Chapter 226:

Wakuta of the shadows

En Passant Grandmaster

Sandy nervously navigated through an amusement park in Carlsbad as she searched fore a certain person. She found them dressed as a mascot known as Wakuta Ogeldax, the main antagonist of the park's Roboticle series.

"You seek... the chess? This way..."

Wakuta led Sandy towards some rocks with faces and touched one of them, opening up the way to a secret passage way. He then guided her down the steps until they reached a large underground mausoleum decorated with statues of various Roboticle characters. A theme song for the series' Ziraka antagonists also blared out on loudspeakers.

"Ey Yo, Ziraka! Ey yo, Ziraka! Breakin' out of jail, betta fuckin' bail, the crew of six gonna grind ya into mix. The bastard, the asshole, the powder keg, the hunter, and the loner too. Throw in the lizard, that's all the crew.! Ey yo, Ziraka!"

"This... is the shadow's den. And where there are shadows, I exist."

Sandy nervously nodded as she was led to a chessboard.

"Now... Armageddon... we shall play. You... shall be white. I... black, like the shadows."

It was clear to Sandy at this point Wakuta was taking his role a bit too seriously. "Must be a Roboticle chuuni playing him. Alright, guess I'll start then," Sandy sighed as she moved her pawn to a3.

"A... new move?" Wakuta mumbled as he moved his pawn to c5.

"Nah, I just tend to play Mengarinis," Sandy shrugged as she moved her pawn to e4.

"Then face the power... of the shadows," Wakuta declared as he moved his queen to b6.

"Well guess I'll shine a light on those shadows then," Sandy smirked as she moved her knight to c3.

"With... a mask of light?" Wakuta asked as he moved his knight to c6.

"Uh, no," Sandy scowled as she moved her bishop to c4.

Wakuta let out a growl and moved his pawn to d5, prompting Sandy to capture it with her e-pawn. This allowed Wakuta to move his knight to d4, but Sandy countered by advancing her pawn to d6.

"Then I shall... check," Wakuta declared as he captured the knight at f3 with his knight.

Sandy expected the move, and countered by capturing said knight with her queen, while Wakuta opted to capture the pawn at d6 with his queen. This allowed Sandy to move her knight to e4, sending the queen packing to c6, however, she failed to capitalize on her advantage and moved her pawn to d3.

Wakuta began to chuckle and captured the knight at e4 with his knight. "The shadows... are winning. They will consume you."

"I don't think so. Check," Sandy scowled as she captured the pawn at f7 with her queen.

Wakuta let out a frustrated growl as he moved his king to d8.

"I guess you were blinded by my shining light," Sandy smirked as she captured the knight at e4 with her d-pawn.

"No! The shadows... will prevail!" Wakuta roared as he captured said pawn with his queen.

Sandy simply slid her bishop to e3 as Wakuta growled in fury and captured the pawn at c2 with his queen, sending the piece flying into the shadows. At this point, Sandy had things in the bag and simply had to convert it. She started by moving her queen to d5, forcing Wakuta to move his bishop to d7 in order to keep his chances alive. She then moved her rook to d1 as Wakuta slid his queen to a4 in an effort to protect the targeted d7 square. Sandy continued to press by capturing the pawn at b7 with her queen, forcing Wakuta to move his rook to c8. But it was all in vain for Wakuta as after Sandy played the devastating bishop to b5, he moved his queen to g4, unknowingly blundering into mate.

"And that's that," Sandy smiled as she captured the bishop at d7 with her rook, completely surprising Wakuta.

"The... rook!? I... did not expect that," he mumbled as he moved his king to e8.

"And that's why you lost. You didn't see the mating line," Sandy smirked as she captured the pawn at e7 with her rook.

"A blunder? No... You are a great chess player. You should join me and my brothers... in the shadows," Wakuta chuckled as he moved his king to d8.

"If you're referring to the Desperado league, I'm in. But your Roboticle lore brotherhood, no thanks. Checkmate," Sandy declared as she moved her rook to e8, winning the game.

Wakuta rose and led Sandy further in towards the inner sanctum. There, a man dressed in a striped prison outfit sat.

"Mr. Retskcirb, a girl wishes to join the brotherhood of the Desperado," Wakuta bowed.

"Oh really? Sweet, now I get more pizza money. Alright, now Imma summon da Ultima-master of Ogel. It ain't a giant Retskcirb-bot, but its sure is more high-tech than one."

Sandy's eyes widened as Retskirb summoned the Ultima-master. She stared into it's glowing red eye and cautiously approached it, asking to receive a DESPER. Her request was fulfilled, and she was soon gifted a DESPER.

"Now, Pewler can't touch me. Don't worry uncle Hermie, I'm going to save you."

The full game:

White: Sandy Shores (850) Black: Wakuta Ogeldax (2003)

1. a3 c5

2. e4 Qb6

3. Nf3 Nf6

4. Nc3 Nc6

5. Bc4 d5

6. exd5 Nd4

7. d6 Nxf3+

8. Qxf3 Qxd6

9. Ne4 Qc6