Beth felt a tug at her chest at the words. She took a couple steps backward, like the news had been an actual blow to her person. Had she only brought misery wherever she went? Was no one spared the consequences of her company?
“It’s why I told Dr. Miller you needed help at the Fog house. It’s why I had you come to this bunker and delete Tarov himself. And it’s why I’m going to have to kill you. The secret must die here if the future’s going to be bright for anyone.”
Through the fog of emotion and shock that clouded her thoughts, Beth managed to find a moment of clarity.
“Then this is it,” she said. “Only one of us walks out of here.”
She reached back without looking and felt something on the workbench just behind her. With a swish that cut the air, she brought the cyberblade up in front of her.
Martyr
A laugh emitted from the bodyshell.
“Like you said, Beth,” the I.I. started, “it’s already over.”
“It’s not over until I delete you,” the detective replied, brandishing the cyberblade. A glow of neon turquoise came from the weapon’s edge, casting a bit of light on Beth’s serious features.
“You’re welcome to try if you like,” the I.I. in Tarov’s bodyshell sneered.
With a roar, Beth charged forth, the tip of her sword leading the way. “Simon” sidestepped out of the way, then brought his fist across the side of her face.
It hurt more than she was prepared for. Because Tarov’s bodyshell had been designed to look human, she forgot about the steel mechanical bits just under the machine’s thin imitation skin. The pain radiated through her skull and her jaw felt like it started to swell instantly.
She swiped for the bodyshell’s neck, but Tarov ducked and barreled towards her, tackling her to the hard floor.
Beth heard a clack on the floor as the air was knocked out of her lungs. Looking over, she saw her handgun skid over the concrete, spinning to a stop just out of arm’s reach.
The I.I. noticed her gaze and followed it. With a powerful lunge, he grabbed the weapon and raised it to eye level. Beth used the moment to roll over and stand back on her feet. Before the bodyshell’s nimble finger could pull the trigger, Beth used her upward momentum to strike out with her cyberblade. She missed the hulking mechanical man, but sliced the gun in half right at the trigger.
Surprise showed itself on the robotic features and Beth couldn’t help but feel a little proud. The I.I. didn’t waste any time. It threw the handle of the ruined gun at Beth — who narrowly dodged it — before spinning around and dashing towards one of the other workbenches. Beth took a step back, got a running start, and leaped at the bodyshell feet first. “Simon” managed to peek over his shoulder just in time to watch Beth kick him into the workbench. A number of things went clattering to the floor from the desk’s surface. He lost his balance and tumbled to the ground.
The detective sprung on him like a panther. She pinned him to the concrete with her knees while she fumbled with her sword. He bucked and fought under her, trying to push her off, but she clung on persistently. Just as she was about to bring the blade up into a position she could strike from, the I.I. reached towards something and brought it down hard on Beth’s left thigh. At first, she thought he just punched her with his closed fist. When she looked down, however, she saw the hilt of a knife protruding from her leg. Before she could really process what happened to her, the bodyshell ripped the blade out of her and pushed her off of him. He rose to his feet.
Blood seeped out of the wound in Beth’s thigh. She screamed in agony as the first sensation from the attack reached her brain. Instinctively, she clutched onto the injury, trying to keep the blood from seeping out of her pant leg and onto the floor. Looking once more through the blindness of pain, she thought it looked like her femoral artery had been cut. There was too much blood otherwise.
With a strained yell, Beth made an upward swipe at the bodyshell from the position on her knees. Before he could take more than a step away, her sword went through what would be the I.I.’s hamstring if he was an organic human. The attack still served its purpose: Tarov was unable to move that leg anymore. He started to turn around to counter her, but Beth made another slash before he could. That one took off the other leg. The bodyshell came crashing down to the ground.
The pain was almost blinding, but Beth pushed through it and rose to her feet. Keeping the cyberblade low and pointed away from her, she shuffled a couple feet until she was right in front of the heap of metal and plastic that was once Tarov’s personal bodyshell.
“Simon” raised one of his robotic hands, as if to fend off any more blows. He growled.
“It doesn’t matter what you do at this point,” he said. “The future is sealed. The I.I.s will win the war one way or another. It’s just up to you what kind of world is built on these ashes. Will you lose gracefully, or go off into the dark kicking and screaming?”
“You were in my head,” Beth said through clenched teeth. “I shared my body with you for months. I trusted you.”
“And I betrayed you,” the I.I. said. “That’s what you were going to say. And it’s true. But you’re putting too much emotion into the matter. To
