplish a task. Whether that task be killing, or protecting a human he cared for, it restrained him. Chained him down like the same heavy metal that kept him from being alive.

The chains that made him a perfect machine, a state of the art he’d assumed he had torn himself from.

What if he hadn’t?

What if nothing had changed?

What if he was still trapped? 

Under control without realisation.

He flinched, focusing back on the situation at hand. At the request of his gun shaking with anger and mental tire, the crew made space for him, even the police officers on site were nervous to shoot, knowing how dangerous he were; most having never heard of said model that came before Wukong; and with that, they fled yet again, safe to live another day hiding from the oppressors.

…

Twenty minutes. 

"This is Jian with C6 news, the android has left the scene with the hostage in tow. Citizens are left confused with the police’s hesitance to pursue. More information is to be released to the public in time. As for now, we as a city are left worried for the safety of our families. This is all we can report on at this date."

Ending broadcast…

•

"You bastard! I told you I didn’t need no help! I’m going to get fired for this, you know that?" Pigsy yapped as he sat in the ambulance, paramedics rushing to tend to his bleeding as if it were killing him off slowly. All this because he was some big shot, he was supposed to be on the field, keeping his job intact!

"I’m sorry, Lieutenant, but my programming requires me to put the needs of my partner ahead of the mission. This is a safety protocol," Wukong replied, LED flickering as he watched the androids a front of him patch up his partner to the greatest degree.

"I don’t need safety protocols! I’m fine! Can we go now? The bull is gonna have my head once he finds out I lost it again!" Pigsy yelled, throwing his arms around to encourage the android to take his word. Wukong did not budge. In fact, he insist ed they stay longer to ensure he reached optimal health; and aside from high blood pressure probably instigated by the very piece of metal beside him, Pigsy seemed healthy enough for Wukong to allow their exit.

Half an hour they spent in there.

Half an hour .

"You really are somethin’, you know that? I can’t believe I’m losing my job because a piece of plastic prioritises some blood over a dangerous machine!" The pig complained, and continued to do so as the monkey inspected the area, scanning local news stations for any intel. He had learnt by now to ignore Pigsy’s complaints for the most part, as the conversations never reached satisfactory for his circuits.

"It infiltrated the police department and took the child as hostage once more. It’s suspected at least eight fatalities," The machine suddenly relayed, stumping the Lieutenant in his tracks, body jerking to meet the stiffness of his robot companion.

"What?!" Pigsy said with overwhelming acrimony , eyes striking pinpoint pupils in pure dread at the information he’d been issued.

"One of the injured seems to be Officer Red Son," Wukong continued,

"Oh shit… "

"Captain Bull’s son."

"I’m so fucked!" Whined the piggy, scratching at his hairless head and whimpering, mourning the loss of his job in broad advance.

Wukong tilted his head, offering a small sympathetic smile at an idea that generated. One that had his demeanour shift.

"Not to worry, Lieutenant, we still have a chance to save this day. If we cannot take the child, we take him."

Pigsy’s eyebrows furrowed, as though he’d just made the most obvious statement possible. "Uh, duh ! That’s what we’ve been trying to do for fuckin’ months! Way to just realise!"

"Under police operation."

"What?" He stopped, puzzled. "What are you…?"

Wukong crossed his arms behind his back, a strangely sinister smile meeting his strained, emotionless eyes, like he was about to do something that definitely denied protocol. Pigsy could feel it. Those scarce times where he’ll suggest something that completely deviates from instructions. It almost always ended badly, but he was at wits end. They had no choice anymore.

"Outside assistance is what I’m proposing, Lieutenant."

His face turned cold. His hooves clamped together and his snout flared. He knew what Wukong was inferring. It chilled his very bones. Prickled his skin, buckled his knees as images flashed through his head at impressive speed. 

He looked petrified. 

Wukong just grinned back at him, like the realisation alone sprouted pleasure in the android.

Slowly coming to, the boar opened his mouth.

A single word left clammy, pink skinned lips.

" Sandy… "

…

A devious smirk. 

"Exactly."