Chapter 11: Recovery and gains
Spike heard John screaming at Faye but didn't turn his gaze from Skynet, in case he was able to succeed in climbing back up while he wasn't looking. However the final shout of Faye's name made him turn around, despite his better judgment. Her eyes had shut and she had gone completely slack in John's grip. Realizing he had taken his eyes off Skynet Spike turned back and to his surprise the machine wasn't trying to take advantage of his attention being elsewhere. He was just standing there, his glare gone and replaced with a smile. He knew what that final cry had meant just the same as Spike did, that Faye was gone. Spike half expected him to say something smug but Skynet just lazily waved at him, turned and casually started walking deeper into the canyon still smiling. Spike was tempted to shoot him in the back but that would only result in wasted ammo so he just lowered his gun and walked over to John and Faye. John had let go of Faye's chin and now had his hands clamped over the entrance and exit wounds on her shoulder.
"Give me your jacket." John ordered before Spike had even gotten to them. He had seen this before, people unwilling to give up on someone or let go even when the situation was hopeless. He had gotten a glance of Faye's condition and even that brief a look had told him just how serious the injury was. He started to say something but John cut him off. "She's still breathing and I can feel her heartbeat. So give me your jacket so I can slow the bleeding." Spike could see the grip John had on Faye's shoulder was so great that his knuckles were turning white, another sign of his desperation and unwillingness to let go. Spike didn't fault him for it, he wasn't the type of person that would give up on anyone. Unfortunately he had to accept that she was beyond help.
"We can't do anything for her." He told him bluntly. It was a hard truth but it was a fact. They were nowhere near a hospital and even if they had been fortunate enough to have been chased into the medical facilitates the base had that wouldn't do them any good either. None of them were doctors and Faye would probably need surgery if she was going to survive. The best any of them would be able to do was make her comfortable until she did die.
"We can if we get her to one fast enough." John replied without turning to face him. "But we have to find it first and I can't carry her like this. So give me your damn jacket!" Spike didn't know what 'one' was or what John thought it could do but the tone of his last sentence implied that he'd probably shoot Spike if he didn't do what he was told. For a brief moment Spike wondered if John had crossed over the line from concerned to delusional. John seemed to realize that to and though his next words weren't as harsh they still had a great urgency to them. "Look it's real, it worked on me and I know it'll work on her. If we move quickly enough it can save her but if we just sit here it won't do her any good!" Spike still didn't know what John was talking about, but since he said that he had already used what he wanted to give Faye it was enough to convince him that it was real. John also believed that it could save her and that meant not wasting any more time. He took off his suit jacket and crouched down next to Faye's wounded left shoulder.
"I'll tie." He told John, who was crouched on Faye's right side. He was at an awkward angle from holding both sides of the wound and that would hamper him once he let go. For a split second Spike almost found it amusing because it looked like John was hugging her. If he tried something like that at any other time he probably would have ended up losing some teeth. Since every second counted that thought didn't last long. John nodded in response, knowing Spike would be faster. "On three. One..two…three!" John released his grip and held Faye upright while Spike went to work. He didn't try for anything neat or permanent, just covering both sides with the jacket material and tying it as tight as he could. Normally he would have been concerned with cutting off circulation completely but at this point that was the least of Faye's worries. Letting go he and John waited to see if the tourniquet would fall off or start leaking. When it didn't John started to act.
"Let's go." Was all he said, reaching under Faye's legs and used his other arm to support her back as he picked her up. Once he was standing and sure he was holding Faye so he wasn't putting stress on her wound he started down the path at a fast pace but short of running, for fear of dislodging the improvised bandage. After picking up John's shotgun Spike started to keep pace behind him.
"So what exactly are we looking for?" He asked as he followed behind. He didn't know if whatever John was looking for would be enough but at least if he knew what it looked like he could keep an eye out for it.
"An emergency Medkit." John answered without turning around. "It'll be real easy to recognize." He explained as they approached a turn on the path. "All you have to look for is …." He paused the moment he turned the corner when he found himself facing down Kyle and Jet, their weapons aimed and ready.
That same time: Further down the path
As they continued down the rock ledge Jet and the others discovered that it was longer then it looked, having a turn where they thought it would end which lead to another long stretch of pathway that left them dangerously exposed. There was one positive note as they could see a door at the end of the path in the cliff face. What wasn't so positive was the fact it wasn't an electronically sealed door and that it was locked. Jet knew that he didn't have time to pick the lock and if he tried shooting it the bullet would probably ricochet back and hit him. He had to settle for doing it the old fashioned way, kicking the door as hard as he could. The door shuddered under the blow but didn't give. A second kick rattled it further and he began to see gaps between the door and its frame. He was starting to curse getting old when they heard the first shot. All of them turned and looked back, knowing just how close Skynet was getting. With a third and even harder kick Jet finally broke through, the door hanging loosely by its top hinge.
"Everyone inside." He ordered, making sure Ed and Meifa were the first in. As he and Kyle started to follow they began to hear more shots in rapid succession. They again glanced back down the path before reluctantly heading through the door. Once inside they began moving down the hallway, Kyle in the lead and Jet taking up the rear as he took a look at MPU's updated map. "We keep on going straight until we reach an intersection of hallways. After that we…." Everyone stopped as they heard a scream, slightly muffled from being outside but still loud and clear. Ed and Meifa exchanged worried glances before looking that the adults, who in turn had worried looks of their own.
"One of us might be able…" Kyle started but Jet cut him off.
"No." He said firmly, though not sounding entirely convinced with his own decision. "She gave us this chance and we have to take it. If we don't get them to safety…." He was then cut off by a scream that was so loud and wracked with pain it sent a chill up everyone's spine, even his. "DAMNIT!" He shouted as he turned around and drew his gun. "Get going and don't stop for anything, not even me." He ordered, knowing full well he was probably walking into a trap. As big of a pain as Faye was he'd be damned if someone under his watch was going to die like that.
"JET!" Meifa shouted after him be he didn't answer. He knew she'd probably never forgive him for this but it was better if an old dog like him didn't make it then her or Ed. When he didn't respond Meifa turned to Kyle, her eyes begging him to do something. Kyle did open his mouth to say something but what he had planned to say died as he noticed something.
"Stay here." Was all he said to Ed and Meifa before going after Jet.
"Jet we've got another problem." He said as he got closer. That was enough to throw Jet off for a second.
"What…?" He asked and Kyle took the opportunity. Grabbing onto the back of Jet's neck he pulled back as hard as he could before the older man could react. Jet felt a flash of pain, like the world's biggest sliver being yanked from his skin, before feeling blood running down his back. "THE HELL?" He shouted as Kyle began running towards the exit.
Kyle didn't have time to explain what he was doing. If he gave any indication about what was going to happen things probably would have gotten worse. He was just counting his blessings that he noticed it before anything else went wrong. When Jet had turned around to go back Kyle had finally gotten a good look at the wounds he had suffered during his fight with Skynet. They were mostly minor burns and some cuts and scratches from flying debris, most of which had already stopped bleeding on their own. He also saw several small pieces of shrapnel in Jet's neck, but he had noticed something odd about one piece. Instead of being blackened and jagged it looked round and polished, almost like it was a metallic birthmark. That would have been more then enough to tell him what it was but he also recognized the gray color of the liquid metal when they had shot it. That explained why Skynet was coming after them so slowly and calmly. He had literally bugged one of them, so he knew just where they were and what they were doing. He knew he had to stop it, immediately, and not knowing how to do it subtly he just ripped it out of Jet's skin. After that he ran back the way they came, hearing Jet behind him but not caring at the moment. Once he got outside he threw the clump of liquid metal as far as he could into the canyon. After making sure none of it had stuck to his hands or his clothes he turned to see a glowering Jet holding the back of his neck.
"We had a spy." Kyle told him. He'd give a more thorough explanation later but right now they had other things to deal with. Like the fact he heard a voices coming towards them. Jet heard them to and readied his gun as Kyle took out his. They couldn't make out what was being said but the two voices were different but with his ability to mimic people it could just be Skynet trying to lure them in. "Go back inside Jet, I'll handle this. If you hear gunshots start running." He said with finality.
"Now wait a minute!" Jet shot back. "I just can't let you…"
"You have family Jet, I don't." Kyle interrupted as he started to run down the path, not giving Jet a chance to argue. He stood there a moment as he digested Kyle's point. While the younger policeman didn't have anyone to leave behind he did, and if he died here along with Kyle there'd be no one to look after them. At the same time he had already lost John and Faye, and he wasn't going to risk anyone else dying while he was in charge. Deciding that dragging Kyle back was the only good option he started to go after him when someone else turned the corner on the path, prompting both of them to aim their weapons.
The fact that he was in two people's gun sights only worried John for a moment, until he noticed that those guns had not fired the instant he had turned the corner. Since there were two people in front of him he was convinced that Skynet hadn't gotten back up here while they weren't looking. At the time he didn't know but he was also extremely lucky in the fact that Jet and Kyle had been fully prepared to fire and would have without hesitation if John had come around the corner alone. But because he had been carrying Faye, an act which both of them were sure that Skynet would not have gone through all the trouble for. Or even if he was even physically capable of mimicking two fully grown humans at once for that matter. Once Spike came around the corner that sealed the deal and they holstered their weapons.
"Is she going to be able to make it?" Kyle asked as he stepped aside and let John pass him. He wasn't going to question how John had survived or how he got here right now. Faye was priority at the moment and while he could only see an improvised blood soaked bandage on her shoulder the fact that she wasn't moving told him that wound was serious, if not mortal. But John looked like he knew where he was going so he followed behind him.
"She can if we get her help fast enough." John said approached the doorway.
"How bad is it?" Jet asked as he walked up to them, the urgency of getting away having disappeared for the moment. He reached for the jacket wrapped around Faye's shoulder to see what they were dealing with but John pulled her away, not wanting to put her in any more danger even if Jet was trying to help.
"Her shoulder is ripped up pretty badly all the way through and she's lost a lot of blood." John explained as he stepped inside, not even looking at the others. "There is something that can help her but we have to find it first." Jet was about to ask what John was talking about when another voice spoke up first.
"FAYE FAYE!" Taking their eyes off the wounded Faye the others looked down the hallway to see Ed, Meifa, and Ein running towards them. All three stopped when they reached John but Meifa gasped and almost stepped back when she got a good look at Faye. The bleeding, limp, and helpless looking Faye cradled in John's arms was a world away from the woman Meifa had seen just a minute ago. Ed meanwhile grabbed onto one of her hands and lightly, but frantically, started tugging on it. "Wake up Faye Faye! Wake up and talk to Ed!" She pleaded. At her feet Ein was running and jumping around while barking with a worried and just as frantic tone as Ed. John gently pulled Faye away from Ed's grasp and kept on walking down the hallway, explaining what needed to be done.
"There is something that will make her wake up." He assured Ed, even though he wasn't sure that it would be enough at this point. "It's called an Emergency Medkit, a big red and white box with a hand imprint that's bolted to the wall. I used one myself and saw a few more down in the tunnels so they should be up here to." He didn't know if that was true either. They could have just been for the most dangerous areas in case something went wrong, but he wasn't about to give up hope yet. "Hopefully this is a main branch for this area so we can….." He stopped as they found themselves in a crossroads of hallways that branched out in several different directions. "Damn." He said softly. With this many choices the odds of actually finding one had just dropped like a stone. To make matters worse Faye's breathing began to become shallower, almost to the point of nothing but small gasps. Her heartbeat was becoming erratic and her skin had turned bone white. Sensing John's hesitation Jet started issuing orders.
"Kyle, you take Ed and go down the right path, I'll take Meifa and check the center. Spike, take the one on the left. Check every door you come to but if it's another hallway ignore it and keep going. " The others turned and ran down the hallways they had been assigned without a word. Jet held back for a moment. "John…" John snapped of his thoughts and looked over at Jet. He had known that splitting up would help them search faster but with Skynet still loose that would also put everyone at risk. As desperately as he wanted to save Faye he wasn't going to sacrifice someone else to do it. "You stay here and wait. We can't risk you being farther away if one of us actually finds this thing. This way you're the same distance from any of us." John only nodded and without another word Jet and Meifa ran down their hallway, with John staring after them. The others had to know the risk of separating like this and the unlikelihood that John's miracle would actually work but all of them had done it with no objection. The only life that counted right now was Faye's, something everyone was willing to agree on.
"Quite the group we've got here isn't it?" He asked Faye quietly. In this day and age it was a rare thing to find people so unselfish, even policemen like himself and Kyle. Yet these people were willing to risk so much to help someone else. His thoughts were broken into as a whine answered the question. Looking down he saw that Ein had stayed behind and was standing next to him. Once he saw John was looking he stood on his hind legs, put his front paws on John's leg and gave an energetic bark. It was easy to interpret that, everyone would be doing all they could to help, even a little Welsh Corgi. "Thanks buddy. I'm sure she'll appreciate you pulling for her to." In response Ein let out a huff that seemed to be an amused 'Not likely'. An instant later his ears straightened and he looked towards the path Kyle and Ed had taken. John looked as well and then heard the distinct sound of bare feet slapping the ground at what sounded like a sprint. He immediately knew what that meant and started to turn towards the sound when Ed came bursting back into the intersection.
"Comeoncomeoncomeon-Edfoundmedicine-NeedtohelpFayeFaye-Quickquickquick!" She said, hopping up and down before turning around and running back down the hall. Despite the fact that she had somehow compressed three sentences into one word John was able to understand her perfectly and before she had even finished he was already running. Now that he had a fighting chance of helping Faye he could afford to take the risk of moving so fast. Ed didn't say anything and ran for all she was worth, John following only half a step behind, with Ein hot on both their heels. After taking several turns Ed grabbed his arm, being mindful not to hurt Faye, and started pulling him towards a door down a dead end hallway that was labeled simply 'Emergency Station'. "HEREHEREHERE!" She said and pushed the door open. She continued to pull him in and looking in the direction she was headed John was able to see Kyle talking into his communicator, and standing next to the Medkit they were looking for. Right now that simple box on the wall was the most beautiful thing John had ever seen.
"…go get him." Kyle was finishing as John and Ed came bursting in. For the moment John ignored him as he brought Faye over to the kit.
"How can Ed help? What should Ed do?" Ed asked, bouncing around John in a show of her eagerness to help. John immediately saw what she could do. The kit was too far off the ground to just set Faye on the floor and put her hand to it. He'd have to keep on holding her but with both his arms occupied he wouldn't be able to place her hand where it needed to be.
"Ed I want you grab Faye's hand and put it in that hole." John told her, nodding towards the hand outline as he adjusted his grip so the task would be made easier. "Press down on it real hard and once its in there don't take it out unless I tell you to." Not needing to be told twice Ed grabbed Faye's limp arm and pressed her hand where John had told her to. Ed didn't react when the machine gave a soft beep and a hiss but both she and Kyle blinked in surprise when it began making an ominous Hmmmm-chaaa sound. Even though it didn't sound that friendly Ed held Faye's hand in place like she was told.
"So is it working?" Kyle asked. John didn't answer, looking back and forth between Faye's face and the readout on the kit that dropped the longer her hand was against it. He saw no visible improvement as the reading went below 70% but told himself that her wounds were more serious then his had been, so it would take a lot more then he had needed. The readout dropped to 50%, then 40%. When it got below 30% and Faye still didn't improve he really began to worry, afraid that she was too far-gone for even this to work.
"You're not quitting on us." He growled softly to the unconscious form. "I'm not going let that happen. You mean too much to everyone so you had better not die or so help me I'm going to make you regret it!" He didn't expect her to just wake up after hearing that, but maybe if she could hear what he was saying it would help make her fight until the point she was able to. Looking up he saw the readout drop below 10% and the fear truly began to set in. If all that wasn't able help her…..
The readout hit zero and the machine gave an angry buzz before becoming silent. John stared at the 0% for several seconds before forcing himself to look down at Faye. She still hadn't moved but he saw some very encouraging things. She was taking deeper and slower breaths, and the color was coming back to her skin. He was also able to feel her heartbeat settling back into a steady rhythm, and it was becoming stronger by the second. She wasn't awake but she wasn't getting worse anymore either, and John let out a sigh of relief at that.
"How is she?" A voice from behind him asked. With a start John looked around and noticed everyone else was now in the room and looking at him expectantly. He had been so focused on Faye he hadn't even heard them come in. For that matter he realized that except for Ed he had forgotten that anyone else but himself and Faye were there. He'd been so concentrated on her that as far as he was concerned no one else existed for a few minutes.
"She's getting better." He answered after a moment of embarrassed silence. He could see the looks of relief on everyone's faces, even the poker faced Spike. "You can stop now Ed." He added as he turned back. Sure enough even though the counter had run out and the machine had become silent Ed still dutifully held Faye's hand in place. She let go and even though the arm still hung limply she seemed much less anxious then she had been a second ago.
"Faye Faye going to be in tip top shape now?" Ed asked hopefully. John realized he wasn't sure. He didn't know how much of Faye's injury the kit had repaired. For all he they knew it only stopped the bleeding and she still had a torn up shoulder ready to restart.
"We'll find out what that little treatment did first." Jet said as he approached the two of them. "Put her down John, we need to have a look at that shoulder." John didn't move and looked hesitantly at Faye. Jet could see that John was emotionally involved in this, every one of them could, which was why he was being so protective of Faye. But he also knew that with Faye out of immediate danger they could afford to be slower and more thorough in how they handled this. As carefully and gently as he could John set Faye on the floor, leaning her back on the wall. "I'll take the bandage off, you tell us if things have improved. Don't worry I'll put it back on if it's still bad." He assured John as he bent down to grab the bandage.
"Let's do this quick then." John said and Jet united the jacket tourniquet. He hissed when he saw blood start flowing from her shoulder but to his immense relief it was nowhere near as much as before. Even so it would be wisest to examine the wound as quickly as but as accurately as he could. "It's still bleeding a little." He told the others. He heard no verbal responses but Ed tried to work her way closer. Kyle grabbed her shoulder and gently pulled her back, not wanting her to see until they knew things would be all right. "Good news is there's a lot less damage. It's just a straight puncture wound now." Aside from Spike the others could only imagine what Skynet had done to her if a deep puncture wound was actually considered an improvement. Still nobody said anything as John looked at the back of her shoulder. "It's not all the way through anymore either."
"She won't be able to use that arm though." Jet added as he took a closer look. "She still needs to go to a hospital," He continued as he retied the jacket. " but if we keep it bandaged the bleeding should stop and if she doesn't make it any worse we'll be able to get her there." Of course that meant outmaneuvering Skynet and working their way through the base but those seemed a bit trivial compared to what had just happened. With all the thoughts racing through everyone's heads right now Kyle was the first to say something.
"You should be very proud of yourself Ed." He told the hacker as he let go of her shoulder. She then quickly moved over and crouched down next to John, looking to make sure for herself that Faye was all right. "You just saved her life." John looked up from up from Faye, over to Ed, then finally to Kyle with a questioning look. Both of them had helped save her….hadn't they? Kyle could guess what John was thinking and answered before he could ask. "I didn't see the turn that led down here the first time we ran through." He admitted, sounding ashamed of himself. "She did, saw the writing on the door and was fast enough to grab my belt before we got too much farther down the hall. She's the real hero here." He stated with pride. Looking back at Ed John could see just how happy and thankful she was that she had been able to help save Faye. Not really knowing what kind of words would be best to thank her for what she did he put one arm around her shoulder and pulled her into a light hug.
"Thank you punk kid sister." He said. That simple recognition seemed to be all Ed was looking for because as soon as he said it her eyes lit up. Before he could say anything else she threw her arms around him and gave him a strong hug in return, but being mindful to be careful of the cut she knew he had on his chest. Even though he was able to keep his balance and it didn't feel like his chest was caving in John still gave a startled 'ACK!' and almost feel over.
Things were improving on the higher levels but back in the canyon Skynet was still prowling, looking for any way to get back to hunting the humans. They were still in the base and he could tell they had an escape route planned, their movement had been too deliberate and well thought out to be just merely running for their lives. They knew precisely where they were going, and without the piece of himself in Jet's neck that let him track them there was a very high possibility that they could get back to their ship. That meant he had to get back inside and quickly if he was to stand any chance of catching them. So far the canyon he had fallen into had been only one of many connected by a winding naturally formed road. Aside from several buildings or outposts near the edge of the cliffs above he had seen no signs that the complex itself was connected in any way to the lower regions.
That was until finally, after what seemed like an eternity of fruitless searching he saw two very large metallic, obviously manmade, constructs sitting under a protective outcropping of rocks. Moving in closer he saw that they were in fact two backup generators, most likely used to make sure this section of the base could remain self-sufficient even in the case of the main power grid failing. The reason why they were here didn't matter to Skynet. What did matter was that you didn't build something this vital without easy access to it in case something went wrong. It only took a cursorily glance at the surrounding area for him to spot a maintenance access door. Walking up to Skynet forwent manually opening the door and simply punched through it with both hands at opposite sides, grabbed hold, and ripped the whole thing out of its frame. Tossing the heavy door aside like a piece of cardboard Skynet stalked back into the base. It would be a veritable maze inside but at least the hunt was on again.
Back in the emergency station things had taken a decidedly lighter tone then with Skynet, as John tried to deal with being on the receiving end of another one of Ed's bear hugs.
"All right all right!" He exclaimed, almost laughing, as he stood up and firmly separated himself from the hacker. "Just don't let it go to your head." He said as he ruffled her hair, knowing full well she wouldn't. "And make sure you show Faye how happy you are to see her when she wakes up." He said that partially because he wanted to see Faye's reaction, mostly because it would show just how much she meant to the people around her. But that statement also brought up something else. "Speaking of which…." He started, looking back down at Faye.
"We should try to wake her up here." Jet answered for him. "If this did for her what it did for you she'll be able to walk and run on her own." He knew that with the wounds John had gotten in the gate room he should not be in as good a shape as he appeared to be. If the Medkit had done that for him and healed Faye to a similar degree she should be able to move under her own power.
"I can still carry her." John offered. Jet shook his head.
"Not with Skynet still out there." He countered. "If he finds us and you're carrying her that means you'll both be the easiest targets of all of us. Even if she can't shoot you'll still be able to and at least be able to cover her while she's running." He added. That was enough to convince John.
"That makes sense." He admitted and turned to the others. "Anyone have any suggestions on how exactly we're going to wake her up?" He asked.
"We can tell her she just lost all the money she has." Kyle said as he stepped in closer. "You hear that Faye? We just decided to give all your money to Ed since you don't want it." Faye remained motionless.
"That's only going to work if she can hear us." Jet stated. "I'm not sure she can."
"If she could the money bit would have worked for sure." John agreed. "Guess the only thing we can do is physically shake her out of it."
"There's always the old bucket of water in the face routine." Spike suggested. There was bound to be a bathroom somewhere around here and there was a wastebasket at a nearby desk that would make a good bucket.
"Nothing that would loosen the bandage Spike." Jet told him. Getting the jacket even wetter would defiantly not be a good thing. "Besides, that's more to get some laughs then actually waking her up, isn't it?"
"Of course not." Spike replied. "It's equal parts of both." He deadpanned. There was a confused silence, the others not knowing if he was just trying to lighten the mood or if he was serious.
"Edward has just had brilliant brain surge!" Ed announced suddenly, making the entire group jump slightly. Not giving any explanation she dashed over to Ein, picked up the surprised little dog, and dashed back over to Faye. She then held Ein's face only an inch from Faye's. "Go on Ein. Say good morning to Faye Faye!" Ed encouraged. Understanding what Ed was trying for Ein began licking Faye's face, something that would have woken a person up normally and given Faye's feelings for the dog it should have worked even faster here. Unfortunately after several seconds the only thing Ein had done was mess up Faye's hair slightly. Seeing that he wasn't getting any reaction from her, not even an eye twitch, he stopped and looked back at Ed, giving an 'I'm sorry' whine. "That's okay Ein." She said, scratching him behind the ears. "Not your fault Faye Faye doesn't want to play right now."
"We're going to have to go with something more abrupt." Jet stated as he watched Ed and Ein's failed attempt. "If we can't bring her out of it gently we're going to have to shock her out of it."
"I hope you're not considering using Spike's idea." Kyle said.
"No I'm not." Jet assured him. "Whatever we decide to do needs to keep as much stress off that wound as possible."
"In that case I've got something that just might work." John said as moved over so he was standing over Faye's knees before crouching down. "And I'm probably going to regret it to." He added as he used his left hand to move Faye's head so she was 'looking' straight at him. The others just stood and watched, with varying degrees of amusement at seeing how this seemed to be going. Kyle was even about to make a crack about him taking the sleeping beauty route when John suddenly wound up with his right hand and slapped Faye across the face as hard as he could. Now everyone was staring at John with stunned and flabbergasted looks, even Ein and Spike. The fact that this wasn't what they were expecting was only a small part of it. First of all it seemed to go completely against John's nature. They never expected him to act that way, especially towards Faye. Second and most important was all those gathered, Meifa included, knew that if anyone ever dared to do something like that to Faye…..
Now John wasn't a stupid person. He knew what would happen when he did this. And he had absolutely no intention staying still and letting what he knew was coming happen. He thought he had a plan avoid it. He had already let go and started to move out of the way the instant he finished the slap. Unfortunately what he thought was going to happen and how it actually did were two very different things. He had barely even moved when Faye's fist shot forward, seemingly out of nowhere, and nailed him just below his eye. The fact that he had been moving was the only thing that kept his nose from being broken, but that didn't really feel like a plus right now. He felt his head twist around, almost feeling like it was about to spin off, then came the involuntary face first lunge and hard landing on the floor. He never lost consciousness but was so stunned by the punch he found himself unable to move. However the blow did provide significant enough force to rattle his brain slightly as the first thought he had after hitting the floor was…. (Where the hell did she get a sledgehammer?)
The others could only watch as things played out to their inevitable conclusion. Even if they wanted to interfere they didn't have time to do anything, and then there was the fact they didn't want to risk being on the receiving end of whatever happened. Sure enough Faye remained true to her nature, even unconscious, and nailed John with a punch so hard everyone winced at the sound when it landed. Even though he had been asking for it they couldn't help but feel sorry for John when the punch twisted him around, threw him backwards, and made him land face first on the floor. When he didn't even move for several seconds it began to look like now they had two people who were out cold to deal with. Ed, still holding Ein, and Meifa slowly moved over to John to make sure he was all right while the adults stayed back, not knowing how they were going to wake both of them up without risking bodily harm to anyone else. Fortunately Meifa's gentle shaking of John's shoulder was enough to snap him out of his punch drunk state, which he announced with a loud groan as he rolled over onto his back.
"Do me a favor." He said to no one in particular. "Don't let me try something that dumb ever again." He finished as he covered now bruised part of his face with his hand. Kyle, Spike, and even Jet had a smart remark ready for that one but before any of them could say something another groan that didn't come from John got their attention. Everyone looked over, with John raising his head as much as he could, and saw Faye, her head up and struggling to open her eyes. She finally managed to force them open and though they seemed a little bleary she was able to focus on what was going on in front of her. She looked around for a moment before trying to speak.
"Whuu hupin..?" She managed to force out after looking at the almost KO'd John and feeling the side of her face that he had slapped. She sounded incredibly hung over but the words were close enough to normal so they could be understood.
"I think you two just got engaged." Kyle remarked, looking back from John to Faye. John's only response was to groan again and roll his eyes but Faye shot Kyle the dirtiest look she could. The look was enough to make everyone feel a bit of relief. If she was being this combative she was definitely better then she had been. No one acted on that feeling of relief, until Ed promptly dropped Ein onto John's stomach and ran over to Faye. Ein let out a surprised yelp when he was dropped but he didn't have far to fall and did have a soft landing. The only thing that happened was an exchange of confused looks with John, who decided that one more indignity today wouldn't make much of a difference, before both of them looked over to the increasingly loud commotion.
"Cuut it owt Ed!" Faye tried to shout as she struggled to get out of the death grip of a hug Ed had around her neck.
"Faye Faye was sick but all better now!" Ed exclaimed, not hearing Faye's protest. "Can now play with Ed as much as Ed wants!" She proclaimed and tightened her hug. That phrase only made Faye intensify her attempts to get away from the hyperactive girl. She managed to get her good hand on top of Ed's head and tried desperately to push her off.
"Ed let go of me!" She yelled, her speech becoming clearer the more she struggled. Ed again paid her words no heed. "I said let go!"
"But Ed hasn't told you what fun things Ed wants to do!" Ed protested. That did it.
"Get off me you little brat!" Faye shouted and started pushing as hard as she could. For a second nobody could tell who would actually win this thing when, slowly but surely, Faye began pushing Ed away from her. Eventually Faye's longer reach forced Ed to let go but to Faye's surprise once her grip was broken Ed didn't try to latch back onto her. As a matter of fact she actually stepped back a few feet and gave Faye one of her thousand watt smiles, looking very proud of herself. Faye was about to ask what the hell she found so funny when she suddenly remembered she had a bigger audience then just Ed. Looking around she saw that everyone, even John despite having his bell rung, was smiling at her. "WHAT?" She demanded.
"Cranky, bad attitude, hates other people even when they're concerned about her…." Spike started.
"That's the Faye we all know and love." John finished. In addition to showing just how glad she was that Faye was all right Ed's antics had 'woken her up' faster then anything the others could have thought of. Well anything that wasn't drastic or put themselves at risk. Faye glared at the lot of them and leaned forward to give them a very large piece of her mind when her she hissed and grabbed her shoulder. The smiles disappeared at that.
"Your shoulder might not be as bad as it was but you've still got a serious injury there." Jet told her as he rechecked the jacket. Ed had been careful not to touch it during her little wake up routine but Faye might have unknowingly just pulled it loose.
"I didn't notice." Faye hissed sarcastically. The pain did make her realize, for the first time, that she was alive when she knew she shouldn't be. "What happened?" She asked. "The last thing I remember was Skynet taking a swan dive off the cliff, then John was looking at me, then…." She trailed off.
"To make a long story short." Jet told her as he finished checking he wound. "Spike tied this on you, then John picked you up and carried you inside. He was able to convince us that his doctor in a box," He glanced at the depleted Medkit. "was real and whatever was in it would be able to save your sorry ass. Ed found one before it was too late but even then we almost lost you."
"Which means you owe the two of them." Kyle stated. "Big time." Faye looked from John over to Ed, who was now smiling even bigger then before.
"Maybe I should have just thrown myself off the cliff." Faye sighed as she leaned back. Of course Kyle was right and while she could probably count on John not wanting anything in return she did not even want to contemplate what 'owing' Ed might entail. To keep her mind off that unpleasant thought she looked up to take a closer look at the device that had just saved her skin. "So what exactly was in that?" She asked, looking over at John, who had yet to fully sit up. Half was out of genuine curiosity, half was wanting to make everyone wanting to focus on something other then her needing to be saved. That feeling disappeared and a new sinking feeling took its place as John suddenly became sheepish at the question.
"Well to tell the truth…" He began lamely. The response was immediate
"YOU DON'T KNOW?" Faye exploded. "You just pumped me full of something and you don't even know what the hell it is?"
"I didn't exactly have time to run any tests while you were bleeding out!" John shot back.
"You could still have done something worse!" Faye shouted. "For all you know this could only be temporary and I'll be dead in twenty minutes!" She screeched… and regretted the words the instant they were out of her mouth. The room became quiet and before she could think of anything else that might make up for what she just said John spoke up.
"If that's the case then you're going to have company when you drop dead." He said flatly. Faye winced and flushed slightly in embarrassment. Everyone had just gone through all that trying to help her and how did she show her appreciation? By accusing the one that had actually saved her of trying to hurt her. Yes she had punched him out to but that was out of pure reflex. It was only after he said that Faye was able to realize after being carved up by Skynet John would have to have used one of those Medkits himself to even get here in the first place. He would never have used anything on her if he even suspected it would be harmful, she knew that, and probably would have hesitated to use the unknown Medkit if he hadn't used it himself and suffered no ill effects. Unfortunately thirty-second later hindsight did not make up for spur of the moment stupidity. She didn't know what she could say that wouldn't make her feel like an even bigger idiot, or worse, ungrateful bitch. To her surprise it was Spike, of all people, who came up with an out for her on this one.
"We could just ask MPU what's in it." He suggested. "If he knows everything about this place he should know that." He thought it was a fairly obvious solution but before anyone else was able voice their agreement they heard a surprised squawk and turned just in time to see Ed tearing out the door as fast as she could. They all stared after her in confusion for a second before realizing something. Ed had not been carrying Tomato and a quick look around the room they were in showed no sign of the computer anywhere. While they were all amazed that Ed would just forget her most prized possession like that they came to the realization that if there was one thing that would make her forget it would be what just happened to Faye. It also led John to another realization, one that made him groan even louder and lay his head back down on the floor with an audible 'Thunk'.
"You all right John?" Jet asked, thinking that Faye may have done more damage then they thought.
"If he knows what's in them he'll know where they are to." John answered simply. The others only looked at him for a moment, the meaning setting in.
"That means we could have…" Meifa started weakly.
"Oh brother." Kyle muttered, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
"Guess we really proved how useful we are didn't we?" Spike asked, half smiling at their universal case of stupidity.
"How did we miss something like that?" Jet added.
"Nothing like panic to make you miss the completely obvious." John quoted Jet.
"So you could have made this a lot easier on yourselves if you had just asked MPU where the closest one of these were…" Faye asked, jerking her thumb at the empty kit. "Instead of just running around like a bunch of loonies?" She finished. None of the others answered, too embarrassed, or in Spike's case too amused, by what had just happened. Even Ein had his head down and ears drooped after realizing it was something he should have thought of to. Sure he wouldn't be able to get anyone to understand him quickly enough but even still he should have thought of it. Faye just shook her head and sighed. All of them had been so worried about her that they had temporarily lost almost every bit of their common sense. "Idiots." She said, though with more affection then she normally would have put into the phrase.
Several floors away from them Skynet continued to work his way through the base's layout, leaving a trail of mangled and smashed in doors in his wake. The more locked doors and barricades he encountered the angrier he became. They were only slowing him down further, and he didn't have time for such niceties like hacking the locks, or even using the door handles for that matter. Back on the cliff he was able to kill one of the child's companions, but he had missed his best chance to finally kill Radical Edward himself. That was really what grated on him. This should have been over long ago, with the hacker eviscerated and dead, but still they had managed to elude him. He had them cornered like the rats they were and still they managed to get away. With a loss yes but managing to get away. It was not supposed to be this difficult. Even with most of his power stripped away he was still far superior to any of the humans he was tracking, to any human that ever was or will ever be born. Still they were able to confound his best efforts time and again. The more he thought about it the more savage he actions had become. As a result where the first several doors he had destroyed had merely been knocked or ripped off their hinges now they were starting to look like that had been torn to shreds by a wild animal. The only positive thing he could see in his present situation was what he was doing to the doors was a warm up to what he would do to Radical Edward when he was finally caught.
His internal musings were put on hold as he noticed he had arrived at an entrance for one of the more secure areas in this section of the base. The door was larger and more heavily protected then the others but nothing he wouldn't be able to get through. What was more important was the security station that stood off to the side of the door. Looking through a thick bulletproof pane of glass he saw that true to the nature of the base and what it contained this checkpoint had a rack of guns, specifically MP5s, lining one of the walls ready should there ever be a breach. Again forgoing subtlety Skynet simply hit the reinforced glass, and shattered it with a single punch. Climbing inside the checkpoint he walked over to the gun rack and grabbed a weapon while scanning the room for the ammo storage. There was a large padlocked strongbox in the corner that wasn't labeled as such but it was the most logical place. Snapping the lock off was easy enough and opening the lid he saw he had guessed correctly. Doing a quick count he was able to see that there were three clips for each of the four guns that were in the rack. Unlike a normal human he'd be able to carry all the clips effortlessly. Six hundred bullets, he decided with a sadistic smirk, would be more then enough to kill five humans.
"Don't pull it too tight!" Faye exclaimed as Meifa tightened the ammo belt that was now cradling her left arm. "My shoulder is going to pop out at this rate!"
Back up in the emergency station the danger of the situation had come back along with the urgency to get back to the Bebop and away from here. As it was they kept MPU's explanation of the Medkits down to one simple question. Barring some future trauma would it keep John and Faye's injuries as they were now? The answer had been yes and that was all they needed to know for the time being. The second problem was Faye's actual injury. Jet had been correct in stating that her left arm was now useless. She had feeling and could clench a fist but that was the extent of it. She needed support for that arm but after looking around they found that this station was only meant to stabilize people before transporting them to the hospital wing because other then some rudimentary bandages and gauze strips there was nothing in the way of medical supplies. They were also running low on clothing that could be ripped up and were considering cutting up Kyle's armored vest and using strips of the Kevlar from it.
It was Meifa that hit on the idea of using one of the ammo belts. While Faye could still fire and even reload her Glock one handed her using anything other then a handgun was now out of the question. That in turn made one of her ammo belts, loaded with shotgun shells, more or less useless. Meifa had figured out that if the belt couldn't be used for its intended purpose it might a well be put to good use doing something else. Everyone else agreed and once the belt had been emptied with its contents divided up between John and Spike came the simple task of fashioning it into a sling. Well not so simple as one might think. Faye could slip her arm through the loop but the strap itself would need to be adjusted by a second person so it wouldn't dig, or worse cut, into her good shoulder. Said person would also need to make sure the strap wasn't constricting around the front of her either. Given Faye's …dimensions …constriction was a foregone conclusion. Along with the almost comic possibility of her arm actually loosing circulation when it would be hanging loosely on anyone else. That meant the second person adjusting the strap coming into contact with certain 'areas' causing the constriction to loosen both it and her arm. Areas that no one had, or probably ever would, have permission to touch. If that happened, even if purely by accident, it would guarantee serious, if not permanent, bodily injury for the person in question. None of the guys were stupid enough to take that risk, not even the near concussed John. Ed and Meifa had both volunteered for the job and since Faye was certain that Ed would try some kind of shenanigans she decided Meifa would be best suited for this. That was before it felt like she was going to squeeze her good shoulder out of its socket.
"Jet said it needed to be tight so your arm wouldn't come loose." Meifa answered simply. It wasn't a forceful tone but it was one that said it would book no argument. Meifa knew she needed to do what was best for Faye, whether her cranky 'patient' liked it or not. She tightened the belt a little more then buckled it. "Does your arm feel all right?" She asked when she was finished.
"Just great." Faye said flatly. She was glad she had made everyone else leave the room before she got 'fitted' for this. They wouldn't have technically seen anything but…. The fact that her useless arm was now acting like a push up bra combined with the pressure the belt was putting on her shirt would have gotten her at least one snide remark from the guys or some dumb ones from Ed that she did not need to hear right now. They'd also look, then most likely gawk, even if it was just curiosity on how it turned out. While she normally didn't mind showing off the helplessness she now felt made it feel forced, and that feeling of not being in control did not sit well with her.
"Are you sure?" Meifa asked, not sure if she was being sincere along with grumpy.
"Yes the arm feels fine." Faye answered, realizing that honesty would get this over faster. "But I'm not kidding about my shoulder. It feels like something is digging into it near the top." Looking where Faye and described Meifa did see that the belt had partially twisted over itself on her back near the top of her shoulder. Not wanting to have to re-strap the belt and have it get tangled somewhere else she grabbed the section and tried to twist it back. Faye hissed in response.
"Sorry." Meifa apologized as she worked at the twist, which was proving to be stubborn. "You know you're very lucky." She said, hoping conversation would keep Faye's mind off what was going on.
"One in a billion shot that a gizmo like this was here." Faye agreed, glancing over to the Medkit.
"Not just that." Meifa replied. "You're lucky to have people around you that care so much." Faye let out a dismissive snort.
"Sorry kid but if there's one thing I've learned in life is that people don't actually 'care' about someone like me." She said as she fell back on her old standby, deny, deny, DENY. "Yeah there might be good people out there but they do it because they think it's the right thing, not because they care about me personally. With all the things I've done I'm not the type person anyone would consider worth saving."
"Of course you're worth saving." Meifa told her bluntly. "You're a good person, and you care about the people around you. If you weren't you wouldn't have stayed back on the cliff and made us keep going."
"It's called a temporary lapse in sanity." Faye retorted. "It's not exactly smart to throw your life away for people who don't really give a damn about you."
"If that was really true and you did it anyway it shows how good of a person you are." Meifa responded in kind. Faye opened her mouth to give another rebuttal but realized that no matter how she responded she couldn't prove Meifa wrong. "And it's not true. Every one of them cares about you, even if it is in their own way."
"Only as an obligation." Faye grumbled, trying to salvage the argument.
"That's not true either." Meifa answered. "Ed cares and she doesn't consider it an obligation."
"Because she's a kid and doesn't know any better." Faye almost snapped, getting tired of being outmaneuvered in this conversation.
"And what about John?" Meifa asked with a smile Faye could hear.
"It's the same thing as Kyle and Jet. It's his job to be concerned for other people." Faye replied, hoping she didn't answer that too quickly. She hadn't and it might have fooled most people but Meifa knew that wasn't what she thought.
"You don't really believe that." She stated. "Even if you did believe it, you really don't want to." She amended and she finally undid the twist in the belt. Faye let out a grunt of relief then turned to look at Meifa.
"And just what makes you think that?" She asked, annoyed that Meifa was delving into her personal business. Even more so that she was being so perceptive about it.
"When John and Jet were involved in that fight in the room with the astral gate." Meifa began. "After he went through, when we thought he would die, all of us were hurt by the thought of losing him. But you.." She paused and gave Faye a poignant look. "I could see that the hurt you felt was much worse, that you had just lost someone very important to you."
"John's important to all of us." Faye responded as she looked down slightly, knowing how weak her argument was.
"He is." Meifa agreed. "But more so to you. You just didn't realize it until that moment." As Faye tried to think of something to say that wouldn't sound like admitting the truth Meifa continued. "Neither did he." Now Faye looked back up at her in confusion. "When he brought you here he had the energy of someone very frightened, but not of someone afraid for themselves. He was afraid he was about to lose someone very important to him." Faye didn't know how to respond. Yes both she and John had become close during the time they had known each other, loath as she was to admit it to anyone. It looked like neither one of them knew just how close until today. She guessed that meant the old saying was true, you really didn't know you had until you lost it.
"Takes all kinds." Faye finally said, realizing that they had been lucky enough that the phrase had turned to 'almost lost it' for the both of them. She also realized something else, to her embarrassment. She was being given a heart-to-heart talk by someone not that much older then Ed! "And since when did you become my psychiatrist!" She protested loudly as she stood up. "Like kids know about that kind of stuff!" She said as she moved towards the door. The conversation was now over and though there were holes shot through her denials she had never admitted anything either. As far as Faye was concerned that was a win for her. Meifa didn't say anything in response but just smiled, knowing that despite the attitude she was now getting she had gotten through to the older woman.
As Faye opened the door two thoughts were racing through her head. One was the hope that Meifa would keep their conversation a secret. If there was one thing she didn't want it was to give the others blackmail material, even if by accident. Second was the conclusion that being insightful beyond your years was highly overrated. Especially if you were on the receiving end of that insight, which was really damn embarrassing.
In the hallway Faye saw Jet and Spike leaning up against the walls, waiting patiently, while John hand Kyle were looking at a larger version of MPU's map on Tomato's screen with Ed. Everyone turned towards her when the door opened but there were no remarks as Faye expected and they were all looking at her face. Whether they were doing it out of courtesy or fear Faye didn't know but she didn't question it.
"Everything good to go?" Jet asked as Faye and Meifa stepped into the hallway.
"As good as it's going to get." Faye groused and looked at the strap going over her shoulder.
"Then let's get going." Jet said, ignoring Faye's complaining. To spread out their firepower as efficiently as possible John and Kyle took the lead while Spike and Jet brought up the rear. Faye was grumbling about having to be 'protected' along with Ed and Meifa but there was no way they would put her in the line of fire in her condition.
"Well John did offer to carry you all the way back." Kyle told her when they stopped for a minute to check the map. Faye growled at the remark. "Yeah we kind of figured you'd think that. It wouldn't have been too good if you woke up and tried to bite his face off instead of just decking him."
"Not that getting a few more scars would be that noticeable." John put in, gesturing to the bandage line across his face and ignoring the large bruise she had given him. "It wouldn't have been worth the effort to lug her around anyway."
"What do you mean lug me around?" Faye snapped. While she wasn't that much shorter then John she weighed quite a bit less then he did. If there was one thing she wasn't going to let him get away with it was calling her fat.
"Well…." John started. Moving over to Faye he leaned in close to her ear and used his hand to cover his mouth so the others wouldn't be able to read his lips. Faye surprised herself by not flinching away from John and the only thing she did was listen. The only thing until a couple of muffled sentences later she inhaled sharply and turned bright red. She turned and glared at John, who calmly stood back. "What?" He asked in as innocent a voice as he could manage. It didn't take long for Faye to respond and unlike last time John was able to dodge the punch she threw at him. "Was it something I said?" He asked her dumbly. Faye stumbled with the missed punch but quickly regained her footing and wound up to throw another when Kyle stepped in and grabbed her wrist.
"As much as he probably deserves that." He stated, though looking as amused at her reaction as John was. "We might need him later so it's probably best if he stays conscious. I'm sure you'll have plenty of chances to beat him senseless when this is over." Faye glared at him, over to John then back to Kyle.
"Fine." She spat and yanked her arm out of Kyle's grip. She glared at John, still red in the face, but didn't take another swing at him. "Ass." She muttered under her breath.
"You'd think he'd learn." Jet remarked as he watched things unfold in front of him. After Kyle managed to keep Faye from killing John he turned to Spike. "You want odds on how badly he's going to come out of this one once she gets around to it?" He asked.
"Oh I think he's going to come out of it all right." Spike casually answered. Jet gave him a questioning look. "After what he said he probably doesn't have that much to worry about."
"You were able to hear what he said?" Jet asked. John had only been close to Faye when he dropped his voice but even in the tight confines of the hall hearing what he actually said was impossible. Jet thought it was impossible anyway. Then came the fact that despite the reaction Faye had Spike said that John would be all right. He had a good deal of skepticism about 'that' one but instead of explaining Spike only shook his head in response.
"I only managed to make out three words but trust me, they're more then enough." He replied.
"So what were they?" Jet asked, his curiosity now getting the better of him.
"Not here." Spike answered. "That would be bad." Was the only explanation he gave. Jet raised an eyebrow in response but didn't say anything. Figuring that he would get full details later he dropped the subject. He looked at the other three members of their group to see how they were reacting to the latest weird antics. Ed watched with her usual enthusiasm with things wild and chaotic, as well as the adults acting silly. Ein was sitting on the floor silently watching, and while it was hard to tell with a dog it looked like he was grinning from ear to ear. Jet couldn't understand why the Corgi looked so amused when he realized that with those ears he probably heard everything John had said. That made Jet even more curious as to what Spike had managed to catch. Meifa's reaction was the most surprising, because there was almost none at all. That was because while she hadn't heard what John had said she understood why completely. He wanted to keep her mind off how bad things were, not hurt her feelings. If she was angry at him she wouldn't have time to think about her shoulder or the situation they were in. He wasn't teasing her because he was mean; he was teasing her because he liked her. They walked in silence for several minutes before Ed decided to break the tension and walked up to John.
"Did John person mean what he said about Ed being his sister?" She asked.
"Of course I did." John answered. "Since the two of us met your little group," He nodded towards Kyle. "you've been like the sister we never had."
"Or wanted." Spike put in with a smirk before either Kyle or Ed could say anything.
"Oh I don't know about that." Kyle responded. "I wouldn't have minded having a little sister like her. My childhood would have been a lot more interesting with someone like her around."
"Childhood?" John joked. "Our lives are a lot more interesting now with her around. If the three of us had been kids together we'd both be as nuts as she is."
"Now there's a scary thought." Faye put in with what may or may not have been a fake shudder. "Three Ed's."
"One little Ed is fun fun fun but for the best time ever experience Ed in loud and wild 3D!" Ed proclaimed as she grabbed John and Kyle by their arms and hoisted herself off the ground. "100% guarantee of satisfaction or Ed will just have to try harder!" She promised, oblivious to the fact she had almost made John and Kyle fall over from the sudden extra weight.
"And that she'll leave none of your nerves or sanity intact." Spike finished, still smirking.
"Well how else is Ed going to be the best Ed can be?" Ed asked as if it was the simplest question in the world. Not waiting for an answer she looked back up at Kyle. "Kyle person and John person will not regret having Ed for a little sister. Never never!" She declared as she started swinging herself between the two of them. The whole time she managed to keep Tomato perfectly balanced on her head as easily as if it was just a hat she had on. As the two of them tried to keep their own balance while still walking Kyle glanced up at John.
"Just so you know I'm holding you responsible for whatever happens from here on out." He promised in an accusing tone.
"You can't blame him for this one Kyle." Jet said from behind them. Looking back the three of them saw he had a knowing smirk of his own. "Can't really blame yourself either. The second either one of you set foot on the ship she adopted you." The two of them considered it for a second before looking back down at Ed, who was giving them a beaming smile.
"Good gravy he's right." John remarked, sounding like a man that just found out he had seconds to live.
"We were in over our heads from the start." Kyle added in similarly defeated tone.
"No one can ever out fool the fooling Ed!" Ed stated proudly as she stopped swinging and put her feet on the floor. She let Kyle and John get a couple of steps ahead of her (they were the leaders right now after all) and followed quietly behind, still with a large smile. The two looked back, shook their heads and continued forward with small smiles of their own.
Several floors below them Skynet was now moving at a frantic pace. After several minutes of hard running he had finally found a way up to the higher levels. It wasn't an elevator but a stairwell, which actually would work to his advantage at this point. He put his ear against the door at each landing, listened very carefully for a few moments then ran up another flight of stairs to the next floor before repeating the process. After stopping at several levels he finally got what he was searching for, the sound of voices. An evil smile started spreading across his face. He had finally caught up to them, now he had a couple of options. He could open the door and confront the humans head on, but they would no doubt hear the door opening and be ready for him. Charging headlong into a fight with this group had ended in less then ideal results every time so a change of plan was in order. But he couldn't wait for all of them to move past him and attack them from behind either. He didn't know the layout of this level and they could be on an elevator or transit car, thereby out of his reach, by the time he was sure they had all gone past.
That left him with a third and final option. This one would guarantee him the element of surprise, and increased the chances of killing his intended target exponentially. The only problem was it all depended on the door he was now hiding behind. Pressing on it with his empty hand he noticed a considerable amount of give in the metal. Now he really did have a reason to smile. Unlike the armored doors he had encountered before it appeared that the ones in the stairwells were of a more basic design. Made out of metal that was light, thin, and most importantly, far weaker then any of the security doors. Even the normally underpowered pistol ammunition in his MP5 would pass through it and out the other side with no problem. More importantly they would do it without losing that much of their velocity or deviation from the trajectory they had been fired from. Now sure of his plan Skynet brought his weapon to his shoulder and waited, listening as the voices came closer along with footsteps. His advanced hearing allowed him to calculate when someone was passing in front of the door and all he had to do was wait for one very talkative hacker to give him the signal he needed.
"That's because if it wasn't for Ed Bebop Bebop would be dull dull dull!" He heard Radical Edward exclaim. That was all he needed. Shifting his stance slightly he crouched down so the gun would be level with where the child's head should be and squeezed the trigger.