A/N: Things begin to settle... a little bit.
There is one more person to add, and that person may be the key to killing Skynet forever...
Enjoy!
Chapter 31: One More Surprise
July 27, 2009 1 pm
Derek Reese and Cameron were sitting in the hanger waiting for John's return. Its was really warm outside and both were sweating like crazy. Cameron was finding that these new sensations could really be annoying, like right now she didn't like the human sensation of being hot.
Derek had just gotten back from the bunker with two cold drinks in his hands, she identified them as root beers. He sat down next to her on a crate and handed her one of the drinks.
"Thank you, but soda dehydrates you". He figured she would say that, but if she was supposed to have human-like sensation now he wanted to see just how human.
"Just shut up and drink it, you'll feel better". She glared at him for a minute before opening the can and taking a sip. Her eyes widened as the numerous sensations flooded her mind. The bubbles tickled her cheeks and tongue and the taste was so... indescribable but pleasing at the same time. The coolness of the beverage cooled her down a little and she moaned involuntarily. She would have to compliment both Future John and Allison for giving her the ability to feel like this.
"Did you just moan"? The fuzzy faced soldier said to the cyborg with an indescribable look on his face.
"Yes, you were right, it did make me feel better, and the taste...".
"There's nothing like it".
"Not that I know of, I can't even describe this flavor". She took another sip, and then another.
"I never thought I'd see the day when a Terminator could enjoy food like we do".
"Neither did I". She thought for a second about something she wanted to ask Derek. "Now that everything has changed, what are you going to do"? Derek looked back at her before he spoke.
"I don't have clue, but I am willing to follow John; he's earned my respect".
"Why"?
"Because he finally stopped being John Baum, and became John Connor". Derek took another sip of his drink before he wiped the sweat off his forehead. "When did that happen anyway"? Cameron smiled as she brought up that video file from several months back.
"The day after you died, the day everything changed. John asked me why I lied about something to Ellison, I was surprised because I didn't know he knew. That is when he finally made me show him my true self and then it was like he changed in an instant".
"Huh... he always seemed more general like when it concerned you". He took one last drink from the can before he crushed it. "Do you trust the other machines here? How much do you know about them"?
Cameron tilted her head as she thought about the best way to answer him.
"I helped reprogram the T-1000, he wont go bad anytime soon. The only thing we need to worry about is him going rampant and gaining his freedom before he's ready. Annika is trustworthy, she built this bunker and showed us how Andy reprogrammed the machines. John Henry is trust worthy too. The only one that we don't trust fully is Weaver, she is very secretive and devious".
"What about Bethany"? Cameron looked at Derek seriously before answering.
"That remains to be seen, but I doubt she's bad". Derek just nodded before looking off into space. The silence lasted only for a second before it was shattered by an explosion outside. Both ran outside and saw the drone coming in for a landing.
John landed the time machine in the hanger and powered it down. The T-1000 liquefied, fell to the floor, and took shape. Allison and John jumped off the drone and he undid the clamps around his father. When he turned around he saw both Cameron and Derek running toward them. John enveloped her in a hug before kissing his beloved cyborg.
"I see you were successful". John smiled and kissed her again.
"Oh yeah, and I got to bring back a souvenir too". John said as he pulled the chip out of his pocket.
"I thought it got damaged and Cyberdyne found it"?
"Maybe in other timelines, but in this one it happened differently". The T-1000 handed him the semi-crushed endoskull and then John handed it to Cameron. She stared at the deformed endoskull as she thought about all the trouble that it had caused.
Allison was checking on Kyle as Derek finished hurrying over.
"He was awake a minute ago Derek, he's tired like I was". Derek took the last steps slowly as he put out a shaky hand and touched his brothers shoulder, just as he had Allison. Only thing was he had an attachment to his brother that few siblings shared, a bond far stronger than the one he had with Allison.
Now all of them were around the sleeping Kyle Reese who was still lying down on the drone.
"He looks the same". Cameron said in almost an afterthought.
"You met him before"? Allison asked.
"When I was pretending to be you, I met him in the hall a few minutes before I tried to kill F.J.".
"Oh".
"I never thought I'd see him again, everyone told me that". Derek said, seemingly ignoring the twins conversation. "I guess anything is possible".
"Yeah, four days ago four people in this bunker were dead and Future John Connor was an some far off idea that I never in my wildest dreams thought would be married to a machine, so yeah, anything is possible". John said as he fingered the chip in his hands.
Derek moved forward and picked his brother up, making sure to support his neck.
"I'll put him in my room, he's my responsibility now". John nodded as they headed for the elevator. Cameron handed John back the endoskull as she put in the pass code for the elevator. They went down to the elevator in silence, and they walked down the halls as one group. They met no one in the halls as everyone was in the mess hall or CNC. The T-1000 split off along with Cameron, both knowing that this was not their moment to share.
Those who remained walked into Derek's room and Derek put his brother down on the bed with more care than many thought he could posses.
"I'll be back". John said as he walked out the door to get his mother. He walked into the kitchen and went straight for his mother. John kept the endoskull behind his back as he approached her.
"John, I haven't seen you since breakfast".
"I was on a mission". Sarah wasn't terribly interested since John wasn't hurt and she was busy making more tea. John noticed so he continued. "I brought back a souvenir too". With that he set down the squashed T-800 endoskull on the counter with a rather loud clang. Sarah stopped what she was doing as she stared at the skull, trying to place where she had seen that before.
"Where did you get that"? John smiled a little a he answered.
"Pulled it off a dead T-800".
"What did you do to it"? She said as she picked up the skull. John's smile only grew larger.
"I didn't do anything to it,... but you did". His mother snapped her head up so fast it was a blur. Her eyes narrowed and her voice became dead serious.
"Where did you get this"?
"Not where mom, when". Sarah was getting a sneaking suspicion of when that might be, and John would have gone there for only one reason.
"What year"? John put his hands on her shoulders.
"1983 mom, and that wasn't the only thing we brought back".
The only sound that was to be heard was metal hitting the floor. Sarah knew what her son was implying, and she was shaking as she thought about what the ramifications.
"Wh...where"? Was all she managed to get out before he enveloped his mother in a hug.
"Derek's room, he's still asleep but he's okay". He kissed his mother on the head before letting her go. "You deserve this more than anyone". Sarah smiled as she tightened her hold on her son.
"Come on, I promised dad you'd be here". John picked the endoskull back up and they began walking toward Derek's room. John and Sarah kept one arm around the other.
"Mom, there's something else you need to know". Sarah looked over with little interest as John reached into his pocket. Her eyes widened as she pulled out a T-800 chip, fully intact. She stopped in the middle of the hallway.
"The one we destroyed was made of liquid metal mom, I had the T-1000 create a fake one, and it looked the same as the one we remembered".
"What are you going to do with it"? John shrugged and put the chip back in his pocket.
"That's unimportant now, we have better things to do". She nodded and they kept on walking. As they approached the door Sarah began to shake again from the anticipation. John turned the handle on the door and they went in...
After John had left Derek pulled up a chair and sat down next to his brother, and he wasn't going to move until his brother woke up. Allison filled a glass up with water and set it down on the table next to the bed.
"What happened back there"? Derek said to Allison who was putting a pillow underneath Kyle's head.
"A lot, it was pretty gross seeing that liquid metal fix his neck". Allison shivered as she said it.
"We've seen worse Allison, and at least it was saving a life, not destroying it".
"Just like my twin had the T-1000 save me". She thought for a second before continuing. "He really loves her doesn't he"? Derek over at her with his trademark wide eyes and serious face.
"Yeah, and as crazy as it sounds she loves him too". She shook her head with a small smile on her face.
"That was the last thing I thought you'd ever say Derek, what happened to you"?
"Well I didn't know you were dead until after I was separated from Kyle, and then I saw Cameron on base, she was one of the first reprogrammed machines allowed to roam around".
"She saved me from a rouge machine not long before I was sent back. When I met up with the Connors and her in the past I didn't think any different of her than I did the rouge one".
"What changed your mind"? Allison asked curiously.
"On John's sixteenth birthday a gangster decided to pay us back for killing one of his cronies and put a bomb in our Jeep. Sarah sent Cameron to get a birthday cake and I was wasn't home at the time. The Jeep blew up and the gangster took Sarah and John hostage. When it was all said and done John killed one of them with his bare hands and Cameron killed the other. They didn't know that Cameron's chip had shrapnel damage and was operating on base code only". Allison's eyes widened when he said that.
"She went bad".
"Yeah, chased them across the city before John was able to get her chip out. When we got together we drove to a junk yard and I poured thermite on her body. John held her chip the whole time, cleaning it, then he put the chip in her hands and asked for the flare. When we handed it to him he did something no one expected". Derek ground his jaw as he remembered that day. "He said he was sorry and he picked up the chip and put in her skull faster than we could stop him, then he trained a gun on us while she rebooted".
"Obviously she didn't kill him so what happened".
"She sat up and looked at him, he handed her the gun, but she didn't kill him. She just handed the gun back and promised".
"Are you saying that she resisted her own Skynet programming"? He nodded.
"I spent that night praying to God, trying to understand what the hell happened that day. It took me nearly a year to figure it out".
"Are her...emotions real"? again he nodded.
"Every time she showed them I had a hard time believing it, but I always watched her closely when she was around and I knew I wasn't dreaming it up. She did things no terminator, reprogrammed or not, would ever do".
"Derek, that's... extraordinary. Do you have any idea what that means? For us and the resistance"?
"Yeah, it means that humans aren't the only ones Skynet will hunt, that we aren't the only ones who want to live. The resident T-1001 was freed by accident in the future and created its own cyborg resistance".
"What is the T-1001"?
"It's just the next version of the T-1000, only with more attitude".
That was when the door opened and John came in with Sarah. Derek had never seen the legend act so scared as when he saw her walk into that room.
Sarah's eyes locked onto the sleeping figure on the bed and her heart nearly stopped. Her eyes began to tear up and breathing became ragged as her eyes locked onto Kyle. She went over slowly to the bed and knelt down next to it, her eyes never leaving Kyle's peaceful face. She reached up slowly until her hand touched his face.
"This isn't dream mom, he's really here". John said as he kneeled next to his mother and wrapped his arm around her shoulder.
"When will he wake up"? Her voice was strained, but it was full of anticipation.
"I don't know mom, Allison didn't wake up for six hours". John stood up and and looked at the three in the room as he turned toward the door. "I'll get F.J., he needs to know about this".
John felt he didn't need to be there all the time, after all he barely knew the man that was Kyle Reese and thus didn't feel as strong of a connection with him as his mom, Derek, and Allison did.
He hurried down the hall until he got to F.J.'s room and was about to knock on the door when he heard strange noises coming from inside. He listened closely for a second before he backed away from the door very quietly lest Bethany notice his presence, but she sounded preoccupied. He walked away a little embarrassed at hearing what he heard and decided to go find Annika instead. He swore that if he was about to have a repeat experience of what happened minutes before he would instate a rule that would require people to put a big sign on their door that said "Getting it on. Interrupt only in case of attack".
John silently crept up to her door and listened, but he heard nothing. He knocked on her door and waited for a response, but none ever came.
"John Henry, could you locate Annika"?
"In the terminator lab with Mr. Goode"
"Are they decent"? He waited a few seconds for a response and he figured the cyborg was figuring out what that meant.
"Yes they are decent John".
"Thank you John Henry" He began walking toward the lab with endoskull still in hands and the chip in his pocket. He entered the lab to find Andy and Annika working on the other T-X weapon arm they had.
"Hello John". The blonde haired, blue eyed machine said as she looked up from her work.
"Hey, what are you two up to"?
"Annika is explaining the workings of this unbelievably complex mechanism".
"I thought you were more of a software guy"?
"I did build Turk 1 from scratch".
"True enough". Then he noticed Annika staring at the object in his hands.
"Where did you get that"? She asked in a curious tone while pointing with her left index finger. John walked over and put the endoskull down on the table.
"I got it from the machine that tried to kill my mother". She scrunched her eyebrows up while she examined the endoskull.
"You went back to 1983"? John nodded. "To save Kyle Reese I presume"? He nodded again.
"He's in Derek's room recovering". Then he pulled out the chip and set it down. If he thought Annika looked confused before, it was nothing compared what it looked like now.
"I thought that Cyberdyne got that chip"?
"The one they got was a MPA replica made to look damaged, courtesy of the T-1000". Annika gave a 'ah ha' look as she figured out what that meant. Andy picked up the T-800 chip and looked at it, he remembered it, or a least its replica.
"Is this the one that killed all those police officers"? John looked at him with a twinge of sorrow on his face.
"Yes, did you know one of them"?
"No, Josh's father was there, and he was one of the few that didn't die. Poor guy was haunted by what he saw and drank quite a bit".
"I'm sorry".
"Don't be, it wasn't your fault". John shook his head slowly.
"It was there to kill me, that is why it's my fault". He looked back at Annika once more before he explained his presence. "I need you to repair that skull, make it operational. Andy, I need you to draw up some designs for an adapter so we can hack into that chip, I want to see what it saw". Andy nodded as he picked up the red-brown chip and examined it closely.
"We will work on it, would you mind if we finished this arm first"?
"No, I'm in no rush, just get it done as soon as you can". John walked out and went down the hall way back toward Derek's room. When he entered the room looked like he had never left it. No one had moved a muscle and it looked like they were frozen in time. Derek looked at him with questioning eyes.
"I thought you were going to get Connor"? John shifted his feet and his eyes darted to the ceiling.
"He's...busy". Derek got the gist of what he was saying but said nothing.
John was about to ask how Kyle was doing when he heard a groan coming from the bed. Sarah squeezed Kyle's hand as his eyes opened.
His eyes darted around a little until they found Sarah's; She looked older than he remembered, but there was no doubt that this was Sarah.
"Sarah..."?
Those words were music to Sarah's ears, just as it was to Derek and Allison.
"Kyle..." Sarah smiled as tears began running down her face. He reached up slowly and caressed her jaw, and she leaned into it and then she kissed his hand. Kyle moved his neck and it popped a few times, but it didn't sound as bad as Allison's had. He winced and he attempted to sit up while Sarah helped.
"What year is it"?
"2009". John shouted out. Kyle looked at him and then back at his mother.
"Is he really..."? Sarah shook her head yes while smiling a little.
"He is".
Kyle laughed a little.
"I never would have thought that John Connor was my son". When he looked back into Sarah's eyes he could see the longing and the hurt present there, but he knew just how to fix that. With all the energy he currently had he leaned up and crushed his lips against hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck gently while he put his around her waist and pulled her on top of him, wincing only slightly as she put pressure on his still healing abdominal wound. Derek, Allison and John just smiled at the reunion.
When the two lovebirds finally broke apart when they both needed to breathe. Kyle looked over and got a glimpse of his brother sitting on the other side of the bed looking at him intently. Kyle reached out his hand toward his brother he thought he would never see again.
"Derek".
The scruffy faced man just smirked a little before he took his brother's hand and squeezed it tightly. Then Kyle looked over at the beautiful brunette that he called sister standing not far from his son.
"Hey Allie". Allison smiled back and walked over to the side of the bed.
"Hey, how you feeling"?
"Like someone took a sledge hammer to my neck".
"I know what you mean, it'll go away after a while. When it does you'll feel like you have a brand new neck". She said as she bobbed her head back and forth and side to side to prove her point. Kyle laughed a little, something that she had always been able to make him do. Tears began to fill his eyes, but for once they were tears of joy.
"I've got everything I ever wanted". He said as he pulled Sarah down on his chest.
"So did I". Sarah whispered back into his chest.
Sarah and Derek stayed with Kyle while he continued to recover, but John and Allison had other things to do.
They were walking down the hall when they spotted a rapidly approaching silver snake. Allison tensed up for a second before remembering that there was more than one liquid metal on base. The snake stopped right before them and took the shape of a middle aged redhead in a white business suit.
"Weaver".
"Mr. Connor, Ms. Young". Then she turned to the future savior of mankind . "John Henry is doing some work on the PA system so he asked me to deliver a message". John quirked an eyebrow gestured for her to continue.
"He has detected a temporal anomaly in LA, one creature emerged from it, it seems to be a rather small young woman". John nodded, he knew that who ever it was it couldn't have been sent back by F.J., but it could have been sent back by Skynet. Then another option presented itself, who ever it was could be from an older timeline.
"We don't know if their friendly or not".
"No, but I did overhear Cameron giving the Alternate General John Connor a gift, a gift that would show them how to send someone across timelines with a TDE".
"So who ever it is it most likely is a friendly, but I won't put my money on that so I'm taking you and one of our resident T-Xs".
"I will get the jet ready".
"Thank you Weaver". She dropped to the floor and slithered away.
"Was that the T-1001 I was told about"? Allison asked John who was pondering about what to do.
"Yes, she is an incredible being, but she's also can be devious and secretive. I can't hold that against her, but I know how much a secret can destroy a relationship; the last two years have been like that between me and Cameron". John sighed when he finished.
"What about these T-X's I keep hearing about, like Bethany and Annika. What are they capable of"? John smirked a little and adjusted his path and soon they were at the Terminator lab.
"This is how you will find out". He opened the door and went in. Andy was typing furiously on a laptop with the T-800 chip and calipers next to him while Annika was reassembling the weapon arm of the other T-X.
"What can we do for you John"?
"Allison here wants to know all about the T-X, so I figure you're the best person to teach her". Annika motioned for the girl to come over as she began to disassemble the arm again.
"What is this"? Allison asked as she sat down next to the blonde machine.
"This is a piece of an alternate counterpart of mine, possibly the first version of me. We got her remains from the timeline we got trapped in a few days back".
"What does this arm do"?
"It serves as an arm primarily, but it can form 25 different weapons and it has nano-technological transjectors, or nanites specifically made to allow me remote control of other machines".
"Cool, show me how each of the parts form different weapons". Annika smiled and began a lengthy dissertation on the intricate workings of the arm. Allison got all of it and was amazed at how advanced this machine in front of her was. Together they put the arm back together while Annika answered Allison's questions along the way.
John had left as soon as Allison went into geek mode and he went back to F.J.'s room. This was no time for luxuries right now and he need one of the most powerful machines in existence to go with him, and he needed to be familiar with this new one too. He wanted to know her personality, her likes, her dislikes, her quirks, etc. The machines were their best weapons and the most unpredictable personality wise, he needed to know his soldiers as best he could. He stopped and thought about that statement for a second, 'his soldier'? Bethany hadn't joined their fight, she had no connection to him nor to this timeline.
But he was going to ask her anyway, after all she owed him her life. He listened carefully at the door for any noises, but heard none so he knocked.
A few seconds later a robed F.J. answered the door.
"The mission go well"?
"Yeah, but that's not why I'm here. We had a time bubble materialize in LA, and since we know you didn't send it there is a possibility that it is Skynet's, but the size of the being that came through was that of a small young woman, which leads us to conclude that it might be a friendly from that timeline I saved Cameron from".
"It seems possible, why did you need from me though"? John nervously shifted his feet before he answered.
"I need your wife to go with me, if it is an unfriendly I need a powerful machine to help take it out. I will be taking Cameron and Weaver with me but if it is another LMT we can't afford to let it get away".
Future John pursed his lips and his whole body gave off a tone that said he didn't like this.
"What other reason did you have"?
"If she's going to stay here, then I need to get to know her, just like I have every machine here, including the T-1000". Connor knew what it was like to be ordered around, but this was John Connor he was talking too, and he knew his younger version was right.
"Fine, I will ask her is she is willing to leave my side". F.J. walked back into the room and went back over to his wife. He knew she had overheard everything but he was courteous enough to ask anyway.
"Are you willing to go with him"? She pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at the door.
"I don't want to leave you".
"And I don't want you to leave, but he did save your life and gave me you back. This is his show now Beth, not mine".
She wasn't happy and he knew it, but he could tell that she would obey.
"Fine, I will go". Bethany got up out of bed and formed cloths before she gave her husband a kiss. She walked out the door and gave young John a look that told him she wasn't happy with him. To her surprise his didn't shrink under her gaze but held it instead.
"Lets go". Is all he said as they walked toward his room in search of Cameron.
When they arrived John walked in to find Cameron babysitting Sydney and Allison; Savannah was there helping out feeding Sydney. Bethany looked at little Allison curiously before looking at Cameron. Her confusion only grew when she looked at Savannah.
"John, who is she"? She pointed at the eight year old red head.
"She is Catherine Weaver's daughter, but since she's dead the T-1001 takes care of her and uses her mother's form".
"Does she know"? Bethany asked with a little curiosity in her voice.
"I know my mommy's a robot, but she loves me". Savannah said in her impossibly cute voice.
"What happened to your real parents"? Savannah's face fell.
"They died in a helicopter crash, my mommy tried to save them". Bethany was skeptical, but it mattered little to her right now so she nodded.
Cameron got up from the table from feeding little Allison and walked over to the two. Cameron smiled and put out her hand for the T-X to shake.
"Hello, I'm Cameron". Bethany took her hand and shook it, but did not smile, instead her head tilted when she heard her name.
"You have my middle name, why is that"? Now it was Cameron's turn to cock her head a little to the right.
"Your John gave it me, for what reason I don't know. Maybe I reminded him of you". Bethany's face scrunched up in confusion as she ran a deep scan of the machine in front of her.
"What are you? You're chassis closely resembles a T-888, but your spine, hips, and breastplate are modified. You also seem to contain more organics than you should have". Then she closely studied her body language and reviewed their conversation thus far.
"You act a lot more advanced than any machine of the T-800 family". Cameron smiled brilliantly with pride and explained just how special she was.
"I was built as a one of kind infiltrator with a variant chassis of a T-888 series, but my chip closely resembles yours. I needed that much power to process a human like infiltration matrix based off my template. It wasn't good enough to fool John and he captured, rebuilt, and reprogrammed me to be his personal body guard and messenger. When the war was over and Skynet sent one last machine after John, I was sent back to protect him".
"What is you're series and model"?
"Template of Kill, or TOK model 715".
"Thank you, I don't like being uniformed".
"I understand". Cameron said before she turned her attention to the one she loved and walked over to him. They embraced and kissed passionately before they heard a small girl gagging. That was when John remembered that Savannah was still in the room, but Cameron could care less about what the girl thought about her kissing her John. Bethany looked on curiously before her face became angry. She pulled Cameron away while looking at John suspiciously.
"Why are you kissing her"? She said in an accusatory tone to John.
"Because she's my girlfriend". Her eyes narrowed to slits as she continued to look at John.
"She better not be some sex slave or so help me". Cameron wanted to interrupt, but John motioned for her to stay put.
"No, she's not my sex slave, she's not even really programmed anymore. I can't force her to do something she doesn't want me to. She fought her own termination orders for me just like you did. She loves me and I love her for who and what she is". John said in a dead serious tone and a stone cold face that made something creep inside Bethany, and she knew he was telling the truth. The logic part of her still needed confirmation though.
"Is that true Cameron"?
"Yes, I love him, I have for a long time now. We have never actually engaged in the act of sex for one reason, he wanted to be sure that he didn't love me for my body. He wanted to be sure that he would never leave me, hurt me, or be unappreciative of me and then promise me that in front of a group of witnesses. That will be the day we get married" . Bethany was dumbfounded.
"I take back my accusations". John waved her off before he took Cameron back into his arms and held her tightly.
"We need to talk, so much has happened lately and I've been so busy". She kissed his neck sweetly while rubbing his back.
"I know John". Then she wanted to know why he had brought Bethany here.
"We need to go into the city, John Henry detected a time bubble and a small girl emerge. We think it might be someone from the timeline we rescued you from".
"But it might be a machine sent by Skynet which is why you brought her along". John nodded.
"I want you to go too, if it is someone from that timeline, then you need to be there".
"Okay John, but what about the children"?
"We need to find a babysitter then". John said as he picked up his adopted daughter. Cameron picked up Sydney and held Savannah's hand as they walked down the hall to Derek's room.
"Are you serious Cam"?
"Yes, Kyle is still recovering and Sarah will understand the importance of this". She said as she knocked on the door. She was greeted by Sarah who had a smile on her face.
"Hey". Sarah said with a smile before she hugged her son. Cameron cocked her head at the woman's good mood but decided that it must be linked to her reunion to Kyle.
"We need you to babysit while we check out a potential threat in the city". Sarah's face turned serious when she heard the word threat.
"Come in, tell me what's going on". They walked in and Bethany closed the door behind her. Cameron and John both put down the little ones and Savannah began to play with both once more. Kyle had been watching the whole thing with interest as he watched the new arrivals. He was especially watching the cyborg Sarah had been telling him about for the past half hour.
"Mom, there was a new arrival in the city, we think it's friendly but we're not taking chances. I'm taking Cameron, Weaver, and Bethany to investigate". Sarah nodded before she turned her attention to Kyle.
"Obviously this is the one I've been telling you about". She said while pointing at Cameron. Cameron looked over at the Tech-Com Sargent with curious eyes before she walked over to him.
"Hello". She said as she put out her hand and put on a small smile. He looked at the machine for a second before slowly reaching his hand up and grasping hers in a hand shake. His eyes widened in surprise when he felt a pulse.
"Since when do machines have a pulse"? He said with a look of surprise on his face. Cameron smiled again as she explained.
"General Connor finished Allison's project and fixed me so I would be ready for it, now I am complete". Kyle knew all about Allie's project, she had told him it would help solve their infertility problems.
"Why? It's not needed here and it would only weaken you".
"I wanted it, and John... modified it before he gave it to me". Kyle decided he didn't want to know what that was yet.
"It was nice to meet you Cameron".
"It was nice to meet you too Kyle Reese".
That name caught Bethany's attention, but she said nothing. She would ask about it later on the plane.
Kyle then locked eyes on the blonde T-X.
"Who are you"? She didn't move from her spot, but she did answer him.
"My name is Bethany, I am a T-X". Kyle scrunched his face up in confusion for a second, he remembered that name from some story Bedell had once told him, but he couldn't place it right now.
"I know that name from a story I was told". She decided to clear up his confusion for him.
"I am John Connor's wife, your General's, not your son's". She said as she walked over to the bed side. "I protected John out my own choice after his mother died, and along the way he showed me how to feel, and we fell in love. I was killed on J-day, but I was saved like you by your son". She looked over at John with appreciation in her eyes.
"I find that hard to believe, why would the savior of mankind marry a machine"?
"We can't help who we fall in love with dad". John said as he walked up and held Cameron's hand. "They aren't all the same, some do feel pity and remorse, some can be reasoned with, and some do feel pain, but most of all some feel love. It took me a long time to accept that, and when I did, so much made sense".
Kyle recognized the words he had said to Sarah, and now his son was telling him that he was wrong. He didn't know what to think at the moment, he felt like a fish out of water and needed time to adjust to all this craziness. He looked up at his son before he gave a response.
"I hope you're right". John realized that was the best he was going to get from him for now, so he bid farewell to his mother and father and left with Cameron and Bethany down the hall toward the elevator.
They went up to the hanger and walked toward the jet.
"Are we ready to go Catherine"? John yells over to the T-1001 who is wiping something off of her hands with a paper towel.
"Yes Mr. Connor, I was checking the hydraulic systems a minute ago and discovered a small leak, I have repaired it however".
"Good, then we need to leave ASAP". Bethany walked up to the T-1001, who flinched at her presence. Weaver was very much afraid of the T-X.
"You are from the T-1xxx family are you not"? Weaver looked her in the eye while she responded.
"Yes, I am a T-1001 from your timeline, and you must be the T-X General Connor married. He certainty kept that secret from everyone, not even I knew".
"Free or reprogrammed"? Weaver smiled.
"Free". Bethany gave the LMT a small smile as well.
"Same".
They got on the jet and Weaver took the controls. Bethany, Cameron and John sat in the passenger area as the jet taxied. Bethany hated being uninformed, and this situation was such a mystery to her. She was visibly uncomfortable with it and the other two passengers noticed.
"What's bothering you"? Cameron asked in a neutral tone.
"I feel...lost".
"I know what you mean". Cameron and John said at the same time.
"Can someone give me a history lesson before I drive myself crazy"?
"I take it F.J. didn't want to talk about the future"? She shook her head no.
"Cameron knows more about his history than I do". Cameron took that as a sign to take over the conversation.
"What do you want to know"?
"The broad details will do for now".
Cameron brought up important events and began her explanation.
"After J-Day John and Bedell helped out in small ways to get the resistance together, but the brass felt like they knew everything and kept them out of their plans. In 2015 John Connor was captured and sent to Century work camp, where he would meet Kyle Reese. They spent the next six years there while John began to gain people's trust. They broke out of Century in 2021 and John became the leader of the resistance shortly afterward. That was when he made Justin Perry his second in command. In 2022 Bedell was killed while saving both Kyle and John from a Skynet Ogre. In 2023 John saved a 15 year old girl named Allison Young from a group of tunnel rats and adopts her as his daughter. In 2026 The turning point of the war occurs when John takes over Serrano Point nuclear power plant and cuts off power to many of Skynet's factories and outposts. In the same year he, Allison, and a man known as the Engineer began to reprogram machines. In early 2027 Allison Young is captured, interrogated, and then killed by me, TOK715. I was captured, repaired, and reprogrammed to be John's body guard when he saw my potential. Kyle Reese was sent back in time just before I was reactivated. Weeks later Skynet sent back the T-1000 to kill John as a child and John used his own time machine to send back a reprogrammed T-800 to protect him. Derek Reese and his team are then sent to 2007, and then his team was killed by one of the numerous T-888's in the past. We won the war in late December of 2027 and I was sent back in time to stop the last Terminator sent through to kill my John. Your husband finished Allison's project and sent back a messenger before coming back himself a few days ago".
"I see... He spent six years in Century"? Cameron nodded.
"I wish I had been there to protect him..." John and Cameron noticed the tell-tale signs of an upset T-X when liquid metal began to well in her eyes. Her fake breathing became unsteady, but she did not break down. A few minutes later she blinked away the tears and looked out the window. The rest of the trip was spent in silence as John took a nap and Cameron monitored her new organics for any changes, but there were none that were outside specified operating boundaries.
The plane landed at the small airport and was parked in the hanger. John, Cameron, Weaver and Bethany all got out and John pointed the way to Annika's Prius.
"What the hell..." Bethany said as he head cocked to one side.
"What"? John asked.
"The car is wirelessly linking to me".
"That's because it is Annika's car, she modified it quite a bit".
"So I see, she seems like Tony Stark when it comes to tech".
"She is, shouldn't you be the same way"? Bethany shook her head no.
"I could build the tech, but the way she applies it I can not do, she is more creative than I".
"Can you access the internal controls and unlock the car"? Weaver asked impatiently. Bethany ignored the LMT while she accessed all the systems and checked them before she unlocked the doors.
"I'm driving". She said with smirk on her face. Weaver rolled her eyes.
Everyone was holding on as the machine took the Prius for a spin at 130 mph down a road meant for 60 and John was holding on for dear life.
"I'll think I found something that my twin and I enjoy".
"Which is what"? John yelled from the back.
"We both love to drive fast"! Bethany yelled back as she accelerated to 170 mph.
"Slow down, we don't need to draw attention to ourselves". Cameron said calmly, but her eyes said she was anything but.
"Fine spoil sport". Bethany slowed down to the speed limit and Cameron let out a breath she hadn't noticed she was holding. "What is our destination"? She said in a more machine like manner.
"The building on the corner of 3rd Street and Pico Boulevard ". Weaver said back to the T-X. Cameron recognized that address; it was where she terminated the Myron Stark T-888.
"Is that where the time bubble appeared"? Cameron asked curiously.
"No, it appeared about a block away, but John Henry observed the arrival go into this building and not come out".
"That doesn't mean they didn't leave through some other means". Bethany stated factually.
"I know, now if you three could just stop talking for a second and let me think". John said in his fledgling command voice. All three machines looked at him with cold stares and he suddenly felt very uncomfortable, but he didn't show it and kept on talking.
"Thank you, now if this is a machine, which I think it is, then it might have gotten into the underground tunnel system".
"That would be unfortunate for us. It would be nearly impossible to find them". Weaver commented.
"Especially if it's a liquid metal". Cameron added.
"Weaver, if that is the case you will be the only one who can follow it". John said to the T-1001.
"Yes, but if we need to destroy it, then Bethany will have to be nearby". She said back.
"Cameron will remain by me, with the weapons".
"What weapons did you pack"? Cameron asked out of curiosity.
"The Remington 12-gauge loaded with DU rounds and the M79 with those special rounds I had mom order".
"Special rounds"? Weaver quirked an eyebrow as she said it.
"Rounds used to freeze stuff very quickly, and others filled with a special type of thermite". John said back to the T-1001 as they arrived at their destination.
It was nearly 8 pm and the sun was just going down on that hot summer day. Four long shadows appeared next to a five year old car and quickly made their way toward the building across the street. The four entered the building and began their search for the new arrival. They stayed together as a team with Weaver in front and Bethany behind Cameron and John. John was holding the M79 while Cameron held the Remington.
They started in the basement and worked their way up while keeping John Henry on the line to see if anyone tried to leave the building. They had little time before the sun went down and satellite became useless. Infrared could be used, but that might draw attention from Skynet and possibly the military.
On the top floor they were searching very carefully, all were on full alert. Everything was dead quiet as they moved across the floor systematically sweeping it visually and by using all the sensors that were available to them. When they got to the center room things got interesting.
The room had a stage that looked like it was meant for performances and not speeches. It was about 50 feet wide and 30 feet deep if the curtain wasn't closed. The only light on in the room was the ones that lit up the stage.
Weaver walked down the center aisle while using her large angle of sight to capture any movements. Even with all of her experience and ability, she failed to see the floor directly beneath her turn a dark chrome before it shot a spike into her leg.
Weaver cried out in a loud screeching voice and grasped her leg as her body began to go numb. Her mind felt invaded as commands were being forced into her by invading MPA that were superior to her own. She fought as best she could, but these invaders were shutting down her down. Weaver turned silver and collapsed into a puddle of liquid metal...
A/N: Cliff hanger eh?
Tell me how you liked this chapter, and the story in general so far, I am having a bit of trouble deciding how to proceed beyond a certain point and ideas are welcome.
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