Chapter 12
This chapter was quite long, but has been shortened for editing purposes. I've slowed down a bit, but the story still progresses every chapter.
"What's this about concerning Allison?"
"Perry."
"Who?"
"General Justin Perry, the guy who was actually in charge of this base before you pushed your ass in." Derek exclaimed.
John ignored his language, "When did you talk to him? What's he doing to Allison?"
John immediately suspected that Derek was talking with Perry behind his back to take over the base. He had to keep his eyes open for all possible threats because the power struggle between he and Derek was relentlessly heated and lets not forget about all the other key players like John Henry and Weaver added to the mix.
"He thinks that Allison convinced me to surrender to you."
John rolled his eyes, "She did."
"Yeah, and now he thinks she's a traitor who turned over to Skynet. Now she has a death sentence on her head unless you do something about it!"
Derek pushed his hand into John's chest forcing him to back away.
John restrained himself from retaliating and frowned deeply, "So what? I can protect her."
"Like hell you will! He wants to meet Allison. He wants to force her to get close to you, and then kill you, then shit knows what's going to happen when Perry gets his filthy hands on her!"
"Does Allison know about this?"
"No. You think I'd be desperate enough to come to you if I wanted to tell Allison?" Derek snapped back.
"Perfect." John huffed.
"What?"
"Just another thing to add to the list."
"What are you talking about?"
John ignored him, "Listen, you and I both know we have another much bigger problem on our hands. You're going to need to find a away to stall Perry. Tell him I sent Allison on a supply run or something. We have bigger fish to fry."
"Fish?"
"The people are unsettled, and they're taking it out on Kyle and Allison to get to me and even you. We've got to stop it."
"And what's your bright idea?"
"What would you normally do if people were rebellious?"
"It's usually not that bad...dismissal, demotion, imprisonment, additional duties..."
"Then we'll take it a step further, execution."
Derek gritted his teeth, "Hell! You're not doing that to my men!"
"What would you have me do if they hurt Allison and Kyle? Would you simply let them go with a slap on the wrist?"
Derek remained silent, not really knowing an appropriate insult.
John continued, "Besides, I'm only planning on executing the rebels, I never said I would execute them."
"What are you talking about?"
"Not if Allison or Kyle interferes."
"I don't get it."
"Don't you see Derek? The reason Allison and Kyle were respected was that they were close to you and spoke on the people's behalf. Now if I'm the big villain in charge and the two are close to me, they will be respected once again."
"But the people hate you! How would you expect them to respect Kyle or Allison if they both work for you?"
"They won't hate Allison anymore if she can prevent me from killing your insubordinate men. The tactic is called compassion. They'll forgive and forget about it when they will look to her for protection."
John impressed himself at his own cunning.
"So you want to put on a show to scare the crap out of my men?"
"Yeah, it's a little unorthodox, but right now, Perry is not the biggest danger to your family, it's your own men!"
Derek sighed, "Fine. What do you want me to do?"
"I thought you'd never ask."
After John and Derek's discussion, the elder Reese left to revisit Kyle in the hospital while John ran off into the direction of the Ziera basement.
The next morning:
Allison Young exited her bunker and walked throughout the base with long lively hair, sporting a grey-blue resistance uniform that happened to be cleaner than usual. It was the same one she wore when she met the naked John Connor.
(And clearly the same one that Cameron stole from her after her dreadful interrogation in an alternate timeline)
Her composure was excellent and her pace was quick. She ignored the angry scowls that people gave her as she walked through the base. She disregarded the angry shouts of prisoners crammed into the cells after the 'little' incident that took place a short while ago. She planned to see Kyle in the hospital, but wanted to talk to a certain someone first.
She noticed that the T-888s were starting to build up heavily cemented wall around the tent surrounding Ziera's basement. She stopped and stared at the machines working at an even speed. Her lips parted slightly as she closely examined the construction work, totally mesmerized by its efficient progress. Suddenly she felt a quick shove and nearly tripped over. For a brief second, she feared someone else was trying to intimidate her like a school kid getting bullied. Instantly, Savannah grabbed her to prevent her from falling.
"Oh sorry, I bumped into you. Should've watched where I was going."
Allison brushed herself off, "That's fine. Where are you going? You seem to be in a hurry."
"Looking for John...see him lately?"
"Of course..." Allison sighed.
Savannah laughed, "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Oh nothing...did you see Kyle in the hospital?"
"Yeah, he's doing great, doctors say he'll be on his feet in no time. What about you Allison? How are you holding up?"
"I'm doing fine. I plan to visit, but not yet, there's something I need to do first."
"You planning on talking John? He seems to have a lot on his mind right now. I can't seem to get a hold of him."
"No, that's kind of why I wanted to talk to you."
"Really, about what?"
"Well, you know...stuff?" Allison answered sheepishly with her eyes staring off into space.
"What kind of stuff?" Savannah quirked an eyebrow.
"I want you to tell me everything you know about John Connor."
"You want me to give up information about him behind his back? I can't do that Allison. I'm his friend!"
"No...I mean...he said a lot of stuff that's kind of hard for me to believe. Can you tell me how you know him or what significance he is to you? Savannah, this is hard for me. Help me to believe him, because I'm still conflicted."
Savannah was surprised at Allison's confession, but was happy that she was confiding in her for the first time...and hopefully not the last. It was finally an opportunity that Savannah could not pass up.
Savannah stared off into the distance and recounted her most vivid memory of the young man. "Ever since I was a little girl, I knew John Connor."
"Little girl? You're nearly the same age as Kyle! How would you have known John Connor? As a baby?"
"It's the time machines."
"Oh please..."
"Long before judgment day, when I was a little girl, my mother left me at my babysitter's house. While I was doing my homework, a T-888 dressed as a water delivery guy crashed through my home and killed my babysitter. I tried to escape and sooner or later I ran into the arms of a...seventeen year old John Connor."
"Seventeen? That's John's age right now! Oh, let me guess, it was the time machine again."
"Yup."
"But T-888s didn't exist before the bombs dropped! Or can they be sent in time too?"
Savannah nodded once again.
"Why do you believe all of this? Was it John? How do you know this isn't all made up, like some sort of delusion?"
"Trust me Allison. I asked the exact same questions when I was your age. You have to trust John. His mother is Sarah Connor and his father really is Kyle Reese. Kyle told Sarah about judgment day, and then aunt Sarah told John."
"Aunt Sarah? You knew John's mom?"
"Yes. She's been fighting Skynet long before it existed. She tried everything to prevent it."
"And Kyle? He's always been single. Never met a woman in his life."
"Alternate timelines are created by time displacement equipment."
"Oh, is that what you call it?" Allison added dryly.
"Are you sure you want to hear the full story? If you think I'm wasting your time..."
Allison interrupted, "No! How about we start from the beginning. About John...tell me the whole story...don't leave out a single detail, no matter how crazy it sounds."
"Are you sure Allison? Sometimes it's better not to know...I mean, for sanity's sake?"
"Savannah, I'll never be sane unless I truly understand. If both you and John tell me the exact same thing, I'm more inclined to believe, but I need to know the truth. I know I'm involved somehow, or else I wouldn't have a machine that looks like me that somehow existed before I was born.
On that note, Savannah and Allison sat down and talked. Savannah did most of the talking, while Allison cut her off every now and then with a multitude of questions. Savannah didn't always know the how and why behind everything, but she told her the truth. Much to Allison's dismay, Savannah even told her about her terminator mother, though she left out the detail of her being liquid metal and bearing the name Catherine Weaver.
The hardest part that Allison could not understand was alternate timelines. Basically, John Connor was once leader of the resistance, but thanks to the time machines, he erased his own existence despite all the effort he made to preserve it, namely, with all the supposedly reprogrammed machines he sent back in time, including Cameron.
Allison wanted to explode. Despite learning all of this, Allison realized why she had trouble bringing herself to believe it. John Connor existed by a paradox of what Kyle would eventually do which would be to go back in time and spend a night with his mother. But things were different now. Having seen what John Connor did, Allison knew the impossible was possible.
"Allison, come on let me show you something."
Allison nodded and then followed her towards the dugout basement.
The two girls stood inside of Ziera basement staring at the mini time machine that supposedly brought John to the future.
Allison folded her arms and stared, "So that's why John was naked? Clothes can't go through time machines? You know how weird that sounds? You say only things covered in flesh can only go through, then how on earth does hair get through then?"
"I guess because the hair is living and attached to flesh. I'm not sure, I should ask John Henry. He must have run off somewhere."
"John Henry? You're saying that this artificial intelligence that wants to kill Skynet lives in this basement? That's what John was hiding from us? It's in the form of a machine?!"
Savannah casually nodded, "Yup."
With this in mind, Allison had one last question. In fact, it was a series of questions about one topic that itched her for weeks. "This machine that looks like me, is John still trying to find it?"
"You mean Cameron?"
Allison spitefully replied, "Like it needs a name?"
Savannah decided using Cameron's name wasn't a great idea.
"Well, John is still looking for her."
"What was it like? Did it really look like me? Was John really...you know..."
Savannah immediately picked up on what the root of Allison's problem was.
"Which one is bothering you? The fact that there's a machine somewhere that looks like you, or the fact that John cares for a machine?"
"Both." Allison tried to say that as uncaringly as possible.
Savannah replied, "Which one bothers you more?"
Allison's eyes squinted and scowled at Savannah.
Savannah expressed amusement, "John did find half of Cameron though."
Allison was confused.
Half of Cameron?
Savannah clarified, "All machines have a chip right? That's where you guys aim in order to kill them. The chip contains a terminator's personality and its programming, no machine can function without it. John knows where her chip is, but her body is gone so John is still looking for it."
"Where's the chip?"
"Like I'm going to tell you!" Savannah smirked.
"You still didn't answer my previous question though. What was the machine like? How did it know me or John? And why is the chip separate from its body anyway?"
"Well Allison, those questions are kind of personal questions and I honestly don't know the answer to all of them. John's mom only told me as much as she felt she could. You'll have to ask John or Cameron when she comes back. I don't think they'd want me answering all these questions."
"Awesome..." Allison sighed sarcastically.
"But I can tell you that it was Cameron's chip that brought John Henry to the future."
"Huh?" Allison's puzzlement skyrocketed once more.
Suddenly, Allison's radio shouted out in a woman's voice, "Allison! This is Joan! Come in!"
"What is it?"
"John Connor! He's gone homicidal!"
"Just tell me! What is it?!"
"Just get the main gate! Please!"
Allison climbed out of Ziera's basement and bolted faster than she thought possible. She had forgotten that she needed to breathe in order for her heart to keep beating. The air brushed against her face and flowed through her hair as she kicked up the sand and the dirt in the direction of the entrance...
What's he doing? What did he get himself into this time? World War 4?
As soon as she saw it, Allison could hardly process it. Swarms of frightened men, women, and children tried to force themselves past the terminators standing guard. The fear in their eyes was immense. Some of the children screamed the names of their fathers while women screamed the names of their husbands.
Behold, John Connor stood in front of a long line of men standing blindfolded in dirty cloths. They were all dressed in bloodied uniforms with holes already pierced through the garments. Some men wept, others tried to stay strong, others were straining to hear the screams of their families. John Connor stood right there with a Beretta handgun tightly clamped by his fists, ready to kill the first rebel who had already revolted against his authority.
Allison stood a short distance away, forcing herself to watch for nearly two seconds. She saw John Connor fiddling with his gun as if he was deciding which one he'd shoot first. Allison's eyes shifted to the right and then to the left in search of Derek.
Derek, where are you?!
Finally, she spotted him among the other officials standing idly by. It was as if Derek was waiting for John to kill the men!
Allison rushed towards him screaming, "Derek! What are you doing! Do you want them to die!"
"Allison! Calm down!"
"You don't get to tell me to calm down! Why aren't you doing something?!"
"I'm sorry Allison. I tried everything, but they rebelled against me too when they started this...this...revolution. I couldn't convince him. Please, just go back to the barracks. You shouldn't see this."
Allison grew ecstatic. "What about Kyle! Did he agree to this!"
"Allison...wait!"
She turned and dashed towards John Connor. Strangely, the machines didn't stop her from approaching him. Allison didn't take notice.
As soon as she was a few feet away from John's back she pleaded, "John! You don't have to do this! I know some of these people! You can't kill them, you just can't!"
John turned to face the female officer, "Allison? What are you..? You should be resting. Please, I can't handle you being here...I have to do this alone!"
"No John you don't." Allison grabbed John's right hand.
He immediately flashbacked to the same words Cameron gave to him while he was desperately searching for Riley in the hospital.
"Allison!"
"John, please! Just let them go!"
"Sorry Allison, but I can't. They're bad guys...really bad guys. Innocent people were killed because of them."
"John! They think you're the bad the guy! They think you're Skynet! Look at it from their perspective John! You can't be mad at them for wanting to protect their families! Just let them go!"
John stared towards the row of men awaiting their death and answered devoid of emotion, "They might try again. I've gone this far, it's probably best I go through with it. They think I'm a bad guy anyway so I don't have to risk anymore innocent lives."
For a brief second, Allison eyed John's weapon. She considered snatching it away from him and training the gun on herself. A threat to her own life could be used as a bargaining chip against John. Then again, John could just postpone their execution and throw Allison into prison to prevent her from threatening her own life again. The second option was to take the gun and train it on John, however, a T-888 would probably fracture her skull before she could even have the chance to blink.
Allison persisted. "Please! They don't know you, but I do! I talked to Savannah, she told me about everything. She even explained more about the time machine and..."
Allison swallowed as her mouth dried up. John could see the thick saliva forming in her mouth as a result of her dehydration. But John didn't back down. He tightened his grip, gnashed his teeth, and cocked the gun. Allison jumped at the sound of it and her eyes widened in fear that he would do something she could never live with.
Allison persisted with everything she had left. It was now or never. She had one last card to play and she had to say it out loud, "John, I don't know about...her...the machine and I don't know if I can ever understand it but I don't need to understand it. I believe you! I know you're not a bad person. I love you! Please don't do this!"
John's eyes widened at Allison's confession and it pulled on his heart strings to feel what she was feeling. His mind once again flashbacked to the time he and his mom 'pancaked' Cameron between two trucks. He felt terrible that he struggled to believe Cameron's repetitious confession, but he knew he could believe Allison. He perceived genuine fear and desperation in her voice. He knew Allison truly loved him and everyone on Derek's base, including the ones that tried to hurt her. John now knew her heart was pure as gold. In fact, the real Allison Young wasn't the one that John had known for weeks. John only encountered a distressed Allison dealing with all the problems that he loaded onto her shoulder day after day. But now he knew the real Allison. A single tear rolled down John's eye as he looked down at a weapon he never intended to fire.
Allison who was now also on the verge of tears, stood in front of John and calmly reached towards his weapon, "John, just please...give me the gun."
John gulped. He released it into Allison's hands. Allison tossed the gun aside and wrapped her arms around a motionless John Connor who stared into nothing. His mind was still trying to grasp what happened. It was only then that he realized the complete silence which surrounded them. Everyone just stared in quiet. It was only the blindfolded men that awkwardly stood in complete ignorance of what was going on or what was going to happen to them.
John Connor whispered shakily, "Release them."
Thankfully, Derek had grasped Savannah on the shoulder before she could stop Allison from running towards John. Savannah wasn't exactly happy about it when Derek explained what John was up to. She felt like John was manipulating Allison into saying those things, even though that wasn't his intention in the first place. He just wanted to restore Allison's reputation. Either way, Savannah still had important information to bring to John Connor, so she felt compelled to break up their "hug fest".
She advanced slowly while they were lost in each other's arms and quietly intruded, "John?"
John opened his eyes to look directly into Savannah's. He slowly released his grip on the girl's slender form, and placed his hands on her hips. He searched Allison's eyes for a moment. Neither said a word, but still enjoyed whatever they thought was happening. Finally, the duo turned towards the prying blond. Savannah noticed that Allison seemed different. She seemed...happy, like the weight of the world was lifted off her shoulders. She was even showing a bit of a smile. It was a smile that told her that if Skynet could conquer the world right now, she wouldn't care one bit.
"John?" Savannah asked softly.
"Yeah?"
"It's about John Henry."
"What is it?" John asked nonchalantly. John was still trying to keep his composure together after his moment with Cameron...I mean Allison. He still had that excited and anxious feeling every time he was close to her. John figured it must've been his lingering memories of Cameron that triggered the source of his mixed feelings towards Allison.
John, Savannah, and a very observant Allison, walked back towards the soiled basement of Ziera corp. This time, John Henry was present, sitting in his classic wooden chair with a chord attached to his head. It seemed that the basement was the most comfortable place for John Henry to be. When John approached, he saw the flashing computer screen and the loud whirring of its mechanics. John gazed in surprise to see the computer was functioning perfectly. When John placed his eyes towards John Henry, he felt his anger flare up inside of him. He didn't know where it all came from, but he remembered how much he hated John Henry for taking Cameron away from him.
Savannah saw John's discomfort, so he sought to distract him, "John, are you sure you want Allison to be here? What he has to say is quite important."
Allison eyed the two of them patiently, curious as to what his response would be. Would John shun her away once more? Would she be kept out again?
"You'll have to ask her that question." John replied.
Allison nodded her head with a smile confirming that she was indeed fine. John Henry proceeded to hand a knife to John Connor.
John was confused, "What?"
"I have uploaded myself back onto the mainframe. Please feel free to remove Cameron's chip."
It immediately registered to Allison where Cameron's chip was hiding...inside another machine.
John was still awe-struck, "But I thought..."
John Henry explained, "You misunderstood our recent encounter Mr. Connor. I was not going to reactivate Cameron to your immediate request because I was in wait of a future leader who would unite our two factions. I promised Cameron I would take orders from you to reactivate her when I found the future you, rather I encountered a young version of yourself that has not become what you were expected to be. You are not yet that leader Mr. Connor and it is still possible you will never be. However, because I am now once again associated to my former mainframe, I will be happy to return her chip to you regardless of your status in the resistance. Cameron is no longer needed."
John's body rushed with adrenaline. His hands shook slightly as he grabbed the knife that was offered to him.
Allison and Savannah stood cautiously behind John, uncertain what to think of the moment.
"Where is the industrial complex that is creating the T-888s?"
"I can't disclose that information Mr. Connor."
John held the knife in his hand as if he was reluctant to remove her chip.
"I want to know why we just can't get Cameron back? Your model comes in all shapes and sizes! Her chip works fine in other models, we can bring her back!"
"She is of different design."
"So what? Everyone knows she's different! Why can't you just rebuild her body? I want her back now!" John's patience once again flew out the window.
John Henry explained, "I will not hurt her."
"Hurt her?"
"My body does not have a sensory system nor does it have the same metal composite of her unique infiltration model. We do not have an outline for a model capable of crying, eating or aging due to the organic properties of Cameron's living tissue. Information gathered from her chip confirms she has a full color head up display similar to that of a human. To trap her in a body incapable of the features to which she once had access is selfish. Mr. Ellison taught me that selfishness is both hurtful and immoral, so I cannot permit you to hurt her."
John had no idea what was going on in John Henry's mind because he was always so quick to judge him. John considered shouting out that Cameron was just a machine and that she didn't care what body she had, but John knew in his heart that wasn't true. He had forgotten how special Cameron's body was. He knew that in some alternate timeline, she was created by Skynet for a special purpose...whatever that purpose was. John Henry was right, if he was going to get Cameron back, he would have to find her. It was only then did he just realize he was put in his place by an artificial intelligence who seemed to be more considerate than he was.
Savannah replied on John's behalf, "John Henry, if you are unable to recreate her the way she was I'm sure John would be fine with recovering and restoring her original body. Don't we all agree?"
Savannah stared at John warning him to tread carefully with his chosen response. John backed down and reluctantly nodded in confirmation.
"I don't want to bring Cameron back like this. She was telling me the truth, maybe she could...feel." John contemplated.
"I wouldn't be worth much if I couldn't feel." Cameron whispered once more in John's imagination.
John Henry interrupted his train of thought, "There is something I must show you. A file has been added to my mainframe by Mr. Murch."
"Uncle Matt?" Savannah asked.
Allison was still sickened at the thought of a machine that looked like her. It was creepy, and she wasn't sure if she could stand for it. She remained where she was. She was astonished with what they were saying about Cameron anyway. She was capable of eating...crying? They made terminators like this? How would they distinguish her from the real thing? Allison didn't want to run off into another one of her contemplation periods. She was tempted, but she couldn't let Cameron ruin her life. She had to stop thinking about it or she would tear herself apart. She was tired of hating John, after all, he just admitted to John that she loved him.
Suddenly, the screens flashed and a familiar woman John knew all of his life appeared before him. A tired perspiring woman dressed in a black tank top appeared on the display. She was barely visible on the dirty and scratched up screen where she appeared to be in a seated positioned in Ziera basement. John's heart leaped, seeing her face for the first time in a long time. Her face was serious, but a little more relaxed in posture.
"John. It's me." A tear rolled down her cheek as the mother of destiny stared longingly into the camera, deep into the soul of John Connor.
I hope you guys like this chapter. It sets up the next few chapters in which John will have to deal with a lot more in this progressing plot. I'll also add a little drama with Derek, Kyle, Allison, and Savannah. Hopefully, I will include a few new original characters, but they won't be significant enough to distract from the story. And let's not forget fluff. I live for fluff! Every story needs fluff.
Chapter 13 will be uploaded ASAP.
