Cyberknight: One Path

⁕ Sea of Broken Shards (part 3)

[Ivanovich] - "Angel, will you accept my pledge? Will you use your powers to smite my enemies as they stood? "

[McCree] - "Darn it, stop callin' me angel. Just call me by mah name, McCree. "

Said McCree, frustrated with the nickname.

[Ivanovich] - "I shall obey, McCree! Now, what will you do? I'm ready to assist you. "

[McCree] - "Ah... shit... Well, let's get this done with quickly. I need some information on who that Seratov is and what his cyberknight is capable of. "

Said McCree, not knowing how to properly respond.

[Ivanovich] - "Of course, my men will provide you with all you need. "

Said Ivanovich, humbly.

Though McCree was uncomfortable with how Ivanovich was acting with him, he did find a sense of pride in his new position as an angel. Testing how far he could go, McCree casually stood up, grabbed a bottle of whisky from Ivanovich's liquor cabin and drank directly from the bottle.

[McCree] - "Will this be a problem, partner. "

Though initially shocked by McCree's behaviour, Ivanovich quickly reacted submissively.

[Ivanovich] - "Serve yourself, McCree! Drink to your heart's content. "

Said Ivanovich as he lowered his head.

[McCree] - "Well, this is going to be quite the fun. "

Said McCree with a smirk.

Back in Trump City, inside the white, sterile room of a hospital, Beth slowly woke up to the blinding light of the room shining on her face. As she tried to move her head, she noticed that her neck was still cast inside a protective mould made to protect her spine. After a moment, she suddenly recovered her memory of what had occurred before now with KD-554 and Kadyn.

[Beth] - "Oh shit... am I dead? "

After a moment spent looking around, Beth breathed a sigh of relief, knowing she was indeed alive. However, as she tried to move, the pain of her neck injury quickly forced her to lie back down. As she reached out trying to find the call button for a nurse, she was shocked that there was simply no such kind of button. Despite her yells, no one seemed to be able to hear her from outside the room.

[Beth] - "What kind of shit hospital is this? "

Said Beth, frustrated.

As time passed, Beth could only entertain herself with thought, as the room was not only sterile but also isolating. There was no television or anything else than pure silence. However, thanks to the silence, Beth was finally able to reunite with her more human side as it forced her to confront herself as the only form of interaction. Slowly but surely, Beth remembered that night and the speech made by Kadyn. Despite her savagery and rage that night, Kadyn's words still managed to reach the depths of her soul.

Looking back, Beth was indeed a manipulator, a woman who used her own beauty to influence the minds of those more powerful than herself. Yes, she was granted the title of Senior Knight without any actual combat prowess. Yes, she was selfishly backstabbing those who trusted her. However, she was never proud of herself.

As Beth stared at her reflection in the window, she remembered the reason why she accepted to become a cyberknight in the first place.

It was a snowy winter day. Beth and her younger brother, Dan, were just two of the hundreds of orphans inside a decrepit shelter. None of them were given a proper room or bed, instead, all 560 of them were crammed inside a single large room filled with rusty bunk beds. In the winter, there was a total of 4 small mobile heaters for all 560 of them, while the caretakers and other staff members hid inside their warm office in the other building. Due to government corruption, their neglected shelter became nothing but a forgettable sob story in the grand scheme of things.