(y/n)'d never heard anything like it. strange cries traveled from the pit as the liquid machine thrashed. glowing, orange liquid tore away at the t-1000, and (y/n) found it hard to watch.

at the same time, she couldn't tear her eyes away. he turned into the people he'd been, the people he'd killed. cops, women, they all took turns thrashing in the steel. sarah's heavy breathing was the only sound to contradict the wails from below.

the sight truly was something else. it carried on for what seemed like forever, it's form eventually becoming a silver, vaguely humanoid mass. it continued to contort, until the screams began to quiet. the shiny mass soon became smaller, which soon dissipated into nothing. as if it were never there.

the group let out a collective sigh. he was gone. they did it. they'd saved the world. (y/n), though, didn't revel in her accomplishment for long. she looked back, seeing the terminator in bad shape. john followed her gaze. the two were by his side in no time.

john crouched on the floor whereas (y/n) stood over them. reaching her hand out, she helped the machine up alongside john. the terminator leaned against a beam as the two teens inspected him. "holy shit," john commented.

"you do look like shit," (y/n) added.

"i need a vacation," huffed the terminator. he stumbled over to the pit, john and (y/n) trailing behind him. she still avoided contact, in case her melted metal burned him.

"is it dead?" john asked.

"terminated."

"will this melt in there?" john pulled out the metal arm they'd gotten from dyson's lab.

"yes," the terminator confirmed. "throw it in."

(y/n) nudged him. "the chip, too." he pulled it out, studied it, and tossed it. "so, is it over?"

sarah inhaled deeply. "it's over."

"no," the terminator told them. (y/n) could physically feel her heart drop to her feet. "there is still one more chip." the terminator pointed his gloved finger towards his head. *his* chip. "it must be destroyed, also." he turned, grabbing a remote control. "here. i cannot self-terminate. you must lower me into the steel." sarah took it wordlessly.

john's face fell. "no," he protested softly. the softness quickly turned to panic. "*no*."

"what?" (y/n) joined in on the disagreement. "you can't-" her voice cracked, growing thick with the oncoming tears, "you can't be serious."

"i'm sorry-" the terminator began, but the teens didn't let him finish. an onslaught of cries came from the two as they gripped onto his clothes.

"no!"

"you can't-"

"it'll be okay, just stay with us!"

"you can't leave us like that!"

"i have to go away," the terminator told them. the words themselves brought a choked sob from (y/n).

"no," she pulled him by his jacket, "no," she pushed, now, shaking him, "no! no, don't go!"

"it'll be okay!" john repeated, more

to himself than to the terminator. "please, please don't-"

"i have to go," the terminator insisted, picking the two up and setting them aside. they cried in protest, but that didn't stop the machine.

it didn't stop the pleas from the other two, either. they begged, even as the terminator swung the pulley towards him.

"you don't have to!" john cried.

"stay! please, stay!" begged (y/n).

the terminator offered only a, "sorry."

"no!"

"it has to end here," he told them, not looking in their direction.

(y/n) slumped against the railing, bending her head down closer to the molten steel. tears slipped off her cheeks, splashing deep down into the pit. john, however, would not give up.

he stomped back to the terminator, gripping on his clothes once more. "i order you not to go. i order you! i order you not to go!" he screamed, his voice becoming more shrill the longer he spoke.

"i know now," the terminator spoke with a sad tone, one you could only hear of you listened hard enough, "why you cry." the statement caused (y/n) to let out a strangled sob from where she stood. "but it's something i could never do."

(y/n) craned her head back up, seeing the terminator trace the trail of tears that rolled down john's face. with another choked-back noise, she ran forward, slamming against the terminator in a hug. john copied her actions, one arm gripping the terminator and the other holding (y/n).

the terminator turned his head towards sarah. with a moment of silence, her hand met his in a strong handshake. it wasn't much, but it was a sign of respect. sarah nodded to him.

the teenagers leaned back, still holding onto each other as if it was the last thing they had left. "goodbye." the terminator pushed off of the ground, being held only by the chain and pulley.

and with a press of a button, he was going down. (y/n) and john shook in each other's arms, little hiccups bubbling from their throats. it had only been a couple of days since she'd gotten in this mess, but (y/n) was sick of the loss. sick of the deaths, sick of not being able to prevent them.

the terminators body sunk into the steel. he never once looked away from

where the three stood, which only raked more sobs from them. once his head was under, his remaining arm let go of the chain. (y/n) was about to look away when his hand suddenly changed from the loose, natural position. he was giving them a thumbs up.

(y/n) couldn't take it anymore. she

let out a whimper, hiding her face into john's neck. john, in return, tightened his grip and screwed his eyes shut, tears continuing to pour down his face. it seemed they both experienced a little more loss than they could take.

~

word count: 983