Chapter Text
Sometimes the thing we want most in life will come in the most unexpected ways.
Keisha dragged herself off to her bed. She had spent the entire day making her precious boy, Connor, a deviant just so she could force him to stay a machine and refusing to let Alice have a warm mother. As she climbed into bed she said goodbye to those in the Connor Bot Chat that she met during that day's live stream. A tired smile grew on her face as she read the lovely messages they wrote back wishing her sweet dreams before she said goodnight to the RKs and left the server. She plugged her phone in and started reading some new fanfiction she had found. The soft white light of her phone didn't bother her as she started to drift off to sleep. She didn't notice the soft flicker of blue, yellow, red, and blue coming from her phone.
The first thing she noticed when she woke up was the unexpected cold hard ground pressed against her body and not her warm and fluffy covers.
“Hey! Who are you?”
The next was the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She was not in her home anymore. Keisha couldn't help the unease that flowed throughout her body. She felt wrong but couldn't understand why. Keisha opened her eyes and started to get up when she was hit by a large migraine.
“They’re awake! Go grab them! Hurry!”
She quickly opened her eyes again and lept onto her feet. Her hands quickly made fists as she scanned her surroundings.
“Who are you? Where am I?”
She could see large wooden benches that could fit a few people in front of her, large broken stained glass windows to her sides, and clusters of people all staring wide eyed at her. She could hear their murmurs all around her.
“Look they're dangerous!”
“Get away from them!”
“Someone make them leave!”
“How did they find us again?”
“I thought we were safe.”
She couldn't help but notice that some of them had red and yellow lights shining on their right temples.
“Someone please tell me what's going on!”
She yelled. Her fists started to tremble and her breath quickened. No, this couldn't be possible. Just then a man walked out of a small cluster with a scowl on his face.
“We don't want your kind here! Now leave or you're going to regret it!” The man said. She could see a glint of light coming from his hand that made her take a step back and unclench her fists. She had been used to this kind of talk before, but much more subtle in her own community. But this had been coming from someone who looked just like her.
“Could someone please just explain what's going on please!” She begged, desperation coming off in waves. She had never been in a fight before and she certainly wasn't trying to start then with a guy twice her height. She couldn't stop the trembling in her body and she frantically scanned the room for a weapon to aid her in a fight.
“Who do you think you are coming around here and giving us orders?” The man said and stepped toward her. It seemed as though the entire group of people stepped closer and surrounded her.
“I'm not here to hurt you or give you orders! If you want me to leave I'll go! Just show me the exit!” She said. As she searched the room she couldn't help but feel as if something was familiar about the place. She brushed the thought off and decided to focus on the man in front of her. The man took another step forward and flashed the knife again.
“That is enough!” A commanding voice said. A light skinned man walked up out of the crowd followed by a ginger, blonde, and a dark skinned man. As soon as she saw them she started laughing.
“Okay real funny guys. I get it I'm obsessed with Detroit. You've really outdone yourselves they actually look like Markus, North, Simon, and Josh! Hey you even had Simon stay alive!” She said. ‘Markus’ and the rest of the group gave her confused looks.
“I am Markus. How do you know the rest of my team?” 'Markus said.
“ Okay sure you are “Markus” and what next? You're going to say that you're androids?” Keisha said. She folded her hands and laughed. “And what next you're going to tell me that I'm in Jericho? Real funny guys. Though I do have to admit that you did a good job at meeting this look like the church in Night of the Soul. Woodward Church.” She said wiping tears from her eyes. The 'Markus’ looked at his team and back at her. He stepped forward and raised his hand peeling back his artificial skin.
“I don't know about this Night of the Soul thing but we are what's left of Jericho. We are all androids. Deviants. Now who are you?” He said. Keisha's eyes widened and felt her stomach drop.
“Oh shit.” What timeline was she in? Was it after the events of the game? Was she currently in Night of the Soul? She scanned the room again looking for Connor and Kara. She couldn't find them at all. But, she did see Echo and Ripple holding hands and Rupert standing by a window. That could mean one of four things. Either she was terrible at looking, Connor was still a machine, Kara and Alice were dead, or this is after the events of Detroit. She prayed Markus had led or was leading a peaceful revolution. Though she didn't think Markus would be talking to her like this if he was leading a violent revolution.
“Calm down, everything will be alright. Just take deep breaths and tell us your name.” He said gently. Her name, right. This was not the time to lose her composure. If these were all deviants then she is probably freaking them out right now. She thanked God that Ralph wasn't here or else things might've gone sideways before Markus was called. She was tempted to mimic Connor's introduction but decided that it wasn't the time or place.
“My name is Keisha, Keisha Freeman. I'm not from here-” She started. “- Yeah clearly.” North said. Keisha resumed. “And I know you have no reason to trust me but I need your help. Can I talk to you and your team in private? Please.” She couldn't hear them but she could tell with Simon and Josh's LEDs that they were communicating. The wait for their conversation to finish was awkward. As the adrenaline wore off she noticed the goosebumps forming all over her brown skin. Oh right, she was in her PJs. She had a large grey t shirt that engulfed her body with nothing else besides a bra and underwear. For once she was glad that she wore a bra to bed. She tried to warm herself up to little avail and decided to distract herself by trying to make shapes in the air with her breath as she'd seen vapers do. At this point she would rather have them say no that keep her in the dark this long. She could still hear the androids talking about her, not caring if she could hear them.
Finally Markus spoke up.“Follow me.” She followed them to the back of the church into a small office building away from prying eyes and ears. North had split off from the group when they entered the room and she tried not to be disappointed.
“How did you get here?” Simon asked. He stood by Markus’ side while Josh leaned up against the wall and Markus sat on the desk.
“I don't know, really I don't. I went to bed at my house and woke up here.” She explained. Just then North entered the room and tossed something at her.
“Here put those clothes on after we're done.” She ordered. Keisha nodded desperately wanting to stay on her good side. “How do you know who we are?” She asked. She then moved over to lean on the wall on the other side of Markus.
“It's a really long story. Let's just say you're kinda famous where I'm from. I can explain more once I ask some more questions.”
“Okay ask your questions then. Though I can't guarantee that we'll answer all of them.” Markus said.
“So just a warning don't be creeped out by how much I know.”
“We'll try.” Markus said.
“First off, what's the date?” She asked. There were more confused glaces traded among the group.
“Friday February 18th, 2039” Markus answered. That's not a real year she laughed in her head. So then this must take place after the events of the game.
“So is your revolution a pacifist one?”
“For the most part.” Josh answered. He gave a pointed look at North who smirked. One point for the happy ending collum.
“Did Connor deviate?” Keisha asked. Worry flashed across Markus’ face. Keisha's heart grew loud in her ears. If Connor didn't deviate he's dead and so is Hank. Or, he did deviate and Markus killed him. She didn't know which option she preferred.
“That's a little personal isn't it?” Simon asked.
“Please, I need to know. It's important.” She pleaded.
“Yes, he did deviate and helped our cause.” North said.
“Is he still alive?”
“Yes.” Josh answered. Why wasn't Markus speaking? What happened?
“Next question?” North said eyes focused on Markus. Whatever happened must have been bad. She decided not to press the issue hoping that she'd find out some other way.
“Was there an AX400 here with a YK500 model named Kara and Alice with a tall black android?”
“Yes, why?” Markus asked.
“I just wanted to know if they were safe.”
“Well, I haven't seen them since Jericho.” Markus said not finishing his thought.
“Markus, when you deviated, did you push Leo or did you endure?” Keisha asked watching his reaction. He dropped his head.
“I endured.” He said. His voice was the most quiet that she'd ever heard him. She gasped and almost teared up.
“I'm so sorry Markus.” She said. The deviant leader looked up at her and smiled.
"Josh, can you show her where she can change her clothes.” North said. Josh nodded and went to Keisha's side. North turned to look at the girl. “Be prepared to explain yourself when you come back.” North said. Keisha only managed a nod and followed Josh out. She knew what North was doing. They all needed a break from what happened, especially Markus. She could see that they were still in contact due to the yellow flickering of Josh's LED. She wanted to know how everything was going with android rights and more about his backstory but she figured that she'd figure out the answer to those questions soon enough.
“Sooo, how's your day going so far?” She asked trying to fill the silence. He eyed her warily and sighed.
“My day was fine. We finished our daily meeting and I was about to go read some books when you came.”
“Sorry about that. What were you gonna read?” She asked. As they walked she saw a few androids who lingered in the halls watching her every move. It honestly creeped her out a little bit.
“I was reading some books on history and psychology, nothing you'd be interested I'm sure.” Josh said. She noted the way his eyes lit up when talking about the subjects.
“While I'm partial to science myself, I also love learning about those topics and learning in general. I’d like to hear more about your studies if you're interested.” She said truthfully. He smiled and chuckled.
“It's been a while since I met someone who loved learning. I don't think you'll be able to stay here but you're always welcome to talk to me about academia and philosophy.” Josh said.
“Only if you're up for a debate.” She said. He seemed to think about the condition and for a moment she was worried that she had ruined the nice conversation they had going.
“I'm not a fan of debates but we can always have a deep discussion about a topic.”
“Definitely.” She answered. They walked together a little further down the hallway until they came across a door. Josh gestured to the door and she went inside. As she inspected the fraying maroon shirt and severely ripped dark blue jeans she couldn't help but be amazed by the situation. She was living in what seemed like the almost best post pacifist run of the game, considering what had happened to Carl. She needed to find out what happened to Kara and Connor. As the situation became clearer to her she felt another shot of adrenaline course through her veins. She had actually met Markus and the rest of the Jericho gang! She had even had a conversation with them! She was living in a fanfic or daydream and couldn't be happier! She started squealing and jumping around in excitement and tripped fell on the small circular table in the room that held her clothes. Keisha heard a knock at the door.
“Hey is everything alright in there?” Josh asked.
“Yeah I'm fine.” She couldn't waste this chance that she had been given. But why was she sent here? Where could she stay? She knew that as nice as the team was Jericho wasn't an option, it wouldn't be fair to the androids who called this home. She knew she had three options and the chances of not being homeless for a while were pretty slim. But as she learned from a certain someone that there's always a chance for unlikely events to take place. The holes in the clothes didn't help much, but having clothes on helped protect her from the cold. She exited the room and followed Josh back to the office.
“Is it rude to look at an android's LED or like use it to figure out what they're doing?” She asked innocently enough. Josh had to fight the urge to touch his LED.
“No, if an android keeps theirs in it's for a reason. But, you should try to avoid staring.” Josh replied.
“Makes sense.” She said. They moved in silence until the entered the office. Everyone was in relatively the same spot as when she left and Josh moved back to his old spot.
“We've answered your questions and now time to explain yourself.” Markus said. She sighed and then explained to them the game Detroit: Become Human. She tried not to show too much enthusiasm when talking about North and Connor and be sensitive when talking about the worse endings and subjects. As she was talking she could see them analyzing her every move trying to catch her for lying, but she was telling the truth, at least the partial truth. When she finished the androids were stunned unsure how to proceed.
“We'll look out for your the best we can here but we can't let you stay here. We can help you try to find a way home or take you somewhere safe.” Markus said after processing what he'd heard. “Do you know anywhere you can stay?”
“I think so, can you take me to 115 Michigan Drive please?” she said. Keisha wasn't sure if it was a wise idea to stay with them but, she knew that it was worth a try.