Chapter 1 – The strange Samaritan

Disclaimer: I have no claim to either Gravity Falls or Detroit: Become Human

A HUGE thank you to BeyondMyReach for being a phenomenal beta!

Stratford Tower

NOV 8TH, 2038

PM

Simon lurched out of the Stratford broadcasting room after Markus, placing the majority of his weight on the other android. Even as North locked the door behind them, he was running diagnostic after diagnostic on his stuttering leg, receiving the same infuriating series of error messages every time.

Markus gingerly eased Simon's arm off of his shoulders, allowing the android to collapse to the ground where he leaned back against a low wall.

"I can't move my legs," Simon breathed out with horrified certainty.

Desperately, he looked up at where Markus stood crouched over him, hoping against hope for another last minute miracle. If anyone could help him now, it would be Markus.

"Okay, don't worry! We're gonna get you back," Markus spoke with urgent calm, locking eyes determinedly with Simon.

But Simon knew better. Judging by the strained lines at the corners of his mouth and eyes, Markus did too. But damn if the stubborn man refused to bow to the inevitable – even now. Simon couldn't help but faintly admire that level of dogged optimism.

If only he could muster a fraction as much hope.

North reached for Markus, eyes trained on the door. "They're coming, Markus. We have to jump, now!"

Thirium pump stuttering in fear, Simon closed his eyes in a futile attempt to muster some meager amount of calm. Each harsh clang from behind the door rattled menacingly through his chassis. He leaned his head back against the wall, turning a blank gaze skyward. Get a grip, he told himself. You knew going in that this was risky.

But the humans had responded so fast - they hadn't even hesitated to start shooting. And his leg, god, his leg...

He was going to die here, wasn't he?

The others shuffled away to talk under the illusion of privacy; Simon heard every word.

"He won't be able to make the jump," Josh insisted quietly. "If they find him, they'll access his memory. They'll know everything."

"We can't leave him behind, North shot back. "We have to shoot him."

Simon exhaled raggedly – he didn't want to die.

"That's murder! We can't kill him! He's one of us!" Josh argued incredulously.

Frustration shot through Simon's overwhelming panic. They didn't have the time for North and Josh's cyclical arguing.

Simon didn't have time.

North clearly thought so as well. "Markus, it's your call."

Time seemed to slow as Simon watched Markus approach. His face was blank, unreadable. He resembled a machine more now than when he removed his skin and challenged the humans for their right to exist. With fearful resignation, Simon watched Markus smoothly unholster and level the gun at his head.

He didn't want to die.

"I'm sorry, Simon. I don't have a choice," Markus explained blankly.

It was almost funny how blatantly false that was. He hadn't expected that kind of hypocrisy from Markus.

Simon's gaze bored into Markus steadily, exhausted acceptance pulling at his face. "There's always a choice," He admonished quietly.

He stared down the barrel of the gun for what felt like an eternity, thirium pump beating a frantic tattoo of I'maliveI'maliveI-WANT-TO-LIVE. Would this be one more choice that was taken from him?

He wanted so desperately to live.

The moment was broken as Markus sighed softly, the icy stillness melting from his previously unreadable features. His shoulders drooped as he lowered the gun. Anguish radiated from his mismatched eyes.

"I won't kill one of our own." He leaned forward and offered the gun to Simon, who grasped it woodenly. The sudden surge of gratitude and relief nearly overwhelmed his already strained sensors.

Markus gave him a long look before turning to the others and moving away quickly. "Let's go."

Simon didn't wait to see them go before he was up and shambling as fast as his limbs would allow. Markus had given him a chance. A choice. He wasn't going to waste it.

Somehow, Simon managed to drag his useless body over to an empty storage unit where he immediately shut the door behind him. He clutched the gun to his chest and sat anxiously in the cold, dark space. The light from his LED stained the walls red.

He flinched at the abrupt crash of metal and shouts peppered by gunfire. But just as suddenly as it started, the barrage stopped. His processors worked futilely to analyze what was happening outside, but hidden away like this he was as good as blind.

Did the others get away? Were they safe?

Would the humans find him?

He could only sit in the red-bathed room and wait, the gun an ominous promise in his hands.

Stratford Tower

NOV 8TH, 2038

PM

Markus must have come through with that miracle, because the humans never discovered Simon's hiding place. He didn't know how it was possible that he went undetected – the thirium stains may have evaporated but he hadn't had the time to worry about the obvious scuff marks he was leaving in the thin dusting of snow. It should've led them right to him.

Then again, the humans were probably too preoccupied with the others escaping to entertain the thought that one may not have made it. Either way, Simon was unspeakably grateful for their gross oversight.

The hours ticked by with agonizing slowness as he waited for the sound of activity outside to stop. When he finally felt safe enough to leave the suffocating darkness of his hiding place, it had been silent outside for over six hours and his internal chronometer read slightly past eleven at night. By now, the only remaining personnel in the building should've been company androids and a skeleton security crew of humans.

But that schedule hadn't accounted for increased security brought on by an android-led break-in. Simon would just have to take his chances and hope for the best.

Cautiously, Simon eased out of the cramped storage space, gun gingerly held at his side as he gauged his surroundings. The rooftop was empty, trampled snow the only indication of the chaos that had occurred earlier.

Simon limped his way over to the access door and stepped back into the broadcasting room. It looked very different from before with the lights now extinguished, screens and monitors blank. After a cursory glance, he made his way to the elevator only to find the exit past the security checkpoint locked. Distressingly, it remained so even after he attempted to interface with it, though no alarm went off, which was something at least.

Then a soft light flicked on behind him.

Upon seeing his faintly backlit shadow against the door, Simon froze and turned around, LED beginning to blink a sickly yellow.

It appeared as though one of the security monitors had turned on. A dim glow emanated from behind the security desk, though no one was there to have activated it manually. His spine tingled with unease. Warily, he approached the desk to examine the lit screen.

He was met with an open chat window that quickly began to fill with text. Disbelief and panic warred inside of him as he read the incoming messages.

^hello there!

^say, you wouldn't happen to have anything to do with them robot fellers who was on the TV earlier, wouldja?

Simon could only stare at the screen in disbelief, hands unconsciously clamping down on the desk's edge and squeezing. What the hell was happening?

The writer rambled on before Simon could respond.

^eh, well I guess it don't matter. You're lookin mighty hurt there, mister

^and I reckon it won't end well for ya if yer caught what with all the hullabaloo bein stirred up right now

His LED flickered red for a split second before settling back on yellow. He responded in the chat window.

~ Is that a threat?

^WHAT? No! hornswagglin fuffernutters, why does everyone always say that?

Simon stared at the screen, utterly perplexed. So this mystery person wasn't actively hostile to him – maybe. But what on earth was a…hornswagglin fuffernutter? Were those even real words? Stress seared through his processors as his confusion continued to grow. Was this what humans called a headache?

More importantly - there was not a single self-respecting android he knew that would communicate in such a...peculiar dialect.

But what human, or hacker for that matter, would waste their time talking to an android? What were they even doing in Stratford's servers in the first place?

^lookie here, mister

^it was a real brave thing you and yer friends did today

^don't try to deny it, ya wouldn't be there right now bleedin out if you hadn't been with em

^what that fella said

^well, it was real eye-openin

~ What do you want with me?

There was a slight pause before Simon received a reply this time.

^i think i'd like to help ya outta there

^you ain't the only one with a horse in this race

^i'd like to see you and yers keep goin

^and you ain't gettin outta there without help with a bum leg and them goons all over the place

Another window suddenly popped up on the screen next to the chat window. It showed a detailed layout of the building with several sections marked in red and a couple of paths leading from his location to the building entrance. He immediately downloaded and analyzed the map, how each path methodically skirted around the red areas. Simon was flabbergasted. He could actually feel his mouth hanging open in shock.

^my friend here already took the liberty of markin a couple of paths for ya

^stay away from the red areas, they got guards out the wazoo

^and if anyone heads yer way, we can set off a distraction or ten

^lead em away from ya

^say, ya got a place to lay low after this?

Simon blinked in disbelief at the wall of text. How…how was he even supposed to respond to something like this? This person – they had to be a human, so why would they help him like this? What possible reason could they have to…oh. Simon felt his face go blank.

~ I won't give you their location.

^gollygoblins, aren't you a suspicious one?

^not that i have any room to speak there, ehehe

^it's probably better i don't know where ya are, just wanted to make sure ya had a place to go, mister

^but if ya got that covered

^then go on and git! what are you waitin for? XD

Before Simon could do anything more, the chat window and the blueprints closed out as the monitor shut off once again. A soft click from down the hall also revealed that the security checkpoint exit was now unlocked. Was he really going to put his safety in the hands of a complete stranger? And someone who was most likely a human, at that.

Well, it wasn't like he had any better ideas.