Invasion

The clock struck midnight; the cold air stung whoever dared to roam outside. The night sky was dressed with dim clouds, bright moonlight bleeding through them.

Shinichi approached a closed garage door, where two men in all-black suits stood idly with their arms held in front of them.

“Shinichi Shindo, agent T-fourteen seventy-three.” He spoke almost robotically.

One of the men stepped over to the garage door, dropping down and taking a metal handle into his hand. He pulled it open, gesturing for him to enter.

“Thank you.” His voice shuddered.

It was somehow even colder inside.

“Look who finally decided to show.” One of the agents approached, a headset wrapped around his black hair.

“Sorry about that, I had some important business to attend to.” He looked onward, and filling the inside were a plethora of old boxes, computer desks, and wires. There were a few abandoned trucks parked in front of closed garage doors, empty shipping containers strapped to their backs.

“Ah! Agent Moore!” The man who greeted him spoke frantically.

“I hope you two aren’t slacking off.” A man with short blonde hair approached, his dead emerald eyes scanning their appearances.

“No, sir! I was just about to brief Shinichi on what we’d found!” The man's voice was shaky.

“That’s fine, you can get back to work.” His voice was stale and expressionless.

“Right, of course, Agent Moore.” He scurried off toward an empty desk.

“While you were out, we processed more evidence.”

“That so?” Shinichi spoke with a cold tone, hands clenched at his sides. He could feel a bead of sweat roll down his forehead as those emeralds in his eyes gazed upon him further.

The sound of yelping suddenly stole his attention, and Shinichi let out a relieved sigh.

“Whose there?” He shouted, stepping in front of him.

The man from before approached, “Is something out there?” He whispered.

“I’m not sure,” Shinichi answered.

Agent Moore's eyes suddenly widened, “Get down!” He shouted.

The garage door swung open, and a figure shrouded in shadow stepped inward with a weapon pointed forward. Several loud pops rang, echoing endlessly. Shinichi and Agent Moore tossed themselves to the floor; the man from before was too slow to react.

His body was riddled with bleeding holes, his eyes devoid of soul as he toppled backward, his lifeless body pouring blood onto the cold floor.

“That’s already three down.” NN coldly spoke, proceeding with Himeno at his side.

“They found us?” Agent Moore slowly stood. Shinichi stood behind him, lifting his button-up and unsheathing the sword at his back. He slashed outward, only for Moore to spin around his attack and catch his arm. He slung him forward, rag-dolling his body.

“I see.” He spoke.

Shinichi retreated toward the other two, the three of them watching as the remaining agents stood from their desks.

“This is a losing battle, you know,” Moore spoke.

“I could say the same to you.”

They all stood in silence for a few moments, neither group wanting to make the first move.

The emerald eyes of the Agent met with NN’s, a strange expression on his face.

“You’re the strongest one.” He pointed, “I’ll make quick work of you.” He charged, and his body seemed to disappear from where it once was. NN disappeared alongside him, a loud boom following their vanishings. The remaining two could only stand in pure shock.

That speed, Himeno thought.

Outside the building, NN could feel himself tumble backward several times, body thudding against the concrete. He managed to pull his blade from his back mid-air, stabbing it into the ground and halting his backwards progression. The blade sent out sparks, his body stopping just before the sea.

Agent Moore stood ahead of him, sauntering forward. He removed the large, beige overcoat from around his body, tossing it to the side and revealing his plain white button-up and black tie.

“There are certain and uncertain futures; every action a person takes leads them along the path of a different uncertain future, until finally, one becomes certain. Despite no action being taken, there already seems to be a certainty in your future.” He paused, looking up at the sky, “You’ll bleed out here, staring up at the moonlit sky. What a beautiful way to go.”

NN stood, holding his sword at his side and not uttering a word.

Agent Moore held his hand out, blue light pooling around his palm, slowly turning green. The slow and gentle pooling turned into a violent green torrent, a tornado shaping in his hand until a spear fell into his grasp.

A soul manifestation? NN thought.

“Alizee.” He calmly spoke. The spear was a bit shorter than he was, its handle green, the butt gold as its blade was.

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Himeno felt something slam onto her stomach; one of the agents latched onto her torso, holding her tight. She bashed an elbow onto his nape and wrapped her arms around his chest, tossing him away. Another approached immediately after, slamming her fist onto her cheek. She felt another approach, her arms moving to shield herself. She felt a flurry of blows connect with her arms and side. She took a quick dash backward, enlarging the gap between her and her four attackers.

The man she’d tossed stood, pulling a switch-blade from his pocket and flipping the shining silver blade outward.

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Shinichi found himself outside, ducking and weaving between shipping containers. The agents remained hot on his trail, shouting out to one another as he leapt atop one of the containers.

“He’s headed for the ship!” One of them screamed.

The gap between them was closing; one managed to get in striking distance, pulling a short sword from his back and slashing outward. In response, Shinichi spun his body around, meeting his slash mid swing and deflecting it with his own blade. He stumbled backward, watching as two other agents approached from behind him, one of them wearing silver knuckle-dusters.

He blocked the oncoming attack, the sound of metal scraping metal echoing throughout. The first attacker made way for the second, blue light gathering around the tip of his pointer finger and shooting outward, zipping forward at incredible speed. A burning sensation swelled in his shoulder, blood pouring from the now-open wound. He pressed his free hand to the wound, blood staining his palm. He turned away, retreating once more.

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NN danced around Agent Moore's spear, their blades occasionally clashing. He attempted to keep the distance between them closed, using quick slashes on the inside to prevent him from using his spear.

“I can see your every move. This battle is pointless.” He dodged back with zero effort, the wind before him silently whistling as NN's sword cut through the air. He spun back, twisting his spear and slashing outward, two invisible blades cutting through the concrete and rapidly approaching.

NN could feel a copious amount of magical energy before him, leaping out of the way to avoid whatever was coming. He turned back, watching as a container behind him was cut through from two sides. He returned his attention to his opponent, dashing forward.

“Outward slash.” The agent spoke, again dodging his attack with ease, “followed by a diagonal slash toward my left side.” He stepped out of the way, “Followed by another slash.” He stepped out of the way again. “This repetitive attack pattern was but a ruse, an attempt to lower my guard.” He watched as NN approached once more, his arm cocking back and catapulting into a punch. He rolled onto the floor as the agent side-stepped him, following up with a forward stab. He caught his blade, blue aura emanating from his hand and pulsing into it. The sword shattered like glass, the pieces clattering onto the floor. He placed the tip of his spear's blade onto his chest, a powerful green light bursting from it.

NN’s body was sent flying, the green light exploding into a powerful gust of wind, his back slamming onto a shipping container. The sound of metal whining echoed, the container atop it falling to the ground with a loud bang.

“You’re a member of K-Corp international, correct?” He stood idly before him, spear held down at his side, using his other hand to rifle through his pocket. He pulled out a chess piece, a black queen, holding it before his eye.

“What if I am?” NN stood with a silent grunt, intense pain swelling on his back.

“I’m just curious, is all. I always wondered what someone on the international level would be like.” He paused, dropping the piece back into his pocket, “If you had to be a chess piece, which one would you be?”

“What?”

“It’s alright if you don’t have an answer. I was a pawn at one point, moved across the board, and turned into a queen. A once boring piece given greater purpose.”

“Greater purpose?” NN repeated, “Is that right?”

“That’s right, I was given the chance to serve a greater purpose, a dream. A dream in which you’ve come to stop, is that not correct? Are you not also a spy?” He pointed his spear in his direction.

“You mean the Takeba group?”

He nodded. “Do you know what they aim to accomplish? How they plan to change the world?”

“I couldn’t care less. Whatever their end goal is, my mission remains the same.”

“So that’s your answer? You choose to be the pawn.”

NN laughed aloud, “Says the ‘queen.’ You think you’re so high and mighty cause you’ve got special moves, when that’s the only thing separating you from a ‘pawn’ like me. You’re still playing the damn game.” He stood up straight, powerful blue light gathering around his body.

“We’re playing this game at an entirely different level. Your value to them is zero, an expendable piece that could easily be replaced. Your purpose hardly extends beyond that. Why accept that way of life when you could be a part of something greater?” Agent Moore held his hand outward, a plain expression on his face, “Let’s put a stop to this pointless fighting. You can continue living, serving a greater purpose, so long as you join my side.”

“Value? Purpose? Don’t be an idiot. None of this nonsense you're spouting means anything. So what if you’re a queen and I’m a pawn? Regardless of our names, we are tools meant to serve a purpose not our own, moved around the board by a hand extending far beyond our reach. You’ve deluded yourself into believing you’re of higher importance; I’ve accepted my reality.”

The agent sighed, disappointed, “I knew you’d say that. Oh well.”