Last Savior

"Go, Arnold, go!" 

As Lucas hurriedly backed away, he was practically chanting in his head. If that female enforcer weren't right there watching, he might've just whooped out loud, grabbed Aurelia, and busted out some ridiculous dance to let off all that adrenaline. 

Praise be to the gods—turns out I have this super-badass bodyguard by my side! Hah! Hah! Hah! 

Lucas was still watching the two fighters going at it, barely keeping from bursting into laughter. On the outside, though, he didn't dare show his glee. 

After all, even the Terminator wasn't invincible in the movies, and who knew how powerful this "Arnold" might really be in a heads-on fight? That female enforcer still hadn't gone down. Based on what Lucas could see, 13 wasn't exactly dominating. 

And right now… 

They were moving so fast that all Lucas could see were overlapping afterimages and the nonstop wham-bam of fists smashing into walls. Both sides were pure brawlers, heavy on brute strength. Whenever they paused for a second, either the enforcer would be wiping blood from her mouth with a scowl, or #13 would pull himself out of some massive body-shaped dent in the wall, expressionless as ever. 

This was the first time since arriving in this era that Lucas had witnessed a real fight between "future humans." He'd always figured the battles of the future would be laser guns and big ol' mechs stomping around. Instead, people here seemed keen on old-school hand-to-hand, ditching sci-fi firepower to smash each other's faces in—way more exciting than any MMA match he'd ever seen. 

From his vantage, though, it was impossible to tell who had the upper hand. He could only note that, yep, they were still fighting. He just stood there, eyes wide, wondering, "How long are they gonna keep this up?" 

I sure hope my bodyguard doesn't lose. If Alice wins, she'll probably come after me… Then again, I gotta admit her body is really nice. Look at those boobs bouncing every time she moves… Bet that boob job would feel a hell of a lot nicer than Aurelia's if we— 

Finally, about an hour later, the showdown reached a conclusion: armorless, and thus with a weaker defense, the female enforcer coughed up a huge mouthful of blood. Despite looking like she'd been thoroughly beaten, she still had that fierce don't-mess-with-me swagger. She spat out, "I'll be back!" then turned on her heel and vanished into the shelter's depths. 

"Haha! 'I will be back?' Dude, she just hijacked your classic one-liner, Arnold!" Lucas, thoroughly relieved, couldn't help cracking up. He rushed over to #13, grabbing the big guy's arm to help yank him out of the wall he'd been slammed into. 

"Schlurrrp—splurt…" 

As Lucas pulled, a thick, sticky fluid (blood? oil?) poured over him like he'd just turned on a shower faucet, drenching him from head to toe. He stumbled back a few steps, tripped on a rock, and landed on his butt. 

"Ugh… What the hell? Did I bust a water pipe?" Wiping his face, Lucas glanced up—and promptly gaped at a nightmare sight. 

The future Terminator #13's arm and half of his chest skin had peeled off in one big piece, kind of like a giant apron still clinging to his lower belly. Exposed beneath that skin were vivid, gory organs and muscle fibers. 

Both arms dangled loosely, revealing the gruesome scene underneath—no metal endoskeleton, just shattered white bones snapped in multiple places and sticking out at weird angles on either side of his chest. Where his stomach should've been was one huge bloody hole. 

Lucas just stared at the sudden shift, barely able to process it. Even the horror of seeing this blood-soaked mess didn't fully register—he was too stunned. Moments ago, #13 had seemed unstoppable, beating Alice so soundly that she fled. Now…this? 

"Hey… man, that's a pretty crappy stunt to pull." 

"If she'd hauled me off, at least you wouldn't be the one dying. But no, you had to pound the crap out of her, and then let yourself get torn to pieces…" 

"Great. If that psycho lady comes back for revenge, I'm screwed." 

"Cough… cough… If you're gonna whine like this for another half-hour, then yeah, we're definitely screwed." #13's voice came again. Lucas jumped back almost three yards in alarm—only to realize this time, the voice was actually old Gadget's! 

Lucas nearly leapt out of his skin. "What the—how's that you?" 

"I knew you were hiding something from me, old man! You can transform?! Dang!" Lucas gawked at #13 from head to toe, looking for any hint of the white rat's features. "Seriously, that's some heavy-duty tech—getting ripped open like that, and still not dead? That is badass!" 

"Bah… Don't kid yourself. Rip the chest off a cockroach and see if it lives. I think you've been reading too much sci-fi." Old Gadget sounded totally exhausted. "This isn't me 'transforming'… I'm right here…" 

Following the voice, Lucas spotted the real situation inside #13's belly cavity. Sure enough, an utterly blood-soaked white rat lay there, eyes rolling back in its head. Its once snowy fur was matted in crimson clumps; the old rodent looked more like a "red rat" now.

Tubes and wires were plugged into every inch of its little body, connecting it to the inside of #13. Where the stomach should've been, a translucent membrane encased the old rat, holding it firmly in place. 

A living rat, stuffed into the body of a living person—what the hell is this? Some twisted "human kangaroo" concept? 

"Is this some kinda bio-android?" Lucas asked nervously, leaning in to pull old Gadget out of #13's gut.