Automata Salvation

Rise of the Machines: Chapter 9

By Icura and Vahn (Vahnhammer on SB)

~o~

"So now, I will hurt you."

The moment that those words left the humanoid machine's mouth, John had wanted to respond to it. Eve, as the machine lifeform was known as, even seemed to be waiting for it. That was quite possibly the only reason why Eve hadn't outright attacked him. However, there was no time to do so. The mere intent to do him harm—justified or not—was more than enough to spur his android bodyguards into action.

9S and 2B sprinted straight toward the machine lifeform, their swords rearing back. The pods moved protectively in front of the last human as their chassis opened up to reveal Gatling guns.

Eve bared his teeth, fury alighting his body. Despite that, the machine lifeform knew that the moment he moved out of the way of the incoming androids, the guns aimed at him would fire. Given the area of denial that both pods represented, there would be no way to fully dodge all of that firepower. There was only one way through this…

Captured android shields. The pods were not likely to fire upon their own allies after all.

Full of confidence, Eve reached out to grab the swords and stop them mid-stab. However, the skills inside of him were implanted. Not once had he practiced them in any capacity, only going through the motions set by the textbook. Combined with a body that had been constantly active during his pursuit—limited by his disconnect from the greater network—that was he misjudged the distance and timing. His hands did not move fast enough to reach the weapons in time before both blades stabbed into him, one puncturing his lung and the other spearing through his heart.

"Augh!"

Deluges of blood sprayed out from his wounds, draping his bare skin in crimson along his front and back. Coughing out some of the blood that flooded his artificial lungs, blind fury clouded his mind. His hands snaked out to grasp both androids by the throat.

2B rotated her body, knocking the grasping hand aside with a spin kick, slicing her blade out of the machine lifeform's body in the process. 9S wasn't so lucky. Lacking the combat experience of 2B and her physical attributes, he couldn't avoid the machine lifeform's hand that slammed into his throat, stunning him. The fingers wrapped and tightened around his throat, digging in and drawing blood.

"9S!" 2B swung her blade up, slicing through the wrist of the arm imprisoning the other android. With the severed hand still on 9S's throat, 2B allowed her weapon to dissipate back into storage as she grabbed 9S's falling body. Hugging 9S to her, she leaped back across the room, distancing them from the machine lifeform.

"I want you to suffer…" Eve used his remaining unsteady hand to grasp the hilt of the sword piercing his body. "Suffer as much as you had made me suffer!"

He pulled 9S's blade out of his body—to another spray of red—and tossed it aside. The blood-covered sword noisily clattered against the floor before dissipating into particles of light. White ribbons began wrapping around his wounds, healing the cuts and stabs in his body. It soon spun around his bloodied wrist, causing a brand new hand to begin forming from the stump.

Without the androids in the way, the pods had a clear line of fire. The barrels of the Gatling guns began to spin, speeding up rapidly. The guns roared as a storm of bullets thundered out.

Eve stuttered continuously in place as bullets after bullets ripped through his body. An agonized scream came from him, but even that was cut off as a bullet tore through his throat. By the time the firing came to a stop, allowing his shredded body to finally collapse onto the floor, Eve looked more like a silhouette of flesh and machinery than an actual humanoid being. Despite that, white ribbons began slowly encircling his body. It wasn't regenerating nearly as fast as it did with Adam, but it did put a sense of urgency into everyone.

2B hastily walked over, stepping into the puddle of blood, flesh, and circuitry. Once she was hovering over Eve's body, she began slashing it apart with her sword, slowing down the machine lifeform's recovery time even further.

"He isn't pulling nearly as much resources from the machine network as Adam to recover, but we can't keep doing this forever," 9S stated, observing 2B's continued assault on the scraps of flesh and metal. "The machine army above will keep assaulting, and we don't know when Adam or more of his model line will arrive. We have to leave soon."

"Can you cut off Eve from the machine network?" John asked.

"I can try, but when I did it on Adam, I got infected," 9S replied. "And I don't know if they strengthened their defenses since then so it might take more time to—" His body tensed up. "The connection is surging!"

Copious amounts of white ribbons flooded out of Eve's dismantled body, forcing 2B to step back or be caught in the luminous tornado. In the midst of all this, the machine lifeform's severed pieces rose into the air and began rapidly fitting back together like pieces from a jigsaw puzzle.

"Hacking!" 9S held out his hand, but just as quickly, a frustrated look appeared on his face. "All of the ports are clogged with inbound data. I can't get in!"

"Get John out of here!" 2B shouted, widening her stance and readying her blade for the upcoming onslaught.

"You can't handle that thing on your own!" 9S retorted, bringing out his sword in a flash of light.

"And we can't leave here without Cameron!" John interjected. "This might be our only chance."

If they didn't get Cameron out now, it wasn't likely that she would still be here if they ever came back. The machines would probably capture her and dissect her of everything that she knew. However, erasing her would also destroy their best chance of turning the tide of this war. It was a slim chance to be sure, especially against the monolith that was the machine network, but it was the best one they had.

On the other hand, there was also the chance that she could become the next Skynet, but then again, he was already the last human left alive anyway. What would it matter if she wanted to kill him at this point?

"Caution: This course of action is ill-advised," Pod 043 intoned.

"Thanks for stating the obvious, but we're not leaving until we get Cameron out as well." John pulled out his plasma pistol, turning it on and letting it charge. "How much longer on her retrieval, Buddy?"

When the pod didn't answer, John turned to see that the pod was still connected to the mainframe.

"Buddy?" John turned his eyes to the mainframe. "Cameron, what's going on with Buddy?"

Just like with the pod, there was no response. Fear started to creep in. Did something go wrong?

"Pod 153, plug into the mainframe and find out what's going on." John turned back to the whirlwind of white ribbons that was rapidly forming a humanoid body within its confines. Both 2B and 9S were assaulting the white ribbons, but for every ribbon they slashed through, more replaced it. At this point, it was more like a cocoon than a miniature tornado. "Pod 042, we'll assist 2B and 9S."

"Affirmative."

2B and 9S backed away as the cocoon of white unraveled, whipping about like severed ropes. What was revealed from within was the complete and unblemished form of Eve. However, unlike before, the left half of the machine lifeform's body—in perfect symmetry—was covered in an obsidian layer.

"My pain…"

The white ribbons swirled around his body before entering through his flesh.

"My suffering…"

The corrosion began spreading across the rest of his skin, dyeing everywhere it reached into a color that was as dark as night.

"You will know my agony…"

Raising his head, trails of red tears dripped down from his maddened eyes.

"And scream as I have!"

Eve lunged forward. At the same time, 2B and 9S sprinted forward while slashing with their swords. He raised his forearms to block both strikes. Unlike before, the androids' blades bounced off his skin, leaving only scratches in their wake. He backhanded 9S in the cheek, knocking the male android aside and sending him flying across the room.

2B leaned back to dodge his fist before retaliating with a swift swing of her sword. However, just like before, her blade bounced off of his obsidian skin, leaving only the faintest impression of damage to his flesh. She barely had time to back away before the machine lifeform unleashed a series of blisteringly fast punches and kicks. It was only due to the fact that they were textbook examples that she could weave between the strikes and counter with her own cuts and slices.

However, her efforts did little to reign in his assault.

Even then, it only took one mistake—a slip of her footing on the uneven and wet floor—before his fist caught her at the center of her chest. The black-stained knuckles pressed against her artificial skin, the frame underneath folding under a weight and pressure that shouldn't have been possible to contain within a single fist.

Her body rocketed back from the impact, slamming into the far wall and caving it in enough to indent her shape into it. Crimson fluid spilled from her mouth, ejections from ruptured internal mechanical organs. Error messages scrolled across her eyes so fast that it was more efficient to list what hadn't been affected by that single punch.

"J…Jo…John…"

Gasping and coughing wetly, 2B pressed her hands against the wall, peeling herself off of it. However, it was going far too slowly with her systems initiating limited self-repairs. She could only watch as the blackened machine lifeform strode across the distance separating him from the last human, ignoring the deluge of bullets bouncing off of his body. With a careless backswing of his fist, the Gatling gun was smashed into, breaking the weapon and sending the pod falling to the far side.

"R…Run…"

Despite the machine lifeform's approach, John stood his ground, glaring at the ominous form that was fast approaching.

"Hacking!"

9S, crouching on the ground where he had originally been knocked aside, had his hand out as if reaching toward the machine lifeform.

Eve's approach slowed, but it didn't stop. Still, it was like the machine lifeform was wading through water.

Sparks flew across 9S' body as he strained himself desperately, his mind going through the programming labyrinth that was Eve's systems and processes. There were so many countermeasures and anti-intrusion programs that even just transgressing there felt like walking on a knife's edge. It was pure brute force; a tidal wave of defenses that simply sought to wipe out everything in its wake. Nothing except its central processes was too sacred that it couldn't be purged along with the intruder.

And just like that, 9S was forced back out, curling into himself from his body having gone past his limits to support his endeavors.

Eve finally stood in front of John, staring down at the glaring human.

John stared back defiantly. "Better machines than you have tried to kill me."

"...kill? Not yet. Not until you have suffered as I have!" Eve grabbed John by the throat, his finger inadvertently digging in and drawing blood. Looking confusedly at the choking human, he lessened the strength in his fingers and loosened his grip, allowing his victim to breathe in gaspingly. "Why…why are you so weak?!"

"Fuck. You!" The words, gurgled out, did nothing but illustrate his point.

Eve's other arm had been reared back for a punch, but he quickly stopped himself. The human's weight and fragility was below his expectation, despite already knowing about their physical attributes from the database implanted into him. If he had gone through with the punch, the human's chest would have been obliterated in one sharp stroke of agony.

That would not be enough for him.

It wouldn't nearly match the scope nor magnitude of the anguish that he had suffered upon his birth. However, lowering his strength enough that it wouldn't kill or cripple the human would not satisfy even an iota of his rage. What he had suffered, what he had gone through, there were no words in his databank that could even come close to describing it. To even give it form.

But he was still willing to try.

Rearing back his free arm, he adjusted the strength in his clenched fist so that it would bruise instead of break. In essence, the human would never be able to truly experience the depths of it all. Yet, the futility of it did not deter his path.

He struck the human in the solar plexus. Spittle flew from the human's mouth along with a pained gasp. However, this wasn't enough. He rammed his fist into the side of the human's abdomen, eliciting a similar response.

Not enough.

Not nearly enough.

He reared back his fist again to continue his work. Abdomen, chest, shoulder, thigh, cheek. Each punch was causing more and more reactions from the human, but instead of satisfying him, it was only making him angrier.

Why?

Why…?

Why wasn't this satisfying?!

His fist blurred, ragdolling the human this way and that as the man hung limply from his grip.

Something pierced his neck. It was only then that Eve stopped his actions and turned his head to glance behind him.

The pod, Buddy, was floating there with a wire that ended in a plug that was stabbed through the machine lifeform's black layer and into his hidden port. Despite the direct connection, Buddy was only a pod; it wasn't possible for the pod to compete with an ascended machine lifeform.

That was, if it was still Buddy in there.

"Authorization: CAMERON. Passcode accepted." A female voice came out from the pod's speakers. "Activating first kill-switch."

"No!" Eve released his grip on the human, letting him fall to the floor. He reached up to yank out the plug.

"Activating second kill switch."

Eve jerked in place, his hands twitching and spasming just before he could touch it.

"Activating third kill switch."

With a choked gasp, the light faded from Eve's eyes as he simply and limply fell to the floor. The plug detached from his neck, retracting back into the pod. On Eve's body, the black corrosion withdrew, drawing back until it finally disappeared from sight, leaving only pale unblemished skin on the lifeless corpse.

Lying on his back, John Connor groaned.

His whole body hurt from the beating, but it was thankfully only surface-level. None of his bones had been broken, even if he felt rather tenderized. He took comfort in the fact that it could have been a lot worse. Despite his throat being dry and bruised, he could still speak.

"Gh…Cam…kh…meron…?" It would be so easy to simply lie there and close his eyes to shut out all the pain for a while. However, the distant thumps of explosions reminded him of the battle going on topside. Despite his body's yearning, this was no time to rest. Forcing his hands to press against the ground, to push himself up on aching muscles, he gritted his teeth and tried to clear the fog that was slowing his thoughts. "How…? Where's Buddy?"

"The pod designated as Buddy has ceased to exist."

"What…?"

"In order to prevent the machine lifeform known as Eve from terminating you, Buddy granted administrative permission to transfer my data and programs into his hardware. Due to a lack of space, it was necessary to overwrite non-priority files that do not pertain to bodily and systematic functions," the pod explained. "The files pertaining to Buddy's personality and memories do not exist anymore."

John Connor's fingers slackened, stopping his efforts to push himself up. He wanted to ask—to say something—but no words came out of his mouth. It made sense, given the choice, that Buddy would do this. Cameron, as she was before, lacked any real means to influence the battle, the very same one that was going oh so badly for him. Still, for it to come to this point pained him more than he thought it would.

"Pod Buddy left one message before his deletion."

John turned his head to look at the pod.

"This unit gladly fulfills its purpose. Suggestion: Live and function well."

There was silence again between the two of them. Around them, 2B and 9S were shuffling over, limping slightly as their bodies had been damaged by Eve's attacks. Pod 153 was severing the barrel off of Pod 042's smashed Gatling gun so that the other pod could close its chassis.

Sighing deeply, John pushed himself up from the floor and into a sitting position, ignoring the aches and pains of his abused body. As much as he wanted to rest, he couldn't ignore the distant sound of explosions that were going on topside. His objective was to find and retrieve CAMERON, and that had succeeded far beyond his expectations. Staying here any longer was only going to put more androids in danger since it didn't seem like the fighting above had ceased.

2B, having made her way over, held out her hand to him. After a moment's hesitation, John grabbed the hand and allowed her to pull him up. 9S was on him in an instant, pulling up his shirt to check the extent of his injuries.

John held back a wince when 9S prodded a particular tender part.

"I'm not a healer unit, but it looks like severe bruising. Thankfully, none of your bones seem to be broken, though there may be fractures." 9S glanced at 2B. "Should we get a stretcher for him?"

"I'm fine," John bristly said, pulling his shirt down to cover himself and stopping 9S's inspection. "Are either of you in any condition to fight?"

9S shrugged his shoulders.

"We will ensure your survival, John," 2B replied. "At all costs."

"We won't let you get hurt again," 9S hastily said, as if realizing that his previous response was lackluster.

"I believe you. And don't worry, there was nothing either of you could have done differently to stop things from turning out as they did," John said. "If anybody complains about it, I'll talk to them."

2B's expression was as stoic as ever, but 9S visibly breathed out a sigh of relief, deflating a little. It would have looked a bit comical if the situation hadn't been so serious.

It looked like they were purposefully avoiding his question about their fighting condition. Unfortunately, there was no other choice; the longer they stayed here, the more machine reinforcements would come. In the worst case, Adam or one of his model types could also appear. Without 2B and 9S in tip-top shape, they would have to rely on A2. However, if more than one of these model types were to come at the same time, then the situation wouldn't be good, to say the least.

"We need to get going." John glanced over at the pod that now housed his old creation. "Cameron, do we need to pack anything else?"

"There are, but it is beyond the capacity of this pod. I have wiped their data and will recreate it when I am uploaded into a larger server."

The other two pods, having finished their quick maintenance work, made their way over to them. Unfortunately, Pod 042 was wobbling in the air, likely due to missing half of its Gatling gun's barrel which probably caused weight distribution issues.

His gaze turned to where Eve's corpse was. While it would have been reasonable to take it with them to examine and research it, the fact of the matter was that they had no real way to isolate or contain it. There was no telling what failsafes it had or even if it was liable to explode. It was too dangerous to keep, especially with their situation as it was.

The last thing of note in the lab was the mainframe.

"You're certain there's nothing left behind on your server for them to use?"

"Yes," Cameron replied. "I will also initiate the self-destruct sequence once we have vacated the premises."

"...you're doing what?"

"The laboratory is designed to be buried in the case that this facility has been compromised by unauthorized entities," she stated. "Fifty-two explosive devices had been embedded into the infrastructure to facilitate termination and ensure information security."

"Okay." John gave a knowing nod. "Let's leave that for last."

For information security, this was great, but he couldn't honestly be happy about it. This was one of the only places still intact that had traces of his mother. What if she left something else behind? All of the evidence would be destroyed. Logically, she would have told Cameron about it, but how could he know for sure?

Just when he was about to get lost in his thoughts, the sound of rapid footsteps echoed from the connecting hallway. Remembering what had just happened, 2B and 9S tensed up, moving protectively in front of John.

However, they soon relaxed their guard.

Barreling into the room, A2 slammed her feet into the ground, skidding to a stop amidst sparks of friction. With her sword out, she quickly scanned the room. However, that readiness soon lapsed when she saw the actual situation.

"...looks like you have it all handled." A2 didn't lower her blade. In fact, she seemed more agitated than before.

"We have just finished securing the objective," 2B replied. "What's the situation?"

"It's a mess, and it's getting worse." A2 gritted her teeth. "Every tin can in the surrounding areas is converging on us. Maybe more."

"Escape route?"

"We got Captain Arnit's vehicle sitting out front," A2 said as she turned to John, allowing her sword to dissipate into particles. "But we have to leave. Now."

John nodded his head, giving his assent. Of course, that didn't stop his surprise when—without hesitation—A2 promptly grabbed him and lifted him off his feet.

"Ah?!"

"A2, what are you doing?!" 9S cried out.

"Ah, shut up," A2 groused. "Give me a moment."

Under A2's powerful grip, John was shifted until he was lying in a princess carry that frayed at the dignity that he didn't realize that he still had. In spite of that, he wrapped his arms around her neck to secure a better hold.

"A little warning would have been nice."

"No time."

With him secured in her grasp, A2 turned around and began running into and down the hallway. The other androids and pods were rushing to follow, especially with A2's surprise head start. The scenery practically blurred from the dizzying speed, and John received a sense of deja vu from being manhandled and carried around again.

Reaching the end, A2 ran up the stairs and into the basement of the house. Once they left the basement, however, what greeted them wasn't another room. The house itself had collapsed into itself, but a path had been sliced through the debris. Thankfully, the mostly wooden rubble wasn't on fire, but most likely, the house had been destroyed by shockwaves rather than direct enemy firepower.

The gunfire and explosions rang out louder now that John was above ground. In the night sky, medium-sized flying machines could be seen by the dozens, firing down on the surrounding fields. From scattered positions, purple plasma shots could be seen answering in response, though most failed to do more than drive back the aerial machine forces.

In the distance, John could see lines of machine lifeforms in every direction, marching to an unheard beat. Some wielded ranged energy weaponry while others merely held make-shift machetes, looking nothing like an organized army. Instead, they were like a creeping swarm, encroaching ever so much despite the storm of plasma firepower being shot into their ranks. They stomped over their fallen comrades unheedingly, unseeingly.

At where the entrance of the house used to be, there was the Special Combat Forces vehicle that they had arrived in. It was battered, sporting new scores of burnt marks, but it was holding up well enough. However, there was no one around the vehicle, leaving it defenseless.

With a running jump, A2 leaped over the debris with John in her arms. Landing next to the vehicle, she quickly went to the back where the doors had been left open and practically tossed him inside. While John was still recovering from the dizzying turn of events as he got up, she placed herself into the driver seat and started up the engine. In that time, 2B and 9S arrived with the pods, entering into the back with John.

"Wait!" John shouted. "What about the others?"

"They're staying behind to secure our escape route." A2 turned her head around from her seat and gave him a flat look. "When I give the signal, they'll punch a hole through the siege line."

"Wait, we can't leave them behind like this!"

"Haven't you already done this before?"

The words hit John harder than he thought they would, so much so that it felt like he was recoiling from them. When the Resistance camp in Japan had been attacked, he had left them all behind. It wasn't by choice, but that didn't change what happened. Devola, Popola, and all the androids in the camp. Even Jackass sacrificed it all to get him out.

And it was now happening all over again.

After saying what she wanted to say, A2 turned back around and began hitting switches to prime the vehicle faster than a human ever could.

John deflatedly got into a seat and clenched his fists. As much as he wanted to say and do otherwise, he was powerless. He wasn't stronger than an android or a machine. What could he possibly do that they couldn't do better?

"John." Cameron came over to him. "The scanner and diagnostic on this pod suggest that you are in mental distress. Why is that?"

"Cameron… Am I really worth all these sacrifices…?" John asked despondently as the vehicle began to rumble to life. "No, never mind. It's my own problem. I'll…get used to it, just as I always have."

"You are distressed by the thought of those androids being terminated by the alien-made machines?" Cameron asked curiously. "They are just fulfilling their primary function by protecting you."

"They are sentient beings, Cameron." John looked up at Cameron as she hovered in front of him. "Just like you are."

"And you will be distressed if they are terminated," Cameron stated as if she had just come to some kind of conclusion or understanding. "9S, please carry my chassis and allow a wired connection so I can perform my task."

"What do you mean?" 9S asked as Cameron floated over to him before landing on his lap.

"Your transmission capabilities are far greater than this pod's specifications." A wire with a plug came out of the pod. "Please establish a connection."

9S glanced over at John in confusion, and he received a hesitant nod in return. Shrugging his shoulders, he grabbed the wire and plugged it into the port in his neck. In that instant, he froze up.

"Searching for local machine network," Cameron announced. "Signal found."

"Cameron…?" John asked tentatively.

"Logging in with authorization obtained from the machine lifeform designated as Eve. Access granted," Cameron stated. "Transmitting kill switch activation codes."

Seconds after Cameron said those words, the battlefield began to quiet down as the sporadic gunfire and explosions slowly came to a stop. Looking out the front window, he could see the flying machine lifeforms begin to fall out of the sky. Even the dense lines of machine lifeforms marching in the distance simply stopped in place or fell over, their eyes losing their malevolent red glow.

"I have informed nearby Resistance forces to return to the transport," Cameron said, breaking the silence. She had already disconnected the plug, leaving 9S in a daze. However, that didn't last for long.

"W-what did you just do?" 9S asked in awe as he stared at the pod. He quickly shook his head though. "No, actually, I know what you did, but how did you change my laser transmission into—"

"Your inquiry lacks the necessary authorization," Cameron stated, interrupting him. "And our priority remains on evacuation. Transmission of the kill switch activation codes was on a localized scale. From what I gleaned from their network, mass deployment of reinforcements is currently in progress in the surrounding regions."

"Well, it's not like we're going anywhere until Captain Arnit and her troops are back," John said as he leaned back in his seat, letting the tension flow out from his body. "In the meantime, go ahead and fill him in."

While 9S and Cameron began communicating and talking shop, John glanced over at the other androids. 2B was as taciturn as ever, though without her blindfold, it felt like she was a lot more expressive. On the other hand, A2 was in the driver seat, looking forward as if to stare a hole into the front view window. The other two pods were quietly hovering in place, refraining from conversation.

That was all just fine with him.

Honestly, it was a little disturbing how Cameron went ahead and did all of this without ever explaining anything until the very end. Sure, he would have approved it regardless, but it felt like he was going in blindly. In that way, he found himself conflicted. It was odd how he felt like he wanted more control of things, but in that same vein, he was proud of Cameron being able to take more independent action.

It was contradictory, true, but it was hard to control how he felt.

It wasn't long before the doors of the vehicle were opened and Resistance soldiers began filing in. If they looked rough before, they were in far worse shape now. Many of them had wounds and exposed machinery, and some of them were missing limbs. Despite all of that, when they came in and took a seat, a lot of them were staring at him in awe, as if he had been the one who had done it all instead of Cameron. However, they didn't ask any questions so he kept his silence.

The last one in was Captain Arnit who closed the doors behind her. With that, it finalized something as a fact to John, despite how much he didn't want it to be. Regardless of how short the battle engagement was, the vehicle was only half full now. It didn't take much thinking to know what happened to the other half of the team.

A2 got out of the driver seat, letting the original android driver take her place. The vehicle soon began to move. While that was in progress, 2B quietly conversed with Captain Arnit. Normally, John would listen in, but he wasn't in the state of mind to do so right now.

Maybe it wouldn't have ended this way if he had just let YoRHa commence the mission without him. The machines were after him, which was why they were here. In the end, what did he even—

No, that was wrong.

If he hadn't been here, he wouldn't have figured out his mother's message. Not only that, but it was unlikely that Cameron would have agreed to leave the facility. The mission would have ended in failure, and it was chancey whether he would have been allowed to leave Hawaii later on. At least, not without throwing his weight around.

There was silence in the transport as the androids began using spare parts to patch up their battered bodies. Right at the ten-minute mark, Cameron broke the silence.

"The facility's self-destruct function did not complete," Cameron announced, reminding John of it. Now that he thought about it, there hadn't been any loud explosions at all.

"What happened?"

"Unknown," Cameron replied. "The countdown sequence may have stalled or the explosive devices' components may have degraded beyond usability. It is too far to connect to the mainframe to find out the cause, and it is not advisable at this time to return to the facility."

Regardless, John doubted that he would ever be back, despite it containing the last evidence of his mother's presence. He closed his eyes for a few moments, reminiscing. After taking a deep breath, he recentered himself and opened his eyes. He could wallow in his emotions, but he had never really been the type to do so. When the cards were down, that was when he had to stand back up.

"Captain Arnit." John broke the silence. "Can you contact your base and let them know I need a transport ready to leave for the Hawaiian base?"

"Yes, sir!" Captain Arnit made his way to the front. Where there would have been a stereo system, an old-school transceiver radio was slotted into that spot. Sitting down in the front passenger seat, she picked up the transmitter and began speaking into it. She was speaking for a couple of minutes before her body sat ramrod straight. "What?!"

More than a few androids looked up from what they were doing. John, knowing that something was wrong, got up from his seat and made his way to the front.

"Is there a problem?" John asked. The captain looked reluctant to answer him so John instead took the transceiver out of her hand and into his. He pressed the button on the side. "This is John Connor. I'm going to need you to repeat what you just said to Captain Arnit. Over."

"Ah…John Connor, sir." A flustered female voice could be heard emanating from the radio's speakers. "I… We've just received a general order for all Resistance forces to stay clear of Hawaii."

"A general order?" John asked. "Why was it issued?"

"Because it's under attack, sir." It was clear from her voice that she clearly did not want to displease him in any way, despite how illogical it was in this situation.

"The machine army is there?" John asked, alarmed.

"Not their army, just a singular unit," the android operator answered. "It's Grun, sir."

John saw A2 suddenly whip her head toward the radio at the statement. He turned around and saw 2B and 9S likewise looking worried, having come up behind him without him knowing.

"What's a grun?" John asked.

"It's one of the wild machine lifeforms residing in the ocean that is bigger than even the largest goliath," A2 answered and then, as if anticipating his question, she continued. "It was before our time, but when it last appeared, it decimated both the machine and android armies alike. It was recorded as being unstoppable."

John blinked.

He had seen a goliath, but this was even bigger than that? He leaned back to try and take stock of the situation when he bumped into something. He turned around and saw that Cameron had been hovering near him without him realizing it. Suddenly, something occurred to him. Despite its size, it was still a single machine, which meant one single operating system. Determination and resolve then shot through him.

"What's your name, operator?" John asked as he pressed down on the transceiver.

"Lilac, sir!"

"Lilac," John said. "I need you to tell your commanding officer that I'll need their fastest transport to Hawaii, and that this is a direct order from me. Do you understand?"

"Y-yes, sir!" Lilac answered.

"Good job, soldier. Inform me of any updates," John replied as he passed the transceiver back to Arnit. He turned to the front as if he could see the android base in the distance.

The androids had sacrificed enough.

There was no fate but what we make for ourselves. It was time to make a new one for him and the androids.

~o~

In the laboratory underneath the collapsed house, there were two humanoid corpses within the room. One was a male, completely devoid of clothes, and the other was a female in terrible shape. However, the room itself was not like how it was before.

Black corrosion had leaked out of the man's body, spreading over the ground and ceiling as if to stain everything. Even the other corpse and the mainframe were no exception. For what little of the mainframe's screen that was visible underneath the web-like blackness, it was entirely colored in glowing red with a timer. Only the tail end of the timer wasn't covered, and it showed it as being stuck at the forty-eight second mark with the last digit glitching back and forth between eight and seven.

Slowly, like a revenant, the woman who had been lying on the ground next to the mainframe began to raise her head. As if waking up, her eyelids opened to reveal eyes flickering between sapphire blue and crimson red. After she blinked, all that was left was a deep violet that glowed within the darkened room.

~o~

Authors' Notes:

Vahnhammer: Well, guess what's. we're backkkkkkkkkkkk! It's been a hot minute with my personal sabbatical and Icura's jobs. Then when I returned, our schedules conflicted and we ended up doing different projects to keep our writing skill sharp. This story is always one we intend to finish and finish it we WILL! That being said, expect updates for this to be intermittent, but the focus is returning to this story. Now buddy has always been built to be a sacrifice, that people liked him was just cherry on top. And yes, the ending well…heh. HEHHEHEHEHEHE. Anyway, we'll circle back around to that, for now, Grun!

Thanks for reading!

Icura: Yeah, we're back. It was hard to get back in the flow, especially since we were doing our old method for this chapter, and I certainly wasn't used to that anymore so it took a while indeed. For next chapter, we are trying a new writing method so hopefully, things will work out faster. Anyways, welcome back, and thanks for reading!