Author's Note: Well guys, here's the next chapter. Sorry it took so long to get out but maybe if I got more reviews, I would feel inclined to update more frequently (Hint, Hint). Do you guys like it, hate it, what? Tell me, come on I know you guys are out there, I can see my view count going up! This does not apply to those of you who always review (You know who you are ;)). So anyway rant over, here's chapter 8.
Chapter Eight: Answers
2008: Coltan Storage Warehouse
Kane was in shock. That should not have worked! What the hell is happening to me?! He thought. The next thing he noticed was that he was suddenly tired and hungry, as if compelling the terminatrix had taken a lot out of him. He was confused by this but he quickly came to his senses and looked at the T-X. It was standing in the same position and had a look of concentration on its face.
Warning! System corruption detected!
Attempting to compensate…
Attempt unsuccessful… unable to activate motor functions
Scanning for countermeasures…
Countermeasures found…
83% probability full system reboot will remove corruption
Rebooting System…
The T-X then shut itself down. Kane noticed this. I don't know how that compulsion worked but I don't want to stick around and find out how long it lasts. He thought. "We have to get out of here!" he said to Sarah and Derek, who were still in a daze over what had just happened.
Sarah broke out of her daze and was the first to respond. "What about the Coltan?" she asked.
"Fuck the Coltan, if we don't get out of here now, we're dead!" Kane replied as he ran over to them. As a last minute thought, he grabbed the body of the triple-8 he had destroyed and swung it over his shoulder with a grunt. He also turned to the two greys who were still alive. "You two will come with us" he said "you will not attempt to escape our custody, reveal who we are, or harm us in any way." The two greys then got up and followed Kane as he ran out of the building, with Sarah and Derek following him.
The three of them got to the SUV and Kane threw the body of the terminator in the back while the others got in. Kane then got in and quickly started it.
Meanwhile in the warehouse, the T-X was reactivating.
System rebooting…
Scanning for corruption…
No corruption detected… all systems fully operational
Action: Terminate Sergeant Michael Kane
The terminatrix ran out of the warehouse and noticed a black SUV driving away at high speeds.
Scanning…
Sergeant Michael Kane confirmed
Possible Actions:
Attempt to follow the vehicle
Attempt to destroy the vehicle
Determine next most likely place to intercept Sergeant Michael Kane
The terminatrix chose to go with the third action and walked over to the stolen car. As the T-X drove away, it calculated where it could next encounter Kane.
2008: On the way back
Sarah stared out the passenger side window as she contemplated the whole situation they were in. She was still having trouble believing that they were really working with a vampire who had used some kind of mind control on the two greys sitting in the backseat with scared looks on their faces. How the hell did I get myself into this situation? She asked herself. Then there was John and Cameron. A look of disgust quickly came over her face as she thought of her son with the machine. How could he love her knowing what she is? She thought. Then she thought of something else. Could Cameron possibly love him? No, it must be manipulating him. Unfortunately she knew she could do nothing about it because of the creature sitting next to her.
She glanced over at Kane and noticed him looking exhausted. "You ok? You look beat." She commented, not really caring one way or the other. Kane glanced over at her then back to the road.
"That compulsion took a lot out of me, I don't know why, that doesn't usually happen. I'm gonna need to eat when we get back" he replied to Sarah.
"You wanna explain how you were able to use your vampire mind-control on that terminator anyway?" Sarah asked.
Kane shrugged. "I have no idea" he said "it never worked before I came back in time."
"Maybe time travel affected you somehow." Sarah said.
"Maybe" Kane replied. He didn't say anything after that so Sarah turned her thoughts back to what had happened in the warehouse.
She had killed one of the greys, while Derek killed the other two. I've never killed anyone before she thought. Feelings of remorse and guilt began to flood her mind as she thought of the man's face as she shot him. No! She thought he was a grey, a traitor. I refuse to feel like this about killing him, he deserved what he got. With that in mind, she then resolved herself to not feel guilt over doing what needed to be done.
2008: Connor Residence
Twenty minutes later, the SUV pulled into the driveway of the house and the three of them got out of the car. After compelling the greys to follow him, Kane locked the doors of the vehicle and headed to the house.
The five of them walked into the house and saw John and Cameron sitting on the couch apparently studying what looked like terminator diagrams. They both looked towards the door and immediately jumped up when they saw the two unfamiliar, scared-looking people.
"John those are greys" Cameron said, recognizing the men.
Kane held up his hands in a placating gesture. "It's ok, I've compelled them to behave. Now if you'll excuse me, I need a blood bag" he said with exhaustion in his voice, before heading off towards the kitchen. The six of them stood uncomfortably for a few seconds until Kane came back in, sucking down a blood bag from one hand while holding another one in the other hand. Everyone except Cameron stared at him with mixed looks of fascination and disgust while he drank the blood. Once Kane was done drinking, he set the empty blood bags down on the table. "Ahh, that's better" he said, looking somewhat relieved.
He looked around, seemingly noticing everyone's looks for the first time. He looked at the two greys. His pupils dilated and he spoke in a hypnotic voice. "You two go out back to the shed and stay there. While you're there, don't move, attempt to escape, harm us in any way, or touch anything in the shed." Once Kane was done speaking, the two greys walked through the kitchen and out the back door.
As soon as the greys were gone, John turned to Kane. "Who are they?" he asked.
Kane turned to John. "Those are prisoners we get to interrogate" he said with a somewhat creepy smile on his face.
John just nodded. "Did, you guys destroy the Coltan?" he asked.
Kane's smile immediately turned to a frown at John's question. "No, we were about to set the C4 when the T-X showed up" he responded.
John immediately got a worried look on his face as he looked over at Sarah and Derek. "Are you guys ok?" he asked.
Sarah and Derek both nodded. "Yeah, we were able to get out of there before we were all killed" Derek said.
"How?" John asked. "I thought the T-X was the most dangerous model yet."
Kane looked uncomfortable. "I... was somehow able to compel the T-X. It knew I was a vampire and was going to stake me when I had a sudden burst of instinct which told me to compel it. It shouldn't have worked but I told the T-X to stop and it did."
John and Cameron exchanged glanced and John turned back to Kane. "How do you know it was compulsion, maybe it was just some glitch in the programming?"
Kane shook his head. "I don't think so, but I suppose we could test it out."
"How do you propose we do that?" John asked.
Kane didn't respond but instead turned to Cameron. "Stand on one foot" he compelled her. After a second or two, Cameron lifted her left leg off the ground and balanced on her right, a look of confusion was on her face.
Warning! System corruption detected…
Unable to access motor functions
Attempting to compensate…
Attempt failed… motor functions impaired
Scanning for countermeasures…
John saw what Cameron was doing and frowned. "Cameron what are you doing?" he asked.
"I cannot put my leg down" she replied.
"What do you mean you can't put your leg down?"
"I cannot access my motor functions. My CPU says there is some form of system corruption affecting my programming" Cameron said.
John turned to Kane. "You did that? How?" he asked.
Kane just shrugged while looking tired from the compulsion. "I have no idea, it shouldn't be possible" he replied.
"Well can you make her stop?" John asked, a hint of worry in his voice.
Kane nodded. He turned to Cameron, his pupils dilating. "You can put your foot down now" he told her.
Cameron immediately put her foot down.
Scanning for system corruption…
No corruption detected… motor control fully restored
"The system corruption is gone" she told the others.
John looked at Kane. "How is that possible? You said yourself that corruption doesn't work on terminators." He said.
Kane shrugged. "Like I said before, I don't know" He replied, then hesitated before speaking again. "But I know someone who might."
Sarah and Derek glanced at each other before Sarah spoke up. "Who?"
Kane turned to them. "There's another group of resistance fighters on the other side of L.A who came back at the same time as me. I don't know what their mission in this time is, but one of the people among them might know what's going on with me. I need to go find them."
Derek spoke up. "What about the greys in the shed?" He asked.
"Before I leave, I will compel them to answer all your questions so you guys can interrogate them while I'm gone" Kane replied.
"I want to go with you" John said suddenly.
Sarah and Derek immediately started to protest and even Cameron looked like she wanted to say something, however it was Kane who spoke first. "John, I don't think that's such a good idea. I know for a fact there's a terminator hunting them. It could be dangerous" he said.
"I don't care" John replied. "Almost everything we do is dangerous, and besides, I'm going to have to learn how to interact with my soldiers eventually anyway right?"
Before Kane could respond, Cameron spoke up for the first time since they got back. "If John is going then I'm going with him" she said, the tone in her voice leaving no room for argument.
Kane sighed. "Fine, you two can come. Sarah and Derek can stay here to interrogate the greys."
"John, it's too dangerous. You can't go." Sarah said.
Kane looked at Sarah. "John's right, he's going to have to learn how to interact with his soldiers eventually anyway. It might as well be sooner rather than later" he said. "Alright John, get a good night's sleep, we'll leave first thing tomorrow."
Sarah looked like she wanted to argue some more but apparently thought better of it and walked out of the room. Derek left soon after as well.
Kane then turned back to John and Cameron. "I'm still exhausted from both of those compulsions so after I take care of the greys in the shed, I'm going to sleep. Cameron, you should keep an eye out for the T-X. It's unlikely it was able to follow us but it's better to be safe than sorry." With that, Kane walked out the back door in the kitchen and left John and Cameron alone.
"John, you should go to bed" Cameron told John.
"Only if you come with me" John replied.
"I have to patrol for threats" Cameron said.
"Just until I fall asleep?" he asked with a smile on his face.
If Cameron were human, she would have sighed. Instead she rolled her eyes, as she had seen done on T.V. "Fine, let's go" she responded. She took John's hand and the two of them walked upstairs to John's room.
John undressed until he was just in his boxers and got into his bed next to Cameron. He then noticed a strange look on Cameron's face. "What is it?" he asked her.
"I am… concerned" she replied.
"About what?" John asked.
"The compulsion. If Kane can control terminators without having to reprogram them, then he could be a great threat to both Skynet and the Resistance" she replied.
"Whoa hey calm down Cameron" John said. "Kane is on our side, he won't turn on us. Don't worry." He smiled and hoped he had reassured her. "Goodnight Cameron" he said.
"Goodnight John" she responded. She still looked worried about this new development, but apparently decided to trust John's judgment. She stayed next to John for a few minutes until she felt his heart rate decrease and his breathing slow. Once she was sure he was asleep, she carefully got out of the bed and went to start her patrol.
2008: Outside in the Shed
Kane walked up to the shed in the backyard. He opened the door and walked into the shed. The two greys were standing around still with scared looks on their faces. As soon as Kane walked in, the greys immediately turned towards him and backed up instinctively. Kane watched them, amused, for a few seconds then stared into their eyes, his pupils dilating. "You two will stay in the kitchen of the house tonight. You will make no attempt to escape, leave the kitchen, contact anyone, or harm us in any way. You will stay there until I say otherwise. Now go there immediately" he said. The greys immediately walked out of the shed and in the door to the kitchen. Now I need to get some sleep before tomorrow Kane thought as he walked back towards the house.
The Next Morning – John's Room
John woke up to the sensation of Cameron tracing her finger on his chest. "Mmm, hey" he said, a smile forming on his face.
"Hey" she said back and leaned over to kiss him. He kissed her back. They stayed in each other's embrace for a few seconds before Cameron pulled away, a look of disappointment on her face. "We need to go, Kane wants to leave soon and Sarah is making pancakes" she says.
"Mmm mom's pancakes" John said, his voice heavily laden with sarcasm causing Cameron to smile.
"Come on, you should get your clothes on" she said as she got up.
Downstairs
John and Cameron walked down the stairs and noticed the two greys standing in the living room looking depressed. John almost felt sorry for them before he remembered who they were and what they had done.
The two of them walked into the kitchen and John almost immediately detected the scent of burning pancakes. "Wow they smell really good mom" John said with a smirk as he sat down at the table, Cameron sitting next to him.
Sarah turned her head and glared at the two of them before returning to her cooking. A few minutes later, Sarah finished making the pancakes and set a plate of them on the table in front of John, who started to eat. He offered some pancakes to Cameron, who politely declined. A few minutes later, Kane walked into the kitchen and walked over to the fridge, where he pulled out a blood bag and sat at the table to drink it.
"Do you really have to drink that stuff?" John asked Kane after watching him for a few seconds.
"Would you rather I fed off a living human?" Kane asked back.
"On second thought, no" John said before continuing to eat. Kane smirked and continued to drink from his blood bag. Sarah sat down on another seat with her own pancakes and began to eat.
"I still don't like the idea of you going on this trip John" she said.
Before John could respond, Kane spoke up. "Oh come on Sarah, don't you trust me?" he asked.
"Not in the slightest" Sarah said seriously. Kane just laughed before finishing off his blood bag. He threw it in the trash before heading out to the garage.
"Once you're done, meet me in the SUV and we can get on the road, the trip will take about an hour" he said over his shoulder to John as he walked out the door.
Once John was done eating, he and Cameron went out to the garage where they found Kane waiting for them, several gun cases having been placed in the back.
"Ready to go?" he asked them.
"Ready" John said.
"Then let's go" The three of them got into the SUV and took off driving.
1 Hour Later
After a fairly incident-free trip, the SUV pulled into the parking lot of a rundown apartment complex. John, Cameron, and Kane got out of the truck and looked at the building. "This is where the resistance fighters are?" he asked.
Kane nodded, then walked over to the back where he pulled out the shotgun he had used in the raid on the warehouse. "Just in case" he said, a smirk on his face. The three of them then walked towards the front door of the apartment block.
As they walked up the stairs, John turned to Kane. "So who was it you were hoping you would see here?" he asked.
Kane sighed while he thought about how to respond. After a few seconds of this, he responded. "She's a witch by the name of Elizabeth Taylor who came back with the resistance fighters. She's the daughter of the witch who gave me this" he said as he held up his daylight ring. "And… she's my girlfriend." John could have sworn he heard a hint of embarrassment in the vampire's voice as he said that, but he chose to ignore it.
They soon reached the top of the stairs where they saw a hallway with several doors. Kane walked up to the one numbered 247. He knocked three times, then heard the distinctive click of guns and movement as someone came up to the door. The door to the apartment opened a crack and a man appeared. "Who're you?" he asked, suspicion clear in his voice.
"Sergeant Michael Kane, resistance special forces" Kane replied. "I'm here to see Elizabeth." The soldier looked reluctant but stepped away when a brown-hair blue-eyed woman appeared and opened the door completely.
"Michael!" she exclaimed when she saw Kane. Then she saw John and Cameron. "Oh. My. God. General Connor? Both general Connors?" The other three resistance fighters in the apartment immediately stood up and saluted.
"Liz" Kane said, sounding somewhat relieved that he didn't have to compel the resistance fighter at the door. "You know I need to be invited in" he whispered, a smile on his face.
Elizabeth smiled knowingly. "Come in Sergeant" she said.
The three of them walked into the apartment. John hesitantly returned the resistance fighter's salutes. He then got his first good look at Elizabeth. She looked to be about twenty years old, was a little shorter than Kane, and had black hair and blue eyes. Kane leaned over to Elizabeth and whispered in her ear. "We need to talk" he said, then glanced at the other soldiers. "Privately." Elizabeth nodded and motioned towards the bedroom of the apartment.
10 Minutes Earlier
A man on a motorcycle watched as a black SUV pulled into the parking lot of the apartment complex he had been watching. Three figures got out of the SUV and walked towards the building.
Subject identities confirmed
General John Connor
General Cameron Connor
Sergeant Michael Kane
High probability subjects are meeting with resistance fighters
Action: Terminate
The triple-8 got off its motorcycle, pulled out its M4 assault rifle, and walked towards the complex.
Back to the Present
"So you think you can compel terminators now? Do you know how crazy that sounds?" Elizabeth asked Kane.
"I know how it sounds" Kane replied. "But I'm telling you it's true."
"So what do you want from me?" Elizabeth asked.
"I need you to find out why this is happening to me and what else could happen because of it" Kane replied.
"And how do you propose I do that?" Elizabeth asked.
"Don't you have the ability to contact the witch spirits on the other side or whatever?" Kane asked her.
"Umm… I suppose I could but…" before she could finish her sentence, however, the sound of the front door shattering hit their ears and a voice rang throughout the apartment.
"METAL!" one of the resistance fighters shouted.
5 Minutes Earlier
After Kane and Elizabeth had gone into the bedroom to talk, John and Cameron were left with the three other resistance fighters. Needless to say, the room was quickly plunged into a very awkward silence. This was due to the fact that John had no idea how to act around these men who obviously knew him in the future; that and the fact that the soldiers were too stupefied by John's appearance to say anything of consequence.
After a few minutes, John was about to ask them for their names when all five of them heard heavy, thudding footsteps come up the stairs and approach the other side of the door. The reinforced wooden door proved too weak to withstand the amount of force the triple 8 threw into it and it was slammed into the wall.
Then, several things happened at once. One of the resistance fighters shouted "METAL!" at the top of his lungs while the three of them went for their weapons. While this was happening, Cameron quickly shoved John behind her as the door to the bedroom opened to reveal Kane and Elizabeth. The triple 8 quickly scanned the seven individuals before it to determine the greatest threat before engaging. It immediately saw Kane and turned towards him.
Subject Identified: Sergeant Michael Kane – Vampire
Threat Level: High
Action: Terminate
The triple 8 shot one of the resistance fighters who was shooting at it with a pistol, then turned towards Kane. It immediately sprinted towards him. Kane, who was a little surprised that the triple 8 had gone for him, wasn't able to get out of the way in time and was subsequently smashed into one of the walls of the apartment. He groaned and tried to get up when the machine punched him in the face. There was a cracking sound as Kane's skull was fractured and he collapsed on the ground, unconscious.
"Michael!" Elizabeth screamed and pulled out a 9mm pistol. "Hey, Metal!" she shouted angrily as she shot the machine in the back of the head with the small pistol. The machine, who was about to rip Kane's heart out, barely flinched and turned its head towards Elizabeth. Before it could do anything, however, Cameron pulled the machine away from Kane and threw it across the room, where it smashed threw another wall. The other two resistance fighters turned and walked slowly towards the hole in the wall, one with a SPAS-12 and the other with a 45 caliber pistol.
The triple 8 suddenly came back through the hole with a pistol in its hand. It shot the resistance fighter with the SPAS-12 in the forehead before either one could react. It was about to shoot the other resistance fighter when suddenly there was a whooshing sound and Kane was standing behind the machine. "Now that wasn't very nice" he said.
The terminator immediately turned on Kane but before it could do anything, Kane's pupils dilated and he spoke in his hypnotic voice. "Don't move or do anything. Just stand there like a statue." The triple 8 immediately froze where it was.
Warning! System corruption detected…
All motor functions disabled… attempting to compensate…
Unable to compensate… motor functions non-operational
Scanning for countermeasures…
Elizabeth and the other resistance fighter had dumbfounded looks on their faces as the triple 8 suddenly stopped fighting. Kane looked around in annoyance. "Well don't just stand there, someone bring me a knife so I can get this thing's chip out!" he said.
Cameron immediately walked over to Kane and handed him a folding knife that was in her pocket. Kane took it and walked up to the machine.
Countermeasures detected… initiating system reboot…
Kane heard the faint whirring sound which indicated the machine had shut itself down and he knew he had to hurry. After several tense seconds, Kane was finally able to get the chip out of the machine. He sighed in relief and turned to face the others.
It was then that Kane noticed the first resistance fighter that was shot by the triple 8. He was on the floor lying in a pool of his own blood but he was still alive. Kane quickly walked over and crouched down beside the man. He pulled back his lips to reveal his fangs and bit into his wrist. He held his wrist up to the man's mouth, forcing him to drink his blood.
After he drank Kane's blood, the soldier's wounds immediately began to heal. After his wounds were healed, the man got up and turned to face Kane. "How…?" the resistance fighter trailed off.
Kane just smiled. "You're welcome" he said before turning and walking over to Elizabeth. He handed the triple 8's chip to John, who took it in surprise, as he walked by. "Do you believe me now?" he asked Elizabeth.
She nodded. "Yes I do. I'll contact the witch spirits for you" she said.
"Thanks, this means a lot to me" Kane said. He gave Elizabeth a quick kiss, then she went into the bedroom to prepare the spell.
20 Minutes Later
"I'm ready" Elizabeth called to Kane, who walked into the bedroom, leaving John and Cameron to try and explain what was going on to the other two resistance fighters, who clearly knew nothing about the supernatural elements involved in this.
Kane walked into the bedroom and immediately noticed several candles around the room. He also noticed Elizabeth sitting in the middle of a circle of salt. "Do it" he told her.
Elizabeth nodded and began chanting in a language Kane didn't understand, but knew it was connected to witchcraft. After about twenty seconds of this, the candles around the room flared up and Elizabeth threw her head back. Kane, having seen spells like this before, wasn't worried by this development and patiently waited for Elizabeth to come out of her trance.
About a minute of waiting passed until Elizabeth came to. She stood up and turned to Kane. "Well? What happened? Did you contact the witch spirits?" he asked her. She nodded. "Well what did they say?" he said with impatience and urgency in his voice.
Elizabeth, who until then had seemed distracted, suddenly focused on Kane. "They said… you're evolving."
Author's note
I know I know another cliffhanger, you guys must hate me lol. I want to apologize again for how long it took me to update the story but hopefully this longer than usual chapter makes up for the delay. This story was delayed mainly because I underestimated the impact real life would have on my ability to write. That and I'm working on other creative projects at the moment besides this, so this fanfic takes a backseat sometimes. Expect future chapters to take longer for me to upload than when I first started this story.
On that note, this story will end soon (Chapter 10 will probably be the last chapter) but don't worry, I will be writing a sequel that takes place closer to J-Day. How quickly it gets released depends mostly on how much you guys review the remaining chapters of this story (hint, hint) so make sure and leave a review giving me your honest opinion on what you think of this story so far. Thanks again to everyone who reviewed so far and look out for chapter 9. Later guys