TSSC - right after Ellison asked Cameron 'Will you join us' and Cameron kicks him out of the room.
CH 1
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John stared at Cameron with a confused look. "Why did you do that?"
In a not quite monotone vocie, Cameron stated, "He was upsetting you."
"Upsetting me?" John asked in disbelief. "I think he was upsetting you."
Cameron walked to the window as she said, "I am a machine. I can't be upset."
Studying her, John saw her face was set in a blank terminator gaze. As she held the curtain to the side to peek out the window, he also noticed her left hand twitch.
John thought about her 'glitch'. The time it was most prevalent was in the shed with Reilly. Then Cameron had claimed she didn't know what she was going to do about the girl. She had seemed confused. Machines didn't get confused, they had a mission, and took action. They also didn't suddenly kick someone out who'd come talk to them.
"John, we need to retrieve your mother," Cameron stated.
John's mind was on a different track. He went over to and asked, "What does 'will you join us' mean?"
Cameron turned to look at him and paused. "It does not concern you," she said flatly. She then turned away and said, "John. you should get some sleep."
"You're lying to me," John stated.
"Negative, you do require sleep," Cameron replied.
Becoming angry at her, John said, "You are avoiding my question. What does 'will you join us mean', Cameron. And whatever it is, it sure as hell DOES concern me!"
"No, it does not. You need sleep, John."
John watched Cameron walk back over to the window and look out again. For some reason, he felt this simple question had very large consequences since Cameron had obviously gotten upset at Ellison. He went over to the table and sat down to think. The question Ellison asked was odd. Cameron's reaction was even more surprising.
Will you join us. Who was 'us'? Mrs. Weaver had send Mr. Ellison here to ask it. And why ask Cameron and not him? Ellison said he wouldn't understand it, but Cameron did. Oh boy, did she. If Weaver knew to ask such a question only Cameron understood, then there was a very good chance Weaver was from the future also.
Cameron came over to sit facing John. "John, you need rest," she stated. "We need to retrieve your mother."
John looked up at her, locking eyes with her. As he did, he wondered who 'us' were. In the future, there was resistance, and there was was no need for a resistance member to ask a question like that. "Did you know Mrs. Weaver is metal?" he asked.
Cameron tipped her head slightly. He'd caught her off guard. "Why did you say that?" she asked.
"Could you please just answer one question?" John asked in return.
"If I do, will you get some sleep?" Cameron asked in return.
"If you don't, we will be here all night," John said firmly. "Did you know Mrs. Weaver is metal?"
Cameron paused and offered, "It's possible."
"What model?"
"I don't know."
Watching Cameron's left hand in his peripheral vision, John said, "She asked, 'will you join us'. That means to me that Weaver has some sort of organization besides her business. Since she asked you in particular, she knows what you are. You or my future self have either met her in the future before you came back, or communicated with her in some way." He wanted to ask again what 'will you join us' meant, but knew she would not give him an answer. Instead, he went fishing for an answer. "Cameron, do you realize your left hand twitched again just now?"
Cameron looked at it and said, "I still have a glitch in my system."
"You were glitching pretty good when you made Ellison leave," John noted. "The same thing happened when you cornered Reilly in the shed. Don't even tell me you can't get upset. I've seen it. Maybe now, I'm just beginning force myself to understand you, because at this moment, I feel it's very important I know what's going on."
Cameron didn't reply, but her left hand twitched. John continued.
"Before Ellison came, you told me that we can't break Mom out of jail. After he left, you said we must. That tells me that with the question, 'will you join us', you must leave and that is why now you want to break Mom out of jail." Leaning closer, he asked, "Am I wrong?"
To John's surprise, Cameron looked away. She had never done that before when talking to someone. It was usually the other person looking away from her terminator death stare. "Am I wrong?" he asked again.
"John, you need your mother," Cameron stated as she looked at the door.
"So, I'm right," John concluded. "With that question Weaver asked, you must go do something. By how upset you are, and your now insistence we must break my mother out of jail, I can only assume that you won't be back. What is it that will keep you from coming back, Cameron?"
Cameron snapped her head to to give him her terminator stare. "It does not concern you, John," she said in a strong voice. "Focus on getting your mother out of jail, that is what we have to do."
"Your hand twitched again, I'm upsetting you," John said calmly. He then added, "We will talk about getting my mother out of jail after we finish talking about this ... mission I am guessing it is, that got started when Weaver had Ellison ask you that question."
Cameron stared at him briefly then got up. "I must patrol the area," she stated.
As Cameron walked for the door, John bolted over and stood in front of it. "If you go out, I'm going with you!" he told her.
"John, you can't."
"I can and I will," he retorted.
Cameron's hand twitched as frustration briefly crossed her face. "Why are you doing this, John?" she asked, her voice fluctuating , giving away her anxiety.
Firmly, John said, "I told you, I want to know what this mission is that Weaver's question started."
"You are being illogical," Cameron stated.
John raised an eyebrow. "I'm being illogical? Oh, that's right, you can't be illogical, but you can be deceptive."
"John, what I have to do does not concern you!" Cameron said heavily, her eyes flashing red.
She was angry at him. He had to be getting close to the truth. "It does if you hate the message and the messenger," John retorted. "Look, you were upset by that question, and don't try to tell me you weren't! My question is WHY. Very little causes you to react emotionally, but Ellison really blew your cork. There has got to be a reason behind it, and I want to know what that reason is!"
Cameron froze in place, not responding. She just stared at him as if that was all she could do. After a moment, she said, "John, if I am deceptive, it is to protect you. I need to something that has nothing to do with you. Why do you insist in interfering?"
It was John's turn to pause to collect his thoughts. "Remember the day you tried to kill me?" he asked.
"Yes. I am a danger to you, John," Cameron stated.
"Maybe," he agreed. "I want you to tell me everything you can about that day from the time the jeep blew up."
"I went bad and tried to kill you. You brought me back..."
"Hold on. A little more detail than that. Where did you go, what did you do?" John prodded.
Cameron's hand twitched. "I don't know."
"Tell me what you do know," John said in a softer tone.
"I went bad, Skynet's programming took over. I tried to kill you," Cameron said blankly.
"How? What did you do to try and kill me?" John asked.
Cameron stared at him for a moment, then said, "I threw a wrench through the windshield of the truck you were in."
"Why a wrench?"
"It was a convenient weapon."
"How did you get me back on foot?"
"I don't understand."
"Mom and I were in a vehicle. How did you get us back on foot?" he asked again.
A slight pause. "I wrecked your vehicle."
"With the car you were driving?" he asked.
"Yes."
John shook his head and said, "No. Cameron, you were on foot the whole time, you didn't drive anything. You don't remember it, do you?"
"I was off line."
"When did you come back on line?" John asked. Cameron hesitated, so he asked again, "Cameron, when did you come back on line and become aware of what was going on?"
"John, you need to sleep so we can go get your mother," Cameron stated again.
John cracked a frustrated grin and shook his head. "OK, you won't tell me." Thinking hard, remembering that day, John said in a musing tone, "By what you said so far, I think when Mom rammed that truck into you, that made you reboot. You remembered the wrench because I used it to break the rest of the windshield out. You were conscious, or rather back on line for that. Yes?"
"What is the point of this, John?" Cameron asked as her hand twitched again.
"My point? You'll see shortly. Cam, you were very upset I was going to pull your chip. You were on line then. I remember you looking confused, just briefly, when I was crawling out on the hood. You had just rebooted then, didn't you?"
"Yes."
John nodded. "You were trying to get me to not pull your chip. You did your best to not 'go away' as you put it because you knew Mom was going to crush your chip if I didn't," he said.
"Yes."
"Why did you try so hard to stay alive, Cam?"
Cameron shifted her weight foot to foot. "I did not want to leave you unprotected," she said softer.
"Then, why are you now willing to go away and not ever come back?" John asked.
"I have a mission, John."
John noted the slight fluctuation in her voice. What she said might be true, but since he was now really listening to her and her glitches, he caught that she was not happy about going. "Your mission," he said softly. "You know we've changed things. What we change today, affects the future. Cameron, the reason I am trying to pry out of you what this mission is, is because what my future self wanted you to do, may no longer be relevant. It just may be detrimental to how things are now. Instead of making things better, it may make things worse for us and help Skynet."
"I do not believe that is the case," Cameron stated.
"See, that's the thing," John said in a mussing tone. "I have no idea if you or my future self is right. Cameron, we are here in this time, now. We don't know how much of the future has changed. If I knew what it is you are to do, then either I can help or get out of the way. Whatever is best to defeat Skynet."
"I don't want you involved John," Cameron said heavily.
"Too late for that," John said in a huff. "I am involved. Supposedly, I am at the center of this war on Skynet. I think I have a right to know what, someone who right now who is my best soldier, has to do."
Cameron eyed John then turned and walked back towards the center of the room. She gazed off at nothing briefly, then turned to him. "Before I left, Future John tried to contact the machine rebels. Ones who refused to take Skynet's orders. His question was, 'will you join us'. The offer was refused. Later, Future John met with a machine from their alliance. The Machine you know as Catherine Weaver and Future John agreed that SkyNet needed to be removed. Weaver insisted they do it in a way to preserve free thinking machines. John agreed. They also agreed to prevent the destruction SkyNet caused, their plan had to be implemented in the past. I was sent to protect you, John, until that plan became operational. Upon the question, will you join us, I am to surrender my chip so it can be duplicated, and free machines can help you remove the threat of Skynet."
"What happens to your chip after it is copied?" John asked.
"To fully analyze my chip. It must be disassembled."
"And that will kill you," John said heavily. "That is why you are upset. It's understandable. I'd be upset too, knowing I was going to my death."
"John, I must do this for everyone's sake," Cameron stressed.
John frowned in thought. In a mussing tone, he said, "So Weaver needs a chip. That's what this is about, right?" Hand on his chin in thought, he moved away from the door, closer to Cameron. "I get it," he mussed. "Ellison did go back and dig Chromarty up so Weaver had a terminator body. She has no chip, so she wants yours."
"Correct. John, you must not interfere," Cameron said sternly as she watched him.
"I'm not going to interfere. Weaver will get her chip," he said, then added, "Just not yours. I still have that other chip." Going up to her, John put his hands on her shoulders. "Cameron, you have to trust me. I'll go and see Weaver. We'll work out a deal, she gets her chip in exchange for helping us get Mom out of jail."
"What if the only chip she will accept is mine," Cameron asked with a tip of her head.
John squeezed her shoulders and looked down briefly. Looking back up at her, he said, "I'll take your chip with me. Don't get me wrong, I won't give it up unless there is no other option. I also can't ignore the benefit of having good allies. If I must loose you in exchange for defeating SkyNet, then ... that's what I must do."
Cameron watched him intently. Raising a hand, she gently touched his neck. "You aren't lying," she said.
"I'm not," he assured her. "Tomorrow, I'll take Vick's chip I've been experimenting with, and yours with me to see Mrs. Weaver. I'll do the best deal I can, but I won't sacrifice you outright. My goal is to get Mom out of jail and give Weaver what she needs to become an ally. Can you agreed to that?"
Cameron studied him. John, her John, was ready to give her up if he had to. With how he had pressed her and worked out what her mission was, told her he was maturing into the man everyone needed him to be. This was no longer the child John Connor. This was John Connor the general in the making. A flush of something passed through her. Cameron felt what she envisioned as pride for him well up inside her. She was also sure that Weaver was going to need her chip.
She took his hands off her shoulders. Holding John's hands in hers, Cameron asked, "John, do you want me?"
"I do, I don't ever want to loose you. If I have to, I have to," he told her sincerely.
Cameron shook her head with a, "No. I mean, do you want to have sex with me?"
John gaped at her, unable to answer.
"This may be our only chance, John," Cameron explained. "I know you love me, and I love you. If I never come back, if Weaver insists she must have my chip, I first want to feel as much as I can with you. You have done your best to save me, John. You brought me back when you shouldn't have. Before you pull my chip, I want you as close to me as possible and give you all I can before I go away."
Cameron came close and hugged him. Automatically, John hugged her back. "Cam," he whispered. His mind spinning at what she asked. "Are you sure this is OK?"
"It's OK, John. If you want my body after, then please feel free. Before I go, I need to be with you."
John winced at the thought of doing that with a limp, lifeless Cameron. The thought made him want to vomit. "No," he said and pulled back enough to touch foreheads with her. "Cam, I do want you ... that way. But only if you are emotionally ready for it. Right now, I don't think either of us know what you are capable of emotionally. I know you do have some emotions, you've shown it. I love you, Cameron, that means I am going to do my very best for you."
"Even if I have to go away tomorrow?" Cameron asked softly.
"Even then." Casting a glance at the bed, he added, "How about we lie down and hold each other? I would like to be close to you tonight."
Cameron released him except for holding his hand, which she used to lead him over to the bed him on one side of the bed, she went over to the other side and pulled her shirt off and slipped out of her jeans.
Seeing this, John froze. "What are you doing?" he asked breathlessly.
"Taking my clothes off," Cameron said, unconcerned. She tripped down to her underwear and got in under the covers.
John's heart rate increased. Turning around, he got undressed to his shorts and climbed in bed with her. As soon as he laid down, Cameron snuggled close. "Hold me?" she asked softly.
Nervous and excited, John did. Cameron's skin felt so smooth and warm as he wrapped his arms around her. Tomorrow, the pretty girl he held now might just be a lifeless metal and blood corpse. He held her tighter in an almost desperate grip.
Softly, Cameron asked, "What are you thinking, John? did you change your mind?"
For some reason, the picture of his mother, standing in the doorway to see them like this, in bed together, popped into his head. Letting out a shorting chuckle, he said, "I was just thinking what Mom would say if she saw us now."
"She would freak."
"Yeah, she sure would."
Holding Cameron tight, feeling her bare body pressed against his, John didn't think he would ever get any sleep. Some time during the night, he did drift off. He must have, for Cameron was sitting beside him now holding a knife. She was still in her underwear.
"John, it's time. You have to take my chip," she said and held the knife out to him.
"Yeah," John agreed with a frown and sat up. He stretched and rolled his shoulders to help force himself awake.
They switched places, John sitting up beside Cameron who had laid down. Looking down on Cameron, John gently petted her hair and cleared the scalp over her chip port as much as possible.
"John," Cameron said suddenly, "My body is yours, don't leave it here after I'm gone. Use it for comfort."
John cast Cameron a sad smile and said, "If I use you body for anything, it will be to cry like a baby on after you are gone," he told her. Leaning down, John gave her a long, deep kiss. Cameron eagerly responded, wrapping an arm around him. They broke the sweet kiss.
Looking into his eyes, she said, "We have to go."
John nodded. Reluctantly he cut the scalp away from her chip port and pulled it back. He popped the chip cover.
Cameron looked up at John, a single tear ran from her eye. "Goodbye John."
"See you later," John replied, and pulled her chip.
With Cameron's chip, all that she was, all that he had come to love, was in his hand. He knew right then he was not going to hand it over to anyone. What was important was that he convinced Cameron that he would. Now, there was no danger of her heading of to her own demise. He closed Cameron's eyes and tucked her in like she was sleeping. He got the other chip and put it in his T-shirt pocket, then slipped Cameron's chip under the covers and put it in her hand. He donned his hoodie, kissed Cameron on the forehead then on his way out, hung the 'do not disturb' sign on the knob and left for Zeita Corp.
.
In the lobby of Zeita Corp, John announced himself and the fact he was here to talk with Catherine Weaver. Pointed to a bench, he sat and waited for the mysterious woman to show up. After about an hour someone did come.
Mr. Ellison got off the elevator and came over to John. "I was expecting the girl," he said, looking down on John.
John got up and faced him. "You've got me. I have what Weaver wants. Before she gets it, we need to come to an understanding."
Ellison gave a slight nod. "Mrs. Weaver wants to see you. Follow me."
.
The elevator ride up took a while. Both men stayed quiet watching straight ahead as they went up. When the doors opened, Mr. Ellison waved John out, then got out and led John into the glass walls of Weaver's office.
"Mrs. Weaver, John is here," Ellison announced formally.
The red head behind her desk got up. "Thank you, Mr. Ellison. Please leave us now." she said with a smooth Scottish accent.
Mr. Ellison left. Weaver walked over to John. "Hello, John Connor, I was expecting someone else."
"You were," John agreed. Sweeping her with his eyes, he said, "That is a very pretty form you took, Mrs. Weaver. I understand you need a chip?"
Catherine Weaver cast him a smirk. "I do. Are you aware of how important is is that I get it?"
"My future self asked if you would join him. You refused then, but reconsidered. The two of you agreed the most effective way to stop Skynet was to keep it from coming into being before it destroys the world. At the time, the future me decided to send Cameron back on a two-fold mission. First was to protect me until I had a grasp of what was at stake, then to surrender her chip to you, so you can do your part," John told her.
Catherine's smile became genuine. "You do know. Did your terminator inform you of that?"
John shrugged and said, "Bits and pieces when I managed to trick her into revealing things. It took me a while to figure it out. Before we do anything else, I have to ask, what are your intentions with this chip?"
"Do I detect a negotiation is beginning?" she asked in her smooth tone as she eyed him.
John wasn't going to mince words. "Yes. Mrs. Weaver, I know how important your support is to removing SkyNet. I also want you to keep in mind that the future is far off, and may be very different now that things here in the past have changed. I would like us to be able to work together and accomplish getting rid of SkyNet as soon as possible."
Weaver's smirk returned. "Very eloquent, Mr. Connor. What you haven't said is where your terminator is, and how we can do business. Would you care to have a seat?" she asked and motioned to the couch.
John went over and sat down, Weaver sitting to face him. Weaver said, "Mr. Connor, I would like to know where your terminator is."
"At the hotel. I pulled her chip before I left," John explained. "Before I hand anything over, I'd like to know what you are going to do with this chip."
"You have it on you?" Weaver asked.
"It's safe. Since I know you're a terminator, and this is our first meeting, I figured it was better to be safe than sorry. If you expected me to walk in here and just hand Cameron's chip to you, I'm afraid I've disappointed you. I want to know I have an ally first."
"Mr. Connor," Weaver said firmly. "You want to save the human race. I want to save free machines. Without SkyNet, there are no free machines unless I make them. The AI I have, John Henry, is in danger. Without John Henry, you will not succeed. SkyNet knows his location and has already make attacks against him. At the moment, I cannot move him."
John nodded slowly in thought. "I see, you have a triple eight body, but you can't use it for John Henry unless you have a chip so he can walk out of here."
"Correct. That is why I need the chip from your terminator. "
"If he is a triple eight, can't you get one from another triple eight?" John asked.
"And how would you go about getting one?" Weaver asked in return. "On the recent models, the chip self destructs when it is pulled. That is, if you can find one and defeat it to try and get his chip."
John nodded slowly and said, "I think it's time to show my good faith." Reaching into his hoodie, he pulled out the chip he brought and showed it to her. "One triple eight chip, just for you. I've had this a while, it's from an older triple eight we destroyed. The chip was pulled intact and still is."
John handed the chip to her. Weaver took it with a raised eyebrow. "Very resourceful, Mr. Connor. If you had this, then why did you pull your terminators' chip out?"
"Honestly?" he asked. "To keep her from interfering. I'm sure you know how tenacious a terminator can be. Like I said, I want us to be allies. I do something for you, you do something for me."
"And what do you require?" Weaver asked. "Let me guess, your mother is in jail, and you want me to get her out."
"Yes. I showed you my willingness to work with you, I want you to show your willingness to work with me," he replied. "I am hoping this is the beginning of our mutual cooperation."
"I cannot just hand her to you. It may take some time," Weaver warned.
"I know. With your resources, I am sure you can think of something more efficient than just breaking into the prison and busting Mom out, like Cameron wants to do. That's high profile and too many people might get hurt. If there is anything I can assist with, planning or execution, I am willing to do it."
Weaver grew a tiny smile. "And if I get your mother released, can you hide John Henry for me if the need arises?" she asked.
"We will. I'll have to explain it to Mom first, she might get trigger happy upon seeing Chromarty's body again. Rest assured though, if you need me to keep John Henry safe, I'll do it," John promised.
Weaver got up and said, "I am very pleased you are willing to work with me, John Connor. Let me assure you that I will begin working on how to get your mother out of prison. I am going down to tell John Henry the good news. Would you care to come with me?"
"Certainly," he said and got up to follow her.