A/N: Sorry for such a long delay... school. :\
shadow - Thanks. :)
TOK - Thanks, lol you already know. (Once again sorry for taking so long.)
acer-sigma - Lol yeah, but they might not know it's all going for John since they're likely going to kill anyone in there way.
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Reign of the Cameron: Chapter 20, by The Crusader
Originally posted on December 26th, 2009
How was he going to explain this? How could he even pull he together long enough to deliver the tragic news? Since he arrived at this future, he hadn't known a better friend than Allison. She supported John's search for Cameron, and supported him, even when no one else would. But once she learned the truth that Cameron was a machine, it was over. Could he have made Allison understand? Could Allison have ever accepted Cameron or John's feelings for her? He'd never know, thanks to that white-eyed Terminator who claimed to be Cameron.
The irony was not lost on John. The real Cameron, in her own time period must've killed Allison in order to infiltrate the Resistance in an attempt to kill him. Now, in this time period, history had repeated itself. Only it wasn't done with the intention of eventually killing John, it was the opposite intention. And it wasn't the same Cameron. John knew that now without a shadow of a doubt. The Cameron John knew would never have killed someone who meant so much to him. Even if that person was a threat. She proved that when she didn't kill Riley. At the time, John and Cameron both thought it was because of her glitch. John now felt that Cameron had grown to a point where she could, at times, value his feelings over his safety. But the white-eyed, black clad Cameron was a different story. A mockery of the person John loved.
I should have killed her. John thought. Suddenly realizing all the times he had heard someone else say that.
John left Allison's body where it was. He couldn't bare to carry her, he was so shaken with grief. And as usual, he couldn't help but blame himself. He approached the tent and asked to speak with Lewis. After a moment, the man came out and put his glasses on. He immediately noticed John's hurt expression.
"John…what happened?" "I…uh…she…" He was having trouble breathing.
"HKs!" A voice called out. They all looked to the sky and saw 10 of them approaching fast.
Immediately John and everyone went to battle stations. Without time to question how these HKs found them so quickly and secretly, the troops manned their RPG launchers and turret guns. Running, ducking, and shooting, John now felt that he was about to join Allison in death, the Resistance scattered as they attempted to flee for their lives. But it was looking worse and worse, as even more HKs seemed to join. John had never heard so much noise in his life. Explosions, screams, death. He knew this was a battle they couldn't win; they had to pull back and do it quickly before the machines killed everyone here.
During the battle, at one point John found himself alone near wreckage of Allison's tent. It occurred to her that he left her body here, and he had to find it before it was lost in the battle. He owed her at least a proper burial. Unfortunately for John, he didn't find her body. Or at least not the way he thought he would. Her body was dismembered and set aflame from the firepower of an HK, one that either didn't know or it didn't care that she was already dead. Her flesh was like burnt paper, just the way his mother described all those children in her dreams of Judgement Day. He could barely recognize Allison, and the sight made him vomit on spot. As if the body didn't suffer enough damage while she was alive. The machines would pay for this. He would honor Allison's life by destroying Skynet, but first by saving what was left of his comrades.
John rushed forward, as the remaining 5 HKs escaped. Kyle had taught him that it was the machines' pattern to gather more forces after victory, and then sweep through the battleground to make sure there were no survivors. John knew he didn't have much time, and he had to get the people to safety. He found Lewis and Max wounded on the ground. Lewis' lenses had been destroyed, but that was the least of his problems. He was also missing both his legs. John carried safety, hiding underneath an old bridge. Then he went back to get the rest, 6 survivors in all, not including himself. Fortunately one of them was a medic, but with limited supplies. He could bandage what was left of Lewis' legs but not give him anything for the pain.
"Connor, where's Allison?" One of them asked.
John bit his lip to keep from crying, but several of the other soldiers couldn't help it. Allison was special not just to John but also to everyone. She knew how to put a smile on people's faces in such dark times. Who would do it now? A few of the soldiers insisted that she wasn't dead, that she was still out there somewhere and they should go back for her.
"The machines will be back there any minute. It's suicide." John stated.
"They'll keep looking for us, we'll never make it back to base." Another soldier stated.
"Yes we will." Lewis finally spoke up. Then with his remaining hand he pointed a finger at John. "He's got friends in high places."
Max looked over to John. "Can you reach Cameron out here?" John remembered the communicator that the endo-Cameron gave him. He hated to have to contact her right in front of everyone. He wanted to speak to her privately, express his feelings without restraint. But here in front of all these people, for whatever reason they looked to him for the solution. They needed him, needed John Connor. And John Connor had to be strong for his people; even they weren't his people yet. He placed a finger onto his earpiece communicator, wondering how he let himself forget about it.
"Cameron?" He asked.
"John!" The voice called out, the concern evident in her tone. "Are you all right?"
"You know what's happened?"
"Are you all right?"
"As far as safety goes, yes I'm fine."
"But you're upset aren't you? Tell me what's wrong, John. Please." He could hear the concern in her voice and it tempted him to let it all out.
"There's more important things to worry about now. We've got at least 5 HKs hovering over what's left of the camp. When they finish there, they'll hunt after us. We need to get back our base without those things following us."
"John Henry's army will handle the situation at what remains of your camp. We are en route now. Once that is done we will rendezvous at your base, so that we can plan an effective counterattack. Your fallen comrades must be avenged." John kept the volume up loud enough so that they could hear. At Cameron's last words, he could see the resolve in the eyes of the 6 men sitting with him.
"John, do you understand me?" She asked.
"Yes."
"I need to know where to meet you. Where is your base?"
"Cameron, if you and your forces come to the base you'll get thermite as a welcoming present. And I'll be discharged right away if not killed."
"I won't let that happen. It's time for your General to learn the truth, and to give leadership to the man who deserves it."
The six of them looked to each other very confused. Except for Lewis who seemed very impatient.
"The base is at what used to be the Zeira Corp building." Lewis said.
"Thank you for explaining."
That trademark phrase made John realize that Cameron heard Lewis' statement. He was still unsure if this was the right decision and was about to tell her that, when she spoke again.
"John, it's time to go. Now. I love you, John."
Before he could reply, the connection went dead. John didn't even have time to reply, and suddenly he was worried for Cameron. Sure she had John Henry's army of machines but was that enough? And if she went to the base, what was to stop Derek from destroying them? Cameron seemed to be putting a lot of trust in John, perhaps too much. And she wasn't the only who was putting trust in him. "What do we do now?" Max asked. Max outranked John by quite a lot. As a matter of fact everyone outranked him, but it seemed that desperation got the best of them. Either way, John answered the question with authority in his voice.
"Move out."
--
Several hours after the last transmission from Allison, Kyle walked down the hall of the Resistance Base. He stopped each soldier that he saw and asked questions.
"Any word from Connor?"
"What happened to that last transmission with Allison?"
His responses were anything but satisfactory, and he demanded that everyone focus on finding out more. Then he went to meet with his brother in the General's office.
"This was a bad idea." Kyle said.
"It was ours. Don't forget that." Derek replied.
"We have to go out there. If anything happens to them-"
"Them? Do you even have to guess who the traitor is?"
"It can't be Connor. I'm not saying he's innocent, but he's not a traitor."
"What makes you so sure?"
"The same thing that kept you from treating him like anyone else you ever suspected of being a gray."
"Right now I'm really starting to regret that."
"Whatever happened we gotta send a team out there."
"I don't think that would be a good idea."
"Why not?"
"Because we just lost contact with Alpha Team as well."
Kyle was shocked. Alpha Team was stationed dangerously close to the Resistance Base.
Derek picked up his radio and ordered all teams to stay away from base.
"Derek, what the Hell's going on?"
"I don't know. But it's time to prepare the troops for the worst."
Weaver found The Eradicator sitting alone in the dark of her basement, apart from her sunglasses. For a moment the liquid metal Terminator thought that Eradicator was somehow inactive. When Weaver realized that this wasn't the case, the situation became far worse. And it was already bad enough. The Eradicator spoke before Weaver had a chance to.
"He sent me away." Weaver noted the change in The Eradicator's voice. It sounded so human, and so full of hurt. Weaver feared what this might mean.
"That is unacceptable." Weaver stated. "The current situation is-"
The Eradicator stood up and got right in Weaver's face. The suddenness of it caught her by surprise.
"Did you hear what I said?" The Eradicator asked. "He doesn't trust me anymore. It's all your fault! You took away everything about me that he loved, and now whatever I am, he wants nothing to do with it. He hates me." She lowered her face to the ground, repeating those last 3 words. She was still speaking in her human voice. She felt like she might cry but for some reason the tears just weren't coming. Perhaps she had lost that ability along with everything else that Weaver removed when she recreated her.
Weaver slapped The Eradicator across the face, forcing the gynoid's white eyes to look back up.
"I created you to effectively protect the Future General. To be free of everything that once held you back. John Connor is in danger right now, if you are incapable of protecting him, then I will terminate you right now and protect him myself."
"No, please. He needs me!"
"Show me that you can do this."
"I can. I promise." She said, speaking in her mechanical voice. But she slipped back into her human voice when she said, "I promise."
"I am not convinced."
"I will do whatever I have to." But even then her human voice kept resurfacing.
Weaver shook her head. Finally, The Eradicator picked up her sunglasses, put them on, and with her voice and face mechanical she repeated her last statement.
"I will do whatever I have to."
"I hope so, for all our sakes." Weaver replied.
"What is happening?" The Eradicator asked.
"General Reese is preparing for an invasion."
"Is one approaching?"
"Yes. John Henry told me that one of his teams is already en route to the base, to aid the Resistance."
"Is the other Cameron part of this?"
"He tells me that the emotional Cameron has abandoned his command."
"She has betrayed us all."
"She is the least of our concerns. Go to the base, retrieve John Connor and bring him to John Henry. I will go now to make sure my boy is protected. His team should keep Skynet at bay in the mean time."
The Eradicator walked to the ladder, until Weaver's voice called out and stopped her.
"Are you sure you will be able to function at 100% efficiency?" Weaver asked.
"Affirmative."
--
Hours later, Derek's instincts were proven correct. The base was under invasion; an army of machines like no other had come for them. Centaurs and HKs had taken out the vehicles and outside forces. Now the machines had broken in. People were dropping like flies, despite Derek's orders to follow the emergency evacuation plan. People heroically stood up against the machines, only to fall down within seconds. Legendary warriors supposedly honored dying in battle, it was considered glory. But here and now, Derek and Kyle Reese could see no glory in the way these people died.
Eventually however, Derek and Kyle followed their own orders, and escaped through the tunnels along with about half of the original force. Not nearly enough to organize an effective counterstrike. With so many troops dead or MIA before this invasion, things looked pretty bleak for the Resistance. Several members already injured, refused to keep running through the tunnels. They lay there on the ground and waited for death to claim them, despite the General's orders. They were in so much pain, and some of them lost people dear to them, and they had no desire to live. A small number of soldiers, still determined to fight, kept up the escape. As they ran for safety, they could hear several of their comrades commit suicide.
--
The battle still raged on, outside. A handful of humans still fought on the best that they could. They were terrified when they saw her, but she resisted the urge to kill them. She had to control her rage, even when they told her they didn't know what happened to John Connor. Neither aiding them nor hurting them, she continued her patrol of the area, through the alleyways of what was once a busy town. Zeira Corp, to her left showed no visible signs of damage, but her superior hearing told her that the place was invaded. John had to be inside, and she only hoped that he would trust her long enough to get him out. All probability scenarios included the termination of herself and/or John Connor.
"YOU!" A familiar voice stated. The Eradicator identified the voice as the other Cameron. The one that nearly killed her. The one that betrayed John Henry, Catherine Weaver, and probably John Connor as well. The Eradicator turned to face her foe, but was not prepared for what she saw.
It seemed that the other Cameron had lost of all her biosheath. Perhaps in this battle?
"Impostor!" The endoskeleton declared as it stepped closer.
The attack came quick, and with even more fierceness than the first time. The Eradicator barely had a chance to react to each and every quick punch. The opponent did not seem nearly as flexible or agile as the last time, but she made up for it with strength and brutality. At one point the foe grabbed The Eradicator's left arm, twisted it and pulled until it detached from the socket. The Endo-Cameron used the severed arm as a weapon, striking The Eradicator across the face, breaking the sunglasses and knocking her right to the ground. Even with a damaged HUD, The Eradicator could see that this wasn't the same Cameron that she fought with once. Who was it?
The Endo-Cameron picked up The Eradicator's twitching body.
"You brought this machine army here." The Endo-Cameron declared.
"How can you say that?" The Eradicator asked.
"You and are in the same place at the same time. That is all the proof I need."
The Endo-Cameron hurled The Eradicator far away, the body hitting the ground with so much force it broke through the gravel. But she was not finished, she forced herself to look up, just in time to see The Endo Cameron terminate a human soldier and steal its flamethrower. The Eradicator figured that either this terminator felt it needed the weapon quickly, or…
"You care less about the humans than I do." The Eradicator said.
"Wrong. I care a great deal about the fate of these humans. Just as the machines that lead this attack." Suddenly the endo's voice changed, sounding twisted and maniacal. "What I care about, is making sure that every human DIES!" She aimed the flamethrower at The Eradicator and turned it on. "Before you go to your destruction, there is something I want you to know…you will be blamed for the deaths of all those Resistance Fighters."
With that, the flame-thrower ignited, engulfing The Eradicator in flames. The Endo-Cameron walked away from the fiery wreck, stepping on what was left of The Eradicator's sunglasses on the way. The Endo-Cameron walked inside Zeira Corp, and all the machines saluted her.
She turned to one and asked: "Has John Henry's team been destroyed?"
"Easily." The T-888 replied.
"Good. Let us reshape this base to Skynet's design. Then we will wipe out every last living human, along with the Machine Resistance."
--
"People will accept anything. In the absence of the real hero, they'll accept anything that steps in to fill that role.
Even this dark, evil character."
-Brett Breeding, on creating the Cyborg Superman character.
NEXT CHAPTER...
"She's alive! She has to be! To Hell with your orders, I'm going after her."
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A/N: Hopefully I'll get the next chapter up sooner, once again sorry for such a long delay. Please review if you get the chance, one word is all I ask. :D