Author's Note:
This was a tough one.
At midnight John awoke to Catherine Weaver standing over him. Surprised, he jumped slightly. She spoke flatly and in her usual accent, "Mr. Connor. We will need your help."
John got out of his bunk, slid some boots on quickly, and followed her out of the room. While walking down the hall, he asked, "Who's we?"
Weaver spoke, "We will need to get John Henry and Cameron inside. They are waiting outside."
At hearing that, John became excited. "You're not using the front door, are you?" John asked.
"We have no other choice. This bunker is the basement. There is no back entrance."
They came around a final corner and saw a man guarding the door.
Weaver spoke, "We have some guests. Would you open the door?"
The guard replied, "Nuh uh. You authorized?"
Weaver gave him a cold stare. The man was a little frightened, but he persisted, "You gonna need permission, lady."
A knock came from the other side of the door. The guard opened a small window on the door and looked through. The face of John Henry smiling greeted him, "Hello." The guard got the creeps and looked around John Henry. Beside him was a pretty girl smiling also.
The guard spoke, "Hey, aren't you a fighter? Uh...Allison?"
Lying, Cameron spoke, "Yes."
"Alright. Fine, I'll open it." said the guard, a little suspicious. All these people looked a little off.
John Henry and Cameron walked inside. John looked at her, amazed. Once out of view and around the corner, they all stopped. John reached out and hugged Cameron. Slightly surprised, she returned the hug. For some reason, she put on a small smile while saying, "Hi John." Excluding the look on her face, John swore she was happy...the way she spoke.
After they finished hugging, Catherine Weaver spoke, "We need to find a room to stay."
"Right." said John, leaving the moment.
They walked down the halls and finally came to an empty room. Weaver led them inside the room and spoke, "I'll leave you in here."
Cameron spoke to John, "You shouldn't be here."
"I know." he said, "But I had to get you back, and Weaver gave me the opportunity."
Cameron realized the significance of his words, and she hugged him.
John said half jokingly, "So Cameron, are you still just a machine?"
She responded seeming slightly sad, "I don't know, John. I am concerned that you are so concerned about me. I am a terminator. It was risky to come here."
"It was a risk I had to take." said John.
John Henry had been watching the two, and finally spoke in a curious tone, "Mr. Connor, do you love her?"
"Uh. Yeah, I think I do." said John nervously after a moment of silence.
"Cameron, do you love him?" asked John Henry.
"I don't know." she spoke sadly.
"I function on an identical chip to Cameron's, and I do not know why she couldn't experience emotion. I believe I do to some degree. Perhaps you are unaware of it, Cameron?"
Cameron spoke unsure, "I don't know."
"It sounds like you are afraid. Don't be." said John Henry.
Cameron looked back at John. "You should get some rest."
Morning came. Kyle went about his daily duties. He checked on various parts of the bunker, making sure guard rotations and the like went well. He came across the front post and talked to the guard, "Alright, you're relieved. Tell Jones to replace your post."
The guard spoke, "Yessir, but uh I wanted to tell you. Some new guy came in last night. He was big."
"Really? Why'd you let him in?" said Kyle.
"Well, he was at the door with one of ours. I think her name is Allison."
"Okay. Well go rotate with Jones." finished Kyle.
Kyle found this interesting. Did Allison finally meet someone she liked? He decided he would go investigate. Kyle went to Allison's bunk. He found her and spoke, "So who's the new guy?"
Allison responded confused, "What?"
Kyle prodded, "You were with some guy last night. What were you doing out?"
She continued, "I have no idea what you're talking about. I was here last night."
"Aww, come on. The guards wouldn't lie to me..." said Kyle.
Allison stared at him for a moment in thought. She said quietly, "Cameron."
Kyle barely heard it, "You were with a guy named Cameron?"
Allison broke his questioning, "We have to find John."
Kyle and Allison walked around everywhere looking for John. Finally they came to nearly the end of the tunnels. They noticed a closed door with light shining from under it. Kyle opened the door and was utterly surprised at what he saw. John woke up, seeing Kyle and Allison standing in the doorway. Then he realized what the looks on their faces meant. Cameron looked curiously at Allison. Kyle and Allison were speechless while John and Cameron were silent.
John Henry broke the silence in a friendly voice, "Hello." The room still filled with silence, John Henry continued, "I'm John Henry. You must be Cameron's template."
After some stumbling with words, Allison got out with fear in her voice, "You're a terminator?"
"Yes, my hardware is. Though I am actually an AI developed by Zeira Corp."
Allison turned her attention back to Cameron. She nervously walked farther into the room. She studied Cameron, and Cameron studied her back. "So, you're Cameron?" asked Allison.
"Yes. And you are Allison Young." said Cameron.
"How do you know my name?" Allison questioned.
"I was built to replace you...in another timeline." Cameron answered.
"Wha.. Why?"
"I was meant to infiltrate his camp and kill him." Cameron said while glancing at John with a slight amount of regret in her voice.
Allison remembered how John said he would have united the resistance; that would explain the part about his camp. She was terrified having this look-alike in front of her, but her curiosity kept her in the room. "So why haven't you killed him?"
"I couldn't, and I was reprogrammed. My mission is to protect him now."
John was finding this conversation really weird. They had nearly identical voices when they spoke, and they looked nearly identical too, but Cameron had shorter hair and a stiffer posture. Kyle was also in awe; he just stood quietly, leaning against the wall, listening and looking.
John got up and came back a few minutes later with some alcohol. They all needed it.
AN: Sorry for the wait. I've been busy, and you try making a bunch of resistance fighters meet 3 terminators, one of which is a doppelgänger. I had to think about this one. ;) And the conversation isn't quite over yet.