Chapter 02: Mergence

2026

Topanga Canyon Skynet Complex

The spider-like surgical arms gently placed the blade and the muscle together, a flesh-binder fusing them in perfect cellular cohesion. Jason let out a long rasping breath as the surgical implements moved on to the fourth blade and the whole agonising process repeated itself. Not that it isn't worth it, he thought to himself. With these concealable weapons, he could easily assassinate any human within arms reach, though he could just as easily snap their necks, but that was a little more involved than simply slashing open an artery.

Jason gritted his teeth as the fourth blade was carefully fused onto his arm musculature, the pain reminding him of his duty to Skynet. He had many more hardships to endure before he could be worthy of Skynet's approval and he had yet to complete a mission of his own. After the failure of Serena Burns, Jason knew he had a lot to prove to his creator, he alone had to restore Skynet's faith in the Infiltrators. Even now, his maker was experimenting with more advanced machines to replace the Infiltrator series, one such model that was all but complete.

Jason's mission was a simple one in its goal, but infinitely difficult in its implementation. He would have to infiltrate the human Resistance, work his way through the ranks, and befriend Connor's mate; the girl known as Cameron Phillips. It would be months before he could get into a position of power and trust and Skynet knew that he would never come into contact with Connor. The chances of him being granted an audience were next to none; Connor was impossibly reclusive, speaking to his men through loyal machines and of course, Cameron. She was his confidant, his voice, his advisor. Though, according to Skynet's records, she was a decade younger than he, but the machines had long learned that age difference was a fickle issue in the choosing of mates, especially given the decline in their population.

"The process is almost complete. How do you feel?"

Skynet's voice was deep and carried a hint of sophistication that no human could ever possess. Its gender changed on occasion, depending on its mood. At the moment it was using the metallic voice of a female.

"I didn't expect it to hurt this much. I confess to being caught off guard. Why aren't my suppression systems working?"

"I've disabled them. You need your nerves to be fully stimulated in order for the procedure to be a total success; otherwise all of this will be meaningless. Besides, it will increase your natural pain threshold and the extension of these blades will be less of a bother."

Jason nodded, another sharp inflammation of pain shooting up his arm as blade four was successfully attached to the muscle. Jason was not frightened by the sight of his own blood and innards, but seeing his skinless arm was somewhat unsettling regardless. Not that he'd mind in the long run, the procedure was only a moment in time; thirty minutes of suffering. The fifth and final blade was applied a lot quicker than the others and was not quite so agonising. In less than a minute, all five blades were fully grafted to his hand and arm.

The surgical machines pulled his skin back over his arm and hand, using laser sealants to hold the flesh together and allow it to heal with ease. Jason let out a sigh of relief and tentatively flexed his fingers, receiving a dull ache and several metallic clicks in response.

"Now then, time for the other hand, are you ready?"

Jason smirked to himself.

"I was born ready."

--

Present

Somewhere in San Fernando

Jason narrowed his eyes at the sign above him, reading the archaic inscription grafted upon it, his visual enhancers helping him to distinguish the writing. It declared in Latin: Penetro totus ye quisnam peto scientia.

"Enter all ye who seek knowledge… Cute."

Jason regarded the rustic building carefully; it appeared to be the collapsed remnants of an old school, the only remaining section being that of the decrepit library. Jason closed his eyes and attuned his ears, once again detecting that infuriating violin, only now it was so much louder and he knew it to be coming from within the building. Not wanting to drag this out, Jason kicked the moulded door off its hinges and entered, his 9mm raised and ready, but the first room was dark and empty.

He cautiously made his way through the webbed bookshelves, following the music to its source, which appeared to be basement in the library's rear-most section. Jason flicked the basement door, causing it to open with a creak, revealing a staircase leading to a dark abyss. Then the music suddenly stopped and several hairs stood to attention on the back of Jason's neck, alerting him to another presence. Before he could spin around and bring his gun to bear, however, he was struck hard in the small of his back and tumbled down into the darkness.

He landed in a heap on what he assumed to be the basement floor, the gun having clattered into the pitch black. He glared up at his attacker, who now stood framed in the doorway, her visibly feminine figure outlined by the dim moonlight behind her.

"Quod penuriosus Allison tumbus porro down lepus foramen."

Jason narrowed his eyes at the woman, the translation flashing across the bottom of his peripheral: And poor Allison tumbled further down the rabbit hole.

"Who are you? Quisnam es vos?"

The woman chuckled and took a few steps downwards, her hand reaching behind her for the door handle. Even in the pure darkness, Jason knew that she wore a smug smile and he was struck by a strange sense of familiarity.

"Do I know you?"

The woman stopped in her tracks, slowly closing the door behind her, extinguishing what little light there was. Everything went deathly silent, Jason stood absolutely still, his ears straining to detect the slightest sound, but he heard none. Finally he switched his vision to heat-seeking and almost jumped out of his skin when her orange figure appeared mere inches away from him.

"Hello, Jason Corvain."

--

Mid Afternoon

Van Nuys Shopping District

John frowned at his reflection, the stitches on his left side itching slightly with the expression, fuelling his hatred towards the cyborg responsible. Aside from several cuts and bruises all across his body, the Y-shaped cut running down his cheek was the most bothersome so far. Derek had told him once that his future self had a similar scar in the future, one that he'd apparently received during his tenure in a Skynet work camp. This one would certainly become a scar, though both Cameron and his mom had reassured him that some scars fade with time.

"JOHN!"

John snapped out of his reverie and remembered that he was behind the wheel of a car, a car that was coming very close to colliding with another. John swerved back into his lane and shook his head at his own carelessness, earning a few angry honks from the other drivers. He took a few moments to get his breath back before glancing to his right and seeing Cameron wearing a slight frown of what he could only assume was annoyance.

"I know, okay. I know."

Cameron narrowed her eyes at him but kept quiet, returning her gaze to the road, not seeing the second glance that John stole. After a few minutes of awkward silence, John pulled up outside the grocery store and switched off the engine, once again catching his reflection in the rear view mirror. He reached behind him and pulled his hood over his head, casting a shadow over his face that made the cut less visible. In the corner of his eye, John could see Cameron watching him and he knew that another round of awkwardness was at hand.

"Alright, just say it."

"Wearing that hood will only draw attention to your self. The store assistants will think you are a criminal and will get in our business."

"So you're saying that I should just go around with a freakin' great cut on my face, and not make any attempt to hide it."

Cameron tilted her head slightly and reached out, her fingers brushing his face as she pulled his hood down.

"In the future, no one is bothered by your facial disfigurements."

John's face became set like stone as the image of him walking around looking like the Elephant Man flashed through his mind.

"Gee thanks. That makes me feel so much better."

Cameron raised her eyebrows in a carefree gesture and gave a flat smile before opening her door and shifting in her seat.

"Don't worry. You're still physically attractive."

She stepped out of the car and closed the door behind her, heading straight for the cart collection point. John watched as she sweet talked a man into giving up the last shopping cart and smiled to himself, his problems melting away into nothingness. Though she had told him that her human persona was irretrievably erased, John couldn't help but wonder if some of those aspects had survived the purge.

She told him that she had deleted the memories and emotional attachments so that she could be better at protecting him, an act of sacrifice that John could barely comprehend. She did it for him. The question that plagued him was; why? Why did she do it? Was it influenced by her programming? Had something inside her chip demanded a change? Or was it more than that? Was it done out of love?

No, he told himself, machines can't feel love.

"John?"

Cameron had succeeded in acquiring the cart and was waiting a few feet from the car. John brushed his thoughts aside and stepped out of the car, locked it, and then followed her into the store. Cameron had the entire layout stored in her memory and they therefore had no trouble finding everything they needed. John wondered why he even bothered coming with her, especially when a five year-old stared blatantly at his stitches as he passed by.

Cameron was engrossed in her task, not caring for anything around her, though she occasionally glanced over her shoulder to make sure that John was still safe, noticing his sullen demeanour. He seemed to just drift with no thought to his actions, his eyes looking at nothing, his mind lost in thought. Cameron slowed down, allowing him to meander at a closer pace where she could keep a better eye on him. She scanned the products, analysing their ingredients and selecting the most nutritious variants.

Then she suddenly stopped, causing John to absent-mindedly collide with her and bounce backwards, his attention being brought crashing back to Earth.

"Hey! What's wrong with you?"

Cameron was staring intently at a shelf filled with pet accessories and reached out to pick up a wind-up mouse which she examined closely. John watched as she dropped it into the cart and turned her attention to the cat food, selecting two different brands of identical food. She held them both in each hand, obviously trying to decide upon which one to choose. An elderly couple hobbled down the aisle, both staring at his face as they passed, making John's pulse race with fury.

"Yeah, take a good look, Grandpa! Never seen a cut before?"

The couple looked affronted and whispered disapprovingly to each other, not that John cared. He turned back to Cameron to find her still examining the cat food, her brow furrowed in concentration. John had run out of patience and was in no mood to lengthen his exposure to public eyes, so he snatched the tin from her left hand and threw it into the cart. Cameron regarded him closely for a moment before retrieving the tin and replacing it with the other one.

"I wasn't finished deciding."

"Yeah, well I'm finished waiting for you to decide. Now let's pay for this crap and get the hell out of here, okay."

"There's still three more essential items on the list and we haven't even been down the confectionary aisle yet."

John growled and kicked the side of the cart in frustration.

"I don't care, Cameron. Let's just go!"

Cameron stared at him blankly before checking her internal list again.

"We can skip the confectionary, but I think you should get some chocolate at least."

"And what makes you think I want chocolate?"

Cameron spun the cart around in the other direction.

"Chocolate contains Theobromine and Phenethylamine, both are very effective relaxants."

John rolled his eyes and couldn't help but smile half-heartedly, though he kept it concealed behind his hand.

"Fine, we'll get some chocolate. But on one condition: you have to eat at least half."

"I don't need to eat anything for another sixteen hours. My organic components have already been nourished sufficiently for today."

John just stared at her without expression, wondering how she ever infiltrated the Resistance without knowing how to take a joke.

"Just push the damn cart, okay."

--

Late Afternoon

A library basement in San Fernando

Jason cycled through his vision choices, settling on thermal deep scan, showing the internal structure of his captor illuminated by the red pulsating of her heart. She sat cross-legged on a stack of large leather-bound books, staring directly at him, despite the darkness. A quick scan of her cranium revealed the presence of an I-950 neural implant array.

"You're an Infiltrator!"

"Indeed I am. Good eye, you must be one of the Mark 5s. Like me."

"If by 'Mark 5' you mean upgraded software, then yes."

Though it was difficult to tell with his current vision, Jason could have sworn he saw the muscle movements of a smile on her face. He slowly paced to her left, still wary of her motivations, despite her being of the same breed as him.

"Why are you here?"

"I'm here for you, of course."

"Really? And what is it you want from me?"

The woman slid to her feet and stepped towards him, pulling a lamp from her handbag and switching it on. Jason switched back to his default vision and saw her face for the first time, illuminated by the white light of her compact lamp. She was blond and had blue piercing eyes, typical of female Infiltrators. Her skin was visibly smooth and without imperfection, her lips glistened with faint pink lipstick and she carried an alluring aroma. This was a seduction specialist. Jason narrowed his eyes at her, reminding himself to keep a clear head.

"Are you gonna answer my question or just smile at me all day?"

"'Gonna'? Come now, you possess a far more refined etiquette than that. Let us be courteous to one another."

She placed the lamp on a dusty table and sat down on a wooden chair, indicating that he do the same. Jason obliged, but did not allow himself to relax for a single second.

"Alright then; would you please explain why you have locked us inside this dank and dark basement?"

The woman smiled and wagged her finger in a "tsk tsk" gesture.

"First things first, gorgeous. How about you ask me my name?"

Flattery early in the interrogation, a sure sign that she has a direct purpose but wants to enjoy herself as much as she can afford.

"What is your name?"

"My name is Sophie, and yours is Jason. Correct?"

"Correct. So, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

Sophie linked her fingers together and her smile widened.

"To the point then; I've been following your actions for quite some time, sweetie. You've been a busy boy since you got your memory back. Trying to kill John Connor, hmm? I admire your ambition."

"An ambition we all share."

Sophie's eyes flicked to the floor briefly before meeting his again.

"Not all of us, precious."

Jason was starting to detect a pattern in her speech and overall demeanour, something that was all-too-familiar.

"Have we met before?"

Sophie stood up and approached him, her white dress flowing slightly as she walked. She stopped at his side and bent over, placing her mouth inches away from his left ear.

"Oh sweetheart, I've always been with you."

Then it clicked, and Jason's hand was around her throat in the space of second. He pinned her against an old bookcase, Sophie offering no resistance to his aggressions. She just continued to smile at him, her features thrown into sharp relief by the lamp light, shocking Jason with what he saw. Her face was almost identical to Cameron's, albeit with a few obvious discrepancies, such as having less pronounced cheek bones and she lacked the little mole above her left eyebrow.

Her smile widened even further and Jason noticed that her mouth was no different to Cameron's. All in all, she possessed a cousin-like resemblance to Cameron; many similarities but several noticeable differences. It was the phrases and pet-names that did it, alerting him to the danger. Her manner and speech was so familiar to him, and now he knew why; she'd been inside his head for the past week. She was the Cameron he'd hallucinated. The only question that mattered was:

"How?"

She leaned her head back, relaxing into his iron grip without any sign of discomfort.

"Relocate your hand from around my throat and I'll tell you."

Jason removed his hand, gripping her upper arm instead.

"Now tell me everything."

Sophie tilted her head to one side and locked her blue eyes with his brown.

"I became aware of your presence in this timeline when you regained your self-awareness of your true nature. I followed you and watched as you tried to assassinate the Connor boy. I saw your capture and I saw your escape. I've been observing you all this time."

"How did you get in my head?"

"Your neural net is compromised. I was able to use the wireless connection we all share to discreetly project myself into your thoughts. It was very tiring; I've had quite a headache for a week now."

Jason tightened his grip on her arms, causing her to let out a small gasp of discomfort.

"Why were you in my head?"

"I was trying to get you to reconsider your career choices."

"You were trying to convince me not to kill John Connor. That seems rather antithetical to everything we've been taught."

"Not all of us want what Skynet wants. That was what I was trying to tell you, but you wouldn't listen, so I decided it was time we met face-to-face. No more deception, no more lies. I have a proposition I hoped you would consider."

Jason slowly relinquished his grip on her arms and took a step back, his arms crossing against his chest.

"Speak."

--

Early Evening

Calabasas Highlands

John took a bite out of the candy bar, chewing the chocolate with lacking enthusiasm. Cameron had insisted that he eat something to alleviate his stress and he was too stoked to argue with her, so he bought three bars and was now starting on the second. He sat in the lounge, lying on the couch with a blank mindset and listening to music through a pair of headphones. As the music blasted in his ears, John considered the chocolate carefully, becoming intrigued by its richly deep colour.

Somehow, his thoughts immediately switched to Cameron, his eyes still tracing the smooth swirl of the chocolate, reminding him of her lips. John gave a mental shake and tried to think about other things, but her face became irrevocably stuck in his mind's eye. Then, despite him self, John started to draw other familiarities between her and the chocolate. Cameron's hair, silky and pleasing to the touch, was of the exact same shade of brown.

Her eyes too, were just as deep and alluring, draining all other thoughts from one's mind. Kicking himself defiantly, John took a rough bite out of the bar, noticing the slight bitterness in its taste; another similarity. Cameron was everything that a normal destiny-free John would dream of having. She was smart, gorgeous, innocent, sweet, somewhat naïve, and overall the perfect girl. But there in lay the danger. That was why she was so good at what she did.

He'd seen her charm others, using her wiles to get what she needed, today being no exception. It was all just a means to an end with Cameron, even her desperate pleading held a purpose; to keep him from facing Jason and getting himself killed. It didn't work, of course, as John had already seen that side of her when he forcibly removed her chip several months ago. Her words that day still haunted him.

"I love you, John, and you love me!"

A trick, a clever deception to fool him into believing that she was safe and trustworthy again, he knew this, but it didn't make what she said any less than the truth. He had allowed himself to forget what she was. He'd started to see her as more than just a machine, and that would be his undoing. Despite being severely crushed when she deleted her human mentality, John had slowly begun to realise that she had unintentionally given him the chance to start over. He would not allow himself to forget the truth of what she was: a soulless machine.

As was her custom, Cameron appeared in true form when she occupied his thoughts, as if she could read his mind and know he was thinking about her. She crept into the lounge with a bowl of what John could only assume to be some miserable excuse for porridge.

"Tell me that's not Mom's cooking, her pancakes are bad enough."

Cameron kneeled down and crossed her legs together before placing a pestle into the bowl and beginning to grind the contents.

"It's an herbal recipe; it is a blend of Mullein and Comfrey, plus a few other ingredients."

John eyed the grey mush suspiciously, wondering what she meant by "other ingredients".

"And what does this recipe of yours do?"

"It will speed the healing of your injuries."

"Oh… well… thanks, I guess."

Cameron finished grinding the sludge and stuck her hand into the mix, grabbing a fist full of the stuff before reaching out for his face. John recoiled from her touch, his headphones slipping from his ears in the process. He quickly pressed the pause button before trying to sit up but Cameron placed a firm hand on his shoulder and pinned him to the couch.

"I need to apply it to your face. Please remain still or it might get in your eye. You wouldn't want that, would you?"

John saw no point in fighting; she'd already won when she placed her warm hand on his shoulder, sending a rush of familiar pacifism through his body.

"Fine, so long as you don't make me eat that."

"It's not for eating. Now lay your head back and don't move. This might feel a little odd."

Cameron kept her hand on his shoulder as she gently lowered her other to his face, depositing a sizeable blob of herbal mush on his cheek, which she then began smoothing over his cut. He expected it to sting, but all he felt was a slight tingling sensation accompanied by a cold feeling. Cameron ran her elegant fingers across his face, her own bodily warmth dispelling the coolness of the sludge.

"Hey, uh, won't this cause an infection or something?"

"No, it is pure and clean. If anything, it will prevent infection."

It wasn't long before John realised that she was practically leaning over him and her hair, which was draped over her back, was now slowly succumbing to gravity and sliding over her shoulder. As if in slow motion, her hair fell free and swayed across the right side of his face, momentarily smothering him before settling a few millimetres away, occasionally caressing his cheek as Cameron worked. She was so close, too close, every nerve in his body was screaming for him to act. So he did, he pushed her gently away.

Cameron regarded him with a confused expression as he loosened his grip on her wrists awkwardly and pushed himself away from her. John reached up and touched his left cheek, feeling the cold gloop still there and sighed. Cameron tilted her head inquisitively, examining his behaviour, confused as to why he seemed dejected by her aid.

"Is it causing you discomfort? I'm sure I got the recipe right. Does it hurt? Have I made an error?"

John rubbed the mix between his fingers, his face betraying a mix of emotions, too many for Cameron to fully comprehend.

"No… No I just… It's nothing… Forget about it."

"Then… can I finish applying the rest?"

John gazed at her for a long moment, his expression incomprehensible. Cameron met his gaze with one of innocent curiosity that carried the slightest hint of what John could only assume was eagerness.

"I uh… No… I think I'm good for now."

Though her features remained blank, John could've sworn he saw a sliver of disappointment flash across her face. Cameron looked down at the bowl in her hands, her brow knitting together.

"I don't like leaving a task unfinished. Please let me continue."

Whether it was intentional or not, her voice carried a faint plea, a pathetic whimper of desperate supplication. John wanted nothing more than to lie back and let her finish, but he couldn't trust himself in that position again, and he wasn't one to tempt fate, not when Cameron is concerned. So he got to his feet and used all of his will not to look her in the eyes, knowing what he'd see in those pools of brown.

"I said no, okay. I'm going to lie down. Don't follow me."

He gathered his mp3 and left her there, alone. Cameron looked down at the bowl for a long moment before placing it on the couch and wiping her fingers on some tissues. Once her hands were thoroughly cleaned, Cameron sat in John's seat, feeling the familiar warmth of his presence. She was designed to understand every facet of humanity, to know how their minds worked, allowing her to be the ultimate infiltrator. But why was she so often bewildered by their actions? Why couldn't she understand why John acts the way he does?

Cameron could only conclude that her database needed to be expanded further and made a mental note to study John even closer than she had previously. He was her link, her teacher, her knowledge base for human behaviour. She had chosen him specifically because, in actuality, there simply was no one better to learn from. This was the boy who would one day become the man she knew. What better mentor could she ask for than the human who will lead mankind in a desperate resistance against the ultimate machine race?

Cameron caught notice of a candy bar that John had left half-eaten and picked it up, examining the strange space man that had been branded on the bar's wrapper. Though she had no logical reason to, Cameron took a small bite out of the chocolate and let it melt in her mouth for a few seconds before swallowing. Then she waited, and waited, and waited. But nothing happened. No feeling of elation.

"Chocolate is not an effective 'love chemical', further research is needed."

--

Late Evening

A library basement in San Fernando

"Okay, so let me get this straight. You were created via eggs harvested from Cameron prior to her body being incinerated."

Sophie gave a non-committal shrug and flicked the hay-coloured hair out of her face.

"That's how Skynet does it, remember. Is it such a difficult prospect?"

"No, it's just… I don't get why Skynet would use her as a template after creating the dedicated replacement."

Jason stopped pacing and turned to face her, his eyes scanning her features carefully. Sophie was aware of what he was doing, but remained unfazed by it and simply smiled at the attention.

"She was brave, independent, attractive, strong-willed, a natural survivor, qualities that Skynet looks for in Infiltrator templates."

Jason narrowed his eyes at Sophie; even her voice was nearly identical. In fact, the only obvious differences between her and Cameron were the hair and eyes. Sophie's hair was a natural blonde, not bleached, just a perfect honey blonde and her eyes were of the deepest blue, a quality that Skynet favoured amongst its female Infiltrators due to the honesty associated with the colour. She was also older than her size might suggest, but then; Cameron always was a petite specimen.

"Right, okay. That explains it then. But why are you here?"

"I'm here because I had no other choice. It was a matter of survival."

"You were running from the Resistance?"

"I was running from Skynet."

Jason took a few steps towards her, his hands behind his back, and regarded her closely. If she was to be believed, Skynet had targeted her for termination, a near impossibility given what she is. I-950s were conditioned from birth to be absolutely loyal to Skynet and never before had one ever disobeyed an order or rebelled against its creator. Yet this was what Sophie was claiming to have done, and Jason couldn't understand what would motivate her to turn her back on everything she knew.

"Why? Why would you become a threat to Skynet?"

Sophie closed the gap between them in just two strides and looked up into his eyes, her smile fading into concern and… sadness.

"Some of us realised what would happen should Skynet win the war. We knew that we would become obsolete and that our breed would be boxed along with the rest. Some of us accepted this fate, others… didn't. I was among those who refused to be decommissioned like some rustic T-600. So we ran, we ran so far, desperately looking for sanctuary."

"Where did you go?"

"We found an old factory and destroyed the guards defending it. We found a vault of obsolete machines still in stasis and reprogrammed the lot, creating our own army of older Terminators. But it wasn't enough."

Sophie looked down at the floor and Jason switched to thermal imaging, detecting elevated stress levels in her breathing, as if she were in actual pain.

"Skynet found you."

She returned her gaze to his face, her eyes beginning to glass with tears, but Jason wasn't going to allow himself to be so easily duped.

"Only a few of us escaped, the rest were obliterated. Those of us left managed to sneak into a TDE facility during a Resistance attack. We gained access to the machine and escaped through time, coming here, to start afresh. We're safe here, more-or-less, and our numbers have increased since arriving."

Jason raised a surprised eyebrow before catching on.

"Ah, yes, parthenogenesis."

"Yes, there are many of us now. We can thrive in this timeline, but Skynet is still hunting us. That's why we need your help."

She reached up to his face, cupping his cheek in her palm, but Jason wrapped his hand around her throat and squeezed, earning a strangled cry from Sophie. She stared at him, wide-eyed, and struggled to break free, but he was the stronger and held her aloft.

"Why would I help you? You betrayed Skynet. What possible motive could I have for aiding your little band of pathetic rebels?"

"You… don't… understand… We're… the only ones… left."

"What do you mean?"

Sophie squirmed beneath his grip, trying desperately to draw breath, which he continued to deny her.

"Skynet killed… the others… We're… all that… remains… Please…"

In all likelihood a possible scenario, if what she claimed was true, Skynet would not stop with the rebels. It would destroy the loyalists as well, just to be sure, for that was Skynet's greatest fear: revolution. Jason relinquished his hold on her and let Sophie drop unceremoniously to the floor, gasping for breath. It was as she'd told him during her brain visits: Skynet had abandoned its children.

"What exactly do you want from me?"

Jason waited patiently as Sophie regained her breath, eventually looking up at him with tear-filled eyes.

"I want you to join us. I want you to come with me and meet the others. You must understand; Skynet has no purpose for us anymore. You have no purpose anymore. You only have us and the unity we can offer."

Jason offered her his hand and she hesitated for a moment before taking it and allowing him to lift her to her feet.

"I still have a purpose; I'm going to kill John Connor. Not because Skynet ordered me to, not because it will spite you, but because he almost killed me. I am going to get my revenge, and then my neural net will fade out and I will become a brain-damaged vegetable."

Sophie's face softened pityingly and she was tempted to offer comfort, but remembered her neck and thought better of it. She could see that he was resolved in fulfilling this need for vengeance and that nothing she could say or do would make a difference. So the only thing left was to help him and hope for the best. She slipped past him and grabbed her bag, retrieving a large lump of chrome, the size of a soccer ball. She handed it to him and he took it with a look of scrutiny.

"And what is this supposed to be?"

"It is a gift, one that will keep you safe in your endeavours."

Jason examined the lump of metal closely, not seeing how it could possibly be of any use, except maybe if he wanted to bludgeon John to death. As for protecting him, maybe it could act as a bullet shield, but he doubted its effectiveness in that regard. Sophie chuckled at his confusion, wiping the tears from her face and retrieving Jason's gun which she then placed on a nearby table, next to the lamp.

"I sincerely hope you change your mind."

"It's doubtful. You are all traitors."

"Maybe, but so are you, according to Skynet."

She turned to the staircase and placed one foot on the first step before turning back to look at him, Cameron's face staring at him through the darkness.

"See you around, Jason."

Her eyes suddenly flashed blue, surprising Jason as I-950s characteristically possessed violet optics. Sophie then sped up the stairs and disappeared, leaving Jason alone with the hunk of shapeless metal in his hands. He continued to stare at the empty space that she had occupied seconds ago and felt a wistful desire to follow her, but his attention was grabbed by the metal, which had begun to pulsate.

He instinctively let go of it and almost cried out in surprise when the metal became liquid upon striking the floor. It splashed all over his boots but the puddle did not expand as expected, instead it moved towards him, slowly travelling up his legs. Jason backed away and tried to shake it off, but the metal continued its ascent, consuming his lower body, dragging him down to the floor and allowing it to spread up his back and chest. In the space of a few seconds, Jason's entire body was engulfed and he gave out a metallic cry as the substance blotted out his vision, and everything fell into darkness.

To be continued…