The Rocketeer Cobra

"Um, hi," Mivangeline mumbled to Shien. "T-thank you very much."

"Hiya, Mivangeline!" Shien zoomed up in front of her with a small piece of paper.

"Eep!" She flinched.

"May I have your autograph?"

"Eh?"

She turned to Chloridium, hoping he would tell her what to do.

"Hoho! It looks like you got a fan!" Chloridium chuckled. "I think you can handle yourself for a bit."

"No, wait!"

Chloridium left to talk to Ampyria.

"Ah, well, um, sure, I guess," Mivangeline took Shien's paper.

"I'm such a big fan! I love your songs!"

"Oh!" Mivangeline signed the paper. "T-thanks. And, uh, thank you for helping me."

"Of course!" Shien jumped with the paper. "My name is Shien. Nice to meet you!"

"Shien? Um, wait. S-Shien Niang?"

"Yeah! You know me?"

"M-my parents tell stories about your family. Um, I'm Mivangeline. I-it's a pleasure to meet you too."

The two shook hands.

"So," Mivangeline's cheeks turned hot red. "You interested in... uh, the invitation?"

"Yes!" Shien swiped a tab.

He tapped the accept button, and Mivangeline's notification tab rang.

"Hoho!" Chloridium walked them. "We got our first acceptance of the campaign!"

"The goon squad is all in too!" Naivern jumped upstage and wrapped her elbow around Shien's neck. "Sup, Mivangeline? The name's Naivern!"

"U-uh, okay? N-nice to meet you too," Mivangeline greeted.

"Ow! Get off me, Loud Girl!" Shien barked at Naivern.

Mivangeline and Chloridium checked their campaign status. Only Shien and his group had joined so far.

"It may take time, Mivangeline," Chloridium patted the Commander's shoulder.

The entire arena shook.

"Whoa! What's going on?" Naivern stopped yanking Shien by the cheek.

The people panicked, running about in different directions.

"Cubic Regime!" Chloridium signaled the Syanic Police droids. "Get into formation!"

"Please remain calm!" Ampyria soared in the auditorium. "The Syanic Police Force will fend off the attack. Any help is welcome. Those who don't wish to fight, please follow me and my squad. We will escort you away from the battlefield!"

She flew to the auditorium's entrance to meet with her squad while players scrambled out.

"Commander," A Syanic Police droid ran to Mivangeline.

"Y-yes?" Mivangeline asked.

"The Cubic Regime has deployed a rocketeer cobra along with a battalion of scrounger drones!"

"Oh, no. Um, how's the Syanic Police?"

"Ampyria has already taken a squad to lead the other players away. The rest of our forces are facing high casualties!"

"Did any players offer a hand by any chance?" Chloridium wondered.

The droid shook his head.

"Then, we will fight them ourselves," Mivangeline drew her kunai knives. "I-I'll help out."

"Can we help?" Shien and Naivern asked.

"Um, would you mind?"

"Course we don't mind!" Naivern grinned. "Dang it, man! Where's Ritom and the others?"

"Ritom!" Shien shouted at his contacts tab. "Where's the mechanic when you need him?"

"Oh, guys!" Ritom replied to the contact. "Sorry! Ouch, this crowd is aggressive!"

"We are going to help Mivangeline!"

"Oof! Chillax girl, stop yelling at me!" Ritom complained.

"Grr! You stepped on my tail!" Elysia yelled through the contact.

"Gracious me! Settle down, my dear Vulpi companion!" Enshiron told her.

"Don't worry, Shien," Phoenicia's voice sounded. "We'll unite with you outside to repel the enemy until the crowd disperses."

***

The group ran outside of the arena to enter an exploding battlefield. The police droids fired their rifles, struggling to keep the Cubic forces at bay.

Mivangeline jumped in front with the Syanic Police droids, slicing the Cubic warriors down with her kunai. Chloridium hopped in and blasted the Cubic gunspeeders down with his arm cannons. Shien and his friends nodded at each other, pouncing into the fight alongside Mivangeline and her android guide.

"Scrounger drones!" Chloridium warned.

A swarm of wasps made of squares buzzed toward the police droids, firing with their stingers.

Cubic Scrounger Drone

Level 42

HP: [12,300/12,300]

"The scroungers are weak, but there's too many of them!" Enshiron shot drones down with his violin bow.

"Ugh, what now?" Mivangeline protected a police droid from a Cubic Warrior.

"We set them on fire!" Ritom's giant blade transformed into a flamethrower to burn the drones down.

"G-good work!" The Commander commented as she slashed a Cubic soldier in half.

"No problem! The name's Ritom, your favorite mechanic. If you need my fire, you know who to ask!"

Mivangeline gave a tiny nod, not used to working with other party members.

After Shien and Phoenicia punched the last warriors with martial arts, rockets exploded in the Saberdome Arena.

"There!" Mivangeline pointed.

An enormous snake made of cubes slithered towards the arena. It arched its long neck, opening its hood to launch a massive payload of rockets at the Saberdome Arena. The cobra's fangs fired liquid lasers that sliced everything in half.

Cubic Rocketeer Cobra

Level 80

HP: [95,990/95,990]

Trait 1: Infrared Scent

Trait 2: Nuclear Rejuvenation

"Not good," Shien turned to Mivangeline. "You got a plan, Commander?"

"Uh," Mivangeline hesitated. "Well, I remember that the cobra's armor was tough... b-but the back of the head covering the core system is the weakest part."

"Hoho, sounds like a strategy!" Chloridium loaded his arm cannons.

"We, uh, just need some people to attack the cobra from behind."

"Tell your new party members!"

"O-Oh," Mivangeline looked at Shien's group. "S-Shien, Maybe you and your friends can strike the cobra from the back?"

"Sure thing!" Shien nodded to his friends. "Are you guys good with that?"

"Always happy to help!" Enshiron drew a new arrow as he led the friends. "We'll sneak behind it like ninjas!"

Mivangeline nodded. "M-me and Chloridium will take a droid squad to distract the cobra."

Naivern soared into the air as Phoenicia, Elysia, Ritom, and Enshiron followed her.

"U-uh, S-Shien?" Mivangeline noticed Shien didn't leave.

"Can I stay with you?" Shien flapped his arms like a bird.

"Oh! Uh, s-sure."

The three and the police squad soon encountered the cobra face-to-face. They looked at the rectangular segments that loomed over them, arching up to its rectangular-shaped head. Its red diamond eyes flashed at their faces.

"Whoa! My vision is all red!" Chloridium shook his head.

"Oh, no!" Mivangeline blinked. "I-I forgot! Not this. We're blind!"

"Crap!" Shien exclaimed. "What happened?"

He saw a tab within the redness.

Shien Niang

Level 99

HP: [33,899/78,750]

-Supraorbital Inferno-

The cobra spat liquid lasers at the police droids to cut them in half. When the redness faded, Mivangeline gasped to see the rest of her droid squadron massacred. Chloridium fired his arm cannons at the rocketeer cobra as Shien pummeled it with his staff.

"I-I'm so sorry," Mivangeline shuddered. "I, uh, should have remembered that as a Commander."

Chloridium shook his head. "Didn't I tell you about the technology of the three factions, as your Android guide? You didn't remember?"

"I will never be able to lead!"

"Hey, look at me," Shien shook Mivangeline. "You can do this. You screwed up, but don't let that get you down. You get back up and learn, alright?"

Mivangeline looked at Shien, uncertain of what to say.

"Come on, Mivangeline! No time to overthink!" Chloridium jumped away from the cobra's spitting lasers. "I can't fight this thing alone!"

"Mivangeline," Shien tapped her shoulder. "Let's fight together! Get up. Have confidence in yourself."

She made a tiny nod. The cobra lunged its fangs at Chloridium again, but Mivangeline slashed its teeth off.

"Alright, what now, commander?" Chloridium asked as the cobra wailed in pain.

"O-okay," Mivangeline pointed. "Aim for the eyes. T-that way, it cannot blind us anymore."

"Got it!" Her android guide shot the rocketeer cobra's eyes off.

"Ow!" Shien felt something drag him down by the leg.

An injured Cubic warrior dragged him onto the floor, trying to stab him with a sword.

The rocketeer cobra swept its tail at Shien.

"Shien!" Mivangeline darted in front of Shien to take the hit for him.

"Get off me!" Shien kicked the Cubic soldier off.

The angry Cubic man crawled for Shien and morphed its blade into a rifle to shoot him. Chloridium kicked the weapon off before shooting the enemy down.

"Hey, thanks," Shien observed Mivangeline's profile. "But how did Mivangeline block that much damage?"

"One of her traits is Paladin's Aegis," Chloridium fired at the cobra to push it back. "Every 30 minutes, she can temporarily taunt all enemies towards her for a minute. Mivangeline's defense spikes by 60% when using the skill."

"Whoa, that's cool," Shien noticed his health increased dramatically. "Huh? How did I get healed?"

"Her other trait is Martyr's Altruism. She can transfer her health to allies."

Mivangeline Shuruuko

Level 88

HP:[173/72,990]

Trait 1: Paladin's Aegis

Trait 2: Martyr's Altruism

When the blind rocketeer cobra opened its hood to launch rockets at Mivangeline, Shien jumped on her to move her away.

"S-Shien!" Mivangeline panicked as she rolled with Shien.

"Here!" Shien handed her an Eonspace Brew. "You heal me, and I heal you. Take this!"

"O-oh! Um, thanks," The Commander blushed as she took the item to heal.

"We took its eyes out, but it can still sense us with its Infrared Scent trait!" Chloridum fired his arm cannons into the cobra's hood.

The three faced the Cubic enemy, watching it glow green to heal.

"It will keep on healing itself with that Nuclear Rejuvenation trait!" Chloridium warned.

"Don't worry! I got this!" Shien dashed at the Cubic cobra.

"Wait!" Mivangeline gasped. "You will get killed!"

Shien whacked his clarinet on the cobra's belly. The colossal snake roared, flailing its head across the air.

He swiped his clarinet away in a tab, closing his palms into beak shapes. "Avian Form: Woodpecker Beak Strikes!"

Cubic Rocketeer Cobra

Level 95

HP:[55,575/95,990]

-Antijuvenoid Prozosis-

"Hoho! Nice anti-heal!" Chloridium grinned. "I didn't know your other trait was Plasmodium Phalanxes."

Shien gave the cobra rolling punches until the cobra's hood launched a rocket into his face.

"Shien!" Mivangeline and Chloridium shouted.

Shien was knocked unconscious as his HP lowered by half. The cobra blasted swarms of rockets to send Mivangeline and her android guide flying, knocking one of Chloridium's legs off. It then lowered its head to Shien, drooling and flicking its tongue. The rocketeer cobra opened its large mouth, about to chomp Shien down.

"N-no!" Mivangeline crawled to Shien. "S-Shien!"

Naivern soared with her DJ monarch wings, jamming tunes to launch laser waves on its back. The cobra coiled in defense as Phoenicia punched its head to the ground.

"Switch!" Ritom told Phoenicia. "Let's crack its back open!"

Ritom used his flaming sword to pry the armor open as Elysia helped with her machete. The blinking red core was exposed.

"E-Enshiron! Y-you're the sniper!" Mivangeline remembered his archer skills. "Shoot the core!"

"Never fear, Commander!" Enshiron drew his violin string to fire a tornado arrow into the air.

Shien's friends jumped off the cobra's back as the cyclone arrow exploded onto the core. The rocketeer cobra shrieked as its health dropped to zero. It disintegrated into blue hexagons as the gang tended to Shien and the others.

Cubic Rocketeer Cobra

Level 95

HP:[0/95,990]

"S-Shien," Mivangeline worried as Elysia helped her up.

"He's temporarily unconscious," Phoenicia held Shien. "But don't worry, I restored his health using an Eonspace Brew."

"Jeez! Your android guide needs a mechanic!" Ritom grabbed his toolbox to quickly repair Chloridium's broken leg.

"That was too close if I say so myself!" Enshiron huffed, wagging his Vulpi tail. "We were lucky to have heroically arrived before our favorite shortie became that thing's lunch!"

"Yeah, but thankfully, we're still alive," Elysia smiled, twitching her Vulpi ears.

Mivangeline smiled at her new teammates. "Um, h-hi. T-thank you all."

"Our pleasure, my lady!" Enshiron shook hands with the blushing Commander.

The friends warmly hugged each other, relieved to have survived the Cubic onslaught.

"As we said, we're sticking together," Naivern joined fists with Enshiron, Ritom, Phoenicia, and Elysia. "Mivangeline?"

Mivangeline gasped, not expecting Shien's friends to invite her. "M-me?"

When they nodded, she slowly joined her fist with the gang. Shien's group cheered, eager to work with Mivangeline to beat the game.