Avatara

Yi, suddenly able to move quickly, took Grace away to the side so that they could avoid the crossfire. Grace was panting due to the shock.

"Don't panic Grace," said Yi. "They're on our side. Several seconds of firing occurred and she could hear screams from Knightmare-Grimm's men. After a few more volleys of fire it was silent, and then the lights came up again.

"Nice shooting boys."

A familiar voice to Grace. She looked up. It was Pixel. Grace sighed with a mixture of puzzlement and relief. Above her and Yi, standing on the structural beams, were Pixel, Qwerty and Byte. Not only them but several of Snow Globe's men.

"Pixel?" said Grace. She turned to Yi.

"You called them?"

"Yes I did," said Yi. "I had to focus all my concentration to contact them. I have been conserving my energy for the past day just to do this."

Separate from them and walking from the lifts on the other side of the room, carrying a gun, was Jazz.

"I still have my injuries," he said. "So there's no way I was coming down from those cables."

The guys above dropped themselves to ground level. Snow Globe's men came down with them as well but remained in the background. They were excellent at being seen but not heard.

"You guys shot them?" said Grace.

"No," said Pixel. "Snow Globe's security men did. Snow Globe would not want us to hurt anyone, we're too young."

"And we don't want blood on our hands," said Qwerty.

Grace exchanged a glance with Jazz. Jazz smiled slightly. She nodded in return.

"I hope you're ok?" Grace said to Pixel. Grace remembered how Pixel wailed after the massacre of the previous attempt to enter Q-division. She looked calm and composed, almost too composed.

"Yeah I'm fine now," said Pixel. "I didn't want to talk to anyone for a while but I got Yi's message and realised we've just gotta stop this."

"How did you get past the machine guns at the entrance?" said Grace.

Byte spoke up. "I recognised the control unit for the front lock was wired to the guns using a 'fire-control system'. I saw it in one of my computer games."

"All this boy's computer game playing turned out to be useful," said Qwerty. "We macked that system and disabled it. The two boys 'high-fived' each other.

Pixel viewed Knightmare-Grimm's motionless body on the table with a brain machine on the unmasked head. Pixel grimaced when looking at the horrible face.

"This is him?" she said. She prodded the body very lightly but it didn't react. "The body's breathing. We could just kill him right here and end it."

"Sorry Pixel but that won't work," Grace confirmed. "Knightmare-Grimm doesn't need bodies to survive as he is an emergence of the Avatara system itself. That body is irrelevant. He is inside the server and is going to the Avatara kernel to take it over."

"You gave him the codes?" said Jazz.

"I had to," said Grace. "But I also inserted a 'logic bomb' code using my necklace usb."

"What will that do?" said Qwerty.

"It will delay him getting to the kernel and has strapped the kernel itself with a bomb that will fully execute in thirty minutes."

"Then it's fine then," said Jazz. "We just wait until it explodes."

"No, if Knightmare-Grimm gets there first he might be able to join the kernel before the bomb goes off. If he does that he will disable the bomb."

The group stood there numbed.

"So it means there is nothing we can do?" said Byte.

"I bet he will get to the kernel before the thirty minutes are up," said Grace. "If we don't do anything Knightmare-Grimm will take over everyone using Avatara."

"Over a million people in the UK alone," said Pixel.

"And there are these robots he has created," said Grace, pointing above. The structures were undamaged by the earlier gunfire. "We have no idea of the total number."

"Brian!?" said Jazz. He'd taken a closer look at Knightmare-Grimm's body and looked at the face. He recognised the features of his work partner.

He turned to the others. "It's Brian," he said aghast. "He used Brian's body as a host. That's how he recognised me at the airport."

Grace returned conversation to the matter at hand. Now was not the time for grief or other emotions.

"We just have to hope that the logic bomb work and he doesn't get to the kernel in time before it does." Grace trailed off. She wasn't convinced at all.

"You just said he will get to the kernel before the thirty minutes are up?" said Byte.

"I haven't been able to think further than this point," said Grace. "There is a password on the bomb itself that would make the kernel blow up immediately but that subcode would require us to be somehow be inside the Avatara system itself. Like becoming the actual fabric of the software interfacing with the hardware. It cannot be remotely done by a series of functions on a computer screen."

Yi spoke up. "Then I have an idea. There is another thing we can do."

Two of Snow Globe's men were trying to assist him and make sure he is okay but he insisted he didn't need the help.

"We can go into the Avatara system and make sure the logic bomb explodes before he gets there."

"I don't understand," said Grace.

"I have a unique ability," said Yi. "One that Knightmare-Grimm doesn't know about. I can astral project into any system living or machine, and give it an understandable representation. I can also take others inside with me. I think I'll also be able to project that representation onto a computer screen like a map. Meaning that someone can direct us to the kernel from the outside."

"That's unreal," said Jazz.

"Yeah we thought Knightmare-Grimm knew of the full extent of Yi's power. Luckily he didn't," said Pixel. "If he did, he may not have even bothered with Grace anymore," she continued.

"He could have just taken Yi's powers and used them to take over my mind," said Grace. "Taking the codes by force."

"Precisely," said Pixel.

"Let's use his ignorance to our advantage," said Yi

"I want to go inside this Avatara system. Sounds like a good trip man," said Byte

"Yeah it sounds like that Jules Verne sci-fi novel,"said Qwerty. "Forgotten its name though." Qwerty was actually racking his mind trying to recall the name of the book.

"You read too many books," said Byte.

"You play too many games," replied Qwerty.

"I can only take two people with me," said Yi.

"Then it will have to be me and Pixel," said Grace.

"Exactly my thoughts," said Yi. "Byte and Qwerty you will have to guide us from the map projection I will get up on the computer screen."

"Now that we're here, why don't we just blow this building up and wipe out Sheldrake and Avatara completely," said Qwerty.

"We can do that," said Grace. "We will endanger the people who live around here. Local hospitals, police stations and other emergency services, all rely on the Sheldrake communications pole. Plus it would take at least an hour to set up. Yi, if you can do this let's get going.

"Yi are you sure you are up to this?" said Pixel.

"It's my duty to bring peace to the world," said Yi. "I must do whatever I can."

"You guys," Pixel, pointing to Snow Globe's men. "And you Jazz. Keep an eye on these foot soldiers we immobilised. If any of them wake up zap them again."

"Didn't you kill them?" said Grace.

"This is an Escape key job Grace," said Pixel. "We're hackers, not murderers."

"No, we killed them," said one of Snow Globe's men. "The boss said take no chances."

"Oh," Pixel blushed. "Well I guess we have to make sure we get the job done this time."

"But on that note of immobilisation, Byte and Qwerty, can you boys also look after our real bodies, while we go in?" said Yi.

"Yes Yi," they both said at the same time. They both looked at each other like the other was an idiot.

"Make sure you wear headphones when using the computer, I will use that to communicate with you," Yi said.

"Ok, let's do this," said Grace.

"You both need to hold my hands," said Yi. Grace and Pixel did as requested. Yi's hands were very hot and bounded with their own. Grace felt like she was on fire. Everything in front of her seemed fuzzy and then her vision went pitch black.