Out of the Past: Old Ghosts and New Enemies

by metgear5

With the supercomputer Skynet destroyed the world seems to have gotten back to normal. But the Bebop crew soon learns that an evil like Skynet always leaves a legacy behind.

12. Seperation

Chapter 12: Separation

"So are we anywhere close to where we're supposed to be?" John asked as he glanced warily down yet another hallway that wasn't part of the route they were taking. The maze like set up of this area of the base offered plenty of opportunities for an ambush. One winding corridor would trap them but at least then they'd know from what direction the attack was coming. The fact they had absolutely no idea where Skynet was only added to the tension that had been steadily been building up over the last few minutes.

"Not really." Kyle answered as he looked at the map displayed on his communicator. "There are a few more turns we need to take and then an elevator ride up to another level. After that….more walking." He finished.

"Great, so we get to starve to death before Skynet ever finds us." Faye said grumpily.

"You're not the only one who hasn't eaten lately Faye." Jet told her. "If the rest of us can stand it so can you." He added sternly. Faye responded with a huff and looked at the wall.

"It hasn't been that long since any of us ate." Kyle added. "You can't be that hungry now can you?" He asked. Spike and Jet let out a short laugh and were about to tell just how much food Faye cost them when Faye answered for herself. It was actually an involuntarily answer as at that moment her stomach decided to let out a loud gurgling growl. It was so loud it almost sounded aggressive, making everyone stop in their tracks and turn around to make sure that sound had come from a person. Sure enough they saw a frowning, slightly red in the face Faye glaring at them. Knowing that it was as much a result of her wounds and using the Medkit as much as not eating John decided to save her further embarrassment by asking Ed his next question before anyone could break out laughing at Faye.

"Did you bring another animal along you didn't tell anyone about?" He asked her in the tone of an adult who had just caught a child doing something they weren't supposed to red-handed.

"Yep yep!" She confirmed enthusiastically with no hesitation. "Ed caught cute little Mousey on Bebop Bebop and kept him verrrrrry secret." That was all John had needed but without being prompted Ed continued. "Ed and Ein take very good care of Mousey. Ein even teach Mousey to growl just like Ein can." Ein glanced up at her with a look that said 'Why are you involving me in this?' but Ed ignored it as she seemed to realize something very important. "FAYE FAYE HAS EATEN ED'S NEW BEST FRIEND!" She shrieked accusingly and pointed at Faye's stomach with a look of mock horror that was replaced by one of her large smiles as Faye's eye began to twitch. Now the others were laughing and Faye glared at John for getting Ed started in the first place. John shrugged his shoulders in a helpless manner before Kyle decided to give him a hand.

"In that case we'd better get moving before she decides to eat you and Ein next Ed." He warned. In perfect unison both Ed and Ein gave terrified 'Yipes!' before running behind Kyle for protection, Ein's reaction being a bit less fake then Ed's.

"Ed is not good for eating!" Ed protested as she stuck her head out and tugged on Kyle's hand to get him moving. "Ed is just skin and bones!" At Kyle's feet Ein gave several loud barks, apparently explaining why he shouldn't be eaten either.

"Good arguments but we'd better get away from her quick." Kyle said as he began to let himself be dragged along at Ed's insistence. Faye was still glaring at John as he quickly moved to catch up with the two but looking around she saw everyone was now focused on Ed's antics, not her. She was going to hear more about this before they got back to the Bebop but now at least only part of the attention was on her. Still….

"How can one little kid be that damn annoying?" She growled mostly to herself but loud enough for everyone to hear.

"By knowing just what buttons to push, same as any annoying little kid. Only difference is when this kid pushes the buttons for some reason your ship becomes complete and utter chaos." John answered as they approached another T-junction. The map said to turn left but the three stopped so the others had a chance to catch up. John and Kyle facing the direction they were to go, Ed standing behind them.

"That's because if it wasn't for Ed Bebop Bebop would be dull dull dull!" Ed proudly proclaimed.

John and Kyle smiled at the remark but Ein had a very different reaction. His ears perked up as he heard a strange, but very soft scraping sound coming from being the door to their right. All it took was half a sniff and he let out a shrill, ear splitting bark. Kyle and John both knew Ein would never bark like that for no reason and after taking only a very fleeting glace at him to see which direction he was looking they immediately started to move. John began to bring up his shotgun but Kyle was even faster, grabbing Ed, turning around so he was directly between her and whatever was behind that door, and hunching over her protectively so no part of her was exposed. If he had been any slower she would have died, being behind the two of them and wide open to whatever was coming. But being around the Bebop crew he had learned to act and not think when he heard anything that sounded like a warning. Because of this when the torrent of bullets came streaming out the door his armored back was the only thing they would be able to hit.

John had barely gotten his shotgun up when bullets started punching their way through the access door that said it led to stairs. His first instinct was to jump in front of Ed to keep her from being hit but he saw that Kyle had already done so much more efficiently then he could. Since he couldn't defend that left one option, attack. He couldn't see his target through the metal door but that wasn't exactly a deterrent and he began pumping shells into as many different spots on the door as he could, making his way towards the slight cover the archway that lead to the path ahead of them provided. He wasn't sure if he hit anything with the first couple but they did tear large holes in the door and the glimpses of an ISSP uniform and hair told him to aim low and to the center with the next several. He saw movement and the bullets started to arch upwards into the ceiling before stopping completely. Unsure of whether Skynet was actually down or just reloading John turned towards Kyle to tell him to get moving but the other ISSP officer had already run past him.

Kyle had fully expected to be hit the instant he shielded Ed, even with his vest. His plan had entailed protecting Ed long enough for Skynet to be driven off or run out of ammo, then make sure she got to the others before the robot could recover. Of course the odds were that he'd be lying on the floor dead or bleeding out from a wildly fired bullet but Skynet apparently had decided precision and volume of bullets was more important then area of fire. It felt like his back was on the receiving end of jackhammer as every bullet strike he felt was in the same general area, and that was disconcerting at the same time. The vest was old and any second he expected to hear a wet thwack instead of the uncountable dull thuds he was hearing and feeling now. He really got a sinking feeling when he felt the thuds work their way up his back, certain he was about to take one to the head. Instead he heard bullets crashing into the ceiling and an instant later he heard the gunfire coming from Skynet's direction cease. It might be a trick but only one thought was going through his head now that the lead had stopped flying at them…..RUN! The direction they were supposed to go in was just one long straight corridor, so was the way they had come. He could see that the hallway ahead of them curved to the left so that left him with only one option. Picking Ed up and making sure no part of her was exposed to any more gunfire he sprinted past John and down the unknown path.

When Ein had let out his shrill bark the others had gone for their weapons but that was as far as they got before the shit hit the fan. Kyle had shielded Ed a split second before the telltale ZZZIIIIPPP of a fully automatic weapon firing sounded from their right. As John returned fire Jet grabbed Meifa by the shoulder and pulled her behind him while Spike and Faye aimed their weapons. Before he could tell either of them to stay put or move to cover Kyle the gunfire abruptly stopped and without any warning Kyle picked Ed up and headed down the center hallway. After firing the last of his shells John turned and ran after them.

"GET…!" Jet started to say when a loud crash came from the direction the gunfire had come from, followed by what was left of a metal door skidding along the floor, accompanied by a shower of sparks. Skynet came running after it, his weapon raised and pointed at them. All three of them fired at once, Faye flattening herself against the wall as best she could, Spike diving to the ground and Jet moving backwards, guiding Meifa towards an office they had passed that was only several feet behind them. Skynet took a more basic approach, waving the gun around keeping the trigger pulled. Everybody knew blind fire when they saw it but the didn't mean that Skynet couldn't get lucky. Using his own body as a battering ram Jet knocked the door to the office open and pushed Meifa inside before taking up a firing position similar to what John had used, keeping only his arm and as little of his head possible in sight. Spike fired from his prone position on the floor and even though Faye was the most vulnerable she didn't budge but crouched low and took use of her new Glock's burst capability, empting all seventeen rounds into Skynet in less then two seconds.

Skynet could have killed all of them easily in such close quarters but there wasn't time, not when Radical Edward was so close. He needed to pursue him as soon as possible unless he wanted to loose him again, probably for good. Because of that he had and resorted to firing long but wild and sweeping uncontrolled bursts in the humans' general direction. Their return fire was much more accurate but it did not impede his movements or come close to making him stop backing down the hallway his quarry had just escaped into. When he came to the turn he spared one glance down it, seeing only a shut door, fired one last burst at the humans to keep their heads down, then turned and ran full speed at the door.

"So we have any idea where we're going?" John asked as he ran after Kyle while reloading his shotgun.

"Not a clue." Came Kyle's response, not bothering to turn around as he ran with Ed through a doorway not that far from the turn they had just taken.

"Just thought I'd ask." John said as he pumped a fresh round into his weapon's chamber. After passing through the doorway he closed it and forgoing any fancy locking codes he just pointed his gun and blasted the control panel to bits before turning and running after the others. "It's funny." He added as he caught up to them. "A couple of months ago I would have considered that answer to be a bad thing."

"I guess that means we really are beyond all hope." Kyle responded as they went through another door. Despite the very close call they had all just had the two of them were acting way too calm, which Kyle hoped was only because they were so focused on what they were doing they literally didn't have time to be scared.

"Another satisfied customer thanks to the services of Bebop Bebop and the exceptional ED!" Ed chirped, still sounding bright and cheerful even after almost getting shot. Well there was one vote for insanity. And if there was anyone they knew that was an expert on the subject it would be Ed. Kyle was starting to question why he was thinking that when someone was trying to kill them when a second blast from John's shotgun brought him back to the here and now. Just running blindly was going to get them nowhere, they needed to make some sort of plan, and fast. He stopped and turned around, allowing John to catch up to them before he started running again.

"Those won't hold him for long." He stated as the hallway made another turn.

"I know." John answered. "But what else are we going to do?"

"Wish I knew." Kyle replied grimly as they came to a third door. Passing through it Kyle decided to stop and take stock of their situation and surroundings. So far they had only passed three offices and a broom closet so they couldn't count on distractions slowing Skynet down for long, if he even stopped at all. After applying his buckshot deadbolt to the door's control panel John turned around and could tell by the look on his friend's face they needed to come up with something, fast. Looking around they say that this the hallway had turned into a straight corridor, no doors or branching hallways. But….

"Think that would work?" He asked, nodding towards what he had spotted. Kyle followed his gaze and saw he was looking at a midsize ventilation grate halfway up the wall. He immediately knew what John was thinking.

"If we don't make it too obvious it should." He said and John went to work without another word, putting down his shotgun and pulling on the grate. He could have just yanked it off but if he damaged it Skynet might notice it. Or worse, it would fall to the ground and more less announce 'There's someone in here!' It took a second but he got it to come off and stepped aside.

"Time for Ed and friends to get real sneaky on Big Brain?" Ed asked excitedly as Kyle brought her over and put her inside the vent.

"Not quite. We're too big to fit." Kyle told her as he made sure she scooted a fair distance into the dark. It wasn't quite true but there wouldn't room for them be able to use their weapons. At least Ed would be able to run if the worst happened. "But you're going to stay right here while we keep going and make sure he goes on a nice long wild goose chase. In the mean time you don't make any noise, don't even turn your computer on, and you don't move until after he runs by here and you're sure he's not coming back. That will make him look really stupid. Can you do that?" Ed smiled and nodded her head enthusiastically at the thought. Kyle could barely see it but knew she understood. "Good. Now here's the important part. Once he goes by and you're sure it's safe you're going to go back to Jet and the others. You are not going to come after us. You need to tell them that they're not going to either. " Even though neither of them could see it they knew her face fell at that.

"But Ed..." She started.

"No buts." John told her gently but sternly. "What's important is that you get away, and you don't have to worry about us. We'll catch up to you later." Ed didn't say anything but he could tell she was trying to come up with an excuse not to listen. "You're not going to disobey your big brothers now are you?" He asked.

"Ed will stay and be as quiet as Mousey before Faye Faye ate him." Ed promised, though not quite as excited as she had been a second ago.

"Knew we could count on you Ed. We'll be back in a little while." John promised her as he set the grate back on and banged it into place. After giving a slight tug to make sure it wasn't coming off he picked up his shotgun and signaled Kyle to start running, which they did at top speed. "You're not hit are you?" He asked once they had put enough distance between themselves and Ed so that she wouldn't hear it if Kyle said yes.

"No." Came his friend's response. "I'm going to be feeling this for a month but none of them got through. That means the only thing we have to worry about is getting Skynet as far away from Ed and the others as possible." He added as they ran towards a large open pass way that lead to a more brightly lit area.

"I'm more worried about what happens when he finds out he's been suckered and just decides to turn around." John said as they ran through the doorway that led into the brighter area. They took several slowing steps as they looked at the large cavernous area around them. The only walls and ceiling were the sides and top of the rock that the base was built into, save for a large network of metal scaffolding and braces that ran along them. Numerous pieces of heavy earth moving equipment and vehicles were scattered about, as well as stacks of steel beams, rebar, bags of powered cement, and other construction supplies. The brightness of the area was courtesy of several strategically placed banks of floodlights that illuminated the entire cavern and left no work area in the dark. On the other side of the cavern, straight ahead of them, they saw a much wider and taller tunnel that seemed to be made for the vehicles to access this area. To their right, on the other far end was a smaller tunnel whose floor was lined with the tracks of the transit system, most likely to be used for ferrying in supplies. Aside from vents near the ceiling the only other entrance was the one they had just come out of. If Kyle's memory of the map was correct there was no access to the transit system along the route they were supposed to follow. The vehicle tunnel only led farther away from that path which meant….

"I think we just found a solution to that problem." Kyle stated as he turned back to the hallway they just came out of.

Skynet was slowly working his way back up into a frenzy. Dealing with the other humans, coupled with the obstacles the ones he was chasing set up were costing him more and more time. He easily tore through the locked security doors and it only took him an instant to break down the doors to the offices, and closet, then scan the area but it meant that the humans he was pursuing had gained much more time in escaping. The locked security doors only added to his frustration. As flimsy a barrier they were he had to keep on looking behind him to make sure the other humans weren't about to shoot him in the back and delay him further. By the time he reached the third door his patience had run out and he simply kicked the door two times to knock it down and sprinted down the hallway. He could see that the hallway ended in a brightly lit area and when he reached it saw it was an area of the base that had been under construction when the complex had been abandoned. Construction vehicles and piles of supplies were scattered everywhere, giving the humans numerous perfect ambush spots. That was if they had chosen to stay and slow him further. Since protecting the child appeared to be their primary concern it was doubtful they had all stayed, but there was the possibility that one was left behind to give the other two more time to run. Taking all that into account Skynet walked quickly but stayed on alert, his weapon up and ready. There were two main tunnels leading away from this room, all he needed to do was calculate which one the humans would have taken and ….

His processing was interrupted when a large projectile slammed into the side of his head, causing the rest of his body to twist to the side in response to the force impacted by the bullet. The disorientation only lasted a nanosecond and he turned back to where the shot had come from, and promptly got two more bullets to the chest. The power behind the rounds were significant to almost make him stagger and that was enough time for Kyle Reese to duck back behind the bulldozer he was using for cover. He took note of the large revolver the human was wielding and now knowing what he was up against began firing at his choice of shelter. Metal pinged and sparks flew as the bullets hit home but Skynet knew there was no chance of the rounds passing through the vehicle but it would keep Reese in one place. All that was needed was to work his way to where he had a clean shot and the human as good as dead.

"HEY ASSHOLE!" A second voice shouted from behind him. Stopping his attack on Reese Skynet whirled around in genuine surprise at the sound of a second human voice. That surprise increased as he heard a shotgun boom and was struck in the chest. Both of them were here? They had actually sent Radical Edward ahead alone? The confusion only mounted as out of the corner of his eye he saw two grenades about to land in the hallway he had just come out of. He was able to mentally track them back to where the second voice, that was now identified as Conner hiding behind a pile of steel I beams, who must have thrown them while he was going after Reese. Just as he figured it out a third and fourth grenade joined the first two, coming from Reese's position. All four detonated at once with enough explosive force to make even Skynet flinch away from it, though he remained standing. Once the flash had receded Skynet turned back and saw what used to be the entrance to the hallway was now just a pile of twisted metal and large chunks of rocks. As inferior as they were these two humans were smart enough to know that sealing themselves in would not be the intelligent thing to do, they had more or less guaranteed their own deaths and anyone that was with them. It would have been wiser to block off the tunnel before he got here and make him find an alternate route. But if they had chosen this course of action….that… could only mean….

"HE'S NOT WITH YOU!" Skynet screamed in rage as he turned back around.

"Hey, real nice deduction there." John said sarcastically as he fully loaded his shotgun. "Was wondering how long it was going to take you."

"Some being of superior intelligence." Kyle added as he reloaded his magnum. "You were stupid enough to fall for the oldest trick in the book, twice." Skynet couldn't get to Radical Edward now, not quickly, with the large opening he had been given. He was beyond livid now, both at losing his target and being fooled so completely by a couple of animals. Fortunately he did have the option of venting his frustration on those same animals, and ran straight for the bulldozer Reese was hiding behind, firing his weapon and screaming incoherently the entire time.

The crew of the Bebop didn't have that much time to act once Skynet had run out of their line of sight. They had two options, go after the others and try to help, or stay along their original path and make a dash for safety. Either one seemed like a bad idea, put Meifa back in danger or abandon John, Kyle and Ed. Since there were no good options Jet decided to go with both.

"Spike, you're coming with me." He ordered as soon as he saw no one had been hit. "Faye, take Meifa and keep on following the map, and don't stop for anything. If you don't hear from us in five minutes, start running." Faye opened her mouth to say something. "Don't argue and get going!" He barked as he put a fresh clip in his gun and started running after Skynet, Spike falling in beside him.

"So what exactly are we going to do?" Spike asked as they made the turn in the hallway. Running headlong into a fight with no plan was usually his chosen method of operation, not Jet's.

"Give John and Kyle as much of a distraction as we can." Jet explained as they squeezed through a metal security door looked like it had been ripped in half. "With Skynet focused on us they'll be able to find some way to lose him, if we're lucky they already did lose him and we'll keep him occupied while they get back to the ship."

"Not expecting to come back from this one?" Spike asked calmly as they stepped over the remains of a second door. He wasn't being critical of Jet's idea; as a matter of fact he couldn't come up with anything better that would help the three that Skynet was chasing and keep themselves alive. On the other hand to keep things from ending badly for John, Kyle and Ed things would most likely end really badly for the two of them.

"I don't know about you but I'm certainly hoping to come back from this one and going to try really hard to see that it happens." Jet clarified somewhat sarcastically. "But if that's not possible we need to make sure we don't die too quickly and slow this bastard down as much as we can."

"Spoken like a true optimist." Spike replied wryly as they came to a third door. This one was actually in once piece but lay crumpled and dented on the floor. "Hope you actually have a plan for getting out alive then because…"

CLANG!

Both of them stopped and turned around with their weapons raised, half expecting to see Skynet charging towards them after dropping through a vent in the ceiling. They were right about the vent and saw a grate lying in the middle of the floor from a shaft on the wall. But instead of a murderous liquid metal robot they saw a head of wild red hair with amber colored eyes sticking out of the wall and looking in their direction.

"Groundhog Ed has looked and not seen its shadow and that means it's time for groundhog Ed to pop out of the ground!" Ed cheerfully announced and quickly pulled her head back inside. Before either Jet or Spike could comment they heard an enthusiastic "POP!" from inside the vent followed a split second later by Ed lunging headfirst out of it. She held her computer in her hands but tossed it into the air, landed with a somersault and expertly 'caught' the computer with the sole of her foot, balancing it perfectly. Even if Jet and Spike had any suspicions about this being Skynet in disguise to begin with they knew that only Ed could act like that.

"Well that's one out of three." Jet remarked. "Now let's…." Before he could say anything a loud roar thundered from further down the hallway. The sound of the roar was followed by a strong blast of air and everything started shaking. Jet and Spike braced themselves on the walls to keep from falling and Ed even lost her 'grip' on Tomato. The machine slipped off her foot and fell but she was able to catch it before it hit her in the face. The three exchanged silent looks before Spike and Jet turned around and started running towards where the blast had come from. They didn't even bother to tell Ed to go the other way. With that explosion happening so soon after they had left her there was no way she wasn't going to come and see what happened. That might have appeared dumb to Jet and Spike, if not for the fact that they were running in the same direction and the explosion could have just as easily been meant for John and Kyle instead of Skynet. They didn't get that much of a chance to debate the intelligence of what they were doing because the hallway suddenly turned into a wall of fallen metal and chunks of rock. Smoke was still clearing and smaller debris were falling but all of them could see the passage was completely sealed and no chance of getting through the collapse.

"Now that's impressive." Spike said after no one else said anything. Jet and Ed didn't add to the comment. If Spike found this impressive then he could tell that there was a lot more damage then what they could see, and that really put John and Kyle's fate in doubt. Taking out his communicator Jet set it so only Kyle's would pick up, no sense in worrying the others if they didn't have to. Things went downhill immediately when Jet saw there was no signal at all.

"He's not answering." Was the only explanation he gave Spike and Ed. "That doesn't mean he's dead." He added. While the most likely reason was that Kyle's communicator was destroyed in the explosion Jet also remembered when he'd pulled this same thing on Mars he had to shut it off so Skynet wouldn't be tipped off to what was going on. If that was the case then they would have to wait until he tried to contact them. In the meantime he reset the signal so Faye would be able to pick up. "Faye, we've got good news and bad news."

"Jet what the hell just happened?" Faye demanded the instant her face came on screen. "One second everything's quiet the next the whole place starts shaking!"

"That's the bad news." Jet answered, ignoring the shouting. "John and Kyle set up a roadblock so Skynet wouldn't be able to backtrack on them." He used his communicator to show her the collapse. "The good news is we found Ed and she's all right." He turned the device to show her both Ed and Spike in the same shot, in case she had any doubts about who was calling.

"So what do we do now?" She asked after a few seconds of silence.

"We get back to the Bebop, get Ed and Meifa to a safe place, then come back here with as much help as we can find." He told her simply. "They gave us this chance Faye, we can't waste it." He continued, knowing a protest was coming. He didn't want to leave them behind either but now was the best opportunity they had to escape and get the kids out of harms way.

"Those idiots better not get themselves killed before we get back." Faye finally answered.

"I don't think they would have done something like this without the intention of getting out alive." Jet assured her as the three of them started running to rejoin the others.

Jet was correct in that John and Kyle had every intention of leaving the base alive. Actually having a plan to carry out that intent, that was another story entirely. Right now the two of them would be thankful to just be able to leave the room alive, and that was becoming less and less likely with each passing second. Skynet was sprinting towards Kyle's hiding spot, spraying bullets to keep him put and occasionally twisting around to fire a burst at John to keep him from helping or escaping. His plan was actually working very well but before he could reach Kyle the two of them heard a burst cut off in the middle followed by the clack of the MP5's bolt locking on an empty chamber. Even Skynet needed time to reload and John and Kyle took advantage, coming out from behind their respective cover and emptying their weapons into the liquid metal machine. Skynet staggered back but was still reloading his weapon at the same time. John and Kyle ducked back behind cover to reload their own weapons but both knew it only a moment's reprieve. With one last good run Skynet would be on top of Kyle and they knew there would be no way to stop him once he got going again. John had to keep that from happening and there was only one way to do that…make himself the target.

"So what's next?" He shouted at the machine as all three of them were reloading. "You've already been beaten by a kid hacker that's not all there and a couple of dumb street cops." That got Skynet's attention and he turned to look at the pile of I beams where John was hiding. Not hearing gunshots or footsteps John knew he machine had stopped so he continued. "At this rate you'll be outwitted by a coffee machine next, but maybe that's setting the bar too high. One of those remote controlled vacuum cleaners, maybe that's more of your speed." Chancing a quick glance around the corner of the metal John saw that did was now facing him, and looking really pissed. He quickly took the last of his grenades off his belt and pulled the pin. "Yeah that seems about right. Being as dumb as you are, there's nowhere to go but down."

Skynet didn't say anything but the next instant John heard bullets ricocheting off the metal beams. Grabbing his shotgun one handed he lifted it, turned it sideways, and placed it against the beams to absorb the recoil, aiming it almost blindly. Almost because he was sure Skynet would simply run straight at him and not bother to dodge anything. The blast still shook his wrist but the improvised brace did its job and the gun stayed in his hand, without breaking or tearing anything. He heard a dull splat and the bullets stopped, giving him the opportunity to put part two of his plan into action.

Kyle could see what John was planning, and how it could help get them out of here. Skynet was so angry now he was responding to verbal taunts the way an ill tempered human would, with blind rage and almost no thought. If they could keep his attention going back and forth between the two of them they would be able to make a run for it. Once Skynet had started moving towards John he made a dash for a dump truck in the direction of the vehicle tunnel as inconspicuously as he could. He kept an eye on the robot's movement incase it decided to change its mind and come after him again. Skynet remained oblivious to his movements, or just didn't care, and kept on running towards John. He heard John's shotgun go off and Skynet was hit dead center, throwing off his aim and making him stop firing. Now that there was near silence and he was almost to the truck Kyle started to yell his latest round of insults to get Skynet's attention when he saw John lean out from cover, toss a grenade underhanded right into Skynet's path, then duck back under cover. Since it was one of the few weapons that would impair the machine Kyle expected him to stop and back up, or at least change the direction he was taking to get to John. Instead Skynet rushed towards the grenade, bent over, scooped it up with one of his hands, then hurled it not at John directly but at the tangle of scaffolding and ductwork above John's head. John wasn't watching what was happening, staying behind the beams to avoid shrapnel, and didn't see the grenade sailing above his head. Kyle tried to shout a warning but the grenade detonated before the words could leave his mouth. John flinched at the noise and blast concussion, then looked up to see avalanche of jagged metal and rock falling straight towards him.

"MOTHERF…" The rest of his curse was cut off as he dove out of the way to avoid the wreckage, which landed with a teeth rattling crash. Unfortunately that dive also put him out in the open, something that Skynet had been hoping for. John was aware enough to realize that so when he hit the ground he immediately jumped to his feet and started running, turning around to fire at Skynet. Skynet fired back and the two engaged in a running gun battle, neither able to hit the other due the erratic movements of both. While it was a good thing John wasn't being hit Kyle saw that they were both running towards the transit system tunnel, while he was still making a break for the vehicle tunnel. If they got separated Skynet would be able to pick them off one at a time. When he reached the mouth of the vehicle tunnel Kyle stopped and took aim at Skynet with his Magnum.

"OVER HERE YOU METAL DIPSHIT!" He yelled at the top of his lungs and began firing. At this range it was doubtful he'd be able to hit him with a pistol but hopefully the insult and the fact that he was being attacked would take Skynet's attention away from John. Skynet's attention was drawn away from killing John, but it was by something that all of them took notice of. Above their heads there was a long, loud, and very ominous moan of weakening metal. Temporarily forgetting their efforts to kill each other all three of them looked up and saw the metal work that made up the ceiling was starting to buckle, and the rock above it was cracked and trying to fall. Only the grenade-weakened scaffolding stopped it, and they all knew that it wasn't going to hold for very long. It lasted even less time then Skynet would have estimated and began to fall in a domino like effect. It started at the site of the grenade blast and quickly worked its way outward like a wave, with tons of metal and mountainside crashing to the ground. Kyle instinctively backpedaled into the tunnel and could only watch as the roof began to cave in, the crashing rock throwing a dust cloud that completely obscured his vision of the room. Some of the dust settled but between that and most of the lights going out he was able to only make out two shadowlike shapes in the distance. Both appeared to have been stunned by the sudden collapse but not hit. One shadow rushed over towards the other one, who was bringing up his weapon. The first shadow brought the butt of his own weapon down on the other's gun, knocking it from his hand. Without even brining the gun back up the first shadow fired, his weapon aimed right at the underside of the second's chin. The second shadow's head snapped back and he staggered be stayed upright, grabbing the first shadow's gun and began fighting him for it.

Kyle now knew who was who and was about to try to give John covering fire when the chamber rumbled and a fresh wave of rock cascaded down from the ceiling, again obscuring his vision with thick dust. At first he didn't see anything but could see the flash of a gun going off, and judging by its rate of fire it had to be the shotgun. As the dust again settled he saw one of the shadows firing at the second, forcing him to run towards the transit tunnel. The first continued firing until Kyle saw him pump the gun and no shot came after. Taking advantage the second shadow grabbed what had to be part of the ceiling, whirled around, and flung it at the first shadow. Whatever had been thrown struck the first shadow in the chest as he was reaching for his belt, causing him to drop the shotgun and clutch his chest with both hands. The second shadow stopped moving and faced the first, looking ready to charge at any instant. He would have if not for rumbling that replaced the groan of metal. This time instead of small parts of the mountain falling now vehicle-sized boulders were dropping from above. This wasn't just part of the ceiling coming down, the entire mountainside was coming with it.

Both shadows realized what was happening and before either of them could move a boulder bigger then the bulldozer Kyle had hidden behind landed between the two of them. Kyle could no longer see the second shadow but saw the first knocked down from the shockwave the boulder created. The shadow got up and started running towards the vehicle tunnel, which Kyle backed further into, keeping his magnum up and ready. Chancing a look Kyle glanced over to where the second shadow had been and was able (barely) to see him making a sprint towards the transit tunnel. Looking back to the first shadow and saw whoever it was kept on glancing up as more debris rained down, forcing him to twist and sidestep like a football player avoiding tackles. Only in this case he'd be crushed to death instead of merely stopped. He was almost to the entrance to the tunnel when one large boulder almost landed right on top of him, forcing him to dive to the ground. Instead of trying to get up he leapt forward from his position on the ground, his arms getting halfway into the tunnel when he landed. He stayed on the ground and frantically crawled forward as the cave in reached its crescendo, sounding like the entire planet was falling on their heads. A final plume of dust covered the mouth of the tunnel, still blocking Kyle's view of who it was. As a precaution he took several more steps back, never taking his gun off the target, who he now heard coughing hoarsely. He could see him getting up and a second later a dirt covered John staggered out of the cloud of dust, looking like he was about to fall over at any second.

"Damn son of a bitch made me lose my gun! Again!" John exclaimed, still coughing, as he stumbled over to the side of the tunnel and leaned his back on the wall. "Whoa whoa take it easy it's me!" He exclaimed when he saw the gun leveled at him.

"You've got three seconds to prove that." Kyle warned him, cocking the hammer. John grabbed his chest and slid down the wall to sit before answering.

"I can give you an example of how much of a little hellion Ed can be when she really puts her mind to it. Going to be pretty boring though since all the stories she's told me she probably already told you to." He added with a laugh.

"Probably." Kyle agreed as he slowly lowered the hammer of his gun. He wouldn't need an actual story. Skynet always referred to Ed as 'he' thinking, like everyone else that met her for the first time, that she was a boy. If the person in front of him knew the truth it had to be John. "Your wound all right?" He asked, knowing where that chunk of rock Skynet had thrown hit him. John opened the top two buttons on his shirt and looked down.

"It isn't reopened." He hissed in response. "No blood and nothing feels busted." He said as he checked himself more thoroughly. "I'll be able to last until we get out of here." He assured Kyle, but winced as he said it. "But shit this hurts." He amended.

"Well if you're all right then we'd better find out where we're going." Kyle said he holstered his gun and took out his communicator. Since John wasn't doubled over in pain Kyle would take his word that he'd be fine until they got to a real hospital, or at least ran across a Medkit. "Jet, Spike, Faye? Can anyone still hear me?" He asked, not knowing if the device had been damaged during the firefight and cave-in.

"Yeah we can hear you." Jet's gruff voice answered as he face flashed onscreen. "But that doesn't mean we're going to answer you yet."

"What you're starting to answer your bonsai plants instead?" Kyle asked sarcastically. "You haven't been into Ed's secret mushroom stash again have you?" He added. Jet's face scrunched up in annoyance and in the background he could hear Ed giggling. Only Ed he noticed, but that wasn't a surprise since Meifa probably didn't know while Faye and Spike had gone on their own little trips and didn't appreciate being secretly drugged any more then Jet did.

"All right I believe it's you but do you have to use the embarrassing parts to let us know?" Jet growled in annoyance.

"Well it wouldn't be that fun if I didn't now would it?" Kyle asked back. To which Ed answered with a loud 'Nope nope! Not fun at all.' He saw Jet turn his annoyance towards Ed for a moment before deciding it wasn't worth the effort and turned back to the communicator.

"Now that that's out of the way…" He warned, to show that he had his fill of this particular joke and they needed to concentrate on what was important. "Is John with you, is he all right?" He asked, knowing he wouldn't have to ask if it really was John who was with him. Kyle wouldn't even be calling unless he was alone or knew he was with John.

"Yes on both counts." Kyle answered and turned his communicator towards John so everyone could see. "A little more banged up then before but all in all okay." John gave an exaggerated thumbs up and opened his mouth to say something but had his face contort into a grimace and grabbed his chest.

"Going for the tough guy act eh John?" Jet asked in good humor when he saw John's attempt to talk. In response John just rolled his eyes and shook his head. Since it didn't look like John was trying to cover up anything serious Jet got back to business. "What happened to Skynet, and why the hell was this place just shaking...again." Well at least they knew what they had done to keep Skynet away from Ed.

"Skynet decided to bring the roof and everything else down on our heads." Kyle explained, not mentioning that technically John had enabled him to do it in the first place. "I saw him running towards a second tunnel that led out of where we were. I suppose it'd be too much to hope that he got buried before he made it."

"The way he keeps coming back I wouldn't count on it." Jet agreed. "But the farther away he is from any of us the better." He continued before turning his attention away from the communicator again. "Ed, have MPU come up with a map so they can meet back up with us. If that would take too long give them a direct route to the Bebop."

"Analyzing schematics." MPU's voice acknowledged and Jet's face disappeared, replaced but a sprawling picture of the base's floor plan. "Intersecting routes to surface unavailable. Calculating alternate route to Bebop." He stated and showed Kyle the path they needed to take. A path that made him frown.

"That looks a lot longer then the way we were originally going." He said with some level of concern. "MPU, based on where we are now, which group would get there first?" He asked.

"At maximum calculated speed the group I am currently a part of will reach the ship twenty five point four seven minutes faster then yours." The computer answered. Kyle looked over at John, who was also now frowning.

"Hope you guys have a safe trip then." Kyle said when he turned his attention back to the communicator.

"I don't suppose any of us could talk you two out of this?" Jet asked as his image came back onscreen, knowing full well what the two of them were doing and there was no way he could talk them out of it.

"With almost half an hour of lead time on us? No way." Kyle answered. "Well run the whole time if we can but if we're not there by the time you are you need to take off and not look back. We'll be fine on our own so don't worry." Jet was frowning but it didn't look like he was going to argue.

"All right." He finally said. "Just make sure you keep that radio working so we can find you when we come back."

"Just make sure you guys get Ed and Meifa someplace secure, preferably an army base." Kyle told him. Jet gave a short laugh at the suggestion.

"We'll do our best." He promised. "Just make sure you guys are still here when we get back." He joked. Kyle responded with a short laugh and shook his head before the communicator's screen went dark.

As Jet but his communicator back he turned to the others. Spike and Faye looked like while they didn't like the idea of leaving without John and Kyle they accepted it as a fact. He had honestly expected an argument from Faye but she saw that the two had already decided Ed and Meifa's lives were more important then their own, and nothing was going to change their minds. If nothing else she personally understood unwavering stubbornness when she saw it. Oddly enough the two kids didn't look like they were going to voice an objection either. In fact the response he got was a bit of a surprise.

"Ed isn't worried." Ed declared. "Ed knows big brother John and big brother Kyle will find their way back to Bebop Bebop." She stated, utterly confident that the two wouldn't let her down.

Back in the vehicle tunnel the feelings weren't as upbeat as Ed's.

"Run the entire way?" John asked suspiciously as Kyle put his communicator back on his belt.

"Yeah I know, he didn't buy it either." Kyle admitted. "If you're feeling up to it we should give it a shot anyway." He added as he took out his magnum and began to replace its spent bullets.

"Not like we have anything better to do." John agreed as he stood up. "And of course I'm up to it." He added, trying to sound insulted.

"Not without a weapon you're not." Kyle countered as he snapped the cylinder closed and reached behind his back. "Hope you still got all that ammo you picked up earlier." He said as he tossed his backup Glock to John.

"Of course I do." John said as he caught the Glock and checked to make sure a round was chambered. "Whenever you have plenty of ammo you never have the gun for it." Kyle was about to remark how true it was with all the shotgun shells John now had but there was a new groaning sound from the wall John had been leaning against. John stumbled away quickly and it was just in time as the groaning intensified and without warning the wall exploded inward, bringing down part of the ceiling and vent system with it. John backpedaled away from the wall, firing into the general area where the explosion happened as well as into the fallen duct. Kyle fired two shots as well but after a second of dust settling they saw that it wasn't Skynet bursting through the wall, just that all the pressure from the main collapse had compromised the very edge of the tunnel, causing it to collapse as well. There was no sound or movement from the section of ventilation and with the bullet holes they put it in they could see there was nothing inside. It was still a dangerous situation, the spear like pieces of rebar sticking out all over the place would have skewered John if he had stayed put and the falling duct could have cracked their skulls but all they had done was pump bullets into a concrete wall and flimsy sheet metal.

"We are getting way too jumpy." Kyle said, exhaling loudly and holstering his gun as the mini adrenaline rush wore off.

"Jut a little bit." John agreed as he lowered his own weapon. "That would have been something though wouldn't it? Survive all this just to get brained by something like that." He said as kicked the fallen ductwork.

"Yeah, I may have to start hating all ventilation ducts now." Kyle joked as he started to walk down the hallway.

"Well they do have their uses." John pointed out as Kyle heard him fall in behind him.

"We never would have been able to hide Ed as well as we did." Kyle admitted.

"Oh more then that." John remarked.

"Like what?" Kyle asked in confusion.

"Well for starters…" John began. "…they allowed me to find out Radical Edward was really a female." Skynet finished. Kyle stiffened up and the sound of the voice. For an instant confusion reigned in his mind but he quickly figured it out. While walking though the base he remembered passing by many ventilation grates. One of them must have been connected to where Skynet was, and with his superior hearing he would have been able to catch everything they said. Another thing became crystal clear to Kyle; he was dead. He couldn't run or hide, and fighting would be useless. That meant there was only one thing he could do that had any consequence, he just hoped that Skynet wouldn't notice it and hold off killing him until he could do it.

Skynet, still in the form of John Conner, stood calmly behind Kyle, gun raised and waiting. He was curious to see what type of action the human would take. Would he try to run? Turn and go out fighting perhaps? Whatever it was it didn't matter to the machine. The human had ruined his best chance at getting close to Radical Edward by sending the other humans off base, possibly off planet, without them. He had officially outlived his usefulness and Skynet was more then happy to thin out the ranks of Radical Edward's protectors.

The human had gone rigid when he had first used his real voice, but now his body posture changed. His shoulders slumped and he slowly put his hands on his hips, oddly enough not going for his weapon right off. He looked at the floor and shook his head, letting out a loud, defeated sigh. Skynet knew it was a sign he had accepted his fate, his final action decided upon and forthcoming. He was correct as the human brought his head back up, grabbed the handle of his gun and spun around to face him.

Jet and the others had only gone a short way before his communicator beeped again, followed by what sounded like cross between a sigh and a groan. The combination of the sudden call and the odd sound caused them all to stop and look at Jet. He looked just as confused as the rest of them and started to reach for his communicator when another sound came through unannounced.

BANG!

They all flinched at the unexpected sound of the gunshot, which was followed a split second later by the heavy thud that was unmistakably a body hitting the ground. Jet held up one hand to the others, and they all got it. 'Keep your mouths shut and no noise!' Jet didn't know what was going on but he slowly took the device out and looked at it. The picture he saw looked like he was staring at the ceiling, like the other communicator had been dropped. Taken together with what had already happened, that meant something was very very wrong. What happened next confirmed their worst fears. Laughter. It wasn't loud and it wasn't manic, it was the type of low arrogant laugh you got when someone was very proud of something that they had just done, usually underhanded. It was also in Skynet's voice

Skynet had to admit there was something immensely satisfying about seeing the human crash to the ground. He didn't move and he was no longer breathing, but a bullet through the forehead tended to do things like that. He didn't know how Valentine was able to survive her own injuries, let alone appear fairly healthy so soon afterwards, and resolved not to make the same mistake should he ever get the opportunity again. He could draw out the suffering from Radical Edward, her protectors on the other hand had proved they needed to be dealt with swiftly and efficiently.

(Maybe that's what it is.) Skynet thought to himself with a laugh as he began to walk over to the human's corpse. (The satisfaction of a job well done.)

Jet heard footsteps that came closer and eventually he saw part of someone who was wearing a light blue button up shirt walk into view, holding a still smoking gun at his side. Knowing he had to act quickly and quietly he looked at Ed and mouthed 'MPU'. Ed immediately complied and began typing on her computer as quietly as she could. Jet continued to watch as the person he saw crouch down and brought his face into view. It looked exactly like John, down to the patchwork bandages and brand new bruise Faye had given him. He had put the gun away and now reaching over the communicator, intent on stealing what he could from what had to be Kyle's dead body. He started to pull his arm back and happened to look down, right at Jet's face.

"Oh that's real cute." Skynet snarled, realizing the jig was up.

"MPU erase everything that's on Kyle's communicator!" Jet shouted, knowing they had just been caught to.

"Deleting." MPU calmly responded.

"NO!" Skynet shouted and grabbed for the communicator. It was the last thing Jet saw before the picture dissolved into static.

Damn the humans! His entire plan was ruined! If he had seen the map he would have been able to work his way to the Bebop faster then they could have, cut off their escape, possibly even destroyed the ship itself to make sure. Even if they detected him with nowhere left to run they would at his mercy. Now thanks to the dead human in front of him he was back to square one. Wander around this mammoth complex hoping to run into them a second time. The odds of that happening once were slim, now they had jumped to astronomical. All because of this worthless meatbag and his loyalty to the others. Furious Skynet aimed the magnum he had taken from the human's dead hand and emptied the remaining rounds at the unmoving body. When the hammer clicked on an empty chamber Skynet brought up the communicator and was about to pulp what was left of the human's head with it when he got a better idea.

"Command complete." MPU announced. "Data remanence deleted and overwritten."

"At least now the bastard doesn't know where we're going." Jet almost growled. That was on problem taken care of now…. he looked over at the others. He could see they had guessed what had happened, but they didn't want to say or do anything. Nobody wanted to be the one confirm news like this, so it was up to him. "Kyle's gone." He said simply. There was no doubt in his mind Kyle was dead. Skynet hadn't attempted any elaborate trickery and had honestly been surprised when he discovered Kyle's communicator on and broadcasting. Meifa brought her hands up to her mouth to cover up a sob as she began crying. Ein started whining loudly and lowered his head to the floor, his whines almost mirroring Meifa's sobs. Faye grimaced and turned away, not wanting to the others to see her getting emotional as well. Spike's expression remained impassive but Jet could see his eyes harden. That only left…

"Is John gone to?" Ed asked. Jet honestly didn't know how Ed badly would take this. The fact that is was a short and simple question and was now quietly waiting for an answer told him not as well as it appeared. Most disturbingly she only used John's first name. He couldn't remember the last time she had done that with anyone. It wasn't as outward a reaction as Meifa or Ein but she was never that calm or quiet, which in it's own way was so drastic that it made all of them worry.

"I don't know." He told her honestly. "Kyle said he saw someone running for another tunnel. He didn't know if he made it." The answer didn't make Ed worry any less. Jet could tell from the fact she remained silent. "I know you're going to miss Kyle, all of us are." He said as he crouched down in front of her. "Just like all of us are worried about John. What I also know is that he wouldn't want us to stand around worrying about him and put his punk kid sister in danger." Using the words John had used proved to be a good choice because Ed's smile started coming back. "We're not going to give up on him, but we're not going to go against what he thought was important either. That means we keep moving until we get back to the Bebop. Understand?"

"Ed will not let big brother John down!" Ed promised.

"All right then let's make sure we don't." Jet replied as he stood up. "Spike, you take the lead." He instructed. Spike nodded and started walking, Faye following close behind. As Ed fell in behind the two of them Jet walked over to Meifa and put his arm around the girl. Thanks to his words she wasn't openly crying anymore but he could still see tears in her eyes.

"Dealing with it, never gets any easier, does it?" She asked with a sniff.

"No it doesn't." Jet replied as he pulled her closer and they slowly started following the others. "And it shouldn't. If it ever does it means you've stopped caring." He knew what she was talking about. Losing someone close to you always hurt, and dealing with that loss was always hard. Meifa hadn't known Kyle or John that long but being such a kindhearted person as well as her Feng Shui insight to other people made it easy for her to become attached to them. In some ways what had just happened was worse then when she had lost her father, Jet realized. She had never believed he was dead to begin with, all through their search she never lost hope and when she had finally found him in the hyperspace tunnel she had been able to make peace with the fact that he wasn't going to be able to come back, that she was about to lose him for good. Now…now she had someone violently ripped away from her with literally no warning. A sudden trauma like that was always worse then an end people could see coming. Jet was positive she'd be able to work her way through it. He knew that despite her age she wasn't naïve and she knew how the world worked. Bad things happened to good people, and as much as you hoped things weren't fair. If they were people like John and Kyle wouldn't be the minority in ISSP, they'd be in the overwhelming majority.

As for himself…Well both John and Kyle were policemen and had accepted the risks that came with the job. After his own experiences with the corruption at ISSP Jet found it hard to see the 'brothers in arms' or 'close knit family' aspect of the job but for the first time in a long while he saw that in John and Kyle. Any loss of a good person was a tragedy, but when someone killed a cop they killed a brother or sister to every other cop. When that happened nobody lets up until that person was in the morgue. That was how it was supposed to go anyway. Jet's cynicism towards ISSP usually had that thought relegated to the realm of wishful thinking since a lot of times the killers were other cops. Though he realized that all of them, even though Faye and Spike had said nothing, were now thoroughly in that mindset. Skynet had just given them all a very personal reason to see him destroyed, one that provided even more motivation then they already had. As Robert Conner would so eloquently put it when Jet finally met him 'You don't fuck with family.'

Several minutes prior:

"Goddamned metal bastard!" John shouted as he turned back to the now blocked tunnel entrance. "You arrogant walking piece of shit!" He yelled as he stormed over to the debris pile and pounded on it with his fist. Of course it didn't budge but that wasn't the point. He had seen what Skynet was doing the moment he turned his own shotgun on him and began driving him back towards the transit tunnel. He had tried to shout a warning to Kyle, but the cave-in had rendered gunfire almost impossible to hear, let alone his voice. If he couldn't hear him John had tried to visually alert him. Being hit in the head with a heavy piece of rock would have knocked anyone for a loop and if Skynet wanted his act to be convincing he would have to fall to the ground, or at the least act confused and disoriented. That might have given John enough time to escape and Skynet to be squashed flat. Instead the rock he chose was too heavy and hit Skynet in the chest. And the damn bastard had used it to his advantage, acting just like John would have if he had been hit. With such bad visibility it might have been enough to convince Kyle that, at the least, there was a good chance that was really him. John had been so furious that he almost ran back at the machine, intent on making sure they were both buried in the rubble. He would have if a rock the size of a truck hadn't fallen right in front of him. Knowing he couldn't warn Kyle or make it over to the other tunnel John turned and ran towards the transit system entrance. He had chanced a look back and saw Skynet running for the tunnel Kyle was in, and it looked like he was going to make it.

It was only after John got to the relative safety of the tunnel he took stock of how bad things now were. If Skynet made it to the tunnel even if he couldn't fool Kyle, and John doubted he could with all the things the machine wouldn't know, he could easily kill him before tracking down the others. Both he and Skynet were now lost but with no fatigue to slow him down the machine could find the others, even by chance, if they slowed down or ran into some kind of trouble that MPU couldn't have seen. He had to let them know Skynet was still actively searching for them, and that Kyle was in all likelihood dead. Finished venting his frustration on the wall John turned around and began running. His own means of talking to the others had been destroyed during his trip through the gate but this place had its own communication network. He just hoped it was powerful enough to broadcast on the frequency they used. If not then he'd go for broke and use the base's PA system. Not too subtle but he could at least give them a warning that Skynet couldn't stop or contradict.

After running for several minutes he began to remember the familiar feeling of being a rat in a maze he had experienced the first time he was lost in these tunnels. Running down random tunnels hoping to find what he was looking for proved to be just as futile now as it was then. So far the only things he had found were several supply storage areas but nothing in the way of communications equipment. Approaching another four-way intersection he was beginning to curse this place for being so complex and started to turn right when he suddenly had a more serious problem to deal with. He only saw a blur of motion come out from around the corner before feeling an iron grip clamping down on his throat. Then the whole world turned into a blur of motion as he was bodily lifted off the ground with ease and had his back slammed into the wall. That blur of the sudden motion hadn't even faded when he felt what could only be a gun barrel being pressed under his chin.

The sounds of footsteps were the only things to be heard as they walked, each of them lost in their own realm of thought. Jet knew they were all upset about what had happened to Kyle, but right now they had a job to do and that took precedence over grieving right now. If they didn't the same thing would happen to all of them and Kyle wouldn't have wanted his death to mean nothing. The best way to honor their friend was to complete what they started, keeping Ed and Meifa safe while destroying Skynet. Jet was still unsure of how to fully accomplish either and was in the middle of debating where to take the two kids that would actually be safe when there was suddenly a beep from his communicator. The group stopped and exchanged confused glances. He could see the hopeful look in Ed, Meifa, and even Faye's eyes. Maybe it was John, he was alive and had found some way to contact them. Jet could tell by the look in Spike's eyes they were both thinking the same thing, they were about to get more bad news.

"You humans think you're a clever bunch." Skynet's voice stated. Jet ground his teeth. Damn he hated being right in situations like this. He shook his head at the others, telling them not to answer. "And to a point I suppose you are." Skynet continued before waiting a moment. "Don't act so surprised and don't pretend that you can't hear me. Your little virus friend erased everything pertaining to this device's memory banks but left the operation system itself intact. Very sloppy work. It was child's play to get it functional again." He taunted. Jet growled and grabbed his communicator.

"No one else answer." He ordered. "Ed, MPU, block his signal, I'll stall." He said and flipped open a channel. "I suppose you've called to gloat." He snarled angrily at the machine's smug face.

"Of course." Skynet answered simply. "And you will hear this whether you want to or not." He continued before glancing down and Jet heard the other communicator beep. "Even while trying to block the signal." He added with a tone of superiority. "I can shuffle through just has many frequencies as you can. Even if you do eventually block me entirely I'm still going to have my say."

"So say it and get the damned thing over with!" Jet snapped, even angrier then before now knowing they would have to listen no matter what.

"If you insist." Skynet answered in conversational tone. "As I said before to a point your species can be clever. That the policeman was able to warn you without my knowledge is proof enough of that. On the other hand, the fact is, despite that cleverness, the results were the same in the end. And they always will be the same. No matter how clever your tricks, not matter how good your strategy, well, I think your friend if proof enough of that futility." He warned cryptically and his face disappeared from the screen.

"Arrogant son of a…" Jet began as he started to put his communicator back. He hadn't even gotten halfway when his, Faye's and Spike's all began beeping at once. "Don't answer. He'll just try to get under our skins some more." Jet warned them. Faye ignored him and took out her communicator.

"Don't worry I'm going to get under his." She promised and opened a channel before Jet could stop her. She sounded so determined to do so for a second Jet thought she might be able to pull it off. It lasted only a moment because the instant Faye was connected she gasped loudly and dropped the communicator, recoiling away from it like it was poisonous. The others looked at her, stunned motionless at her reaction. Ed was closest to her and curious to know what had been able to spook Faye Faye so badly she started to move towards the dropped communicator. Faye promptly kicked it down the hallway out of her reach. Ed looked over to Faye in confusion as the older woman grabbed her arm and pulled her back hard but not roughly. "Don't look." She told Ed, her voice conveying she wasn't about to let the hacker anywhere near that communicator.

"But what…" Ed started to protest.

"Don't look." Faye repeated, pulling Ed next to her. Ed looked at the distant communicator, then up to Faye. The woman's skin was just as pale as it had been when she had received her shoulder wound, and her eyes were haunted. She just didn't think Ed shouldn't see what was on the screen for her own good, she was actually terrified of even the thought of Ed seeing what she had.

"Ed will keep Ed's eyes closed." She promised, not wanting Faye Faye to get any more upset. Faye un-tensed slightly but kept her grip on Ed's arm, almost like she was afraid to let the younger girl go. Spike and Jet exchanged glances, knowing that they had to look as well. After seeing Faye's horrified reaction, in spite of everything that had already seen and gone through, they knew it was something truly bad and that it was meant for all of them. They didn't want to look, but if for no other reason they had to so Faye wasn't the only one that went through this.

"I'll go first." Spike volunteered as he flicked on his own communicator. His face scrunched up in disgust and shook his head, grimacing, before turning off the device. His face tired to stay neutral but Jet could see the disgusted look and got a sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach. If even Spike had that kind of reaction to it…

(Better get it over with then.) Jet thought to himself as he brought his communicator up, looking from Spike to Meifa. He didn't need to tell her that she shouldn't be seeing this, but he also knew she was concerned about the effect this was having on rest of them. He didn't want to appear like he didn't want any support but he couldn't let her see whatever was so horrible. Spike understood and put a hand on Meifa's shoulder.

"Come on." He said as he began to lead her away from Jet. "Let's see if Faye's doing any better." Even though they could both see she obviously wasn't doing much better then she had a minute ago Meifa went with Spike. She glanced back at Jet once, and only when he was sure she wouldn't be able to see anything did he turn it on. It was as bad as the others had indicated, and Jet almost dropped the communicator himself at the sight. From the angle he could tell the other communicator had been set on floor and tilted so they got a sharp and clear view of what Skynet wanted them to see, Kyle's body.

Five pieces of broken rebar had been shoved through Kyle's chest and into the wall behind him, despite the armored vest he still wore. He hung there pinned to the wall like an insect, with blood pooling below his feet that were suspended several inches off the ground. A separate piece of rebar had been driven into his throat, but had been twisted, turned and manipulated in such a way that the wound on the throat was wide open. It gave the impression that the body had been decapitated, and it possibly would be if that spike was removed. One final piece of rebar pierced Kyle's forehead, keeping his head up and face forward. His face was recognizable, but only half of it. Jet could see small holes on one side, and from the blown out, ragged and bloody mess the other side of his face had become Jet knew he had been shot multiple times by a high powered weapon at close range. For some unknown reason his eyes had survived intact, both were open and lifeless, his mouth hanging open and blood dripping from it. Even though the communicator wasn't at face level Jet still felt like those dead eyes were looking right at him.

It was, to put it simply, a horrifying sight by anyone's account. It hadn't been enough for Skynet to show that their friend was dead. Not that he was basking in the fact that he had done it, that he was proud and had enjoyed doing it, no that wasn't anywhere near enough. He needed something more, something to ensure that they were afraid, that they knew what awaited the others when he finally caught them. As much as the mutilation repulsed and sickened Jet it also made him angry. Skynet was flaunting the fact that he thought so little of human lives, especially those close to Ed. For Jet it was infuriating enough that he was gripping the communicator so hard it was shaking, and he could feel the plastic it was made out of starting to give under the pressure.

"Getting him to stay put was easy, but you wouldn't believe how hard it was for me to keep his attention on the camera." Skynet commented casually from off screen. Then the laughter started. It was loud but surprisingly it was only partly maniacal. It was conveying a sense of superiority and triumph but mostly it was the laugh of someone who found something utterly and completely hysterical. It kept going and going but Jet didn't respond, so angry that he couldn't. Even if he could Skynet wouldn't be able to hear him, being too wrapped up in his own sick joke. It went on for several more seconds and unable to take it anymore Jet threw his communicator into the wall in a fit of rage. Even as his own shattered the laughs continued to come from Faye's discarded one until they started to become garbled, then skipping like they were coming from a broken TV. Mercifully the laughs at last dissolved into static as MPU finally managed to shut Kyle's communicator out of the loop. Even if the hallway was now silent, every one of them continued to hear Skynet's sadistic laughter echo in their ears.