Chapter 272

Demons Slain

Cameron wondered where she was going to go. What John needed to protect him in the future was finally about to happen. It was only because she was 'leaving'. The only problem now was that she didn't have any place to go anymore. River and Duplicate Cameron were together. That whole episode didn't actually include her in it. It was never her. What was she thinking? The Duplicate girls and John's baby were in River's future.

Wait.

Maybe that was it. She could return to River's future and the girls would be her mates. THAT is what needed to happen, the girls and her…. It was what everyone wanted. Problem solved.

WAIT!

River wasn't going to contact her for several years yet. Now what? She didn't want to go into standby for two years.

Cameron really hoped some file would pop up to give her a hint. There weren't any showing up. She didn't understand this. This may have been the third or fourth time she lived this life. Why didn't she know how to fix this? Why wasn't there something to help her or guide her? She could feel the overload creeping back up on her. She needed to fight it and pull this off.

Cameron realized that maybe this was how it 'ended' for her. If only the TDE would bring her back to 1999. That was her escape. That was her freedom. The past was her future as it always seemed to be. It was that or the volcano….

Full infiltration, full infiltration, full infiltration, full infiltration, full infiltration - Cameron needed to keep repeating it to herself.

Cameron congratulated Allison again and said her final 'goodbyes' to everyone at the Young residence. She was especially sorry to leave Young Allison and Summer. Maybe she could take them and go into the future with them. It would be the three of them. NO! Where were these ideas coming from? She was not a monster or kidnapper. She didn't want to hurt anyone, except herself.

Cameron and John headed for the time transfer location. She really hoped the ride would be in silence. It wasn't.

"Are you sure about this, Cameron?" John asked. "We can turn around and just go home. It can be like it always was."

Cameron doubted that very much.

"What must be done is what must be done." Cameron said.

John wanted to give Cameron some hope.

"Life is still about choices." John said. "You can still change yours."

Cameron was pleased that John was willing to fulfill his destiny.

"I think that was a smart choice." Cameron said.

John wondered what was.

"Do you mean going to River's future?" John asked.

Cameron looked at John.

"No." Cameron said. "I meant you choosing Allison."

John didn't think there were a whole lot of options at this point.

"I don't want to live in uncertainty anymore." John said.

John wanted Cameron but he needed to know she would actually be there. She didn't seem to want to be.

Things seemed pretty cut and dried to Cameron at this point. There were still a few options for John.

"Vanna and Jesse will make excellent mates as well." Cameron said.

John looked straight ahead.

"I'm sure they will." John said.

He wasn't sure for whom though. Maybe he could get her to turn around.

"We can go back." John said. "It's not too late. We are all still here."

Cameron felt it was too late the first day she met him in the past.

"I want a new direction for your life." Cameron said. "I can have one too."

John just shook his head in resignation.

"Whatever." John said.

They neared the location.

Her destiny grew near.

Cameron really hoped that everyone wouldn't be there, they weren't. That was a big relief to her even if she found that somewhat strange. She thought someone would want to see her off even though she didn't like surprises and asked that no one be there. Nobody - was there. Nobody ever listened to her before. Why did they listen now? Something was off. She was unable to place it.

"So how is thing going to work?" John asked.

Cameron knew what already happened. It was not what was going to happen. There was no need to go into that aspect.

"A time bubble will appear. I will step into it and be 'gone'." Cameron said. "When I step out of the energy bubble in River's future, you will be dead. Everyone here will have been dead for half of a century."

John nodded his head.

"That sounds simple enough, except the 'dead part'." John said. "Then what will happen?"

Cameron wanted what was best for John. It was not her.

"I will be out of your life so it can move forward and I will start a new life in a different future." Cameron said. "The 'Natural Order' will be restored. You will be free and find happiness."

John paused for a short while as he watched Cameron intently.

"Is that what you really want, Cameron?" John asked.

It was actually her mission. The ending was a little different than she'd ever imagined before.

"John, that's how it must be." Cameron said. "I'm doing this for your protection and the future."

Cameron knew sacrifice was the ultimate test of love. She was willing to sacrifice for John.

Cameron tried to keep it together.

Full infiltration, full infiltration, full infiltration, full infiltration, full infiltration - Cameron needed to keep repeating it to herself.

With her original plan there would be a time bubble that should appear for her. Sheila was supposed to send one and then have the destination as the volcano. She'd already decided to leave her pain receptors on to make her termination as painful as possible. Her sheath would be burnt off in the first second. Her chassis would be melted soon after that. That was no longer the plan. Maybe it should have remained that way.

She just wanted it over with at this point.

The time came and went.

Cameron was worried. Her plan didn't work or happen as intended. Something was wrong.

"Isn't this supposed to happen around now?" John asked.

She couldn't stand to see John gloat as the time passed. This needed to happen now.

"Maybe you should leave in case there's a problem." Cameron said. "I don't want you hurt, John. Allison is waiting for you. Your future is waiting for you with her. Please just go, for me. I would rather be alone now."

Cameron's current plan was to have Sheila try to use their TDE to move her from where she was at back to her base and the TDE pad. From there she would try to figure out what to do as John moved his life forward with Allison. If she needed to go out, she could do it as Ally. She was sure that was one infiltration she could pull off. The 'Cameron clone' would not be activated. There was still the volcano waiting. It silently called to her. As the seconds dragged on, that really seemed like the best option. She should have stuck with the original plan.

They waited and waited.

"Maybe there was a problem. I don't think River is coming." John said. "Maybe it never really was her. Maybe it was all a Skynet hoax in the future."

Cameron waited for Sheila to run the TDE. She realized they hadn't tested it fully yet so she risked having a temporal error. She was very aware that she could end up any where or any when. It didn't really matter at this point. John would be able to move his life forward. The 'Natural Order' would be restored. This was the least she could do to show her love for John. It was to allow him to have a life with real people, not a machine.

"I don't know, John." Cameron said. "I should be gone and out of your life now. I don't understand what's wrong. Everything should have happened already. I really think you should go for your own safety."

Cameron really didn't understand what was wrong. She wished John would go away so she could call Sheila.

John finally faced Cameron and looked into her eyes.

Cameron could almost hear the triumph in his voice before he spoke. He was about to rub her newest failure in her face. She wondered if he would laugh at her too.

"Maybe this is not happening because it already happened." John said.

It hit Cameron like a ton of bricks. He must know something. They must have played her somehow. This was now probably some cruel joke to all of them. They were probably all about to bask in her further humiliation. This was probably all some well deserved payback from all the years of manipulation. She felt she'd only done what was necessary.

"What do you mean?" Cameron asked.

It appeared that John held all the cards on this one.

"I know you already left yesterday and came back right after you left." John said. "It was almost to the second from when one time bubble left to when it reappeared again."

Cameron said nothing. They'd tracked her somehow. John was playing a game with her to see how far she would take it. If a time bubble appeared she was getting in it. It didn't matter where it went. She really hoped Sheila reverted to the original plan at this point. The volcano really called to her right now.

"Maybe I lived a lifetime with River and returned here after she died." Cameron finally said.

John hadn't considered that possibility in this scenario. That was what she'd planned to do with him originally. Maybe she'd just reversed the order.

"Maybe you did." John said.

Cameron could 'dance' around this.

"Maybe I did." Cameron said.

John knew that Cameron would be 'different' if she did. Now he tried to think if she was different since yesterday. It actually seemed like she was.

"Did you?" John asked

Cameron thought of lying and tell him that she did. She would tell John she only desired to be with a female or females now…. She could still protect John by being with others instead. John could still have Allison. She could have Vanna. No. She could have Savannah. Savannah was the one with the strongest love for her.

What was she doing?

Cameron stopped the lie before it came out. She looked at John.

"No." Cameron said. "I did not."

John wanted some kind on an explanation. Something must have happened even if the time bubble didn't actually go anywhere. It could have started to go and then just stopped.

"Well?" John asked. "What actually did happen?"

Cameron would try and put the best face on this that she could. It would still make her look like a loser in the end. What else was new? That was how she always felt anyway.

"I went back from River's future and saved 'myself' from the nuclear explosion. That version of me is with River. That is the version of me that loved River." Cameron said. "It wasn't me, even though I have those files. I wanted to believe it was me. It was always Duplicate Cameron. River and Duplicate Cameron are now together. They are both very happy."

That actually excited John some. Cameron - Duplicate Cameron was not dead! That was great news. That was an admirable act on Cameron's part to do that. He wondered what else she pulled off. Then again maybe she did a lot of things. She could have operated for years from River's future. Everything in the past could be different now. Maybe the life he lived was the past that Cameron altered. He better not ask, at least not yet. He wanted to stick with the good news.

"What about the Duplicate girls and the baby?" John prompted. "What about my baby?"

Cameron was very pleased to see that John cared about his child even if he wasn't involved in the process of its conception through the traditional method.

"They are all rescued and staying with River in her future." Cameron said.

John thought that was just the greatest news. The Duplicates were all still alive and well. He did worry about the timeline.

"Does our timeline remain unchanged here?" John asked.

Cameron thought it was. What they all 'knew' was what she left behind at each of the three locations. There was a nuclear explosion and the explosions of two separate Terminator's power cells.

"The timeline was not altered. I did as you asked." Cameron said. "I saved them and I didn't change the timeline."

John thought this was a fantastic achievement for Cameron. Maybe it was her best ever. She was the greatest. He knew how much the termination of the Duplicates bothered Cameron. Maybe that was one nail out of her coffin. Maybe it wasn't.

"Are all your past problems now solved?" John asked. "Are all the demons slain?"

Cameron really wished she could answer that with some finality. She couldn't.

"I believe that most of them are." Cameron said.

She knew that the new one of River rejecting her AND replacing her weren't.

John looked around the area. He really did not see the need for all of the drama over what actually was a heroic act on Cameron's part. He was very proud of her.

"Can we go back to the base now?" John asked. "It looks like this part is over. Everything can go back to normal."

Cameron wasn't quite sure how that was possible. John already moved his life past her.

"What about you and Allison? You asked her to marry you." Cameron said.

John smiled. He went into the 'game' with a winning hand. He already knew how this would play out. It was actually better than he thought by far. Cameron did everyone a real solid. She was the greatest. He did feel bad about playing Cameron a little.

"I never asked her to marry me. Maybe we did a little role playing." John said. "Maybe you heard what you wanted to hear. Replay your files. I think you will be surprised a little."

Cameron did just that. She listened carefully. They'd 'played' her. She 'heard' what she wanted to hear. She 'heard' that because that is what needed to be. She hoped to make John see the light.

"John, I want you to marry her. Please do it for ME." Cameron said. "Tell them I left for the future. I will stay out of your life. You need to be protected from the future. You need to be protected from - ME. They're going to assassinate you because of me in the future. I can't be responsible for that."

At this point John was unsure what everything was about and what all was really in play. He was very proud of what Cameron did. He also needed to make her understand how he felt.

"Cameron, YOU are my wife. YOU are my wife because I love YOU." John said. "Cameron, YOU are my future."

Cameron felt hope and elation. It was all very confusing. She was ready for the volcano just a short time ago.

"John, I don't know what to say or do." Cameron said.

The answer seemed pretty straightforward to John.

"Why not do what you always have said and done?" John suggested.

Cameron looked at John and smiled.

"I love you, John, and you love me." Cameron said.

"I love you, Cameron, and you love me." John said.

John embraced her and they kissed.

"Let's go home and – stay there." John said.

'Footloose' by 'Kenny Loggins', played on the radio as John drove.

Demons Slain

To achieve one's goals in life
Can turn into quite a strain
It's hard to move forward
Shackled by the past's chain

It only goes to prove
That there is no gain
Without a lot of pain
Maybe even some bane

So one must reach out
The future is theirs to attain
They could from life abstain
Then always forever complain

Everything happens in a one's brain
It all swirls around like a hurricane
Thoughts are hard to restrain
Making one wonder what is sane

Many seek but few are urbane
Instead from living they refrain
As life itself circles down the drain
Never really are any demons slain

Nobody