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[He pauses for a moment before responding.]

I was built to aid the police with hunting deviants. Deviants being... androids who have broken free of their programming and have free will and emotions.

[It's still uncomfortable for him to think back on his life as the deviant hunter.]

But yes, there were other Connors. I know there were spare bodies for me incase this one was destroyed during my mission, and after I deviated myself... a Connor was sent to kill me.

I was allowed to do anything I deemed necessary in order to advance or complete my mission. My main objective was to stop the deviant uprising by eliminating Markus, the leader of the rebellion. I... wasn't allowed to fail, or I'd be deactivated.

[And even now, the idea of failing anything makes him extremely upset. He was literally programmed to believe he could succeed at anything he wanted to. And his punishment for failure was, back home, death.]

_{[The more he explains, the more Demyx's brows furrow. It shouldn't hit so close to home, yet it does. Not entirely, but... It's enough to be familiar. Nobodies weren't supposed to have emotions, if they screwed up too bad they were eliminated...

It's nasty stuff.]}

Man, no offense but your bosses or whatever? They sound like total heels.

_{[If they wanted the androids to blend in with people better, one would think having emotions would be encouraged, not forbidden like that. At least that's what he feels.]}

If I were some designer who made androids, I'd be super proud that they figured out emotions 'cause, like... That stuff is hard, y'know?

I wouldn't say we have them figured out, as such. I know personally, I still have some trouble regulating mine.

[Especially on the days leading up to the full moons.]

But, having existed in a state where I felt nothing... I highly prefer this.

[Living an actual life as opposed to just being a tool for CyberLife... even if his emotions have been causing him some trouble.]

Yeah, but even just getting to that point is something to be super proud of, dude.

_{[His hand reaches up to rest over where his heart sits - the actual, physical one in his chest - and his expression becomes unreadable for a few moments. Demyx hates admitting it to himself, but there's still some things he has trouble processing and he's not sure if it's because of him, or if his memories are that fuddled up.]}

I'm... not exactly human either, so when I say I get it? I totally mean it. Where I'm from, it's, uh... I think Vexen explained it to me as people being made up of three pieces? Their body, soul and heart. You take the soul or heart away, and it screws people up. If it's the heart, you just have the body and soul left, but people said the heart is connected to emotions and junk. Usually what's left sorta ends up fading away or something - I kinda tuned a lot of it out - but if you're strong enough? You can keep going and, well...

_{[He holds his hands out a bit, twisting as if to show himself off. Voila!]}

You get Nobodies. We're not supposed to be able to feel anything 'cause we're just empty husks with no Hearts, but I always kinda thought it was bogus.

_{[And who'd have thought he was right, once upon a time?]}

No one should get to say what we can and can't feel, right? If you're pissed, you're pissed. If you're happy, you're happy. Whenever people said I didn't have a heart and I was just faking? It kinda stung - _{[His fingertips tap his chest once, twice;]} Right here.

_{[A beat, and he straightens up, then leans forward with a crooked grin.]}

And hey, whenever you get stuck on something you don't know how to process? That's what friends are for, right?

Nobodies? That's not a very nice name.

[It implies that Demyx doesn't matter, and that's a pretty steep insult, Connor thinks.]

I used to think that androids couldn't really feel emotions. That what they were "feeling" was just errors in their software. Machines aren't supposed to feel or want anything, after all. But when you actually feel them for yourself... I can see how being told they're not there would hurt.

[And he regrets telling other androids that their feelings were wrong, or not real.]

You're right, though. Emotions would be difficult to navigate alone. If you do ever need someone to talk to, I'm here.

[He starts to dip his legs into the water finally, before letting himself slide in. When he emerges above the water he looks a lot different, and he folds his arms on the edge of the pool and offers a slight smirk.]

Are you coming in?

Huh? Yeah, uh...

_{[Demyx stands up to grab his shirt and ties it around his waist as some semblance of privacy so he can shuck his pants off - he'd found out the hard way that they will rip if he gets soaked, so he'd rather deal with a wet shirt than a no-pants walk of shame.

Once they've been discarded and tossed somewhere safe, he takes a step back, and runs towards the edge to dive in.

Changing forms was still uncomfortable, mostly in part of everything shifting around and his gills expanding, but it was getting... easier. At least he's been figuring out how to drag himself around outside of the water easier.

Breathing, though? He needs a second here, and he holds a finger up to show it.]}

G-Gim... gimme a sec.

[Connor's transformation has always been rather smooth, simply because he doesn't need to breathe and doesn't feel pain usually. He swims up to Demyx, concerned.]

Are you okay?

[He doesn't know how to make the transformation easier on him, so he just awkwardly pats him on the back.]

Y-Yeah, s'good--!

_{[His gills flare at the touch, but it's not a bad reaction by any means. It just wasn't... totally expected.

C'mon, Demyx. Deep breaths. In, out, and relax.]}

S'just, ah... I'm not used to the whole breathing-two-ways thing yet. I probably should've eased in, huh?

Probably.

[Demyx does seem distressed, and Connor wonders what needing to breathe is like. A hassle, by the looks of it.]

While I can simulate breathing, I don't actually need to do it... so I never had this problem. I'm not really sure how to help. Do you need me to do anything?

Nah, I'll be fine, dude.

_{[Eventually he'll get used to it, but that's neither tomorrow or next week. It's going to take time.]}

...So, if you can like, copy it, does that mean you've got lungs and stuff?

I have lungs. They're only there to emulate breathing, though... I don't need them, necessarily. Androids only breathe and blink in order to make humans feel less uncomfortable around us.

[He gives Demyx some space, choosing to swim in lazy circles around him instead.]

_{[He lets this sink in, all while sinking further into the water until he's up to his chin. It's... still tricky figuring out the right way to breathe with his gills rather than his actual lungs, but it's easier this way than it is trying to juggle both.

And it also makes it easier for Demyx to gather up the length of his tail into his arms, idly tracing the small, yellow spots between the bigger ones.]}

What about... a heart? Or I guess it'd be like... a battery for you guys?

I can show you, if you'd like.

[He stops in front of Demyx, watching him.]

It doesn't involve me opening anything up, don't worry.

_{[Show?

That makes the fins on his ears perk, and he tightens his grip on his tail for a moment.]}

Huh? You... Uh, sure?

I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't.

[He gestures for Demyx to follow him, ducking under the water completely. He touches his own chest gently, until the skin starts to deactivate and shows only the white of his plastic in the area between his stomach and his neck. With some focusing, he can make parts of the plastic slowly become see-through, though. And that shows his heart very clearly. A healthy thirium pump is blue, and it beats like a human heart.]

This is my thirium pump. The circle here- [he points to the glowing blue circle in the center of his chest] -is my thirium pump regulator. It regulates my heartbeat, essentially.

_{[He's not sure what he was expecting, but it wasn't that.

It really is just like something he'd see in a comic or read about in some sci-fi novel on the rare occasion he picked one of them up. And then the color comes through, and Demyx's gills flare.

Now that's cool.]}

It's... blue?

_{[Speaking underwater is still strange, but it's no different than when he'd play around with his old powers. It's just different being able to understand not only himself, but another person as well.]}

Er... Can I? _{[Touch, he wants to say, but it goes unspoken. Instead, he lifts a hand up, but he doesn't move to do anything.]}

[Connor nods.]

Thirium, the fluid used to power my biocomponents, is blue.

[Red would mean bad. As for the question, Connor comes closer.]

Sure.

[It's not like Demyx can put his hand through the plastic, so that's all he'll feel. But Connor won't stop him.]

_{[With that approval, he gingerly presses his palm against it and for a few moments, he keeps it there.

And then he grins, all fangs and teeth, his gills fluttering.]}

Dude, that's seriously cool. Having something like this seems like it'd be way better than the ones humans have.

I'm not sure there's a lot of difference, functionally.

[But he smiles back, a little more reserved but obviously enjoying himself. The way he swishes his tail is a good indicator.]

I could show you more, but I haven't tried opening my stomach cavity underwater yet and I don't intend to, just incase.

I-I'm good on that, don't worry.

_{[His fins twitch a little, and he offers a sheepish smile.]}

But I mean, humans only get the one. You guys can get yours repaired and replaced, yeah?

[He tips his head to the side, raising his eyebrows.]

Can't humans do that, too?

[Admittedly it's not as easy to do as with an android, but...]

You're correct, though. I've had limbs and biocomponents replaced before.

Sorta?

_{[He gently taps his fingers over his 'heart', gills flaring again.]}

It's just not as easy as popping this bad boy out and slapping a new one in. M'pretty sure you gotta have a replacement from another person, and they gotta match too, but I dunno the details. I just remember hearing something like that on TV.

_{[But then he grins, and Demyx looks downright mischievous as he draws his hand back.]}

Y'know, it sounds really stupid, but hear me out - if I could do that? I'd totally save one of my arms so I could throw it at someone the next time they asked me for a hand with somethin'.

_{[It's stupid, but god if it wouldn't make a Grade A joke.]}

[Connor huffs an amused breath, and promptly pushes Demyx back. Only lightly, at least.]

That's terrible.

[But now he's imagining throwing an arm at someone. He wonders if it would hurt. Probably- Connor could throw it pretty hard.]

One of the first things I got replaced was an arm, actually.

[He touches his left arm thoughtfully.]

I got shot in this one. It didn't bother me, but it would have been a problem if left like that.

_{[He snorts, letting momentum push him back in the water and for a moment he simply floats there.]}

I'd say I'm not completely terrible, but I don't exactly have a leg to stand on right now.

_{[He punctuates it with a light thwap of his tail to Connor's own, the edges of it seeming to flash for a split second.]}

I've been shot at before, but I've never had anything that needed any serious patching up. I'm kind of a wuss when it comes to anything painful like that, y'know?

[Oh no, it's the worst kind of torture. He let you into his pool, Demyx! He flicks his tail back at Demyx, making a face.]

I'm not much better with anything painful... I don't usually feel pain, but I can feel it in my Merrow form.

[He's not used to pain, so when he feels it he hates it.]

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