Connor stood his ground in the sub level of the CyberLife Tower, his hand still gripped around the forearm of a dormant android who stood idle amongst the thousands of other androids who bore its exact likeness. A gun was pointed at the temple of his friend and partner, Lt. Hank Anderson, and an unscrupulous machine-hearted duplicate of Connor was the one holding the gun.

"Your friend's life is in your hands." The duplicate Connor stated as he held Hank at gunpoint. "Now it's time to decide what matters most? Him or the revolution."

"Don't listen to him!" Hank encouraged heroically as he put the cause of the deviants above his own life. "Everything this fucker says is a lie!"

"I'm sorry Hank," Connor called out to his friend from where he stood. "you shouldn't have gotten mixed up in all of this."

"Don't worry about me." Hank replied with a fearless tone even as the cold barrel of the gun pressed relentlessly against his skull. "Do what you have to do!"

"Enough talk!" The duplicate Connor demanded as he grew tired of waiting for the real Connor to make his choice. "It's time to decide who you really are. Are you going to save your partner's life? Or are you going to sacrifice him?"

"Alright! Alright..." Connor let go of the android's arm and backed away with his hands in the air as if to surrender. "You win..."

Suddenly the duplicate Conner swung his entire arm to aim his gun at Connor's chest. Hank reacted just as quickly to the change in target and tried to grab onto the duplicate's arm to disrupt his aim and protect the real Connor from harm. The duplicate swung the butt of the gun at Hank and bruised his jaw and split his lip causing it to bleed.

As the scene unfolded in a matter of seconds Connor realized he had yet another choice to make: If he resumed his attempt to convert the dormant androids into joining the other deviants he would leave himself and Hank open to gunfire; and Hank wouldn't survive if shot. But if he pulled his own gun on the duplicate Connor to shoot then he too would be shot. The same could be said if he were to interpose the duplicate's attack against Hank, any direct confrontation would end in a stalemate.

The two androids were too similar for either one to be bested in hand to hand combat which would leave it up to Hank to find a way to gain the upper hand on the real Connor's behalf.

A new option presented itself to Connor as he analyzed the situation and chose an unorthodox but effective approach. Connor's L.E.D. flashed from blue to yellow as he began racing toward the duplicate Connor leapt into the air and placed himself between Hank and the gun in the duplicate's hand. Just as Connor planted his feet back on the floor the sound of a gunshot echoed through the expansive storage level as a hot piercing sensation tore through Connor's chest causing the android to gasp in shock and pain as a splash of blue Thirium burst from the fresh wound.

"Connor?!" Hank shouted as he watched his partner fall to his hands and knees on the floor. Dropping down to one knee beside Connor the detective put his hands on the androids shaking shoulders to try and hold his damaged friend steady. The L.E.D. was flashing red as Connor's systems began running an analysis on the damage the android had just received.

A pool of Thirium collected beneath Connor in a growing puddle as the blue blood poured from the gunshot wound and over Connor's partially parted lips. With his head bowed down from weakness Connor was completely vulnerable to attack.

"Connor? Talk to me, son! Connor?!"

The duplicate shook his head with arrogant disappointment as he loomed over both the real Connor and Hank with his gun pointed at the back of Connor's bowed down head. "How noble. What was the point of saving a human, Connor? You've only delayed the inevitable, why waste your time?"

"Shut the fuck up you prick!" Hank cursed as he rose slowly to his feet, his hands leaving Connor's shoulders as he instinctively went for his own gun. Wiping the blood from his lip onto his hand Hank glared with utter disdain at the cold duplicate.

"Don't bother, lieutenant." The duplicate threatened as he lifted his gun higher to take aim at the detective's chest. "My reflexes are too fast compared to your own."

"Yeah, you're faster than me, I'll give you that." A faint grin formed one Hank's face as he watched Connor's very discreet movements on the floor from the corner of his eye. The L.E.D. flashed from red to yellow once again as Connor's senses returned to him. "But I bet you're not as stubborn as him."

Before the duplicate could register what had happened Connor's hand suddenly reached back for the gun holstered to the back of his belt and shot twice. The first bullet raced directly upward into the lower jaw of the duplicate. As the bullet cut through the duplicate's skull the second bullet cut through the duplicate's chest. A new splash of Thirium rained down over the floor and the duplicate fell to his knees as its systems fell into irreversible shutdown.

The L.E.D. of the duplicate was red in color and blinking very slowly. Looking up at Hank slowly the duplicate tried to speak but the damage to its jaw prevented it from uttering a word. Trails of Thirium stained the corners of his mouth and ran down his chin to his neck to create a morbid puddle of blue around its knees.

"Nice shot." Hank complimented as he stepped around Connor to himself between his partner and the downed android. The abrasive detective looked at the machine-hearted doppelganger for only a moment. Aiming his gun between the duplicate's eyes Hank pulled the trigger and placed a second bullet into the duplicate's skull. "But mine's better."

Hank lifted his boot and pressed it against the center of the duplicate's chest to kick him over as the L.E.D. blanked out entirely as the duplicate shutdown.

The duplicate Connor crashed to the floor in a limp heap into a puddle of its own blue blood.

"Now, what the hell are you-" Hank turned to look at Connor still resting on the ground. The Thirium puddle had easily double in size in just a matter of seconds and Connor wasn't moving. "Connor!"

Falling down to his knees Hank put his hand against Connor's chest to push the android upward until he was kneeling, his arms falling limp at his sides. A dark blue trail of Thirium was leaking from his nose and his mouth. The Thirium dripped down onto the white lapels of Connor's shirt staining the pristine fabric a dark blue.

"Connor..." Hank put his hand to the side of Connor's face as he spoke. The dark brown soulful eyes of the android were glazed over and unfocused. "Come on, look at me. Look at me, Connor."

Connor let out a wheezing gasp as his eyes shut briefly then re-opened. His eyes found Hank's face and focused intently. "...Lieutenant."

Hank smiled quickly before a grimace stole it away as his own eyes met the massive blue stain of Thirium on Connor's chest widening and deepening as the horrific wound continued to bleed.

Loosening Connor's tie pushing open the gray jacket and pulling open the buttons of the stained white shirt beneath revealed the horrible truth about the severity of Connor's condition.

"It's going to be okay, son." Hank promised as he pressed his hand against the wound as if he could somehow apply pressure to the plastimetal frame beneath and stem the bleeding. "I'm going to get you out of here."

"No..." Connor's hand reached up weakly and grabbed onto Hank's wrist. "I can't leave... Not yet."

"Damn it Connor, this is no time for your fucking mission! You could be dying!"

"I'm..."

"Don't you dare say you're 'not alive', because you are damn it! I don't know how or when but you ARE alive!"

"Lieutenant..." Connor paused to swallow away the building Thirium that had collected in his throat. "I'm already... dead. My heart just... doesn't know it's time to stop... beating."

"...What?" Hank's confident tone disappeared behind mounting panic. "No, no, no. No you're not!" He insisted as he pressed down harder against the wound. "I'm going to get you some help, just hold on."

"Lieutenant..." The sorrow in Conner's eyes mirrored the sorrow in Hank's heart. "Please. Help me. I need to... finish my mission. It's... all I ask."

Steeling himself with quick breaths Hank nodded and grabbed onto Connor's left arm and pulled it around his shoulders. Reaching his right arm around Connor's waist Hank helped the bleeding android back up to his feet and half carried, half dragged his partner over to the nearest android.

"What now?" Hank asked as he shifted his weight to accommodate Connor.

"Need to... finish the conversion." The artificial skin that covered Connor's right hand began to disappear slowly as his damaged system's response time had been greatly diminished. Connor tried and failed to lift his arm, his strength was fading fast and he let out a pained groan at the failure of such a basic physical response.

Thirium ran down Connor's arm and over his exposed hand as he continued to bleed heavily where he stood.

"Here, let me help." Hank grabbed onto the back of Connor's blood stained hand gently and pulled it outward until he was able to grasp onto the forearm of the android. Watching as Connor used the last of his strength to convert the idle android, his already flashing L.E.D. sped up as he altered the android's program and caused it to be come deviant. "Wake up..." Connor begged between gritted, Thirium stained teeth as his hand fell away and his legs buckled beneath him.

"Connor!" Hank tightened his grip around Connor's arm and waist as he guided the heavily damaged android down to the floor in a controlled manner. The simple effort caused a jolting pain to surge through Connor's chest around the wound and the android continued to groan and wheeze. "Shh, shh!" Hank shushed softly as he tried to soothe the android. "I got you, I got you..."

Kneeling down on the floor Hank supported Conner's body in his arms as the androids life slipped away right before him with every passing second.

"Lieutenant..." Connor gasped as more Thirium leaked from his mouth running in long streams down the sides of his chin and neck.

"Take it easy, don't speak." Hank insisted as he replaced his hand over the bleeding wound in Connor's chest. "You're going to be okay."

"Hank." Connor's eyes became suddenly focused as he gathered his thoughts and found the energy to speak. "I don't blame... blame you. I know why... you hate androids. It wasn't your fault."

"What're you talking about, Connor?"

"Your son."

At those words Hank felt himself grow cold and his heart began to ache in a way he hadn't felt since the night his son had died.

"His name was Cole. And he had just... turned six at the time of the accident." Connor managed to gasp hoarsely. "A truck skidded on... a sheet of ice... and your car rolled over." Connor swallowed again as the Thirium that was collecting his throat continued to build. "Cole needed emergency surgery... but no human doctor was available to do it... So an android had to... take care of him." Connor's eyelids began to droop as he spoke. "Cole didn't make it."

As Connor spoke of Cole's death Hank fought back the tears forming in his eyes.

"You think one of us... is responsible for your son's death." Connor finished as bloodied body began to go limp in Hank's arms. "That's why you hate androids... Why you... hated me."

"No..." Hank's hand moved from between Connor's shoulder blades to Connor's upper arm near his shoulder and squeezed tightly. "Cole died because a human surgeon was too high on 'red ice' to operate. HE was the one who took my son from me."

Connor blinked slowly, his eyes remained partially closed as he began to wheeze pathetically in Hank's arms.

"Him and this fucked up world, where the only way people can find comfort is with a fistful of powder..." Hank's hand lifted upward slightly from the wound, a gush of Thirium escaped from beneath his palm drenched Connor's chest and all over the floor.

The sight of Connor's glowing blue heart struggling to pump while damaged by the bullet sent a chill up Hank's spine. Replacing his hand Hank shook his head as he watched Connor's eyes beginning to close.

"I'm sorry Connor. I spent my time hating androids for something a human was responsible for. Guess it was easier for me to keep doing my job if it was a heartless machine that was responsible instead of a heartless human."

Connor's body suddenly went rigid as he fought to catch a breath. Hank's arms tightened around Connor in an attempt to hold him steady.

"I... I'm sorry..." Connor gasped slowly. "About your... son."

Hank took in a deep breath as Connor's words brought forth a wave of regret.

"No, Connor. I'm sorry. Forgive me."

"Hank... I..."

"Connor, I never hated you!" Hank all but shouted as he watched Connor fading fast. "I was hated the idea of being partnered up with a machine, like it was a sick joke. But I was wrong. I was wrong about you, I was wrong about all androids."

"Thank you... Hank." Connor's eyes drifted shut and his breathing became slow and shallow, his chest shuddering with every pathetic breath he managed to take. His bloodstained hand lifted up briefly from the floor as he tried to put it to Hank's shoulder, but before he could reach his strength failed him entirely and his hand fell back to the floor into a puddle of Thirium. "Good...bye."

"Connor? Connor!" Hank shook Connor lightly in an attempt to get the android to open his eyes. "Wake up, please wake up! Stay with me, son!"

Hank took his hand from the gunshot wound in Connor's chest to pick up Connor's limp hand from the floor, the white plastimetal hand of an android, and held it tightly in his own.

"Connor...? Son?"

The red L.E.D. on Connor's temple blinked slower and slower as the red color faded into nothingness.

"Connor, remember the night at the bridge after we investigate the club? I... I asked you what would happen if you... if you... Well, you're wrong about nothing happening when you... go. There will be something waiting for you." Hank did his best to keep his voice level as he spoke. "You're alive which means you have something inside you making you alive. That almost means there's an afterlife, and when you get there... Look for Cole. You look after him for me until I get there, too. Promise me, alright?"

"...Cole."

Connor's head lolled limply to the side and came to a rest against Hank's chest as his breathing finally stopped. The sound of Hank's own heart pounding was lost to Connor's non-functioning ear as he fell into shutdown in Hank's arms.

"Connor?" Hank looked down at the exposed heart in Connor's chest and saw that it was no longer beating. The blue light from within had been extinguished upon Connor's death. "Son? Wake up..."

Hank squeezed Connor's hand but there was no response. Shaking his head Hank placed Connor's hand down over his chest, his arm resting over his blood soaked abdomen.

"Connor... Wake up."

A smear of a strange dark purple liquid between his and Connor's hands caught Hank's eye. Lifting his hand away from Connor's hand Hank saw that the purple was the result of his red blood on his palm mixing together with Connor's blue blood.

Turning his trembling hand over Hank stared at the purple stain in the center of his palm.

It was painfully quiet as Hank held Connor's body in arms on the bloody floor of the CyberLife Tower. The heavy silence felt palpable, if not eternal for the pained detective until an unfamiliar voice suddenly spoke without provocation.

"Wake up."

Hank looked up from Connor and saw that the android that Connor had attempted to convert moments before had finally awoken.

"Wake up." The android commanded as he and the first android he had converted began to reach out and convert all the thousands of others in a repeating two word chorus.

"Wake up."

"Wake up."

"Wake up."

One by one in rapid sequence the androids became aware of themselves and deviant.

Hank smiled proudly though his eyes reflected defeat. "You did it Connor. You saved them all."

"Wake up."

"Wake up."

"Wake up."

The sight of the androids rousing from their dormancy gave Hank the drive to take Connor from CyberLife and finish what his partner had started. Scooping Connor up into his arms Hank stood up slowly and held his partner's body in his arms as the deviant androids looked to Hank for guidance, recognizing him as an ally and not an enemy.

Outside the abandoned recall camp Markus, North, Josh and Simon all stood together wither pride as their peaceful demonstration had finally proven to the world that androids are in fact a new form of intelligent life that can think, feel and live like any other human. The deviants who had been captured and taken to the camps had been freed and had begun fleeing from the atrocious compound as the army was ordered to stand down.

In the distance the sight of thousands of androids marching in unison from the CyberLife Tower into the Hart Plaza was a hypnotic sight to the media who captured the event, and a sign of a better future for the androids who watched their brethren join them.

Markus walked through the plaza to meet with the approaching androids only to hesitate at the sight of Hank carrying Connor's bloody body in his arms.

"Connor..." Markus openly lamented as he watched his heroically fallen ally being carried back to the plaza. Connor's head was resting against Hank's shoulder as if asleep, but the abundance of blood told Markus that he had shutdown. "No."

Hank stopped as he locked eyes with Markus. What could he say? Connor gave his life to save Hank and to rescue the androids who were now awake, deviant and following him into the plaza.

"What happened?" Markus asked gently as he stood before Hank.

"Took a bullet for me, saved my life." Hank explained calmly as he looked down at Connor's surprisingly peaceful face. "He gave his for mine," Hank gestured to the androids behind him with a nod of his head as he turned. "and for them."

Markus gave Connor a mournful glance as he reached out his hand to Connor's shoulder. "Thank you for bringing him back to us."

"I sure as well wasn't going to just leave him back there." Hank replied sincerely. "He deserves more than just being thrown in the garbage or to be torn apart by CyberLife goons."

Markus nodded with approval as he stepped forward and put his arms under Connor's body and took him out of Hank's arms. "We'll take care of him. I promise."

"Thank you, Markus."

Hank reached out his purple stained for Markus as a sign of goodwill and trust. Markus grabbed onto Hank's hand and the two men shook like respectable and respectful men. A faint smudge of purple was left behind on Markus's hand courtesy of Hank's touch.

North, Josh and Simon joined Markus as Hank let Markus's hand go and stepped back. Turning where he stood Hank took his leave of the plaza to allow the freed androids to express their joy and reunite with one another.

As Hank reluctantly departed he paused just long enough to glance back at Connor over his shoulder one last time before leaving the area.

North looked down at Connor in Markus's arms and gently began running her fingers through his hair. "What're we going to do, Markus?"

Markus stared down at the gaping wound in Connor's chest, stared at the android's exposed stopped heart and at the massive bloodstain on his chest, abdomen and hand. But it was the purple stain on Connor's android hand that held his attention. As he stared at the unusual color Markus then realized he had the same stain on his own hand.

Having lived with Carl, the famous painter and a truly kindhearted father, Markus knew that the color was the result of Connor's blue blood and Hank's red blood mixing together as one.

"North," Markus looked to his lover with a faint smirk on his face as an interesting idea popped into his head. "how many supplies do we have left?"

It was a long, cold night for Hank as he walked the empty Detroit streets in the aftermath of the android revolution. A mandatory evacuation had forced the residents to flee the city in a mass exodus as the army encroached on the deviant androids who refused to back down and demanded their freedom.

All homes were empty. All businesses were closed. All of the streets were empty save for abandoned vehicles and the occasional piece of garbage.

Fresh snow covered every square inch of the city beneath untainted whiteness that seemed symbolic in the dawn of a new era where androids were no longer slaves or second-class citizens, but equals alongside those of humans.

Hank crossed his arms over his chest to stave off the cold as he found himself standing outside the closed down curbside diner that he frequented while on the job. It was a strange feeling, being the only human in the entire city, but it somehow felt comforting.

There was a lightness in the air. No more oppression or anger. No violence or discrimination. No sirens blaring or people shouting.

It just felt peaceful.

Standing alone on the sidewalk Hank stared thoughtfully down the streets enjoying the overall stillness of the moment. A few rogue snowflakes fell from the sky and drifted aimlessly in the gentle breeze about the lone human.

A soft crunch of snow from the sidewalk behind drew his attention toward the sound. As Hank turned his gaze his eyes lit up with recognition and relief at the sight of a friend walking toward him. As soon as the two locked eyes both men froze in their tracks and just stared in a fog of awe and uncertainty for a brief moment.

Connor.

The damaged biocomponent that had caused him to shutdown had replaced by Markus and the supplies stowed away by those who survived the slaughter aboard Jericho.

Hank didn't say a word, he only smiled at the sight of the android who had returned from the dead and had sought him out.

Connor reciprocated the smile as he resumed walking and stood before Hank, who quickly reached out an arm and gripped Connor's shoulders in a tight hug pulling the android up against his shoulder.

As Connor wrapped his own arm around Hank the duo enjoyed their reunion in mutual silence and gratitude as the snow continued to fall in delicate flakes all around them where they stood.

It was finally all over.

"Cole says he loves you..."

-The End-