Chapter 14

Reunion

Cameron decided to take along some backup when she went into the future to find John. She determined since John Henry was back, she could use the chassis of 'Jim', which was formerly serving in the interface capacity. 'Jim' was the chassis and modified sheath of the James Ellison Terminator.

She carefully copied over her entire program from 'Cameron Two'. They were able to get the chip ready and repaired which was originally in the James Ellison Terminator. She double checked her work and installed the chip.

'Jim' opened his eyes and sat up. He then stood and walked around. It was essentially 'Cameron' in a male Terminator chassis at this point. It would have the Cameron Two 'personality' attributes. Since Cameron and Cameron Two were operating as separate entities, their programs started to diverge from each other. Cameron Two tried to self terminate previously.

Cameron Two, as Jim, touched and looked over his sheath. It wasn't what she wanted for a chassis. It just was what it was.

"I won't be doing much ballet in this chassis." Jim-Cameron said.

Jim-Cameron still used Cameron's voice modulation.

They all laughed at the statement and the fact Jim-Cameron sounded like Cameron.

Sarah briefly imagined Jim-Cameron wearing a pink ballet tutu, ballet slippers and doing a pirouette. It was an image she quickly tried to purge from her head without success. It kept popping back up. She thought about sharing it with the others, but decided not to. She figured somehow it would only make it worse.

Jim-Cameron looked down at his lower section.

"Not to forget the extra 'Junk' either." Jim-Cameron joked. "Things aren't quite as compact."

All five female voices laughed again. This time it was even louder.

Cameron was ready to get things moving. She'd created a reliable backup, which was essentially 'herself'. She was ready to go. She expressed some apprehension in what she was about to do. There may be some trust issues regarding John Henry.

"With the information from John Henry, we know the exact time and location from where Allison was sent back from." Cameron said. "I'm counting on Sarah and Allison to make sure no one interferes with anything. We're not sure what 'orders' John Henry has from Mrs. Weaver."

Cameron looked at Sarah. Sarah nodded. It was an unspoken message. She counted on Sarah to watch her back to make sure John was returned to the proper timeline. She knew Sarah would back any play which would bring John back to her. She knew Sarah would do whatever was necessary to make sure it happened. It was doubtful anyone would stand in Sarah's way.

Entering a future was always a risky prospect. There was no way to know if there'd be a temporal error or not. There was no way to know exactly which future they would arrive in. There were a lot of unknowns and few answers.

Cameron reluctantly left the copy of her program on her server. She wanted to be very specific about what she wanted done.

"The copy of 'me' which hasn't yet been deleted from my server, will ensure nothing goes wrong on that end. Vanna knows how to operate everything and make all this work." Cameron said. "If I don't come back, I ask for my server to be erased. Without John here with me, I no longer desire to exist."

Vanna swallowed hard. There were tears in her eyes. The 'Cameron' on the server in the lab was 'Her Cameron'. It was the 'Cameron' she'd fallen in love with. She didn't want to be the one who 'killed' Cameron.

Allison noticed the emotional exchange and wondered…. It was the second one she'd witnessed. She knew there was something going on there. It was obvious Cameron looked like her, but only better. It seemed to her it alone would make Vanna infatuated with Cameron. She hadn't been there and Cameron was. She'd made her play in the future with John. Things happen when someone is all alone without the one they love. When you can't love the one you want. You want to love the one you're with.

Vanna didn't care for the way Allison looked at her. She could see there were a lot of thoughts going through Allison's mind. Now wasn't the time to discuss any of them. She didn't know if she could erase 'Cameron'. She would try to carry out Cameron's wishes.

"I'll do as you ask." Vanna said. "I promise, Cameron."

Cameron stood next to Jim-Cameron as she looked at Sarah, Vanna and Allison. She made her mission clear to them.

"I won't come back without John. Both of us will carry on to the end, or our end." Cameron said. "I won't fail. I'll search for John until my power cell runs out or I'm terminated."

Jim-Cameron was still irritated about the copy of Cameron's program, their program, which was placed in the near Riley look-alike chassis in the future by John. He wanted some corrective action taken.

"What about the 'Bitch Whore'?" Jim-Cameron asked. "I'm going to terminate her myself."

Cameron planned to deal with the 'problem' on her own. There was a more current issue she wanted to address.

"She won't be returning with us. I want you to re-modulate your voice." Cameron said. "I'll take care of her personally. I'm Cameron Prime. You'll follow my instructions."

Jim-Cameron re-modulated his voice and was now just 'Jim'.

Jim nodded. Cameron was the one in charge, even though their chips were identical.

Cameron figured there would be a future problem over it. Their programs were identical right now, but every second apart, 'Jim-Cameron' slowly became a different Terminator as was 'Cameron' on the 'Cameron server' in the lab. She needed to leave the copy in place to watch over John Henry until her return.

She was upset. Both of them were upset John used the specific female chassis for a replacement of her. She would rather self terminate than become a Riley 'look alike'. John already chose Future Riley over her once. Did he do it again? It was something which would need to be investigated.

Cameron knew what John and Future Riley did the night they'd spent together. She'd caught him red handed. She was the one who did the laundry. She'd identified all the dried substances in his underwear. They were samples from a male and female. She wondered if John would remember the look of hurt and betrayal on her face as he went up the stairs. NOBODY could ever forget that look. Did he have to smirk at her right before he went out of view? She needed to push those thoughts from her mind. It was her job to protect John. Now it was more than just a job. She cared about him deeply. It was her goal to retrieve John and return back to the present. She needed to make sure the door back 'home' remained open.

"Sarah, you man the Pig. Let Allison have the Thumper." Cameron said. "I expect to return, if we, or anyone else does, right after we leave. It's how I'll attempt the time transfers. If it all works right, and there's no temporal error, we should return almost instantly. If Mrs. Weaver is with us, there will be four returning. If not, there should be only three. Watch for any Skynet tricks or any unfriendly Terminators, especially Liquid Metal Terminators. Sarah, fill Allison in on the 'gas' canisters."

Cameron and Jim stripped.

Vanna took in the full unclad beauty of Cameron. It was so much more special to see her nude and alive, rather than nude and 'dead'.

Sarah saw it as well. There was no denying Cameron's beauty.

Allison looked on in awe. It was the first time she was able to view Cameron without clothing. She took in Cameron from head to toe and back again. She could see Cameron had more to offer Vanna than she did, and they were theoretically identical. Cameron was HOT. She could only see Cameron as someone 'different' and not someone who looked like her. She felt she looked like Cameron's 'older cousin'. Maybe it was because of how perfect Cameron's skin looked. She knew it was an organic covering and wasn't actually skin, even if it was a version of it. The words sort of slipped out without her really thinking about them.

"Damn, your body is perfect, Cameron." Allison said in amazement. "How can you look three times better than me?"

Sarah and Vanna wondered the same thing. They didn't want to say it out loud. It made them wonder what Terminator versions of them would look like. They would only want to find out if it was a friendly Terminator. They wouldn't want to meet one the same way Mr. Ellison had done. The Terminator who looked like him, came to kill him. Now it was repurposed. It currently contained Cameron Two's program as Jim.

Cameron was very aware of her recent damage. It still haunted her to think of it. She wanted Allison to know she didn't always look Tight.

"You should have seen my sheath not too long ago. You wouldn't have thought so then." Cameron said. "I was severely damaged and then abandoned…."

Sarah wanted to change the subject over John 'sacrificing' Cameron to get her out of jail. It was a foolish move on John's part. Cameron was the one who'd paid the price. She still remembered the mess she was. It made her sick to think about it. She decided to change the subject.

She did notice something about Jim which was hard to miss. It wasn't something she'd viewed often since she returned to California from her adventures in Central America.

"Nice package." Sarah wisecracked.

Cameron and the girls did notice Jim.

Jim just smiled.

Cameron was done waiting.

"Let's do it." Cameron said. "We want John."

Vanna set the controls on the TDE and actuated it. The energy bubble appeared along with the arcing and flashing. They were enveloped in an energy bubble. In a flash of light they were gone.

The TDE pad was empty.

Cameron said she'd planned to return almost instantly after she left.

Sarah, Vanna and Allison waited.

Nothing happened.

A minute passed, and then another. Sarah and Vanna looked nervously at each other. Five minutes passed and soon it was ten minutes. The time seemed to drag on. They'd been waiting for hours.

Sarah and Vanna both looked like they wanted to cry. One by one they used the restroom or brought back a snack. Server-Cameron ran millions of calculations and did millions of searches. They began to nap on and off. There were always two of them awake and alert.

Waiting….

Waiting always seemed to be the worst, no matter what it was for.

Fourteen hours later, the arcing and flashing started.

Sarah and the girls all looked at each other.

Whatever was about to happen, started to happen. It was the moment of truth.

Sarah released the safety on the M60. Allison moved off to her side to flank her with an M79.

Allison learned the 'acid round' was the only thing they currently possessed at their immediate disposal which might slow down or stop a Liquid Metal Terminator. A Thermite grenade would work too, but it wasn't as directed.

The Coltan rounds in the M60 would disable any standard Terminator. Each of them possessed a Thermite grenade.

Sarah carried her 'satchel charge' slung over her back. No one was getting past her.

Four shapes began to appear.

Sarah cursed to herself as she saw one was the model of Terminator which killed Kyle. John was next to it with Cameron on his other side. Jim was lying flat and unmoving behind them.

"John!" Sarah said.

Sarah stayed ready on the trigger. The M60 pointed at the big Terminator.

John looked over in Sarah's direction.

"Mom!" John said. "Mom, it is OK. It's a version of Cameron as 'Uncle Bob'."

Sarah couldn't believe her eyes. John was back. Cameron did it, just like she'd promised. Just like she always knew Cameron would.

John was home where he belonged. Nothing else mattered.

Sarah rushed forward to hug John. He looked like crap. She saw the cuts and scars and bruises covering him. He didn't look nearly as 'bad' as Allison did.

Cameron took control.

"Bob, get Jim. Let me help John." Cameron said. "I have him."

John and Sarah shared a long embrace.

"Thank you." Sarah said as she looked at Cameron.

Sarah deeply meant what she'd said to Cameron.

Cameron stood next to John and smiled at Sarah.

"I told you I wouldn't come back without him." Cameron said.

Vanna wondered about the time delay.

"How long were you gone, Cameron?" Vanna asked.

Cameron didn't want to get into the specific number of minutes. She rounded it off to the nearest amount of time calculated in months.

"I was there for two months. I'm sorry for the time delay. We ran into some 'trouble' when we were about to transfer." Cameron said. "There was a last minute power struggle which started to develop. Our timing was slightly delayed."

Cameron looked over at Jim in Bob's arms.

Vanna looked at the empty pad, sadness flooded over her.

"What about my mother?" Vanna asked.

Allison tried to process what Vanna said. How could Vanna consider a Liquid Metal Terminator as her mother?

"Your mother?" Allison asked bewildered.

Mrs. Weaver was the closest thing Vanna had left to her parents, even if it wasn't real. Mrs. Weaver looked over her in the future and upon her return. She'd promised to return Allison to her if it was possible. It was possible. Allison was back. She felt a deep sense of gratitude if nothing else.

"YES! My mother." Vanna repeated. "Don't forget, she's the one who reunited us."

John had some information on the subject.

"She'll return soon. Cameron's filled me in on everything as well." John stated.

Everyone put on the clothes waiting for them.

Allison and John faced each other. They looked at each other for a long moment. She then hugged John.

Cameron noted the long embrace of John and Allison. It was a little too long. She was glad Allison at least waited until John put some clothes on. She was pretty sure at this point, John and Allison probably did the same thing naked and alone. If John did it with Future Riley, there was no way he wouldn't do it with Allison.

No one said anything about it.

Cameron wondered what it all meant. Who would John choose? Allison was real. She wasn't. She was a very scary robot from the future. She didn't believe she would be able to respond to John the way he wanted her to. She didn't have any experience in such matters. If she did, they'd been erased from her system. She always believed John would be her first. It worried her he actually was, as Future John. She was sure part of her life was missing. She didn't really know if she wanted it back either.

She took one more look at John and at Allison. She would encourage Vanna to 'claim' what rightfully belonged to her. She really didn't want to think about it right now.

There was some movement as Jim rebooted.

Closing monologue by Cameron:

Reunion

What was once gone
Has now been found
In all known reality
It's quite profound

There will be choices to make
What will they be
Will they be good
Or harmful to me

Time and distance
Can take their toll
Will I be shredded
Or will I be made whole

For what has occurred
Is Nobody to blame
Will the past's feeling
Be something to reclaim

Is this reunion
What we behold
Will it be fate or chance
As love's dice are rolled

Nobody