✔️Becoming Human, Like You (Reed900)

12^ Remember Who You're Fighting For

The entire precinct is in chaos. Everyone's running to and fro as they prepare to raid the factory and shut it down.
Gavin straps on his body armor and makes sure his guns are loaded. He's determined to shut this place down and save Nines. He has to. Elijah won't fix Nines unless he succeeds, and he has to succeed.
Connor waddles over to him in his body armor. After much convincing, Fowler agreed to let the Android go. But, he seems to not be having a fun time with the armor. "This stuff is so big and bulky," he complains.
Hank places his hand on Connor's shoulder to steady him. "You'll get used to it." His eyes are soft as he stares down at his partner. His hair is pulled back in a ponytail with a few wispy strands hanging down. He looks like a true soldier.
"Right. Eventually. It'll keep me protected!" Connor chirps. "And, I'm fighting for Nines! He'll be fixed, if we win, right?"
"Uh huh," Gavin mutters. "He'll be fixed, and he'll stay that way. No more disks that fuck with his mind, no more screaming, no more monsters."
Connor nods somberly.
"We're the last hope that he has."
"This shouldn't be too hard. I wouldn't stress about it if I were you. I mean, didn't he say that no one worked there? The factory is automated, so no one would need to work there." Hank shrugs.
     "You're right. Still. I can't help but feel like we'll be ambushed." Gavin stands, adjusting his grip on his gun. He walks out of the precinct and gets into the squad car. He sits in the back next to Chris.
     Hank and Connor sit next to him.
     Gavin pulls out his phone and looks at his pictures. He scrolls through until he finds a picture of Nines. He's grinning happily at the camera, and he has a pair of glasses on.
     "He looks so happy," Hank murmurs.
     "Yeah. I told him that he was really pretty in those glasses, and he just grinned at me. His smile is so pretty... I took a picture before he noticed."
     "I'm guessing, you're reminding yourself of what's at stake here, huh? Is that why you're looking at that picture?"
     "Yeah. I mean, he looks so good in this picture, but yeah." Gavin stares at it a bit more before turning his phone off and putting it away.
     "Poor Nines has suffered enough. We'll make these guys pay. He'll be himself, again. I promise, it won't be like this forever."
     "I know, I know..." Gavin leans forward with his elbows on his knees. "It just feels like this is life or death."
     "I suppose that it is, in a way."
     "Yeah. Heh."
     The two fall silent. Every once in a while, someone murmurs words of encouragement to someone else, but that's it. Nothing else is said.
     The car pulls up and stops. Gavin's heart beats quickly. Nines' well-being is on the line. His life is on the line. He'll be stuck as a blind and mute Android for the rest of his life if Gavin doesn't succeed, today. He swallows hard. A lot is weighing on him.
     Gavin follows the group to the front door. He is allowed through the crowd, and he knocks on the door. "Detroit police! Open up!"
No one answers.
Gavin knocks again, harder this time.
Still, no answer.
"If you don't answer the door, we'll kick it down!" he threatens.
Still, no one answers.
Gavin pulls his leg back, then kicks the door open. Without missing a beat, he pulls his gun out and aims it, but no one's there. "What the hell..." he mutters. Officers swarm into the house from behind him.
     Gavin takes a few steps into the house and looks around. Rose and Tony are nowhere to be seen. Their car is in the driveway, but they don't seem to be here.
"Gavin!"
At Connor's cry, Gavin rushes over to the room that he's in. He sees Hank and Connor standing in front of an opened door. "We found it."
"We found it!" Gavin shouts. Excitement runs through his veins, because he's one step closer to having Nines back. Gavin steps down the stairs with Hank in front of him and Connor behind him.
     The room that opens up to them is huge. It's as big as the house itself. Automated robots produce disk after disk, collecting them in storage containers. There are thousands upon thousands of these storage containers lined up against the walls. Disks are everywhere.
     And, it doesn't help that Tony stands in front of them.
     "What're you doing, Tony?!" Gavin asks. His voice is loud as it echoes through the chamber.
     "I'm finishing what my son started!" A huge, metal beast starts building itself up around Tony.
     "Holy shit..." Gavin breathes. "He's got a mech suit! How is that even fair?!"
     "Why do I hear boss battle music?" Hank grins at Gavin.
Despite the situation, Gavin giggles. "Fuck off, Hank!"
"Let's fuck him up." Hank cocks his pistol and takes aim.
Gunshots fire all around Gavin. He pulls out his own rifle and aims it. Carefully, he pulls the trigger, but misses. "Fuck!" he curses.
Connor drops his gun out of nowhere. He walks towards Tony with no regard for the bullets that fly at him. One of them hits Connor, missing its intended mark.
"Connor!" Hank yells out. "Cease fire!"
His order ripples through the crowd of officers. Some of them put their guns down, while others keep them up. No one shoots.
     Connor pulls out a pistol and shoots one of the men, immediately killing him.
     "What the fuck, Connor?!"
     At the sound of Hank's voice, the Android rounds on him and points his gun at him. Hank ducks down as gunshots fire from Connor.
     "What the fuck?!" he hisses. "What's wrong with my Android?!"
     "It has to be the disks," Gavin hisses back at him. "If they're strong enough to fuck up Nines, then imagine what they can do to Connor. We should've been expecting this."
     "I fucking hate everyone, right now. We have to wound Connor."
     "What? Did the disks fuck you up, too? Wound your lovely boyfriend? Are you ok?"
     Hank shoots a glare at Gavin. "Look, it's not that I necessarily want to wound him. We have no choice. We need to get Connor out of the way so we can take down this asshole. If Connor's in the way, he'll be a distraction, and he might get fatally wounded on accident."
     "Well, how do you suggest we do this?" Gavin glances over the top of the table that they flipped to take cover behind.
     "We can't shoot him. I don't want him to lose blood. We'll have to tie him up or something."
     "Should we charge him?"
     Hank gives a weary sigh and nods. "Charge him."
     Together, the two men stand and run at Connor. The Android fires at them, but few bullets hit their mark. Gavin tackles him first, and Hank falls on top of him.
     Everyone starts firing bullets, again.
     Gavin and Hank work to drag a screaming, writhing Connor away. He tries his best to escape, but it's useless. Hank pulls out a pair of hand cuffs and cuffs Connor.
     "That should be-"
     Connor breaks free and tackles Hank.
     "Goddammit!" Gavin snaps. "We don't have time for this!" He pulls Connor off of Hank, then pushes him against the wall. "Listen here, you little shit! We're here to save Nines! We're not here to save you, so stop wasting everyone's time!" Gavin bitch slaps the Android. "Wake up! Get a grip, Connor!"
     Connor blinks in surprise. "Wha...?"
     Gavin slaps him, again. "I swear to god, Connor. Wake up!"
    "I-I'm awake! Stop hitting me!" Connor cries.
    Gavin lets him drop to the ground. "We have a job to do, or did you forget?" He tilts his head to the side.
     "N-No... I haven't forgotten!"
     "Then, find some way to deactivate that machine!" Gavin points at Tony's mech suit.
     "It's not that easy! I can't just-!"
     A loud cry of pain rings out as one of the men gets shot.
     Gavin's eyes widen as he watches him fall. He turns back to Connor. "You're an Android. You can't tell me that you can't just hack into it and take it over, or something!"
     "I can, I think, but it's not easy! And, that disk is hurting my head!"
     "You have to try!" Gavin shakes him violently.
     "Ok, ok! I'll try!" Connor clutches his head. "It really hurts..."
     Hank pushes Gavin out of the way. "Connor, sweetie, I know, it hurts. I know, you're in pain, but you have to help us out!"
     "I-I'm trying! Back away!"
     Hank and Gavin back up, creating a small distance between them.
     Connor sways on his feet, no doubt struggling to get rid of the effects of the disk. He takes a few steps forward before his LED flashes yellow.
     Gavin gives Hank a look, and he shrugs.
     A stray bullet hits Gavin in the leg, and he hisses in pain as he falls. Hank kneels down next to him, carefully cradling him. "Are you alright?"
     Gavin nods, but his face tells a different story. "Fuck..."
     "Can you walk?"
     Gavin shakes his head. "Not without feeling like the devil, himself, is scratching me up."
     "Remember who you're fighting for. You can-"
     "I'll be alright." Gavin pushes himself up, but leans against Hank for support. "I'll be fine."
     Hank says nothing.
     A few more soldiers get shot down, and Hank hisses in anger. "This is fucking useless."
     Connor sprints forward on unsteady legs. He mindlessly latches himself onto the mech's leg.
     "What the fuck is he doing, now?! If that thing falls, he'll be crushed!" Hank squeezes Gavin's arm.
     Gavin writhes uncomfortably.
     But, Connor seems to know what he's doing as he works on getting inside of it. He carefully rips away one of the panels and climbs inside. The leg is big enough to fit an Android as small as Connor. Gavin watches as the mech falters, not sure what to do.
     No, Tony falters. He doesn't know what to do with an Android climbing inside his mech.
     Connor peeks over the side of the top, where Tony sits in shock. The Android points his gun at Tony's head, and he shoots.
     Gavin flinches away.
     "That's... gross."
     Connor takes Tony's body and lifts it over his head. "This is for taking over my mind!" He throws Tony over the side, and he hits the ground with a dull thud. "Asshole!"
     Hank's lips purse into a thin line. "Didn't know he could be so... savage."
     Connor takes control of the mech. His face is flushed blue with rage as he forces it over to the containers of disks. He takes container after container and rips them apart. Disks fly everywhere.
     One of them lands at Gavin's foot, and he stomps on it, crushing the components inside. "Well?! What're you waiting for?! Help him!"
     Gavin's not at all in charge here, but no one hesitates to carry out the command. No one wants to mess with Gavin when he's angry.
     "Remember who you're fighting for..." Gavin whispers. He pulls out his phone and looks back at the picture of Nines. This is who he's fighting for. He glares around at the mess of robotic parts, wires, and scrap metal.
     Connor grunts in anger. He's really letting this place have it as he tears the walls apart. He makes the mech rip itself apart. Its giant, clawed hands rip into the metal plating of its stomach, tearing and ripping it apart. Loud screeches sound around them as Gavin stares up.
     "The place is gonna collapse!" he shouts. "Get out!"
     Once again, no one hesitates to follow his command, especially once they realize that the place is collapsing in on itself.
     Connor leaps out of the destroyed mech and makes his way to Hank before supporting Gavin's other side.
     "Make sure no one's left behind!"
     "I'm pretty sure, everyone's either on their way out or already out," Hank soothes him. "Relax, Gavin."
     Gavin sighs in relief, but it's not over. A large portion of the ceiling collapses, crashing into the floor. "We have to go! Move!"
     Hank growls as he picks Gavin up. Letting him walk would take too long. They sprint up the stairs, and the sounds of the mini factory crashing to the ground follow them.
     When they reach the room, Connor pushes the door shut. "Come on! Don't bother!" Hank takes Gavin outside, where everyone else waits anxiously.
     Connor pants lightly. "What a rush." His face is still flushed blue, but it's flushed in excitement.
     Gavin rolls his eyes and lets his head fall back. He closes his eyes and lets himself rest. His job is done.

Nines sits on Elijah's carpeted floor. His fingers carefully brush over the keys of the piano in front of him. With practiced certainty, he presses down on them, focusing as note after note rings out in the air.
     But, he accidentally presses down on a wrong note, which can clearly be heard. He stops, pulling his hands away from it like it's going to eat him alive.
     "You did good, that time."
     He startles and turns around, but he instantly recognizes Elijah's voice.
     "You always seem to mess up that note. But, no worries. You'll get it, eventually." Nines can hear him walking closer, and he backs away. "Don't worry. I'm not here to ambush you. Here. My hand is right in front of you."
     Nines hesitantly raises his hand and bumps it into Elijah's hand. Once he holds onto it, he can figure out exactly where he is in the room. It makes him feel better knowing where the man is.
     "See? You're alright."
     Nines lets go of his hand and hugs himself.
     "You're worried about Gavin, aren't you?"
     Nines nods.
     "Don't worry about Gavin. I know, it's easier said than done, but Gavin's a tough guy. I have faith in him."
Nines nods slowly. He has faith, too, but it's hard to not worry about him.
"I've prepared new exercises for you. It'll help get your mind off of Gavin. We can begin as soon as you're ready."