Quin sat at the dinner table in John's house. John himself was sat across the table. Kate was busy in the kitchen.

"Thanks," Quin said. "For letting me stay. You got a comfy couch."

John smiled. "Mi casa es tu casa!" he replied.

"Again, thanks," Quin said. "I have to ask. Please come back with me."

John laughed. "I'm sorry, but why in the world would I ever go to hellhole? I have everything here. Isn't your place all messed up and wartorn?"

Quin slightly sunk in his chair. "My John Connor is dead, killed by Chad just before I got here."

John placed both hands on the table and fiddled with his fingers. "I got an idea," he suddenly said. "Why don't you stay here? I can get you set up with a job at my place and get your feet planted in your own home. I'm sure Danny will help."

Quin almost seemed to consider it before dismissing it outright. "I can't," he said. "The ol' ball 'n chain is waiting for me I'm sure. Look, we need a leader. A lot of people are depending on you."

"You mean the other John Connor," John said. "Don't you think it'll be kinda weird if I show up?"

"No," Quin replied. "I learned those other Terminators have a way of getting rid of bodies. No one even has to know you're from a different reality."

John shook his head. "I'm sure your John Connor was different. Sooner or later, someone will notice. I don't know the first thing about your war."

"I can guide you," Quin said. "You already know half the story. I can tell you everything else you need to know."

John took a deep breath and thought for a moment. "Quin," he said. "Put yourself in my shoes. You got a beautiful wife, your world is at relative peace, and you don't have to worry about what to eat next or where to sleep. What would you do?"

Quin then seemed to give up trying to convince John. "I'd stay too, I guess," he said. "Can't say I blame ya. Me, I can't stay. I've got a world to save."

Kate entered the room and set down some plates before sitting herself. "I hope you like PBJ," she said. "It's just a quick snack before we go out and get some real food."

John's cell phone began ringing, Seeing that it was Danny, he leaned over and kissed Kate on the forehead. "Perfect, Hon," he said. "Excuse me while I take this."

John answered the phone. "Danny, what's up," he said. "It's only been a week. You got something for us?"

Danny laughed. "Hey, John," he responded. "I got everything back to the company?"

John was in disbelief. "Already," he asked. "How the heck did you manage that?"

Danny sat at the controls of the RDE. "I didn't get a degree in engineering for nothing," he replied.

John spoke more with Danny as he returned to the table and sat before hanging up. "Good news," he said. "Danny says the machine is ready. We can send you home right away."

Quin took another bite of his PBJ before setting it down. A tear came to his eye as he looked at the sandwich. The words 'POSSIBLE SOLUTION' kept flashing on his HUD.

John noticed Quin's tear. "Look, dude," he started. "I said I'm sorry."

Quin looked up at John. "Me too," he replied and stood to leave the table. "Excuse me for a moment."

Kate turned to John and spoke in a low voice. "What's wrong?" she asked.

John shook his head. "Nothing," he answered. "We were just talking about his home."

Several seconds later a plasma blast screamed across the table and hit Kate in the chest, knocking her back. As it struck her in the heart, it instantly killed her.

John freaked out. Diving backward at the sudden light and noise. His first thought was to check on his wife. "Kate, hon, talk to me," he said crawling over to find her lifeless body. He immediately burst into tears at the sight of her.

Quin slowly walked over, with the plasma rifle in hand. "You have to come with me." He said.

A rage-filled John jumped up and struck Quin in the face. He was lucky the Terminator rolled with his punches to avoid any self-harm. It was almost scary to see him in such a state of mind.

For a moment, there was some serious furniture moving in the house.

Eventually, Quin was able to hold John to the ground and ask. "You love her right?"

John struggled with what little he could. "Go to Hell," he screamed. "You goddamn machine!"

Quin teared up at the whole situation before steeling himself. "You love her," he asked again. "Because she's alive, back at my place. You two are married. That's how I knew who she was."

John calmed down at that, thinking to himself. 'She's alive. She's alive.' He even mouthed the words to convince himself.

Quin eased his grip as he sat up. "You just have to come with me and see her," he said. "She's alive."

John lay motionless on the floor and asked. "Will she even be the same?"

Quin stood back up. "It'll be similar to when we first met," he answered. "Her experiences will be different, but she'll know you. To her, you're her husband and leader of the Resistance."

John sat up and began crying once more.

"Again," Quin said. "I'm sorry for what I did. The last thing I wanted…I'll help you bury her and then we'll go."

John stood back up, looked Quin in the eyes, and said. "You stay the hell away from her."

"I promise," Quin replied. "When we arrive back at my place, I'll give you this plasma rifle and you can have your revenge."

The idea of finally getting revenge burned in John's mind. Time wasn't an issue to him, as he moved at his pace to dig.

Quin could only wait inside as John buried Kate out in the backyard. He knew better than to push for John to hurry up. He kept trying to convince himself that it was the Terminator part of him that did it, but he knew it only came up with the idea. He, in a million years, could have never thought to shoot Kate.

John's only comfort was that he'd see his wife again. As he placed the last pile of dirt on the grave, he was hit by the memories of his experiences with this Kate. Now, the urge to see her was overwhelming. Tears again filled his eyes as he leaned on the shovel and continued with thoughts of his wife.

The sun was beginning to set. Danny had been waiting by the entrance of his company to personally greet John and Quin as they arrived by car. He ran up to them as they entered the building. "I sent everyone home," he said. " I got everything moved to our R section. No one knows what it does or is, so discretion is on our side."

"Sounds good," Quin said. "Study it. This is one of those 'knowledge is power' situations."

In the lead, Danny opened a door as he guided the men. "I hauled the Terminator's bodies to a large storage closet in my office to keep them top secret."

"As I said," Quin replied. "Knowledge is power. Study and learn from it, just make sure the information doesn't fall into the wrong hands. Besides, I don't think someone finding dead bodies in your closet will look good. They're machines, don't be afraid to take'em apart. All you really need is the brain and nervous system that comes out with it."

"Point taken," Danny continued. "In that case, we'll release proprietary patent information only we can duplicate to avoid any potential knockoffs. I'll make sure everything else will be kept in the deepest, darkest hole, I swear it."

They then entered a large room with the RDE sitting visibly in the middle.

Danny walked over to the controls to activate the machine and grab the tablet. "I'm sure I can control everything with this," he said. "I don't think it's needed exclusively. Just something to use away from the controls."

Quin took the tablet to make a few inputs as he ascended the ramp.

John said nothing as he just followed Quin up the ramp to the RDE, his head hanging low.

Danny followed close behind and whispered. "You're not going are you, what about Kate?"

John stopped and slowly turned to face Danny. He pulled a set of keys from his pocket and handed them over. "Please make sure nothing happens to my house," he responded in a low voice. "I promise, I'll be back."

Quin handed Danny back the tablet at the top of the RDE. "Keep it," he said, then tapping the side of his head. "I have everything I need up here."

Danny looked worriedly at John before receiving a nod and then giving one in return. He then descended back down. "You guys ready? He asked.

Quin shouldered his rifle and said. "Good to go."

Danny pressed the 'ENGAGE' button and watched as Quin and John became engulfed in colorful, spinning spheres one moment, and completely vanish the next. "Be safe guys," he whispered.

Quin and John then suddenly found themselves in the command center of the Resistance's HQ. Standing only yards away, were several shocked looks, including Kate, Shawn, and Two-four.

Quin instantly recognized Two-four and aimed with his plasma rifle.

Two-four didn't have a chance to react as Quin blasted her in the chest. She could only manage a look of surprise at being struck and stand there as the wound healed.

Everyone was shocked for a moment until Shawn grabbed Kate and dove with her out of danger. About half-dozen Resistance members, or security officers, then open fired on Two-four with a combination of conventional weapons and plasma fire.

Miraculously, Two-four's head wasn't hit as she fell to her knees under the intense assault. After it stopped, she could only look on as Quin approached and then pressed his rifle against her forehead.

"Your brain is the weak spot," Quin said. "I just have to pull the trigger. Consider yourself a POW."

Kate stood back up with Shawn and then ran to John, kissing and wrapping her arms around him.

John felt overjoyed to see his wife. "Kate." He said, then noticing she was pregnant. He caressed her belly and placed his head against it.

Several Resistance members then came to hold Two-four in custody.

Quin turned to John and slowly walked up to him, handing over the plasma rifle. "A promise is a promise." He whispered, taking a knee.

John took the rifle and placed it against Quin's head. Tears filled his eyes as he looked back and forth between a pregnant Kate and his wife's murderer.

"John, Hon," Kate said. "What are you doing? Quin's one of your best friends."

Those words rang in John's head as he continued looking back and forth between Kate's stomach and Quin. Suddenly and without warning, he aimed at Two-four and fired, striking her in the head and hitting the brain.

Quin looked up and back bewildered, then turned to John.

"It's a Terminator," John said. "Interrogations are gonna be pointless. Just take her apart and see what you can learn."

Quin stood, looking at John in surprise. He hadn't expected to be spared, nor wanted to. He meant what he said when he told him he would rather die than live as a Terminator. 'Maybe this is John's punishment.' He thought, then said in a low voice. "Welcome to the war."

Thank you for reading. The End.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

I was born in 1981 and raised in Aurora, IL. Much of my childhood and school days are a blur. It all seemed to go by so fast. I began writing after high school. I wrote in private because I didn't think anyone would believe I was a writer. I wrote for years with little going on and carrying on with life until I had a stroke.

My focus in writing has always been sci-fi/fantasy. I love the first two movies and have wondered what a worthy follow-up might be like. The movies that followed were great on their own, but not as sequels to the first two. The idea of this story is to hopefully preserve everything and continue the legacy of the first two movies. I'm a Walking Dead fan, I love the show. I imagine Quin Uno as being portrayed by Steven Yeun, aka Glenn Rhee. I hated to watch him bite the bullet (take a bat to the head). The show is still good but doesn't feel the same without him.