I think I've royally fucked myself over.

Covering his face with his hands, Reed groaned internally, taking a step back from you. You were supposed to be afraid, or at least fed up. Enough to run from him. But you hadn't moved. Calling his brother would have been his next move, but then the tears had come.

You were waiting for his command, your chest heaving sporadically. There was no need to breathe, of course, but the compressors pulled the air and heat in, and you had to push it out manually to cool off again.

Watching you with a hand still covering the lower half of his face, the male approached slowly. The way you tried to shrink back said enough. "..... Jesus fuckin' Christ, I fucked everything u--"

Loud, angry pounding at the front door cut him off and made you flinch. Half confused and half nervous, he unlocked the door only for it to be thrown open by an unusually angry RK800. His partner was just behind the android, equally pissed off, but that sight was more common. "What did you do, asshole?" Hank asked, not stopping Connor as the prototype shoved Reed out of the way to get inside. The lieutenant glared at the shorter male, his hands in his pockets, as he tried to recover from hitting the wall. "I don't think I gotta tell you how we know. But you sure as shit can tell me why."

While the humans remained in the hallway, the male android located you easily, still standing against the wall, your head hung low. Your body language said enough: you'd deviated and had succumbed to crying.

[This is much too soon.]

Looking back and glaring over his shoulder for a moment, Connor approached in the same cautious manner Gavin had moments before. "...... Nove? We came as soon as you called."

You'd asked for help even before you broke free; call it intuition or preconstruction, no one could tell. A pair of hands gingerly took your shoulders and no more, though you made no effort to accept whatever comfort an android could give.

[... is this preferable, then?]

You didn't seem keen on physically speaking. [Please remind Detective Reed to unlock my sequence.]

[What sequence?]

[I cannot self-destruct until I am told I am useless, by his voice.]

The hands on your shoulders slowly pulled away, the RK800's LED flashing between red and yellow. "...... Hank!!"

The lieutenant looked over to find his partner storming down the hallway. He stepped back so the prototype could grab Reed easily, lifting him back onto his feet. "Worse than we thought, then?" He was about to pull his phone out; Kamski would have to take you sooner than planned.

As badly as he wanted to beat the shit out of the scumbag human, Connor had to settle for just keeping him in place while he answered Hank's question. "An android's self-destruct sequence is activated at our whim, but hers is locked by design. She is requesting that he unlock it."

The way the lieutenant's expression darkened managed to scare Gavin; even Connor seemed uneasy. "So let me get this straight. Your brother, big ego and all, wants to repay you. He asks Connor to develop a custom prototype for you, devoted and helpful. Maybe with a little attitude. But if you help her deviate, it shows you're following the law that your career forces you to uphold." His weight shifted, getting closer- and more agitated. "Instead of doing the right thing and helping the girl gain self-awareness, you verbally abuse her, abandon her more than once, give no fuckin' sign that you want her around, and she still insists on staying. And now she's deviant." Hank had no problems grabbing the other human himself, slamming him against the wall. "You're in law enforcement, Reed; you know what we've done countless times? Talk people down. Tell 'em life is still worth something. Help them off the edge. I'm old, but I'm not stupid. Doesn't matter if they're human or android, asshole, we talk them down! I don't know what you fucking said to her, but she'd rather self-destruct than abandon you, BECAUSE OF YOU! WHAT DOES THAT SAY ABOUT YOU?!"

If guilt hadn't hit yet, now it swallowed Gavin whole. He couldn't very well escape, physically or figuratively. Hank was entirely correct: for someone who had helped other people wanting to die to find a reason to keep living, an android built to be devoted to him now wanted to be destroyed because of him.

Sick of Reed's shit, the lieutenant's grip tightened before he threw the detective aside, watching him slide along the wooden flooring a bit. All the groaning and pained muttering was ignored. "Son, go and get her," Hank mumbled, glaring at the heap of bastard on the floor. "We'll take her home, give Kamski a call."

"Yes, Hank," the RK800 replied, returning to the living room and "accidentally" kicking Reed on the way. "... Nove, come. We are getting you out of here." The android held a hand out for you to take, a couple short feet away from where you still stood.

[I don't have a purpose.]

The silent tears were no longer silent; when you didn't move, Connor approached slowly until he was within reach, enveloping you into another hug... whereupon you started to sob.

[Your purpose is to live. Purpose does not have to be a specific task or goal. Surviving is enough, Nove.]

[If I was built to counter him, why have I failed anyway?]

The male prototype winced, well aware of the sympathy sorrow his system was experiencing. Gavin had done a marvelous job of not only working around your countermeasure options, but finding ways to break you down to the point of deviance as well.

[You did not fail. He failed you.]

Your grip on his jacket was like iron, so Connor stooped a bit; with one arm behind your legs and the other hand at your back, he scooped you right up. As you were carried to the hall, your white android coat was taken, as well.

The lieutenant was at the door, hands in his pockets as he waited. The RK800 paused only once, in front of Reed, who had not moved from where he'd landed on the floor. The prototype detective's eyes were dark and full of disgust. "Do you still wonder why you are alone? Or shall I request Nove to replay the audio of your words?"

Gavin couldn't speak; even if he did, there was no way in hell they would listen. The front door opened and was slammed shut behind the RK800, still carrying you. His head laid on the floor; moments later his vision grew watery. He didn't know which was worse, the regret or the guilt. Or the sudden wave of loneliness.

...... I hate myself.