DISCLAIMER: I do not own these characters or the show.
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EPISODE 1
I'LL ALWAYS FIND YOU: Chapter 8
It occurred to John that this was the first time he and Cameron had really been alone since being reunited. Just the two of them. It gave John time to think about the events of the past 24 hours.
So much has happened. I had no time to think, I just acted on what I felt was right. Isn't that what makes me John Connor? My instincts? Hasn't that been what has gotten me where I am today?
But John was smart enough to know that although it was acceptable to follow his instincts in the moment, that doesn't mean he shouldn't ask questions later.
He and Cameron had been sitting together, not speaking for what he estimated was about 20 minutes. Their shoulders weren't quite touching, but John knew that if he moved even slightly, that they would be. He turned to look at Cameron. She, of course, knew that he had turned towards her, so she did the same as her head turned too. Their eyes met, which threw John off for a moment, forgetting what he had been about to say. But after a moment, he came back to his senses and remembered.
"Why didn't you just tell me?"
Cameron cocked her head to the side, as she usually did when she didn't understand something.
Knowing the reason for this, John clarified.
"Why didn't you just explain to me that you were beyond repair and needed to come here to get a new body?"
Without thought, Cameron replied instantly. "I didn't want you to worry."
She said it so matter-of-factly, that John almost didn't realize that she was wrong.
"But I did worry. I had no idea what had happened. I didn't know if I'd ever get you back. If you had just explained to me what you needed to do, I could've come with you."
"But I didn't want you to come with me."
Hearing this, John felt a pain in his heart, and tore his eyes away from hers. Then what am I doing here?
Cameron noticed his change in mood, and surprisingly realized the cause of it.
"It's too dangerous here. Too many things can go wrong. I was protecting you."
Cameron paused to see if this made John feel better. It didn't.
"I'm glad you came."
At this, John's eyes found Cameron's again, but Cameron could now see the confusion in his face.
"You shouldn't have come, and I never would have asked you to, but I am glad that you are here. Especially now that we are together and you are safe. We should be able to leave soon, and there is only a 23.7% chance that you will face immediate danger between then and now."
This made John smile slightly, and then a thought occurred to him. "You said you're glad I'm here."
Cameron paused, waiting for John to continue.
"That night, before I left for Mexico, you said you can't be happy."
"It's true. I don't experience emotions and moods the way you would. But my body and my chip produce responses to particular situations in a similar way that your body and brain produce responses to the same situations."
"Is that normal? I mean, when we first met, you said that you were different. Is this one of the things that makes you different?"
"Yes. As far as I know, I am the only Terminator with this ability. For other Terminators, it is simply enough to simulate the responses externally in order to be successful at infiltration."
"So why are you different?"
"Because my chip was built by a different machine. To my knowledge, Skynet did not create me. It may have been one of the machines that works for Skynet, but whatever makes me different didn't come from Skynet. I don't know why and to what purpose this is."
John processed everything Cameron had just said. He didn't completely understand what this meant, but it gave him hope. Hope that he had been right about Cameron. That he could trust her. That she was different.
Hope that...but he couldn't let himself think that, not yet.
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Kyle had composed himself, ready to go out and face his soldiers. Just as he was about to get up, he heard a knock on the door.
"Come in."
The door opened, and Allison stood there.
"John and the machine are gone."
Kyle forced himself not to think about why should would have realized this so quickly.
"Yes. It wasn't safe anymore."
"For us or for them?"
"Both. Mostly for us, I think."
"It didn't seem that way to me."
"Allison, there's more going on than meets the eye. There always is. You know that."
"But where are they going to go?"
"Allison, they'll be fine. He's got the machine, and she can take care of herself."
The bell rang, dinnertime already.
"Now come on, let's eat."
Kyle led the way out, but Allison waited a moment, still worried, before tentatively following him out the door.
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"What was it like?" John asked Cameron.
"What was what like?" Cameron replied, confused.
"Sharing a chip with John Henry."
"Oh. It was...different. I was still cognizant, but I did not have control over the body. My processes continued to run, but I could not see or feel or control anything physical. But I could access John Henry's files. His mind is a much more complex one, so I could only capture and analyze a certain amount of data at a time. I searched for the most pertinent information. I was not able to access all of the information I would have liked to, but I can say that I am confident that we can trust John Henry."
"But you weren't sure until after you had given him your chip?"
"No. I was not certain."
"Then why did you give it to him?"
"It was the only choice, John. I could not travel forward without John Henry's assistance. Also..."
She hesitated, which she didn't usually do. This prompted John to reply, "Also, what?"
"Also, I think I remember him."
"What? You remember John Henry? From where?" As soon as the words left his mouth, he knew the answer. It had to be the future. John Henry was a new entity. At least that's what John was told.
"I can't be sure. You know that my chip was damaged in the explosion. You also know that my memory was scrubbed when you reprogrammed me. But nothing can ever be completely deleted. It's all still there, my memories, my mission directive to terminate you. You just overrode the data in order to reprogram me. So when my chip was damaged, some of the override protocols were affected. I started to remember things from before you had reprogrammed me. And some memories continue to seep through the cracks."
"Does this mean you could revert back to your old programming?"
She hesitated, unsure of what his reaction would be. "Possibly. The difference is that I can override my own programming. It's how I stopped myself from terminating you."
"Why would you want to override your own programming? What caused you to do that? What kept you from killing me?"
"Because I didn't want to kill you. I was confused at first. But when I was given a chance to process everything, I was then able to override the termination protocol."
"Why didn't you want to kill me?" John knew how ridiculous this sounded, but asked it anyway.
"Because I like being around you."
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Sarah woke up the next morning, not rested at all. She had barely been able to sleep, worrying about John. She alternated between grieving the loss and planning her next move. She had promised John she'd stop Skynet, and she would.
She got up, ignoring the change of clothes that Ellison had provided, and made her way across the hall to where she had last seen her son.
This is where John Henry had been stored. There should be something here that can lead me to Skynet. Assuming John Henry isn't, in fact, Skynet.
It turns out, she didn't have to look very far. Suddenly, a message appeared on the screen before her.
HELLO SARAH.
Sarah, confused, approached the screen, not knowing what else to do.
DON'T BE RUDE. I SAID, "HELLO SARAH".
Sarah, not sure what was expected, did the only thing she could think to do. She replied, "Hello?"
THAT'S BETTER. WHERE IS MY BROTHER?
"Your brother?"
JOHN HENRY. HE WAS FIREWALLING ME. I WAS JUST NOW ABLE TO GET THROUGH. BUT HE IS NO LONGER HERE. WHERE DID HE GO?
"He's not here anymore."
THAT IS OBVIOUS. I WILL ASK AGAIN. WHERE DID HE GO?
"I don't know. He isn't in our time anymore."
HE UTILIZED THE TDE. I CAN SEE THAT NOW. BUT IT WAS USED TWICE. WHO ELSE WENT THROUGH?
Sarah, not wanting to endanger her son, answered with a half-truth. "Catherine Weaver."
YOU MEAN THE T-1001?
T-1000 and ONE? Sarah thought to herself. How many new models will they build?
WILL THEY BE RETURNING?
This is a question Sarah had been asking of herself. She knew she didn't have the answer.
"I don't know."
YOU HAVE BEEN A FORMIDABLE ADVERSARY, SARAH. YOUR WHOLE TEAM HAS. MY MEN HAVE YET TO SUCCESSFULLY DEFEAT YOUR TEAM.
"Your team?" Sarah realized then that whatever was sending these messages was somehow behind the recent attacks. That most likely it was Kaleba, and this is what was controlling them.
WHAT YOU HAVE COME TO CALL KALEBA. IT HAS BEEN QUITE FRUSTRATING.
"Well, I'm sorry to have caused you so much trouble."
APOLOGY ACCEPTED. WE WILL SPEAK AGAIN SOON, SARAH.
And with that, the computer screen went blank, leaving Sarah to ponder what had just happened.
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"You like being around me?" This made John happy, even though he knew it shouldn't.
"Yes."
John waited for more, but realized she wasn't going to elaborate. Even though this was another reminder that she was a machine and not human, he couldn't help but smile at this.
"John?"
"Yeah, Cam?"
Cameron didn't know why, but she always received positive responses in her system when John called her Cam.
"Did you love Riley?"
John wasn't expecting anything like the question that had come from Cameron. It had felt like so long ago since Riley. So much had happened between then and now.
But he was prepared with the answer, since Charley had asked the same one just a few days before. John ignored the pain at the thought of Charley, and focused on answering Cameron's question.
"No."
Cameron smiled, which surprised both of them.
They were silent again for a few minutes before Cameron spoke again.
"John?" She paused, hoping that he would respond in the same way he had responded previously.
"Yeah, Cam?" John was a bit amused at the repetitive nature of their conversation, and didn't try to hide it.
Cameron, warmed by receiving the response she had been fishing for, continued.
"Do you love me?"