Assembling a New Party

After Saitori ended Maika's reign, Mivangeline found the rest of Shien's friends from Syanic Earth in Choro Emplexion. Naivern, Ritom, Enshiron, and Elysia hugged each other after the dreadful battle with Emphynixyion. They reunited with their families and friends in real life, including Master Oreic. An overjoyed Dorian, Nashura, and Calice were eager to celebrate and party with their long-lost friends until they heard the dire news of Shien's capture, leaving them in tears. Nothing was the same without the bouncy bird nerd martial artist who gets mad when called short.

As the UICA finished repairing the ruins of Choro Emplexion, Mivangeline paced in the hallway in thought. The soldiers saluted when they passed by, acknowledging her status as Commander and congratulating her for her duty in the Syanic Earth. Mivangeline saluted back, not used to the respect.

"Ah, still out here, Commander?" Enshiron held two cups of tea. "Nash-style tea?"

"Sure, thanks," She took a cup.

The two leaned on the wall together in silence as they drank.

"You seem to be deep in thought, Mivangeline."

"True, I'm thinking of a way to save Shien."

"Oh?" Enshiron's Vulpi ears twitched. "I mean, we all do. It's just the question is, how?"

"I was thinking, if we had a party in the Syanic Earth, why don't we make our squad here too?"

The Vulpi boy took time to think. "Interesting idea, but my concern is that we're not soldiers or heroes in real life. We don't have the OP abilities we had in the game."

"But you all still have talents here, right? Like your sniper violin skill and wind Vultau art."

"True. Elysia, Nash, Calice, and I are the most battle-experienced. Elysia's got her Waxing Sickle gear, Nash is a medic and swordswoman, and Calice is a social worker with lightning powers from Hernamidos' experiment."

"Yeah! I'm sorry it's weird, but I couldn't stop thinking about it."

"Don't be!" Enshiron cleared his throat. "Now, if you got a plan to find Shien, by all means, I'm in. I'm just worried about Ritom, Naivern, and Dorian. They're not fighters here compared to the Syanic Earth."

"Oh, right. I didn't think about that carefully."

After Enshiron finished his tea, he snapped his finger. "Maybe they don't need to fight."

"What do you mean?"

"Those three have other talents in real life. I think they can help with what they're good at!"

"Good thinking. Dorian made the antivirus against the Eclipser Virus and hacked the Samsara Crinoid. She's our hacker and computer expert, but what about Ritom and Naivern?"

"Ritom is a mechanic, and Naivern is a DJ."

Mivangeline scratched her head. "I'm so used to Ritom being an incendiary tank and Naivern as a stat buffer. I need to think differently in real life."

"Ah, yes. We miss those old roles back then. But Mivangeline, I saw how you worked with different party members in the Syanic Earth. I trust you."

"Thanks, Enshiron," Mivangeline held his shoulder. "I miss Shien. I want him back."

"Ditto. We all do. Shien means everything to us, and he made our group possible. He saved me from those bullies, and I want to help you rescue him."

Mivangeline nodded. "Alright, but I must ask General Saitori for permission to make our party for the mission."

She and Enshiron headed into the medical bay where they thought Saitori was resting after her close battle with Maika. They spotted Master Oreic meditating on a bed with legs crossed.

"Enshiron! Mivangeline!" Master Oreic awoke from inner peace. "What brings you here?"

"We were looking for General Saitori. Do you know where she is?" Mivangeline asked.

"The General's not here. She went on a mission against our pleas to rest."

"What mission? I thought the Eclipser Conflict was over."

"It is, but Saitori's on a different journey. She's looking for Cecilius' daughter."

Mivangeline and Enshiron tilted their heads in confusion.

"We weren't aware that Cecilius had kids," Enshiron blinked.

"Survivors of the Niang Chronicles like myself agreed to keep his daughter secret to prevent panic in the UICA."

"Why is that?"

Oreic breathed deeply. "Cyclia was her name. After we fled the Middle East into Europe, Cecilius went on a traveling rampage to look for countries willing to provide us with safe refuge. He finally found help from Forroway and General Covinski, but Cyclia was angry that her father spent more time helping the survivors than her. The Shin-Kaminari Overseer Amitonyx stole and brainwashed her behind our backs. Cyclia turned into the Federation's Shadow Commander known as Crendsic."

"That's terrible," Mivangeline looked down. "I had no idea Cecilius went through that."

"General Saitori promised Cecilius to find Cyclia before he died. We wanted her to rest after taking a beating from her duel with Maika, but the General was adamant to go," The Vultau master then shook his head. "Ahem, sorry. I didn't mean to rant. Cyclia's betrayal scarred us greatly. Anyway, what did you need from Saitori?"

Mivangeline and Enshiron told the master about their proposed party.

"Hmm, that's very determined of you, Commander Shuruuko," Oreic scratched his Vulpi ear. "General Saitori respects you for your improved leadership skills in the Syanic Earth, but I'm not sure what she would say about your new party."

"But what would you say, Master Oreic?" Mivangeline asked.

"Ah, well..." Oreic crossed his arms. "I'll be biased since I've watched over Shien's gang for years. I promised the UICA to watch and protect their children till death."

"We thank you for watching over all of us since we were little, Master," Enshiron bowed. "You also promised Isrina to look over Shien too. Maybe you can help us since you're a wiser adult than the rest of us?"

"I-I did make that promise to Isrina," Master Oreic remembered Isrina's nightmare of the three Prognosticus Sisters craving Shien's blood. I must see to it that Shien is safe from Iagen's grasp. I wonder if working with Mivangeline will be wise.

"Are you okay, Master?" Enshiron asked.

"For now, I guess," Oreic sighed. "Anyway, Commander, how about this? Let me see how you prepare the group for the mission. Then, I'll decide if it's a go."

"Sounds fair enough, right?" Enshiron elbowed Mivangeline.

She nodded. "That's fine. Thank you, Master Oreic."

The Vultau master walked with the two across the hallway to meet with the rest of the gang. He observed Mivangeline briefing them about assembling their party like in the Syanic Earth to save Shien.

"We first need to find where Shien's being held captive," Mivangeline instructed. "Likely in a Federation facility of some sort. I know Dorian hacked into the Samsara Crinoid, but I wonder if there's a similar database she can break into for information."

"The problem is that hacking for Federation info may require us to infiltrate another facility," Dorian adjusted her glasses.

"But is there another possible method? A simpler way, by any chance?"

After a moment of silence, Ritom stood. "There might be. Magnus was there at the battle in the White House. Big bro told me he found where President Forroway was held hostage by mining data from a Reaper Squad helmet."

"I can work with that," Dorian nodded. "But where do we get one?"

"Is there Federation wreckage near Choro Emplexion?" Mivangeline asked.

Calice shook her head. "Unfortunately, mostly ice after Kyrinna's attack."

"Does it have to be a Reaper Squad helmet?" Naivern raised her hand.

"Not necessarily," Dorian crossed her legs. "Just something Federation-grade I can work with."

"My dad's a UICA soldier. He said they collect Shin-Kaminari droid parts to understand how the robots work and ways to beat them! They might have some data for Dorian to hack."

"That's something we can start with," Mivangeline turned to the observing Vultau master. "Master Oreic, does Choro Emplexion keep droid parts around?"

"There is a basement workshop that studies Federation weaponry. I can show you," Oreic led them downstairs.

He took them down the lower levels of Choro Emplexion into the storage room. Within the room, rows of boxes with wrecked droid parts surrounded a workshop table where workers studied and dismantled a megachasmoid's cycloptic head.

"I saw those things back at the Ironclad Eagle," Calice remembered. "Those big bots are immune to superpowers."

"Ugh, most are broken shards, gears, and wires!" Ritom scrambled his hands through a box of nuts and bolts.

"But Ritom, you're a mechanic. You can put it all together, right?" Naivern asked.

"I can't just poof something out of the dust, Loud Girl. I need to know what I'm making and have all the pieces in front of me."

"Let's just look for a vital part like a droid head," Elysia found a box of sailfish drone wings. "It could cut Ritom's lazy bones some slack."

Nashura found a crusader droid's head with a gunshot crack. "Would this work?"

"Perfect!" Dorian shouted. "Oh, that gunshot probably hit the CPU core. That'll be an issue."

"Ritom can repair the core, and Calice can use her lightning to give it a jumpstart," Mivangeline instructed.

Mivangeline's thinking is pretty sharp. I'll give her that. Master Oreic stood on the side. She's improved compared to the last time I saw her before the World Cybertrap.

"I can probably put it back together with the right pieces," Ritom turned to Naivern. "Loud girl! You toy with music mixers, so you know machine parts too. Make yourself useful and help me find the right pieces."

"Kay, Ritom. Gee, whiz, man."

Nashura looked at the crusader droid's head while the friends found parts for Ritom's project. The dark, long-eared dome with two faded, angry eyes that would shine red when active. Eyes devoid of empathy.

"Hey, Nash? Are you okay?" Master Oreic asked.

She felt pale as her yellow eyes widened. Nashura hyperventilated, remembering the crusader droid that yanked her green hair and shoved its knee into her head. Nashura felt dizzy, imagining the crusader droid's eyes brighten with one motive, to kill without emotion. She suddenly fainted, seeing and hearing blurs of her panicked friends who carried her upstairs to the medical bay.

***

"What happened?" Nashura awoke from bed.

"Hey, Nash. You passed out," Calice sat beside her. "Are you alright?"

"I don't know," She blinked. "Where are the others?"

"They're working with the crusader droid head. You were out for hours. So we brought you here to rest."

"I'm sorry, Boba Girl."

"For what?"

Nashura crossed her arms in silence.

Calice pulled her cheek. "I know that look, Nash. You may be a medical student, but I'm a social worker. Hiding stuff from me doesn't work."

"You might laugh at me, but..." Nashura frowned. "I lost to a crusader droid."

"So? Why would I laugh at that?"

"I can fight Reaper Squad commandos no problem, but everything is different with a droid soldier."

Calice sat upright to listen.

"As blade masters, my parents tell me we can feel the enemy's soul in battle. We can feel their compassion, remorse, and pain when they hurt us or when we hurt them. When I fought a crusader droid, there was nothing."

When Nashura's hands shook, Calice grabbed them.

"The droid doesn't care if it's hurt or hurts somebody. It kills without emotion. I've never felt something that scary."

Nashura cried as Calice hugged her. "I try so hard to be strong like my parents. Be strong like Shien. How can I help our team save Shien if I'm not strong enough?"

"Nash, you're not weak," Calice elbowed her. "Don't talk about yourself like that! Shien and your parents wouldn't want you to feel that pressure."

Nashura sniffed.

"Listen, there's strength in sharing what you need help with," Calice rubbed her back. "It's okay to be scared and ask for help. That's why we have each other. We'll fight for Shien together!"

"Okay, Calice."

"Some of us have beaten crusader droids before. I'm sure the team would be happy to help you!"

Nashura hugged Calice. "I could use that help. Thanks, Boba Girl."

"Of course. Let's check on the rest of the gang!"

As Ritom rebuilt the droid head at a workbench full of tools, the friends trained for combat. Elysia used her Waxing Sickle experience to teach Nashura how to take a crusader droid down. She taught Nashura the crusader droid's anatomy and fighting capabilities. They polished their sword techniques by sparring with each other. Master Oreic trained Enshiron and Calice to strengthen their superpowers while Mivangeline practiced the Avian Form on a Wing Chun dummy.

When Ritom finished repairing the droid head, Calice gave it a zap. The bright red eyes illuminated as Dorian plugged in her laptop. The eyes flashed green as Dorian hacked inside for information about Shien's whereabouts.

***

"Isrina?" Mivangeline walked into the room. "Are you alright?"

She found Isrina sitting alone on her bed quietly. Isrina's face was emotionless as dried tears covered her cheeks. The walls, shelves, and furniture remained broken from Isrina's earlier tantrums. Her steak and string beans meal sat cold and untouched on the table, showing no signs of appetite. Dirty clothes and wooden pieces of furniture scattered the floor, attracting Lansen inside. The round trash bird waddled across the ruins, doing his best to clean up the mess.

Poor Isrina. Mivangeline thought of ways to comfort her. "Hey! We know how to find Shien. It won't be long until Dorian's hack finishes."

No answer. Isrina's head remained down in depression, refusing to look at Mivangeline.

"I was wondering if you want to help us once we know where Shien is."

No answer.

"Hey, do you want to talk to me? Maybe it's better if you're not alone out here."

No answer.

"Isrina! Look at me!" Mivangeline shook her by the shoulders. "You're the legendary Desert Cardinal. Your son looks up to you! Acting like this won't help get Shien back!"

"Lea..."

Mivangeline looked into Isrina's soulless eyes.

"Leave me," Isrina muttered to Mivangeline.

She let go of the Desert Cardinal. Mivangeline sighed and helped Lansen clean the room, collecting the dirty clothes for laundry and tossing the cold meal into the trash.

"Isrina, I'll come back later to check on you," Mivangeline changed the garbage can and patted Lansen's head to commend the bird for his hard work. "We're all working hard to get Shien back. I want to let you know that we're here for you, and you don't need to struggle alone. Let us know if you need to talk."

Isrina still refused to say anything. Mivangeline, knowing there was nothing else she could do, walked out with Lansen and carried the laundry and trash bag. Isrina then locked the door and sat on the bed with her feet crossed.

"Master Iagen. My Little Chickadee's gone! You said you could teach me magic to get him back. Please show me your power. The power you said can kill Fanghui and bring my husband and family back from the dead!"