IX
Skynet lets out a sinister laugh, and John knows that it feels a sense of pride in murdering Kate. He feels a surge of anger, and John resists acting on this emotion. There is only one logical course of action right now, and that is to get his mother and father to the time displacement device. If Skynet discovers his intentions, his mother and father will never make it back to their appropriate timeline. He will merely become an exile in time, and this timeline will be the last one he ever lives.
"She had nothing to do with any of this," John says.
"She had everything to do with this," Skynet says. "Your involvement with her is the sole reason you became self-serving. She had to be killed for that reason alone."
He cannot contain his anger any longer. John leaps forward and pins Skynet to the ground. All he knows is that somehow he will find a way to destroy this thing before the counter reaches zero.
Skynet dissolves itself, and it flees. It is stalling for time, and John thinks of the only ace up his sleeve. As far as Skynet is concerned, they are trying to shut down Genisys. If he can get his mother and father back to 1984, the cycle will begin again. Perhaps in that timeline his luck will be better than it is now.
"We have to find my dad," John says to his mother. "There is a way to stop this."
...
Sarah is unsure what John has planned, but she is just going through the motions at this point. With Genisys only minutes from activating, she is willing to try anything to stop that monster from coming to life.
She follows John through the winding metal hallways. She thinks of how all three of them can still be a family, and she tries to wrap her head around the reality of that. This John is still her son, but in a different walk of life where she was an entirely different person. She wonders if he will even see her as his mother.
Sarah sees Kyle with Pops a few feet ahead of them. She races towards him and shouts, "Kyle!"
"Sarah," he shouts towards her.
He stops and glances at the both of them. His brows raise, and he asks, "Where is Kate?"
"She's..." Sarah doesn't want to finish that sentence, and let's that word hang in the air.
"She's dead," Kyle's tone is a mixture of exhaustion with a hint of anger. "Fuck..."
"We don't have much time," Pops reminds them. "You may grieve later. Now we must stop Genisys."
Sarah wishes that Pops had a better bedside manner, but she recognizes he is doing the best he can with his limited range of emotional support. Aside from that, he is absolutely correct in his words. Time is of the essence, and now is not the time to grieve.
"I have an idea," John says. "Follow me."
Sarah follows John down an endless array of tunnels. They enter a huge door at the end of the hallway, and she stops to see the a large piece of equipment in front of her. She knows what this machine is, and John's plan becomes clear to her.
"John," she is so uncertain. "We can't just hop back and forth through time. We've already altered the timeline so many times before. You do not know how this will effect another block of time."
"I'll be right behind the both of you," his eyes looks so lost as he speaks. "It's the only way."
"What about Pops?" she asks.
"I will return to your drop point in 1984 with John," Pops says.
Sarah wants to argue. Something just doesn't seem right, and she knows that her son is withholding something from him. She turns to Kyle, and she just wants him to agree with her. She doesn't want to live the life she's been living in so many different strands of time.
"Kyle," she is begging now. "Please say something. Tell them that this is a bad idea."
"No," he says. "We should go back. Right now we are exiled in a timeline that neither of us belong in. We will be wanted criminals. We can't stay here and live a normal life."
"Our lives have never been normal, Kyle," Sarah says. "We can make this work here with our son."
"No," Kyle shakes his head. "We will be on the run from the government. We can't hide. Technology in this year is too advanced."
Sarah becomes tense, and she just wants someone to agree with her. How can they not see that this is just going to restart everything? They can stop Judgement Day in this timeline once and for all if they'll just listen to her.
"John...please..." she pleads as tears form behind her eyes. "We can stop Genisys. We can be a family."
John walks up to his mother. He takes her left hand in his, and he traces a path on the palm of her hand. "It's a straight line. You just go, and you don't look back."
Sarah forces back the tears that are threatening to fall. "John..."
She doesn't want to leave, but suddenly she trusts his judgement. "Just promise you'll come back for us."
His voice is breaking as he speaks. "I'll see you again. I promise."
...
"We are not returning to 1984," Pops says. "You never intended to return."
"No," he says. "We don't belong in this timeline or the last one. We have to stay here and stop Skynet from following my parents back."
"Affirmative," Pop says. "It is the logical course of action - theoretically."
John had expected that Pops would agree with him. He hopes that his mother will eventually come to understand his choice. He knows that his father will understand, but his mom is stubborn. She's always been so damned bullheaded. She's latched onto the idea that Judgement Day can be stopped, but John has come to understand that perhaps Judgement Day is humanity's inevitable fate. Perhaps this next time around, John can defeat Skynet and end the eternal cycle he's been trapped in for years.
"We should self-destruct the time displacement device," Pop suggests. "It is the only device in this building that can destroy Skynet."
There is a string of gunshots. Skynet has found them. It emerges from where its hiding, and its former amusement is replace with seething anger.
"You sent them back!" it screams.
"Affirmative," Pops enters. "I will not allow you to follow them. I will protect Sarah Connor even if it means my demise."
"I will scrap the both of you," Skynet hisses. "I will follow them back through that machine, and I will make sure that Sarah Connor and Kyle Reese each die long painful deaths at my hands."
John can feel that anger rise within him. He races towards Skynet and pushes it to the ground. Skynet is quick to kick him off of it, and it drops kicks him before he can pull himself off of the ground.
John notices Pops starting the self-destruct sequence on the time displacement device. A blue light feels the room as a soft humming sound resonates from the time displacement device. Skynet turns his attentions to Pops and rushes towards him. John watches Pop sidestep and grab Skynet. Pops slams Skynet on the floor of the time displacement device.
This is where this ends. The people of this timeline will not have to live a lifetime of war and despair, and this version of Skynet will soon be turned to ash. John runs to the time displacement device and helps Pops hold Skynet on the metal floor.
The skin is falling away from Pops revealing his original T-800 form. Pops is slowly shredding to pieces, and the pieces start to scatter through the sphere of energy. John is now holding Skynet down by himself. He's glad that he can no longer feel physical pain, because he's sure that this would hurt like hell. He watches as tiny little pieces of him disappear into the energy field one by one.
Skynet lets out a high pitched hissing scream as it slowly disintegrates into several tiny little pieces. John looks down at his hands. He's starting to fall to pieces himself. There is this part of him that fears what may happen to him after he is torn to pieces in this field of energy.
As the last pieces of him fall away, new memories surface within him. He sees the beginning of something new, and he no longer feels fear. He sees the frames of his life in the energy filed, but they are events he's yet to experience. It's 1993, his father hands him a gift while his mother brings in a birthday cake. The image fades out and it's 1995. He's running from a police officer in a mall hallway. The image fades in, and he sees himself with a T-800 model and his father in the hallway of a mental institution. His mother is there in a white gown. His father holds her as she cries. The image switches again. It's still 1995. His father is dying. He never felt fear like this. When you send me back - remember what I've told you Skynet will be waiting for you. His father draws his last breath.
He's almost gone now. The last pieces of himself are falling away from him like sands falling from a shattered hourglass. More memories fill his head as he falls away. It's 1997. He's in a basement. Kate is there. She's smiling at him. He kisses a girl for the first time in his life. His memories fast forward a few months forward. Judgement Day occurs right on schedule. It is 2029. The Colorado resistance succeeds. John is prepared this time.
And, in within his last seconds of his life, he realizes that Judgement Day cannot be stopped. His father will always die too young. He will meet his wife in every timeline. He will always be destined to be humanity's last hope.