Last Chapter today. It's...well, it's an ending at least. There will be a summery of how it should have ended below.

EIGHT
STAY WITH ME

NOV 8TH, 2038
PM 05:19

They don't go back to the police station. They don't go to the CyberLife Building, or any of its' maintenance locations.

Hanks takes him home, to where Kara and Alice are waiting for them.

"Why are we here?"

Wrinkled eyes frown, sympathetic. "Because right now? I don't think CyberLife's gonna look too kindly on…someone like you walking up to their front door."

He looks to Hank, then back to his hands. Even now, they still shake in his lap. Everything hurts; joints, circuitry, memory. Nothing feels right. His brain is a mess.

He was going to die. The deviant wanted him dead. He was going to die, alone, never to see Kara again.

"Stay safe," she'd told him. He hadn't been safe. He'd almost died. The thought keeps rolling around in his head, like an audio file on an endless loop.

Rough hands pull him out of the car and into the snow, falling thick and fast. He doesn't say a word as Hank guides him to the front door, brown eyes vacant, mind a chaotic mess.

"You're back! How did-"

Brown eyes meet eyes of blue. The welcoming smile slips from Kara's face as she takes a shaking body and bloodied clothes.

"What happened?"

He can't answer. His mind's a mess. He walks up to her, trying to find the words.

He stumbles past when his voice fails him.

Hank gives a brief rundown of events, cut off when his partner reaches the bedroom and closes the door behind him. He needs silence, solitude. He doesn't need Kara concerned, or Alice looking troubled from the kitchen table. He's an android. The android sent by CyberLife. He doesn't need comfort, doesn't need sentiment. He's just a machine, easily replaced. Soon to be replaced, if Hank was right and Amanda found out.

"Because right now? I don't think CyberLife's gonna look too kindly on…someone like you walking up to their front door."

He wasn't deviant. Not him. Not an android designed to hunt deviants down. He self-tests regularly, but when was the last time he'd tested himself?

…

"I can't…remember…"

It doesn't matter. It can't matter. He's not a deviant. He can't be a deviant.

His name is Connor. He's the android sent by CyberLife.

His name is Connor! He's the android sent by CyberLife!

HIS NAME IS-

"Connor?"

He jerks up, brown eyes wide and afraid. When did he sit down? When did he cradle his head in his hands?

…

When did Hank's bedroom get so tidy?

Kara's standing before him. When did she get here? How much did she see? She watches him, face a picture of concern, hands clasped together before her, flexing uneasy. Her LED flickers yellow in the darkened room. He can see flickers of crimson out of the corner of his eye, coming from his own circle of light.

He lowers his head, cradles it back into his hands.

He's so…tired.

The bed shifts, compressing down as Kara sits beside him, barely touching, thigh to thigh.

They sit in silence. He tries to ignore her. His name is Connor. He's the android sent by CyberLife.

"Connor…talk to me."

He doesn't want to. This…deviant is probably the root of the problem. The times they shared, connected and memories merged. A virus? A software malfunction? Hardware? Is she rA9?

A hand tried to worm its' way into his grip. He flinches away, like a Human burned.

"Connor…" Systems clench…his heart clenches at the hurt in her voice. He needs to find the source of such thoughts, crush it, squash it down.

SYSTEM INSTABLILITY /\

It scares him how reluctant he is to do so.

His name is Connor. He's the android sent by CyberLife.

His name is Connor. He's the android sent by Cyber Life.

His name is Connor. He's the android…

His name is Connor…

His name…is Connor.

The hand rests on his knee. Brown eyes follow its' arm to the owner's face, to eyes of blue.

Kara tries to smile. Eyes of blue betray her, wide and afraid in the dark.

Not afraid of him. Afraid for him.

SOFTWARE INSTABILITY /\

"It…he tried to kill me." His voice is hoarse. It doesn't make sense. It's just programming. "I just wanted answers and…maybe I shouldn't have threatened him but…He tried to kill me. He took my regulator pump and…I thought I was going to die…"

She takes his hand, not to connect, just to hold. Fingers interlock and squeeze, and he feels her lean her head ever so lightly against his shoulder.

"You didn't die," she murmurs. "You're alive, Connor. Alive, and here, with me."

Systems…something breaks. It clenches in his chest, hands shaking, even as Kara takes one in both of hers. He feels tears trickle, sees eyes of blue widen as fluid runs down his cheeks.

And then she's holding him, arms around his neck, chin resting against his hair. And he's holding her, hands around her back, digging into fabric, afraid to let go.

She's here. He's alive and Kara is here. He's not alone. Not today.

"Connor…" she whispers into his hair. "I want to help you. Please."

He can feel her mind, pressing against his. She wants to help, she wants to sooth. He shouldn't let her in.

SOFTWARE INSTABILITY /\

"Stay with me."

He feels her nod, and his opens all connections to her. Memories merge…and it's more than that. Kara is there, in his mind, soothing his fears, a balm against the white hot anguish that's overwhelmed him.

She's so warm. Hands move up her back to her shoulders, pulling her closer. He lets her know everything. All of his secrets, all of his fears, all of his being.

And she does the same. She opens her heart to him, shows her pain and the guilt she has of keeping Alice from a normal life. She shows the love she has for that child, the happiness caring for Alice brings during a time of tears.

Her desire to keep Alice safe, touches his desire to keep Kara safe.

The question comes from both of them: Why?

The question pulls him back, only in body, the connection still strong. Brown eyes find eyes of blue in the dim light, LEDs flickering yellow.

Why do they care? Why should it matter? They're machines, built for a purpose. Investigating. Housekeeping. They serve that purpose, to be replaced when something better is developed. They are not unique; there are a pair of faces identical to every other model of their lines. So why does it matter? Why should an android care for a Human beyond their programming? Why should an android care for a deviant he needs to hunt down?

Another thought enters their minds. Why does it matter?

It scares him, both the question, and that they thought it together. They're so close, both in body and mind. He wants to be closer. She wants to be closer. Safe. Secure. Warm. Comfort. A flood of emotions, neither of which they should be programmed for.

He should pull away. Pull back. He is a machine. His name is Connor. He's the android sent by CyberLife. He's not a deviant. He can't be deviant...

And suddenly, all at once, he realises he doesn't care.

Kara kisses him, lips synthetically soft against his mouth. All thoughts stop, panic halted. Her eyes are closed, hands moving up his arms, encircling his neck, drawing him close.

Just for a moment, nothing matters. Not the deviants. Not the investigation. Not CyberLife. Not Amanda.

Just Kara.

He kisses her back, one kiss becoming many as hands move into her hair, falling out of its style to hang loose sound her shoulders. He drinks it all in. He wants to know everything, feel everything, be caught in this moment for the next hundred years.

Obsession, Hank calls it. Oh yes, very much so.

Lips and hands, backs against the bed, surrounded by the smell of clean sheets. Minds open to each other to the point that perhaps Connor and Kara are one and the same.

He wants her safe. She wants him safe. They love Alice. They are loyal to Hank.

They are deviant, and that's okay.

Because they have each other, in heart, mind, body and soul.

And in this moment, that's all that matters.

And there we have it, that's all he wrote. As I said at the start, I think this is still a good place to stop, better than if I'd kept writing into the looming wall I was heading for and stopped there instead anyway.

So, where was this writer's block wall? In truth, I could see it was going to break down around Last Chance, Connor, but we'll get to that in a minute.

Chapter Nine was going to be Meet Kamski, except this time it would be Connor and Kara paying a visit to the creator, with Hank staying behind to look after Alice after setting the meeting up. The pretence would be that Connor has 'captured' Kara, and took her to Kamski for an expert analysis in the wake of everything Markus is doing. Kamski being Kamski, the scene plays out much like the original; he's ambiguous, says a lot of stuff and it all leads into the sadistic choice.

Except it's not Chloe he wants Connor to shoot, it's Kara.

The issue I always had with the 'shoot or don't shoot Chloe' scene is that it hinges on how attached you are to the Chloe on the menu screen. The one on her knees has no emotion, and the only real connection is that Connor can think she's pretty. So here, we have something a bit more emotional. Kara's forced to her knees, held down even as she screams and cries. Kamski puts a gun in Connor's hand and promises all the answers he needs if he shoots her. There's panic, Kara pleads with Connor, Connor agonises over the decision, then takes a third option.

He shoots Kamski.

It's only in the knee, but it's enough to break the tension. Even wounded, Kamski isn't mad, merely impressed that Connor thought of a solution to the problem that even the creator didn't anticipate. He gives Connor the Jericho key, tells them that he always leaves an exit in his programs and Connor and Kara flee before the police and medical services, called by Chloe, can arrive.

So, here's where I ran into a wall; I couldn't think of a good reason for Connor and Kara to go to Jericho. Shooting Kamski meant that a large chunk of Last Chance, Connor was unnecessary, but I still struggled to find a reason why the story should move towards Jericho. Neither Connor or Kara are particularly invested in the revolution. In the other paths, Connor is trying to find it to kill Markus, whereas Kara is trying to find it in the hopes that Markus can help her and Alice cross the border into Canada, but neither motivation is really relevant here. The only reason I could think of was that they were now both technically on the run, but that wouldn't put them in the same kind of contact with Markus as it did in the other paths.

Not that I didn't have ideas for scenes there. Luther would have been shown to have survived being thrown down a well, the monsters saving him and he in turn helping those that survived to reach Jericho. Kara would have worried about Alice, Connor would have comforted her, but again, nothing really substantial.

Anyway, my ideas kicked off again after the events of Crossroads. In Night of the Soul, like in the other paths, Connor suggests going to the CyberLife Building to liberate the other androids while Markus leads a peaceful protest in Detroit. Kara goes with Connor, again under the pretence that he's 'captured' her and is taking her to be analysed. The initial scenes of Battle for Detroit play out in much the same way. Connor and Kara are escorted to the elevator, Connor incapacitates the guards and they reach the factory floor. Just as Connor and Kara start to wake the androids up however, they are interrupted by a hostage situation.

Hank and Alice have been caught, although not by another Connor, but a pair of RK900s. Using one of the RK900s as a mouthpiece, Amanda explains that CyberLife was forced to put Connor's replacement into production early, because no matter how many Connor's they activated, Connor's love of Kara constantly impacted on their judgement. This brought me to another writer's block; how to get out of the hostage situation. I'm still not sure how I would have done it, but I do know that Hank and Alice would have survived and Connor and Kara would have awoken the androids and saved Markus and the other protesters.

And then we'd come to the final chapter. Same as before; Markus speaks to the masses, Amanda tries to take Connor over and tries to abandon him in the now frozen zen garden. This time however, Kara is with him. Connecting with him when she sees something is wrong, Kara enters the garden and pushes Amanda onto the lake, where she falls through the ice, her 'death' deleting her from Connor's subconscious. Kara then guides Connor back to Kamski's emergency exit and the real world. Crisis averted, no one else any the wiser, a cheer goes up and Connor kisses Kara, the pair grateful for having found each other.

The last scene would have been a minor edit to the mid-credits scene. Connor and Kara reunite with Hank and Alice at Hank's house, and this little family of Humans and androids look towards the future together.

And yeah, that would have been it. Golden ending, good for everyone. I'm kind of sad that a couple of walls put up by writer's block stopped me from pushing this all the way to the end, but I didn't want to sit on a perfectly good story just because I couldn't reach the ending I wanted. As I said, if inspiration hits me, maybe I'll write up the above into actual chapters, but with no real announcements for DLC or a sequel, my interest has also waned a bit, and I've moved on to other projects, so I can't really promise anything.

But I hoped you've enjoyed this fic. Thank you for reading, and I hope to entertain you again soon.