DISCLAIMER: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and its characters are the propert of James Cameron and Fox. No infringement intended.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I have mainly read fanfiction about these two and I have watched every episode from season 1 I can find online now! Making progress, so I apologize in advance if I don't get their personalities correct. If you haven't read Time Loop yet, please do before reading this one. It sets up the premise of this ongoing AU, other Time Loop stories can be read in any order. Please ask before Archiving, ralst/P&P and Slayers Time has permission for all Time Loop stories. Please leave a comment. Big Thank You to demoka for betaing.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.

Time Loop: Loop 47
By wkgreen

 

Cameron and Sarah, the two that are one, come over a hill top in a blur. Cameron cradles Sarah in her arms, running at full speed towards a large, ugly concrete building. Sarah has built up an energy charge in her pulse rifle and releases it at a gun emplacement directly in front of them, destroying it before it can lock on them. Cameron is zigzagging as she runs forward, Sarah switching to burst fire as she targets a T-700 in their path, the energy of the pulse short circuits it.

The scenery passes by in a blur as Cameron moves with single minded purpose. Sarah staying focused on the targets in front of them, targeting and shooting T-500s and T-700s, terminator models designed for the infantry role with no attempt to disguise what they are, as they cross the path of the duo. Sarah's long, grey streaked brunette locks flow over Cameron's shoulder and mingle with Cameron's lighter brunette hair. Sarah picks off a HK Flying Mini-Hunter, hovering over them and sending telemetry, ignoring ones to either side as she feels Cameron tilting her onto her feet, Sarah hops and skips using the excess momentum to propel herself forward as she sprays pulse fire in an arc in front of them.

Cameron spins to the side intercepting a T-500 coming in, slamming it into the ground. Sliding sideways, Cameron passes behind Sarah and intercepts a second T-500 before it can reach Sarah, slamming her shoulder into it, sending it flying through the air. Cameron leaps forward to intercept a third terminator that is closing in on Sarah from the 11 o'clock position, spinning as she slams into it, using the momentum to slam it into the ground hard. Not even pausing to check that it is down as she continues to orbit around Sarah as they sprint towards the building, using her body to intercept charging robots, energy pulses and bullets that are being aimed at Sarah.

Sarah sprints full out, her breathing even and calm, her senses expanded to take in the entire field of battle. Without pause she lowers her pulse rifle down to shoot the T-500 Cameron slammed practically at her feet, leaping over it. Hearing gun fire, she finds the gun emplacement as Cameron intercepts bullets with her body. Switching her pulse rifle from burst to explosive, she lets a charge build up and releases it into the gun emplacement, silencing it.

Cameron detects a HK Aerial, Hunter Killer Aerial a gunship designed for air to ground combat support, rising from behind the building as she orbits Sarah and slams terminators to the ground for Sarah to finish off. She pulls a contact grenade off her vest, holding it ready in her hand. She intercepts another T-500 as it tries to attack Sarah from behind, slamming it to the ground for Sarah to finish off with a pulse shot. Cameron throws the grenade at the left engine of the HK Aerial as it starts to line up a shot on them, the explosion taking out its engine, the loss of power making it impossible for the ungainly craft to stay in the air. Its AI tries to complete its mission by steering itself to crash on top of the attackers.

Sarah finishes off the T-500 slammed into the ground at her side and suddenly is falling backward to land in Cameron's arms. Cameron cradles Sarah's soft body against her hard, willowy one, she slams into full speed as she races to pass under the crashing gunship. Sarah braces her pulse rifle on Cameron's shoulder and sprays energy pulses behind them, slowing down the terminators herding them towards the crashing gunship.

Cameron leans forward, cradling Sarah protectively just above the ground. The duo looking trapped between the crashing HK Aerial and the pursuing terminator robots. Cameron channels unneeded energy out of her arms to power her legs, giving her the additional push she needs to pass under the gunship as it skims just over them. The HK Aerial barely misses them and crashes into the terminators that are pursuing the duo, sending a spray of earth and robots flying into the air as it slides and tumbles to a stop, exploding in an expanding ball of fire and debris. Cameron deftly dodges the debris and outraces the fire, protecting Sarah with her body.

Cameron slows down as she tilts Sarah to her feet, Sarah hops and skips towards the building door, reducing her forward momentum. At the same time, Cameron sidesteps to the right and knocks into one of two T-700s that got past the crashing gunship, knocking it off balance and out of control. Leaping to the left Cameron just manages to knock into the second terminator's back, sending it stumbling forward.

Sarah had pulled a satchel charge off of Cameron's back before being gently set down. Having slowed herself down by hopping and skipping, she uses the building door to stop the last of her forward momentum, slapping the satchel charge against the door at the same time. She sets the timer as two out of control terminators crash into the wall on either side of her, Sarah falls backward and is caught by Cameron, who runs up the side of the building as the satchel charge goes off below them.

Cameron rides the pressure wave upwards, and once it dissipates, she pushes off the wall and drops down to land in front of the hole in the wall where a door used to be. Sarah sprays energy pulses through the hole in the wall as Cameron scans for threats and sets her on her feet. Detecting no immediate threats, Cameron leads the advance through the hole, swinging her pulse rifle off of her back. Sarah follows, protecting their rear by firing energy pulses into the last badly damaged terminator chasing them.

"Sarah, something is wrong. I do not detect any internal guards." Cameron informs her partner as they advance towards the core of the communications building.

Sarah frowns as she follows Cameron, "What are the chances this is a fake installation set up as a trap?"

"The signal traffic coming out of this building is significant and Skynet will lose communications with all units in a hundred mile radius. Signal Intelligence also suspects it has been handling the transfer of signals to and from at least a dozen smaller communication nodes." Cameron kicks down a door in her way as they walk down antiseptic corridors. A gun emplacement activates at the intrusion and sprays Cameron with bullets; Cameron quickly brings her pulse rifle up and silences it. "I am also able to decrypt the transmissions. They are time sensitive. We have 5 minutes before reinforcements arrive."

Cameron busts through another door when she detects a HK Spider, a four legged Hunter Killer gun platform that moves like a spider and its front is demonic looking, coming out of a side door. She spins and kicks, catching it before it can fire at Sarah. The kick flipping it back into the room, landing on its back. She quickly turns back to the door she just kicked open to take out the gun emplacement protecting it.

Sarah spins and fires an energy pulse into the HK Spider before it can get to its feet, "Next question, would Skynet think it a fair trade to sacrifice this bunker to kill us or one of the other Strike teams?"

Cameron scans the room the terminator came out of as she calculates the answer to Sarah's question, "This building is an old communications center from before Judgment Day. It has old equipment." Cameron pauses, "Yes, it would, especially us." She gestures at the deactivated terminator, "It was powered down to protect it from the initial EMP bomb most strike teams use. I calculate that its power up sequence initiated with us kicking open doors."

Sarah nods her head as they continue down the antiseptic hallway until they find the first stairwell, "This is a trap," she concludes, "but the target is high enough priority that we can't just abandon the mission." Sarah looks at the stairwell and shakes her head, "No, not the stairwell, that is the usual path that strike teams take. It will be heavily trapped." Sarah looks around, "The freight lift, where is it?"

Cameron pauses, scanning, and then points, "It is this way." Cameron leads the way down a side corridor that leads back towards the external walls of the bunker. On the way, they twice more get jumped by hidden terminators, but they are ready and dispatch the ambushes just as easily. Cameron taking out several more gun emplacements as they cross through intersections, she leads Sarah to the loading dock. Cameron heads to the freight elevator as they both fire energy pulses into gun emplacements guarding the loading dock. Sarah nods her head at the doors and Cameron steps up and pries them open. Sarah picks up a pole discarded in a trash bin and braces it into the open doorway to jam the doors open.

Sarah looks into the long dark elevator shaft and sees the cables for the elevator car, "How far down is the elevator?"

Cameron peers down, "Two stories down, at the bottom of the shaft, standard protocol during an attack."

Sarah nods, "Grab the cables," she requests as she sights upwards, aiming at the cables. She is going to sever the cables so that the security AI can't get cute and send the elevator up at them as they climb down.

Cameron uses one hand to anchor herself, her powerful fingers digging and crunching into the metal of the wall frame. She leans way out, leaving her toes barely on the floor, and grabs the main cable for hoisting the elevator. Once Cameron has grabbed the cable, Sarah fires, at least 10 feet above them, cutting the cables. Cameron pulls the cable in as she pulls herself back to safety. She looks around and then rips the paneling off the wall to reveal support struts and quickly ties the cable to a main support. Sarah is watching their back as Cameron ties off the cable, firing off a quick shot as a small HK Flying Mini-Hunter, into the loading dock.

"Ready,' Cameron calls out to Sarah as she bends down slightly. Sarah steps over and wraps one arm tightly around Cameron's neck, leaning and putting her weight onto Cameron's shoulders. Cameron takes Sarah's weight, turns around, grabs the cable with her hands; she quickly lowers herself down the long shaft. Sarah's feet dangle in the air as she watches above them, keeping her pulse rifle trained upwards. About three quarters of the way down, the cable vibrates and is pulled on from above and then suddenly goes slack and falls downward. Cameron immediately lets go of the cable and drops like a rock. Reaching back, Cameron pulls Sarah around, cradling Sarah's fragile body against her chest as she lands on top of the elevator, bending her knees to absorb the energy.

Sarah keeps her focus upwards as they drop, trusting Cameron to land them safely. Waiting for the terminator to poke its head through the open doorway, she sprays energy pulses at it, the terminator spasms as an energy pulse shorts out its circuits and tips forward, falling down the shaft towards the pair.

Cameron sets Sarah down. Sarah steps over to the service door in the top of the freighter shaft, kneeling as she hears Cameron swatting the falling T-500 into the shaft wall.

Sarah opens the service door, and then drops down into the elevator, her athletic body easily absorbing the short fall as she steps to the side to give Cameron room. Cameron drops down into the freight elevator, her heavy, willowy body shaking the elevator slightly, she steps up to the doors and pries the first set of doors open, crushing the metal edges into the door frame to keep them open. She reaches out and pries the second set of doors open quickly.

Sarah crouches to the side, aiming around Cameron's side and let's loose with a spray of energy pulses as soon as the second set of doors is partly open, catching a HK Spider as it sprays plasma bolts into the opening, bouncing off of Cameron's coltan alloy body.

Cameron holds back a sigh as she catalogs all the damage her skin has taken today and concludes that she is not going to get hot after-combat-sex tonight. Or any sex for a couple of weeks while her skin regenerates, but having Sarah care for her damaged body, and then cuddle her all night is a nice reward in itself, "The servers are 20 yards ahead. There is still not enough opposition."

Sarah follows Cameron down the antiseptic halls nodding in agreement, "We might have bypassed the main ambush by going down the freight shaft," Sarah keeps an eye behind them.

They arrive without further resistance at a heavily armored door, Sarah pulls off a satchel attached to Cameron's back, plants it against the edge of the door where the locking mechanism is. Cameron finds a door, and smashes it open; scanning the room to make sure it is safe for Sarah. Sarah walks quickly past Cameron and into the far corner of the room, huddling down as Cameron covers Sarah with her body. There is a deep boom and the walls shake as the charge goes off. Cameron immediately rushes to the door of the server room and pries the heavy door open. She finds two Triple 8's inside, armed with pulse rifles. Cameron slips to the side as they aim at her; the energy pulses miss her as she charges in. Cameron slides past the rifle barrels before the two terminators can target her again. She hooks one across the head and swings it at the second, which ducks the swinging robotic body. It leaps forward, trying to slam into Cameron's belly, only to be met by Cameron's combat boot into its face, snapping its neck and severing its ability to send instructions to its body. The other T-888 is clawing at her back as it tries to free itself from Cameron's tightening grip. Cameron slowly twists its neck until she snaps it off, ending its existence. She scans and finds no additional threats inside.

At the same time Cameron is opening the door, Sarah steps out of the room and quickly ducks back into cover, bringing up her pulse rifle to spray energy pulses down the corridor at two T 700s. The terminators turn to face Sarah as they bring up pulse rifles as Sarah hits and deactivates one terminator. The second T 700 sends a couple of energy pulses at her, forcing her to duck back. Sarah drops to the floor and rolls across the floor until she gets a sight on the terminator, sending energy pulses into it as it aims at Cameron's back, the terminator spasms and collapses to the ground with the clatter of metal on tile.

"The room is secure," Cameron calls out to Sarah as she turns back to the hallway to scan for any additional threats.

Sarah steps quickly over to Cameron, and takes up guard position as Cameron removes the EMP bomb from Sarah's back. Sarah receives the EMP bomb from Cameron and moves into the server room, hugging the wall until she is not visible from the doorway before kneeling down. Setting the EMP bomb down, she quickly sets it up, "65 seconds…and Mark!"

Cameron waits until she hears Sarah call out the time and then she quickly moves to the other room, setting herself as a barrier just inside of the room. She kneels down into a solid braced stance and triggers a reboot sequence. She and Sarah have worked out the timing so that when the EMP bomb goes off, Cameron's circuits will be inert, protecting her from the electromagnetic pulse the bomb releases. Unfortunately, Cameron can not protect Sarah for two minutes, the time it takes her to reboot. At the call of Mark, Cameron initiates her reboot.

Sarah slips around the inert Cameron, letting her hand softly caress Cameron's silky hair as she crouches down behind her partner. Frowning, Sarah braces her pulse rifle on Cameron's back, able to cover the doorway into the server room. She hates this part, because there is always the chance that something could go wrong with their timing. But they can't simply leave because they have to make sure the bomb goes off and Cameron can't run out of range of the EMP without considerable lead time. As she waits, she pulls several grenades off of Cameron's vest and places them in easy reach as well as Cameron's pulse rifle. 30 seconds into the countdown the first robot appears, Sarah fires into its back before it is aware that she is there. The next 20 seconds is filled with the sound of energy pulses and gunfire as Sarah gets into a firefight with robots tasked with protecting this building, punctuated by the occasional explosion of a grenade.

With about 10 seconds left, Sarah isn't sure how much longer she is going to last, the robots are getting closer and closer to her, she is out of grenades and there seems to be a dozen robots left, all charging at her. Sarah flips her pulse rifle to overload, giving her 5 seconds before it explodes, but she can extend that time to about 8 seconds by going to continuous fire. Sarah notices one T 700 breaking off and heading to the server rooms entrance, it has obviously detected the bomb and is using the distraction of the other robots as cover. Sarah switches her target to it, shooting it down before it gets out of sight. Unfortunately the charging terminators are now on top of her position. She tosses her overheating pulse rifle behind them and let's herself fall backwards, pulling Cameron's body on top of her for whatever protection Cameron can provide, grunting as Cameron's weight lands on her.

A HK Spider casually takes aim at the defenseless Sarah as a T 500 reaches to turn off Sarah's overcharging pulse rifle when the EMP bomb goes off, followed one second later by Sarah's pulse rifle exploding. Shrapnel flies around the room, robots are tossed around as the EMP shorts them out. The room goes quietly, except for Sarah gasping in pain.

Sarah grits her teeth in pain, barely conscious and trapped under Cameron's inert body, wondering how much longer before Cameron comes back online. She runs her free hand down her side, finding a jagged piece of metal stuck into her side and feels the wetness of blood soaking through her shirt.

Ten seconds later, Cameron's eyes glow blue as she comes online. She immediately pushes herself off of Sarah's sweaty body and scans for threats before turning her attention to Sarah and assessing her condition. Cameron gasps in fear as she detects Sarah's wound and her weak heart beat, "SARAH!" Cameron leans down as she watches Sarah's eyelids flutter, holding off the pain and barely staying conscious, 'Hold on Sarah, I will fix you up, just please hold on."

Sarah's looks up at Cameron, her vision blurred, "The … ambush … caught … up … to … us." Sarah bites her lip until it bleeds to keep from screaming as Cameron pulls out the jagged piece of metal. "I… I.. am ...not… ahh ... aah ... going ... to ... ahh ... make ... aah ... this ... ah ...time ... " Sarah gasps out as she pants in pain, feeling Cameron gently but quickly treat her wound.

"NO! Just hold on Sarah. I will get you out of here and to a doctor. You will be as good as new in no time." Cameron shakes her head in denial.

Sarah smiles softly up at Cameron. To anyone else, Cameron would have sounded cool and calm, but Sarah can detect the quivering in Cameron's voice, the shininess of tears in Cameron's eyes. "Shhhh … it is … okay … Cameron. I am … not done … fighting … but … reinforcements … are probably … here … waiting for … us … to … leave."

Cameron caresses Sarah soothingly, "Yes, but our extraction team will surprise them. Just hold on, we will get out of here." Cameron gently picks up Sarah's damaged body, wincing as she hears Sarah gasp in pain at the movement. Cradling Sarah to her gently, Cameron rushes to the stairwell, confident that all the defenses have been deactivated by the EM pulse.

Sarah's eyelids flutter almost closed as she fights for consciousness. Sarah curls against Cameron, focusing on staying alive for her love. She bites her lip, drawing more blood, as she keeps herself from moaning or screaming in pain as Cameron carries her as gently as possible while running as fast as possible. They reach the corridor leading to their exit point and can see out through the gaping hole in the wall. Their sight filled with HK Centurions, HK Aerials, dozens of T 700s and even a HK Tank dominating the center of the battlefield.

"This … looks … like … the … end … Came … ron." Sarah pants as she looks at the numbers against them with no sign of the extraction team, "Pro … mise … me … that … you will … survive … to … go … back … to … me."

Cameron glares at the forces in her way, "WE will get out of here, both of us, alive and well!"

Sarah weakly reaches up and guides Cameron to look down at her, "pro .. mise me" Sarah demands of Cameron weakly, wanting to make sure her Tin Miss survives.

Cameron looks down at Sarah, a tear escapes past her eyelids, "I promise. I will survive," unable to deny Sarah anything she asks for. Cameron watches Sarah's soft, loving smile as she curls against Cameron. Cameron brings her focus back up, her eyes change to a seething red as she glares at the obstacles in her way. "We are getting out of here Sarah," Cameron states absolutely, as if the deed has already been accomplished, denying any possibility of anything but success. Cameron charges forward, channeling all her excess energy into her legs for maximum speed as she bursts out of the building.

As they burst out into the open, time seems to stop for Sarah and she can't help but remember all the times they have been in a similar impossible moment. She looks out over the field, with the setting sun casting long shadows across the ravaged land. She takes in the stacked odds against them, terminators coming at them from all directions. This moment reminds her of a movie from her childhood, Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid with Paul Newman and Robert Redfield. The movie ended with them charging into a gun fight, but didn't show you what happened after ward. Some days she thinks they fight their way out, some days she thinks they are gunned down. She and Cameron have fought their way out of innumerable impossible situations, but this one is worse then any of the others. She wonders which way it is going to go this time, as the moment ends.

The End

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