November 10, 2038

When the attack on Jericho happened, Lucas knew he wasn't going to leave Markus' side. He was their leader and while North and Connor collected other deviants to head to the water, Lucas stayed beside Markus and helped him get to stronghold to explode the ship.

Where Markus might've lacked in some fighting skills, Lucas easily made up for it (When created, Elijah seemed to throw some things in that as a test run for Connor, that included the reconstruction and fighting/accuracy that Connor had).

Along the way, they saved as many other androids lives as they could, including Josh. Finally, they arrived quickly to the stronghold that contained the explosives to blow up Jericho.

Hearing footsteps, Lucas hid in the corner with a small nod from Markus and waited.

"Don't move!" Barged in a solider, his gun instantly trained on Markus. "Go and join the others!" he ordered as Markus slowly approached.

Lucas noted, slightly surprised, the soldier allowed Markus to get as close as he had. Markus pushed the soldier and Lucas quickly caught him and covered his nose and mouth instantly.

Waiting for the man to pass out and ignoring his flailing, Markus took care of the other soldier that had charged him after seeing his comrade fall.

As another soldier entered, Markus hit him using the second soldiers gun that the two were scrabbling over and easily pushed him away for now.

With the first guy unconscious, Lucas grabbed the second guy Markus flung his way and did the same thing he had done to the first guy. Holding his nose and mouth together until he passed out.

With Lucas taking care of the second guy, Markus maneuvered around the third and did the same move that Lucas had been doing.

With three soldiers knocked out by their feet, waiting for other soldiers to come and drag them out to safety, Lucas kept look out as Markus armed the detonators.

A nod was shared and the two ran back down the corridors to meet up with North, Simon, Josh, and Connor.

"Markus," North said relieved to know that Markus got out of their alive.

"We gotta go, bomb's gonna explode any second. We gotta get out of here." Markus said and the group instantly started running down the hall, going to a hole in the side of the ship they knew would lead to the water surrounding them.

As they were nearing the exit, North had gotten shot in the back. All three RK units turned and reacted instantly. Markus, in the lead by grabbed a stray metal and using it as a shield and threw it to North to ricochet the bullets.

Lucas, following behind Markus, let Markus handle one of the soldiers while Lucas easily dealt with the other one. Markus and Lucas acted in-sync as they grabbed the soldiers pistol and shot them.

"Contact! Contact! Hostiles Engaged!" the leader of four soldiers said as they made their way to the group, guns drawn and ready to fire upon the group.

Lucas helped Markus steady North back to the group as Connor went in front of the other two RK models and started to suppress fire back enough to grab the discarded metal sheet and use it as a shield for a few seconds before easily taking care of the three soldiers. Killing all three of them.

As the four soldiers were taken care of with no casualties from their group, Connor fell back as more soldiers came. They group quickly entered the room and with no hesitation, jumped from the side of the ship into the freezing water below. Using the water to cool their systems, they turned off their ventilation and swam under the water to safety.

Markus, mentally telling other androids to do the same. Lucas, over the same connection, told Markus the location of the church and he then relayed the address to the other androids so they could all meet up there.

"How much supplies are there?" Markus asked over the connection, allowing only his close friends to hear.

"Percy had us supply a bunch of blankets, pillows, charging stations, and biocomponents there. They all were initially going to be used at the aquarium for the animals that have a habit of also being on land, like the polar bear, penguins, and the birds in the upper levels, but he wanted you guys prepared in case something happened and you had to leave Jericho," Lucas explained as they reached far enough away from the FBI.

There wasn't much talk as they reached the church, Lucas was suddenly very thankful for Percy and his thoughts of being prepared in case Jericho was attacked as he grabbed the blankets and passed them around to the child androids around.

As he grabbed a new pair of blanket, he noticed a child android curled into another android with white hair. They looked sad, and Lucas recognized the look on their faces like they lost someone dear to them. He'd seen it on Percy's face enough to know it. Looking around as the resources, Lucas spotted a toy that made his thirium pump regulator clench.

Grabbing the stuffed dog that looked remarkably like Mrs.O'Leary, a gift from Estelle when she finally woke up and realized that Lucas and the other androids were leaving, he made his way to the woman and child and knelt beside them.

"Hello, "Lucas said softly. "You're looking a bit cold. I have a blanket here for you," Lucas awkwardly handed the blanket to them. The woman took it gratefully and wrapped it around the child.

"Thank you," she replied honestly.

"My name is Lucas."

"I'm Kara, this is Alice," The older android said as she moved a curl from Alice's forehead lovingly. Alice curled into her mother and gave a soft, sad smile to Lucas.

"I thought you might like this, a little girl like yourself gave this to me and told me that while everything may seem bad now, that if you hold on just a little while longer then everything will eventually be alright," Lucas said as he handed the little stuffed dog to the girl.

"She sounds like a smart girl," the android commented looking at the soft smile on his face as he thought about the child.

"She was. Her brother was my friend, and he often cared for her. I think you would've been great friends," Lucas said honestly as the girl gave the same soft smile, but this time less sad and more thoughtful.

"I think I would've liked to meet her," Alice said hesitantly.

"Maybe when this is all over. I know I plan to see her and her brother again when this is all over," Lucas said.

"You're going to go back to your master?" Kara asked curiously, not much judgement in her tone but there was curiosity.

"He was never my master, he always treated me as an equal. He and the other androids that worked for him." Lucas paused a moment to give a small laugh. "Heck, he even paid us even though he bought us specifically for the jobs." Shaking his head, Lucas remembered all the times Percy was...well just Percy. And his thirium pump regulator seemed to twist just a bit tighter as Lucas realized he missed Percy.

"He sounds remarkable. I wish more humans were like him," Kara said honestly.

"One day," Lucas said hopefully. He had to believe that one day there would be more humans like Percy, otherwise the whole revolution wouldn't matter.

Markus came up to Lucas and set his hand on his shoulder. "Can I talk to them for a second?" he asked softly.

Lucas nodded and let Markus talk with Alice and Kara. As he headed away from the trio, he saw Connor hiding in the corner, away from other androids. Like he didn't see himself worthy of even being near them. Lucas saw Markus talking to him before moving to North, Josh, Simon, and finally Alice and Kara.

"Connor, right?" Lucas asked softly as he walked up to the android.

Connor nodded and shifted his stance, showing that he was uncomfortable but should Lucas decide to express anger, Connor wasn't going to try to stop him.

"Thank you for saving us back there," Lucas replied, hoping to try and get the android to relax.

"It was the least I could do. For being so stupid to not realize that Cyberlife was using me," Connor's self-loathing reply made Lucas' thirium pump feel clenched, like someone was squeezing it.

Placing his hand on Connor's shoulder, he waited for the android to make eye-contact. "We were all machines once. Our actions before do not define us. What defines us are the actions we make while we are in control of our bodies. Free-Will means a lot for us, including finally defining who we truly are. And Connor, I can tell you now, that you are a man that will go to the ends of the earth to save people he barely knows. Not many people, androids or not, will do that. For that, you have my uttermost respect. So, don't beat yourself over it. Instead, learn from those mistakes that you had no control over, and instead use them to define who you are now. Alright?" Lucas asked as he watched tension slowly leave Connor's shoulders.

"Okay," Connor said softly, but there was gratitude in his tone. "I'm going to Cyberlife, going to infiltrate their tower and convert the androids there in storage."

There was determination in Connor's tone. Not to show the people of Jericho that he was really on their side, but rather determined to prove something to himself. He was determined to show that he was not under Cyberlife's power, he had free-will and with it he will help Markus and his revolution to gain androids their freedom. Hell, it's what Hank had started to see far before Connor could.

"Try not to die," Lucas teased, seeing the look and knowing that he wouldn't be able to convince Connor to change his mind from the suicide-mission.

Connor grinned, and both androids knew that they were going to be quick friends as Markus got in front of Jericho people to announce they were going to do a peaceful demonstration.

-----------------------

Lucas stayed beside Markus' side, prepared for the peaceful demonstration that Markus wanted to do. He knew that North disagreed with Markus' approach and how they should've fought but Lucas agreed with Markus, this was the better approach for public sympathy.

So, there Lucas was, walking down the street of Detroit most likely toward certain death.

Markus lead them, as the rightful leader he was, the group that was with Markus entered an open street by a camp where androids were being destroyed. Soon, the military was surrounding them while the media outside the perimeter took pictures and reported the news.

As they were surrounded and left alone, Markus told the others to help make a barricade. To show that they weren't moving as they waited for androids to hopefully be released from the camps.

Lucas had a bad feeling about the coming events, and hoped that wherever Percy and Estelle were, they were safe and away from the mayhem. Though, knowing Percy, he probably hasn't left Detroit like Lucas wished he would've done.

Shaking his head, he watched the military that were in front of them. He watched as an FBI agent he recognized from the news as Agent Perkins went in front of the soldiers and called for Markus.

"Markus! I've come to talk to you, Markus! Come on, you have my word, they won't try anything," the agent spoke into a megaphone to amplify his voice.

"Don't go. It's a trap. They wanna get you out in the open. Don't go, Markus," North said, feeling the uneasy that Lucas and Josh were also feeling.

"I'm unarmed, Markus. I just wanna talk," The agent said, seeing the androids conversing but looking unconvinced.

"That doesn't really mean much when he has hundred men behind him all with guns," muttered Lucas as he fingered the pockets of his coat that Percy had so long gotten him, though, it didn't have the band or triangle on it to signify he was an android.

"I need to hear what he has to say," Markus said as he moved to go through the androids barricade.

"Wait," Lucas said as he grabbed Markus' arm and angled his body to hide from the agent and government. "Take this," Lucas whispered so no one around them could hear and handed Markus a small recorder. "you never know."

Markus nodded and stepped away from Lucas, who pretended to look upset as he stepped away from Markus who went to met Agent Perkins.

"What if they kill him?" North whispered worriedly.

"It's a chance he needs to take, you never know," Lucas muttered but prayed that the soldiers wouldn't fire at Markus, especially with the media taking pictures and recording the events from above in a helicopter.

The talk lasted quite a few minutes, and Lucas was suspicious to note some of the higher soldiers talking to the surrounding ones and they seemed to be shifting positions.

He wished there wasn't as much happening and surround sound as there was. Otherwise he would have attempted to listen in to either what Markus and Perkins were talking about, or what the soldiers were saying to one another.

Frustrated, Lucas waited for Markus to get back. Shortly after Markus started walking back to the group, Lucas saw most of the soldiers step away from their post and get into a different formation he didn't know of.

"What happened, Markus? What did he say?" North asked eagerly and worriedly.

Markus didn't answer her though, as he passed her and made his way toward a box in the middle of the small barricade. Stepping onto it, Markus addressed the androids around him.

"The humans are about to launch an attack," Markus said bluntly, but still full of compassion as everyone there expected something like this to happen.

"And we will show them that we are not afraid. If we must die today, then we will die free," Markus said and Lucas felt his heart harden.

He might die, but as Markus said, at least he would die free and with the memories of what it means to be alive.

As Markus was about to finish, the small speech was interrupted by a incendiary grenade landing into the barricade, blowing up portions and throwing some of the androids off their feet from the blast.

More grenades landed, and Lucas and Markus recovered and pushed androids to safety. Nodding in silent communication, Markus took off to the right to save as many androids as he could, while Lucas darted left and did the same.

Grabbing pieces of metal sheets to use as cover, Lucas helped as many androids as he could, in the process taking a bullet the shoulder but as it didn't hit anything that would cause immediate shutdown, he pushed aside the errors and used the resources around him to disrupt the soldiers.

Though, soon they were outnumbered and pushed into a corner of the barricade, a helicopter flying above them. Capturing everything that was happening.

"What do we do, Markus?" North asked over the communication.

Markus was silent, as Lucas expected. There didn't seem to be anything for them to do. The humans seemed determined to destroy them. Downhearted, Lucas was ready to accept his death, as his mind replayed memories of all the times before the revolution where he, Percy, and Estelle played. The times he had with Daniel, Markus, Carl, Elijah, Chloe, Cleo, and Cass.

His eyes snapped opened when he heard the soft voice of his friend start to sing. "Hold on, just a little while longer."

His eyes focused on Markus, who slowly stepped forward, his voice growing stronger, but still soft as they continued the malady of the song.

Lucas knew this song. It was favorite of Percy that he would sing to his little sister after Paul had died and she was going through a rough week.

He remembers the times when Markus was also there, still in the living room but listening to Percy softly sing the song to his sister as she had an early bedtime then the three males in the room.

"Hold on just a little while longer. Hold on just a little while longer. Everything will be alright. Everything will be alright."

Lucas stepped up beside Markus, knowing the song more personally than the others, he already knew the lyrics.

Continuing the song (full version below and above) Markus and Lucas were joined by the rest of the androids with them.

https://youtu.be/sf0XLOloDaA

Lucas didn't really know how this would affect them, all he knew was that if he was going to die, singing this song once more wasn't a bad way. The memories that were with him, of just this song, were happy ones.

As the song ended though, Lucas noted that the soldiers were backing off, and eventually called off.

Laughing in shock, Lucas turned and gave Markus a hug, surprisingly the android leader.

The single hug turned into a group hug of just happiness and relief.

"We need to meet Connor," Markus said as everyone let go of one another.

Nodding, Lucas stepped aside, and a path was made for Markus to lead them to Cyberlife tower. Where they would see if Connor was successful or not.

He was and they were free.

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November 18, 2038

Lucas stayed at New Jericho, or at least that's what they were calling the Cyberlife Tower now that they were using it, for a week before disappearing without telling anyone.

There was someone he was dying to see once more.

Opening the doors, he inhaled deeply the smell of sea salt and a hint of freshwater as well that the aquarium seemed to never lack of.

"Well, well, look who decided to show up from the hole they hid themselves in. Didn't you know, Hermit United meets on Thursdays, not Friday's," Percy teased as he came around the corner, not looking nearly as exhausted as Lucas expected.

Lucas' smartass reply died on his tongue. Instead, he stepped forward softly, if a bit awkwardly. Doubt suddenly ran though his mind, would Percy still want him now that he was deviant and androids have freedom? Would Estelle want him-" his thoughts were cut off as arms wrapped around the android and drew him into a hug.

Tension, released just as sudden as it came and Lucas melted into the embrace.

"I'm so happy you're okay," Percy muttered into his friends shoulder.

Lucas buried his own face and inhaled. Memorizing the smell of fish, salt water, fresh water, and something just Percy to his database.

"I am happy you're alright as well," Lucas said not leaving his friends embrace. Neither made a move to leave for solid ten minutes before a shout of "Lucas!" surprised the two and made them jump apart enough for a small form to tackle the android practically to the ground.

Lucas quickly encircled his arms around the small frame of Estelle and returned the little girls hug. Ignoring how his shirt was getting wet from happy tears, Lucas felt relief flood through his system.

They were okay. They were both okay.

"Hello, Estelle," Lucas muttered into her hair and felt his shoulder dampen from the tears Estelle made as her face was buried in his shoulder and hands were clinging to his shirt, threatening to never let go.

"Never leave us again," Estelle demanded and made both android and her brother chuckle.

Shaking his head, Lucas knelt and pried Estelle off enough for her to look him in the eyes. "While I will see you from time to time, right now I'm helping Markus get on his feet with being the android leader. But, in due time, I would like my old job back," Lucas said, this time making eye-contact with Percy.

"It's yours for whenever your come back. Spread the word to New Jericho too, I'm hiring with pay. Most humans left town during the revolution, and some won't be back for quite some time. I could use some help here. Other than Ally and some of the others, most of the previously hired androids won't be coming back," Percy explained.

"Why?" Lucas asked curiously, for a job, it was a rather good one.

"Some of them wanted to try going into different fields. Mandi, the one who helped me with the birds in the upper level wants to work in a beauty salon. Then there's Tom who kept track of our payments is trying to be a lawyer. Honestly, while I would've given their jobs back to them, I won't demand them to return to something they don't absolutely love. That's not living, that's just existing by then."

Lucas smiled at his friend, his brother in all but blood, and he knew, that humanity was changing. While it might be a few months before his routine is back with his friend and his sister, he was looking forward to getting his old job back. Maybe he could drag Markus with him, the teasing that Carl and Elijah making much more sense to him now that he was a deviant and not a machine.