Gavin sat down at his desk, hunched over his coffee and ignoring everyone else in the precinct. Tina walked past him to her own desk, patting him on the shoulder briefly. He didn’t look up to meet her gaze. Instead he just scratched at the bandage on his neck. He worked for a little while before standing up and storming out.
He made it back to his apartment, the anger and frustration bleeding out of him with every step. He leaned his head against the door as he fumbled for his keys. It felt as if all his energy had been drained. He closed the door behind him after stepping inside. Gavin dropped his keys in the bowl before he pulled off his jacket and hung it up. He sighed and dragging himself to his bed, refilling the cat food bowl on his way.
He laid down on his bed, staring out the glass doors as the sun slowly set. After what felt like a long time he sat back up, he couldn’t understand it, he felt so alone as he stood up and opened the balcony door. He could hear someone entering his apartment, probably Nines or Tina. She had a key to his place of course. Gavin stared out at the street below, he wondered if it would hurt to hit the ground. With ease he swung his legs over the edge and sat on the railing.
He hated this feeling, hated knowing he pushed everyone away and yet- he kept doing it again and again. All he had now was Tina. She would hate him too eventually. He was sure Nines did by now, they’d had another fight and his boyfriend stormed out to spend the night on Connor and Hank’s couch.
Gavin stood up, his feet on the edge and his hands on the railing behind him when he heard someone run up behind him. He needed to do this now before he lost the nerve. Gavin took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and let go of the railing.
Nines ran, he lunged and managed to grab one of Gavin’s hands as he slammed into the railing. Without a doubt, he knew his LED was bright red as he grabbed onto Gavin’s arm with his other hand, slowly pulling him back up to the balcony. He pulled Gavin against him, holding the smaller man tight as he cried silently.
“Why didn’t you just let me fall?” Gavin finally spoke, clutching onto Nine’s jacket. “You should have just let me fall and everyone would have been happier.”
“I thought things were going great for us.” Nines ran his hand through Gavin’s hair, holding his boyfriend close. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said-”
Gavin just shook his head, “You were right though, I am an asshole. I do push everyone away. I probably will end up alone.”
“No, I was hurt and I lashed out. You won’t end up alone, because you have me right here with you.”
Gavin sat down at the bar next to Nines, the bruises on his face were gone by now, and the fracture in his sternum was still healing. He sipped at his beer, glancing at Nines before placing his hand in the android’s. Nines gave a smile as he ran his thumb over Gavin’s knuckles. The android was glad to see Gavin moving past the very real fears of Nine’s not being himself and slowly trusting for them to be alone together. Nines felt glad that Gavin was now trusting him enough to drink in his presence. It helped that Nines kept track of any actions or phrases that the imposter had used often. He leaned down to kiss his human, pausing just before the lips and humming to himself in happiness when Gavin leaned in to close the gap between them.
He found that actions like that worked best for Gavin now. He could start to show affection, but the last bit of contact had to be Gavin. If he wanted a hug he usually just opened an arm and Gavin would give a tentative hug before sinking in. Kisses were slower going though for the two of them. Nines found that anytime he tried to rush in for a kiss Gavin would not react well, even with the two of them dating now.
He knew that in time they could move further, it just took time to heal from the mental wounds. Gavin may not have been broken in that week, but the imposter certainly had come close. He watched Gavin finish his drink before the two of them stood up. “My place, yours, or seperate?” Nines asked softly as he leaned in for another kiss.
Gavin waited a few minutes longer after Nines, no, someone wearing Nine’s body left before he ran over to the sink and spat out the food in his mouth. He didn’t want to risk being drugged again, even if his stomach ached and his hands kept shaking, he wouldn’t risk eating any of the food there. It was easy to drug all the food if you never ate any of it.
He checked the door, locked of course. Gavin turned back to the hallway and went to the other bedroom, ignoring the deactivated Traci he went back to the computer. He hoped his email had gotten out, Nine’s hadn’t seem to notice it at all. He opened it and went back to the folder full of videos.
Click. A video of him walking past the Eden Club, chatting with Tina. He was in uniform.
Click . Him inside the club, intimate with that Traci model again.
Click. At a bar, sitting between Nines and Tina, laughing and drinking.
Click. Walking down the street at night, the bright orange glow of a cigarette illuminating his face.
Click. In the club again, this time fucking the same Traci model.
Click. Climbing out of the car and walking into his apartment building.
Click. Folding laundry as he spoke to Nines.
Click . Walking outside with Nines, coffee in one hand as they spoke.
Gavin clicked through the videos, feeling cold as he realized he was the focus of every single one. He opened the email again, sending Rachel “Save me. It’s obsessed for some reason. I think it might kill me. I know it’s not Nines.” he quickly closed the email client and clicked another video. He was walking outside again, chatting with Nines. He noticed how Nine’s had his head slightly turned back, how Nines looked right at whoever was following them.
“So now you know.” Gavin froze, his blood felt like ice. He didn’t turn around, didn’t want to see the expression that body snatcher was wearing. “Come on, turn around love. Perhaps it’s better this way? No more secrets between us.” He heard it walk further into the room and he slowly turned to see it watching him with cold eyes.
“Why me? Why did you steal Nine’s body?” He wished he knew where they were, but prayed the two emails would help them find where he was hidden. He hoped they would get there soon as he watched the imposter stroll closer to him.
It just tilted it’s head and looked over the deactivated Traci model instead. “Well he wasn’t using it anyways, so I took it. Plus it’s a much better body don’t you think?” It ran a hand over the shoulder and neck of the Traci model. “A face only shared by a rare few, not a dime a dozen like this shell.” His lips twisted into a snarl and he shoved down the Traci model. “A body only used for the pleasure of others. To be used and discarded on a whim.”
Gavin gulped and stood up, keeping an eye on the Traci. “Why me? What made you choose me?”
“Why because we’re meant to be together. Don’t you see? I love you Gavin, I love you and I couldn’t just let anyone get between us.” It walked over to him, placing it’s fingers just below his chin and tilting him up to look at it better. “Least of all you.”
Gavin frowned at the android, wondering why it kept sidestepping the question. “So what? You fixate on me, steal the body of my partner and what? Think it’ll all end well?” He grunted as it gripped his jaw tightly. “Well though news fuck, it doesn’t end well for you.” He hissed out through his teeth. He expected the slap that followed. He didn’t expect for the imposter Nines to hold him down on the bed he hit. Gavin struggled against the android, kicking and throwing elbows as best he could. “Get the fuck off me!”
The fake Nines braced an arm across Gavin’s back as he pinned him to the bed. “No. It’s time to really teach you some manners!” It reached down to unbuckle his pants as Gavin fought harder. “I had hoped our first time in this body would have you a little more willing, but if I have to break you first. I will.” Gavin shouted and kicked as hard as he could. He could feel his kicks connecting, but the angle was all wrong to do any damage against it. Gavin froze when he heard a gunshot.
The pressure holding him down was lifted and he jumped to his feet, his hands quickly flying back to his belt. Gavin ran around the bed and gave a laugh of relief when he saw Connor standing in the doorway with his gun out. “That thing is not Nines!” He shouted as he turned to see it standing back up, a hand on it’s shoulder as bright blue blood flowed down the now limply hanging arm.
“I’m well aware of that Detective Reed. Nines is with Tina, securing the rest of the apartment.” Connor glanced over at Gavin, then jerked his head to the side. “Get behind me, Hank will escort you outside.” Hank reached over and grabbed Gavin by the wrist, pulling the smaller man out of the bedroom. Gavin heard the gun go off two more times as they sprinted out of the apartment.
He felt numb, like it was all a dream as Hank guided him outside. The fading sunlight felt harsh to his eyes and he wondered how long he had been gone. He didn’t say anything as Hank pulled him into a car, didn’t say anything when the older man pulled off his jacket and wrapped it around his own shoulders. He didn’t move when the door opened again and the other three in the party climbed in. Tina knelt down in front of Gavin and held his hands in her own. He lifted his head finally and looked at her, his best friend. He looked above her to see Nines sitting in the seat across from him. His partner’s LED was yellow and he looked pained at seeing Gavin.
“Is that fucker dead?” Gavin spoke finally, giving a grin when he saw Nines sigh in relief and smile.
“Connor has destroyed that body and it’s previous one.”
“Good.” He stiffened when Tina lept up to hug him. She started to cry and he just patted her on the back. He felt a heavy hand on his back and turned his head. Hank had rested a hand on his back and looked at him with worried eyes.
“It’s okay to not be okay. When we got there- from all the screaming and shouting we had thought-”
“He didn’t get that far.” Gavin spat out the words, afraid to hear what he escaped. He felt himself start to shake as it dawned on him how close it had been. “How long have I been gone?” He wanted to curse at himself, he couldn’t stop shaking. He looked up to see Nine’s frowning, turned his head to see Connor staring at him with a worried expression. “How long was I gone!” He was shouting, Tina backed away and sat down next to Nines.
Connor was the one to answer, “It’s been almost a week, five days since you were first kidnapped Gavin.” Connor reached out to place a hand on Gavin’s arm. “I understand you’re under a shocking amount of stress. We’re headed back to your brothers house. Sending those emails to Rachel was a stroke of genius.”
Gavin gave a small huff, looking back down at his shaking hands and wishing they would just stop. “Yeah, genius. That thing had been stalking me for months and I never noticed.” He looked up at Nines. “You noticed though. You saw him and that’s why he took your body isn’t it?”
Nines looked at him in confusion. “How did you find this out? Months?”
“Time stamps. Videos, there were hundreds of videos. He found me, found me on that laptop with all that evidence right there and he- he was going to-”
“You don’t have to say it. It’s okay.” Nines reached out to touch Gavin’s hand, he flinched away and missed the look of shock and then sadness in Nine’s face. “He’s dead now. Connor made sure of that.” Gavin just nodded.
The car pulled to a stop and they all exited the driverless car, Tina keeping an arm around Gavin’s waist and holding him close. Connor moved to his other side when he stumbled, the two of them held him up as his legs started to shake. Gavin wasn’t sure if he said anything, but the two of them caught the man when he passed out.
“Shock?” Tina asked as Connor shifted to carry Gavin by himself.
He leaned close to Gavin’s face, LED turning yellow for a moment as the man exhaled. “Blood sugar as well. He probably stopped eating after the food had been drugged.”
Nines looked at Connor as they entered Elijah’s house. “That was three days ago. He can’t have been starving himself that long.” He turned to see Elijah rushing over to Connor and Gavin, a doctor following close behind.
Chloe quickly walked over to Elijah, wrapping an arm around his waist and placing a hand on his arm. “He just passed out. We got to him just in time but he needs to see the doctor Elijah. It’ll be okay.” She guided the man back to a seat and watched as Gavin was rushed to a bedroom with Connor and the doctor. “Connor shot the imposter before anything could happen. I know he looks bad right now, but it will all be alright. Now I need you to breathe, okay?”
Elijah nodded, eyes glued on where Gavin had left before looking over at Nines. “Does he know?”
Nines nodded. “He told Connor it was an imposter. It looks like the deactivated Traci model was its original body. It’s been stalking him for months. Probably waited for when I had a long term mission and then broke into Cyberlife and unloaded himself to one of my spare chassis.”
Nines shook Gavin awake, he slowly blinked his eyes open and looked up and the android. “What?” Then after a moment he realized where he was, the smaller man jumped to the side out of Nine’s reach and scooted against the wall. He looked at Nines and tried to calm his heart and breathing.
Nines just stood back up and watched Gavin with those cold grey eyes. “Breakfast is ready. I’m heading out. Do not try to escape of I will be forced to punish you.” He gave a smile and tilted his head to the side, “We wouldn’t want that now would we?” He turned and walked out of the room, leaving the door open behind him. Gavin slowly climbed off the bed and stepped closer to the door. He waited and listened for Nines to leave the apartment, house, whatever they were in. After he heard the front door shut he leaves the room, still looking around in worry that Nines would show up out of nowhere. After a moment Gavin turned back to his bedroom, looking around and seeing there was another door in his room. Curious he walked towards it and opened the door, it’s a closet filled with different clothes. All of them in his size. Gavin frowned as he eyed the clothes, but he’d been in the same ones for who knows how long.
He eventually picked some clothes for himself and went to shower. As he undressed he grimaced at the bruises that pulled and ached. He quickly showered, still unnerved by the products being the same as his own. After he finished his shower and dressed he left the bathroom and looked around the hallway again. He hadn’t heard Nines come back into the place but it never hurt to be wary. When he didn’t hear anything he decided to check the room that had been locked. To his surprise it opened easily.
It was a plain looking bedroom, but what had caught Gavin’s attention was the male Traci model android sitting in a chair next to the full size bed. He walked over to it slowly, wondering if this Traci model was a prisoner as well. As he came up to it he realized it looked very familiar, he ran his fingers over the dark LED on the side of its face. It was deactivated, but he wasn’t sure why. Out of the corner of his eye he saw something and turned his head. A long black wire was sticking out the back of the android’s neck. He looked at the laptop sitting next to it.
Gavin smiled to himself, this could be his chance. He quickly turned it on and tried logging in to his email and blinked in surprise. Everything was already logged in as him. He went to the instant messenger and found most of his contacts were blocked. Frowning he tried to remember Rachel’s email address. He typed in what he thought it was and sent a short message. “Still alive. Find me. Locked away in 2 bedroom replica of my apt. Deactivated Traci model here as well.” He sent it, praying that Nines wouldn’t find out about it and looked at some files on the computer.
There were videos on there. He opened one up and gasped in surprise. It was a clip of him walking around the Eden club. Gavin clicked another video, it showed him selecting someone in a tube and walking to a private room with them. He felt dread settle into his stomach as he watched the video of himself being fucked by the Traci model android he had rented. He turned and looked at the deactivated model sitting next to him before opening another video. In the video he was getting dressed again and brushing off the android’s attempts at conversation before leaving the room. The video ended right after the Traci model climbed back into the tube and he saw the reflection in the glass. It was the same model occupying the bedroom.
He quickly closed out all the files and left the room, making sure the door was firmly shut behind him. He felt dizzy, confused as he walked down the hallway and settled down on the couch. Was the Traci model in Nine’s body? Did that mean the android that had kidnapped him wasn’t his partner? Was Nines hidden away somewhere as well? Gavin felt slightly sick, he had never given thought to any visits to the Eden club, how long had this model been watching him? How long had it been in Nines body?
He sat up quickly when he heard the chime of the electronic lock turning off. Gavin climbed up to his feet and rushed over to the kitchen to grab a knife. He quickly hid it behind his back and watched with narrowed eyes as Nines opened the door. Gavin rushed to the android with the knife and stabbed him in the arm. Nines had raised an arm to block the hit, he punched Gavin with his other arm and knocked the human to the ground. Nines knelt down with a knee on Gavin’s chest, pinning the human as he looked at the knife sticking out of his arm. The blue blood dripped onto Gavin’s face as the human tried to shove him away.
“You attacked me? Is this how you show your love Gavin? I provide so much for you and you respond with a knife?” Nines crouched down further and looked Gavin in the eyes, a hand firmly grasping his jaw and holding his head still. “What do I have to do for you to realize that we are meant to be together? Don’t you know yet that you love me? I don’t want to be the bad guy here.” He stood up and shut the front door that had been open the whole time. Gavin watched in despair as his hope of freedom shut on him.
Nines pulled the knife out of his arm and went into the kitchen to clean it off. He turned to see Gavin slowly pushing himself back up. He really didn’t want to hurt the human, but sometime he just fought so much against Nines that he had to hurt him. He gave a smile as he watched Gavin move to the breakfast sitting on the table. It turned to a frown as he wondered what Gavin had done the whole time he’d been gone if he hadn’t eaten his breakfast. Nines turned back to the knife wound and grimaced. He would need to replenish his Thirium levels after this.
He looked back at Gavin before he decided to leave the apartment and get more Thirium. As he walked by Gavin he knelt down slightly to speak in the human’s ear. “Try it again and you will regret it. I wouldn’t want to punish you, but I will.” He left the apartment and Gavin gave a sigh of relief when the lock chimed again.
Gavin rubbed his chest, wondering if he had cracked a rib during his escape attempt.
Gavin woke up with a start, he heard footsteps coming down the hallway, he quickly scanned the room to find anything he could use as a weapon. He picked up a hardcover book, holding it ready to swing in front of him as the door slowly opened. Nines walked in calmly, looking at the book with mild disinterest. “You should put that down Gavin. I wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself.”
Gavin tightened the grip on his book instead, and swung it at Nines when the android stepped closer. The cover of the book snapped and it fell out of his hands. He swore and shook his hands to stop the stinging sensation that ran up along his arms. Nines didn’t say anything and instead pulled Gavin in for a hug. He struggled against Nines uselessly as the stronger android ran a hand through his hair. “Come on, it’s dinner time.” He wrapped an arm around Gavin shoulders and dragged him out of the bedroom into the dining room.
He guided Gavin into a chair and returned to the kitchen, after a moment he came back out and placed a plate of chicken and pasta in front of Gavin. He distrustingly glared up at Nines for a moment before picking up the fork and knife. Nines sat down next to him and gave an eerie smile as Gavin slowly ate.
It should have been delicious, but he could barely taste it, could barely register eating anything as his stomach churned. He looked away and down at his plate. “Your friend Tina decided to leave town today. I just barely missed having her visit you.” Gavin tightened his grip on the silverware so his hands wouldn’t shake. He was glad Tina escaped this psycho tin can, but scared she had come so close to danger. He ate slowly, waiting to see if he felt any different, if this plate was drugged like his last meal was. The whole time Nines sat there, patiently watching him eat.
After what felt like much too long Gavin finished his meal, looking up at Nines as he took away the plate and began to wash the dishes. Gavin didn’t move from his spot at the table, quietly watching as Nines cleaned, as he acted like he wasn’t holding someone here against their will. After a moment he stood up and walked to the bathroom, shutting it behind him. He noticed there wasn’t a lock on the door. He turned to look in the mirror, taking a step back in shock as he saw his face. His neck was almost completely purple, and his face had a bruise on the side from where Nines had struck him before. He turned his head and looked at the other side, there was a fainter, more yellow tinted bruise on that cheek.
He felt sick at seeing what Nines had done to him. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t realized how much the android had hurt him, how much had been done to him. He shuddered at the thought of Nines kissing him against his will, realizing then that he was truly scared of how far Nines would go in these claims of love. He turned on the faucet and ran his hands under the water, quickly bringing some up to splash on his face. He then reached for a towel and scrubbed his face, ignoring the pain of the bruises but needing to feel as if he were cleaner.
Then he left the room, heading back to his bedroom, all the time listening for sounds of Nines leaving the kitchen and heading towards him. Gavin eventually relaxed and sat down on the edge of his bed, back against the wall and facing the door. He curled up on the bed, wishing he knew how to escape, how to get back to Tina and how to stay safe. He tensed up when he heard Nines walking down the hallway, but the android entered the previously locked room and Gavin relaxed slightly.
He wasn’t sure how long he laid there like that, curled up and glassy eyed as he watched the door across from him. Eventually though, he fell asleep.
Tina placed down the phone, she had been calling Gavin several times but he hadn’t answered once and Nine’s, had been acting odd this past month to her. Almost like he was jealous of her for some reason. She shook her head at Rachel, her girlfriend who just frowned thoughtfully. “Maybe you could call his brother? I know they don’t always get along but it might help?” Tina smiled and gave Rachel a quick kiss before pulling up Elijah’s number and calling.
Elijah’s phone started to ring and everyone in the car paused to look at him. He started patting his pockets before Chloe reached over and pulled a small slim phone out of his shoe. Hank frowned and opened his mouth to ask, “What the fuck it was doing there?” Chloe just shook her head with a smile while Elijah just answered his phone instead of responding.
“Hey Eli, it’s Tina. I don’t know if you remember me but-”
“Your Gavin’s friend. The one dating the ST300?” Elijah responded, cutting her off before she finished speaking. “I’m guessing you’re calling about Gavin?”
“Yeah I am. How did you-?”
“Yeah yeah, you know where I live right? Go there, now. Grab what you need and go there right now. If Nine’s tries to stop you-”
“Why would he-?”
“Don’t cut me off, now listen to me closely. Unless he is with Connor and Hank, it is not Nines. It’s someone using a replacement body. If he comes to your house and tries to stop you, shoot him. Then call me if you do, but right now I need you to pack a bag and get to my house. Got it?”
Tina nodded at the phone before speaking, “Yeah. Rachel started packing a bag for us when you first said to. I don’t know where you live though?”
Elijah paused for a moment to pinch the bridge of his nose. “Hand the phone to Rachel.”
Rachel held the phone, “Hello?”
“Tell me your serial number.” She did, nodding as her LED turned yellow for a moment. “Now give Tina back her phone.” Tina took the phone.
“What did you-”
“Chloe sent her directions. Pack up, meet us at my house. I should be in the company of Hank, Connor, Chloe, and the real Nines.” He hung up and Tina started at the phone for a moment before Rachel slapped her arm. The two of them finished packing, making sure Tina had her gun on one hip and a stun gun on another. They left the house and Rachel climbed into the front seat to drive while Tina put the duffle bag in the trunk of the car. She jumped when she saw Nines step out of an automatic car, one hand going to her hip to rest casually on the gun.
She gave a small wave and closed the trunk, stepping towards the side of the car. “Hey Nines! You caught us just as Rach and I were about to head out, what funny timing?”
He kept his stride, eyes flickering down to her hips. “You called Gavin several times. I wonder why that was?”
She gave a strained laugh, as she opened the car door and Rachel started the car. “Oh that, well I wanted to be sure he remembered I was going to be out of town for a while and to check in on the fish I had just gotten! But I got Chris to offer to come in a check on my fish, so we’re all good. See you later!” She jumped in the car and Rachel reversed out of the driveway quickly. They both gave a sigh of relief as they turned onto a different road, Rachel made sure to take an unusual route through the city to throw off Nines if he were following them. Tina kept looking back to see if any cars behind them were the same. With their out of the way route they made it to Elijah’s house in a little over an hour.
A Chloe model android was standing outside waiting for them with a worried look on her face. “Oh thank RA9 you made it alright. I was starting to worry about you.” The three of them walked into Elijah’s house.
Gavin woke up slowly, his head felt hazy and his mouth was dry. Had he gotten drunk and passed out at Tina’s again? He rubbed his eyes, flinching as his hand brushed against his bruised cheeks. Bruised? Gavin’s eyes snapped open and he sat up quickly. This wasn’t the same bed he had been chained to. He checked his ankle, nothing was there but a red line from the chain. He slowly stood up off the bed, looking around the room he was in. The sheets matched his in his bedroom, but without that well worn softness his had. There was a bookcase in the room as well, Gavin slowly walked to it, looking around with worry. He felt his blood run cold when he looked at the titles in the bookcase. They were the exact same books he had in his bedroom. The rest of the room was pretty bare looking, so Gavin tested the door, surprised when it opened easily. He peeked his head out, there was a hallway with two doors and a closet. He stepped out and checked the first door, locked. He checked the second and it opened up to show a bathroom. He needed to use it anyways so he shut the door behind him.
When he finished using the bathroom he looked around the shower stall, all the products matched what he used, but were brand new in unopened bottles. It creeped him out worse than waking up chained to a bed so he left the bathroom. He jumped when he turned from closing the door to see Nines standing in the hallway.
“You’re awake, good let me show you the rest of the place. I just know you’ll come to like it here.” He placed a firm hand on Gavin’s shoulder and guided him down the hallway into the living room. The front door had an electronic lock, Gavin knew he didn’t know enough about lockpicking to work his way around an electronic lock and escape. “We have all your same subscriptions here so I hope you won’t be bored while I’m at work. I also went through the trouble of finding all the same books you have at your old apartment. Of course sadly I couldn’t just take what was there, wouldn’t like anyone to realize you were missing.” Gavin could only nod as Nines guided him to the kitchen.
“Here’s the kitchen, I’ll make breakfast and dinner for you while I’m here. Must make sure you have all your nutritional needs of course. For lunch though you will be on your own.” Gavin looked at the knives sitting in the block next to the stove. He could use one of those and fight Nines and escape. The grip on his shoulder tightened as if sensing his thoughts, he couldn’t do it now anyways. It would have to be when Nines wasn’t expecting it at all. “Now that you’ve seen our lovely apartment, is there anything I can get for you?”
Gavin frowned and looked up at the delusional android. “I’m not hungry after that drugged sandwich you made me earlier.” The smile that had been on Nines face faded and a mad glint returned to his eyes.
Nines shoved him down and Gavin’s shoulder fell into a dining chair. He shoved down a curse and glared up at the android instead. Nines stared down at him with a red LED before he paused and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry love, I shouldn’t have pushed you. You have to understand- I drugged you so we could safely move in here. I can’t have people that would hurt you get to you!” Nines grabbed Gavin by the arms and pulled him up to his feet, wrapping an arm around the man’s shoulders and guiding him to the living room couch. “I love you, I would never hurt you without a purpose. Not like those other people would.”
Gavin pulled away from Nines and sat against the edge of the couch. “I’m a cop, I’m used to a little pain. And anyways the only person hurting me is you.” He eyed Nines as the android sat down on the couch.
“I don’t want to hurt you Gavin, but you’re acting so badly that I have to punish you.” Nines reached for Gavin but the man quickly scrambled to his feet and moved around the couch. Nines just watched him with a small frown and cold eyes. Gavin slowly backed up, getting closer to the door. He knew the android was smart, but hoped it had made a mistake. A small, simple mistake could mean escape for Gavin. He tried the door behind him and curse when it didn’t move. Locked. Nines stood up quickly and grabbed Gavin by his shirt. “Fine! If you want to be punished I will punish you!” He dragged the smaller man down the hallway, ignoring the struggles and how much more Gavin picked up his struggling and trying to catching anything to grab onto when he opened the bedroom door Gavin had come out of.
It was almost a relief to the man when Nines just threw him in and slammed the door shut. He lifted himself up slowly, breathing heavily as he listened to the footsteps walking down the hallway. Gavin sat down on the edge of the bed, curling up and setting his head between his knees. He couldn’t understand any of what was going on. “Fucking tincan’s fucked up in the head.” He gave a short laugh as he thought over the situation. He’d been chained up, literally to a bed, and now he was moved to a secondary location. He sat up suddenly as he realized, he’d just been moved to a secondary location. His odds of being found now dropped significantly.
He wanted to puke, who would even be able to find him? This was Cyberlife’s finest hiding him away, and what had previously been their finest was dead in a dumpster somewhere. Gavin stood up and paced, flinching a bit as his movements adjusted some bruised muscles. He’d made a joke to Connor once about being left dead in a dumpster, that first day he worked with Hank. Connor had gotten shot in the head and shown up again the next day like nothing had happened. Gavin wanted to laugh, there was hope. Connor could have a back up and be searching for him even now. He cheerfully plucked a book off of the bookcase and sat down on the bed to read it. He just had to wait out this crazed version of Nines, and not think about how Connor was going to save him if he’d already been beaten once by Nines.
Gavin lifted his head up from the bed and looked around, something had woken him up. He jumped at the sound of the door opening. Nines stood there with a tray in his hands. “I hope you’re going to be a good boy now.” Gavin didn’t say anything, just climbed up to his feet and clenched his hands at his sides. Nines placed the tray down on the bed, not noticing Gavin backing away. Nines stood up and stepped closer to Gavin, pinning the smaller man against the wall. “My my detective. You’re heavily bruised from that last punishment you needed.” Nines reached a hand up to trace the bruises on Gavin’s neck. He slapped away Nines hand before he touched the purple skin.
Nines snarled and slapped him. “Do you want me to punish you? Why can’t you just wake up and realize you love me?” He grabbed Gavin by the hair, pulling him closed and placing the other hand on his jaw, thumb tracing another bruise. “You know that we’re supposed to be together. I know you love me. Just as I love you.” Nines shoved Gavin against the wall and kissed him, ignoring the way the detective fought against the grip and tried to push him away. He did flinch back when Gavin responded with biting his lip instead. Nines ran a thumb over the cut, turning and stepping away from Gavin as he stared down at the blue blood dripping from his own mouth.
He looked back at Gavin, taking in the defensive stance for the first time. “That’s twice now you’ve injured me.” He frowned before quickly striding back in Gavin’s space and pinning him to the wall with a hand on his throat. “Why do you do this to me? Why do you make me hurt you? My human, it doesn’t matter how strong you are. It’s my job to protect you, to keep you safe from everyone out there. I mean just today I had to call out sick for you, of course I came in to work. Hank was gone, probably looking for Connor.” He let go of Gavins throat, walking towards the mirror instead. Nines stopped in front of the mirror, looking at his features as he kept speaking. “Everyone was so worried about poor Connor having gone missing. Only one person asked me about you Gavin. If she keeps trying to meddle in our affairs I’m going to have to do something about it.”
“No!” Gavin shouted, coughing some more as he continued to gasp for air. “No, she’s- she has nothing to do with this.”
Nines turned back to Gavin slowly, LED spinning yellow as he thought over the new information. “You care about her, about Tina.”
Gavin kept his mouth shut, not responding at all to Nine’s question. He knew already that he would be putting her in danger to speak anymore. Nines glanced once more in the mirror before walking towards Gavin and kneeling on the ground. “I asked you a question. You care about her. Is Tina your lover?”
Gavin looked at him in surprise. “The fuck? No, everyone knows she’s a lesbian.” He paused, looking up at Nines. He should know that, why didn’t he know that about Tina? He narrowed his eyes at Nines as the android turned away and walked out of the room. The lock clicked shut loudly behind him. Gavin turned to see what the android had brought in on the tray. There was a sandwich and a plastic cup filled with water. He quickly ate the sandwich and drank the water, wiping his mouth on his sleeve.
Gavin then looked at the tray, wondering if Nines had meant to leave it there and what he could do with it. He held it in both hands, giving it a small shake to test out the weight. He could use it to break the mirror and get a weapon from the glass shards, but those would be more likely to harm him than his captor. With a sigh he placed it on the ground, sliding it part way under the bed. He felt tired now that Nines had left again. Gavin laid down on the bed again, wondering what he could do, how he could try and get away from Nines. As he fell asleep he realized that Nines should have known Tina was a lesbian because he’d help set her up with the ST300 that worked at the station.
Hank watched as Chloe unhooked a Connor from the machine Kamski had him hooked up to. He waved off the genius’s explanations for why Connor hadn’t just shown up wherever he was like he used to before the peaceful revolution and just told them to get him working again. Chloe at least at smiled at him before the two of them got to work. Hank stepped back outside the room and looked over at Nines. The taller, newer android was sitting down in the hallway, his head in his hands and a red LED peeking through his fingers. “How’re you doing kid?” He leaned down slightly to get a better look at Nines.
Nines just looked up at Hank before looking back at the floor. “There’s someone running around in my body. They’re doing RA9 knows what to Gavin right now, and the only reason we know what’s going is because they or someone killed Connor!” He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “I’m sorry I just- I’m freaking out and making things worse by running simulations of what could be happening right now.”
“Don’t, we’ll wake up Connor and rush over there and rescue the little jackass.” Hank shuffled nervously, not sure how to comfort Nines when he was right, that other Nines could be doing god knows what. “I’m gonna head back in. I’ll explain the situation to him before we let him see you, okay?” Nines nodded and Hank went back into the room, shutting the door behind him.
Kamski moved from the computer to standing next to the counter they had laid Connor down on. Chloe stood by his head, her hands white and plastic showing as she lifted them from his forehead. Hank walked up just as Connor’s eyes snapped open.
He jumped up from the counter, LED spinning red as he patted down his chest, he looked down and his shirt was clean. His chest was covered by a clean shirt. Ignoring everyone in the room he quickly opened the shirt and checked again. He looked up and saw Chloe had moved to right in front of him. He turned and saw Hank and Elijah standing by the counter. “Hank! We have to save Gavin from Nines!” He saw Hank shake his head and frowned, turning back to Chloe. She had a hand stretched out, asking for a data transfer. He placed his arm in her hand, synthetic skin peeling back on his own as he was hit with a wave of data. He stumbled back, not breaking the connection but shocked at how much there was. Not just the information from that day when Hank burst in and asked for help, but showing over the course of the month Nines had spent with them.
She broke the connection and he turned to Hank and Elijah again. “Do we know who is in the other body then?”
Hank shook his head. “Nope. Figured we’d get there after we save the asshole. Come on, our real Nines is outside and ready to kill the one in his spare body.”
Connor placed a hand on Elijah’s shoulder when the man started to walk by. “I think it would be best if you stayed in a safe location.” He paused, not sure of the best way to ask the question. “Is that body the only spare Nines has? If he becomes destroyed-?”
Elijah shook his head. “If Nines is destroyed then he should still have an auto upload to the Cyberlife cloud. Then he would be manually uploaded into his new model. I’ve put in a firewall preventing any downloads from the Cyberlife cloud. That should prevent anything like this from happening in the future.”
Connor nodded and hurried out the door, he paused when he saw Nines. He knew this was their Nines, and not the copy, but it still shocked him to see Nines standing there. Taking a moment to watch the other android move and speak it was easy to see how different they were. This Nines was much more open, more human in his body language. The other one had moved like they were always on edge, they had colder eyes than this Nines.
He walked up to Nines, noticing how he flinched slightly at seeing Connor awake and up. “So, how are we going to do this? I know where he lead me, and can show you where he had killed me, but we don’t know if they’ve moved Gavin or if that even is where Gavin is hidden.”
Nines nodded and the five of them walked out of Cyberlife and back into the car. “It’s a good place to start with though.”
Gavin pulled against the chain, hoping it would give somewhere. He sat down with a sigh, looking over at the bed he was chained to. It was no use, damn thing was bolted to the floor. He looked around the room some more, there was a toilet, a sink, and a mirror. He stood back up, deciding to double check how long of a reach he did have. He couldn’t reach the door, but that was expected. The sink and toilet were in reach, but the mirror wasn’t. His fingertips could barely brush against the surface of the mirror.
He scrambled back to the bed and stood in front of it as he heard the lock click open. Nines calmly walked in with a smile that made Gavin’s skin crawl. “I hope you find the accommodations acceptable Gavin? Please let me know what I can do to make things more comfortable for you. I do plan on this being a very long stay.” He kept walking, getting in Gavin’s personal space as he looked down at him. Gavin but back a curse as his legs bumped into the bed behind him. Nines ran a thin pale finger along Gavin’s jaw as he continued to speak. “Now that our little problem is gone, I hope you can start to enjoy your stay here.”
“What the fuck is wrong with you Nines?” Gavin tried pushing back against the android but he didn’t even budge. He felt a shock of fear when Nines pushed him back onto the bed. The android knelt down over him and pulled him in for a harsh kiss. He could feel bruises starting to form on his jaw from the grip Nines had on him. Then just as quickly as it started Nines was standing back up next to the bed and looking down at Gavin.
“Nothing is wrong with me Gavin. I’m just- expressing my affections for you.” His cold eyes focused on the bruises starting to form. “I don’t want to hurt you Gavin, but if you struggle when we kiss, I’ll have to hold you down.”
He clenched his hands and swung a fist as Nines, cursing when the android caught it with ease. Nines just looked at before dropping the fist and slapping him. Gavin hit the ground hard, spitting out blood and cursing again. He climbed back up to his feet and raised his fists in front of him. Nines hit him again, Gavin blocking the hit with his arms and sliding back. He missed the android’s LED turning red for a moment before a hand caught him in the throat. Gavin felt himself shoved down onto the bed, panic overriding his brain as he clawed at the hand pinning him down by his throat. He could hear the blood rushing in his ears as Nines leaned down and whispered to him. “I love you Gavin, why would you want me to punish you?” He kicked against the android, luckily catching him in the area of the thirium regulator. Nines eased up of his crushing grip and stepped back, his hand pressing against his stomach.
Gavin gasped for air and shoved himself back further into the bed, his back against the wall and watching Nines with bloodshot eyes. Nines straightened up and swiftly unbuttoned his shirt, ignoring the way Gavin tensed up and got ready to bolt. He reached down to his regulator, blue blood leaking from where Gavin’s kick had shifted it out of place. Without even a blink he pulled out his regulator and pushed it back in, firmly locking it back in place. He frowned at Gavin before turning around and walking out of the room, the click of the lock sounded like a gunshot.
Gavin pulled his legs against his chest and rested his head on them. His throat hurt, his mouth was slowly bleeding from where he bit his cheek, he just knew his face was already becoming covered in bruises and worst of all- his eyes burned with tears. Gavin felt weak, scared, betrayed. He thought he knew Nines, his partner, his friend, but it turned out to all be a lie. Sure Nines had been acting a little odd for the past month, but he had brushed it off. Gavin curled up tighter, fighting the urge to cry as he thought over who would even notice he was missing. He wasn’t even sure how long he had even been missing. Was it just a day? Or had he been unconscious for more than a day?
He laid down on the bed, making sure his back was against the wall and he had a clear view of the door. Gavin shoved down the tears threatening to overwhelm him. He wouldn’t let himself cry though. He wouldn’t let himself show weakness, even if that thing wasn’t in the same room as him, Gavin worried he could be watching. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed before he fell asleep.
Rook's Writing 