I am such an idiot.

My first reaction after seeing the Yīqún was to run like hell. My second was to let it rot where it was, locked away behind that energy barrier. Either of those options would have been fine. Instead, I talked myself into making a deal with the evil world-killing machine, and for what? Expediency? A shot at the Holy Grail? I should have known the drone would double cross me the first chance it got.

Part of me did, I suppose. Really should have listened to that part.

Despite its warning, the leap caught me off guard. I dove and twisted out of the way; the machine missing me by scant centimeters. It hit the ground and skid to a halt as I rolled and got my feet back under me, facing it just in time as it charged me once more. I desperately tried willing a weapon into my hand, despite knowing full well it wouldn’t work inside an Eleexx domain. Raven screamed as I dodged again, but this time I wasn’t quite fast enough. One of its metallic tentacles whipped out and caught me across the ribs, tearing into my cybernetic flesh as it flew past. I staggered and backed away even as it came back around for a third pass.

If I didn’t come up with a plan in a goddamn hurry, I was a dead man.

“Raven! Get inside the data core!” I shouted. It would offer scant protection from the Yīqún if it turned on her, but at the moment it was the best I could offer. I wracked my brain as It charged yet again for something, anything, that would give me a fighting chance.

My brain came up blank. Stupid brain.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Raven make her move. The drone ignored her, just as I’d hoped, focusing its attention on me instead. She was just a simulacrum whereas I was the genuine article. I posed the greater threat, so true to its programming, it sighted in on me first. I’d been counting on that, in fact. Besides, once it finished with me, it would have plenty of time to deal with any inconvenient loose ends.

Time slowed to a crawl as it charged… not literally, as I’d already burned out that device getting in here… but as it barreled down on me, I had a split second to consider my options. Running and dodging were out, and I had no weapons to fight back with. That didn’t exactly leave me a lot to work with.

If I was going to have any chance at survival, I needed to get creative.

And then it hit me. It was crazy, but at the moment, crazy was the only thing still on the table.

I had barely enough time to make the attempt before the Yīqún leapt for my throat. In the heartbeat before it would have ripped out my trachea, I focused my will on the domain surrounding us, and dropped the illusion.

Man, if you thought the alien drones were ugly in their natural state, it didn’t hold a candle to how they appeared in that shadow realm. As the strange plasma-and-starfield surroundings reappeared, I got my first glimpse of how the drone actually appeared behind the looking glass.

It was a being of pure malevolence and evil, a raw wound in the very fabric of nature itself, a bloody gaping inferno filled with hatred and death, pulsating in some twisted approximation of a heartbeat. It hungered as it came for me, eager to devour, but with the façade now stripped away, I could see the very code giving it life, or at least a corrupted half-version of it. It rushed in for the kill as I chose my moment, searching for anything I could get my hands on.

I spotted what looked like a suitable target, a section of data that appeared vulnerable, and struck with my bare hands. I caught a piece of it and fought to tear it free, but as I did, the drone was returning the favor with a vengeance. Its tentacles whipped and struck and slashed into me, digging into my flesh as I fought back a scream of agony. I tightened my grip, holding the machine fast as it did its madness-fueled best to murder me. I was feeling myself weaken as it tore into my body when Raven’s scream whipped me around.

“Alphad! Over here!” she shouted, as I fought to get my bearings. Recognizable landmarks were few here, one of the primary reasons we Avatars avoid the illusory world. But after a moment of panic as I frantically searched for something to anchor myself to, I spotted her.

Raven was glowing.

She shone like a beacon of light, looking nothing like the form I knew, not even the same basic outline, but I knew it was her. She gestured to me, urging me forward, and in a flash, I grasped her plan. It was daring, I’d give her that, but it was also risky, especially since for it to work I had to actually survive the next few moments.

What the hell. It’s not like I had anything better on tap.

With a scream, I hurled my full mass against the Yīqún’s, shoving and dragging the drone while it fought to tear me limb from limb. We were locked in a bloody embrace, the two of us, but it was doing far more damage to me than I was to it. At this rate, I had less than a minute before it rendered my code inert.

That’s permadeath, boys and girls. There’s no coming back from that.

I couldn’t have managed it had I remained bound to the Eleexxi illusion. Removing the blinders from my eyes showed me possibilities I would have never imagined; methods that would allow me to manipulate the environment surrounding me. Focusing my waning energy, I slammed into the Yīqún, driving it forward as I fought for every meter of ground. I was still taking damage from the drone, but given enough time, I could heal my injuries.

The greater question being whether I would be allowed that time.

The Yīqún grew frenzied in its efforts as I struggled to propel it to the target. It must have realized our plan, saw that it could actually work, vowing instead to destroy us both before we succeeded. My energy reserves were being rapidly depleted, analogous to massive blood loss in a corporeal body, and despite my best efforts, I was on the verge of collapse. Raven couldn’t help me here, as she had her own part to play. This was all on me.

With a deep breath I gathered every bit of strength I had, crying out with a mighty roar as I screamed “Now!”, hurling the drone’s body into the space where the energy barrier had once held it captive, before stumbling away.

“NO!” the Yīqún shrieked as Raven threw the switch.

I let out a satisfied sigh as I collapsed, floating in the aether as the creature was vaporized. You had to hand it to the Eleexx, they really know how to build their death machines. I closed my eyes and struggled to stem the energy loss, but the machine had cut me deep. I wasn’t certain I could survive long enough to get us out.

Well, it’s been a good run, I thought to myself. I’d lived a pretty rich life when you got right down to it. I was in no bigger hurry to see it end than the next guy, but unfortunately, we rarely got to make those kinds of decisions. I wondered what would become of Raven after I was gone. Would she disappear as well, or would she just rattle around the research facility’s mainframe like some ethereal shade? Be an interesting experiment, come to think about it…

I felt something lift my head before resting it somewhere soft and warm. My eyes fluttered open to find Raven gazing down at me, my head resting in her lap. I started to speak, but she merely pressed her finger against my lips, hushing me. Well. I’d already said pretty much what I wanted, anyway. She took my hand in hers, as she whispered, “Let me help you.”

I was certain it was a little late for that, but I didn’t have the heart to tell her. Instead I nodded, closing my eyes once more, slowly drifting off into the blessed black.

My eyes fluttered open, only to spot Raven still sitting vigil with me. “Must have dozed off,” I mumbled.

She chuckled. “You’ve been unconscious for almost two days, Alphad. But you’re doing much better now.”

“... what?”

I stared at her, confused. “Pretty sure I was dying, last time I checked.”

“You were,” she nodded gravely.

“But I’m not now?”

“You’re not quite back to your old self, but you’re no longer in danger,” she confirmed.

“Umm…” Time to run a quick function check. The results came back almost immediately, confirming her diagnosis. With enough time and rest, and a little TLC, I’d probably make a full recovery. I ran it again, just to be sure, and the second set of results matched the first. They were in complete agreement.

They were also impossible.

I tried sitting up, and despite a moment of dizziness, managed it easily enough. “Raven? Why am I not dead?’” I asked her. “I’m not complaining or anything, but I know exactly just how depleted my reserves were. By every standard I know, we shouldn’t be having this conversation.”

“And yet we are,” she smiled.

“Uh huh… I don’t suppose you’d care to explain why I’m not dead, would you?”

Raven shrugged. “The answer is simple enough. You were low on energy, so I gave you some of mine. Like a transfusion.”

I blinked.

“That’s... not supposed to be possible,” I stammered. “They designed our resonance frequencies to be incompatible.” There were several reasons for that, most of which boiled down to not wanting to tempt fate where simulacrum was concerned. If they were too much like us, well then, they might start getting smart, and we can’t have that, now can we?

“It wasn’t that hard to bridge the gap,” she shrugged. “Just some minor adjustments.” She paused for a moment, then pressed forward. “We still need to find that information the Brotherhood wants, then make our escape,” she reminded me. “I don’t think we can wait any longer.”

“We can’t,” I agreed, as I carefully pushed myself up off the ground. “If I’ve been out for two days, subjective time, then the Eleexx must have noticed by now their pet monster is offline. We have to get out of here before they track us down.” Raven was there at my side almost immediately to assist, despite my best efforts to wave her off. I hate being fussed over, though when she slid an arm next mine to help steady me, I let it slide. I couldn’t figure out how she’d managed her so-called “transfusion”, but that was really a question for another time. Right now, I needed to find that data.

I approached the data core, where our late unlamented Yīqún friend met his demise. There wasn’t even ash left behind… which made sense, since that’s not how things worked in cyberspace. Still, we hang onto our conventions, even when we know better. I froze, turning to her. “The energy barrier is down, right?” I said nervously.

Raven laughed. “Of course it is.”

“Just checking,” I grumbled. Still, I was in no big hurry to step through the entranceway, even though as we got closer, I could see for myself it was safe. You can’t be too careful.

… look, you have a Near-Death Experience, it leaves a mark, okay?

Once inside, it took me a few minutes to jury-rig a compatible interface. Obviously, they didn’t want their captive demon accessing the files. Its job had been to guard them, nothing more. Still, it took longer than I liked to finally jack in, as I began perusing their database. There was a lot of information here, and they had categorized it in such a way as to add a second layer of security to the more confidential files. Raven hovered near my elbow, anxious and wanting to help, but this was a one-man job. I plugged in one algorithm after another, trying to crack their code, before tumbling onto the fact they were using a dual-classification system to muddy the waters.

With that solved, I wasted no time in locating the research data the Brotherhood wanted. They’d buried it under an even deeper level of encryption, and that one stymied me for a while until I discovered the key tucked away in a separate file. Sloppy, that. One thing you could always count on with the Troika was arrogance, and someday it was really going to bite them in the ass.

Like today, for example.

It didn’t take long to download the information, as I saved a copy for myself in a separate location. If it was important to both the Troika and the Brotherhood, then we needed to know about it as well. I’d go over it in greater detail when I had the chance. Right now, however, I had more pressing matters to deal with.

“How are we getting out of here?” Raven asked.

“I’m... working on it,” I told her, while I searched the directory for any sign of a data port with access to the outside. So far, I was coming up blank.

“You mean you don’t know,” she deduced.

“I think I was fairly vocal on that point when Elder Brother dragooned us into this mess,” I snapped. “I’m. Working. On. It.”

“You know, I could do without the attitude,” she fired back. “You’d be dead if I hadn’t saved you.”

I pinched my nose and sighed. “... you’re right,” I nodded, “and I’m sorry for being brusque. I’m just tired, sore, and really frustrated at the moment.”

She considered my apology for a moment, and then acquiesced. “What can I do to help?” she asked.

“Unless you can conjure an uplink that penetrates these walls, there’s not much you can do.” I shrugged helplessly. “I’ve been going through the database with a fine-toothed comb, and I’m not finding anything.”

“What about communications?” Raven asked. “They have to talk to people, right?”

“First place I looked,” I explained, “it’s a classic weak point. Only they’ve shielded and hardened the line so thoroughly I doubt I could sneak a mouse past the choke point, let alone anything bigger.”

“Well, there must be something,” she insisted, joining me at the terminal as I scrolled through the various pages. Most of them were just a blur; I’d quickly skim the page and if nothing leapt out at me, I moved on to the next one. It would still take me hours to go through everything, and…

“... hey, what about this?” she said suddenly, pointing at one entry.

I gave it a quick glance and shook my head. “Won’t work,” I told her, “it’s on the wrong side of the wall.”

Her finger scrolled down towards the bottom of the page, highlighting a section I’d overlooked. I read the paragraph, blinked, and then read it again much more thoroughly. Finally, I looked up at her.

“That… might be possible,” I said, staring like we’d just met for the first time.