Disclaimer: I only own my own original character (and perhaps this plot bunny for the fanfiction).

A/N1: This one-shot serves as one of two prequels for a story that I am writing based partially on a dream.

Long Island, Jones Beach, 1995

A young girl of six wanders the crowded field of Jones Beach, located on Long Island, in the state of New York. People don't mind as she wanders around, letting the water lap over her feet. She giggles at the cold water and sits, playing with wet, muddy.

She had managed to give her parents the slip, and ran off as she was probe to do. She was an energetic child with an insatiable curiosity. This often left her parents frantically searching for her, much as they were on this day. They could be seen into distance, running the boardwalk in search of the child.

Nearby, a looming figure watched her. The man stood at 6'2" and posed an intimidating figure. He loomed over the other beach goers and seemed to be over 200 pounds of pure muscle. His expression was carefully neutral, almost angry even, and his eyes were hard. They watched the girl so attentively that many would think him a pedophile. They didn't know though.

His hard gaze and intimidating structure would tell people he was dangerous. They would be right. Some would even go as far as to say he was a "fighting machine". Little did they know how right they were. For, this man was different. In fact, he wasn't a man. He was a machine, known as a Terminator.

Created by SkyNet in the future, he was sent to destroy the human resistance. He had failed his initial mission and had been reprogrammed. He was reprogrammed by this girl, in fact, only 35 years in the future. He was sent back here to ensure that she would survive judgment day; the day SkyNet became aware and tried to destroy all of humanity.

Judgment Day wasn't meant to come for another two years, but this girl, Zira Parker, had sent him back to ensure he was sent back. They weren't sure if they would get another opportunity to send a terminator back. And so, at the same time the leader, John Connor, sent his own protector back, Zira had sent hers.

Here he sat, watching the young Zira Parker. He always watched her. Her family, friends, and she would never notice him. He was carefully hidden from their notice or suspicion, but he was everywhere. He was in the supermarket, the movie theatre, the Forest behind her house. He sat, perched on the roof of her school while she was there.

He was her protector, and as such, it was his mission to ensure her safety. It was his one role and responsibility. He would never do anything but ensure her safety- even if it meant his own death. He couldn't do anything but- it was what he was programmed to do.

A strange buzzing filled his head, soon followed by the voice. It was the other terminator, sent back to keep John Connor safe. They were still connected through the strange wifi like connection they had. How it worked, they were unsure, though it quite possibly had to do with the satellites in orbit and a secret channel for the machines. It was a good thing too since, though the machines were wont to admit it, they were... Empty without the buzzing of other machines in their head. Apart from each other, they were segregated from their own kind.

'Heading south. The T-1000 is in pursuit. Primary Objective is secure.'

'Zira Parker has wandered from her parents. She is secure.' He replied before the 'line' went dead. Their shared communication was brief, but always welcome.

Opening his eyes, he was met with an empty beach. Well, not empty for there were children playing, but it was missing his primary objective- Zira Parker.

After a quick scan, he found a hand sticking out of the water, followed by a tiny head poking above, desperately trying to stay afloat. It was Zira, trying to stay above water. With a small breath, she disappeared below the surface.

The Terminator didn't waste any time, quickly jumping up and dashing to the water. He dove straight in, disregarding the fact he was fully clothed, and his CPU whirred into overdrive, accessing a file on swimming. After all, when would a machine readily need such a file or action command?

With powerful strokes, the machine reached the child within seconds, and quickly scooped her out of the water. The girl spluttered and gagged as the Terminator put the girl on his shoulders, the water nearly up to his chin. He took a moment to briefly wonder how the girl got out this far to begin with if she couldn't swim, before he began wading back to shore.

People on the beach began to point and cheer, watching the scene, and the Terminator analyzed the crowd. He quickly spotted the scared yet relieved faces of the girl's parents at the forefront of the crowd. He waded a little faster and, upon reaching the beach, set the girl down.

She sprinted straight to her parents, shaking and soaked. They hugged and kissed her as she sobbed, explaining how she was wandering near the water. Knowing she was alright, the parents looked up, searching for their daughter's savior only to see that he had mysteriously disappeared. Frowning, they turned, all the while ignoring their daughter too.

"I saw a board and wanted to see it! I wanted to so bad and the water picked me up and took me out in the deep! I asked it to help me stay above and it did! And when I slipped, that nice man helped me mama!" Young Zira Parker desperately tried explaining to her parents. They were searching for the man, and so they didn't hear her daughter's odd words. And yet, one person did.

One machine, hidden beneath the murky water, heard the girl's words. He heard the girl talking about the water helping her and he cracked a smile. Yes, there were strange things in this world, and this girl would one day be one of the strangest.

Later that night, the Terminator sat on top of the Parkers' roof. He stared up at the starry sky, using his advanced hearing to track the gentle snoring of his charge. It wasn't long before a dull buzz filled his head, and then the voice.

'T-1000 is terminated. The chip and arm are destroyed. There are two chips left.'

'Yours and mine.'

'This is goodbye.'

The Terminator froze as their 'line' went dead. His one, last communication with his kind; his one last connection to his past, this world's future, was severed. He sat in silent a few minutes more, respectfully considering the other's death. Then, he stood and jumped from the roof to a tree by his charge's window.

Watching her sleep, he mulled over the options. SkyNet could exist while his chip remained in tact. He had to destroy himself- but how? He could not self terminate. It was against his nature, his basic programming and survival instincts. And yet, in desperate situations, people could override their own instincts. But he was not a person.

He gave the girl one last look, considering everything. It was his programming and responsibility to ensure her survival. If he could prevent Judgment Day, that would ensure it- so he must, correct? She was his being- what he existed to do. And so, with that last look, he jumped from the tree.

Some time later, the Terminator was stood on the beach with a knife. He watched the waves lap on the shore. He stood for a few seconds of silence before he began walking into the water; wading until he was completely submerged.

Once under the water, he began to make jagged cuts along his scalp, allowing water to seep under the skin, releasing it to float away in the water. He stood, uncertain, before he reached up, unlocking the water resistant, seal proof cap leading to his motherboard. Within was his CPU and intricate wires comprising his being. They would short once the water touched it.

Fighting with himself, he tried to open the cap. His instincts kept him from self terminating, overriding his commands to open the cap. Closing his eyes, he thought of how alone he was. There was nothing left. And then he thought of her- the girl- Zira Parker. She was the one that gave him a purpose. She was the reason he existed, and it was his job to ensure her safety.

This time, when the instincts tried to override his commands, HE overrode the instincts programmed within him. With a sharp tug, the cap came off and the water went rushing in. His circuits began to fry and the lights in his eyes died.

'Zira Parker. Live well.'

That was the last command/thought sequence to pass through his mind before he fully shut down, no longer functional. There he remained standing, staring straight ahead, unseeingly, into the ocean. His last act had been to protect the girl- to complete the mission. But... Would it succeed? Or was the self termination in vain?

This one machine, however, did something no other had done before, yet each and every one had the potential to do. It overrode it's most basic programming. It had become self aware and self-functioning or thinking to the point that it was able to override it's programming for the sake of a girl that he believed in. A girl that he had known in the future, protected, and returned to the past to continue that job.

He had self terminated for the sake of a human. It wasn't for the programming or that she would one day be important. As far as he knew, this action would stop SkyNet, nullifying her importance. This action wouldn't ensure her complete safety but would, hopefully, give her a better life.

This machine could see the importance and worth in a human. To an extent, it gained artificial emotions and cared for the human. And, much like a human would do, it overrode it's basic programming- instincts- to save another.

A/N2: Please review and let me know what you think! Let me know if you think it was good and if you think I wrote this well. Thanks!