This chapter's mainly an introduction to the new characters, telling you about them and their past and stuff, so it may drag on a little I'm afraid. Oh and this is set after T2 in the year 1997.

Okay, explanation! After the events in T2, John went on the run with Sarah for a while; since they'd be like arrested for doing all the stuff they did, but they got caught afterthe aforementioned while.Sarah was sent back to Pescadero, since they all think she's crazy, and John . . . well, we'll find out!

Start Story:

"Arms in the air please."

"Excuse me?"

"Arms in the air, kid. We have to body search you."

"Yeah, not fucking like-" John Connor started to say, then broke off, catching sight of the electric shocker the orderly held, "okay," rolling his eyes, he raised his arms above his head, not taking his eyes off the zapper for a second. He waited as his pockets were checked, but protested as they grabbed his bag, "Hey!"

"We have to search it, kid, you could have some dangerous stuff or something," he was told as the second man, who wasn't holding the shocker, went through the bag.

"Yeah, right," John said sarcastically, nearly objecting to the use of the name 'kid', but reminding himself that he'd rather be called that than be at the wrong end of the zapper.

"What's this?" the orderly who was going through his bag asked, holding up John's hacker computer.

"Personal planner," John replied, having been searched by the police before. He wasn't exactly going to tell them what it really did; it couldn't be legal.

"Odd piece of technology for a kid like you," the orderly with the shocker, who's name was Darren, said, raising his eyebrows.

John shrugged as best he could with his arms above his head, "My foster parents though it would help me to be more organised; you know, get to school on time. Or get to school at all."

The orderly going through his bag, who was called Larry, put the 'planner' on a table, then tipped the bag upside down, so the contents poured out onto the table. Looking through the pile of things, he picked out a lighter and two packs of cigarettes.

"You never heard of lung cancer?" He asked, holding them up.

"They're my mom's," John pointed out, going to put his hands in his pockets, then raising them again as the zapper seemed to move closer.

"I'm sure they are, kid," the orderly, finding nothing else of interest in John's bag, repacked it but kept the cigarettes, then handed it to another orderly named Ben, who nodded, then gestured for John to follow him. He did so, leaving his arms above his head and keeping his eyes on the shocker until he got out of sight, before grabbing his bag, and slinging it over one shoulder.

"Sorry about that; they do that so often I don't think they realise you have feelings," Ben said, opening a door, allowing John through and then locking it behind them, "We're not all like that," he added as an afterthought.

"I'm sure," John replied sarcastically, "I suppose we don't get our own rooms here."

"'Afraid not. You'll be sharing with one of our older boys, his name's Federico Reese. He's a good kid; didn't do much but he refused to let his girlfriend stay here without him so blew up Darren's car."

"He sounds nice," again, John's reply was sarcastic. He couldn't help it; he didn't deserve to be here! He hadn't done anything! Well, not much anyway. Nothing that could cancel out the fact he was going to be the savior of the human race a few years from now.

"He is," Ben replied, even though he knew John was being sarcastic. They walked in silence for a few moments, and then a voice was heard from the intercom on the wall.

"All staff to the dining hall; there's a fight going on. I repeat, all staff to the dining hall."

"Damnit, not again…" setting off at a run, Ben headed to the dining hall, followed by John, who entered the huge room to find Ben, Darren and a blonde orderly he didn't recognise having to hold back a girl not much older than himself as she fought to get free. The reason for her struggle became obvious as John noticed a teenaged boy with brown hair that was styled in messy spikes, who was standing on the table in front of her, a smug smile on his face. Like all of the other kids in St. Mary's juvenile correction facility, thy were both wearing the 'uniform', which consisted of a faded grey sweatshirt over a white T-shirt, with blue trousers not unlike hospital scrubs and soft trainers; they didn't hurt as much when you kicked someone.

"What's up, Saz, can't throw off 3 measly orderlies?" smiling smugly, the boy on the table took great delight in taunting Saz, who was still trying to break free. She glared at him for a moment, before pulling her arms out of the grip of the orderlies, then knocking them all away from her with a powerful spin kick. The moment she landed, she headed for the table, jumping up before tackling the boy to the floor. Rolling to absorb the impact, Saz's torturer pinned her to the ground, "C'mon, baby, you're made of better stuff than that," he said, his voice sickly sweet.

"I'm not even started yet, Reese," Saz replied spitting upwards into his face, using the moment she caught him off balance to roll backwards, and throw him onto the floor behind her, before flipping neatly to her feet. Driving her right elbow into the face of an orderly holding a syringe and probably breaking his nose in the process, Saz turned to the boy, who John figured to be Federico. Standing up, he smiled and stretched his neck first one way, then the other, causing everyone in the room, excluding Saz, to wince as bones cracked.

"Not bad, Peterson," he complimented, wiping his eyes with his sleeve then clenching each of his fists in turn and causing everyone to flinch again as his knuckles clicked, "But I'm not down yet."

"Not yet," Saz agreed, going into a defensive battle stance before launching herself at Federico, who waited until she almost got to him then sidestepped, extending a foot to trip her over. She did so, but rolled and landed on her feet then shot a low kick at his ankles that swept his feet out from beneath him and left him lying on the floor. Before she had time to react, however, two orderlies grabbed her from behind, and held her arms behind her back. Rolling her eyes, Saz lifted her feet up, planted them on the edge of the table then pushed. She knocked the orderlies backwards and landed on top of them.

"Thanks," she said as she got to her feet, only to be caught in one of Federico's famous headlocks. Even the orderlies couldn't get out of this without sustaining injury or using a shocker, so naturally everyone thought the fight was over. Saz, however, thought differently. Grabbing the neck of his shirt, she tipped forwards and threw him over her shoulder. The next thing Federico knew, he was lying on the floor, feeling like someone had smashed his spine in with a sledgehammer. Despite this, he managed to move his arm and push Saz's feet out from under her like she had him earlier. Before she could get up or even move, a needle was stabbed in her arm and tranquillisers injected. Unable to move due to the clouds in her brain, she passed out.

Change scene:

"That better have been worth it, Lil'!" Federico rubbed his shoulder, which he'd landed on when Saz threw him to the floor after he'd got her in that headlock, "Saz got shoved in solitary for a week 'cause of it, and I can hardly move 'cause she threw me so many times!"

"Don't worry, 'rico, I got a lot of stuff," Reaching under her bed, Lily, Federico's girlfriend, grabbed a box from underneath a loose floorboard. She was blonde, and had big blue eyes that made her look innocent, but Federico knew she was far from that. No one who got into St. Mary's was innocent; it was a centre for the cases no one else wanted. Lily wasn't wanted because she had experiences in her past she'd never recover from, and they came back to haunt her; trapping her inside a metaphorical black box so she could wake up in the morning covered in blood, without knowing what, or who, it came from. Since she'd started going out with Federico, however, she'd stopped completely. When she asked her therapist what he thought about it, he told her that during his years of research, he'd discovered that it was not time that healed all wounds, but love.

Federico, however, wasn't here because no one else wanted him, he was here because he refused to let Lily go anywhere without him. He'd been at the same Home as Lily before she nearly killed their foster mother's daughter Nicole, and he had completely fallen in love with her, even though he was only 8 years old at the time. When she was charged with attempted murder 2 years after they met, Fed was accused of withholding information, and they were both sent to separate therapists, and kept apart. Having been with him for such a long time, Lily couldn't cope with their separation, and ended up attacking one of her therapist's other clients with a knife without even knowing she was doing it. Surprisingly enough, the therapist suggested she be sent to a juvenile detention centre, and Lily got dumped in St. Mary's.

Well, when Fed found out she'd been moved, he went after her; there was no way he was letting his girl get away from him. He was the first kid ever to try and get into a juvenile centre, but it got him what he wanted. He was given a 3-month detention for breaking and entering, and then a 2-year sentence for what was described as 'dangerous vandalism'. Fed didn't think it was dangerous; no one had been in or near the car when it exploded, but he wasn't complaining. He even denied the charges, even though 17 people had seen him do it, his fingerprints were on the car and they found identical explosives in his room, so he'd get to stay in there longer.

"Well that's good, Lil', 'cause you know Saz isn't gonna get out early for this one. She broke Carl's nose, and Jim and Greg bruised their spines or something when she pulled that trick with the table. That's a week minimum, and you know she hates being by herself," moving onto Lily's bed, Fed put his arm around her.

"Of course she hates it, she gets bored out of her mind, but she won't be in there for a week, 'rico. She's too annoying. No one can put up with what she puts him or her through," Lily snuggled up to her boyfriend, pulling his arm down so she could check his watch, "We'll have a chat with her at dinner; she'll be okay."

"If she's not then she'd better take it out on you."

Change scene:

"Can I come out yet?" Saz sat on her bed, leaning against the wall of her cell. She knew Phil the guard could hear her; the door had a window-shaped hole in it, so the kid in the room could actually get some oxygen. There were no windows in her small cell, and the only furniture was a bed that was only marginally more comfortable than the floor, a toilet and a washbasin. It was the ultimate punishment; solitary confinement with no one to talk to and nothing to do for up to a week. Still, Saz had been in there so often she knew exactly what would drive the guards crazy.

"Can I come out yet?" Saz repeated, smiling slightly. Phil was ignoring her, but he'd have to say something eventually, even if it was to tell her to shut up. He couldn't use violence on her; that was illegal even here, and even if he tried she could overpower him and claim self-defense. 4 years of martial arts training had taught her all she needed to know, "Can I come out yet?" she said again, hearing the rustle of a newspaper, "Can I have your crossword?" she asked, knowing he'd try anything to shut her up. A few moments later she heard a ripping sound, then the puzzle page was shoved through the hole in the door, "Can I have a pen?" she made sure everything she said was a question; he couldn't say anything against her for that. Phil threw a pen through the hole, "Ta very muchly," she said, jumping up and grabbing it. Within minutes she'd finished, "I'm done!" she said, going over to the door and pushing the paper through the hole, "Can I come out yet?"

"You're finished already?" Phil picked up the piece of paper and looked at it. The crosswords were all finished, printed in Saz's neat handwriting and ready for him to send off so he could win that holiday to Hawaii, "You're good, kid," he said, pocketing the piece of paper.

"I know," Saz replied, "Can I come out yet?" she looked through the hole in the door, blinking innocently.

"Hey, you know I'd let you out if I could," Phil said, even though he wouldn't let that psycho child out if his life depended on it, "But I can't."

"I'm bored. Can I come out yet?"

"Sorry kid, you're staying there," Phil went over to the other side of the room, where a newly installed coffee machine stood, and fed some coins into it.

"Can I have some coffee?" Saz asked, finding an opportunity to annoy Phil with something different this time.

"No," Phil replied as his cup filled up with the watery crap this machine claimed to be coffee.

"But I like coffee."

"It's not for you, kid, it's for the guards who have to put up with you."

"I'm not a kid. I have a name. And I want some coffee," Saz retained her innocent expression and looked at Phil, her blue eyes starting to fill with tears. She didn't cry, of course, she never cried, but Phil had a daughter of his own and he hated it when Saz cried, because it reminded him of the fact that she was just a girl, like his Dana.

"Oh c'mon, Saz, don't cry," Phil looked at her.

Saz pouted, managing to look cute despite the bruise on her cheekbone, "It's just some coffee," she said, "It can't do any harm. And I can't talk when I drink," she smiled and took the cup Phil put through the hole, "Thanks."

"Drink up and shut up, kid," Phil, now feeling annoyed that he'd given in to Saz's act, sat down again and took up his paper. Saz tried to think of something mature to say back to that, but gave up and just stuck her tongue out at him before sitting down on her bed to drink her coffee.

"Am I gonna lose my visit on Wednesday?" she asked, remembering that her foster mother had promised to come and see her. Having lost her parents when she was very young, Saz was very close to Robert and Sila, her foster parents, who had looked after her since she was only a year old. Even though Saz had been arrested for dangerous underage driving when she crashed Robert's company car into a tree, they still came to visit her. True, Sila did come more often than Robert, but then she didn't have to work 10 hours a day.

"Probably," Phil replied.

Saz leaned back and hit her head against the wall, making a mental note to kill either Federico or Lily. She wasn't allowed visits very often; the orderlies assumed that since she only had foster parents instead of blood relatives she didn't want to see them as often, so she looked forward to the few times when Sila came to see her. To Saz, every day in St. Mary's was the same; get up; exercise; have breakfast; sit around; have lunch; get into a fight with Fed if more supplies are needed, sit around if not; have dinner (or not depending on the outcome of the fight); sit around; go to bed again, only to do the same thing again the next day. It sucked after a week, and Saz had spent the last two years of her life doing it. If variety was the spice of life, then Saz's day was about as spicy as Phil's newspaper. Visits gave her a short break from her dictated life, and even though it was only a short break, it was better than nothing. Anything was better than nothing.

End chapter

And yay I'm done! That last scene with Saz was kind of pointless but it gave you some insight into the way she acts and stuff. Well, this has to be short since my time on the computer is over, so I'm just gonna say I made cookies for those who review! holds up plate of cookies

(Small print: Food poisoning caused by the Terminaisha's baking is not covered by any form of life insurance.)