spellbound | d:bh x hp [ currently on hold ]

twenty - three ; return

(finally an update. so busy with school. thank you for all the reads and votes. ily.)

d e t r o i t - 2 0 3 8

"Come on, wake up..."

"...are her wounds treated? Dittany! Hand me the Essence of Dittany!..."

"... too... slow... Accio Dittany!"

Pain. Lots of pain.

But just as I woke up and felt the hurt sear through my skin, it disappeared in a second. I suddenly felt numb, and more stronger than I was a few seconds ago.

I jolt up, seeing the face of the person I least expected to see right now, right here, in this situation, in this time, and in this country.

"Silvestre?!"

The Slytherin shushed me, putting a finger to my mouth. "Nope. Don't ask. I'll tell you later, alright?"

It takes all of me to say yes, but I do so anyway. I watch him as he fixes himself up after a sigh of relief. He wore a coat over a white button up and a vest, and his face looked at me in worry.

Now I remember. Jerkins and company threw a grenade in our barricade, and everything was in chaos. And I think I was-

"Shot," Sil says as I touch my left shoulder, fingers grazing through the bandage in it. "You were shot in there. Thank Merlin I got there just in time..." The Essence of Dittany made it numb. I'll feel the pain later.

I just noticed that we were in a secluded alleyway, but it looked like it wasn't far from the scene.

And Simon, who I didn't notice before, was stood up and leaning against the wall. He looked deep in thought, and either he was too lost in his thoughts or he didn't want to notice my gaze.

There, I realized.

It was awfully quiet.

There were no gunshots, screaming, rioting, no nothing. If I remember correctly, the barricade was just around the corner.

It was dead silent.

"Simon."

He wouldn't look at me.

"Simon, where is everybody?"

Not moving from his spot, Simon responded. "Most probably back at the abandoned church... The soldiers stood down, they left us here, and Markus made a speech, and tons and tons of androids arrived-"

Connor. That was Connor. He succeeded in getting the thousands of androids from the CyberLife tower.

" -But I'm not sure that they're done with us yet. Your friend Silvestre here and I have decided that we wouldn't carry you to the church with all the media and cops around here and recognizing you."

I nod slowly. "All right, then." and proceeding to get something out of the only pocket in my jacket that has an extension charm, I stand up followed by Sil.

"Here," I show them the Invisibility Cloak. "Let's go to the church."

________

Androids. Hundreds and hundreds of androids.

I've never seen such a number of them, all in one place.

"Holy shit," I say, taking off the Invisibility Cloak.

"Holy shit indeed," Sil says. He still hasn't explained why he's in Detroit, but I'll save the questions for later. First, I need to find Markus and the others.

The walk to the church didn't tire me although it was pretty far, instead it helped me regain energy and stamina in case there's another fight or we would need to run.

Just in case.

"Florentine?"

Markus. "Markus!"

I ran to him, engulfing him in a hug. He seemed confused at first, but eventually wrapped his not-so-human-but-feels-human arms around me.

"Are you alright? I saw you back there, I just couldn't get to you in time, but your friend did, and-"

"Yes," I laugh. "Yes, Markus. I'm doing fine, if not for those two." I point at Simon and Sil who were talking to each other in one of the pews.

North and Josh were here, too. "Hey," I greeted them. "Are you guys all right?"

"Yeah," Josh replied. "We're completely fine. It's you that we're all worried about."

"I wanted to go back there to check on you, but Markus said it was too dangerous, and Simon and your friend had the Florentine situation under control. But that didn't keep us less worried, though."

I smiled. An android, being worried about a human. Cute.

"Thank you," I told them. "But I'm feeling all right. For now, I guess. I don't know exactly how long the Essence of Dittany will last but it's going to wear off and it's going to be painful," I laugh.

Markus nodded. "Also, there's someone who's been looking for you since earlier."

He gestured behind me and as I turned around, I saw the man I didn't know I missed. The one who was part of the reason for our victory.

"Connor!" I didn't care if my wounds would hurt, I just wanted to run into his embrace. "You doofus! Are you okay? Did they hurt you?"

I checked him, and put my hands on his shoulders and looked at his clothing for any sign of Thirium that was his. None.

"Florentine," he starts. "Florentine."

It was his turn to put his hands on my shoulders. I had a good look at his face. Smiling, eyes looking straight into mine.

The last time I saw him, he had casual clothes on and a beanie that covered his hair. I disliked that beanie the whole time it was on. Connor's hair really suited him and matched with his eyes.

Now, he was wearing his RK800 android suit. Probably the supposed cover for the infiltration.

Either way, his clothes fit him.

Good job, Elijah Kamski. Good job, CyberLife.

"Y-Yes?" I replied, taking a small gulp. His eyes were intimidating this close.

He looked more human than ever.

CyberLife made androids to be of help to humans, probably to work more better than humans. Equipped with skills essential for work, but no emotion.

I always thought Connor, out of all androids, wouldn't become deviant.

But now, here I was, standing in front of the most advanced android ever created, seeing true emotion in his too-realistic eyes.

Adrenaline, happiness, and something else I can't decipher.

Here I was, pulled into the embrace of an android designed to serve.

"I was worried," He said. "Really worried."

Two weeks ago, if you told me that an android would be hugging me voluntarily and tell me that he was worried about me, I would have laughed in your face.

Now, it doesn't seem so funny after all. It felt like a fuzz in my heart.

Warmth.