I'm really proud to say I have garnered up to 18,000 views for my story. No seriously, that's how many I have. My story will only last a few more chapters, so I figured I might as well thank all my readers for sticking around. Your reviews of encouragement mean the world to me.

I promised a lot of stuff for this chapter (it's about 15,000 words!), so I decided to split it into two chapters. A lot of characters and plots that you didn't see in this chapter will come in chapter 30.

Note: You might notice a few grammatical or spelling errors. I apologize in advance for that, however, I will do my best to get rid of them as soon as possible.


Underground Base somewhere in the middle of San Bernardino...

Two military figures, a man and a woman, stormed out of the meeting room. The man seemed completely relaxed, but the woman burned with anger. With so much hostility consuming her mind, she screamed to the man walking beside her, "I can't believe you did this General Perry!"

The General replied in a calm and deep voice, "Well you'll have to."

General Lesley was not convinced, "How on earth did you get him to approve this?! You made me look like the bad guy in front of the Vice President of the United States! You still think this kid is a miracle boy, some savior of the resistance?"

"Lesley, I've seen things. I know he's telling the truth."

She shot back, "You know what I think about this shit Perry?"

Perry guessed, "You still think Connor is playing us. You think we're blind and we can't see Connor for what he really is, a leader of a cult, a gray who wants to be worshiped."

Lesley pounded her first into her hand, "You're damn right! Didn't you see that Allison Young kid has a machine that looks exactly like her? And you know the funny thing about it? Officer Young still goes along with this! She worships that freak of nature called John Connor even though there's a terminator with her face on it!"

Perry tried to reason with her, but seeing that her mind was made up, there seemed to be no way to convince her otherwise.

He attempted to explain, "No. You're looking at it the wrong way."

"That's crazy! Who the hell would look at it any other way? I'm telling you that this Connor boy has manipulated Allison Young as well as all these other people into following him."

Perry argued, "Look, I don't think that Connor is necessarily the savior of humanity. Hell, I don't think he will be. But if it wasn't for Connor using these machines, he would never have saved Bedell or any of those other prisoners from certain death."

Lesley figured, "He's just trying to befriend us until he comes in for the kill."

Knowing that Lesley would not budge, Perry had to come up with a new plan. He knew that at one point, he hated machines even more than Lesley, but when John showed him some really graphic things, his perspective had changed dramatically. (Namely, he saw a terminator that looked just like him, and of course he got to meet John Henry.)

Suddenly, Perry knew exactly what he had to do to get Lesley on his side. It was like a light bulb going off in his head. Of course he knew that the resistance didn't really need Lesley's support to establish a good relationship with John and his mechanical allies, but he also knew that Lesley could be a real thorn in everyone's side. She had to eventually come around to the idea of machines fighting for the resistance.

As quickly as Perry came up with the idea, just as quickly he put his plan into action, "Lesley, how about you go down there and meet with him?"

Lesley frowned, "Who Connor?"

"Yes."

"Hell no! Are you crazy?"

Perry clarified, "No. I'm just saying you should talk to him and his friends and let them show you if he's a genuine person!"

"No. I don't have time for this!" The woman snapped back.

"If he is a manipulative con man like you say he is, why don't you go meet him? Why don't you visit Lieutenant Reese's base and find out for yourself who John Connor really is?"

Lesley paused in a sudden lack of enthusiasm, "I don't know."

"Loosen up. What are they going to do to you? If you can uncover the truth about Connor, I'll get the Vice President to change his mind. If not, you've got nothing to lose."

She snorted, "I'm busy."

Perry caught on to Lesley's suspicious mood swing, "Too busy to spend a few hours away from base? Too busy to stop this allegedly evil man from taking over the resistance? No, I'm not buying it."

Lesley sighed, "There are people there I haven't seen in a while."

Perry acknowledged, "You mean your two daughters who live on Reese's base."

Lesley's fast pace slowed to a crawl, "Yeah."

As Perry and Lesley slowly made their way into the main hall of the underground base, he added, "Well, you'll have to see them again at some point Lesley. Might as well kill two birds with one stone."

Lesley turned to her colleague and sighed, "Fine, I'll notify Lieutenant Reese's base and tell them that we're coming for a visit."

Perry smiled in approval, "Right on, General."


Mess Hall...

Allison's eyes scanned the mess hall, but she just couldn't find him. None of the men there were of any help either.

She said to her cyborg companion, "Are you sure this is where you saw him last?"

Cameron deadpanned, "Yes, I'm sure."

"Any ideas where he may have gone?"

Cameron processed a few computations in her head before suggesting, "Maybe he's dead."

Allison frowned, "No! He's not dead, this is uncle Jay we're talking about."

Cameron insensitively explained, "His type of behavior lowers his life expectancy by thirty percent."

"Hmph, well ignore the statistics Cameron and just help me find him."

Allison and Cameron had been looking a while now for Jason. As expected, she had checked off all three major spots where he normally was.

1. He liked to flirt with the pretty nurses in the infirmary.

2. He was blowing off steam at the gun range.

3. Or he was at Weaver's base on another mission

Unfortunately, he wasn't at any of those places. This was bad because Allison knew he was supposed to be leaving soon for the manhunt he had organized.

Then suddenly, it came to her like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Jason loved to throw booze parties in Derek's office. Allison couldn't understand what it was that made alcohol so great. She had sipped some vodka before, but it had a strong and ghastly taste...not to mention the after effects Kyle referred to as a "hangover".

On a differing subject, alcohol reminded Allison of coffee. Derek told her that before judgment day, people in America drank coffee every day after they woke up in the morning. When Allison asked him what it tasted like, Derek said it had a really bitter flavor, so they dosed it with cream and sugar to improve the taste. This lead Allison to ask a really important question. Why drink coffee in the first place if it tasted so bad? Where does coffee come from anyway? Why do people drink coffee after drinking alcohol? Why did people in 2009 eat and drink so many bitter things when there were so many tastier foods to eat, like carrots and apples?

Such questions Allison pondered while she scoured Derek's base in search of Jason.

Allison had already contacted John Henry, but not even the advanced intelligence could tell her where he was. Allison deduced he was hiding in a place where no T-888s dared go, but that only confirmed her theory. No T-888 ever dared go to Derek's office.

Cameron, who had remained silent throughout the entire search, finally broke the silence with a surprisingly normal question, "Where are we going?"

"I won't need your super sleuthing skills anymore Cameron. We're going to Derek's office in the administrative facilities. I think Jason is there getting drunk. He's an idiot that way."

But something seemed off. Cameron could see it in Allison's face. Ironically, it was the same face one usually made after tasting something really bitter.

Cameron noticed, "Something is bothering you."

Allison shook her head, "It's nothing."

Silence ensued, but Cameron's stare gave Allison that really discomfited feeling that she always hated.

Finally, Allison admitted, "Okay, I'm happy to see you're all fixed and everything."

Cameron knew that wasn't everything, "And?"

"Well, it just bothers me that John gets so close to you when you get hurt. I wish I was beaten up a bit more. Then maybe I could get more of his attention."

"That would not be very mature."

Allison smirked, "Yeah, but maybe it'd be worth it."

Cameron knew that humans would do stupid things for love. But she didn't know they were that stupid. She logged it in her memory to keep a close eye on Allison in case she decided to expose herself to potentially harmful situations.

By this time, Allison and Cameron finally made their way up to Derek's office. After a series of steps upwards, they briskly paced through the hall and took a peek through the door of Derek's office. Thankfully, Derek wasn't there, but both to her relief and dismay, she found Jason slumped over on Derek's desk, completely out of it.

Cameron scanned the same man...

Subject Identified: Jason Cameron

Cameron and Allison also noticed there were several other men, either sitting up against the wall or lying flat on the ground. Some of them strolled and wobbled around the room slowly, feeling so happy and bliss in their woozy drunken state. Allison heard a few of them chattering and laughing, but none of what they said made any sense to her.

She made her way around each of the smashed men before he found Jason right there in front of her, still slumped over in that same spot, still grasping hold of a glass bottle full of a clear liquid Allison knew had to be whisky.

She found that Jason was definitely drunk, but Allison figured she might as well try to shake him awake, "Uncle Jay, uncle Jay, it's me Ally. Wake up. You have work to do."

While doing so, a soldier in his mid thirties took notice of the two twins standing together. At first glance, he thought it was the alcohol, but after a few blinks, he realized they were two individual twins. With intrigue, he got up off his chair, approached Allison from behind, and tapped her on her shoulder, coaxing both Cameron and Allison to turn around.

In his drunken delight, he called over his army buddies to take a look, "Hey, look guys. It's Allison and that machine!"

Allison murmured, "Please, just get lost."

The man stammered out, "Is...Is...are the rumors really true? Can you really do impressions of Allison?"

Cameron didn't respond, but the man encouraged her, "C'mon. Da people will love it! Come on machine, do your best impression of her."

Allison frowned, "I am Allison, if you want to talk to the machine, look to your right."

"Oh." He immediately switched his stare towards the other twin.

Meanwhile, more and more people crowded around Cameron and Allison. The heavy drinking men held tightly to their mugs and chanted in a carefree attitude, "Do it! Do it! Do it!"

Finally, Cameron, in an awkward fashion, relaxed her one knee to look really sassy and she flashed a smile.

Then with a whip of the cyborg's hair, she put her hands on her hip and said, "Hi, my name is Allison, but you can call me a bitch."

The men laughed in an uncontrollable frenzy. It really wasn't supposed to be a joke, but it didn't matter. They just kept laughing. They quickly taunted Cameron. Others cheered her on. Some were even convinced that she actually was Allison.

Allison was not at all hurt or offended by Cameron's impressions. Her skin was thick enough for her to know her cyborg counterpart was simply trying to entertain the crowd, but she feared it would come at the cost of her mending reputation.

Before Cameron could let loose another word to the drunken crowd, Allison immediately pulled her away, "Okay Cameron, that's enough. No one needs to hear anymore of that."

Cameron answered, "The crowd doesn't seem to think so."

The crowd booed at Allison, but she ignored them, forcing Cameron towards Jason.

"The crowd's drunk. Let's get Jason out of here before you do something that we'll both regret. Your impression of me sucks anyway."

Cameron affirmed, "That's good."

"Good? In what way?"

"Savannah says that if you dislike my impression, it must mean I'm spot on."

"Oh, ha, ha, that's so funny." She sarcastically laughed.

Allison immediately grabbed a dazed Jason and pulled him out of the chair, "Hey Cameron, help me get him to a hospital. He needs to be out of here before John or Derek see any of this."

Cameron added, "General Lesley cannot see this either. It will look bad."

"You got that right."


Everything seemed great for Bedell. The Captain was certain he had gotten through to Sarah. He just knew that with a bit of pressure in all the right places, everything would be okay with her as well as the rest of the resistance. Of course Bedell knew he had other things to do besides trying to fix an old soul like Sarah Connor. After all, he was supposed to be one of Perry's most elite soldiers. Or at least he was one of Perry's most elite soldiers.

Bedell thought about his hellish past. He was still in his early twenties on his way to becoming a great combatant in the army. To add to his success, his experience as a cross country runner made him a force to be reckoned with. However, his worst nightmare struck. One of Skynet's machines grazed his leg and threw the injured man into a work camp. He knew he wouldn't be the same soldier after that because his leg would never recover. He soon realized he'd have to find other ways to help the resistance after John got him out.

Such thoughts fueled his mind as he angrily stormed in Sarah's direction.

Once he found Sarah collecting supplies in the ammunitions depot, Bedell let it loose, "General, what the hell?!"

Sarah, completely baffled, turned around, "What? Oh Captain."

Feeling like he wanted to rip his hair out, he complained, "You punched Derek Reese in the face! Don't you realize the repercussions of doing something like that? You know those guys in San Bernardino are keeping a close eye on this. If this incident ever got back to them it would end up biting us in the ass! Why can't you control your own anger?"

"Don't worry, Sergeant Kyle Reese helped settle the dispute. Derek and I agreed to keep silent on the issue."

Bedell shook his head in discontent, "No General, you're going to have to do more than that."

Sarah thought she did everything right. She fixed the problem and yet Bedell still seemed upset.

"What gives?" She shouted.

Bedell answered back, "You have to go and directly apologize to him. If he holds this against you, he'll tell someone at some point. We can't afford that."

"This is none of your concern Captain. Just stay out of it and let it rest."

Bedell's eyes widened in frustration, "None of my concern? Oh yes it is! If General Lesley even gets a whiff of this, that's it, we're screwed."

"General Lesley?"

"Yeah, she's one of the very few officials in San Bernardino that opposed this cyborg resistance, labeling John Connor as a leader of Skynet sympathizers. She thinks John's hostile to the resistance."

Sarah gritted her teeth in a writhing anger, "The bitch."

"She's not the only bitch if you don't go right now and apologize to Derek."

If there's one thing Sarah didn't like, it was being called a bitch.

With fury burning deep within her, she scowled, "The things I'd do to you if I could get my hands on you."

"Well suck it up General, you're not an American soldier. You can't touch me."

"Screw you, I'm not apologizing to him for anything! He said some harsh things."

"Derek always says a lot of awful things, but that's only because it's the only way you'll listen. Why do you think I talk to you like this? Because I want to? No! If my mother ever heard me speak like this, she'd kill me!" Bedell argued.

Of course the Captain didn't think that addressing his mother was a manly thing to do, but he knew that it might be enough to prove a point to Sarah.

"Yeah right, now just leave me be Captain." Sarah turned away.

"If you don't go to the infirmary right now, I'll take command of this base and throw you out of here. I won't stand for this anymore."

Sarah laughed, "You can't do that."

"Believe me I will. General Perry listens to me more than he does you. If I tell him I need command, I'll take command over Derek. Do you honestly think Derek wants to run this base? He's only here because Perry condemned him to this place."

Sarah wondered, "What are you talking about? Are you saying he never wanted to be here in the first place?"

Bedell replied, "Maybe you can ask him about it when you apologize to him."

"No."

"Then, like I said, you're off this base as well as the rest of your soldiers. I will not tolerate that kind of assault on an American military officer."

Sarah argued, "John will never let this happen."

Bedell smiled, "General, John Connor doesn't even want you here. If anything, he'll probably help me get you out of here faster than you can blink."

"How dare you?"

"How dare I? You won't even talk to your son! He hates you!"

"No he doesn't, you're lying!"

"Why don't you go ask him then?"

Bedell didn't actually know whether John hated Sarah. Also, he didn't really want to run the base either. In reality, he was playing a simple mind game with Sarah. He needed to force Sarah to talk to her son, and even though it could backfire in his face, it was the best plan that he could come up with.

Sarah grumpily moaned, "Fine. You win, I'll apologize to Derek Reese."

Bedell sighed, "Well, that's not everything I hoped you'd say, but it's a start."

Bedell turned around to leave, but Sarah stopped him, "Wait? Bedell, where are you going?"

"To prepare for a few military exercises for my men. Good luck on your manhunt though with Captain Cameron.."

"Thanks."

"Oh, and don't forget, Lesley is coming here at sixteen hundred hours, so please be on your best behavior if you do decide to stick around."

Sarah sighed, "Yeah, whatever."


With determination in her eyes, Sarah finally did the impossible. She marched towards John's bunker. Even though her pride prevented herself from admitting it to Bedell, she knew Bedell might be right. Maybe John did hate her. But she didn't know that for sure. This only furthered her resolve to end this cold silence between herself and her own son. Now, she could finally clear the air.

When Sarah got there, she found Cameron standing guard in front of the bunker's door. Cameron immediately shifted her head and noticed John's mother coming in for a closer look.

"Cameron, you're here."

Sarah inwardly told herself, "Of course she's there. What a stupid thing to say."

"Yes, I am." The cyborg responded.

"You're fixed."

"Yes, I'm fixed."

Sarah knew there was nothing else to say. Even though she was healed and functioning at her fullest capacity, there really wasn't much else to say to the machine. So just as expected, their relationship was mutual and their exchanges were short and brief.

There was no way Sarah would say something like, "Oh Cameron, thank goodness you're alright". Or even, "I'm so glad your okay!".

If anything, Sarah would probably have hoped she'd be damaged for life. It didn't make sense to Sarah though. She could never understand why she saved Cameron's body, when all along she wanted to destroy her.

"Hey Cameron, what are you doing out here so early?"

"I don't sleep."

"Sorry, dumb question. Is John inside?" She asked, not wanting to think anymore.

Cameron nodded, "Yes, he is very tired."

Sarah suddenly realized it was still very early in the morning.

John's mother demanded, "I need to talk to him."

"He's still sleeping. Do you want me to tell him something when he wakes up?"

"No, I'd prefer telling him directly."

"Okay."

Seeing that Cameron wasn't going to let her through, Sarah gave up. Besides, she wanted to let him sleep anyway.

Rather, Sarah took this as an opportunity to talk to Cameron about something else, "Listen, this may seem like an awkward change of subject, but I figured I might as well say it now before I lose the chance."

"Yes?"

"If you ever for any reason go back in time, tell my younger self to just do it with Reese."

"Do it with Reese?"

"She'll know exactly what I'm talking about."

Cameron nodded, but didn't say anything.

Sarah added, "There's something else I need to ask you. Are you and John having...?"

"No."

Strangely, Cameron answered the question before Sarah could finish asking. Perhaps John and Cameron talked about it before? Either way, Sarah was glad the terminator answered so quickly. It really was not a question she wanted to ask.

"But you kissed?"

Sarah braced herself for an impactful.

Cameron lied, "No."

Even though Cameron wanted to tell Sarah the truth, she lied for John's sake. John made her promise she wouldn't tell Sarah anything about the status of their relationship. Cameron also realized that Sarah wouldn't be able to handle it if she knew.

Of course, Sarah wasn't entirely sure that Cameron was telling the truth, but it strangely gave her relief to hear her say it.

Sarah furthered her questioning, "But John...he said he loves you?"

"Yes."

Sarah clamped her fists together in a fit of anger but restrained herself so she could keep pressing her with more questions, "Do you believe him?"

"I believe him."

"Do you think he loves you more than Allison?"

Sarah desperately hoped Allison could fix John. He wanted a real woman to be with John. She wanted a real woman to give John advice. She wanted a real woman who John could confide in. Not some machine.

In the mean time, Cameron paused to assess her answer carefully. Never before had she been asked a question like that. She considered beating around the bush as humans did because she really wasn't sure what to say. Sarah noticed Cameron's sudden and rather uncomfortable pause, but she waited patiently for her answer.

Cameron finally responded with a question of her own, "Do you think John loves Allison more?"

Sarah countered again, "I asked you first."

Cameron finally answered, "No."

"No? You're saying that John loves Allison more?"

"I didn't say that."

"What are you saying?"

"He loves us the same."

"He loves you equally? Then why doesn't John tell Allison that?"

"He did."

"Then why does he choose you first? Why does he want you if he loves you both the same?"

"Because he loved me first."

"Do you love him in return?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"I protect him."

"But you're programmed to do that."

"I choose to do that."

Sarah wouldn't accept that, "No you can't."

Cameron explained, "My ethical decisions are not always based on my mission parameters."

Sarah moaned, "Now if only I could believe that."

Cameron deadpanned, "Yes, if only."

Silence took hold between the cyborg and the human before Sarah turned to leave, "Cameron, let me know when he wakes up."

Suddenly, a voice called back to the General, "Sarah?"

She paused, made a complete 360 turn, and gazed towards the cyborg, "What is it?"

Sarah wondered if Cameron had changed her mind and would allow her to speak to John.

Cameron, with her posture completely still and her face completely blank, said, "Thank you."

Sarah quirked an eyebrow, "What for?"

With four words, the cyborg gave Sarah a simple response, "You know what for."

With a nod of acknowledgment, Sarah plodded her way back to her bunker with millions of thoughts swarming throughout her head.


Cameron had a new mission today and that meant she had to go to Derek's living quarters. After a few twists and turns, she arrived to find Derek's door wide open...that is, after she forced it open with her bare hands.

She walked inside in search of Derek. She found him sitting on an old wooden chair, holding his bloodied nose with a soft white cloth.

When Derek saw the petite female machine, he didn't even bother raising his weapon.

He simply groaned, "What are you doing here?"

Cameron flashed an artificial smile, "To check up on you. Sarah Connor has bent your nose."

"Those techies managed to fix you? Crap."

Cameron confirmed, "Yes, they did."

Derek responded with a glare, "Why are you really here?"

"I answered that question already."

"Oh yeah, like a terminator's going to check up on metal hating me out of its own free will. Did you lose your memory or are you simply ignoring the fact that you shot me in the leg?"

Derek never forgave Cameron for that graze on his leg. And let's not forget to mention that Cameron once shoved him into a wall sticking a gun in his face. She was hands down the most brutal terminator he ever came across.

Cameron admitted, "John sent me. He's concerned for you and wanted to know if he needed to visit you."

"Well tell him not to. It's just a broken nose."

Cameron's eyes stared at Derek unblinkingly, "I will. I hope you find him."

"Find who?"

Cameron tilted her head, keeping up her ugly stare, "The man you will look for with Jason Cameron, Charles Fischer."

Derek grew uncomfortable, "Okay, now you're scaring me. Stop staring at me like that"

"It's my job to scare people sometimes."

He frowned, "Just by existing you scare the hell out of everyone. Get out of here!"

Cameron ignored his insult, choosing instead to stare at the blank concrete wall behind Derek.

Suddenly Derek randomly questioned, "Why does he love you?"

"John?"

"Yeah, who else?"

Cameron was about to say Allison might love her like a sibling, but she didn't think it was an appropriate thing to say.

"John believes there's something more to me. He believes I'm more than an ordinary machine."

"In what way?"

"He believes I can think for myself. He believes I can choose to alter my mission within reason. I can like and dislike. I can love and hate."

"Can you?"

"Yes."

"That scares me. That's why you and I will never be on the same side. You're dangerous. You're a killer. I don't believe that part of you will ever change no matter how human John thinks you can become."

"This isn't your base anymore. You can't do anything to me."

"Look, I'm not interested in arguing with you metal. Just get out of here before you make me angrier."

Cameron ignored him once again, "John is a little squeamish. I'm unaffected by the appearance of blood, gore, or people in pain."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because John sent me here to do this."

Cameron reached forward, grabbed Derek's nose, and twisted.

Derek yelped in pain, "AHHHHHHH!"

The Lieutenant knocked away Cameron's hand and grabbed hold of his aching nose once again.

Cameron explained her sudden physical motion, "Your nose has been recalibrated. I have reversed the effects of Sarah Connor's damaging right hook."

Infuriated, Derek lashed his foot into Cameron's abdomen, but with lightning quick reflexes, she snatched his leg and pulled, slamming Derek back into his chair. Derek tried to find the resolve to fight back, but it died quickly upon the realization there was nothing he could do to hurt Cameron.

Derek cried out, "Please, just go. My nose is bleeding again."

He pinched his nose even tighter, trying to stagnate the flow of blood.

Still grabbing hold of Derek, Cameron insisted, "There's something else I need to tell you."

"What metal?!"

"Stop threatening me. It puts me in danger."

"What? You scared of dying?"

"No, but John is."

Still suffering the effects of pain, Derek found it in him to crack a joke, "Oh, is he going to whine a little if you are destroyed?"

"No, he will send someone back in time to save me."

Derek pushed, "And if he can't."

"Then..." Cameron paused.

Derek realized she was holding something back

"Then what?" He demanded.

"I don't know."

Derek demanded, "What aren't you telling me? What will he do if he can't bring you back?"

"He'll kill himself."

Suddenly, Derek realized that the terminator was being alarmingly serious, "What?! Suicide! No, I can't believe that."

"Sarah Connor has trouble accepting me. That drives a wedge between John and Sarah's relationship. For John's sake, you must accept me. He needs you to be on his side."

"Why the hell would that make him want to kill himself?!"

"John's father doesn't know him. John's uncle doesn't care about him. Sarah Connor is dying from cancer."

"She's what!"

Cameron tilted her head again, "She didn't tell you?"

Derek's face turned sullen and Cameron saw it.

He realized he was heartbroken and his emotions were evidently getting the better of him. Was it really true? Did he not care about his nephew? Was Sarah Connor really dying? Was John desperate to get closer to his father?

A distraught Derek managed to change the subject before he broke down, "What is it about you anyway? If Skynet created you to infiltrate the resistance and kill Connor, why didn't they task a Gray instead to kill him? Grays are humans aren't they? That eliminates the chance of being detected as a terminator!"

"I don't know all the reasons for my creation. That was the only mission Skynet gave me until I told John what I was."

"You told John what you were? Why, what did you tell him?!"

"I told him I was a machine."

"What?!"

"Skynet implanted Allison's memories into me. I believed I was Allison young, but then I realized I was a machine."

"And why's that significant?"

"John Connor could tell if people were lying, even Grays. He couldn't tell if I was lying because I believed I was Allison. My emotions were genuine."

"You have emotions now?"

"Allison's personality did. That's why I told him the truth."

Derek tried to form all the answers in his head, "You mean the truth that you were a machine?"

"Yes...after I killed Jason Cameron."

"What?!"


This was it. Sarah had been holding it off long enough. It was time to get it done when she had the chance. In thirty minutes, she would be leaving base alongside Jason and Derek in search of Charles Fischer, so now was as good a time as ever.

She spotted her son by the mess hall talking to a few intelligence officers. Sarah figured John was attempting to gather more information on Skynet's whereabouts. She suddenly realized how happy she was that John was doing this. Of course Allison, John Henry, Derek, Weaver, and everyone else were keeping a close eye on things, but knowing her son was taking on responsibility was a good sign.

But Sarah knew the real reason he was improving though. The people around him, including Savannah, Allison, Kyle, and even Cameron were helping him to become a better person, a better leader. They did more for him in a month than Sarah could do for him in eighteen years. It was sad, but true. She hated herself for that.

Sarah also noticed that John seemed a little despondent. Even though he normally masked his emotions, Sarah could tell when something was bothering him.

She approached John and interrupted his conversation, "John, John, I need to talk to you."

John disregarded her rather abruptly, "No mom, not know, I have work to do. Can't you see I'm in a conversation here?"

Sarah frowned, "You always have work to do. Sit here and let me say what I need to tell you."

When the two men in front of John witnessed Sarah's response, they smirked a little at the scene. John's pride took an instant hit because, even though he was supposed to be the most powerful person on base, he still took orders from his mother.

With a deep frown on his face, John immediately dismissed the officers, "You two can go, I'll, um, I'll talk to you guys later."

Once they left, John frustratingly turned to this mother, "Mom, what's going on? We really don't need to do this right now. It's just not good for people to see any of this stuff happening between you and me."

"Don't worry, I'm going to get straight to the point and then you can go. I just wanted to say I'm worried about you John."

He shrugged, "Yeah, well, what's knew?"

She admitted, "Seriously, I'm worried that you're upset with me. We haven't talked for ages."

"What reason could I possibly have for being upset with you? You didn't do anything to me."

"I died." Sarah replied.

John glared at Sarah with slight bewilderment, "What?"

"John, I can't stop it. I wish I could, but I can't. I'm wasting away, and any time now, I'm going to feel myself slip away. I can't...I can't live with myself knowing you hated me for not stopping judgment. I can't leave you knowing that you never forgave me. I know I wasn't there to protect you. And I know any day now I'll be gone. I won't be there for you anymore, but I..."

John's emotions quickly got the best of him. Just so his mother wouldn't see his eyes tear up, he rushed into his mother, squeezing her tighter than he ever thought possible.

John stammered, "No, I...I forgive you, I don't...I don't hate you."

Sarah manage to squeeze out of her mouth, "Good. That's...that's good. That makes me happy."

John really didn't want to cry. He feared someone would see him like this and get the wrong idea. He couldn't afford to look like he was falling apart. He needed to prove he was strong. John took the only course of action he saw fit. He changed the subject as quickly as he thought of doing it.

He redirected, "Allison told me you're going out with Derek in search of somebody. Just make sure you stay safe."

"I'll try."

Sarah, still grasping hold of John like he was her lifeline, smiled, "I'm glad we could talk, but there's something else I needed to tell you about."

John figured, "About me and Allison?"

Sarah let go of John to get a good look at his face, "What? What about you and Allison?"

"You told Derek that he shouldn't stop Allison from pursuing me."

Sarah suddenly found this to be a good time to stare at her boots, "You heard all that?"

He nodded, "Yeah, well, Allison kind of figured it out after a lengthy conversation with Derek after you put him in the hospital."

"So what happened? Did I screw it up between you and her."

"No."

"No?"

"Yeah, because Derek couldn't convince Allison to breathe if she didn't want to."

Sarah deduced, "So you mean she won't stop pursuing no matter what I do?"

John nodded, "You got that right. No one's stopping her."

"She's that stubborn is she?"

"Yep."

"You sure you two are not related?"

John frowned, "That's not funny."

"She's better though."

John suddenly felt an argument coming on, "Allison? She's better how?"

"She's better than a terminator that's constantly manipulating you."

"She's not doing that anymore."

"And how do you know that?"

"She just isn't."

"That's my point John. Even if she was, you wouldn't know."

"Listen, Cameron knows that she could do anything and I'd let her get away with it. And as far as I've been concerned, she's done nothing bad. If you take a look right now, you'll see the resistance is stronger than ever, Skynet's on the retreat, my family is...safer than it's ever been..."

No one is ever safe.

He continued, "...and we're all surviving."

Sarah argued, "There's just one problem. She's a machine John."

"I know she is, but she's different."

"Different in a good way?"

"Perhaps."

"John, I can't fathom you and Cameron..."

"Mom! We're not...we're not...no."

"But you will."

"I don't..."

Sarah interrupted, "What? You don't know? It's only a matter of time before you cross the line with her...and I know I can't stop you because you'll never forgive me."

"I don't know what to say." John looked a way, rubbing the back of his neck.

Sarah cried, "Say that you won't. Say that you'll choose anybody over a machine...the very thing that is supposed to kill you."

"I can't."

"Say it John. Say you'll never be with a machine. Swear to me you won't."

"Mom, I...I can't."

"Then you'll understand why I'm hoping Allison can change your mind."

"So is that what you wanted to talk to me about? Girls?"

Sarah shook her head, "Well, actually I wanted to talk to you about what happened, before judgment day. I want to tell you what happened before everything went away."

"No mom, you really don't have to tell me."

"You're wrong. I want to. I have to."

"Alright." He sighed.

Sarah took a deep breath to gather her thoughts before saying, "After Weaver went missing, Ellison became CEO of the company Ziera corp., controlling all assets until Savannah was old enough to take on the job. So Ellison and I decided that we'd work together on numerous occasions to try to find the people responsible for attacking John Henry."

"You mean you were looking for the head of Kaliba?"

"Yes."

"And you were hoping you could even delay and possibly prevent judgment day."

"Yes, but it wasn't easy. We didn't have John Henry or Weaver to help us, but we did have contacts through Ziera corporation and the FBI who helped us locate a few possible Kaliba locations. That's when we found someone who fit the profile as an advanced IT technician. To our surprise, we knew he had to be the head of Kaliba, the creator of a new Skynet."

"Who was it?!"

Sarah didn't immediately answer, "Ellison and I finally had him. We found the person responsible for all our pain and misery. John, actually did stop Skynet at first, but this sick man brought it back to us. He's the man responsible for murdering three billion people."

"Mom? Who was it?"

"Daniel. Danny Dyson."

"Dyson? You mean, like, Myles Dyson's son?"

John couldn't believe it. So many questions and so many thoughts swirled through his head.

Sarah nodded grimly, "Yes."

"So what did you do when you found out it was Dyson?"

"Ellison and I visited Tarissa, but she told me he Daniel Dyson hadn't been around in ages. He had gone completely off the radar after a company hired him to work on some IT project."

"Did you ever catch up to him?"

"Yes."

"So, what happened?"

"After two years of searching, I confronted him. I had my gun trained on him, but I couldn't pull the trigger. That's the reason I couldn't lead the resistance John. I couldn't kill. I've never killed a man before. I just can't."

"It's okay mom. I'm sure you did the right thing."

"No it wasn't! I had a chance to end it once and for all, but I didn't! I could have saved us, but I didn't! John, I want you to listen closely. If you ever go back in time, kill him. It doesn't matter what I tell you then, just kill him, please."

"Mom, that's not how it works."

"John, he's going to kill three billion people. You have to put him in the ground. Use Cameron if you have to, but kill that piece of filth!"

"Mom, I..."

"John, you don't have to tell me now. Just remember what I told you."

John nodded, "Okay, mom. Relax, I will."

"You will?"

"Mom, I'm sorry I hated you for when I killed Sarkissian. I just couldn't understand it at the time. But now, I know I have to kill. One day, I'll be ready to do it again. I understand now why you didn't want me to have a normal life. It's because I'm not normal. I'll never be normal. All that parenting eventually came to good use. I understand now. You were good to me."

Sarah didn't want to ask John to elaborate anymore. She was nearly in tears at those words.

Sarah sniffed one last request to her son, "Just answer me one thing though."

"What?"

"It's about Allison. Does she have any chance at all with you? Would you ever fall in love with her over Cameron?"

"Mom, I think you got this all wrong."

"What do you mean?"

"I love Allison, but I won't choose her over Cameron."

Sarah confessed, "I never thought of it that way."

"Well, that's just how it is."

"So, how are you doing?"

John smiled in relief, all too glad she changed the subject to something more endurable. At that moment, he felt good. He finally spoke to his mom. And even though his mom was going to die some day, he was happy. He felt really happy.


When Savannah stole a glance at her watch, she nearly panicked like a madman. It was time for the games to begin. As usual, she lost track of the time because she had spent most of her afternoons with Kyle because that was when his shift normally ended. Normally, John Henry reminded her of her upcoming activities, but Savannah hadn't really talked with John Henry for a while. She immediately put it in her mind to catch up with her AI friend at some point.

Savannah recalled that in a few hours, Lesley would arrive on base, so she knew that getting a little fun in before the grumpy lady came to base would be helpful.

She left Kyle's bunker rather quickly to rally John, Cameron, and Allison together. Savannah named her competition, "The Battle of Destiny", when in mere reality, it was just an ordinary paintball fight she had planned alongside Allison.

John, Cameron, Allison and Savannah now stood outside on training grounds, securely holding their training weapons in hand.

Allison spoke first, "Alright Savannah, we're all here. Let's get this game going."

Savannah placed a sudden glance on Cameron and screamed in surprise, "Wow Cameron, I almost forgot that all your flesh was missing! It's been so long I nearly forgot. How was your skin able to heal that quickly?!"

If one took a close look, Cameron had not even changed one bit. The only difference was that she was wearing a jumpsuit. Even though Cameron found her fashion choices to be a bit of a downgrade, it wasn't so bad because at least her outfit wasn't riddled with bullet holes anymore.

Cameron explained, "Rapid regeneration. My flesh can heal faster than a human's."

She smiled, "Yeah, I know, it's just amazing to see yourself back to normal, that's all."

Allison began to feel really annoyed with Savannah. Of course deep down inside her heart, she was little bit jealous that those compliments weren't directed at her, but mostly because she just wanted to have some fun.

Allison interrupted, "Okay Savannah, what's the rules?"

"Well, us four will be split up into teams of two. Allison and John will be captains. They each choose a side, heads or tails, and then I will flip a coin. The winner chooses his or her partner. Whichever person who is not chosen will go with the loser of the coin toss."

Allison answered, "Seems fair. I pick heads."

John shrugged, "I guess I'm tails then."

Savannah nodded, "Okay, I'll flip the coin."

Savannah immediately pulled the coin out of her pocket and threw it in the air. Once gravity brought it down to earth, it landed heads up. Allison flashed a devious smile at the result.

Savannah acknowledged, "Well Allison, you win. It looks like you go first. Who do you pick?"

Savannah was certain Allison would pick Cameron over herself. She did not take offense to it at all, because she knew that Allison prioritized winning over friendship.

Strangely, Allison said something she didn't see coming, "I pick...John."

"What?" Savannah argued, "No, John's a Captain."

Allison pointed out, "You didn't say Captains couldn't choose other Captains. It looks like you're stuck with the terminator Savannah."

John answered in surprise as well, "Well, I wasn't expecting that, but Savannah, it looks like Allison got you there."

Savannah frowned in confusion, "Wait? What happened to beating John Allison?"

Allison commented, "There's no point in beating John. I know I'm better than he is, so why should I shake his pride and kick his ass?"

John joked, "That's actually really thoughtful, in a very deluded and boastful way."

Savannah shook her head in dismay, "Allison, you really are full of yourself aren't you?"

The intelligence officer smiled, "Maybe, but only because I'm right."

John chimed in, "There you go again."

Allison explained, "I'd love to beat John, but I'd love to beat a terminator even more."

Cameron did not even flinch at Allison's comment. Her face remained as cold as ice, seemingly unperturbed by her twin's comments. This wasn't news to her though. There was no surprise Allison loved to compete with Cameron for a lot of things.

Savannah smirked, "Yeah, you think you can beat a terminator? You've got to be kidding me."

Allison announced with a confident undertone, "Nope, I'm not kidding you."

Savannah replied, your loss, "Your loss."

Savannah wasn't sure what was going on in Allison's head. After all, Cameron had complete control of all the machines. If there were no rules against choosing Captains, there were certainly no rules against using an advanced artificial intelligence to win the game.

Savannah stole another glance at her watch, "One minute, and then we begin. Remember, no one can leave training grounds until one team wins the game, which means "fatally" shooting both members of the same team."

John confirmed, "The same rules apply to you right?"

"Yep."

John suddenly remembered, "Wait? What about vests?"

Allison quickly answered, "No vests. It motivates us to not get shot."

John sighed, "Fair enough."

Savannah added, "Okay, the game starts in five minutes.

Allison tapped on John's shoulder, "Ok, time is of the essence. Let's move."

John and Allison quickly left Savannah's eyesight, prompting the redhead to address her cyborg teammate in professional fashion, "Cameron, hand me your radio, I would like to talk to John Henry."

"Why?"

"He can help us win."

"But..."

"Not buts, he can help us win if we use the machines to find and restrain John and Allison. There are no rules against it remember?"

"Okay."

Cameron didn't really understand what was going on, but seeing that bending the rules was part of the game, she conceded and handed the radio to Savannah.

Savannah held the radio close to her mouth and spoke, "John Henry? It's me Savannah, we need your help."

Savannah smile, "Okay, John Henry is looking for John and Allison as we speak. Any minute now, this game will be over and we won't even need to fire a single shot. How convenient."

Strangely, Cameron didn't answer.

Savannah tried to catch the cyborg's attention, "Hey Cameron? You in there?"

The silent Cameron randomly uttered out loud, "Pregnancy."

"Huh? Did you just say pregnancy?"

"Yes."

Savannah gazed towards Cameron in concern, "Are you interested in getting pregnant? Because I'm not sure you're capable of that."

Cameron explained, "No. I congratulated a woman on her pregnancy in front of her husband. She was not happy."

Savannah covered her mouth, "Oh my, did you see a baby inside of her womb?"

"Yes."

"Oh Cameron, you're not supposed to do that!"

"Why?"

Savannah deduced, "Well, sometimes women like to surprise their husbands with pregnancy news. But I bet they were pretty bummed out when some terminator reported it to them."

"I don't understand."

Savannah tried to explain further, "Having children is something to celebrate. That's why people like to be surprised when they hear pregnancy news. But you kind of spoiled it for that couple."

"Oh."

"Don't worry, I'm sure there are a lot of couples who you didn't irritate today. Just focus on the positives, not the negatives in your life."

Cameron didn't really understand how that was helpful as there was still so much she didn't know. There were still so many social interactions that resulted in many strange responses from people. For example, whenever she took off her coat, John's heart rate would spike. If she took off her top, John's blood pressure would soar. If she took off her jeans, John's speech would stutter. She wished to continue experimentation, but she realized going any further might put John at risk of cardiac arrest. She just had to settle with knowing little about humans and their many odd reactions.


John and Allison crouched down behind the corner of an old building. When John stole a glance inside the building, he realized it was actually built and used by recruits to practice raids. For a mere second, John thought about hiding inside, but immediately determined that doing that was stupid. In fact, he scolded himself for thinking of it in the first place. Seeing that Allison was completely silent and that Cameron and Savannah were nowhere in sight, he figured now was a good time to talk.

He said, "I hate waiting."

Allison didn't answer, she just kept scanning the wilderness for any sign of a threat.

He said again, "Sometimes waiting is more than I can bear. It eats at you."

Already exhausted by John's pokes for a conversation with her, she finally answered, "There something you want to tell me John Connor?"

"Yeah, well, it's just that while I've been waiting here fighting Skynet, more of my battles have been with the resistance instead of Skynet. I've been trying to get my allies to accept me, but it's hard. The resistance is focusing on me instead of focusing on an artificial intelligence bent on world domination."

Allison answered, "I know that. But why are you telling me this?"

"It's just, I...I was talking to mom earlier today. She told me that if I ever got the chance to go back in time, I should use that chance to try again."

"Try what again?"

"To stop Skynet. To prevent judgment from happening again."

"Okay, well, that's definitely something to think about."

"Yeah, well lately, I've been looking back at my time here in the future. And now that I think about it, I've realized that it's not that I'm not ready for the resistance, it's that the resistance might not be ready for me."

"I see your point, but really, what are you getting at?"

Allison still couldn't figure out what John was trying to tell her. He sounded so hopeless, but yet he seemed like he was on the verge of finding the solution to his complex situation.

"Allison, if I ever got the chance to go back, back in time to 2009, would you go with me? Would you help me save the world if we got that opportunity?"

Saying that Allison was taken aback would be an understatement. Going back to the future? Allison still struggled to believe it was possible. The thought of going back to a world that lively and inhabited was something she could never comprehend. Seeing it in pictures was nothing like seeing it in person. She suddenly imagined that all those dreams she had that could come true. She imagined being married to John and having two kids. She envisioned living in a house with a roof to prevent the rain from flooding her house. She pictured a world where she was safe, happy, prosperous, and secure.

"Hey Allison?"

Allison suddenly zoned back into reality, "Huh? What?"

"I'm sorry, maybe I shouldn't have asked you."

"J-J-John, I'm glad you want me to come with you, but I just couldn't pack my bags and leave Kyle and Derek and all my friends here. That's just not something I could do."

"But what if I got them to come too? What if I convinced them to go, then would you come?"

"If you could do that John, then yes, I'd love to go with you. In fact, I'd want to go with you. I've always wanted to try peanut butter."

John frowned in confusion, "Peanut butter?"

Allison nodded, "Yeah, peanut butter. You know that sticky gooey stuff made out of peanuts?"

John laughed, "Yeah, Allison I know what that is. I basically lived off that stuff growing up."

John found it both shocking and funny that Allison was excited about something so cheap and quite commonly sold in every grocery store in the world. It was eye opening for him, because he hated peanut butter. It's not that peanut butter tasted bad per say, but that he had eaten it so much, he just couldn't stand it anymore.

Allison flashed a bright smile, "Really, what does it taste like? Derek tried to explain to me what it tasted like, but he's not really good at describing things."

John rubbed his chin in thought, "Well, it's salty, it's sweet, and really nutty. If you eat enough of it at once, the stuff can get stuck on the roof of your mouth."

Allison rubbed her flat stomach, "Wow, you're making me hungry when you talk about it."

"Yeah, well thanks Allison for wanting to come with me. It means a lot to me."

"No worries John, it's kind of sweet to know you're concerned about me being with you."

Allison knew that Cameron would be going with John too, but she ignored that for a moment to enjoy the thoughtfulness and concern John had for her company. It felt good to be appreciated, even if it was under the shadow of her cyborg nemesis. Little did Allison know, it was Cameron who first suggested that he should bring her to the future.

John smiled brightly for a second, but a human-like figure suddenly cut short his response.

Glancing to his right, he saw a T-888 staring at him, "Allison, look behind you."

Allison swiveled her head around to see the machine approaching them, "What? Oh, he's coming toward us."

John panicked, "It's a machine! Why is that machine looking at us like that?"

Allison quickly got up, "Beats me. C'mon, let's keep going. We've been here a bit too long anyway."

John grabbed hold of Allison, stopping her in her tracks, "Okay, forgive me for my paranoia, but it looks like it's following us."

Allison turned back to the machine, "Crap!"

"What do you mean crap?"

"Cameron and Savannah must be using John Henry against us. They know where we are!"

John asked, "What do you wanna do?"

"Run!"

Unfortunately, John didn't feel like running. He was already tired and he certainly wasn't going to let some machine bully him.

John held his hands out in disapproval, "No Allison, wait. I have a plan. Just let me talk to him."

Allison wondered if John was losing his mind.

She yelled, "You can't argue with a machine John! Let's go!"

John shook his head, "No, not the machine, I mean John Henry! He can be reasoned with."

"I doubt that you can do that in one minute! Come on, let's move already!"

"Don't argue with me Allison, I got this."

John stood his ground against the T-888, forcing a reluctant Allison to stay close, "John Henry, I know you can hear me."

The machine kept coming forward, almost as if it was deaf to any words John could possibly say. Allison suddenly couldn't move. She couldn't even scream. She was completely dumbstruck in confusion. She immediately flash backed to the time a machine nearly snapped her neck. It was a dreadful memory that still plagued her mind.

Meanwhile, John stood where he was. He persisted in speaking to John Henry through the ears of the machine, "I know you like helping Cameron and Savannah, but they're using you to help them win a game against us. They're cheating."

Suddenly, the T-888 stopped. John Henry, all alone in Ziera basement, suddenly pondered John's message. The word 'cheating' really got to him. He recalled the time he and Ellison played a board game together. He remembered how he rolled the dice in his own favor so he could win the game. He knew that Ellison told him that cheating was wrong.

Gradually, John Henry figured out what he had to do. He wanted no part of this game if it meant cheating. Without an indication otherwise, The T-888 stopped, turned around, and left without another word.

John wiped the sweat off his forehead, "Phew, that was a close one."

Still caught up in a bit of nail biting fear, Allison stammered, "N-n-nice work."

Allison's eyes seemed completely out of focus. She just stood there, almost like she was unaware of what was going on.

John gave Allison a look of concern, "Hey Allison, you doing okay?"

Allison looked up to John, "What?"

Looking at her apologetically, he said, "Come on partner, let's get out of here. We have game to win. Keep in mind our location is compromised."

Allison nodded, "Yeah...um, yeah. I just..."

John cut her off, "Apologies later. Do you have any ideas of where to hide? Cameron and Savannah might be here any minute"

Allison nodded, "Yeah, I know a place."


Want to know who wins the fight? Stay tuned. There's a whole lot more to come in the next chapter. Like I said before, this was all supposed to be one big long chapter, but as usual, I've decided to split it up into two parts.