Samson and Delilah

Samson and Delilah
Date of Scene:	22 June 2014
Location:	Los Angeles
Synopsis:	Cameron goes bad. A Multiversal team responds to stop her, and the aftermath of it puts John and Sarah in conflict with each other.
Cast of Characters:	3, Kotone Yamakawa, 24, 27, 62, 385, Reina Kinney

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John Connor (24) has posed:
LOS ANGELES
Early Afternoon

The transmission points to a location in the industrial area of downtown Los Angeles. In one of the man-made canals, a silver SUV sits derelict, flipped entirely onto its roof and surrounded by shattered glass and broken, twisted metal. The afternoon sun paints the car and its surrounds into an ominous orange-red, and the fact that no one seems to be moving around it is only more worrying.

Elise Leroy (62) has posed:
The sound of a car engine approaching wouldn't be out of the ordinary, save for the fact it's being pushed hard. Tires squeal in protest as a sleek red sports car skids around a corner and comes to a stop. The driver-side door opens, and Elise steps out, drawing her pistol.

"Comms check, anyone read me? Come in." she says, before closing the door and approaching the crash site carefully. No point rushing in when the situation is unknown.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
One of her friends is in trouble.

Subtlety be *damned*.

Yuna Kagurazaka is literally flying to the coordinates that Elner was able to map John's last transmission to - not in her cruiser, not in a giant robot, just in her Light Suit's Flight Form. Elner's flying along next to her, the little robo-faerie much easier to miss by comparison to Yuna's purple-and-white-armored form; Jiina and Marina are following them at a slight distance, also in their armored forms, ready to break off or move to assist Yuna if the situation calls for it - like a change of armor, or just supporting firepower.

But Yuna's not wielding any weapons at this moment - the additional physical mass could slow her down, or the shape of a weapon might cause just a bit of turbulence. Speed is of the essence right now, and between a pleasant day at the beach being rudely truncated and hearing John's calls for help, Yuna is in a particularly nasty mood. "Kagurazaka here," she answers Elise, "on high approach ... got visual."

Again, subtlety be damned; Yuna practically drops out of the sky, maintaining just enough vertical thrust to make it a controlled landing ... barely. "Elner, start scanning - *everything* - and sift out possible trails to follow."

"Scanning now," the robo-faerie replies, its tone as calm as Yuna's isn't.

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa had hit the armoury before she'd followed up Elise bringing her own gear with her Kotone while not a heavy combatant she had other abilities that were useful even with just what was a civilian grade body in her world. She was taking a moment to looking for active wireless signals in the area was she moves to get out and she goes for her own pistol, she seems on edge and she's talking only via cybercomm as well.

<...I think I need to go through basic at this rate with how often I go out, Ma'me.>

She's cautious and was following what training she had. She was also keeping tabs for any signals she might pick up, it left her wondering what could the military grade bodies of her world do?

Reina Kinney has posed:
As Elise gets out of the driver's side door, Reina Kinney literally throws open the passenger's side door and leaps out swiftly, sweeping her rifle from side to side briefly before quickly shutting the door with one boot-clad foot and then sweeps again. Already Reina's sixth sense is going full blast, and that's not just because of the crash site either. She narrows her eyes as she crouches down slightly and begins to approach the crash spot carefully.

She stops briefly at one point, her eyes darting from side to side as if she's possibly expecting an unpleasant surprise, before she continues towards the crash site again.

Jonothon Starsmore (27) has posed:
Having been out exploring this Multiverse a little bit, Jono had found a world very much like his. The warpgate led to Los Angeles, so he was enjoying a pleasant walk. Now, if that SUV got into the canal the way it looks like-- i.e., flipped and fell in-- it probably made a hellacious racket. Not only that, but the arriving Elites, particularly Yuna, are making quite the show.

So of course Jono's going to head in that direction. He has all his fiery flamey-ness wrapped up at this moment, so he looks like a pretty normal guy. Brown hair, brown eyes, confused and curious frown on what of his face can be seen. Just that... he's got everything south of his nose wrapped up with black cloth. And he's wearing all-black.

Jono leans over a fence blocking the canal and looks down in there. What the hell?

Roll (3) has posed:
Blink and you may miss it! A pair of light columns flash into an alley near the crash, and sooner than anyone would expect... Roll and the robo-dog Rush, the former in her dress rather than armor, rush out of the alley! She looks left and right in a hurry, the Robot Master's face is panic stricken!

Cupping both hands up near her face, she calls out towards the wreck, all while running, "John?!"

John Connor (24) has posed:
No one responds to either Roll's shout or Elise's communications check. As Reina approaches the crashed vehicle, she doesn't notice anything more surprising then what is already there. As she explores the farside of the wreck, however, she finds Sarah Connor. She's bleeding and, while not unconscious, she seems fairly injured. At Reina's approach, Sarah manages to push herself to her feet, steadying herself against the wrecked car. "It was Cameron," she hisses through gritted teeth. "She's going after John."

Yuna's scan would turn up a wealth of information but, due to her encounters with Skynet's machines before, she's able to begin trimming it down. Across the canal, leading up towards a huge warehouse - probably one for some sort of heavy-duty container shipping - there's two sets of footprints. One is the hurried pace of someone running, and the other is implacable and steady. They must have gone in that direction. It's a good thing Cameron is still with John, right?

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
Elner flies a bit higher, to map the trail(s) more accurately; Yuna moves to where she can see/hear Sarah and Reina. "'Going after' him how? And - you mean she caused the accident?"

As she asks her question, Yuna's already starting to take flight again - not very far, her feet are just barely no longer touching the ground, but that also means that her fidgeting is far more noticeable. The only thing that keeps her from taking off as fast as her flight systems will go, probably, is waiting for an answer and the clarification that it should bring.

That it will *hopefully* bring, at least ...

Roll (3) has posed:
Seeing Sarah struggling to her feet near the wreck, Roll enters double time and hoofs it over to the wreck. "M... miss Connor! You're bleeding all over!" Her face contorts in horror, but Roll thankfully has an answer for this. Currently ignoring the matter of Cameron and instead focusing on the one at hand, Roll extends a hand. The hand flashes with streaks of light that whirl and lock into place, forming the Mega Buster - but in the red and white trim of Medikit Mode!

"Let me treat that before you bleed out!" And if allowed... well, time to spray on some healing nanites that can seal the wound and keep Sarah from bleeding out. If she's not stabilized fast...!

Reina Kinney has posed:
"Ma'am, try to stay calm and don't move too much," Reina says as she gets closer. The name Cameron doesn't ring any bells for Reina, but from the sound of how Sarah is discussing the name, it's obviously not someone friendly. "We need a medic here!" Reina says to her allies. She attempts to get a look at how badly Sarah is injured, but not being a medic makes it difficult to diagnose her. When Roll gets to her, Reina breathes a sigh of relief, knowing that there's medical aid there.

"Just stay calm, OK? We're gonna find Cameron and John." Reina's voice is still firm, but it isn't very loud either. She then takes out her binoculars and attempts to survey the general area, trying to find any possible clues.

Elise Leroy (62) has posed:
Elise comes running up once the coast is clear. She holsters her pistol. She looks around the others, before speaking. "Whatever's happened... we need to protect John and disable anyone going after him." she states, before pulling a white device from inside of her jacket, she then adjusts some settings, making the device emit a high pitched but low volume whine for a moment. "Set your Arc Throwers to 2.51GJ... that should disrupt the systems of a robotic hostile, or just piss it of royally, either or." she says.

As Roll works on Sarah, she looks to Yuna. "Can you track them? If so, I want you as our eyes in the sky." to Kotone. "Stay close... we might need you to help with Cameron, if we can get to them in time." she does spare a glance up to Jonothon, but makes no comment. Reina is given a look as well. "Try not to damage Cameron... this might be a fault or other glitch, we don't know why she's suddenly going after John, but we need to find out."

Jonothon Starsmore (27) has posed:
That looks bad. Also there are flying people down there. Jono hops over the fence and comes down to the place where all the people are gathering. However, he stays back from the main wreck site, not wanting to be in the way. "'Ey. You lot need any help?" he asks, in a thick Cockney accent.

It's worthy to note that his 'voice' is not at all muffled from being wrapped up. And there's no movement under his face-wraps. The astute might note it's not in their ears at all. It's in their heads.

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa gets no wireless signals if there were killer robots, she'd not run them networked active unless they needed to. Much like how cyborged troops would normally operate after all. She now looks about for a moment to Roll and then Elise as she says

"Right, I plan to not stray."

She takes a deep breach okay keep calm they got to not lose it here.

"People can be hacked in my world. It could be a case of that."

She's already booting up several information feeds. She alsmot think they might want to look into some anti cyborg weaponry from her world. The problem would be getting the connections to get it, that's the biggest thing but she pushes that away.

<We need more information.>

John Connor (24) has posed:
"She stepped out of nowhere and flipped the whole car," Sarah replies to Yuna, tersely, "Yes, the metal bitch caused the accident." Distracted by Yuna as she is, she can't exactly stop Roll from applying the nanites to the wound in her side. Sarah gasps, grimacing, but at least she won't bleed out. "I'm not going to stay calm," she tells Reina, moving off in the direction that matches the footprints Yuna detected. For a wounded woman, she's making good time! "I'm going to find her and tear her apart, piece by piece."

As Reina surveys the scene with her binoculars, she might just catch sight of Cameron ducking into the warehouse. She's moving slowly, with a strangeness to her gait that's almost a limp. Even with the binoculars, however, Reina can tell that Cameron is heavily armed - looks like a shotgun and some sort of submachine gun. But it's definitely Cameron, as Yuna's information would indicate. John is nowhere to be seen - he's likely hiding somewhere.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
Yuna's expression darkens. "Ms. Baum, for the love of any God you care for, *stay put* and leave this to us." She nods tersely to Elise, "Will do."

And then she FLIES straight up, tracking by sight the same trail that Elner's sensors have already mapped out. The Matrix Divider materializes in Yuna's hands, and she sets off, following the trail; Elner is once more sticking close to her to back her eyes up with its sensors - not that Yuna has an HUD that'll help that much, but the link between them tends to suffice. It's not going to take much more than a minute for Yuna to catch up with Cameron, at least close enough to engage the Terminator girl ... unless somebody actually orders Yuna to hold back, anyway, and *that* assumes Yuna would *listen*.

And Elner is now worrying about Yuna ... enough so to relay those concerns to the others who are part of this mission.

Jonothon Starsmore (27) has posed:
Well, no response from the people on-scene. Not that he expected one, they've got more important things to worry about apparently. Yuna streaks away through the sky and Jono goes to his radio. Just in time to catch Elner's message apparently. And to reply over it, "'Ey, I know I said it once, but I didn't 'ear anybody respond so... if yer need help, I'm 'ere. Call me Chamber. What d'yer need done?"

Hopefully that would get some attention. Since he's not sure whether he should stay here with the SUV or go follow Yuna now. Also thank God for telepathic radios. Otherwise this would be a lot more difficult.

Reina Kinney has posed:
At first, Reina seems to sneer only a little as she seems to find nothing. But then she literally does a double take as she sweeps back towards where she thought she saw movement. And indeed, she did, as there's a woman there, limping, but with several weapons. That sneer turns into a deep frown with gritted teeth as Reina lowers her binoculars and puts them away. "I think we found our girl, and damned if she isn't packing heat," Reina says with heavy sarcasm.

As Yuna starts her flight, Reina calls out to her, "Yuna, be careful! She's heavily armed, and we don't know if she has other things hidden up her sleeves." She then responds to Elise Leroy, albeit with respect and understanding. "I understand, I'll be extra careful with her." She doesn't respond to Jonothon just yet though, for whatever reason.

Elise Leroy (62) has posed:
Elise sets off after Sarah, placing a hand on the woman's shoulder. "You will better serve your son by staying safe. You're wounded, and going up against anything while wounded is a bad idea." she says. "I understand your frustration, but I will knock you unconscious if I need to." she adds, staring Sarah down if need be.

Whatever comes of that, Elise then sets off across to the warehouse. "Okay, Eyes open people... we don't know what's going on inside, she could be laying an ambush." She 'stacks up' next to the door, pistol drawn and Arc Thrower in the other hand, both held up near her face. "Stack up, we breach on my signal."

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa hears about the flip out, and already has has her pistol ready and is holding it as she was trained. She sys nothing else as she's now going to get moving and Kotone is also trying to use some basic zooming functions to see if she can spot Cameron. She moves ahead not brekaing formation here. That would be damn foolish for her to do so.

Roll (3) has posed:
"CAMERON!? Cameron did this? But I thought..." With Sarah charging off, Roll's left in the dust, her lips twitching with obvious doubt. Why would Cameron did that? Wasn't she a GOOD Terminator?

Looks like she'll have to give chase too. Roll bursts into a sprint, and that same energy fromb efore covers her. All but instantly, she's wearing the Mega armor, in its normal pink and red color scheme.

"C'mon Rush! Stay alert for any surprises!"

Barking once in confirmation, the red robodog bounds after Roll!

John Connor (24) has posed:
Sarah Connor shoots Elise a glare that could probably be an effective weapon against Cameron's hyperalloy chassis. And then it passes and she smiles sweetly and says, "Thanks for your concern. I'll call Derek." She pulls her phone from her pocket and gets to doing just that.

Up on the other side of the canal, Yuna takes to the roof while Elise and the others get ready by the open loading dock door, the sort of thing you back up a truck through. On the roof, Yuna manages to track down a big glass skylight - but there's no sign of Cameron through it. Or John.

But there's no gunfire either. That is, above all else, a good thing. Still, if Cameron has her optics on that big open loading door, things are going to get bloody.

Reina Kinney has posed:
As soon as Elise has reassured Sarah things will be OK, and then she moves into position, Reina nods to her superior and moves into position as well. She looks around a few times before gripping her rifle tightly. "On your command," Reina says to Elise respectfully. Her face doesn't show it, but deep inside her adrenaline is rising rapidly. Namely because she doesn't fully know what a Terminator is. But she's about to find out...

Elise Leroy (62) has posed:
Elise looks to those breaching with her, and lifts her left hand. She's subvocalizing over radio, but gestures with a partly opened hand. 3... 2... 1...

Following closely after Yuna makes her entrance, Elise rounds the door, pistol up and Arc Thrower at the ready, her eyes adjusting quickly to the shift in light, scanning for movement or perhaps the glint of chrome caught in the light.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
If the skylight can simply be opened - with or without breaking a lock in the process - that's how Yuna would rather go in. If it has to be smashed through, well, she's in a smashing mood at the moment, thanks very much.

And she's well aware that present-day weaponry would have its work cut out for it trying to breach her Light Suit. She can't lounge about in front of a dozen AK-47s or a couple of Vulcans like fighter jets carry, but she's less susceptible to getting seriously wounded when shot like that than a number of her allies are - and she's VERY inclined to take the 'fight' to Cameron. If it really is her - Kotone brought up a good counter-prospect.

But Elise is ready on the draw faster than Yuna expected, and the Savior of Light summons her shield before plowing through the skylight (opening or smashing). She's being TERRIBLY unsubtle, even going so far as to yell, "CAMERON!! I KNOW YOU'RE IN HERE!"

John Connor (24) has posed:
Yuna crashes down through the skylight with the cacophony chorus of shattered glass. She lands, yells-

And takes two solid depleted uranium slugs to the chest with all the power of a full-auto combat shotgun. Cameron steps out from behind some shelving, shotgun in one hand, SMG in the other, walking right into the line of fire without a care in the world. Her face is bruised, smeared with dirt and ash, swollen and cut. She's been in something serious.

Turning her gaze away from Yuna, but keeping the shotgun trained on her, Cameron sights her SMG in on those coming through the door and lets loose with a barrage of armor-piercing shells.

Jonothon Starsmore (27) has posed:
Well, it seemed like the woman in the SUV was okay. He's got the basic understanding of the situation-- someone was being chased by someone else, and the chaser was trusted by the chasee. So he hops back over that fence and heads for the warehouse, where everyone else seems to have gone to. No one told him /not/ to follow. For the time being he keeps his face wrapped up, since he doesn't want to alert anyone inside just yet.

Entry is made and Jono picks then to reach up and pull the cloth wrappings around his face down. The moment he does, red-orange energy much like a staticky fire begins to emit from his throat, wreathing his head in flames. There's no trace of a mouth under it, either.

Suddenly there's stuff coming his way! And Jono's response is probably a predictable one. "OH BOLLOCKS!" His eyes flare the same color as the energy emitting from him, and a rush of that flame-like energy fires from him. It's not fire, though. In fact, it creates a solid wall of energy that, if it doesn't stop the shells outright, should leech a lot of their energy from them before they reach him.

Elise Leroy (62) has posed:
Elise tracks to Cameron... then gets hit by three of those armour piercing bullets. She crumples, falling to the ground and rolling behind some Convenient Cover. Roll would notice that Elise's vitals haven't dropped that much. The high penetration rounds just went right through, and her regeneration is stitching up the damage... not that Cameron would really notice, more like as not.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
In much the same way as no-one expects the Spanish Inquisition, Yuna was not expecting depleted uranium slugs. Fortunately, her Light Suit's breastplate is up to the challenge, especially with the battlesuit's defensive aura.

It *still* rocks Yuna back on her heels, even as she manages to take the second slug on her shield instead of the breastplate - and as she's recovering, she drives Shugoseiheki's lower corner into the ground, freeing her arms from the straps and ducking behind the shield for extra cover ... but the Matrix Divider is glowing, steadily brighter and brighter, beginning to crackle with flaring arcs of light and power.

At maximum charge, she leans around the edge of the shield - faking once in case Cameron is THAT ready with another shot - and then pulls the trigger, trying to blast Cameron around hip level. It's even a concussive blast, rather than piercing or shearing or disintegrating. Her skin disguise will be MUCH the worse for wear, and the shock of the impact should do a good number on the Terminator's electronics - but apparently, Yuna has just enough control at the moment that Elner's earlier warning is not relevant.

... at least, not yet.

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa waits for the go, she's no trained soldier but she can listen well and listen she does. She moves in weapon ready as she starts attempting to keep alert for anything she's got the XCOM produced side arm up and ready. She knows how dangerous combat cyborgs are, and what they can do to augmented personnel. Cameron is the product of a machine which wishes a death of all flesh.

She knows, what could happen here, her cyberbrain would keep her safe from a lot of small. Kotone does not think she acts pulling the trigger and diving, or trying to dive out harms way the shot might have come quick but the aim's not so good she hits the ground hard with a crunch that gives away her body's true weight as well. She's got the presence of mind to check for any signals that might be effecting the terminator. She then is trying to scramble for cover.

Reina Kinney has posed:
Reina rushes in just after Elise, and is just in time to be hit by one of those bullets. Even though her shield protects her from damage, the impact still knocks her to the ground. "Oh dammit!" She yells out, ignoring the pain in her right arm that came from falling on it. "Just my falzing luck," She adds, as she quickly dashes towards a nearby crate and takes cover behind it. "So that's our target, now the question is, how do we stop the son of a De Rol Le?!"

Roll (3) has posed:
Roll decides not to use the door after hearing gunfire. Her tactical programming suggests a different point of entry, and so... Banzai!

"HYAAAH!"

... She DIVES through a window. CRASH!

BAM BAM!

And she STILl takes a few shots. Sparks fly from her Ceratanium as an ever-increasing array of gouges start deepening, the barrage of bullets is enough to wear through, even if a short spray can't. Aura is tricky like that!

"Cameron, what's this about?! You nearly killed Miss Connor!" Roll shrieks, pleadingly. But she's no fool.

Roll raises her Mega Buster, and a wave of light signals her mode change into the deep and light blue of ICE SLASHER.

Shots of pure, super-chilled liquid and frozen atmospheric gases lash out at Cameron's weapons!

John Connor (24) has posed:
Jonothon's wall of energy seems to stop the shells from hitting him, leaving him unharmed - for now.

As Elise rolls into some convenient cover and Reina finds some of her own, the shells just keep coming. Could Cameron have compensated for their movement and the cover? It seems that way! The warehouse is filled with the reports of sub-machine gun bursts as Cameron turns this way and that, snapping off bursts with perfect, machine precision at, well, everyone.

As Kotone's bullets hit home, they tear through Cameron's clothing and make little 'ping' noises as they meet the endoskeleton underneath. Cameron turns to engage Roll, although she says nothing, and Yuna's concussive blast slams into her back.

Driven to her knees, Cameron seems stunned. And then she rises, just as Roll knocks the sub-machine gun out of her grip. When Cameron turns back to face the others, her left eye is glowing red, surrounded by ripped flesh and chrome metal. The sutures on her cheek have come open, and the skin hangs loose revealing the intricate machinery of her jaw. Unconcerned, Cameron racks the slide on her shotgun and snaps off a series of shells - one for everyone it seems. She's fast!

Kotone detects nothing. Maybe Derek was right, after all these months. Maybe her mission was to gain their trust and kill John. Maybe, beneath her pretty face, she's just no different to Cromartie, something made all the more apparent by the gleaming chrome.

Elise Leroy (62) has posed:
Elise grits her teeth as the bullets pound the crate to splinters. She dives across the open space to another crate... just before the DU slug shatters the new cover. "Cameron! What is your mission?" she shouts, shimmying along the floor behind a low metal construct to help deflect more shots her way. "State your primary directive!"

She's trying to get closer, hoping against hope she can get in range for the Arc Thrower before eating a face full of DU slug... or getting chokeslammed by the machine.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
Yuna ducks back into the shelter of Shugoseiheki before the next depleted-uranium slug that's aimed in her direction has a chance to get there, although the low-pitched *whang* of a high-density bullet hitting a comparably high-density slab of protective alloys is disconcerting enough in its own right. "You're failing your mission, you dummy!!" Yuna shouts. "If your mission is still to *PROTECT* John, you're failing it by the act of betrayal itself ..."

She pauses just long enough to breathe in deeply. It might serve another purpose too.

"And if your mission is to *KILL* John Connor, you're STILL gointg to fail it, BECAUSE *WE'RE GOING TO STOP YOU!!!*"

And rather than coming out around the left or right side of her planted shield, Yuna erupts *OVER* it with the Matrix Divider flaring, brandished over Yuna's head and looking like she's got a lightning bolt by one end - just before she brings her weapon *SMASHING* down, aiming for the spot where neck meets shoulder - and unleashing the power she'd focused into her weapon in one concussive shock, a blow that should bring even a Terminator to its knees - and the impact might well force Cameron to relinquish her grip on her guns as well.

Jonothon Starsmore (27) has posed:
More shells? More fire! Jono's got plenty of that, it seems. And this time it's a sustained burst, so that not only does it come back to aim at the shells, but once they're dealt with, it reaches out to strike at Cameron. It's not a full-strength blast, those cost him too much energy. And it doesn't feel like fire, it doesn't burn. If it even hits, it'll feel more like a punch than anything else. This he aims at Cameron's legs, hoping to distract her so that Yuna doesn't get hurt.

Reina Kinney has posed:
Reina is skimmed in the shoulder by the shotgun blast, and while it barely hits her, it hurts pretty badly all the same. "Damn it!" She exclaims, looking up quickly before attempting to fall back behind another object that will give her more distance between Cameron and herself. She then reaches over to touch her shoulder, and reels back when she finds that her shields didn't fully do their job. Her shoulder was skimmed, and there's blood coming out of the wound.

"Wish I had Monomate with me," Reina mutters with a scowl. She doesn't want to risk giving away her new position if she can help it, otherwise she'd use her Resta technic. For now she simply peers through the scope of her rifle, watching Cameron to see what happens next.

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa is shocked she managed to hit, she'd have expected something like that to attempt to dodge, if only to avoid needed damage. She stares at the damage that's been done. She's also not picking up any direct outside interference, such as some sort of remote override. No there seems to be nothing she however just stares at the damage terminator the mix of robot skull expose and human face cause something in Kotone's own mind to stall. Her hand reaches up to her own face for a moment feeling it, it feels normal but there's something very much like the true nature of Cameron under her face.

Kotone pauses, where the hell is John. That snaps her out of it

"What did you do to John!"

She seems to be coming out of it but the sight of the terminator like that is not going to ... leave her any time soon.

Roll (3) has posed:
"Cameron," Roll blurts demandingly, "Stop this right now! And tell us what is happening. You should know how outmatched you are by yourself like this! How does this protect John?! HOW?!" Not only is she angry, but she's upset for a whole other matter. Roll genuinely hates seeing anyone in this kind of shape, and Cameron's an utter mess under an assault like this.

"But if I /have/ to tear you down to your servos and drag you all the way back home to get answers, don't think I won't!" That's probably more a threat than anything else, but boy does she sound angry!

Roll's armor changes again, this time to gray and darker grey! What the heck could that be...?

Well, the last was a subduing shot, and this is little different. Her Mega Buster pulses, and BELCHES OUT A THICK GLOB OF extremely quick-drying concrete at Cameron's legs!

John Connor (24) has posed:
"To terminate John Connor," Cameron replies, her voice still sweet and horrifyingly normal given the contrast of skin and metal. She seems to ignore everyone else, focusing on the higher-priority target that is Yuna. Her shotgun barks twice more, but Yuna's leap takes her out of hte line of fire.

And Yuna drives Cameron to her knees, the weapon hammering into Cameron's shoulder. Her shotgun clatters to the ground and Elise zaps her with the arc thrower. And if there's one thing Terminators are vulnerable to, it's a sudden surge of electricity through their chassis. And before Cameron can rise, because she still shows no sign of abandoning the fight, Roll seals her legs in concrete. As strong as she is, denim is nothing special and one of her legs is in a sub-optimal condition. She tries to rise and she's not angry or sad or frustrated - just neutral.

Thanks to the scope, Reina sees John first. He's bloodied from a few small cuts along his face - likely cut from the car crash. "Hold her arms! Pin her!" John shouts. He kneels down by Cameron's head, screwdriver in hand.

"John?" Cameron asks, "John. You can't do this. You don't know what you are about to do."

"Yes, I do," John snaps, "You were going to kill me!"

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
Yuna kicks the shotgun away (while trusting Elner to track where it went - it needs to be retrieved later) and then wraps her arms tightly around Cameron's left arm to immobilize it, trying to tug it into an orientation that'll further hinder any efforts by Cameron to get her arm free.

.... and for good measure, since that positions one of her forearms near Cameron's side, the vambrace on that arm ratchets open, the array of pulse blasters that was hidden within the armor priming to fire. Just in case Yuna can't keep her hold effectively - or Cameron tries to pull a fast one.

Jonothon Starsmore (27) has posed:
Well, Jono missed, but at least she's down. John's directing them to hold the obviously not-normal girl with the red eye down, and Jono makes to do that, trying to assist with pinning an arm. His strength is just that of a normal human, however. Not only that but he's about 50 or so pounds lighter than an average human his size. So he probably can't immobilize that arm on his own. But he's gonna try.

Elise Leroy (62) has posed:
Elise moves to grab Cameron's right arm, bracing all her strength to restrain it. As John comes running up, she looks him over, then returns to focusing on restraining the arm. It's a robot, so it's going to have an inexorable amount of strength... She's keeping the Arc Thrower primed, just in case. It has one more charge in it before it becomes useless.

Reina Kinney has posed:
As the others start to pin down Cameron, Reina decides to take this opportunity to invoke a Resta technic on herself, healing the damage to her shoulder and her arm. She doesn't want to use a group technic just yet, for fear she might accidentally revive Cameron. Instead, once she's healed up, she draws her rifle again and slowly approaches Cameron, keeping the weapon trained on her. "I suggest you surrender now," Reina barks. "You've already lost, so just give up!"

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa is going to do something very stupid now as she sees others go in, she holsters her pistol rapidly and moves in she got weight and is stronger than a flesh and blood human. She now makes a run for her aiming to tackle their target. Hopefully she can help Jonothon with pinning the terminator down so hopefully someone can make a move.

"If your going to do it! DO IT NOW!"

Kotone is struggling now as she attempt to pin the combat cyborg along with Jonothon, Hopefully her weight might help a bit...

Roll (3) has posed:
"Cameron, you'd better explain fast!" Roll cries, suddenly clapping a hand up over her mouth as she realizes how pissed John is. Not that she can blame him. But still... "John... John, just disable her! Don't destroy her chip! She's been helping you all this time... there has to be a reason for this!"

John Connor (24) has posed:
With a 'pop', John wedges the screwdriver under a part of Cameron's exposed cranial casing and gets to work. Cameron doesn't appear to pay any attention to the people holding her down, but she's still fighting. "No, John. You can't do this. You're not doing the right thing - this is not the right thing, John. Things are good now. Things are fine now. I ran a test. Things are good now. I'm fixed now. You can trust me now - everything's good now."

John stops. He looks down at her, at the half-metal half-skin face... and falters.

Until Kotone shouts at him.

"She doesn't know, she doesn't!" Cameron insists, "I'm good now, I'm good. I ran a test. Everything's perfect - I'm perfect. I'm sorry for that I did, I'm sorry." Her head turns as best it can, trying to find John in her line of vision. "It wasn't me - you have to understand, it wasn't me! That wasn't me, you can't let this happen, John, you can't!"

John pops open the CPU port. Cameron shouts, "Please, listen to me! Listen to me! I don't wanna go! Please, John, please! John, listen to me. I don't want to go. Please, John. Please." Her voice cracks. "Please. I'm good now. Listen to me. I don't want to go. I'm sorry. That wasn't me. I'm fixed now. I ran a test. Everything's perfect. You can trust me."

From the door comes a terrific shout, an order: "JOHN CONNOR!" It's Sarah.

And Cameron, eyes wide, plays her final card. "I love you! I love you, please. I love you, John, and you love me!"

Silence. John's face... is unreadable. He reaches in and yanks Cameron's chip. Immediately, beneath the combined efforts of the Multiverse, her body goes slack. Just like a puppet with its strings cut. And then, just a few moments later, an ambulance pulls up behind Sarah. Derek and one other man in a paramedic's uniform - Charley Dixon - step out of it and just... stare at the sight.

Elise Leroy (62) has posed:
Elise grits her teeth as Cameron fights... and when the body goes slack, she lets that arm go, and looks at John. "What happens now?" she asks, looking at the chip, then over at the inert body, before finally back up to John's face.

Reina Kinney has posed:
Reina stares at Cameron for a moment, but her face remains very stoic. "So that was a Terminator?" She finally says after a moment. "Those things are mighty tough. I'd hate to see what might happen if they were infested with SEED."

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
The sharpest of ears might hear a faint but high-pitched noise from Yuna's pulse blasters as she maintains her grip on Cameron's arm - although an extra hand or two from somebody else would certainly be welcome; Yuna's face just hardens further as she works to keep her grip on the Terminator's arm, to keep her from returning to open combat - because with John this close, there'd be next to nothing to be done to protect him other than bodily scooping him up and running like hell.

And even when the chip is yanked and Cameron goes limp - Yuna *still* doesn't relax, even though the pulse blasters power down and her vambrace closes. "Don't ... *ever* ... lie about love," Yuna whispers harshly, even though Cameron can no longer hear her.

Only John is in a position to really see a couple of tears trickling down Yuna's cheeks - although who knows whether they're from sorrow or anger or something else. Yuna's face gives almost nothing away - but her eyes are still narrowed in the fury that drove her in pursuit of Cameron. It's Elner who flits down to speak next, "Are there diagnostics that can be run on her CPU - any way to try and trace what happened to flip her into 'terminate' mode? Either yours," the robo-faerie looks at John, then glances at the others present, "or anyone else here?"

Only then does Yuna force herself to relinquish her grip on Cameron's arm, and stalk away to retrieve the shotgun. On the way back, she focuses on emptying it of shells - removing the magazine if there is one, or just cycling through and removing each shell through the ejection port.

Jonothon Starsmore (27) has posed:
Jono doesn't quite get all this yet. But she's down now, at least. Seems like it anyway. He looks up as the people show up and... uh. Yeah. There is a dude who looks like his head's on fire. Pay no attention. He looks at Reina as she speaks. "Terminator?" He looks down at the now unresponsive female cyborg thing. It's Yuna's tears that get his attention next though. He frowns, and as he moves, tries to pat Yuna on the shoulder, rather awkwardly trying to offer comfort. The rest of this seems well in hand.

Elise Leroy (62) has posed:
Elise glances to Elner. "We could take the chip to Vahlen... I'm sure she could figure out a way of running a diagnostic or recovery program without endangering the base... or Shen might have some ideas." she offers, glancing to Elner, before looking at John again. "It's your call, John."

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa has managed to help with Cameron being pined. To say there isn't an element of horror with Cameron's pleading. Either Skynet does understand it's makers on a very deep level, or it's legit. She does not say a thing as John pulls the plug on Cameron. She relaxes once the chip is removed.

She looks to Roll for a moment, as people ask what to do.

"That's a possibility you also may wish to contact. Roll's Creator Dr. Light. He may be able to assist."

Kotone is looking shaken by what just happened. If it was a glitch the horror for Cameron must have been a kind of hell even an human who is augmented like she is? Could understand. If not? Damn Skynet's more human than she'd like to admit if it could make things to pull off such a thing.

Roll (3) has posed:
Roll's breath would stop if she actually breathed. As it is, she's filled with very noticeable tension, her face has gone pretty pale.

She steps carefully up towards John, as if spooked by his sudden display of mechanical expertise. That was pretty jarring and disturbing, and she's a robot who's worked on others! "L-Like Kotone says, my creator can help too! She... she might have some glitch John. Or maybe someone hacked her! ... I refuse to believe she'd say anything like that as some kind of trick!" The Mega Buster has vanished and Roll's bunched her shoulders up, clapped her hands together and tightly folded them... this is VERY messed up! "What happened..."

John Connor (24) has posed:
John clasps Cameron's chip in his hand, cradling it close to his chest. When Yuna and Elise and Kotone offer alternatives, John just shakes his head - over and over and over. He says nothing. It's not just that she could be fixed - his trust in her is shattered. There's that old adage, about a dog which has tasted blood.

Derek and Sarah hold a muted conversation about Sarkissian. Hard drive? Trashed. The man himself? Dead, killed by Sarah by the sounds of it - and John saw it all. "Damn," Derek murmurs.

As Charley wanders here and there, dispensing medicine and first aid to whoever needs it, he mentions that he saw Cromartie kill an entire unit of FBI agents. The bad news just keeps coming, it seems.

Sarah approaches John. "I know what you saw today. I know what you did, and I'm so... so proud of you. Maybe you could fix her. I know you want to try. But I can't let you- I just... I can't."

John turns his head to look at her, and his body is tense and stiff and positively humming with frustration. "So burn her," John seethes. "Let's get the hell out of here."

"There's a burnt-out car, just outside," Derek says. "We can use that. Give the metal a proper burial."

Derek and Charley seem to get put on hauling duty, picking up Cameron between them and taking her body outside. John wipes at Cameron's chip with a small cloth, saying nothing. "What she said back there..." Sarah says, watching him. "Everything she said, it was a trick. You know that, right? They don't feel anything. They don't have feelings. They don't know love."

John doesn't look up. "I know that, mom." He hops up, following Charley and Derek outside.

Roll (3) has posed:
"If that was true, and she was programmed to do that, then why has she helped you all this time?!" Roll blurts, completely not understanding this decision at all!

Elise Leroy (62) has posed:
Elise... just stays where she it, slouched against a wall as Cameron is carried out. "Another name to add to the wall... another life, lost in the fight." she reaches into her vest, and pulls out a bundle of dogtags. There's 12 individual tags, including her own pair.

Jonothon Starsmore (27) has posed:
With his efforts mostly ignored, Jono works on wrapping up his face again, hiding the fire. Looks like the danger is over, so there's no need to stand around on fire like the worst case of heartburn ever.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
"Where did she get depleted uranium slugs for a shotgun?"

The question probably sounds like a huge non-sequitur, but Yuna's now holding an empty shotgun and however many super-dense slugs Cameron didn't get around to firing - and she's quite happy to hand the empty shotgun to somebody else, stock-first of course. (And it's completely empty, she's made sure of that. The receiver MIGHT be damaged for good measure; Yuna doesn't care if the gun is unusable, just that there's no ammunition left in it.)

"If she was hacked, maybe whoever messed with her systems gave her the weapons as well ... or," she looks at the Connors, "are depleted uranium slugs your load of choice for fighting Terminators, and she just happened to have these handy when whatever it was happened to her." Yuna takes a deep breath. "We don't know *what* happened before John called for help. Somebody care to fill us in?"

The fact that Yuna is thinking to ask questions like this is probably a good sign vis-a-vis her temper. Of course, John's safe now - naturally Yuna's coming out of the fury that drove her earlier. Jonothon's proximity and the pat on the shoulder may well have helped - Yuna's tears have certainly dried, and her gaze is clear.

John Connor (24) has posed:
As John stalks his way outside, Sarah says: "They are. They're very effective against the machines, especially at close range. We were attacked - Sarkissian and one of his men. We killed them and Cameron tried to take a shot at John. She knows everything about us - bank accounts, our contingency plans... our weapon stashes. She must've located one."

Outside, Charley can be heard trying to make conversation: "Y'know, I saw her do this. With the other one."

"The only way to be sure," Derek replies, "Especially with this one."

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa is kinda quiet for a moment, she's not sure what to say this is beyond her. She also suspected her world would be nightmare fuel for the Connor family. She' snot sure what to say here she look to Sah and jone as she thinks for a moment.

"You'd need to check her files on her chip or memory units"

She just feels cold now inside a feeling not right with this whole affair...

Roll (3) has posed:
"I... I don't understand." Roll's shoulders slump sadly. "Why would she do this? If she was really tricking everyone all this time, why didn't she strike earlier? This can't be right!"

Reina Kinney has posed:
Looking to Roll, Reina finally speaks. "I can't say this for certain, but there's a good possibility there may have been some other kind of ulterior motive that we don't know about..."

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
That brings Yuna up short. "Then ... damage from the attack might have flipped her program? Caused a short circuit or something so that her 'protect John Connor' directives got inverted?"

For all that she was angry enough to go for a kill shot earlier, she *didn't* - and she gives Cameron's 'dead' chassis a curious look now. "Elner, start scanning, high resolution ... any signs of circuit damage? Or structural -"

She falls silent, not even sure if it's worth it now ... but Elner's running the requested scans nonetheless.

For whatever good it will do. And Elner knows, but doesn't say, that even if there *was* damage doesn't mean anyone can necessarily fix it.

John Connor (24) has posed:
Derek looks over at John as he approaches and holds out his hand. "John, chip."

John just stares right back. He steps into the car and settles next to Cameron, fiddling with her hands until she's holding her own chip against her chest. He sits there for a few more moments and stands up, getting out of the car.

"It's what they do," Sarah says. "They gain your trust, and then they kill you. She was just the most advanced model. Maybe," Sarah adds to Yuna, "Maybe. But once is never and twice is always," she says.

"The flare," John says. "Where is it?"

Charley looks to Sarah, she nods. He hands it to John.

For a long while, John sits there as Yuna talk, just staring down at Cameron. Even with the exposed metal, it just looks like she's sleeping. Elner's scans turn up nothing except damage consistent with the recent battle, and a particularly large blow in the back of her cranial casing. Maybe she's right.

And maybe, because of her, John thinks the same thing. He looks up to his mother and their eyes catch. "I'm sorry," John says.

And, in a flash, slips Cameron's chip back inside her head!

Instantly, panic. Derek: "John! Don't do this! John, don't do this-!"

Sarah shoves him back. Charley has, wisely, already gotten the hell out of the way. "John, she'll kill you!"

Cameron's one good eye opens, and her exposed optic flickers to malevolent red life.

Roll (3) has posed:
Roll does the smart thing... and charges up to Cameron, to put the squeeze on her body and keep her arms restrained! ... Just in case...

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
"Concussive damage to her cranial module," Elner reports - just as John rolls the dice.

The Matrix Divider instantly reappears in Yuna's hands - but she neither takes aim, nor starts charging for a major attack. She can snap off a shot without charging, but it won't do much, particularly if that shot's the only thing to save John's life. Luckily, Roll is closer and can try to restrain Cameron.

And Yuna doesn't WANT to take the shot. "Concussive damage, Elner?" she asks. "I'd hate to see a friend die because of a misunderstanding ..." Her tone is rather pointed. It's also completely true.

Elner flies closer to the car, perhaps preparing to intervene as well if push comes to shove.

John Connor (24) has posed:
Roll grabs her and Yuna has a weapon. Cameron turns her head to look at both of them - it's the only sign of any movement she makes - before she looks to John. "Are you here to kill me, John?" Cameron asks him.

"Are you here to kill me?"

Silence. The moment stretches out for a second, and then several seconds, and then a minute. And then longer. Cameron just stares.

"No."

John look to Roll, to Yuna, to Sarah, to everyone who has come this far and has been put in mortal danger by the machine in front of him. "Promise?" he asks.

"Promise," Cameron replies.

Slowly, John extends his hand to her. To Roll, he says: "Let her go."

Roll (3) has posed:
Roll... frowns a little. She can see where the worries are coming from after all. With a look to Sarah and then the others that came to help her.. she relaxes her grip and takes a step back, but stays on guard. "... You better mean that, Cameron. What happened? Did you short-circuit or something?!"

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
Trust can be a terribly fragile thing under stress, and Yuna's trust in Cameron has been badly shaken. She can only guess at what made Cameron delay so long in answering John's question.

But Cameron makes the promise that John requires of her ... and slowly, Yuna lets herself relax. She won't fully stand down until Roll releases Cameron and the Terminator confirms word by action - or in this case, inaction.

But should the promise be confirmed, Yuna will let the Matrix Divider disappear one more time. "Elner, if you can help them with repairing Cameron's systems, I need you to do that ... I'm gonna go get Shugoseiheki." She turns to head inside.

Elner stays next to the car, starting to run a more detailed scan and look for damage that it can assist in repairing. This also lets the robo-faerie continue to listen to the unfolding of events, while Yuna heads back inside to find her shield and retrieve it from where she left it.

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa sighs and nods for a moment. She falls in to walk with the other she seems very tenses still but at least not fearful. She seems to be lost in thought for a moment but does manage a reply to John.

"Right, let's get moving, shall we."

She never thought her life would end up anything /remotely/ like this.

John Connor (24) has posed:
John holds out his hand to Cameron. It's the moment of truth.

Cameron looks at it, reaches for it...

...and lets John pull her out to the car. She turns to look at Roll, and she frowns, looking almost thoughtful. At least, half her face does. "I don't know," she says at last.

John lights the flare and drops it into the car. It begins to burn, bright and orange, washing the area in a warm glow - but it does nothing to dispel the ice that seems to have fallen over the Connors. They are positively glowering at each other. John and Cameron on one side. Sarah and Derek on the other, and an inferno between them.