A/N: Sorry this took so long, but look on the bright side, it's winter break! Meaning more updates!

acer-sigma: Yes the next couple of chapters get VERY interesting, but you'll just have to wait and see what I'm talking about. :)

AJ-JC: Good analysis! I'm sorry I couldn't update this story sooner.

olischulu: All I can say is that John loves Cameron, they discuss this issue in future chapters.

shadow: Glad to here you like this story! Sorry I couldn't update sooner.

bryan0711: Good to here you're enjoying this story! And yes it would be a big adjustment.

jameron4eva: Lol yes this story can be confusing, we'll just have to wait and see if you're right!

And on with the story!

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Reign of the Cameron: Chapter 9, by The Crusader

Originally posted on November 12th, 2009

"When did you last see him?" Kyle asked her.

Allison stood at attention, trying to appear stoic. If anyone knew what she had done...

"Last time I saw him was right after you talked to him." She blurted out.

"And what did he say to you?"

"The usual. He was going to go work out."

"Are you sure he went to his room?"

"He went in that direction. It's not like I followed him there to make sure."

"I know, Allison. No one is accusing you. This can mean that either John escaped, or he was captured. I'm really...scared that it's the latter."

"You're really starting to like him, aren't you?"

"Well you're closer to John than any of us. If anyone would know-"

"I don't know what happened to him.. I wish I did."

That was the easiest thing she had to say during this entire investigation. Because it was the truth. She let John go off on his own and now she didn't know if he was ever coming back. Did he find his Cameron? If he did, he'd want to be with her for a long time wouldn't he? It almost brought a smile to Allison's face thinking of John happy for the first time since he came here. But what if something completely different happened? What if Cameron wasn't really out there, and it was just some rumor that John's broken heart transformed into a fact? Or worse, what if Cameron was out there, but by the time John got to her she was killed? Worse still, what if John found Cameron only to realize that she didn't want him anymore.

Then he could come back here. And I'd be able to comfort him. Wait, no, what am I thinking?

She shook the thought out of her head. It felt so wrong to not want things to work out between John and Cameron. Allison wanted John to be happy, even if it wasn't with her. If things didn't work out between he and Cameron, he'd be crushed. How could she want that for him?

"You're dismissed." Kyle said, snapping Allison out of her reverie.

"Yes, sir. Thank you." She said, thanks to years of conditioned response. She was free for now. But she didn't know how long it would be until someone figured out what she had done. If Kyle had suspected something, he wouldn't have let her go, would he?

She wandered down the tunnels reflecting on what had been happening since John left. When all of the sudden she heard a crowd of people walking through the tunnels. It sounded like what pre-J day boomers would refer to as a news report. When something important happened, a number of people would crowd around those responsible and ask them questions. It sounded like that was what was happening now.

--

"Where have you been?"

"Were you captured?"

"We heard something about a machine vs machine war is that true?"

John had all these questions and more as he walked forward. He tried to avoid them as he really needed some sleep now. It was a long journey getting here from the library. Even longer since he tried to find Lewis first. If anyone was going to help introduce the Resistance to the idea of using machines, it was Lewis. But it was that very reason that John didn't have a whole lot of information to share with Lewis. He had to be sure that he could trust this Cameron. It sure seemed like the one he knew, but that woman lied to him more than once. It always seemed to be a lie that benefitted him in some way, but she wasn't perfect.

Just as he was thinking about her, he saw her again. And again he had to remind him that it wasn't her but Allison. What made the situation even more awkward was when she ran up to him and gave him a big hug. Clearly she was happy to see him alive. As her warm body held onto his, he immediately became sad. Because if that endoskeleton Cameron was the real thing, then he would never be able to do this with her. He'd never feel the artificial warmth of his skin, never touch the softness of her hair, and he'd never be able to look at those chocolate brown eyes. It mattered to him, not that he would care about her any less if she didn't have skin. He loved Cameron even though she was a cyborg. Allison may have had skin, and the other two Camerons that he met, but they weren't HIS Cameron. Or were they? If one of them was the "real" Cameron, she had changed considerably. It seemed that no matter what, the Cameron he once knew was gone. She would never be the same again.

"What's wrong, John?" Allison asked, looking at his face.

"Nothing. I just..."

John considered explaining his situation to her, and wondered how many details he should include. As usual, he tried to keep the details sparse. Most of the other soldiers had gone to different areas by now, leaving John and Allison alone.

"Just what, John?"

"Sorry. I just worried about what I made you do. You put yourself on the line, for me. Did you get in trouble for it?"

"Not yet. Though I doubt I've dodged that bullet for good."

"I'm sorry I had to ask you to do this."

"Tell me it wasn't for nothing. Tell me you found her."

"I...uh...I think I did."

"What do you mean you think you did? Did you see her?"

"I've been seeing her everywhere, just like Charlie said."

"Charlie?"

"Charlie was a friend of mine. He was kinda like a Dad to me, before he died."

"John, I'm so sorry."

"Compared to most J-day survivors, my story isn't that painful. Anyway, my point is, he lost his wife. Told me that for weeks afterwards he'd see her everywhere. He'd go to the mark-" John paused for a moment before he said something that would give himself away. There were not markets in this future. "Everyone he saw, reminded him of her. Since I've been here I've seen 4 people who remind me of her. So when I saw this one, this Cameron,I couldn't be sure."

"But you think you've found her, the real her?

"I don't know. Gotta be careful with the Wizard's First Rule."

"Wizard's First Rule?"

John took the copy of the book out of his bag and handed it to Allison. she looked at it.

"When I met Cameron, if that was Cameron, she was at an old library and she gave me this. Kinda surprised me as I didn't think it was her thing."

"So what is the Wizard's First Rule?"

"Rule number one: People are stupid. The y will believe anything because they want to believe it's true. Or because they are afraid it might be true."

"So you're afraid that you only trust Cameron because you want to."

"I know I trust Cameron because I want to. If I didn't want her to, she would've been gone a long time ago. At the same time, I'm kinda afraid that this is the real Cameron."

"Why?"

"Cause she's different from how she used to be. I keep hoping I'll get her back the way she was."

"People change."

"I know. Listen, I should really get some sleep."

John attempted to walk past her when suddenly her voice caused him to stop dead in his tracks.

"John. Next time I'm going with you."

"I can't ask you to do that."

"You're only a private, you can't ask me to do anything."

At that point she gave a small smirk. Not the faint smiles that Cameron used to give her. This one was different. He could know from this very smile, that he was talking to a human being. Then again Cameron did fool him when they first met.

"I say that the next time you go. I go with you." Allison told John.

Suddenly Kyle appeared from behind John. He walked over and both John and Allison went silent. They had no idea how much he had heard or how long he had been standing there.

"Go? Go where?" Kyle asked.

--

A/N: Haha a cliffhanger! Want to see what happens next? You'll just have to wait for the update, which I promise I'll try my hardest to get up soon.

Once again I'm really sorry for not updating this story more consistently, school and general laziness isn't a good combination. And for some reason my last save got erased so this is the second time I'm writing this. :\

We love to here from you guys! Please review if you have the time, one word is all I ask.