Sarin Alpha

In the outskirts of Zinthesia City, Zirconessa took cover behind the pale skeletal trees made of thallium metal. She lured the DJ bionic commandos to attack her with their machine gun arms.

"Ding dong, Shien! Where are you?" Zirconessa yelled into her contact tab.

"Avian Form: Woodpecker Beak Strikes!" Shien snuck behind the enemies, striking them down with his deadly palm strikes.

With the mechanical soldiers confused, Zirconessa cut them down with her bladed roller skates. As tabs appeared to report their spoils, Zirconessa checked on the valuable gear the DJ enemies dropped.

"Did I finish the contract yet?" Shien jumped.

"Szzt. That's the 15th time you asked me," Zirconessa opened her item storage. "But yeah, looks like that was the last of the items I needed to make another clarinet staff. Just don't break it again."

"Yes! Finally," Shien jumped. "I'm gonna tell Mivange!"

Shien tapped on Mivangeline's contact, eagerly waiting to hear her voice. There was no reply. Worried, he called his friends one by one. None of them responded until Enshiron replied.

"Enshiron! Are you okay?"

He heard explosions muffle the mic.

"S-Shien... help..." Enshiron begged before the mic roared with static.

"Look!" Zirconessa pointed at the smoke.

Shien and Zirconessa ran towards the mayhem to find the Cynthaxis Cafe under siege. A crusader droid held a tripod-mounted machine gun that fired into the entrance as Enshiron fired wind arrows back from within. More crusader droids fired rocket launchers, making the roof collapse.

"No! Avian Form: Parotia's Guillotine!" Shien beheaded the rocketeers with his deadly kick.

When crusader droids fired at Shien, Zirconessa zoomed at them with her speed. As she cut them with her roller blades, Enshiron shot a blood-red Vampiric Zephyr at the machine gunner. A new droid took its place to fire back at Enshiron's last stand.

"Avian Form: Blackhawk Missile!" Shien jumped, whirling his body into a cyclone toward the machine gun. "Avian Form: Flamingo's Talon!"

His two feet smashed the droid machine gunner down as he tore apart the tripod-mounted weapon into pieces. Crusader droids closed in and fired at Shien from all directions until he fell. Zirconessa zoomed for Shien, but the droids ganged up on her to prevent her interference. A droid forced Shien's head onto the floor as Cyroid's hologram appeared before the droid squadron.

"We'll make certain the UICA enemies have a 0% chance of survival," Cyroid coldly gestured with a cut-throat gesture. "Administer the inhaled toxin."

"Please, don't!" Shien tearfully watched the Federation droids wield spray guns that discharged the lethal gas. "Stop it! Phoenicia was taken... don't take my other friends!"

"Gas warfare? Are you serious?" A gas-masked Ritom sliced the droids with his giant blade. "That's just low!"

Ritom stopped the gas launchers while Zirconessa zapped the other droids with her shock gloves. The mechanic friend quickly shoved mechanic gas masks into Shien and Zirconessa's faces.

"E-Enshiron... What about the rest?" Shien worried.

"I got them all covered," The mechanic friend tapped his back.

Shien noticed Ruddigus using his large body to shield Enshiron, Elysia, Naivern, and Esarin from the heavy rubble. They would've been crushed if it weren't for Ruddigus, and the toxic gas would've been lethal if it weren't for Ritom's masks.

"R-Ruddigus," Enshiron helped him move the debris. "You're truly a lifesaver..."

"Of course," The muscular friend ignored his bleeding body. "Yo, Ritom. You may be a cheat, but your quick thinking saved us!"

"We saved the party together, Yu-Gi-Oh boy," Ritom fist-bumped Ruddigus as they put aside their tensions.

Shien and Enshiron hugged as Zirconessa healed the group and called the police droids to detox the area.

"The probabilities don't compute!" Cyroid's hologram gnashed his teeth at the party that stood alive. "Your probabilities of survival should've been 0% as I've calculated!"

"You cocky robot!" Elysia growled at Cyroid. "Your math can't calculate our friendship!"

"How dare a lowly fox challenge the intelligence of a superior machine like me! Mark my words, none of you will see the light of the real world!" Cyroid barked before yelling into his transceiver. "Sarin Alpha is down. Initiate Rainstorm Omega."

As Cyroid's hologram faded, crusader droids wielding rapid-firing sniper rifles perched on the boombox skyscrapers. Naivern played her guitar to summon hexagon shields as the snipers bombarded the party. Zirconessa's advanced police droids fired their new Tesla rifles to shock chains of hiding Federation droids.

"Where's Mivange?" Shien noticed the Commander wasn't with them.

"She was with us during the tea time," Elysia fired her machine pistols at the droid snipers. "Unless, Knavus kidnapped her."

"H-he betrayed me?" Enshiron shivered, lowering his violin bow. "B-but why? Why would Knavus do something like that?"

"No!" Shien ran across the purple street. "Mivange! I'm coming!"

***

"W-what are you doing, Knavus?" Mivangeline struggled with her cuffed hands.

"I'm just doing what I have to do," Knavus forced Mivangeline to walk across the dark crystalline outskirts of Zinthesia City.

"What do you mean? I thought you wanted to join our campaign!"

Knavus stopped, staring at Zinthesia City. Mivangeline followed his eyes to the smoke from the center of the city.

Mivangeline shuddered. "What happened to my friends?"

That wasn't the cafe, right? Knavus froze. No. There are lots of other buildings in the area.

"K-keep moving," He pushed Mivangeline forward.

"You're friends with Enshiron, right?" Mivangeline yelled. "Aren't you worried about him?"

"It must be a random fire..." Knavus kept his eyes away from the smoke.

He led Mivangeline to a lone thallium tree. A robotic woman with lightning-shaped eyes holding a tuning fork scythe jumped down.

"Thalamoid, I brought her here as you asked," Knavus held Mivangeline by the cuffs.

"Good boy," Thalamoid chuckled. "You'll receive program Zeruqkchiyion as promised."

"Who are you?" Mivangeline asked.

"Me? I am just a humble messenger, little girl. An old friend of yours wishes to see you again."

Thalamoid swiped a tab to summon a hologram. Mivangeline gasped at the pink-haired girl with glasses holding a scepter, someone she knew all too well.

"Well, well. This is surely a sight to see," Joltiarre grinned.

"M-Myuuna?" Mivangeline called Joltiarre by her first name.

"It's High Visionary Joltiarre, stupid."

"What's going on? What are you doing to me?"

"Oh, I just wanted to wish you a final farewell. Yes, how delightful, after all this time."

Mivangeline struggled again from Knavus' grip.

"Now, now, Mivangeline. Don't be like that," Joltiarre shook her finger. "It's only fitting that you suffer for all you did to me."

"What do you mean? What's this about?" Mivangeline asked.

"I'm surprised how much you've forgotten after all these years. Did you think I would forget how you ruined me?"

"Ruined you?"

"Wasn't I the one who helped a hopeless loner like you become an idol? Or did you forget that too?"

"Of course, I remember. I wouldn't have made it without you."

"It must feel great to get all the boys' attention. I used to have that until you became the Ms. Rising Star that outshined me."

"I outshined you? That's what this is about?" Mivangeline huffed. "But you were the one who took me under your wing!"

"If I knew an introverted nobody with confidence issues like you would rise higher than me, I would've never taught you!"

"Yes, how dare this woman walk the earth looking prettier than you, dear friend!" Iagen's sweet voice gurgled from Joltiarre's mouth. "You shall surpass Mivangeline and take back the boys' attention she stole from you. Now, put her to death!"

"Yes, master," Joltiarre agreed. "Let's end her. Thalamoid!"

The droid woman swung her tuning fork scythe at Mivangeline, but Knavus pulled her back.

"What the hell?" Joltiarre roared. "Why is she still alive?"

"Hold up! This wasn't part of the deal," Knavus shook his head. "I brought Mivangeline here alive as ordered."

"And you completed your mission," Thalamoid stomped towards him. "I will log you out with Zeruqkchiyion once I decapitate her."

"But I never wanted anyone to get hurt!" Knavus walked back.

"You already helped us eliminate our enemies, so why are you concerned about this loser's life?" Joltiarre growled.

"Wait, what enemies?"

Then, that explosion was from the cafe. What have I done to Enshiron? Knavus gasped. "This... this was a mistake."

Knavus swiped a tab for his crescent-tipped rapier, slashing Mivangeline's handcuffs off.

"Shien?" Mivangeline ran away, opening her contact. "Are you there? I'm at the outskirts of-"

"Stop her!" Joltiarre yelled.

Thalamoid scratched a finger onto her tuning fork scythe. It vibrated into shrill ringing that made Mivangeline and Knavus cringe.

"Shien!" Mivangeline shouted into the tab.

Her contact stopped working.

"I thank you for your service, Mivangeline," Thalamoid swiped away Joltiarre's hologram.

"W-what do you mean?" Mivangeline shook her ringing head.

"You called Shien for me! I have waited so long for this," Thalamoid chuckled through her gas mask. "Soon, Isrina will remember that I was her one and only child all along!"

"Mivange?" A familiar voice called from a distance. "Hang on!"

"But first, I must prepare a gift for him," Thalamoid's lightning-shaped eyes leered at Mivangeline. "It's only fitting. I think your head will do nicely."