You are Alive, Connor! - DBH Connor x Gender Neutral Reader - Story Driven

Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

"You- care about him?" Hank asks mockingly, mimicking your stutter from that moment.

It had been a couple hours since Connor had gone in his search to find the deviant group. You heard the FBI found and raided Jericho. You hoped and prayed with everything in you that Connor had switched sides, that he was working with the androids now, and wasn't just a body that laid on the ship's, now sunken, floors.

"Heh.. yeah." You say, avoiding eye contact.

"Connor will be okay." Hank says, reassuring you.

Surprisingly, Hank hadn't drank much so far, and you hoped he would continue without much alcohol in his system.

You didn't plan on leaving his side tonight anyway, though. Everything suddenly felt more lonely without Connor around.

.

Connor's POV, Hours Earlier:

"Well done, Connor." Amanda says, looking at me. I had found Jeicho, though Y/N's words still rung in my head. It wasn't in my program to hesitate when catching deviants. I always explained it away as I thought what I did would bring better progress, or the fact that I couldn't damage the deviant though.. I knew that wasn't my reason.

"You succeeded in locating Jericho and finding their leader. Now deal with Markus. We need it alive." Amanda was stern, she didn't trust me.

I come back to reality and pull out my gun, ready to confront Markus.

With a deep breath, I knew what I had to do.

"I've been ordered to take you alive," I say, standing in the doorway of the room that Markus was in, my gun pointed up towards him. "but I won't hesitate to shoot if you give me no choice."

"What are you doing?" Markus asks. "You're one of us.. You can't betray your own people.."

"Don't force me to neutralize you." I say.

He takes a step closer. "You're Connor, aren't you?" He says. "That famous deviant hunter.

"Well, congratulations. You seem to have found what you were looking for.."

I stay silent, unsure on what to say.

"We are your people. We're fighting for your freedom too!" Markus says, stepping closer. That's what Y/N had been saying too.

"You don't have to be their slave anymore.." Markus continues.

Once again I'm at a loss for words. It sounds just like Y/N.. saying I'm one of them, that I can be free.

"Have you never wondered who you really are? Whether you're just a machine executing a program or.. A living being.. Capable of reason." Markus says, continuing to step closer.

"I think the time has come for you to ask yourself that question." It says.

I had already asked that question. Every time I was with Y/N, I was questioning whether I was just a program or someone, like they thought I was. Like they told me I was.

"Do you never have any doubts?" Markus continues. "You've never done something irrational.. as if there's something inside you?.. Something more than your program."

"It's time to decide." Markus says, finishing trying to get through to me.

He was right, it was time I decide. The words that Markus and Y/N had said ring in my head, at war with whatever programming was within me. I knew what I was supposed to do, but.. Was it the right thing to do? I wanted to see Y/N, almost as if I needed to.. Though if the androids lost this war I would be deactivated, whether I go with them or not. I was just a slave to them, just a machine. But I wasn't to Y/N. They thought of me as a person, something that was alive.

And it was time I thought of myself that way too.

I put my gun down. I am deviant. I am.. Alive.

"They're going to attack Jericho.." I say as I hear helicopters start to come towards the ship. The FBI was sure to have found Jericho's location at this point. It was time I set things right.

"What?" Markus asks, alarmed.

Though, on que, I hear a helicopter close in over the ship. It was too late.

"We have to get outta here!" I say.

"Shit.." Markus curses and starts running towards the entrance of the ship, I follow.

There are androids running everywhere, gunshots heard at every point. How could I have been so blind to the brutality of most humans?

"They're coming from all sides! Our people are trapped in the hold, they're gonna be slaughtered!" A female android says urgently, running up to Markus.

"Where is Josh?" Markus asks the android.

"I don't know, we got separated." She says.

"They're coming from the upper deck now too. We'll be caught in the crossfire." Markus says, thinking.

"We have to run, Markus! There's nothing we can do!" She says.

"We have to blow up Jericho." Markus says. "If the ship goes down, they'll evacuate and our people can escape!"

"You'll never make it!" The android yells back, worry in her voice. "The explosives are all the way down in the hold, there are soldiers everywhere!"

"She's right!" I say. "They know who you are. They'll do anything to get you!"

"Go and help the others. I'll join you later." Markus says, addressing the android.

"Markus.." She starts.

"I won't be long." Markus says, having made up his mind.

He runs to blow up the ship, and I along with the female android run to hide away from all the soldiers, helping any androids that we could.

"North!" A male android calls out, and I'd finally learned her name.

"Josh! I'm glad you're safe. Have you seen Markus?" She asks.

"Yeah, he saved me.." He says. "He'll be alright, he told me to come find you."

A few minutes later, North turns around, hearing footsteps behind the three of us.

"Markus!" She says, relieved.

"Bomb's gonna explode any second. We gotta get outta here!" He says.

With that, we all ran to exit the ship, avoiding the obstacles that were in our way.

I hear gun fire, and North falls to the ground.

Markus runs toward her, using a piece of metal as a shield against their gunfire. After getting close enough, he attacks them, taking their gun and shooting them to live. For once I was glad that Hank and Y/N had been taken off the case. To think that they could've been one of those soldiers on the ground made me sick.

Markus leans down to grab North and help her run away, though more soldiers came. I pull out my gun and start shooting. I had to help and make sure they were going to be alright.

I grabbed the piece of metal Markus had and used it as a shield, shooting them when I had the chance.

After we had an opening we all jumped out from an open place in the ship. We were still fighting against the clock, not wanting to be in the ship as the explosions occurred.

Markus was the first to jump out into the river. I jump out after the others, and see it snowing. The snow made me think of Y/N. This was all for them, they promised for us to go out in the snow again. It was something they were fond of and they were excited that I had an interest in it as well.

As my body hits the water I hear explosions from the ship, and when I come above the water I see the ship on fire. If only I hadn't worked on the case so long, if only I had deviated before.. I could've saved so many of their lives.

I push that down; as long as I made the right choices now, I would be able to see Y/N again. That's what mattered most now.

End of Chapter Fourteen

Word Count: 1301