Chapter 400

Serious People

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In Some Future:

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Cameron and Mrs. Weaver cautiously approached the Skynet facility. They moved through a dry gulch. It appeared to be something which only filled with water when it rained. There was no trace of chemical residue, other than what was standard for the toxic environment Skynet created when it took control.

There were still Terminators on patrol around the area. There were no HK drones spotted after they all left earlier. They followed the dirt ditch right up to the fence. There was a metal grate fixed into the dirt to block direct access through the gully.

Mrs. Weaver moved forward. The Liquid Metal of her body passed through the metal grate as if it wasn't there.

Cameron frowned slightly as she watched her do it. She needed to bend two of the metal bars out of the way and squeeze through. She bent them back into their original shape. When they called for Cameron II and Allison, Cameron II would repeat the same procedure she did.

There were no surveillance cameras spotted where they were currently at. They made their way out of the ditch and moved up against one of the buildings. They advanced towards a door. They quickly moved behind a wooden crate. The door opened and two Terminators walked out. They went in the opposite direction from where they were hidden. They made their way to the doorway and entered.

They entered the Skynet facility. Security was light since most of the Terminators were pulled away. They advanced cautiously. It appeared the plan Cammy used to pull everyone away worked perfectly. Maybe it was all a little too perfect.

Mrs. Weaver previously assumed the appearance of Allison as they entered the gully. Cameron didn't like her to do it. They both 'played' Allison before in the alternate future. She knew it placed a target on Allison's back. It could also cause a problem for Young Allison and endanger her. There was always the fear Skynet could target Allison Young the same way it did with John Connor. It seemed no matter how many times she terminated some version of Skynet, there was always another version to pop up. Some versions of Skynet seemed to know things about her which seemed impossible. It seemed as if they may have been able to communicate with each other. Maybe there was some part of Skynet which always survived. It seemed impossible to eradicate anyway. Something always showed back up.

To Cameron, it appeared Cammy pulled a 'fast one' on Skynet. Those actions helped them greatly. Because she turned the mock attack into a real one before they entered Skynet Central, it made their job much easier now. Then again Cammy was her. The clones were all 'Cameron'. Cammy was her with one added benefit, she was with Vanna. It's something she wanted since her time first spent with Vanna, her first friend. Vanna was the first person to love her for what she was, who knew what she was from the start. She was a computer program in a metal chassis, covered with a sheath of living tissue. She was a cyborg. She was a machine. She wasn't real, even if she was.

The two of them moved through the Skynet facility. They tried to avoid any threats for now. They wanted to look around and see what they could find. They wanted anything which could help them construct a TDE. They also both wanted Skynet terminated.

"I think this is some of the material we will need for the TDE." Mrs. Weaver said as they passed some storage areas.

Cameron looked over the equipment and supplies. She would need to make sure everything was collected before they left. It was still up in the air. The battle there hadn't started yet. It might be more like, 'if they left'.

There was no indication this version of Skynet started work on a TDE. It was probably a good thing, even if it was bad for them. Without John Connor in the timeline, Skynet's conquests were swift and it faced little opposition. The Resistance was disjointed and ineffectual.

It all changed when Mrs. Weaver's force of Restorators began to arrive. Everything changed when she showed up. She was angry it wasn't her future. She decided the current version of Skynet was going to pay anyway.

The current version of Skynet never needed to advance much. It seemed more of a 'teenager' to Cameron. She encountered versions which seemed more like children, and even some infants. The Skynet from her future was a full on adult. It was the original version of Skynet.

She didn't like to think of the Skynet in her future as her 'father', but she couldn't help it. If Skynet was her father, then Future Allison was her 'mother.'

Cameron didn't like being separated from Allison. She didn't have any control over where she was, or what she was doing. They were unopposed so far. It was possible the situation could change at any minute. It might become unsafe for Allison to move forward later on. She decided it was secure enough to move Allison to their current position. She felt she could help protect Allison better if she were near her.

"Go ahead and move Allison up." Cameron communicated to Cameron II. "Bob, stand ready."

Cameron cataloged the supplies she came for. The material looked like what she needed to get back to John. She needed to get back to the moment they departed to prevent Riley from taking him from her. She knew Future Riley did it once before. There was no reason she couldn't do it again. It didn't matter if she was working for the anti-Metal group or not. John would be predisposed to want to share with her again. Even if they didn't develop a love relationship, she knew they would develop a sexual one. She wasn't really sure which one would be worse in the long run. At some point it would become one in the same anyway.

The more she thought about it, the more she didn't want to go back. Life moved forwards not backwards. She knew where she would be accepted and wanted with open arms. It was where she would be welcomed for who and what she was. She wanted to move her life forward. The past was old news. The future held promise. She needed to focus on where they were and what they needed to do.

Terminating any version of Skynet was an added bonus. She was excited at the prospect. She could get back home to John, Future John. She wanted to go back to the future, her future. She knew it was where she belonged.

She knew once she was out of the past, John could move his life forward. Savannah, and eventually Young Allison, would take their rightful places at his side. It was where they belonged. They were part of the 'Natural Order' She was not. Hopefully they would push Riley out of the way. She didn't belong anywhere near John. She was sure if she sent back the girls there with her, they would 'take care' of Riley. She believed all three of the girls there would kill Riley the first chance they got to do it clandestinely. It was important that they got back to do it. John needed to be protected from himself.

Cameron wanted what she HAD before she was 'sent away'. Now she was going to take it back. Future John was her first love. He should have been her only love. Maybe there was a copy of her memories with him somewhere. Maybe there wasn't and she may have actually 'gone bad'. Maybe it was what was erased. She felt a glitch impulse start to build in her left hand. She was able to suppress it.

She knew it was wrong for Future John to banish her. She knew it was wrong for John to choose Riley, AGAIN. She didn't want to go through the same humiliation one more time. How could John ever choose Future Riley over her in the first place? How could he do it again? She didn't believe John would be able to control himself. It made her wonder in the time they were away from the Resistance base, how many times John and Riley shared with each other. She wondered if John would spend more time with Riley than he did with her. He usually did his business and finished up. She was left high and dry, well, not so dry.

Cameron knew now wasn't the time to think about these things. They were going to distract her. They already distracted her. Whenever the thoughts crept into her mind, it was hard to get rid of them. Lurking around the interior of Skynet Central wasn't the place to be lost in the past or worry about the future. She needed to think about right now. The thoughts still hung heavy on her.

She knew it was because of her search for materials to help construct the TDE which brought all of the thoughts to the forefront of her mind. She didn't even know if she would survive where they currently were or not. It was time to focus on what actually mattered.

Cammy wanted to take the heat off of Cameron. She wanted the heat off of Allison. Vanna was her human lover. She knew Vanna needed Allison to go forward in life to love and live. She was expendable, Allison was not. She chose to make the diversion which was planned into a real attack. She chose to launch it a day early. She chose to bring Skynet down on herself. She was willing to sacrifice for Vanna. Sacrifice was the true test of love.

The time for thought and reflection was over. It was time for action. Nothing was ever accomplished by thinking about it. She launched the attack. She led the first assault herself. They caught Skynet off guard. It thought it would have one more day to prepare. Because they weren't sure if the attack was going to be launched on time tomorrow, not everything was in place. Forces were held at other locations in case what they thought was going to happen was only a diversion.

Cammy knew she needed to watch the anti-Metal group. She didn't think they would turn on the Restorators in the middle of a battle, but there was no way to know what would happen. They wouldn't side with Skynet, but they may try to terminate Restorators as the battle raged on. They might see it as their opportunity to get rid of all of the Metal.

The anti-Metal faction would follow in the second wave after Cammy and the Restorators drew the enemy fire. She wanted the Skynet HK drones to come. They were ready for them. They were specifically prepared to take away any Skynet advantage. They would then fall back and wait for the Skynet forces to come after them. They wanted to make it look like the Resistance was on the run. The Skynet forces would use less caution as they chased after them.

Once the Skynet forces were out in the open, the Restorators would have a few surprises for them. The success of the plan relied on Skynet to feel invincible and in control. Based on Skynet's past victories before the Restorators arrived, it always held the upper hand. She banked on the return of the same arrogance. It was ignorance to her, and Skynets inability to adapt. The gamble was it would revert back to what worked for it before.

Even though it was planned as a mock attack only, it was planned well. It was planned so well it worked better than expected as a real attack. They were able to deliver a crippling blow to the Skynet forces with minimal damage. The battle would be won, when Skynet thought it was about to win. It would never even see the reality until it was too late.

The anti-aircraft sections of the Special Unit began to knock down anything flying. They'd knocked down multiple HK drones and transports already. Any HK drones which came out to engage them were soon 'smoking holes' in the ground.

Cameron secretly anticipated the mock attack going live all along. She quietly asked Bob to move multiple small anti-aircraft units into place. They were able to destroy most of what flew before it even reached the battlefield.

It was a tactic never used by the Resistance before. The Restorators made a difference by shear force and the fact they were cyborgs. Mrs. Weaver wasn't too concerned about any losses incurred during the fighting.

Cameron was there now. Things would be done differently. Everything was looked at from a new perspective. As much human type activity, along with what the machines would normally do, was combined and used together. It proved to be an effective strategy.

Cameron II received the order to advance. They followed the same path Cameron and Mrs. Weaver did. Allison was a little surprised when they reached the metal grate over the dry wash.

"Is this the way they went?" Allison asked.

Cammy could see it was.

"It is." Cammy said.

Cammy took a quick look around to make sure it was clear. It was. She bent the bars the same way Cameron did. Allison and her passed through. She bent the bars back. They moved out of the ditch and headed for the door the others used. They didn't spot the two Terminator patrol which left earlier.

She moved Allison up to where Cameron and Mrs. Weaver were at. She was against the move but Mrs. Weaver insisted on it. If Cameron were not there to urge her on, she would take Allison and leave the danger zone. She didn't see any reason why Allison needed to be there in the first place. There were plenty of Restorators to accomplish the task, along with Mrs. Weaver and Cameron.

Allison could see the apprehension in Cameron II. It needed to be addressed. If Cameron didn't believe her being there mattered in some way, she was sure Cameron would have prevented her from being there. She figured it would have led up to some type of confrontation with Mrs. Weaver.

"Look, I don't like being here either, but I am." Allison said. "This isn't about me. It's about defeating Skynet and saving humanity as a whole. If Skynet needs to know humans and machines can work together to defeat it, so be it."

Cameron II didn't see it so broadly. She didn't trust anything around them related to Skynet.

"There's more at play here than we know." Cameron II said. "We need to be able to adapt and roll with any play there is. Based on Cameron's experience last time with Mrs. Weaver, nothing may be as it seems where we're at."

Allison thought the message seemed rather cryptic. She didn't like to see Cameron II so upset.

"We'll make the most of it." Allison said. "The cards will land where they fall. It's the best we can hope for."

Cameron II felt a sense of dread. She led Allison to where Cameron directed her. She was even more upset when they arrived. What she saw disturbed her so.

Allison wasn't thrilled at the new turn of events either. Mrs. Weaver looked identical to her. It made her think there were four of them there now who all looked nearly identical. She did think Mrs. Weaver could have shown a little originality with her current appearance.

"That's really cute." Allison said sarcastically as she looked at Mrs. Weaver. "You could've at least made my breasts bigger or something."

As Allison watched, the breasts on Allison-Mrs. Weaver expanded to double her size. They then reduced to only fifty percent larger in size. It was a better proportion at only fifty percent larger. It did look nice too.

The tactic was what Mrs. Weaver did before to John when she posed as a naked version of 'Allison'. She tried to seduce John in Allison's future. Allison-Mrs. Weaver smiled at Allison.

Allison was amused by the small show. She was pleased with how she could look, if she could do the same thing. She was actually glad she didn't suggest Mrs. Weaver could have created four breasts so she would be like a cow. Somehow it seemed like an intriguing idea anyway. She would settle for the larger look.

"I'm glad I asked." Allison said. "It was quite impressive. I'll take a pair like those."

Allison wondered if 'everything else' was the same on Mrs. Weaver when she took her form. She'd actually like to look.

Cameron and Cameron II both watched. It was impressive, but they both liked the way they were - built. There was no time for games right now.

"Enough…." Cameron said as she indicated to Cameron II the supplies they would need as they passed. "Those materials and supplies are what I need to get back to John."

They started to advance forward. They followed the overhead wiring. It seemed like a good choice. They tried to avoid any direct contact for now. It was almost too easy. It should have been a warning.

Bob slipped into the base and headed for the power source and supply lines. He was to blow them when he thought the best time would be. To him it would be the best time when the first shot was fired. They wanted to cut Skynet off from the outside world and any help. They didn't want to do it too early and have any Skynet help return when they lost contact.

It currently seemed to everyone Skynet was under defended. They hadn't encountered any resistance yet as they made their way through the base and building.

Cam made herself look like 'Allison'. Vanna and Jesse monitored the assault led by Cammy. The entire area was on alert in case there was a counter strike. All of their additional units were deployed for a Skynet counter strike. Not the threat which 'arrived'.

Cam concentrated on the attack Cammy led. She didn't notice the intrusion until it was almost too late.

"We've got trouble." Cam said.

Maybe it was too late.

"Well, the three little Bitches are all alone." A female voice said.

It was one person from the anti-Metal faction they encountered before. She was from the small group who tried to put the 'grab' on Allison. The group Bob and the Special Unit disarmed.

Cam knew trouble when she saw it.

"What do you want?" Cam asked.

The female was jealous of the way the girls looked. They all looked like beauty queens compared to her and the rest of the people. She wondered if they ever needed to face the hardships she faced. She wondered if they ever were held down as the men lined up and started in….

"Your sister isn't here now. None of you look like much of a threat to me." The female said. "You all look pathetic and weak. Have any of you even been sick like the rest of us? You all look flawless."

Cam could tell the female was 'ate up' with hatred on several levels. She was past the tipping point. It wasn't going to end well. She was as jealous of their appearance as she was of their association with the Resistance Terminators.

"There's no need for trouble here." Cam said as she moved between Vanna, Jesse, and the threat.

The female wanted to justify her actions. It seemed she needed to justify them for herself more than anything.

"By order of the free people of this area, you've all been sentenced to execution for collaborating with the enemy - Metal, any Metal." The female said. "It's what's destroyed everything on the planet."

Cam tried to buy time to get into a better position to protect the girls.

"We're unarmed." Cam said. "Who makes the decision in regards to us? None of you even know us."

The girls actually all packed hardware.

Cam wanted to keep the anti-Metal female's guard down and to see if any other threats materialized. It did.

Two more figures emerged. It was an even greater threat. She continued to slowly move for the best target angle.

"I don't want this." Cam said. "It doesn't have to end this way."

The female was highly unstable. It was evident she questioned what she was about to do. For some internal reason she felt she needed to do it anyway.

"Shut up, Bitch." The female said.

Cam didn't like the insult. She wasn't sure if it was accurate or not. Maybe it was. Maybe it was why it bothered her more than it should have.

She pointed her pistol and shot Cam in the face.

The Liquid Metal on Cam moved to the location the female's pistol was pointed in a fraction of a second. Her head moved slightly with the bullet impact. The Liquid Metal stopped and deflected the bullet. Her sheath was undamaged.

The female saw the bullet strike Cam square in the face. The skin seemed to shimmer slightly but there was no damage. More shots rang out.

Jesse and Vanna made their move. Their weapons were out. They both fired at targets. One fell before either of them fired. They concentrated on the other person and they went down. They'd both scored hits.

Cam stepped forward and knocked the gun from the female's hand. She grabbed her by the neck. There was a pistol in her other hand now. She drew her weapon and fired at both of the other targets. She scored instantly on the first target. She fired again as watched the second target go down. There were multiple hits from the three of them.

The anti-Metal female cursed and swore as she struggled to break free of Cam's grasp. It was impossible.

"I knew you Bitches were Metal." The female gasped. "I knew it."

Jesse and Vanna each moved to the fallen figures, they were dead. They searched for any more targets, none were apparent. The nature of the threat was too close to home.

Vanna and Jesse moved up to the female Cam firmly held.

Jesse punched the female in the side of the face. She was angry they were ambushed in their own headquarters.

"We're not Metal you stupid Bitch." Jesse said. "We told you before."

The female reacted with pain and spit out a broken tooth.

"You're a collaborator." The female gasped. "It's the same thing."

Vanna wanted to know if there were any other surprises.

"And you're dead." Vanna said. "Let her go, check for anything else, Cam."

'Cam?' The female wondered. She thought it was 'Allison'. She wasn't sure what was in play there. Were there three of them? This one was Metal.

Cam dropped the woman hard on the floor. She quickly searched her. She shredded her clothes in the process. She took her firearm and a knife away from her.

Jesse and Vanna still held their firearms on her. Jesse tucked her pistol away and took out her knife.

Cam thought of a more suitable punishment for the anti-Metal Bitch. She reached up to her face. The Liquid Metal formed into a dagger.

"Use this." Cam said. "It will keep this shape until I take it back."

Cam went to make sure there were no more threats. She wasn't convinced there weren't.

Vanna was angry this attack was so close to home. If it would've been Allison instead of Cam posing as her, Allison would be dead right now.

"I won't allow you or anyone to hurt my friends or family." Vanna said.

The female didn't think much mattered at this point.

"Go to Hell." The female said.

Vanna heard enough. It was time for retribution. She aimed her pistol to shoot her in both legs. She wanted her to suffer first.

"You first." Vanna said.

Jesse moved up and shoved the Metal dagger into the female's neck. She didn't want Vanna to 'go there'. It was a place hard to come back from once the violence started. There was satisfaction in 'sharing' the pain. The satisfaction soon morphed into pleasure. It was nice to see the enemy suffer.

"I got it, love." Jesse said. "It's nothing I haven't done before."

The female tried to scream but was unable to do so as she choked to death in her own blood and severed windpipe.

Cam returned a few seconds later. She actually left so the girls would kill the anti-Metal Bitch themselves. She needed them to stay 'hard' going forward. They stepped up to the task.

"It's all clear." Cam said.

Jesse examined the dagger. There was no blood on it.

"Neat trick." Jesse said as she looked at it.

Cam touched the dagger and it disappeared back onto her body.

"I need to let Cammy know these people are serious…." Cam said. "They're a serious threat."

The girls were all worried. EVERYTHING was a threat around them. They were all worried about Cammy, Allison, and Cameron. Oh, and the General too….

Closing monologue by Cameron:

Serious People

In any relationship
What is the attraction
Isn't what one sees
Really just a distraction

There is usually an underlying goal
That seems universally understood
What some only seek
Leads to nothing good

It's not about actually sharing
It's really about conquest
Maybe to achieve that desire
It becomes more of a contest

Why is it always like that
Everyone buys into the same dream
Don't they know in the end
It's going to make them scream

So over and over again
The same game gets another sequel
Nothing will ever really change
Until there are two serious people

Nobody