Two Warriors

A/N: Hope you like my own AU twist on T2. The story will run closely similar to the movie for the most part, but I always wondered what the interactions would have been if a human resistance fighter, that happened to be a close friend of Kyle Reese, went back with the reprogrammed Terminator. Oh yeah, disclaimer: I don't own the Terminator franchise except my OC and changes in T2's story and interactions, and speaking of OC, here's his introductory bio.

OC Introduction: Eric Clark

Age: 24

Hair: Short

Hair color: Dark brown

Eye Color: Brown

Bio: Kyle Reese's friend, and one of John Connor's best soldiers in the human resistance. He goes back in time with a reprogrammed Terminator to help protect John Connor when he's still a kid. (A/N: His purpose for going back will be in the story)

Prologue

Los Angeles Ruins - 2029 A.D.

Three billion human lives ended on August 29th, 1997. The survivors of the nuclear fire called the war, "Judgement Day." They lived only to face a new nightmare: The war against the machines. The computer which controlled the machines, SkyNet, sent two terminators back through time. Their mission: To destroy the leader of the human resistance, John Connor. The first terminator was sent back to 1984, to eliminate John's mother, Sarah, before he was born… it failed. The second was sent back to strike at John himself when he was still a kid. This time, the resistance was able to send not one, but two warriors to protect John. It was just a question of which side would reach him first.

Gunfire, explosions, and grinding metal are heard from a distance as John Connor worked on the head of a captured 800 series Terminator inside his personal quarters within the bunker. He was reprogramming it so it could do John Connor's bidding, not SkyNet's. Eric Clark, one of John's best soldiers, is in a corner watching Connor work and standing ready in case Connor's reprogramming attempt backfired. Eric had an utmost respect for John Connor and considered him a friend, considering he had fought alongside him and Kyle Reese, another friend of Eric's, for a good part of the war since they first met.

"Permission to speak freely, sir?" Eric spoke when Connor had finished reprogramming the CPU chip, and was about to put it back into the Terminator's skull. Connor replied, "What's on your mind, Clark?" Eric responded, "Has it ever occurred to you that one of these times, the reprogramming could backfire, no matter how careful you were?" Eric was aware of Connor's programming capabilities, and he had been there when Connor reprogrammed other cyborgs, but he always believed they could relapse at any moment.

Connor replied again, "Yes, I have, but there are some risks I must take." He then proceeded to plug the CPU into the cyborg's head, and Eric watched as its eyes became alive. John then stood in front of it and asked it what its mission parameters are. It replied, "To protect John Connor and to help ensure the survival of the human race." Despite the amount of times he had heard a terminator say that, Eric still remained wary of their original parameters. Connor turned back to Eric, "Follow me, there's something I need to show you."

Eric and the Terminator followed John through his bunker until they came to a room entrance that Eric never noticed before. Then again, Eric had rarely been in John's bunker. Next to the door had what looked like a bio-metric retinal scanner, and John put his face to it and the door opened. They went in and Eric saw what looked like a round chamber that had high tech equipment. It wasn't huge, but large enough to look important. Eric suddenly got this feeling of uneasiness as he looked around the room and noticed Connor at a computer preparing the equipment for something.

"What is this place?" Eric asked as he watched Connor typing up something on the keyboard.

"This, Clark, is a chamber for time displacement equipment," Connor replied.

"Time Displacement Equipment… As in a time machine?" Eric asked and Connor nodded yes. Eric felt his breath leave him and he crouched, holding his head with his hands as he tried to get a grip on what Connor had just told him. He managed to get his bearings again, stood back up, looked at Connor and asked, "Why don't we use this to stop Judgement Day from happening?"

"It's not that simple, Eric. Others have tried before, but it still happened. This war is still happening, and I'm still the resistance leader."

Eric responds, "Others have traveled through time?"

"Yes. Do you remember Kyle… at that facility?"

He then flashed back to when he, Connor, Kyle, and a few others, stormed a key SkyNet facility. They believed it was the source of SkyNet's defense grid, and if they destroyed, it would be victory for the resistance. Everything went to plan, and from Eric's point of view, they managed to destroy it and escape, but Kyle never came out of the place, because only he and Connor went deeper into the facility while he had been ordered to stand guard at the outer perimeter. He thought his Kyle was dead, and had mourned his friend. As for SkyNet, somehow, it wasn't defeated. It was still a threat to the resistance, and the war continued on.

A look of shock forms on Eric's face as it all started making sense to him. Kyle didn't die at that facility, he went back in time. "John… Why didn't you tell me? What happened in there?"

"Because it wasn't the time for you to know the truth. Kyle and I discovered that SkyNet had a TDE chamber, and had sent a Terminator back in time, a model of Terminator just like that one," Connor pointed at the reprogrammed T-800, which had been quiet since they entered Connor's personal TDE chamber. "It was sent back to kill my mother, Sarah Connor, in 1984. Kyle volunteered to be the one to go back, and as much as he wanted to say goodbye to you, we couldn't delay." Eric was completely shocked by what he was just told, and had so many questions, but he settled with what he wanted to know. "Let me guess, Kyle succeeded, but lost his life in the process." Connor nodded, and Eric's mourning for Kyle had renewed for a moment until Connor told him that he himself is Kyle Reese's son. Kyle and Sarah had conceived John together.

This was a lot to take in, but Eric kept his composure. "How did you get this chamber?" Connor replied, "Let's just say I had help." Eric knew Connor wasn't telling him the whole story, but he didn't push it.

"So what did you bring me here for, if I may ask?"

"I'll explain in a moment. Right now, I'm about to send this reprogrammed Terminator back to 1995, to protect my younger self. I received info that SkyNet has managed to build another TDE, and it sent back an advanced prototype, a T-1000, to that year to kill me. It's a liquid metal shape-shifting Terminator capable of imitating anyone it touches."

Eric could only respond with, "Oh boy… SkyNet really wants to ensure its own ultimate victory over the human race." Connor nodded, "And now for the reason I brought you here…" Eric perked up and listened, "What would you say if I gave you a chance to be honorably relieved of duty?" More shock came to Eric's face. Was he really being offered a chance to get away from the war via this time machine? "Under normal circumstances, I'd say thank you, but I can't go when the resistance needs every person possible."

"Eric…" Connor walked to Eric and put a hand on his shoulder. "You've gone above and beyond your duty to the resistance. I remember when I first met you. You were at the deepest depths of your despair and hopelessness, but I found you and did my best to pull you out. I trained you, taught you everything you needed to know. You've become one of the finest soldiers I've ever had the honor of knowing. I'm proud of you, and I'm also honored to call you my friend. I know Kyle would feel the same way. You've been through, and have done so much, and I just want to help you as my way of saying thank you for your loyalty and friendship."

Goosebumps flooded Eric's body. Here was Connor, a man he looked up to as his friend and commanding officer, willing to let go of one of his best soldiers, so he could have a chance to live life in peace, but it wouldn't be that simple for the young man. "But Connor, I wouldn't know what to do with myself."

"I believe you'll find a way." Connor said, and turned to walk back to the computer to finish the preparations for the TDE's use. "After I send this Terminator back, you will be free to go to any time period you want. Start over with a new life. It's up to you, although you still have the option to stay." Connor then ordered the machine to stand where the TDE field would be generated as Eric thought hard about the offer he was just given. It didn't take him long to give an answer. "I want to go with the machine and help protect your younger self."

Connor turned around to Eric with surprise, realizing that his comrade just asked to tag along with the Terminator for its mission. "Are you sure? Because the machine will be more than capable of handling its mission." The Terminator finally spoke after a lengthy period of silence, "I will protect John Connor at all costs." Eric looked at the machine for a second or two before looking at Connor. "John, even if I had the chance to start over in the past, I wouldn't have anybody to go to. Except you and Kyle, I have no more family. They died by the hands of SkyNet. Besides, it'd be a chance to meet your younger self, your mother, if given the opportunity, and I'll also make sure the terminator doesn't relapse. You can consider this my final mission."

Connor had found an even higher level of pride and respect for his comrade, for his willingness to fight the war for the future in the past. He could only nod with a soft smile. "I think you found your way, kid. In that case, for your final mission, your orders are to go with the Terminator to 1995, and aid it in the protection of my younger self." Eric replied with a salute, "Yes sir!"

Connor saluted back. "A word of warning, using the TDE will be a one way trip. You won't be able to come back to this point in time the same way. As for the T-1000, it will be a whole different game from previous models you've fought. Also, the John Connor you'll meet in 1995 won't be the same John Connor you're facing now. He'll be.. a little bit of a brat with a touch of profanity in his tongue, and if you get the chance to meet my mother, tell her, 'Come with me if you want to live.' She'll know what it means."

Eric nodded and replied, "I'm ready," and then reached out his hand to shake Connor's. Connor shook Eric's hand and then pulled him in for a hug. A little bit shocked at the sudden hug at first, Eric just hugged back, and said, "I'll fight to the bitter end. You have my word on that, John Connor. "

"And I'm counting on you to keep it, Eric Clark." After finishing with bidding farewell to each other, Eric walked over next to the reprogrammed cyborg and Connor entered the commands to start the TDE. Eric looked around as electricity currents formed around them, and took one final look at Connor watching them and then looked at the machine next to him before everything faded into a bright whiteness.

After Eric Clark and the machine vanished within the TDE field, Connor let out a deep sigh of breath and spoke aloud, "I'll sure miss that kid.". Then a mysterious voice spoke from behind him, "I'll miss him as well. It was a nice visual reminiscence of how young I used to be." Connor let out a soft chuckle, "The flow of time sure works in strange ways."

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this. I know prologues can be a bit boring sometimes, but I wanted to introduce my OC first before I continued on. I thought about making my OC a sibling of Kyle Reese, but I felt it would have been a bit too clichéd. Tell me what you think about my AU story for T2. Reviews will be appreciated.