The Pit.

You knew of it, at least. Who hadn't? An underground fighting ring, illegal in countless ways. But a good way to get money if you were skilled with modding your android and desperate for cash.

But... Markus?

The man in question had his sly grin return, lighting up those intense eyes. "What? Don't give me that look," he teased gently. "The whole reason Connor sent you to me is because I'm the one who organizes the fights."

So Connor knew. "Then how the hell have you not gotten into serious shit? Modding your android is illegal in and of itself, but..."

The male shrugged, arms crossing over his chest as he looked your prototype over. "Connor. How else? As long as I don't go around parading the thing, he turns a blind eye and misdirects anyone else wanting to investigate." Sharp eyes met yours once more. "Like how he says nothing about how you remove their collars."

Your heart sank. You'd had a feeling, but the fact that Markus also knew... it hit hard. "And he still can't stand androids."

"True. But he cares too much about the few people he has left."

Groaning to yourself, you rubbed your face in aggravation. "I chewed him out for trying to bully Gavin."

With a shrug, the other human laid a hand on your shoulder. "Don't beat yourself up over it, okay? I think until he knows for sure what happened..."

"... then he'll always hate androids," you finished dully.

=]|[=

It wasn't his place to interrupt your conversation with a friend, so Gavin stood idly, hands still in his pockets while he waited for some sort of direction.

That didn't stop him from listening and gathering more data about the sort of world he'd been booted up in.

[Owning an android is required by law; too much technology depends on an android's functionality. But they are expensive, their price is closer to being a luxury item. As a result, many citizens resort to modifying their androids when they cannot afford a new model, which is highly illegal.

This, in turn, has led to... fighting rings?]

"Gav?" Your voice cut through his thought process, and he perked up instantly. "Come on, I'm gonna see what you can do."

Gavin nodded and followed you and your friend into the living room. The house itself was lovely and well-kept, largely due in part to the house android Markus had modded. But the human in question held up a hand to get you two to stop, as he directed his voice towards the second floor balcony. "Babe, come on down! Someone here wants to see you!"

The flurry of movement towards the staircase made you grin, and within moments you were being crushed into a hug. "Hi, sweetheart," you chuckled, more than happy to return Simon's embrace- though not as tightly.

"Holy shit, where have you been," he chastised gently. "The only time we hear from you is when that moron is drunk."

"I know, I know, I'm sorry." With one final squeeze, in which you were pretty sure you heard your spine crack, you were let go again. "That moron suggested I stop by, you know."

Simon blinked rapidly. "Really? What f--... that can't be an android."

Already prepared, your prototype held out a hand. "Hello, my name is Gavin. Pleasure to meet you, Simon, I apologize if our arrival interrupted your work." With a pause, he added, "Your husband intends to test my capabilities and see if I am able to hold my own in the Pit, which I presume is an android fighting ring."

The blond's eyebrows danced a bit as he took in the new information, shaking Gavin's hand despite the confusion. "What model are you, anyways?"

"We don't know," you answered with a shrug. "I dug through his code and only found a name."

"An android with..." He held his hands up defensively, despite the lack of threat. "Okay. Okay. This seems... way too involved for my taste. I don't even know if you should have booted him up," Simon added, raising an eyebrow at you.

"I found him outside. Thrown out, in the elements. What else was I going to do?"

"Something not illegal?"

"Simon, look at him. He clearly was made by someone who knew what they were doing. He seems to function just fine; if I can figure out what he actually was made for, I can probably tweak that." You let out a sigh, not liking the expression he was giving you. "I didn't have to dumpster dive, if that's your concern."

Clearly he didn't like it, but couldn't argue with you since you'd already done the deed. "Maybe take him to CyberLife and see if there is a model number registered with him."

"And risk them confiscating him? That's gonna be a no from me, dude," came your protest, spoken so he could not keep arguing. "Markus, can we just do this, please? Before your husband ships my android to CyberLife with a bow on his head?"

Laughing to himself, Markus sighed. "Yeah, yeah. Come on, then," he added, holding aside the curtain that led to his studio. This, of course, made no sense until you realized that the curtain wasn't keeping a painting out of view. As he pulled it back by the rope, it unveiled a mostly-empty space, with a set-up in a far corner that you recognized to be for android repairs and such. "Okay, so first things first," the male spoke up, turning to you and Gavin. "The way fights work in the Pit is you enter your android at one of the three Levels. Level One is essentially just boxing; fight with fairly standard rules. No ModDroids unless the mods are unrelated and can't assist them in a fight. Level Two is sort of UFC-style: fight until there's an injury, or until someone steps in, or the android surrenders. Modding is okay for the most part."

When he paused, you raised an eyebrow, sort of knowing what he was about to say but asking anyway: "So what's Level Three?"

"They fight until one of them is destroyed and stops moving. Level Three is where the most money is wagered, but it's obviously the highest risk. The rules aren't as strict, but certain things are forbidden, especially since there's an audience. Firearms are still illegal on androids anyway." Crossing his arms, Markus gave the male android a long look. "We can test this at a Level One to start ou--"

"Level Three," Gavin interrupted, already in the process of removing the leather jacket. "Unless you do not have an android you can afford to have destroyed."

The silence was deafening. "Gav, you can't be serious," came your quiet voice, trying to be reasonable with him. "That's essentially putting yourself on the chopping block."

His pale eyes caught your gaze, and you felt a shiver of something go down your spine. Something you were unfamiliar with: fear. Fear of whatever it was your shiny new android was capable of.