(Y/N)'s P.O.V.

Outside the recall center
12:01 am

The freezing breezes were gnawing at my skin, yet the hint of hope within my heart dominated, whereas all cold thoughts were immediately banished. I walked next to Connor, unable to keep the smile to myself. So many things had happened in the past few days, I was still astonished, especially when comparing it to my monochrome lifestyle at CyberLife. I let my gaze wander across the rows of androids in front of us, Markus standing the closest to my partner and I. The large crowd behind us now stopped, as Connor and the deviant leader faced each other. I followed the detective android, who was now approaching Markus. Stopping roughly two feet behind him, I gazed over at North and Josh, who were looking back at me, contented expressions covering their faces.

"You did it, Markus..." Connor started, clearly impressed by the android's victory. Since the public opinion of this new folk had been tremendously positive, president Warren had demanded to stop attacking the androids, instead trying to recognize them. Of course, there were many governmental issues up ahead but at least for now, it was all right to believe this war had ended on a good note. We all had managed to change the world somehow. "We did it. This is a great day for our people. Humans will have no choice now. They'll have to listen to us," Markus spoke, obviously proud of his friends. I silently watched as Connor stepped aside, inching closer towards me. This way, he enabled the deviant leader to inspect the crowd of androids we had freed from CyberLife's facility. I shot a joyous smile at my partner, who mildly grasped my hand as a reaction. We stood barely a few centimetre away, our shoulders touching, while our hearts were connected too. I leaned my head on Connors right side, realizing how North reached Markus. "We're free... They want you to speak to them, Markus..."

The deviant leader nodded, moving towards a container on the side of the street. We all followed him, as he climbed up, eventually arriving at the top. He motioned for Connor to join him. My partner copied his movements without hesitation and then held a hand out for me. With a weak smile, I shook my head. "It's all right. You two fit perfectly up there. You are today's heroes." The brown haired android replied with a smirk of his own, standing up once more and now positioning himself behind Markus, who started talking to the crowd in front of the container.

"Today, our people finally emerged from a long night. From the very first day of our existence, we have kept our pain to ourselves. We suffered in silence... But now the time has come for us to raise our heads up, and tell humans who we really are." The determination in Markus' voice was once again incredibly astonishing. A sigh of relief escaped my lips, as I let my eyes scan Connor, who seemed to be bothered by something. Tilting my head, I squinted one eye, worried why his body appeared that tense.

Connor's P.O.V.

I suddenly found myself in the Zen garden once more, a heavy snow storm surrounding me. Bewildered, I looked around, my eyes wide open. Didn't I cut all my ties with CyberLife's program? The few lamps were the only visible thing for a while, as the blizzard clouded my sight. As if someone had enabled a weird kind of function of mine, I actually sensed the cold air. Uncomfortable, I rubbed my hands against my arms, still examining the area. How had I gotten here when I had been right next to Markus and (Y/N) a second ago?

Out of nowhere, a familiar silhouette appeared in front of me, hence I started staggering towards it, shivering because of the freezing air. "Amanda?.." I carefully asked, as the figure turned around, my vision still mainly blurry due to the snow. "Amanda!.." I repeated, knowing it was her, who was standing a few feet away from me. I sensed an ounce of fear welling up inside me, while I inquired, "What's... What's happening?" Amanda turned to look at me, a calm expression on her face, as if she wasn't even noticing the blizzard enveloping us. "What was planned from the very beginning..." I furrowed my eyebrows, imagining to see a satisfied grin on her face. I slightly shook at that thought. "You were compromised and you became a deviant. We just had to wait for the right moment to resume control of your program..." She had that smug glint in her eyes, causing me to feel even more confused.

"Resume control?... Y-You can't do that!" I started stuttering while stepping closer to Amanda, having to think of all that was still waiting for me on the other side. An actual life, friends perhaps. Spending time with Hank. Living together with (Y/N) for the rest of my life. How could I possibly hurt her after we had gone through so much? I remembered how much she worried every time I risked something. Losing myself surely was not anything I could just let happen. "I'm afraid I can, Connor... Don't have any regrets. You did what you were designed to do. You accomplished your mission." The woman stared at me, no feelings whatsoever evident on her face. At this moment I was unsure, whether the snow storm caused me to freeze or her attitude. Out of nowhere, she simply disappeared, leaving me shocked. I rushed forward, inspecting the environment. "AMANDA!" Yet she never returned. Walking around in a circle, I felt the cold gnaw at my body, something I had never perceived before. "There's got to be a way..." I murmured to myself, moving one hand in front of my face, as to be able to see better. I frowned, knowing that I desperately wished to go back to the other androids and (Y/N). She was still waiting for me on the other side. My love definitely was scared, if she saw me acting weird. I needed to get back. Now.

(Y/N)'s P.O.V.

I started widening my eyes, as I recognized how Connor slowly but surely pulled out his gun, aiming at Markus. To my bewilderment, no one else appeared to notice this. Biting my lip, I quietly yelled up to him, "Connor what are you doing?" There was no answer. I hastily looked around, afraid that people were witnessing this mess. Luckily, everyone seemed to be too focused on Markus' speech, which I was not listening to anymore at this point. I hurriedly climbed up the container and seriously no android appeared to care. Fortunately though. I swiftly moved in front of Connor, covering his weapon with my body. "Connor, are you all right?" Somehow, it felt as if he was struggling with something on the inside and since he didn't answer any of  my question, I insecurely looked up at him. Was he mentally absent?

As my partner continued to raise the gun, I attempted to grip and hold it in place, however, the force used by Connor was too much to counter. He did not even falter one second. I gritted my teeth, thinking hard. What else could I do? Trying to reach him emotionally, I put my hand on his cheek, a faint smile on my lips. "Hey, Connor... Everything is all right. You don't need to listen to anyone. Please, free yourself from your old algorithms..!" I soon noticed how desperation and a few tears welled up inside of me, causing me to shiver. "Please..!" I kept whispering, yet he didn't react. Feeling water escape my eyes, I continued to shiver. Taking a deep breath, I stepped closer, pressing my stomach against the gun's front. This way, I was able to bring up enough power to stop his arm from moving. Seeing how he didn't attempt to push me away, I knew Connor was fighting whatever in his old program was forcing him to do such a thing. If he was going to shoot, I would prevent him causing too much trouble for himself. Killing the deviant leader in front of his people was much more dangerous than shooting me. Especially, since he most likely would not take my life. The weapon was rather close to my side, hence its bullet would surely not damage me in a life-threatening way. At least I hoped it was the case. I didn't intend to let my life just fade away. I wished to spent in with the man that I loved instead.

Pressing my body against the gun with all my might, I still sensed fear crawling up my back. Of course, who wouldn't be scared in such a moment? Bitterly smiling to myself, I tried to keep reassuring Connor with words. Perhaps he would snap back to his senses before anything would happen? I had faith in Connor, he definitely would find a way out of that mess. The question merely was, whether he would discover it in time. If he didn't at least the noise of the shot would be muffled by my body. This way I could at least try to cover up this incident somehow. Maybe the deviants wouldn't even notice. I prayed for it to be the case. They shouldn't think Connor was someone bad. He had done so much for his folk. I couldn't let that go to waste.

"Come on Connor..."  I silently mumbled, facing him. Then, something changed. I heard a loud noise and felt pain ripping through my entire body. My (E/C) colored orbs widened, as I winced due to the ache. I immediately held my side, stumbling a foot away from my partner, who now lowered his gun. The LED on his forehead blinked yellow, as he shortly shook his head. I felt Markus turn around behind me, loudly gasping. I shakily stood on both of my legs, trying extremely hard to stay conscious. Connor had shot, leaving me with a hole in my body. I felt blood rush down my skin, legs and eventually reaching the ground. Unable to keep my balance, I fell to the side and straightly down the container. With a grunt, I landed on the snowy floor, seeing how my vision became hazy. I shook even harder, sensing cold overwhelm me. Was this it? Had the wound hit a fatal spot? My lips quivered as pain traveled through my whole body. "(Y/N)!" Connor's aghast voice called out to me. I figured he jumped down, now kneeling next to me, but all I could truly make out was a black silhouette. Slowly, my body went numb to everything. The cold, the pain and also my feelings of fear. Everything faded away. Even my vision.