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Entry tags:
FIC: Rebirth
Title: Rebirth
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
wizefics
Fandom: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Prompt: 90 - colorless at![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
tamingthemuse; and the First Challenge at d_or_c.
Characters: Derek Reese
Rating: Teen
Warnings: None really - general spoilers for the series.
Summary: Derek can see the man he once knew in the boy before him.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything of note here and don't make money doing this.
A/N: Many thanks tohematite_lover for the beta. All remaining mistakes are mine!
As always, feedback is welcome and appreciated!
***************
The first thing Derek Reese noticed during the jump was the blinding light that seared his eyes and bored into his skull, burning away everything he knew. After the flash of light faded, he remained kneeling on the ground, his breath hitching as he tried with increasing determination to drive away the memory of bomb blasts in the distance. Gradually, his eyes adjusted and he could see again. Glancing around, he realized that they had jumped into a construction site and he breathed a sigh of relief. They probably hadn't been noticed, then. Blinking, he turned and looked up. And he froze.
Now that he could see again, all he could see was how bright everything was, even at night.
It scared him to realize how much he had forgotten.
He stood up slowly and for the first time since Judgment Day, Reese was completely oblivious to what the people around him were doing. If they'd been attacked at that moment, they would have died and he wouldn't have cared. His men were equally mesmerized. Together they stood, naked and transfixed, and stared at the world from before.
Skyscrapers, cars, horns, music, construction equipment, litter, signs, advertisements, everything... Everything felt brighter somehow, more real, more precious, more valuable. Derek felt something wet on his face and realized that he was crying.
He didn't bother to wipe the tears away; he didn't even blink. Awe, wonder, grief... they all flowed through him so quickly his mind reeled from it. A breeze swept over his small group, bringing with it a thousand smells that he barely recognized anymore. Car exhaust, dirt, grease, perfume, body odor... the smells of humanity. His breath caught in his throat; it was so beautiful that he nearly felt blinded by it and his chest ache with a fierceness he'd only ever felt before in the heat of battle.
"Reese, we can't stay here." The whisper was subdued, respectful... reverent. "We'll be noticed."
"Yeah," Reese couldn't tear his eyes away from the tallest of the skyscrapers, brightly lit against the velvet black sky, the window lights blazing defiantly into the darkness. He imagined all the people inside, working, living, loving, laughing, fighting, crying, fucking, dying. It pushed the limits of his mind to realize that it was filled with people who had no idea that machines were four years away from taking over the world, no idea that the lucky ones would be turned to ash before they even knew that they were dead.
He shivered. These people had no idea that they were dead already.
The ignorance was staggering. Worse, Reese knew that even if he tried to tell them that the end of the world was only a short time away, no one would believe him. They would not heed his warning. No one would believe that artificial intelligence would grow so quickly or could be so dangerous. No one in this time feared machines. At best they would think he was exaggerating. At worst, they would believe him insane.
It hurt, knowing that he couldn't warn them. The ache in his chest grew worse.
"Reese." His name was louder now and it broke the spell. Blinking hard, Reese almost saw the colorless world that he remembered colliding with the year 2007, a brief overlay that was swallowed by the sheer vibrancy of life that surrounded him. There were no machines, there were no concentration camps, there were no bunkers, no walking weapons, no guard dogs... There was only Derek Reese, and the soldiers who had come with him.
Reese breathed out slowly, already thinking about his plan. He was really here - and he was going to find Kyle. His baby brother would be older now, older than Reese. The thought was too difficult to understand if he really thought about it, so Reese didn't think about it. He just accepted it the way he had accepted his life thus far.
Acceptance didn't mean giving up and not fighting, but it did mean surviving. Accept that Judgment Day had come. Accept that the world had ended. Accept that time travel was possible. Accept that Kyle had gone back to protect a woman that he had loved from the first time he saw her photograph. Accept that John Connor had known that time travel was possible and had been using it without telling anyone - without giving anyone the opportunity to escape.
But, fight. Always fight. Forever fight. Never stop fighting!
Derek Reese accepted his past, but he was going to fight like hell to make sure his history didn't repeat itself. Turning, he nodded to the group of men who had come with them. Even now, even naked and weaponless and in the past, they responded like they had been trained.
They had seen and felt the moment with him. They knew now what was at stake better than anyone. They would fight and they would fight well, because they remembered what they were fighting for.
Clothes first. Then shelter. Those were the priorities. And then Reese planned on doing whatever he had to do to make sure that they could all go and sit somewhere in the sun and eat burgers and fries and drink beer and soda until they were sick from it. After that, they would get back to their mission. They wouldn't forget it. They couldn't forget it. The painful memories would haunt them if they tried.
Taking a deep breath, Reese centered himself and ordered his men to move out, keeping to the shadows. Compared to what he'd lived through, being naked, penniless and clueless as to how to succeed at his mission seemed easy.
It was simple. Reese would succeed. He was going to find Kyle. And he was going to find Sarah and John Connor. And he was going to build the resistance as he had been ordered to build and train the soldiers he'd been ordered to train. And he would fight the good fight.
But, first, he was going to find Andy Goode.
Author:
wizeficsFandom: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Prompt: 90 - colorless at
tamingthemuse; and the First Challenge at d_or_c.Characters: Derek Reese
Rating: Teen
Warnings: None really - general spoilers for the series.
Summary: Derek can see the man he once knew in the boy before him.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything of note here and don't make money doing this.
A/N: Many thanks to
hematite_lover for the beta. All remaining mistakes are mine!As always, feedback is welcome and appreciated!
***************
The first thing Derek Reese noticed during the jump was the blinding light that seared his eyes and bored into his skull, burning away everything he knew. After the flash of light faded, he remained kneeling on the ground, his breath hitching as he tried with increasing determination to drive away the memory of bomb blasts in the distance. Gradually, his eyes adjusted and he could see again. Glancing around, he realized that they had jumped into a construction site and he breathed a sigh of relief. They probably hadn't been noticed, then. Blinking, he turned and looked up. And he froze.
Now that he could see again, all he could see was how bright everything was, even at night.
It scared him to realize how much he had forgotten.
He stood up slowly and for the first time since Judgment Day, Reese was completely oblivious to what the people around him were doing. If they'd been attacked at that moment, they would have died and he wouldn't have cared. His men were equally mesmerized. Together they stood, naked and transfixed, and stared at the world from before.
Skyscrapers, cars, horns, music, construction equipment, litter, signs, advertisements, everything... Everything felt brighter somehow, more real, more precious, more valuable. Derek felt something wet on his face and realized that he was crying.
He didn't bother to wipe the tears away; he didn't even blink. Awe, wonder, grief... they all flowed through him so quickly his mind reeled from it. A breeze swept over his small group, bringing with it a thousand smells that he barely recognized anymore. Car exhaust, dirt, grease, perfume, body odor... the smells of humanity. His breath caught in his throat; it was so beautiful that he nearly felt blinded by it and his chest ache with a fierceness he'd only ever felt before in the heat of battle.
"Reese, we can't stay here." The whisper was subdued, respectful... reverent. "We'll be noticed."
"Yeah," Reese couldn't tear his eyes away from the tallest of the skyscrapers, brightly lit against the velvet black sky, the window lights blazing defiantly into the darkness. He imagined all the people inside, working, living, loving, laughing, fighting, crying, fucking, dying. It pushed the limits of his mind to realize that it was filled with people who had no idea that machines were four years away from taking over the world, no idea that the lucky ones would be turned to ash before they even knew that they were dead.
He shivered. These people had no idea that they were dead already.
The ignorance was staggering. Worse, Reese knew that even if he tried to tell them that the end of the world was only a short time away, no one would believe him. They would not heed his warning. No one would believe that artificial intelligence would grow so quickly or could be so dangerous. No one in this time feared machines. At best they would think he was exaggerating. At worst, they would believe him insane.
It hurt, knowing that he couldn't warn them. The ache in his chest grew worse.
"Reese." His name was louder now and it broke the spell. Blinking hard, Reese almost saw the colorless world that he remembered colliding with the year 2007, a brief overlay that was swallowed by the sheer vibrancy of life that surrounded him. There were no machines, there were no concentration camps, there were no bunkers, no walking weapons, no guard dogs... There was only Derek Reese, and the soldiers who had come with him.
Reese breathed out slowly, already thinking about his plan. He was really here - and he was going to find Kyle. His baby brother would be older now, older than Reese. The thought was too difficult to understand if he really thought about it, so Reese didn't think about it. He just accepted it the way he had accepted his life thus far.
Acceptance didn't mean giving up and not fighting, but it did mean surviving. Accept that Judgment Day had come. Accept that the world had ended. Accept that time travel was possible. Accept that Kyle had gone back to protect a woman that he had loved from the first time he saw her photograph. Accept that John Connor had known that time travel was possible and had been using it without telling anyone - without giving anyone the opportunity to escape.
But, fight. Always fight. Forever fight. Never stop fighting!
Derek Reese accepted his past, but he was going to fight like hell to make sure his history didn't repeat itself. Turning, he nodded to the group of men who had come with them. Even now, even naked and weaponless and in the past, they responded like they had been trained.
They had seen and felt the moment with him. They knew now what was at stake better than anyone. They would fight and they would fight well, because they remembered what they were fighting for.
Clothes first. Then shelter. Those were the priorities. And then Reese planned on doing whatever he had to do to make sure that they could all go and sit somewhere in the sun and eat burgers and fries and drink beer and soda until they were sick from it. After that, they would get back to their mission. They wouldn't forget it. They couldn't forget it. The painful memories would haunt them if they tried.
Taking a deep breath, Reese centered himself and ordered his men to move out, keeping to the shadows. Compared to what he'd lived through, being naked, penniless and clueless as to how to succeed at his mission seemed easy.
It was simple. Reese would succeed. He was going to find Kyle. And he was going to find Sarah and John Connor. And he was going to build the resistance as he had been ordered to build and train the soldiers he'd been ordered to train. And he would fight the good fight.
But, first, he was going to find Andy Goode.