I know what you all have been waiting for...action. I promised there would be more action in this fic than in its predecessor, and I won't let my readers down. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter, and the story as a whole. So here it is, submitted for your approval.
Konata looked up as Minoru opened the bathroom door. He looked at Konata a moment, with a look of recognition upon his face.
"Konata…Konata Izume…right?" Minoru asked.
"Yeah." Konata said, trying to remember where she knew the man from. She narrowed her eyes. "How the hell do you know me?"
"It's me…Minoru." He replied. "You know, Minoru Shiraishi. We went to school together."
"Wow…" Konata said.
"What happened to you?" Minoru asked. "You stopped coming to school, and then there were all of these weird murders and shootings, then Miyuki was murdered..."
"I know…" Konata replied. She noticed the expression on Minoru's face. "Well I didn't do it!" She exclaimed. "Look, a lot of strange, bad stuff happened, okay? Let's just leave it at that. If it's alright with you, I don't feel like sharing my life's story right now."
"Well that's fine and all, but you still broke into my house." Minoru said, placing his hands on his hips like an angry mother. "And I still should call the police on you."
Akira waited impatiently in the living room, tapping her foot, her arms crossed over her chest. She glanced around the room at the photos on the wall, Minoru's diploma, and his award for Lucky Channel. Akira scoffed, thinking about how there wouldn't even be a Lucky Channel without her. She heard a noise, and looked toward the door. A police woman was standing inside the front door, staring at her intently.
"What, is my car parked in a red zone?" Akira asked sarcastically.
"Akira Kogami?" The female terminator asked, walking toward the pink-haired young woman.
"Um…yeah!" Akira replied. "And I'm not signing any autographs, so forget…" Before she could finish the statement, the female terminator's right hand morphed into a small cannon-looking device. "Hey…what the hell…" Akira cried. The terminator leveled the weapon at her. With a high-pitched electrical whir, a small blue pulse of energy shot from the muzzle, literally blowing a golf ball sized hole through her chest. Akira let out a choked scream as she fell to the floor.
Konata and Minoru heard a strange whine, followed by Akira's scream.
"What the…" Minoru said. "Is someone with you?" Konata shook her head. Minoru ran from the room, and dashed to the doorway of the living room. He stopped, frozen in shock. A police woman stood over the body of Akira. The officer's head immediately snapped toward Minoru. She stared at him a moment, and her head gently cocked to one side.
"Minoru Shiraishi." The woman stated. Minoru watched as she raised her right arm. Where the hand should be, he saw a metalic silver weapon with a slight bluish glow at the end of the barrel.
"Oh man…um..." Minoru stammered. Konata ran up behind Minoru and saw the terminator.
"Oh fuck!" Konata screamed. She grabbed the young man as the terminator aimed the weapon. Konata pulled him to the floor as a blue ball of plasma blew a hole in the wall behind where they had been standing. Konata pulled Minoru to his feet. "Run!" She ordered, clenching a fistful of his shirt, and leading him down the hall. She pulled him into the bedroom and slammed the door.
"Wha…what…"
"Shut up, and come on!" Konata yelled, throwing a chair out of the window, shattering the glass. She grabbed Minoru's arm, and pushed him toward the opening. "Go, god damn it!" Konata screamed. Minoru climbed out the window, falling face-first into the grass. Konata dove through the window, landing on top of the frightened man as the terminator burst through the door, firing another burst of plasma through the wall. Konata looked around, and spying Akira's BMW on the curb, leapt to her feet, and seized Minoru's collar, forcing him to stand and run with her. The terminator fired out the bedroom window, hitting the ground behind them. The robot assassin kicked out the wall underneath the window, and jumped to the ground. It fired again, hitting a tree to the left of the two, blowing a hole through the trunk. The terminator began running after them.
"Please stop…don't kill me…" Minoru whimpered as they reached the car. Konata ignored him, and threw him to the ground, throwing open the passenger side door. She looked back. The terminator had caught up, and was standing ten feet away, her plasma gun aimed at them, and charging. There was a squeal of tires as a large motorcycle suddenly appeared, racing toward the terminator. She turned just as the man on the bike fired a rifle into her chest. The man flipped off the back of the motorcycle, and the powerful bike slammed into the terminator. Both flew backwards, crashing through the wall of Minoru's house, and into the kitchen. The two machines landed on Minoru's gas oven, and ruptured the gas main. The explosion tore through the front of the house, blowing the roof off of the kitchen, and sending wood and debris raining down on the street. Konata and Minoru dove behind the car to shield themselves from the blast. Konata finally poked her head up as the man on the motorcycle slowly approached her. Her eyes widened with fear, and her heart began pounding harder. It was the terminator who had hunted her years before.
"No…" Konata gasped, falling backwards onto the street. "No!" She screamed. The memories came flooding back, and her heart raced. The terminator stood over her, and held out its hand.
"Come with me if you want to live." It said, speaking the same words that Senshi had told her six years before. She cautiously took the machine's hand. It helped her to her feet, her eyes locked suspiciously on the terminator the entire time. It opened the back door of the car, and picked up a still shaking Minoru, throwing him in. "There isn't much time." The terminator stated. Konata looked toward the house. A dark form was walking through the flames. Konata jumped into the passenger seat, and the terminator sat behind the wheel. It turned the ignition and threw the car in reverse, the BMW's engine roaring as the vehicle sped backwards.
The female terminator walked out of the flames, her form now metallic and liquid. Her eyes locked onto the fleeing car, and she began to run after her targets, her body returning to the image of a police woman.
"Shit…" Konata gasped, seeing the cyborg pursuing them, and gaining foot by foot. She looked around the vehicle. The terminator had the rifle beside his seat, and a handgun tucked into his belt that it had taken from a police vehicle. She siezed the pistol, and leaned out the window, firing at the female terminator like a trined marksman, round after round hitting the terminator in the chest, without slowing her at all. The terminator aimed his rifle out the window, and fired, but the pursuing cyborg was unaffected.
"Hang on." The terminator said. He swung the car around, and threw it into drive. The female terminator, realizing that the car could now outpace her, ran into the path of an oncoming delivery truck. The driver slammed on the brakes, but the terminator jumped, her upper body crashing through the windshield of the large vehicle. The driver watched in shock as the woman snaked through the window, and rose into the passenger seat.
"Get out." She ordered, reaching across the driver, and opening the door. She pushed him out onto the road, and slid into the driver's seat. She floored the accelerator, and made a U turn. She began pursuing the car. She watched as the car grew closer and closer. She rammed her fist through the windshield, and her hand turned once again into the plasma gun. She fired, hitting a car on the side of the road. It exploded and flipped over. The terminator driving Konata and Minoru looked back at the truck pursuing them.
"Drive." It ordered. Konata took the wheel. The terminator crawled out the window, sitting on the door, and levered the rifle one-handed. He fired at the grill of the truck, puncturing the radiator. He cocked the rifle, and fired, hitting the female terminator in the head. He looked ahead. They were coming upon a bridge. He cocked the rifle, and took careful aim. He fired. The bullet struck the front passenger tire, causing an explosive blowout, sending chunks of rubber flying from the wheel. The female terminator lost control of the truck, and as the BMW sped across the bridge, the truck veered to the left, and struck the concrete wall, flipping through the air. It landed upside down on the road below, a fireball engulfing the vehicle as the fuel ignited. The terminator slid back into the car, and took the wheel from Konata. He stuck the rifle back beside the seat, and began silently driving.
"The TX is incapable of further pursuit." The terminator said. "Konata Izume, have you sustained injury?"
"No." Konata sighed.
"Minoru Shiraishi, have you been injured?" The terminator asked.
"What? Who are you? What the hell is going on? Wait…who…what was that?" Minoru exclaimed, looking back at the smoke fading in the distance.
"A terminator." The terminator driving replied. "Cyberdyne systems, model T-X." He took an exit, and began driving south.
"A…a what?" Minoru cried. "She killed Akira-san! And…and…you blew her up, but…she…"
"She was a machine." Konata said, turning and looking at the terrified man in the back seat."A robot sent to kill me, okay?" She fell back into her seat a moment. "Wait…" She said, looking at the terminator. "You're a terminator too."
"Correct. Cyberdyne systems series 800. Model one zero one."
"And I get that you're not here to kill me." Konata replied. "So someone must have sent you back in time to protect me, right?"
"Correct." The machine answered. "I was captured by the resistance and you reprogrammed me to protect you and Minoru Shiraishi in this time."
"Wait…what?" Konata asked. "Why him?"
"During the war, Captain Shiraishi is a key member of the resistance. Unable to locate you, the T-X fell back to its secondary directives. Eliminate all key resistance members. Captains Akira Kogami, Minoru Shiraishi, and the sisters Kagami and Tsukasa were all targeted for termination."
"Wait…what resistance?" Minoru asked. "I'm not captain of anything."
"Not yet." Konata replied, pointing her index finger at Minoru. "But you will be apparently, so I say just go with it."
"Oh, man…" Minoru said, falling back onto the seat. He placed the back of his hand over his forehead dramatically. "I don't believe this…robots, explosions, some…resistance army. This can't be happening."
They drove until they reached a deserted stretch of farming country. Ahead, an abandoned building sat beside the road. What was once a small store and gas station, now was dark and showing signs of neglect. The terminator pulled into the derelict business and stopped the car. It climbed out, and walked to the garage door. With one pull, it snapped the lock, and rolled the door open. Konata drove the car into the bay, the terminator slamming the door closed behind her. Konata turned off the engine, and she and Minoru stepped out of the car. Konata immediately began searching around the old gas station for tools, weapons and food as Minoru began pacing back and forth.
"This can't be happening…this can't be happening." He muttered. Konata picked up a screwdriver and looked at it. Finally tired of Shiraishi's whining, she slammed it down and walked over, looking him in the eyes.
"This is happening." She said. "That terminator that tried to kill you is still out there, and it won't stop hunting you until you're dead, get it?"
"No!" Minoru cried. "Robots and stuff…it's not real! You guys are crazy!" Konata looked at the terminator and nodded.
"Show him." She said. The terminator took off his leather coat and threw it onto a desk. Konata pulled a small folding knife from her pocket and gave it to the machine. He opened the knife, and plunged the blade into his arm. Minoru gasped. The terminator drew the blade down his arm, slicing through the flesh, leaving a long, deep wound. Minoru fell to the floor, his eyes locked onto the grotesque scene unfolding. He felt like throwing up. The terminator cut around its arm at the elbow, and placed the knife on the desk. Then in one quick motion, it seized the wound at the elbow and tore the flesh from its arm, revealing a bloody metal arm, with hinged joints, and silvery metal fingers.
"Oh my god…oh my god…" Minoru gasped. "It's…it's…a robot!"
"A terminator." Konata corrected. "Now listen, Minoru. This terminator was sent back in time to protect us from another terminator that is trying to kill us."
"That woman?" Minoru asked.
"Yeah…if you want to call it that." Konata answered. "Years from now, there will be a war between humans and machines. I am supposed to play a part in the war, and apparently, you will too."
"A war between people and robots?" Minoru exclaimed. "What? When?"
"In approximately 53 hours, Skynet will assume control of all automated military systems in the United States, and launch its nuclear arsenal at targets in China, Russia and the Middle East." The terminator stated.
"You mean…53 hours from NOW?" Konata exclaimed.
"Exactly." The terminator replied.
"Wha…what is it SAYING?" Minoru cried. Konata sat down in an old desk chair, a panicked expression on her face.
"Jugement Day." She said. "The war. It starts in less than 3 days."