Chapter 36

Yes, I am finished with this story. Thank you so much for the readers who've been sticking with me all the way.

Please note that once you get into the chapter, you will feel as if a chapter is missing from the story. Trust me, you didn't miss a chapter. I've written Chapter 36 this way on purpose.

(2027) Ziera Base

The frightening sound of gunfire and plasma bolts ripped throughout the night sky. The shouts of "MACHINE!" and "TERMINATOR" didn't help ease the tension. The clanging sounds of metal punching metal continued. It became the clear that John Henry and his machines weren't fighting Skynet to stop them from breaking into Ziera basement. They were simply fighting to see how long they could hold them off. As the enemy machines, all covered in flesh, pushed forward in silence, there came the sounds of men and women screaming in fright. To hear so much terror burned all the way through John's heart. He felt incredibly guilty that there was nothing he could do to stop them. He had to go out there. He couldn't justify hiding in the barracks when he needed to help them out of harm's way. Yeah, he was scared out of his mind, but John had a renewed sense of vigor. He had to go fight and he was going to do it now. He was more determined than ever.

Just as he was about to jump right out from behind the toppled table to go out and join the fight, a feminine voice shrieked, "John! Stop!"

Turning to his right, John saw an anxious Allison Young standing only a few feet away from him. John blinked twice to make sure he was looking at Allison and not Cameron. He saw her eyes. Her eyes were wide open, her bodily motions were fluid, and her purple jacket all indicated it was Allison.

Confused by her unexpected presence, John said, "Allison? You shouldn't be here! The military police are searching for you!"

Allison shouted, "Never mind that! John, you have to get out of here! You're not going to make it unless you run!"

All of the sudden, a terminator burst through the room, aiming squarely at John's head. John's hesitancy to react only condemned him to his last breath.

Allison instinctively leaped towards John, forcing him away from the blast while at the same time aiming for the murderous cyborg. With one blast from Allison's gun to the terminator's head, the Skynet machine dropped quickly. Allison hit the ground hard. When John opened his eyes, he was unscathed. Not a scratch did John find on his body. Slowly and grudgingly forcing himself off the ground, he noticed the inactive machine lying there with a seared whole in its head right by the barrack's large entrance. Looking behind him, John saw that Allison was strangely motionless too. She was lying on her front and there was a burnt hole at the dead center of her back. John's heart leaped. Was Allison dead?

When John raced over to examine the injury, he found much to his relief that her purple jacket had absorbed the blast. That's when John remembered that he asked a few technicians to incorporate bolt-proof material into Allison's jacket to protect her from the dangers of Ziera base. John immediately thanked his past self for it.

Seeing that Allison was not responding to him, John flipped her on her back to see her face. To John's ire, there was a second wound on her body, and it wasn't small one either. There was gash in her neck. Only then did John realize the machine managed two shots on her before Allison could kill it.

Now that Allison laid there flat on her back, John observed that her wound did not completely cauterize from the blast, allowing fresh blood to spill out onto the floor. Despite rapid blood loss, she was still conscious. Allison's eyes suddenly shot open. She could feel the numbing in her neck thanks to the adrenaline pumping through her body. She looked up to the ceiling, awaiting her inevitable fate. She was in shock, her heart was racing, and she was surely bleeding to death. She couldn't speak, for she feared she'd further damage her fragile neck.

John screamed, "NO! NO! NO!"

In his panic, he turned to his left and to his right trying to find something to use that could help her. Finally, he grabbed a table cloth from a nearby table and pressed it on the side of her neck.

Before John could say anything to comfort her or at least slow her breathing, Cameron marched into the room with a blank look on her face. The cyborg held tightly to someone, trying to prevent this unknown person from losing balance. It was John's mother Sarah Connor being helped by Cameron. When John's eyes shifted to his mother, he could see that Sarah's left abdomen was bleeding out too. She was shot. Despite Sarah's excruciating pain and lack of breath, Sarah let go of Cameron and limped by herself into the abandoned barrack. She slowly let herself down next to the doorway, trying desperately to prevent her wound from bleeding out more than it already was.

Sarah groaned, "Damn it. I…"

Whatever words Sarah said didn't matter as it got drowned out from two quick blasts from the rifles from Derek and Kyle Reese. After squeezing off a few more shots, they stumbled out of the chaotic warzone and into an increasingly busy barrack.

Kyle looked to Sarah and John and said, "There you guys are."

Derek frantically said to his brother, "Where's Savannah?"

Kyle assured him, "She's safe. Savannah told me she'd be hiding in a bunker with the rest of the civilians."

Derek didn't know why all of the sudden he was concerned with Savannah. In fact, he and Savannah never really talked much. He figured he never liked the idea of his brother having a girlfriend because it might distract him from his work. But now Derek realized that Kyle's girlfriend didn't distract Kyle, it distracted him. Was he jealous? Was he simply annoyed that Kyle was in a relationship that he technically wasn't? Or perhaps Derek had found himself getting attached to her. That thought from Derek got cut short with the explosive sound of an aerial strike that violently shook the ground. Derek realized that if Skynet found out they were hiding in the barracks, they'd be gone forever. Nevertheless, it was a gamble they had to take. They had to hide somewhere.

Derek nodded, "Good, make sure Savannah doesn't move from safety."

Knowing that his brother Derek was present with him, Kyle wondered in much concern, "You're in command of my men aren't you Derek? Whose leading them to defend the base if you're here with me?"

Derek replied, "Bedell is loyally working alongside Perry to lead the men. We should be good for now."

Cameron, who witnessed their conversation, said to the Reese siblings, "John Henry says more enemy machines are coming. They are closing in. Perry won't hold them off much longer."

Derek and Kyle immediately replaced their focus on Cameron and the injured Sarah Connor. Swiveling their heads once again, they found John tending to an even more severely injured Allison.

Once Derek realized that Allison and Sarah were bleeding out, he snapped, "General?! Allison?! What is Allison doing here? What's going on?!"

Derek shifted both ways. He wasn't sure who to help first. Should he help Sarah or should he race after Allison? Cameron found Allison's injury to be more serious, so she approached her and crouched down next to John. The terminator gradually reached for Allison's neck. This time, Cameron wasn't trying to snap it. She simply wanted to examine her wound while John calmly watched in silence.

Derek, without hesitance, shouted in a commanding and irritable tone, "What are you doing metal? Get away from her!"

Cameron knew that Derek, despite all they'd been through together, would not trust her. Nevertheless, she needed him to cooperate for fear that things would get worse.

Cameron explained to him, "Allison is bleeding out because the blast nicked her artery. If you want her to live, you need to squeeze right here so the blood does not spill out."

Kyle, despite being nervous as hell, volunteered, "Derek, I'll do it. My hands are steadier than yours."

Derek didn't say anything. Cameron was right. There was no way Allison could be bleeding out that much unless Cameron was telling the truth. And with Kyle having steadier hands than Derek did, it made sense that Kyle best tend to Allison rather than Derek himself. Seeing that Derek decided to cooperate with her, Cameron merely nodded, showing Kyle where to hold to prevent the bleeding. Derek pulled his hair in frustration, wanting to help, but not figuring out a way to do so. His whole defense strategy for Ziera base fell apart the very moment he found Allison lying there hurt. She really wasn't supposed to be there and that was a dangerous distraction for him.

Derek suddenly grabbed John by his shoulders ranting, "How did this happen? What did you do to Allison?!"

Cameron's HUD immediately classified Derek as a threat to John's safety. Cameron was about to throw Derek into a wall when John waved her off. Cameron disliked John's decision to not hurt Derek. To Cameron, Derek always seemed like a guy who needed a good kick in the backside. Nevertheless, she restrained herself from further physical contact against John's uncle.

John gritted his teeth and said to Derek, "She saved my life, that's what she did. There was nothing I could do!"

"You son of a bitch. What idiotic thing did you do now? What did you do to get her killed?" He snapped.

Kyle interrupted in a disapproving tone, "Derek!"

Derek shouted, "Allison literally throws herself and kisses John's feet and all John does is kick her to the curb! What do you expect me to say Kyle?!"

Derek, confused by Kyle's angry tone, watched his brother's menacing face. Derek hated it to see his brother this angry with him.

Kyle said to Derek, "Let go of John! He's not the enemy, he's your nephew!"

Derek, though very reluctant, obeyed his brother's wishes and let go of John. Derek wasn't sure how to think of John. While Derek wanted John to stay safe and while he did have some concern for John's well-being, he wasn't sure that he could call him his nephew. After all, his brother never had children. That was another brother that he never knew that fathered John Connor.

John, in the mean time, didn't say a word. What Derek said about him really hurt the young teenager. The way Derek described him was like that of a selfish man who cared for himself more than others. While John knew there was more to the story than that, he felt really bad. He felt like he was the bad guy and that Allison was the victim.

Without getting a chance to argue in his own defense, another human being dashed into the room right behind Derek Reese. It was Corporal William Young.

Out of time and out of breath, William gasped, "Allison?! Oh Allison?! What's happened?! No! What's wrong with her?!"

Will looked closely at his niece lying on the floor. He couldn't believe it. Allison had somehow outrun him and outmaneuvered him at every corner in the heat of battle just to find John. Will cursed himself for leaving her alone. He never should've taken the woman and her son to the infirmary or else he could've stopped Allison from getting harmed. Taking a closer look at her, Will noticed that Allison was breathing heavily. Her eyes were still wide open, but she did not say a thing. After all, her neck was still cut open and she was still in very serious shock.

Corporal Young looked on in a panic, "Ally?! What happened to her?!"

John interrupted, "Who the hell are you?!"

"I'm…I'm Allison's uncle." Will answered.

"Corporal…you're what?!" Derek said.

Derek obviously had known William for years and the Corporal had never mentioned Allison as a niece, so he seemed a little confused to hear William say that she was related to Allison Young

Kyle shouted, "We don't have time for this conversation! What are you doing here Corporal? How did you know we were here?"

Will replied, "I...I was sent her with a message."

Kyle nodded, "Okay, go on Corporal."

"I brought Allison here. She just…she…" He said, allowing his eyes to stray towards the injured Allison.

Derek groaned, "Man, you're useless. You've got nothing useful!"

Will finally gathered himself and said, "No Reese, I do have something to tell you. This um, Weaver person. Yeah, this person named Weaver approached me just before I could catch up with Allison. She knew me somehow. She told me to find you all in the barracks and send you message. The message was that she and Savannah were almost finished working on the TDE. She says her intelligent friend John Henry is ready to go with the…I think he said it was a time machine. Who's John Henry anyway?"

John didn't have time to answer Will's question. He just couldn't believe what Will was saying. While Will spoke in a very rough and cryptic manner, John knew what was going on. Weaver wanted him to go back in time. She wanted him to give up, go back, and try to stop judgment day once again.

John responded out loud, "What?! This has got to be some joke. We've been in 2027 for a long time. I find it hard to believe that Weaver's just giving up now on the resistance and going back. No, we can't…no we can't leave everyone. I can't. We're staying in 2027."

Will replied, "What do you mean by that?"

Still ignoring Will's confusion, Sarah raised her hand to grab John's attention.

Sarah wheezed out, "John!"

John, still preoccupied with Allison's injury, had almost forgotten that his mother Sarah was injured. Eyeing her wound attentively, John instinctively approached her, pulled off his jacket, and pressed it hard against her side.

"Mom? Look at you, you're hurt really bad! You need to go to the infirmary now." John said.

Sarah said, "It's fine John."

John shook his head, pressing even harder on the wound at the same time.

He said, "You're bleeding. No, you're not fine. Someone needs to be here to keep compression on your wound."

"I'm sick. You shouldn't bother. I'll be kicking the bucket at some point." She said.

John shouted back, "No. Cameron told me you didn't have cancer. She told me you were misdiagnosed. I know it. You're not supposed to die like this."

"We all die one day." She commented.

"Never!" John screamed, annoyed by Sarah's fatalistic attitude.

Sarah said, "Go back John. Go back and grow up, mature, and make me proud. Weaver's right that you should go. I've said it before and I'll say it again. Become the leader you were always meant to be."

Sarah seemed out of breath. Sitting up against the wall was extremely painful, but she tried her best to hide it from John. John's face crumpled together. He couldn't bear to see his mother like this and he couldn't process what his mother was telling him.

He murmured, "I was happy mom. I…I am happy being right here with everyone. We were like a family! I know I didn't talk to you very much and I'm sorry, I…but I was happy."

Sarah assured him, "I know John. But I'll be fine. Go back and you can see me again before I go after Skynet. Who knows, maybe you can figure out something I didn't do and stop judgment day. But John you must go back. For everyone's sake you have to go back. It's far too bad out there. We won't last long."

John cried, "No mom, I can't."

Sarah's dry lips opened, "John, I've always been proud of you. I know it's been hard, but I'm asking you as your mother to do the right thing. Weaver is right. Go back. Please. Sarah Connor from 2009 needs you. I promise you things will be okay."

"Connor!" A sudden interrupting voice from Derek indicated that his uncle wished to speak with him.

For a split second, John looked behind him and answered, "Yeah?"

"Allison, she says she wants to talk to you." Derek said.

Somehow, despite Allison's injury, she could still speak, although she used a very soft and gentle voice.

John, looking back to his mother briefly, noticed Sarah nodded to him. In other words, she allowed him to speak with Allison. Quickly, he got up, turned around, came closer, and bent down so that he and Allison were face to face. He and Allison were so close in fact, they could hear each other breathe. Allison opened her mouth. Her face, it was in so much pain and discomfort. John couldn't bear to look at her. Allison whispered so quietly that he could hardly hear her voice. Derek and Kyle, too, struggled to hear her speak.

She looked directly at John and strained out with all her might, "John, I'm sorry for hurting you. I…I am sorry if…"

Allison swallowed hard and then continued, "…I hurt your feelings. That's the last thing I wanted. I'm sorry if you hate me because of it."

John said, "Allison, there's nothing in the world that you could do that would change how I feel about you."

Allison coughed out, wanting to say something, but found herself unable to do so.

Kyle interrupted, "Slow down Allison. You're moving your head too much. Just relax."

Allison ignored Kyle and continued his conversation with John.

Allison said to John, "I heard your mother. She's right. You should go back."

John muttered, "I…I can't leave you. This is wrong. You just saved my life. I can't…"

Allison said once again, "If you don't leave, you won't be able to save us. Skynet is winning. You have to go and fight. The world doesn't deserve death and destruction. It needs peace. And…if it means anything to you, give me the life I've always dreamed of. Where I could live with my parents, do art, play the piano, and maybe even learn to ride a bicycle."

A tear rolled down John's cheek, "You promised me that if we ever went back to the past, you'd come with me. You'd come with us."

Allison smiled slightly, "I'm sorry I couldn't keep that promise. Cameron can look out for you instead."

Cameron heard Allison's words, but made no motion or comment. She simply absorbed every word Allison told John.

John repeated again, "I have to stay here. I can't leave."

Kyle observed the entire conversation with Allison. Did Allison really want John to leave the timeline? Kyle wasn't sure he wanted him to leave either. Despite all he learned about John, he felt like there was still much more to get to know about him and so many more things they could do together if he just had the courage to do them. But he didn't have time to contemplate. He had to think fast, and his gut told him that leaving was the best option for John. It seemed Allison was getting nowhere with John, so he decided to cut into his conversation with her.

Kyle interrupted, "John, I don't want you to leave either. I really don't. I don't want you to change the past either, because it means I'll never know Allison Young. But you have a job to do. No matter how hard you try, there is no one else capable of being that strong and capable soldier that can lead us to victory. It doesn't matter if you end up doing it by preventing judgment day or simply winning through a long and drawn out war. But you have to go now. Don't let us get in the way of that. Listen, I'm proud of you, I'm happy to have met you, but you have to go now."

Cameron added, "John, do you love them? Do you care about them?"

John said, "Why would you ask that? Of course, I do!"

Cameron argued, "If you love them, then you need to leave them. Skynet has outsmarted us this time, but we're not finished yet. If you want to continue fight, if you want to stop Skynet, then it starts in 2009, three years before judgment day. It's time to go."

Cameron's words pushed John over the edge. In staying here, John knew that Skynet was coming closer to killing them and winning the war. He had to act now. He had to stop it before it was too late. John impulsively turned and gave Kyle a hug. Kyle was surprised to say the least by the awkward hug as Kyle was still holding Allison's neck, but it was a welcomed one.

John said, "Kyle, I really miss you. I always will. You're still my dad, no matter what timeline you're in."

Kyle said, "Have a safe trip. Take care of yourself."

Moving on to the injured woman lying on the floor, John captured Allison's hand, closed it into a fist, and gave it a kiss, "I'll miss you too. Thanks for saving me. I will never be able to repay you."

Allison's eyes met John's and she said to him, "If you want to repay me, then find me. In 2009, find me. Look out for me. And most importantly, make sure nothing happens to my parents. If you can't stop judgment day, then at least keep them alive if judgment day ever happens."

John assured her, "I will."

Quickly, John got up and said, "I'll always miss all you guys. You felt like a real family to me."

Kyle said with a warm smile, "We are your real family."

John wouldn't dare think about Kyle's statement too long. Any moment now, he felt he'd mentally break down and cry away his tears. But he knew that's not what a leader would do. A leader had to keep his emotions in check, and that's what he intended to do.

John said to Cameron now standing beside him, "Cameron, let's go find Weaver. We've…we've got to go. I'll check for an opening and then we'll make a dash for Ziera basement."

Cameron nodded, "I'm right behind you."

Just when John was out of earshot, searching for an opening to break away from the barracks, Allison found an opportunity to speak with Cameron.

Seeing Cameron staring at her from above, she said to the cyborg, "Take care of him Cameron. And make sure that you win."

Cameron knew Allison was saying so much more than those few simple words. Broadly speaking, Allison had finally surrendered to Cameron. Even though Allison tried to kill her more than once, the human woman respected her cyborg counterpart and accepted that Cameron would be responsible for protecting John in years to come. Even though Allison was a very determined person, she was still human in nature. Allison accepted that she just wasn't good enough to protect John Connor. While Allison could take a bullet for John once, Cameron could take multiple, and that's why Allison knew Cameron was better. Now of course, Allison wasn't completely sorry she tried to kill John's protector. She honestly hated Cameron just as much as she liked her. But it Allison's mind, it was what it was. Her relationship and interactions with Cameron would always be the weirdest, strangest, best, and yet most difficult phases of her incredibly unique life.

After acknowledging her final requests, Cameron nodded and turned to follow John out of the barracks.

Once Cameron stepped out, Kyle said to Allison, "Ally, I wasn't wrong. If John does stop judgment day, then you might never actually meet me or Derek in a new timeline. I thought about it, and I'm sure that is what will happen."

Allison nodded, "I know, but you won't know that or remember any of it. I won't know that either if John stops it and we end up never meeting in the future. Remember, this is bigger than you or me. This is about 6 billion people whose lives will be taken or torn apart if we don't stop it. The world doesn't deserve that. My mom and dad don't deserve that either. I have to save them if I can just like you would save yours if given the chance. Kyle, don't you remember that story you told me about the animal that Derek killed? You cried, remember? That should never happen. We need our parent's love. We need our parents to take care of us so that we nevery cry out in fear or hunger. We shouldn't grow up without a mom and dad."

Kyle knew where Allison's words were coming from. He realized that Allison believed that the love of parents was something she could never experience. Kyle figured that Allison believed there was none who could love her more than her parents. Kyle wholeheartedly rejected that notion.

With that in mind, Kyle said to Allison, "Allison, listen to me. There's something you need to know. To me and Derek, you were always the most important person in our lives. When John came, we left you alone and focused more on John because we thought giving you space would make you more independent. We thought that giving you some freedom might show us the special potential we knew you already had. I'm sorry if you ever thought differently. We just focused more on John because he needed more help than you did. Just remember, we love you the most Allison. That never changed."

A tear dropped from Allison's eye. How could Kyle Reese say that? Kyle cared for her more than his own son? That meant a lot to her.

Allison said, "So, you don't think I'm the bad guy? When I turned against John, your own son, you didn't hate me for it?"

Kyle said, "I understand why you did it. I don't agree with what you did and in other circumstances I would probably ground you for it. But I'd never hate you for it. Never Allison."

During that conversation, Sarah Connor had an idea that she needed to tell Derek. Derek immediately turned to Sarah when the General slowly waved her hand for his attention.

She said, "John and Cameron are gone, but Derek, you need to go with them. The medics should be here shortly. You don't need to be here anymore."

"What? You're crazy." He barked ecstatically.

Sarah spoke once more even louder, "Yes Reese, you."

Derek shook his head in disbelief, "But I can't…It can't be real. There's no such thing as time travel."

Sarah warned, "You better believe it Lieutenant. We shouldn't need to waste time telling you its real…because it is real!"

Kyle, who overheard their conversation, said, "Derek, I have Allison right here with me. I won't let her bleed out. Go with him."

Allison looked to Kyle and whispered, "Kyle, it's okay. If you go with Derek to the past, I won't bleed to death because it never happened! It's time travel. Nothing you do to me now will hurt me."

Kyle shook his head, "No Allison. That's not right. I'm staying with you right here."

Allison said, "You'll get killed."

Kyle answered, "I don't care. I'd never let anything happen to you. That's a promise. It would be wrong to leave you like this."

Will added, "I don't know what's going on. But I'm staying here with you too Allison. You just met my family, so I'm not just about to let you go."

Allison had almost forgotten that her uncle was there with her. Will crouched down and stretched out his hand to touch her. She watched Will hold her hand tightly.

Will said, "Jenny's going to kill me if anything happened to you."

Allison murmured, "I'll be fine."

Derek, in the meantime, still processed the weight of Sarah's statement. Did she really want him to travel to the past? No, that couldn't be it. It just couldn't be it at all.

Derek demanded from Sarah, "Why are you asking me to do this? I can't do that. I can't leave you and I can't leave Allison! I have to protect all of you. John was right, no one should be leaving."

Kyle interrupted, "Derek, you are protecting us. And you're protecting John too if you go back. Listen, I don't know Sarah the way the other Kyle did. I don't know John as much as I want to. You have to go back. John has always been fond of you more than me and you've got far more experience mentoring young people than I did. You practically raised Allison."

Derek frowned, "That's not true. You're John's dad, not me! And Allison practically raised herself so that argument doesn't work!"

Kyle answered, "Sarah Connor from the past…I can't love her. I don't know who she is. I never knew her. Derek, you have to go. You're the only one who would have it in him to do this. I believe in you."

Sarah listened to the conversation with gloom. To hear Kyle say that he didn't love her hurt her so much. Sarah gulped, trying to ignore those feelings. She didn't have time to get emotional, especially when her son and the entire future of the resistance was in danger. Believe it or not, Kyle was right.

Sarah said, "Reese, Kyle's right. The Derek I once knew was damaged, but he always protected me and he always protected John. You died for us once and I know you're willing to do it again. You have to be there to make sure John becomes a man who's willing to fight, a man who never loses his will. You will train him to lead the resistance to victory."

Derek looked at Allison for assurance that none of this was necessary. Much to Derek's despair, none of the blood that splattered over her neck was enough to cover Allison's gentle smile. Allison's smile showed that she agreed with Sarah. Derek looked longingly at her. Her head was still flat on the ground, but her eyes were tilted towards his. He was dejected, because he knew he was losing the argument.

Kyle said, "You will see me and Allison again Derek. And when you do, Allison will be happy. And maybe even me and your younger self might end up getting a life that they deserve! It's the right thing to do. Derek, please, just go! If you don't, Skynet wins and all is lost. For the sake of our futures, you have to do this."

Derek finally left his own reverie. Delving into his own fear of losing Kyle and Allison forever was something he could no longer do. Instinctively, Derek reached forward and gave his brother a firm grasp on the shoulder. Then he reached down and gave Allison a kiss on her forehead.

He said to Allison and Kyle, "I won't fail you. I promise."

And then, without thinking anymore, he instinctively ran out like a soldier going out to battle. He had to find John and Cameron and do something he swore to himself he'd never do…go with them to the future.

(2009) Safehouse…located somewhere in the suburbs of Los Angeles, California

A young and attentive Sarah Connor jumped off the couch and interrupted, "HOLD ON! WAIT JUST A MINUTE! Where did Skynet come from? How did they end up attacking Ziera base and overwhelming John Henry? What about Allison Young? How did she get back to base? How the hell did I get shot? Did I die or something?"

John tried to interrupt, "Mom."

Sarah Connor wouldn't let up, "…And did Kyle and Savannah get married? Were they ever really a thing? What exactly was my relationship with Derek anyway? And what happened with you and Cameron? And where the hell is Ellison?! I don't see Ellison here, or Martin Bedell either! A General in the Mexican army? Really?! Where was I stationed?"

John sat in front of his mother, on another couch opposite her. He seated himself in a very small and tense posture. He kept his hands clamped together, trying to figure out how to respond to the overwhelming array of questions his mother was throwing at him. It had been nearly a week since he located and returned to his mother Sarah Connor in 2009. Yet, John still had so much to catch up with in regards to his mother.

John said, "Mom, I thought you would've wanted me to skip all those parts. Besides, I don't know the answer to all those questions. Cameron might know though."

A very curious Sarah replied, "I want to know. I want to know right now! I don't care who tells me."

Scratching his head, John said, "Well uh…"

With perfect timing Cameron strode in, coming from the direction of the kitchen. She wore tight dark blue jeans and a small black top. She seemed intent on speaking with Sarah about something.

Cameron looked to Sarah and said, "I can finish the story from here."

John complained, "I was doing just fine, thank you very much. Don't need you steel my thunder."

Cameron said, while taking a seat next to John, "Thunder is a loud rumbling or a crashing noise that occurs as a result of an expansion of rapidly heated air. You can't steal thunder because it doesn't possess the material qualities that warrant a feasible way to personally possess it."

John groaned, "And there goes the thunder."

Cameron said to John, "John, talking about relationships make you uncomfortable. I'm not uncomfortable doing so. Sarah obviously feels very emotional in the fact that you met Kyle Reese. She wants that to be described in more detail whereas you are reluctant to speak of your biological father. Your mother also wishes to know more about her future self. It will be best that I finish the story as I have secretly spent time with Sarah while you did other things."

"Wait, you hung out with future mom too?! I thought…Why?! What did you have to do with mom?" John said.

Cameron answered back, "You spent too much time with Allison Young. So I spent more time with your mom."

Sarah quirked an eyebrow, "Really, you and Allison were a thing?"

John shook his head, "No we weren't! No, we weren't anything."

Cameron said, "She was much too in love with you. You liked her too. Your mother did everything she could to pair you and her together."

John said, "Woah, woah, not cool. What's that got to do with anything?! Let's not forget the only reason she was obsessed with me was to compete with you. She wasn't that into me. She was jealous and angry mainly because of you! So if you want to blame someone, just look in the mirror."

Cameron ignored John and answered, "You won't tell Sarah much about Allison because you are uncomfortable. I will tell the whole story with more context and added detail."

John worried that Cameron's penchant for detail would become a regrettable experience.

Despite his reluctance, John agreed, "Alright lady, go ahead. We've discussed our sides of the story anyhow. Let's see if you can tell it better than I can."

Sarah nodded to John and Cameron, "Fine. Fine. Tin miss, just keep the story going."

Cameron answered, "Let's go back to the fragments of the story John skipped over…to when Charles Fischer shot me. I will conclude my story when I tell you how we entered the time machine in 2027 and jumped back into 2009."

(2027) Ziera base…

Cameron didn't need her HUD's information to know she was being violently pushed back by the bullet from Charles Fischer's gun. Thankfully, it hit her chest. She absorbed the impact easily. Without a minute to lose, she fired back, but by that time she did so, Charles Fischer had escaped behind the corner and through the food court's exit.

She knew which direction he'd gone, but Cameron was not sure whether she should follow for fear she'd run into a trap. Cameron had been monitoring his facial impressions and his vitals throughout their encounter. Fischer seemed entirely convinced something terrible was about to go down on this base. If that was true, she had to warn everyone immediately and worry about Fischer later. Impulsively, Cameron notified John Henry to be on the lookout for Charles Fischer while she warned her friends of a possible threat.

(2009) Connor safehouse

Sarah nodded, "Alright Cameron, so this Fischer guy shot you. Big deal. What did you do? And what happened with Allison?"

Cameron answered, "When I reached intelligence headquarters to contact John and the rest of our friends, I overheard intelligence officers stating that Corporal William had left the base with a secret shipment and never returned when he said he would. When I found out which storage shipment had gone missing, I determined that the shipment he stole was deactivated T-600 no longer in service of the resistance. At the very same time, reports came in that Skynet attacked Allison's transport to prison. That was when I realized Allison wasn't in any real trouble, at least not yet, so I didn't have to be concerned with her safety. It was obvious to me that Corporal William used the T-600 to save her."

Sarah frowned, "How'd you know this Corporal William would save her?"

Cameron replied, "Allison and the Corporal are colleagues who've worked together in Intelligence HQ and have gone on several missions together. William was fond of Allison, so it did not surprise me to assume William wished to save her from imprisonment with the help of an easily programmable T-600."

Sarah nodded, "Okay, let's get back to the story. Tell me exactly how Allison got out to meet John."

Immediately, Cameron resumed to the story upon Sarah's request.

(2027) In the middle of nowhere…

Allison laid there in the middle of nowhere, in the arms of a man who claimed to be her uncle.

She screamed, "It can't be! My family is Derek and Kyle. That's it. Everyone else died. Palmdale is destroyed."

Will replied, "Allison, not everyone you knew lived in Palmdale. I lived outside of Palmdale. But you…you were such a tiny little girl the last time I saw you before Skynet destroyed this world. I wouldn't expect you'd remember me though."

Allison shouted, "Prove it! Prove you're not manipulating me. Tell me something that I've never told anyone in my life!"

Will answered, "Your mother, my sister-in-law, loved you very much. Her middle name was Sabrina. I'm sure you might remember that. Oh, and she always struggled to feed you broccoli. You absolutely refused to eat broccoli. You liked carrots though."

Allison said, "Lies! I like broccoli!"

He laughed, "We tend to appreciate food more when we don't have a lot of it. Trust me, you hated broccoli."

"That…that can't be enough." She said, refusing to believe it as true.

Will pleaded, "Allison, I've proven myself to you. Really, you should trust me by now. We've been friends for a long time. You know I'm telling the truth."

Allison cried, "I don't know what to say! You've been holding this from me for a long time."

Will smiled, "I'm sorry Allison. But I saw how happy you were with Derek and Kyle Reese, so I was afraid to tell you. I thought you'd reject me. I didn't want to turn your life upside down. I hope you can forgive me. But right now, I don't have time to make a very long and drawn out apology. I'll need you to come with me. It's not safe here. Perhaps we can chat about this elsewhere."

"Where are we going?" She asked.

"We're going to visit the air force. I live there." He replied.

Allison answered, "What if I'm discovered? Surely people will start looking for me because LA's airforce base will be notified."

Will said, "Perhaps we will sneak around or maybe I can find something to cover your face. That's not important right now. I really want you to meet some people who are important to me…my family."

(2009) Connor safehouse…

Sarah said, "Alright, so Will took Allison to his home at the air force's main base. Alright, I think I get the picture. So in the meantime, did you manage to contact John and everyone else about Charles Fischer?"

Cameron said, "Yes. I discovered their whereabouts and then contacted John, Bedell, Ellison, Savannah, Derek, Kyle and others. I gave them the information they needed to know about Fischer. Their reactions to this information either consisted of shock or plain denial. Nevertheless, they were quick learners. We knew we had to act fast because I recognized Charles Fischer before."

Sarah wondered, "So how did all the intelligence officers ignore Allison and the fact that she went missing? Wouldn't her disappearance have distracted them from Fischer?"

Cameron shook her head, "No, I threatened all of the intelligence officers to keep silent, or it could put Allison in danger. I forced them to focus on the task at hand. They appeared to be more frightened of me than Allison or Derek. I liked it."

"Did you tell Derek that Allison was missing?"

"For the sake of the mission, no. But I did tell him about Fischer."

Sarah said, "So what was Derek's reaction to the news that Fischer had gone rogue?"

Cameron said, "Fischer was never rogue. He was always a gray, or at least sympathetic to Skynet. Furthermore, I didn't expect Derek to react poorly to the news that Fischer was bad. It was actually Jason Cameron's reaction that I thought could be a challenge. I believed Derek would inevitably inform Jason Cameron of Fischer's betrayal."

"You mean the guy whose name you strangely took as your own." Sarah said.

"Yes, because I killed him." Cameron said.

Sarah squirmed uncomfortably, "That still doesn't make any sense to me, but okay. Please continue."

Cameron said, "Once Derek got hold of the information, he readily believed me. I think it was because Derek never really liked Charles Fischer and always was skeptical of his odd behavior. Derek Reese told me that he would take a friend with him to Weaver's base to speak with Jason Cameron about the matter."

Sarah replied, "So which friend did he take with him to see Jason Cameron?"

Cameron answered, "You."

"Ah, interesting." Sarah answered.

(2027) Jason's Office at Weaver's Base

Derek wondered why he was so quick to believe Cameron. Once the metal told him that Fischer was up to no good, he dropped his work at Ziera base, cancelled his important meeting with General Perry, and completely erased any thoughts of Allison's whereabouts from his head just to pursue the matter. Maybe Derek simply disliked Fischer a lot that he'd be willing to do all that. Or perhaps the Lieutenant just needed a distraction to take his mind off Allison's unfortunate imprisonment.

Fortunately, General Perry promised Derek that he'd do everything in his power to get Allison out of imprisonment. Nevertheless, Derek questioned his trust in Perry. Would Perry really do that for Allison, considering the fact that Perry tried to arrest her at one point?

He decided not to think more of it. After all, he was busy. He just spent his entire afternoon making his way to Weaver's base

With a knock on the door, Derek turned the knob and entered. Keeping himself assertive and sharp, Derek delivered the news to Jason just like a soldier briefing a fellow officer. It would be an understatement to say Jason was disappointed by the news.

In the middle of their conversation, Jason growled, "Derek, this is crap! I've known Fischer for years! That machine is ly…"

Derek said, "…What? Lying? You don't think that thought never crossed my mind?! Of course, it has. But just because she's identical to Allison and her freaking brain is made of hyperalloy crap doesn't change my mind. The metal's right. Fischer's been a shady piece of shit since he got here."

Jason pleaded, "Listen to yourself Derek! Why are you siding with the machine? Why do you trust that thing?! This is Fischer we're talking about, a longtime friend and an actual human being. Don't you know what he did for me get out of the hell I was in?"

Derek moaned, "Aw, come on. You really gonna play that card?!"

"Why are you doing this? Really, why are you doing this?" Jason asked.

"Because the metal has absolutely nothing to gain in lying to me. Believe me, you know why I'm doing this." Derek responded.

"I can't let you do that. He's my friend. I don't care what you're accusing him of doing." Jason snarled.

Derek shot back, "And I can't risk losing my base either to a Skynet sympathizer. Help me Jason. Help me bring him in before things get worse. Once we get Fischer, we'll just talk about it. That's what we'll do with him."

Jason spat, "Oh, you know exactly what you're going to do to him. You're going to keep him in a dirty cold cell for months. You'll interrogate him and you'll use whatever morally ambiguous techniques are necessary to get him to confess whatever the hell you want him to confess."

Derek said, "Come on Jason, you know me. It's not like that at all. This is about the base's protection."

Jason shot back, "Protection my ass! You're not going anywhere. And you aren't taking Fischer's human rights either."

Jason took a sudden right hook to Derek's jaw. Derek's quick instincts barely swerved him out of the way to avoid a painful blow.

Derek, still in a daze, shouted, "Jason, what the hell?!"

Jason shouted in command, "You won't take him! Reese, I'm tired of you taking orders from bureaucratic trash! I'm tired of you letting yourself get manipulated by these machines! I'm tired of all of you killing each other for more power rather than saving this damn world from extinction! I'm tired of the corruption and the mistrust!"

After his rant, Jason charged Derek, knocking the Lieutenant into the ground hard. The strength Jason exerted literally flipped over his own desk as he came in one punch at a time to Derek's face. Derek tried desperately hard to protect himself from the continuous blows. He had to think fast, or God only knew what Jason would do to him. Since this was a private area, there were no machines or humans around to help him. He was on his own.

Blocking strike after strike, Derek saw the break he was looking for. Jason exerted too much energy in his rage. The adrenaline was fading and he was running out of breath. Derek saw this as an opportunity to strike back. He struck Jason in the nose, forcing Jason off him so that he stumbled backwards. While Jason held onto his aching bloodied nose, Derek got up quickly and threw a high kick to Jason's side. Jason deflected, but Derek kept pressing hard on him.

Jason picked up an empty brandy bottle on his desk, ready to bash it over Derek's head. Just before Jason could swing at him, Derek grabbed his hand, twisted his arm until Jason fell behind him. That's when Derek bent over and flipped Jason onto the ground and flat on his back. Once Jason slammed into the ground, he didn't move much after that. Derek crouched down, and after one final punch to the face, Jason gave out completely. Jason groaned slightly because he was still conscious, but he couldn't move. He honestly felt like a complete wreck.

Wiping the blood and the sweat off his face, he said, "Jason, you're a great soldier and deep down I think you're a good guy. But your obsession with the thrill has not just made you fearless, but arrogant. Fischer was a bad guy from the start. I wish you realized that. You're not as perceptive as you think you are. I'm going to stop Fischer whether you help me or not. I just hope that in time, you can see that clearly."

After brushing the dirt off his soldiers, Derek grabbed his jacket and left Jason's office. Derek covertly snuck out of Weaver's base, hoping that Jason's disappearance could go unnoticed long enough for him to make his escape. It was obvious that Derek's meeting with Jason regarding Fischer had not gone well. After all, he was unwilling to help him find Fischer. But at least he knew one thing for sure, Jason wasn't behind this. Yeah, Jason was a smart guy, but based on his reaction, Jason knew absolutely nothing about what Fischer was up to.

Once Derek made his way out of the deep cave that led into Weaver's base, he snatched up his radio and made a call to Intelligence HQ.

He said, "Anyone there?"

The female voice replied, "It's me."

"This better not be Allison." Derek said.

Cameron answered, "No, but I need the password."

"It's me."

"Is it?"

"Yeah, who the hell else would it be?" Derek retorted.

Cameron didn't answer.

Derek said, "For crying out loud! The password is goldfish! There."

Cameron demanded, "Talk."

Derek said, "Listen, Jason is a no go. Where's John now? What's he up to?"

Cameron answered, "He's just waking up. He will be with us shortly. It's late, he is normally asleep when it's late."

"Yeah, metal, I don't know if you're aware, but I'm a human being. I know that humans sleep too. Just…just don't let John do anything stupid. Because if he does, it's on you. Over."

Derek slipped his radio back onto his belt and proceeded to jump a gated fence. As soon has he landed in the dirt, he creeped through a field of mines. While these mines were devastating to T-888s, they were completely safe for humans. Neither Weaver's bots or Skynet's killer machines could pass through except humans like Derek. Eventually, Derek found his mode of transportation in front of him. It was his Jeep. Coming in closer, he found someone sitting in his Jeep waiting on his arrival.

Once Derek waved his hand, he caught that person's attention.

The woman in the Jeep said to Derek, "You should've let me come with you."

Derek shook his head, "No, you're knew. If Weaver's machines spotted you, they would've assessed your threat level and brought attention to you. I couldn't afford that. I had to go alone and talk quietly with Jason."

She asked, "Did things work out?"

Derek looked into Sarah Connor's eyes and shook his head solemnly.

Sarah responded, "Sorry, what did you do to him?"

"Nothing." He said nonchalantly.

"Did you kill him?" Sarah responded almost casually.

Derek's face showed a look of shock, "Excuse me?! What did you just say?"

"Did you kill him?" She repeated.

Derek answered, "No, why would you…how could you think I'd do something like that?"

Sarah apologized, "Sorry I…"

Derek realized, "This other me…he was a murderer?"

Sarah said, "Yeah, I think he was."

Derek replied, "Believe me, I'm not him. He's dead."

Sarah smiled, though Derek wasn't sure what the smile was for anyway. Was it about the fact that evil Derek was dead or that he was not a murderer himself? It surprised Derek to know just how bad he was. And yet despite how bad his other self was, Sarah still seemed fond of him. Not necessarily in the mushy way, but still.

Derek replied, "So what are your people doing?"

Sarah answered while starting the engines, "In response to Fischer's potential threat, I sent Ricardo to notify my best commanders to activate every unit in my army. Let's just say a large force is working 24/7 on the lookout for any suspicious activities near Ziera base. I don't want to sound selfish, but part of me hopes Fischer's threat against the base is real."

"Why?"

Sarah explained, "My men aren't from the United States. They don't take much pride in protecting an American base from Skynet when they should be focusing primarily on themselves. That's why I'm hoping this threat is real, so they'll be more motivated to fight and perhaps develop a stronger and more passionate morale."

Derek said, "Well, if this is for real, we might need all the help we can get. Let's just hope the others back at base are working just as hard to keep the base secure."

Savannah and Joan

Savannah wasn't sure how to talk to Joan. Cameron had directly asked her upon Fischer's threat to talk to Joan and convince her to do something that was impossible. Savannah was asked to speak with Joan and convince her to communicate with her mother. It would take every ounce of Savannah's charm and persuasiveness to convince Joan to help out her father's murderer. Even Savannah herself wasn't sure that she was doing the right thing. The footage that Lesley provided was real. It reminded her of the harsh reality of machines. They killed. They murdered. Just like Cameron. And while John seemed blindly accepting of Cameron's brutal and murderous past, she was not.

Joan screamed, "Savannah, how insensitive can you possibly be? Don't you see Becky is devastated? She won't come out of her room! You've no idea how much we've been hurt by that cyborg."

Savannah said, "You know that's not the entire story. Your mother tried to kill Cameron too so let's no forget that. You don't know everything that's going on."

Joan responded, "Oh I know enough! I know that the cyborg you call Cameron killed my father and an older brother I never knew about!"

Savannah said, "I know what you feel."

Joan cried, "How can you possibly know how I feel?! How can you? My entire family was torn apart by the hands of one machine! I hate these machines. How dare you trust these machines when they've ruined so many lives? How could you possibly understand anything I'm going through?"

Savannah shot back with rage, "Because my parents were killed by machines too! And those machines are still around today and I have to work with them."

"What?" She whispered timidly.

The anger that had been boiling within Savannah finally showed itself to Joan. It was not something that Savannah liked to do. She hated losing her temper. Joan, on the other hand, was baffled by Savannah's response. What did Savannah mean that her parents were killed by machines too? For an orphan, Savannah was a very happy and likable person. It never occurred to anyone, especially Joan, that Savannah had such a miserable past.

Savannah explained, "Uncle James told me all about. A T-888 hijacked an airplane a long time ago, ultimately killing both of my parents. I don't know why, but I think Skynet did it because it thought my parents were a threat to its existence. Because of that they died."

"I'm…I'm sorry." Joan stammered.

Savannah nodded, "It doesn't matter anymore. You didn't know."

Joan said, "But that machine, John's machine…it killed half my family. How can I just sit back and work alongside it? I can't. I won't help that thing."

Savannah implored, "I'm not asking you to help the machine Joan. I'm asking you to help me. If this base is in danger, I need to know. Fischer is dangerous. If your mom knows anything about him, she needs to tell us. That's why I'm talking to you. If she'll speak to anyone, it'll be you."

"I…I'll see what I can do." Joan finally gave in.

Savannah breathed a sigh of relief, "Good. Thank you, Joan."

"And if that doesn't work out? What happens if we get no leads on this Fischer guy and we're helpless to stop him quietly?" Joan asked.

Savannah declared, "Then help me spread the word out that the base is in danger of Charles Fischer. If something bad is about to go down, and Skynet's involved, then we need to take all necessary precautions to keep this base safe."

Joan nodded, "Fine, I'll go speak with her."

Just as Joan turned to leave, Savannah said, "Joan, one more thing?"

"Yeah." She answered.

"Your father, I've done some research on him. Military records say a lot about him. There's a lot I think I can tell you about him. But to sum it up nicely, I can say he was a good man, just like your big brother." She said.

Joan smiled vaguely, "Thanks."

Throughout that conversation, Savannah contemplated for a moment. She realized that throughout her life, she never really had much of a father besides James Ellison. John also struggled too because he grew up without a dad throughout most of his life too. Even Allison, Derek, and Kyle were fatherless and motherless too. Savannah realized that tragedy is kind of what brought them all together. It was human connection, or family, that made them such a great team. Savannah smiled. She absolutely loved Kyle's soft eyes. Her witty interactions with Allison. And even her curious interactions with John Henry. For that one moment, Savannah realized that world wasn't as bad as it seemed.

John's Sleeping Quarters…

Kyle opened the door that lead to the sleeping John Connor. John seemed completely zoned out as he had spent most of his time making out…er…having fun with Cameron. It was very helpful that he could experience a good night sleep, as the stress and the anxiety in the pit of John's stomach often bothered him. Unfortunately, all that needed sleep would be interrupted by the very man responsible for John Connor's existence.

Kyle gently grabbed John's shoulders and shook him, "John, wake up! Wake up."

With a deep yawn, the young man groaned, "Huh?"

John turned his head slightly, rubbing his eyes gently. He could make out that Kyle was standing over him.

Kyle said again, "Wake up! Get up! We have a problem on the base."

John was glad to see Kyle's face for some reason. His presence was always reassuring to him and in no way alarmed him the moment he woke up. It was far different though with Cameron and Sarah. Every time, they frightened him when he woke up, but with Kyle he felt just fine.

John rolled to his left and groaned, "What's wrong? Please don't tell me Allison escaped or something. We already have enough on our plates."

Kyle explained, "No, there's nothing wrong with Ally. It's Fischer. Something's happened to Cameron. Come with me."

Kyle, John, and Cameron

Kyle had told John everything that he needed to know. It was alarming, but not completely overbearing to know about Fischer and his attempt at killing Cameron. John held on to the firm hope that Charles Fischer was just some crackpot shouting a bunch of empty threats. Perhaps they were all merely making a big deal out of nothing.

After the briefing from Kyle, John said, "Wait a minute? Cameron says she knows Fischer?"

"Not quite. She's seen him in your past." Kyle answered.

John suggested, "Sometime in 2008 or 2009 you mean?"

"Yeah, something like that." Kyle figured.

John wondered, "What else does Cameron know?"

Now that they had arrived at Intelligence HQ, Kyle replied, "You can ask her yourself."

Turning into the entrance, John saw Cameron standing stiffly by. John could tell that even though he wasn't so concerned,

"Cameron?"

In the normal icy robotic voice, she said, "John."

"What's...is that a bullet hole? Kyle didn't mention that he actually hit you." He said.

Looking at the hole in her chest, Cameron replied indifferently, "Yes, he did."

"You think it was just Fischer behind this?" John asked.

"As far as we know, yes. But we can never take chances." She said.

"And if my memory serves me correct, Fischer is supposed to be Jason Cameron's friend?" John said.

"Yeah. Derek is speaking with him right now." She confirmed.

John rubbed the back of his neck. It felt really sore. Blinking hard, he tried to wake his eyelids up and prevent them drooping. He needed to keep himself alert. He battled within his mind whether to dismiss Fischer as a threat in his mind or assume the worst.

John said, "Why would he shoot you? What's he really playing at? Do you think he's an actual gray or just completely lost it mentally?"

Cameron suddenly admitted, "He knows me. He knows Derek too. He may or may not suffer mentally, but his acuity is undeniable. He hates Derek Reese and wishes ill on him and his base. It is likely he is a gray and completely sympathetic to Skynet's cause."

"Yeah, obviously. But why's he so important to you? How is he aware of you and your significance?" John wondered.

"Derek must have killed him in the past." She said mysteriously.

John frowned in frustration, "You're not making any sense. Are you saying…he's supposed to be dead?"

Cameron explained, "Another future version of Charles Fischer may have gone to the past. Old Derek probably killed him with the assumption he was a gray."

Kyle interrupted, "Please explain, because I've got no idea what you're talking about."

Cameron explained, "In the past, in 2008, the other Derek Reese that we knew sent me a recent picture of Charles Fischer. I saw him on my cellphone. Derek asked me about his identity, but I told him I didn't know who he was."

"Were you telling the truth?" John asked.

Cameron knew John was questioning her honesty, but she knew John wasn't asking in an angry or suspicious tone. It was an honest question.

"Yes." She affirmed.

Kyle asked, "A little more elaboration might help if you don't mind me asking for it."

Cameron added, "Future Charles Fischer from post-Judgment day went back to pre-judgment day era. This means there had to be two versions of Charles Fischer in the past, an old one from the past and a young one from the present. If our Derek killed the older version of Fischer in 2008, he must have allowed the younger version of him to live. While your Derek can't remember him, Fischer still knows him and might have a personal vendetta against him. He may have joined Skynet to conduct his own revenge or possibly prevent himself from getting murdered in the future."

Kyle added, "So Fischer knows about Derek and time travel does he? Well, he held a grudge that long for what Derek did to his future self? Sheesh. That's really complicated."

John figured, "Well, we can't take chances, especially considering he shot you. We have to everything we can to stop him! Are you okay by the way?"

"I'm fine." She said, assessing her own functionality once again to ensure all systems operated at its fullest capacity.

"Who have you informed regarding Fischer by the way?" Kyle asked.

"Everyone." She answered.

"So does Derek know about Fischer?" Kyle inquired further.

"He knows that Fischer hates him. But he doesn't know about what the other Derek did. I don't think it would be helpful for him to know."

Kyle argued, "Wait? You're trying to hide this from my brother? You know I have to tell him."

Cameron said, "I understand."

Kyle frowned, "How can you understand? You're holding something from him that he deserves to know."

Cameron replied, "Yes, he does deserve to know. But he also deserves a level head. If we confuse him with what an alternate version of him did, he will blame himself for it. You may tell him later on, but I strongly suggest you withhold this information from him until he is ready to hear it."

Kyle said, "Since when did I take orders from the likes of you?"

Cameron responded, "Since the day Derek brought Allison home."

John couldn't help but smile at Cameron's clever reply.

John Henry and Bedell in Ziera Basement…

Once Cameron had alerted him that Charles Fischer was on the loose, Bedell knew he had to do something about it. Clearly, Bedell knew that John Henry would have sent his machines after Fischer, but Bedell needed to contribute in some other way. He decided he'd press John Henry for any possible information he might have on him in hopes of figuring out who Fischer was and what he might be up to.

"Seriously John Henry, you have no idea who Charles Fischer is?" Bedell said, rubbing his chin.

John Henry shook his head, "No."

Bedell pushed further, "Okay, great. You've got nothing in your data files that can account for his identity. And, um, you have no idea if anything bad is about to happen? Nothing? There's nothing?"

John Henry replied, "No, the base is secure and Skynet has not tested our defense systems since the drone attack a 21 days ago."

"Okay then. Uh, you see Ellison around here lately? Perhaps he has a fresh perspective that I can use."

"He is trying to contact Ms. Weaver." John Henry informed him.

Bedell's eyes widened, "Really, do you know what exactly he wants to talk to her about?"

"I believe he is speaking with her about Skynet's plans as well as Charles Fischer."

"Oh, any luck?" He wondered.

John Henry shrugged, "I am not aware of any."

Bedell thought to himself, "Perhaps John's cyborg isn't willing to tell us all the details. She's hiding something from us."

John Henry asked, "Shall I ask Ms. Phillips to come in? Perhaps she can clarify a few things."

Strategically, Bedell decided, "No, it's fine. Don't mention this to anyone, okay?"

"Okay."

With a quick nod, Bedell turned away from John Henry. While John Henry sat on his wooden stool and contemplated the new developments of the base, Bedell decided he would wait until Ellison returned from Weaver's base before he decided to confront the female terminator named Cameron Phillips.

Ellison and Savannah at Weaver's secret base…

Savannah looked around, watching the people walk by each other at Weaver's base. Savannah noticed that everyone paced themselves in a very even manner. They even walked to the far right of the pavement, never weaving in and out of traffic. They were, in fact, very uniform and well organized. The facilities were all very large and advanced and advanced in technology. Perhaps one of the most significant aspects that Savannah noticed was that there were many more machines that ran the base in comparison to Derek's Ziera base.

Savannah complained, "Uncle James, why are we here? This base is cool and all, but I've got my own to take care of."

"Trust me, I'll need your help for this one." Ellison said.

Savannah folded her arms, "Really, what are we here for? You've been leaving me in suspense all morning."

Ellison admitted, "To talk to Weaver."

Savannah shook her head, "No! No! I should've known, I swear I'll…why would you do that to me?!"

"She has a soft spot for you Savannah." He pointed ut.

Savannah laughed, "No she doesn't. She's a machine."

"Believe it or not, Weaver has tried to take care of you after your biological mother died. She was in no way perfect, but she kept you safe."

"That's screwed up. It's completely screwed up. What she did was wrong." Savannah declared.

Ellison wondered, "Why can't you forgive her?"

"I did forgive her."

Ellison added, "But you still hold it against her. Why are you being so hypocritical?"

Savannah replied, "Me hypocritical? Oh pull-ease."

Ellison answered, "Well, you seem perfectly aware how many innocent people John's cyborg has killed and yet you're friendly with her. All Weaver did to you was pretend to be your mother. She didn't kill your parents. She didn't hurt you. All she did to you was impersonate your mother and protect you from threats from Skynet. She could've easily killed you and no one would've been the wiser. But she didn't. Give her some credit and just work with me to get some information out of her."

Savannah gave in, "Fine. Fine. I'll help. But what do you expect to get from her anyway?"

Ellison said, "Answers. With her help, maybe we can stop Fischer before it's too late."

Savannah questioned, "So we just sit here and wait for her?"

Ellison smiled, "Yeah, something like that."

Taking a seat onto small stairway leading to the mess hall, Ellison patted the platform beside him, inviting Savannah to join him. The two decided to sit there and wait for Weaver. According to John Henry, Weaver instructed them to stay there until she appeared. Unfortunately for Savannah and Ellison, it appeared she was running late.

10 minutes later…

Savannah murmured, "How long has it been?"

"Not long enough Savannah." Ellison replied.

Savannah argued, "I can't do this anymore."

"Can't or won't?"

She rolled her eyes in response, "I dunno. Both, I guess."

The sound of high heels sharply clicking against the ground caught Savannah's attention. From behind their backs, Weaver appeared. With a tall and even posture, her cold eyes beamed sharply against Savannah. Savannah tried to look away, trying to avoid eye contact but failing miserably.

Weaver observed, "It appears you two have been waiting for me."

"Yeah." She said.

Ellison looked to Savannah and said, "Go ahead, ask her."

Savannah glared at Ellison, upset that Ellison forced her to talk to Weaver. Nevertheless, he persisted that she speak with her.

Savannah turned to Weaver and said rather grudgingly, "Um…uh, Cameron was shot today."

With very little significance to her, Weaver nodded, "I see."

"His name was Charles Fischer." She clarified.

Weaver suggested, "And you would like to know if I've encountered him before?"

"Yes." Savannah agreed.

Weaver answered, "No, I don't recall him."

Ellison added, "Well, he's threatened the base. We think he might be a gray. He's hiding somewhere, but the machines are still looking for him."

Weaver answered, "There might be more to the story."

Savannah frowned, "How so?"

Weaver replied, "It's not important."

Savannah pressed her harder, "Please tell me. We really need to know everything."

After a brief pause, Weaver gave in, "There is a slight possibility that Skynet is intending to commandeer control of Lieutenant Reese's base in retaliation for a few things I may have said to Skynet."

"You spoke with Skynet?" Ellison repeated.

"Of sorts." She answered.

Savannah wondered, "How?!"

Weaver replied, "Ever since John Henry was attacked by a rogue T-888 directly controlled by Skynet, I have been keeping a close eye on him. Since then, Skynet has received encrypted messages to John Henry trying to sway him away from my control."

Savannah said, "And you never bothered to tell us that Skynet was trying to manipulate John Henry?"

Weaver said, "If I told you, then you would've either cut John Henry off communication or possibly overwhelmed him with your own propaganda. John Henry is his own unique person. I will allow him to communicate with Skynet upon my supervision."

Ellison said, "What things did you tell Skynet exactly during this conversation as you call it?"

Weaver said, "To put it simply, I did the equivalent of insulting Skynet."

"You insulted Skynet? Are you saying Skynet's attacking us because it's angry?" Savannah said.

Weaver said, "Perhaps. I needed to test Skynet's strength and resolve. It was the only away to assess its true power."

Savannah screamed, "You mean at the cost of human lives? You bitch!"

Ellison caught Savannah's shoulder and pulled her back, "Watch it Savannah."

Savannah said, "We have to go back and warn John Henry. I'm disgusted that you didn't even bother to warn us."

Weaver said, "Why should I? You should always be ready for an oncoming attack. If I needed to warn you in any capacity to prepare for a battle, then you are clearly not ready to face Skynet."

Savannah screamed, "That's it! Uncle James, I'm getting out of here with or without you. I can't speak to her anymore."

Ellison stood there as Savannah stormed away.

Weaver tilted her head and wondered, "Was I too harsh?"

Ellison stared at Weaver and grimaced, "Yes, a wee bit."

Weaver asked, "Are you not disappointed in me Mr. Ellison?"

Ellison said, "No. If you don't have expectations, you can't be disappointed. Am I right?"

"Right." She acknowledged.

Ellison said, "I really hope you change. Maybe get a little more heart."

"You really think I can change? You think that it is possible to respect human traditions and values?" Weaver asked.

Ellison laughed, "Look at where we are now! Time travel exists and so do terminators. John Henry is slowly evolving into more of a human being than the powerful artificial intelligence that will one day defeat Skynet. So of course anything is possible! But…thanks for letting us know what's going on. I have to find Savannah, and then tell the rest of the team what's really going on here."

Weaver said, "Good luck Mr. Ellison."

Ellison smiled, "Thank you."

"Oh, and one more thing Mr. Ellison."

"Yes?"

"This Fischer character you've mentioned, I will look into him for you."

With that, Ellison nodded, and then left in search of a very unhappy Savannah.

Watchtower

Jim had nearly had it. Straining his eye out the glass window, he desperately hoped something or someone could drown out the ramble of his gossiping buddies. They continued to talk to about Becky like she was a complete nutcase. Jim didn't like it, but didn't know how to make a witty comeback or at least kill the very bad conversation.

"Jim, you really think your girlfriend isn't insane?" His friend laughed.

Jim angrily shot back, "Shut up. Becky's been hiding from me ever since Lieutenant Reese's friends brought her back. But she's never been the same since then."

Jim's best friend, Nate, cut in, "Sorry man, I don't know what to tell you. Reese assured us she came back unharmed. Becky should be fine"

Another one of Jim's friend asked, "You sure she isn't on her period?"

Jim blew up in rage, "Shut up! It's not about her! She saw something and she won't talk to me about it. This is my relationship at stake here so you'll understand why I'm a little annoyed with all you guys!"

Nate wondered, "Did you talk to her sister Joan?"

Jim gritted his teeth in frustration, "No! She's behaving exactly the same way. She's silent and hiding away from me."

"Cheer up. This won't last forever." Nate said.

"What? Our relationship or her grieving?" Jim said.

Nate answered, "It's got to be her mother. General Lesley is in prison you know. Perhaps that's what's got them in hole right now. Just relax, everything will be okay."

Jim smirked, "Huh, perhaps the worst is behind us."

All of the sudden, one of the soldiers standing beside Nate growled, "Oh shit!"

Nate screamed, "What the hell?"

Looking through the panes, Jim spotted what he knew to be two Skynet HKs heading towards the base at lightning speed. The loud rumbling of their powerful menacing engines and the massive barrels of its plasma cannons only instilled the paralyzing fear that shot through his veins.

One Private picked up the bright red emergency telephone and shouted, "Red alert! This is an emergency! We see two bogeys coming in from the Northeast. I repeat, two bogeys coming in from the Northeast!"

Intelligence HQ

"Crap! I see them watchtower."

Picking up the bright red telephone, intelligence officer Chris Fowler notified the highest-ranking officials on base. With Derek and Perry outside of Ziera base, Bedell was the highest chain in command to get the message of oncoming attacks from Skynet's aerial HKs alongside the approaching tanks.

Alarms sounded, forcing all inhabitants to leave their activities and return to their bunkers. That's when they knew the worst was yet to come.

Bedell stormed into Intelligence HQ.

"God help us all." Fowler said in meeting Bedell.

Bedell demanded an explanation, "What's wrong? What's going on?! Why are the alarms sounding?"

Fowler said, "The machines. They're finally coming. This threat from Charles Fischer appears to be true after all Captain!"

Ziera base…

John Henry heard the alarms the moment they sounded. With a little eavesdropping on telecommunications, he instantly activated the unmanned guns as well as his semi-active T-888s to fullest capacity. The base was under attack, and with no one available to give him orders, he had to fight back. Immediately, John Henry double-checked his software for any unknown or encrypted files of malicious intent. He had to keep guard in case Skynet performed a cyberattack on him.

That's when one man walked into the room in a resistance uniform. John Henry couldn't identify who he was, but all he knew for sure was that he wasn't allowed to be there.

John Henry said, "Hello, you are in a restricted zone. Please leave immediately."

The unknown soldier replied, "I never thought you were real. Skynet was right."

John Henry merely stared upon the mysterious character with confusion.

"Who are you?" Asked the artificial intelligence.

The mysterious man suddenly darted away. John Henry would've followed, but neither Weaver or Cameron would be happy if he did that. He figured it was just a soldier who had brought himself into Ziera basement by accident. John Henry couldn't understand something though. How could he break an advanced security system without having several years of experience as an IT expert and professional hacker? It was certainly a mystery, but it wasn't enough for John Henry to show any concern.

John and Cameron in Intelligence HQ…

John had worked alongside a designated number of men and women tasked with the job of locking up and supplying all food and goods into secure cold rooms and storages. Cameron had asked him to do it so that he didn't feel left out. John knew how to do a lot of things. He could hide in plain sight. He could strip a gun and put it back together in one minute. If we wanted to, he could spar with anyone and win. But despite all his abilities, there was nothing much he could do in terms of finding and stopping Charles Fischer. That was why Cameron gave him a simple job to do.

There was, however, an ulterior motive that Cameron had in her CPU mind. As Cameron supervised John's work, she briefly considered that reason. She knew that in keeping John away from the fighting and action, she could keep him safe. Not just physically, but mentally. She remembered the toll that killing took on John's mental health. That was why Cameron always ensured that she did all the killing for him. Yeah, she could get flak for it, but she knew that John's safety was more important than the human criticism of her morally questionable decisions that humans themselves struggled to understand.

Just then, Cameron considered how far she'd go to protect John. It was against her programming to kill other innocent human beings, but she could easily override that of her own free will. She could easily kill all John's friends and family if it meant keeping him alive. But then she wondered. At what cost? If she ended up doing so, would John ever be the same? Would John ever forgive her? Perhaps not. Cameron wondered if there was some kind of a middle ground between protecting John's life and John's soul.

Just when she thought she could stress the thoughts no longer, her audio sensors alerted her to the sound of someone's voice.

John said, "You glitching up or something? Your tongue glued down or something?"

Cameron frowned, "No, I was thinking."

John laughed, "There's a first."

All of the sudden, the sound screaming sound of an aerial attack forced a number of workers to dive to the ground, covering their heads. The sound of an explosion from afar off indicated that aircraft strikes were destroying the base.

John shouted, "Oh no! What's going on?"

Cameron said, "It appears we're too late. They're here."

"Who?"

Cameron said, "Skynet."

Cameron snatched John and threw him behind one of the barracks and away from plain sight.

John spoke first, "Does Weaver know everything about what's going on? About Fischer?"

Cameron answered, "I don't know where she is. John Henry said he would notify her when she became available. I don't know what her mission is or whether she will be here to help us. I expect, however, that Derek will return with your mother soon."

John replied, "I'm sorry Cameron, I know how much the resistance means to you."

Cameron said, "John Connor is more important."

John smiled. Despite the looming fate of the base completely up in the air, John couldn't take his eyes off Cameron.

John said, "Every time I look at you, I have trouble finding words to tell you how much you mean to me."

"You don't have to, I already know. There's something I need to tell you too." She said.

John asked, "What is it?"

Cameron started, "If we lose…"

Jon shook his head, "No Cameron, we're not going there."

Cameron continued, "We have to. If Skynet is sending tanks and aircraft, it means that terminators are coming too. That's more than we can handle right now. So if we lose, we have to go back. We can't stay here. Skynet could kill you. It doesn't matter whether I go with you. But going back in time is important."

John answered, "Skynet doesn't even know who I am! They can't possibly. I don't have that much to worry about."

Cameron argued, "But I do."

John frowned, "You're…you're actually worried about me?"

Cameron said, "Someone has to be."

Cameron wasn't implying that everyone else didn't worry about John, it was simply that Cameron knew the fullest extent of the danger surrounding Skynet and that no one was more responsible for protecting John than she was. After all, it was her leaving that caused John to thoughtlessly jump into 2027 just to find her and bring her back.

John reached and cupped Cameron's cheeks into his own hands. John struggled to know which was more important Cameron. Was it him or was it the resistance? For John, it seemed like both were intertwined in Cameron's case. It was as if whatever was good for John was good for the resistance and whatever was good for the resistance was good for John. But now John knew which was more important. Cameron would rather abandon the resistance than see John get hurt. John knew Cameron wouldn't admit it because she struggled to understand it herself…but she loved John. At least John believed it to be true.

Still holding his hands through her ruffled hair, John said, "Cameron, how do you feel right now?"

He was lost in his reverie. That was always something he did when he stared at Cameron too long.

"Like your hands are squeezing my head." She honestly responded.

Her response threw John off just a little. The noise of frantic men and women shouting about suddenly returned to his ears. He suddenly hesitated to kiss Cameron upon this distraction. He just stood there, noses inches apart, simply waiting.

Cameron said, "John we don't have much time."

"Time for what?" John said in a little bit of confusion.

Suddenly, Cameron knocked John's hands off her head. She dived in and planted a kiss on John's lips. While John was still a little baffled by the sudden kiss, Cameron dragged John towards one of the resistance armories. Kicking open the door, she found a wide and diverse array of weaponry that filled the shelves. Cameron paced to her left with John barely keeping up the pace without stumbling.

Cameron grabbed a large plasma gun. It wasn't an ordinary kind.

Cameron said to John, "This is a reengineered design of the M-27 developed by tech experts in the resistance. They like to call it a custom M-28 that is capable of piercing a T-888's heavy-duty breastplate within a range of 25 meters. This powerful prototype isn't ready for mass production. I stopped its production before anyone found out about it. I hid its progress from you, Allison, and Derek."

John displayed a look of shock, "Why? Do you know how many lives this gun could save? Think of the machines it could kill! This could improve the morale of the resistance if they had a weapon like this! Were you not thinking straight?!"

"I was." She confirmed.

John questioned, "Then why did you do it? Wait…you stopped this gun's development from reaching the resistance because you were afraid of it weren't you? You were afraid someone would kill you with this gun."

"I don't want to die. It's dangerous." She admitted.

John added, "You're afraid. You're afraid of death."

"Is that bad?" She said.

John shook his head, "No, its's part of what makes us human."

"I'm a cyborg, not a human." She said.

"As far as I know, you're more human than some people I've met." John smiled.

For a second, they embraced that moment they had together.

Then Cameron said, "Defend the base. Perry will come shortly to help out. But now I must go."

"Go where?" He queried.

"I need to get Allison back, she's in trouble."

"Wait, what's going on with Allison?" He frowned.

Cameron said, while rushing away, "She might be in danger. Please stay here. Hide in the barracks until I get back."

"Cameron, I don't want you to leave me again. I can't do this." He pleaded.

Cameron assured him, "I'm not leaving. You can do this. Stay hidden and don't die. I'll be back soon."

As Cameron loaded her gun and stormed off, John murmured to himself, "Don't have to tell me that twice."

Allison and William

Unfortunately, LA Airforce was not yet made aware that Derek Reese's base was under attack. General Perry feared that if their closest air force went running in support of Derek's base, they could open themselves to an inevitable attack from a very sneaky Skynet. That is why William and Allison were none the wiser that Ziera base's fate was hanging in the balance.

Hiding inside a parked transport vehicle, William and Allison peaked out the window having finally arrived in LA Airforce.

Seeing no one was in sight, Will commanded, "Come on quickly Allison. Get out onto the parking lot. Just make sure you keep as quiet as possible."

"Where are we going?" She asked.

Will didn't answer. He just paced faster into a corridor of what appeared to be civilian living facilities. After a few suspicious turns from one hall to another, they found a small white door on a small square brick building. It seemed like a home, but not an ordinary one that Allison had seen before. Allison thought it was kind of cute to have such a small humble home.

Will smiled, "Good, we're here."

After tapping a few buttons onto his advanced security system, Will grabbed hold of the door handle and pushed it open.

Peaking his head through the door, he said, "Jenny? You here?"

"I'm in the bedroom." She said.

On her way in, Allison heard the cocking sound of a gun coming from the bedroom. That's when she realized that this "Jenny" was keeping guard of Will's house. Allison had not seen Jenny yet, but Allison realized she'd probably get along with Jenny just fine.

Will motioned Allison to come into the house's small living room.

He said, "There's someone else I'd like you to meet Ally."

"Oh really?" Allison replied.

Bouncing her child up and down, the woman named Jenny carefully walked out of the bedroom door with a smile on her face. Allison looked upwards with an excited look on her face. Allison wasn't sure where to look first. Was it the woman named Jenny, or the tiny gurgling baby?

Allison awkwardly said to Jenny, "Hi, I'm…uh, Allison."

"Oh my, it's…you're the one…" Jenny said, slightly startled by her encounter with Allison.

William Young cut in, "Yeah, she's the one we talked about."

Jenny said, "Oh, well, Allison. I'm sure you already know this, but I'm Will's wife. This here is our beautiful daughter Maggie."

On that notion, Allison switched focus. She looked longingly at the little girl. She was so cute. She had chubby cheeks and she had a bright and naive smile on her face. Allison smiled warmly towards the little baby that paid little attention to her in turn.

Allison instinctively reached her arms out and said to Will's wife, "May I?"

Jenny replied, "Oh, of course."

Jenny leaned towards Allison, gently handing Maggie to Allison. Holding her securely with both hands, Allison proceeded to poke around and examine their home. To Allison, it seemed like a normal home. They didn't appear to have anything to hide. Their house was literally that small.

Allison said, "This is a nice place you have here."

"Thank you." Jenny said, deciding not to elaborate further about their home.

All of the sudden, Maggie threw herself forward frightening Allison for a second. Allison hardly ever held children. In Allison's mind, she wondered if Maggie lacked a will to live. Of course Allison realized that Maggie wasn't losing her will to live, she was just stupid. Maggie tried as hard as possible to get out of Allison's hands, forcing Allison to hold on a little tighter.

Allison commented, "Wow, she's a squirmer. Maggie, I mean."

Will answered, "Yeah, a lot like you when you were a baby. You have to hold her firmly. She squirms, but for the most part she gets along with everyone."

Allison said, "You really remember me don't you?"

Will smiled, "Of course I do."

Jenny added, "Allison, you have no idea how much it means to us to finally meet you. You see, I still have my mom and dad around. They somehow survived judgment day. But William, he thought he lost everyone after Skynet damaged this world. Even after we got married, Will still spent half of his time searching for any shred of family relations. He knew most of his family died, but he always had hope. He held on to the firm hope that there was somebody out there that was a part of his family, and then he found you. Thank God you remembered your actual name Allison or else Will would've never found you."

Allison was very happy to have learned that William was her uncle. But in talking about parents, Allison could only ever do one thing. Cry. That's all she could do. She just couldn't stop wondering what it would've been like if she had parents. But that was something she could hardly remember. In hopes of finding a distracting, Allison was determined to avoid speaking of her past.

Changing the subject, Allison asked, "What's the baby's name again? You said, Maggie?"

Actually, Allison remembered her name. She really just needed something to distract her from thinking things that bothered her.

"Maggie." Jenny answered.

Allison replied, "I like that name. It's a really cute name. What does it mean?"

Will said, "I think it means "pearl". It's to remind Maggie how special and valuable she is to us."

Allison nodded, "That's cool."

Hearing Will say that didn't help Allison focus. She kept thinking about her parents.

Will said, "Allison, listen. There's something we wanted to ask you."

Allison seemed unconcerned despite Will's serious tone. She found herself having a bit of fun bouncing around little Maggie while she the little girl tried desperately to jump out of Allison's arms.

Will put it bluntly, "Will you stay with us Allison? I know the government's on your back because I got you out of there, but I couldn't let them get you. People who've been accused of treason in the resistance, they're never the same after the resistance is through with them. The funny thing is that the easy thing the resistance can do is kill you in comparison to what they do to potential traitors. Allison, the truth is, they never physically harm you if you're a gray. But the government will hurt you mentally. The psychological techniques they implement are brutal, but effective. It's a strategy that Skynet used against us. And now we ourselves have implemented that policy too. I'm sorry Allison, but I couldn't let them do it to you."

Allison said, "So let me get this straight. You want me to move in with you?"

Jenny spoke on behalf of her husband, "Of course we do."

Allison sighed, "It's…it's okay. I guess I can think about it."

Allison couldn't quite grasp the full extent of what Will was saying. Should she leave Derek and Kyle in favor of real flesh and blood family? A big divide began to form inside her heart and she didn't know what to do with it.

A small knock on the door drew William's attention.

Jenny said, "You expecting someone William?"

Will shook his head, "No, I don't think so."

Drawing his gun, he gently opened the door. The door suddenly slammed open by a powerful force. And then then low and behold, a dark shadowy figure emerged. Was it a machine? Was it a spy who had been eavesdropping on their conversation their whole time?

All those things were probably true considering that the thing that forced itself through the door was named Cameron. Jenny drew her gun, waiting for Cameron to make one false move. Allison merely pulled Maggie away from Cameron's sight, doing her best to ignore the identical machine.

Jenny screamed, "It's real! That thing is real?! The terminator."

Will quickly stepped in the middle of the room, preventing his wife from shooting at Cameron. At the same time, Will stood where he was to block the terminator's entryway into his residence.

Cameron said to Will, "I've come for Allison Corporal."

"You can't have her." Will growled.

Allison sighed, "Oh, just let her in, it's not like you're much of an obstacle to her anyway."

Reluctantly, Will let her through upon Allison's request.

Approaching Allison and little Maggie, Cameron said, "You need to come with me."

Jenny looked for a nod from her husband to shoot Cameron, but Will shook his head disallowing her from harming the female terminator. Meanwhile, Allison chose not to move. Rather she sat down on the sofa to give Maggie a little more space to move about.

"How did you find me? Does John know you're here?" Allison asked, while playing around with the baby in her arms.

Cameron said, "I knew Corporal William had stolen one of the base's retired T-600 machines to save you. I figured that the Corporal was hoping to frame Skynet for your disappearance. When I caught on to the plan, I determined that the only place Corporal William could take you that could be safe enough was his home. After interviewing a female coworker at Intelligence HQ, I learned the location of Corporal William's living quarters within LA Airforce."

William smiled, but didn't say anything. William new exactly who it was. It was Stacy. William knew that girl couldn't keep her mouth shut if her life depended on it.

Cameron added, "And no, John doesn't know I'm here."

Allison argued, "Cameron, you can't take me back there. The government is going to do some nasty things to me."

Cameron said, "I know. I convinced Perry to let you go."

Allison said, "Perry doesn't have the authority to dismiss me of a federal crime. It's treason remember?"

Cameron said, "No, but according to article 2 section 2 of the constitution, the President can."

"The President let me go?" Allison queried.

William and Jennifer looked in awe at their conversation. While the couple new that Cameron was a friendly machine, they realized something that seemed impossible. Allison was reasoning with Cameron. How was that possible? How could a machine come to with a mission to capture you, only for Allison to convince it not to? That's not how machines work. They take orders and then they seek to fulfill them at any cost. This conversation was very different and entirely unique to them.

Meanwhile, Cameron said to Allison, "Perry has a loyal following. The base's increasing food resources and manpower have slowly turned Perry's leadership into a favorable aspect of President Howell's administration. More specifically, Perry's close connections with the Vice-President have ultimately led to your pardon through our current President."

Allison tilted her head in doubt, "An actual pardon? Why would General Perry do that for me? He doesn't even like me. What did you give him in return?"

Meanwhile, Maggie began to act out again, throwing her head back and forth in the hopes of getting loose from the intelligence officer. Allison instinctively tightened her grasp on the baby.

"Information. Information about Skynet." She said.

Allison smirked, "Well, it's good to know my own life is about as worth as much as a little information about Skynet."

Cameron said, "We don't have time to discuss this, we have to go home."

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm happy where I am." Allison refused.

Cameron implored, "John needs your help."

"Tell John to go fly a kite. He choked me unconscious." She shot back.

Cameron pointed out the obvious, "You're upset."

Allison snarled sarcastically, "No, what made you think I was upset?"

Cameron frowned, "What John did to you he did with a heavy heart. He had to protect me and the base. If it was up to me, I would have submitted to deactivation, but John has other plans. He wants to protect the base too and he needs your help to do it."

"I'm not helping him. Not anymore. You've manipulated John far enough and I'm sick and tired of standing by while you do it. I still hate you and I hate John. I hate that he cares for you more than me."

"You know that's not true. You don't hate John and you don't hate me. What you do hate is that you love him and he won't return that love the way you want him to. You are jealous."

Allison shouted, "Screw you. You better get out of here before you scare the baby."

Of course, the baby was none the wiser. While dogs seemed to dislike Cameron, babies were typically delighted around Cameron's glowing eyes and super-duper strength.

Cameron added, "It's not just about me and John. Charles Fischer is threatening the base. The base is on lockdown and we fear a potential on-ground invasion now that HKs have entered resistance controlled airspace and attacked Ziera base. We need your help. Derek and Kyle need your help."

Allison seemed hesitant. She knew she couldn't leave Derek and Kyle alone. She had to help. Will took notice of her obvious concern.

Will interjected, "Allison, if you're going, I'm going too."

Jenny said, "I should go too."

William said, "No, you can't Jenny. I can't handle you being in so much danger. Take care of Maggie, keep her safe. She's far more important to both of us than Derek Reese's base."

Jenny nodded, "Fine, I'll stay. Just come back home to me."

"I will." He said.

Allison raised her hand shouting once more, "No! I'm not going anywhere. No one is going back! Get a hold of yourselves."

Cameron interrupted, "Please. John honestly didn't send me here. I'm telling you the truth."

"What do you mean John didn't send you here? You wouldn't be here otherwise."

Cameron admitted, "He has no idea you escaped. I kept it a secret. All he knows is that you're in trouble."

"Why would you do that?" She wondered.

Cameron said, "I kept that a secret to keep you safe from Skynet. But I feel alone."

"Alone. Don't you spend enough time cuddling up with John?"

"I don't mean it that way. I have few friends." She said.

"You do realize I tried to kill you, right? I don't have the qualities of friendship that you're looking for."

"Nobody's perfect." She said.

"So you really want me to come back? Not John?"

"Please. I need you. We all need you." Cameron pleaded.

Allison couldn't understand why Cameron would go through all of this to save her from the government and bring her back to Ziera base despite everything she did to hurt her. She couldn't understand her one bit. She felt guilty that the same machine she tried to destroy was begging her to return. Could it be true that Cameron cared for her? That would be an interesting idea, but a scary thought too.

Allison reluctantly nodded, "Okay, let's go. Jenny, take little Maggie back. I think she's slobbering up on my jacket."

Jenny said, "Oh, sorry about that. Either your jacket tastes really good, or she's teething."

Will added, "No time to lose. Come on, let's go."

Arriving at the base…

Cameron had reached the base on foot. Who knew she could run so fast. On the outside, it started to rain slightly. Cameron let her hand out to feel the cool misty rain wet her small hand.

Allison said, "I hate the rain. Water too. I hate being in water."

Cameron said, "Me too."

"Does it shorten your electrical circuits or something?" She joked.

Cameron shook her head and replied, "No, I can't swim. My body is not built to float."

While waiting on Will to start the engine and bring the vehicle in, Allison spotted a little kid running about towards them. Allison quickly pulled Cameron around and into a near corner to avoid facing the oncoming passerby. Cameron stared at Allison in confusion, looking for an explanation of her sudden movement.

Allison said, "Don't let anyone on base spot you or me. Remember, you're me as well! You can't catch anyone's attention or you risk our cover being blown."

Cameron nodded, "Right."

Despite Cameron's assurance that she understood Allison's concern, a grim look remained on Allison's face. It appeared she was having another "emotional episode" as Cameron classified it in her HUD.

It was obvious to Cameron that whenever something confused Allison for a long period of time, it would frustrate her and she would begin to express emotions in the form of crying, bitter quarrels, or even a trip to the gun range.

Cameron said, "You're not feeling well."

Allison answered, "No, I'm not. And you know why?"

Cameron played along, "Why?"

"Cameron, why would you do that for me? I really still don't get it. After everything I did…I nearly killed John once, I tried to kill you three times. I'm your enemy! I'm supposed to be the bad guy in your eyes. But…but you keep trying to save me. I don't understand. You have no mission to protect me and yet you still do. Why is my friendship important to you?"

"I owe you."

"Yeah, you killed me in another timeline. But that timeline no longer exists. You don't owe me anything. What gives? I don't understand!" Allison said.

"I don't want you to die. I don't want you to leave either." She said.

"Why?"

"You're useful to the resistance."

"But I've been trying to get John away from the resistance! How can I be useful if all I'm trying to do is kick John out of the resistance?"

"Because I want you to do it." Cameron said.

"What? What'd you say?" Allison said in shock.

Cameron said, "I want you to push John out of the resistance. I want you to become the leader instead."

"Why?" Allison demanded.

The cyborg explained, "Future John chose you to become the resistance's new leader subsequent to his absence or death. You know that already. But you were a young person, while he was much older. In our current future where we are right now, your ages are in close proximity to each other. John doesn't have to be the leader anymore. You can be."

"So what? Why…why would you want me to lead instead of John?" She said.

"Because John doesn't want to be a leader. He never did. Future John didn't want to be either. But you do. Perhaps your desire to lead might be enough to destroy Skynet."

"That's it. You're just turning against John like this? Isn't this betrayal?"

Cameron shook her head, "I'm not. I'm doing what he wants. The only reason he expects to lead the resistance is not because his mother, father, uncle, or friends ask him to. He does it because I ask him to. This John is different from future John. He cares too much about what I think. If anything happens to me while John is leading, he might lose his will to fight and Skynet will inevitably win. I can't take that risk."

"So this isn't about John and this isn't about me either. It's about protecting the base isn't it? That's why you're keeping me close to you, right?"

Cameron said, "You want me to say yes. You want to believe I can't care about anyone or respect human life the way you do. That way, you can understand me. But you don't. Caring about you or John doesn't mean I must disregard protecting the base. John has forgiven me for the terrible things I did. Just like John, I forgive you for the things you did too, whether you are sorry for it or not. No matter what you believe or say, you will always be my friend."

Allison couldn't answer. What she said nearly broke her. For the first time, she had no response. There was nothing to say. She could try to convince herself that Cameron was lying, but how could she? What would Cameron gain from saying this to her?

Allison reached forward and gave Cameron a hug. Cameron didn't move, or return the hug. But neither did she stop or stiffen up by Allison's sudden embrace.

Allison cried, "I hate you so much! I don't get you!"

Cameron said, "Me too."

"I'm sorry I tried to kill you those few times." Allison said with sniff.

"It's okay." She said.

Wiping the tears from her face, Allison said, "Come on, let's go. I think my uncle is ready."

"Uncle?"

"Yeah, I learned today I have a long-lost uncle. Pretty cool, right?"

"Yeah, uncles are tight." Cameron said.

(2009) Safehouse

Sarah started getting a headache. Cameron conveyed a lot of information that she could barely wrap her head around. While John and Cameron sat together in a relaxed fashion, she got up and walked towards the kitchen. Opening a cupboard, she pulled out a tall glass and filled it with water.

Returning to the living room with a glass half-full of water, she said, "Okay, I get it. So you and Allison get all cute and happy. So what was I doing when Skynet's HKs came after the base?"

Cameron replied, "You and Derek had arrived just before Skynet attacked. While Derek should have been searching for Kyle Reese for a briefing, you visited General Perry, who had come to Ziera base in light of Charles Fischer."

"Oh, I see. What did we talk about?"

(2027) General Perry and Sarah Connor

Near just about the center of the base, General Perry had finally arrived with reinforcements. The moment he heard that a potential gray had infiltrated Derek Reese's base, he just knew he had to come down and handle it himself. Perry hated everything about grays. Their very existence appalled him. But ever since he became the icon of this new pro-machine resistance, he got friendlier with machines, but ironically harsher on humans who chose to serve the interests of Skynet.

At the very center of the base, General Perry had instructed his men how to find Fischer. He knew that it just might be possible to find the son of a bitch so that he never saw the light of day again.

In the middle of his conversation with some of his best men, a female voice said to him, "General Perry."

Turning around, Perry found Sarah Connor standing right in front of him.

He said, "Sarah Connor? Weren't you on some mission with Derek Reese?"

"Yes, we've returned just a few minutes ago. I was interested to see what you were doing to find Fischer?"

Perry said, "My men are scouring all public areas as well as thoroughly searching every single civilian house on the base. With the base on lock down and every security guard, intelligence officer, and machine notified, it's only a matter of time before we find him."

Sarah Connor said, "Excellent."

"Listen, General. I've heard you've been through a lot. How have you been?" Perry said.

Sarah Connor sighed, "Pretty good considering."

"I heard you somehow survived cancer? I'm sorry to hear you've been taking unnecessary rounds of chemo. It really takes a toll on your health to be battling something that wasn't there to begin with."

Sarah replied, "What's done is done. You can't take it back, all you can do is make up for lost time perhaps."

Perry agreed, "Indeed."

"Oh and one more thing General that I wanted to mention to you."

"What is it?" Perry asked.

Sarah admitted, "I'm impressed with you."

"How so?"

Sarah said, "All the nearby bases stand behind you. Even San Francisco has decided to use a few machines to help them on their base. That only occurred because of your influences in their administration."

"I thought you hated machines. How would you be impressed with me?" Perry said.

"Yes, I do hate machines. But somehow you've convinced almost all military bases in California to stand behind you. You're so successful that not even the President is willing to stand against you."

At that very time, the sound of emergency alarms screeched throughout the entire base. The emerging noise of Skynet hunter-killers soaring from above forced Sarah and Perry to take cover.

Sarah screamed, "Well, this is unexpected!"

Immediately, Perry pulled out his radio, "This is Perry. All squads seize the search and regroup with your commander. We are under attack!"

While Perry spent his time on the radio underneath, Sarah Connor tried to understand what was going on. There were no terminators just yet. It was just a small squadron of aerial HKs swooping in and assaulting the base. Sarah was confused to say the least. Why would Skynet do this unless it was another distraction. All that thinking began to make sense when Perry turned to speak with Sarah.

Perry said, "We have heavy swarms of HKs headed our way. I've finally alerted LA Airforce like you asked to help intercept them and split them off. Our air defense system can only protect us for so long."

"What about on the ground?" Sarah said.

"We've got at least 2000 grays and at least 100 machines, all T-888s covered in flesh heading from the North. This is a trap or something almost definitely from Skynet. Damn it. That's going to make them harder to spot."

Sarah assured him, "All military personnel are dressed in the same identifiable uniform and the rest of the population is hiding in their homes or at least evacuated in their sleeping quarters. We should be fine for now."

Perry asked, "Are your men positioned outside the base?"

Sarah nodded, "My people are always ready. There will be no surprise attack we won't be ready for. They men may not be patriotic Americans, but Mexicans hate Skynet just as much as you or me."

Perry said, "Good. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, right?"

Just then, several men from above shouted, "Ogre! Ogre! We need the launchers now!"

While Sarah couldn't see it, she knew what Ogre meant. They were Skynet hunter-killer tanks designed to destroy resistance tanks, move through extremely rough terrain, and blast through the most impenetrable of fortresses. The HK tank approached. The mechanical gun swiveled and rose, aiming towards the titanium gate heavily fortified entrance.

Perry ordered to the men on the watchtower, "Take out the tank! Take it out now!"

Perry knew the power of Hunter-killer tanks. While gates were reinforced with hardened titanium, Skynet ogres were capable of breaking through it with a reasonable level of range and firepower.

Two of Perry's men grabbed their only two grenade launchers, kneeled down, and fired from the watchtower's position. Hissing their way to the tank, the propelling grenades exploded violently. The tank was destroyed, but not before it blasted a hole right through the gates.

In the far distance, sudden screams and cheers sounded about. They were grays. They somehow knew that Skynet had succeeded in breaking a hole right through the barrier. The grays suddenly charged forward. Sarah knew that her men were positioned in protection of the base. She knew her soldiers could hold them off. But with more and more coming, Sarah knew it was only a matter of time before some Skynet sympathizers made it through the seared whole in the base.

Swarms of grays stormed towards Ziera base, overwhelming Sarah's men. But instead of trying to kill off Sarah's men like she feared, the grays chose the unfortunately worse option. They kept pressing to enter through the unprotected opening in Ziera base.

Sarah fired back, bolldly standing her ground against the onslaught that was yet to come. Most of the blasts aimed towards her were off target. They were too far away to shoot at her accurately through a small hole in the wall. Over and over, a combination of Perry and Derek's men tried to protect the opening from an attempt through. They knew that no matter went through that hole, they'd beat it down with as many bullets and plasma bolts as necessary. In the middle of the exchange, one stray bullet made its way into Sarah's abdomen. She dropped down quickly, shocked by the sudden injury.

Most of the grays used standard issue Skynet plasma weapons. But some grays carried guns. If Sarah were hit by a plasma bolt, her wound would have cauterized and she'd be fine. But that wasn't the case. She was bleeding out. Two members of Perry's militia dragged her away from the blasts and behind the corner of a building.

The pain was extreme. Sarah wanted to be left alone, but didn't have the energy nor the will to wave them off. Looking off into the distance, Sarah's blurry vision made out a terminator coming. Sarah was afraid. There was a machine mechanically marching towards them, but the soldiers didn't notice it. She was scared, but much too out of breath to even say anything.

When the machine finally got to her, Sarah understood why the men ignored her. It was Cameron.

Kyle and Derek

When Derek had found that the base was under attack, he immediately went looking for his brother to make sure he was okay. That's when Derek found Kyle rounding up his men. The men were nervous, but Kyle did his very best to keep calm and ensure none of his soldiers panicked. When Kyle saw Derek running in his direction, he smiled slightly relief. When he needed his brother most. He was there.

Kyle said, "Derek! Derek! You're alright!"

Derek said, "Of course I'm alright."

"Did you manage to talk to Jason."

Derek shook his head, "I talked to him. But we got nowhere."

Kyle answered, "Listen Derek, John Henry has confirmed with us that Skynet is attacking the base for real this time. They know about John Henry and they know that this base uses machines more heavily than any other base. If they destroy us, the resistance's morale will crumble. We have to stop them. Please, you got to lead them. We've got to stop this before it's too late."

Derek nodded, "Talk to your men. We're going to battle these damn Skynet machines."

With that firm smile of Derek, Kyle turned to his men and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Attention!"

Every soldier suddenly went stiff as a board. Their eyes hardly shifted as they stood in perfect formation. They tried to ignore the aerial HKs and their constant dogfights with the LA Airforce's A-10 fighters. They were nervous as hell, waiting for the moment Skynet's aerial HKs dropped a toxic bomb on them, wasting them all away. Kyle could feel it emanating from them. They were scared like little children.

Kyle noticed one of his men fidgeting slightly and said, "Is there a problem Private?"

"Permission to speak freely sir?" He asked.

"Permission granted."

The asked, "What are we doing here sir? What's going on?"

Kyle informed, "Skynet is attacking the base. They intend not simply to scare us, but to destroy us and our families. Most of you are young and inexperienced. This will be your first time in combat. You will assist the veteran soldiers under Perry and your Lieutenant. Meanwhile, General Sarah Connor's men will take care of themselves. Don't worry too much about the machines. Just remember the rules of engagement and stay in formation. When we're good and ready, we'll give 'em hell. Just make sure you get back home safely to enjoy the victory. Now remember, General Perry has authorized Derek Reese to take charge of you. I don't have the authority to lead you into battle. You will follow all his orders. Failure to comply will result in severe penalties and the worst court marshalling you'll ever have in your life. Is that understood?"

Everyone shouted in a fiery rage, "Yes sir!"

Derek shouted, "Well then soldiers, move, move, move!"

Immediately, the men stormed off to their designated position, awaiting the onslaught of grays and the machines that marched behind them.

While Derek ran off with the men, Kyle took a glance at his watch. He feared the worst, but didn't have much time to dwell on it. He couldn't worry about John, Allison, or his brother Derek. He couldn't allow himself to worry about Savannah either, a woman who's always insisted she could take care of herself. But that wouldn't stop him from worrying. He struggled to keep focus.

Ellison and John

John felt a little confused with himself. Cameron had left him alone. While Cameron had given him a gun to go and fight, she specifically instructed him to find a good place to hide. John wasn't sure what to do. Cameron appeared to be sending him mixed messages. Should he stay safe or should he go out and fight like any leader would? John wanted advice on what to do, but Derek and Kyle were busy with the troops while his mother was nowhere to be seen. John figured that she was probably out there with her men trying to battle it out against Skynet's forces. He felt alone. Just when he thought there were no familiar faces around him, he spotted Ellison running towards him.

Ellison said, "John! What are you doing here?!"

Suddenly, a missile strike zoomed over Ellison's head, blowing off half the ceiling of Intelligence headquarters. Some of the intelligence officers fled the building, fearing that the building would collapse on their heads.

Ellison pushed John off into one of the barracks and said again, "John? Where's your…where's Cameron? What are you doing here? You should be hiding somewhere."

He answered, "Cameron is off looking for Allison."

Ellison frowned, "Why? We all know where she is."

John said, "I guess she just wants to keep her safe."

"But why are you out here? Do you want to get yourself killed?"

John said, "I have to help. I have to do something. Even if that means killing a few machines!"

Ellison said, "John, you know that you're supposed to be some kind of a leader right? If Skynet kills you, the future of the resistance fades. Let's not forget the fact that once you're dead, there's no changing that! There's no way we can go back in time and fix that again."

John replied, "Look, Skynet is not supposed to know who I am. I should be fine."

Ellison ecstatically replied, "Really? Is that a chance you want to take?"

John said, "Speaking of chances, I never got a chance to thank you."

"Thank you for what?" Ellison said, confused by the sudden change of subject.

John replied, "For working with my mom, even if it was for a very short time. If I didn't know it, I think you helped keep her sane while I was away in search of Cameron. Most importantly, you tried to help her stop judgment day."

"Yeah, we did try." Ellison said.

John questioned, "Agent Ellison, you never told me what you and mom were working on before judgment day happened. I tried to get it out of my mom, but she wouldn't tell me. Why?"

Ellison shrugged, "It's a bit of a personal matter. She doesn't think it's worth pursuing anymore. It was just a crazy theory."

John wondered, "Was it crazy enough to be completely true? This is Skynet we're talking about here, remember?"

Ellison said, "Look, it's not important anymore. Judgment day already happened."

"At least tell me something. If it's not a valid theory anymore, you shouldn't be afraid to tell me." John said.

Ellison sighed, "Look...Dyson wasn't just behind Cyberdyne's Skynet…but Kaliba's Skynet too."

John laughed, "That makes no sense. Dyson was long dead before Kaliba emerged. He can't be responsible for Kaliba's development of Skynet."

John couldn't understand Ellison. How could Myles Dyson be responsible for Kaliba's development of Skynet? It wasn't just a crazy theory, but it made absolutely no sense either. Just as John tried to respond with another inquiry, another explosion occurred, cutting off their conversation completely. The blast forced John and Ellison to cover their faces to protect themselves from dust and debris that flew through the barrack's entrance. An HK managed to destroy one of their nearby food storage facilities.

Ellison said, "You need to find a better place to hide. This isn't working out for us."

John insisted, "I should stay here and help."

"Son, there's nothing you can do to help. Just stay out of the way and let John Henry and the rest of the veterans do their jobs. Just do yourself a favor and hide. It's the best thing you can do to protect the resistance and stop Skynet. I can't stress that enough. Listen, I've got to go."

Ellison pulled out what appeared to be a Desert Eagle pistol. Pushing in another magazine and loading the weapon, Ellison physically and mentally prepared himself to get back out into the heat of battle.

John said, "Hey, is that Derek's gun?"

Ellison nodded, "Yeah, he loaned it to me. I like this weapon."

"Where are you going? What are you planning with that gun? Will you go out and fight?"

"Sort of. I need to make sure Savannah's okay. I haven't seen her since we got back from Weaver's base."

John thought to himself, "Weaver's base? What was Ellison doing there?"

But before John could ask that question, Ellison was already out the door. John's mind suddenly flashed back to Derek's Desert Eagle. He remembered those words his uncle told him in 2008. Derek told him that he'd never fire a weapon that wasn't loaded by himself. It was a trust problem that Derek suffered from. Perhaps such a precaution was warranted, but it's what made John different from his uncle. For example, John, against his better judgment, trusted Cameron was not lying or misleading him when she said she needed to go out and find Allison. John also trusted his mother to protect him, even though she couldn't do it all the time. John even trusted Weaver, even though she was probably the worst possible thing to trust...ever.

John understood at that point why he was supposed to be the leader of the resistance. He took risks. He trusted people even though others wouldn't. His future self implemented machines into the resistance even though others were too afraid to do it. He broke the rules even when the penalties were harsh. John knew that he was destined to become the very person others were not willing to be. That's why people protected him so valiantly. There were so very few who could be like him. John's mind wandered towards Allison. John wondered why his future self wanted Allison to become the next leader. After all, she seemed rather hateful of machines, always by the book, and never trusting. John figured that his future self probably saw the great potential in Allison because of her utmost loyalty and her superior tactical skills. And despite Allison's claims otherwise, John knew that Allison liked some machines, including John Henry and Cameron.

John smiled to himself. He came to a realization that he never thought he'd experience. For a brief moment throughout the battle for Ziera base, John felt happy. He felt like he understood everything, as if he were on top of the world.

Weaver and Savannah

Savannah had fallen into panic when the machines attacked the base. She knew that at any minute, grays would infest the base. All doors were locked up, and every citizen was instructed not to open doors to anyone, including her. She had spent so much time locking down the hatches, she had forgotten about her own safety. She realized she had to get somewhere safe. While Savannah knew how to use a gun, she wasn't a soldier. She was a mechanic who spent most of her time repairing A-10s before she decided to stick with John at Ziera base.

Savannah suddenly worried about Kyle. She figured Kyle would be busy, but that he'd also be worried sick about her. She figured she'd try to contact him soon.

In an attempt to orient herself, Savannah looked up. She was confused. She saw a small metal object about to fall onto one of the food supply centers. She was so close to it, she couldn't react in time. At any moment, she knew the shrapnel and wood would penetrate her body and kill her instantly. Before she could even blink, she heard metal and bricks exploding together in a fiery glory. Just before that happened, a large metal shield surrounded her.

The explosion shook the ground that she stood on, but she felt nothing. All she could see was a mirror-like metallic shield surrounding her body. Savannah frowned in confusion, wondering why she wasn't dead. Suddenly, that same metallic shield turned into something. It turned into a human being that took the form of her late mother. Once again, it was Catherine Weaver.

Savannah ungratefully commented, "What are you doing here? Aren't you too busy ignoring us to be here right now?"

"I told you that I'm partially responsible for it." Weaver replied.

"No kidding." Savannah frowned.

"Now that I have provoked Skynet to test their current numbers, it appears I have underestimated the truest extent of their power."

Savannah screamed, "People are dying because of you! How could you…forget it, I'm not talking to a machine anymore. Why do I keep wasting my time with you?"

Weaver snapped, "Savannah, I do not know how your human morals work nor do I completely understand them. In war, humans themselves have sacrificed cities of thousands and even millions for the greater good. They let innocent people to die to save more innocent people in the end. I'm not doing this because I'm a T-1001. I'm doing this to ultimately protect more humans from suffering the same fate. And whether you understand it or not, I will continue to do it. Perhaps your conscience in particular forbids you from killing altogether or at least allowing some to die for the sake of others, but at least you can acknowledge that the moment we go back to the past in 2009, all this terror is undone. I don't have to be accountable to killing those who are no longer dead."

"Wait a minute. Go back? What do you mean by going back?" Savannah said.

Weaver finally cut to the chase, "Savannah, I need your help with John Henry. Both your John and my John must return to the past."

"You could ask anyone else to do it." Savannah said.

Weaver said, "They're busy protecting this base. You're the only one I can trust. John Henry needs your help too."

Weaver was lying. John Connor was perfectly available to help. But Weaver wanted Savannah. Perhaps Weaver couldn't understand it herself, but something inside the liquid metal terminator told her that she needed Savannah to be there helping her.

"Fine, I'll go. What do you need?" Savannah said.

"There is crucial information I have gathered regarding Skynet. I have future locations for Skynet controlled bases, possible locations for Skynet resources, children who will become grays, and much more complex data than you can ever imagine."

Savannah simplified it, "In other words, you have a goldmine of information that is far too precious to have sitting around. You need to bring it back to 2009 to keep it safe."

All of the sudden, that voice in Savannah's head said, "No one is ever safe."

Clearly, Sarah Connor still had a deep influence on Savannah's train of thought. Savannah tried to shake the thought off, returning to the present.

Weaver explained, "John Henry must know this if he is to return to the past. Come with me."

Suddenly, it dawned on Savannah that Weaver, John Henry, John, and Cameron were leaving. Savannah didn't want that. She couldn't understand it. Three of those four people she just mentioned were machines, but she couldn't stand the thought of them leaving.

Savannah objected, "But you can't go. We've worked so hard for this. I've got a life. I've got Kyle…I've…I've got John, Cameron, and Allison. We're like family."

Weaver said, "You will grow up with them if they go back. Would you rather things remain where they are now? Would you rather that world experience judgment day? Would you rather Allison Young's parents die? Would you rather Derek and Kyle Reese lose their entire family?"

Savannah admitted, "No…no."

Weaver replied, "So then you know that this is isn't about you. You would give this all up if it meant a better life for everyone else. That's just the type of person you are."

"I guess you know me better than I thought."

"Then come with me." She said.

Savannah said, "Weaver."

Savannah cringed at the thought of what she was about to say.

"Yes, Savannah?" Weaver replied.

Savannah took a deep breath and confessed, "I don't want you to leave. I know we had our differences…but, I know you're always protecting me."

Weaver said, "I always have. Now come along quickly. We don't have much time. Once you plug the transfer cord into John Henry's head, I will upload the new data."

Savannah nodded, "Okay, this should be a piece of cake."

Weaver said, "The fate of the world lies in your hands Savannah."

Savannah laughed with a bit of a craze, "Yeah, like I said, a piece of cake."

Weaver replied, "I never understood what that meant. What's a piece of cake supposed to mean?"

John in the Barracks

John had spent enough time waiting. Derek had also instructed him to stay away from the machines. But John was done waiting. If there was one thing he shared with his uncle, it was his ability to bend the rules. If John couldn't kill machines with a high powered rifle, he sure could spend his time going after a few grays.

That's when Weaver appeared, walking right through the entrance like it was a casual thing to do when the base was engulfed in all-out war.

John said, "Weaver? What are you doing here?"

"I've come to enlist Savannah's help with John Henry. What are you doing here?"

John said, "I'm trying to go out and kill some grays."

"You aren't ready for that Mr. Connor. It would be better if you remained hidden."

"To hell with what I'm ready for! I have to help." He insisted.

Weaver said, "You may think that you're useless unless you go out and fight. But plasma bolts and fists can only get you so far. Strategy requires finesse and patience, something you still struggle with."

John said, "I feel like you're getting to a point here?"

Weaver said, "You aren't ready to kill just yet Mr. Connor. Ms. Phillips has told me that it has been a mental burden on you for months when you killed Sarkissian at such a young age. We can't let that happen again."

John said, "Well what can I do then?! I feel like you're all holding me back."

Weaver said, "No Mr. Connor, I'm protecting you from becoming me. You must become a symbol of moral uprightness. Failure to do so will convince the resistance that you've assimilated to the machines and have proven yourself vulnerable to manipulation."

John sighed, "Yeah, well it is a pain in the ass, I'll tell you that."

Weaver replied, "Call Lieutenant Reese. Talk to him."

"Why?" John asked.

"Tell your uncle that I've dealt with Fischer. He need not worry about him anymore."

John said, "Did you kill him?!"

Weaver answered, "That is not important, but you don't need to worry about him going back in time. The paradox is broken, so you should not be concerned with him any longer."

"So you're not going to tell me where he is are you?" John figured.

Weaver didn't reply. John knew why Weaver was keeping that information from him. He wasn't ready to handle big baddies like Fischer. He also understood why Weaver restrained him from doing the things he wanted to do. But John couldn't help but feel insulted by Weaver for his apparent lack of maturity.

Weaver replied, "I will return to Savannah. Stay here as you were instructed. Believe it or not, I do have a mission for you. I will send someone to relay the correct information to you when the time calls for it."

John replied with an inquisitive eye, "What are you planning?"

Weaver said, "As I've said before, all will be revealed soon."

John began to worry. What was Weaver planning while Skynet was attacking the base? That thought suddenly fizzed away when John felt a barrage of machine firepower puncturing right through the walls. John dived behind a table and covered his head to protect himself from the sudden debris. Opening his eyes again, he saw that Weaver was gone.

Kyle and Derek

Kyle and Derek watched as grays poured in. The two brothers wondered how Perry and Sarah were faring, but based on the fact that grays were here, it was very likely that the grays broke through Sarah's defense. As more and more grays poured through, just as many plasma bolts hit them. Most of the grays couldn't make a few feet before getting mowed down in gunfire. One gray managed to avoid the blasts and took aim at Kyle.

Derek shouted, "Kyle!"

Derek blasted a shot quickly, protecting his brother from the lethal bolt.

When Derek noticed that Kyle was frozen stiff, he pulled him to the side, out of range of gunfire, and said to him, "Kyle, what's wrong with you?!"

Kyle admitted, "Sorry man, I…my mind is fixed on Savannah. I'm worried sick about her."

Kyle would've thought that Derek was going to scold him for his lack of focus. Kyle hated himself sometimes for being more emotional than Derek and worrying constantly about others. But Derek did something that confused Kyle.

Derek said, "I'm worried too. I think Sarah's going to get herself killed."

Kyle replied, "Wait. You're worried? About General Connor?"

Derek nodded, "Of course. I get it. Just, go and call her. See if she's okay, then you can join me in battle. Kyle, I'll need your help. This is going to be tight. I've already lost too many men."

Kyle nodded, "Okay."

While Derek ran off to aid his men, Kyle switched on his radio and said, "Savannah, are you there? Where are you?"

After a brief moment, a voice replied, "Kyle, I'm in the basement with John Henry."

The relief that showed on Kyle's face was apparent. He breathed heavily in relief.

"How do you have signal down there?" Kyle wondered.

Savannah explained, "John Henry has wired a strong signal down here."

"Oh. Are you okay?" He said.

Savannah replied cheerily, "Don't worry about me. I'm just helping Weaver."

"The liquid metal?" Kyle said.

"Yeah. I'm not doing something stupid. I'll keep me safe. Please focus on your work, don't think too much about me, okay?"

Kyle admitted, "I don't think I could ever do that."

"I love you Kyle." She said.

"You too. But please Savannah, find one of the bunkers and stay there as soon as you can. It won't be long before you are permanently locked out."

Savannah replied, "Okay Kyle, but please don't worry about me. I'll be fine. Really."

Meanwhile…

Derek didn't return to battle as quickly as he anticipated. His radio started beeping, indicating that there was an emergency that needed is immediate aid.

When Derek responded to the alert, a voice came through saying, "Lieutenant Reese, this is Catherine Weaver."

"The metal?"

Weaver replied, "Yes, the metal. I will need you and perhaps your brother to go and find your nephew in one of the barracks and keep him safe. He is alone and I fear he will do something foolish without you watching out for him. I need John Connor for something, something that can help the resistance win. Do you accept the mission?"

Derek screamed, "How do you think I'm going to trust you?"

Weaver said, "You have no choice in the matter. I'm your best hope. I got you into this mess, now I will get you out of it."

Derek replied, "Well, who's going to lead my men? I can't abandon them like this. And Perry already has too much to deal with."

Weaver said, "Do as the military normally does in a time of crisis. Hand the authority to someone you trust. I'm sure you can figure out who that is Lieutenant."

Derek thought to himself, "Bedell!"

Weaver replied, "I'll see you soon Lieutenant. This is extremely important."

Immediately, Derek called for his brother. Despite everything Weaver did, Derek cared about the people on this base. If doing as Weaver said could help him, he was damn sure he'd do it.

Allison and Cameron and William

Allison spoke up first, "Did you see Corporal William leave with the woman and her kid?"

Cameron said, "Yes, he left. He told me to tell you to be careful."

Allison nodded, "I always am."

Cameron said, "Except when you're not."

Allison rolled her eyes whispered to herself, "…bitch."

Cameron pointed out, "I heard that."

Allison smiled, "I know."

On their way towards the barracks where they thought they'd find John, they noticed that an approaching ogre that blew a whole into Ziera base's defensive walls. Witnessing an exchange of plasma bolts between grays and friendly machines, Cameron spotted someone she knew from afar off.

"Sarah is in trouble." Cameron said, "I think she's going to get shot."

Allison replied, "Are you sure?"

Cameron was certain. She had identified Sarah's body barely missing several unknown projectiles. While Perry's men had mostly fallen back, she as well as a few other brave souls stayed there to fend them off. Cameron wasn't sure what Sarah was trying to do. Was she trying to turn herself and the remaining men into an expendable wall of human shields? Cameron knew she had to do something.

Cameron said, "Yes. I will go help her."

Cameron looked to Allison and instructed, "Go find John in the meantime. Keep him safe."

Allison shook her head, "You sure he's not going to kill me? Perhaps I should go and help Sarah."

Cameron said, "No. John wouldn't kill you even if he wanted to. Go, make sure he's okay. I will protect Sarah."

"Okay. Adios." Allison remarked.

Allison immediately launched towards the barracks, running at lightning speed. She dodged one blast to another, trying to stay out of the gunfire. Once Allison looked back, she found that grays had begun pouring into the base. They were overrunning their defenses. She realized what was going on. Allison knew that in a matter of time, Skynet's machines would battle it out against John Henry's last defense of terminators. And with Skynet outnumbering John Henry three to one, the odds weren't looking good.

Meanwhile...

Just then, Cameron's radio voiced out, "Hey cyborg?"

Cameron picked up her radio and responded, "My name is Cameron."

The male voice replied, "Yeah, this is Corporal William. I just brought the boy and his mother back to the hospital. Where's Allison? I can't get a hold of her."

Cameron replied, "She's on her way to the barracks to find John."

Cameron didn't pay much attention, however, to Will. Her attention was partially distracted by Sarah Connor. In the distance, Cameron watched Sarah Connor continue to stand her ground against the onslaught of anti-resistance fighters. She was about to get herself killed. Cameron immediately approached Sarah in hopes of getting her away from the fire.

Corporal Will, still none the wiser of Cameron's situation, said, "Listen, someone wanted me to send a message to you and John. It's some lady. She told me to tell you…"

Cameron heard Sarah groan and drop to the ground in dire pain. Blood spattered all over her uniform.

With widened eyes, Cameron shouted, "Corporal, come to the barracks. Let us know what you have to tell us there. I have to go now."

Cameron rushed towards Sarah Connor's aid. Sarah was definitely shot and if there was any chance she'd survive this, she had to get her somewhere safe. Cameron knew that the only way to the infirmary was now blocked off by a heated battle between friendly terminators and grays with plasma rifles.

As soon as Cameron saw a friendly terminator get blown away by a gray, she immediately decided to carry Sarah to see John. Cameron already knew what Weaver was planning from the start. She wanted her and John to go back in time to try and stop judgment day once again. It was something that she and Weaver agreed to do long before telling John all about it. Cameron had witnessed the battle firsthand. She knew the possibility of Derek's men defeating Skynet was a slim one, and not one with which Weaver was going to take a chance. In other words, they were going back. It was that plain and simple.

Approaching Sarah in the midst of battle, Cameron said, "I'm taking you to see John."

"Cameron? Where were you this whole time?" She muttered.

Cameron replied, "It's not important. There's something we have to do. Weaver's planning something."

As Cameron grabbed hold of Sarah and hoisted much of her weight onto her metal frame, Sarah groaned in angst, "Damn it! Ah...um, let me guess. Weaver wants to take you and John back to 2009."

Cameron said, "How did you know?"

Sarah gritted her teeth, "I'm old, not stupid."

(2009) Safehouse

Sarah interrupted, "So Cameron, you helped me out while Allison looked for John in the barracks?"

Cameron confirmed, "Yes."

"And so this is where Allison Young, your twin, confronts John and you end up carrying an old injured me towards the barracks where John was, only to find a dead machine on the floor and Allison bleeding out from her neck?"

John nodded, "Right."

Sarah said, "So all the drama ensues. Allison is shot. I'm shot. Kyle and Allison are basically begging you to go back in time. In the meantime, Savannah and Weaver are prepping John Henry and the time machine for you to go back. So as of now, you guys are coming closer to your departure to 2009. Your plan is to go back and undo all the damage Skynet's doing in 2027?"

John replied, "Once again, you're correct. But it wasn't that simple. That is, getting to the time machine."

Sarah looked to Cameron, "So why wasn't it that simple? Couldn't you just hop in and go home? What was stopping you. By now, Fischer's dead, right?"

Cameron spoke once again, "Yes, Fischer was probably dead. But Fischer wasn't the only villain we underestimated."

(2027) Heading towards Ziera basement...

Derek raced towards Ziera basement. He managed to catch up with Cameron and John, who paced themselves at lightning speed just ahead of him.

Seeing an oncoming threat, Cameron pulled John to one side, stood in front of him, and aimed towards a gray charging towards her. She shot the gray with ease, dropping him quickly. Then they pushed forward once again.

Cameron said to John, "Machine at 3 o' clock."

Quickly, John ducked out of sight of the machine while still pressing towards Ziera basement. At the same time, Cameron had finally spotted Derek following them close behind.

Cameron said to Derek, "Cover me."

Derek complained, "Since when do I take orders from metalheads like you?"

Cameron retorted, "Ever since the day you met Allison Young."

Derek thought to himself, "Crap. That's actually true."

Quickly, he aimed his weapon towards more oncoming grays heading towards Intelligence HQ to destroy it. As Cameron pulled John closer towards Ziera basement, Derek distracted them with a few plasma bolts to give Cameron the opening to get inside.

Joan, Becky, and Lesley

Shortly before the chaos happened, Joan and her sister Becky had decided to visit their mother who was currently under Derek Reese's custody. When the two sisters visited the correctional facility within Ziera base, they notified the guard that they were visitors hoping to speak with their mother.

The two sisters argued with each other while they waited on the guard to bring Lesley to the visiting room.

Becky muttered, "We shouldn't be here."

Joan replied, "She's our mother. What kind of daughters would we be if we didn't visit her?"

"What kind of mother lies to us about what happened to our family?" She snapped back.

"She's broken Becky. She's broken. She didn't want to share that brokenness with us. But now we know, so we need to help her the best way we can."

Just then, a guard opened the door, as indicated by the sharp buzzing noise. When the two twins looked up, they saw their mother in an orange jumpsuit. Her face was blanked out like she suffered no emotions. Her handcuffs tightly clamped her arms together. The guard pulled out one of his keys and opened her handcuffs. Lesley rubbed her wrists hard, trying to regain feeling in her hands. When she looked to her right to identify her visitors, her eyes lit up in seeing her two daughters there for her.

Just when she opened her mouth to speak, a sudden explosion toppled them to the ground. Chunks of ceiling and live electrical wires fell to the floor. Alarms sounded while guards ran in all sorts of directions trying to secure the prisoners.

In that sudden moment, Lesley found an opportunity she'd been waiting for all along. The explosion conveniently blasted a large whole in the concrete walls, leading to the outside. It was an opening to her freedom. Lesley used her feet too kick the guard in his leg. The guard fell on his knees, allowing Lesley to strike him even harder in the neck.

Becky screamed, "Mom?! What are you doing?! Stop!"

Lesley ignored her. She grabbed his plasma gun and marched towards the opening in the wall.

Joan shouted, "Mom, where are you going?"

Lesley answered with three words, "To finish this."

That's when Joan realized what her mom was up to.

Joan looked to Becky and said, "We don't need to be here Becky. The guards can take care of themselves. We have to follow her and make sure she doesn't end up killing anyone."

Becky agreed, "Let's go."

Meanwhile…

Once Captain Bedell heard from Derek that he was headed straight towards Ziera basement along with Cameron and John to go back in time, Bedell knew he had to go there to make sure it happened.

Bedell immediately ordered the HCR soldiers and his friendly terminators to pull back into a more defensive formation. While they seemed to be losing their footing on the ground, good news was that Ziera base's anti-aircraft weaponry were successfully picking off the pesky aerial HKs. This gave Bedell the chance to make a break towards Derek's direction.

At the same time, Derek along with John and Cameron made it to the basement and entered through the secured door with a complex password.

Joan and Becky had found their mother Lesley following them from close behind. They were too far away from then and didn't have radios with the same channel as Cameron's and John's. They screamed towards John and Derek, trying to warn them, but neither one could hear the two women.

To be honest, Cameron did hear them, but she filtered out the noise from her audio sensors assuming that they were screaming for their lives and not to warn her of something dangerous. In other words, Cameron ignored them.

John climbed down the unnecessarily long ladder and down a few more stairs. Turning to the left, John could make out in the distance John Henry sitting in his chair. With a slight smile, John paced himself towards the artificially intelligent machine awaiting his return to the past. But that thought was just too good to be true.

A female voice echoed from the shadowy corner beside John. Cameron immediately assessed her HUD and audio records to determine it was General Lesley holding an M-27 plasma rifle. It became apparent to the cyborg that Lesley had somehow escaped and followed them to Ziera basement. Lesley raised her weapon, aiming towards John. For a moment, time froze. She squeezed the trigger, intending to end his life forever.

Lesley cried bitterly, "I've been waiting for you John Connor. And now you and your cyborg will pay!"

Cameron shouted louder than she ever did before, "John!"

She violently pushed John away, absorbing the blast into her face. It knocked her back, but she didn't lose her balance. Lesley fired again, hitting Cameron in her shoulder. She fired again, destroying her other shoulder. She kept pumping blast after blast into Cameron. The heated shockwaves melted and destroyed Cameron's clothes and flesh. Burns and dents smothered her body.

John screamed, "Cameron! No!"

Just as Cameron collapsed to the ground, Derek drew his gun, intending to kill Lesley. With her plasma rifle out of charge, Derek drew his weapon. Just when the Lieutenant was about to finish her off with a bullet to the head, another human threw himself towards Lesley, knocking the former General the ground with lightning speed. It was Captain Martin Bedell.

Bedell wrestled the rifle out of her hand and pinned her down. Oddly enough, Lesley did not resist. She just wasn't interested in getting away.

Derek looked surprise, "Bedell, you got here quickly!"

Bedell answered, "Reese, my injury slowed me down. But I'm still a pretty good cross country runner."

Derek said, "You could've gotten yourself killed Bedell. I could've shot you. Why'd you do that Captain?"

Bedell replied, "I finally know what you're up to Reese. You're helping John and the cyborg go back in time. You're going help John become a leader aren't you?"

Derek frowned, "What's that got to do with anything?"

Bedell explained, "No killing, especially in front of your nephew. No matter how hard it is Reese, you can't. John is going to be a leader, but if you teach him to be ruthless and to kill…if you teach him to hate machines and to hate grays, he won't be any different from General Lesley. Remember that Lieutenant."

Derek nodded, turning to see the carnage that Lesley left behind.

Cameron lied there against the wall. John had found that the only thing keeping Cameron's head tilted upwards was the dented brick wall that supported her body from behind. Cameron was still activated…or in John's sense, alive. But her flashing blue eyes gave John the idea that something was wrong within her hardware.

A sudden male voice behind John said, "I'm sorry."

It was Derek's voice.

John cried, "C-Cameron? Are you okay? Are you there?"

Cameron's eyes slowly shifted upwards. She opened her mouth to speak.

She said, "John…"

John was shocked to hear that Cameron's voice emulation was gone. She didn't sound anything like Allison anymore. It was a very plain echo-like voice. She didn't sound like a human, but like the neutral voice coming out of a computer.

Cameron stammered, "This body. It…it can't…"

Once Joan and Becky got into the room, they noticed that Lesley was on the ground with Bedell on top of her, getting her handcuffed.

When Becky saw the destroyed female terminator to her far right, she screamed, "Oh no!"

Bedell looked to Joan and said, "Get your mother out of here! Now!"

The two sisters grabbed their dejected mother and forced her upwards and carried her silently away. Lesley had finally had her peace. She managed to destroy what she hated the most. Not a word came from her mouth. She merely smiled that she had won. She finally had her revenge and now she would let those actions sink into John's mind.

John began to think. That moment Lesley shot Cameron, John felt so helpless. It happened so fast, he couldn't think anymore. He didn't even have a gun to stop her. John cursed himself. He must have dropped it somewhere while he was in the barracks with Allison.

Cameron struggled to maintain her vision. It was very fuzzy, though she knew that John was in front of her. She immediately assessed her damaged head-up display.

23 % Structural Integrity

Nuclear Power Cell damaged; Powering down in 10, 9, 8…

John cried, "Cameron, I'm sorry. I…tell me what I should do. How do I fix you? You're far too damaged to go through the time machine safely. How do I get you through?"

Cameron answered, "You can't."

He pleaded, "No, stop saying that!"

"John, I don't have much...time. Do...it the way I did." Cameron said, her voice becoming increasingly sluggish and soft.

"What?" John still didn't understand what Cameron was saying.

The only fragment that came from Cameron was, "The way...I got here first."

John was perplexed. What did Cameron mean? What was her cryptic message?

John pressed, "What do you mean Cameron?"

But it was too late. Cameron's head dropped down. She was deactivated. Her eyes flashed blue, and then she was gone.

Seeing her damaged and lifeless body, John panicked. It brought back memories from the last time John had seen her body in 2009. It didn't help at all hearing Derek and Bedell chanting his name, begging him to get to the time machine before it was too late. Any moment now, terminators would swarm through and destroy the time machine, preventing John from ever going back.

John shouted to Derek, "Shut up! Let me figure this out!"

He thought hard. What did Cameron mean? Upon seeing her lifeless body, John remembered what Cameron did in Ziera basement in 2009. That's it! She put her chip in John Henry's head! John immediately searched Cameron's body. He found fingerless mittens, a couple glocks, and then felt a lump in Cameron's back pocket.

John pulled it out and found her switch blade. He immediately started cutting into Cameron's head.

Bedell looked to Derek with a confused face, "What's John doing? Isn't that a little creepy for a ritual?"

Derek explained, "I think I know what he's doing. He's removing her chip."

"Why? What's the chip for?" Bedell wondered.

"The metal's hardware…it's in the chip. General Connor told me that everything the metal is...it comes from that chip. Without it, terminators can't function in any capacity."

Bedell nodded, "Oh, I didn't know that."

Derek said, "Shouldn't you be defending the base? Why'd you really come down here?"

Bedell retorted, "Shouldn't you be defending the base too? It's your job isn't it? You know the reason I'm here. I'm here to make sure you get the job done."

The two watched as John Connor abandoned the damaged machine. John raced towards them with a tiny black chip in his hands.

John said with determination in his eyes, "Let's go."

Ziera basement…

John Connor had finally made it. Derek and Bedell followed closely behind. Marching to the room, they found John Henry there too. Surprisingly, Savannah stood by too, busy logging something into the computer's main keyboard display.

Derek frowned, "Savannah? Kyle told me you were safe and hiding away in a bunker!"

Savannah flashed a guilty look, "Please don't tell him. He'll kill me."

Ignoring there banter, John turned to John Henry and said, "I have a chip that needs to go back to the past. It's Cameron's."

When Savannah heard this, she frowned, "But where's Cameron's…her body? Where is it?"

John answered, "Lesley destroyed it. Her body is just a few feet away from here."

"I'm sorry, I didn't notice you needed help!"

John didn't smile, but he didn't blame Savannah either.

He said in all honestly, "Don't be. Cameron isn't dead. This chip here is Cameron."

Savannah looked a little confused, "How do you expect to fit the chip in there? John Henry already has a chip that represents his personality. You can't fit two in there."

John explained, "T-888s have one unique feature other machines don't have. It has more than one port so it can hold more than one chip."

John Henry nodded, "Mr. Connor is right. I do have another one located on the opposite corner of my skull."

John Connor said, "May I do the honors?"

John Henry bowed his head slightly, allowing John to cut open his head and place the chip inside of him. Savannah cringed at the ugly sight, fearing that somehow John would hurt John Henry. Nevertheless, she didn't say anything.

As John slipped the chip into his head, he asked Savannah, "So Savannah, what are you doing down here anyway?"

Savannah admitted, "Weaver asked me to help download some files into John Henry and unplug him from the computer mainframe in case anything went wrong."

John nodded, "I see."

Just as that conversation ended, a voice behind them said, "Well, it appears that you're all ready."

The voice of Weaver sent adrenaline through Savannah, but complete relief into John.

John said, "Weaver, you're back!"

"That I am." She commented briefly.

Weaver said, "Where's your cyborg?"

John pointed to John Henry saying, "In there. Cameron's body has been destroyed."

Weaver replied, "I see. I expect Cameron will return to her body in the past. So you have nothing to worry about."

Immediately, she approached the computer and typed in the correct time setting.

She said, "You will arrive in judgment day one week after you left. This will leave sufficient margin for error so that we do not end up meeting our past selves by accident."

A loud buzzing sound shook them to the core. It wasn't the time displacement equipment that was doing that, but the sound of men rumbling towards the time machine. If John didn't know any better, some machines had already infiltrated the base.

Weaver requested, "If any of you are coming with us, please step right here."

Derek grimaced at what he knew he was about to experience. He paused and hesitated, catching Bedell's attention.

Bedell smiled, turning to Derek, "Come on Reese! Why do you look so glum? Don't tell me you don't have the balls to do it?"

Derek grunted, "Yes, I do!"

Derek stood in between John and John Henry. To his amazement, he finally saw the very thing he had doubted for so long. Weaver approached the computer and stood next to Savannah.

Savannah said to Weaver, "Is this the correct time setting?"

Weaver nodded, "Yes Savannah, well done."

Savannah grinned slightly, but chose not to reply to Weaver's compliment.

A loud buzzing noise sounded and the ground started to vibrate. A small blue time bubble began to form. Recognizing the bubble, Bedell stepped away, awaiting their departure.

Savannah smiled, "I'm sorry to see you go John. Goodbye!"

John smiled, "Goodbye, Savannah. I'll miss you!"

Savannah replied, "No you won't. I'll be right there with you."

Sudden sound of a gun's discharge shook them out of their reverie. With a look of pain and anxiety on his face, Bedell dropped to his knees crying out in agonizing pain. Derek was shocked to see what he knew to be a T-888 behind him.

Savannah screamed, "Martin! No, get up! Get away!"

The T-888 marched towards the time machine. Everyone knew that the machines had finally overrun the base. John had no idea what became of Allison, Sarah, or Kyle. If they were dead, and the terminator destroyed the time displacement equipment...then John's entire family would be gone forever.

Savannah realized she was helpless to stop the machine. The T-888 marched forward, walking past Bedell, aiming to crush the computer panel which operated and controlled the time machine. Just when the T-888 was about to raise its arm to destroy it, a blast in its back distracted it for one second.

Turning back, the machine found James Ellison armed with a plasma rifle ready for the most dangerous duel of his life.

Savannah shouted, "Uncle James?"

Ellison smiled, "Savannah! There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you. I should've known you would've been hanging around with John Henry."

Savannah screamed, "The Captain is hurt! You have to help him uncle James!"

Without any more care for his life, Ellison charged towards the distracted machine, also giving time for Savannah and a limping Bedell to get out of the way.

Meanwhile, John turned to Weaver and said, "Do something!"

Weaver shook her head, "I'm sorry. The time machine is already in process. If I exit now, I might not make it back."

John wanted to move, but he knew he couldn't. He could only watch on in horror as the battle ensued.

Bedell and Ellison tried hard fighting back against the machine. Bedell managed to let go of his bleeding leg and send a few bolts into the terminator's leg. Combined with Ellison's plasma gun, their blasts had shaken the machine, but neither hit it in a sensitive place. The machine grabbed Ellison's gun and ripped it from his hands. After crushing it, he got hold of Ellison and tossed him aside, throwing him directly next to Savannah and an injured Bedell. It was over. The time machine would be destroyed. They needed only a few seconds more, but that was indeed too much. The machine would destroy it before that.

Savannah looked to Ellison and Bedell. They were alive, but injured. Savannah crawled more closely towards Ellison and Bedell.

She said to the Captain, "Is Kyle okay?"

Bedell groaned for his leg, "Yeah, I think so."

Savannah said, "What about your gun?"

Bedell muttered, "It's out of charge."

Savannah turned to Ellison, "You did good uncle James. You did your best. That's all the resistance could ask for. I'm just glad you're still alive."

Ellison smiled. One of the things he hated about being a part of the resistance was that he was useless. Besides knowing how to shoot a gun, Ellison lacked the experience to be a real member of the resistance. But his last moment of heroics and Savannah's nod of approval made him believe that he was worth more than he was letting on.

Bedell looked at his injured leg and groaned, "Just great. Another stupid injury!"

The T-888 was only inches away from destroying the entire process. He punched the screen, destroying the display. He punched again, crunching through the keyboards. Just as the Skynet terminator was about to rip through the electrical wiring, another loud blast dropped the machine to its knees.

It was an anonymous HCR soldier that saved the day. John smile in relief, realizing that the resistance somehow must have managed to kill off the infiltrating T-888s that tried to break into Ziera basement. Looking on, the soldier lifted his mask. With only a few more seconds before the expanding blue bubble made John disappear forever, the heroic man revealed himself to the team. This man was tall, dark, and well built. He was an African in appearance with tall stature and of a confident posture. He looked into John's eyes. John looked at him, thinking he recognized him, but he just couldn't put his finger on it.

John said to the soldier, "Thank you."

The soldier with an anxious tone and widened eyes responded, "You have to kill me. It's the only way. I had no idea it was true! I'm so sorry!"

John frowned, "What?"

John couldn't understand what the soldier was saying. Neither did Derek, Weaver, or John Henry.

Nevertheless, the soldier repeated, "You have to kill me. In the past, when I'm a teenager, you have to kill me."

"Why?" He asked.

"Because I built it." He the soldier answered.

John said, "Built what?"

"Skynet! I finished Andy Goode's work!"

John remembered Andy Goode. He was the one responsible for developing the Turk, which ultimately led to the creation of Skynet. Was this unknown soldier the expert behind the creation of Skynet?

"Who are you? How do you know about us?" John screamed.

The man answered, "I talked to a woman in San Francisco named Lauren Fields. She told me about you. You're Sarah's son, John Connor. I remember you."

John asked again to the unknown soldier, "But who are you?!"

"You know who I am. My name is Daniel Dyson."

John's jaw dropped. He finally understood what Ellison was talking about. It was true. His mother was right all along.

Suddenly, there was a flash. Everything went blank. The blue bubble disappeared and everything changed. John's eyes were closed. But he everything was different. The air was cleaner and crisp. The night was dark. The breeze was cool. John could hear the honking of vehicles in busy traffic. He was home. He was in 2009.

Arrival in Los Angeles, California…

John found himself lying on the concrete ground.

"We're here." John heard Weaver say.

John looked at himself. Besides Weaver, every one of them were naked. To their convenience, it was the nighttime, and they were located between an alleyway.

John said, "Where are we?"

John Henry said, "It's 2009. We're an alleyway next to a clothing store."

John stated, "Ah, that's very convenient."

Meanwhile, Derek was still in shock. He looked around him. He just couldn't believe where he was. He looked left and right, not believing, but seeing the world before judgment day. He could see just at the corner of his eye tall skyscrapers, cars buzzing about, and people talking. It was just too much for him to bear.

Derek commented, "It's…it's so lifelike. It's…"

John added, "Derek, it's real."

All Derek could say was, "That's…that's…wow."

Weaver said, "Gentlemen, you know what you have to do. I will go now."

John Henry asked, "Where are you going?"

Weaver smiled, "Where else John Henry? I'm going to Ziera corporation. Someone has to clean up all that mess that Skynet made in my building."

As Weaver walked away, John looked to John Henry and said, "Did you recognize that man, the soldier we spoke to just before we left?"

"His facial coordinates don't match anyone in my current database? Is Daniel Dyson a friend of yours?"

John said, "Uh, you can say he's a mutual acquaintance. And potentially our lead to stopping judgment day for good."

John Henry wondered, "Mr. Connor, are you cold?"

John said, "Now that you mention it. I am. Come on, let's find some clothes and get out of here. I'm surprised, however, that Weaver would leave you alone like this when you're the very key to stopping judgment day."

John Henry replied, "Ms. Weaver is okay with leaving me alone as long as I am careful. Just like when I went to the future to save myself from Skynet. I went to the future alone, but Ms. Phillips and I knew it was the best way to keep me safe."

John said, "Well this time, you're the one that kept Cameron safe. So thanks for that."

John Henry smiled, "My pleasure."

(2009) Safehouse

John interrupted Cameron's story, "Mom, now would be a good time to tell you that Danny Dyson, Miles Dysons's son, is here in 2009. Weaver's been searching for him for days, but hasn't found him. We do know that he's spent some time at MIT and Caltech. But other than that, he's off the grid. You know I think that Weaver's hoping to kill him…and perhaps stop judgment day in that way."

Sarah Connor rubbed the back of her neck, "Ellison and I were right this whole time. I can't believe it."

Cameron added, "Yes, that is why we need to find him first."

Sarah said, "So what, we can kill him first?"

Cameron shook her head, "No, to convince him no to. But if he refuses, then we kill him."

While killing was supposed to be a big no-no in the Connor family, at least Cameron was being honest and polite. There was no need to beat around the bush about it. Killing is killing.

John interrupted, "Um, Cameron, the goal is to not kill under any circumstances. We just need to do the same thing we did with Miles Dyson."

Cameron said, "But didn't future Daniel Dyson give you permission to kill him?"

John said, "That doesn't matter. If I gave you permission to kill me, would you do it?"

All of the sudden, the front door of the safehouse swung open and a young Savannah marched into the room, "I feel so happy. I finished coloring in school. Aunt Sarah, come look! I stayed between the lines!"

"Hey Savannah." John smiled, happy to see Savannah young and alive.

Sarah, on the other hand, frowned. She liked Savannah, but at the same time was annoyed to hear that her Kyle Reese ended up falling for that same young and sprightly redhead.

"Hi John." Savannah replied.

John asked, "Where's Ellison…um, I mean uncle James?"

Savannah smiled, "He told me he's going back to work with my mommy. That's why uncle Derek brought me here to stay for a while!"

Once again, the door swung open, revealing Derek Reese had returned home as well.

Derek said, "I'm home."

Sarah shouted, "Go away Reese! They're telling me a story."

Derek grumbled, "Whatever."

Derek immediately raced upstairs, ignoring the serious conversation Sarah was having with Cameron and John.

Sarah looked to Cameron and said, "So in the story, you mentioned that Weaver sent you back one week ahead of when you left? But I've only seen you two weeks after you left. What did you spend your time doing in the extra week? You didn't expect to find me to be anywhere else did you? What took you so long?"

John interrupted, "Uhhhhh, long story."

Sarah frowned, "What did you do?"

John began feeling nervous. He could feel himself begging to perspire, but tried hard to stay calm so that Sarah didn't catch onto his anxiety. Thankfully, Cameron stepped in to save the day.

Cameron said to Sarah, "After John removed my chip from John Henry and reactivated me, I determined that John may have a potential target on his back because Skynet could still be searching for him. I had to keep him safe."

Sarah cut in, "Oh, so John...you knew that that I had Matthew Murch repair Cameron's body?"

John nodded, "Yeah. That's how I knew where to go to find her body. I remember the message that you sent me in the future that helped me find Cameron's body. It was a pretty clever mystery that Savannah and Allison helped me solve."

Cameron interrupted, "Thank you for repairing my body Sarah. I appreciate it."

Sarah rolled her eyes, "Yeah, yeah, save it tin-miss. I already regret it."

Cameron said, "I hope you don't. I am happy to be reactivated."

"Okay, okay, you're welcome. Let's just say that Murch was all too happy to remove those C4 explosives you thoughtlessly stuffed into your thick skull."

Cameron admitted, "That was a mistake. I shouldn't have done that."

Sarah nodded, "What's done is done. Anyway, just tell me what you've been doing those past few days?"

Cameron replied, "John and I went back to the motel and we stayed there for a few days. It was purely precautionary."

Sarah flashed a curious look, "Are you sure that's all you did? You sure you didn't use this as an excuse to have fun?"

Cameron's HUD immediately displayed her past week of memories.

[Flashback]

Sunday

Storage facility where Cameron's body is reactivated…

"John?" Cameron said, lying down in the small storage container.

John pulled Cameron out of the box and gave the cyborg the tightest hug he had ever given in his life.

John said, "I missed you so much."

Cameron commented, "In your perspective, I should've only been gone approximately 4 hours."

John murmured in his reverie, "That's four hours too long."

Monday

"Come on Cameron. Let's go back to the motel! Let's have some fun!"

Cameron replied, "We should see your mother. She deserves to know you're okay."

John complained, "Look, I'm stressed out. I haven't had a moment to relax in months. You've got to give me a break at some point."

"It's not leader-like." She pointed out.

"Cameron, that's the point. I'm taking a break from being a leader."

"I'm still not sure." She answered.

Tuesday

"Wahooo!" John screamed.

Cameron deadpanned, "John, we're driving too fast."

Cameron's complaints only convinced John to push their rental to the limit.

Wednesday

John forced Cameron on to the bed and jumped on her in his madness. In all his fury, he kissed her passionately, deeply searching her mouth with his tongue. They rolled over each other, falling off the bed with a loud thump.

Thursday

A blast of paint hit John right on his backside. John fell on his knees, annoyed that he had lost another game of paintball with his superior rival.

John groaned while removing his protective gear, "Cameron, you win again."

Cameron lowered her paintball gun and nodded, "Yes, that is usually the case."

Friday

Cameron said to John, "Do I look fat?"

"No, the jacket looks fine. But haven't you considered getting a color besides purple?"

John sat there in the mall, completely frustrated at Cameron's lack of decision making skills. How could a terminator decide in a split second what the best of course of action was in the battlefield, yet at the same time struggle to determine whether she looks fat in a leather jacket?

Saturday

John was exhausted. Cameron lied beside him. He cuddled up next to her, but he seemed completely out of it. He was tired. Yeah, he was happy, but still completely exhausted.

Cameron suggested, "Maybe we should go home now."

John groaned, "Yeah, maybe we should."

[End of Flashback]

Cameron answered with smug look on her face, "There was no fun involved. There's nothing you need to worry about."

John and Sarah in the Kitchen

Hearing that crazy story gave Sarah Connor a headache. What she did in the future and how she an alternate version of herself coped with life without John scared her. She just couldn't believe that John met his biological father, only to find that he was in love with someone else that wasn't her. She could not wrap her head around the fact she abandoned James Ellison to live in Mexico for a while and eventually become a military officer. She couldn't understand how despite everything she did to fight cancer, she soon learned that she no longer suffered the leukemia that Cameron claimed she'd suffer in the future. It was a lot to take in. Sarah felt nervous, jealous, and upset all at the same time. She needed time to think. But that privacy was not something that John was going to give her. The moment she escaped to the kitchen after Cameron told her story, that same moment John approached her to speak with his mother.

John walked in the kitchen and said, "Hey mom, Cameron went for a walk. I wanted to talk to you for a second."

"Yes John." She said, rubbing her aching head.

John suddenly reached in and gave his mother a hug.

A surprised Sarah said, "You know John, we already did all the mushiness the moment you and Cameron came home."

John, refusing to let go of his mother, said, "I know. I just missed you know. Cameron told me that…that if I didn't leave, you would've died. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Sarah was surprised to say the least. She always knew that John loved her, but never thought he'd express it in such a passionate way. Only then did Sarah realize that he and the future version of herself just didn't talk much. They both seemed to have a lot on their chest and they were unwilling to communicate their feelings. It was the typical Connor dilemma that resulted from too stubborn individuals. But despite that, she was happy. And so was John.

Sarah responded, "I don't know what I'd do without you either. I've been so anxious the moment you left for the future…for her."

John, finally letting go of his mother, decided to ask her a question that had long been bothering him.

He said, "Mom, why did you let me go to the future?"

"There was no way I was going to stop you."

"No, really. What was your reason?" He asked.

"You'd never forgive me if I stopped you."

"Oh, I see. I'm glad you are being honest with me."

Sarah wondered, "Did future me tell you something different?"

"Yeah, she said she didn't really know why she did it. I guess she went through a whole lot more than you did...and I think that over time, she questioned her decision to save her."

Sarah wondered, "What do you think was my reason for regretting the decision?"

John admitted, "Mom..."

Sarah pressed him, "...No John! Really, what do you think made me regret saving Cameron?"

John said, "Well, when Allison came along, you thought that..."

Sarah stopped him right, "Oh...I know what you mean. I was trying to transfer your attachment to Cameron, onto Allison? Right?"

John replied, "Yeah, something like that."

Sarah replied, "Well, I suppose that makes sense."

Sarah wanted to ask a question. She wanted to ask whether John was in love with Cameron. But Sarah knew what John's response would be. He'd get angry and he'd probably deny it vehemently. Sarah had just got back John, so she didn't feel like getting off on the wrong foot with her son. She decided to leave it alone, and hope that John's attachment didn't progress into something that could be dangerous. Unfortunately for Sarah, it already did.

A month later…

It had been a while since John and Cameron had returned from the future. John always had daydreams about being in 2027. Sometimes, he woke up from a few nightmares thinking it still was 2027 and that he and Skynet were at war. He even felt some nights that he could wake up one morning to find Kyle or Allison roaming about in kitchen. But much to his disappointment, they weren't there. Not a day went by when John didn't think fondly of them.

Nevertheless, everyone was well adjusted. Even Derek was getting used to it all. Eating tasty food and having warm showers always made him feel like he was overindulging. Ironically, he did his best to cope with all the luxuries of the pre-apocalyptic world. One thing that helped Derek get used to the new world he lived in was when John took Derek to a small park where he saw his younger self play with Kyle Reese. Seeing that Kyle was alive and well helped Derek a lot to manage his sudden sense of loss. Even the knowledge that a very young Allison was alive and well in 2009 gave Derek a small sense of hope that everything would be okay. And even though Derek wouldn't admit it, having a much younger, livelier, and hotheaded Sarah Connor aroused him very much. She was smoking hot as far as he was concerned.

In regards to John's relationship to his mother, it improved notably. John grew to respect Sarah's wishes a bit more as well as better appreciate the advice she gave him. John knew that having a mother that loved him was not something to be taken for granted. He also knew that life was short, and that at any time, things could change for better or for worse. Some of those things that brushed through John's mind was the cancerous effects of Leukemia or the scary thought of getting shot. This notion drove John to a much closer and protective relationship with his mother.

Sarah also found herself oddly surprised by Derek. At first, Sarah assumed that this Derek would be the same as the last one. But this Derek was more courteous to her than the previous Derek and he seemed to be more understanding of her thoughts and feelings. He seemed different. He seemed more cooperative. It was as if they had met before, which made perfect sense to Sarah. In learning that Kyle was very close to Derek in the new timeline John visited, Sarah felt a much higher degree of attachment to Derek through that biological connection. Sarah and Derek grew so close in fact, that on one mission, things got so heated between them that they started making out furiously on a stakeout. Over time, neither knew why exactly they did that. In fact, they never spoke of it after that. Either way, they both kind of knew that it was going to happen again at some point. The only real problem was that Sarah wasn't sure how to tell John that she was falling for his uncle. It was just weird.

Over time, John and Cameron grew noticeably closer too, but kept their improving relationship hidden from Derek and Sarah.

Now that things were getting back to normal in the "Connor" sense of the word, the Connor family began its partnership with Catherine Weaver and John Henry in hopes of somehow finding Danny Dyson. Bringing Ellison into the mix, John had a fun time explaining to the former FBI investigator what his future self did in the resistance. While Ellison was most certainly confused by the complexity of this new and strange timeline, he didn't need much convincing to believe it really happened. He was just happy to know that his involvement with Weaver didn't result in the destruction of the world but actually improved their chances of preventing judgment day. Knowing this, Ellison immediately agreed to return to Ziera corp. as the head of Weaver's security…upon the condition that Weaver didn't randomly murder people who were slight obstacles to her success.

There were a few bombshells though that really messed with the Connor family. For the most part, they came from Cameron. For example, there was this one time where John caught Cameron crying while watching a chick flick. That really confused John and that resulted in a very long and emotional conversation between them. There also was this other time Cameron deliberately left lingerie in John's bedroom to entice him. The only problem was that Sarah Connor found it first, resulting in a very long and difficult series of interrogations which eventually led Sarah to believe that there was some kind of a laundry mix-up. And finally, there was the time Cameron walked into the house with a baby in her arms. It was Allison Young.

Strangely, when the cyborg and the baby named Allison walked into the living room to meet the family, Allison got all of the love. Everyone wanted to hold her. They kept shouting those annoying phrases that Cameron absolutely despised like "aww, she's so cute!" or "aren't you adorable" or even the worst of all, "I love you so much". That one hurt Cameron a lot, especially considering that John said that the most.

But while the Connor family was happy to see Allison alive and well, they scolded Cameron. Even John was upset with his cyborg protector. Apparently, it was very wrong to steal someone's baby. All Cameron wanted to do was cheer the Connor family up. Why was she the bad guy?

Cameron thought to herself, "Who knew it was such a bad thing to kidnap babies?" She knew that espionage and treason were alright when fighting Skynet, so what made kidnapping and borrowing a baby so terribly bad? To make things worse, Cameron soon realized that bringing Allison to see the Connor family might have repercussions. Allison was really cute. She was so easy to hug and cuddle with. She was the queen of lovability. How could Cameron compete with that? It seemed like a potential rivalry to Cameron. Instead of Cameron vs Allison in 2027…it would be Cameron vs Baby in 2009. Cameron couldn't afford the competition. She knew that future Allison was smart. Perhaps future Allison convinced John to go back in time to 2009 just so she could compete with Cameron as a baby. It was a genius move, but not one that Cameron didn't consider. Cameron had one advantage though over Allison. Allison was weak. She could easily dispose of Allison and return her to her parents. It was the best way to win the battle for John's heart.

There was one exception to Cameron's scolding. Derek notably found himself in complete infatuation with Allison. In fact, Derek was so happy that Cameron brought her to their safehouse for a visit, that his prejudice against the cyborg gradually faded. That was something that the previous Derek could never do.

Perhaps the most important event happened between John and Cameron happened after Cameron returned Allison to her rightful parents. It happened almost a week later.

A week later with John and Cameron…

The two people were outside on the front porch. It was a summer day, but the shade certainly helped them avoid the powerful rays of the sun. They were alone. They were having a quiet and pleasant conversation. But for the most part, they enjoyed the sensation of the wonderful outdoors. While John sat down on a small bench, Cameron stood up, vigilantly looking for any potential threats to John's safety.

John clasped his hands together and said suddenly, "Cameron, I still have this feeling."

Cameron, who stood by next to John answered, "You feel guilty for leaving. You question your decision to return to 2009."

"You have to understand, I feel like I abandoned them. Maybe you don't view it that way because it's time travel. But that's what I feel. I don't think you can understand it the way I do."

Cameron took a seat next to John. As usual, Cameron wasn't offended or annoyed. She knew she was a machine. After all, how could she, a cyborg, feel the way John did? But if there was one thing Cameron could do, it was helping John to deal with these sorts of problems. She learned a lot from the interactions between Sarah and John to know what humans needed when they were stressed out. They needed encouragement…and lots of physical contact. She scooted even closer so that John could feel the warmth of her presence.

She said softly, "You're right. I don't. But I'm always thinking. And I'm always trying to understand. And one thing I understand is that General Perry, Sarah Connor, Derek's men, and Weaver's machines working together couldn't compete against the vastly superior numbers of Skynet. But now that we're back in 2009, we now know those numbers and where Skynet's main resources are. Thanks to you, we can destroy or dismantle those resources to give the resistance an advantage in the future."

John replied, "Yeah, but still. I shouldn't have left them. They're family. You don't leave family behind, especially when they're in that much danger."

While John understood Cameron's logic, he still felt guilty. Cameron expected as much, but did her best to convince John that he did the right thing. Ultimately, Cameron knew that convincing him he made the right choice would reduce John's stress and help him to focus more with the present task at hand.

Cameron replied, "There's something you should consider. Your mother was going to bleed to death."

"No, the medics could've gotten to her and saved her from her wound." John suggested.

Cameron shook her head, "I'm sorry John, but she lost too much blood. It would have only been a matter of time before Skynet's machines stormed the barracks and killed her."

John shook his head, "You don't know that."

Cameron answered, "No, but her death was a very good probability. To make things worse, if a machine managed to kill Kyle while he was securing the artery in Allison's neck, Allison would have bled to death too."

Shocked by her words, John asked, "What are you saying Cameron?"

Cameron explained, "I'm saying that if you stayed, your mother Sarah Connor, your father Kyle, and Allison would have more than likely died along with you. It would have jeopardized the resistance and would have likely led to humanity's demise."

"All those things, you think they would have happened? That's a little much don't you think?" He asked.

"I believe it would've happened. That's why I believe you did the right thing. You were protecting them from a far worse tragedy that couldn't be stopped unless you went back." She argued.

John smiled, "Thanks Cameron, it makes me feel better that you told me. It seems that I chose the better option. It takes a load off my shoulders. But...it still feels weird. I don't think that it's going to leave me anytime soon. I still feel haunted by my own actions."

Cameron cleverly placed her hand on John's lap. She turned her head to face John, meeting his gaze.

She answered, "I wouldn't expect anything else. If you felt nothing, then that would've been a problem."

John smiled, "You really do get me. You really get how we work don't you?"

Cameron answered, "I'm trying my best."

Cameron's face came very close to John's. Leaning in closely, John slowly reached for and kissed Cameron on her lips. It felt magical. The weather was warm, yet complimented by a slight breeze. The grass was green and the skies were blue. He could hear the birds tweeting and chirping while the trees rustled in the wind. Everything came alive the moment their lips touched.

Grabbing hold of Cameron's hand, John said to his cyborg companion, "So what's bothering you?"

Cameron was a little surprised that John could tell she wanted to ask him something.

Cameron asked, "How did you know?"

John said, "Well, for the past week, you've been secretly eyeing me. I thought you'd come talk to me at some point, but you kept walking away. That's when I knew you were battling whether to talk to me about something in your CPU. Now that I have the chance, I'd like you to tell me what's bothering you."

Cameron said, "Savannah believes that God sent me to you to protect you and help you grow as a leader by being your friend and protector. He thinks I've given you a better motivation to fight Skynet because you want to stop Skynet and not because you have to. Ironically, you choose to do it to protect me and not destroy me. Future Savannah believes that without me, you wouldn't be as good a leader as you're destined to be."

John nodded, "Well, that's good I guess. But what's your problem with her statement?"

"Well, it's something Allison said in contrast to that."

John commented, "Well Cameron, you should take what Allison says with a grain of salt."

Cameron responded, "Your statement makes no sense. You can't turn words into salt."

John rolled his eyes, "What I mean to say is that you shouldn't take Allison seriously. She's said a lot of things she doesn't mean."

Cameron responded, "Maybe so, but Allison told me that Catherine Weaver sent me to you to manipulate you. She believes that with me in your life, there is no such thing as John Connor because you're nothing but a pawn."

"That's not true Cameron." John insisted.

"It is true. If I asked you to run away with me, would you do it?" Cameron said.

John hesitated.

Cameron answered for him, "You would. But you can't do that. You can't let me manipulate you."

John said, "Everyone we meet manipulates us in a way Cameron. The difference is whether you manipulate me to do good or bad."

"But I could. I could go bad. I could make you do bad things."

John retorted, "Anyone can go bad. That includes, robots, animals, and even people. Do you remember that deal we made a while back?"

"What deal?" Cameron tilted her head.

"You made me promise that I would be willing to hurt you if it meant protecting myself. I agreed to do that if you promised never to hurt me."

"Yes."

"Well let's do that right here. Do you promise never to manipulate me to do bad things?" John asked.

The terminator nodded, "Yes."

"Good, then I promise never to let myself get manipulated for the worse."

John smiled. Cameron didn't. She didn't always smile, but John was okay with that. He was still too happy to finally be back in 2009 with his lost love.

Breaking the silence, Cameron said, "What should we do now? Sarah and Derek are gone in search of Danny Dyson and as of right now John Henry has not contacted us with any new information on Skynet."

John shrugged, "I really don't know."

All of the sudden, Savannah burst through the front door at lightning speed. John nearly jumped off his seat, nearly forgetting that Savannah was bouncing around in the house this whole time. John wondered to himself why his mother agreed with Weaver and Ellison to take care of Savannah. It wasn't like a busy Sarah Connor was going to be a much better mother than Weaver. Perhaps it was for Derek's sake that Sarah decided to keep Savannah. But with a little girl running around on the porch and loaded with energy, John and Cameron knew they were going to have a long day.

"Where's uncle Derek? I want to play tag!" Savannah screamed excitedly.

John explained, "Sorry Savannah, but he's out with aunt Sarah."

Savannah countered, "How about you two? You should play tag with me instead!"

Cameron turned to John and suggested, "John, you can play with her. I will guard the perimeter of the safehouse."

Savannah shook her head in confusion, "No, that's not how it works. Boyfriends normally protect their girlfriends, don't they?"

"That's now how it works with us Savannah." John laughed.

Savannah frowned, "Cameron isn't your girlfriend? Is it because she's a robot?"

Cameron automatically corrected, "I'm a terminator. Living tissue over a technologically advanced hyperalloy endoskeleton. I am designed to covertly eliminate certain or potential threats with the most efficient means necessary. However, my current chosen task is to protect John Connor so that he can lead the resistance to victory if the world is destroyed through a devastating apocalyptic war."

"You speak funny." Savannah laughed.

John explained, "No, she…she is my girlfriend. Yeah, she is my girlfriend isn't she?"

Cameron eyed John curiously and watched him as he flashed a grin.

Seeing John's enthusiastic smile and confident nod, Cameron looked towards Savannah and said, "Yes, I'm his girlfriend."

"Then why doesn't John protect you?" Savannah wondered.

Cameron answered, "He does. I'm just better at it."

Savannah smiled, thinking that she understood what Cameron meant. Suddenly, Savannah touched John on his chest.

The little girl giggled, "Your "it"!"

John complained, "What? No fair. I needed time to get away!"

Savannah squealed, "No take-backs. You're still "it"."

With a devious grin, John quickly tapped Cameron on her arm.

Cameron said, "Why'd you do that?"

"Because you're "it" now!" He said.

"I don't know how to play this game." The cyborg confessed.

Savannah replied, "You catch one of us silly! If you do, then one of us is "it"!"

Cameron tilted her head, "Will I refrain from being "it" if I catch you and then you become "it"?"

John nodded, "Of course."

Cameron smiled, "Okay, I will chase you."

John turned to Savannah, "Savannah, you better run! She can move really fast!"

Immediately, the two made a dash onto green grass. John, splitting away from Savannah, made his way to the trees, hoping to lose Cameron's watchful eyes quickly. After running for a few minutes, John ran out of breath, hoping that he finally lost Cameron in the bushes.

John thought to himself, "Maybe she decided to go after Savannah. That would make more sense."

Leaning against a tree, John relaxed for a minute, trying to gather himself. John suddenly heard a rustling noise that caught him off guard. Then John heard the tree move. Looking up, he found a human body sprawling all over him. Someone fell on him from the trees. It was Cameron.

Lying flat in the leaves with Cameron on top of him, John laughed.

He said with a smile of his face, "How did you do that? You couldn't possibly…how did you do that?"

Cameron explained, "I assessed your current levels of endurance, trajectory, and velocity to calculate the most likely area where you would stop."

John said, "That's amazing! But where's Savannah?"

"Oh, she's "it" now. I already caught her. But I think she will have trouble finding us." Cameron said.

"Oh really now? What do you want to do before she finds us?"

Brushing the hair out of Cameron's face, John gazed at her pretty face. John found he could never get tired looking at her.

Cameron admitted, "I don't know."

John said, "You're beautiful, you know that?"

Cameron said, "You've told me that before."

"I have?"

"In your sleep."

John frowned, "You still watch me when I sleep?"

Unexpectedly, Cameron said something that John didn't expect her to say first, "I think I love you John."

John smiled, "I think I love you too. Now kiss me again, I'm too exhausted to do all the work!"

Cameron got down, pressing his lips to his. They rolled around in the leaves, not caring one bit about watchful eye of the squirrels and the birds. This was one of the few moments of precious time they had together before they returned the toils of fighting Skynet. But while they were together and having fun, they were sure as hell going to make the most of it.

Thanks to Cammy P for faithfully reviewing the chapters. Once again, I will say that my story was not perfect, but I did my best. Thank you to the readers. Believe it or not, I've garnered more than 30,000 views for the project. I never expected such a massive viewership. Please feel free to comment or make genuinely helpful criticisms. While the story is finished, I am still open to your thoughts on areas that could use some improvements.

As of right now, I don't intend to write a continuation to this story. That is why I will tell you how I want John and Cameron's story to end.

If I continued the story, you would've eventually found the Connor family defeating Skynet and stopping judgment day. More specifically, Skynet attempts to kill Allison Young, forcing Sarah Connor and the rest of the family to battle it out against an array of murderous terminators. This is reminiscent of the drone attack that took place in 2027, attempting to kill Allison Young as she is destined to be an influential officer within the resistance. Even though no one ever talks about it, John and Cameron are convinced that Allison somehow becomes the destined leader in John's place. To stop Skynet from killing Allison, Danny Dyson works along with the Connors to design a virus disguised as regular software to cripple Skynet's mainframe just enough for John Henry to take control. Despite initial success, terminators from previous timelines still roam about the earth and still have the goal of ensuring Skynet's existence in the future. This means Sarah, Derek, John, and Cameron have the difficult task of killing each and every last terminator on the earth and toppling any and all plans to bring Skynet back online.

All in all, the Connor family succeed in their mission, ensuring Skynet never returns. Nevertheless, such success is not without its costs. In the series finale, I believe Sarah Connor would very possibly die. I don't know whether Josh Friedman would have kept her alive if the show finished with maybe seven or more seasons. As for Cameron, she also dies, scarring John forever… that is until it's revealed that Cameron had traveled back in time and created a duplicate version of herself for that very specific situation. Despite a few other strains and obstacles, John and Cameron's romantic relationship remains steady. Over time, they grow closer to each other and end up living together undercover as a legally married couple.

We also eventually see a brief glimpse into the future where a young Derek Reese and Kyle Reese grow up to become minor league baseball players. James Ellison rises through the ranks at Ziera Corporation. We notice Martin Bedell running in the Boston Marathon. And finally, we find Allison Young learning to ride a bicycle as a much older-looking version of herself watches in the distance, wondering whether she should reveal herself to the young innocent girl .