Saving the Broken (Connor x Deviant!Reader)

Chapter 52

North and Josh were looking toward the soldiers. You were about to head over to Markus, but then North called, "Markus! (Y/n)! Come look!" She sounded worried. Markus hurried over and you quickly came to see what was going on. Bandit followed you, clearly just as curious and worried. You saw Perkins there. You had heard of him and you knew one thing, he was the definition of bad news. He's also the definition of a full blow prick. Plus, you knew it had been him leading the previous attack on Jericho, so that backed up that claim. You felt anger and disgust at such a heartless, horrible human being. We have more humanity than he ever did. You thought sourly.

"Markus!" He called through a speaker. "I've come to talk to you, Markus. Come on, you have my word, they won't try anything." He said.

"Why do I not believe him?" You retorted.

"Don't go, it's a trap!" North said. You agreed with her on this one. "They want to get you out in the open. Don't go, Markus."

"I'm unarmed, Markus. And I just want to talk." Perkins insisted. You knew you had no choice. If you refused it could make things worse.

"I need to hear what he has to say." Markus said.

"I'm coming too." You said. He nodded.

"What if they kill you?" North asked.

"That's a chance we'll have to take." Markus told her. You followed Markus outside and over to Perkins. Bandit tried to come with, but Josh held him back. He whimpered worriedly, but you flashed the wolf a reassuring smile and he sat down again. His ears were still flat and he let out another whine, but he stayed put.

You both walked up to Perkins. He looked at you first. You gave him a tiny glare before letting your face fall neutral again. He turned to Markus instead.

"In a few minutes, the troops will be ordered to charge. None of you will survive. It will all be over. But you can avoid that, Markus." He said.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Surrender." How did I know he was going to say that? You thought bleakly. "Surrender and I give you my word your life will be spared. They'll be detained, but none of you will be destroyed." He said.

"What happened to the other androids demonstrating in the camps?" Markus asked.

"Unfortunately, there were no journalists round to help save them. You're it. You're the last remaining deviants." Perkins said. You felt rage boil inside of you. That son of a bitch. You wished you could slap him, but you forced yourself to show no reaction to his words. Reacting would show weakness and that he had struck a nerve.

"If I accept your offer how do I know you'll keep your word?" Markus asked.

"You're not in any position to be demanding guarantees, Markus. All you can do right now is decide whether you want to trust me or not." He said. Hell no to that. You thought.

"I'm not afraid to die. If I have to give my life for what I believe in, then I won't have lived in vain." Perkins said.

"What about her?" He asked, looking at North. "You two seem to really care about each other. You don't want her to die, do you? You know, you could both be free. You could forget about all this, you could start a new life someplace else, just the two of you. Just say the word and you'll both be spared." He said.

"I'd rather die here then betray my people." Markus said. He looked at you.

"And you, (Y/n)?" He said. "What is your standing on my deal? You've already felt the pain of losing to others. You might not like negotiating, but is death the better option?" He asked. You glared at him.

"If you think you're going to earn any points from me, I have to say you're wrong, Perkins. Whether you want me dead or in cuffs doesn't matter. You're not trying to help me. You're trying to bribe me. I have no reason to trust you and even if I did I have no reason to betray my people and no reason to give up on fighting for what I believe in. No reason to stop fighting for what's right. If you want me to leave this place, you'll have to drag my limp body out of here yourself. I will die tonight doing what's right and I'll die by his side. You've never felt what I have. I may die tonight, but I'll be doing what I believe is right. No matter what you do, you will have nothing. So go ahead, threaten us and attack us and slaughter us, but I will never surrender to somebody like you." You said, your voice calm, but your stare cold. He chuckled in disbelief.

"Well, you just signed your own death warrant." He said and walked back to his side. You followed Markus back to yours.

"Since when did you become so good with words?" He said. You smiled a little.

"Markus..." He looked at you. "I want you to know I'm glad to be your friend. You're the greatest leader I've ever seen. No matter what, I wouldn't have changed anything." You said. He smiled a little.

"Thank you. That means a lot to me, (Y/n). And I promise, if we're going to die, I'm going to make sure it's not for nothing as it happens." He swore to you. You smiled.

"I know you will, and I promise I won't let it be for nothing either." You said. "After all, we're all in this together, right?"

"Together." He agreed.

"No matter what." You stated. You walked back to the others alongside him. You thought about what was going to happen. You were no longer afraid of death. Hell, might as well welcome it at this point. At least nothing can erase what we've done.

As you both returned to your people, Markus prepared to tell them what Perkins had said. Bandit padded over to you and he instantly knew something was wrong. You saw his tail fall and his ears go back as he understood. You knew he wasn't going to leave. You sighed and knelt down.

"It doesn't look good, boy. I hope you understand what we have to do." You said. You nodded and nuzzled your hand. You smiled a little. "You're an amazing dog, Bandit." You told him. He barked gratefully at you. You hugged him. "You're a brave wolf." You said. His tail wagged slightly and he licked your cheek. You smiled at him. You went back over to Markus.

"What happened, Markus? What did he say?" North asked. Markus stood on top of a crate, gathering everyone's attention.

"The humans are about to launch an attack. And we will show them that we are not afraid. If we must die today, then we will die free." He said. You smiled proudly at him, but that moment was very short lived. A grenade landed and exploded, knocking Markus to the ground and making everyone scatter inside the fort. You were about to help him, but another landed and blew you back. You crashed into the ground and your ears wrung as the chaos began.