author's notes: Wow, thanks for everyone who gave such awesome reviews! I'm really glad you're all enjoying the story.
Emphaty Turtle - Dogs are really good at sensing hostile intentions. Kevin wasn't a Terminator, but Max could tell/sense that he was there to harm John.
Kirirur - The plasma rifle question gets answered here in this episode. The one John found in the safehouse was just one that his mother had placed there sometime between 2009 and 2024.
newbiepencil - As for Firefly references, the "are you asking me to dance" is what Kaylee says to Simon after she gets shot in the stomach in the first episode. There's a couple references from Serenity as well. And I'm sure there will be a few more before the story is over.
fairedust - Ha ha. You're right, Max does deserve a bone. :)
ecrm - Weaver is definitely still going to be around, not so much this chapter but the next.
Castaway5 - Hey, I used your "next week on BTF" idea. :) Thanks again!
talli.b - Don't worry. There's definitely some Jameron coming in the next few chapters.
demonlord999 - Yes, I have a few chapters later on about the worldwide resistance and John's role. Thanks for the input.
Previously on Born to Fight: JOHN: Max, no! (Max bites Rodriguez. Rodriguez shoots Allison.) KYLE: What are we going to do with him? (Derek shoots the Gray) DEREK: It had to be done. JOHN: (Allison in infirmary) How are you feeling? ALLISON: I was shot, what do you think? JOHN: At least you're acting normal again. DEREK: (pointing at John's plasma rifle) When do we start getting those issued? JOHN: If I find a secret stash somewhere. DEREK: Doesn't seem very promising. (John gives Kyle the photo of Sarah) JOHN: It's my mother. WEAVER: Sarah Connor died two years after Judgment Day. Cancer. (John sorts through the boxes brought back from the desert safehouse. Sarah Connor's box remains unopened.)
Chapter Nine:
Born of the Legend
November 14, 2025
Depot 2
John Connor's Private Quarters
John Connor sat silently in his bunk staring up at the ceiling. If the Resistance calendar was accurate, today was his eighteenth birthday. He snorted quietly. Like there was really anything to celebrate.
He wasn't even sure anyone celebrated birthdays any more.
When he asked Allison, she merely shrugged. "No one has celebrated birthdays in years," she explained quietly. "I haven't had one since I was two."
"When's your birthday?"
"July 22nd," she replied. "I remember the last birthday party I had…" her eyes softened and grew distant, mouth turning upwards into a small, but sad, smile. "I had a party in Griffith Park. My parents…all my friends were there. We had balloons and cake and ice cream…" She paused letting more of the memories come back. "I saw this boy ride past the park on his bike and I told my father about it. That's what I wanted for my birthday present. A bike. He said 'next year.'"
She laughed humorlessly. "You know the story from there."
John cast his eyes downward at the floor. "There was no next year…" Because only one month before her next birthday, Allison Young's life had been destroyed, along with three billion other people and the entire world they had known.
He glanced up again slowly to see Allison look away, a single tear running down her face, her lip trembling. He felt horrible for forcing her to bring up such awful memories. His own birthday parties had never exactly been pleasant either. He knew more than anyone what it was like to lose the people he loved.
"Maybe we can give you a party next year," John suggested.
Allison gazed at him skeptically. "Yeah, let's just go out and get some balloons and cake. Maybe Skynet will start manufacturing them."
"Don't worry," John said with a small smile. "We'll think of something." And he would. Because this was a new future, a new hope. With so little to be thankful for, birthdays were even more important to remember.
She slowly nodded, wiping away a lone tear as she offered him a comforting smile. "Happy birthday, John."
***********
It was his birthday, his sixteenth birthday. It was supposed to be special, despite the fact that they had much more important things to do. Despite the fact that the Turk was still out there, his mother had insisted they spend the evening celebrating. She'd even sent Cameron out for a cake.
It had turned out to be the worst day of his life.
The explosion came from outside, from the jeep. Before John even had time to panic about Cameron's fate, Sarkissian and his men had burst through the front door, attacking him and his mom and tying them up. The man then proceeded to beat Sarah violently. At that point, all that was running through John's head was hatred and revenge. He'd killed Sarkissian, snapped his neck.
His first kill.
The end of innocence.
Cameron had come through the door, part of her face torn up, bits of her clothing burned by the explosion, but he'd felt an incredible relief pass through his entire body. She was safe, she was alive. His relief slowly faded as Cameron stared at him as though he were a stranger, cocking her head slightly as if processing something before bringing up her gun.
Shock exploded through John's brain and he moved instinctively, feeling his mother yank him behind her body, shielding him. Another explosion shook the house and Cameron disappeared, knocked backwards down the staircase. His mind was screaming is disbelief and he crawled forward.
No! She couldn't be gone! Why was this happening to him? Cameron's lethal hand suddenly rose up, gripping the edge of the floor. Sarah urged John into action, all but shoving him out the window as they fled from the cyborg who had dedicated her life to protecting him.
They'd run, but they couldn't hide forever. Cameron had found him, had been ready to kill him when Sarah had trapped her between the two trucks. John was running on adrenaline, barely able to think about what he was doing as he crawled across the truck and positioned himself behind Cameron's immobile head, screwdriver in hand.
He hadn't expected her to say anything to him at all.
And never in his wildest dreams did he expect her to say what she did.
"John, you can't do this," she stated evenly. "You don't know what you are about to do."
"Yes, I do," he hissed through gritted teeth. "You're gonna kill me."
"No," Cameron replied. He felt a pain tearing at his heart but he didn't believe her for one second. It was just a trick. "John, you can't do this. You're not doing the right thing, this is not the right thing, John."
He struggled trying to get the cap off her chip portal, the screwdriver not able to grip the edge. Or maybe it was just that his hands were shaking too badly.
"Things are good now," Cameron started. "Things are fine now, I ran a test. Things are good now, I'm fixed now."
John paused, pulling his hand back and looking down at her. "You can trust me now, everything's good now."
"What are you waiting for?" Sarah shouted angrily from the cab of the truck. John turned toward her, briefly meeting her eyes. They were angry, furious even.
"She doesn't know, she doesn't," Cameron explained, her tone of voice slowly changing from the usual monotone. "I'm good now. I'm good. I ran a test. Everything's perfect, I'm perfect."
John felt frozen, numb. He wanted to believe Cameron. He desperately wanted to believe her. It's a trick, he told himself.
"John!" Sarah screamed, trying to get his attention.
"I'm sorry for what I did," Cameron continued. Her voice was beginning to sound more like a plea. He'd never heard her sound like that before. It was tearing his heart out. "I'm sorry," she repeated. "It wasn't me. You have to understand it wasn't me. That wasn't me…"
He brought the screwdriver toward her head again and her fear and frightened cries increased. "You can't let this happen, John, you can't…" The cap finally popped free and the chip was right there, right within reach. All he had to do was reach in and pull it.
All that was stopping him was Cameron's increased pleading. "Please! Listen to me!" she cried desperately. "Listen to me I don't want to go!" She was looking up at him, her eyes wide with fear, tears shining in them. He felt the pain like a stab in his heart. "Please, John, please. John, listen to me, I don't want to go."
He didn't want her to go either. Her eyes grew wider, more frantic. "Please? John? Please?" The desperate, pleading, tearful expression she was giving him was clouding his mind. He had her life in his hands… and he didn't want to kill her.
"I'm good now! Listen to me, I don't want to go! I'm sorry! That wasn't me! I'm fixed now, I ran a test. Everything's perfect. You can trust me!"
"John Connor!" His mother's voice was strong, demanding him to do what he needed to do.
He gripped the screwdriver tightly, finally deciding that his mother was right. This had to end now, even if pulling out Cameron's chip would mean pulling out a piece of his own heart as well.
"I love you!" Cameron blurted out, crying. "I love you, please!"
John felt the shock run through his entire body. Until he heard the words, he hadn't know how much he'd secretly been dying to hear them. He couldn't breathe, couldn't think. Sarah Connor no longer was there…the trucks were no longer there.
There was just him and Cameron, her tearful face ripping his heart out. He hated seeing her cry.
"I love you, John, and you love me!"
John's eyes snapped open, his breath catching in his throat as the vision faded. But the memory remained.
His sixteenth birthday.
The worst day of his life.
The best day of his life.
John buried his face in his pillow, finding it wet with tears. He could never love anyone the way he loved Cameron Phillips. No one, not even Allison, could ever take her place.
He still cared about Allison. Maybe more than he should. He wasn't even sure how to interpret what he was feeling. All he knew was even if he did care for Allison, his heart would always belong to Cameron.
And she could have it back whenever she showed up.
***********
March 2026
Depot 2
They went for four months without any attacks.
John knew the reason for the delay. John Henry and Weaver were busy taking the fight to Skynet with their machine resistance. Plus Skynet was still recovering from the loss of the Triple 8 factory as well as the failed capture of Kansas Bunker, which Martin Bedell had given his life to prevent. Meanwhile, with Skynet having these setbacks, the resistance was growing even stronger.
Derek and Kyle had taken to training up some of the tunnel rats, giving them advanced practice with detecting and taking down Terminators. Even Max and the other dogs were kept in shape, though Max alone had proved his worth by detecting a hostile presence that was human. John still didn't know if Max just had a better sixth sense about intentions or if maybe he smelled Terminator on Rodriguez from all the times the Gray had been in contact with metal.
Either way, John was infinitely glad to have his new dog at his side. In the wake of the Gray infiltrator, though, Derek had suggested John be on the lookout for a new bunker, someplace he could set up his "Connor camp" with only a select few soldiers trusted with the knowledge of its location, maybe even devising some sort of tag they had to wear in order to get inside.
John thought the idea was good in theory, though he wasn't sure where he could find the sort of bunker Derek had in mind, especially something that Skynet would not be able to find and simply blow up.
John kept track of the date avidly. It was March 2026. Cameron said she had come from 2027, and he kept counting the days until he would finally find her in this timeline. Of course, first thing was first. He still had to convince Weaver to let him see John Henry. John hadn't forgotten his solemn promise to find the machine who had, in essence, killed Cameron.
Even though John Henry was supposedly on the side of the Resistance, John wasn't sure what he would do when he was finally face to face with Cameron's killer.
With nothing else to do for the time being, he finally worked up enough courage to open his mother's box that had been taken from the safehouse. He'd been waiting, afraid of what he'd find inside, afraid he would breakdown even looking at some of Sarah's things. He'd never even really got the chance to say goodbye to her.
When he finally got the box opened, he found that it didn't contain much. Like the rest, she had some clothes, guns, and ammo, but he didn't care about that. What he was looking for was anything sentimental, anything she had treasured.
There were only two things inside that fell into that category. One was a small index card with Sarah's pancake recipe written on it. John allowed himself a small smile at that. The other was a yellow-backed book he didn't recognize until he read the title. It was a copy of the Wizard of Oz.
Already he could feel the tears welling in his eyes as he cracked open the book, staring at the first pages. He remembered her reading this to him when he was little. She would read it in Spanish…he always liked that.
He flipped through the book until he reached the back cover, frowning at the folded up piece of notebook paper taped to the inside. When he carefully peeled it off and unfolded it, he realized with shock that it was a letter.
A letter from his mother.
He swallowed hard before he began reading.
Dear John,
I didn't want to write this letter to you. I kept putting it off because I didn't want to say goodbye. But it looks like I may not be able to see you in the future. Where you are, I am probably already dead. If this is the case…then I'm so sorry, John. Cameron was right, I am sick. Cancer. I don't know if she ever told you this, but when we first time jumped, Cameron told me I died of cancer in 2005. We jumped over my death that time, but I'm afraid it only postponed the inevitable. The doctors say I'll be lucky to last another year. The worst part is that Judgment Day is next year. I won't even be able to be buried next to Kyle, next to your father.
John felt a tear slide down his cheek, but he smiled softly. In a way, she actually was next to Kyle. His father carried her picture close to his heart. He blinked the tears from his eyes and began reading again.
But I'm not giving up. I know I have a few years of fight left in me. It's not my time yet. I'm doing everything I can to prevent Judgment Day. Ellison is helping me and taking care of Savannah at the same time. But if you're in a future where the machines are still in charge…well, I guess I don't succeed. I know I've always said there's no fate but what we make, but I'm beginning to think that this is the fate we make. The fate that humans make for ourselves. Despite everything we've done, the world still ends. Maybe it will happen no matter what we do.
If this is the case, then Judgment Day is coming soon and there's nothing we can do to stop it.
What we can do is prepare for it. We've already begun stockpiling food and supplies in underground storage facilities. Right now, we have about ten of them scattered around the US and all are stocked with a large supply of everything you'll need. We put them in locations where they should be safe from the missiles and ready for you to use in the future. I have also tracked down Danny Dyson, who has taken after his father in the way of technology. But instead of helping Cyberdyne create Skynet, Danny has begun aiding our cause, creating technology and weapons for the resistance to use in the future – one being the phased plasma rifle you most likely found in the desert safehouse. We've planted several of those in the underground facilities along with the food.
We're going to be moving around for a while in preparation for Judgment Day. If you find some of the other safehouses, I'll try to leave messages for you in there too. I've enclosed directions for you to the location I think is closest to where you are, provided you remained in LA when you time jumped. Savannah told me to tell you that she left a surprise for you inside.
***********
Depot 2
Meeting Room
"Okay," John began, snapping into full general mode as he paced in front of the crowd of soldiers in Depot 2. "I'm taking a scouting group to a location my mother left for me. Hopefully when we return, we'll have some fresh supplies and munitions for the resistance to use."
"Watch out for Skynet," Major Perry cautioned. "They haven't launched an offensive attack in a while. Something's going on and I don't like it."
John resisted the urge to smile. "Yes, Major. Something is going on." Weaver is working her magic. "Don't worry. We'll be careful. Can you hold down the fort here?"
Perry saluted crisply. "Yes sir."
"Good. Kyle, Derek, you two are coming with me."
Allison took a step forward. "I'm coming too."
John shook his head. "No, you're still healing."
"John, that was four months ago," she protested. "I'm fine. I'm going with you."
He'd learned by now that it was useless to argue with her. "Okay, fine," he relented. "Kyle, Derek, Allison. Get Jason Reynolds too. I can trust him."
"Billy Wisher," Derek spoke up.
John cocked an eyebrow. "Wisher?"
"He's our engineer, a good tech," Derek reminded him. "He's a good guy too. And we can use his expertise. Your mother wouldn't have just left the doors of this safehouse open. In order to keep it safe from the tin cans, she'd have to have some kind of encrypted pass code or something. Wisher can get you through them."
John nodded his consent. "Alright. Bring him."
Derek rushed off and brought back Billy Wisher in less than three minutes. John took the tech aside to explain. "We're going to Sarah Connor's safehouse and I'm told…"
"Sarah Connor?" Wisher repeated. John saw the startled look on his face.
"You knew her," John stated, studying Wisher intently.
Billy hesitated, clearly working through something in his head. "…I…I knew her name. She was the one who blew up Cyberdyne the first time. They called her a terrorist, but she knew all along and she tried to tell us. She came on the televisions the day Skynet became sentient, warning us all to take refuge in rural areas, in bunkers…out of major cities. She saved a lot of lives."
John swallowed the lump in his throat. "She was a hero."
"She was a legend," Wisher agreed.
The corner of John's mouth lifted into a smile as he thought, Son of the legend…
He turned to see Kyle Reese smiling to himself, almost proudly. His hand seemed to enter his pocket unconsciously, fingering the photo he kept of Sarah Connor.
John turned back to his soldiers. "Alright, let's move out!"
*******
The trek to the safehouse was relatively quiet. Once they had to duck for cover as an HK passed by overhead, but no Terminator patrols gave them any trouble. When they arrived at the coordinates Sarah had left, John got his first glimpse of his mother's handiwork.
It was much more than a safehouse, John realized with awe. It was a complete bunker, sealed with impenetrable blast doors.
"Can't get through that," Derek muttered, tapping on the barrier. "Those are blast doors. Bomb shelter. I don't even think Skynet could take it out."
"Terminator proof," John added with a nod. "Even if they could find it, they couldn't get in."
"Connor," Wisher called. John walked over to meet Billy, who showed him a small keypad right next to the blast doors. "Four letter code," Wisher explained. "It must be something your mom chose."
Jason laughed. "That's easy. J-O-H-N." He took a step forward toward the keypad, but John grabbed him by the sleeve and yanked him backwards, eyes never leaving the keypad.
"No," he said firmly. "She wouldn't have used that, it's way too obvious. That's the first thing any Terminator would think."
"They're machines," Derek reminded him coolly. "They don't think."
"Process," John amended. What would his mother have used that Skynet wouldn't suspect. KYLE? No, it was still too risky…
Wisher grimaced. "Uhh…"
John paused in his thinking process at the disturbed sound from his tech expert. "That didn't sound good."
Billy winced. "I hate to be the bearer of more bad news, but we only got one chance to crack the passcode before it locks us out completely. And I can't hack into the system either. If we tamper with it in the slightest, it'll lock us out. That's what makes it Terminator proof."
"Yeah, but it also makes it John Connor proof too," John grumbled.
Wisher whistled through his teeth. "This is a high-technology lock. Dang, Connor. Your mom certainly knew what she was doing."
"She usually does."
And he usually knew what she was thinking too. Except for now of course, the one time he needed to the most. She would have chosen something that Skynet would have no knowledge of, but something that John would know.
"John?" Kyle prodded. "You said your mom wrote you these coordinates. Did she offer any other clues there?"
John shook his head slowly. There wasn't any clues in the note itself, and he'd just found it taped to the inside of the Wizard of ---
A lightbulb went off in his head and he stepped up to the keypad, punching in the letters to spell TOTO. The blast doors slowly slid open and his team cheered.
"What's Toto?" Allison asked.
"It's the dog from Wizard of Oz," John said quickly.
"Wizard of Oz?"
Finally John turned to stare at her in disbelief. "You've never…" he caught himself, forcing himself to remember that Allison knew next to nothing about the world before Judgment Day. "It's a book, a story," he improvised. "I'll have to let you read it sometime."
Kyle adjusted his weapon strap, readying himself to enter. "So, welcome to Camp Toto."
As soon as John entered, he looked around the bunker in awe. Just like with the outside, the interior wasn't just a safehouse. It was a complete underground military base.
He swallowed a lump in his throat. His mother had been well-prepared. She'd prepared this for him.
"Hey, look!" Derek's thrilled voice called out. "We can all have our own plasma rifles!" John followed Derek's voice to see the older Reese brother standing in front of a long line of guns lined up in a rack on the wall.
But not only had his mother stocked the place with rifles, a jeep with a missile launcher on it, and other explosive weapons, she'd also set aside entire rooms full of nonperishable foods like cans of soup, canned vegetables, and canned fruits.
Jason Reynolds' mouth dropped open as he took in the sight. "There's enough food in here to last us for years!"
John left the soldiers in the food room as he entered a small office area off the main tunnel. Inside was a simple desk and chair and on top of the desk was a stuffed giraffe…just like the one Sav---no, it was the one Savannah had carried with her all the time.
John picked it up, seeing a little gift tag tied to the animal's foot. It simply read "To John, Thank you for saving me and helping me tie my shoes. I miss you. Love Savannah." The tender smile reached his eyes and he blinked away tears.
Right under the giraffe was a folded up piece of paper. John's heart leapt as he realized it was another letter from his mother. He had just unfolded it when Jason and Kyle poked their heads in.
"Hey, Connor, you wanna give us a hand?" Jason asked. "We're gonna load up some of this stuff on the jeep and transport it back to Depot 2. From there we can start distributing to all the other camps that need food."
John nodded distractedly, folding up the letter again and tucking it into his inner pocket, right next to Cameron's picture. Then he followed Kyle and Jason out the door.
**********
Depot 2
The Resistance fighters at Depot 2 had been more than shocked when John Connor had driven into camp with a truck full of food and plasma rifles, along with the exciting news that the crew had blown up a Triple 8 patrol they had encountered on the return trip. The missile-laden jeep made coming and going a lot quicker and safer than ever.
John left the eager Reese brothers in charge of distributing the rifles and making plans to deliver food to needy bunkers while he entered his room and pulled his mother's second note out of his pocket once more.
John reopened the letter, sinking down to the floor. It was dated April 19th, 2011. He sucked in his breath. He knew that date. The day Skynet was born. They day they had failed.
April 19, 2011 – Skynet has become active, just like we predicted and despite our best efforts. According to what Cameron told me, we have two days before Skynet launches the missiles. We're trying to warn people. Danny hacked into the live television feed and I was able to broadcast a warning to the public, begging them to listen and flee from the cities, to seek shelter. I'm not sure how many will believe me. I didn't have any proof, just the reminder that I knew about Skynet way back when it hadn't existed yet. If that doesn't get people thinking, I don't know what will.
Do you remember when Derek, Cameron, and I went on that mission to Serrano Point? Ellison and I learned that Weaver had actually taken charge of it after we stopped the Greenway Terminator. When she disappeared, we found a request from her that Ellison be in charge of not only Serrano Point, but also Zeira Corp as well. As for Serrano Point itself, Danny has been hard at work there too, installing special high tech systems for you and the Resistance to use in your future. Based on what Derek told me, I believe that Skynet will get use of this facility before you do, so we've taken measures to hide certain things. I'll explain more later.
Ellison, Danny, Savannah, and I are going to hide in Camp Toto for when the bombs drop. If you're reading this, I assume you are already here in the same place. I knew you'd figure out the code. It was actually Savannah's idea. I was reading her the Wizard of Oz and she suggested calling this safehouse Camp Toto.
Anyway, if you are here, it means you've found all the supplies we left. I hope it helps. Danny spent a lot of time designing and finding people to manufacture all the plasma rifles. I'm sure Derek and Kyle will appreciate those.
John smiled fondly. Yeah, the Reese brothers had been very enthusiastic about Danny's amazing invention. He turned the letter over to the back. This time the date listed was Judgment Day.
April 21, 2011 – It's happened, John. Everything we fought to stop. It's been two days since Skynet went online. Danny has set up a television screen in here so we could see what's happening above ground.
John…it's horrible. You cannot imagine the apocalypse, and I'm glad you were spared from seeing the horrors of Skynet's missile defense system. We saw the live feed from news stations, right before the atomic weapons burned them all. Playgrounds… children… just like in my nightmares. I couldn't bear to watch. It was much worse than what Kyle told me, much worse knowing it was coming, and not being able to stop it.
He could see the watermarks on the paper where teardrops had fallen from his mother's eyes. John swallowed hard. His mother was right. He could not imagine the apocalypse. He didn't want to see it. But it didn't seem fair that he got to skip out on the horror while everyone else had to live through it. His eyes returned to the page, realizing that in the next part, in the pain and sorrow of Judgment Day, his mother had started writing to his father.
Oh, Kyle…I know you'll never be able to read this. I know John can't tell you about us, that he'll send you back in time. But I'm eternally grateful that you were there to save me that fateful day, that you gave me a son, a hero who would save your world. You were there for me when I needed you the most. Our time together was too short, but I love you more than life itself. Even after you were gone, I held you in my heart, your memory guided me through the dark times. I'll always love you.
John…I don't think we have much longer. So I want you to listen to me. Danny has made Serrano Point into a high-tech base that can be used for the resistance, but as I said, the machines probably have control of it right now. Danny has hidden things there for your use. There is a secret area below the main facility that cannot be found by anyone unless they know it's there. The machines won't be able to locate it. When you get there, you'll have to blow a hole in the floor of the basement. It's the only way to ensure that the place stays hidden. Inside, Danny has set up equipment for your use. He's given you the ability to reprogram the Terminator's chips, which I know you'll have to use in order to win this war.
I'm so very proud of you, John. I know you'll be a great leader. You're the most determined, selfless, caring person I know. I trust you to lead the human race through the dark times. You're their savior now.
I'm sorry I cannot be with you any longer, so I'll leave you with the words Kyle Reese spoke to me, the words you spoke to me. Words that helped me through the time when I was alone and scared, words that must help you now that you are in the same position. 'I can't help you with what you must soon face, except to say that the future is not set. You must be stronger than you imagine you can be.'
You must be strong John. You must be strong for everyone. You must lead them through the dark times ahead. You must be their savior, the one who destroys Skynet.
Remember, there is no fate but what we make.
I love you.
-- Sarah
The camp hallway was silent, save for the strangled sobbing coming from John Connor's quarters.
NEXT WEEK ON BORN TO FIGHT:
JOHN: (to Allison) I promised you a birthday and John Connor always keeps his promises. [John sits across from Riley in the tunnel. His eyes widen] JOHN: Riley…when we you born? RILEY: (steps outside the bunker) I've never even seen the sun. KYLE: Maybe one day you'll be my son in law. JOHN: (laughs weakly) Imagine that. [Weaver enters John's bedroom] WEAVER: It's time. [John enters the computer room. Eyes widen in disbelief.] JOHN: Cameron?
