ANGELEYES, dbh connor

TWENTY-TWO

HURRICANE
━━━━━━(●'ω｀●)━

IT HITS YOU LIKE a storm ━ the sensation of shutting down. In some ways, it reminded you of your first moments being activated. The feeling of being frozen in time, of white-hot warmth surrounding your body...

You gasp, your hands trembling as you reach for the knife embedded in your palm. With a groan, you pull the knife out and throw it on the floor.

Blue bursts out of the open cut, spurting out and splashing against the black walls.

What is this? Is this what pain is like?

With a quiet whine, you fall forward onto your stomach and reach, with all your might, for the discarded thirium regulator just a few meters ahead of you. Your fingertips desperately stretch for it, but you can't get it. You can't reach it!

Your LED strobes a dangerous, crimson red as you tremble on the ground, shivering in shock.

Your eyelids blur, "I... H-help..."

Why is it so far away?! You're so close, why-

With a sudden burst of strength, you drag yourself forward by about an inch and feel your fingertips run against the slippery, bloody, and beating metal.

"Y/N- WhOA-"

You hear Connor's voice but it sounds so fuzzy that you can hardly focus on it. Instead, you use all of your concentration on re-inserting the thirium regulator pump into your chest. For a moment, your vision is dark and you can't hear anything.

You've shut down?

But then the next moment passes and-

"Y/N? You're okay, just- just hold on!"

Your eyes flutter open and you see that you're laid out on Connor's warm lap and he's leaning over you, his arms on your cheeks. There are tears in his warm brown eyes and on his freckled cheeks, and his face is distorted into a horrified expression.

But you can't focus on him and his soulful eyes and his warmth-.

SOFTWARE INSTABILITY ⍓...

Right! The Deviant!

You gasp, LED flickering to life, and launch yourself off Connor's lap, "The Deviant-"

Connor stands up and stares at you in stunned silence.

You don't spend any more time staring at him and quickly rush out of the kitchen. Blood still drips from your chest and your shirt is still unbuttoned awkwardly, but those things don't matter when it comes to hunting the Deviant!

You dash through the long, empty hallways of Stratford tower, your feet slipping because of how quickly you run. And there it is, the Deviant that nearly got you shut down in Connor's arms-

"It's a Deviant! STOP IT!" you yell, voice echoing through the room.

The Deviant turns around quickly and lunges for a nearby Agent's large gun. Your mind goes blank as it aims the gun at the Lieutenant.

HANK'S SURVIVAL PROBABILITY: 40%

You can't let him die... He can't die...

Without wasting another second, you run forwards and at the Deviant. It tries to shoot you but you dodge for the most part and only receive a small cut on your left shoulder. In its panic, the Deviant grows more frantic and its aim worsens.

You take the opportunity to rush it and tackle it to the ground... But... It shoots itself under the chin as it falls and you're left staring at a lifeless Android.

"Y/N! Y/N! Are you okay?" Hank yells, panic clear in his voice.

For a moment, you can only stare at the bloody Android. "I tried to stop it but... I was too late."

SOFTWARE INSTABILITY ⍓⍓⍓...

You feel Hank's hand resting on your shoulder, "You... You saved human lives... You saved my li- wait, what the hell happened to you?!"

Connor rushes over, his glossy eyes widened in shock, "Holy shit, Y/N! You could've died, again!"

You frown guiltily, "I'm sorry, Connor, Lieutenant. I didn't mean to scare you. When I realized it had gone Deviant, it took my thirium pump and nearly caused me to shut down."

With a bewildered expression, Hank studies your sticky blue hand and the blue coating your front, "Jesus..."

"I thought you were dead," blurted Connor, seeming shaken. "I thought... You died. In my arms. Crap..." he rubs his face and only then do you notice the blue blood staining them. Had he helped you correctly insert your regulator when you blacked out?..

Turning away from your partners, you look toward the Deviant's body and watch as an Agent drags it away.

"I... Thought I did too."

"Connor, have you been crying?!" Hank's amusingly surprised voice breaks the tension in the room and Connor blushes. "Seriously?"

"...No."

"SO, CON, WANNA HEAD over to Chicken Feed for dinner? I could really go for a big, juicy burger right now," chatters Hank from where he sits in Connor's passenger seat, seeming to be in a pleasant mood.

Connor snorts, "You're always in the mood for that, Hank."

"Yea," Hank nods, "yea... Maybe you could, uh, head over to mine after that for a couple of drinks?"

Ah. So this is what humans call bonding. You eye the two of them with curiosity and study their behavior from where you're sitting in Connor's backseat. You're still wearing your bloody uniform (which both of your partners seem uncomfortable with) but it doesn't bother you one bit.

"Oooh," Connor chirps, "you sure are in a good mood, huh?"

Hank rolls his eyes, "Whatever, kid."

"I gotta stop by mine first," Connor continues cheerily, "gotta grab some spare clothes for you, Y/N."

You blink. "While that would be appreciated, it's not necessary-"

"Shut up," scoffs Hank. "You're not sittin' on my couch all night looking like someone's tried to dismember ya."

What? You're... invited? As Hank looks out the window and Connor focuses on the snowy road ahead of them, you can't help but stare at the two of them in complete and utter bewilderment. Since when did that become a thing?

Hank doesn't like you? Right? He hates Androids... Isn't that the case? You can't hold your tongue!

"Why has your mood completely shifted regarding me... as your partner, Lieutenant?"

For a long moment, Hank doesn't answer. You watch as the car passes by familiar landmarks and as snow frosts the windows. Connor turns down his street and pulls into his driveway, and only then does Hank finally speak.

"You saved my life, didn't ya?" And, with that, he exits the car quickly.

Connor looks at you from over his shoulder, "In other words, you're growing on him Y/N." The Detective flashes you a broad smile, one so wide and sincere that it crinkles his nose and makes his eyes glisten brightly.

You stare at him for a long moment, barely blinking.

But just like that, the moment is over.

You exit the car as quickly as humanely possible and catch up to Hank, who's standing by the front door. If you're not mistaken, your audio processors pick up on a faint chuckle coming from Connor's car...

Huh.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: heyy!! the daily updates are still gonna be sorta delayed just for a little longer, so i'm really sorry about that! but dont worry, there's no way im abandoning this book :^)

i hope you enjoyed!! we're reaching the end of the main story line which is pretty exciting!! i'm looking forward to seeing where i can take the book after dbh's game storyline has finished, hehe!