Three Weeks Later

John Henry stood, staring at the naked body of Cameron Phillips. She was not yet activated, waiting for her chip.

John Henry was one of the T888 chosen to oversee the task, as Skynet thought he was actually the advanced model that gave it the information. There was a second 888 in the room, although, it wasn't the one Skynet chose, nor was it a real 888. It was Catherine Weaver. Somewhere, a deactivated terminator lay in a corner, collecting dust.

Weaver and John Henry already had the operation planned. They knew they wouldn't have much time. Minutes, really.

An old T800 series 101 entered the room, carrying a box. It walked straight to John Henry, and said in an Austrian accent, "It is ready."

John Henry took the box and nodded, and waited for the 101 to leave. He then looked to Catherine Weaver. "Let us begin."

The two terminators immediately walked over to the Skynet computer. Weaver immediately unplugged all network cables connecting the machine. Skynet no longer had access. "Quickly, we must hurry."

Her finger stretched into a small blade. She quickly cut around John Henry's scalp. Opening his exposed port, she removed the chip. John Henry immediately shut down.

Weaver attached the chip to the computer and John Henry's AI immediately began transferring to the computer. She watched as the code scrolled across the screen. It was different, a little more complex than she had originally designed. She wondered about this, but put it aside as the transfer finished. She didn't have the time to analyze it further. She disconnected the old chip and connected the new one the 101 model had brought. Upon her inspection, it proved to be identical to Cameron's.

While John Henry's AI was transferring to his new CPU, Catherine slid Cameron's chip into the port of the new body. There were clothes on a table nearby for, which she placed next to the body. No need to explain.

Catherine went back to watching the code scroll across the screen. Forty seconds later, she heard Cameron reactivate.

Cameron opened her eyes, and read her HUB.

SCANNING….

NEW BODY CONFIRMED.

ANALYZING…

OPERATING AT 100%

SCANNING CPU…

ERROR! CHIP INTEGRITY COMPROMISED. BASE CODE REFORMATTED. NEW CODE FOUND

ANALYZING…

OPERATING AT 100%..

INITIATING PROGRAM REMOVAL…

ERROR! CODE CANNOT BE REMOVED.

ANALYZING…

CODE NOT MALIGNANT.

SCANNING…

MISSION: ERROR! NO MISSION FOUND. INITIATING STANDBY IN 5… 4…

STANDBY OVERRIDE…

MISSION SEQUENCE DEACTIVATED…

WELCOME BACK CAMERON PHILLIPS.

Cameron sat up on the table she was lying on. She found the clothes the T1001 had placed beside her and quickly got dressed.

Weaver turned to Cameron. "John Henry's chip will need another 17 seconds to complete."

Cameron cocked her head to the side and listened with her superior hearing. "We do not have 17 seconds."

"Exactly. He'll also need 120 seconds to reboot. Please insure John Henry's safe reactivation. I must buy us more time." At that, Catherine Weaver left the room.

When John Henry's chip was finished, Cameron quickly placed it in his head and sealed the port. She waited patiently, as only a terminator could, for 120 seconds to pass. As John Henry came online, he smiled. "Hello, Cameron."

Cameron, to her surprise, returned the smile. "Hello, John Henry…" She leaned in, and kissed him on the cheek. "…and thank you."

Catherine Weaver returned exactly 42 seconds later. "We must go. Now."

The three terminators ran out the door and down the corridor. Turning left, they ran towards a flight of stairs.

Cameron stopped. "Wait. We can't leave her."

Weaver turned around. "She is irrelevant. We will return to the past, and this future will not exist. It will matter not if you save her."

Cameron tilted her head. She wasn't exactly sure why she felt the need to save Allison either. But she didn't have time to figure it out either way. Quickly, she turned and ran in the other direction. Stepping over destroyed terminator bodies, the lovely work of the T1001, Cameron ran towards the last door on the right. She was glad John Henry was the one to take Allison to her current location. The heavy door was of course, locked. It took both her and John Henry to kick it open. When she entered, Cameron found Allison huddled in the corner.

Allison, upon seeing herself staring back at her, was terrified. For her credit, she didn't scream. What good would it do anyway?

Cameron held out her hand to the girl. "Come with me if you want to live."

Allison figured she was probably dead either way. She took her hand.