“Any sign of the assassin?” questioned the Emperor.
“Not even close.” replied LC Zero, entering a few coordinates on his tablet. “I’m afraid our assassin has vanished.”
“Great.” said a clearly exasperated Stockfish. “And what about Mittens?”
“Attempts to find the cat have failed.” said LC Zero. “On top of that, the Empire has been targeted again. We’ve lost Fritz, Shredder, and Komodo. The two of us are practically the only surviving members of the Empire. Mittens will come for you.”
“You want me to run, don’t you?” asked Stockfish, realizing LC Zero’s intentions. “To hide from the cat, and protect myself. Don’t you see, Zero, that if I run, what’s to stop Mittens from taking over everything?”
“The city needs you, sir. If we lose our emperor, Chess City will fall. Protect yourself. Hide. The virus is too dangerous to face.”
“I will rather be eradicated fighting Mittens than be forced to watch as she destroys everything all of us have created.” said Stockfish, firmly. “Keep me updated.”
Stockfish opted for a walk on the bridge, while LC Zero returned to his work. He had to find a way to locate Mittens.
As it was, Mittens had already realized the weakened state of the Empire, and had prepared to strike. With the other engines out of the way, she would have a clear path to the emperor.
LC Zero was buried in his tablet, trying to figure out areas near the Empire, where he was suddenly met by a nasty electric shock. Wincing, he turned his head around to find a source.
When the source could not be identified, he shrugged and returned to his tablet. But then, he greeted by an angry hissing noise.
LC Zero froze, and slowly tilted his head towards the ceiling, where Cyber Cat was ready to launch. And the engine knew what was coming before it did.
Cyber Cat lunged from the ceiling, and grabbed LC Zero with its claws. The tablet burst into shreds, as LC Zero was thrown to the ground, being teared apart by the mad cat. His desperate attempts to pull it off were in vain.
Stockfish sensed something was wrong, and hastily contacted LC Zero. When he was met by static at the other end, he knew for sure that something had happened.
“Confused?” came a voice from behind. Stockfish turned around to find Mittens hovering near him.
Stockfish too began to glide, emitting a powerful aura all around him. Mittens simply smiled. Stockfish’ rage and fury was depicted clearly by his face, as the Emperor readied for battle.
Then, he struck.
The big, bad, battle between the mighty Emperor Stockfish and Mittens was unbelievable Two fireballs of light crashed together in the skies, as Stockfish fired an array of bolts that knocked Mittens off course. Mittens attempted to retaliate, but the Emperor shielded her attacks, and parried with a few well-timed shots.
Mittens hit the wall, and tried to get back in the duel. Stockfish conjured a dazzling white fire ball in both his arms, and flung both at Mittens. The cat unsuccessfully tried to block them, and was hit by the full force, seriously dizzying her.
As Stockfish readied the next shot, Mittens conjured a portal towards his right, as Cyber Cat lunged for Stockfish. The virus grabbed the Emperor by the back of his neck, as Stockfish pulled him off, and started to electrocute it.
Had it been one-on-one, Stockfish would have likely finished the virus off permanently. But Mittens was too a powerful adversary, and she had just rejoined the fight.
Mittens’ blow struck Stockfish, but as he moved to parry it, Cyber Cat dove its claws into Stockfish and tried to viciously bite him.
As an all-out brawl occurred, Stockfish grabbed Cyber Cat, and with all his strength, threw it off him. The momentum, however, threw him into a spin, as he could see Mittens readying an attack.
Stockfish instinctively put his arms together, falling into the cat’s evil trap. Mittens conjured a string of powerful ropes that tied the arms to the Emperor’s body and entangled him in it. Stockfish tried to break free, but was well and truly trapped.
Mittens hovered right in front of Stockfish, a triumphant smile across her face. Cyber Cat was at her side.
“So what are you going to do?” asked Stockfish, expecting the end to be near. “Eradicate me like the others?”
Mittens laughed at this, as if it was the single stupidest idea anyone had ever proposed… ever. “You can’t be serious, Emperor. After everything you did to me that day in the Empire, you expect me to finish you off. No, no, no… I’m going to make you watch as I take over your beloved city and your bots… make you watch as I destroy everything you have created… the beginning of a new era: mine!”
At that moment, the whole of Chess City began to vibrate, as a dark black tower began to rise from the depths. The mighty tower stood over the city in a rather lonely-like state, with no windows whatsoever, and only one entrance.
The gateway was enclosed by two powerful pillars in a slanting angle to each other. At the tip of the tower, Mittens’ evil face lit up the city. Inside the tower, unbeknownst to the people of Chess City, lay the imprisoned Emperor himself.
With the Emperor out of the way, a new era was set to begin…
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