(ON HOLD) The Forgotten Android (Connor x Reader) Detroit: Become Human

Chapter 14: Initiation

"Also... I was concerned about you," He said softly, "Your temperature levels are increasing. I do not have the proper knowledge to diagnose you, but I believe you have a fever."

"I..." I muttered, feeling the flush creep onto my face again. "I'm sick?"

"Quite possibly," He murmured, gazing far off into the distance. "Humans can sometimes go through feelings of slight sickness. I remember that Lieutenant Anderso-" His words cut off abruptly, and his expression turned pained for a moment, before he settled it back into it's former calm mask. It happened so quickly, that if I had blinked I would have missed it.

"Connor?"

"Nothing..." He murmured, as we reached the base of the stairs. He gazed up, looking between the stairs to the top of the tower. He stayed like that for a long moment, as if his thoughts were somewhere far away. When I tugged slightly from his grasp, he seemed to return to reality, and gently lowered me to my feet. He then gazed at me, his LED flickering.

"Your temperature is still higher than the average levels. It would be best if you do not over-exert yourself." Then, as if desperate to get away, he moved past me and exited the room. Just as quickly as the moment had begun, it was over. I felt my heart sink slightly, but I did not understand why.

I stepped out of the entrance of the stairwell, to find that Connor was now missing. I wandered the room, glancing around for where the android could have disappeared to. As I walked, with one hand against the wall, I felt my back tingle where the eyes of the many people watched me. Whenever I turned towards them however, they glanced away. They seemed afraid. But why would they be afraid of me?

I jumped when I felt a cold hand on my shoulder. I turned, my heart seeming to pound out of my chest.

"Sorry!!" Alice said quickly, giving me a sheepish smile. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"It's okay," I muttered, trying to catch my breath. Alice continued to smile at me, and I felt my eyes trail down her arm, that was now covered once more with the yellow cardigan. She seemed to notice my stare, and placed her other hand over her arm. Embarrassed, I looked away.

"Lucy wanted to see you," Alice continued, "Connor's already with her." She started walking, and I followed her awkwardly.

"What does she want?"

"She wants you to go through your initiation." I gave her a nervous look, and she giggled. "Don't worry, it's not as scary as it sounds. Everyone has to do it."

I nodded in agreement, following her across the room to where many of the people were standing, watching something. Alice pushed her way through, leaving a path for me to follow. When we got to the center of the circle of people, we found an area enclosed with a clear holographic wall. As we approached, the wall seemed to open for us, and as we entered, it closed behind us. Now that we were inside, I noticed how the walls were covered with an array of various targets, and there seemed to also be a system designed for training with moving targets. After taking in the room, I noticed how Lucy and Connor were already there. There was also a man, I assumed human, wearing a jacket flecked with various shades of green.

"You must be the girl then," The man muttered, sticking out his hand. "You can call me Grubs. I'll be training you." As I reached out, his hand engulfed mine and shook it with a rattling force.

"T-Training?" I muttered, once the dizzy feeling passed.

"Yes," Lucy interrupted, gesturing her hand towards an array of various items, presumably weapons, spread across a table. "We need to assess your skills."

Connor turned towards the table, and Lucy prompted him to choose one. There were many weapons on the table, various ray guns, evaporators, knives, grenades, even more that I could not put a name to. I wondered how Connor would possibly decide which one to use. Without any hesitation, when he laid his eyes on it, he reached forward and picked up a simple handgun.

"Is that your choice?" Lucy asked. Connor nodded, his eyes studying the simple metal. I began to feel my head spin again as the eyes of the people watching focused on me. But Lucy did not prompt me to choose a weapon. Instead, she turned to Connor, placing a hand on his shoulder and moving him towards a target. Connor raised his gun, aimed towards one target, then shook his head.

"If you don't mind, I would like to practice on those instead."

I followed Connor's gaze, towards the array of more difficult targets. They were holographs, mimicking the appearance of humans, or androids.

"Those are rather difficult for a beginner," Grubs explained. When Connor did not turn away from them, he sighed. "I suppose you can give it a try." Grubs moved towards a button on the wall, and looked back towards Connor, who was poised with the handgun.

"Whenever you're ready err..."

"Connor... My name is Connor."

Then, shaking his head once more, Grubs pressed a button on the wall, and a shield seemed to phase into view around the humanoid targets. One by one, they began to start moving, holographs racing around Connor. Each holograph had a weapon, aimed straight for Connor. I gasped as a holograph with a knife leapt towards his back.

"Connor!" I shouted, but he turned, and without any hesitation shot the target. He then spun on the next assailant, knocking the holograph off it's feet then shooting it in the chest. He turned once again, punching the next holograph, causing it to fade. This continued on, the holographs becoming more and more intense. Connor always kept up, defeating each with a precision I had never seen before. The world seemed to fade around me, and all I could see was him. There had been so many weapons on that table, so many choices. He had chosen one of the most simple ones, and now I knew. There were moments when Connor was quiet, almost fragile when he looked back on his memories; but in this moment, I could see the ruthless deviant hunter Kara once described him as. I stumbled back from him, the cold and determined look in his eyes startling me. I realized with a jolt that I was... afraid.

For the first time, I began to see how dangerous Connor could be. When I saw him awaken, that moment that only occurred less than a week ago, I only saw his beauty, the gracefulness of his features. I imagined that he was different from the other androids', somehow kinder. But what if I was on the receiving end of an attack such as this? If it came to it... if he agreed to Kara's plan and got the 'upgrade'... would he turn on me?

I felt my head swim, thinking of all the possibilities. I never knew how powerful he was. I slept beside him, not realizing the true extent of his strength. Not realizing how easy it would have been for him to kill me.

'Could have...' I thought, and yet I had the blurry memory of being held in someone's arms. If he had wanted to kill me, he would have done it then. But... what did this android want?

The audience cheered behind me, but I barely paid any attention to them. All I saw was Connor, lowering his gun as the holographs faded. He looked at me then, his eyes serious. He made a movement to put the gun away, then, realizing there was no where to put it, he simply clutched it in his hand.

"R-Remarkable," Grubs murmured, looking stunned. Lucy's expression did not change, but instead she gave Connor a curious look.

The sound of the crowd behind me seemed to scramble my thoughts. I couldn't make sense of any of it, and my head throbbed. All I could see was Connor in front of me, but I could not make sense of 'who' he really was. What were his motives? Who was he behind that calm expression?

The world around me seemed to tilt sideways, and it was all I could do to not fall over. I leaned against the clear walls, and tried to calm my breaths. Was I hyperventilating?

Connor tossed the gun to the side, and raced over to me.

"[F/N]!" He called, gently holding my shoulders. "You're shaking. Are you alright?"

But I couldn't speak. As the world spun, Connor's face was the last thing I saw before everything plunged into darkness.