Time for chapter 7 I really love all of the reviews and it gets me pumped for typing... Also... in regards to Cameron dying to the T-X... I went back and clarified that in the previous chapter... that Alex lied about that. So you can stop asking about it. I'll explain why she changed her appearance to become Samantha... and I'll get into more stuff later. I plan on taking this story slow, so people don't feel rushed. With that being said let's begin.
Another, Insane Choice.
Believe me when I tell you
"What the hell are we gonna do about this?" Jesse hissed angrily as she paced back and forth in her apartment.
"Fuck if I know. I don't think there is anything we can do... it's not like these ones were created by John... SkyNet made them." Derek replied tiredly.
"It just get's worse and worse... now they can have fucking children... I'm surprised SkyNet hasn't found a way to make the children come out as little fucking cyborgs themselves." Jesse growled as she continued to pace.
"Yeah well... don't go giving the metal any ideas... The last thing we need is metal that can grow more metal." Derek stated.
"This can't be allowed to go on, Derek! You've got to make him understand what they are!" Jesse ordered, pointing a finger at him.
"There is nothing I can tell John that he doesn't already know." Derek rebutted, with a sigh.
"So he just doesn't care? That's fucking great!" Jesse nearly shouted, as she slammed one of the walls with her palm.
"What do you want me to do?" Derek asked, trying his hardest to not join her, in tearing the whole damn apartment to pieces.
"I don't know Derek... first we've got the metal bitch running around, poisoning his mind, and now Alex is here... This is un-fucking believable." Jesse huffed as she leaned against the same wall she slammed.
"Alex isn't so bad... and you remember what he was like... he'd do anything for John." Derek half-halfheartedly tried to defend him.
"Alex Cameron is one of the biggest supporters of making nice with the metal, that there is! He could be more of a problem then that metal bitch!" Jesse responded angrily.
"Come on Jesse... I know you're pissed but it's Mercury... that kid was out fighting for the resistance before he was even a teenager. Plus... he's an adult now... he may still strongly support the machines... but he may not be as fanatical as he used to be." Derek countered, growing increasingly tired of Jesse's bitching.
"Not as fanatical? Weren't you the one who told me that he let Connor put metal inside of him? Who the fuck does that?" Jesse replied.
"Shit... you may be right." Derek stated, deciding to end the argument, and let Jesse finish venting.
"We need to think of something Derek... otherwise those damn machines will own us all!" Jesse hissed darkly.
"What do you want to do? Kill Cameron? Fine let's do that... but if John catches us or god help you Alex... then what? We can't fight John... and I'm pretty sure Alex can kill both of us without breaking a sweat. I mean seriously Jesse... with all that metal that he has inside of him, who knows what he's capable of... we know what the metal can do, and if it catches us... then we're going to have a helluva fight on our hands." Derek explained in an annoyed fashion.
"I know Derek... I know." Jesse stated after a few moments... finally she just tilted her head back and slipped deep into thought, trying to think of a solution to there growing problem.
-Back at the Connor house-
"Right... right... thanks for the tip Rick." Alex stated, as he hung up his cellphone.
"Who was that?" Sarah asked as she walked into the living room.
"One of my comrades... they were calling to let me know that they ran into a T-X nearby... it escaped... and could still be in the city." Alex answered, with a little worry.
"How much trouble are these, super-machines? I know that hey can tackle other terminators, but besides that, how much of a problem are we looking at if we run into one?" Sarah asked as she sat on the couch.
"SkyNet created a system of ranking based off of equipment and training that human soldiers posses. When I left, a T-888 was ranked at a 3-1 ratio. That means that, in SkyNet's eyes, a T-888 is a match for three fully equipped UFS troops. When Derek and Cameron came back in time, that ratio was 6-1. That's how SkyNet thinks... for every three infantrymen it needs one T-888. A T-X was ranked at a 15-1 ratio. So... I guess to give you the realistic mathematics, answer... a T-X is five times more dangerous then a T-888." Alex finished explaining with a scratch of his head.
"Great." Sarah stated with a sigh.
Sarah and Alex sat in silence for a few moments as the nearby TV continued to sputter unimportant news... a moment later a reporter appeared on screen, right about now Sarah turned her attention to the news.
"Thanks Mike. I'm here at corner of 75th and Monroe drive, where the body of a young woman was discovered by passerby's earlier this morning... we know from police that the body was discovered without any clothes or possessions. Police are still trying to identify the young lady and are asking that anyone who knows someone matching her description to come forward. She has been described as Caucasian, with blonde hair and green eyes... she also has a star shaped tattoo on her wrist. If anyone knows someone matching this description the police are urging you to come forward and assist them in identifying her..." The reporter continued but by now Sarah had ceased to listen, she recognized that description. She knew who it was.
"That bitch!" Sarah stated angrily.
"What?" Alex asked, confused.
"John's girlfriend." Sarah stated nodding at the TV. "You and I both know who's responsible."
"Wait... the blonde that was here yesterday?" Alex asked as he began to recall seeing the young girl, cowering at the edge of couch, waiting for her moment to escape.
"Yeah... I should have known this would happen. Cameron didn't seem to even care that Riley had overheard us. That she listened in to you, talking about the future. Of course Cameron wouldn't worry about it... she had planned all along to kill the girl." Sarah stated with a shake of her head.
"You don't know that Cameron was responsible. This is a big city with a lot of people in it... shit happens." Alex countered.
"Yeah... it happens to the girlfriend of John Connor... the day after she overhears what the future will be like. The day after you show up and tell us that... shes not going to be John's future wife. Learning that Riley wasn't needed, I should have known that Cameron would have taken this opportunity to kill her." Sarah continued... the anger she felt was evident in her voice.
"I really don't think Cameron is responsible." Alex stated, calmly.
"Of course you don't. They can do no wrong in your eyes..." Sarah shot back as she got to her feet.
"Hey... I don't treat them like they're fucking children... I treat them like they're people. And they can do plenty wrong in my eyes. You wanna know something Sarah... you and I aren't that different... when they kill people that don't deserve it... we see it as murder. But only humans can commit murder." Alex shot back, with a sly grin.
Sarah stared at him for a moment, but then decided against getting into an argument with the younger man. She stared up at the ceiling for a few moments, before turning to walk up the stairs.
"Where are you going?" Alex asked, curiously.
"Someones got to tell John." Sarah replied like it was stupid question.
Alex stared after her for a moment then made a face and sat on the couch. A moment went by when suddenly Cameron appeared in the room.
"Hey there. Did you hear?" Alex asked, giving Cameron a look.
"Yes... Riley's dead." Cameron replied.
"Did you kill her?" Alex asked, his eyes narrow and full of suspicion.
"No." Cameron replied, after a moment.
"But you wanted too?" Alex asked, his gaze was intense.
"Yes... I wanted too." Cameron replied as John came quickly down the stairs, he was breathing deeply, and looked almost in pain. Once he reached the bottom of the stairs he quickly turned and looked at the two of them, though his eyes focused on Cameron. After a moment of staring at her John turned and walked out the front door.
A few moments went by before Cameron followed after him. She found him out on the porch playing with the locket she had given him a few days prior. The locket contained a button, that connected to a small explosive next to her chip.
"Did you do it? Did you kill her?" John asked... without turning around.
"No." Cameron answered. As she replied John turned to face her... he looked angry... and sad.
"Don't lie to me." He stated, his eyes narrow with anger.
"I'm not." Cameron stated with a tilt of her head.
"Sometimes you lie to me." John said, his eyes still locked on her.
"Yes... but I'm not now." Cameron replied.
"How can I believe that?" John asked.
"You can't. But I am sorry." Cameron responded.
"Sorry? For what?" John asked as he took a few steps towards her.
"For your loss." Cameron answered.
John stared at her for a moment, before letting out a sigh and hiding the locket beneath his shirt. Another moment went by before he walked past her back into the house.
-Elsewhere-
"Damn... Fine... I'll be there soon." Derek stated with a huff.
"Who was that?" Jesse asked, as she munched on some food.
"Sarah." Derek replied with a sigh, as he hung up his phone and put it into his pocket.
"Something else wrong?" Jesse asked.
"John's girlfriend is dead." Derek replied.
"Really?" Jesse replied, pretending to be shocked.
"Machine killed her." Derek stated.
"What are you gonna do?" Jesse asked.
"I don't know." Derek answered with another sigh.
"You plan on killing her?" Jesse inquired, her eyes narrow and focused.
"I thought you wanted me too." Derek shot back.
"That's not up to us. He has to be the one to make the decision... otherwise he'll rebel against it." Jesse replied.
"You seem to have put a lot of thought into this." Derek stated suspiciously.
"No... but I think about it... just like you." Jesse responded, with a shake of her head.
Derek stared at her for a moment, before getting to his feet and heading for the door.
"I've got to go." Derek called back to her.
"Fine... do that." Jesse replied as she leaned back and stared up at the ceiling.
"Later." Derek called out a he exited.
"Later." Jesse replied in a low voice, with just a hint of sadness in her voice.
-Back at the Connor House-
Sarah sat in the kitchen, angrily cleaning a gun, when John passed by. "John." she called to him.
"What?" John asked in an irritated tone as he entered the kitchen. Sarah immediately noticed that he was wearing his black leather jacket.
"You going somewhere?" Sarah asked.
"I just need some air." John replied with an annoyed sigh.
"Well... when you get a chance we need to talk." Sarah informed him.
"About what?" John asked as he took another step into the room.
"You know what." Sarah replied.
John stared at her for a moment before stating, "She didn't do it."
"John... you've seen the way Cameron has looked at her... she wanted to kill her." Sarah argued.
"I know she wanted too... but she didn't" John shot back.
"How can you know that?" Sarah asked, with a shake of her head.
"She told me." John replied.
"She told you? John... I know you want to believe that, that thing had a heart, that it can feel, but it can't... it's a machine!" Sarah growled at him.
John felt a twinge of anger shoot up his spine, out of all the names that Derek and Sarah called Cameron, 'thing' and 'it' were squarely at the top of the list of the ones he hated.
"You would love to believe that... but the truth is... you don't know anything!" John hissed in reply and then quickly turned to leave.
Sarah stared after him for a moment before letting out a loud sigh and returning to cleaning her gun.
-Four hours later-
Sarah, Derek, Alex, and Cameron all waited in the living room for John to return... all evidently worried about him. After a moment they all heard the front door open and John walked in.
"John." Sarah stated with a relieved sigh.
"Where were you?" Derek asked as John entered the room.
"I went down to the morgue... I had to see Riley." John replied sadly.
Derek and Alex both grimaced, while Sarah adopted a saddened look and said. "I'm sorry John... you didn't need to see that."
"There was something I needed to see for myself... and now that I have... there is something I need to ask you Derek." John replied, locking eyes with his uncle.
"What is it?" Derek asked.
"How long could you survive... if you were to fight against Cameron. How long do you think you would last in a straight up fight?" John asked.
Derek and the others stared at him curiously for a few moments... before Derek replied... "Well... what kind of weapons do I have?"
"You have fists... and your fingernails and your teeth." John replied.
"Those aren't weapons John." Derek stated.
"No... they're not." John said with a shake of his head.
Derek let out a sigh, and decided to indulge his nephew. "Well... without weapons you know the answer... if she wanted me dead, I'm dead."
"If she wanted you dead, you're dead." John repeated.
"Yeah..." Derek stated, eying his nephew curiously.
John's gaze fell to the floor, for a moment before he looked up at Cameron, he stared at her for a few moments, before walking up to her.
John reached to his neck and grabbed the locket, he held it in his hand for a moment before he tore it off his neck and held it out for Cameron.
"John...?" Cameron asked confused.
"You can have this back... I won't be needing it. I'm sorry for not trusting you." John stated as he placed to locket in her hand.
Cameron looked down at the locket for a few moments before looking back up at John.
"Are you sure? I don't wanna hurt you." Cameron stated.
"I know... and you wont." John replied, as he looked around at the others, Derek and Sarah both stared at him curiously, while Alex simply offered a sympathetic smile.
After a moment of silence John rubbed his eyes and then turned and headed up the stairs to his room.
Cameron stood in place for a few seconds before pocketing the watch and following after him.
"What was that all about?" Derek stated, obviously confused.
"He went to see the body." Alex commented. "She must have put up a fight."
Derek stared at him for a second before realization came over him, and Sarah reinforced this realization by saying, "If the Tin Miss had done it... Riley would have never even had a chance to fight."
"Damn... that means someone else killed her." Derek commented with a scratch of his head.
"It's not our problem... if it really bothers him... then he'll search for answers. Then again... John is a smart boy... and this world is just as dangerous as mine. People die... and sometimes there is nothing we can do about it." Alex stated.
"What did future John do... when stuff like this happened?" Sarah asked.
"If a human killed another human... they were put to death. If a cyborg killed a human... or another cyborg... it's CPU was wiped so that it essentially died. Though a new personality would be born." Alex replied.
"Seems strict." Sarah commented.
"It needed to be... there were few of us as it were... killers needed to be removed for good." Alex stated.
"Do you think he'll be alright?" Derek asked.
I don't know." Sarah stated with a sigh. "I just don't know anymore."
All the while Cameron made her way to John's room. She came to a stop once she reached his door, she could clearly hear soft crying, coming from the inside. After a moment she decided to enter.
John was laying on his side, in the center of his bed weeping quietly for Riley.
"John..." Cameron stated sadly, trying her best to draw his attention.
John quickly sat up, and looked over at her. Upon seeing her, he let out a loud sigh and wiped the tears from his cheeks. "What is is Cameron?"
"I'm sorry about Riley. I know you cared about her." Cameron stated sympathetically, as she shut the door and sat on the edge of his bed.
"'Cared' yeah... that's probably the right word, to describe how I felt about her. You didn't come up here just to offer sympathies, so why are you here?" John said with a sigh.
"I don't understand why you gave this back to me." Cameron stated as she held up the locket.
"I trust you Cameron. I know you wont hurt me." John replied.
"It's not about what I want... if I go bad again." Cameron began but John cut her off.
"You wont. I know you wont." John stated with a scratch of his head.
"How do you know?" Cameron asked, tilting her head curiously.
"I don't... It's just what I choose to believe." John replied with a slight laugh.
"Believe?" Cameron repeated, obviously confused by his meaning.
"I'll explain it later Cameron. For now... I think I'm just gonna sleep." John replied as he laid back down on the bed.
"Do you want me to leave?" Cameron asked.
John sat in silence for a few moments thinking about her question when he finally stated, "No..."
"Fine... then I'll stay." Cameron said, a small smile present on her face.
"Good." John stated tiredly, as he began to let sleep overtake him.
-Meanwhile-
"What the fuck are we gonna do now?" Derek asked in a frustrated tone.
"Well... First things first... we need to find a new place to live... and then learn how to use our new weapons." Sarah replied.
"...and John needs to be taught how to fight." Alex added, from off to the side.
"John knows how to fight." Sarah shot back.
"No... he knows how to kill... you taught him how to kill... how to pull a trigger. How to use cover and to be prepared... you taught him these things... but he still doesn't know how to fight machines. Neither of you do." Alex countered.
"He's right." Derek stated, "With all the metal running around... he's bound to get caught alone sooner or later. He needs to learn how to go toe-to-toe with a cyborg."
"You're probably right... he still needs a lot of training." Sarah admitted, with a sigh.
"You both do... Look at how long it took us to take down Cromartie with modern weapons, we had to lure him into a kill zone and blast him from every direction... and it still took Cameron getting up close and personal with a shotgun to put him down. With these new plasma weapons... we can actually fight them one on one... but in order to do that... you guys need to learn how." Derek stated.
Sarah let out an irritated sigh... but didn't say anything in reply... she knew they were right, but it irritated her to think that all the training they'd done, all the practicing and fighting they had to endure... they were barely scratching the surface when it came to the skills they would need to survive after Judgment Day.
"You're a warrior Sarah... so is John... You two know how to fight... now you need to learn how to win... and how to kill those cybernetic bastards. It's time the two of you became soldiers." Alex stated with a grin.
"This coming from the you..." Sarah prodded him.
"Hey... John Connor once told me... when it comes to home it's best to keep the soldier out. We get into a fight and I guarantee you'll see who I really am." Alex fired back with a snort.
Sarah simply huffed in response. She knew he was right... though it still sucked to admit it. She decided to let the conversation drop and focus her attention on the TV which, as if aware of their current situation, began telling of a surprising increase in seemingly random murders throughout the city.
-Later-
It was around Midnight when John awoke... he found Cameron sitting on the edge of the bed, where she was when he went to sleep earlier.
"That's kinda creepy Cameron." John stated as he sat up.
"Sorry... did you want me to lie next to you?" Cameron responded.
"Or perch up against one of the walls. Or move even a fraction of an inch... yeah... I was kinda hoping for some movement. But no, instead I wake up to you creepily staring down at me... just like my mom does." John joked in reply.
"I'll remember that for next time." Cameron stated, not realizing that he was joking.
John simply rolled his eyes and stoop up. "I'm going to go for a walk. I need to talk to Alex about a few things."
"Do you want me to come with you?" Cameron as as she too got to her feet.
"Nah... I kinda need to talk to him private. So if you don't mind, at least staying out of earshot... that would be nice." John stated, as he walked towards his door.
Just as he opened the door, he barely heard Cameron reply, '"Okay." from behind him.
John made his way downstairs and found Alex, lying on the couch.
"Hey... are you asleep?" John asked.
"Nope." Alex replied, even though his eyes were closed.
"Do you ever plan on getting a full night's sleep?" John asked, with a smirk.
"I had one of those once." Alex said in response as he sat up and looked over at John.
"Oh yeah... what happened?" John inquired.
"The bunker I was in, got attacked and you kicked me in the ribs and told me I could sleep when I was dead." Alex replied with a smile.
"Right... so you wanna go for a walk?" John asked with a scratch of his head.
"Sure." Alex stated as he stood and threw on his trench-coat. He and John quickly exited and began walking down the side walk. "So what do you wanna talk about?"
"I had a few more questions about Cameron." John replied.
"Given what happened to you yesterday, you figure your mind would be elsewhere." Alex stated, giving John a knowing look.
"I kinda want to get my mind off Riley for a little while." John responded, his eyes falling to the concrete.
"Well... what do you wanna know?" Alex asked as they continued.
"Well... one question I had was why does Samantha look different then Cameron?" John started.
"Well... that one is simple... You needed Cameron by your side... but you also needed Allison Young by your side. Allison was the girl that SkyNet designed Cameron off of. So you couldn't have Allison and Cameron mingling. But you also couldn't send Cameron away for a few years so you could work closely with Allison. So the two of you made a tactical choice to change Cameron's appearance shortly before the bombs fell, and after a while the appearance kinda just stuck." Alex responded.
"I guess that makes sense... it would be kinda crazy to meet a terminator that looked like you only, to meet another one, that looks like you later." John stated.
"Plus... you couldn't let SkyNet see you, Cameron... and Allison... otherwise it would have grown suspicious... and Cameron might not have ever been created." Alex added.
"Yeah... I guess." John said with a nod.
"What else did you wanna know?" Alex asked as they continued to walk.
"Why do you think your mother is really here?" John asked seriously.
Alex thought about that question for a few moments... before replying, "I don't know John...but I have a bad feeling about it."
"I know what you mean." John stated.
"Let's talk about something else... I'm sure by now, Cameron has started following us." Alex said with chuckle.
"Yeah... wouldn't want to spill the beans to early, right." John stated, with a huff.
"Hey... when you tell her and make your move is entirely up to you..." Alex chided.
"I know... I know..." John replied as his mind drifted towards the future and what wonders and threats it might hold...
Okay thats it for this chapter let me know what you think and I hope you enjoyed... I try to answer as many questions as I can... and I also tired to follow the format of episode that Riley died in, as closely as I could... but I also changed a few things. Correct me if i'm wrong but the show never explained how Sarah learned of Riley's death... so I just made it on the news... which also means theirs a good chance Riley's foster parents saw it... so that's why I left that part out. I still have stuff I want to do with Jessie... and at this point I don't think John would suspect someone from Derek's past... why he did in the show was never explained so I left that out too. Anyway... let me know what you thought and look forward to the next chapter.