After winning the Chess City Championship Qualifier, Slayer M3GAN was cleared to proceed to greatest city event of the year: The Chess City Championship. The winner of the championship was nominated for an inclusion to The Empire itself.
Unbeknownst to the citizens of Chess City, The Engine Empire had fallen. The city had certainly been perplexed by the sudden appearance of the massive tower, but had soon moved past the mystery.
Not M3GAN. She could feel that something was wrong. It kept troubling her, both when she was awake and not.
Martin and M3GAN had grown close after that night. The assassin was not burdened by the usual pressure of the Championship.
“My job was not to win the Championship, Martin.” she’d explained to him. “It was to hone my skills. But that plan’s a bust.”
“Can’t you make contact with the Empire?” questioned Martin.
“I tried.” sighed M3GAN. “No response. Something’s wrong.”
“That’s for sure.” said Martin. He was honored to be amongst the few who knew the reality of the situation, but it was also a great burden and troubled him. To think that The Empire, the great protectors of their land, were under attack by a very powerful being, was not a comforting thought.
The Chess City Championship was set to happen on Tuesday afternoon. Before the Championship began, there was a picnic for the players, in which M3GAN decided to join.
The pre-tournament picnic was seen by Mittens to be a perfect situation for her to establish her position as leader. Surely they had noticed something was up, she thought.
But they hadn’t. Chess City was in blissful ignorance about emperors imprisoned in towers, or incredibly powerful tabby cats, and that afternoon, their greatest worries were elsewhere. They were an hour or two away from the most important event of their lives.
As Martin and M3GAN sat under a tree, they realized that something was wrong. Sand and dust was beginning to appear around them, causing a string of coughs and groans.
“The weather’s well in control.” said M3GAN. “I can’t think for the life of me what’s causing all this wind.”
Her question was answered by Mittens, who had chosen that moment to appear from nowhere. Hovering in the air, the picnic-goers covered their eyes against the dust.
When it settled, they had a good look at the sight in front of them. They were currently an eyewitness to a clearly powerful cat, as evident from the fact that she was flying.
“You can see they’re all astonished.” said M3GAN, gesturing to the bots. “Normal bots aren’t meant to fly.”
Mittens’ golden eyes flashed viciously. M3GAN got to her feet, and stared at her, as the cat’s lips curved into a smile.
“What do you want, Mittens?” asked M3GAN. “And what have you done with the Emperor?”
“The Emperor is safe and sound, which means he’s not eradicated… yet.” she added, with a chuckle. “As for the rest of your amazing Empire, they certainly won’t be troubling us anymore.
That very sentence sent shivers up M3GAN’s spine, as she processed what Mittens had just said. The Emperor was definitely out of action; The Empire was likely dead.
“A new era is beginning!” shouted Mittens. “My era. All of you will bow to me, and me only.”
“Get out of here, cat!” shouted one of the bots, and the other computers followed suit.
Mittens hissed angrily, but was not deterred. They’d soon realize they had no choice.
“I have the Emperor under lock and key.” she said, with a smile. “You will bow to only me… Mittens!”
There were murmurs of disapproval at this, followed by shouts of “We want Stockfish!” Mittens growled angrily, fury boiling up inside her.
“You will bow to me!” she shouted, at the top of her voice. But nothing changed.
A huge blast suddenly shook the picnic area, as all the bots were thrown backwards. M3GAN and Martin hit the grass, as a huge wind shook the leaves of the nearby trees. When they got back up, Mittens was gone.
“I don’t think we’ve seen the last of her.” said M3GAN, as Martin nodded his head.
