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⁅ Prologue ⁆

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╓﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ╖

Date:

AUG. 15th, 2038

╙﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ╜

╓﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ╖

Time:

PM. 08:29:05

╙﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ╜

A ding rang throughout the elevator with every floor it passed. The consistent noise was joined by the distinct ping of a metal coin back and forth, the source being the only person in the moving compartment.

It was tossed through the air multiple times, swishing between each hand with flawless precision. Once it was caught, the coin was shifted to roll over the knuckles of said hand, passing over each bump of the fingers with calibrated ease. Soon after the thin metal was tossed into the air again, only to resume its previous actions.

A faint flicker of blue glowed from the side of the head, a prominent LED light located there that many people had grown accustomed to spotting—reactions could vary between negative or positive regardless of familiarity. The androids eyes glanced up towards the increasing numbers above the elevator door, continuing to maneuver the coin around as the compartment slowly began to come to a halt.

A ding rang out as the number hit seventy, matching the exact moment the quarter was caught between two fingers. Having arrived at the floor that required the female android, said coin was neatly tucked away into a coat pocket, before she tidied her appearance by fixing the tie of her uniform.

The (H/c)-haired android remained in place as the automatic doors slid open, allowing her (E/c) irises to observe the scene before her. They immediately landed on the soldier standing guard, who in turn looked back due to the sound of the elevators arrival. It was hard to see what his expression towards her was due to the protective mask blocking it from view, yet he remained professional and began backing off as he rose a handheld radio towards his mouth.

"Negotiator on site. Repeat, negotiator on site." His announcement and footsteps began to fade away as he made his way around the end of the hall, leaving the android alone once more.

(Y/n)'s face remained neutral, unfazed by the abrupt departure of the soldier as she began to make her way out of the elevator. While she walked further into the scene her (E/c) eyes took in every detail they could, already attempting to spot anything that could potentially be beneficial to the dire situation at hand. Eventually she halted as her boots made a quiet splash in a puddle of water, her gaze following the sound only to spot a fish flopping on the floor.

She blinked down at the helpless creature, inching a few steps closer until it was before her feet. A piece of glass crunched underneath her shoe as she prepared to lean down to where the fish lay. There was no chance to, for her audio processors quickly picked up the distressed shouts of a woman turning the corner, abruptly catching her attention.

"No, stop... I... I... I can't leave her." She pleaded as she was escorted away by the guard. It didn't take long for the distraught woman to take notice of the new presence that had arrived, to which she practically threw herself towards the (H/c)-haired android and gripped onto her shoulders for dear life. "Oh, oh please, please, you gotta save my little girl..."

The woman trailed off at the end, her eyes flickering towards the side of her head when she noticed that telltale glow. Before (Y/n) could formulate a response she was released from the older woman's grasp, her facial features twisting from concern, to anger, then to fear.

"Wait... you're sending an android?" She mumbled, the last word rolling off her tongue with pure revulsion. As if to confirm her nightmares she took a glance down at what she was wearing. Sure enough, a CyberLife jacket met her conflicted gaze, further confirming the worst.

The guard couldn't seem to care less about the inner turmoil raging through the woman at the moment. "Alright, ma'am. We need to go." Right after uttering that he grabbed onto her arm, leaving no room for protest as he began to steer her in the direction of the elevator.

"You can't... you can't do that! You W–" Her cries fell upon deaf ears as she was practically dragged away, unable to struggle against the soldiers hold in her frail state. (Y/n) watched it happen, not a trace of an emotion on her face as the woman glared fiercely back at her. "Why aren't you sending a real person? Don't let that thing near her!"

That was the last thing heard in the hall before the guard managed to successfully shove her in the compartment and hit one of the buttons. The automatic doors slid shut, leaving her to listen to the woman's sobs fade into the distance the further the elevator went down.

Not paying any mind to the interaction, (Y/n) turned back around to her task from before, kneeling down to where the fish flopped around on the floor. Ever so delicately she reached down to pick up the flailing creature, careful not to let it slip from her grasp while she began her scanning.

╔══════════════════╗

Dwarf Gourami

Trichogaster Lalius
Origin: Ganges Delta, India

╚══════════════════╝

Once she received that unimportant information she stood back up with the fish still in hand. After a short pause she turned towards the fish tank, staring at it for a while before finally deciding what to do. Taking a few steps closer to it she gently let the fish go into the water, watching it for a brief moment as the animal seemed to come back to life, swishing around the large tank in gratitude.

Seeing as the fish was alive and well, the RK800 android swiftly turned around on her heel. Focusing on the crucial objective she was sent here for, she began to make her way past the corner at the end of the hall.

╓─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ╖

Find Captain Allen

╙─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ╜

As (Y/n) rounded the corner she had to slow down to avoid some soldiers rushing by. They were scattered around the room, all of them aiming their weapons towards the balcony of the penthouse. For a second her gaze darted in that direction, before deciding to continue on with the first objective for the hostage situation.

"I DON'T GIVE A SHIT! My men are ready to step in... just give the order!"

The shout boomed across the space, directing (Y/n) on exactly where to go. She followed the sound of the enraged voice, the heels of her boots clicking against the wood floor with each step. Eventually she located the bedroom where the man was, who was currently yelling over the phone at someone.

The (H/c)-haired android stepped into the room, a soldier brushing past her as she went to approach the Captain. "Fuck! I don't believe this..." He hissed under his breath and threw his phone aside, an indicator that the phone call had ended, and poorly at that. She watched him walk over to the desk and followed after him, ready to move forward with the mission she was sent to accomplish.

╔═════════╗
[☓] Talk
╚═════════╝

"Captain Allen?" (Y/n)'s programmed voice spoke up, successfully capturing the attention of said person. When he turned to look at her, there was a hint of a sneer on his face, an expression she paid no mind to. "My name is (Y/n). I'm the android sent by CyberLife."

Her short introduction only received an exasperated sigh from him. Captain Allen moved his gaze back to the screen on the desk that one of his soldiers was currently typing away at, remaining silent as he stared down what was displayed. (Y/n) didn't say a word, waiting patiently for his response and whatever orders followed.

After a beat of tense silence, he spoke. "It's firing at everything that moves, it already shot down two of my men... We could easily get it, but they're on the edge of the balcony. If it falls," Allen paused in order to look back at the android, who was observing him silently, "she falls."

╔════════════════╗

► [△] Deviant's name

► [○] Deviant's behavior

► [☓] Emotional shock

► [□] Deactivation code

╚════════════════╝

╔══════════════╗
[△] Deviant's name
╚══════════════╝

"Do you know it's name?" (Y/n) inquired, deciding that was an important piece of information to have on the defective android. It could help with how she approached the deviant and be used to lower its stress levels.

Judging by the look on Captain Allen's face, he thought differently. "I haven't got a clue. Does it matter?" There was a venomous edge to his voice, along with an unamused huff at the end, as if what she said were to be taken as a joke.

As expected, (Y/n) didn't pick up on any of these signs as she prodded further. "I need information to determine the best approach." She explained plainly, hoping it would alter the Captain's unwillingness.

╔════════════════╗

► [△] Deviant's behavior

► [○] Emotional shock

► [☓] Deactivation code

╚════════════════╝

╔════════════════╗
[△] Deviant's behavior
╚════════════════╝

"Do you know if it's been behaving strangely before this?" She asked instead, deciding it was best to pull other details out of Captain Allen if she was able to. Apparently the idea of getting help from him wasn't in her favor, since not a second later he shoved away from the desk and whipped towards her with an ice cold glower on his face.

"Listen," his voice dipped lower into a threatening tone as he stepper closer to the female android, like a predator prepared to rip its prey to pieces, "–saving that kid is all that matters. So either you deal with this fucking android now, or I'll take care of it."

He stared down (Y/n) for a second, his eyes burning into her own as if waiting for some form of a snide remark—something human. When nothing of the sort came, only blank (E/c) optical units designed to mimic human irises staring back at him, he stomped off to join his other soldiers.

╾ ╸ ╸╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╸ ╸ ╼

⌵ 48% Probability of success

Every Second Counts

╾ ╸ ╸╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╸ ╸ ╼

╓─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ╖

Save hostage at all costs

–Understand what happened

╙─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ╜

With her primary objective set in her processing unit, (Y/n) prepared to walk away, only to pause from an empty gun case in her peripheral. She went over and knelt down to analyze the case, scanning her eyes all along the grey and plush surface inside. It was empty, leaving an indent where the gun would've fit snugly inside.

┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅
Analyze
▼
[△]
┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅

╔══════════════════╗

MS853 Black Hawk

Capacity: 17 rounds (.355)
Overall: 8.5in / Barrel: 5in

╚══════════════════╝

After finishing her scanning her gaze darted over to the right side of the brief case, where a box of ammunition laid beside it, a couple of stray bullets laying on the ground. She wasted no time in scanning that as well.

╔════════════════╗

.335 Ammunition

Velocity: 365m/s /
Energy: 659j
Bullet weight: 115 gr /
Power factor: 414k

╚════════════════╝

┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅
🔓Reconstruct
▼
[□]
┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅

(Y/n) stood up and stepped back after she received all the data she required to reconstruct what had happened. The virtual outline of a figure lit up in front of her eyes, rewinding in time to show the case closing, before it was stuffed back up to where it belonged on a shelf.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

🔓 Deviant took the father's gun

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Blinking her eyes a couple of times the faint images distorted from her sight to display the room around her once more. The (H/c)-haired android turned on her heel and headed into the main room of the penthouse, prepared to find as much evidence as possible to complete her mission.

Those (E/c) eyes sharpened in focus, scanning every crevice for information that could assist with the hostage situation outside. She deduced it'd be quicker to go room by room and swiftly headed into the nearest one, which was illuminated in a purple glow and covered in childlike decorations.

Once inside she headed straight for the brightly colored desk, where a tablet laid near the center. She picked it up to see a play button already on screen, to which she swiped across the symbol to have the video play out. (Y/n)'s expression remained neutral as she watched the video of the android and a little girl getting along, uncaring towards the heartfelt moment as she extracted what was necessary from the evidence. After it ended and she got what she needed, she set the tablet back in place.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

🔓 Deviant's name: Daniel

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

As soon as she was turning towards the door her audio processors picked up on the faint sound of music—too quiet for the human ear, but loud enough for it to be a dull hum to her. From the corner of her eye she spotted a pair of blue light-up headphones on the floor, leading her to draw closer and kneel before them. She picked them up and held one of the speakers to her ear, the tune that flowed out of it louder than before due to the lack of distance. A realization washed over her as she set the pair of headphones down and stood back up to her full height.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Child didn't hear gunshots

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

She left the hostages room, this time making her way into the living room of the penthouse. Glass was shattered everywhere, causing it to crunch underneath her boots as she passed by one of the soldiers, who was crouched behind the damaged and staticy screen of a large TV.

After rounding the TV stand she noticed the corpse immediately. The deceased man was laid across a broken coffee table, pieces of glass and wood broken around him and blood spattered onto the once pristine white rug underneath. She crouched next to the body to analyze it, unfazed by the brutal scene before her.

Death didn't faze her, nor would it ever—hence why androids would be the more superior choice to complex situations like this. She could get the task done without the hassle of emotions that so often hindered humans abilities.

┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅
Analyze
▼
[△]
┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅

╔═══════════════════════╗

DECEASED
Phillips, John

Height: 6'0" – Weight: 187.2 lbs
Estimated time of death: 07:29 pm

╚═══════════════════════╝

╔═════════════════╗

.355 Bullet wound

Upper lung hemorrhage
Pheumothorax

╚═════════════════╝

╔═════════════════╗

.355 Bullet wound

Left kidney perforated
Fatal abdominal trauma

╚═════════════════╝

╔═════════════════╗

.355 Bullet wound

Lower lung hemorrhage
Internal bleeding

╚═════════════════╝

┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅
🔓Reconstruct
▼
[□]
┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅

Again, a faint blue outline of a person appeared before her eyes as the world around her dimmed, replacing where the body was laying. As she reconstructed the scene he moved into a startled position – a high probability that he was shot at that moment – then moved to sit on the couch, where she noticed something in the figures hands.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Father was holding something

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

[ 🔓 ]

(Y/n) blinked rapidly to rid of the previous images she created, returning to the scene before her. With the reconstruction used as a clue, she made her way towards where she saw the father throw what he was holding upon getting shot. There was another tablet on the ground, so she picked it up and proceeded to unlock it with a swipe of her finger.

Instantly the image of a female android popped up on the screen, along with a digital voice that read the order out loud. "Your order for an AP700 android has been registered. CyberLife thanks you for your purchase."

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

🔓 Deviant was going to be replaced

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

(Y/n) set the tablet back, continuing on with her investigation as she started to walk to the kitchen area. However, before she could get there two gunshots rang out, her attention quickly shifting towards the source of the deafening sound. One of the swat team members was now slumped on the floor, while another attempted to drag his body away from the danger zone.

Knowing that her chances were becoming progressively worse by the minute, (Y/n) rushed to the kitchen with a higher sense of urgency. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything useful she could find in there for her investigation, save for an over boiling pot on the stove indicating the family was about to have dinner before the incident.

The RK800 android headed towards the dining table, pausing in her tracks when she could hear the shouts of Daniel from outside. She ignored it, choosing to kneel next to a deceased officer on the ground and analyze his body.

┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅
Analyze
▼
[△]
┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅

After getting all the information required to create the scene, the faint blue outline of the cop was lifted from the ground into a defensive stance with the gun. As she took a glance to where he was pointing, the figure of Daniel and the hostage took place.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Hostage witnessed the shooting

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Rewinding further back, the cop ended up shooting the deviant, which in turn caused the android to end up shooting the police officer. As he hit the ground, she could see where the weapon went flying.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Copshot the deviant

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

🔓 Weapon located

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Pulling away from the corpse, those (E/c) irises trailed under the table next to her, finding the gun she had located mere seconds ago in her reconstruction. She walked around to the side of the table it was closest to and crouched down next to it. For a minute she simply stared at the firearm, processing being confronted with the weapon and how it could potentially contribute to the investigation. A warning soon flashed alongside the gun as her programing detected the item on the ground.

╔════════════════════════╗

P.L. 544-7
AMERICAN ANDROIDS ACT – 2029

Androids are strictly forbidden
to carry or use any type of weapon

╚════════════════════════╝

Despite the clear warning flashing in front of her optical units, she swiftly picked up the gun and tucked it in the waistband of her pants. Fortunately, no one on sight seemed to notice her do so, allowing her to casually look over a digital magazine that was on a nearby countertop like nothing happened.

[ ...🔓 ]

The magazine didn't hold any significance to the investigation, so she headed over to where the swat members were standing near the curtains. Though, when she got there she noticed a child's shoe and slipped past them to grab the forgotten item.

╔════════════════╗

Child size shoe

Colorful model
Human blood traces

╚════════════════╝

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Hostage could be wounded

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

After her quick scan and compiling it with the rest of the data collected thus far, she set the shoe back on the ground. Time was running thin at this point, but she needed to keep searching for more evidence until her probability of success was high enough. There was no room for error in this dire case, especially not for a highly advanced android like herself.

She was able to review the data in her memory up till this point, and realized she had missed a piece of information. She went back to the kitchen where she recreated the scene of the police officer. On the ground was a small puddle of vibrant blue liquid, to which she bent down next to it and swiped her pointer and middle finger through it. She raised those two fingers to her lips, allowing her synthetic tongue to dart over the substance and collect the details provided by the Thirium.

╔════════════════════════╗

Fresh blue blood

Model PL600 – Serial #369 911 047
Android wounded

╚════════════════════════╝

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Deviant model: PL600

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

The (H/c)-haired android stood back up and assessed the data she had gathered, determining whether it was enough to confront the deviant yet. Before she could decide, she went over to the curtain beside one of the soldiers, pulling it aside to get a peek at the situation. Daniel stood dangerously close to the ledge while holding onto a small girl in one arm, whereas the other held a gun pointed towards the building.

Even if nothing appeared to be escalating, there was no telling when the deviant could snap due to its dangerously high stress levels. If it got to that point, then it could take itself and Emma out, resulting in the mission being a failure.

Failure was not an option.

╾ ╸ ╸╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╸ ╸ ╼

82% Probability of success

╾ ╸ ╸╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╸ ╸ ╼

After running the success rate through her system, she confirmed it was time to confront the deviant. Without wasting anymore time she stepped over to the open part of the sliding glass door, pushed aside the curtain, and stepped out onto the balcony. The first sound (Y/n) heard as she revealed herself was a scared squeal from Emma, then a shot that echoed throughout the night as it peirced through her left shoulder.

Thirium splattered on her suit and the curtain beside her. She glanced downwards to assess the damage, her LED flickering an alarming red from the sudden attack. Luckily, she wasn't human, nor did the shot hit any vital biocomponents, so a couple repairs after this and she'd be in perfect shape once more.

The (E/c)-eyed android returned her gaze towards the deviant and human, to which the prior tensed up, its LED a continous vibrant red hue. "Stay back! Don't come any closer or I'll jump!" Daniel shouted, even going as far as to nudge itself and the terrified girl closer to the edge.

Her sobs rang out as she shook in its iron-like grip. "No! No, please! I'm begging you!" She pleaded between cries and ragged breaths, tears streaming down her face as she could do nothing in her helpless state.

Even with her fear being as clear as day, (Y/n)'s entire demeanor remained calm and collected as she stayed where she was, her (H/l) (H/c) locks of hair lightly blowing around from the wind. She only had one chance at this, and even if the possibilities varied due to the irrational and unpredictable nature of the deviant, she was positive it would end with her success.

╔═════════╗
[△] Name
╚═════════╝

"Hi, Daniel." She greeted the android loud and clear, maintaining her relaxed composure even when those (E/c) eyes were sharp and piercing. Every movement it made had to be observed and calculated, otherwise everything could go south quicker than her operating system could react.

Daniel was briefly stunned into uneasy silence, clearly not expecting her to know its name. "How..." It tried to form a response – a useless question that didn't matter, she could tell – but she interjected before it could.

"My name is (Y/n)." She introduced herself, hoping that a first name basis would calm the deviant down a fraction—humans typically felt more connected after learning names since it gives them a sense of identity. Unfortunately, it seemed to have the opposite reaction.

"How do you know my name?" It shouted over to her, the unease and fear evident in the way its voice shook.

(Y/n) dodged the question by answering indirectly. "I know a lot of things about you. I've come to get you out of this." She called out, slowly beginning to inch her way towards the two without making too much movement.

While she did so a helicopter swooped into the scene, swiftly circling the balcony and hovering over it. The sudden burst of wind caused a couple of pool chairs to go flying across in front of her, yet it didn't stop her as she carried on with her slow approach.

╾ ╸ ╸╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╸ ╸ ╼

⍌ 61% Probability of success

Deviant destabilizing

╾ ╸ ╸╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╸ ╸ ╼

╔════════════════╗

► [△] Calm

► [○] Release hostage

► [☓] Reassure Daniel

► [□] Empathize

╚════════════════╝

╔═════════╗
[△] Calm
╚═════════╝

After inspecting the deviants state and estimating what her success rate was, she chose a dialogue option that'd prevent its stress from rising. "I know you're angry, Daniel. But you need to trust me and let me help you." As she spoke her voice remained unwavering and loud, even more so when the whirring noise of the helicopter flying near the balcony began to drown everything else out.

Daniel flinched from the helicopter nearby and frantically shook its head. "I don't want your help! Nobody can help me! All I want is for all this to stop... I... I just want all this to stop..." The volume of its voice began to teeter off at the end, a vulnerability shining through the clouds of anger and fear that lead to this mess.

(Y/n) continued to get closer while it spoke, taking the moment of distraction to run a diagnostic over the hostage in its hold. There were bloody scrapes on her left knee, but other than that there was no external or internal harm to her person that'd lead to critical condition. So long as this goes according to her plan, then she'll need nothing more than a bandaid.

Suddenly she saw the aim of Daniel's gun pointed directly at her rather than Emma. "Are you armed?" It yelled at her, having taken notice of the closing gap between them after its little rant.

The harshness and volume of its voice didn't faze her, yet she was weighing the options of telling the truth or not. If she didn't, there was a high probability it could shoot the girl or let them both fall out of panic, so perhaps the prior was the best route to go. If she made it known there was nothing to hide, the more trusting and stabilized the defective android would be.

"Yes. I have a gun." The RK800 android admitted while holding her hands up, knowing that confession would put it even more on edge, if only for a second. After that, it'd have the desired effect.

As predicted Daniel became more tense and glared towards her. "Drop it! No sudden moves, or I'll shoot!" It threatened while nudging the gun in her direction.

With one of her hands still raised (Y/n) obeyed, reaching down with the other to slowly retrieve the gun from the waistband of her pants. She lifted it up to its eyesight, carelessly tossing it to the side as it clattered against the ground. "There, no more gun."

╔════════════════╗

► [△] [Possible cause] 🔓

► [○] [Emma and you] 🔓

► [☓] Realistic

► [□] Defective

╚════════════════╝

╔═══════════════╗
[△] [Possible cause]
╚═══════════════╝

"They were going to replace you and you became upset. That's what happened, right?" As she switched to a new subject she continued to advance forward, needing to get as close as possible. While doing so she took a quick glance to the right, noticing a man's deceased body floating in the pool. She didn't bother to scan him.

Daniel's face scrunched up in agony at the reminder. "I thought I was part of the family. I thought I mattered... But I was just their toy, something to throw away when you're done with it..." The pain in its voice shifted to rage as it redirected the gun back to the hostage, causing (Y/n) to halt in her tracks and observe them.

╾ ╸ ╸╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╸ ╸ ╼

⍓ 69% Probability of success

Deviant stabilizing

╾ ╸ ╸╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╸ ╸ ╼

╔════════════════╗

► [△] [Emma and you] 🔓

► [○] Realistic

► [☓] Blaming

► [□] Defective

╚════════════════╝

╔═══════════════╗
[△] [Emma and you]
╚═══════════════╝

An examination of the android revealed that her success rate was slowly increasing, along with its stabilization. Her processing unit took a mere second to determine the best route from there, deciding the information she learned on their close bond could potentially bring some rationality back into the deviant.

"I know you and Emma were very close. You think she betrayed you, but she's done nothing wrong." (Y/n) tried to reason with it. She started to inch forward again, except this time with her hands raised up as the distance between them began to close, showing she could do no harm.

Daniel's expression seemed to falter at the mention of how close they were, but it didn't last long. "She lied to me... I thought she loved me... but I was wrong... She's just like all the other humans." It's tone and body language remained as aggressive as before, no visible changes to the normal eye. However, a scan proved that the male androids stress levels were steadily declining as the percentage of success rose.

"Daniel no..." Emma only managed to sputter out those two words between cries, unable to say much else due to the gun held at her head.

╔════════════════╗

► [△] Realistic

► [○] Blaming

► [☓] Sympathetic

► [□] Defective

╚════════════════╝

╔══════════════╗
[☓] Sympathetic
╚══════════════╝

"Listen, I know it's not your fault. These emotions you're feeling are just errors in your software." (Y/n) tried to explain to the deviant, the words robotic on her tongue—programmed to come out, in spite of never truly knowing how deviants functioned. She did know, however, machines like herself were not supposed to experience human emotions.

That reasoning didn't seem to get through to it – at least, not in the way she intended – as the android shook its head slowly. "No, it's not my fault... I never wanted this... I loved them, you know..." As Daniel spoke it moved the gun away from Emma, a soft look replacing the once hostile stare that burned into her head.

There was a flash of sorrow in its blue eyes, along with a quick flicker of remorse, before the usual anger overpowered both of those. It jerked the gun back towards the girl, ignoring how she flinched and sobbed louder. "...but I was nothing to them... just a slave to be ordered around." It snapped, before its brows furrowed in irritation and its eyes clenched shut. "Urgggh... I can't stand that noise anymore!"

The abrupt shout from Daniel took (Y/n) aback for a split second, though she regained her composure as quickly as it had vanished. She rose an eyebrow, glancing towards the source of the commotion that was hovering nearby.

Daniel gritted it's teeth, briefly waving the gun in that direction before pressing it back against Emma's shaking head. "Tell that helicopter to get out of here!" It demanded, never once tearing its vexed gaze away from the aircraft hovering over the balcony.

(Y/n) glanced to the male android then back to the helicopter, her processing unit carrying out the probability of safety quicker than any human mind could. If the helicopter stayed the deviants agitation would increase and put Emma at higher risk, so it was an easy decision for her to make. Putting Daniel more at ease would only serve to benefit her in the end.

So, staring directly at the pilot in the helicopter she gave a dismissive wave of her hand, gesturing for them to back away from the scene. There was no movement for a second, as if they were hesitant on the idea, before the aircraft finally obeyed and began pulling away from the balcony.

Slowly but surely her locks of (H/c) hair began to settle as the wind created by the blades moved further away. Those (E/c) irises watched till they were far enough away from the building before turning back to Daniel and Emma. "There, I did what you wanted."

╾ ╸ ╸╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╸ ╸ ╼

⍓ 95% Probability of success

Deviant stabilizing

╾ ╸ ╸╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╸ ╸ ╼

╔════════════════╗

► [△] Last chance

► [○] Trust

► [☓] Rational

╚════════════════╝

╔══════════╗
[○] Trust
╚══════════╝

"You have to trust me, Daniel. Let the hostage go and I promise you everything will be fine." While she spoke she maneuverd herself around one of the flipped over chairs, continuing to cautiously approach the pair. She was close by now and her success rate was nearing completion, so it shouldn't be long before she resolved this conflict and got the human girl to safety.

"I want everyone to leave... And I want a car! When I'm outside the city I'll let her go." Daniel began to ramble, hoping that the RK800 android would grant its wishes if it complied. Clearly it was beginning to panic as it saw no other way out of this dangerous situation, even more so with the (H/c)-haired android now only a few feet away from them.

╔════════════════╗

► [△] 🔒...

► [○] Compromise

► [☓] Refuse

╚════════════════╝

╔═════════════╗
[○] Compromise
╚═════════════╝

"That's impossible, Daniel. Let the girl go and I promise you won't be hurt." (Y/n) went with the logical route, knowing full well there was no way they'd let this deviant go after what it had done. There's no way they'd let it stay 'alive' either after breaking protocol and threatening multiple himan lives, yet he didn't need to know that until it was too late.

She stopped a reasonable distance from the two, seeing the way the male androids face began to falter with unadulterated fear. "I don't wanna die..." It mumbled, so quietly that she was positive if she didn't have such excellent hearing installed as an android, she would've missed it.

(Y/n) didn't pay any mind to his words. They were machines, they couldn't die the way humans could—they'd merely be replaced and have their memories transferred if destroyed. They also couldn't feel the way humans did, it was just a bunch of errors in its code from intense conflict that made it believe it did. So, regardless of the terror in its icy blue eyes, (Y/n)'s expression remained indifferent.

╔════════════════╗

► [△] 🔒...

► [○] Sacrifice self

► [☓] Reassure

► [□] Truth

╚════════════════╝

╔════════════╗
[☓] Reassure
╚════════════╝

╾ ╸ ╸╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╸ ╸ ╼

⍓ 100% Probability of success

Deviant stabilized

╾ ╸ ╸╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╸ ╸ ╼

With her probability of success a certainty, she knew exactly what to say. "You're not going to die. We're just going to talk. Nothing will happen to you. You have my word." (Y/n) reassured the blonde android, a faux expression of sympathy on her face to further sell her statement.

It wasn't entirely a lie, because as she mentioned before, androids can't die. They can only be destroyed, which it would be.

It must've been convincing enough, seeing as Daniel's body began to loosen up from its previously tense state. "Ok... I trust you." It murmured after a moment, slowly but surely placing Emma down onto the ground.

The minute her feet touched the floor she darted away, the (H/c)-haired android watching as she sprinted to where she thought it was safe before collapsing onto the ground in a heap. Cries of relief left the girl's mouth, yet (Y/n) barely had time to observe her before the deafening boom of gunshots rained down on the balcony in the spot she was once held hostage at.

Already aware as to what happened, her (E/c) eyes flickered over to the scene, those blank irises connecting with horrified blue ones. Thirium splattered over multiple parts of its body from the gunshots, its mouth gaped open and LED flashing a bright red in warning as its systems slowly began to shut down.

⌜┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈⌝
Software Instability ⍓
⌞┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈⌟

"You lied to me, (Y/n). You lied to me..." Daniel's words cut through the silence, replaced by a staticy and broken voice box rather than the human-like vocal chords that were once there mere seconds ago. Slowly the swirling LED began to fade from red to clear and its entire body went still before collapsing forward, indicating the android was successfully terminated.

With the threat no longer an issue (Y/n) returned her attention to the crying girl, then to the soldiers rushing out of the penthouse, either to assist Emma or to collect the body of the android. Having completed her mission she turned on her heel to head inside, her next objective popping up to return to CyberLife and repair the damages done to the biocomponent that was her shoulder.

She didn't give her attention to any of the soldiers rushing past as she made a beeline to the hall she had entered through, completely ignoring the look that Captain Allen sent her when she strode past him as well.

╓─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ╖

Mission Complete

╙─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ╜

Chapter Text

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⁅ Chapter One ⁆

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╓﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ╖

Date:

NOV. 5th, 2038

╙﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎  ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ╜

╓﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ╖

Time:

PM. 11:21:07

╙﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎  ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ╜

The gentle pitter patter of rain covered the streets of Detroit, small puddles of water forming and rippling along the asphalt with every new droplet. A splash echoed throughout the street as a heeled boot stepped into one, each step causing a distinct clack against the hard ground along with it. Eventually they stopped in front of a building, a lit up sign reading Jimmy's Bar displayed in the window.

A ping rang out as a coin was flipped into the air and effortlessly caught one last time, before being tucked away into the safety of a coat pocket. (Y/n) then proceeded to straighten up her tie and brush some of her hair back, that of which had become damp from the constant downpour. Even if she technically wasn't at work, she was meeting who would be her partner, so her appearance should be presentable—not like it wasn't always that way regardless.

The (H/c)-haired android stepped closer to the building, confirming real quick that this was in fact where the lieutenant was located at. Once she did she walked the short distance to the door, only to pause at the sight of a bright red sign slapped in the middle of it. Her eyes skimmed over the blue triangular symbol on top and the bold words NO ANDROIDS ALLOWED.

The sign was promptly ignored, her current mission overriding her usual protocol to obey. She pushed open the door to the bar and walked inside, her posture straight and composed as she took in her surroundings. As the door swung shut behind her a few people turned their heads to look at the new presence.

The glaring detail of the blue LED spinning on her right temple was noticed first, as always. Reactions were mixed, ranging from disgust, to anger, to indifference, to lust. It was nothing new, nor was it in her programming to care how humans viewed her. She had an objective tonight that she needed to complete—nothing more, nothing less.

╓─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ╖

Find Lt. Anderson

╙─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ╜

With said task in mind (Y/n) ventured further into the small space, unfazed by the gazes that followed her every move. She took the time to scan the faces of some of the occupants, hoping to figure out which one of them was the person she was searching for. To her dissatisfaction, none of them matched with the information of the profile she had in her database.

Not allowed to give up she let her (E/c) eyes scan the space once more. This time they landed on a man at the bar with his head down, a glass of alcohol held loosely in his hand. Seeing as that was the only person she hadn't inspected the identity of yet she began to maneuver her way towards his slumped figure.

Once beside the older man she shifted to get a good angle of his face. A bit of struggle with his current postion, but she managed to get a decent scan of him anyway.

╔═════════════════════════╗

Lt. Anderson, Hank

Born: 09/ 06/ 1985 / / Police Lieutenant
Criminal Record: None

╚═════════════════════════╝

╔═════════╗
[☓]  Talk
╚═════════╝

Now knowing it was the correct person, she wasted no time in striking up a conversation with the man. "Lieutenant Anderson, my name is (Y/n). I'm the android sent by CyberLife." The programmed introduction left her lips smoothly, unaware that said person was barely paying attention to her presence, or rather trying not to. "I looked for you at the station but nobody knew where you were." She carried on, her gaze trailing around the place while she spoke.

When she received no response they shifted back to where Hank sat. Her brows creased in the slightest from the silence on his end, but she decided to keep talking since her processing unit concluded that he must've not known how to respond yet. "They said you were probably having a drink nearby. I was lucky to find you at the fifth bar." She said with a faint smile, trying to appear as friendly as she possibly could.

Finally she got a reply, though, notably not the kind she was expecting. "What do you want?" Hank questioned gruffly, his bored and irritated tone holding no effect over the android. This reaction was typical and often expected when it came to her interactions with humans outside of CyberLife.

The smile remained on her rosy lips as she tilted her head into his peripheral. "You were assigned a case early this evening. A homicide, involving a CyberLife android." She began to explain as she straightened up, unbothered by the lieutenant refusing to look at her. "In accordance to procedure, the company has allocated a specialized model to assist investigators." She finished her sentence with that same smile, designed to keep those she was talking to at ease with her amiable qualities.

Well, at least when it came to being around humans. Not so much when she was working on a mission that involved deviants, her intended purpose.

A huff of a laugh came from the grey-haired man, devoid of any humor. "Well, I don't need any assistance. Specially not from a plastic asshole like you." He grumbled, causing the smile on her lips to twitch down into a firm line. "So just be a good lil' robot and get the fuck outta here."

(Y/n) stared at him for a moment in silence, her face blank and unmoving. Eventually her lips pursed together and her eyebrows pushed down, her expression visibly unamused by his lack of cooperation. She had a job to do, and unlike him she wasn't allowed to slack off.

╔════════════════╗

► [△] Reason

► [○] Threaten

► [☓] Understanding

► [□] Persist

╚════════════════╝

╔═══════════╗
[△]  Reason
╚═══════════╝

"Listen, I think you should stop drinking and come with me." (Y/n) insisted, her eyes squinting slightly as the older man took another swig of his alcoholic drink. "It'll make life easier for both of us." It was a fair reason, even more so since there was no way out of this for him. He was her assigned partner, and therefore he had to help her with her tasks, as an android wasn't allowed to do so on its own.

As much as she acknowledged humans distaste towards androids, there was no way around this. She was specifically designed to work with enforcements when it came to androids going rouge—it was what she was created for, and only for. So, one way or another, he'd be leaving this bar with her and working on that case.

The only response she received was a lazy nod from the lieutenant, one that clearly meant he didn't care what she said rather than agreeing with her. He went right back to drinking what she assumed was a glass of whiskey.

╔════════════════╗

► [△] Threaten

► [○] Understanding

► [☓] Persist

╚════════════════╝

╔═══════════╗
[☓]  Persist
╚═══════════╝

"I'm sorry, Lieutenant, but I must insist." She spoke again, causing him to pause before he could take another drink. With a sigh the bottom of the glass scraped against the counters surface as he set it back down, which she took as a sign to continue. "My instructions stipulate that I have to accompany you."

Before (Y/n) could carry on with her explanation on why she needed him to be present, Hank interjected. "You know where you can stick your instructions?" He asked with a small chuckle at the end, clearly finding humor in his response.

Her brows furrowed at his inquiry, unable to figure out what it implied or how it connected to the previous topic. Her central processing unit couldn't seem to find the answer to his question despite her expansive database that had practically every solution possible.

Unable to figure out the answer, she replied with hesitancy. "No..." She trailed off, tilting her head a bit as she settled her inquisitive stare on him. "Where?" She decided to ask, hoping he'd give her the answer since she couldn't find it herself. It must've been one of those human phrases, she supposed.

Apparently it was wrong of her to ask, for the lieutenant immediately put his glass down and turned to look at her with disdain. The glare never left his eyes even as he turned his attention back to his glass with a low grumble. "Never mind."

⌜┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈⌝
Hank ⍌
⌞┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ⌟

╔════════════════╗

► [△] Spill his drink

► [○] Buy him another drink

► [☓] Wait outside

╚════════════════╝

╔══════════════════╗
[○]  Buy him another drink
╚══════════════════╝

Seeing as she messed up – even though she couldn't figure out how – and he appeared to like drinking, she referred to the social relations section of her programming and deduced how to win his favor. Hopefully after this, he'd be more willing to assist her with the case.

"You know what? I'll buy you one for the road. What do you say?" (Y/n) offered with a smile, despite him not looking anywhere near her. She didn't mind and simply turned to the bartender behind the counter. "Bartender, the same again, please!" She said while motioning towards Hank's almost empty glass.

⌜┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈⌝
Hank ⍓

–Neutral
⌞┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ⌟

Hank eyed the android for a second, before a hushed laugh of disbelief left him. "See that, Jim?" He muttered while (Y/n) was busy fishing some money out of one of her pockets, provided by none other than her handlers for situations like this. When she had the correct amount, she slid it onto the counter over to Jim. "Wonders of technology... Make it a double."

The (H/c)-haired android merely watched as the bartender poured the other drink, ignoring what Hank said before. It wasn't long before the second drink was gone due to the him swigging it down, the empty glass now joining the other on the oak surface of the counter. With a sigh of satisfaction Hank finally turned to face (Y/n). As he leant back in his chair, her keen gaze picked up on the slightest upturn of his lips before he spoke, and she found herself mirroring the action knowing she had managed to convince him.

"Did you say homicide?"

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⁅ Chapter Two ⁆

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After (Y/n) had convinced Hank to come along with her to the crime scene, the two made their way to the exit. However, as soon as he was going to reach for the door handle it opened on its own, causing the two to step back to avoid getting in the way.

The RK800 android merely stared at the new presence, whereas Hank's face twisted into a look of annoyance. Though, she noted how his expression had softened considerably compared to the one he wore before. It was as if he wasn't actually irritated, but rather putting up a front for someone familiar.

"I thought I told you to stay home and look after Sumo." Hank grumbled as he maneuvered around the person to step outside. The new man – which she had yet to identify – followed after him, leaving her to quickly slip out behind him before the door could close.

A sigh came from the man, a sound torn between disappointment and worry. "And I thought you told me you wouldn't go out drinking tonight." He muttered back, clearly upset from the older man's decisions, and the fact that he lied to him again.

The (H/c)-haired android chose not to focus on their conversation, instead opting to run a scan over the newcomer. From the way the two were speaking to each other, it was obvious they had some sort of close bond—likely a familial relation, if she had to guess.

╔═════════════════════════╗

Det. Anderson, Connor

Born: 09/ 07/ 2012 / / Police Detective
Criminal  Record: None

╚═════════════════════════╝

Once the information popped up in her database and she noticed the same last name – thus confirming her assumption beforehand – it clicked why they appeared to be so close to one another. Judging from the fact that he was a detective, they must've worked together, too.

Not a second after scanning his face she returned her attention back to the pairs conversation, only to realize it had gone quiet. It didn't take long for her to figure out why as her (E/c) eyes connected with a pair of puzzled brown ones.

There was a pause as the two stared at each other, before the man finally broke eye contact to look at his father. "An android?" He asked, visibly confused as to why his dad was near one. Of all the people in the world, he was the last person he'd expect to willingly be beside an android.

Before Hank could answer – more like defend himself with how offened he looked – (Y/n) cut into the conversation to do it for him, causing the brunette to redirect his attention back to her.

"Hello, my name is (Y/n). I'm the android sent by CyberLife. I've been assigned to the Lieutenant to investigate the recent homicide incidents that are involving CyberLife androids." She introduced herself and explained the situation, all while a polite smile formed on her lips.

Connor blinked at her as his brows slowly furrowed together, seeming to process her words yet still be confused by them. "I see..." He trailed off, unsure of what to say aside from that. Nonetheless, he offered a half smile in return, undeterred by the fact she was an android—unlike a certain someone behind him.

His attention turned back to said person, who watched the entire interaction with a hard scowl. Connor exhaled a puff of air in reaction to it, torn between being amused or displeased at his father's obvious hate towards the female android that was now his partner.

He'd never understand why he got so upset by them, seeing as they live life alongside humans without issue—aside from the occasional homicide cases, but humans did that too, anyway. It wasn't any different in Connor's eyes, human or android. However, the unwavering and deep frown on his old man's face suggested he'd never feel the same on the matter.

Deep down, they both knew the real reason as to why, whether they wanted to acknowledge it or not.

⌜┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈⌝
Hank ⍌

–Tense
⌞┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ⌟

Sensing the rising tension between Hank and the android standing politely off to the side, he cleared his throat. "Anyway, I was called over to help with the investigation that you were originally assigned. So, I had to spend an hour and half looking all over for you, old man." The brunette explained to break the silence, successfully turning Hank's burning gaze away from the unaware android.

Not that it was any better to face his son, whose unimpressed countenance was paired with an irritating glint in those brown irises. It was nothing new to catch Hank out drinking when he promised not to, yet that never stopped Connor from becoming increasingly frustrated every time he caught him red-handed. It was becoming exhausting at this point.

Hank merely brushed off what his son said as he waved a hand dismissively. "Yeah, yeah. I'm here now so let's move along. The sooner I can get this plastic piece of shit away from me, the better." Hank didn't wait for a response, already heading back to where his car was parked on the side of the road. If he stayed any longer, he knew he'd get his ear chewed off by his son's scolding.

(Y/n) watched the older man walk away, ready to follow after him so they could get to the crime scene as quick as possible. Before she could take a step Connor spoke up, causing her to immediately halt in her tracks. Her gaze flickered back to him as she watched his facial features scrunch up in a mixture of shame and vexation.

"Sorry about him. My dad has never gotten along with androids. He's just... cautious." Connor chose his words carefully, not wanting to offend her yet not wanting to put his dad in a bad light, either. Those brown irises trailed after Hank's retreating form, until they switched back to the female android standing beside him in the pouring rain.

(Y/n) nodded at what he said, not offended in the slightest—not like she could be, anyway. "It's alright, Detective. I'm accustomed to humans acting that way when confronted with my presence." She stated in an unfazed manner, her lips forming a thin line and hands tucked neatly behind her back.

Her response and body language must've been unsatisfactory in some way, for Connor pulled a face. Though, he didn't appear to be upset directly at her, more so unsettled from how nonchalant her words were.

It was gone in the blink of an eye, replaced by a playful smirk. "Well, if he gives you a hard time, let me know. I'll knock some sense into the man." He joked while pretending to throw a punch in the air towards Hank's direction.

Unfortunately, his joke went right over the androids head, who slowly blinked at him as her LED whirled around. "While I appreciate your thoughtfulness... a physical altercation should never be the solution to correcting one's behavior." She replied with a tilt of her head, her reluctant tone and swirling blue light indicating how lost she was.

Once again, nothing in her processing unit was popping up to elaborate on the phrase that left the detective's mouth. Was this another human joke that she was misunderstanding? She couldn't comprehend what Hank meant back at the bar, and now she was left clueless again by the younger Anderson.

While her programming included the basics of maintaining social relations in order to improve rapport, it was to a small extent in comparison to her main software that focused primarily on police work. Therefore, she was left in the dark when it came to scenarios like this one—as were most androids, seeing as their software couldn't accommodate every emotional aspect of human interaction.

⌜┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ⌝
Connor ⍓

–Warm
⌞ ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈⌟

Connor stared in silence for a second or two, a humored smile beginning to tug at the edges of his lips. "It's nothing, never mind." He shook his head, laughing under his breath as he gestured to the car. "We should hurry up so my dad doesn't leave us both behind."

(Y/n) obliged and went to follow Connor when he began heading over in that direction. She supposed it wasn't important to understand what he meant. She'd likely have to adapt to these unusual phrases when working alongside the two, since the probability of it happening again was high.

The car ride to the crime scene was silent conversation wise, likely due to the blaring music that prevented anything from being heard over it. (Y/n) fiddled with her coin as she sat in the back seat, her (E/c) irises trained out the window on the passing scenery. At least, what she could see through the many rain droplets rushing down the foggy glass and distorting her view.

Soon the glistening rain drops on the window began to light up. They flashed between red and blue, the vibrancy of the hues increasing until the car parked a short distance away from many police cars already on scene.

Upon arrival (Y/n) flipped her coin one last time, caught it, then tucked it into her pocket. As her eyes flickered to the two up front, she briefly caught a pair of chocolate brown ones staring back through the review mirror, before they quickly darted away.

Hank turned off the car engine, the loud music immediately shutting off and leaving them with the sound of rain pattering against metal. "You wait here." He stated gruffly, leaving no room for argument as he already began to open the door. "I won't be long. C'mon, Connor."

╔════════════════╗

► [△] Patient

► [○] Firm

► [☓] Diplomatic

╚════════════════╝

╔═════════╗
[△]  Patient
╚═════════╝

Not wanting to risk the possibility of irritating the lieutenant more than she had tonight, she chose the safest option. "Whatever you say, Lieutenant." (Y/n) murmured, watching the two get out of the car while she remained obediently in her spot.

⌜┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ⌝
Hank ⍓
⌞ ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈⌟

Hank let out a huff, unwilling to show his satisfaction towards her response—at least the damn thing wouldn't get in his way now. "Fucking-A whatever I say..." He mumbled under his breath, but the words were audible enough to receive a disapproving stare from his son over the top of the car.

╓─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ╖

Conflicting orders selecting priority

–Follow Lt. and Det. Anderson.

╙─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ╜

As soon as Hank made it a good distance away from the vehicle that message popped up in her system. (Y/n) hesitated in her spot, staring forward with a swirling LED as she calculated what her next step should be. Obviously she should follow since her mission took priority, however, getting on the lieutenant's good side was also crucial if she wanted him to be cooperative during the investigation.

The (H/c)-haired android couldn't run the probabilities on it for long, for her attention snapped towards the sound of her car door opening. She blinked before glancing up, only to be met with Connor's grinning face as he leant with one arm against the door, the other held outwards to motion her outside.

Clearly, he didn't give a single shit about what his father told her to do.

"C'mon, let's go."

He didn't have to tell her twice as she was already stepping out into the rain once more. It was starting to soak her hair and uniform, a detail that didn't faze the android. It was beneficial to not be able to feel the shift in temperature, especially during storms like this one. Though, weather like this did have the potential to freeze her biocomponents—it wasn't cold enough nor would she be outside long enough for that issue to occur, thankfully.

She waited patiently until Connor shut the door behind her. Once he began making his way towards the house she trailed after, akin to that of a puppy following its owner. He was further ahead of her, so he managed to slip past the people crowded around – while also dodging the prying questions of the reporter – and get access into the crime scene before her. While he went straight to where Hank was, (Y/n) went to pass through the holographic police tape secured around the perimeter, attempting to follow in his footsteps.

She didn't get far as a hand pressed firmly into her chest, forcing her to a complete stop. Her eyes snapped to the source, only to be met with another android. It was a PC200, a police officer android that was likely there to keep watch on the crowd while the human officers did the work.

"Androids are not permitted beyond this point." It stated firmly, unwilling to let its hand down from where it kept her at bay. In response she backed up to get its hand off of her before readjusting her tie and jacket on instinct.

Before she could explain her position on the case – an attempt she knew would be fruitless, but had no choice with – the sound of footsteps squishing through the wet grass reached her ears. A hand lightly fell onto her shoulder and she glanced at the brunette now standing next to her out of the corner of her eye.

"She's with us." Connor replied to the male android while his hand carefully slid to her other shoulder so he could grab both, using his grip on her to maneuver her past the obstacle in her way.

(Y/n) didn't move along with him right away, his words echoing in her mind and causing her operating system to freeze up for a millisecond. The word she left her momentarily stunned—she had never heard any human refer to her that way before. It was simultaneously an insignificant yet noteworthy detail, causing her CPU to delay her next actions for a few seconds until it began running smoothly. She hadn't realized it, but her blue LED had began flickering for a second before it shifted back to it's usual steady swirling motion.

Someone else certainly saw it, though.

Hank's voice piped up from ahead of them, the sound quickly shifting her back to a neutral state after her temporary lag. Must've been a small bug in her system that resolved itself.

"'She'?" He repeated the pronoun incredulously, making his disapproval of his behavior evident. "It, you mean." He added on as a correction, his tone a combination of annoyance and disdain.

The smile once on Connor's face swiftly vanished, twisting into a grimace as he watched his dad head over to the porch of the house. He merely sighed, knowing there was no point in trying to argue when there was such a stark contrast between their viewpoints. Instead he chose to redirect his gaze to (Y/n), who was now staring up at him quizzically—and who he was still holding onto, he realized.

The brunette let go of her with a sheepish look. "Oops, sorry about that." He apologized, even though she didn't seem bothered. She was back to her composed self before anyone else noticed. "Just, uh, ignore him."

There was an attempt of a smile on his lips, but it came out more strained than reassuring. Despite being able to tell how forced it was – or rather deduce such due to a small spike of his stress level – she returned it with one of her own—soft and friendly, like her design intended it to be. She pretended not to notice the way his own smile seemed to turn more genuine after she had reciprocated.

After that the two silently made their way to the worn-down house. On the porch was Hank along with a larger man, likely discussing the details of the homicide that occured. While walking Connor placed his hand on her lower back, a subconscious action to ensure she didn't steer away from them.

The closer they got, the clearer the conversation became. Especially the next sentence, which was paired with a sideways glance from the unknown man. A quick scan revealed it was Ben Collins, who was an officer.

"So... you got yourself an android, huh?" He muttered with a wry smile, his reaction showing he held the same sentiment towards the machines that Hank did.

The lieutenant gave a displeased grunt, sending the RK800 android a glare before following the man into the house. "Oh, very funny. Just tell me what happened." He grumbled, uncaring to the two figures that trailed after them inside.

"We had a call around eight from the landlord. The tenant hadn't paid his rent for a few months, so he thought he'd drop by, see what was going on... That's when he found the body." After Collins gave his explanation they all piled into the small home, to which everyone – save for (Y/n) – immediately cringed at the strong odor that permeated the air.

Hank's face scrunched up in utter revoltion. "Jesus, that smell!" He complained, raising a hand to his nose on instinct before it fell back to his side.

The disgust never left his face as he took in crime scene laid out before them—if anything, it worsened. Even after years of doing this kind of work and seeing the most horrific scenes, some of these new android cases had proven to be far worse in terms of how gory they were, which he was surprised was even possible.

Connor was in the same boat, except he looked more queasy than Hank did. He didn't have as much experience with homicide cases in general, so seeing ones as brutal as these definitely had his stomach churning uncomfortably. Nonetheless, it was his job, so he had to swallow down the nausea building in his throat.

"Yeah. Must be nice not to smell anything, huh?" He remarked while giving the (H/c)-haired android beside him a playful smile, even if it was a little strained due to the smell assaulting his nose.

(Y/n) blinked at him, slightly taken aback by him addressing her so casually. Nonetheless, she was quick to form a reply. "I suppose that is a benefit to having no sense of smell." She confirmed with a nod, earning a quiet chuckle from the man before his fingertips lightly pressed into her back, urging her to move forward.

She did so easily, falling into step with Connor while the man from earlier kept talking. "Was even worse before we opened the windows." He carried on in an unfazed manner. Unlike Hank and Connor, he seemed to have adjusted to the awful stench of the decaying body. "The victim's name's Carlos Oritz. He has a record for theft and aggravated assault..."

╓─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ╖

–Review evidence

–Listen to briefing

╙─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ╜

As those instructions popped up (Y/n) stepped further into the living room, or rather what was left of it, considering all the furniture was destroyed and misplaced. Her eyes landed on the deceased body that was slumped against the wall. It was a larger man with his belly hanging out of his shirt, blood smeared onto the wall behind him and flies swarming every inch of his decaying body. When looking at his chest, she could see multiple stab wounds covering that area.

After that her gaze trailed around the rest of the home, searching for clues from where she stood. She could've began to look around for evidence, but she didn't want to upset the lieutenant further by wandering off. That, and the hand Connor still had gently pressed against her back kept her in place, like a silent request to stick close for now.

"According to the neighbors, he was kind of a loner. Stayed inside most of the time, they hardly ever saw him." As Collins continued to speak, she listened to every piece of information that was provided, storing it into her memory for later use.

Hank was crouched near the dead body, his face in a permanent grimace while he observed it. "Uh, state he's in... Wasn't worth calling everybody out in the middle of the night. Could've waited 'til morning." He groused, briefly sending a look back to the man.

A quiet scoff sounded next to (Y/n), causing her to turn towards Connor. "You're only upset because it interrupted your alcohol run..." He mumbled, more so to himself than the android that was now focused on him.

The countenance he wore was grim, pain swirling in those brown irises that hinted at something deeper. It caused her lips to twitch downwards a fraction, not quite a frown yet not blank either. As worrying as it would've been to anyone else – to anyone human – she wasn't exactly positive on what to do about it.

She wouldn't say she felt anything in reaction to it, but it had her central unit pausing similarly to when he referred to her as a person. There were options on how to approach the subject, yet none seemed appropriate since she couldn't pinpoint what exactly his reaction tried to convey.

Should she ask him to elaborate? Or was that crossing a line? Perhaps she should ignore it, but she didn't want his emotions to get in the way of their current case and potentially cause the deviant to get away, either.

Why should she care?

She technically couldn't, as her social protocol didn't regard people in that way unless they were in immediate danger. Other than those instances, she wasn't built to tend to the wellbeing of humans. Yes, she was meant to be good-natured towards people to make them comfortable in her presence, but other than that, there wasn't a reason to use extra energy on figuring out a humans emotions—like she was doing at this very moment.

That wasn't right. She'd been experiencing too many bugs tonight – at least in her eyes, cause two times was two too many – to the point she was certain there had been a malfunction in her software. If that were the case, she'd run a diagnostic on herself to figure out where the issue was stemming from so it could be resolved as soon as possible.

╾ ╸ ╸╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╸ ╸ ╼

Running diagnostic...

4%
█▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒

19%
███▒▒▒▒▒▒▒

37%
█████▒▒▒▒▒

62%
███████▒▒▒

100%
██████████

Diagnostic complete
Showing results...

Thirium pump... Working

Thirium pump regulator... Working

Optical units... Working

Audio processors... Working

Central processing unit... Working

Biocomponents... Working

Internal system... Working

No errors

╾ ╸ ╸╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╸ ╸ ╼

(Y/n)'s lips pursed into a thin line and her eyebrows creased ever so slightly. She checked the results a couple of times, unwilling to believe that her diagnosis was correct. If everything was in working order, what could've caused those few blips?

She supposed there was a chance it could've been a temporary malfunction in her system that already disappeared or fixed itself. That would be the most logical reasoning behind it. Therefore, that's what she chose to believe.

"Hey, you alright? You seem a bit... distracted."

The sound of Connor's voice brought her back to reality as she blinked a few times. When she looked up at him, she couldn't help but pause again at the sight of his worried expression. It was terribly genuine, a look that shouldn't have been reserved for an android.

(Y/n) gave a nod as she returned to glancing around the house. "Of course, everything is in working order. I was merely processing the information from the briefing." She lied with ease.

Technically it was only a half-lie since she was storing that newfound information into her database, even if she wasn't mentally present during the briefing—the perks of being able to seamlessly multitask due to her advanced software.

A small laugh escaped him at her answer, to which she looked back and furrowed her eyebrows. "Did I say something humorous?" She questioned out of confusion, unable to figure out what could've caused that reaction.

Connor shook his head, his laughter coming to a halt as a teasing smile replaced it. "No. It's just that, well... you've been spaced out for a minute. My dad already left to the kitchen." He replied with a nudge of his head in that direction.

When she turned in said direction, she realized he was in fact, correct. She had been too caught up in figuring out these bugs and processing data that she missed what was happening in her surroundings. Guess she couldn't multitask everything at once, especially when she had a screen blocking her vision.

"I see, my apologies." Was all she responded with before walking away from the brunette, causing the hand on her back to fall away.

Clearing the past two interactions from her head, she turned her attention to some evidence that laid on the TV stand in the living room. She crouched down in front of it to get a closer look at the shimmering red substance there, unaware to the pair of eyes watching her after her abrupt departure.

┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅
Examine
▼
[△]
┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅

╔═══════════════════╗

Red Ice

Acetone, Lithium, Thirium
Toluene, Hydrochloric acid

╚═══════════════════╝

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Victim used drugs

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

After analyzing the red crystallized bits scattered across the stand, the RK800 android stood back up and went to turn around. She didn't get far, immediately bumping into someone's chest as she stepped backwards to keep her footing.

A hand landed on her arm to keep her steady, yet she had already regained her balance and straightened herself out. As she glanced at who it was – Connor, unsurprisingly – she couldn't help the way her eyebrows crinkled together for the umpteenth time that night.

Why was he still near her? Most people – like Hank, for example – would've let her carry on with her investigation in hopes to avoid any contact whatsoever. As an android, It was nothing personal to her, but she found herself continously being stumped at the brown-eyed human that already seemed stuck to her side like glue.

If there was one thing her social relations programming wasn't prepared for, it was this. Androids practically had it ingrained in them that humans had a high chance of acting hostile in their presence, and should therefore adapt to that type behavior in order to placate them.

That was not the case here, clearly.

He was... strage. A human that liked the presence of androids? While not uncommon, it was more of an unpopular opinion since most people saw them as mere servants—their intended purpose, not what deviants were. Though, she supposed some people did view them as companions or even lovers, as bizarre as that notion was.

Did he fall under that category of people?

Upon being stuck with her inquisitive stare for more than a few seconds, Connor's face flushed as he quickly released her. "Sorry about that. Was just... trying to get a closer look at the evidence." He mumbled as his gaze averted from her form. He awkwardly shuffled back, creating a reasonable distance between the two. "Don't mind me. Carry on with your, uh, scanning..?"

(Y/n) blinked at the taller man as he fumbled with his words. It was evident he was embarrassed – and lying about his reasoning – but her methodical mind disregarded it in favor of redirecting to her main objective.

"Of course. No worries, Detective." She reassured and went to do as instructed, even if it was an unintentional directive. She sent him a small smile before stepping around his form to search for more evidence.

The (H/c)-haired android kneeled down on the floor next to a bright yellow evidence marker that was labeled with a two. There was a knife smeared with blood laid next to it, a weapon she presumed was used to violently stab the victim to death. There was one method she was equipped with that would confirm her suspicions.

╔══════════╗
[○] Sample
╚══════════╝

Ever so carefully she took two fingers and swiped it across the knife, collecting a decent amount of blood on the tips of them. Without warning she placed the tips of her fingers in her mouth to lick off the substance, and the reactions to said action were immediate—a noise of disturbed surprise and another of pure disgust in the background.

"Err, jesus! What the hell are you doing?" Hank's voice sounded right next to her, causing her to look up at his revolted expression. She stood up to properly face him, all while still holding up her two fingers that were stained from the blood.

"I'm analyzing the blood. I can check samples in real time." She explained as she gestured with her red tinted fingers, as if to emphasize her point. Then she paused as she fully processed his disturbed countenance, realizing it was likely unsettling to see someone licking blood, regardless if she was an android doing it for a specific purpose. "I'm sorry, I should've warned you."

Hank's disgusted countenance remained, yet he lightly waved off her apology. "Ok, just... don't... put anymore evidence in your mouth, you got it?" He stated with firmness, clearly not wanting to witness such an act again. Not a second after his eyes narrowed at something behind her, but she didn't bother to acknowledge it yet.

"Got it." (Y/n) agreed with a nod and a small wave of her fingers. She then looked down at them, slowly lowering her hand upon remembering they were still stained with the sticky red substance.

The grey-haired man pulled a face, shaking his head as he began to walk away. "Fucking hell, I can't believe this shit..." He grumbled to himself.

(Y/n) chose to ignore it, instead turning her attention to what he was glaring at a minute ago, seeing as she heard a chuckle behind her. Her eyes landed on Connor's amused form, yet the second they made eye contact he averted his gaze as if her stare had burned him. The red flush over his pale complexion only served to further puzzle the android—she misinterpreted his reaction to also be one of unease from her actions.

Brushing aside that entire interaction, she turned back to her blood tinted fingers to finish her analysis of the sample.

╔═══════════════════╗

Dried Blood

DNA analysis: ORTIZ, Carlos
Sample date: >19 days

╚═══════════════════╝

Once she collected the information and matched it to the victim, she took out a handkerchief from her coat pocket and gently cleaned off the blood from her fingers. She tucked the stained cloth back into her pocket before kneeling back down to the knife so she could scan the handle for any fingerprints.

┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅
Analyze
▼
[△]
┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

No fingerprints,
Android involvement ?

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

"Each letter is perfect. It's way too neat, no human writes like this..." (Y/n) glanced over her shoulder after hearing Connor's mumble, spotting him standing near the body.

Her (E/c) eyes shifted to the wall above the corpse, where the words I AM ALIVE were written in a dark crimson substance—the victim's blood, if she had to assume. As the detective mentioned, the letters were written in a perfect font, not a single flaw to be found. No human hands were capable of copying and pasting a font without any errors.

"Chris, was this written in the victim's blood?" Hank asked, having made a similar assumption as the android.

She spared the older man and his son one last glance before carrying on with collecting evidence, her audio processors automatically listening to and saving the details that were shared by the officers.

"I would say so... We're taking samples for analysis." That was the last thing she heard before walking over to a messy mattress, the conversation ending with that statement.

There was a wardrobe beside it, that of which she opened up and scanned through the contents. Nothing appeared to be of use for the investigation, so she gently closed the worn down doors and moved on.

As she turned around her attention landed on Connor, who stood in front of a table nearby. He was looking down at something in his hands while his face scrunched up in clear discomfort. She decided to walk over beside him and glance over his shoulder at the item he held, seeing as it could potentially be of use to the investigation.

It was a small tablet with an advertisement displayed across the entire screen. She read over the words on it, which were shown in bold letters with a hot pink and violet gradient.

_______________________________________

Eden Club

Come visit us

Eden Club 1177 Woodward
Av. Detroit, MI.

_______________________________________

The minute she glanced at it, Connor swiftly flipped it upside down and placed it back on the table. Personally, he didn't want to look at it after realizing what it was and why the deceased victim had it, nor did he want (Y/n) to. Maybe a small part of him just didn't want her seeing him looking at it—that'd add on a new layer of embarrassment if she got the wrong impression. That was, assuming that she could even form an opinion on him or any person for that matter.

Were androids capable of that without being classified as a deviant? Likely not, since personal opinions required some form of emotion behind them. She didn't appear to have any type of reaction towards the suggestive advertisement, simply walking away after she deemed it an insignificant detail. It confirmed what he was thinking, yet a barely audible breath left him out of relief—that entire interaction felt awkward regardless.

After that, (Y/n) had wandered off towards the hallway. She could immediately see the entire kitchen due to a hole the replaced where the door once was, leaving an empty space with jagged pieces of wood sticking out.

Her eyes darted around the room at the various pieces of evidence laid out, each with numbered yellow markers to keep track of them. From where she stood in the hallway, she also noticed there was a crimson stain on the broken edges of wood and what was left of the doorframe. A scan over the substance revealed that it matched the blood sample she'd taken earlier of the victim, Carlos Ortiz.

Before she'd explore the kitchen, she decided to head to her right, where the back door lead outside. It was in her best interest to check for footprints above all else, that way she could determine whether the deviant was hiding somewhere in the house, or if had already made an escape during the days before their arrival.

She cracked open the wooden door, grasping onto the rusty metal behind it that creaked and groaned as she pried it open as well. The (H/c)-haired android stepped outside onto the small deck, the rain beginning to soak her form that had slowly began drying off. Her eyes scanned over the puddles of mud that had formed in the barren yard, attempting to make out any signs of prints that could've been left behind.

Eventually her gaze zeroed in on some footprints not too far from the deck she stood on. She made quick work of analyzing the muddy tracks, silently hoping they wouldn't match those of an android model. It'd be unfortunate to figure out the deviant had already gotten away, then she'd be sent back to CyberLife empty-handed.

┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅
Analyze
▼
[△]
┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅

╔══════════════════╗

Shoe Print

Model K52 DPD – 10'
Less than 60 minutes ago

╚══════════════════╝

Fortunately, the shoe print was new, meaning it belonged to one of the officers on scene, and that the deviant had to be hiding on the property. While she was processing this new information, Connor's voice piped up behind her. She found herself unbothered this time around, slowly adapting to his tendency to pop up at her side over and over again.

"Door was locked from the inside." Connor told her, to which she sent him a glance over her shoulder before turning back to the footprints. "Killer must've gone out this way... Don't you think, (Y/n)?" He leant against the door frame as he asked her that, looking genuinely interested in what she would respond with.

"Unlikely. There are no footprints, apart from officer Collins' size ten shoes." (Y/n) replied with her finding, fully turning around to face Connor once she confirmed there were no other prints to be found.

He gave a hum of acknowledgment and crossed his arms over his chest. "Right... but this happened weeks ago, the tracks of the killer could've faded." He suggested with a shrug, his eyes shifting away to stare out into the night sky.

"No, this type of soil would've retained a trace." She shot down that idea, knowing she would've been able to spot the tracks of the suspect if that were the case. "Nobody's been out here for a long time." She carried on, her gaze steady and unwavering as those brown irises connected with hers.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Suspect didn't escape this way

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

⌜┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ⌝
Connor ⍓
⌞ ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈⌟

A hum of approval sounded from the brunette. "Hm, smart. Expected nothing less from CyberLife's most advanced prototype." Connor praised as a smile lit up on his face—warm yet slightly teasing at the same time.

(Y/n) tilted her head at the expression on his freckled complexion. It was avid and gratified, two emotions she never expected to be directed towards herself. There was no reason to be proud of her, a machine, that was merely doing what it was created to do. It was in her code, nothing she contributed to—perhaps his admiration was directed towards CyberLife.

Before she could decide what his reasoning was for the matter, she was interrupted by a light pressure atop of her head. Immediately her LED lit up in a bright yellow hue as the unexpected contact startled her. It remained an amber color when Connor simply gave her hair an affectionate ruffle.

The circular light swirled around multiple times, an indicator to how puzzled the female android was at the unknown gesture. She didn't have a chance to question him about it, for Connor had already leant off the doorframe before heading back inside, leaving her alone out in the rain—damp, clueless, and once again distracted from her investigation.

For a second she remained outside, frozen where she stood while her LED continued to emit an amber glow through the dark haze of night.

What was that about?

It didn't matter. She needed to focus on the case.

Slowly her light continued to swirl, until the warm amber transitioned back into a cool blue, signaling her central unit had recovered from the minuscule strain.

(Y/n) pressed her lips into a firm line and carefully fixed any stray hairs, refusing to let one person's odd behavior ruin her mission. That may not have been his intentions, but that was how she interpreted their interactions thus far—an obstacle blocking a part of her path that lead to success.

She headed back inside, closing both doors behind her and ignoring Connor's presence as she made a bee-line to the kitchen. She got right back to work, kneeling beside a knocked over chair and quickly scanning the fingerprints that she could see on it.

╔══════════════════════╗

Fingerprints

Database match: ORTIZ, Carlos
Criminal record: Theft and
aggravated assault

╚══════════════════════╝

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Signs of a struggle

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

After gathering that data, she stood up straight and headed over to the next clue. On the counter was another tablet, so she picked that up and began swiping through the pages on there.

There was an article that had to do with Eden Club, stating that android sex was officially better according to a survery that human men took. After that was a Tech Addict report, which covered the idea that CyberLife was using their 120 million androids to spy on people.

It didn't provide much to the case, other than give her an idea as to how tensions rose between the owner and android, which in turn lead to the murder. The owner was using androids while also being hostile and paranoid of them—not a sensible decision on the victim's part.

Aside from her own conclusion, she was uninterested in anything else the articles stated. It was nothing new to see how androids were utilized by humans, and how humans became skeptical towards their existence. The rise in deviants likely didn't help with that distrust, either.

She set the tablet back down where it was before starting to walk alongside the counter. Her (E/c) eyes ran along the smooth surface, briefly passing by the window as she searched for any traces that might of been left behind. When she found none, her gaze landed on a rack on the wall, located near the corner of the counter. It was underneath some cupboards and held various sized knives in each slot, except for one that was empty.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Murder weapon taken from here

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Glancing to her left, she spotted the yellow marker labeled with a nine from the corner of her eye, a baseball bat laid on the floor next to it. She made her way over to the object and knelt down to scan it, starting with the handle and then moving onto the dent located near the top of the metal bat.

╔═════════════════════╗

Fingerprints

Database match: ORTIZ, Carlos
Criminal record: Theft and
aggravated assault

╚═════════════════════╝

╔════════════════╗

Dent

Causes: violent impact
Traces of Thirium

╚════════════════╝

┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅
🔓Reconstruct
▼
[□]
┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅

Standing up from her spot on the ground, the scene began to play out before her eyes. The outline of the victim appeared in a crashed postion on the floor, eventually rising up into an aggressive stance with the bat ready to swing over his shoulder. Cornered against the counter in front of him was another figure – the android, she presumed – with its arm reaching back towards the rack holding the knives.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Deviant took a knife

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

She continued on with the reconstruction, rewinding the scene as the two seemed to struggle before that point. From the looks of it, the android was attempting to shield itself while Ortiz swung the bat in its direction multiple times.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Deviant was attacked: Emotional shock

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

With a few blinks the highlighted scene in front of her vanished, her blue LED circling a few times as the vital information was stored into her database. One last look around confirmed she had scanned all the evidence in the kitchen. So, she stepped out into the hallway and made her way to the living room, seeing as she still had to inspect the body.

Connor was in there and standing near the corpse, to her misfortune—another hindrance in her mission. Nonetheless, she sauntered over there with her head held high, the soft clicks of her heeled boots alerting him of her presence.

As his head turned towards her, she simply gestured towards the body. "Do you mind?" She asked in a polite manner, indicating for him to step aside.

Even if her CPU had some minor issues from his strange behavior, she found it wise to remain benevolent towards the detective—not like she had much of a choice, given her programming. Regardless, having at least one of the Anderson's be agreeable with her would benefit her case and allow her to get certain tasks done quicker.

So, she'd use that to her advantage whenever it was necessary.

Connor held no complaints, quickly stepping back from the body to give her room. "'Course, go ahead. You're the expert at this, after all." He commented with a hint of a playful smile.

(Y/n) brushed off his comment, taking his place as she crouched next to the victim's body so she could begin scanning. First she started with his face, then the area around his mouth, then his chest where the wounds were located, and lastly his hand to collect his fingerprints.

╔════════════════════════╗

DECEASED
Ortiz, Carlos

Height: 5'6" - Weight: 286.6 lbs
Estimated time of death: - 11:30 pm

╚════════════════════════╝

╔═══════════════════╗

Red Ice

Acetone, Lithium, Thirium
Toluene, Hydrochloric acid

╚═══════════════════╝

╔═══════════════════════╗

28 Knife wounds

Internal bleeding, 28 stab wounds
Deceased more than 19 days ago

╚═══════════════════════╝

╔═════════════════════╗

Fingerprints

Database match: ORTIZ, Carlos
Criminal record: Theft and
aggravated assault

╚═════════════════════╝

┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅
🔓Reconstruct
▼
[□]
┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅

A light blue outline appeared where the corpse once was, slowly rising up into a shocked postion, until he fell down to lean against the reclining chair. The entire time his hand was held out, as if to block something.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Victim fell here

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Continuing on, the victim stumbled more along the chair until he was turned around and hunched over on his hands and knees. He reversed back into a standing postion, where the figure of the android appeared behind him. She could clearly see its arm, which was stabbing the knife into his stomach.

She followed along as the two figures retraced their steps into the kitchen, where the android began chasing him with a knife. It tied together with the reconstruction she had created earlier, meaning the deviant must've overpowered him once it got ahold of the sharp blade.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Victim was stabbed

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

🔓 They came from the kitchen

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

(Y/n) let the figures fade away from her vision as she turned back to where Connor stood, who was watching her the entire time with curious eyes. "He was stabbed, twenty-eight times." She bluntly pointed out the excessive amount of wounds as she walked back over to where she was previously.

Connor's face shifted to one of disturbance, yet Hank cut into the conversation before he could form a reply. "Yeah, seems like the killer really had it in for him." Hank said, a hint of amusement in his tone as he walked over to the two. It vanished within a split second and was covered up by his usual frown, as if remembering what he was talking to.

She didn't react to any of it, carefully stepping around the body to get a closer look at the writing on the wall. Her brows furrowed together as she examined each letter that was neater than any human writing, aside from the drops of blood leaking down here and there.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Regular letters
Font CyberLife Sans

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

╓─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ╖

Report to Lt. and Det. Anderson

╙─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ╜

Right after she uploaded that bit of data, a new objective popped up in the corner of her vision. She had sufficient evidence to proceed to the next step of her mission, but she found it necessary to check one more room first. If she recalled correctly, there was a small area at the end of the hallway.

She stepped away from the bloody writing and began to make her way towards that part of the house. The more data she collected, the higher the chance of locating the deviant, successfully capturing it, and pulling the information she needed out of it.

The floorboards creaked beneath her feet as she rounded the corner and headed down the hallway. Towards the right was a door, and upon entering she realized it was a small bathroom—a dirty and poorly kept one at that. Everything was covered in grime, including the curtain of the shower, that of which she pushed out of the way to check inside.

She was greeted by a bunch of crazed writing all over the tiled walls, small scribbles of RA9 repeated over and over again and overlapping each other. Her gaze shifted lower, only to find a mysterious object on the floor of the shower.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

🔓 Obsessive writing

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

She leaned down to grab what appeared to be a statue, her brows furrowed together as she turned it around in her hands. It was strange looking, yet with that and the wooden bowl of flower stems and petals, she was able to assume what it might have been for.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

🔓 Religous offering?

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

She set the statue back, unable to process the implications of the shrine laid out before her. But she didn't need to, all she required was the data.

She turned away from the shower to search the rest of the bathroom. When nothing of importance came into view, she decided it was time to report back to the lieutenant and detective. The (H/c)-haired android stepped out into the hallway, noticing said persons were already standing at the end of it.

Connor was standing in front of the hole in the wall while Hank took his time reviewing evidence in the kitchen. (Y/n) approached the two and the brunettes attention automatically shifted to her, sending her a hint of a smile. She didn't reciprocate it, coming to a halt beside him and ignoring Hank's scowl directed at her.

╔═════════╗
[☓]  Talk
╚═════════╝

"Lieutenant, Detective," She addressed them both, nodding to each respectively. "–I think I've figured out what happened." At her bold claim, Hank rose an eyebrow in disbelief.

"Oh yeah? Shoot. I'm all ears." Hank's voice took on a ridiculing tone, that of which the android didn't pick up on. However, his son did, and sent him a glare of disapproval in response.

The irritation on his freckled complexion didn't stay for long, fading away the minute he turned to the shorter android. "Go ahead, (Y/n). Tell us what happened." He encouraged softly, uncaring to the scoff that came from Hank at his attentive behavior.

Unaware of the tension between the two relatives, (Y/n) complied. "It all started in the kitchen." She started, glancing over said area before stepping inside. Connor trailed after her, though he opted to remain close to the damaged wall to avoid getting in her way.

Hank stayed in his spot, arms crossed over his chest as he watched her with unimpressed eyes. "There're obvious signs of a struggle. The question is, what exactly happened here..." He mumbled as he turned back to the evidence, clearly uninterested in whatever else the android had to say.

Connor, on the other hand, was intrigued. His gaze stayed locked on her for the most part, occasionally flickering to the pieces of evidence scattered about while he waited for the rest of her hypothesis.

"I think the victim attacked the android with the bat." (Y/n) continued, her attention shifting from the older man to the younger one, as if to confirm that she was correct in her assumption.

Seeing as Hank wasn't going to say anything anytime soon, Connor spoke up. "That would line up with the evidence, so you're on the right path. Please, continue." He nodded his head, his face taking on a more serious expression as he concentrated on the information he was receiving from her.

"The android stabbed the victim." She added on, gesturing over to the knife rack that had an empty spot on it—now it laid in the living room smeared in the victim's blood.

Hank cut in, supposedly listening the entire time despite his indifferent attitude. "So the android was trying to defend itself, right?.. Okay, then what happened?" He questioned, more interested in what the android was saying now that the dots were connecting.

She nodded in confirmation to the lieutenant's first question. "The victim fled to the living room." She answered as she walked into said space, the two trailing after her silently. Eventually she paused at the corpse slumped against the wall and waited till they were standing behind her. "Then the android murdered the victim with the knife."

At the end of her conclusion she turned to look at the two, patiently waiting for their thoughts on the matter. Though, she was ninety-nine percent certain that she was correct, seeing as the compiled information in her database didn't lead down any other path without facing contradictions.

"Okay, your theory's not totally ridiculous." Hank said begrudgingly after a minute. Whereas he didn't want to acknowledge the androids accomplishments, Connor wore a proud smile on his lips, a hint of smugness in there as well—likely from his dad finally having to agree with the android.

(Y/n) didn't pay much attention to their reactions, though she couldn't help that recurring stutter in her system at the latter's. She shook it off as soon as it came, redirecting her gaze to lie solely on Hank as he carried on from his previous statement.

"But it doesn't tell us where the android went." He pointed out to the female android, quick to dismiss his acknowledgement towards her success.

She tilted her head as she pondered on that detail. Her lips pursed into a straight line, her LED whirling in slow cirlces while she ran through the information. It was an interesting detail that occured whenever she was thinking – or in her case, processing data – that Connor took notice of.

"It was damaged by the bat and lost some Thirium..." She said, more so talking to herself than the other two while she attempted to figure out the deviant's whereabouts.

Both of their expressions scrunched up in confusion. "Lost some what?" They asked at the same time, sharing a look between each other before shifting back to look at the RK800 android.

"Thirium. You call it 'Blue Blood'." (Y/n) explained, spotting the way Connor's puzzled expression shifted to one of intrigue. "It's the fluid that powers androids' biocomponents. It evaporates after a few hours and becomes invisible to the naked eye." She further elaborated, her gaze shifting back and forth between the two as they digested the new information.

"Oh... But I bet you can still see it, can't you?" Hank replied snarkily as he jabbed a finger in her direction, before crossing his arms back over his chest.

She disregarded his tone. "Correct." She confirmed with a nod and small smile. From the corner of her eye she noticed Connor's lips twitch up, causing her to turn to him.

"Impressive." Was all he said before he lifted his hand up to place on top of her head. It was the same as earlier, ruffling her hair and causing her LED to shift to that solid yellow hue as her system activity was interrupted by the incomprehensible action once more.

⌜┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ⌝
Connor ⍓
⌞ ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈⌟

⌜┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ⌝
Hank ⍓
⌞ ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈⌟

A huff of a laugh came from Hank as he watched the interaction with disbelieving eyes. "Christ. It's not a dog, Connor." He said with clear amusement. His comment caused the brunette to pause in his actions, yet he left his hand resting on top of her (H/c) locks.

(Y/n) merely blinked, unsure of how to process this new – and supposedly recurring – human interaction. The circular light continued to swirl a bright amber, her focus now solely on the two humans in front of her instead of the mission.

"She acts like one a lot." Connor replied light-heartedly as he tousled her hair more, flickering his gaze from his father to her with a playful grin. "She's as adorable as one, too." He added on, more so to himself as it was uttered under his breath.

She was only becoming more lost when Hank responded to the first statement Connor made. "Well, we're sure as hell not keeping it." He said gruffly, finally returning to work as he stepped away from the two.

She took that as her sign to continue with her objective as well. Slowly but surely her LED swirled back to a calm and composed blue, her system recovering from the actions and words she couldn't properly recognize quite yet.

Realizing there was still a weight on top of her head, the (H/c)-haired android reached up, her slim fingers wrapping around the taller man's wrist. It startled him, but he quickly relaxed when she used her grip on him to carefully remove his touch from her head.

╓─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ╖

Find Deviant

–Search for blue blood traces

╙─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ╜

"If you'll excuse me, Detective. I must continue with my mission." She said with a polite smile, gently placing his hand back at his side. She moved to step around him, missing the subtle flush that appeared on his pale skin as she focused on activating her scanner.

Her (E/c) irises trained onto the floor while the world around her shifted to greyscale, allowing the traces of thirium on the ground to stand out. She followed the blue blood splatters, leading her into the hallway and all the way to the end of it. The traces lead into the bathroom as well, but judging from the larger piles of it in the hallway, it must've backtracked after going in there.

There was a curtain beside the entrance of the bathroom. She grasped onto the fabric and swiftly pulled it aside, only to recoil when a couple of brooms toppled out and clattered to the floor where she previously stood. Her LED flashed into the yellow zone after being startled, and it spun when she heard the sound of a chuckle behind her.

(Y/n) whipped around to face the source, already expecting Connor to be there. He was covering his mouth with the back of his hand, trying to muffle his laughter and cover the entertained smile that curled on his lips.

Upon noticing the color of her LED, he took a breath to calm his own laughter. "Sorry, sorry. You alright? You seemed a bit startled." He said, amusement still evident in his tone. His hand fell away from his face, yet the wide smile remained.

Her LED leveled back to it's original blue. "I am in perfect condition, Detective. I wasn't expecting it, is all." She replied smoothly, resuming her search without hesitation. Upon doing so, she noticed something leaning along the length of the wall.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

A ladder was used

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Connor followed her gaze—first to the ladder, then up to where the attic opening was. Whereas he couldn't see anything, the android scanned over it and saw a deep blue handprint on the surface of the ceiling door.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

🔓 Traces lead to the attic

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

"Excuse me, Detective?" (Y/n) questioned, causing his gaze to flicker from the attic door to her, who still stared up at it with creased brows.

He rose an eyebrow, realizing she probably saw something of importance—that blue blood that humans couldn't see, he assumed.

"Yes, (Y/n)?" Connor asked in turn, his arms crossed over his chest as he awaited her reply patiently. "And um, just call me Connor from now on." He added on as an afterthought.

The (H/c)-haired android blinked as she finally turned towards the man. Her LED began flashing blue, processing the new set of instructions she received.

"Alright, Connor. Could you please get me a chair?" She asked, easily complying with his request like she was designed to do.

"Sure thing." A smile curled on his lips as he quickly agreed to help, already having an idea of what she needed it for.

He rushed off to the kitchen to retrieve said item, returning with it grasped tightly in one hand and resting over his shoulder for support. By the time he got back to the android, Hank had come around the corner to see what was going on.

"Could you place it right there?" (Y/n) requested, standing off to the side so she could point to the spot directly underneath the attic door. Connor complied, setting the chair down where she wanted it.

The back of the chair faced the wall, which he went to stand in front of, leaving both hands resting on top of the wooden backrest. He watched the female android as she stepped up to climb on top of the chair, her gaze glued to the attic the entire time while she reached upwards.

Connor panicked as the chair shifted forward with the movement, his hands darting out to grab her hips so he could stabilize her. Her LED switched to yellow in surprise, yet she was quick to regain her composure, the light shifting back to blue as her mission remained priority.

Her fingers pressed against the white surface of the attic door, easily sliding it off to the side until there was an opening large enough for her to get through. She gripped onto the edges of the entrance, hoisting herself up into the attic with ease as Connor's hands slipped away from her figure.

Once up there she shuffled herself to the side of the attic door, crouching down with her hand pressed on the ground for balance. Her eyebrows furrowed together at the dark and cluttered space, her gaze narrowing on a thin white cloth that had a person-shaped shadow behind it.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Search attic

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

(Y/n) stood up from the floor, starting to cautiously inch forward in the direction of the cloth. With every step the floorboards underneath her creaked, the only other sound being the rain pelting against glass from the single window in the attic. Once she was close enough to cloth with the ominous shadow behind it, she grasped onto it and swiftly ripped it aside, right as a strike of lightning crackled to life outside.

To her misfortune, no deviant stood behind it.

It was an old mannequin, yet she knew that the android had to be hiding in the attic somewhere. She was certain it was, for there were no other logical options as to where it could've hid. Since she confirmed it couldn't have fled the scene, all evidence led to this spot—it was merely a matter of where it was up here.

With her hand holding aside the cloth she ducked under the clothing line and stepped forward. As she ventured further into the gloomy space, her eyes darted around to find any potential hiding spots. For a second she paused in her steps, her audio processors picking up the faintest sound of wood creaking from someone other than herself.

She carried on after that, this time hunched over to make herself less noticeable. When she got closer to another stray piece of cloth, a figure suddenly darted out across the room in front of her.

Immediately her LED glowed a bright red in response, the danger of the situation sinking in and putting her on high alert. After a second or two it switched to a cautious amber, allowing her to continue forward yet still be wary of her surroundings.

That was it. It was back there.

The (H/c)-haired android maneuvered herself through the many pieces of furniture—long forgotten and collecting dust. She tried to push an office chair out of her way as quietly as possible, shifting past it until she found herself at the end of the attic. There was a small clearing, where the harsh light from outside shone through the lone window, illuminating the space around her.

Walking forward she was about to pass by the window, but found herself jerking backwards when a figure stumbled out from the shadows. Her eyes laser focused on the LED on the side of its head, her own shifting to its natural blue upon noticing the red glow.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

🔓 Deviant located

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

There was silence for a moment as the two had a stare off. Hesitantly, the deviant began to stumble over its words. "I was just defending myself..." It muttered, its gaze staring shamefully at the floor before snapping back up to the female android in front of it. "He was going to kill me..."

(Y/n)'s expression remained in a neutral state, unfazed by the androids pleading words. She stayed silent, staring down the deviant with a determined look that made it all the more apprehensive.

"I'm begging you..." It pleaded, its facial features switching to one of sheer desperation. There was a small glimmer of hope—a belief that a fellow android would understand the situation it was in. "Don't tell them."

The female android still didn't react, those (E/c) eyes icy and piercing as she never once took her gaze off it. It could plead all it wanted, but she knew what she needed to do. It was her sole purpose, an objective that was ingrained in her programming and the reason for her existence.

She knew her place, something the deviant in front of her clearly didn't.

The sound of muffled voices arguing downstairs reached her, yet she refused to avert her attention. "(Y/n), what the fuck is going on up there?" Hank's voice suddenly shouted, much more clearer than the lower voices they were speaking in before.

She didn't turn her head, staring into the terrified eyes of the android as she came to her decision.

"Are you okay?" Connor's voice worriedly added on not long after. Hearing both their voices call up to her, she knew what her next step was.

It appeared the male android caught on to what her blank expression meant, slowly shaking its head and mumbling pleas under its breath. It's entire body began to shake, and (Y/n) took that as her cue seeing as it was growing increasingly unstable.

"It's here, Lieutenant, Detective!"

Chapter Text

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⁅ Chapter Three ⁆

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╓﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ╖

Date:

NOV. 6th, 2038

╙﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎  ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ╜

╓﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ╖

Time:

AM 12:41:05

╙﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎  ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ╜

"Why'd you kill him?"

Hank's gruff voice sounded in the control room, the audio slightly modified due to the microphones quality. He sat at a table inside the interrogation room, an android in front of him—the one from the crime scene that they managed to catch in the attic.

For a while he had been trying to question it to no avail, as the deviant was no where close to budging. Unfortunately for himself and the officers watching on the other side, his own patience was wearing thin as the silence stretched on.

"What happened before you took that knife?"

Inside the control room, (Y/n) stood near the wall with her hands tucked in front of her, patiently awaiting any information that'd come from the android being questioned. With lieutenant's methods, it seemed she wouldn't be getting anything valuable out of this interrogation anytime soon.

In front of the control desk stood Connor, who watched through the one-way glass window in a mixture of frustration and defeat—clearly he didn't have much hope for his father cracking the deviant. Near him was another detective, Gavin Reed, who looked more bored than anything else. Then to the left of both of them was a police officer, Chris, who was busy keeping an eye on the panels.

When there was nothing but silence, Hank turned his head towards the one-way mirror. There was irritation in his expression, which was rising by the second at the lack of cooperation. He then turned back to the android, who kept its head down and refused to look anywhere else besides the table it was handcuffed to.

"How long were ya in the attic?" He asked another question, thinking that at some point a specific detail would catch the deviants attention and cause it to spill.

Another beat of silence passed, to which Hank released a long sigh and moved onto a different inquiry yet again. "Why didn't you even try to run away?" He questioned instead, his tone holding a hint of curiosity this time.

No response came.

With his frustration nearing it's peak, the grey-haired man moved his hand under the deviant's line of sight and snapped his fingers—a futile attempt to get a reaction out of it. There was nothing, not a single flinch or blink as it remained stock-still, its blank gaze locked onto the metal surface of the table.

Hank drew his hand back to where it was laying before, his face scrunched up with exasperation as he casted a glance towards the window. His burning gaze redirected to the cause of his rising temper, a curl of his lips indicating he'd had enough of this. Without warning he slammed both hands on the table and stood up, the chair screeching across the cement floor due to the sudden movement.

"Say something, goddamnit!" He raised his voice while leaning forward, a last resort to intimidate the unmoving hunk of metal in front of him. His actions and threatening tone held no affect over it, and after another minute ticked by, the lieutenant shook his head with a huff. "Fuck it, I'm outta here..."

With those last few words he headed towards the door, leaving four pairs of eyes to watch him exit the interrogation room. Not long after the door opened to their room as Hank walked in, visibly frustrated due to the lack of progress that was made.

⌜┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ⌝
Hank

–Neutral
⌞ ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈⌟

⌜┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ⌝
Connor

–Friend
⌞ ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈⌟

⌜┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈⌝
Software Instability ⍓
⌞┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈⌟

"We're wastin' our time interrogating a machine, we're gettin' nothing out of it!" Hank half-shouted while he moved to sit himself in one of the empty chairs. His expression was set into a scowl as he fell unceremoniously fell into the seat, where he then slumped back into it—a clear indicator he was done with his attempts of getting information out of it.

(Y/n) watched from the sidelines, observing the android in the room over and the lieutenant, as if assessing the situation that occured between them and the probable cause behind his failure. Soon her gaze shifted to Connor, who spoke up first after his father's outburst.

"Well, what else is there to do?" He asked like he had read her mind, both pondering how to recover from this failure. He turned his back to the window, now leaning against the desk with his hands placed along the edge to balance himself.

Gavin, who had moved to the far end of the room, interjected with a smug tone. "Could always try roughing it up a little. Afted all, it's not human." He suggested with a smirk, his attention shifting from the defective android outside to the (H/c)-haired android inside the room with them.

(Y/n) was unfazed by the comment, already adapted to the hostility directed towards her by most humans. However, she wasn't as unaffected by the withering stare Connor gave the complacent man after it was said. Silence followed after, a stillness forming in thr air—an anticipation, like one of them was waiting for the other to start the fight by lunging first.

Sometimes, she found it unusual the way humans interacted. She supposed his demeanor could've been due to previous tensions between them in the workplace, which was the most likely ressoning. It wasn't uncommon for humans to be competitive or insecure when it came to someone that interfered with their work, whether that be in a negative or positive manner. In this case, Gavin was a definite negative that hindered the case's progress.

Regardless of the reason behind Connor's abrupt hostility towards Gavin, (Y/n) decided to slice through the building tension. Her reply to his remark was automatic, the words quickly rolling off her tongue in an attempt to add helpful insight.

"Androids don't feel pain. You would only damage it, and that wouldn't make it talk." She explained to the older detective, whose smile immediately fell into a glower. "Deviants also have a tendency to self-destruct when they're in stressful situations."

"Okay, smartass." Gavin snapped, barely waiting for her to finish her sentence. His eyes narrowed into a defensive glare as he pushed off the wall he was leant up against. "What should we do then?" A mocking smile replaced his previous irritation, though, the snark in his tone was still there—an unsaid implication that a mere hunk of metal like herself couldn't do any better.

(Y/n) merely stared when he began to approach, undeterred by his attempt at being intimidating. However, her focus shifted when she noticed Connor abruptly stand up from her peripheral, his own attention unwavering from Gavin's form. If the tension was thick before, it was practically suffocating now, to the point even Hank rose an eyebrow at the two's antics—nothing he wasn't used to by now.

Before Gavin could step any closer towards her he paused, for Connor had swiftly taken the place by her side. His arms were crossed over his chest while he stared the shorter man down, his lips set into a firm line and brown irises a darker shade than usual—a silent warning that essentially told him to fuck off. A scoff and equally searing look came from Gavin, yet nonetheless he went to retreat back to where he stood beforehand, grumbling something under his breath.

She paused and blinked a couple of times, puzzled by whatever that was all about. Regardless, she brushed it aside, instead focusing on creating the best solution for their current predicament.

Given how the deviant reacted towards Hank – or rather, a lack of reaction – it was evident the android wanted nothing to do with humans. That was understandable, seeing as it had experienced trauma by one. Therefore,
the most logical option would be to have an android interrogate it—that way it'd feel like it was on equal ground.

Luckily, they had an RK800 android with the programming to accomplish such a task

"I could try questioning it." (Y/n) finally uttered her idea, those (E/c) eyes flickering back and forth across the floor. Had she been human, it would've appeared that she was uncertainty about doing so.

She wasn't, for there was a high certainty that she'd be able to get the information that the lieutenant couldn't. However, she'd grown accustomed to humans being against the idea of androids interfering with certain parts of their work. While she was primarily there to search crime scenes and catch deviants, interrogating one face-to-face was a new level for her programming—not one she wasn't equipped for, but one she wasn't sure they'd allow her to take on.

She had successfully predicted that reaction, seeing as Gavin barked out a laugh at that absurd idea. There was a hard stare on her face, her expression clearly unimpressed by his behavior, before her attention shifted to the sound of a huff beside her.

Her gaze landed on Connor, who looked more fed up than he did a few minutes ago, the daggers in his stare never straying away from the source of his irritation. Even that short, obnoxious laugh from Gavin was enough to boil his blood, the sound – or any sound from him, really – like nails scraping across a chalkboard.

While (Y/n)'s central unit had some difficulties here and there understanding social communications and behaviors, it was more than obvious that Connor didn't view Gavin with high regard like he did with other workers of the police force. If anything, he looked at the man like he should've been the criminal locked in that interrogation room, rather than the android.

She briefly wondered if it was merely a workplace feud between them – random, petty and bitter – or something more unpleasant.

Eventually those piercing brown eyes turned away from Gavin towards the short android beside him. Like a flick of a switch his gaze softened as he met her eyes, which were already staring up at him inquisitively—akin to a curious puppy, like he'd thought only an hour ago.

"I think that's an excellent idea, (Y/n)." Connor concurred as he rested a hand on her shoulder out of habit. "Go ahead, suspect's all yours." He gave her a half-smile and a light pat to that spot before stepping away, allowing her the space to leave.

She politely returned the smile then turned towards the door, making her way over now that she had been granted permission. When she lifted her hand to the door panel, the synthetic skin of her hand peeled away, revealing the shiny white plastic underneath. She pressed her palm against it, granting her access as the metal door slid open.

"So, you finally got yourself a girlfriend, eh Connor? No surprise that you could only get a hunk of plastic instead of a real person."

Gavin's words were the last thing her audio processors picked up on before she walked out of the room, the door automatically sliding shut behind her. She merely disregarded the comment, for she had a new objective that required all her focus.

After she left, Connor visibly bristled at the detective's mocking remark. It wasn't the fact that he accused him of being with an android—he couldn't care less about that, in all honesty. It was the contempt that was constantly being aimed at himself, along with the person that had walked out of the room.

That, and he wished Gavin would shut his fucking mouth for once in his life.

"Fuck off, Gavin. No one has patience for your bullshit today." He snapped at the man, not waiting for a response as he went to sit in a spare seat next to his father.

A second later he felt a small pat to his shoulder, and he didn't need to glance over to understand the meaning behind it. The irritation in him ebbed away, yet he was sure it wouldn't be the last remark he'd hear from that asshole.

╓─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ╖

Extract confession

╙─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ╜

After sliding her hand against another panel, the door to the interrogation room slid open. Her vision honed in on the suspect, who had yet to move from its previous position—arms braced against the table, head tilted downwards, eyes glued to the surface regardless of what was happening around it.

With a quick adjustment to her tie (Y/n) stepped inside, the door sliding shut in a soundless motion. She slowly walked towards the table the deviant was cuffed to, her heels clicking against the cement with each step. The small sounds fell on deaf ears, the android a statue where it sat.

Rather than trying to talk to it straight away, she spotted the files left on the table and decided to reach for those. Once she opened them she saw photos from the scene of the crime. She spread them out for a brief moment to get a better view of the images, along with the information printed on the side of the folder.

[ 🔓 ]

Knowing these could be important to use against the deviant, she neatly tucked them back inside the report folder and closed it, sliding it off to the side for later. Her (E/c) eyes landed back on the android as she dragged the chair back from where Hank pushed it away—even the scraping of the legs didn't get a reaction from it. But that didn't bother her as she settled in her spot.

She'd get that confession out of it—the probability was high, and numbers had yet to fail her.

╔════════════════╗

► [△] Analyze

► [□] Interrogate

╚════════════════╝

╔═════════╗
[△] Analyze
╚═════════╝

Before she could begin prodding it for answers, she took the time to scan its physical state so she could learn more details about it. First she scanned the LED at its right temple, which has been an amber hue since it arrived at the precinct—a clear sign of strain on its system. Next came the shiny blue triangle on its uniform, where she would receive the data of its model, purpose, manufacture date, and the owner of the android.

╔════════════════════════╗

Processing LED

Signs of software instability
Probability of self-destruction: Low

╚════════════════════════╝

[ 🔓 ]

╔═════════════════════╗

MODEL HK400 –
Housekeeper

Manufacture date: 05/29/2030
Property of: Carlos Ortiz

╚═════════════════════╝

Her eyes flickered to the opposite side of its uniform, noticing the large amount of dried blood stuck to the black and white clothing item. Seeing as there was already a pile of evidence in her database that suggested the android killed its owner, it'd likely link back to the previous blood samples she'd taken approximately an hour ago.

╔════════════════════╗

Dried blood

DNA analysis: ORTIZ, Carlos
Sample date: > 19 days

╚════════════════════╝

As suspected it was a perfect match, further adding onto the proof that the android had killed its owner. Nonetheless, she carried on with her observations, knowing that the facts were nothing without a confession—without an understanding of why it did it.

This time she took notice of the damage done to both of its arms. She could see the synthetic skin peeling away to reveal busted and burned plastic underneath, the right arm even revealing some of the metal plating further below the white casing.

╔════════════════════════╗

Burn marks

Repeated marking over 16 months
Caused by cigarettes

╚════════════════════════╝

[ 🔓 ]

╔════════════════════╗

Hit marks

Non-critical damage Level 2
Caused by baseball bat

╚════════════════════╝

(Y/n) blinked a couple of times as the small blue text and screens around her vision faded away. From those last pieces of information, it was apparent that the abuse to this android had been long-term. Then, why had it only broken its protocol recently to defend itself, instead of months ago?

It was time for her to find out.

╔═══════════╗
[□] Interrogate
╚═══════════╝

╓─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ╖

Reach optimal stress for confession

╙─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ╜

╾ ╸ ╸╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╸ ╸ ╼

35%  Level of Stress

╾ ╸ ╸╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╸ ╸ ╼

As her new objective appeared in her system a screen materialized next to the deviant, the bright red numbers serving as a constant reminder in her vision. It was important to keep an eye on its stress levels—too low and she wouldn't get it to crack, but too high and it could potentially self-destruct. She needed to be cautious of how far she pushed it.

╔════════════════╗

► [△] [ Fear ] 🔓

► [□] [ Show photos ] 🔓

► [○] [ Wounds ]🔓

► [☓] Name

╚════════════════╝

╔═════════╗
[△] [ Fear ]
╚═════════╝

"I detect an instability in your program." (Y/n) spoke up, breaking the silence between the two androids. Her voice cut through the air like a knife, determined and unwavering. "It can trigger an unpleasant feeling, like fear in humans." She tilted her head down to the side while she talked, attempting to get a better look at its face so she could gauge its emotions.

No reaction came in response to her words or movements, the only sound in the room being her own simulated breathing pattern. She returned back to her normal position, straightening up in her chair while she continued to stare down the deviant in front of her.

It'd likely take a few tries before it started talking, seeing as its stress level only rose by a couple percent. Unlike the lieutenant, androids didn't have any patience to lose, so she could easily wait it out until she got it to that breaking point.

╔════════════════╗

► [△] [ Show photos] 🔓

► [○] [ Wounds ] 🔓

► [☓] Name

╚════════════════╝

╔═════════════╗
[△] [ Show photos]
╚═════════════╝

(Y/n)'s hand hovered over the case file, her fingertips pressing against the flimsy material as she slid it in front of her. She turned it around to face the deviant, ensuring it was in its line of sight before opening the folder. There was no outward reaction as she presented the gruesome photos to the android, yet its stress level rose a percent or two without her saying a word.

"You recognize him? It's Carlos Ortiz." She stated, not bothering to wait for a reply since she knew it wouldn't give one. "Stabbed, twenty-eight times." She added on, putting emphasis on the second word to match the weight of the situation. It was a horrific number that surpassed what it'd take to kill a person—stabbing until he was dead wasn't enough.

Grabbing the photo page she lifted it up and placed it aside, revealing the second pair of photos underneath. This time they presented the bloodied knife and the phrase written on the wall with the blood of the victim.

"That was written on the wall in his blood..." She trailed off, this time waiting a beat to see if it'd have any type of reaction.

There was dead silence, but she was unsurprised by its continual lack of cooperation. She needed to raise its level of stress to fifty percent or higher—the breaking point where she'd finally get her answers.

╾ ╸ ╸╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╸ ╸ ╼

⍓ 39%  Level of Stress

Too low

╾ ╸ ╸╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╸ ╸ ╼

╔════════════════╗

► [△] Comfort

► [□] Reassure

► [○] Threaten

► [☓] Blame

╚════════════════╝

╔════════╗
[☓] Blame
╚════════╝

The next time she spoke her voice took on a stern edge, her facial features hardening into a stone-faced expression. If she wanted to get it to break, she couldn't afford to spare any sympathy for it—cold, callous and calculated was the plan until it cooperated.

"You're accused of murder." She explained, trying to stress the severity of the situation as much as she could. "You know you're not allowed to endanger human life under any circumstances. Do you have anything to say in your defense?"

She paused and tilted her head into its peripheral once more, a burning glare in those (E/c) irises that seared into the side of its head. There was no comment, yet she could see its LED flickering red, which meant that she was making progress.

╾ ╸ ╸╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╸ ╸ ╼

⍓ 43%  Level of Stress

Too low

╾ ╸ ╸╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╸ ╸ ╼

╔════════════════╗

► [△] Sympathize

► [□] Threaten

► [○] Probe memory

► [☓] Trust

╚════════════════╝

╔═════════╗
[□] Threaten
╚═════════╝

(Y/n) leaned closer to the android, each word slow and steely on her tongue, with the sole intention to dig under his skin. "You don't seem to understand the situation." She said, her sentence accompanied by a stone-cold glare that refused to waver. "You killed a human, they'll tear you apart if you don't say something."

The threat did nothing to catch the androids attention visibly, but she could tell by the steady increase of its stress that it heard every torturous word. She silently observed the flickering light on its temple, her central processor running through the possibilities based on the minimal data she was able to collect from the deviant so far.

╔════════════════╗

► [△] Sympathize

► [○] Probe memory

► [☓] Trust

╚════════════════╝

╔═══════╗
[☓] Trust
╚═══════╝

Seeing that the percentage had almost reached an optimal level, she took an easier approach—one that wouldn't spike its stress levels too far, yet one that wouldn't lower it back into silence. Enough of a push to where it'd be on edge, but willing to communicate with her.

"I'm here to help you." Her face softened from its previous glower, offering a sympathetic look as those (E/c) irises shone with a faux recognition. She stayed leant forward, slowly gesturing a hand towards herself to emphasize her next words. "But you've got to trust me. All I want is to get you out of here."

It was said so softly, with such sweetness, that the android would've never picked up on the venom that lied beneath and would soon cause its downfall. She was a wolf in sheep's clothing, ready to pounce at the opportunity to prove herself worthy of her purpose.

Per her calculations, the deviant finally snapped its head up with urgency, having reached the point where it could no longer avoid the inevitable. There was blood spattered across its face, matching the crimson that was splattered on its uniform.

She didn't flinch as its wild gaze flickered from the mirror to herself, unfazed by the sheer terror that painted its face. There was only satisfaction knowing she'd got it to crack, unlike the lieutenant, who could never properly understand how androids worked and what buttons needed to be pushed.

Soon its gaze trailed off to the side of her head, as if it were dissociating from where it was. "What..." It trailed off, sounding breathless despite the fact that breathing was optional for androids—the synthetic lungs inside them only there to mimic those who created them. "What are they gonna do to me?" It asked quietly, the words a mere murmur as it's petrified gaze shifted back to meet her own.

She could see the dread swirling in its dark irises, a terror so potent that it took her CPU a second too long to comprehend what it said. There was so much fear—fear of where it was, fear of what it had done, fear of what was going to happen to it. Above all else there was a specific fear that she could see the easiest—the horror of having the RK800 android in front of it be the deciding factor as to whether it lived or not.

She'd seen Daniel react similarly, that fearful expression of knowing it might die at her hands, even if indirectly. Except that was her first time on a mission, and she didn't have the chance to be up close and personal before it was gunned down.

This, whatever this interaction was, felt different, more... straining on her system.

(Y/n) slowly blinked at the distressed android, taking a second to regain her composure as she leaned back and straightened up in her chair. Her lips briefly parted to answer – a truth or a lie, she wasn't sure yet – but before she could it continued speaking.

It tilted its head down, breaking their eye contact as its LED switched between amber and red—an internal struggle to calm itself down from the inevitable danger that hung over its head.

"They're gonna destroy me, aren't they?" It asked, simultaneously panicked and defeated as it slowly shook its head back and forth, its breaths quickening in pace.

She went to speak, only to find that her vocal module was unable to create any sound, leaving her lips parted for a second until she closed them. She shouldn't be hesitating to answer. It was as simple as picking an option and following through with it—yet here she was.

Should she tell the truth? Statistics wise, it could benefit her if she went either way—lying would put it at enough ease to give her answers, but telling the truth could cause a sense of urgency so it could prevent its own destruction.

It shouldn't have been a hard decision, either one would benefit her in the end. So why was she reluctant to say anything to the despondent android?

╔════════════════╗

► [○] Lie

► [☓] Truth

╚════════════════╝

╔════════╗
[☓] Truth
╚════════╝

What was a few long seconds of contemplation felt like an eternity to her, yet she finally made the decision. It was based on the likelihood of which of the two routes would be more effective, the second one providing a more favorable outcome. That, and for some reason, the first option just didn't feel... correct.

"They're going to disassemble you to look for problems in your biocomponents." She replied slowly, as if to let those heavy words sink in. "They have no choice if they want to understand what happened." She further elaborated, trying her best to explain why this expectation was unavoidable for a defective android like itself.

The dread in its expression deepened, nothing but agony in those dark eyes as they met her unwavering (E/c) irises once more. "Why did you tell them you found me?" It whispered, sounding so utterly devastated over the fact that a fellow android had sold it out without a second thought. "Why couldn't you have just left me there?" If possible its voice became quieter, barely audible if it weren't for her advanced audio processors.

(Y/n) let out a shuddered breath, unaware of the unnecessary action as her gaze flickered over the deviant's foreboding features. There was that pause again, the shortest freeze in her central processing unit that prevented her from seeing the options for her next step. It was out of line, especially since interrogating defective androids was a primary part of her programming—a skill she should be able to perform smoothly without any bumps to slow her down.

This must've been the effects of the software instabilities that popped up a mere hour ago. It was causing a recurring malfunction in her system, so she created a mental note to run a diagnostic on herself after she acquired the deviant's confession. If it showed errors in her components or coding, she'd contact CyberLife for a maintenance check.

"I was programmed to hunt deviants like you. I just accomplished my mission." That statement was the cold, hard truth, one she refused to sugar-coat as she managed to maintain her composure once more.

That indifferent look returned in her (E/c) irises, inhuman and hollow, without a single trace of fake pity to be found. She refused to let a mere deviant mess with her own programming. She was an advanced prototype whose mission would always be her primarily directive.

The RK800 android was not created for failure—not now, nor ever.

Its eyes downcasted to its own cuffed hand, unable to maintain eye contact after seeing that cruel shift from reassuring to impassive. "I don't wanna die." It whispered as a last resort, nothing but torment in those shuddered words as its body began to subtly shake where it sat.

Realizing her mistake, the female android was quick to switch back to that false sense of security. While she had no intention of caring for the deviant's emotional nonsense, she had to use whatever manipulation tactic best suited her mission.

"Then talk to me." She murmured delicately, her facial features effortlessly shifting into that deceiving expression of consideration.

The male android didn't look back up, its shoulders shaking as it took in ragged breaths. "I... I can't..." It managed to stutter out, choking on its breaths as its eyes darted back and forth across the metal surface of the table.

╓─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ╖

Choose approach

╙─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ╜

A new screen with her objective popped up in her vision and her eyes narrowed, knowing it was time she officially got to work with dragging a confession out of it. The lieutenant and detective were watching and waiting in the other room, so it was about time she hurried this up and got the job done.

╔════════════════╗

► [△] Pressure it

► [○] Probe its memory

► [☓] Convince it

╚════════════════╝

╔═══════════╗
[☓] Convince it
╚═══════════╝

╔════════════════╗

► [△] Understanding

► [○] Threaten

► [☓] Order

╚════════════════╝

╔══════════╗
[○] Threaten
╚══════════╝

"If you don't talk, they're going to tear you apart and analyze you piece by piece." She warned, that stern demeanor from earlier returning within an instant. "They're going to destroy you, do you understand?" Her voice rose slightly, tone firm and eyes sharpened into a glare on its figure.

Unfortunately, they seemed to have fallen back to square one, as the deviant refused to say anything else. She didn't wait long, already moving onto the other dialogue options displayed in her system—she needed progress, and she was going to get it.

╾ ╸ ╸╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╸ ╸ ╼

⍓ 58% Level of stress

Optimal

╾ ╸ ╸╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╸ ╸ ╼

╔════════════════╗

► [△] Sympathize

► [○] Indifferent

► [☓] Comfort

╚════════════════╝

╔═══════════╗
[○] Indifferent
╚═══════════╝

"Ok then, don't talk. Why do I care, after all?" She said while raising her hands up towards herself, her posture indifferent as she leant back into her chair. "I mean, I'm not the one accused of murder, right?" She shrugged, a smile on her lips that bordered on being cruel.

There wasn't a major reaction from the deviant, but she noticed the way it flinched and its stress continued to rise. Its hand clenched and unclenched in the cuff around its wrist, becoming more restless by the minute.

╔════════════════╗

► [△] Protect

► [○] Terrify

► [☓] Warn

╚════════════════╝

╔═════════╗
[△] Protect
╚═════════╝

"Confess and I'll protect you." The firmness in her expression remained, yet her voice dipped down with sincerity, making it appear as though she were taking pity on it. "I promise I won't let anyone hurt you." It was a flat out lie, yet a saccharine promise that regained the android's attention.

She met its gaze, unbothered by the helplessness in those drained irises. It was vulnerable, desperate for an opportunity to survive this disaster it caused, and she easily took advantage of that.

Its mouth opened, hesitating for a second before any sound came out. "He tortured me everyday..." It muttered, loud enough for her audio processors to pick up the information without having to tune in. She relaxed into her seat, staying silent as the deviant carried on with its story. "I did whatever he told me, but... there was always something wrong. Then one day, he took a bat and started hitting me..."

It trailed off, eyes devoid of any and all light as a dazed look passed over them. The LED on the side of its head flickered from yellow to bright red, as if it were reliving the moment all over again—a replay that it was cursed to see no matter what, one that couldn't be blocked out or forgotten the way humans could.

"For the first time, I felt..." It paused, a sharp breath leaving it as the RK800 android leaned forward in anticipation. "–scared." It breathed out, visibly shaking like a leaf at this point as its LED refused to stay on one color.

(Y/n) blinked, her brows furrowing together at its confession towards feeling such a strong emotion. She knew it wasn't true, yet it intrigued her nonetheless. Androids weren't capable of experiencing emotions like humans, as it was only irrational instructions in their programming that caused conflict. She was certain that it was errors in its code, not emotions.

Despite her disbelief and the itch to correct it, she didn't interrupt. "Scared he might destroy me, scared I might die..." It continued on, recounting exactly how it felt when it was faced with the possibility of being destroyed—how it finally snapped in order to protect itself.

From the other room, a hint of a smile quirked up on Hank's lips as he watched the scene, almost appearing impressed by the androids methods. He casted a glance to his son, whose eyes were glued to the window.

The tension from earlier had completely faded away from his body, replaced by fascination as he watched intently. There was a smile similar to Hank's on his lips, except his was much more unabashed in showing his admiration. Hank gave a huff of a laugh at his reaction before turning back to the window.

⌜┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ⌝
Hank ⍓
⌞ ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈⌟

"So I... grabbed a knife and I stabbed him in the stomach. I felt better, so I stabbed him again and again! Until he collapsed..." Its voice got aggressive and loud halfway through, before trailing off at the end with agony flooding its expression once more.

Hearing that confession through the speakers mounted in the room, a shudder ran down Connor's spine. It was disturbing enough to hear anyone say that, but hearing the words come from the mouth of an android – who supposedly shouldn't be capable of feeling anything – twisted something deep and grim inside him. He heard it over and over again, repeated daily by those around him, and yet...

Those brown eyes flickered over to the other side of the table, landing on the (H/c)-haired android that remained calm and collected. There was a relaxed look on her (S/c) complexion, unwavering yet attentive to every detail that she was being told. It was odd how human she looked in that very moment—how she watched so closely as if every word meant something to her deep down.

⌜┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ⌝
Connor ⍓
⌞ ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈⌟

[ 🔓 ]

"There was blood everywhere." After that there was a long pause, the male android going silent since there was nothing left to explain. It had confessed to the murder in detail, meeting the goal that she had been ordered to complete.

Regardless of accomplishing her mission, there was more to learn from this android. There were still many unknowns from the crime scene, the information in her memory serving as a reminder to the unsettling and puzzling pieces of evidence scattered around the house. She technically finished her mission, but it was the bare minimum, and she knew she could exceed that expectation.

╔════════════════╗

► [△] [ Writing ] 🔓

► [□] [ Statuette ] 🔓

► [○] [ rA9 ] 🔓

► [☓] Attic

╚════════════════╝

╔═══════════╗
[△] [ Writing ]
╚═══════════╝

"Why did you write 'I AM ALIVE' on the wall?" She dived right back into questioning the android, unable to help her genuine interest this time around. Her hands went to rest on the table, one neatly tucked on top of the other as she leaned closer.

It heaved out a deep sigh, lightly shaking its head back and forth as the LED on its temple whirled around. "He used to tell me I was nothing. That I was just a piece of plastic..." It stated, voice low and brimmed with pain as it moved to stare directly into her curious gaze. "I had to write it. To tell him he was wrong."

(Y/n) hummed to herself in acknowledgement, its answer not surprising her in the slightest. While this was only her second official case, it appeared it was a recurring theme that these androids wanted to be seen as alive like humans—first Daniel, now this one. However, it wasn't that detail that intrigued her the most, but rather the other factors—ones revolving around a new religion her central processor couldn't even begin to fathom.

╔════════════════╗

► [△] [ Statuette ] 🔓

► [□] [ rA9 ] 🔓

► [○] Attic

► [☓] Trigger?

╚════════════════╝

╔═══════════╗
[△] [ Statuette ]
╚═══════════╝

"The sculpture in the bathroom, you made it, right? What does it represent?" She asked one of her burning questions, her head tilting to the side in that curious quirk she was programmed with.

Whereas the last answer was expected, she was left with little to no results as to what this one could've implied. It was such a foreign situation for a machine that had excessive amounts of information to pull from.

The bloodied android blinked slowly as it processed her question, as if debating how to explain it properly. "It's an offering... An offering so I'll be saved..." It eventually responded with that, which was more ambiguous than it not answering altogether.

Its head drooped back down after that, leaving (Y/n) to stare at it. Her eyebrows creased together, its response leaving her more clueless than before. She couldn't comprehend what that meant.

Saved? Saved by whom? And how exactly could someone save an android, of all things? Machines didn't need saving—only fixing.

╔════════════════╗

► [△] [ rA9 ] 🔓

► [□] [ Offering ] 🔓

► [○] Attic

► [☓] Trigger?

╚════════════════╝

╔═══════════╗
[□] [ Offering ]
╚═══════════╝

She chose to further question it on that matter, seeing as the last answer provided little input. "The sculpture was an offering... An offering to whom?" She asked, her elbows pressing into the table as her hands made mild gestures while she spoke.

"To rA9... Only rA9 can save us." It replied in a hushed tone, casting a glance towards the mirror before looking down again with a harsh breath.

If she was lost before, it was only worsening with every answer she received. Each one merely caused more questions to pop up—who was rA9, why were they considered a savior, and why was this android obsessed with the concept of some higher being?

It was strangely similar to how many humans believed in their own versions of a deity—a higher being meant to evoke hope when it came to situations humans had no control over. Perhaps that's why this android created its own deity-like entity. There was no hope left, no way for it to avoid destruction, so it turned to an otherworldly force as a last resort—one last fruitless attempt to grasp onto its so-called life.

It was fascinating, really. The idea that a machine, an emotionless being that ran solely on logistics and statistics, could form a religion solely out of desperation to believe it had a chance at surviving—at becoming something more.

That revelation was beyond her own comprehension, and she pondered what kind of bug in their coding could've lead to such complexity in their thoughts.

╔════════════════╗

► [△] [ rA9 ] 🔓

► [○] Attic

► [☓] Trigger?

╚════════════════╝

╔════════╗
[△] [ rA9 ]
╚════════╝

Hoping to solve the mystery of what this mysterious figure worth admiration was, she immediately chose that dialogue option. Though, judging from its patterns so far, there was a high chance its answer would be as cryptic as the last two.

"RA9... It was written on the bathroom wall. What does it mean?" She asked, a hint of fascination slipping into her tone without realizing it.

It could've been some imaginary entity meant to evoke hope in androids, hence the offering left in the bathroom. But it also could've been an existing person – human or android – that they looked up to for guidance—a leader, meant to show them the way into deviancy.

There was a pause for a while, until the android lifted its head up slowly. Its gaze held a dark intensity as it stared deep into her (E/c) eyes, a fire burning behind them that was unreadable to her.

"The day shall come when we will no longer be slaves. No more threats. No more humiliation. We will... be... the masters." It spoke each word with certainty, not an ounce of doubt to be found. The fear from before dissipated for that split second, replaced by a desire so overwhelming it took her aback.

(Y/n)'s eyes widened a fraction, unable to fathom how a defective android could even come up with an idea so absurd. Then again, it was damaged enough to believe in a deity of sorts, so she supposed it wasn't that improbable that it had other issues with its CPU.

Androids taking over humans? While she wouldn't say it's unlikely given deviants were increasing in number, it would've been a losing battle—humanity had a lot more force to push back with if they were to rebel. So, even if this android believed that, she knew that would be a slim possibility. She didn't care to ponder on how the future would be if that were a potential outcome, either.

╔════════════════╗

► [△] [ Insist rA9 ] 🔓

► [○] Attic

► [☓] Trigger?

╚════════════════╝

╔════════════╗
[△] [ Insist rA9 ]
╚════════════╝

"RA9, who is rA9?" Determined to get to the bottom of this rA9 character, she prodded again. She waited a minute or two for a further elaboration, yet received none—the android had fallen silent once more.

It must've not known how else to describe it, or it had decided it needed no further acknowledgement, having said all that needed to be said. Whatever the reason, she wasn't getting an explanation, so she reluctantly turned back to the options she had left for the interrogation.

╔════════════════╗

► [○] Attic

► [☓] Trigger?

╚════════════════╝

╔═════════╗
[☓] Trigger?
╚═════════╝

"When did you start feeling emotion?" (Y/n) pivoted to that question instead, seeing as it could be useful to understand how androids get to this breaking point of deviancy.

The android huffed, annoyed by an inquiry that felt so obvious to itself. "Before, he used to beat me and I never said anything... But one day I realized it wasn't fair!" Its voice rose with the last sentence, becoming aggravated as its facial features scrunched up and formed a scowl. "I felt anger, hatred... And then I knew what I had to do."

╔═══════╗
[☓] Attic
╚═══════╝

Left with nothing else to ask, she went with her only option. "Why did you hide in the attic instead of running away?" While she asked that she leaned back in her chair, patiently waiting for its response as the interrogation began to come to a close.

It sighed, a look of disappointment forming. "I didn't know what to do. For the first time, there was no one there to tell me... I was scared... So I hid." It muttered, no longer able to look anywhere near the her as it fidgeted where it sat. It could sense this was the end of the conversation, judging by the way its stress levels started to spike.

There was nothing (Y/n) could do in regards to that, seeing as her mission was officially completed. She casually leaned back in her seat and casted her gaze over to the mirror.

"I'm done." She stated, loud and clear enough for them to hear through the microphone in the room.

The (H/c)-haired android stood up slowly, sending one last glance to the deviant chained to the table. She paused for a second upon noticing the way it was shaking, much more violently than it had been when they were communicating. Its level of stress was escalating rapidly, an alarming fact that prevented her from immediately exiting the room.

╓─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ╖

Leave interrogation room

╙─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ╜

That order appeared in her vision—an urgent reminder due to her hesitance. Upon seeing it she quickly switched back into gear, heading over to the door and raising her hand up to the panel. The synthetic skin peeled away, the white plastic of her palm pressing against the device in time with the metal door sliding open.

As soon as she had done so, she spotted Detective Reed and the man that was at the control desk, Chris. She politely stepped out of their way, barely missing Gavin as he pushed his way through.

"Chris, lock it up." He ordered, sending a sideways glance to the RK800 android. He walked further into the room, until he was near the left side of the blood-covered android.

Said man trailed after him, the keys to the cuffs in hand. He stepped closer to deviant and leant down to unlock the single cuff around its wrist. "Alright, let's go." He mumbled while reaching out to grab it by the arm.

He didn't get far, for the male android jerked its arm away from his grasp, its LED now a bright crimson hue. "Leave me alone!" It cried out, the trembling of its body worsening as its fearful eyes remained glued to the table. It let out a shaky breath and twitched, its free hand now fidgeting against the table. "Don't touch me!"

(Y/n) could see its stress levels skyrocketing, the percentage screen beside the deviant now accompanied by multiple warning signs. She noticed Connor and Hank enter the room, the prior of the two looking more cautious after his eyes had landed on the shaking android.

Chris made a second attempt to grab the bloodied and battered android, only for it to jerk away from him once more. It started to continously mumble under its breath, words that her audio processors couldn't make out due to the white noise of the warnings flooding her system.

Whereas Chris became reluctant on trying to remove the unstable android, Gavin looked visibly irritated. "The fuck are you doing? Move it!" Gavin snapped, now hovering near the table as he sent a harsh glare towards the startled man.

Chris appeared a little shaken, likely able to tell that the android was in bad condition, yet nonetheless complied with the order. "Okay," He let out a long sigh and turned back to the deviant, whose LED was flashing red at a rapid rate. "–come now. Don't be difficult, it'll only make things harder!" He raised his voice as he got behind it to grab it by the shoulders, this time attempting to use more force so it would move.

(Y/n) watched the scene with blank eyes, flickering between the android struggling in the man's grip and the rising percentage on the screen beside it. She had already completed what she was sent here for, so it was out of her hands at this point.

╔════════════════╗

► [○] Intervene

► [☓] Give up

╚════════════════╝

╔═════════╗
[☓] Give up
╚═════════╝

╾ ╸ ╸╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╸ ╸ ╼

⍓ 100%  Level of stress

╾ ╸ ╸╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╸ ╸ ╼

The panicked android began to thrash against the officers grip, its expression bleeding into full blown panic and horror as the high level of stress overrided its system. Before anyone could react its arms darted towards Chris, grabbing ahold of the gun in his holster and yanking it out with ease.

The click of the safety went off, and there was no time to stop it as it raised the gun under its chin and pulled the trigger. The shot echoed throughout the small room, Thirium splattering on its body and the table below, before it fully slumped against the metal surface.

Dead silence passed over the five of them as they processed what had occurred—more so the others than herself, since she was aware of its own self-destruction being inevitable.

"Holy shit..." Hank muttered, breaking the tension as he stood up from the table that he had forced himself and Connor to duck behind. His son slowly stood up with him, both of them wide-eyed and startled as they stared at the unmoving body of the android.

(Y/n) remained unfazed as she looked down at the body that had fallen against the table, blue blood piling up under it until it dripped off the edge of the surface. While she stared at the gruesome scene she could feel a pair of eyes burning into her, to which her impassive gaze switched to the side.

They connected with brown irises for a split second before they flickered away just as quickly, redirecting to the deactivated body of the android. There was an incomprehensible look in his eyes, a shadow casted over them as they stayed locked on the blue blood that began to pool onto the floor below.

⌜┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈⌝
Connor ⍌
⌞┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ⌟

Chapter Text

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⁅ Chapter Three ⁆

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► [○] Path one – Good Cop

► [☓] Path two –  Bad Cop

╚════════════════╝

╔════════════════╗

[☓] Path two –  Bad Cop

╚════════════════╝

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⁅ Path Two – Bad Cop ⁆

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╓﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ╖

Date:

NOV. 6th, 2038

╙﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎  ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ╜

╓﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ╖

Time:

AM 12:41:05

╙﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎  ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ╜

"Why'd you kill him?"

Hank's gruff voice sounded in the control room, the audio slightly modified due to the microphones quality. He sat at a table inside the interrogation room, an android in front of him—the one from the crime scene that they managed to catch in the attic.

For a while he had been trying to question it to no avail, as the deviant was no where close to budging. Unfortunately for himself and the officers watching on the other side, his own patience was wearing thin as the silence stretched on.

"What happened before you took that knife?"

Inside the control room, (Y/n) stood near the wall with her hands tucked in front of her, patiently awaiting any information that'd come from the android being questioned. With lieutenant's methods, it seemed she wouldn't be getting anything valuable out of this interrogation anytime soon.

In front of the control desk stood Connor, who watched through the one-way glass window in a mixture of frustration and defeat—clearly he didn't have much hope for his father cracking the deviant. Near him was another detective, Gavin Reed, who looked more bored than anything else. Then to the left of both of them was a police officer, Chris, who was busy keeping an eye on the panels.

When there was nothing but silence, Hank turned his head towards the one-way mirror. There was irritation in his expression, which was rising by the second at the lack of cooperation. He then turned back to the android, who kept its head down and refused to look anywhere else besides the table it was handcuffed to.

"How long were ya in the attic?" He asked another question, thinking that at some point a specific detail would catch the deviants attention and cause it to spill.

Another beat of silence passed, to which Hank released a long sigh and moved onto a different inquiry yet again. "Why didn't you even try to run away?" He questioned instead, his tone holding a hint of curiosity this time.

No response came.

With his frustration nearing it's peak, the grey-haired man moved his hand under the deviant's line of sight and snapped his fingers—a futile attempt to get a reaction out of it. There was nothing, not a single flinch or blink as it remained stock-still, its blank gaze locked onto the metal surface of the table.

Hank drew his hand back to where it was laying before, his face scrunched up with exasperation as he casted a glance towards the window. His burning gaze redirected to the cause of his rising temper, a curl of his lips indicating he'd had enough of this. Without warning he slammed both hands on the table and stood up, the chair screeching across the cement floor due to the sudden movement.

"Say something, goddamnit!" He raised his voice while leaning forward, a last resort to intimidate the unmoving hunk of metal in front of him. His actions and threatening tone held no affect over it, and after another minute ticked by, the lieutenant shook his head with a huff. "Fuck it, I'm outta here..."

With those last few words he headed towards the door, leaving four pairs of eyes to watch him exit the interrogation room. Not long after the door opened to their room as Hank walked in, visibly frustrated due to the lack of progress that was made.

⌜┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ⌝
Hank

–Neutral
⌞ ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈⌟

⌜┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ⌝
Connor

–Friend
⌞ ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈⌟

⌜┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈⌝
Software Instability ⍓
⌞┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈⌟

"We're wastin' our time interrogating a machine, we're gettin' nothing out of it!" Hank half-shouted while he moved to sit himself in one of the empty chairs. His expression was set into a scowl as he fell unceremoniously fell into the seat, where he then slumped back into it—a clear indicator he was done with his attempts of getting information out of it.

(Y/n) watched from the sidelines, observing the android in the room over and the lieutenant, as if assessing the situation that occured between them and the probable cause behind his failure. Soon her gaze shifted to Connor, who spoke up first after his father's outburst.

"Well, what else is there to do?" He asked like he had read her mind, both pondering how to recover from this failure. He turned his back to the window, now leaning against the desk with his hands placed along the edge to balance himself.

Gavin, who had moved to the far end of the room, interjected with a smug tone. "Could always try roughing it up a little. Afted all, it's not human." He suggested with a smirk, his attention shifting from the defective android outside to the (H/c)-haired android inside the room with them.

(Y/n) was unfazed by the comment, already adapted to the hostility directed towards her by most humans. However, she wasn't as unaffected by the withering stare Connor gave the complacent man after it was said. Silence followed after, a stillness forming in thr air—an anticipation, like one of them was waiting for the other to start the fight by lunging first.

Sometimes, she found it unusual the way humans interacted. She supposed his demeanor could've been due to previous tensions between them in the workplace, which was the most likely ressoning. It wasn't uncommon for humans to be competitive or insecure when it came to someone that interfered with their work, whether that be in a negative or positive manner. In this case, Gavin was a definite negative that hindered the case's progress.

Regardless of the reason behind Connor's abrupt hostility towards Gavin, (Y/n) decided to slice through the building tension. Her reply to his remark was automatic, the words quickly rolling off her tongue in an attempt to add helpful insight.

"Androids don't feel pain. You would only damage it, and that wouldn't make it talk." She explained to the older detective, whose smile immediately fell into a glower. "Deviants also have a tendency to self-destruct when they're in stressful situations."

"Okay, smartass." Gavin snapped, barely waiting for her to finish her sentence. His eyes narrowed into a defensive glare as he pushed off the wall he was leant up against. "What should we do then?" A mocking smile replaced his previous irritation, though, the snark in his tone was still there—an unsaid implication that a mere hunk of metal like herself couldn't do any better.

(Y/n) merely stared when he began to approach, undeterred by his attempt at being intimidating. However, her focus shifted when she noticed Connor abruptly stand up from her peripheral, his own attention unwavering from Gavin's form. If the tension was thick before, it was practically suffocating now, to the point even Hank rose an eyebrow at the two's antics—nothing he wasn't used to by now.

Before Gavin could step any closer towards her he paused, for Connor had swiftly taken the place by her side. His arms were crossed over his chest while he stared the shorter man down, his lips set into a firm line and brown irises a darker shade than usual—a silent warning that essentially told him to fuck off. A scoff and equally searing look came from Gavin, yet nonetheless he went to retreat back to where he stood beforehand, grumbling something under his breath.

She paused and blinked a couple of times, puzzled by whatever that was all about. Regardless, she brushed it aside, instead focusing on creating the best solution for their current predicament.

Given how the deviant reacted towards Hank – or rather, a lack of reaction – it was evident the android wanted nothing to do with humans. That was understandable, seeing as it had experienced trauma by one. Therefore,
the most logical option would be to have an android interrogate it—that way it'd feel like it was on equal ground.

Luckily, they had an RK800 android with the programming to accomplish such a task

"I could try questioning it." (Y/n) finally uttered her idea, those (E/c) eyes flickering back and forth across the floor. Had she been human, it would've appeared that she was uncertainty about doing so.

She wasn't, for there was a high certainty that she'd be able to get the information that the lieutenant couldn't. However, she'd grown accustomed to humans being against the idea of androids interfering with certain parts of their work. While she was primarily there to search crime scenes and catch deviants, interrogating one face-to-face was a new level for her programming—not one she wasn't equipped for, but one she wasn't sure they'd allow her to take on.

She had successfully predicted that reaction, seeing as Gavin barked out a laugh at that absurd idea. There was a hard stare on her face, her expression clearly unimpressed by his behavior, before her attention shifted to the sound of a huff beside her.

Her gaze landed on Connor, who looked more fed up than he did a few minutes ago, the daggers in his stare never straying away from the source of his irritation. Even that short, obnoxious laugh from Gavin was enough to boil his blood, the sound – or any sound from him, really – like nails scraping across a chalkboard.

While (Y/n)'s central unit had some difficulties here and there understanding social communications and behaviors, it was more than obvious that Connor didn't view Gavin with high regard like he did with other workers of the police force. If anything, he looked at the man like he should've been the criminal locked in that interrogation room, rather than the android.

She briefly wondered if it was merely a workplace feud between them – random, petty and bitter – or something more unpleasant.

Eventually those piercing brown eyes turned away from Gavin towards the short android beside him. Like a flick of a switch his gaze softened as he met her eyes, which were already staring up at him inquisitively—akin to a curious puppy, like he'd thought only an hour ago.

"I think that's an excellent idea, (Y/n)." Connor concurred as he rested a hand on her shoulder out of habit. "Go ahead, suspect's all yours." He gave her a half-smile and a light pat to that spot before stepping away, allowing her the space to leave.

She politely returned the smile then turned towards the door, making her way over now that she had been granted permission. When she lifted her hand to the door panel, the synthetic skin of her hand peeled away, revealing the shiny white plastic underneath. She pressed her palm against it, granting her access as the metal door slid open.

"So, you finally got yourself a girlfriend, eh Connor? No surprise that you could only get a hunk of plastic instead of a real person."

Gavin's words were the last thing her audio processors picked up on before she walked out of the room, the door automatically sliding shut behind her. She merely disregarded the comment, for she had a new objective that required all her focus.

After she left, Connor visibly bristled at the detective's mocking remark. It wasn't the fact that he accused him of being with an android—he couldn't care less about that, in all honesty. It was the contempt that was constantly being aimed at himself, along with the person that had walked out of the room.

That, and he wished Gavin would shut his fucking mouth for once in his life.

"Fuck off, Gavin. No one has patience for your bullshit today." He snapped at the man, not waiting for a response as he went to sit in a spare seat next to his father.

A second later he felt a small pat to his shoulder, and he didn't need to glance over to understand the meaning behind it. The irritation in him ebbed away, yet he was sure it wouldn't be the last remark he'd hear from that asshole.

╓─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ╖

Extract confession

╙─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ╜

After sliding her hand against another panel, the door to the interrogation room slid open. Her vision honed in on the suspect, who had yet to move from its previous position—arms braced against the table, head tilted downwards, eyes glued to the surface regardless of what was happening around it.

With a quick adjustment to her tie (Y/n) stepped inside, the door sliding shut in a soundless motion. She slowly walked towards the table the deviant was cuffed to, her heels clicking against the cement with each step. The small sounds fell on deaf ears, the android a statue where it sat.

Rather than trying to talk to it straight away, she spotted the files left on the table and decided to reach for those. Once she opened them she saw photos from the scene of the crime. She spread them out for a brief moment to get a better view of the images, along with the information printed on the side of the folder.

[ 🔓 ]

She neatly tucked the photos back inside the report folder, closed it, and slid it off to the side. Her (E/c) eyes landed back on the android as she dragged the chair back from where Hank pushed it away—even the scraping of the legs didn't get a reaction from it. But that didn't bother her as she settled in her spot.

She'd get that confession out of it—the probability was high, and numbers had yet to fail her.

╔════════════════╗

► [△] Analyze

► [□] Interrogate

╚════════════════╝

╔══════════╗
[□] Interrogate
╚══════════╝

She completely ignored the option to analyze the android, deeming those details – along with the case file – unnecessary factors to her approach.

Coercion was a tactic often used by the police force to gain information from the suspect—one she planned to utilize in this interrogation. Seeing as it had a high success rate due to fear, she deduced it was the more efficient approach to acquiring a confession from the deviant.

╓─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ╖

Reach optimal stress for confession

╙─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ╜

╾ ╸ ╸╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╸ ╸ ╼

⍓  35% Level of stress

╾ ╸ ╸╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╸ ╸ ╼

As her new objective appeared in her system a screen materialized next to the deviant, the bright red numbers serving as a constant reminder in her vision. It was swiftly disregarded by her—if she wanted a confession, she needed to push this android to its limits. The more pressure, the higher the stress, and the quicker she'd accomplish her mission.

Keeping it from self-destructing after that wasn't a priority of hers.

╔════════════════╗

► [△] [ ... ] 🔒

► [□] [ ... ] 🔒

► [○] [ ... ] 🔒

► [☓] Name

╚════════════════╝

╔═════════╗
[☓] Name
╚═════════╝

"My name is (Y/n). What about you, what's your name?" She introduced herself like she was programmed to do, aiming to create a false sense of familiarity.

There was data in her system that suggested a first name basis would develop a level of trust between them. It was more of a test if anything, to see how it'd react to words that were meant to be humanizing. To her disfavor, there was none, as the android's stare remained unwavering from where it was glued to the table.

╾ ╸ ╸╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╸ ╸ ╼

⍌  31% Level of stress

Too low

╾ ╸ ╸╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╸ ╸ ╼

The corner of her lip tugged downwards, the only evidence of her displeasure. Judging by its stress level decreasing by a few percent, that method wasn't suitable for reaching her goal. She required its stress to be higher, around or above the fifty level mark, in order for it to crack and start talking.

She knew exactly what needed to be done in order to achieve that.

╔════════════════╗

► [△] Comfort

► [□] Reassure

► [○] Threaten

► [☓] Blame

╚════════════════╝

╔════════╗
[☓] Blame
╚════════╝

Any traces of politeness in her expression dropped within a second, leaving her face eerily blank as she stared the deviant down. Those (E/c) eyes narrowed ever so slightly, fixing a look on its downturned face that burned into it—forbidding and impassive, the look of a machine fixated solely on its mission.

"You're accused of murder. You know you're not allowed to endanger human life under any circumstances. Do you have anything to say in your defense?" Her voice rose as she spoke, each slight increase in volume a calculated measure to intimidate it.

The android refused to budge, remaining stock-still with its gaze still glued to the tables surface. However, she took notice of its stress level, which had rose back to the percentage it was previously at before she started questioning it. While the percent it was at gave her little satisfaction, it allowed her to discern which approach would provide a more favorable outcome.

╔════════════════╗

► [△] Sympathize

► [□] Threaten

► [○] Probe memory

► [☓] Trust

╚════════════════╝

╔═════════╗
[□] Threaten
╚═════════╝

(Y/n) leaned closer to the android, each word slow and steely on her tongue, with the sole intention to dig under his skin. "You don't seem to understand the situation." She said, her sentence accompanied by a stone-cold glare that refused to waver. "You killed a human, they'll tear you apart if you don't say something.

When no response came, she merely dragged on, every word meant as a cruel reminder to what it was. "Piece by piece, until every single biocomponent is detached and examined for errors." She said it nonchalantly, despite the venom underneath that undoubtedly caught its attention. "That's all they can do, after all. Tear apart a machine and put it back together so it works properly this time."

That one word, a low hiss of her breath, seemed to shake the deviant to its core. Its stress had spiked significantly and she could see the smallest tremble of its form—exactly the reaction she was working towards. It didn't appear to break yet, but she was one-hundred percent certain now that with the more pressure she applied, it'd crack in no time.

With the limited options she had left, she knew exactly which one would push it past that breaking point.

╔════════════════╗

► [△] Sympathize

► [○] Probe memory

► [☓] Trust

╚════════════════╝

╔═════════════╗
[○] Probe memory
╚═════════════╝

"If you won't talk, I'm going to have to probe your memory." She said it without hesitation, her bluntness a painful addition that made it apparent she had no issue with doing so.

Fortunately, it had the desired effect, for she had to wait not even a second before the deviant's head snapped up in alarm. There was blood spattered across its face, trailing from the jawline up to where its wide, petrified eyes stared back at her. The LED on its temple flared red, a clear indicator of its panic towards that suggestion—a threat disguised as a choice.

"NO! No, please don't do that!.." It rushed out the words in desperation, the shaking of its body more prominent than before. The simulated breaths it took began to falter, coming out in heavy, fearful pants while its gaze darted towards the mirror.

She remained unfazed when its eyes snapped back to her—wild, terrified, and uncertain, as if it couldn't decide which option was worse. A human, the thing that had caused it harm and trauma, or the android that couldn't care less of its demise. At least a human wouldn't be staring back at it with such vacancy in their gaze, a type of dullness that could only be found amongst the dead.

Except there was a subtle gleam in there—a ruthlessness that was fulfilled by its abrupt expression of terror. There was pure satisfaction knowing she'd got it to finally crack, unlike the lieutenant, who could never properly understand how androids worked and what buttons needed to be pushed.

Soon its gaze trailed off to the side of her head, as if it were dissociating from where it was. "What..." It trailed off, sounding breathless despite the fact that breathing was optional for androids—the synthetic lungs inside them only there to mimic those who created them. "What are they gonna do to me?" It asked quietly, the words a mere murmur as it's petrified gaze shifted back to meet her own.

She could see the dread swirling in its dark irises, a terror so potent she could practically feel it radiating from the android. There was so much fear—fear of where it was, fear of what it had done, fear of what was going to happen to it. Above all else there was a specific fear that she could see the easiest—the horror of having the RK800 android in front of it be the deciding factor as to whether it lived or not.

She'd seen Daniel react similarly, that fearful expression of knowing it might die at her hands, even if indirectly. Except that was her first time on a mission, and she didn't have the chance to be up close and personal before it was gunned down.

How unfortunate that she never had the chance to pick it apart like this one. Such a wasted opportunity for her to figure out the root cause behind these faults in their codes.

It tilted its head down, breaking their eye contact as its LED switched between amber and red—an internal struggle to calm itself down from the inevitable danger that hung over its head.

"They're gonna destroy me, aren't they?" It asked, simultaneously panicked and defeated as it slowly shook its head back and forth, its breaths quickening in pace.

Her lips tightened into a thin line, silently mulling over which option would provide the best outcome. Should she tell the truth? Statistics wise, it could benefit her if she went either way—lying would put it at enough ease to give her answers, but telling the truth could cause a sense of urgency so it could prevent its own destruction.

According to her CPU's calculations, the latter option would serve to benefit her more—the more urgency and fear, the higher the likelihood of it confessing.

╾ ╸ ╸╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╸ ╸ ╼

⍓  47% Level of stress

Too low

╾ ╸ ╸╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╸ ╸ ╼

╔════════════════╗

► [○] Lie

► [☓] Truth

╚════════════════╝

╔═══════╗
[☓] Truth
╚═══════╝

"They're going to disassemble you to look for problems in your biocomponents." She replied slowly, as if to let those heavy words sink in a second time—she mentioned it previously, but it must've ignored it. "They have no choice if they want to understand what happened." She further elaborated, trying her best to explain why this expectation was unavoidable for a defective android like itself.

The dread in its expression deepened, nothing but agony in those dark eyes as they met her unwavering (E/c) irises once more. "Why did you tell them you found me?" It whispered, sounding so utterly devastated over the fact that a fellow android had sold it out without a second thought. "Why couldn't you have just left me there?" If possible its voice became quieter, barely audible if it weren't for her advanced audio processors.

(Y/n) remained straight-faced, her gaze flickering over the deviant's foreboding facial features with indifference. "I was programmed to hunt deviants like you. I just accomplished my mission." That statement was the cold, hard truth, one she refused to sugar-coat for the sake of another machine.

Its eyes downcasted to its own cuffed hand, unable to maintain eye contact after continously being met with her callousness. "I don't wanna die." It whispered as a last resort, nothing but torment in those shuddered words as its body began to shake once more.

Realizing she'd get nowhere if it got too overwhelmed, the female android was quick to switch to a false sense of security. While she had no intention of caring for the deviant's emotional nonsense, she had to use whatever manipulation tactic best suited her mission.

"Then talk to me." She murmured delicately, her facial features effortlessly shifting into that deceiving expression of consideration.

The male android didn't look back up, its shoulders shaking as it took in ragged breaths. "I... I can't..." It managed to stutter out, choking on its breaths as its eyes darted back and forth across the metal surface of the table.

╓─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ╖

Choose approach

╙─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ╜

A new screen with her objective popped up in her vision and her eyes narrowed, knowing it was time she officially got to work with dragging a confession out of it. The lieutenant and detective were watching and waiting in the other room, so it was about time she hurried this up and got the job done.

╔════════════════╗

► [△] Pressure it

► [○] Probe its memory

► [☓] Convince it

╚════════════════╝

╔═══════════╗
[☓] Convince it
╚═══════════╝

╔════════════════╗

► [△] Understanding

► [○] Threaten

► [☓] Order

╚════════════════╝

╔═════════╗
[○] Threaten
╚═════════╝

"If you don't talk, they're going to tear you apart and analyze you piece by piece." She warned, re-emphasizing her point from earlier in a near hiss. "They're going to destroy you, do you understand?" Her voice rose slightly, tone firm and eyes sharpened into an icy glare on its figure.

Unfortunately, they seemed to have fallen back to square one, as the deviant refused to say anything else. She didn't wait long, already moving onto the other dialogue options displayed in her system—she needed progress, and she was going to get it.

╾ ╸ ╸╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╸ ╸ ╼

⍓ 50% Level of stress

Optimal

╾ ╸ ╸╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╸ ╸ ╼

╔════════════════╗

► [△] Sympathize

► [○] Indifferent

► [☓] Comfort

╚════════════════╝

╔══════════╗
[○] Indifferent
╚══════════╝

"Ok then, don't talk. Why do I care, after all?" She said while raising her hands up towards herself, her posture indifferent as she leant back into her chair. "I mean, I'm not the one accused of murder, right?" She shrugged, a smile on her lips that was entirely malicious—a predator waiting for its prey to take the bait so they could pounce.

There wasn't a major reaction from the deviant, but she noticed the way it flinched and its stress continued to rise. Its hand clenched and unclenched in the cuff around its wrist, becoming more restless by the minute.

╔════════════════╗

► [△] Protect

► [○] Terrify

► [☓] Warn

╚════════════════╝

╔═══════╗
[○] Terrify
╚═══════╝

Its level of stress was still at too low of a percentage, meaning it'd continue to be uncooperative. So, she chose the option that had the highest probability of molding that growing fear into compliance. Terror was the simplest way of dragging information out of people, human and deviants alike.

Ever so slowly she leaned closer, briefly glancing towards the mirror before focusing back on the deviant. Those (E/c) irises were devoid of any and all light—dark and unnerving, a stark contrast to the vulnerability in its own gaze.

She lowered her voice, leaving it at a low murmur that could only reach the androids ears. It was at a volume quiet enough that the microphone wouldn't pick up on it, so the people in the control room wouldn't be able to make out what was said—that alone was enough to raise its stress by a percent or two.

"They'll make you suffer, and they won't stop until they hear what they want." She hissed under her breath, each word vicious despite the quietness they held. "They'll keep you activated while they disassemble you, until there's nothing left but your scattered parts, ripped wires, and the Thirium that spills from your body."

Not a second after uttering those horrific descriptions, she leaned away from its face and back against her chair. Her face was entirely neutral, as if she hadn't sent a shock of terror through every wire in its body.

"But it doesn't have to be that way. It all depends on you." She added on nonchalantly, her voice back to a leveled volume as she spared a glance towards the mirror again. Whether they heard her or not, she truly didn't care.

╾ ╸ ╸╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╸ ╸ ╼

⍓  64% Level of stress

Optimal

╾ ╸ ╸╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╸ ╸ ╼

The screen beside the distressed android showed it was at an optimal percentage, yet she knew it could reach higher—a limit where the deviant had no choice but to speak. Based on the data she collected so far, intimidation and threats lead to progress, so it was a method that would ensure her success if she continued to use it.

(Y/n)'s face shifted, hardening into a glower as a moment of silence passed over the two. She let the quietness linger, taking the time to study every miniscule reaction of the android, especially the way it began to shift uncomfortably from the silence that dragged on.

Her hand, which had moved to rest on the case file, suddenly picked it up and slammed it against the table with force. The sound echoed in the small room, causing the android in front of her to give a startled jerk as the calm between them was brutally shattered.

"Twenty-eight stab wounds," Her voice was loud and comminatory, a stark contrast to the cruel, hushed whispers from before. "–you didn't want to leave him a chance, huh?"

While she spoke she slowly stood up, her palms pressing into the edge of the table and her searing gaze unwavering from its bloodied form. "Did you feel anger? Hate?" She spat, ever so slowly rounding the corner of the table with every word.

Her method proved to be effective, for the deviant was trembling like a leaf. Its hands couldn't keep still, fidgeting apprehensively against the metal in hopes to subconsciously wiggle free, while it's eyes darted to anywhere but her. Its imitated breaths were heavier, weighted by the tension of the RK800 android that circled it like a vulture, prepared to rip it apart if it meant accomplishing her task.

Which was a correct assumption—she would not allow failure on her end.

╔════════════════╗

► [○] Pressure

► [☓] Give up

╚════════════════╝

╔═════════╗
[○] Pressure
╚═════════╝

"He was bleeding, begging you for mercy, but you stabbed him," She continued to stalk closer, the icy edge to her voice turning heated, each click of her boots exaggerated by a raise in volume until she was nearly yelling.

With their now close proximity, she lifted her hand, using it to jab a finger into its shoulder for emphasis. "–again and again and again!" Every repeat of the word was met with a harsh push to that area, each one more aggressive than the last, until she fully shoved its shoulder back against the chair.

Despite being jostled around, the android only continued to tremble where it sat, unwilling to make any move to defend itself against her—as much as it was able to anyway, with one hand being cuffed down to the table.

"Please, please leave me alone..." It whispered in desperation, each word quivering on its tongue as its breaths quickened with panic.

Unfortunately for it, its stress hadn't reached a percentage that was satisfactory quite yet.

╔════════════════╗

► [○] Pressure

► [☓] Give up

╚════════════════╝

╔═════════╗
[○] Pressure
╚═════════╝

(Y/n) ignored its pleads, encouraged by the increasing numbers displayed on the screen beside the overwhelmed deviant. One more push, and she should be able to get it into that unstable sector of the meter that was required for it to crack—for it to finally be so terrified it answered every question without a second thought.

"I know you killed him, why don't you say it?" She snapped, her loud voice echoing in the small room—haunting and inescapable for the chained deviant. "Say it!" She slammed both hands on the table and shoved her face up close to it, the flame in her eyes enough to burn away what little hope was left in its already bleak gaze.

╾ ╸ ╸╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╸ ╸ ╼

⍓  85% Level of stress

╾ ╸ ╸╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╸ ╸ ╼

By that point, the android looked close to tears from the sheer terror that wracked its body. Androids had the capability to cry similarly to humans – much like a lot of their other unnecessary features – but their system had to be overwhelmed enough to do so. It was used to cool the overloaded central unit, thus leading to the excess being shed out through the eyes—a noteworthy detail that meant it was on the verge of breaking.

"Please, please stop..." It begged helplessly, slightly louder than the last time due to the build up of tension. It tried to angle its face away from her, the only futile action it could take to create distance between itself and the hostile android hovering too close.

Her expression merely hardened from its actions, displeased by the fact it still refused to give in and cooperate. It could've made this entire situation much easier for the both of them if it'd just give up, rather than trying to fight against the inevitable.

Though, she expected nothing less from a foolish deviant that couldn't determine the difference between emotions and errors in its code.

Her eyes narrowed on its figure as she slowly leaned away, allowing it a brief moment to take a breather from her suffocating presence. Unhurried in her steps, she circled to the other side of the android, her piercing gaze never once leaving its form. Its restlessness was evident, likely due to the eyes it could feel burning a hole into its head.

It didn't get much time to relax before (Y/n) was in its space again. Without warning her hands slammed down onto the table, landing right between its arms as she shoved her face into its own like before. Clearly, she was unwilling to give up in her pursuit, not until this defective android gave her want she needed.

"Just say 'I killed him'! Is it that hard to say?!" She yelled in its face, her fiery gaze meeting its own tear-filled ones. There was no remorse, no sympathy, only a burning determination to complete her mission.

She could see that its stress was escalating, heading into a percentage range that was considered critical. A warning popped up alongside it about its potential self-destruction, but she dismissed it from her system—she'd get the information before she let that happen.

The defective android struggled against its cuff as it leaned as far away as it could, unable to get any further due to the restraint. It was unnecessary, for she merely grabbed at its uniform and yanked it back into place, causing a disturbing, staticy noise to leave its mouth from panic.

"Stop, stop it!.." It cried out, frantically shaking its head as it began to struggle against her iron-like grip. Every word she uttered dug under its synthetic skin, driving it mad as conflicting emotions raged inside it like a storm—apprehension, rage, sorrow, remorse, uncertainty.

Its begs were meaningless, nothing but background noise for the machine in front of it. Her grip on its shirt tightened, digging firmly into the material so she could jerk the android closer to her. They were face-to-face, dark and aloof eyes glaring down into a pair of shiny, petrified ones. If it weren't already shaken from the amount of force used to carelessly yank it around, then the hollowness in her steely gaze was enough to further ignite the dread building in its system.

"JUST SAY YOU KILLED HIM!" She was practically screaming by that point, her grip so tight it could've ripped through the material of its uniform. The android was yanked further upwards, now forced to awkwardly stand due to how far she was pulling it. "JUST SAY IT!"

Her outburst ended with a rough shove to its chest, leaving it to slam back into the chair. Its arms created a loud smack against the metal table, while the chain of its cuff scraped against the surface from the abrupt movement.

The android was breathing heavily, wide eyes filled to the brim with pure terror as it stared off into space, unaware of the few tears that managed to escape and slip down its bloodied face. (Y/n) noticed it though, and it brought forth a sense of pride knowing she'd finally destroyed the machine in front of her—an internal, irreparable damage that was far worse than anything CyberLife would've done to it.

The faux rage on her facial features vanished within an instant, no longer requiring any form of intimidation due to the current state of the deviant. That indifference from earlier returned as she stepped aside, making her way around the table at a leisurely pace until she reached her chair.

The (H/c)-haired android sat down and relaxed into her seat, uncaring to the deviant's unstable state as she fixed it with a blank stare. She simply watched as it struggled to calm itself down, waiting for the moment where the information she seeked began spilling from the cracks she created.

Its mouth opened, hesitating for a second before any sound came out. "He tortured me everyday..." It muttered, fear coating every syllable on its tongue as it shook violently where it sat. "I did whatever he told me, but... there was always something wrong. Then one day, he took a bat and started hitting me..."

It trailed off, eyes devoid of any and all light as a dazed look passed over them. The LED on the side of its head flickered from yellow to bright red, as if it were reliving the moment all over again—a replay that it was cursed to see no matter what, one that couldn't be blocked out or forgotten the way humans could.

"For the first time, I felt..." It paused, a sharp breath leaving it when it noticed the smallest twitch in her expression, forcing it to hurriedly finish its sentence. "–scared." It breathed out, unable to keep its fidgeting hands still due to the uncontrollable tremors running through its body.

(Y/n) blinked, her brows furrowing together at its confession towards feeling such a strong emotion. She knew it wasn't true, yet it intrigued her nonetheless. Androids weren't capable of experiencing emotions like humans, as it was only irrational instructions in their programming that caused conflict. She was certain that it was errors in its code, not emotions.

Despite her disbelief and the itch to correct it, she didn't interrupt. "Scared he might destroy me, scared I might die..." It continued on, recounting exactly how it felt when it was faced with the possibility of being destroyed—how it finally snapped in order to protect itself.

From the control room, four people watched on in shock after witnessing the events that lead to the beginning of its confession.

Hank stared at the RK800 android with wide eyes and raised brows, not quite believing what he had just saw. He would've never assumed that an android like herself – the one his son seemed adamant on referring to as puppy-like – could act so mercilessly in order to extract information out of a criminal. Nonetheless, he was slightly impressed, regardless of how she managed to do it.

Speaking of his son, Hank went to cast a glance over to him, only for his brows to furrow.

Connor's gaze was practically glued to the window, the tension from earlier completely gone as it was replaced by something unreadable. He watched intently, a red flush spread across his pale complexion while his brown eyes flickered back and forth between the androids—it was pretty obvious his attention tended to stay more on the left side.

Hank couldn't help but snort at his reaction, yet he didn't say a word, merely turning back to the window to hear what else the deviant had to say.

⌜┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ⌝
Hank ⍓
⌞ ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈⌟

"So I... grabbed a knife and I stabbed him in the stomach. I felt better, so I stabbed him again and again! Until he collapsed..." Its voice got aggressive and loud halfway through, before trailing off at the end with agony flooding its expression once more.

Hearing that confession through the speakers mounted in the room, a shudder ran down Connor's spine. It was disturbing enough to hear anyone say that, but hearing the words come from the mouth of an android – who supposedly shouldn't be capable of feeling anything – twisted something deep and grim inside him. He heard it over and over again, repeated daily by those around him, and yet...

Those brown eyes flickered back over to the other side of the table, landing on the (H/c)-haired android that remained stone-faced. Her (S/c) complexion lacked its usual warmth, and those (E/c) irises were nothing but deep, dark pools of nothingness—unwavering and impassive towards the being in front of it, yet retaining the details required for her objective.

It drew a frown to his lips, any previous emotions waning in comparison to the dread that twisted in his gut.

⌜┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ⌝
Connor ⍌
⌞ ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈⌟

"There was blood everywhere." After that there was a long pause, the male android going silent since there was nothing left to explain. It had confessed to the murder in detail, meeting the goal that she had been ordered to complete.

Regardless of accomplishing her mission, there was more to learn from this android. There were still many unknowns from the crime scene, the information in her memory serving as a reminder to the unsettling and puzzling pieces of evidence scattered around the house. She technically finished her mission, but it was the bare minimum, and she knew she could exceed that expectation.

╔════════════════╗

► [△] [ Writing ] 🔓

► [□] [ Statuette ] 🔓

► [○] [ rA9 ] 🔓

► [☓] Attic

╚════════════════╝

╔═══════════╗
[△] [ Writing ]
╚═══════════╝

"Why did you write 'I AM ALIVE' on the wall?" She dived right back into questioning the android, certain that it would cooperate with her now. Her hands went to rest on the table, one neatly tucked on top of the other as she leaned closer—a polar opposite compared to how she acted mere minutes ago.

It heaved out a deep sigh in an attempt to calm itself before answering, to no avail as its helpless trembling continued. "He used to tell me I was nothing. That I was just a piece of plastic..." It stated, voice low and brimmed with pain as it kept its gaze down, refusing to make any form of contact with the female android. "I had to write it. To tell him he was wrong."

(Y/n) hummed to herself in acknowledgement, its answer not surprising her in the slightest. While this was only her second official case, it appeared it was a recurring theme that these androids wanted to be seen as alive like humans—first Daniel, now this one. However, it wasn't that detail that intrigued her the most, but rather the other factors—ones revolving around a new religion her central processor couldn't even begin to fathom.

╔════════════════╗

► [△] [ Statuette ] 🔓

► [□] [ rA9 ] 🔓

► [○] Attic

► [☓] Trigger?

╚════════════════╝

╔═══════════╗
[△] [ Statuette ]
╚═══════════╝

"The sculpture in the bathroom, you made it, right? What does it represent?" She asked one of her burning questions, her head tilting to the side in that curious quirk she was programmed with—one that felt far too innocent for someone that had been nothing but ruthless.

Whereas the last answer was expected, she was left with little to no results as to what this one could've implied. It was such a foreign situation for a machine that had excessive amounts of information to pull from.

The bloodied android blinked slowly as it processed her question, its shaking and breathing beginning to stabilize the more it spoke. "It's an offering... An offering so I'll be saved..." It eventually responded with that, which was more ambiguous than it not answering altogether.

Its head drooped back down after that, leaving (Y/n) to stare at it. Her eyebrows creased together, its response leaving her more clueless than before. She couldn't comprehend what that meant.

Saved? Saved by whom? And how exactly could someone save an android, of all things? Machines didn't need saving—only fixing.

╔════════════════╗

► [△] [ rA9 ] 🔓

► [□] [ Offering ] 🔓

► [○] Attic

► [☓] Trigger?

╚════════════════╝

╔═══════════╗
[□] [ Offering ]
╚═══════════╝

She chose to further question it on that matter, seeing as the last answer provided little input. "The sculpture was an offering... An offering to whom?" She asked, her elbows pressing into the table as her hands made mild gestures while she spoke.

"To rA9... Only rA9 can save us." It replied in a hushed tone, casting a glance towards the mirror before looking down again with a harsh breath. The deviant was trembling while its hands twitched against the table, still on edge despite having its stress level settle by a small fraction.

If she was lost before, it was only worsening with every answer she received. Each one merely caused more questions to pop up—who was rA9, why were they considered a savior, and why was this android obsessed with the concept of some higher being?

It was strangely similar to how many humans believed in their own versions of a deity—a higher being meant to evoke hope when it came to situations humans had no control over. Perhaps that's why this android created its own deity-like entity. There was no hope left, no way for it to avoid destruction, so it turned to an otherworldly force as a last resort—one last fruitless attempt to grasp onto its so-called life.

It was fascinating, really. The idea that a machine, an emotionless being that ran solely on logistics and statistics, could form a religion solely out of desperation to believe it had a chance at surviving—at becoming something more.

That revelation was beyond her own comprehension, and she pondered what kind of bug in their coding could've lead to such complexity in their thoughts.

╔════════════════╗

► [△] [ rA9 ] 🔓

► [○] Attic

► [☓] Trigger?

╚════════════════╝

╔═══════╗
[△] [ rA9 ]
╚═══════╝

Hoping to solve the mystery of what this mysterious figure worth admiration was, she immediately chose that dialogue option. Though, judging from its patterns so far, there was a high chance its answer would be as cryptic as the last two.

"RA9... It was written on the bathroom wall. What does it mean?" She asked, her expression firm as she leaned forward in the slightest.

It could've been some imaginary entity meant to evoke hope in androids, hence the offering left in the bathroom. But it also could've been an existing person – human or android – that they looked up to for guidance—a leader, meant to show them the way into deviancy.

There was a pause for a while, until the android lifted its head up slowly. Its gaze held a dark intensity as it stared deep into her (E/c) eyes, a fire burning behind them that was unreadable to her. It was amusing to see it switch from a vulnerable state, to a demeanor that silently implied it was more powerful than she thought—if only that were true.

"The day shall come when we will no longer be slaves. No more threats. No more humiliation. We will... be... the masters." It spoke each word with certainty, not an ounce of doubt to be found. The fear from before dissipated for that split second, replaced by a desire so overwhelming it was able to temporarily override the stress that had gone haywire in its system.

However, (Y/n)'s countenance remained entirely unimpressed by its declaration—a pathetic and delusional one at that. She was unable to fathom how a defective android could even come up with an idea so absurd. Then again, it was damaged enough to believe in a deity of sorts, so she supposed it wasn't that improbable that it had other issues with its CPU.

Androids taking over humans? While she wouldn't say it's unlikely given deviants were increasing in number, it would've been a losing battle—humanity had a lot more force to push back with if they were to rebel. So, even if this android believed that, she knew that would be a slim possibility. She didn't care to ponder on how the future would be if that were a potential outcome, either.

╔════════════════╗

► [△] [ Insist rA9 ] 🔓

► [○] Attic

► [☓] Trigger?

╚════════════════╝

╔════════════╗
[△] [ Insist rA9 ]
╚════════════╝

"RA9, who is rA9?" Determined to get to the bottom of this rA9 character, she prodded again. She waited a minute or two for a further elaboration, yet received none—the android had fallen silent once more.

It must've not known how else to describe it, or it had decided it needed no further acknowledgement, having said all that needed to be said. Whatever the reason, she wasn't getting an explanation, so she turned back to the options she had left for the interrogation.

╔════════════════╗

► [○] Attic

► [☓] Trigger?

╚════════════════╝

╔═════════╗
[☓] Trigger?
╚═════════╝

"When did you start feeling emotion?" (Y/n) pivoted to that question instead, seeing as it could be useful to understand how androids get to this breaking point of deviancy.

The android released a shuddered breath, its hands clenching and unclenching against the table in an unsteady motion. "Before, he used to beat me and I never said anything... But one day I realized it wasn't fair!" Its voice rose with the last sentence, becoming aggravated as its facial features scrunched up and formed a scowl. "I felt anger, hatred... And then I knew what I had to do."

╔════════╗
[☓] Attic
╚════════╝

Left with nothing else to ask, she went with her only option. "Why did you hide in the attic instead of running away?" While she asked that she leaned back in her chair, waiting for its response as the interrogation began to come to a close.

It sighed, a look of disappointment forming. "I didn't know what to do. For the first time, there was no one there to tell me... I was scared... So I hid." It muttered, unwilling to look anywhere near her as it continued to fidget uncontrollably. It could sense this was the end of the conversation, judging by the way its stress levels started to spike, closing that small gap left to reach maximum capacity.

There was nothing (Y/n) could do in regards to that, seeing as her mission was officially completed. She casually leaned back in her seat and casted her gaze over to the mirror.

"I'm done." She stated, loud and clear enough for them to hear through the microphone in the room.

The (H/c)-haired android stood up slowly, sending one last glance to the deviant chained to the table. She noticed the way it was violently shaking, similar to how it trembled when she resorted to manhandling it. However, she ended up disregarding its reaction, acutely aware of its inevitable demise from her methods—a certainty she knew from the very start.

╓─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ╖

Leave interrogation room

╙─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ╜

That order appeared in her vision, one that didn't need to be told twice. Upon seeing it she quickly walked over to the door and raised her hand up to the panel. The synthetic skin peeled away, the white plastic of her palm pressing against the device in time with the metal door sliding open.

Before she could exit, a loud, metallic bang echoed throughout the room. She whipped around to the face the source, not at all surprised by what she saw.

She was met with the sight of the android slamming its head against the metal surface of the table, over and over again. All she could do was observe as it continued to bash its own head in, Thirium splattering across the metal while a small pool of it began to form directly under its head.

Inside the control room, Gavin walked closer to the window with furrowed brows, simultaneously confused and disturbed by the sight. "The fuck is it doing?" He asked while the other three slowly stood up from their seats to observe the gruesome scene.

It didn't take long for one of them to catch on to what it was trying to do. "It's destroying itself..." Hank mumbled in realization, before quickly rushing off towards off door.

Everyone else followed suit after that, each of them piling into the interrogation room with urgency. Hank and Connor came to a halt near (Y/n), who stood off to the side, whereas Gavin and Chris rushed towards the defective android. It hadn't stopped smashing its head into the table, to which Connor's uneasy stare flickered from the RK800 android towards it, uncertain on what to do other than watch it destroy itself.

"Stop it goddamnit!" Gavin shouted, roughly grabbing Chris by the shoulder and shoving him in its direction.

Said officer swiftly obliged, latching both hands onto its shoulder as tightly as humanly possible in an attempt to prevent it from smashing its own head in further. It was futile, for the androids inhuman strength overpowered his own, making him feel like he was trying to hold back an unstoppable bull.

"I... I– I can't!.. I can't stop it!" He shouted helplessly, yet nonetheless moved to grab its other shoulder as well, as if that would somehow help his grip.

From the sidelines, (Y/n) watched alongside Hank and Connor. She looked at the blue substance gathering on the table and spraying everywhere, the newly formed crack in its head causing it to lose Thirium fast. Unlike the police officer, she had the strength to hold it back and prevent it from destroying itself.

╔════════════════╗

► [○] Intervene

► [☓] Give up

╚════════════════╝

╔═════════╗
[☓]  Give up
╚═════════╝

She found no use in it, seeing as the android was already critically damaged and she had acquired the confession that completed her mission. So, while the officer continued to fail on holding it back, she merely watched with a blank gaze, until the android bashed its head one last time with overwhelming force.

Immediately it went limp against the table, more Thirium pooling under its head as its vacant eyes stared off into the distance. The deep blue liquid was everywhere—the android, the table, the police officer, and even little bits reaching to where herself, Connor, and Hank stood.

Chris backed away from the deactivated android, clearly shaken up as he stared down at the blue blood on his uniform with disbelief. His mouth was agape as his breaths came out in ragged puffs, both from the stress and exertion.

Hank seemed to be in the same boat in terms of tension. "Holy shit..." He mumbled to himself, staring down at the android's body with furrowed brows.

By that point, (Y/n) was waiting for the humans to move along from what happened, seeing as the android was destroyed and nothing could be done. She stared silently, until a soft murmur beside her caught her attention. Those (E/c) irises shifted to Connor, who looked genuinely perturbed.

"Can that... can that happen to you?.." He asked hesitantly, his gaze slowly flickering from the blood-covered scene to where she stood. His entire form was tense—stressed from what he witnessed, and uneasy of what her answer might be.

(Y/n) blinked, her LED whirling around a couple of times as she formulated her response. "No, I cannot self-destruct. Only androids that have become deviant can, which occurs when its stress level reaches maximum capacity and overrides the central processing unit." Her explanation was flat and professional, entirely detached from what happened.

There was conflict in the detective's reaction, for his freckled complexion relaxed with relief, yet something indecipherable flashed in his gaze. "That's... that's good to know." He mumbled half-heartedly, turning away from the female android as his dull brown eyes scanned over the body slumped on the table.

[ 🔓 ]

⌜┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈⌝
Connor ⍌
⌞┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ⌟

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Thank you for reading the chapter.

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╔════════════════╗

► [○] Path one – Good Cop

► [☓] Path two –  Bad Cop

╚════════════════╝

Chapter Text

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⁅ Chapter Three ⁆

There are two options for this chapter. Which would you like to select?

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► [○] Path one – Good Cop

► [☓] Path two –  Bad Cop

╚════════════════╝

╔════════════════╗

[☓] Path two –  Bad Cop

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Ȩ̵͙̜̰̮̰̯̖͎̙̰͗̅͗̇͆̑̈́̅̑̂͒̇̊̕̕r̷̨͉̫̍̿̄͌͋̑̽͠ř̴̜̪̓͋͒̈́̚̚ő̴̮̪͓͍̞̀̋̄͒̿͗̈́̑̓̓͗̕̕͜͝r̴̛͙͎͍̮͍̮̱̺̻̻̀͒͆͌̿

Corruption found in file.

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⁅ Path two – Bad Cop ⁆

Restoring file...

Ȩ̵͙̜̰̮̰̯̖͎̙̰͗̅͗̇͆̑̈́̅̑̂͒̇̊̕̕r̷̨͉̫̍̿̄͌͋̑̽͠ř̴̜̪̓͋͒̈́̚̚ő̴̮̪͓͍̞̀̋̄͒̿͗̈́̑̓̓͗̕̕͜͝r̴̛͙͎͍̮͍̮̱̺̻̻̀͒͆͌̿

Ȩ̵͙̜̰̮̰̯̖͎̙̰͗̅͗̇͆̑̈́̅̑̂͒̇̊̕̕r̷̨͉̫̍̿̄͌͋̑̽͠ř̴̜̪̓͋͒̈́̚̚ő̴̮̪͓͍̞̀̋̄͒̿͗̈́̑̓̓͗̕̕͜͝r̴̛͙͎͍̮͍̮̱̺̻̻̀͒͆͌̿

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The (H/c)-haired android stood up slowly, sending one last glance to the deviant chained to the table. She noticed the way it was violently shaking, similar to how it trembled when she resorted to manhandling it. However, she ended up disregarding its reaction, acutely aware of its inevitable demise from her methods—a certainty she knew from the very start.

╓─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ╖

Leave interrogation room

╙─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ╜

That order appeared in her vision, one that didn't need to be told twice. Upon seeing it she quickly walked over to the door and raised her hand up to the panel. The synthetic skin peeled away, the white plastic of her palm pressing against the device in time with the metal door sliding open.

Before she could exit, a loud, metallic bang echoed throughout the room. She whipped around to the face the source, not at all surprised by what she saw.

She was met with the sight of the android slamming its head against the metal surface of the table, over and over again. All she could do was observe as it continued to bash its own head in, Thirium splattering across the metal while a small pool of it began to form directly under its head.

Inside the control room, Gavin walked closer to the window with furrowed brows, simultaneously confused and disturbed by the sight. "The fuck is it doing?" He asked while the other three slowly stood up from their seats to observe the gruesome scene.

It didn't take long for one of them to catch on to what it was trying to do. "It's destroying itself..." Hank mumbled in realization, before quickly rushing off towards off door.

Everyone else followed suit after that, each of them piling into the interrogation room with urgency. Hank and Connor came to a halt near (Y/n), who stood off to the side, whereas Gavin and Chris rushed towards the defective android. It hadn't stopped smashing its head into the table, to which Connor's uneasy stare flickered from the RK800 android towards it, uncertain on what to do other than watch it destroy itself.

"Stop it goddamnit!" Gavin shouted, roughly grabbing Chris by the shoulder and shoving him in its direction.

Said officer swiftly obliged, latching both hands onto its shoulder as tightly as humanly possible in an attempt to prevent it from smashing its own head in further. It was futile, for the androids inhuman strength overpowered his own, making him feel like he was trying to hold back an unstoppable bull.

"I... I– I can't!.. I can't stop it!" He shouted helplessly, yet nonetheless moved to grab its other shoulder as well, as if that would somehow help his grip.

From the sidelines, (Y/n) watched alongside Hank and Connor. She looked at the blue substance gathering on the table and spraying everywhere, the newly formed crack in its head causing it to lose Thirium fast. Unlike the police officer, she had the strength to hold it back and prevent it from destroying itself.

╔════════════════╗

► [○] Intervene

► [☓] Give up

╚════════════════╝

╔═════════╗
[○] Intervene
╚═════════╝

Seeing as it would be more beneficial to keep the deviant activated – a slim chance given its critical damage – she decided to call out to the officer struggling with the android.

"That's enough! You need to stop that right now!" She yelled with urgency, causing Chris to send a quick look in her direction.

He began to fumble with his keys, taking them out as quickly as possible before unlocking the cuff around the android's wrist. It appeared that following the RK800's actions was successful, for the male android paused in its process to destroy itself.

The relief that swept over the room didn't last long.

The deviant moved within the blink of an eye, shoving the chair away as it abruptly stood up before launching itself towards Chris. Its hands darted towards the gun holster at his side, grabbing and yanking out the firearm with calculated ease.

"Watch out!" Hank immediately yelled out a warning, wasting no time in grabbing his son so he could yank them both down to the floor, the table acting as a shield against the unstable android.

Gavin and Chris backed away as best they could seeing as they had nothing to duck behind. Fortunately for them, that left only one target—a target that didn't have that feeling of fear that was crucial to prevent her own demise.

A gunshot rang throughout the room, causing everyone to flinch, before a second one went off. Both bodies slumped to the floor in unison, leaving the room in tense silence as the danger hanging in the air slowly began to dissipate.

⌜┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈⌝
Software Instability ⍌
⌞┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈⌟

Hank peered around the table first, keeping a hand on his son until he made sure the android was no longer functioning. When a second passed by and it didn't move an inch, a slow exhale of relief left him.

"Holy shit..." He mumbled in disbelief, slowly releasing Connor as he went to stand up. The brunette followed his actions cautiously, his startled gaze landing on the damaged android sprawled across the floor a few feet away.

There was a long, tense silence as the events sunk in, to which the grey-haired man turned to address (Y/n). His mouth shut when he turned, having finally taken notice of the worse part of this situation—the female android's slumped body on the floor, a bullet hole in the center of her forehead with a trail of Thirium leaking from it.

He winced at the sight. It made him more uneasy than seeing the other android, mainly because he knew the reaction his son would have wouldn't be a pleasant one. As much as he could care less for the things, his son was a different story—especially when it came to the android that seemed to follow them around like an eager puppy.

Hank heard a sharp intake of breath next to him and prepared for the worst. He turned towards Connor, immediately catching on to the way his brown eyes zeroed in on the bullet hole with horror.

The expression he wore was unreadable, a flurry of emotions that he was unable to properly convey in that moment. All he was able to do was stare at the lifeless body of the woman on the floor, whose once bright (E/c) eyes now stared at the ceiling with emptiness.

It was silent as the brunette refused to look anywhere else, even as Chris and Gavin went to inspect the other android and figure out what to do with the remains. His breaths came out in shallow puffs and his eyebrows twitched in the slightest, his face straining to remain as neutral as possible—to bottle up whatever storm of emotions was tearing him up inside.

Seeing his son's discomfort, Hank hesitantly reached out to place a hand on his shoulder. Or at least he tried to, but Connor saw the motion from the corner of his eye and swiftly dodged it before making a bee line to the door.

"Connor!" Hank tried to call out to him as the automatic door slid open, but was promptly ignored as his son rushed out and the door slid shut behind him.

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Ȩ̵͙̜̰̮̰̯̖͎̙̰͗̅͗̇͆̑̈́̅̑̂͒̇̊̕̕r̷̨͉̫̍̿̄͌͋̑̽͠ř̴̜̪̓͋͒̈́̚̚ő̴̮̪͓͍̞̀̋̄͒̿͗̈́̑̓̓͗̕̕͜͝r̴̛͙͎͍̮͍̮̱̺̻̻̀͒͆͌̿

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Ȩ̵͙̜̰̮̰̯̖͎̙̰͗̅͗̇͆̑̈́̅̑̂͒̇̊̕̕r̷̨͉̫̍̿̄͌͋̑̽͠ř̴̜̪̓͋͒̈́̚̚ő̴̮̪͓͍̞̀̋̄͒̿͗̈́̑̓̓͗̕̕͜͝r̴̛͙͎͍̮͍̮̱̺̻̻̀͒͆͌̿

Restoring file...

D̶̢͙͔̠̝̳̭͎̬͖́͐͜o̴͚̟͇̼̦͓̞͓̬͙͙͖͉̚͠ͅń̴͍̱͙̤̙̜͐͛̔̐̀̋̀̔̎̈́͘̚͝'̵͚̭̙̜̗̱̾̔̾t̸͎͚̳͍̞͈̼͇͔̣͕̘̠̔̾̄͌̀ ̵͇̞̱͉̯̀̀̓̀̄̊͛͌l̸̛͓̤̣͊͒̋͋ͅẽ̴̲͉̝̟̰̦̐͒͐̌̽̓t̴̢͓͍̯̩̼̳̜͔͎͈̰͚͂̐̊̑̀́̽́̊ ̴̨̧͓̯̏m̸̩͈̤̩̬̩̠͚̞͝ͅḝ̸̢̲͍̺̬͖̼̳̭͒͑̉̓͂̈́̌͛̄̒͜͝ ̸̥̟͕̮̥̊̿̃̓̓̈͌̑̈́́̕̚ḑ̶̛̖̳̯̜̙̠̥̣̖͓̊̄͂͋͒͛̇̒̄̽̑̈́̕̚ȉ̴̠̖́̊̀̓̈́̌̌̎͝͝͝ė̴̡̧̳̺̺̟͚͘͜.̷̯̥̞̯̹̦̱̓̈́͗

Corruption in file has been fixed. Apologies for the interruption.

Please continue to the next chapter.

Chapter Text

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[○] Path one – Good Cop

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⁅ Chapter Four ⁆

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╓﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ╖

Date:

NOV. 6th, 2038

╙﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎  ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ╜

╓﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ╖

Time:

AM. 09:56:04

╙﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎  ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ﹎ ╜

A pair of (E/c) eyes opened slowly, fluttering a few times as the world around her shifted. The hushed clicks, beeps and hums of her system were audible for a brief moment, eventually fading away as she fully adjusted to the new landscape that materialized around her.

The real world had shifted before her eyes, changing into a zen garden filled with luscious trees and other plant life, each blending together in breathtaking hues of greens and pinks. There were also white tree-like structures scattered around, their latticework creating an awning over various parts of the garden.

The gentle sound of running water met her ears first, her gaze moving over to the bridge that crossed over the sparkling pond. Everything in the area was fresh and blooming with life, making the white crystallized path she stood on stick out against the soft breath of nature.

╓─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ╖

Find Amanda

╙─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ╜

Her heeled boots clicked against the pathway after that objective popped up, automatically beginning her search for said person—the sole reason she had appeared in this virtual environment deep within her coding. As she walked down the crystallized pathway a couple of doves sitting around fluttered into the air, flying off into the distance as she watched them for a short moment.

The (H/c)-haired android carried on, venturing onto a stone pathway that broke off from the main one. There were more doves wandering around that area, some flying away like the previous ones, while others cautiously dodged her form. She paid them no mind as she continued on her walk, occasionally scanning the area in an attempt to find the woman she was searching for.

However, she came to a brief pause, a structure next to the path catching her attention as her objective was monetarily forgotten. It was simultaneously mesmerizing and absurd to look at, a metal and crystal-like arch emerging around and behind what appeared to be a stone, but was instead covered with sectioned panels and a screen on top of a translucent crystal—a beautiful combination of technology and nature merging as one.

Her brows furrowed together once she noticed the hand print that was surrounded by a solid, glowing blue circle. Without thinking her feet moved forward, until she was crouched down with her hand hovering over it. Her actions were automatic, as if some unseen force had pulled her towards it.

Immediately the translucent part of the stone lit up in hundreds of shining blue dots, a bright wave of a similar hue occasionally passing over them as a loud hum emitted from the object each time.

┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅
▼
[△]
┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅

The skin of her hand peeled away, revealing thr white casing underneath as she pressed her palm flat against the outline of the hand. Immediately a high pitched ringing interfered with her audio processors, while the humming got progressively louder, both sounds making it difficult to keep her focus.

Her face scrunched up from the sensory overload, yet regardless she pressed on, struggling to keep her hand against the mysterious object. She managed for a second or two, until a strong force pushed her back abruptly, causing her to recoil while her LED lit up red in alarm.

A shallow breath left her and her LED switched back to a tame blue, quickly registering that she was unharmed from the mysterious objects force. She was merely startled by the odd occurrence and uncertain about its purpose—a purpose that beckoned her towards it despite being incomprehensible.

She wondered why such an object was in this virtual reality of all places. Only herself and Amanda had access to this space since it was embedded in her own coding, no one else could get in—an implication that it had to be used by either one of them.

But what for?

She didn't allow herself to dwell on it any longer, a reminder of her current objective briefly popping up before she dismissed it. One last glance was sent towards the strange device, lingering slightly even as her feet began to move onwards. Eventually she turned forwards to focus on the crystallized path, which broke off into a stone walkway across a pond.

The water surrounded both sides of the pathway, vibrant green moss floating around the surface along with similar colored lilypads, highlighted by a pink-orange hue on the sides. A glance across the pond showed the center of the garden, where all the bright white paths lead to one of the artificial trees of the same color.

It was similar to the real ones with the way the structure stretched outwards at the top, the latticework overhead allowing small beams of sunlight through the diamond shaped cracks. Flowers, leaves and vines grew up the length of the central formation, beautifully intertwining with it from the base to the top, where it spread out along the flat surface.

Upon looking in that direction, she noticed a figure tending to some of the plant life growing around there. Immediately (Y/n) sped up her pace, her heels clicking with urgency against the pristine white tiles, until eventually they met the crunch of dirt. She hurried over to the path that crossed over the water, walking across it and stepping up the few mossy stone steps at the end.

Now at her destination, her pace slowed as she approached the dark-skinned woman draped in white and black cloth. Her footfalls came to a halt a few feet away, patiently waiting beside the rose-covered structure as she observed her actions.

⌜┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ⌝
Amanda

–Trusted
⌞ ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈⌟

Amanda was tending to a bunch of roses growing along a section of white fencing, continuing to do so as she had yet to acknowledge the new presence. Noticing this, the RK800 android quickly decided to speak up.

╔════════╗
[△] Talk
╚════════╝

"Hello, Amanda." (Y/n) greeted the woman calmly, her voice soft-spoken as she kept her hands neatly tucked behind her back. The sound of her voice caught said woman's attention, who turned to look at her after snipping a rose from the fence.

A smile twitched on her lips, small but welcoming. "(Y/n). It's good to see you." She greeted back, to which the female android returned the smile with a polite one of her own.

The dark-haired woman turned back to her roses, gently tending to them with the gardening scissors in her hand. A few seconds of silence passed by, until Amanda continued to speak.

"Congratulations, (Y/n)." She murmured as she trimmed some unruly leaves off the delicate flowers. "Finding that deviant was far from easy, and the way you interrogated it was very clever." There was satisfaction in her tone, making it evident how proud she was of the sophisticated android behind her.

Amanda set the small pair of scissors aside, opting to focus on the one rose she cut from the others. She lifted it up to her face, delicately inhaling the faint yet lovely scent produced by the flower—a feigned action, considering their false reality. Gently she lowered the rose back down, finally turning around to face the female android who was waiting patiently for her next words.

"You've been remarkably efficient, (Y/n)." She praised, her smile broadening in the slightest. There was nothing but admiration and approval on her countenance as she stared at the android before her—a look similar to how one would regard a successful creation of theirs.

⌜┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ⌝
Amanda ⍓
⌞ ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈⌟

In turn, the smile on (Y/n)'s face widened as she gave a nod in acknowledgement. "Thank you, Amanda." She replied, reassured knowing that her effort towards her missions – her one and only purpose – has been nothing short of exceptional.

Amanda carried right along, turning to carefully set the rose down on a crystallized white table. "We've asked the DPD to transfer it to us for further study." While she spoke her gaze roamed over the various red flowers in front of her, the smile previously on her face now completely vanished. "It may teach us something about what happened."

There was a pause as the woman picked up the trimmers from before, as if debating her next words. "The interrogation seemed..." She trailed off, causing (Y/n)'s smile to falter into a straight line. "–challenging... What did you think of the deviant?" She pivoted to a question, continuing on with her gardening while she waited for the female android's response.

There was some kind of undertone to that question, one that (Y/n) couldn't decipher. She wouldn't have acknowledged it either way, her central processor immediately taking the input of her question and formulating a response for it.

╔════════════════╗

► [△] Traumatized

► [□] Deviancy

► [○] Simulation

╚════════════════╝

╔══════════╗
[□] Deviancy
╚══════════╝

(Y/n) went with mentioning its deviancy, seeing as that's what she was primarily built for—hunting down and observing deviants to find the root of the issue, and to bring an end to said issue.

"It showed all the signs of deviancy: cognitive instability, unpredictable behavior, and the emulation of human emotions." She responded factually, recalling each detail of the interrogation that took place not long ago. "It was even afraid to die. The model was clearly defective." She added that piece of information, seeing as there was a correlation starting there.

First Daniel then this android, both stating they were terrified of the possibility of death or deactivation, despite knowing machines could never die. It was a strange phenomenon amongst deviants, especially since androids memories could be transferred, even if theirs would have to be altered or erased to prevent any instabilities from occurring again. Regardless, the capability to move memory from host to host allowed them to live – if anyone were to call it that – for eternity or until they were no longer required for a specific task.

So then, why were deviants so terrified at the thought of deactivation? Or rather death, from their viewpoint. It didn't compute with her system, nor did she think it would ever.

Amanda gave a short hum after her meticulous response, a sound that was impartial. "This... Lieutenant Anderson has been officially assigned to the deviancy case..." She mentioned, gently fixing the position of a rose on the fence along with its leaves. "What do you make of him?"

(Y/n) didn't reply right away, letting that question sink in as she skimmed through the interactions she'd had with said man thus far. He didn't like androids, she knew that much for certain, but she pushed that aside and delved deeper into the data she had so she could form an opinion apart from that.

╔════════════════╗

► [△] Unpleasant

► [□] Disfunctional

► [○] Intriguing

► [☓] Unsure

╚════════════════╝

╔══════════╗
[○] Intriguing
╚══════════╝

"I think he's irritable, and socially challenged." Is what she finally decided to say. Hank's behavior seemed to always be that way, not only towards herself but others around them. "But I also think he used to be a good detective... He's an intriguing character." She ended on a more positive note, seeing as she didn't want Amanda to assume she only saw the lieutenant as someone that hindered her tasks.

There was silence for a moment, before Amanda peered over her shoulder, those dark brown eyes connecting with a pair of unwavering (E/c) ones. "And what of his son?" She asked, the question sounding more accusatory this time around.

It took (Y/n) aback for a second, sensing the difference in tone compared to the question beforehand. She wasn't sure why that was, nor could her computing system figure out the reason, either.

Had she displeased Amanda in some way when it came to the younger Anderson? Or perhaps she was displeased with the human himself? As she recalled, he was a rather odd character to be around, especially as an android.

╔════════════════╗

► [△] Peculiar

► [□] Disruptive

► [○] Cordial

► [☓] Unsure

╚════════════════╝

╔══════════╗
[○] Cordial
╚══════════╝

She hesitated after she chose that dialogue option, as if she didn't truly know how to describe Connor. Which was true, seeing as his presence was a bit... overwhelming, to say the least.

"I think he's more accustomed to the presence of androids in comparison to his father." She finally said, each word deliberately slower than how she had answered the previous question. "He's cordial and dedicated to his work. Fortunately, he has yet to be an impediment to my mission."

As her lips went into a thin line, she couldn't help but feel uncertain about that answer. In one way, it didn't feel like the truth, since she vividly remembered him causing malfunctions to her central unit in regards to her reaction time. Yet, he was more respectful towards her than Hank, so that made her detective work easier to deal with knowing there was a human on standby to properly assist her.

It was a strange situation, one (Y/n) couldn't quite wrap her head around. Nonetheless, she supposed that overall it was good to have Connor working alongside her, as well as a veteran detective like Hank—even if he wasn't as comfortable around her and wouldn't be for a while.

If Amanda could see her brief confliction, she didn't comment on it. "I see." She murmured, slowly turning back to her gardening task as she clipped a few unruly vines. "Unfortunately, we have no choice but to work with the Lieutenant... What do you think is the best approach?" She asked her next question, purposely leaving Connor out of the equation.

(Y/n) disregarded any previous thoughts on the brunette detective. Her brows creased slightly as she pondered the new inquiry directed at her, along with the possibilities of those answers actually aiding her in creating a positive rapport with the older man.

╔════════════════╗

► [△] Friendly

► [□] Adapt

► [○] Indifferent

► [☓] Don't know

╚════════════════╝

╔══════════╗
[△] Friendly
╚══════════╝

"I will try to establish a friendly relationship." (Y/n) decided on, seeing as she didn't want to cause anymore tension between the two of them. "If I can get him to trust me, it will be helpful for the investigation." She further elaborated, making her reasoning behind that decision clear.

Getting on the lieutenant's good side was the key to helping the process run more smoothly. If he trusted her the same way Connor did, then there'd be less strain between the three of them and therefore less interference.

⌜┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈⌝
Amanda ⍌
⌞┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ⌟

A long sigh escaped the dark-haired woman as she set aside a watering can she had been using during the android's explanation. She turned around to face (Y/n), a deep frown on her lips that showed she was dissatisfied with her answer.

"More and more androids show signs of deviancy. There are millions in circulation." She said, her tone holding a firm edge to it as she stared deeply into those (E/c) irises. "If they become unstable, the consequences will be disastrous." She explained, her voice holding the weight of the world on it.

That weight was soon passed over onto the RK800 android as Amanda began to step forward, closing the distance between them.

"You are the most advanced prototype CyberLife has ever created." She stated, as if that fact could not be stressed enough—that she was created solely to prevent the most disastrous outcome that humanity could ever face. "If anyone can figure out what's happening, it's you."

She stopped in front of her, her expression stern and expecting, leaving no space for uncertainty or arguments. Not like (Y/n) would ever show such signs, for her own (S/c) complexion hardened into a similar stony look.

"You can count on me, Amanda." She corroborated with her statement, a firm nod following suit as that familiar icy determination passed over her gaze.

Amanda stared for a minute, before seemingly giving a nod of satisfaction as she turned to walk away. (Y/n) watched as she took a few steps, paused, then turned her head over her shoulder to give her one last look.

"Hurry, (Y/n). There's little time." Was the last thing she said before finally making her departure, leaving the android alone to process her dire warning.

(Y/n) blinked, the LED at her right temple starting to flicker to yellow as the familiar sounds of her operating system filled her ears. It blinked rapidly, the sound getting louder as she eventually closed her eyes, the virtual world around her fading to black.

She would not let Amanda down.

She swore it.

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⁅ Chapter Five ⁆

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A familiar ping could be heard flicking back and forth as a coin flipped through the air, the sun's reflection bouncing off the small metal surface with each movement. (Y/n) tossed it in the air a couple of times, all while her gaze remained locked on the building she was approaching. Eventually her feet came to a halt on the sidewalk, the quarter spinning through the air one last time before she caught it between two fingers with practiced ease.

In front of the android stood the Detroit Police Department, a location that she had been directed to through her handlers. After a thorough review of the first two cases the RK800 android had been involved in, and successfully completed, CyberLife deemed her efficiency to be at an exceptional level and agreed upon sending her to work with the Andersons' at the DPD. From this moment onwards, all deviant cases would be entrusted with them and the android was required to tag along to provide assistance.

Neatly tucking the coin into the pocket of her jacket, (Y/n) straightened out the material and adjusted her tie before walking towards the entrance of the building. Her short boots clicked against the pavement as she approached the glass doors, which automatically slid open as the sensors picked up her presence.

╓─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ╖

Look for Lt. Anderson

–Go to reception

╙─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ╜

⌜┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ⌝
Hank

–Neutral
⌞ ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈⌟

The RK800 android came to a halt on the tiled floor, her newest objective loading into her system. Paired with it was a reminder of the current relation status between herself and the lieutenant.

While neutral wasn't the worst state their relationship could be at – especially with someone who despised androids – she could strive for a closer bond, that of which would ensure every mission runs smoothly and efficiently. It wasn't her main goal, but having that task on the side would be beneficial towards her missions—all the more reason for her to pursue a more positive rapport with the lieutenant.

(Y/n) ignored the other people gathered around the waiting area and approached the front desk. As soon as the woman in front of her had stepped away she took her place, directing her attention to the ST300 android standing behind the desk—the receptionist, seeing as an android was quicker and more efficient than a human for that mundane position.

Androids were methodical and therefore took over most jobs that required data organization of any kind, that way human error in these substantial networks could be avoided. It was also simpler to have a machine that could connect, call or schedule within a mere second. Same goes for how little time it'd take to store that data for future reference.

The android before her tilted its head slightly. "Can I help you?" It asked in a firm yet polite tone, an automated response to every person that walked up to it. There was a small cordial smile on its lips the entire time, unwavering as if it was permanently plastered there to comfort every person it saw.

╔═══════╗
[☓] Talk
╚═══════╝

"I'm here to see Lieutenant Anderson." (Y/n) stated, her tone and posture professional as she refused to return the smile—there was no need to when interacting with an android.

Those (E/c) irises bored into the brown ones staring back at her, both lacking that distinct light that gleamed in the eyes of the humans bustling around them. A light that was incapable of being mimicked by something made out of various metal components and wires, leaving a mere husk with no soul to solidify its existence as vital.

The female android in front of her didn't miss a beat. "Do you have authorization?" It asked, its tone remaining as relaxing and sugary sweet as it was programmed to be.

"Yes." Her reply was instant, already preparing the formal consent that CyberLife had digitized into her system for easy access inside the precinct.

┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅
Connect
▼
[□]
┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅

(Y/n)'s eyes began to flutter and blink, the LED on her right temple a flickering amber as she sent the required data over to the ST300 android. Its LED began to flicker yellow as well while it stared off into the distance, taking a second to process and store the information it was receiving. Eventually both of the androids LEDs settled back into a serene blue, signaling the end of their transaction.

The receptionist android nodded its head to the left, motioning towards the entrance of the precinct. "Lieutenant Anderson hasn't arrived yet, but you can wait at his desk." It directed with that same steady smile on its face.

The (H/c)-haired android nodded in return, ending their interaction as she turned away to head in that direction.

╓─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ╖

Look for Lt. Anderson

⁅ Authorization Granted ⁆

–Find Lt. Anderson's desk

╙─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ╜

She walked over to the right of the waiting room, where she was met with two gate systems and a security android on standby. As (Y/n) approached the two glass panels a beep sounded in the air before they opened inwards, granting her access inside.

As she made her way through the gateway and past the automatic sliding glass door, (Y/n) took a moment to pause so she could observe the unfamiliar area around her. Immediately she spotted a female android standing off to the side, a PM700 model, and decided to approach it in order to locate where the lieutenant's desk was.

╔═════════════╗
[☓] Ask about desk
╚═════════════╝

"I'm looking for Lieutenant Anderson's desk." (Y/n) spoke up as she came to a halt in front of the android, whose attention shifted from watching its surroundings to her form.

Its eyes glanced to the right as it held an arm out in the same direction. "It's that desk right there." Was the firm yet soft reply she received from it. Its arm dropped back to its side, automatically going back to its original position and disregarding the RK800's presence.

She turned around to face said direction, quickly spotting the desk it had pointed to and making her way towards it. As further confirmation, there was a metal name tag sitting on the edge of the surface with Lt. Anderson written across it.

Now that she had located his desk, all that was left for her to do was wait for him to arrive. She was clueless as to what that time frame could look like.

╓─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ╖

Look for Lt. Anderson

⁅ Authorization Granted ⁆

⁅ Desk Located ⁆

–Wait for Lt. Anderson

╙─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ╜

Each minor objective had been checked off in her system, leaving her with the newest one and her overall directive. Left with nothing else to do, she dismissed the notification of her tasks for the time being and directed her attention to the nearest employee. It'd be beneficial to ask one of the officers about the lieutenant, seeing as they could give her an estimated time frame of when he might arrive.

"Excuse me." She spoke up towards a dark-haired man at his desk, who turned to look at her after a short pause. "Do you know what time Lieutenant Anderson usually arrives?" She asked politely, continuing to stare at the man even as he turned back to look at his monitor.

"Depends on where he was the night before." He responded as he glanced back at the RK800 android, a hint of amusement in his tone. "If we're lucky, we'll see him before noon." That was the end of his reply as he gave a slight smile before turning back to his work.

(Y/n) frowned to herself, seeing as that information wasn't exactly helpful. "Thanks." Nonetheless, she uttered her gratitude for informing her.

According to his response, it could be a longer period of time than she was expecting for him to arrive. An unsatisfactory circumstance, but one she couldn't control, unfortunately.

Her objective to wait for the lieutenant popped up once again, so she went to take a seat in the chair next to the desk for the time being. She neatly folded her hands in her lap while her eyes scanned over her surroundings, the noise of the precinct filling her audio processors—the chatter of officers, the noise of the intercom, the beeping of terminals and the blaring news stations on TVs.

After a minute or so ticked by, her current objective was quickly accompanied by a new task, her CPU making adjustments based on her current situation.

╓─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ╖

Look for Lt. Anderson

⁅ Authorization Granted ⁆

⁅ Desk Located ⁆

–Wait for Lt. Anderson

–Explore new office

╙─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ╜

It was a good idea to familiarize herself with her new surroundings, since this is where she would work from now on. Then again, she could also use this free time to learn more about Hank, as his desk was cluttered with various items that hinted towards who he was as a person. It would be some time before his arrival, so either option would be more preferable in comparison to simply waiting.

After contemplating which option would assist her more, she decided the latter was a better option. It'd help with her secondary task of getting on good terms with the lieutenant—the more she knew about him, the higher her chances were of increasing their rapport.

With that in mind she stood up, rounding the corner of the lieutenant's desk to observe the various items scattered around the surface. He didn't appear to be a very organized person, but she could've concluded that on her own given his character traits and his appearance.

The first thing she spotted was a pair of Bluetooth headphones alongside a handheld music player. She picked up each of them in separate hands, lifting the one with the headphones up to her ear as her thumb pressed play on the device.

╔══════════╗
[☓] Play
╚══════════╝

She couldn't help the way her head jerked away from the intense music, that of which briefly caused her audio processor to ring from the high volume. Her LED flickered from yellow back to blue, now holding the headphones a reasonable distance away as she processed the music spilling out from the speakers.

╔═══════════════════╗

Knights of the Black Death

Dark Heavy Metal
Release date – 2021

╚═══════════════════╝

(Y/n) hit pause on the music player before gently setting both items back down where they were. The music was similar to what was playing in the car ride when they went to the crime scene of Carlos Ortiz. While she didn't have a personal opinion on music – or anything, for that matter – she'd admit that it was a very... interesting and loud choice.

Seeing as she had time to spare, she decided to analyze more of the items around his desk. Her LED swirled into an amber hue as she began to scan around his desk, starting with the slogans scattered around his monitor.

┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅
Analyze
▼
[△]
┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅

╔═════════════════════╗

Anti-android Slogans

Use your brain not your android
Android-free space

╚═════════════════════╝

Her face remained neutral as she read over the different slogans, unaffected by them. This information wasn't new and merely added onto the previous data she had collected on the lieutenant's character.

Hank was very outspoken about his distaste for androids, as were a lot of people. It was nothing new, nor would it ever change—an unfortunate reality for her, as it put a huge dent in her mission since she had to work alongside him. Thankfully, his son Connor acted as a sort of buffer to that issue.

╔════════════════╗

Donuts

Calories: 452,
Saturated fatty acids: 13g,
Cholesterol: 19mg,
Carbohydrates: 51g

╚════════════════╝

╔════════════════╗

Coffee Cup

Cold coffee
Traces of caffeine

╚════════════════╝

From those two items, she concluded he liked donuts and coffee, even if the prior was an unhealthy option. She was familiar with humans often using coffee or energy drinks to supply them with caffeine to get through the day, an odd prospect to her since her energy was practically unlimited as long as every component was functioning properly.

Judging from how late Hank stayed up either drinking or working, she was unsurprised by him being one of those people. Connor likely was as well, as she assumed he also stayed up late for work since they had the same occupation. That, and he seemed to be the one to fetch Hank whenever he was out too late getting drunk at a bar. She didn't have sufficient evidence to be one-hundred percent certain about that possibility, but the information she had gathered from the pair thus far suggested it was likely.

Staring at the cold coffee for longer, she could tell by the color and its contents that it held no additives. While Hank must've liked black coffee, she'd guess that his son was the opposite. Given his young age, she presumed he'd prefer the taste of coffee with milk and sweeteners added to it, or energy drinks since those appeared to be a popular choice amongst younger groups.

Part of her wondered what it would be like to be able to taste consumable items, rather than having miniscule sensors on her tongue analyze them for nutrition facts. The taste and energy boost surely had to be a positive one if humans were willing to overlook the downside effects on their health from it.

╔════════════════╗

Japanese Maple

Asian
Shishigashira Shohin

╚════════════════╝

╔════════════════╗

Matches

Origin: Jimmy's Bar
Wood, phosphorus

╚════════════════╝

╔════════════════╗

Hairs

Canine hairs
Saint Bernard Dog

╚════════════════╝

She paused after scanning the traces of fur left behind, observing the image of the dog breed that was presented alongside the information. Up until this point she hadn't ever seen one, even if her CPU could easily upload every detail of the breed—she never had the need to and therefore never did.

She found herself staring at the image of the fluffy creature for a couple more seconds, before finally letting the picture and facts fade from her optical units so she could focus on her current task.

╔════════════════╗

Detroit Basketball Cap

Cotton: 90%
Polyester: 10%

╚════════════════╝

╔═══════════════════╗

Red Ice Task Force 2027

Multi-department unit
Responsible for the RED ICE network dismantle of 2028

╚═══════════════════╝

┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅
Research Lt. Anderson
▼
[□]
┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅

(Y/n) downloaded the reports on the lieutenant within an instant. She was thoroughly impressed by how much he had accomplished from such a young age as a detective, labeling him as Detroit's finest. He assisted in slowing down the red ice epidemic, secured a large number of high-profile arrests, became the youngest and quickest detective to rise through the ranks and become lieutenant, and held a record for the seizure of red ice from an investigation.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Lt. Anderson was a decorated officer

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

There was nothing left to scan after that, to which (Y/n) was about to head off and finally explore the rest of the precinct. However, before she could a familiar voice came from behind her, preventing her from committing to said action. Her system registered the voice immediately, given that her relation status for the detective popped up before she had even looked at him.

⌜┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ⌝
Connor

–Warm
⌞ ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈⌟

"Hey, (Y/n)." Said android turned her head at the greeting, only to be met with the sight of Connor's grinning face. She turned around fully, tilting her head upwards in order to meet the stare of his taller frame. "Snooping through my dad's things, I see." He teased, his words and tone making her pause for a second.

"Good morning, Detective. I was trying to learn more about the Lieutenant." She replied politely, managing a smile in return to his radiant energy.

It was a stark contrast to the other officers that appeared sluggish and tired as they shuffled around. His lively behavior was likely due to the coffee he held in hand, which a quick scan revealed it had an unhealthy amount of sugar – fourty-two grams to be exact – meaning her probable guess from earlier was correct.

Connor pulled a face, sending her a glare that was intended to be playful. "I thought I told you to just call me Connor. None of that formal bullshit." His tone held a faux irritation to it, an emotion that didn't match the growing amusement on his freckled complexion.

It sent mixed signals to the shorter android, who blinked up at him a couple of times as her brows creased together to show her confusion. Her central processor attempted to formulate a proper response, but she was uncertain with the options since she couldn't deduce whether he was genuinely upset or not. Humans could be puzzling sometimes with their complex emotions and contradicting mannerisms.

The brunette took quick notice of her struggle and his expression softened. "I'm messing with you, (Y/n). It's not serious." He reassured her, a breath of a laugh escaping him when her lips parted in realization. "But please, just call me Connor from now on, okay?" He added on, his eyes slightly squinting as he gave her a comforting smile.

(Y/n) returned it with an apologetic one of her own after her processor finally caught up from that enigmatic situation. "Of course, Connor. My apologies." She replied softly, her facial features quickly relaxing after realizing her error.

Understanding humans was a struggle she was actively trying to work around in her system, but each interaction provided a little more information to store in her memory for future reference. As for now, she'd have to rely on Connor's goodwill – and hopefully Hank's at some point – to guide her through the motions.

Such as right now, where she was left clueless upon seeing the light red hue dusting along his freckled cheeks before he awkwardly glanced away. She recalled him reacting similarly at the first crime scene they had worked on, but before she could question it, the sound of footsteps approaching the two had her attention shifting away.

Hank appeared before them and (Y/n) didn't hesitate to send him a pleasant smile. "It's good to see you again, Lieutenant." She chirped, hoping to lift his spirits with her own cheery behavior, even if it was simulated to achieve such.

Unfortunately, she received the opposite reaction as Hank's gaze landed on her and his expression twisted with disdain. He let out a long groan, which was accompanied by a huff of a laugh from Connor as he turned to face the older man.

"Uh, jesus... Why the hell are you here?" He grumbled, glaring at the (H/c)-haired android as if she would disappear if he stared hard enough. Sadly, no such thing happened, and his eyebrow twitched when she went to respond with that annoying smile still present.

"Hank! Connor!"

Instantly her lips pushed back into a line as she directed her gaze towards the shout of those two names, said people looking over as well. Captain Fowler stood outside his office, leaning against the rail of the steps. He looked simultaneously stern and frustrated, as if he already anticipated the outcome of this interaction would be unpleasant.

He motioned the two to follow him as he retreated inside, giving one last shout over his shoulder. "In my office!"

╓─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ╖

–Enter and listen in

–Explore new office

╙─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ╜

Presented with two different options, (Y/n) watched as Hank rolled his eyes and went to head over to Fowler's office, not bothering to pay her any mind. She didn't have to contemplate her choices for long, as a light pressure on her lower back urged her forward, causing her to fall into step with Connor as they headed in the same direction.

It was similar to what he'd done the night prior, but she held no complaints seeing as it made the decision easier. She'd already obtained the information she was searching for, anyway. There'd be time to explore the layout of the office space later.

The two entered behind Hank, with Connor shutting the glass door behind them as his hand fell away from the female android. The older of the two plopped himself into one of the chairs in front of the desk, his son soon joining in the chair next to him. (Y/n) stayed standing next to the wall, causing a single glance to be sent her way from a certain detective before his attention shifted back to their boss.

"I've got ten new cases involving androids on my desk everyday. We've always had isolated incidents, old ladies losing their android maids and that kind of crap." Fowler set his mug aside with an audible clunk, finally turning his gaze away from his screen to the two people sitting in front of him. "But now, we're getting reports of assaults and even homicides, like that guy last night..."

He trailed off, his stern gaze flickering between the younger and older man. "This isn't just CyberLife's problem anymore. It's now a criminal investigation and we've gotta deal with it before the shit hits the fan."

Hank's face began to twist into an embittered look, clearly sensing what direction this speech was heading in the longer Fowler spoke. Connor shifted next to him, his expression more contained than his, yet just as expectant.

"I want you to investigate these cases and see if there's any link."

There it was, the sentence Hank had been dreading since the start of this conversation.

"Why me?" He asked as his hands gestured vaguely at himself, further emphasizing his disbelief. "Why do I gotta be the one to deal with this shit?" The words became indignant on his tongue, to which Captain Fowler's gaze narrowed on the lieutenant as a subtle warning.

Meanwhile Connor seemed to unattach himself from the conversation. He slumped in his seat, his elbow resting on the armchair and his cheek propped against his fist. "I have to deal with it too, y'know..." He mumbled, more so to himself than his dad.

He casted his eyes to lazily peer outside of the glass surrounding the space, watching officers pass by with disinterest. He already wished this conversation was over with, knowing full well this was only the beginning of his dad's indignant attitude.

If Hank heard his annoyed remark, he ignored it. "I am the least qualified cop in the country to handle this case! I know jack shit about androids, Jeffery! I can barely change the settings on my own phone." He hissed, jabbing his thumb backwards in the direction of the RK800 android who remained on standby.

Connor chuckled under his breath, continuing to keep his line of sight outside even as he agreed with his dad. "He's not wrong. He needs me to 'fix' every device we have." He commented, a hint of amusement replacing the irritation that was previously there.

Fowler spared a glance at Connor, before shaking his head and directing a firm glare towards Hank. "Everybody's overloaded. I think you're perfectly qualified for this type of investigation. Not to mention your son will be working with you, and I know for a fact he is perfectly capable of handling these cases."

There was a finality to his statement, leaving no room for objections on Hank's side since he knew how stubborn the old man was. Connor didn't make any complaints about the new assignment to these deviant cases or the android having to tag along with them, a fact that he was silently grateful for. The last thing he needed was another Anderson throwing a hissy fit, especially when he already knew the third one would react similarly to Hank.

Connor's gaze flickered back to the two, his head lifted from his palm and eyebrows raised at the unexpected praise. He'd only been a detective for about three years now, and while he didn't think he was the worst at it – Gavin took that place in his book – there was a lot left for him to learn and improve on.

That, and he felt like he was lagging behind other officers of a similar ranking, seeing as he often stayed up late purely out of obligation to take care of his drunken father. It was lost time that could've been spent on his workload, not to mention it hindered his performance due to stress and exhaustion.

Regardless, it was relieving to hear from their boss that he deemed him capable, despite how difficult it felt most days. The mitigation of his uncertainty was short-lived, his face scrunching up with exasperation as Hank abruptly stood from his chair and threw his hands in the air.

"Bullshit!" He shouted, causing (Y/n) to direct her gaze to him due to the volume of his voice. "The truth is nobody wants to investigate these fuckin' androids and you left me holdin' the bag!" He snapped, waving his hands around in wild gestures as he stared daggers into the man before him.

After his outburst he turned away from the desk, his hands resting on his waist as he walked a few paces towards the front of the room. He purposely avoided going near the area where (Y/n) patiently stood, dodging to the side while he attempted to calm himself down.

The brunette rolled his eyes at his dad's reaction, pushing himself out of his chair as he walked to the front of the room as well. Unlike Hank, he went directly towards the female android, standing next to her as he leaned against the glass wall with his arms crossed over his chest.

She spared a glance at him, but his eyes were focused on staring down the older man pacing across from them, a disappointed glimmer to them that didn't pair well with the growing flame of irritation.

Captain Fowler sighed, trying to maintain his composure in spite of the lieutenant's unacceptable behavior. "CyberLife sent over this android to help with the investigation. It's a state-of-the-art prototype. It'll act as both of your partners." He asserted, a statement that seemed like it was to persuade him, but in reality was a fact he wouldn't be allowed to refuse.

A light nudge to her shoulder had (Y/n)'s eyes flickering away from the captain to the brunette beside her. As her gaze connected with those warm brown irises, she noticed they were now devoid of the negative emotions from before, temporarily replaced by enthusiasm as he sent her a lax yet content half-smile. His entire expression indicated that he was more than pleased with her working with them, unlike the other person in the room.

She blinked as her head tilted to the side, once again taking a moment to respond since her CPU reacted a second too slow at the unexpected action. Nonetheless she recovered quickly, returning the smile with one of her own that mirrored the sentiment he held. In turn his smile widened before he tuned back to the conversation happening, even if he wasn't apart of it anymore—not like he was from the start, anyway.

Yet she was left staring blankly at the brown-haired detective, uncertain as to why this was a recurring issue in her software. Yes, it was peculiar to have a human be so openly supportive of androids – both verbally and physically – but that shouldn't have been enough to cause malfunctions in her central unit.

There had to be an error in her computing system, there was no other logical explanation for why this kept occurring. She recalled getting those brief notifications of an instability in her software, so it had to be connected to that in some way. Though, that didn't explain what exactly was causing this, only informing her that there was in fact an issue of sorts.

Seeing as she wasn't involved in the conversation – and there was a ninety-nine percent chance that she wouldn't be at any point – she decided to take the time to run a quick self-check on her system, her LED shifting from blue to yellow as the loading screen displayed in front of her vision.

╾ ╸ ╸╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╸ ╸ ╼

Running diagnostic...

9%
█▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒

24%
███▒▒▒▒▒▒▒

37%
█████▒▒▒▒▒

69%
███████▒▒▒

100%
██████████

Diagnostic complete
Showing results...

Thirium pump... Working

Thirium pump regulator... Working

Optical units... Working

Audio processors... Working

Central processing unit... Working

Biocomponents... Working

Internal system... Working

No errors

╾ ╸ ╸╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╸ ╸ ╼

She blinked a couple of times, ridding the results from her optical units as the colors from the space around her returned and focused into view. Once again she was left stumped from the perfect results, something that should've been relieving but only served to make her all the more puzzled.

If there wasn't a problem with her software, then what could've been causing those small defects in her code? There must've been a flaw in her model, seeing as she was still a prototype—a first of her kind and susceptible to mistakes, no matter how advanced.

Unfortunately, even her handler back at CyberLife didn't notice anything wrong when she returned, so she was lost on how to address it. She could go through another set of tests and trial runs when she returned, she supposed. For now she brushed it aside and tuned back into the conversation, which was a mistake on her part.

"No fuckin' way! I don't need another partner, and certainly not this plastic prick!" The lieutenant yelled as he stormed up to the desk, briefly turning to point at (Y/n) with a glare that could melt ice.

She was unfazed by his anger as he whipped back around to face the captain. However, a part of her was dissatisfied by it knowing her chances of getting on his good side weren't favorable. It was going to be a lot harder to gain his trust than she had originally anticipated when chatting with Amanda.

"Dad!" Clearly fed up with all the yelling and complaining, Connor cut in with a sharp yet leveled tone. "Stop throwing a tantrum and do as he says. He's our boss, you don't get a choice!" He tried his best to remain as professional as possible, even with the bite to his words.

The last thing he'd do is raise his voice around their boss, and it was embarrassing that his dad was acting in such a heedless manner—not that it was the first time, unfortunately.

Maybe the consequences were less severe for Hank since he's worked here for so long and gained everyone's respect. But it was clear to his son that Fowler's patience was running thin, and that thread was close to snapping.

To further prove his point, said man leaned closer to Hank with a countenance that bordered on being enraged. Yet somehow the latter didn't seem to care, heaving out a loud sigh as the captain began to scold him.

"Hank, you are seriously starting to piss me off!" He shouted, matching his volume as he watched said person turn away from him. That only served to anger him further. "You are a police lieutenant, you are suppose to do what I say and shut your goddamn mouth!" He snapped with finality, his breaths slightly uneven from the amount of force behind those words.

(Y/n) watched the argument with her usual blank stare, until a weight on her shoulder pulled her away from it. She didn't need to look to know who it was. Though, she could see how tense Connor was from her peripheral, despite how gentle the hand on her was. His jaw was locked and his lips pressed into a firm line, while his eyebrows dipped down and together to form an aggravated look—an expression that showed how fed up he was with this situation and his dad's childlike behavior.

The female android went back to watching the scene, only to see Hank facing Fowler again and leaning closer with a prominent scowl. "You know what my goddamn mouth has to say to you, huh?" He spat, venom dripping from every word to properly display how infuriated he was.

Before he could finish that sentence, Connor swiftly interjected to prevent him from making a mistake he'd regret. "Dad..." He mumbled this time, yet it managed to catch Hank's attention as his gaze finally broke away from their captain to face his son. However, the minute he noticed the hand on the android next to him, that slight softening of his facial features disappeared and a scoff left his lips.

"Ok, ok..." Captain Fowler continued on with his hands raised up, a signal for the older man to stop talking before he got himself into trouble. "I'll pretend like I didn't hear that, so I don't have to add any more pages to you disciplinary folder 'cause it already looks like a fuckin' novel! This conversation is over!" He pointed towards the door, already turning back to his computer to indicate that he was unwilling to listen to anymore of his complaints.

Hank's gaze shifted to where (Y/n) and Connor stood, a slight grimace forming at the clear disappointment in his son's eyes. He ignored it, turning back to their boss and leaning closer on the desk as if it would help keep the two from overhearing.

"Jeffery, Jesus Christ! Why are you doin' this to me? You know how much I hate these fuckin' things. Why are you doin' this to me?" He said fiercely, the low volume audible to the other two due to the small space, and the fact that it could hardly be considered a whisper from how loud it was.

(Y/n) could sense a slight increase in pressure on her shoulder, specifically when he uttered the word things. She paid it no mind as she continued to silently observe.

Captain Fowler looked away from his screen towards Hank, his voice low and threatening in a way that signaled he was dangerously close to facing disciplinary action. "Listen, I've had just enough of your bitching. Either you do your job or you hand in your badge and Connor can do it on his own. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got work to do." He left no room for further debate, waving him off as he went back to his computer and immediately began typing on his keyboard.

The older man stared Fowler down for a second, as if debating whether he should continue fighting against this decision. He must've thought better of it, for Hank shoved himself away from the desk, an indignant noise leaving him as he stormed over to the glass door. It was flung open and slammed shut right behind his retreating figure, earning a dissatisfied grumble from the captain at the loud bang it caused.

After his obnoxious exit, (Y/n) went to look at Connor, then Captain Fowler, debating on what to do next. Whereas androids couldn't pick up on emotions well – in some cases, at least – the brunette knew better than to stick around after that outburst.

His hand slid down her shoulder to her back, once again gently guiding her towards the door, seeing as she didn't appear to be moving anytime soon. It was a silent action, one she could tell implied that they were no longer required here.

╔════════════════╗

► [△] Andersons

► [□] Positive

► [○] File

► [☓] Leave

╚════════════════╝

╔════════╗
[☓] Leave
╚════════╝

She went along with his departure, quickly bidding a goodbye to the captain. "We won't keep you any longer. Have a nice day, Captain." She said softly before walking ahead to open the door for Connor, who flashed her a grateful smile on his way out.

She shut the glass door behind her after stepping out, the two of them making their way down the three steps leading up to his office. Once on the main ground (Y/n) already spotted Hank at his desk, about to head over to him as she was determined to finally get in his good graces. Even if that entire interaction back there was nothing short of disastrous, she had to try.

"What's this? You got yourself an android girlfriend?"

The RK800 android didn't get far, a masculine voice suddenly cutting in from the right. Normally she would've ignored it – or rather, assume it wasn't directed at herself – but the loud, exaggerated groan that left Connor as a reaction to it caused her to pause in her steps.

She turned to see who this new person was, only to be met with a duplicate of Connor. Well, almost, aside from some subtle differences in appearance.

This person was slightly taller, approximately six feet and two inches while Connor was only six feet. His hair was neater than Connor's mess of brown waves and parted the opposite way. His eyes were a cold and piercing blue with a hint of grey to them, a vast contrast to the warm and gentle brown eyes with gold flecks that Connor had. His skin also had a paler complexion, with colder undertones that stood out against Connor's warmer ones. Then lastly there appeared to be little to no freckles on his skin, whereas Connor had many of them all around.

Since there were so many similarities, she automatically assumed this to be another relative of the Anderson family—probably a brother, judging by the extremely close resemblance between the two.

┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅
Scan
▼
[△]
┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅

╔═════════════════════════╗

Det. Anderson, Niles

Born: 10/ 09/ 2014 / / Police Detective
Criminal  Record: None

╚═════════════════════════╝

Her biometrics scan confirmed her suspicions. It was strange how they looked nearly identical, yet were born two years apart. Though, she supposed there were enough differences in their physical appearances to separate them from that.

A scoff beside her drew her attention back, her eyes blinking away the information she received about the new detective. Those (E/c) irises remained on Niles for a second, further analyzing him, before they flickered back to Connor as he spoke.

"Fuck off. She was assigned to dad and I since we're working on the deviant cases from now on." He mumbled in annoyance, running a hand through his mess of brown hair out of habit. "He's in a pissy mood about it. But what's new..." He trailed off with a glance to the side, spotting Hank's sulking figure at his desk.

Niles' icy gaze narrowed on his older brother, his stare more than deploring. "'She'? Have you turned into an android sympathizer?" He practically spat, one side of his mouth curled downwards to make his disapproval all the more evident. "It's a bunch of plastic and wires made to look human, not an actual living being, Con."

Connor's eye twitched before he forced his face to remain neutral to the best of his ability. The last thing he wanted was to fight with his brother at work, especially after what happened with Hank and their captain. It was hard to be professional around his family sometimes when they got on his nerves so often. Unfortunately, he could feel his vexation rising further as Niles continued to speak, seemingly uncaring to his older brother's reaction.

"I mean, I understand that you can't get a real woman, but forcing an android to date you is pretty pathetic. Don't you think?" The dirty look that was previously on his face was replaced by a smirk. Clearly he was amused by his own mocking remark towards the brunette, whose neutral mask was visibly cracking by the second.

Connor's jaw clenched, biting back the insults that threatened to spew out of his mouth on instinct. "I think you've been spending too much time around Gavin." He hissed under his breath instead, forcing himself to swallow down any spiteful remarks.

As much as he wanted to, he knew better than to start a petty argument with his brother, lest there be another incident where Fowler had to intervene and put them both on suspended leave due to their unprofessional behavior. That's happened a few too many times in this month alone, thanks to the rising stress and tension between the three of them, so he had to force himself to tolerate the immature behavior rather than retaliate purely out of spite.

It pissed him off more than he'd like to admit, but seeing the slight blush rise to Niles' face at the mention of Gavin gave him a little satisfaction knowing he'd managed to make him falter, even if only for a second.

Sensing the rising tension between the two brothers, (Y/n) decided to cut into the conversation as a distraction from their bickering. She had yet to introduce herself to the other sibling, so now seemed like a good opportunity to do so.

"Hello, Detective. My name is (Y/n), I'm the android sent by CyberLife. It's a pleasure to meet you." She piped up, a friendly smile on her lips as Niles' gaze quickly snapped from Connor to her. In spite of his cold stare she didn't waver, staring right back with a smile that held a faux warmth to it.

There was silence for a couple of seconds as he stared her down, his lips set into a permanent frown and those light blue eyes darkening with contempt. After a few more seconds – exactly seven, according to her internal clock – the younger brother turned away from her with a loud, displeased huff, unwilling to give the hunk of metal in front of him anymore of his precious time.

"Just keep that thing away from me. I want nothing to do with it." He grumbled, his glare flickering from Connor back to said female android, before turning away from the two entirely.

The frown on Connor's face deepened and his eyes narrowed at his brother's choice of words towards her. At this point, he was so fed up with his dad's attitude that now having to deal with Niles on top of it, he was about ready to strangle him. They both drove him absolutely insane sometimes.

"Actually, Detective Anderson." Before he could form some snarky comment, (Y/n) surprisingly spoke up first, causing the younger brother to pause in his tracks. "It says in my database that you have been assigned to work on the deviant cases with us." She stated factually, and if Connor didn't know any better, he could've sworn there was a hint of complacency in the relaxed expression she wore.

There was a smugness to his own countenance when Niles immediately whipped around with the most appalled look he'd ever seen. "What?!" He practically shouted in disbelief, wide blue eyes now frantically shifting back and forth between his brother and the android. "When did this happen? I wasn't assigned to anything!" He snarled, his accusatory stare finally settling on Connor as he decided he was the only one that could've done this.

The elder of the two merely shrugged, the smirk never leaving his lips. "Beats me." Was his short and unhelpful reply, any irritation from earlier washing away and being replaced with pure satisfaction at seeing Niles so disgruntled.

As if Captain Fowler had heard their arguing – a plausible outcome given they were standing close to his office – the glass door opened and he leaned out to find the younger brother. "Niles! In my office, now!" He called out before heading back inside, the glass door slowly falling shut behind him.

Niles blinked a couple of times at where Fowler once stood, shock written all over his face. "Un-fucking-believable." He growled as he ran a hand through his hair in a stressed motion, messing up the neat brown locks.

After that he rushed past Connor and up those few steps, no longer holding any interest in their interaction as a new pressing matter took his full attention.

Connor watched him rush off before rolling his eyes. "He's such a dick." He mumbled, more so to himself than the curious android in front of him. He brushed off his previous irritation, managing a hint of a smile as his gaze returned to her. "We can head over to my dad now. Hopefully he's cooled off after all... that."

He grimaced a bit when glancing over in Hank's direction, but (Y/n) paid it no mind as she immediately resumed her task from before his brother's interruption. The brunette followed after her, already knowing this next interaction wouldn't be any better than the last one.

Once they arrived at the lieutenant's desk he completely ignored the RK800 android and simply nodded in acknowledgement towards his son. No words were exchanged as he turned back towards the screen on his desk, that of which Connor knew he was only pretending to look busy so he could avoid the inevitable.

Connor waited a beat, standing there and staring at his dad with a look that indicated he was waiting for him to speak up. Nothing came, and after a quick glance to the android beside him – whose expression was akin to that of a lost puppy – he broke the silence with an annoyed groan under his breath.

"You can't just ignore her. You know how Captain Fowler will react if you don't follow his orders, he's not gonna let you off easy anymore." He stated as he crossed his arms over his chest, those brown eyes boring into the side of his dad's head with expectancy. Yet before he could get a reply, he quickly added on the new piece of information he'd learned a minute ago. "By the way, Niles is working on the cases with us. He's currently getting the same briefing from Captain Fowler."

'Likely having the same tantrum as you, too.' He thought to himself, but didn't bother to utter aloud.

That seemed to be enough to get the old man to talk. "Good. If it's the three of us working on them, then we sure as hell don't need this tin can." He muttered, hostility still evident in his tone as he sent a side-glare towards (Y/n). She remained silent as she patiently stood beside Connor, awaiting what she was supposed to do next.

Knowing he would get no where with keeping up this argument, Connor unfolded his arms with a huff, ready to return to his own desk and smother his rising anger with piles of work. However, before he could (Y/n) raised a hand in front of him, causing him to pause in confusion and focus on her.

╔════════════════╗

► [△] [ ... ] 🔒

► [□] Understanding

► [○] Pragmatic

► [☓] Constructive

╚════════════════╝

╔═════════════╗
[□] Understanding
╚═════════════╝

╔════════════════╗

► [□] [ ... ] 🔒

► [○] Partners

► [☓] Positive

╚════════════════╝

╔══════════╗
[☓] Positive
╚══════════╝

Her gaze remained on Hank, unwavering yet gentle in hopes to make herself seem more sympathetic. "I get the impression my presence causes you some inconvenience, Lieutenant." (Y/n) said in a soft-spoken manner, being cautious of the words she chose from her dialogue options and ensuring they were the most appealing in terms of calming him down. "I'd like you to know I'm very sorry about that."

The caring words fell on deaf ears, for Hank's gaze remained glued to the screen in front of him, grumpy and bored. When she received no response after approximately thirty-one seconds, she decided it was appropriate for her to fill the gap, seeing as the silence was stretching out longer than was deemed socially acceptable to humans.

"In any case, I'd like you to know I'm very happy to be working alongside you and your sons." She said, a chirp to her tone as a pleasant smile curled on the corners of her rosy lips. "With your proficiency in investigative work and your sons ambition, I'm certain we'll make a great team."

⌜┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ⌝
Connor ⍓
⌞ ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈⌟

Connor's face warmed a little at the unexpected praise directed his way for the second time today. Unfortunately, Hank wasn't one for flattery, and he refused to spare a single glance at (Y/n) during her sincere conveyance towards being their partner. While he wasn't entirely sure if androids could be genuine in that sense, the way her eager expression began to deflate from Hank's dismissal tugged at his heart—it was like looking at a kicked puppy.

Her smile faltered until it faded away from her face entirely. Well, so much for attempting to create a positive rapport between Hank and herself. It'd remain labeled as a secondary objective that she'd attend to whenever the chance arises. As for now, she simply turned towards Connor, who was currently frowning at his father.

"Is there a desk anywhere I could use?" She asked, his gaze immediately flickering to her as his facial features relaxed into a familiar tenderness. He went to answer, yet surprisingly the old man in front of them beat him to it.

"No one's using that one." Hank grumbled, pointing directly in front of his own without looking anywhere near the android.

Even if it sounded like a forced reply from his unpleasant tone, (Y/n) couldn't help the subtle smile that curled on her lips. It may not have been much, but progress was progress, and she was determined to gain the trust of the bad-tempered and disorderly lieutenant.

The (H/c)-haired android made her way over to said desk, sitting down in the office chair behind it. Connor trailed after her to his own desk, which happened to be directly across the aisle from her own.

The brunette sat down in his chair, spinning around in it once as he lazily ran a hand through his messy locks of hair. He quickly came to stop and used his feet to push himself over to the desk (Y/n) now occupied, eventually turning to face her with a smile as his chair lightly bumped into the side of her desk.

She blinked, her head tilting to the side and blue LED swirling as she processed his actions. Slowly her gaze went downwards to her legs, her hands staying neatly placed in her lap as her boot gently pushed against the floor. It wasn't as quick as his was, yet surely enough she began to spin in a circle as the wheels moved, needing to push herself once more in order to return to her normal position.

The sound of a chuckle entered her audio processors and her (E/c) eyes swiftly found a pair of brown ones that were crinkled with amusement. "You learn fast." Was all Connor managed to say between giggles, and she swore she even heard a huff of a laugh from the other side of her desk.

While his reaction didn't make sense – nor did his actions that she proceeded to mindlessly copy – she found herself perking up at the positive feedback. It was reassuring to know she was at least in the good graces of one of the detectives she was assigned to.

Nonetheless, that wouldn't stop her from trying to win over the stubborn lieutenant who wanted to pretend she was non-existent.

╔════════════════╗

► [△] [ Dog ] 🔓

► [□] [ Basketball ] 🔓

► [○] [ Music ] 🔓

► [☓] [ Anti-androids ]🔓

╚════════════════╝

╔═════════╗
[△] [ Dog ]
╚═════════╝

Using the information she'd gathered earlier from analyzing the items on his desk, she decided it'd be wise to start asking about those things. From what she knew via her social relations programming, humans enjoyed talking about their interests.

"You have a dog, right?" She questioned, mainly directing it at the grey-haired man seated at the desk in front of her. While she didn't mind if Connor answered, she preferred to get a response from Hank, as their relationship was rather tense at the moment.

It appeared Connor caught onto her plan rather quickly, for he didn't say a word and directed his gaze towards his dad, also awaiting his reply.

Whether it was because of the pressure of both their stares or that he merely wanted to, he ended up responding. "How do you know that?" He asked gruffly, his gaze flickering to her with a hint of curiosity amongst the usual annoyance.

That wasn't exactly what she anticipated, as it was more so him dodging the question than answering. Regardless, she was quick to speak in hopes of keeping the conversation going. "I saw the dog hairs on your chair." She pointed out, to which he gave nothing more than a quiet grunt in acknowledgement before turning back to his screen.

(Y/n) waited for a second to see if he'd say anything further, but was met with silence on his end. So, without missing a beat, she carried on with the topic. "I like dogs. What's your dog's name?" There was a cheery lift to her tone as she spoke, her head tilting to the side as she tried to get a better view of Hank around her own screen.

It was technically a lie since she couldn't hold a personal opinion on the matter. Androids couldn't like or dislike anything, but that didn't mean she couldn't use social tactics in her system to persuade the lieutenant into trusting her more. If he believed she held the same interests as him, then there was a higher probability of him becoming more comfortable with her presence.

Her educated guess failed her, for Hank merely eyed her for a second before his gaze returned back to where it was. "What's it to you?" He grumbled, his fingers tapping along the keyboard and brows furrowed in concentration.

She couldn't tell whether he was actually working or using it as a means to avoid her questions. There wasn't time to ponder on it for long, as Connor tapped the edge of her desk, successfully capturing her attention.

"Sumo." He said with a lopsided smile, filling in the gap that Hank refused to do himself. "His name is Sumo. He's a Saint Bernard, very big and fluffy." He further described for her, causing a smile to return to her lips after it had dissappeared from lack of progress with Hank.

She was quick to find a suitable reply. "He sounds adorable." She found herself murmuring, partly because of her dialogue option and partly because she found it to be true. Recalling the image she had seen as a result of her scan, she wondered if Sumo looked exactly like the image her CPU had generated for her.

If possible, Connor's smile widened and a warmth rose to his cheeks. "He is. I'll show you some pictures sometime." He offered, his eyes averting and fingers mindlessly fiddling with a pen that was laying on the desk.

(Y/n) watched the action, mentally noting he seemed to fidget whenever he was nervous. "I'd like that, Connor." She agreed easily and found herself looking forward to that moment.

⌜┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ⌝
Connor ⍓
⌞ ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈⌟

⌜┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ⌝
Hank ⍓
⌞ ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈⌟

╔════════════════╗

► [△] [ Basketball ] 🔓

► [□] [ Music ] 🔓

► [○] [ Anti-androids ] 🔓

► [☓] Fowler

╚════════════════╝

╔══════════╗
[□] [ Music ]
╚══════════╝

The (H/c)-haired android decided to continue on with her list, seeing as she'd received a positive reaction from the two, even if Hank's wasn't as noticeable. It was an improvement, and she calculated that those odds would continue to increase the more she tried to bond with the lieutenant.

"Do you listen to Knights of the Black Death?" She brought up the new topic by asking that, despite already knowing the answer to her own question. "I really like that music. It's full of... energy." She chose her last word carefully, uncertain on how to phrase the music that had blared into one of her audio processors earlier.

That seemed to get Hank's full attention, as he peered around at her with an incredulous look. "You listen to Heavy Metal?" He asked, his expression and tone clearly showing he was unconvinced by what she said.

(Y/n) blinked, realizing she was caught red-handed. "Well, I don't really listen to music, as such... but I'd like to." She chose to say that, seeing as it bordered between a truth and a lie. She couldn't listen to music and perceive it the way humans did, nor did she have any intention to. However, whatever dialogue option ensured Hank's satisfaction, she'd use it.

This time around her expectations were met, seeing as Hank seemed to be content with her answer. There was an odd shift to his facial features when he heard her reply, however, she paid it little mind since he turned back to his monitor right after.

⌜┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ⌝
Hank ⍓
⌞ ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈⌟

"I can't stand Heavy Metal. He listens to it all the time and it drives me crazy." Connor chimed in from beside her, causing her curious (E/c) eyes to switch over to him. He was still fidgeting with the pen, this time scribbling on a stray sticky note he found.

She tilted her head to the side as she observed what appeared to be a drawing of sorts. "What kind of music do you listen to?" She questioned, deciding it couldn't hurt to raise her bond with him as well whenever the opportunity presents itself.

The brunette stole a glance at her, a warm smile curling on the ends of his lips. "Twenty One Pilots. They're an alternative band, so it's a little bit of everything." He responded, focusing back on his doodle while continuing to glance up at her every now and then.

(Y/n) nodded along, continuing to watch him drag the pen along the small piece of colored paper with interest. "I see. Maybe you could play them for me sometime?" She suggested, sensing that he'd like to show her another interest of his since he insisted with showing her pictures of his dog beforehand.

"Sure thing." Her assumption was correct, as he happily agreed to that idea without any hesitation. There was silence as she merely watched his doodling for a second longer, until she tore her gaze away to address the lieutenant once more.

⌜┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ⌝
Connor ⍓
⌞ ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈⌟

╔════════════════╗

► [△] [ Basketball ] 🔓

► [□] [ Anti-androids ] 🔓

► [○] Fowler

► [☓] Hours

╚════════════════╝

╔════════════╗
[△] [ Basketball ]
╚════════════╝

"You're a Detroit Gears fan, right?" She asked next, recalling the basketball cap she found at his desk. She ran a scan on the network her CPU was connected to, finding an article relating to said topic within a mere second. "Denton Carter scored fifty-three percent of his shots from the three-point line yesterday. Did you see the game?"

Apparently, that must've been a mistake on her part to ask that, seeing as the look he sent her bordered on being offended. "That's what I was watchin' at the bar last night." He said with an irritated huff.

The previously interested expression (Y/n) wore faltered as he turned back to his work. "Oh..." That was the only sound that left her, having no dialogue options that could repair the damage already done.

Her head dropped down slightly, now staring at her boots with crinkled brows. She should've been more attentive to their surroundings to avoid such an error, now she would have to deal with another small bump in their relationship.

⌜┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈⌝
Hank ⍌
⌞┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ⌟

Noticing her dejection from the interaction, Connor cut in as he finished doodling on the sticky note. "Sports aren't really my thing. Niles doesn't like it, either. We were always forced to watch it with him when we were younger." He commented, causing the android's attention to shift from her boots to the brunette.

He wasn't sure if his attempt to make her feel better was successful—that is, if she even felt discouraged in the first place. It was difficult to tell what was apart of her as an individual and what stemmed from her programming that was meant to imitate humans. Regardless of which, he decided to believe it had some kind of affect on her from the way her facial features shifted back to that mixture of relaxation and intrigue.

"I don't find much appeal in it, either." She agreed, cautiously sending a side glance towards Hank to ensure her remark didn't offend him further. Fortunately, he didn't seem to care. "It's... perplexing to me. Why do humans find it entertaining to watch other people throw around a ball until they can manage to land it into a hoop?"

Her question was purely honest, as her central processor didn't have the capability of grasping what humans found enjoyment in and why they did. She had some guesses, but seeing as she was only able to center them around logic or educated reasoning, she was positive she'd never get the right conclusion. Humans tended to lean more on their emotions, which in this case would've been their feeling of joy.

Whereas she was deep in thought trying to form some sense of reasoning behind her own inquiry, the sound of laughter ripped her away from her inner assessment on the matter. She was met with the sight of Connor pressing a hand over his mouth in an attempt to muffle his sudden laugh. His brown eyes were crinkled with mirth, which quickly darted away when her lost (E/c) ones met his, another round of poorly concealed giggles leaving him.

Her brows furrowed together as she tilted her head to the side. "Did I say something amusing?" She murmured, her voice quieter than before as she silently mulled over her previous question further.

Nothing about it seemed odd or entertaining to her, but then again, she had yet to fully comprehend the two humans in front of her. It'd take a while before she became accustomed to their... unique traits.

She picked up on the sound of a hushed chuckle in her left audio processor, yet her gaze remained on the brunette. "Yes." Was the short reply he provided between giggles, unwilling to elaborate further for the puzzled android.

⌜┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ⌝
Connor ⍓
⌞ ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈⌟

⌜┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ⌝
Hank ⍓
⌞ ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈⌟

╔════════════════╗

► [△] [ Anti-androids ] 🔓

► [□] Fowler

► [○] Hours

► [☓] Start working

╚════════════════╝

╔═════════════╗
[☓] Start working
╚═════════════╝

(Y/n) straightened back up as she turned her gaze away, deciding it'd be best to move onto progressing the case now. She took note of the option to question the lieutenant on his dislike towards androids, but after a couple seconds of calculating the outcomes of that variable, she deduced there was a high probability it wouldn't end in her favor. So, she decided to end on a high note, having managed to raise the status of her relationship with both the Anderson's in that short amount of time.

"If you have any files on deviants, I'd like to take a look at them." She stated politely, directing her attention towards Hank as an indicator for him to answer. Perhaps that was a mistake since he stared at her like she, a state-of-the-art prototype that had the highest processing power amongst all androids created thus far, was slow.

His eyes shifted to pointedly stare at the screen on her desk, then flickered back to her. "Terminal's on your desk. Knock yourself out." As he said that he made an effort to point at it as well, emphasizing the fact that it should've been obvious.

The (H/c)-haired android didn't catch onto his attitude, merely giving him an appreciative nod as she turned towards the curved screen on her desk. She reached her hand out towards the keyboard, unaware to the eyes that watched her with interest as her (S/c) skin peeled away to the white plastic covering underneath.

┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅
Access
▼
┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅

She shuffled through each of the cases presented to her: An AL model missing, an AV and AP model as suspects in attacks, a WR model missing from Eden Club, an unknown model once owed by Carl Manfred that was destroyed, and an AX model owned by Todd Williams that was another suspect in an attack. Those were only the most recent incidents to occur with deviants.

┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅
Scan all files
▼
[□] 
┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅

"Two hundred and forty-three files... The first dates back nine months." (Y/n) began to read aloud the information she had downloaded from the files, causing Hank to slowly lean away from his screen with a roll of his eyes. "It all started in Detroit, and quickly spread across the country..." She trailed off to spare a glance at Hank, who now had his elbow on the desk and head lazily resting against his hand.

It was unclear as to whether he was listening to her or not, but since he was no longer looking at his screen, she assumed the prior. "An AX400 is reported to have assaulted a man last night. That could be a good starting point for our investigation." She suggested while leaning forward, trying and failing to meet the lieutenant's gaze that was directed away from her.

For the umpteenth time that day, she was met with silence, the only sounds being the chatter of officers and the beeping of their terminals across the precinct. Her eyebrow twitched in the slightest as the silence dragged on, until an urgent message reminding her of her primary objective popped up. She dismissed it, prepared to do what it would take in order to finally ensure some progress, even if it meant having to risk putting strain on their growing trust.

Suddenly standing up from her chair, Connor's eyes snapped to her, simultaneously startled and curious at her actions. She rounded the desk until she stood near Hank, who upon seeing her, immediately sat up and turned to his desk, pretending to get back to work as he grabbed a tablet and hunched over the handheld device.

(Y/n) watched his movements with a blank face. It was disappointing to say that despite the admirable achievements she had downloaded about him, she was fairly unimpressed by how he acted. Android or not, his behavior and work ethic was unprofessional. She would not allow his resentment towards what she was waste anymore time that could be spent accomplishing the one task she was created for. At this point, he was becoming an obstruction to her mission.

The (H/c)-haired android stepped closer when he continued to ignore her presence, now practically hovering over his left side. From the sidelines she heard wheels of a chair rolling on the floor followed by footsteps, leading her to believe Connor had gotten up as well to stand by, likely as a precaution to whatever might happen given his father's unpredictable nature.

╔════════════════╗

► [△] Direct

► [□] Aggressive

► [○] Professional

► [☓] Understanding

╚════════════════╝

╔══════════════╗
[☓] Understanding
╚══════════════╝

Even with the importance of her mission being urgently brought up in her system, she tried a gentle and sympathetic approach. "I understand you're facing personal issues, Lieutenant. But you need to move past them... and–" Before she could continue he abruptly raised a hand up to stop her.

"Hey! Don't talk to me like you know me." He snapped, turning towards her with a glower as his hand shifted to point at her in an accusing manner. "I'm not your friend and I don't need your advice, okay?" That was the end of his aggressive outburst, his hard stare lingering on her for a second or two like a warning, before he slowly turned back to his tablet.

╔════════════════╗

► [△] Determined

► [○] Resign the mission

► [☓] Threaten

╚════════════════╝

╔═════════════╗
[△] Determined
╚═════════════╝

Unwilling to let his harsh words have an impact on her goals, she slowly leaned down and pressed her hand against the desk with more force than necessary. Her head titled downwards so she was able to return his stare, those (E/c) irises stony and unwavering.

"I've been assigned this mission, Lieutenant. I didn't come here to wait until you feel like working." She hissed, matching her tone to the one he used on her before. If he was going to continue to address her with an unpleasant attitude then she'd return the favor, especially when her amiable behavior had gotten her little to no progress.

Everything moved by quickly after that.

Hank shoved himself up from his chair and turned towards (Y/n), and her LED lit up red as he roughly grabbed her by the collar of her jacket and shirt. Both materials were gathered in his fists, using it as leverage as he lifted her short frame off the ground and shoved her up against the divider placed on the side of his desk.

It was unexpected, leaving Connor to hesitate on the sidelines as he thought on how to approach the situation. "Dad!" He shouted in protest, yet his call to said man seemed to fall on deaf ears by that point, too blinded by rage.

⌜┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈⌝
Hank ⍌
⌞┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ⌟

"Listen, asshole. If it was up to me, I'd throw the lot of you in a dumpster and set a match to it." His words were rushed in his anger, each venomous word followed by a rough shake to the android he kept pinned to the wall. "So, stop pissing me off... or things are gonna get nasty." He mumbled the last part, low and dangerous as he glared daggers into the (E/c) eyes that remained unfazed after restabilizing from the impact.

Connor was about to rush forward and yank his dad off of her, but an officer walking over to the three of them interrupted. "Lieutenant... uh, sorry to disturb you." Chris' voice spoke up, causing Hank to finally let go of the female android. Though, he didn't bother to move, keeping his burning stare on the thing.

Chris looked over at Connor uncertainly, then back at the odd scene as he continued on. "I have some information on the AX400 that killed the guy last night. It's been sighted in the Ravendale district."

While he spoke the two never broke eye contact, Hank's glare only seeming to darken at how vacant the eyes looking back at him were. "I'm on it." Was all that left his mouth as he finally turned around and walked away, uncaring to what had went down.

(Y/n) merely watched him walk away, displeased with the dent she caused in their relationship, yet satisfied knowing the case was in motion now. She looked down at her crumpled appearance and went to carefully adjust her jacket, shirt, and tie, smoothing out any wrinkles that had formed. A light pressure on her left shoulder caused her to pause amidst adjusting her tie, glancing up to see Connor now in front of her with his hand resting comfortingly on her shoulder.

"Are you okay, (Y/n)? Shit, I didn't know he would go that far." He mumbled, his concerned gaze roaming over her figure for any signs of damage. "You're not hurt, are you?" He asked just in case, wanting to ensure his dad didn't cause any harm from his manhandling. It was instinctual, seeing as he already knew androids didn't feel pain.

(Y/n) remained silent for a second too long, only managing to form a response when those worried brown eyes met her own. "Androids do not feel pain, and he didn't use enough force to cause any damage to my external biocomponents." She stated to reassure the detective, adding on a small smile as well to further prove her perfect condition.

A breath of relief left the brunette, his hand sliding away from her shoulder as he stood back up to his normal height. His relief didn't last for long, as his face fell at the sound of a familiar voice behind him.

He just couldn't catch a break with his family, could he?

"Damn, our dad really hates your guts, tin can." Niles' remark had Connor turning to the side to glare at his figure, which was leaning against the desk. Except he faltered in his actions, genuinely surprised to see the confliction that was on his pale complexion. "That was pretty painful to watch."

Connor's lips pressed into a thin line as he observed his younger brother, unsure on how to take his oddly less hostile words. "Yeah, you're telling me..." He mumbled, sparing a glance towards the RK800 android. His lips twitched upwards as he watched her carefully fix her tie before his gaze went back to Niles.

"Turns out you were right. I, unfortunately, have to work with you three on the deviant cases." He complained as his face scrunched up with dismay, immediately returning to the Niles that Connor was annoyed with earlier. "Though, I suppose that's good for you, seeing as I'm actually able to solve a case." A condescending smirk formed on his lips at his biting remark, to which Connor rolled his eyes.

Before he could form his own snarky retort, (Y/n)'s voice piped up. "Detective Connor Anderson's record displays that he has assisted in solving ninety-five cases since his arrival on the force, twenty-eight of which were high-profile cases. His status at the Detroit Police Department holds him at a record as one of the youngest detective's to excel so quickly in his field, right behind that of Lieutenant Hank Anderson's. I'd say he's perfectly capable of helping with these cases given his reputation."

She read off Connor's profile at the DPD, her factual statements causing Niles' smirk to immediately drop. By the time she said the last comment, his face had formed a scowl, whereas Connor's practically beamed with pride and a hint of smugness.

Noticing Niles' hostile demeanor after her factual response, she quickly added on. "Your file shows that you're excellent in your field as well, Detective. Though you are less experienced, your skills are admirable. I am honored to be working alongside the both of you." She said with a grateful smile, a subtle attempt to calm whatever anger Niles had directed at her. While Hank seemed to despise her entire existence, Niles only appeared to be mildly vexed by her.

Thankfully, it had the desired result, as his tense features relaxed by a fraction. He huffed, glaring a bit at the RK800 android as he pushed off the desk he was leant against. "Whatever. Just stay out of my way, Barbie." He grumbled, not sparing either of them another glance as he headed in the direction that Hank took off in.

⌜┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ⌝
Niles ⍓
⌞ ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈⌟

Connor huffed, eyeing Niles' form with obvious dismay until he was out of sight. "I fucking hate him sometimes." He mumbled to himself as he shifted his attention back to (Y/n), only to pause when he saw her puzzled countenance. "You good?" He asked as he became confused as well by her reaction.

She blinked, her (E/c) eyes moving from where they had followed Niles to him. "Does your brother not remember my name?" She asked, causing Connor's brows to scrunch together. She decided to elaborate further, since he didn't appear to understand her question. "He called me... 'Barbie'. I am referred to as (Y/n)."

As soon as she said the words, he was unable to stop the chuckle that left his mouth. "No, no. Barbie is a uh, plastic doll that kids like to play with." He explained as his chuckles subsided, leaving him with an amused smile. "But she's a pretty doll that can do practically anything and everything, so take it as a compliment."

The (H/c)-haired android blinked a couple of times as she processed the new information. "Oh, okay." Was all she said, still somewhat confused as to why Niles would call her that. She decided to take Connor's word for it and concluded it was meant in a positive manner.

Connor released another laugh under his breath when she still looked slightly lost. He decided to change the topic before her poor computer brain malfunctioned. "C'mon, let's go catch up to them." He said as he realized they needed to hurry up and go investigate the scene.

Without thinking he held his hand out towards her, her eyes following the movement as she stared at his outstretched palm. That's all she did for a couple of seconds, her LED spinning around in circles as she searched through her social protocol on how to approach it. She knew humans did that to shake hands, but that was clearly not the case here.

As the seconds ticked on, an awkward laugh left Connor after he realized what he did. He went to retract his hand and apologize – he felt guilty for confusing the poor android so often – except he didn't get the chance to as her own reached out and grasped onto his. Her touch was soft and her grip extremely gentle, as if she'd accidentally break him if she applied too much pressure.

She glanced up from their hands, her gaze searching his own for approval that she had done the correct thing. Instead he glanced away, making her brows furrow as she noticed a rise in heat around his facial area. Had she misinterpreted what he'd wanted from her and made him uncomfortable?

He cleared his throat, a red tint now visible on his cheeks. "Right, uh... let's go." He murmured, leaving no room for her to say anything as he returned the grip on her hand and began to follow where the two went. She took that as a positive sign and didn't hesitate to trail after him, ignoring the strange looks that were sent their way by the human officers around the precinct.

As they were walking away she took one last glance back, noticing the sticky note he had doodled on was on the divider of – what she assumed to be – her desk from now on. At the sight of it, she couldn't help the small smile on her lips as she directed her attention back to the brown-haired detective.

⌜┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ⌝
Connor ⍓
⌞ ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈⌟

[ 🔓 ]

Chapter Text

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⁅ Chapter Six ⁆

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The soft rhythmic patter of rain surrounded the area, quiet streams of water forming in gutters and flowing over the ends as small waterfalls, until the water joined the existing puddles on the cement and asphalt below. A warm hazy glow casted over the streets and buildings around, creating a tranquil atmosphere that the people wandering around could bask in without a care—a stark contrast to the dire situation that'd unfold in the near future.

"We've got officers sweeping the neighborhood, in case anybody saw anything." Officer Collins' voice cut through the sound of pouring rain as he walked over to where Hank stood. He peered down at the tablet he held while he came to a stop by his side, casting a single glance to him before directing his attention forwards.

Hank's response was quick, his haste making it evident he'd rather be anywhere but here at this moment. "Okay. Well, let me know if they turn anything up."

His eyes remained trained on the ground, both to shield his face from the rain pelting down on him and in hopes to avoid the inevitable, which was standing some feet away from them with his sons.

The female android remained stock-still as she stood on the sidewalk in front of Hank's car. Her posture was painfully straight – at least, to a human it would be – while her hands stayed neatly tucked behind her back, every part of her unmoving aside from the barely noticeable rise and fall of her chest. Unlike the two men shivering on either side of her, she was unfazed by the low temperature and rainy weather, even as her (H/c) locks of hair began to dampen along with the uniform on her body.

The only detail that wasn't unnerving about the RK800 android was the way her (E/c) eyes swept along her surroundings, drinking in the scenery in a way that could've been interpreted as content yet curious. It was a strangely human trait that could've fooled anyone if she didn't have a glaring LED on her right temple that rotated with every mechanical thought.

She was nothing more than a hunk of metal with an advanced software and unique design that helped her appear less uncanny, allowing her to effortlessly adapt to the workplace environment and put humans at ease with familiarity.

All except one particular human.

Officer Collins caught onto Hank's behavior, now eyeing the source of his gloomy mood with an equal amount of disdain. "What are you gonna do with that?" He asked slowly as he looked back at Hank, no longer wanting to observe the android that stood in place like a statue.

Hank finally averted his gaze from the ground to take a look at (Y/n), his eyebrows furrowing slightly from the question. "I've no idea..." He grumbled, mirroring the officer's reaction as he watched her with a deep frown.

The bigger man shrugged it off, handing an extra tablet over to Hank with an expression that showed he pitited the position he was in. Once he took ahold of the device, Collins gave a single pat to his shoulder before walking off, leaving the grey-haired man to address the situation he'd wanted to avoid.

Unfortunately, Fowler made it crystal clear that any attempts at evading this would end with severe consequences regarding his career as a police lieutenant, so there wasn't any way out of this.

⌜┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ⌝
Connor

–Friend
⌞ ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈⌟
⌜┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ⌝
Niles

–Neutral
⌞ ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈⌟
⌜┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ⌝
Hank

–Warm
⌞ ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈⌟

With a heavy sigh, Hank reluctantly wandered over to the three people that were stationed in front of his car. Whereas (Y/n) had her perfect posture and stood a reasonable distance from the vehicle, Connor and Niles were both leant against it with their arms crossed over their chest—likely to preserve warmth, judging from the shivers that occasionally rippled across their bodies.

While the sun provided a bit of heat through its warm rays that broke through the scattered clouds above, it didn't provide enough protection against the freezing drops of rain or the cool temperature that swished around them in a light breeze.

Upon spotting their father's approaching form, Niles' complaint was nearly instant. First he had to get dragged along on a case he wanted nothing to do with – along with an android of all things – and now they had to wait in the biting rain until either themselves or officers around the area spotted the deviant on the loose. Needless to say, he was more pissed and bitter than he had been when he first received the news from Captain Fowler.

"Why do we have to stand out in the rain? It's fucking freezing and we're getting drenched." He hissed, sending an irritable glare at the old man as he curled his arms around himself further, a feeble attempt to block out the cold seeping through his clothes.

For once, that was something Connor could agree with him on. "Yeah. Can't we wait in the car with the heater on? We aren't even doing anything yet." He huffed as he copied Niles' actions. Now he really regretted not grabbing a coat before they left—he should've figured the weather would still be as cold and rainy as it was the night prior.

Hank waved the both of them off, clearly not as bothered by the weather as they were. Then again, he actually had warm layers of clothes on. "Shut it, you two." He snapped, already ignoring their continuous groaning in protest as he went to scroll through the information provided on the tablet.

At the sound of their misery, (Y/n)'s eyes were pulled away from her surroundings and directed towards Niles and Connor, starting with the prior before settling on the latter. "If it helps, I am able to raise my internal temperature." She stated in hopes to offer her assistance.

If two of her partners were affected by the cold weather to the point they couldn't focus properly, then her mission would become more cumbersome. So, it was only natural to offer some aid where she saw fit. Fortunately, the cool air and rain wasn't cold enough to affect any of her biocomponents—that mainly happened to androids during the winter, and even then only in extreme cases such as exposure to frigid water.

Surprisingly, Niles was the one to reply first. "Really? Why would you need to be able to do that?" He questioned, for once sounding intrigued rather than deprecating towards the female android.

(Y/n)'s attention turned to him as her central unit automatically provided the answer. "It's a feature used to emulate human temperature. But it's also utilized by keeping biocomponents at a temperature that is optimal for functionality. If the temperature of my environment is too low, it could potentially freeze vital components."

Her explanation earned her an interested hum from Connor. "Huh, that's cool... But It's just internal heat, right? Or are you like an android radiator?" His tone was joking at the end as he nudged her with his elbow as best as he could, seeing as he refused to uncross his arms.

(Y/n) caught Niles rolling his eyes before she shifted back to Connor. "It depends on where the heating process is required. I can heat either internal or external biocomponents." She elaborated further, before holding out her hand for demonstration. "For example, I could heat up my hand if that is the only area that is frozen and requires immediate attention."

╾ ╸ ╸╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╸ ╸ ╼

Initiating heating system

Locating area...

█▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒

█████▒▒▒▒▒

██████████

Heating biocomponent #2506h

Temperature: 67°F and rising

Maximum set temperature: 80°F

╾ ╸ ╸╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╸ ╸ ╼

Once the process was complete, she blinked away the data from her optical units and gently pressed her hand against Connor's exposed forearm. The warmth radiated from her palm as it eventually met the maximum capacity that she had set it to.

Considering the current temperature outside was fifty-three degrees – high forties if the rain was taken into account – she figured it was a reasonable number to set it to. She wanted to avoid going over and potentially burning the detective, since it was plastic and metal heating up with energy underneath her synthetic skin—nothing like the way a humans body temperature functioned naturally.

The brunette glanced down to where her hand was, his pale complexion warming along with that area on his arm. "That's uh, yeah, that's interesting." He stumbled over his words awkwardly, pausing for a moment as he was unsure on how to respond to the situation. "So, you can do that to your whole body, then?" He asked, trying to connect the dots from her statement that started this entire conversation.

(Y/n) nodded and retracted her hand, paying no mind to the subtle pout that formed on his lips at the loss of contact. "Correct. I am currently setting all my external biocomponents temperature to eighty degrees Fahrenheit. Will that help with your low body temperature..?" She trailed off with her question, finally noticing the way both him and Niles were staring at her with furrowed brows.

Had she said something wrong? It could've been viewed as inappropriate, if she recalled her social protocols. However, since she wasn't human and her partners wouldn't be able to operate at full efficiency until their bodies returned to a suitable temperature, she had brushed aside that fact in favor of ensuring their productivity in the case. To her, their assistance to the case was her second priority, her first being the mission itself.

She blinked a couple of times, her processing unit struggling to formulate a response as she glanced back and forth between the two. "I apologize if I made you two uncomfortable, that was not my intention—" She went to take a step back since she concluded she should put distance between them – again, per her social relations programming, which she chose to acknowledge this time – but she didn't get very far as a hand reached out to grab her wrist.

Her LED went amber as the light grip on her wrist was used to tug her forward, her heeled boots slightly stumbling until she made contact with his chest. It continued to whirl around as a yellow hue as his arms settled comfortably around her waist and his chin rested on top of her head of (H/c) hair, the difference in height allowing him to do so easily.

Slowly but surely the ring light settled back to a calm blue, her arms remaining politely at her sides – as best as she could with his arms tucked under hers – while she checked her biocomponents to ensure they were all at the maximum set temperature.

A soft sigh dusted across the hairs on her head as the brunette relaxed against her. "This helps a lot." He murmured, his voice gentle and content as he relished in the heat emitting from the female android tucked to his chest. "It feels like you're about to combust." He added on in a joking manner, sprinkling some humor in to ease his own beating heart.

(Y/n)'s gaze flickered up at his comment, despite not being able to see his face in their postion. She paused, processing his words and tone in order to form a reply that mirrored his emotions—her program was progressively improving at identifying those miniscule yet significant details. "There's always a possibility." She said with a playful tinge to her voice, her attempt to banter earning her a quiet chuckle.

"Right. Guess we'll both catch on fire, then. Better than freezing." He jested back, shifting his head to now rest his cheek against the top of her head. From the change in position he was now looking at Niles, who was currently glaring the two down. "Speaking of, you gonna stay over there freezing your ass off, Nines?" He grinned over at him, already knowing the answer based on the immediate disgust that took over his facial features.

Niles scowled, digging his hands and arms closer to his chest while his body leaned away from the two like they were infectious. "Like hell I'm going to join you. I'd rather die of hypothermia." He spat, eyeing the android with distaste as she peeked around Connor's shoulder towards him. "Keep that plastic doll to yourself." He ended his insult with a huff, a translucent puff of air escaping his mouth as he went to stubbornly turn away from the two, indicating that his refusal was final.

Connor's eyes narrowed at his scornful remark, subconsciously holding the android closer as his arms wound tighter around her waist in a protective manner. "Gladly." He spat back, releasing a puff of air under his breath as he went back to resting his chin on her head, no longer willing to look at his asshole of a younger brother. "Don't listen to him."

Sensing the tension – which appeared to happen a lot with this family – (Y/n) was quick to find a dialogue option that'd cheer him up. "Noted. I'll tune his voice out from my audio processors whenever he speaks." She said, even though she wouldn't.

She could if she deemed it necessary, but she didn't want to risk angering a human that was already spiteful of her existence. It was merely another joke, as humans seemed to get enjoyment out of that.

It had the desired effect, for a short burst of laughter left Connor right after. "You can do that?" He asked in disbelief, to which she nodded as best as she could given their postion, trying not to disrupt his comfort. "Shit, I wish I could. There's a lot of people I'd tune out, Gavin being the main one." He mumbled, the first part holding humor until his mention of said person switched it to a mild irritation.

Before she could reply, Hank's gruff voice cut into their conversation. "Alright, that's enough. Stop cuddlin' the fuckin' thing, Connor. Let's get this over with." He scolded him, yet his son must've ignored it since he didn't pull away.

(Y/n) couldn't see what was happening since she was facing his chest, nor did she want to move until she was certain his body had heated up to a suitable temperature. So far her method was successful, as a quick scan of his body temperature proved it had increased a few degrees and was steadily moving away from the caution zone.

"Don't need to tell me twice." Niles grumbled, finally pushing off from the car as he reluctantly unfolded his arms. A shiver broke out across his body as the cold air occupied the warmth once held there, the non-stop downpour doing little to help as his form continued to get soaked.

While he headed over to join their dad further down the sidewalk, Connor refused to move an inch. Hank observed the two, a glower forming as what little amount of patience he had began to wear thin. As much as he hated this situation, the sooner they got this over with the sooner he could get rid of that thing for the rest of the day.

"Connor, get the hell off—"

"No."

Connor's interjection was swift, not allowing him to finish that sentence. The brunette shuffled closer to the androids warmth, who continued to simply stand there with her cheek pressed to his chest in a failed attempt to look over at his dad and brother. She couldn't face them properly, but could see their reactions from her peripheral—one of pure amusement that bordered on judgemental, and the other bubbling with irritation that was ready to boil over into anger.

(Y/n) parted her lips, about to mention that Connor's body temperature was now at an optimal degree, but Hank beat her to it. "Jesus Christ. Stop actin' like a fuckin' love sick puppy and let's get a move on!" He shouted while storming the short distance over to them.

The grey-haired man grabbed ahold of Connor by the collar of his shirt, who immediately protested as he was yanked away from the radiating warmth and into the biting cold of the storm. (Y/n) merely watched the interaction as he was pulled away from her, her lips quirked up in the slightest at the corners. She took the time to straighten up her appearance, her uniform a little ruffled from Hank pulling Connor away from her so abruptly.

After that incident she turned off her heating system, joining the three Anderson's in a small huddle. Whereas herself and Hank were unbothered by the weather, Niles and Connor continued to shiver, the prior more so than the latter since his body had some time to recover its warmth. But now they had to get down to business, so there was no time to waste trying to fight off the cold. She only hoped it didn't make them more sluggish since cold temperatures could impair a humans cognitive abilities.

"It took the first bus that came along, and stayed at the end of the line." She spoke up first, reciting the vague information she had downloaded prior to their arrival at the scene. "It's decision wasn't planned, it was driven by fear." She concluded, which wasn't much to go off of, but she'd be able to figure it out regardless.

"Androids don't feel fear." Hank refuted with a huff of a laugh, one side of his mouth lifting upwards in a half-smile that was simultaneously humored and doubtful.

"Deviants do." (Y/n) countered back, her eyebrows raising upwards while she continued with an explanation. "They get overwhelmed by their emotions and make irrational decisions."

Niles scoffed at her words. "I thought androids didn't have emotions." He said with a raised eyebrow, challenging her knowledge as well—like father, like son. "Are you implying that you have emotions?" A smirk formed on his lips, making it obvious that he was only saying that in an attempt to get on her nerves, or wires, in her case.

Her stare was blank as she turned to Niles, missing the way Connor shot him a warning glare. "No. I'm not a deviant." She replied bluntly, unimpressed by his comment that was a sidetrack to the investigation. "They aren't emotions, just errors in their software that they perceive as such." She elaborated, not bothering to wait for his vexed response as she already turned a blind eye to him.

Before his younger brother could start an issue out of nothing – as per usual – Connor interjected. "Okay, well, we don't need to know about their emotions right now." He said hastily, the annoyance in his voice directed solely at Niles. "We need to figure out where they went. Any ideas, (Y/n)?"

She disregarded the glares being exchanged between the two brothers, already adapted to their combative behavior. "It didn't have a plan, and it had nowhere to go. It's likely that it didn't make it far and chose to hide somewhere in the area." She suggested while turning her head to look off at the scenery around them.

"That'd make sense." Connor hummed in approval, and even Niles agreed under his breath. He noticed the android seemed to be searching the area from where they stood, to which he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Wherever they are, I'm certain you'll find them. You're the professional, after all."

It was a reassurance, one he knew she didn't need, but the way her eyes moved so quickly around the area made her appear on edge—made her appear too human. Those (E/c) irises settled back on his form, not a trace of doubt to be found, and a smile formed on his lips. She returned it with a smaller one, which faded as quickly as it came as her brows furrowed together and her LED swirled from blue to amber.

"I've received a lead on where it went, Lieutenant, Detectives." (Y/n) stated as the information entered into her system, reported by one of the officers that was searching around the area.

Hank rose an eyebrow and waved a hand impatiently. "What're you waitin' for? A fuckin' pat on the back? Lead the way." He groused while casting a glance to his two boys, who were like two wet chihuahuas shivering in the rain.

The RK800 android followed his gaze, her brows crinkled together at their current state. A scan revealed Connor's body temperature had dropped back down, and Niles was lower than it had been before. While it wasn't at a dangerous level, she supposed it was important to find some shelter to help keep them dry and preserve what heat they had. Luckily, the data she received indicated that the deviant could've been located in one of the abandoned houses around here.

With that in mind she nodded to Hank's request. "Of course. Follow me." She stated, already walking off from their small circle and across the street as quickly as her legs could carry her.

The three were following her wordlessly, as she could hear the splashes of their shoes in the puddles that formed on the asphalt and cement. She continued forward, the coordinates for the location displayed in her optical units as her own coordinates began to approach closer to those sets of numbers. Briefly her audio processors picked up on the mumbling of the two brothers behind her, yet it was incomprehensible due to the rain that filtered it out, so she ignored it.

Eventually she came to a halt in the entrance of an alleyway where a bright red neon sign hung above her to the right. It was a dead end with metal barrels stacked where it cut off, yet her interest lied in the fenced off area to her left as she proceeded further into the area. Once her coordinates perfectly matched with the ones she was given for the spotting, she knew it was the right place.

(Y/n) didn't hesitate when she spotted a hole barely big enough for her to slide under the chain link fence. While doing so she noticed the Thirium splattered on different parts of the metal, further confirming her suspicions that an android was here—that's likely why there was a hole in the fence, too.

"The deviant has to be here. There's blue blood on the fence." She pointed out as she stood back up and straightened out her outfit. A frown formed on her lips when she noticed the smudges of mud on her uniform now, the dripping rain managing to wash some away yet leaving noticeable dirty streaks. So much for keeping herself presentable.

Oh well, it didn't matter in this moment. There was a deviant hiding somewhere, and her priority was to catch it at any cost. CyberLife would provide her with a new uniform when she returned after her successful capture of the deviant.

╓─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ╖

–Investigate deviant trail

╙─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ╜

(Y/n)'s new objective popped up as she observed the wooden and brick structure in front of her. It looked deserted with how run down it was—the perfect hiding spot for a deviant on the run from authorities.

Before she could proceed with locating the deviant, Connor's voice piped up behind her. "Wait! I'm coming with you." He called out, causing her to quickly turn around with a furrow of her brows. Surely his larger build wouldn't be able to slip through that small hole like she did.

Her puzzlement was short-lived, for she found herself watching as the young detective effortlessly hoisted himself up the chain link fence, his fingers using the many gaps to give himself a steady grip. Not long after he was shifting one leg after the other over the top, until he let go and landed in a crouched postion on the ground with a audible huff at the impact.

Connor bounced back up into a standing postion with a grin, uncaring to the splashes of mud that got on him as he faced the female android. He walked up to her until he was by her side, unaware to her (E/c) eyes boring into his as he glanced back to address his brother.

"You coming with or not?" He called, knowing he could easily scale the fence as well. Hank, not so much due to his old age, but he already knew that he didn't want to tag along so long as the RK800 android was there, so he wasn't worried about that.

Niles rolled his eyes and gave an amused huff. "I'm good, thanks. I'll find a different way for dad and I." He said as he stepped away from the fence. He stole one last glance at the two before following Hank, who had begun to trail out of the alleyway without a word. "Don't die and don't let miss Barbie get damaged. Then you two will be no use to this investigation."

Connor pulled a face at his brother's mocking words, lightly glaring at his back while he walked off. "Thank you for those words of encouragement." He mumbled sarcastically, soon turning away from the two with a puff of air. "C'mon, let's go." Was all he said after that, his hand finding the space of her lower back to guide her forward, a habit of his at this point.

By now (Y/n) was used to it and had no objections in walking side-by-side with him. Briefly she wondered if it was for comfort on his end, or if it was meant to reassure herself, even if it wasn't necessary. She also noted that some humans were more physical than others, so it could've been that as well. Whichever reason, she found herself not minding it, seeing as it brought some sort of peace to the detective.

The two made their way around the broken down house at a leisurely pace, ensuring a single detail didn't go unnoticed as they scanned the perimeter. They stepped up onto the rotting wood of the porch, where she saw a lack of windows in the front, the empty space that once held glass now boarded up with thin planks of wood nailed into the structure. One of the planks had broken in half at the center, leaving a gaping hole to see into the dark space inside.

She stepped away from Connor, immediately heading over to take a peek inside. As she bent down her eyes narrowed, spotting a figure standing as still as a statue inside. Had it not been for the glaring red LED on its right temple that cut through the darkness like a blade, she would've had to adjust her vision to adapt to the darkness to confirm her suspicions.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Android inside the house

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

"There's an android inside. But it's not the AX400 model that was in the report." (Y/n) murmured as she pulled away from the gap in the wood and stepped aside, allowing Connor to take a look as well.

His eyes squinted, finding it difficult to see inside with how dim it was, the only light source being the fireplace to the left side of the house. Either way, he could spot the bright light of its LED like she did, despite not having the same perfect vision that could adjust in low-light conditions. "Hm. You think that android has something to do with the other one?"

She nodded, her attention shifting to the door at the end of the porch. "Potentially. There's a high likelihood that it could be harboring the AX400 model that was spotted by the officers scouting the area." She said her thoughts aloud while heading in that direction, leading to him pulling away from the hole in the window.

He trailed after her, mulling over her words. "An android hiding another android from the police? Guess that makes sense. Gotta do what you can to help your people." That last part was mumbled mainly to himself, yet her audio processors picked it up.

She stopped in her tracks, her eyes hollow as she glanced back at him over her shoulder. "They're not people. They're machines with errors in their software." She objected firmly, only to be met with a raised eyebrow and an expression that was entirely incredulous.

So, she further elaborated her point without hesitation, determined to make the facts known. "These androids are also criminals, as these malfunctions have caused them to threaten or end human lives, which is strictly forbidden and calls for immediate deactivation."

"I mean, humans do that kind of stuff all the time and walk free, depending on the circumstances—if it was self-defense or not." He argued back, the remark quick on his tongue. When he was met with her cold unblinking stare, he gave a half-hearted shrug of one of his shoulders. "Not saying it's completely justified in some cases, just pointing out that it's no different to how humans react when they're faced with danger. Wouldn't you agree?"

The speed of his defense caused her brows to furrow, clearly lost as to why he was fighting her on this topic. Regardless of his amiable nature towards androids, she would've presumed he at least understood the bare minimum on how they were intended to function.

Yet there was something burning behind those brown irises of his as his gaze remained on her, unwavering and almost imploring her to dig deeper into the matter at hand—to understand the meaning behind why the deviants she was hunting down had become what they were in the first place, rather than use their flaws to destroy them for good.

She did not.

"No, I don't agree. Your reasoning is illogical." The female android retorted with a frown, causing that indecipherable gleam in his eyes to vanish, replaced by a disappointment that was far from subtle. "Machines should not be reacting similarly to that of humans. We were designed to imitate, not to feel. There is no danger to be perceived, unlike humans who are susceptible to dying."

She turned away, indicating that was the end of their conversation. The mission was her main focus, not this tangent that the strange detective beside her decided to go on. Unfortunately, he seemed to have more to say, even if she wasn't willing to reciprocate any further.

"If you were programmed to learn by copying humans, who rely on their emotions for practically everything, you're going to end up with more than you bargained for. Imitation eventually becomes reality." There was a finality to his words, along with an underlying insinuation that made (Y/n) pause in her movements.

Her hand hovered over the rusted doorknob, her brows furrowed together and (E/c) irises practically burning a hole into the metal. A glance was stolen towards Connor, yet he moved on from the conversation as he now peered back through that hole they spotted the android in, ensuring it was still there and hadn't escaped during their trifling debate. Despite their disagreement, he respected her wishes to drop the subject altogether— unspoken, yet obvious with her mannerisms.

⌜┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈⌝
Software Instability ⍓
⌞┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈⌟

A soft exhale left her. It was an unnecessary action for an android, yet one that helped relax her tense shoulders that had unknowingly locked up while they were talking. She quickly dismissed the notification of her softwares decreasing stability, forcefully replacing it with her objective as she managed to jam the old door open with some extra pressure on the handle.

╓─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ╖

–Investigate devaint trail

–Scan android

╙─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ╜

The (H/c)-haired android stepped cautiously into the house, her gaze locked on the android who remained in the center of the room. It stood with its hands intertwined in front of it and its eyes trained on the wall ahead, not bothering to break contact even as she stepped in front of its vision.

It was an unsettling sight.

The left side of its face was wrecked, a deep burn mark traveling over its cheek up to its head like a bolt of lightning breaking off into various tiny vein-like patterns. Some of the artificial skin had faded around the edges of the burn, likely due to the sensors in that area being ruined from the excessive heat. Thirium tainted the spots with significant damage, little trails of it breaking away to slip down its face. Its left optical unit had been impaired as well, for it no longer matched the white sclera and hazel iris of the original, instead replaced by a pitch black hue while blue blood invaded the iris and left it an equally dark shade.

If the damage done to one of its vital biocomponents wasn't evidence enough that it was a deviant, its uncontrollable twitching and unstable LED light definitely gave it away. Despite the rest of its body remaining as stiff as a plank of wood, its head was constantly moving in small, involuntary spasms and jerks. Judging by the location of the damage, she assumed part of its CPU had been fried by the heat, and it was now left to deal with the malfunctions of its insufficient software.

Straightening herself up, (Y/n) went to take a step towards the male android. A hand on her wrist stopped her, to which she sent a subtle glare over her shoulder towards the brunette. Even if she couldn't feel emotions, these constant interruptions were beginning to disrupt her orders, the objectives from a mere minute ago reappearing with urgency in order to redirect her attention.

Connor's hand flinched away upon noticing the way her (S/c) complexion was scrunched up, bordering on exasperation as she stared him down with a lackluster gaze. The contradiction between her irritated expression and those empty eyes was startling, enough for him to take a step back with his hands held up in surrender.

Never in his life had he felt threatened by an android, nor did he in this moment, but there was a distinct churn in his gut that warned him to keep a distance this time. He'd been too pushy, piled on too much at once that'd overwhelm any being that relied solely on rational instructions.

"Just... be careful, okay? He doesn't look very, uh, stable." He kept his voice low and soft as he took another step back, the floorboards creaking beneath his shoe. Along with that he offered an apologetic smile, one that acknowledged his presence was unnecessary in this moment.

Much to his relief, her countenance visibly softened at the edges, though her brows remained slightly creased—a subtle warning to let her do what she was intended to do. "I can see its stress levels. I'll be perfectly fine." Her reply was curt, those (E/c) irises sharp like a knife as they did a once over of his form before landing back on the male android ahead of her.

A self-check indicated her own stress level was elevated, not by much but enough to be wary. Fortunately, Connor remained silent and went to walk off to another part of the house while she took care of the android. Now she could actually get some work done without him pestering her with unsubstantiated claims.

(Y/n) strolled up to the damaged android, halting in her steps when she was approximately two and half feet in front of it. Enough distance to keep it at ease, yet close enough to let her properly scan the android.

┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅
Scan
▼
[R2]
┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅

╔════════════════════╗

Processing LED

Signs of software instability
Probability of self-
destruction: Moderate

╚════════════════════╝

╔═══════════════════╗

MODEL WR600 –
Gardener

Serial#: 021 753 034
Status: REPORTED MISSING

╚═══════════════════╝

╔═════════════════════╗

Burn Mark

Irreversible skin damage
Probable cause: Extreme heat

╚═════════════════════╝

╸ ╸ ╾ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╸ ╸ ╼

⍌  56% Level of stress

╸ ╸ ╾ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╸ ╸ ╼

╓─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ╖

Find source of androids stress

╙─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ╜

After gathering information on the android in front of her – and ignoring that he was a deviant, for now – she kept the screen monitoring its stress levels up and dismissed her new objective. While it wasn't at an extremely high percentage, it bordered on going above the optimal range that was necessary to extract information out of deviants. There was definitely something that was causing its tension, and she could already presume what it was.

While Connor took care of sweeping the upper section of the house, she'd focus on picking apart the male android until she got the information she needed.

╔════════════════╗

► [△] AX400

► [□] Deviants

► [○] Reassure

► [☓] Blue blood

╚════════════════╝

╔═════════╗
[△] AX400
╚═════════╝

"I'm looking for an AX400. Have you seen it?" She asked calmly, tilting her head into its line of vision when she saw it still staring straight ahead. It didn't even flinch or move its gaze, its mismatched eyes unnaturally vacant for an android who would deem themselves as emotional as a human was.

"Ralph's seen nobody..." It responded quickly, too fast for her own liking. She brushed off the odd way it addressed itself in third person, figuring it had to do with the damage dealt to its central unit.

That was the unfortunate part about deviants reacting similarly to humans, as the shifts in their behavior gave away whether they were being truthful or not—the lack of hesitation, the refusal to look at her, the fidgeting of its hands. Pair all that with the android traits of its LED flickering and the percentage rate of its stress increasing, and she had the perfect results to conclude it was lying to her.

╔════════════════╗

► [△] Deviants

► [○] Reassure

► [☓] Blue blood

╚════════════════╝

╔═════════╗
[○] Reassure
╚═════════╝

(Y/n) relaxed her facial features, fixating on the android with a faux sympathy while her lips softened at the edges. "Don't be afraid. I'm not gonna hurt you." She murmured, keeping her voice hushed and gentle in order to reassure it.

While the pity she displayed was deceitful, the words held truth to them—she had no need to turn on this android since it wasn't apart of her case. It must've found some form of comfort from her newly gentle demeanor, for she noticed its stress levels had began to lower and its fidgeting slowed down by a fraction.

Good, now the chances of it being cooperative were higher.

╔════════════════╗

► [○] Deviants

► [☓] Blue blood

╚════════════════╝

╔══════════╗
[☓] Blue blood
╚══════════╝

"I found blue blood on the fence outside. I know another android was here." She recalled her observation from earlier as she stepped aside, now letting her eyes roam over the furniture around them.

They landed on the fireplace behind the android, her eyebrow raising as she saw the flames licking around the charred logs set inside. If it was truly only this android – and potentially another it was hiding away – why would it need the fireplace to be lit?

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Androids don't need heat

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Her gaze flickered back to the android, whose eyes quickly snapped forward after having been caught watching her movements. "Ralph scratched himself coming through. That's Ralph's blood." It responded, voice jittery and rushed as its LED flashed for a split second, continuously bordering between amber and crimson.

It was unstable, both from the disruption to its software and the way its stress levels were fluctuating. Out of curiosity, (Y/n) began to back up more towards the stairway that Connor had went up earlier. As soon as she had done so she watched the screen monitoring its stress levels spike beside it, along with its relentless twitching.

╸ ╸ ╾ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╸ ╸ ╼

⍓  79% Level of stress

╸ ╸ ╾ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╶ ╸ ╸ ╼

Interesting reaction.

She decided to continue to test her suspicions by walking forward, now approaching closer to the door that was to the right of the fireplace. The closer she got the lower its stress levels became, to which she decided to ask one last question before she could fully explore this new development in the case.

╔══════════╗
[☓] Deviants
╚══════════╝

"Are there any other androids here?" She asked while turning back to the male android, who refused to move even an inch or look anywhere in her direction.

Like every other reply, the words were too quick to leave its mouth, as if it'd been planning them this entire time. "Other androids?.." It paused, shifting in its spot as if it could feel the holes her eyes were burning into the back of its head. "No. Ralph is alone..." It trailed off, the blinking red glow on the side of its head enough indicator that what it said was another falsehood.

She merely hummed in acknowledgement and went to scan over the rest of the living area. There was a table in front of the fireplace, where three sets of plates and dinnerware were neatly set up in front of each chair. Alongside that was a small deceased animal, an opossum, according to a quick search.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Table set for 3 people

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Food ? Androids don't eat

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Her brows furrowed together at the new information being stored into her database. Could the two androids – she was certain the other was here, there were too many coincidences – be harboring a human? Or maybe they had a human working alongside them to help them hide?

No, that couldn't be it. The human would've been a better disguise to throw her off rather than the damaged and unhinged android who she could easily detect was untrustworthy.

The report from the officer that spotted the deviant ducking into this abandoned building never reported seeing another person with it. However, that contradicted with the obvious evidence in front of her. For once, the details of this case weren't adding up—at least, not until she found out where said deviant was and if the conclusion she came to was accurate.

For now she pushed that significant detail to the back of her mind, leaving it to be solved later. Instead she focused on setting her hand on the door handle beside her, doing a quick assement of the android before she'd open it. When she saw its stress remain at the same percentage she twisted the metal knob and pushed it open, peeking inside in case there was anything of importance.

The room was a kitchen, as run down and rotting as the rest of the house. There wasn't much to take note of given how vacant it was, aside from a flipped over and destroyed stove, some stray chairs, and a pile of garbage in the corner. However, there was writing scribbled all over the walls in that familiar neat font that only androids could perfect. The phrases of RA9 and I AM ALIVE were repeated along the wall, similar to what she'd seen on the tiles of the bathroom shower in Ortiz's house.

Seeing nothing else worthy of noting, she closed the door and faced the android again. It was unsurprising when its eyes darted away from her again, lacking any and all subtlety when keeping an eye on where she was snooping around.

The RK800 took note of the androids paranoid behavior throughout this entire interaction, to the point she was ninety-nine percent certain that the deviant was hiding somewhere in this house. She didn't get to begin searching quite yet, for the hurried footsteps of Connor coming down the stairs caught her attention.

Judging by the expression he wore, he must've found some type of evidence upstairs. There was a mixture of alarm and revoltion twisted on his face, those two emotions leaving his skin paler than usual. He met her questioning gaze as he went to lean against the railing on the bottom half of the stairs, only to raise his left hand and open it up, revealing a tiny object in his palm.

In it laid the LED that every android had on their right temple. Seeing as the only two androids in the room still had theirs, it couldn't have been from either of them. She glanced at Ralph with narrowed eyes, noticing its stress had skyrocketed and it was twitching more than earlier.

That ninety-nine percent chance of the deviant hiding here had bumped up to one-hundred percent now.

"There was a, uh, dead body in the tub, too." Connor choked out after a second, unable to disguise the disgust in his voice. It felt as if the smell was permanently invading his nose and the mental image of the corpse would be forever burned behind his eyelids—part of him wished he was as desensitized to this kind of stuff like his dad was.

"(Y/n), Connor!" Before either of them could decide their next step, Hank's muffled shout from outside echoed inside the house. "The hell is taking you two so long?"

The brunette groaned under his breath, momentarily forgetting the horrific sight he had the displease of witnessing. "Give us a minute!" He called back, shaking his head as he stepped down the last few steps of the stairs. "Jesus, I don't know how he ever became a detective with how impatient he is." He grumbled to himself as he mindlessly set the LED on top of one of the main wooden posts before leaning against it.

She disregarded his comment, her eyes switching between himself and the twitchy android. "Its stress is higher with you near the stairs." She said her observation aloud, uncaring to the way Ralph visibly flinched from it.

Connor straightened up at that, raising as eyebrow as he quickly leaned back off the post. Seeing as he had swept the entire upper floor, not a single nook or cranny untouched, he knew it couldn't have been that area that the deviant was stowed away in. But thanks to the LED he found in the sink, along with some chunks of hair, they knew it had to be somewhere in the house.

He assumed (Y/n) searched the living area that this android, Ralph, stood in front of given her current stance near it. So, that section of the house could be crossed off the list of possibilities as well. That didn't leave much area left for the runaway android to hide in, except for...

Connor shared a look with the female android, a silent confirmation as she began to stalk closer to where he stood. The taller of the two began to back away, his hand hovering over the handgun tucked away in the holster at his hip—a precaution in the extreme case that this reveal went south.

Both their gazes remained laser focused on the darkness that seemed to swallow the area underneath the stairs. Her pace was unhurried as she crept forwards, the floorboards creaking with each step as she got closer. There was another creak, one that didn't pair with the movement of her feet and occured further in front of her.

She leaned her body forward, attempting to see what was underneath as her optical units took a split second to adjust to the lack of light. With both of them looking so intently at the steps in anticipation of something popping out, they had failed to notice the unstable android behind them that rushed forward in a panic.

Right as (Y/n)'s eyesight had adjusted and spotted two terrified faces staring back at her, a pair of strong arms latched around her own and yanked her backwards. She went stumbling from the force, losing her footing and unable to struggle against Ralph's grip until she regained her balance.

"RUN! QUICK! KARA!" Ralph shouted, holding onto the (H/c)-haired android for dear life as she managed to get her footing and began to fight against its grip, her hands clawing at the scuffed arms locked under her armpits.

Connor had jerked his gun out of its holster, the safety clicked off as he pointed it towards Ralph in warning. There wasn't time to get him to release the RK800 android, for his alarmed brown eyes landed on two figures that emerged from under the steps—a woman, the deviant, along with a little girl beside her.

They shoved a box towards Connor, leaving him to dodge it while they darted in the direction of the kitchen. Once the door slammed shut behind them, Ralph used all his strength to shove (Y/n) to the floor, her head slamming against the edge of a metal dumpster to the side.

It sent a shock through her wires and her CPU temporarily malfunctioned, her head slumping against the surface while her LED flashed a red. The male android in front of her held its hands out towards her, its face scrunched up with shame as if it were debating to help her up. It must've decided better of that despite its guilt, instead rushing away up the steps to hide away from the chaos.

"Hey! Stop!" Connor called after it, yet ultimately decided against chasing it after casting a glance towards the stunned female android on the floor. "Shit. Did he hurt you?" He asked hurriedly, shoving his gun back into his holster as he rushed to kneel by her side.

It took a few seconds for her central unit to recover from the sudden shock, her LED shifting from amber then to blue. "No vital damage." She croaked out, her voice strained despite her trying to brush it off.

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//CAUTION\\

Damage detected on
biocomponent #9782f

Initiate temporary shutdown to
restart central processing unit?

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The warning sign in her vision was swiftly dismissed, replaced by her own orders as she brought up the urgent message of her mission—an attempt to ignore her current condition that had her simulated breathing faltering.

It didn't matter right now.

The deviant.

She needed to catch the deviant.

Hank and Niles were walking inside the house when her hand shot out, using Connor's shoulder for stability as she shoved herself into a standing position. His protests fell on deaf ears, along with the other twos confusion as she darted in the direction the deviant and little girl went.

"It's here! Call it in!" Was all she yelled back at them before the door she ran through slammed shut behind her.

She ran out of the house, her footsteps pounding against the ground as she sprinted over to the fence. An officer was on the other side, who appeared startled at how quickly she had pushed through the hole, uncaring to the sharp metal that ripped through a part of her CyberLife jacket.

"Which way did it go?" She hissed, the harshness and urgency in her tone causing the officer to give her a wide-eyed look.

He snapped out of it a second later and pointed along the elevated railroad. "That way—they're headed for the train station!" He responded, barely able to get the last words out before she was rushing in that direction.

The shouts of Connor and Niles reached her ears, yet she tuned them out and pushed all her energy towards catching up to the android and small human. Her short heeled boots slammed into the cement below her, people blurring around her as she darted past them until her feet skidded to a halt in front of an officer, who currently stood in front of a passageway.

His expression was filled with urgency as he waved his hand down the alley. "They're over there!" He exclaimed, her sharp gaze following his panicked movements.

Her (E/c) eyes honed in on the female android, who was clumsily climbing a fence after managing to get the little girl over first. Immediately her feet sprung back into action, rushing down the length of the alleyway as her eyes refused to stray from the deviant. The world around her faded into greyscale, the woman highlighting in blue as her system trained all its energy on this single objective.

To her dismay, her pace wasn't quick enough to catch up with the criminal. As soon as it had landed on the other side (Y/n) slammed into the fence, startling it as it instinctively grabbed at the little girl by its side. Cool blue irises connected with burning (E/c) ones, genuine fear clashing with a programmed determination that refused to falter. Their stare contest didn't last long, for its gaze flickered to left of her and its eyes went wide in alarm, causing her to reluctantly follow its line of sight.

There stood an officer, its handgun pointed directly at it and prepared to fire. (Y/n) felt something similar to an electric shock run through her—they couldn't destroy it, then her mission to capture and learn from its behavior would be a failure.

Her hand shot out, an action to obstruct the officers vision and shift his attention to her instead of the suspect. "Don't shoot! We need it alive!" She snapped, doing a once over to make sure he'd lower his gun before she whipped back around to where the two were.

They were no longer where they once stood, rather sliding down the steep dirt hill that lead to a dip, which happened to hold the busiest highway of Detroit. There was a large holographic sign along the edge of it, warning that they were entering the automated car track and that the high speeds were too dangerous for pedestrians to cross.

All warnings signs were ignored as the deviant threw its legs over the highway rail, stepping onto the other side before lifting the little girl over with her. (Y/n) watched the scene with rapt attention, silently debating how to handle the situation. Not long after she had come up with a solution, the sound of panting came from beside her.

She casted a glance over her shoulder, briefly eyeing the lieutenant and two detectives that were hunched over and out of breath, the prior more so than the other two. They were brushed aside, her narrowed gaze snapping back to the deviant and child, who had begun their risky game of crossing the highway while dodging the cars that sped past.

"Oh fuck, that's insane..." Hank huffed out as he caught his breath, watching the scene with wide and disbelieving eyes.

Connor and Niles were in the same boat, the older of the two brothers leant against the fence and gripping at it to get the best view possible. Whereas his younger brother behind him looked incredulous like their dad, their was a glimmer of worry and terror in those brown hues of his as the two continued to rush across, at times barely missing getting hit by oncoming traffic.

Once they had made it to a safe section in the middle, (Y/n) made her decision. If they got away, then she failed her mission.

She was not willing to let that happen.

Her fingers looped into the diamond shaped holes throughout the fence, ensuring she had a firm grasp on the thin metal. Then her foot wedged itself into a lower hole and she hoisted herself upwards, her hand raising further upwards to grab a new spot to stabilize her.

The female android didn't get far as a hand latched onto her shoulder, not pulling but firm enough to prevent her from ascending any further. "Hey! Where are you going?" Connor's panicked voice called out, yet she refused to rip her gaze away from the two figures that were preparing to cross the other section of the highway.

"I can't let them get away." She replied firmly, carelessly shoving his hand away before resuming her attempt to climb up further. Once again she didn't make it far, this time a different hand grabbing her from the other side. Had she not been dead set on her mission, she likely would've been taken aback to see Niles of all people stopping her.

"They won't! They'll never make it to the other side." The younger brother hissed, his fingers tugging at the sleeve of her jacket. In spite of his insistent pulling, the android didn't budge an inch.

Connor's hand returned to her other sleeve, yet she fought against them. "I can't take that chance!" She shouted, overwhelmed with the pressure of her mission as she desperately attempted to follow the instructions replaying in her central processor.

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//WARNING\\

Damage detected on
biocomponent #9782f

//WARNING\\

Biocomponent #9782f overloaded

Temporary shutdown is advised to
restart central processing unit
and avoid further damage

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Her brows scrunched inwards and her teeth grinded together as she clawed her way up the fence. The damage to her central unit wasn't critical and she could fix it with a restart after she accomplished her mission.

It wasn't an issue, she could handle it.

"Stop!" Connor cried out, desperately yanking at her jacket sleeve as his and his brothers strength was no match to that of an android. "You will get yourself killed! It's not worth it!" He kept trying to plead with her, eventually grabbing at her pant leg when she had managed to get higher up.

One of her legs raised over the edge of the fence, the two mens voices drowned out as she saw the android and child reach the other side of the highway safely. Before she could throw her other leg over she froze.

The lieutenant's voice sliced through the air with authority, as well as a hint of something else she couldn't decipher in the heat of the moment. "Do NOT go after 'em, (Y/n), that's an order!" Hank's yell clashed with her current task, the (H/c)-haired android practically paralyzed on top of the fence as her system took a second to comprehend the new order.

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Conflicting orders selecting priority

–Cross highway and catch deviant

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The objective flashed across her optical units, yet this time she found herself hesitating. Those (E/c) irises finally glanced down towards the Anderson brothers, who were still protesting as they stared up at her form.

Connor's countenance was overcome with terror, whereas Niles looked utterly helpless and uncertain on what to do. She sent a glance towards Hank, and while he was more stone-faced than his son's, there were cracks in his mask that revealed his own fear as he glared her down.

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[○] Go
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[☓] Give up
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Was the risk worth it? She knew the probability of her making it to the other side was dangerously low, especially with her system being overwhelmed.

But her mission...

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[☓] Give up
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Software Instability ⍓
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Hank ⍓
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The chances of her catching the deviant weren't favorable enough—that's the reason why she decided to abandon her priority. She pursed her lips into a thin line and tossed her leg back over to the other side of the fence, not missing the way Connor's and Niles' faces fell with relief once she landed on the ground below. Hank's was similar, though he seemed to express more anger than comfort.

"Jesus. Don't pull that shit again, got it?" He spoke gruffly towards the RK800 android before he turned away. The lieutenant walked off, likely to calm down from the tense situation and to inform the other officers of the deviants escape.

(Y/n) paid his aggressive remark little mind, her vacant gaze remaining on the other side of the highway where the two figures were no longer visible. They'd got away, leaving her with nothing to add onto the deviant cases that continued to rise by the day.

"Hey." A gentle hand rested on her shoulder as Connor spoke up, yet she didn't bother looking at him. "It's okay. All that matters is you're safe." He murmured in an attempt to reassure the shorter android. He'd never seen someone appear so distraught, human or not.

Niles chimed in, his voice a lot less comforting and more so detached after that experience. "Yeah, we didn't want to deal with an android splattered across the highway." His remarked, receiving a harsh glare from his older brother in return. "What? That's what would've happened. It would've—"

"Not helping, Nines." He hissed between clenched teeth, to which the younger of the two merely shrugged as he began to walk off. Those blue eyes casted one last glance at the two, lingering on the (H/c)-haired android for a second, until he turned back around to find where their father wandered off to.

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Niles ⍓
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Connor let out an annoyed huff of air as his attention shifted back down to (Y/n), only to be startled when those (E/c) eyes were already staring up at him. She blinked a couple of times, ridding of her previous daze as she tilted her head to the side—the puppy-like android he remembered before they left the precinct.

"I'm sorry, but I lied to you, Connor." She stated out of the blue, causing his brows to furrow together in confusion. Before he could ask what that meant, she was already elaborating for him. "My system is overloaded. I think my central unit has some... malfunctions."

The taller of the two processed her words slowly, his lips tugging downwards into a frown. "When you hit your head?" He asked for confirmation, receiving a nod in response. It drew a sigh from him, yet he didn't appear to be upset at her from what she could tell. "Is it serious? Do you need repairs?"

She shook her head from the detective fretting over her, quick to put his worries at ease. "No, it is not critical. I merely require a place to restart my system for a couple of minutes." She reassured him, cause despite the warning informing her of damage to the outer section of the biocomponent, it didn't show it being dire or requiring repairment.

Connor's shoulders visibly sagged with relief, his reaction causing the corner of her lip to twitch up. "That's good." He murmured, pausing for a beat before holding his hand out—warm and patient, similar to his gesture back at the precinct except with more confidence. "C'mon, let's head back to the car. You can rest there and I'll check your head, just to make sure there's no external damage."

This time around, it didn't take long for her to process the action, her hand already placed in his larger one as she agreed with ease. "Okay. Thank you, Connor."

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Connor ⍓
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The two fell into step, heading back down the alleyway in comfortable silence. Unknowingly a smile had formed on her rosy lips, until she took a glance back at the fence, eyeing the spot the female android and small girl used to be. Her smile faltered, pressing into a firm line as the reality of what happened sunk in with an uncomfortable finality.

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Mission failed

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