Queen's Gambit (part 1)

KD-554 watched from outside Trump City's walls as fire, screams and explosions slowly overtook the city's interior. By supplying the smaller factions within the city with enough armoured vehicles, weapons and ammunition to field several standard army divisions, KD-554 has ensured that any armed conflict inside the city would last for weeks. 

By the time a victor emerges from the conflict, KD-554 will be there to take all the prizes. As the conflict raged on inside the city, KD-554 set up a heavily armed perimeter outside of the city to prevent anyone from getting in or out of the city. 

Meanwhile, in the Rust Claw's medical facility, Kadyn woke up to the absence of sound outside of her window. She has grown so accustomed to the loud and restless noise outside of her window that a sudden silence instead became a bother for her. After pulling herself out of bed, she looked to see the empty streets in front of her room. 

[Kadyn] - "What the hell is going on, doctor? "

Said Kadyn as she barged out of her room. 

[Rust Claw] - "War. That's what's going on. Everybody within fighting age has been called up by Senator to fight The Son of Liberty. Lucky me, I'm a doctor, so I don't need to go. "

Said the doctor as he preyed open a detached arm's circuit. 

[Kadyn] - "War? Is there any possibility we are in danger? "

[Rust Claw] - "Unlikely, we are allied with the other factions around us. Gotta remember we consist of 65% of the whole city together. It shouldn't take long for our victory. "

[Kadyn] - "Maybe I should find myself a way out of here soon. "

[Rust Claw] - "It ain't easy, yeh know. Apparently, I heard that there was a blockade outside but ain't much is known about it. "

Kadyn walked up to a window and saw smoke and fire on the horizon. 

[Rust Claw] - "Almost to term, huh? "

Said Rust Claw as he pointed at Kadyn's abdomen. 

[Kadyn] - "Still got some time left. I still have 3 months to find them a proper home. "

[Rust Claw] - "By all means, you can stay here as long as you want. "

[Kadyn] - "Yeah, cause I'm you rent, asshole. "

Said Kadyn in a slightly annoyed tone. 

[Rust Claw] - "Heh... "

[Kadyn] - "Besides, there isn't a future here. This place is not for children. "

As Kadyn leaned by the window, she suddenly noticed a faint red glow in the sky. As the seconds went on, the glow grew larger until Kadyn's glasses showed a danger warning. 

[Kadyn] - "Artillery! Get down! "

yelled Kadyn before a massive explosion rocked the buildings in the vicinity. 

The horror wasn't over yet as Kadyn and the doctor spent the whole morning inside the basement in order to avoid getting hit by the shells. The bombardment lasted until the late afternoon before Kadyn and the doctor slowly made their way out of the basement. When Kadyn looked once more outside of her window, she saw the once shiny city reduced to a ruin. 

Luckily for them, the medical centre only received minor damage with only the wall to the Kadyn's room blown off. Soon, knocks reached the doctor's office as hundreds of injured and dying men piled at his doorstep. In a cruel display of injustice, the militia ordered priority treatment for the soldiers only before the civilians. 

Due to a heavy lack of medical facilities, the doctor could only house a dozen men inside the building while hundreds of others lay in makeshift beds outside in the streets. By the onset of midnight, many of the wounded died due to their injuries. Kadyn walked amidst the survivors with water and bandages but she was disgusted by the fact that only soldiers and militiamen received care. 

After finishing her round, she went to the doctor who was beyond exhausted in a corner. She arrived at him as he struggled to breathe with his back against the wall. 

[Kadyn] - "I thought we were in safe hands in this war. "

[Rust Claw] - "From what I heard, Guns of the Patriots betrayed us. The war is now 45% vs. 55% of the city. The frontline seemed to have been stabilized but it was unclear as to the outcome of the war. Also... "

Rust Claw used a moment to catch his breath.

[Rust Claw] - "...You need to get out of here. Now! "

[Kadyn] - "Why? What's happening? "

Said Kadyn with a concerned look on her face. 

[Rust Claw] - "Someone put a bounty on your head. Any faction that can capture you will receive a huge bonus of weapons and equipment. Don't let anyone be aware of your presence and get out of the city. "

With these words, Kadyn didn't hesitate as she took everything she could fit inside a small backpack. Before leaving, she returned one last time to the doctor. 

[Kadyn] - "Thank you, doctor. "

[Rust Claw] - "Why do you thank me, heh... I scammed you enough money to retire for life. That's the least I can do. "

[Kadyn] - "I thank you for not turning me in. Also, what's your name? "

[Rust Claw] - "My real name is Justin. Now go. "

Kadyn nodded her head before jumping into the garbage shoot. After a short slide, she landed in bags of trash before she sneakily ran through the streets. By the time she reached the city walls, it was already morning as the sun slowly rose from the horizon. Using a secret passage, she snuck under the wall before emerging from under a pillar of tall grass outside. 

Just as she prepared to move, she suddenly noticed a few corpses around her. Upon closer inspection, she noticed that their head was turned to mush as if they were hit by something with a lot of power. A loud gunshot abruptly sounded afar before Kadyn turned around just in time to notice a massive bullet with its tip a mere millimetre away from her eyeball. 

Kadyn's acceleration allowed her to barely dodge the bullet with a small wound on her nose but the danger wasn't over yet. Kadyn went on to dodge several bullets with a diameter of 15mm before she got a chance to fight back. As her irises turned grey and red, she immediately located the shooter's position thanks to her thermal vision. 

In an instant, she appeared behind the sniper before stabbing him relentlessly using her wrist blades. As Kadyn slowly came to her senses with bloodstains all over her body, she suddenly noticed the army of men that stretched all around the city. Kadyn slowly retracted her blade out of shame as a dozen of men stared at her with horror and disgust. 

[Beth] - "Ugh... I thought we were trying to capture a HUMAN that looked like our boss. But a fucking feral beast? "

Said Beth, a stylish young woman with red hair and pieces of Cyberknight armour scattered all around her body. 

[Kadyn] - "It's not what it looks like? "

Said Kadyn as she started to back off. 

Beth's quickly returned to a serious face before she reached her arm out. 

[Beth] - "Now, now, let's get this done with. "

Said Beth as the crystals on her arms shined with a stunning blue light. 

In an instant, in front of Kadyn, lines appeared on the ground before dividing the soil into small cubic zones of 2.25 square metres each. Despite Kadyn's effort to escape, she was soon caught inside one of the squares. When Kadyn tried to walk out of her zone, she was stopped by an invisible wall that stemmed from the lines. 

[Kadyn] - "A Cyberknight! What the fuck are you doing here? "

Beth's eyes widened in surprise. 

[Beth] - "Looks like you didn't do your homework. Obviously because of Mike! That bastard caused to empire to become a fucking joke under the leadership of CR-455. I don't want to be here but who's gonna pay for my education? I should've had a career in the empire but because of his bullshit, I had to be here working for a criminal organization, so I could pay for university and live a normal fucking life! Society, I'm telling you... "

As Beth finished her rant, a soldier behind let off a small chuckle. 

[Beth] - "Anyways, I seemed to have gone off track here. "

Said Beth before collapsing the soldier to the ground with an elbow strike to his abdomen. 

[Beth] - "You see, I want to give you a chance. My ability mirrors the layout of a chessboard and anyone who is trapped inside will be assigned the movement possibilities of a random chess piece. The only way to escape is by reaching the other side of the board opposite to where you entered. Here's the deal: Defeat everything I throw at you and I will grant you your freedom. "

Said Beth in an enthusiastic tone. 

One of the men approached Beth and whispered in her ear. 

[Soldier] - "Ma'am, should we report to the boss? I don't think the boss intended for you to toy with her like this. "

[Beth] - "No yet. Like as if I'm actually going to let her escape. I just want to have a little fun. "

[Soldier] - "But boss said... "

[Beth] - "Now, now, mind your business. This is boring enough already, so let's just have some entertainment. "

Kadyn tried to move forward and realized that she actually possessed the movement pattern of a knight, which meant she could only move in the shape of an "L". After her first move, Kadyn was suddenly stuck and unable to move. 

[Kadyn] - "Hey! I thought you wanted to play this fair! "

[Beth] - "That's because it's my turn. "

With a snap of her fingers, the men behind her threw the laughing soldier from earlier into the chessboard. With a swing of her finger, Beth moved the soldier diagonally through the board directly into Kadyn's zone. 

[Soldier] - "Get me out of here! I don't want to die! "

Screamed the soldier as he desperately banged against the invisible wall. 

Kadyn's mind at the moment wasn't focused on playing Beth's little game. She knew that the end result wouldn't be in her favour. From what she can see, the ability doesn't seem to show any obvious weakness either. Kadyn quickly analyzed her surroundings before a sudden idea came to her mind when she saw the men in heavy armour behind Beth.

[Kadyn] - "Hey, you, period hair! "

[Beth] - "What? How dare you call me- "

Screamed Beth in a fit of rage.

[Kadyn] - "How about you send me a real bloody challenge? Look at our mate here, he scared shitless! Send me something more interesting! "

[Beth] - "Ughhhhr! "

Grunted Beth in frustration.

Just as Kadyn predicted, Beth took the bait and sent in one of the giants to deal with her. Upon crossing into the chessboard, the giant armour man gained the movement of a tower. In response, Kadyn extended her wrist blades in anticipation. This gamble of hers has to work or else she'll be done for. 

At the very moment the giant crossed into her zone, Kadyn entered acceleration mod. In an instant, a small hole appeared on the ground while Kadyn was nowhere to be seen. The giant looked around him just as confused as everyone else watching. 

[Beth] - "Huh? "

Said Beth as a wave of cold sweat quickly overtook her. 

[Beth] - "Where... where the fuck is she? How? She can't... my ability! "

Stuttered Beth as panic rapidly set in. 

[Giant] - "Ma'am, look, a hole in the ground! "

[Beth] - "Find her, all of you, get your tools ready! Dig that bitch up! "

Screamed Beth in a panicked voice. 

Beth quickly disabled her ability as the men all approached the hole with weapons and tools. Meanwhile, as a few of them started digging, Beth pulled out her walkie-talkie. 

[Beth] - "Listen, I need assistance! "

Beth started to walk nervously in a circle as the other side talked. 

[Beth] - "No, I didn't! That's not true! I was vigilant! Shut up! "

Beth pinched her nose in embarrassment. 

[Beth] - "Yes, I'm a master-class chess player but I'm not trained to deal with out-of-rule cases! Did you ever see a pawn being upgraded to an attack helicopter during a regular chess game? "

[Soldier] - "Ma'am! We found something! "

Beth threw away her walkie-talkie before running to the scene. As she excitingly waited for Kadyn's corpse to be pulled out of the hole, she was instead greeted with the sight of a buff dead man. Beth immediately realized what happened back then but it was already too late. 

Beth and her men were like a bunch of frozen films as Kadyn abruptly jumped out of the giant armour with a set of glowing red eyes. In a few swift turns, Kadyn managed to slit every single men's throat using her blades until there was only Beth left. As Kadyn savagely slashed through Beth's shoulder with her bloodstained blades, a fireball suddenly fell from the sky and broke Kadyn's blade in half before it could deal fatal damage to Beth. 

[Kadyn] - "What the hell? "

Said Kadyn as she was pushed back by the shockwave. 

Before her stood a slim man with a full set of worn Cyberknight armour. The man analyzed Beth's injuries and concluded that she needed immediate care or else she won't make it. Without wasting a second, the man immediately launched his attack against Kadyn. At first, Kadyn thought she could dodge his strike but she soon realized that he was moving at the same speed as her even when she was under acceleration. 

Although she was only hit by the man's index, the sheer kinetic energy from the impact immediately knocked her all the way into the city's wall. Although the man wanted to finish Kadyn off, he looked once more at Beth and decided that her situation could not wait anymore. As the man flew off with Beth in his arms, Kadyn slowly crawled out of the crater with a heavily injured body. 

Blood slowly dripped out Kadyn's mouth as she dragged herself through the tunnel back into the city. After a few steps, her legs finally gave up. Now collapsed against the wall inside the cold and dark tunnel, Kadyn let out a loud cry of despair while pulling Mike's coat closer toward her face. 

[Kadyn] - "Mike... where are you? I need you... I fought with everything I got. I'm tired and cold. "

Said Kadyn as she sobbed into Mike's coat. 

After releasing all that emotion, Kadyn comforted herself by remembering that she was still carrying two little bundles of hope inside her. In a desperate last move, Kadyn's irises turned purple as she started to send a call for help by connecting herself to some nearby communication devices. 

[Kadyn] - "I'm sorry it has come to this but I need your help, Dane, Senju, McCree. I'm stuck in Trump City and someone wants me dead. I fought with everything I could muster but it was ultimately not enough. It's OK if you do not wish to help me. This was the result of my actions and I will take full responsibility for it. However, if you can help, I will be forever grateful for it. "

As the transmission happened, Kadyn stared lividly at the darkness that lay in front of her. The more she stared, the more she was reminded of her despair. However, when faced with despair, Kadyn's resolve only strengthened. 

[Kadyn] - "Whoever you are; despair, Jagger or even fate itself. Know that I'm not afraid of you. Despair is temporary, Jagger will ultimately lose and fate is meant to be broken. I fight because despair has condemned enough good people to their doom. I fight so people can know that fate's grip is not absolute. I fight so I could avenge all the sacrifices made in the name of hope. This won't be my last fight just as this won't be my last victory. "

With the transmission completed, Kadyn breathed a sigh of relief. For a moment, she realized that her monologue was probably also transmitted with her original call for help but she couldn't care less. 

[Mike] - "Well said, my little fox. "

Kadyn immediately turned around but saw no one. However, inside Kadyn's heart, those words sparked up a flame that burned with such ferocity that she no longer felt cold and surrounded by darkness. After standing back up, Kadyn raised her head and this time, the only thing she saw was the light at the end of the tunnel and the one path toward it. 

To be continued...