X - SANDRA Cometh

"Shien, are you feeling okay?" Mivangeline gave Shien a healing potion.

"Yeah. Thalamoid is demented alright," Shien drank the item. "That battle made me think of Mom. I hope Mom is doing fine."

"I'm sure Isrina can look after herself just fine. We'll escape this game together, Shien."

The martial artist nodded. "Do you want to go out together in real life when we escape?"

Mivangeline's cheeks turned red, but she laughed with joy. "That sounds like a plan."

The commander's menu beeped a notification. She swiped the tab to answer. It was an android NPC.

"Commander! We're under attack! We calculated the wartrain's full schedule and downloaded all on a flash drive, but someone wants to stop you! Please come to the arena quickly before she destroys it!"

***

The android NPCs followed Mivangeline's orders to calculate the samurai wartrain's schedule. They studied their formulas and logistic equations within the data archives at Tetrachrome's arena. Although they were nearly finished, a strange android with an earpiece coil boldly walked into the arena's front entrance.

This was no regular NPC. It was a woman dressed in a formal white suit and skirt, covered with a black long-tailed trench coat. She had black hair and red eyes shrouded by secret agent glasses.

"Who are you?" The NPC security guards stopped the android woman. "Identify yourself!"

"How dare thou spit at mine own holiness!" The droid huffed. "Thou heathen shalt show thy place!"

The woman with agent glasses pierced her palm into an android's chest. The NPC was engulfed in blackness until the lady released her palm. When she let go, the android turned into a clone dressed in the same suit, trench coat, glasses, and earpiece coil.

Now there were two of them. The NPC guards shuddered in fear, shooting at the two identical women. The rogue androids blocked the firepower with their tessen warfans.

"Thou hast asked for mine own name, yes? Empress Maika created me for a grand purpose. I am to be the Specially Advanced NPC Designed to Reform and Assimilate. I am SANDRA, thy Machine Queen, thy enemy that hath appeared as a sudden windstorm to blow away Mivangeline's impoverished party with a mere raise of mine own eyebrow!"

The two SANDRA agents swung and opened their warfans, destroying the guards with their deadly Tessenjutsu. SANDRA pierced her palm into the NPCs, assimilating them into more copies of herself. Soon, all security guards were converted into agents wearing agent glasses and earpiece coils. They marched across the arena, turning every android into SANDRA clones.

"Quickly! Is it downloaded?"

"Yes! Just finished!"

"Protect it! Don't let SANDRA destroy it!"

The distressed NPCs carried and guarded the flash drive that held valuable data on the samurai hovertrain's schedule. SANDRA agents wielding tessens chased the fleeing androids, killing and converting comrades into more SANDRA agents. The android NPCs bravely fought through the arena, protecting the flash drive with their lives.

Shien and Mivangeline ran after Tetrachrome's arena to see it in flames. Battered NPCs rushed out to the two players. The androids shivered with their injuries, never feeling such fear before.

"What on earth happened?" Mivangeline gave a healing potion to an android.

"No, keep it! There's no time!" A bleeding NPC handed Mivangeline the flash drive. "This is the key to your freedom! The location coordinates and time schedules the Dynastiotron wartrain follows!"

"Thank you, but you all are hurt! How can we help?" Shien asked as Mivangeline took the device.

The android patted their shoulders. "Listen, we're all thankful that you players allowed us NPCs to fight alongside you all."

The last NPCs rallied around the arena with rifles ready as if to make a final stand.

"Go away, quickly! There's an evil NPC named SANDRA! She's extremely dangerous and can convert other NPCs into copies of herself! Mivangeline, it was our pleasure serving you and the players. Let us hold SANDRA off as much as possible. Now go!"

The androids pushed Shien and Mivangeline away. As the two reluctantly ran, they looked back to see all the androids firing into the arena. Armies of female agents wearing dark glasses and earpiece coils marched out, multiplying like a severe viral infection.

"Yes, let them runneth. How very touching, for I almost didst squeeze a drop of sorrow. Bleh! For I laugh at thee, for thy actions merely prolong the mighty rainstorm. Beware, thou heathen! An everlasting inferno shalt befall upon thee! Thus saith the Lord!"

Shien and Mivangeline cried, running away from the infected arena where the NPCs made their last stand to delay SANDRA as much as possible. The two raced to Enshiron and Elysia, holding the vital flash drive that held the key to their freedom from Cyanic Odyssey.

***

With Enshiron awake in his bar, Elysia talked to the Vulpi archer about her recent argument with Shien.

Enshiron listened carefully before telling Elysia what he thought. "My lady, I know you're used to bickering with Shien and ridiculing his height daily. But yes, I believe you went too far with that statement."

Does it compute to you if a tall, pretty girl like her would ever go out with a half pint like you?

Elysia sighed. "You think so too? I can't believe I'm saying this, but I feel terrible. Maybe Mivangeline is right. Losing Phoenicia made us angry and unstable."

The Vulpi archer nodded. "Shien had a not-so-pleasant history of dating girls. He doesn't often share it, but women rejected him for being too little for their interest."

"Seriously? I mean, yeah, he's a half pint, but Shien has spunk! I can't believe a small guy like him has the nerve to talk back in my face! Most men are scared of me, but Shien is always pressing my buttons!"

Enshiron chuckled. "Yes, and I admit it's quite entertaining when Shien pushes your buttons."

Elysia frowned.

"Ah, I mean, you know," Enshiron flinched with a nervous smile. "No need to be grumpy, ma'am."

Suddenly, Shien and Mivangeline tumbled into Enshiron's bar with heavy breathing.

"My dear comrades!" Enshiron gave the tired friends seats. "You two don't look well. What have I missed? Elysia enlightened me about the plan to board the wartrain. Want any drinks?"

"Yes, please!" Shien and Mivangeline begged.

Enshiron immediately prepared cocktails.

"Did something happen?" Elysia sat beside Shien. "By the way, Shien, I'm sorry about what I said."

Shien patted Elysia's shoulder, slowing his fast breathing to normal. "Thanks, Elysia. I know you didn't mean it, but we have bigger problems right now."

"I was talking with Shien, and we met two of Empress Maika's assassins!" Mivangeline explained.

"Assassins? Maika is sending hitmen at us?" Enshiron served the friends drinks.

Shien gulped his drink down. "One was Thalamoid, she knew the Avian Form!"

"No way. Don't only the Niangs wield it?"

"I thought that too! Thalamoid is some droid with schizophrenia who thinks my mom is her mom. She believes she's the real child and I'm not. Thalamoid thinks killing me would prove it to my mom."

Elysia blinked. "What the? Thalamoid sounds like a piece of work."

Mivangeline drank her cocktail. She then took out the very flash drive that the android NPCs sacrificed their lives for. The commander briefed the Vulpi friends on what happened.

"The android NPCs calculated the Dynastiotron wartrain's schedule. Maika sent an evil NPC named SANDRA to try to stop us from getting this information. I don't know much about her, but the androids told me she can multiply by turning other NPCs into copies of herself. The androids told us to go, and they will delay her as much as possible."

"Gosh, Maika's seriously sending thugs to kill us," Elysia huffed. "Why does Maika want us dead?"

"Now I think about it, if we beat the game too soon, and the players are free sooner, Maika's power will diminish," Enshiron's fox ears twitched. "Altair's citizens will no longer need Federation protection!"

"Maika just wants to be Empress as long as she wants," Shien rolled his eyes. "At our expense."

"So, what now?" Elysia scratched her white hair.

Mivangeline swiped her menu tab to activate the flash drive. She opened the files and expanded the data for her three friends to see. It was a list of previous stops the samurai hovertrain took and future stops marked with dates and times. There were several notes filled with mathematical equations showing how the androids calculated the train schedule.

"The NPCs went all their way to do this for us," Shien sighed. "We really should thank them."

The four friends nodded in silence for a moment as Mivangeline studied the earliest train stop.

"We'll try to catch the stop a couple of hours from now. We need to move quickly now that SANDRA and Thalamoid are after us. This train stop will be at Tetrachrome's outskirts, where the samurai will mine crystals. We can board the train and hitch a ride to beat the Shoguness boss and save Phoenicia. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Commander!" Shien and the two Vulpi friends saluted.

"Good! Let's move before SANDRA and Thalamoid find us. Be sure to gather your healing items since we don't have our healer for this boss. We'll leave as soon as possible."

Enshiron packed his arrows and items, swiping a finger to store them in his item inventory. Elysia did the same as she cleaned her poison machete.

"Shien, may I ask you something?" Mivangeline talked to him in private.

"Yes, what's up?" Shien dusted the dirt off his Anti-Heal gloves.

"I saw your duel with Thalamoid, and I thought you were amazing. I was wondering if you could teach me the Avian Form while we wait for the train."

Shien laughed. "Well, I don't mind teaching you! Just as long as you don't mind becoming a bird ike me!"

"I'm down for birds, Shien. Now let's go."