April 5, 2038

Percy found after actually having rest, that Carl was really nice person. He enjoyed the old man's company. Though if he had to be honest, he enjoyed talking to Markus just a bit more.

The android wasn't like other ones he's met before. The stoic, I have no opinions I am a machine, type of attitude wasn't fully present. Sure, he would respond sometimes if you question him about certain topics, but at the same time there was also the case where he would state his opinion.

It fascinated Percy, more often than not, if he just wanted to talk to someone that wasn't Lucas, he would call Markus. Mostly because the android rarely goes into rest mode, but even when he does, he always answers the call and will continue to talk for however long Percy needed.

Though the night calls had dwindled as the aquarium was finally up and running. Surprisingly very smoothly, people seemed fascinated with the android and non-android aquatic animals.

With things going smoothly, Percy finally got back into the habit of playing basketball in the mornings with his cousins and their friends. It was a routine that he had to pause while the aquarium was being set up.

It shouldn't have surprised Percy that something would go wrong, because something usually does if something good is happening to him.

Which was how he somehow ended up alone in the aquarium (though he knew Lucas was someone in storage taking stock), getting ready to lock the place and make his way to his apartment with Lucas during the windstorm, that the Cyberlife van in front of him tipped over and crashed to the side of the road.

With the windstorm, most power had been knocked out and cell phones barely had any reception on them. So, with no one to call to, Percy rushed to the side of the van and pulled open the back doors.

Inside shocked the hell out of him, there were three males, two females, and one child android in the back. The child seemed the most damaged, as his legs looked mangled and in need of replacement.

"What the fuck?" Percy asked surprised, the three male androids instantly looked ready to fight and Percy quickly threw his hands in the air to show he was peaceful.

"Woah, it's alright. I can help, what's going on?" Percy asked as he slowly knelt beside a woman android holding the child android.

"Cyberlife collected us, we're being taken to be dismantled. Please, you have to help us," one of the two black android there pleaded.

Feeling his heartstrings pulled and a protectiveness surge inside him, Percy nodded slightly and placed a hand on the child's forehead. The android seemed to be running too hot, like his thermal regulator was malfunctioning and causing the child to overheat.

"Come inside, I can care for you there," Percy said as he helped the woman up. "What are your names if they're registered?"

"My name is Josh," the black android that spoke earlier said. "This is Simon, and that's Luther and Jacob," Josh said as he introduced the other two male adults and then the child.

"My name is Percy. Let's get out of the windstorm. Wanna explain to me why Cyberlife was going to decommission you?"

The group seemed hesitant but Simon took the lead. "We broke through our coding. We're...we're alive."

Percy stared at the android in front of him, astonished and a brief moment of excitement filled him but he quickly pushed it away. Now was not the time for curiosity and questions, the child android needed his help and he will do his best.

Nodding, Percy lead them into the aquarium where the lights were still off. "Shall I call the police, Percy?" Lucas suddenly spoke, scaring the group of androids but Percy hardly flinched as he placed his hand on the android child's chest, feeling the thirium pump and how it faltered every now and again.

"No, Lucas. They're friends. What I need from you though is to scan this child android here and tell me what's wrong," Percy said as he picked up and placed the child on the reception desk.

Lucas looked from Percy to the group, his hazel eyes seeming to scan them as if he tried to see if they were really a threat or not. He seemed to deem them trustworthy as his gaze landed on the child android being taken care of by Percy.

"His Thirium Pump has a small leak that will need replacing, because of the leak, the thermal regulator has worked overtime to try and keep it's system functional due to the irregular beat of the pump. I suggest either fixing the leak or replacing the unit. His legs are damaged and will need replacing, he has lost a pint of Thirium."

Percy nodded his head as he shook off his coat and placed it under the child's head. "Alright, I can work with that. Go down to storage and see if there are any replacement Thirium Pump's that are compatible with the child. Then grab one of the pints of Thirium we store in case the animals get cut and bring both here. I don't think I can do anything about the legs because we keep components for aquatic android animals, not human androids," the last part of was shot to Simon who nodded his head sadly.

"Just do what you can, we'll figure something out eventually," Simon said softly as his hand curled through the child's chocolate brown hair and Percy saw the child relax mutely.

Even though he seemed to have passed out long ago, Percy was surprised that the action seemed to calm the alive android.

As Lucas left, Percy quickly disappeared quickly to his office to grab a box of latex gloves, he didn't feel like tracking anything accidentally into the child's system when he went to change the regulator.

As he made his way back, he saw Simon, Josh, and Luther whispering to one another. Luther, the largest android there, seemed determined about something.

"I want to check it out, to see if the android was telling the truth. You stay here, if I am not back within 48 hours leave me. I do not want anyone else following in case it is a trap," Luther said passionately.

While it seemed like Josh disagreed with Luther's plan, Simon put a hand on his shoulder and inclined his head toward Luther. "If you feel like you must, then we will allow you to go. You are your own person. If the person there can actually help, then let us know. Don't take any risks that aren't worth it, alright," Simon said softly.

Percy watched from the hallway as Luther nodded his head. "If you're going somewhere, you might need a taxi," he finally spoke and watched as the three androids jumped.

Luther didn't agree nor disagree, but he seemed more hesitant about saying anything in return. "You can charge it to me. I have enough money that wherever you need to go in detroit then it will cover it."

"That would be too much, I'm sure we can find a way there without taking your money," Josh argued as he shifted uncomfortably.

"You're not taking my money. In truth, the money you're going to be using is from an account I don't use. You're welcomed to use it, I never touched the money there. I'm sure if you find more alive androids you'll need supplies. Please, just take it," Percy said as he fumbled for his wallet and held out a credit card.

"Why would you have a card that you don't use?" Simon asked as he reluctantly grabbed it.

"My father gave it to me when I was 16, but truthfully, I never really wanted anything to do with him since I was 12. The money he deposits there as some sort of guilt conscious I never touched, not even when I went to college. My family has made more than enough by that time, especially with my mother's books. I'll be glad to not see those funds again." Percy explained and hoped they didn't question him more.

In truth, his father Poseidon had left his mother when he found out she was pregnant. Terrified what his wife would think, Percy never heard from his father until his uncle found out one day and barged into Percy and his mother's house demanding about some sort of heirloom of his that Percy must've stolen.

There he met Poseidon and let's just say, Percy never really forgave the man for abandoning his mother, as a result, when Poseidon gave Percy the credit card that had the year's statistic about how much money it would take to raise a child, Percy kept the card but never used it. It was loaded with money that was still being deposited to this day, but Percy stubbornly refused to touch any of it.

"Are you sure?" Simon asked once more, his hand reaching for the card. Less hesitation then initially as he saw that Percy didn't want the card.

"Keep it," Percy said sincerely.

By that time, Lucas had returned with the replacement pump and a pint of Thirium. "Alright, let's do this," Percy said to no one in particular.

Happy that he actually took the tests regarding how to change out android parts (mostly because he didn't quite trust others to work on his animals) he quickly and effectively changed out the pump and got the blue blood into the child's body quickly.

"You should feel a decrease in temperature in approximately three hours as his body accepts the replacement part. Though, it should be warned that around early November, the part may start to fail. It was meant for a penguin, but is compatible for an android child enough to give them a few months for a proper replacement," Lucas spoke to Simon and Josh, as Luther seemed to have taken the taxi, he paid first and then left the credit card to Simon and Josh.

"Understood. I can't thank you two enough," Simon spoke as he shook Percy's hand.

"It's no problem. Do you have any idea where you will go?"

"None, until Luther gets back, I don't think we'll be able to make it across the border. We'll have to find some sort of place to hide. One that will last a few months if need be."

Percy thought about all the places he knew abandoned over the years in Detroit. Houses wouldn't really work, with the large group that was there, it would surely grab some peoples attention if they left every now and again. But what about a place that would be abandoned that no one would venture to.

A lightbulb went off inside his head. "There might be a place, it's an old ship that was put into the bay because of newer advance models. It's an old crater ship, called Jericho I believe. I can take you to the train station and show you the back-way of getting to the ship if you want. I use to head there when I wanted alone time to study when I was in college. It gets pretty dark there though, so I would bring some flashlights."

Simon seemed to think about it for a few moments before nodding. "I think that would work out well, when would you like to departure?"

"The wind is starting to die down, want to go now or later after the Jacob got better?"

"Now would be for the best I think, that way we can quickly get Jacob there and don't have to worry about anyone finding us tomorrow. Assuming you open tomorrow?"

"I do, alright, I'll grab my spare coat and we can get going."

"I would like to bring Josh though, get his opinion."

"That would be fine."

Percy put Lucas in charge of the group and to text him if there was any change in Jacob, including his temperature lowering and waking up. With that, Simon. Josh, and Percy quickly left the group and made their way to Jericho.

Getting on the train was easy, most people thought that Simon was with him and that Josh was heading back to a teaching post.

They did have to take the stairs though, and while part of Percy also wanted to take the actual stairs, he didn't want to attract attention so he went on the escalator and forced himself to actually ride it.

Drawing attention now wouldn't be of much benefit, so they had to fit in. Which meant trying to act like everyone else. Percy hated it in total, he enjoyed using the stairs mostly because of the games he and his cousins use to play. Racing down and up them to see who had the faster time, and he hated just standing still in one place.

As they finally exited the station, they made their way through the streets before Percy spotted the three robot graffiti he used as a guide marker.

From there, he used the parkour-skills he developed for fun when he was fifteen with his cousins and helped Simon and Josh through the obstacles in their way. Entering the abandoned rundown building to the side of Jericho, the small group finally met with the massive container ship.

"This is Jericho. While I mostly hanged out on the bottom of the ship, which has one of the entrances, I figure you guys can explore the rest of it. Sleeping quarters are through the second and third floors. Basically, it's a cargo ship, you should be fine. Will this do for a hide-out? Lots of rooms and darkness to cover your tracks."

"This is perfect, thank you Percy. And the graffiti along the way will help people when we give them the location to other alive androids with a bit of tweaking. Thank you so much for your help," Simon said.

"You guys are alive," Percy said as he looked toward the two androids in front of him, "and you deserve to live in peace. I hope you can find that peace here, in Detroit or somewhere in the world, it might not seem like it now. But I think in the coming months, the world will know that you are alive and deserve peace that hasn't been given to you."

"Thank you, Percy. You are a friend of androids," Josh said, his LED whirling yellow.

Unknown to Percy, the two friends had seen a tattoo hidden underneath his sleeve that held the letter rA9, while they didn't know what it meant, they knew they would spread the word. rA9 would save deviants. As a result, a small side note was added to the side of Percy's face, should anyone scan him as a deviant. In that note, held rA9--first android friend and savor.

What they didn't know, was after that day. Any deviant that randomly saw a face in the crowd, would see rA9 and first android, friend, and savor like there were suppose to be commas in place. They would think that rA9 was the first. rA9 was their savior. rA9 is the one who'll free them. The words would spread, the compulsive need to tell themselves that rA9 would save them would become written down, to make it seem more true.

"And now you have a friend in a human. Anytime you need my help, just find me," Percy said earnestly as the small group started to make their way back the way they came.

It was time for the group of deviants, to settle down and hide someone that no human would think of looking.

"If you see anymore alive androids, you know where to point them, we will leave the clues with Lucas so that if they find you, he can interface with them and send them the location of Jericho."

"Sounds like a plan, don't forget that if you need anything, I can try to help. I am a human, I can go places where you might not be able to go. Alright? Just keep it in mind." Percy said as the group of three made it back to the aquarium.

By then, it was dark outside and Percy was starting to feel exhaustion creep up into him. "Thank you, once more Percy. For all of your help," Simon said as Josh entered to check on Jacob.

"You're welcome. Any more androids I find that are like you guys, they're find you." Percy spoke as the two new friends shook hands.

That night, Percy watched as the first set of deviants he has helped left to start the new home that they would be hiding out in. He just didn't know that he would be helping more deviants as the months go by.