Avatara

Grace, Pixel and Yi ran down the tunnel. Its ground sludged with mud and odd tiny pieces of stone. It had a moderate upward incline which made running even more difficult. Grace slipped but maintained her balance. It would not do well to slow down now. There was no guarantee that the walls of the tunnel would not collapse, though it gradually widened the further they ran. Up, above, on the ceiling of the tunnel the code lines flashed. Yi was in front, leading the way as he had the light.

"I can see light at the end of this tunnel," he said.

"What? Really?" said Pixel.

"Yes," he replied.

"Keep running," Grace said. "We need to make sure we get out there before Knightmare-Grimm gets to us.

They continued running until they made it to the tunnel mouth. And then they were out in the light. All three of them able to walk out of the large tunnel exit. To their left and right they saw several other similar exits.

'All roads do indeed lead to Rome.'

It was a rocky uneven platform they had come out to with code patterns flashing and extending all over its surface. In the middle of the area was a large black cuboid object that sood erect but fixed into the ground. A sun appeared high in the sky as if it was noon.

"Is that what I think it is?" said Pixel, pointing to the cuboid structure.

Before Grace could reply, Yi fell to his knees.

Glugg! Glugg! He could not speak and frantically held his own throat with both his hands.

Glugg!

"Yi what's wrong?" Grace screamed.

"What's going on?" Pixel screamed. "What's wrong with him Grace, what's wrong with him?"

Yi's eyes bulged with terror, the veins in his neck engorged and blood dribbled from his mouth.

"I don't know," said Grace. "Maybe he's choking?"

She had slapped him on his back to try and help him cough something up, but it did not work.

"Don't die Yi," said Pixel. "Don't die."

Yi turned blue in the face. His look of terror was replaced by one of calm acceptance. He and Grace held eye contact for a moment. In those moments Grace sensed that he was trying to give her a message.

"It's no use," a voice boomed in the distance.

Both turned to greet the image of the image of the man in the distance beyond the large black obelisk.

"I killed him in the real word, his faux symbolism of the internal system made it difficult for me to find this kernel. The boy was a nuisance and too dangerous. Also, I don't need him alive. I can study his brain after all this is done."

Knightmare-Grimm's change of appearance stunned Grace, he no longer looked like a wolf. She looked back at Yi. He was lifeless. She cradled him in her arms, shedding a single tear that fell and then hung from her chin for a while before falling on Yi's face. Pixel cried; she was inconsolable.

They heard a powerful cracking and up above, they saw a piece of the sky peel off and disintegrate as it fell to the ground, revealing pure darkness behind it.

"His illusion is now weakening," said Knightmare Grimm. "I guess that's why my form has now changed, although I was having fun as the big bad wolf."

Knightmare-Grimm stood by the kernel. Parts of the environmental representation created by Yi continued to crack, revealing binary code flashing in wave like patterns. Sky and rock collapsed. He looked more like Byron Grimm now. Carrying the appearance of a mercenary in a bulletproof vest, tank top, combat trousers and boots. His facial features still looked like that of a wolf and he still had yellow eyes. But he was now regular size at a height of several inches above six feet.

"It's over Grace," said Knightmare-Grimm. "As you can see I have got to the kernel first. All I need to do is absorb over eighty per cent of its power then ---." Knightmare-Grimm stopped to inspect the kernel and saw the device attached to it.

"Interesting, it appears there is a bomb attached to it," he said. "Grace is this your doing? Very clever," he said.

"Unfortunately for you the bomb will go off in one hour. Such is the telescoping effects of time on miniature states close to the quantum level." Knightmare-Grimm chuckled after he finished speaking.

A piece of ground disappeared on the rocky platform revealing more of the underlying code in the darkness behind it; in addition to the pieces of sky fell from above like ash.

"You're a monster," said Pixel. She clenched her fist. "We will never stand here and just let you take the kernel."

"Careful, careful," said Knightmare-Grimm. "Remember where your real bodies are. Are they safe?" He placed his hand on the obelisk and started to absorb power.

"No time like the present," he said.

Grace laid Yi's body carefully on the ground. Small pieces of debris of the collapsing illusion continued to fall heavily.

"Pixel hold your nerve," she said. "Don't let him get to you emotionally. That's how he gets inside your head."

"But we can't let him take the kernel?" said Pixel.

"We won't but do you notice what he's been saying?" Grace muttered quietly.

"What?" said Pixel.

Knightmare-Grimm spoke to them again.

"Look at you two chatting away like school girls on a playground. Though it would suit you both, chatting about hairstyles and boys." Knightmare-Grimm laughed to himself.

"He is active on the outside as well as inside here," Grace continued. "He is after our real bodies and got Yi's body already. I'm afraid we are all in now, even if we stop him, we cannot escape here as Yi can't get us out."

"You mean we will die here?" said Pixel.

"Yes," said Grace. "Either he kills us on the outside first or takes our souls after he takes the kernel…"

"Or we stop him taking over the kernel right now and die in here afterwards," said Pixel with resignation.

"Yep," said Grace. "There is no escape. But we're Escape key and we fight to the end!"

"You said we," Pixel smiled.

"Yeah I did," said Grace. "Now let's stop this monster. We need to enter a password to that bomb to make it explode quickly."

"He's absorbing so much power right now," said Pixel. "I'm going to kick him off it."

Pixel ran towards Knightmare-Grimm.

"Pixel! Wait!" shouted Grace.

Pixel got to Knightmare-Grimm within seconds; running through the falling debris, screaming wildly, she tried to punch him.

"Pathetic," said Knightmare-Grimm. "I expected something better from you."

He kicked Pixel and she flew back several yards across the rocks. Her body was spread out with outstretched arms.

"Pixel!" shouted Grace.

"Now it's just you and me Grace," said Knightmare-Grimm. I have now absorbed twenty four percent of the kernel's power.

"Please stop," said Grace. "I give up."

Knightmare-Grimm relaxed his hand from the obelisk and the absorption stopped.

"Do you mean that darling?" he said.

"Yes I do," said Grace, walking towards him. "I know I can't escape you."

She trembled as she got closer to him, his wolf-like face and bulging huge arms scared her. He looked ravenous but her sacrifice was necessary.

"At last you see sense Miss Shelley," he said.

"You know I have never wanted to kill you even though you killed me. You're a honey, a sweet nectar that I find so irresistible. I d.e.s.i.r.e you Grace. I want you to be my queen. If I can trust you now, we can do this together. Rule the world together. I don't want to be alone."

Grace was right opposite him now. "You don't have to be alone. I am with you now. I will be your love."

Knightmare-Grimm smiled with p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e. "We will rule the world for a thousand---."

Grace darted around the other side of the obelisk to the logic bomb. She started typing the password on its keypad screen quickly. 'Philo-.'

Knightmare-Grimm grabbed Grace by her left arm.

"Now how was that ever going to work?" His grip was vice-like and he had claw like fingers that dug into Grace's flesh. She bled.

"Now, I can be at two places at once," he said. "Inside the Avatara system and outside in the real world. My powers are already increasing to the supranormal Grace. And I don't need your willing co-operation." He put his other hand back on the surface of the kernel.

"My power is now at forty five per cent," he said. "Ha, I can feel it. Oh yes. I can now take over your mind too, without destabilising myself or consuming you. You will look like Grace Shelley but speak my language and be my loving slave."

Grace trembled with horror and contempt. Trying to face her end with dignity. He gripped her harder and she felt an energy course through her. An overwhelming energy that pushed on her sense of self with a deep depression. She tried to resist. Byron Grimm already had a persuasive power of influence in his previous life but this was thousands of times more powerful than that. She looked at his wolf-like face and found herself struggling to hate him.