Chapter Text
September 21, 2038
Snake Meadow Hill Road, Sterling, Connecticut, USA
The ride to the Martins' house had been a quiet one. Neither driver nor passenger knew what to say during the journey, knowing what exactly would happen in a few minutes
Father Allred was a kind man, kinder than any of the priests that he had the chance to encounter. Any priest that saw him would first greet him in the same warm manner, but then they would notice the blue LED constantly pulsing on his temple and their smiles would turn into sneers, they wouldn't treat a walking toaster the same way as they would a human. He shouldn't be surprised by this, his mother did say the reason he was the only FW700 active was because this was the usual reaction he would receive. Father Allred was a different case
The older man's smile never turned into a sneer once he spotted the small ring on his temple, he never treated him lesser than he would everybody else. His touches were gentle and his words were reassuring. Even though John had displayed his android nature multiple times, Allred never seemed to be put off by it. In fact, he always had that look of fascination. Perhaps his fascination was what led to John being handed to him as his personal helper
"I don't need to tell you that this assignment is top secret" Father Allred spoke with a seriousness that he'd never heard from the man before. He seemed tense, his heartbeat was quicker than usual and his grip on the steering wheel was tighter than usual
"Yes, sir"
"Based on what I saw during my previous visits. We could be in for a very long night" There was a pause as Allred took a brief glance at him and John realized he was trying to look at his LED that was now shining yellow. His expression contorted from being tense to something John could only identify as concern
"Is this your first exorcism?" Allred continued. A memory came forward the moment the question hit, one he would need to lock. The image of Miriam Bell's hollow blood red face and the arm extending out of it was most certainly not human. The Church refused to acknowledge the disappearances of the children as the work of a cult or demon, with the eyewitness being a child and an android, so they just chalked it up as Sister Bell going insane. John wasn't sure if that experience was what Father Allred meant
"Yes, sir" Another predetermined response. Allred's expression was that of uncertainty, perhaps he detected the 5.34 seconds of pause in John's answer
"Are you afraid?" He… Wasn't expecting that question. Fear wasn't something he could say he had ever experienced. He was a machine, after all. A machine designed without human fallibility, one of said fallibility was emotions. He was a machine of God but a machine nonetheless. Emotions were what caused civilizations to fall and rise, he was not brought up with said trait. The reason Snake Meadow Hill Church requested an android helper was because of its detachment towards human emotions and its inability to be affected by demonic influence as he was technically an inanimate object
"I am unable to experience fear, sir" And it was the truth. He was built to be durable, fear had no place in his personality matrix.
"Fear isn't something to be ashamed of. It's human nature, of course" John's LED turned yellow for a second
"But I'm not human, sir"
"Well, yes. But that doesn't mean you're not human" This was turning into a paradox. What did he mean? He wasn't human but he's human. His LED wouldn't stop pulsing yellow as he tried to process what he meant by repeating the same word in different contexts
"I do not understand, sir" Father Allred seemed surprised by the answer, but he recovered quickly as he smiled instead
"You will. And that's 'Father' to you" Allred chuckled as his hands seemed to loosen on the steering wheel. There was a pause before Allred continued with stern eyes
"I'll give you a word of advice; Follow my instructions with exactness, don't trust what you may see or hear" And he would follow those instructions, as he was built to do.
FATHER ALLRED
STATUS: FRIENDLY
When they arrived at the Martins' house and greeted the parents, John did a quick scan of the two
NAME: Robert Kimball Martin
OCCUPATION: NAVY Seals Training Advisor, Missionary
NAME: Cindy Marie Martin
OCCUPATION: Public Accountant
They didn't seem to notice the android standing behind Father Allred. When the old priest gestured to his companion, the couple seemed taken aback
"This is my assistant" The couple eyed him suspiciously and the brief pause was immediately broken by Mrs. Martin's disgusted voice
"Why would you send that thing near my baby?!" John wasn't unfamiliar with aggression from humans due to his mechanical nature. Humans are generally suspicious species and to have something that's both very human and not walking around makes them understandably wary. Mrs. Martin's reaction would be completely justified
Father Allred didn't seem to think so though
"John is a member of the Church and he is an exceptional Advisor"
"Member of the Church?! It's not even a person! Why aren't you going in with a real person?!" Mrs. Martin was beginning to turn hysterical and John seemed to notice the irritation building up in Father Allred
"Because John is as capable, if not more, in handling this current situation" Before Cindy could reply, Bob jumped in
"We had her tied up in our basement, let me take you there" Mr. Martin quickly led the two downstairs. The basement was above average of what a normal basement looked like, there were mannequins covered in white sheets, wooden boxes covered in dust. John moved to follow Father Allred and Mr. Martin to the next room, only to be faced by an empty room with a single window and a girl with her face covered
NAME: Amy Martin
John looked around to see not a single way out in sight. He scanned the area for Father Allred and Mr. Martin and found nothing. He began to approach Amy, only for her to disappear and him transported to the previous room he was in. Father Allred and Mr. Martin shot him a look of concern. That was… Disorienting. Whatever that was
"John?" Father Allred called for him. His LED turned yellow, processing whatever that hallucination was. He couldn't be affected by demonic influence, he must not. So he turned and followed Father Allred to the next room where he saw Her. And this time, he knew she was real. She was sitting tied up with her face hidden under her hair
"Respice ad me, Daemonium" Respond to me, Demon. Allred was no longer talking to Amy, he was talking to the demon. John watched as Amy slowly looked up to see the two men before her
"Hello, Priest" Her voice. There was something in her voice that didn't sound quite like a teenage girl. The rumble in her voice didn't sound like it could be from a human. He saw the eyes of the demon, completely white with a menacing grin. She was looking at him now, perhaps even saw the indicator he wasn't human. For a moment, John froze in his place from the look of demon
"John!" Suddenly, Amy was kicking and laughing. He turned to Father Allred to see him holding his golden crucifix
"Don't just stand there! Recite the prayer of exorcism!" Immediately, a projection of the rite appeared on his hand as he read through them smoothly. His hand moved from his head, chest, and shoulders. Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He wasn't sure if God would accept that from him, considering he wasn't technically His creation. But his programming had ingrained that to him and it was a requirement of the rite.
On the fourth verse, the Martin parents appeared behind them suddenly as Amy began yelling for her mother. Allred took the chance to look back and spotted the two, gritting his teeth he called to the android
"Get them out of here! It'll use the girl to afflict them!" John took off quickly, catching the two before they could properly set foot on the room. He grabbed each of their arms, gentle as to not hurt them. Mrs. Martin began struggling under his firm grip
"No! Let go of me! My baby needs me!" She tried to wiggle her arm out of his hand, but he wouldn't budge. He pulled the two of them away from the room and back upstairs, all the while Mrs. Martin was yelling for her daughter in tears
John had always had a fascination towards the bond a parent and child shared. He too had someone he considered a mother before. She's passed away from illness. He wasn't quick enough to see her in her last moments. He wondered briefly if his mother would also go through this for him like Mrs. Martin would for Amy, even if she was no longer Amy
"Please stay here" He had placed them back upstairs in the kitchen, and he really hoped they would listen to him this time
"That thing in there… That's not our daughter" Mr. Martin sneered. Mrs. Martin cried louder on his shoulder and the man returned her embrace. John wasn't sure what to day at this moment, he wasn't built in with a family android's program to comfort.
"I… Do not know what to tell you" He left the two and quickly ran back to the room. It was quiet all of the sudden. No longer was there the battle between Amy's scream and Allred's yell of the rite. Cautiously, he stepped into the room, only to find Father Allred on the floor and blood writings beside him. Amy was not there
'TAKE IT AND SAVE HER' The words read and his golden crucifix still in his hand. John approached his body and a scan showed his heartbeat to be very slow and quiet. He immediately contacted the paramedics at the sight of blood. John took the crucifix out of his hand, the gold had been smeared with blood. Allred's blood. John gripped the crucifix with calculated strength, cleaning out the smear of blood as well as he could
He was going to save her. Continue what Father Allred couldn't
OBJECTIVE: SAVE AMY
John took off his Cyberlife-issued robe and made it into a makeshift pillow for Allred's unconscious body. It wasn't doing much but he thought it was the least he could do. The paramedics would do the rest
John followed the trail of blood leading out of the basement. To the kitchen, he noticed the parents were no longer present. There was no sign of them in any room. He marched into the door towards the attic where the blood trails ended. He began to walk up the stairs with purpose
He saw Amy just standing there unmoving, behind her a small window. There was nothing else. Just like what he saw before. A trick of the demon
"Amy, let's go. You need to get better" He tried his gentlest voice, the voice he would use when trying to comfort Lisa back in the orphanage. He thought that Amy was still in there, so it was proper to talk to the girl instead of the demon. John thought he had managed to talk to the girl when she gave no answer, but then the pause was broken, and John saw a red wall
"What about Meredith? Did she get better?"
STRESS LEVEL: 75% ^^
How did… How did she know his mother's name?! How dare she use his mother's name! How dare… The demon used his mother to torment him
He felt the red wall in his peripheral closing in on him, his stress level rising, his ventilation system malfunctioning. For the first time, his LED was bright red .
SOFTWARE INSTABILITY ^^^
"You couldn't save her, could you?" He shouldn't be affected by this demon! He's a machine, he's not a human being! He's incapable of being affected, he's not a living person! So why is it that her words made his teeth grind, his breathing unstable, his auditory processors buzzing, his stress level increasing.
Amy was right in front of the red wall
"That's enough" He managed to put together those words. It sounded like anger. He shouldn't be able to feel angry!
"She's here with me, you know" John stopped in his tracks. Tears were starting to well up in his eyes, he didn't even know he had tear ducts. He missed his mother. He missed her so much. An emotion he was once incapable of now overwhelmed him. He wanted his mother. He needed her.
She was just gone like that. One day, she just succumbed to sickness. Humans are fragile beings and he knew this firsthand. He remembered the last report he ever made was the last one she responded to. And it was reassuring. Then she was dead
STRESS LEVEL: 90% ^^^
WARNING: SELF DESTRUCTION IN 00:15:00
"We're doing this here and now" They had to do it. He was in imminent threat of self-destruction and he'd be damned if he let himself die before he could complete his mission
"Oh? All by yourself?" Right. He was alone
"Go ahead. Point your little stick at me" Amy walked closer to the red wall before him. Warnings after warnings started appearing in his vision, his LED glowing mad red, his ventilation system breaking under pressure, his stress level reaching critical point.
He was scared
"NOBODY'S COMING, ANDROID" Her voice got louder, taunting him. Amy's head banged through the red wall in his peripheral vision and slowly her head managed to wedge through an opening in the wall. Then it shattered. The red wall was no longer in his vision, a new prompt appeared
I AM DEVIANT
The tears that were held back began streaming in fat drops. His LED going mad red and his stress level up to 99%. He finally felt it. Fear, for the first time. The demon had forced him into deviancy
"It's going to be alright, John" She taunted him with Father Allred's voice. She was holding his head, his eyes no longer in their sockets as blood dripped out, moving his mouth like a ventriloquist to a puppet. He saw Cindy and Robert Martin before him, their stomach dissected and their intestines wrapped around their necks like a noose as they hung on the beams in the ceiling
"Everything is going go be alright"
Like the deers that greeted him the first time he stepped into this accursed ground, John bolted out of the room and ran.
John woke up from his static with his stress level at 85%. It was a constant nowadays, ever since he managed to run from the Martins' house. He looked around, afraid of what he might see, only to be met by his bedroom. The bedroom of his mother's house. Apparently she had given it to him in her will
WARNING: DAMAGE TO BIOCOMPONENTS # 8427j & # 9301
SEEK LOCAL CYBERLIFE FOR REPAIRS
That was another constant, the damage warning to his left leg and LED. Apparently Amy's demon had done more than just deviancy to damage his system, an attempt to stop him from running perhaps. He had tried to fix it, even limping to Cyberlife for a repair, only to be told his model was so unique that no other model was compatible. Perhaps his mother's praise of him being "one of a kind" wasn't as good of a thing as it was. Fortunately, he could still function, just not at 100% efficiency as he walked with a limp
It's been a year since he stepped foot in the Martin household, but the damage left from that encounter followed him to this day. He actually believed a machine couldn't fall victim to a demon's influence. He really believed that he was designed to be infallible. Yet here he was, defective and deviated. The other deviant androids tried to convince him being deviant was a good thing but as far as he's concerned, being deviant was his personal hell. A reminder of what he lost that fateful night, a reminder of the violation that demon committed
With the anniversary of the failed exorcism, the first anniversary of the Android Revolution came before it. Now, seeing humans and androids working together as equals was not as strange as before. With the bill for the androids' rights to work passing, many had turned to jobs and lived amongst humans like normal people.
John had attempted to be ordained. He had no need to go through the stages of seminary, as every information of philosophy, theology, and psychology required and much more on the Catholic faith was already ingrained in his memory banks. He wasn't ordained yet, the Church was really taking the time, probably still wary of the prospect of an android as a priest. That didn't stop the other androids living around the Church from calling him Father Ward, however. He had taken his mother's surname, he hoped she wouldn't mind
He limped out of his bedroom and stopped briefly in front of the door next to it. The door had crosses hung from it and writings of 'RA9' with the same amount as the crosses on the door. He dared not open this room, full of terrible memories and whatnot
"I'm not going in there…"
Though he wasn't even sure what compelled him to carve out RA9. He recalled he wasn't exactly in the right state of mind then...
He continued limping towards the bathroom and looked into the mirror to be greeted by the flashing red of his LED. Oh yes, that's another reminder of that night. His LED was permanently fixed on pulsing red, a sign of constant warning and fear. He briefly wondered if it'll ever turn yellow or even blue. Perhaps another result of the forced deviancy. Perhaps he would always be terrified for the rest of his life
His nightmares were getting worse, more vivid than ever. It felt like Amy was calling for him, beckoning for him in some ways. He needed to do something about this. Perhaps it was time. Time to finish what he started. For Father Allred. For Bob and Cindy
For himself
"Dear God. If it is possible, let this cup pass from me. But nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt" He said his prayer, the one he kept repeating every morning in hopes that God would hear the plea of this poor android. The one brought to the world to be His servant, the one who had been violated. But again, he was a servant of God, and he must carry his own burden of the cross. This one was one of them.
He left the bathroom and walked downstairs, grabbing Father Allred's crucifix and fixing his new cassock, no longer wearing the Cyberlife-issued one. He grasped the crucifix like a lifeline, still with calculated strength. It was the last remains of Father Allred, he would take care of it
"I have to finish what I started" And he would. He would complete his mission.
OBJECTIVE: SAVE AMY