Hey guys, what's up? Thanks for your reviews!!!

melborousse: Du meintest den deutschsprachigen Teil der Welt. Na klar...das sagen dann alle. lol Danke für dein Lob, und keine Sorge, du wirst sehen, wie's weitergeht. Ich sage nur...DRAMA!

freakykaethe: Ja, ich bin aus Österreich. Dem Land der Berge. *g* Danke fürs Lob!

Max Doe: Well, Derek will contribute his share, but how will he do this? Hm...

Ps: I'm not sure, if I give a sad ending. Yet, I think, I will. So when we reach the end of this story, it might be that you'll need some handkerchiefs. I'm serious.

Nightmare vs. reality

Her son was running away, as fast as he could, like he had been told since his fateful birth, while she was lying on her stomach on the dusty and arid ground, bleeding, dying, surrounded by a dozen red-eyed terminators.

They all pointed their guns at her, and Sarah Connor waited for her end. Her cold and lonely end.

For the last time, she closed her eyes, which were once full of life, but were matte and empty now, expecting to feel one final flash of pain, before she would see the burning hellfire. Sarah knew, God wouldn't let her into heaven. She had hurt people, had killed people, who had had to pay for her mistakes.

She heard the terminators releasing the safety catches, ready to fire a hail of bullets that never came.

Instead, she felt the touch. This wonderful, gentle, and soothing touch on her neck.

Sarah sighed with pleasure when she felt the pair of the softest lips that had ever kissed her scarred skin again, and then she heard the calm and familiar, yet faceless voice say, "Don't worry, Sarah. I will protect you."

Enough. She needed to know who this person was. So she opened her eyes and what she saw brought tears to them. There was green grass. There were blooming trees and singing birds. There was life. No death. No pain.

Her strength came back, why she was able to turn on her side. Sarah's vision was blurred, but she still was able to make the person out. She always would be able. It was her hero and her savior. Kyle Reese.

John's father and the man, who had saved Sarah in more than just one way.

"Kyle..." She whispered in total disbelief.

He smiled at her, his brown eyes sparkling. "Hey, you."

Sarah was tongue-tied. Tears streamed down her face.

Kyle held out his hand to her, which she took shakily, so he could help her to get up. "Won't you greet me, Sarah?"

"You...I..." She threw her arms around his neck, sobbing. "I missed you."

"I missed you too, Sarah, but now everything's gonna be alright." He caressed her raven hair.

They let go of each other a little, still holding body contact. Sarah lossened her hold to look at him.

Suddenly she heard John calling, "Mom."

Turning her head to the right, she saw him strolling in their direction. Her son hadn't looked so happy and relaxed in years, but she was surprised, shocked to see that Cameron was following him. What was she doing here? She could not, must not exist.

"TERMINATOR!" Kyle yelled so loud beside her, that he startled Sarah. "GET DOWN!"

She dropped to the ground reflexively and twisted to see Derek arming a mini-nuke. Where the hell did he come from and where was Kyle?

"Derek, don't!" She tried to stop him.

The older Reese-brother fired at Cameron. "She's nothing but a robot!"

"NO!" Sarah watched as Cameron was blasted away, and all that was left afterward was some scrap metal. "CAMERON!"

She spun around to face Derek, who she wanted to shout at, who she wanted to hit, but Derek didn't stand there anymore, neither did Kyle. Sarah went completely pale.

It was herself, who stood there, holding the weapon. "She was nothing but a robot."

Her double looked at Sarah, with penetrating red eyes.

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"AAHH!!" Sarah awoke with a start, sitting straight in her bed, covered in sweat and breathing heavily.

She rubbed her wet face, while she whispered in a hoarse voice, "Shit..."

The raven-haired woman was used to having nightmares, but this one had been new in every single meaning of the word. She often dreamed of terminators, ones who were trying to kill her, and ones who succeded, but Kyle had never come to rescue her in such situations. When she dreamt of Kyle, the dream was consistently happy. Also, she rarely dreamt of Derek. As well, Cameron appeared in her dreams many a time and Sarah had shot her, but she had never tried to save her. And she had neverdreamt to be a terminator, to see herself as one of these robots.

Robots. Robot. She's nothing but a robot. She was nothing but a robot.

Sarah felt cold. Had she been Kyle, a good person, then become Derek, a hate-filled person, and finally a heartless one? Heartless like a robot?

That thought alone was hard and cruel enough, but there was another question she had to deal with; why did she want to save Cameron?

The answer to it scared her to death.

A kingdom for a drink, Sarah thought, but she remembered the last night she had wanted one. This drink had became a half a bottle of Jack Daniel's and a painful hangover the next morning...and a distressing encounter with Cameron.

Cameron.

"Cameron the machine." She said out loud. "A killing machine. A damn killing machine."

God, why did these words sound so empty in her own ears by now?

Sarah hadn't lied when she had told Cameron that she didn't hate her. She really didn't. She hated herself for starting to trust and like Cameron.

Sarah hated that she still did.

After some minutes of thinking deeply about it, Sarah decided to go downstairs. Maybe Cameron wasn't there again, and if she was... Well, Sarah wouldn't know what to do. Insult her? Ignore her? She didn't want either of these two options.