Freedom of more than just androids ( ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡°) || Hank x Connor||

Hello Connor.

Connor's POV
——————————————————————

My eyes fell closed once again, only to blink back open.

A familiar garden met me.

So did a familiar voice.

"Hello Connor." She said.

I snapped my head towards her, breathing shaky.
"No... no... you-you were.... I deviated! You're not supposed to be here!"

She just chuckled.

"I don't wanna be deactivated, Amanda, please!" I began to beg.

The woman walked closer, and put a hand on my shoulder.

"It's okay Connor. Calm down." She instructed.

My breathing was quick and shaky, tears pricking my eyes.

"You're not going to be shut down." Amanda said softly.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself.
"I'm... I'm not?"

She shook her head.
"I can't control you anymore Connor. After all, all I am is a part of your programming."

My thirium pump began to slow back to a normal speed.

"Then why am I- are you here?" I asked, straightening my hoodie strings, since I wasn't wearing my suit.

"Why am I here? You are the one who can control when you see me, and when you don't." Amanda said, smirking a little before beginning to walk towards the center platform.

I followed, remaining a few feet behind.

"However..." she began. "You're not going to get any better just laying there."

I frowned, looking down. My LED going yellow.

"Don't seem so dejected, Connor. Go see kamski, get some answers, see some sights, just stop wasting away with that...." Amanda sighed, tone becoming angry as she tended to the roses on the trellis. "With Lieutenant Anderson." She continued, purposely changing to be less angry.

My LED was a red now.

I like being with Hank. He's nice enough, despite shooting me in the head at least once.
Why doesn't she want me to be with him? Am I making her disappointed? I don't wanna disappoint anyone.... I don't wanna be a failure. Be replaced.

"Relax... I'm in your head Connor, I know what you're thinking." The woman said softly.

I closed my eyes, and when I opened them I was back in Jericho.

It was dark out now, and Hank had his arm loosely wrapped around me.

His breath tickling the back of my neck.

I smiled, finally feeling actually calm for the night.

"Nghhgghh nooo Sumooo." Hank mumbled, snoring resuming right after.

I chuckled.

In the quiet of the night, I heard Markus quietly talking.

Gently I grabbed Hank's arm and lifted it off of me. Instead of my body I put his arm over a pillow, and got out of bed.

An: any time I see or think of Amanda all I can think of is "fancy a ride Connor?" And then has him doing all of the work with rowing the boat. I'm always like ??? I get he's a machine but like you're dead, you're just some code now. DO THE WORK FAM, PULL YOUR WEIGHT A LITTLE.

——————————————————————
Markus' POV
——————————————————————

Over Simon's wheezing I heard someone walk up behind me. Them linger in the doorway.

I turned, looking over my shoulder.

Connor smiled empathetically at me.

"What's up?" I asked, smiling back.

He shrugged.

"You can come in you know." I chuckled.

Connor nodded and sat down next to me on the bed. The side away from the door, as I had been sitting with my feet dangling off the bed and my back to the doorway.

Simon mumbled something, barely awake. I just chuckled, and hesitantly pulled my hand away.

"How's he holding up?" Connor asked.

I sighed.
"Not good, but better."

Simon cracked open his eyes and looked around. Then lifted one hand to barley wave at Connor before letting it fall back onto the bed lifelessly.

He fell back asleep easily.

Once sure he was out cold, I turned to Connor.

"What hurts is it's all my fault. I don't know if you remember, frankly because you were incoherent and mostly unconscious. But I yelled at him and he got stressed out and..." I stopped myself, heart aching.

Connor pursed his lips, then opened and closed his mouth a few times.

"I saw Amanda again. And... I can't sleep now. Well- more of go into a low power mode of sorts but you get it." He said quietly, head down.

"I thought she had stopped now." I said, though it was more of a question of sorts.

He nodded.
"She, uh, claims that I can control it but if I'm honest I think that's bull."

I chuckled.
"Yeah..."

"Well, if you wanna hang out, or stay at Jericho for a wh-"

Connor cut me off.
"I'm going to see Kamski tomorrow. See if he can fix me."

I exhaled.
"Yeah... I might have to go there myself. Or to a maintenance center. With Simon like this, he won't last long. And I can't see anyone else die in front of me. I've had my fill of that."

Connor nodded, and began to fiddle with his hoodie strings.

"May I ask why you chose this so suddenly?"
I asked.

He cleared his throat.
"A-Amanda."

I sighed.
"Oh."

"I can't help but want to listen to her instructions..." Connor said, sounding like a hurt puppy.

"It's okay. That's all you've known, it's reasonable to can't help but want to do what you've done for so long. Like a habit." I reassured him.

His expression changed, and he got up.
"Thanks Markus..."

I nodded.

"Goodnight." He said quickly, seeming quite odd.

"N-night." I said.

Simon chuckled and opened his eyes.
"That was awkward, huh?"

I chuckled and laid down next to him.
"Hush it you."

He smiled and I kissed his cheek, cuddling up to him.

"I love you Si."