METAL GUARD DOG ⊳ connor x reader

Ch. XII

Time slowed down, at least for Connor. He hoped, maybe even prayed to an unknown deity that his energy would be enough to pull this off, that his Thirium pump would hold out a little while longer, his blood flow a little slower.

He pushed (y/n) away from him, immediately dropping beside the dead cop's corpse, scanning their android body for a gun, finding one in the front of their waistband, wrapped his fingers around the holster.

"Stop! Don't move!" One of the cops shouted, aiming one gun at (y/n), switching it over to Connor, then back to (y/n).

"Alright! Alright!" (Y/n) shouted back, and raised her arms above her head, sneaking one last glance over her shoulder at Connor. Diversion. Or at least that's what he believed she had mouthed at him.

"Oh my god, they— She shot them, for fuck's sake." One of the cops whispered, nodding at the corpse Connor was kneeling beside.

"That wasn't us." (Y/n) answered firmly. Connor could see her move her hands down her own nape, into the back of the collar of her black coat.

As she was doing that, Connor continued slowly removing the handgun from the corpse's waistband.

"That's what they all say." One of the cops shouted back, cocking his gun at her.

"Unless there's a sniper on the roof." She added calmly, firmly, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. All of the cops' gazes darted to the nearest building's roof.

"Don't listen to her, she's talking sh-"

Understanding that he had to use that millisecond to his advantage, Connor acted upon it immediately, shooting one of them in the leg.

(Y/n) rushed over to Connor's side and dragged him up by his shoulder.

"I won't need you to walk, I'll need you to run."

"I can try." Connor breathed in, clenching his fists. His fingernails dug into the synthskin, his stomach churning with fear and adrenaline. Now or never.

"Good." (Y/n) immediately sprinted off, dragging Connor behind her with all her might, taking sharp turns every few seconds, switching from alley to alley. The streets seemed like labyrinths to Connor.

He almost ran over her when she stopped in the middle of her tracks, gaze darting to a small shop to their right. A synthpet shop.

"Blue blood." (Y/n) and Connor whispered at the same time, and before he had even processed it, they had both made it to the front door.

"It's closed." Connor breathed, propping his arm against the window before balling it into a fist. He swallowed a mouthful of synthetic saliva, though his mouth felt unbearably dry, lungs on fire. What was this?

"I can pick locks. But I need time." She stuttered out between ragged breaths, then reached inside her pocket, pulling out her gun. She turned it around, holding it by the barrel and handing it to Connor. "Think you can do that?"

Thirum blood level low! Visit Cyberlife maintenance store immediately!

Connor wrapped his fingers around the holster, placing the index over the trigger. "Yes, I can."

"Good." (Y/n) nodded. "Cover me."

He pressed his back against the glass window for support, taking a deep breath to cool down his system and whirring fans. He was holding the gun with both hands, wrists rested on his thighs. He could do this. He had been programmed to do this. A machine with computing abilities thousand times faster than any normal human's—too bad that these weren't. They weren't humans.

Or were they?

"What are cops?"

"I'm kinda busy here." (Y/n) mumbled as she was holding a bobby pin with her teeth, beding it with her hand.

"Are they machines? Or human minds transferred onto machines?" If it was the latter, it meant he still had the smallest chance of succeeding.

"Human minds. Most of them, at least."

Perfect. That piece of information made blood rush through his veins like lightning, and his pump regulator swell against his chest. It almost felt like he could do anything.

"There!" A foreign voice screamed. That was his queue. Connor lifted the gun, the world seemingly slowing down. He knew this feeling, weightless, pondering—his mind palace.

ELIMINATE POLICEMEN

COVER (y/n)

『 ▹PRECONSTRUCT 』

▢ SHOOT COP ON THE RIGHT
△ SHOOT COP IN THE MIDDLE
〇 SHOOT INJURED COP

『 ▹COMPUTE 』

Connor shot the one of the right in the head, hit the Thirium pump of the one in the middle. He seemed to have underestimated the injured one.

He aimed directly for (y/n).

Shit.

It took Connor nothing more than a well-placed step to the left to break the trajectory of the bullet and make it pierce a hole through his shoulder, and shoot another bullet at the policeman with his other hand.

Human reflexes were still slow after all.

"Done." (Y/n) announced from behind him, opening the shop's door and stumbling inside, cheerful bell ringing above them almost mockingly.

Connor's legs gave in as he dropped to the floor moments after he had stepped inside. A blinking red message he had ignored up until now rang in his ears, flashing before his eyes.

Shutdown imminent! Repair skin damage and replenish Thirium immediately!

He heard shuffling, hurried steps, but his optical unit was giving in. Colors drained from his surroundings, creating nothing but a smudged monochrome oil painting.

"Connor! Hey, Connor. Look at me." His unfocused, blurry gaze managed to find (y/n)'s, who was kneeling above his form, holding up his head with one hand, offering him a Thirium bag with the other. "Drink up."

He put his hand over hers, pushing the recipient down to his lips, greedily sipping the liquid out of it. (Y/n) lightly patted his shoulder before rising to her feet again.

"There should be some cauterizing supplies around." Connor heard her mumble, and was glad to know that at least his audioprocessor was in good shape.

『 ▹ RUN DIAGNOSTIC 』

Processing...

Damaged skin:
>Left Shoulder
>Nape
45% Thirium supply lost
Occasional optical unit malfunctions

"Found some."

"Hm?" Connor hummed, turning his head towards (y/n) as she approached him, kneeling beside his sitting form.

"Some cauterizing supplies for synthskin. They work on pets, so they should work on old Androids too right?"

For the first time since he had woken up, Connor actually smiled. Ironically, and tiredly, yes, but it was still a smile.

"That's insulting."