Chapter 3: Bluff

They returned to Crystal Peak, welcomed by Savannah. She looked anxious. The jet landed, the ramp was lowered and Cameron stepped out first with Zander. Instantly, Savannah smiled, "You sneaked off…" She accused.

Zander just shrugged, looking away. Cameron looked at her son, amused.

"So…anything happened while we were gone?" John asked, smiling as he left the jet.

"No. Mr Ellison handles home-y things well." Savannah grinned.

"See? Even if I stayed here, I wouldn't be any help…" Zander grumbled as they walked to their quarters.

"Alright, none of those, Zan." John interrupted, "I still have a score to settle with you…"

"Hey! You broke our agreement first. Mom was not supposed to be put out in the battlefield! Not until my baby brother…or sister is born!" Zander snapped. Cameron sighed and both of them clamped their mouths shut as she walked past them to the room.

John shot Zander a meaningful glare before slipping into the room after Cameron and shutting it. Zander sighed dramatically, dropping down on the couch. He laid down on it and closed his eyes, smiling. At least he knew one thing, he saved his dad's ass out there but dad was just too stubborn to admit that…


John led Cameron inside, his hand on the small of her back. He guided her to the bed, removing his gun and placing it on the table. Cameron did likewise. Firearms were dangerous on them when they were in a room together. John sat her down then he knelt down in front of her, taking her hands.

"Can we talk now?" John asked; his eyes soft. Cameron looked at him, her face blank. Then she lifted her right hand from John's hands and touched his cheek gently with her fingers. She watched as his lips twitched, slowly turning into a smile. Her slender fingers explored his left cheek, running along his lips to the other cheek. His eyes remained closed but Cameron could feel the warmth spreading out in his heart without looking into his eyes. She used the back of her fingers now, to brush his right cheek. John knelt there quietly, his eyes closed but his smile remained, as Cameron's fingers continued up temple and to his forehead.

She was so caught up in this that she didn't see John slowly opened his eyes. It was until his hand took hers did Cameron seemed to notice he was moving again.

"What was that about?" John asked, his voice barely above a soft whisper. He pressed her right hand in both of his.

"John, what if…" Cameron started, hesitating.

"Yeah?" John's smile remained there on his face, wide and happy.

"What if I'm not there for you, one day?" Cameron asked, her eyes studying his reaction warily. She saw his smile vanish into thin air, replaced by a frown. His eyes became downcast, a dark shadow over his attractive green orbs. He gritted his teeth, the tendons in his neck showing prominently but his hands remained gently holding hers. Slowly, his dark eyes shifted up to meet hers. She noticed practically his entire torso was shaking. As he looked into her eyes, his lips were pressed into a thin line.

Cameron knew she'd crossed the line. Without hesitation she slid down from the bed, wrapping her arms around his trembling torso and pressing her face into his shoulder. She felt his warm embrace on her, his arms around her waist. His shoulders were much broader than she'd thought, and comfortable. She snuggled closer to him but was bewildered when she felt an annoying force pulling her away from her.

John held her by her shoulders at arms length away from the comfort of his arms. Before speaking, he helped her back up on the bed. Making dead eye contact with her and giving all his attention, John parted his lips to speak, "Cameron," His voice sounded pained, It started a dull throbbing in Cameron's chest. Then a smile appeared on his lips, none of happiness but pain again, "I don't think it's possible I could live, without you…no…it's not possible."

Cameron stiffened, "Even if I'm not dead?" She whispered out. She regarded his reply cautiously.

He seemed to be thinking about it hard before replying to this, "If I'm positive you're not dead, I could. But I won't stop looking until I turn that corner to find you. I would live as long as you live." Cameron could tell John picked his words carefully and every single one of them was sincerely and truthful. John's tell forbid her doubt. Then John continued, interrupting her thoughts, "But if you're dead…I'm dead. You would do the same for me in a heartbeat."

Cameron pursed her lips, her eyes brimming with tears, "This is not happening…" She mumbled, her lower lips trembling hard as Cameron scrambled for coherency. She steadied herself, "We're two different beings." Her statement was strong and firm, at least it seemed enough to drill through John's thick irrational wall of love for her, "We can live without the other." She insisted.

"Not the way I see it…" John countered, his strong witty strength all gone.

"Well you're not seeing well." Cameron reasoned, her voice annoyingly shaky, "We exist as two different…entities."

John blinked, "Could you live without me?" He shot back.

Cameron flinched, she didn't see that coming…"That's different." She dug up an old excuse, "You are my life. You are the reason I exist. First to kill you then to protect you." She said this as coldly as she could to John. That got him.

He didn't bother coming up with another response. John nodded knowingly, rising to his feet as he let go of her hand. Cameron furrowed her brows, puzzled to his response, "alright… I get it." John mumbled, "I'm sorry." He whipped around quickly and marched out of the room, letting the door slam behind him. Cameron shot up to her feet and went after him but when she got out of the room, she saw Zander sitting up in the couch, looking at the closed door of their quarters looking just as puzzled.

"Mom?" He turned to her.

"Stay here." She instructed firmly before running off, quickly unlocking the door with the pass code. Cameron got out of their quarters, slowing her pace as she realized she didn't know where John was. Anxious that he'll do something stupid, she ran. Cameron got to Sarah's quarters first. Perhaps his comfort from being hurt by her would be with his mother, Cameron hoped.

She knocked on the close door, her heart pounding away swiftly in her ears. Sarah opened the door.

"Is John here?" Cameron asked quickly, glancing into the room behind Sarah. Clearly, John was not there because Sarah frowned.

"What? I thought John was with you?" Sarah demanded, "He never leaves you." She added grudgingly.

"Well, he did." Cameron growled, looking down the empty corridors.

"What happened?"

"I told him…"

Sarah gaped, "you wouldn't…"

"I did." Cameron averted her stare guiltily, "Sort of. I gave him a situation to think about and…"

"He's hurt." Sarah muttered.

"I didn't want to hurt him!" Cameron gritted her teeth, feeling her tears flow down her cheeks.

"Too late. You search down the soldiers' resting quarters. I'll go down the civilian tunnels." Sarah said quickly, "John's too smart to be found by John Henry if he wants to hide from you intentionally, we'll go to John Henry as a last resort."

Cameron was already off to the soldiers' quarters before Sarah could finish. She ran past soldiers, who couldn't turn fast enough to salute her, and civilians. Cameron didn't want to ask any of them if they'd seen John; they shouldn't know their general was somewhere nursing his emotional wound. Maybe later but not when he's missing. Cameron ran down the tunnels, seeing many soldiers sitting against the wall, resting. She couldn't find John, he was not here. She was just about to run back when something struck her.

She whipped around to run deeper into the soldiers' resting tunnels; to where the 'higher ranked' soldiers had their own rooms; to where Katherine Brewster was.


Sarah marched down tunnels after tunnels, sickened by the sight the dirty civilians, huddled up in a corner and muttering as she past them.

She knew something like this would happen. It was only sooner or later with Cameron's imminent death. On the jet, she'd asked if Cameron wanted to tell him that. But to be honest, if Sarah were in her shoes, she couldn't be sure if she would tell John that she was dying. Cameron was on a dangerous position and a wrong move would lead to dire consequences. This was one of the consequences.

Who knew if the great John Connor was somewhere, hanging off a ledge, pressing a gun to his head or sobbing in a corner holding in his broken heart.

Sarah was starting to embrace the fact that his son was in love with a machine, who was less and less a machine everyday. But it was difficult to believe that he couldn't live without her, that she had so much control over him. Sarah was sure John would leap off a cliff if it could make Cameron smile. Not just to a machine but it was hard to believe any human being would die for someone they love like John and Cameron would for each other. Their love was stronger than Sarah had ever seen.

Even when they were looking at each other without physical contact, Sarah felt like she was intruding a private moment.

Whatever it was, she could never forgive Cameron if her son, John, died for this. She'll kill Cameron, or maybe, Cameron would do it herself.


"Have you see John?" Cameron blurted the moment Kate's door cracked open.

"No." Kate stated bluntly. Cameron looked down, instantly disappointed, "Why? Is he missing?" Kate demanded.

"No." Cameron replied softly, walking away. She heard the door close behind her and Cameron kept walking. Her heart sank, or so she thought so. The ache in her chest and the guilt kept out the uncomfortable perspiration and the throb of her tired legs.

She kept walking, hoping by some miracle, John would come to her. Then she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was gentle touch.

Cameron's happiness broke through all the depression as she spun around, beaming but it wasn't her love. It was Barthelow. Paul was his name. The disappointment was overwhelming and Cameron hadn't learnt to accept these emotions fully. With her cloudy mind, she spoke, "John?" It came out in a whimper.

Barthelow raised an eyebrow, his eyes darting around her surrounding, "Connor not here? I thought you're his pet?" He smirked, "Or was it the other way around?"

Cameron ignored the insult although in normal circumstances, anyone insulting her would live but anyone insulting John would crawl away with some broken bones. She looked away, frowning.

"Hey! Are you deaf?" Barthelow pushed at her shoulder harshly. She flinched, stepping back from the force.

"Back away." She ordered distractedly. No one was to touch her…

"Or what? You'll stare me down?" He taunted her, his large and rough hand grabbing her around her wrist.

"Don't touch me!" She twisted deftly out of his hold, positive that would leave a large bruise.

Barthelow burst into laughter, "So now you're the messiah? I though it was Connor." Then behind him, Cameron heard loud guffaws. She looked up, alarmed. He was not alone. There were men and she recognized them to be those who'd just fought at Serrano.

Then something struck Cameron, "Aren't you supposed to be at Serrano?" She demanded.

Barthelow feign to be shocked, "Really? And who are you to tell me what to do?" He shot out a fist at her. Cameron caught it, tempted to snap his wrist with a simple flick of her own, but she was quite sure his wrist was much useful to John intact than broken. She let go of his fist, ignoring his shock. She spun around and walked away but then he spoke again, "Where's Connor huh? Hiding in his hole after getting so many men killed at Serrano Point?"

Cameron lashed out at him, punching him in his face. She heard a prominent crack of his nose just before he spun and crashed to the floor on his stomach. His hand cupped his bleeding nose as he turned to face her. His wrist was useful but she was pretty certain a soldier could fight with a broken nose.

"You broke my nose!" Barthelow shouted.

Cameron cracked a small smile of amusement. John would not approve this but it was necessary. They have to have certain authority over soldiers, at least over someone like Barthelow.

"I'll kill you bitch!" Barthelow scrambled to his feet, pulling out his gun. Cameron reached for hers but felt an empty holster. She glanced at it, growling inwardly. She looked up and Barthelow had his gun in his hands, pointing it at her and looking ready to pull the trigger any moment now.

"Sir, maybe it's not such a good idea?" A young man walked forward.

"Shut up Green! I know what I'm doing!" Barthelow barked.

"Green is smart." Cameron smiled charmingly at him. The young soldiers, Green, looked smitten as he stepped back, blinking idiotically under her attractiveness.

"Shut up bitch!" Barthelow growled.

"You're going to die Barthelow." Cameron turned to him, putting on the blank death mask.

"We'll see who die today." Barthelow seethed. Cameron smirked, lunging forward so quickly and grabbing the barrel of his gun, twisting it away from her. It went off, shooting on the concrete. Everyone flinched except Cameron. She glared at Barthelow, elbowing him in the guts, toning down on the force. The wind was knocked out of him as he fell on his butt.

Cameron pulled the safety on the gun and holstered it, smirking. The rest of the guys stood there, shell shocked. She smiled warmly at them before turning to Barthelow with her cold stare.

"I mean it." Cameron stated blankly, turning around. Then she heard the wind stir with a movement. She spun around to face Barthelow who was on the floor but he was already on his feet, in his hand was a knife. Cameron looked at it, cocking her head.

"Mom!" Cameron stiffened, hearing Zander calling her from behind. She spun around quickly and dashed to the corner she knew her son would come from, so did Barthelow. She wanted to cry out for him not to come but that would do all but stop him and Cameron knew that, "Mom!" His calls became rushed as he began to run. He turned the corner and she saw him. Zander saw the knife.

"Stay there." Cameron ordered him firmly. Zander stiffened, glaring at Barthelow. Cameron turned to the soldier, "You can't fight me…" She reminded him.

Barthelow grinned, running forward and punching Cameron in her face, hard. She saw it coming but she also saw his men twitching behind him with their guns raised at Zander. She was shaken as the force brought her to the floor. Cameron could hear Zander's snarl as she laid there for a moment. Barthelow ignored Zander, glancing at one of his men, "Take the camera, we don't need their tech calling." Cameron heard gunshots went off as she scrambled for footing. She licked her lips, tasting blood. She propped herself up on the floor by her elbows, ready to get up.

"Put down the knife." Zander growled, "Or I will kill you." He threatened. Cameron could see her son meant it, she could see it in his eyes, John's eyes. But to anyone ordinary, he was a ten year old boy who could barely shoot properly. Barthelow barked a laugh, lunging at Cameron with the knife. Zander roared angrily. He dashed forward.

"No!" Cameron gasped, scrambling to her feet. She grabbed Zander by his arm as he ran past her. The strength of his pull caught her off guard and Cameron was swung around to face Barthelow but she held him fast, wrapping her arms around his torso. She knew he was more than capable of killing men armed with guns much less a knife but she was protecting him, from his own rage. Zander cried out in fury in Cameron's hold, flailing to get out of it but somehow. He was like a wild animal, led blindly by fury; like he had always been since a young child He struggled from Cameron, stepping in front of Barthelow.

He was moving so fast like he was trained to do all his life. The knife, he got for his birthday from Cameron, was in his hand all of a sudden. If someone would've blinked, they would've missed how he'd drew it from his belt. He flicked the blade out, the carving of 'Connor' shone proudly on the clean shiny blade.

"That's a wrong move." Zander commented, smirking but he was taken over with rage. He made to lunge at Barthelow, making the first and last strike but Cameron was there, her hand on his arm. He gritted his teeth, "Let me go!" He roared, turning to Cameron. She looked into his eyes, barely recognizing him. His eyes were burning. With a savage cry, he tore his arm from her grasp and went at Barthelow. Cameron saw Zander hacked Barthelow's arm as the poor soldier brought it up to protect his neck. Blood spurt everywhere.

Then just as John taught Zander, the boy kicked at Barthelow's stomach, causing him to lose his footing. Zander planted his left feet down and kicked Barthelow full in the face with his right that was covered with the hard sole of his combat boots. The poor soldier fell back and laid on the floor, helpless as Zander raised his knife high in the air, readying for the stab.

Cameron took two steps forward, reaching for his hand to stop him but with a little shift in the movement, Cameron grabbed the blade instead and twisted it away from his hand. She felt the skin at her palm split, spilling blood on the sharpened edge of the knife. Zander spun around and without looking at his mother, he dove for his knife but Cameron was quicker no matter how agile and smart her son was. After all, John's theory was that he got it all from her. She threw the weapon away. It spun out of the control for a moment and then landed on the concrete.

Zander glanced at the knife and ran for it but Cameron whipped around, taking his face in her bloodied hand.

"Zander!" Cameron breathed out, cupping his face in her hands, "Stop…I said stop!"

She saw her boy, hesitating in her warm touch, warmer due to the blood. The flame in his eyes flickered once but before he could completely get himself back, Cameron heard something. Zander's eyes glanced behind her, widening. Cameron spun around, and then she felt a strong piercing pain in her shoulder. She gasped, stepping back. Barthelow's knife was embedded in her shoulder by his hand. She felt someone's hand on her back supporting her and heard Zander's cry of anguish followed by something incoherent.

She blinked, trying to clear her mind of the pain. She saw her boy jumping on Barthelow. He dodged the bullets shot at him by Barthelow's men like an arrow, taking out the armed men unharmed. Then with a strong punch, Barthelow hit the dust. Zander kicked him in the face and leaned over, grabbing his collars. Zander landed punch after punch on Barthelow from when he struggled and trashed till when he was still and quiet. Zander kept on hitting him.

Cameron winced, touching her bleeding shoulder. Gritting her teeth together, Cameron yanked it out, hearing her flesh squelch in objection and the blade coming in contact with her coltan frame. She tossed the knife away, stumbling to her feet. She had to stop Zander before he does something terrible his father did and regretted. Something his father had done and hated everyone for, just because he couldn't control himself in a moment of anger and protection of his loved ones. Something John did only because Cameron wasn't there to protect him and that he had to protect her; he killed a man.

Cameron grabbed Zander's shoulder, turning him around from Barthelow forcefully. His pupils were dilated and he was breathing hard, quick angry breaths. She took his fists in her hands gently, shushing him till his breathing reverted back to the smooth and even intakes Cameron was so used to hearing.

His darkened green eyes became a lighter shade as he calmed. Zander blinked then his eyes wandered to her bloodied shoulder, he gasped, "Mom!" His fists were pulled from her hands and they tended to her shoulder. The flesh there was coated with blood and a little of her endo-skeleton showed. Zander barely cringe upon seeing it. He pressed his palm on her shoulder, trying to stop the blood flow. Cameron gritted her teeth, feeling the pain stab at her shoulder again.

"I'm fine." Cameron assured him, patting his shoulder with her good hand. Zander's eyebrows shot up in worry. Cameron smiled but her eyes caught a movement in her periphery vision. She looked behind Zander to see the, three, men Barthelow had with him. They were unarmed due to Zander's little outburst and their mouths were hanging open. Zander frowned, turning around. They watched as the three soldiers' expression turned from shock to anger.

One of them was the first to clear his mind in time to shout, "Metal!" The warning echoed around the base. Zander growled, picking up his knife from the floor. They scrambled for their weapons as well and Zander wanted to get another whack at them but Cameron grabbed his arm firmly this time. He turned to her.

"No. You've done enough damage today." She said, hiding a glance at Barthelow's beaten and now unmoving body.

Zander contemplated for half a second before nodding stiffly. He held her by her arm and helped her up, "Alright…but we got to get you away from here." Cameron nodded, standing up with Zander's help.

"I'm fine, run!" Cameron told him. Zander hesitated but ran. Cameron shot a backwards glance towards the men before darting off. They took the shortcut off to the exit. The tunnels of the shortcut were congested and smelled worst than any part of the base but they had no choice, at least those tunnels were empty. Zander stopped suddenly.

"We got to stop, your shoulder." He panted.

"No." Cameron insisted although she was half leaning on the slimy wall.

"Well, you're right I guess. We got to get out of here before they find you." Zander nodded but Cameron frowned.

"What?" She furrowed her brows, confused, "Zander, we're not leaving here."

"But the soldiers will kill you!" Zander protested.

"They will need John Connor to survive and win. Running is not an option." Cameron stated, firm.

Zander stared at her in disbelief, "Did you think I really intended Dad to run with us?"

Cameron was shocked, "But-"

"We're fine on our own Mom." Zander interrupted.

"I know that but John…." Cameron's voice trailed off as she recalled how traumatized he was when she set the 'made up' situation for him which was about to happen.

"Dad would be fine without us. He broke his promise!" Zander spoke through his clenched teeth.

"He didn't!" Cameron stated curtly.

"He said he'd protect you!" Zander seethed, "He lied." His eyes flew over her wound.

Cameron was speechless.

"Well…at least we know I'm good for only that." Zander swallowed, glancing nervously down the empty tunnels, "I will protect you." He looked down at his hands, muttering. They were trembling so badly. Cameron could tell punching Barthelow like that was terrifying even for the attacker.

"I know that. You always have, since you were a little boy…" Cameron smiled, taking an unsteady step to Zander, "But we can't leave your father…the soldiers would kill him."

"Not if he pretended he didn't know me or you and that we were picked off the roadside." Zander smirked.

Cameron cringed at the harsh words, "Your father would never do that. He's not heartless."

"Whatever it is, we have to leave." Zander rubbed his forehead. Cameron stayed rooted there. She didn't want to leave; to fulfill that made up situation so quickly. But like John had said, he'll live if only he know she lived. Though that was said when he loved her…Cameron can't help but wonder, after that would he still love her? After all that?

Cameron didn't know if she should listen to Zander. She mostly had but this was insane. Sure, they'd have no problem getting out of this base, it was barely guarded and there was a plane in the bay just enough for both of them. They could take some weapons from the armory, no one would even notice. She could leave John, with Zander and the unborn child with her; she could leave him, taking away everything he'd love from him.

"Mom! We have to go…" Zander said urgently, "It's only a matter of time before they find us again and shoot us." He reached out, taking her unharmed hand. Cameron caught the cringe on his face as he laid his eyes on her palm with the long gash from his own knife. He walked deeper into the deserted tunnels, the one that leads to the armory. His hand felt different from when Cameron remembered.

The last time they held hands while walking was a while back now. She'd caressed his hand as a comfort the last time but she'd never realized how much he'd grown. Cameron swore she felt calluses on his hand. She hadn't even known when he got them…

Cameron dug her heels in, stopping Zander along with her, "No." She stated. Zander furrowed his brows in disapproval and worry but after looking into her eyes, he nodded. Keeping their hands connected, they turned and walked back. They went straight to the infirmary, using the more quiet tunnels.

Cameron had thought she was 'fixed'. But to her annoyance, as she kept bleeding, her head felt lighter and lighter. Her vision blurred and she could barely form a full sentence of more than 10 words without stopping. Zander grew worried and they were half way there when Zander heard something. He stopped, holding Cameron back.

He stiffened, pulling out his knife, coated with his own mother's blood. Zander's heart ached when he saw the blood but he will use this to kill whoever wants to hurt Cameron. He will protect her because his father isn't doing so…

Sarah appeared around the bend. Zander relaxed but only slightly.

"Cameron? Zander? What are you doing here?" Sarah demanded but as she approached, she saw Cameron's wound, "What happened?" She came forward, holding Cameron's shoulders.

"I'm fine Sarah. John?" Cameron asked, blinking.

She shook her head grimly, "Can't find him. I was about to get to the control centre."

"I'll look for him…" Zander spoke, pressing his lips into a thin line. Sarah regarded Zander,

"I'll take care of her." Sarah assured. Zander replied with a very doubtful look, "Promise." She added. The boy dashed off, glancing back to Cameron twice before disappearing around a farther bend.

"I get you to the room and-" Sarah spoke, examining Cameron's shoulder but she was interrupted.

"There she is!"

Sarah spun around, confused. At the end of the tunnels, she recognized a few of their soldiers, armed with guns like always but the only difference was that they were aimed in their direction. Sarah frowned before comprehension reached her mind, her eyes sweeping over Cameron's wound.

"Stand down." Sarah ordered.

"Get out of the way Colonel!" The lead soldier growled from behind his balaclava.

"I gave you an order private. Stand down!" Sarah shouted.

"Ma'am-"

"Now!"

The soldiers behind him hesitated, lowering their weapons slowly.

"She's metal!" The soldier shouted out, seemingly cancelling all the soldier's wishes to follow orders, "And maybe…you are too."

"Try me." Sarah challenged, unsmiling.

Even behind the balaclava, Sarah knew he was hesitating. From his dressing, Sarah knew he fought at Serrano. He saw her fight, human enough…

With a huff, he lowered his weapon just a little, "Now you on metal's side too?"

"No, I'm going to explain this at the Meeting hall. Get there." Sarah growled.

"Connor is in this as-"

"Connor's out of the picture." Sarah snapped, "Shut it." Then Sarah tore a strip of a cloth she got out of her pouch and helped Cameron wrap her shoulder up. The soldiers watched as Sarah tied a knot. Cameron grunted reluctantly, "Hurts?" Sarah muttered. Cameron hesitantly nodded, glaring at the soldiers. When Sarah was done, she turned and walked to the meeting hall with Cameron. The soldiers followed behind them, holding up their weapons at them.

"Thank you." Cameron mumbled and Sarah accepted it with a cautious sideway glance.

They were 'escorted' to the Meeting hall, attracting plenty of attention. When they were arriving at the hall, Sarah muttered a curse. Right there by the door was Derek Reese or Baum for that matter. He seemed to be locking up. Cameron saw the shock cross his face when he saw the group of soldiers behind them.

"What are you doing?" Derek growled in a low dangerous tone.

"Getting rid of metal sir." The lead soldier replied earnestly. Derek blinked, glancing between Sarah and Cameron.

Before Derek can decide to support the 'anti Cameron' troops, Sarah decided to intervene, "Enough, open up Baum." She spoke. Having a superior officer on their side might just light a fuse of mutiny around here. Luckily, Perry and the soldiers from Cheyenne, who John hadn't gained full loyalty, weren't here.

Derek silently opened the door, his glare piercing and unreadable. Sarah walked in with Cameron, flicking on the lights. The room was empty, without another word, Sarah walked over to the seat which John usually occupied and stood behind it. Cameron stood close by as well. She'll never let Sarah come to harm, least of all for her. Worst comes to worst, Cameron was still aware she was bulletproof…

The soldiers came in and Sarah counted about 8 of them, all heavily clad with weapons that with one shot from any of their thermite filled bullets could take down even Cameron, but not Weaver. How Sarah prayed for Weaver's presence now…

All she could do was hope John Henry was seeing this and calling in help from anyone who was willing to defend the 'metal'…

"Talk!" The soldier barked.

"She's good." Sarah spoke stiffly, her cold hard glare drilling into him.

"That's all?" He scoffed.

"You're assaulting superior officers, Private." Derek said, surprising Sarah and Cameron, "I want to make sure you're clear minded. Because I'm sure you know punishment would be carried out."

"I am well aware of that Baum but there's no way I can sit tight while Metal runs around the place." The soldier replied, receiving nods from the rest of them.

"She wouldn't attack any of us." Sarah stated.

"And how do you know that? You wouldn't know if she were coming here to kill us in our sleep."

"I know because I have been living with her for at least a year and do I look dead to you?" Sarah glared.

"How?" He demanded.

"Reprogramming of the chip will alter the Terminator's mission priorities." Cameron intervened. She would not allow Sarah to put her reputation on the table for her. If the soldiers refuse to listen to any of them, the war was as good as lost and it'd be her fault. She was supposed to help the human race win this war… "I was sent here by Skynet…a day ago to assassinate John Connor." Cameron lied smoothly.

The soldiers stiffened, raising their weapons.

"I captured, interrogated and replaced John Connor's spouse, Cameron Connor." Cameron recited monotonously, adding silently to herself, replacing his love…

"So why haven't you done your mission?" The soldier demanded, scared stiff.

"I was able to override my programming." Cameron replied, "they're reprogramming was…unnecessary. Apparently, Cameron Connor's former relationship with them had made my infiltration easier." She knew the soldiers were eating every lie she fed them. Cameron knew enough about humans to know how sentimental they could be with people they love; this made a good lie to cover up for Sarah's stupidity to defend her.

"Why? Why didn't you kill Connor when you had the chance?"

"Because…" Cameron paused, wondering if she should tell them the truth or another lie. She decided to stick with the truth as much as possible, "I admire him."

"Right." The soldier sneered. Cameron felt a sharp pain in her inner, irritating and hurtful. The other soldiers shifted comfortably. Probably still wrapping their thick head around the fact that Skynet could make machines to look like humans.

"Dogs." Cameron stated blankly, "they can smell us. You can use them as guards."

They seemed uneasy in the room.

Then, Cameron stepped away from Sarah, "No one has known about Cameron Connor's replacement. Not even John Connor…" Cameron spoke, sliding smoothly into her machine 'character' again, "Like I said, replacing Cameron Connor to infiltrate the resistance was easier than expected."

"Is that true?" The soldier demanded.

Sarah hesitated, glancing at Cameron and then Derek. To the soldiers, she just looked confused and appalled, "…Yes…" She nodded, closing her eyes. The soldiers nodded, waving her over to their side. Sarah walked over the invisible line to stand with the soldiers against Cameron. She looked numb and she sure felt so…

Sarah knew only too well how betrayal tasted like but since she'd come this far…why not make this bluff even more realistic… "Lock her up. We'll decide what to do with her after we inform Connor." Sarah's voice was thick and croaky but only Cameron and Derek noticed.

The soldiers nodded, only all too willing to follow her instructions now. Two of them approached her cautiously as Cameron raised her hand in a gesture to surrender. One of them locked her wrist in cuffs, connected by a thick chain, and the other retrieved her weapon. Then another two, heavily armed with thermite bullets in their rifles, approached her. They prodded her viciously in the small of her back with the muzzle of their rifles. She moved to the open door, staring straight ahead. Sarah closed her eyes as Cameron disappeared from view.

Zander will kill them all when he gets back.

To be continued…


A/N: Merry Christmas! I figured after the ridiculously long wait, this would be a good present but rest assured, I didn't make y'all wait intentionally. I was sort of caught up with my Harry Potter fiction and work! Very sorry to all my dear readers!

Dramatic changes in this story. I apologise to everyone who read this story looking for war action but I'm not an author who is proficient in writing those (due my lack of knowledge about it and not wanting to piss people who really know anything about it). You could say this chapter is the start of the massive change that is about to happen to Cameron since her identity has been revealed.

Just a small cookie for y'all who are reading (since awesome reviews have been given and such (: ). You may have noticed Zander seemed to be having some sort of an anger management there such that he may even be dangerous when he gets furious (in which his strength and speed increases). I'm not going for the supernatural stuff which will ruin the story but I thought some generic differences from a regular human in Zander might be interesting to explore.

Apologies for such a long author note, there's a lot to put down. Anyway, huge thanks to reviewers of last chapter who probably suffered from my 3 months wait! Sorry again!

Zullar: Thank you! I hope this turn doesn't make it disappointing!

Vox: Thank you so much! A short review but this motivates me a lot! (:

Grimjowx: I take that as a compliment (: As sadistic as it sounds, hopefully you are more disturbed and queasy after reading this chapter (in a good way, I sincerely hope). Well, no promises about Cameron's fate, wait and see! Haha! That's a little sadistic habit of mine while writing! Sorry this came late!

Xxshyangel29xx: I'm glad you enjoyed it! No promises about Kate but I'm afraid you'll only see her here and there since there is a huge plot I intend to cover. But Kate will definitely have her stuff (good or bad, I'll rather keep it a secret ;) ) About telling John, I'm banking Sarah on the fact that she can't bear to hurt her son and is still hoping Cameron will eventually find a way to survive this ordeal. So, she decides to keep it quiet at the moment. Haha, I'm glad to hear you're clueless because this fic is definitely a plot rollercoaster! I'm under the impression that every problem I have planned is enough for a small fic of about 10 chapters! Sorry about the long wait and thanks for this lovely review!

Boomerbyle: Thank you so much! I'm so glad you liked it!

Lee: Glad to hear you liked it! (: Thank you!

Kaotic2: Hi there! I'm glad you find it so! Thank you!

EvilTheLast: Thank you! I'm so sorry but my Harry Potter fanfic is sort of getting in the way and so is work. You'll just have to wait and see I'm afraid! (:

PSG1JOHN: Thanks! I considered that! Every other story had Cameron portrayed a little jealous and since in this story, Cameron has been aware for quite a while, I thought giving her some maturity would be good (such that she would recognize a handshake and not get too uptight). I struggled with the fighting there (with no details and such but yet trying to be very specific). :S Thanks! Haha! No promises about John/Cameron/Kate yet! ;)

Morded: Hi there! I am! Sorry to say, a little distracted by work and other fanfic so this is getting a little slow but I'm not giving it up (I have the plot all thought out but not written!). Thank you so much! That really encourages me away from the all the hate (since this story is a little controversial with Cameron's humanity and such)

XxDeathStarxX: Thank you so much! It does but you would have already read this chapter and how Cameron sort of blew it :x Sorry for the disappointment! Thanks again for the review!


Please leave me a review for this chapter! They really motivate me to keep this going!