METAL GUARD DOG ⊳ connor x reader

Ch. III

"(Y/n)." She added, a satisfied smile tugging on her lips as she adjusted the stolen coat on him, then looked up at the deviant. "Nice to meet you, Connor. What model are you?"

"I'm an RK800."

"Year of release?"

"2038."

She clasped a hand over her mouth, her eyes glistening in shock and happiness.

"Holy shit, 2038?!" (Y/n) blurted out, a tad too loudly, quickly realizing her mistake and clearing her throat before whisper-shouting. "You're worth a fortune!"

He furrowed his brows, head involuntarily tilting. "I'm aware."

"No, not like 8000 dollars or whatever the price for an Android used to be back in the day. You're worth like-" (Y/n) stopped, mumbling something under her breath, then counting on her fingers. "Like 12 times that price."

Twelve? Connor asked himself, his LED flickering red, then amber. That...that certainly was a lot of money. More than enough to buy a somewhat decent residence, too. (Y/n) wasn't planning on selling him was she?

As if she had read his mind, she huffed in amusement.

"I'm not sure if I'll sell you. We'll see, I guess." She nodded towards the exit. "C'mon."

Connor was more than eager to follow her outside the bunker, up the grey concrete stairs, out into the streets.

He had to blink for a few seconds, his eyes unaccustomed to suddenly encountering light, and his processors whirring as he suddenly received signal.

Weather: Cloudy with a chance of rain
Location: Detroit, Michigan, Ferndale Station

He looked behind himself, realizing that the so-called bunker he had been inside had the sign 'underground' hung up above it, however covered in black graffiti. How peculiar.

"Try not to get lost." (Y/n) joked with a smirk, and waited for Connor to marvel at his surroundings. The streets were filled with people of all kinds: some human, some humanoid, some human with certain peculiar alterations. The strangest part? A big majority of them had Android components.

Had the Android revolution succeeded, in spite of Markus getting shot on Jericho, and in spite of Connor killing himself after Amanda resumed control? Had his people made it, in spite of all the circumstances and obstacles thrown at them?

Warmth in the pit of his stomach erupted, because he realized just how lucky he was to experience all of this. To live to see the day his people were free, and not only that, but practically flooding the streets, coming in all shapes and forms!

A girl with long, sharp ears (elf ears, Connor realized) and pink, perfect synthhair passed by him, offering the Android a smile.

He had the sudden urge to smile too, hell, even laugh, shout in utter bliss, because maybe he hadn't exactly contributed to all of this all that much, but they were free. His people were free. Free to-

Like a fire, or a lightning striking his body, Connor could only wince in pain at the sensation that coursed through him. What was happening?

"I told you not to get lost, damnit. Electroshocks get activated as soon as you're not in a five meter radius of me." (Y/n) warned, sharp voice whispering from behind him as the pain faded. She extended her hand to help him get up, then tugged on his wrist.

"Good. Now move. And stay close." She gave him a light push. Connor looked at her expression, scanning her face, both saving it in his memory and identifying her unusually high stress level.

The next few minutes were silent, and consisted of Connor following her through busy streets, squeezing through ungodly huge crowds of people and Androids, occasionally stopping to marvel at the neon city lights above him. Everything was so different compared to the world he had once known. Androids were all around him, one more vibrant than the other, or more strange. Some had reptilian skin, others had cat ears on the top of their head, others instead, were covered in nothing but fur, only keeping a basic humanoid bone structure. Some even looked like anime, cartoon or comic book characters.

Another soft current went through him, and he realized that must mean he was already drifting a tad too far from (y/n). He scanned the crowd for her and found her quickly, dark coat fluttering behind her as she hurried into a narrow, empty alley.

"Where exactly are we headed?" Connor dared to ask only after scanning her body for stress levels, and realizing that they had significantly dropped after she had gotten the both of them out of the crowd. A good opportunity to get to know the person that held him hostage, quite possibly even look for weaknesses.

"To the bus station, and then home." Home. A peculiar word, Connor thought, mainly because the only thing that came to mind when he heard her say it was Hank's house. She paused in her tracks, then looked at him over her shoulder. (Y/n) was quick to pick up on the nostalgic, bittersweet glint in his eyes. "My home, I mean. It's not much, but... I hope you like dogs."

"You have a dog?" Connor questioned, the image of Sumo popping up in his mind. He quickly caught up with (y/n), walking beside her.

"Yeah, his name is Xylo. He's a synthdog." Connor's smile dropped as soon as she revealed its nature.

"So an Android dog?"

"I wouldn't...use the term Android if I were you. They're only used for labour, and it's kinda weird to mention them in a casual conversation."

Casual conversation? What about their whole interaction was casual? And why wouldn't they? Weren't almost all the people from the crowds they had wandered through machines?

"What you have seen were humans. They were humans that transferred their memories and consciousness onto Synthetic bodies." She added, as if she had read his mind. "Or as some like to call them, Mechas." (Y/n) added with a disgruntled scoff.

"I understand." Connor nodded meaningfully, and bit his lip. Maybe this wasn't the world he had hoped for, after all.