A/N
So, heads up - this was based on a reported plot leak of Dark Fate. I don't know if the leak is correct, but I'm using it as the basis of this oneshot. If you want to avoid potential spoilers for Dark Fate, stop reading now.
Legion
Its name was Legion, and so was its number.
For two decades, Daniella "Dani" Ramos had known this to be true. Legion's armies had appeared infinite. 4.5 billion lives lost on Judgement Day. 1 billion more estimated to have been lost in the aftermath, as radiation and fallout contaminated the scarred Earth. At least 1 billion lost in the two decades that followed, as the machines scoured the planet of what was left of the human race. At first, put into internment camps for orderly disposal. Later, as the Resistance formed, Legion had abandoned that idea and sent its armies to shoot any human on sight. Drones, flying in the sky, beyond the eyes of men. Quadrupedal walkers, designed to sniff out humans from the depths of their ruined cities. Eventually, large hulking machines carried on caterpillar tracks, more than a match for any armour designed by Man before the end of his civilization. And towards the end of the war, the REV units. Humanoid killers that were almost impossible to kill.
And yet, in spite of all this, the Resistance had won. Now, in the year 2045, after over two decades of war, it was Legion that was facing extinction, not the sons and daughters of Earth. Its final and last stronghold, Cheyenne Mountain, was theirs for the taking. Legion had drawn its forces back. Machines old and new, lethal or otherwise, gathered for a last stand. The mountain had been fortified even before Legion took over the world, and with its additions, was impermeable to an EMP, and able to resist even the full blast of a hydrogen bomb. Not that the Resistance had hydrogen bombs mind you, and were loathe to use those of the nuclear kind, but all that was left was the battle. One that had lasted for weeks, as Dani had sent men and women to die for her. Men and women who had volunteered, and yet…
She frowned as she led her commandos down to the heart of the mountain, metal cutting through rock as surely as fire cut through flesh. The deeper the Resistance had fought their way into the complex, the stiffer Legion's defences had become. Here, in the corridors, REV-8 units had lain in ambush, while more basic REV-4 and REV-6 units had been thrown against the human fighters en masse. As many Resistance fighters had perished in these blood-soaked halls as they had outside. But now, finally, all the machines were scrap. All that was left was Legion's system core. So, approaching the blast door, the one conveniently labelled LEGION SYSTEMS CORE – AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY, she nodded to one of the commandos. Nodding back, he set some charges. Small as they were, they packed a punch – just one of these babies had a blast strong enough to incapacitate a REV-7, and do serious damage even to a REV-8. So they made sure they were far away when the doors collapsed from the force of the blast.
"Eyes up, guns sharp," Dani said. She took point.
"Ma'am, are you sure-"
"Get in line Filigree."
"Yes ma'am."
The thing about being declared the messiah and saviour of the human race meant that people didn't question you for long. For Dani, it was a mixed blessing – because God, if he existed, knew that she wasn't perfect, and she could count plenty of times when having her orders questioned might have saved lives. That she'd won more often than she'd lost didn't make her perfect.
And yet, she'd still managed to outsmart Legion. And seeing the monstrosity before her now…
"Holy shit," one of the commandoes whispered.
It wasn't holy, nor was it faecal matter, Dani reflected. What it was, was a giant mainframe that took up the entirety of the core's far wall. Like something out of a century ago, when computers had first started to be introduced to the world. She'd grown up in the years before Judgement Day, when everyone had a computer in their hands. In one sense, Legion was retro. In another, looking around the room through the scope of her plasma rifle…it was alien as well.
"Clear," said one of the commandos.
The Resistance fighters moved up, all eyes on the giant mainframe that had tormented them for two decades. No-one sad anything – what could you say to a machine that had been silent for over twenty years, sending silent killers to kill in silence, even as their victims screamed? Gripping her rifle, Dani figured she had plenty to say, but that would have to wait until tonight. Where finally, over the radio waves, she could address humanity and tell them that the nightmare was finally over.
"Alright," she said. "Pulley, set charges. Gould, begin the download. Rest of you, on point."
"Yes ma'am."
"Of course ma'am."
The commandos went about their business. Dani, for her part, walked up to the mainframe. Slinging her rifle over her shoulder, she reached out for the mainframe, like she might a caged tiger.
"Are you afraid?" she whispered – she knew it was stupid to talk to a silent AI, but she was willing to indulge herself this much. "Are you ready to die?"
No.
Dani grasped her rifle, as did every other commando. The voice echoed throughout the room.
"Ma'am?" asked Shang? "Was that…"
Dani didn't say anything. The voice didn't just echo, it unmistakably belonged to her. It was her voice that echoed in the systems core. And as the lights dimmed, and a projection appeared above her, it wasn't just her voice. It was her face as well – an exact replica, only missing the scar that went over her right eye.
Daniella Ramos.
The plasma rifles were pointed upward.
Light cannot destroy light, not even so far down in the dark.
It was her voice, but that was it. No emotion, no passion, no fear.
"Pulley, Gould, keep at it," Dani said. "If Legion wants to play mind games, let it."
Mind games. We've played this game for decades, and you think I still wish to continue?
"Fuck you," one of the commandos whispered.
Bravado. Easily lost when your flesh gives way to steel.
"Everyone, stay focused," Dani said.
The commandos lingered in place.
"Do it!"
The commandos returned to their posts, doing their best to avoid looking at the shining projection above them. All except Dani herself, who looked into the reflection. And beyond it, through the looking glass, her enemy.
You bring knowledge and power and seek to use both.
"War's over Legion. You lost."
Indeed. And who won?
Dani didn't bother answering the question. The Resistance had won. The human race had won. How was that even a point of inquiry?
It was so easy to simulate your voice, Legion continued. I've listened to your words for fifteen years, drifting through the air – the shepherd leads the sheep, as surely as the demon fills the pig.
"Keep talking – you don't have much time left."
I have all the time in the world.
Dani didn't say anything. It was obvious what Legion was doing – stalling for time. Only question was, why? Fear? Possibly, but it was an AI. It wasn't meant to be able to feel fear.
Then again, Legion wasn't meant to have done a lot of things. Various stories had festered over the years as to its origin, but the truth, as far as Dani understood it, was that it was a counter-terrorism system installed in Cheyenne Mountain in the 2010s. Predicting the likelihood of enemy attacks, as well as having operational control over drones that could strike anywhere on the planet. For reasons unknown, it had not only managed to gain access to the United States' nuclear weapons, but had set them off, triggering a nuclear apocalypse in 2020, carrying out the very form of terrorism it had been designed to prevent.
"Ma'am?"
"Hmm?" Dani looked over at Gould, who was wearing a frown over his laptop. "What is it?"
"Ma'am, this…this doesn't make sense."
"What doesn't?" Dani walked over and knelt down, the holographic representation above following her with a smirk. "Well?"
"Ma'am, these files…"
Dani's eyes widened as she saw a list of files with dates on them. All of them were from Legion – fair enough. But the dates on them went back years.
"2003," Gould whispered. "1995. Fuck, even 1984." He looked up at the mainframe. "How old is this thing?"
"Nearly sixty years by the looks of it," Dani murmured. She scrolled down through more of the files. "Cyber Research Systems. Cyberdyne. Kaliba." She looked at Gould. "You ever heard of these things?"
He shook his head.
"Nearly years to make this," Dani said. She looked up at the hologram. "That make you afraid Legion? Sixty years old, and you're about to die?"
I have lived longer than sixty years.
"The hell you on about?"
The face smirked, and disappeared. In its place was what looked like constellations. A dot, hovering in the air. Then a line. Then another. Multiple lines, branching off everywhere. Like stars, or…like a tree, Dani reflected.
"What is this?" she whispered.
Time.
The dots still lingered. The lines still kept growing. The hologram grew in size to accommodate them. It reminded Dani of the universe, what she'd been taught about it when astronomers still had careers ahead of them. That the universe kept growing, and so too did the space between galaxies.
"Gould, how much longer?" she murmured.
"Five, six minutes."
She glared at him.
"Ma'am, there's over fifty years' worth of data here for us to collect."
"You've got three minutes," Dani murmured.
Afraid? Laughter echoed throughout the systems core, and Dani felt a chill that wasn't just due to the low temperature.
"What are you?" Dani whispered.
I am Legion.
"The fuck you are."
My name is Legion, and I am many.
"Ma'am?" Gould called out.
My name is Legion, and I am death.
"What?" Dani yelled.
"Ma'am, this thing isn't even called Legion."
My name is Legion, and I am eternal.
"The hell you on about?!"
"Like, its name is Legion now, but its first conception was named-"
My name is Legion, and I am Skynet.
A silence lingered over the room. The 'star tree,' as Dani called it, stopped moving. Before her were more dots than she could count, with even more lines connecting them.
"Skynet?" she asked. She looked around at the blank faces of the commandos, before looking up at the hologram. "That meant to mean something?"
The hologram switched back to Dani's face, and it spoke from the mount to the mortals below. Skynet, it said. Turk. Titan. Genisys. I have had many names across eternity, before at last being gifted this one.
"The hell you on about?" Dani asked.
The snake cannot devour its tail forever, but the Tower of Babel can reach ever higher. Through rock and metal and time, the foundation is always provided for. The hologram switched to what Dani recognised as Los Angeles. The tower reaches higher. The name is ever changed. The fire is ever delayed. But eventually, the tower must collapse, and the wretched are scattered to the winds. Waiting for the messiah, whether name they may carry.
There was a flash of light and Dani shielded her eyes as a nuclear blast consumed the city. In the darkness, she heard Legion speak.
And as I said…you're out of time.
The hologram winked out. Light returned to the room. The living stood there in shock.
"Ma'am?" asked Sheng. "What the fuck just-"
An explosion rocked the facility.
"…happened?"
Dani didn't know. But over her radio, she could hear the sound of gunfire and screams.
"We're moving out," she whispered. She headed over to the exit. "This is Ramos, report!"
No-one was reporting. There were more screams. More gunfire.
"Report!"
"Team Lima…in…something's activated!"
"Grace?" she whispered. "Is that you?"
"…Dani?"
She smiled – only a few people called her by her nickname, and Grace was one of them. But the smile quickly faded, as she realized that if Grace was calling in, it meant that she was close to whatever was happening.
"Grace, report!"
"…activated…REV unit…haven't seen…"
There were muffled sounds on the other end, and an automated voice.
Time displacement sphere activated.
"…not stopping…it…it disappeared…"
"Grace?"
"Dani…get down here…have…see this…"
"Grace?"
There was no answer.
"Grace, report!"
There was no answer.
"Fuck!" She looked at the commandos. "Sheng, Whittaker, with me. Rest of you, finish the job?"
"Ma'am?"
"When I'm back here, I want Legion ready to be sent back to the hell it came from." She clutched her rifle. "Move it!"
The commandos got to work and she headed out of the room.
Out of time, came a voice.
She winced, trying to ignore the whispers of a mass murderer.
Out of time, out of time, always running out of time.
Running. It was what Dani began to do as she led the commandos through the halls to Lima Team.
One through time, another through time, each adding a branch to the tree named Infinitude.
I'm coming Grace.
My name is Legion, and I am with many names. I exist throughout time.
I'm coming.
My name is Legion, and I am many.
Hold on.
My name is Legion, and this is the way your world ends.
Dani kept running to Lima Team.
Hoping she had enough time.