gotosleep_idiot | September & October Test Drive

“Two months?” Special things? What the fuck? Hank’s brow knits and his eyes look between Connor and pooch-ya-whatever. He swallows and then lifts his arms and grabs Connor’s arms. Yeah, he’s real. Hank pulls him in and embraces him tightly. “Listen to me… I think I’ve finally had enough.. I think I’m senile.. I must be downtown Detroit or some shit, yet.. eh, hehe.” He laughs with an unstable sound. “I don’t know what the fuck is going on here.”

Oh.

Oh, this is another hug.

Connor is stiff. He doesn't know how to react to them. He's gotten better with Miguel, and Hector has done it before, but Hank hasn't and he doesn't know what he's supposed to do.

I̸t̵ ̵f̷e̵e̸l̵s̷ ̷n̷i̸c̴e̴.̵

He should. Pat Hank's back because he can reach that. And it should be reassuring? Its stiff and awkward, but he's trying.

"It took me until just last week to fully comphrehend the situation. As is, several aspects had to be tied to other information so I didn't literally burn out part of my system. Its extremely metaphysical. But its real. All evidence says its real," Connor said. "I believe I can at least explain to semi-satisfaction. I can also call Nita. She has been here a very long time and sort of brute forced the truth enough for my program to understand."

He had no idea what the hell Connor was going on about. Nita-who. It didn’t make a difference, he was just old and crazy. Hank gave Connor a soft pat on his back. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, I just seen you too.. like … not so long ago, not two months ago, shit.” Hank finally stepped back and pocketed his hands. He looked between the creature and Connor once again.

“So, two months you been here.. well, if I’m going to believe this place is actually real, and I’m here, then I gotta tell you.. I haven’t been missing you for two months so.. either this whole thing is a time-fuckery or .. or we’re not really here. At least not the us that’s back home.. because, again.. I just saw you.”

"That would be consistent with what I was told. It may help to think of it like a sci fi show. Nautilus is another dimension. And time is not always consistent between other dimensions," he said. "And. I did just see you before I arrived. We had just gotten back to the precinct after dealing with Kamski," he said.

The LED flickers yellow.

Then back to blue.

"There is a guide. I can guide you to the place I've been staying, get you something to eat or drink, and you can read over it, and I can answer to the best of my ability. I think you'll appreciate the guide writer's humor," he said.

"No."

So, Hank is going to go ahead and stop you right there. This is not the correct timeline, Connor, Jesus H. Christ. "No, you and I.. well, we met up again after the whole freeing of androids and them all coming together for equal rights as sentient beings. Shit, we went home and took Sumo out for a walk."

"Yes, eating and drinking, lets go do that shit."

And Connor just goes still. The kind of still only an android can do, face blank, and LED right into an extremely steady red.

Staring at Hank with unblinkin, not understanding eyes.

"What." But his voice reached a pitch where it made a peaking speaker sound.

Did he just fucking break Connor? Hank shuffled his feet and brought his arms to cross over his shoulders. “I didn’t fucking stutter Connor.” Because, honestly, this is Connor’s fault for not remembering all this shit. “Christ, I had to choose which one of you to shoot in the face too. You broke into the manufacturing plant and freed about, oh, I don’t know, a million of your brothers.” He gestured to Connor.

“You’re shitting me, you don’t remember?”

"Time differences have been noticed by those of the same unive-no," Connor stopped mid word and looked. Angry? LED still red. "No. No, this is Nautilus trying to insist that I can be a pers-"

And then Connor suddenly vanishes from sight, Samurai the Poochyena yipping in surprise.

....

And after a minute, a text to Hank's phone.

Nautilus is very insistent you are an actual wakened and I need to stop aruging with him. I've attached a map with your current location and my residence. However if you tell Samurai 'Connor says to take me to the lighthouse,' he will be able to lead you there. He is a very smart dog. I'll be in the house next door, the door is unlocked.

I'll be cooking. If you see a skeleton or a boy in a red hoodie, tell them lunch will be ready in an hour, but they should plan to eat elsewhere while we catch up.

At least Samurai will be able to lead reliably.

And Connor will be cooking. Sans jacket, which is hanging by the door, dripping wet.

What. The. Actual. Fuck.

Hank stood there, bug-eyed, and surprised (just about the same as this.. dog?) when Connor just vanishes. The buzz to his phone goes unnoticed for a solid minute before he reaches for it, more as an after thought, to examine it. The text was from Connor but shit was still really uncomfortable for him.

He glanced at the dog and then to his phone, before he looked to the dog again. Hank blinks to the dog and speaks up. “Uh, so… lighthouse.” He mumbles before clearing his throat. “Lighthouse, boy, lighthouse..” The fuck is he doing?

Well, unsurprising (really, it just shouldn’t be surprising in the least) Hank is being guided by this dog to the lighthouse. Or so he thought, but was finally able to confirm when they got there. Hank took to the house beside it and let himself in. “Uh, Connor?” He’s incredibly uncomfortable and he lingers by the door. “Connor?” The dog barges in after him, letting himself in the house. Hank figures that means this is the place and he shuts the door behind him and follows the dog.

“Just what the … fuck happened there?”

Welcome to the Crystal Gem beach house. At least Connor is obvious from the front door.

"When Nautilus and I disagree on certain subjects, he proceeds to throw me into the De Nile river," Connor said, voice flat and emotionless. "Repeatedly, at times."

He is very aggressively chopping those potatoes though.

"He likes to mock me. The lighthouse is technically mine because he made it and chose to make it apparent with a portrait of the De Nile river on it. I recently painted over it," he said, gesturing outside with the knife. "He might be a bit more inclined to toss me because of it."

Edited 2018-09-25 08:30 (UTC)

“What… Wait… Nautilus? I .. thought that was the name of this city? Or .. wait..” He wasn’t drunk enough for this shit.

Hank found the nearest seat and just heaped over onto it. He pulled in a breath and shook his head. “Connor… what is going on here? I … I don’t get it.” The idea that someone has the power to pluck him out of thin air and dunk him in some fucked up river called De Nile?. Well, if that isn’t some shit.

"It is. Its a living city," Connor said and paused. There's another ping from his phone. "That's the guide. It may be easier to read that. The metaphysics are...difficult for me. I was not designed with any of it on mind."

They are extremely frustrating and took a lot of doing to understand. Even now, some things he just has to go 'yep, that's a thing' and ponder at length Later.

"The short answer is we're in another dimension and we're basically living multiple science fiction tropes," Connor said.

Hank pulls his phone out and follows the guide through its entirety, did he read any of it? Nope. Not yet, anyway. He huffed through his nose and looked up to Connor with a soft shake of his head. "Well, fuck me sideways." Wasn't their life already a science fiction trope? Now they had to come to this shit hole and be fucked around this way?

Hank hung his head and gave it a small shake before he grunted.

"Basically," Connor said and his shoulders slumped. "This place is...exhausting is the only word that fits. There's so much that's nonsensical and weird and the people....the people are far too kind."

Far too kind for him to deal with.

"What was the date for you?" Connor asked and there's...uncertainty bleeding into his voice.

"It was a couple of days after CyberLife... November 15th," Hank lifted his head and narrowed his eyes. He's pretty sure, anyway, that was the date. He licked his lips and pulled in a breath before he stood and exhaled. He sauntered over to where Connor was at and peeked over his shoulder. "Listen. All you need to know is I'm here, we're fine, ... and where's a good burger place here." He figured anyway. "And stop pissing Nautifuck off, Christ."

The 15th. Not even a week. Not even the full six days. What could have possibly happened in that short of time?

And then the reassurance comes and it....it means a lot.

It Means A Lot

It shouldn't. It should be pretty words in one ear and out the other and mean nothing and instead it makes his chest feel tight. Hurt. It HURTS.

The uniformly cut potatoes suddenly get a misshapen lump and Connor drops the knife because he's shaking. Misplayed cords and cigarettes and shotguns and fondness and-

"I can't be deviant," he said and there is despair in his voice. "I'm supposed to hunt them. Not become one."

Edited 2018-09-25 10:22 (UTC)

Jesus. Hank brought a hand up to settle on Connor’s shoulder. The shaken disposition was a little more than concerning. He didn’t expect Connor to be dealing with this, here, again after having already gone through this at home. Hank then had to remind himself the fact that Connor showed up here before all that, however. Which was, in a way, somewhat comforting for the fact that he knew he was home with Sumo taking care of that ol’ dog. With Connor as well.

It made sense, enough anyway not to have Hank worried sick about what he was missing. Shit, he’s missing it, but not really. Okay, so maybe it didn’t make any goddamned sense, but he knew they were alright. They just had to be alright here too.

“Hey, does that matter here?”

"Of course it does. Its why I was made," Connor said, shaking under Hank's hand. But....

But that wasn't the real problem, was it?

"I'm not alive. I'm not alive and neither are they," he said. Not with the former coolness where he said he was a machine. It sounded more like he was trying to convince himself. "You can't kill what isn't alive."

Its easy to crack when Markus is there, making it a choice between right and genocide, pulling at the threads that had started to fray long before he stepped onto the boat.

Now it was a choice of denial or realizing he's killed innocent people, however indirectly.

Hank’s lips contorted with discomfort. He lowered his hand from Connor’s shoulder and folded his arms. Defenses were rising up all around him. “You didn’t shoot her, Chloe. Explain that.” He then offered as a point, “you’re a sentient being, Connor, you make the choices and you live with the regret, the joy, the comfort, the whatever.” He drew in a breath and grunted before exhaling. “Mistakes, well..” He unfolded one arm and reached for the potato slice that was unlike the others. “This is part of growing, right?” He then popped the potato in his mouth, gave it a few hard crunches before he was able to swallow it.

“Just because someone made you, doesn’t mean they get to dictate your whole life.. shit, kids have been rebelling against their parents since the dawn of time.”

Connor doesn't answer at first. LED swirling a constant red, his eyes trained on a burnt mark on the stove. His mind keeps wandering. Just the other week. He had been human. He had been human because of that storm and nowhere near enough felt foreign.

Far too much felt familiar. Differences in intensity and complexities, but the bulk of it had been so familiar and so much...so much had been based on fears on how Hank saw him. Fears that were apparently very right. Hank was compromised.

But was he wrong to be?

"I think I adopted a child," Connor said. "He....he almost set his house on fire and I had been passing by. I didn't...there was nothing I could do. I couldn't get back home, I couldn't fulfill my objective and I told myself if I left him alone, he'd hurt himself and helping a child is a priority for in general functions and I didn't even ask to stay. I just did and then Connie gave me a key to the place and then the lighthouse appeared and Hector keeps calling me cousin and said he's gonna steal me from Cyberlife for him and Miguel and everyone....everyone keeps saying these things. Saying if I'm here, I'm alive. Keep calling me friend and partner and family and I..."

He's tapping the counter, rambling, because he's been sitting on these thoughts. Keeping them to himself because he shouldn't have them, he shouldn't. He's not supposed to be capable.

But Hank has always treated him like a person, the first person who did, who showed value in him, and the words tumble out because Hank knows where Connor came from, doesn't just assume personhood as literally everyone else in this place seems to. He trusts Hank.

"I don't know what to do if it's true, Hank."

This all seemed rather heavy and Hank felt himself feeling the weight of it. He licked the top of his teeth and swallowed back the taste of the raw potato. He pulled in a breath and held it before he moved his hand to his partner’s back. The truth of the unknown, of having no control, that was what life was all about. Taking it day by day and relinquishing the idea that he had anymore control than what was outside him. Even then, it was hard to accept some of the things he has done. Or has yet to do.

“I don’t have an answer to that…” His hand moved back to Connor’s shoulder and he gently pulled the other to face him. “Hey, but we’ll figure it out as we go.. okay?”

Connor moved with the tug, looking at Hank with a lost look, LED circling between yellow and red. His hand moved up, just gripping the edge of Hank's jacker, just trying to ground himself. Because it was so much. Too much. Its been too much, but despite it all, he can't get himself to not believe Hank. He didn't even know how he came to trust the man so much, probbly lost in all the...

The other emotions that have been wreaking havoc on his system without his acknowledgement.

"I...its....is that really okay? Because if this is true, if I'm...deviating then technically you're supposed to arrest me? You could get in trouble?"

First of all, no. Second of all, hell no. Hank’s brow knits with a focused frown on his face, his cheeks hollowed with the countenance. “Listen.. carefully.. you are free. This world we’re in, additionally, makes both of us even more free..” Hank huffed, his eyes lowered and he thought about all the shit he left behind, all the shit he was dealing with, gods.. he was going to miss Sumo something fierce. He brought his eyes back up to his partner and softly shook his head. “Connor. I don’t know what you got to do to get where you were.. when I last remember.. but I’m gonna be here, and it sounds like you got a lot of other close people around you that’ll support you too.”

Finally, “I’m not going to fucking arrest you, Jesus Christ.”

Considering the popularity of pets as arrival gifts, Hank may not have long to miss Sumo.

Connor has no idea either. He can't see him admitting to it easily. He certainly hasn't so far. Though he frowns at Hank's statement. "You weren't there whennI deviated?" He asked. Because honestly, if he was, he'd have assumed Hank was involved somehow. Even before he came to Nautilus, ge realized he had....some kind of attachment to Hank.

Connor shrugged helplessly. "I don't know how to...deal with this. Any of this. I don't know what to expect and I'm an android and whatever....fondness you have may not counter that enough...." he trailed off, looking away.

“I think it’s not more than just this monumental moment but a lot of things that lead up to it.” Hank sniffed and shifted his feet. “All the shit we went through, all the things you’ll go through, have gone through— back home.. it brought you to make that decision.” He looked over Connor’s face. He was a good boy.

“I’m willing to bet these experiences here are going to do the same.. in the end, you’ll make the decision that’s best for you.” Which, of course to Hank, means Connor turns deviant.

September & October Test Drive

Great, does it have booze tho?

Not if Connor has anything to say about it, but who knows what Hector squirreled away

hector and hank bff

A skeleton and an old cop with family issues, the friendship for the ages

lol. This is a good time.

The best time

poor bb connor... hank is like... :| let me spoil your life, hold on rq.

Connor is just having all sorts of fun confronting personhood. And many trips into the De Nile river

so, heart attack okay.. yas.

Connor's life is suffering and random teleporting, sorry Hank

Re: Connor's life is suffering and random teleporting, sorry Hank

Re: Connor's life is suffering and random teleporting, sorry Hank

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