Rise of the Machines: Chapter 7

By Icura and Vahn (Vahnhammer on SB)

~o~

Our First Home.

No matter how much John stared at the words, they didn't fade away from his sight, and there was no way he could have mistaken the handwriting. For a moment, he wondered if a Terminator had left it here as a trap, but he quickly disabused himself of that notion. Skynet was gone—completely and utterly—and the Red Eyes weren't known for complex thought processes. That meant that the only one who could have written this was his mother, but why? What was it doing here and why did it reference Judgment Day?

"John, what does it mean?"

He didn't know who said that, and he didn't bother to figure that out as he concentrated on the two lines in front of him instead. A few people knew about Judgment Day, but the only other person the second line could apply to was Kyle Reese. Not the Kyle Reese who fathered him, but the young child soldier who she had adopted. However, Kyle had been roughly eleven years old when John had used the time displacement device, and at that time, the young boy knew nothing about Judgment Day. Considering that the event was averted and that they were facing the newest crisis at the time, he doubted that his mother would have bothered with telling Kyle about Judgment Day. There was just no point to it.

Of course, that meant that the combination of these two lines was a message most likely for him. Still, there was no way that she could have known that he would appear thousands of years into the future or that her writing would be preserved this long by whatever mysterious influence that Maso had. Extrapolating from that, someone must have guessed that he would end up in the future, but there was nothing logical about that conclusion at all so it must have been substantiated by some kind of evidence. Judging from this, they must have known that he had failed by going forward instead of backward, but they probably weren't able to figure out anything more than that.

It was a long shot to think that anyone would account for thousands of years. Even though his mother always tried to account for every possibility, this was too far-fetched even for her. No, it was more likely that she made it thinking that I would arrive after several decades at most.

Was this a mother's last desperate gamble for a wayward son?

Would such a message still be applicable after so much time had passed?

Our First Home.

The first thing that came to mind was Mexico and a shoddy house with windows that wouldn't shut completely. The longest that he could remember staying in one spot was a small village where the gunsmith that his mother had been seeing had been teaching them how to make bullets and establish connections with the local arms dealers. The man had been dismissive of him, including him in his teaching sessions only to humor his mother. However, during his time there, he became friends with some of the local kids. For a time, he had even thought of staying. Eventually, though, they had to move on, but if there was a place that he would consider his first home, then it would be there.

Had everything been moved there?

It seemed ridiculous, especially considering that it would take a convoy of trucks to move everything. There was no way that it could have been moved that far without someone noticing and questioning it, not unless they did it piece by piece over a long period of time. Not only that, but they would have to contend with border security, strengthened by the military to prevent infected individuals from entering the country. There was no way that it could have all been done without the approval of the government, not unless they either took many years to do it or a ton of bribes. Maybe even a combination of both. Considering that his mother was never known for her patience, that probably wouldn't be a solution she would go with, especially with the future as uncertain as it was.

"John?"

"Give me a second."

If secrecy was paramount, then it had to stay within the United States' borders. When he started his desperate gamble, the surface had been overrun by the Red Eyes' armies. In order to safely enter the laboratory and move everything, they would have had to retake the surface. However, that still would have left Los Angeles as a quarantine zone due to the corpses of the Red Eyes and their minions spreading the White Chlorination Syndrome. If anything was to be done here, it would have to be in Hazmat suits, and even then, that wouldn't necessarily guarantee safety against infection. Still, it would ensure that there would be no witnesses to them taking out all the equipment from the laboratory.

Still, where could they have taken it?

Actually, why the numbers? Why not simply write "Judgment Day" instead? It would have given off the same meaning, and few people even knew about it anyways. The only thing that he could think of was that she wanted to emphasize the date, but why? All he could remember about it was that he was twelve at the time and that they had stayed in one of their many fallout shelters until the next day just to make sure that Judgment Day was really gone. What they did after that was…

"How do you like the place, John?"

"It's alright. Kinda in the boonie, ain't it?"

"Don't over-exaggerate; it's just a short drive from the city. Come on. I think you'll like how big your room is."

"…buying a home," John muttered, the realization causing his eyes to widen.

"John Connor?" Buddy queried, but John had more pressing matters in mind with the idea beginning to take root.

"Buddy, bring up a map of the city and surrounding areas."

It was far enough outside that they had a stretch of land for themselves where they could shoot their guns without anyone disturbing them or calling the cops on them. Not for any intense practice or anything, but just for fun. Thinking back, it had been a quiet and happy period for him, though a little boring at times. Of course, not everything had been easy, and it took a lot of time for his mother to finally adjust to a slower life.

Eventually, she liquidated most of her weapon caches for cash and, oddly enough, took a job as a waitress while being a part-time firearms instructor on the side. He hadn't understood why back then, but he eventually realized that his mother wanted to be around living people, to see life play out, since every day after Judgment Day was a gift to all of humanity. Seeing his mother lose her sharp edges and soften around the corners really did make everything seem like…

'Focus, John.'

Yes, this answer seemed to make sense. In retrospect, what had thrown him off about that second line was the "first home" part, but he should have focused on the "our" part. His mother had never considered any of those places that they temporarily visited as real homes. It was only after Judgment Day came and left without a whisper that she allowed herself to finally relax, to consider a place where she could live out the rest of her life. Someplace where they both could consider it their home.

"Here." John pointed his finger at a particular point on the holographic map with a yellow dot soon appearing on that spot in the eastern outskirts of Los Angeles. "How far is this?"

"Statement: 26.7 miles."

"Machine presence?"

"Minimal," Buddy answered. "Nothing of value recorded in this area."

A2 slammed the back of her fist into the wall beside her, denting it from the impact and echoing the sound throughout the room. There was an annoyed look on her face with her patience having run out.

"Are you going to tell us what's going on already?!"

"Sorry," John said apologetically, scratching the back of his head. "Got a bit ahead of myself."

"What did you find out?" 2B asked, giving the other android the chance to calm down. "Do you know what this writing means?"

"It's a message to me from my mother, Sarah Connor," he explained. "I believe she took everything here and hid it in another location."

"This spot?"

"That's right. Or at least, that's where I think she hid it. Won't know for sure until we check it out." John stared at the map. While the route was far enough from the main conflict area, their stunt with the plane and subsequent escape could have put the machines on high alert. However, there was no other choice besides leaving. "This is the only chance we'll have to find out. We have to—need to get there."

"Not yet," A2 said sternly. John held in his breath, waiting for the inevitable criticism. "2B, give him your blindfold visor. He needs to cover his face."

2B, who had been startled by A2 suddenly addressing her, turned to John and all but tore the blindfold off to give it to him.

"Cover your face. Between me and her, we can handle a few stragglers." The fact that A2 took charge of the situation amused John. "What? Why are you smiling at me like that?"

"Nothing," John said cheerily. Raising the blindfold to his face, he wrapped it around his head and tied a knot at the back. Instead of just seeing darkness, there was some kind of thin screen in view that showed the sight outside the blindfold, but there were also numerous scrolling displays, windows, and text, all appearing and disappearing at a rate that he couldn't keep up with. "Can a human being really wear this?"

"Is there an issue?" 2B asked, concern lacing her voice despite her efforts to conceal her emotions.

"There are just too many things going on in it," he replied. "Is there a way to turn these display features off?"

"Yes." 2B laid her hand on the blindfold, incidentally brushing her fingers against his face. If there was any reaction to that, she wasn't showing it. It wasn't long before the many displays on his screen began blinking out, disappearing completely from sight. She took a few more moments to clear the screen entirely before lifting her hand off and glancing at it contemplatively. "…it's done."

"Thanks. That's a lot better." Now that he had a relatively clear sight, John could see 2B's preoccupation and A2 looking slightly disgruntled in the background. "A2, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," A2 said, echoing the word that he used earlier. "Let's go."

Going back the way they went was easy enough and then getting back up the elevator shaft wasn't too difficult. A2 and 2B rebounded off the walls continuously to reach the top while the pods ferried both John and the deactivated 9S upward. There had been no hostile dangers when they had descended so there were none when they headed back out. It didn't take long before they exited the building, and after getting their bearings, they headed off to the east.

~o~

High above, the full moon hung, eternally still in a night sky that was plagued by the occasional cloud instead of the earlier dense fog. Though, even then, the bright glare of the moon illuminated the clouds, its light only diffused amongst the brightened gray puffs.

Cracks of gunfire and explosions echoed off in the distance, indicating another battle. It was to the north, far enough that it was unlikely that it would escalate to ever truly reach them, but the skirmishes sounded intense whenever they broke out. Though, maybe he was too used to Japan where the fighting had never really escalated. Of course, the sudden invasion changed that.

Even as they moved through the dead city, surrounded by ruins in various states of damage and abandonment, John couldn't help but think about the invasion. There was no doubt that the machines were a global force with an army that greatly outnumbered the androids, even if most of their armies were scattered across the planet. However, no matter how he thought about it, the attack had been rushed. With an infiltrator unit like Adam, couldn't they have simply created more and seeded them into the android forces? With the androids not knowing about their existence, even a single one would have been devastating. So why didn't they?

The only thing that he could think of was the Council of Humanity's ship. They must have thought that he would eventually escape on that ship. If he were to reach Hawaii, then it would be difficult for them to get to him. Even worse if he went to outer space from there; at that point, he would be completely out of their reach. With their hatred of humanity, could they allow even a chance of that happening? However, that would imply that they knew about his presence beforehand.

It was certainly possible, but another possibility was that they were aiming to eliminate the Council. The fact that he was there was just something they discovered along the way. However, since the Council's arrival was not exactly scheduled, to amass that large of a force in that little amount of time meant that they knew about it beforehand. Or did they? Maybe they simply had them on hand, but that wouldn't explain how they knew the camp's detection range, especially since YoRHa had beefed that up.

Something wasn't adding up. There had to be a leak somewhere, but where?

"Alert: Resistance vehicle detected," Pod 042 said quietly.

For a moment, John thought about ordering everyone to hide, but what was the point of that? They hadn't contacted the Resistance forces here because it would have taken longer than just simply heading directly to the laboratory. Not to mention that by the time they met back up after separating, there was obviously no need to get in contact since they were already there. They only needed to do so after their objective was completed. Why after? That was because they would need a new plane or boat.

However, the circumstances had changed. If anything, they needed all the help that they could get now.

"Turn your IFF signal on," John ordered. "We need to show them that we're friendlies."

It wasn't long before a vehicle came recklessly around a corner, turning in such a tight drift that it should have made the engine squeal and tires burn. It probably would have if it was a normal car. However, unlike the Resistance vehicles that he had seen, this one didn't take to the WW2 era design scheme. Instead, it had a more futuristic and sleek look despite the fact that it looked like a miniature bus. However, that wasn't the only thing that stood out to him.

"It doesn't have wheels…"

"Addition: The main vehicles used in the Kingdom of Night are hovercrafts of the stealth variant due to the prevalence of burrowed machines and ambushes," Pod 042 said.

"Hovercraft…?"

"Affirmative." Pod 153 bobbed up and down. "Due to limited allocation of resources, hovercraft deployment limited to heavy combat regions."

By this time, the hover vehicle gradually came to a stop a little distance in front of them. The craft then slowly landed on the ground, its engines turning off as the doors on the sides slid open. Four androids in black military gear without helmets on stepped out—two for each side—and immediately raised their blocky, futuristic-looking plasma rifles at them. However, one thing of note was that there were oddly fewer soldiers than expected compared to the perceived capacity of the vehicle.

"Stay where you are!"

A2 and 2B were about to reach out for their weapons, unconsciously mirroring each other. However, John—noticing their actions—was quick to shake his head. Looking at the four wary Resistance androids, he took a step forward to get their attention. Of course, that brought a couple of their rifles' gunsights onto him, forcing 2B to quickly step in front of him. That seemed to escalate tensions.

"We just want to talk."

"Well then, talk!" The male Resistance android didn't loosen up his aim. "But if you move again, we'll shoot."

"Can't we speak in some place a little more private?"

"No, we can't."

"We're from YoRHa, on a mission of the utmost secrecy," 2B replied back, entering into the conversation. "We need to speak to your commanding officer."

"Well, aren't you just the silliest liar that I ever darn heard."

The last voice wasn't from the same person or even the other three androids. In fact, it had come from the side. Out of the nearby ruins and connecting streets, more androids wearing the same clandestine colors began appearing, joining their comrades in surrounding their group. Some of them wielded European-style claymore swords instead of assault rifles, sporting heavier armor and jetpacks

"Good job stalling them, Criton."

"Thanks, Captain, but might want to focus."

"Alright then. Let's see what we got here." One of the claymore wielders, a blond-haired woman with an arrogant smirk, stepped in front of her comrades with her arms splayed out in a show of confidence. Her hands were nowhere close to the claymore on her back nor to the plasma pistol on her belt holster. "Now, I know you're lying 'cause them YoRHa never go to where the sun don't shine. It's why we got all these fancy gear."

Before John could respond, the woman reached down and pulled out his plasma pistol in a quick draw, drawing a bead on 2B.

"No, no, don't speak. See here, I got this theory. I only seen them YoRHa in those pictures, but I reckon I can tell, and you three ain't like no YoRHa I ever did see. Sure as hell seems mighty like what happened in Japan," the Resistance captain said. "So why don't you infiltrator machines give yourselves up? Just gonna open ya up and study a bit. Better than getting blasted, yeah?"

"And you think you can keep us here?" A2 asked without a hint of hesitation.

"Oh, I know we can."

As if to accentuate her point, John noticed a couple of snipers looking down at them with barely concealed malice, having set up in the small amount of time that they had been talking. And there was probably more that he wasn't seeing.

"Here, I'll give you to the count of five. Better decide, quick-like," the Resistance captain said. "One…two…"

John, knowing that there was no way around it, reached his hand up. The androids tensed up, but they didn't fire as he grabbed his blindfold and pulled it off.

"My name is John Connor."

The word "four" was caught on the captain's lips, only leaving it halfway. And she wasn't the only one. All of the Resistance forces who were watching them were stunned in shocked silence.

"S-Sir, I think something's wrong with my optics…"

"It's him…"

"Is it really him?"

"It can't be. He's across the ocean. There's no way he's here."

"Don't let your guard down! It could be an infiltrator taking his form!"

"Oh, for the love of—" John raised his hand to catch their attention. "Do you have anyone who can verify my identity?"

The Resistance captain slowly nodded her head.

"Chrissy, get out there and check."

"R-Roger, Captain." Despite the timidness in her voice, the Resistance soldier quickly holstered her weapons and made her way over.

When it looked like 2B wouldn't move, John motioned for her to do so, to which the YoRHa android did so reluctantly. Chrissy came to a stop in front of John, trying not to pay attention to 2B who was glaring at her from only a step away. Taking out a scanner device—which looked like a tablet personal computer—she waved it in front of John, moving it from top to bottom. It wasn't long before she looked at the results on her tablet, and an awed expression came to her face. Taking a step back, she turned back to her captain and nodded her head vigorously.

2B took this time to step in between the android and the human. John, for his part, merely took this time to put his blindfold back on, tying it at the back again.

"Lower your weapons!" the Resistance captain ordered to her troop. While Chrissy quickly rushed back to her group, the captain moved forward to greet John. Despite her lofty position amongst her troop, she kept a reverence of a few steps from John and 2B. "Sir! Captain Arnit of 21st Special Combat Forces. I apologize for the trouble and inconvenience!"

"It's fine, Captain," John said, though he couldn't help but notice that her accent was a lot lighter now. "It's our fault for appearing so suddenly, but we're on a time-sensitive mission. We'll need to commandeer your vehicle."

"Of course, sir!" Arnit agreed without hesitation. "I'll just notify Command and—"

"No!" John snapped, forgetting to control his volume. "Ahem…no, our mission requires a communication blackout."

"But, sir, Command has sent out an urgent search request for you."

"We plan to reconnect with Command after this mission, but for now, I'm ordering you not to tell them about us. Can you do that?"

"Yes, sir!" Despite saying that, Arnit looked hesitant.

"Something wrong, Captain?"

"Are you really proceeding with only them?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" A2 asked aggressively, furrowing her brow.

"Easy, girl." Arnit raised her hands in mock surrender. "But this is a human we're talking about. You two think you're enough to protect him?"

"We made it this far from Japan." It was 2B who surprisingly spoke up, possibly from having her abilities doubted.

"Still, he's human," Arnit responded as if that was all the argument that she needed before turning to John. "I don't think any of us would feel good letting you go with that skimpy of a protection detail. I get that you want to keep this quiet-like, but we've been doing this stealth thing for a very long time. We can help you, sir."

John was silent while he thought about it. Honestly, at this point, there was no reason to reject their help. His original plan had been to speed through with the hovercraft and outrun any machines they alerted on the way, but if they could proceed covertly even with this relatively large force, then there was no reason to not allow them to come along.

"Alright, but follow A2 and 2B's orders. Am I understood?"

"Sir!"

~o~

Under the light of the sun, Adam sat in a chair at one end of a long wooden table, the type that was usually used at a feast. In one hand was a half-eaten apple and in the other was an open book, faithfully reproduced onto actual paper. In truth, the data of the entire story had been imparted to him in an instant through the network, but reading it slowly gave him an insight that couldn't be replicated otherwise. Furthermore, mankind had gained a great deal of knowledge through reading and the devouring of fruit. To that end, he sought to use both methods to increase his understanding and to seek enlightenment in the ways that humanity once did.

However, his success had been limited.

Sighing in frustration, the human-like machine placed the book onto the table, having just finished reading the story. Despite that, he was no closer to understanding. Looking up, his sight fell on the empty chair at the other end of the long table. The other part of him should have been sitting in that very seat. Yet, against all logic, Eve not only blamed him for trivial reasons but also decided to hunt down the human without him.

Idly, Adam pinged for the location of Eve, but the response back from the network was inconclusive. Just as it had been for the numerous times that he did so before. Eve had sequestered himself off into his own private corner of the network, hiding himself from all attempts to locate him.

Really, it made no sense at all. Why blame another part of himself?

Though, maybe, perhaps Adam was looking at it the wrong way. Raising the half-eaten apple, he stared at it contemplatively. The next instant, he crushed the apple in his grip, letting the juice and pulp flow down his hand and arm.

Perhaps, he was thinking of Eve as another half of himself when he should have been thinking of him as a cancer, a malignant tumor. That was still a part of him, but mutated, grown to grotesque and unforeseen lengths. Maybe he should do as the humans once did and simply cut out this abhorrent growth. Or maybe not. It was an idle thought that he entertained. However, there was no doubt in his mind that if he wanted to best the human, he needed more than just this one single body.

There was no shame in saying that Adam had been outplayed by the human in a way that greatly exceeded his expectations, far more than what his true creators would have been capable of, infantile alien minds that they were. That was because the more that he looked upon the achievements of humanity, the more he was in admiration.

The words that he had spoken to that human before were words that he would not speak now.

Sending out another futile ping, Adam once more raised his book. Turning the pages with apple-stained fingers, he brought the story back to the start and began reading once more…

…of the tale of Adam and Eve.

~o~

"…and so I told them I was the tree!"

"Why are you telling him that stupid joke, Harelya? It was never funny in the first place!"

"It's sorta funny," John said, trying to cut off the budding argument before it could sprout.

"See? Told you it was funny."

"…shut up!"

"Knock it off, you two." Captain Arnit ushered the two Resistance soldiers into silence with a stern look, though it didn't stop them from elbowing each other. The moment that she did so, two more Resistance soldiers took up that conversational spot and began introducing themselves.

The inside of the transport hovercraft was larger than it seemed on the outside, sporting a row of seven seats on each side. There was also a row of seven ceiling handholds, bringing the total that the vehicle could hold to 21 people excluding the driver and front passenger seat. Despite that, only a little more than half their allotments had been filled, showing just how brutal their rate of attrition was. When they had gotten onboard, John and his companions had been given seats. However, in spite of the YoRHa units being seated across from him, he couldn't see them at all. That was because the androids of the Special Combat Forces had taken up all the surrounding seats and standing positions around him, completely blocking them from sight.

Though, John couldn't blame them for it.

From what he could gather, they had been fighting for centuries under the name of humanity. That wasn't to say that all of their androids were centuries old; it was more that the Special Combat Forces itself had a history that spanned that length of time. In a sense, these androids could be said to be the precursor to YoRHa, veterans specialized in their field through rigorous training and experience rather than the born hyper-specialization of YoRHa. That meant that they had been fighting for a long time under the assumption that they were doing so for the sake of humanity despite never meeting one.

Indeed, looking at it from that perspective, John couldn't fault them for wanting to monopolize as much time with him as possible.

"Informational: Arrival at destination estimated to be fifteen minutes."

Hearing Buddy's muffled voice from beyond the wall of androids, John could only silently thank Buddy in his heart before bringing his attention back to the newest conversation. Even as he listened to them, speaking occasionally, he couldn't help but notice how different they were from the androids back at the Resistance camp in Japan. From their mannerism to their jokes and way of talking, it felt like a different culture entirely. If he had to put it into words, then he would say that they acted more American which was strange in and of itself. Then again, the United States had always been a melting pot of cultures, variations, and imitations so it didn't actually stand out that much.

"And then she said, 'Yeah? And I'm Joan Connor. Pull the other one, chief!' Can you believe the nerve of—"

The driver in the front knocked his hand against the roof twice.

"We're here!"

"Thank the moon! If I have to listen to one more…"

"Listen up, boys and girls!" Captain Arnit. "We're securing the area. Go!"

The side doors slid open and the androids immediately rushed out, silently and with discipline. The moment when John was about to stand up, Arnit stopped him by putting her hand in front of him.

"Not you, John. We need to make sure it's safe first."

"I'll defer to your judgment, Captain."

Arnit nodded her acknowledgment before she joined the rest of her soldiers outside, closing the door behind her and leaving only John and the YoRHa units left inside. Well, them and the driver who was staring at him through the rearview mirror. Noticing the look back, the driver smiled and waved his hand. Waving back, John soon turned his attention back to his companions.

"Are you all doing okay?" John asked. "Any last minute check-ups?"

A2 and 2B shook their heads while the pods remained silent. Of course, 9S was in no condition to answer. The thought crossed his mind to leave 9S here in the hovercraft where it was safer, but what if someone turns him on? While he could leave instructions not to, that didn't mean they would be followed to the letter or that accidents wouldn't happen. If 9S was reactivated, not only would the corruption of his system be completed, but he would also then start attacking and infecting the other androids around him, causing the situation to greatly deteriorate. No, they had to take him along to ensure that nothing happened.

There was a knock on the door before it slid open, revealing Captain Arnit standing there. There were only a couple of soldiers standing behind her.

"The surrounding areas have been cleared," Arnit reported. "The house has been checked too, but there's nothing inside."

"I'd like to check out the house myself." John stood up from his seat, and that action was soon followed by the rest of his companions. Arnit simply nodded and stepped aside, allowing them space to get off the transport. The moment that he did so, it felt like stepping into another world.

The night's breeze brushed through his sweat-soaked hair, but it did not deter him from looking around. The acres that he could see were overgrown with plants and weeds, spreading far beyond where the old wooden fences were supposed to be. However, the androids had cut a straight path through to the house, leaving sliced stalks and fallen petals in their wake. Following this path, careful not to trip over the loose stalks, he couldn't help but notice that the house seemed intact despite all odds.

The windows were gone, and the door had disappeared, but there was no doubt that this place that looked more like a haunted house was the home that he had spent years in. A period of time after Judgment Day but before the Wall of Jericho. If there was anything to be said, it was that this had been the most carefree time in his entire life. So many good memories were locked into these walls, such that his approach slowed the closer that he got. It was only when he was standing in front of the open doorway, gazing into the darkness within, that he found out that he had stopped walking.

"John?" 2B's worried voice brought him out of his stupor.

"I'm okay."

Just as John was about to enter, Buddy came to his side and turned on its built-in flashlight. Illuminated by the bright light, he could see even the dust particles in the air, moving in accordance to their disturbance. Despite that, he walked in, taking a look around the room. Where once was comfortable furniture, pleasant wallpaper, and picture frames hanging at multiple spots, there was now only exposed flooring, bare walls, and an emptiness that couldn't be put into words.

"…let's go."

With that, his companions and the three Resistance soldiers followed behind him. Within the hallway, there were two Resistance soldiers who quickly pressed their backs against the wall, making space for him to walk through. They saluted as he passed by while he only gave a nod in answer, too lost in his own thoughts. Reaching the stairway, he moved step by step down to the basement. Moving through the open doorway, he stepped into the basement.

For a moment, he thought he saw his mother smile at him before Buddy flashed his light over the area, revealing only dust and a candle holder sticking out of the wall.

"Alert: High traces of coltan metal detected on object." Buddy had its light shining on the candle holder.

"Not exactly how I remembered it, but it should still work the same."

John placed his hand on the candle holder. Feeling around with his fingers, he could feel the segments move, just like how he thought they would. Touching the markings inscribed onto the metal, he began shifting the different segments of the candle holder until certain symbols became aligned. There was a loud click.

"Okay, shine a light in that corner."

Buddy was quick to follow the order, bringing its light to bear on a corner of the room. In that spot before, there was only bare flooring, but now, there was a hatch pull handle sticking out of the ground. Without waiting, A2 strode over and grabbed the handle. She pulled it up, bringing with it the hatch and revealing a dark metal staircase.

"Report: No signs of contaminants detected in outgoing air."

John nodded his head and motioned for them to continue. With A2 leading the way, their entire group—with the pods carrying 9S—headed down the stairs with John in the middle of the procession. Several flashlights, courtesy of the pods and the Resistance soldiers, made seeing through the darkness relatively easy. The first underground room that they walked into was a large one with many crates stacked against the walls. When John gave a confirming nod, 2B opened up one of the crates.

"It's filled with old munitions."

Inside were guns and boxes of ammunition, all with their own layer of dust despite having been locked in crates.

"These are outdated weaponry," A2 critiqued, pulling out a familiar weapon, the same kind of machine gun that Uncle Bob once used against the police during their raid on Cyberdyne. "Chemically propelled percussion rounds? It'd barely tickle the machines."

"It was all we had at the time. This room was supposed to be both a panic room and a weapon storage cache in case we needed it," John explained, taking his eyes off the old weaponry. "Though the room is a lot larger than I remember it being."

Brtzz.

John snapped his head up and soon found that he wasn't the only one who did so. After waiting a few seconds, the sound didn't return so he turned his attention to the other thing of note in the room. At the very back was a set of metal doors that were definitely not there the last time that he saw this place.

"I'll go first." A2's tone brokered no argument.

John nodded.

Satisfied, A2 tossed aside the machine gun—uncaring of its historical value—and strode over to the doors. They had no knobs or handles, but that didn't prove an issue to her. She simply materialized her sword into her hand and slashed out several times, her form twisting and turning to increase the power of her strikes. It took a moment before the metal slabs that constituted the doors became jagged shards, sliding off with screeching sounds followed by loud crashes.

With Buddy lighting the way through the disturbed dust clouds, they quickly proceeded down the dark corridor.

Brtzz.

"What is that noise?" John asked, looking around at the sterile walls of the corridor. "It sounds like a speaker gone bad."

"Report: No signal detected."

"Just keep an ear out for whatever that was."

The rooms that they passed by weren't empty, filled with equipment that he recognized from his original laboratory. However, it was easy to tell with a glance that they weren't set into place to be used. Instead, they were placed haphazardly as if to store them for later. This was indeed the place that they were looking for, but these rooms weren't big enough to hold what he needed to find.

Brtzz.

At the end of the corridor was a final room, larger than the rest. Buddy was the first to enter, shining a light on everything around. A2 and 2B moved in next to ensure that it was safe. When John finally entered, he found the two missing large Maso generators secluded off to the side. However, what caught his attention was the mainframe computer. It was just one out of the many needed to run her. Where were the rest?

"John, look over here." 2B was standing next to the mainframe, but her gaze was pointed downward. Buddy quickly shined his light on the area at her feet.

There was a very familiar person in a lab coat lying on the ground.

"Amy?!"

"Report: No signal detected."

John made to move closer, but A2 held out her arm, stopping him.

"That's an android."

"I know," John said in a daze. "I made her."

"You…what…?!" A2 shouted in bewilderment. "But this is ancient technology!"

"Can she be reactivated?"

"Report: Diagnosis inconclusive."

"Hey, don't ignore me." A2 stepped in front of him, glaring at him. "Answer me!"

Brtzz.

"Look, I'll answer all your questions later, but right now, I need to see if I can turn her back on."

"Fine, but you better!" A2 stepped aside.

John quickly moved over to Amy and got onto his knees beside her head. Besides a lot more wear and tear, she looked similar enough to how she used to that he could easily recognize her with just a glance. However, this wasn't the time for nostalgia. Putting his hand on the side of her neck, he scratched with his fingernails until they found a crevice. Pulling at it, he yanked open a panel, revealing a small button. He swiftly pressed the button, but nothing happened. Hoping that he was just not doing it correctly, he pressed it twice more, harder and longer these times. However, the android remained inert and lifeless.

Brtzz.

"Pod 153, find out where that noise is coming from! Pod 042, plug into the mainframe and tell me what you can find on it!" John ordered. The two pods promptly put down 9S and went about their tasks. "And Buddy, bring your light closer to here."

John lifted Amy's shirt up to reveal her abdomen. It didn't take long for him to find the frontal panel and pop it open. Since this was a prototype model, she wasn't made to prevent tampering, making it easy to make adjustments and changes as necessary. However, to his dismay, what he found wasn't ideal at all. Much of her wiring and circuitry were corroded. Even her main memory drive was submerged in liquid from a leaking internal cooling system. There was a possibility that he could still recover something, but it would be fragmentary at best. Her personality, however, was likely unrecoverable.

For all intent and purposes, Amy was…

"…damn it."

Brtzz.

"Report: Source of noise located. Attempting deactivation of noise-related systems."

John silently closed the panels. Breathing out a slow sigh, he pulled the shirt down to cover her up again. Despite the time that had passed, she looked peaceful as if she was simply asleep.

"Alert: Unknown Network detected!"

"What?!" John abruptly stood up to his feet, turning to Pod 042 who was plugged into the mainframe. A2 and 2B had materialized their swords while Captain Arnit and her two soldiers raised their guns and aimed down the corridor they had just come through. "Disconnect now!"

"Unable to—!" Pod 042 jerked violently in the art. "Unknown Network accessing system!"

2B hesitated, but then quickly raised her sword up.

"Wait, you could damage 042 irreparably!" John shouted to remind her.

"It's a risk the pod took willingly!" 2B rebutted.

"Unknown Network copying and transferring repair program files!"

Brtzz. Brrtz. Brrrrrzzt.

SKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!

The loud electronic shriek echoed through numerous speakers somehow hidden in the laboratory.

John covered his ears, wincing from the high-pitched noise.

"Report: Unknown Network has disconnected."

A2 and 2B glanced at each other for an instant before rushing forward, their swords slicing through the air toward the mainframe.

"—ohn."

His eyes widened at the heavily distorted but familiar voice echoing from the speakers.

"Wait!"

The swords barely stopped in time, mere inches from cutting into the machine.

"John."

That familiar voice, now lacking the distortion, answered in a way that he had heard a thousand times before.

"Cameron?"

"Welcome back, John."

~o~

Authors' Note:

Icura: I actually got sick this week, but I'm still writing. Even if what I am writing is sometimes a little suspect, Vahn catches them well enough, hahaha.

If you like our writing, please consider supporting us. Besides ko-fi, we now have a new Pa treon ! Yay! Thank you to everyone that have supported us! We really do appreciate it and will keep on writing. Or at least, make us feel a ton more obligated to keep on writing.

pat (slash) IcuraandVahn

Vahnhammer: What Icura say :D Anything would be great. That said, I can't wait to read the reaction to this, it'll be something I bet :D