A/N: I'm sorry for the mistake in Cameron's model (I knew COK didn't look right, but I couldn't figure out why). In the previous chapter, I did mean to say TOK-175, not COK. For those of you who were confused, I'm sorry. For those who punched their computers in frustration, well, pull the glass out of your knuckles and find a towel.

Chapter Nine

Rescuing Her John

"There she is, right where the computer said she was," Derek muttered. John Henry had located Cameron on the city surveillance and had calculated her path. Armed with electromagnets and monatomic weapons, as well as their standard firearms, they had driven back out, their logic being that Cameron would find John. By the way she ran, she likely had. Sarah noted how Derek had said the computer had found her. In truth it had been John Henry examining the cameras, but she suspected Derek was uncomfortable with the AI; it had given them a way to find and save John of its own accord. He had trouble with that. So did Sarah.

The car pulled to a stop and Sarah drifted into next to the curb. Cameron stopped and turned to face them as Derek opened the door. "Get in," he shouted. Cameron walked towards the car and climbed in. They left tracks in the road as Sarah stomped on the gas. Ellison would likely be complaining to John Henry and Joseph about their endless traffic violations. So what? John was in trouble. Derek wasted no time in turning to Cameron, gun at the ready. "Where's John?" he asked.

"Turn right here," Cameron ordered. The car came close to riding on two tires. "I do not know what building is holding John; I only know his coordinates. Go straight four intersections."

"Can't you do that satellite location thing?" Sarah asked warily.

"Global Positioning Satellite? Yes. But John told me not to access wireless information using my processes."

"And you have to listen—"

"No. I want to listen to John. Turn left. I want to find my John," Cameron finished. Derek twitched and nearly reached for his gun. If Sarah hadn't been so intent on finding her son, she would have shot the Terminator right there. Derek didn't because on some inner unconscious level, he recognized how well Cameron was hiding her anger, and that pointing a gun at her would bring it out. Sarah didn't because John needed to be saved, and because Cameron would not rest until John was sitting safely next to her. That was something her trouble-finding son needed. She gritted her teeth; now was not the time to focus on Cameron's 'asking' for her blessing.

Cameron was partially grateful that they had found her. Now they had more weaponry and faster speed to John.

With Cameron's guidance, they pulled to stop outside another building across the city. "What is this?" Derek asked, getting out. Sarah knew what it was supposed to be all too well. Cameron didn't stop moving; as soon as she got out she headed straight for the door. She didn't slow to even smash the gate. The TechCom soldiers and Ellison's car joined them. Guns at the ready, they followed Cameron up the walkway.

"It's an abandoned mental institution," Cameron replied. The humans' pace slowed down as they stared at the suddenly menacing building. "They are declared off-limits to the public due to dangerous equipment inside. Most abandoned institutions have 'ghost' stories or tragedies attached to them to make them less desirable to go in. It is a convenient place to hide; records show most humans feel uneasy about entering them." The way Cameron moved meant she felt none of the unease a human might feel. John Henry's pace did not slow; he was an AI. Neither did Joseph's, but he at least looked back to see if he should be slowing. However, the super human simply continued in, obviously unaffected by the disturbing sensation creeping over them.

Derek spared a glance at Sarah. She was the woman he had at first crossed words with before he started to respect her. And, before he could read the signs and stop it, the respect had turned to admiration, and then to affection. Now they were about to enter one again. He had heard, from General Connor, the great and passionately-given stories about his mother Sarah Connor. But Derek had also researched mental institutions at the time. He had a feeling that John had been trying to stick up for his mother. Watching the way she gripped her assault rifle and how she tried to wet her dry lips, he knew Sarah had been more tortured by the institution that General Connor would have them know. Without thinking about it, he took a half-step closer.

Joseph reached the door first. He reached for the door, and then stopped. "Mother, should we let Skynet know we're here?" His mind couldn't wrap itself around the concept of secrecy. Cameron walked past him, and gave him an answer by kicking the door down. Joseph smiled in anticipation of battle. He glanced back at Mark, Jack, and Fred, who returned the smile, though not as brightly. "Let's 'unleash Hell,' soldiers." The four Resistance fighters and Cameron understood the tactic; going in guns blaring. They did just that as two T-888s appeared around the corner.

*****

"Proximity alert. Enemy targets entering perimeter," one of the T-888s noted. "Engaging." Four of the five left, drawing weapons from a rack. John's heart soared. They had found him, and soon they would be here. His hand itched for a weapon to take out the remaining Bob. But he had none, and frustrated with battle calling for him, John turned to Skynet with a fresh feeling of confidence.

"Who's got the upper hand now, metal?" John challenged.

"Your assaults on the T-888 series may succeed, but I do not believe that your 'rescuers' have the capability to do damage with nothing other than bullets, an ineffective way to damage T-888 models. And by the time they arrive, this T-888 will have downloaded me into the machine," Skynet replied, just as the Bob attached a wire between the computer and the future John Terminator.

John's heart dropped again. This was not good. He had to do something to slow the download, or they would come here to find John being strangled by Skynet. The downloading was already occurring. He reached for the cable. The Bob caught his hand and threw him back. John crashed into the ground. I should've known that wouldn't work. Maybe I can work on my programming skills.

"You!" he shouted. "Don't download Skynet!" The T-888 looked at him, wondering what on earth he was attempting to do. John struggled to think of some logic that would cause the T-888 to stop. But he had nothing to threaten it with. Likely the Terminator had no concept of free will or consequence, because Skynet had never given it one. And since he didn't have enough time to show the T-888 it had a choice to override its protocol, like Cameron had done once, this conversation would get nowhere.

He started to make a break for it when the Terminator threw him back in the room. Getting to his feet, John grimaced. Hurry up, Cam.

*****

At the moment John was thinking that, Cameron was driving a monatomic rod into the skull plate of a T-888, terminating it instantly. She spun around as rounds slammed into her, causing pain that she shut out. Her HUB was switching to infrared constantly, trying to find any signal of John. Not finding one, her emotion simulator heated up. With a swing of her arm she threw the rod at the attacking T-888. She activated her electromagnet at high power as the rod lodged itself in the machine's arm. A Meissner Field ripped the machine apart. Mark leaped on it to finish it.

Standing in the middle of a firefight between the humans and what remained of the T-888s, she checked for John again, this time using the gamma spectrum. The human body generated a very small amount of radioactive energy, but even that was more than a steel wall.

Their head front charge into the building had caught a patrol of T-888s from behind. Joseph had leaped onto one, laughing, as they ambushed them. The three TechCom soldiers, and eventually Derek, resorted to hit and run, shooting bursts before switching positions. With less difficulty than the factory, the patrol of T-888s had gone down. They had moved on and found themselves in the room they were now, with armed Terminators waiting for them.

Joseph leaped up into the air, dodging their beads, and came down on one with a monatomic rod. He missed the termination point, but it didn't matter much; the Terminator dropped from technical errors. Joseph finished it by flipping on his electromagnet. He laughed manically again as one of the Terminators came for him with a steel pipe. Ellison shivered as he heard Joseph's laugh. "What's wrong with?" Ellison shouted.

"Oh, you think this is bad," Mark shouted back, loading his gun. "You should've seen him at the Fort Knox fight!" The three laughed and continued their firing. Ellison shivered again and fired.

Suddenly Cameron location John's signal. "Joseph," she called. The super human froze, listening intently to his mother. "Go get John," she ordered, pointing in his direction. Pausing only to grab a rifle, he darted down the halls, Cameron bringing up the rear. John Henry stopped, wondering why they would go if there were still T-888s here? He looked at Sarah for an answer before raising a gun.

Cameron found Joseph grappling with a T-888, throwing it into a wall. She assisted him by jamming it in the skull plate. The T-888 dead, her processes froze as her eyes settled on John. Anal-an-any-zing………John is unharmed………Secure John's safety. "John," she whispered, racing forward. John's face lightened as he saw her, and they embraced each other. John felt his back crack as Cameron embraced a little too hard.

"Cam," he grunted. She released him, but only so she could kiss him. Her kiss warmed his body. Normally John would have been all for kissing the one he loved, but he was incredibly aware of the fact Skynet had gone, using the T-888. "Cam," he tried again, weaker this time.

"Are you not happy?" she asked, suddenly worried.

"Cam cut it out," John said, slightly exasperated. "You know I love you. But Skynet's downloaded itself into a T-888. We need to find it," John explained. He saw her do the math in her chip, and suddenly he was in her arms. I can walk. Still, he didn't mind being in her arms…

"Joseph, return to the others," Cameron replied. Joseph was gone like that. Cameron ran after him. John once again marveled how there was never a bump or shake; she ran smoothly and effortlessly. They returned to the others. He was glad to see them as Cameron set him on his feet. His mother embraced him as tightly as Cameron had.

"Skynet has downloaded itself into a T-888," Cameron stated, explaining what John had told her. Sarah let go of her son.

"Where?" she asked. John took a handgun from Mark.

"I don't know where it went, only that it's in a T-888 that supposedly resembles me from 2027," John began. Jack swore as Mark shot at a dead Terminator. "I thought Skynet was going to kill me when it booted, but instead it left—"

"And followed you," Skynet finished. It opened fire with two assault rifles.

Cameron threw herself in front of John and carried him back to cover. This is what John had been afraid of. Skynet was a war machine, designed to be used for warfare. There was little doubt it knew every inch of strategy and combat. As it ran, not walked but ran, towards them, John realized it was the ultimate soldier, too. They were outmatched now as well as outsmarted. He raised his handgun.

The others scrambled for cover. Joseph chose to lunge at Skynet instead, shouting. Before Joseph could strike, Skynet delivered a powerful kick to Joseph's throat. It dropped one of its guns to grab Joseph by the throat. "The Project Vader volunteer." It struck him in the temple and threw him away. The three Resistance fighters began returning fire, and Skynet fired back, forcing them to keep their heads down. It tossed a frag grenade. Derek dived for the grenade as it landed in front of the boxes. He tossed it away back towards Skynet. Skynet fired at Derek. The grenade exploded and changed the bead of Skynet's fire. Instead, Derek was shot once in the stomach and twice in his arm. Jack and Fred dragged him back behind their cover.

John Henry and Cameron lunged for Skynet as Ellison, Sarah, and John fired at it. John threw its remaining gun at Ellison, nearly striking him in the head. Then it looked directly at Cameron and spoke one word, "Transmit." To John's horror, Cameron flinched before dropping straight down, her systems shut off. His world came to a jarring halt, and he felt his muscles deaden. Please no, not the virus, don't let it….oh no…

Joseph's reaction was more brutal. Regaining his feet he roared, curling the blood of Sarah and Ellison. Skynet ducked a strike from John Henry and picked up the first gun it'd dropped. It fired at Joseph as Joseph tackled him. The strayed bullets struck the wall. Joseph pounded Skynet with a fist before Skynet performed complex twist that ended up with Joseph underneath Skynet's knee. Skynet put the barrel to Joseph's head. Then John Henry grabbed Skynet and threw him off. Skynet rolled as it hit the ground and fired at Joseph, behind John Henry. Joseph, getting ready to leap, caught a stream of bullets across his legs. He collapsed unable to stand on his weight.

Skynet fired at Sarah and Ellison to keep them low, and threw a grenade at John. Sarah grabbed her son and shielded him with herself. Instead of exploding, it released a flash, blinding the both of them. Skynet dropped its weapon and focused on John Henry. The two began to trade blows using fluid and grace before Skynet outmatched the younger AI. It flipped John Henry before jamming a dropped monatomic rod into John Henry's plate skull. It stood up and was reaching for a gun when another monatomic rod was thrown at it.

Mark activated two electromagnets as the rod came close enough to Skynet. A large Meissner field expanded, smashing Skynet through a wall as the rod hovered in place. Skynet did not come back through the wall; instead footsteps leaving could be heard. John rubbed his eyes as the ringing sound in his ears finally vanished. He carefully raised his handgun, intent on seeing what had happened. It didn't look good.

The worst part was that Skynet wasn't destroyed.