Legends of the Halcyon Era: Six on the Beach

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Legends of the Halcyon Era

Six on the Beach

by

David Oxford/LBD “Nytetrayn”

*****

Monroe Island, late afternoon.

Radi walked along the beach, fishing rod in hand, and found herself a good place to cast her line. Or at least, what she considered a good place, as her hook was in the sand. All was peaceful.

That is, until a large airship fell out of the sky, hitting the ground right next to her fishing spot and bouncing before it skidded several hundred meters inland.

After a moment, she pulled her line in, dragging two fish to the surface of the sand with it, which she then tied to a stick.

“Dead, all dead!” she exclaimed with a big smile.

With that, she walked a curving path to the ship and knocked on the side, putting her ear next to it to listen for any response.

Inside the ship, Fenix slowly pulled himself to his feet. Meanwhile, Nytetrayn groggily lifted his head, just before it fell back down.

“I thought I was done with the concussions,” Fenix said. “Oh god, trapped in a small enclosed space with these guys… I’ve gone to Hell.”

Outside, Radi danced a brief circle in the sand, then knocked again. “It sounds like someone’s in there…”

Fenix looked around. Xenos was sprawled out with rubble over his head, while Janine had been thrown on top of Celeste.

Nytetrayn slowly lifted his head again. “…did anyone get the number of that Reaverbot…? Remind me to give the autopilot a raise…”

“ It’s not FAIR dammit!” Fenix pouted. “I don’t WANT to go to Hell! I was a good boy, wasn’t I? Well, except that time I stuck the pretzel up Nyte’s nose, but he was ASKING for it, I swear…”

After a pause, Nytetrayn kicked Fenix’s legs out from under him.

“I’m too young to die! I never had any quality time with my dad! All Dad ever did was dismember me, and -AGH!” Fenix clattered to the ground and lay still.

“Mogh… my head…” muttered Xenos.

“I hear those crazy people,” Radi said from outside the ship.

Nytetrayn got to his feet slowly, and decided to move Janine before she inadvertently suffocated Celeste.

“HELLOOOOOO!” came the call from outside.

“…Radi? That you?”

“Mommy!” Radi shouted with a big smile.

“Oh god, Radi’s back. I am in Hell,” Fenix said.

“…I can’t get up…” Xenos said, while Fenix began sobbing again. “Daddy….! The demons are coming for me, I’m gonna be tortured for all of eternity….!”

“Xenos, what’s wrong?” Nyte asked, as he finished propping both girls into a sitting position up against the wall.

“My head is buried in rubble, what do you think is wrong?!”

Radi suddenly fell silent, but a soft tapping could be heard on various areas of the ship. “Weak point… weak point…” she said, as she continued tapping the metal hull. “Find a point, make a big hole.”

Janine very slowly started to come to, while Nyte pulled Xenos free of his rubble prison. “I thought maybe you were paralyzed or something…”

The Pirate gasped loudly for air, before he heard the sounds and asked, “…what’s that tapping?”

Fenix’s eyes went wide. “I know what she’s doing…. Dear god, I know what she’s going to do…”

Nyte looked at Fenix with a questioning expression, when suddenly, it dawned on him. “…oh, crap,” he said, a panicked expression spreading across his face.

“She’s going to blow a hole in the ship. I take it back, I prefer Hell.”

Janine shot an energy beam at the ship hull about a foot above where she thought the tapping was coming from, but to no avail. There was a loud clattering noise, as Radi exclaimed, “Weak point!”

“…aw, feck,” said Fenix.

Lots of metallic clattering noises were followed by a small pause, and then an ominous ticking. “Stand back, unless you want to go boom, too!”

Nyte quickly grabbed Janine and Celeste, and took cover, as Fenix scrambled away and Xenos dove for a hiding place.

The mechanism ticked down, and then… silence.

“Aw, what is this?” Radi said.

“I pray to god it explodes in her face,” said Fenix. “Not like it’ll hurt her…”

“And you guys talked about me when I just wanted to use a low-power shot to get her off my leg…”

“Maybe it needs a joint explosion to set it off…”

Fenix raised an eyebrow.

“So we escape the ship crashing, only to be killed by a grade schooler with high explosives?” said Janine.

“Chain reaction~! Six bombs should do it..”

“Oh, dear god,” said Nytetrayn.

“HEY! WAIT! DO NOT BLOW UP THE SHIP!” Fenix shouted.

“…but then you can’t get out of there,” Radi replied. “And suffocate and die.”

“We can get out on our own, I think…” Janine said. “Xenos, would you be kind enough to lead us to the emergency exit? Because otherwise I’m going to blow us an escape hatch myself.”

Xenos looked around at the horribly destroyed ship.

“…but it’s such a waste,” Radi said tearfully. “They’re all laid out and ready to go!”

“Uhm… just a second. I’ll find a way to it,” Xenos said as he looked about frantically.

“But if you set them off, we’ll DIE,” Fenix was keen to point out.

“Will not. Everything’s calculated perfectly.”

“I don’t WANT to go to Hell, I want to play catch with my daddy first…”

“Remind us to have a LONG talk with you about that,” Nyte said.

“Of course, we’ll probably be playing catch with my eyeball once he’s ripped it out,” Fenix continued, as he ignored Nyte, “but still…”

Suddenly, a loud ticking sound could be heard.

“…oops!” said Radi, who didn’t look very concerned with her alleged blunder.

“Our father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name…” Fenix said.

“Uhmm… ahhh!” yelled Xenos, who was still searching frantically.

“…crap,” said Nytetrayn, before Janine hugged him close to her.

A series of explosions rang out, and a big hole was left in their wake.

“Dear god, we aren’t dead…” Fenix said in amazement.

“I told you it was calculated,” said Radi.

“Yay!” Jan said, as she released Nytetrayn, who fell to the floor, before she leaped out of the hole.

Xenos looked up into the light and climbed out swiftly, with Fenix following after, albeit with less exuberance. Nyte climbed out as well, carefully bringing Celeste with him.

“Let’s play a game,” said Fenix. “Whoever finds #6 first gets to feed him his own neck.”

“I’ll play!” Janine said excitedly.

As the group emerged from the shipwreck, scorched Helpbots rained down from the sky, bouncing off the ground upon impact.

“Appetizers!” Radi exclaimed.

“…guess we didn’t have to kill them, after all,” said Nyte.

As Radi hopped off the ship, she picked up one of the fallen Helpbots and sniffed at it carefully. They appeared to be quite dead, though they still continued to smile.

“Hmm, already cooked too,” she said, before taking a bite. While chewing, she said, “Tathes a lil’ like beeph derkey!”

While Fenix and Janine proceeded to find and mutilate the corpse of #6, Nytetrayn carefully laid Celeste out in a safe spot on the beach, away from the wreckage. With a sigh, he turned back to the others.

“I can’t believe we survived,” said Xenos, as he collapsed on the beach.

“I can’t believe you lasted this long with them,” Nyte countered.

“Nummy!” Radi said, as she continued to chew on her Helpbot.

“Incidentally, what do you do now?”

“Fix big hole,” Radi said with a big smile, as she dropped the Helpbot, which was now covered with tooth marks.

Xenos looked over at the burning ship. “I think it’s dead.”

Fenix patted Radi on the head. “You’re more trouble than you’re worth, you know that?”

“I got you out. Not even a, ‘thank you very much Radi,’ ‘here’s some food Radi,’ the girl said.

Nyte checked Celeste, and was relieved to find she was breathing, which was a good sign. “At least we didn’t land in the water,” he said as he heaved a worried-sounding sigh.

He then looked up and over to the younger girl, and said, “Thank you, Radi. Please take all the Helpbots you can eat.”

“Yay!” she said, with her arms stretched out over her head and a big smile.

“Janine kissed Radi on the head, and walked over to flop down next to Xenos.”

Still smiling, Radi looked at the group and said, “Fish. Eat.” As she said this, she gestured to her fishing pole, which was stuck in the sand and had fish tied to it.

“I’m not hungry right now,” said Xenos.

“Nor I,” said Nyte as he sat down.

“Have to eat. Keep strength up, go get Zenny.”

“Since when did you speak like a savage, Radi?” asked Xenos.

“I get lazy.”

“I see.”

“I don’t like fish, too many bones,” said Fenix. “You, on the other hand, look like you could make a nice meal… but that would be violent and bloody, so I’ll wait until we go to town and buy a hamburger.”

Radi made another face, and removed a fish from the pole before setting about the bloody and gory task of cleaning it. She made a point of ripping the spine out and holding it overhead with one hand triumphantly, so that Fenix wouldn’t have any bones to complain about – made clear by the unnerving fact that she never broke eye contact with him as she did it.

“That’s pretty good fileting there,” the Pirate said.

“I watch people.”

“Hum,” was all Xenos could say.

Radi left the cleaned fish on a random metal sheet on the sand, and started picking up driftwood. Some guy walked by, nudging sand aside with his foot now and then, before he suspiciously eyed Radi’s fish, then left.

“What’s he up to?” Xenos wondered, as he watched the man leave.

“Maybe looking for his fish,” Radi said.

Stunned, Fenix and Nyte looked at Radi. Janine said, “I’m not going to ask.”

That didn’t stop Xenos from doing so, however. “You stole his fish?”

“His fish are out there,” Radi said as she pointed at the water.

“I… see?”

Radi dug a little hole in the sand, and carefully set the wood in it at various angles, then put what looked like a very small bomb on top.

“You use bombs for everything, don’t you?”

“…well, no,” she said, as the bomb made a very tiny ticking sound, followed by a surprisingly small boom, which set the wood alight. She then skewered the cleaned fish, and put it over the fire. With that done, she proceeded to eat the other fish whole, which made Xenos turn green.

“So, what do we do now guys?” asked Janine.

“Go digging,” Radi cheerfully suggested.

“Well, I dunno,” Nyte said as he sighed. “I think waiting for Celeste to regain consciousness might be a good idea. And we still need a place to stay the night…”

“If you wave a piece of seaweed under her nose, the smell should be strong enough to wake her up,” Radi said, now tearful for some reason.

“Jan’s breasts always seemed to wake Xenos up,” Fenix said.

“Actually, sometimes they do the oppos –” Xenos started to correct him, then winced. “Don’t talk about that stuff in front of the little kid.”

Ignoring the two, Nyte had his attention fixated on the young girl and her idea. “…will that really work, Radi?”

“Of course. But it has to be one that’s been on the beach for awhile, so’s it’s had time to get stinky.”

With another sigh, Nyte asked her, “I don’t suppose I could entrust you with the task of finding one, could I?”

At that, Radi immediately dropped the remainder of the fish, and put her nose to the sand, snuffling away.

Grateful as he was for the aid, Nyte still couldn’t help but to roll his eyes at the sight. He turned to Fenix and Janine. “Maybe you two could go on ahead, and see if anyone’s rented our old place yet?”

“I can handle that,” the masked Digger said. Turning to Janine, he asked, “What do you say, kiddo? Go for a ride?”

“Cool!” Janine exclaimed, before picking Fenix up and slinging him onto her back, piggy-back style.

“Not quite what I had in mind, but it’ll do,” Fenix said. “See you later!”

Janine waved as she zoomed off, while Nyte watched with a raised eyebrow.

“The comic duo departs,” said Xenos.

Nyte turned back to watching Radi hunt. She soon scuttled back, holding what was indeed a very foul-smelling piece of seaweed that looked as though it had been out for awhile, and may have had something rot on top of it. And because this was the beach, it had that sharp “aurghhre” smell.

“Thanks,” said Nyte. “Can I see that for a second?”

“It had flies on it. I think there still might be some in there, somewhere,” she said, as she dropped it into his hand.

Nyte held the seaweed near Celeste’s nose, and after a moment or two, she began to cough, and woke up groggily.

“…nnnnn…”

Nyte handed the seaweed back to Radi, who ate it, and asked, “Celeste, are you okay?”

“Welcome back to the land of the living,” said Xenos.

“…what… happened..?”

Nyte paused in thought, looked at the fallen ship, then back to Celeste.

“We crashed.”

Meanwhile, Radi plucked the by-now burned black fish off he spit, and gulped it down as well, while muttering something about how no one appreciated her cooking.

Celeste blinked and looked around as she tried to get her bearings, and started to sit up.

“Easy there,” Nyte said.

“…where’s Fenix? And Janine? And the Helpbots? …and who’s that?” She quietly wondered, “Am I having amnesia again? …wait, that can’t be right…”

Radi started chewing on another Helpbot, which crawled up to Xenos and saluted.

“Fenix and Janine went to town to see about securing us a place to stay,” Nyte said. “And the Helpbots… well… I guess they died.”

Celeste looked sad. “They weren’t all that bad.”

“And that would be Radi. She helped get us out, and made some fish. Oh, and helped wake you up.”

Radi looked carefully at the Helpbot she was chewing on. “…it’s not really dead.”

“She’s a little eccentric,” he added, “but at least she’s friendly.”

“#1 reporting… for… duty, sir… She’s chewing on me,” it said with an uncharacteristically tearful expression.

Radi gave the Helpbot a startled look, then dropped it and started on another.

“I’ll be damned, one of the little bastards lived,” Nytetrayn said.

“#1’s a good one,” Xenos said.

Nyte returned his attention to Celeste. “You going to be okay?”

“…yeah… I think so…” she replied, with a hint of uncertainty.

“‘Kay, good,” he said, then turned back to the Pirate. “Hey, Xenos, I’m looking at digging our stuff out of there… anything you want me to grab?”

“Just the boxes in my room.”

“Check. You and Radi keep an eye on Celeste, ‘kay? I’ll be back in a few clicks.”

Nytetrayn headed back into the ship, while Radi tore off a salute and marched around stiffly.

*****

Meanwhile, back at the group’s old apartment, Fenix was hurled unceremoniously through the window and landed in a heap on the floor. Janine soon landed behind him and looked around.

“Hasn’t changed much… I don’t think they’ve gotten new tenants yet,” she said. “I told you that the mafia scare tactics weren’t necessary. And don’t they usually use rocks or something, anyway?”

“Practice makes perfect,” Fenix said, as he stood up and dusted himself off. “And besides, you never know when you’re going to be without a rock. Heck, I haven’t seen a rock around these parts in more than 20 years!”

“I thought you only moved her around a year or so ago?”

“Show me where that disproves my statement.”

Janine started to say something before realizing that what he said would technically be true, and decided to drop it.

“Yeah,” he said. “Anyway, let’s go see how the old man’s doing.”

“I hope he’s feeling better, he had a nasty nosebleed when we talked to him last.”

Fenix headed over to the apartment manager’s office, which was in a separate building that sat adjacent to the two-flat building they occupied a half of. The office had a sort of wood finish aesthetic going on, from the walls to the front counter, where Fenix banged on the bell. Janine followed, and looked around. Behind the counter was a desk and tons of papers and things that looked like they hadn’t been touched in years.

Soon, a disheveled-looking young man with sandy blonde hair emerged from an adjoining room. “Can I help you?”

“Yeah,” said Fenix. “Where’s old man McAllister?”

“Oh, he… uh, died about a week ago. Spontaneous combustion.”

“…really.”

“Yup. Just up and burst into flames. Weirdest damn thing I ever saw.”

Fenix looked on in disbelief, while Janine happened to glance at the young man, and her eyes were abruptly riveted on him like flies to sticky paper.

“So,” Fenix asked, “who are you?”

“I’m his son, Dick.”

Janine’s eyes tripled in size.

“Really. Well, um, I used to be a tenant here, and I was wondering if we could have our apartment back.”

“Um…. that depends,” Dick said, as he looked through some files. “Name?”

“Uh…. account was under Fenix and Nytetrayn.”

“Hmmmm…. Fenix… Fenix… Fenix… oh, here we go… Goodness, there’s quite a large note about you in here…”

“…Really…”

“It seems I’m not supposed to let you rent here again… um, the exact words are, and I quote, ‘unless the foundations of Hell itself were to tear open and send the rest of humankind into the boiling sea of lava below, wiping out all peoples on Earth except you and them, and the future of the universe depended upon you accepting their rent.’”

“Wow,” said Fenix. “That’s pretty specific.”

“Oh, wait, there’s another part,” said Dick, reading aloud: “‘Even then it’s iffy.’”

“Well…”

“…So he liked you guys.”

“I imagine it must have been that party we had a few months ago. I don’t see why he’s so bent out of shape about it, it’s not like we all fashioned togas out of the drapes and flushed the bedclothes down the toilets, and threw furniture out the window at random passersby…”

Fenix paused. “Well, wait, actually we did do that. As he smiled happily at the memory, he said, “Damn, that was one hell of a kegger.”

As Fenix stared off and happily reminisced, Dick looked kind of scared.

Snapping out of it, Fenix asked, “So, um, can we rent here again?”

“Well, these are kind of the last words of the man who raised me and died a horrifyingly painful death just a few short days beforehand. Basically, you’re asking me to betray the memory of my father before his ashes have had time to cool in the ceramic mug they’re now stored in.”

Janine spit out the coffee she had been drinking, and looked critically at her cup.

“My father abandoned me at conception and dismembered me when I went to visit him, and you don’t hear me whining about it!” Before Janine could correct him, Fenix continued. “I don’t care whether your dad died of lupus or passed away quietly in his sleep, dooming the screaming passengers of his car to a fiery, painful death. I just want a damn bed to sleep in.”

“Well then, it seems we find ourselves at an impasse.”

“Indeed.”

Fenix and Dick look each other in the eye, staring with no movement nor emotion, neither willing to give an inch.

*****

Back at the beach, Nytetrayn explored the wrecked ship, and decided to check the engine room. There, he found the remains of the refractor which once powered the ship turned sideways.

“…figures.”

Meanwhile, Celeste found herself alone on a beach with one Helpbot, an Air Pirate, and a curious young scamp of a girl. She just sat there, looking out at the ocean.

“It’s a nice day for flying,” Radi said, with a big smile.

Celeste blinked, as she looked at the wreckage of the airship and back to Radi. “I guess so…”

“Soooo…” Xenos started to say, before Radi interrupted by asking, “What’s your favorite fish?”

Celeste wasn’t expecting that, and replied nervously, but pleasantly, “Um… I dunno. Goldfish, maybe?”

“Nooooo. For eating.”

“…oh. Um… I really don’t know… I think I might like salmon?”

“Salmon’s always good… partial to halibut m’self,” said Xenos.

“Halibut, halibut!” Radi chanted.

“How much do you remember, by the by?” Xenos asked.

“…not really anything… I just sort of remember waking up in the hospital…”

“Hah,” said the Pirate.

“…that, and a few things,” she continued. “I can still write. You know, things of that nature… but events, people, places… I don’t really know…”

“Salmon!” said Radi, to Celeste’s confusion.

“Maybe you never had a past and you’re a humanoid bot, programmed with basic crystallized intelligence but no memories of your own!” Radi said. As she only seemed to realize what she had said after the fact, she smiled broadly and added, “COOL.”

“Oooookay,” said Xenos.

Celeste’s eyes widened, and she was not sure how to respond to that.

“In a crucial life threatening moment, your powers come to life and you turn into a fifty story three headed robot and shoot lasers out of your eyes!”

Celeste actually started to seem a little freaked out.

Xenos leaned over and whispered, “It’s okay, she’s just fantasizing.”

“And you eat salmon!”

Celeste let out a small sigh of relief.

“And then you BLOW UP THE WORLD.”

“…actually, I am a little hungry,” Celeste said.

“After that, you go on to conquer the universe single-handedly, in the search of fish.”

“…I don’t know if I like fish that much…”

“POW!”

“You can stop now, Radi,” said Xenos, as the young girl danced in a circle and slithered into the water, swimming off for deeper parts.

Elsewhere, Nytetrayn had found the room where his stuff had been, and he gathered the others’ stuff there as well. Thinking on it for a moment, he also decided to grab some food, if any was left, from the kitchen. He then managed to get all of it together into one giant bindle that his mech could carry over its shoulder, started the machine up, and eventually made his way out of the wreckage.

Soon, Nyte marched up to the others in the mech. “Think I got everything,” he said as he opened the cockpit.

“Got it running, eh?” said Xenos. “Mind if I ask how you managed, without a refractor?”

“Well, there is one other way to power it,” Nyte said, as he hopped out. “Electricity. I just plugged it in.” Casting a glance in the direction of town, he added, “…I’m going to hate to see our power bill back at the old place, quite honestly.”

Radi swam back, dragging behind her a fishing line with many wriggling fish attached to it.

“It’s only good for short distances,” Nyte continued. “Eats power like Radi here eats dead fish.” As he looked at Radi’s catch, he added, “Maybe moreso.”

“They’re not dead, they’re alive,” Radi protested.

“…I stand corrected, then,” Nyte said as he looked back at the machine and placed a hand on it. “Anyways, if it’s using electricity, it won’t go too far. So not much good for digging.” He sighed.

Radi dropped the line of fish on the beach, and said, “I almost got us a couple of squid, but they’re kind of fast.” When she looked up, the others could see an ink blot on her face.

Nyte looked back at the young fisher. “Clever calamari?”

Celeste let out a small laugh, as did Radi. Xenos looked at Celeste in surprise, and she just sort of coughed and straightened herself.

“Anyway…” said Radi, with a big smile. “Fish. Who’s hungry?”

*****

Fenix and Dick continued their staring contest, each one unflinching, neither ready to give an inch. A bead of sweat rolled down Dick’s forehead, as holding a staring contest with a man with mechanical eyes began to take its toll. The tension was so thick, you could cut it with a knife.

Suddenly, the two clasped each other by the hand, nerves rigid and eyes locked as their thumbs began to move slowly, methodically, playing out the motions.

“One, two, three, four, I declare a thumb war!” boomed Fenix. “You’re doomed – I have a cybernetic arm, ya’ jerk!”

“Blast you…!”

“Um… guys?” Janine interjected.

“Not now, Jan, I’ve got him right where I want him!”

“Really, I think I can work this out, without bloodshed. I am a bureaucratic model, if you’ll recall…”

“No, I can take him, I coulda been a contender, I… who is that?” Dick said, as he got a good look at Janine and his consciousness grinded to an abrupt halt.

Sensing weakness, Janine clasped her hands together in front of her, and gave Dick her best droopy Bambi-eyes expression. In that moment, Dick totally forgot about anything even remotely related to thumb wars.

“I… ah… um, that is… but… my father’s dying wishes…”

Fenix had a small, pleasant mental image of his father’s dying wish, then imagined himself not carrying it out.

As Fenix amused himself with the thought, Janine sauntered up to Dick slowly, and let her womanly charms cast their spell on the landlord.

In a slightly pouty voice, she said, “You wouldn’t leave a poor, innocent girl like myself out on the streets, now would you?”

“I… uh, I…” Dick stammered.

“Your father was a very nice man,” she continued. “I’m sure he wouldn’t want me to have to sleep on the streets either…”

Fenix decided to back off, and let Janine do her thing.

As Dick started to tremble, he managed to start forming whole sentences again. “L-look, ma’am, I’d like to let you stay here, I really really would… but there’s this bill, see… your friends ran up the electric bill straight to Hell and back, and until someone pays it, you shouldn’t even be near this property…”

Janine placed a single slender finger to his large, brawny chest, and pushed him slowly backwards towards his other room, waving Fenix away with her other hand. “Well, then, why don’t we do something about that…?”

With that, Janine and Dick disappeared into the office, and the door slammed closed, followed by the audible click of the lock.

*****

Back at the shipwreck, Nytetrayn took out what he managed to salvage from the ship. “I’m a little hungry,” he said. “What say we have ourselves a good-ol’ fashioned beachside barbeque?”

“Fish makes you smarter, you know,” the young girl said of her catch. “If I’m any judge, you need to eat a lot of it.”

Xenos snickered at the remark.

“…shaddup, Xenos. I think you need the biggest portion, given how your ship and bots ended up,” Nyte said with an unimpressed look on his face, as he looked at the others. “Anyways, sure, I’m game for fish…”

Radi went about cleaning the fish again, which was very messy.

Xenos laughed again. “Let’s set up, and see what you rescued.”

Suddenly, Radi started digging a hole in the sand, and continued on until she had herself a fairly good-sized burrow, complete with supports so that it wouldn’t cave in while she’s in there. From within the burrow, the others could faintly hear, “Good niiight.”

Nytetrayn and Celeste looked on, speechless, until Nyte said, “…um, g’nite… Radi…” Celeste just sort of waved.

“Good night, kiddo,” said Xenos.

“…guess we’re on our own for food,” said Nytetrayn, as he sat down and started to watch the sun set.

After a moment, Xenos, who was sitting between Nyte and Celeste, said, “I… think I need to stretch my legs a little.” As he got up to go for a walk, he nudged the Digger along the way. Nyte glanced at Xenos, but figured it was an accident. The Air Pirate winked back at Nyte as he wandered off into the distance.

“Is Xenos coming on to me…?” Nyte wondered to himself.

About half an hour later, Fenix walked up and flopped onto the sand beside Nyte.

“There you are,” said the younger Digger.

“Well, I think we got our old place back,” the older Digger said as he dusted his hands off dramatically.

“Where’s Janine?”

“Paying the rent.”

Nyte looked at Fenix for a moment, then asked, “Where’d she get the money?” Then he smacked the older Digger lightly across the back of the head. “Least you could’ve done was wait for her. I mean, how long does it take?”

“Considering the new landlord almost beat me at thumb wrestling? Quite a while.”

“Huh. What, were his cybernetics bigger than yours?”

“…let’s just say my arm’s tired, and leave it at that.”

“Okay, sure,” Nyte said, as he looked back out over the water. “At least we have a place to stay now… what about Xenos, though?”

“He shared his crib with us, least we can do is return the favor,” Fenix said. “Mi casa, es su casa.”

“Yeah, until he gets on his feet again, at least… hope our place is big enough. Maybe he’s collected enough loot for his own place, if any other Helpbots survived. Hey, maybe he could get the place next door?”

“What?!” exclaimed Fenix. “Look, I know he’s a Pirate and I don’t like that and all, but show some compassion, man!”

“Okay, okay, you’re right…”

Celeste sort of glanced at the two Diggers, a little bewildered by the talk of the other apartment, before going back to just sitting quietly, listening and watching the sunset as well.

Soon, Xenos walked by again, and then paused as he looked at the three. “…Oh come ON, Nyte! All alone! Sunset! Girl! You wimp!”

Fenix looked up at the Pirate, then over at Nyte and Celeste. “Oh, I’m sorry, am I ruining the ambience?”

Nytetrayn and Celeste both looked at the other two, confused. Then Nytetrayn broke the silence.

“…dude, what in the blue hell are you going on about? First you hit on me, and now this?!”

“Jeeze, I was expecting to see some canoodling when I – WHAT?”

“You know good and well, “what”!”

“Fenix, your friend here is incredibly dense, isn’t he?”

Nytetrayn looked between the two, still trying to figure out what they were going on about.

“…yeah,” said Fenix. “Yeah, I think he is.”

“Come on, Fenix, let’s give him another chance, kay?”

“Oh, gee, thanks,” Nyte said, as he got up and started to walk off. “I don’t need this. I’ll be back later, alright? Maybe I can find some refractors or something so I won’t have to lug that damn ride armor to town on my back.”

“…Or not. Well, excuse me for trying to give you some nice romantic time alone…”

“Dude, I’m sorry, but I don’t swing that way. I don’t care how many times you nudge and wink at me!”

“With the GIRL you lug-head!” Xenos called after, but Nyte was already well on his way, as he muttered to himself about that “crazy pirate” and “must be where the Helpbots got it from.”

“…I dunno, I think you two make a cute couple.”

Xenos plopped down next to Celeste, who was just stunned and confused by the whole exchange. “Sorry,” he said, “I tried to leave you two kids alone. Guess he’s just not up to it…”

“…alone?” Celeste said. “Um…”

“‘S okay, he didn’t want to screw Jan, either. I think he’s coming to terms with who he is, and is just trying to hide it.”

Xenos pat Celeste on the head lightly. “Naw, I think the man’s just scared. Couldn’t even take advantage of a sunset alone with her on the beach…”

Celeste looked back and forth between the Digger and the Pirate, confused. “Are we supposed to be..? I mean, you think… I mean… um…”

Xenos looked back to the sunset.

“Not if you don’t want to. I mean, nobody’s pushing you,” said Fenix, “but you could do a lot worse.”

“Yeah… you could,” Xenos agreed.

“Me for example? I’ve got more emotional baggage than a caravan, AND I’m ugly! Nyte has neither of those problems.”

“Nyte’s a good kid,” Xenos said.

Celeste just sort of nodded along.

“I mean, really, what’s not to like? Nyte’s always got the girls crawling all over him, and me, I’m just the scruffy sidekick people make fun of.”

Xenos chuckled, as Fenix continued, sniffing. “It’s not like I mind or anything, I pretty much grew up alone, so I’m used to it…”

“Someday, Fenix, we’re going to have to get you a woman,” Xenos said. “But we’re not talking about that.”

“I dunno,” said Celeste. “I think we’re just friends…”

Xenos gave her a pat on the back.

Turning to Fenix, she added, “…and you’ve got everyone else here, right?”

“Yeah, I guess, though I find it distinctly odd that Janine’s hit on just about everyone here EXCEPT me…” Fenix said. “Maybe I should stop calling her rude names…”

“…that might help,” Celeste offered.

“That’s cuz she actually likes you, Fenix,” said Xenos. “And Celeste: I know you’re just friends now, and that’s probably for the best. But I saw you making eyes at him… the boy’s your hero, saved your life at his own expense. I know you feel something for him.”

“Well, I dunno… I mean, maybe just a little?” she said, as she lowered her head and blushed slightly.

Xenos patted her lightly.

“Awwww, look at that, she’s blushing,” said Fenix. “No one ever blushes when they talk about ME…”

“Fenix, do you need to talk to Number 1 for a while?” asked Xenos.

“That has so many different wrong meanings that I’m not going to comment.”

“And Celeste… it’s okay, he feels the same way about you. He’s just shy.”

“…I guess…”

“Don’t let him go, though, because that boy will just shy himself out of believing you feel anything and be gone, if you let him.”

Celeste silently nodded.

“But now, #1 will watch out for you. Nyte’ll be back soon, I betcha. I’m gonna go take Fenix to a few bars. He needs to get laid like nobody’s business.”

Celeste looked at them and nodded.

“You think I haven’t tried bars?” Fenix asked.

“You haven’t tried bars with the old Xenos charm on your side!” Xenos then smiled, his teeth sparkling.

“…that’s not natural,” Fenix said, awed by the display.

“C’mon let’s go. Will you be okay on your own, Cel?”

“Yeah, sure, I think so… when will you guys be back?”

“We’ll be back.. well.. I don’t know. Here, have a comm,” Xenos said, as he handed her a small wristwatch-like object. Celeste nodded as she accepted it.

“Yeah, sure, and just in case, here,” Fenix added, as he tossed her a taser. “If Nyte gets a little frisky, hit him in the ol’ Mean Bean Machine with that.”

“Uh… sure… okay…” Celeste said with a raised eyebrow, as she caught the taser. “Thanks…”

“No problem. Seeya!” the Pirate said, as he waved and led Fenix into town.

“Guard mode on!” #1 said with a big smile.

*****

When Xenos and Fenix reached town, the former asked, “So, do we start from the top, or the bottom?”

“Don’t you generally start from the bottom?”

“Well, that depends. Do you want to check out the lowest class girls first?”

“Ah, the top it is, then!”

“This way!” Xenos said, as he led Fenix into a very ritzy-looking establishment.

*****

“So, how is the lady tonight?” #1 asked with its characteristically huge smile.

“…um, I’m alright, thanks,” Celeste said nervously, as she lightly patted the Helpbot on the head.

“Thank you, miss,” it said, with an even wider, more pleased smile. Celeste smiled back.

Just then, Janine floated up and settled down in the sand next to the fire, and let out a deep sigh. “Woo! What an evening!”

Celeste looked at Janine, curious. “…um, hi, Janine…”

Janine patted Celeste on the knee. “So, how are you, honey? Don’t tell me the boys left you here all by yourself…”

“Not alone!” #1 said with a smile.

“…well, not ALL by myself…”

“…considering what his brethren are like, that’s not at all reassuring.”

“Fenix and Xenos sort of got in a fight with Nytetrayn… Nytetrayn went one way, while Xenos and Fenix went to town.”

“Oh, goodness, I hope none of them hurt each other.”

“…no, I don’t think so…”

“Good…”

As that was going on, Nyte was walking back up the beach, having apparently found a decent-sized refractor that had washed up. One that should at least be enough to help move the mech back to town, at any rate. He was now within sight of the campsite.

“So, how are you holding up, dear?”

“Hmm? Oh, I’m okay, thanks…”

“Good,” Janine said, any concerns allayed for now. “I don’t want you to worry… when those boys found me, I couldn’t remember much either. But they managed to get my memory back, so I’m sure we stand a chance of getting yours as well.”

Celeste just sighed. “That would be nice…”

“Of course,” Janine continued, “the whole thing with The Reanimator was a total accident, but… these guys seem to attract that sort of thing.” She smiled at Celeste in a “well, what can you do?” sort of way.

“…Reanimator?” Celeste asked, not sure what Janine meant.

“Yeah, big mean guy who forcibly tore open the blocks on my memory files… not pleasant, but it did the trick.”

Celeste thought about that for a moment. “One of them said you were a robot, didn’t they?”

Janine nodded. “Don’t look it, do I?”

Celeste shook her head.

“Though, ‘Reaverbot’ is the correct term…”

“…what’s a ‘Reaverbot’?”

“The berserk killer robots in ruins, dear.”

Celeste looked spooked. “…I wonder if maybe I’m a Reaverbot, too…?”

“Nah, I’d know if you were.”

“Are you sure?”

“I knew all the biomechanical Reaverbots who had been built before I was locked up, and there definitely weren’t any more built afterwards.”

Celeste nodded. “Well, if you’re sure… I guess you’d be the one to ask…”

Now it was Janine’s turn to nod. “Yup. Besides, your energy reading feels human to me. And Fenix’s visor would have picked it up if there was anything mechanical or superhuman about you…”

“That’s good,” Celeste replied, before realizing what she had said. “I mean, not that being a Reaverbot is bad… it’s just good to know for sure.”

Nytetrayn came up near where the two were talking, behind Janine… probably unnoticed, as Jan was focused on Cel, and Cel was trying to comprehend all this. Nyte stuck behind his mech and just listened for a moment…

“Oh, it can be,” Janine said, a haunted look on her face. “I was locked up with a thumping berserk kangaroo Reaverbot for several hundred years. Aside from the odd Digger coming through, it was like an eternal slumber… except keeping me awake, there was always the thumping… thumping… THUMPING.”

By this point, Janine had created a small ball of energy that illuminated her face from below like a flashlight. If she was trying to weird Celeste out, it was working.

Nyte decided it was time to make his presence known. “Back,” he said, as he walked over to the girls.

“…and then – Oh! Hi, Nyte!” Janine flushed just a little, as she turned off her makeshift flashlight.

After a moment’s silence, Nytetrayn returned the greeting. “Hello, Janine.” She smiled and waved. “Telling stories…?” he asked.

“Uh, yeah, warning her about the dangers of mechanical marsupials. You can never be too careful!”

“Riiiiight,” Nytetrayn said. “I suppose not.”

As Nytetrayn put the refractor into the engine of the mech, Janine smiled lasciviously at Celeste, and gave her a wink. Celeste smiled a little nervously, before Nyte went back over to the girls and sat across from them.

“Um… anyhow, I got your old apartment back,” said Janine.

“Yeah, Fenix said you were paying the rent…”

“…and I don’t think you’ll have to worry about paying rent ever again.”

“Where’d you get the money for that, anyway?” Nyte asked, as he raised an eyebrow.

Janine smiled. “Oh, let’s just say I’m performing a special service for the landlord…”

“Oh, okay,” Nyte said, nodding. “So, we can move back in?”

“Honey, you can have the entire building to yourself now.”

“…um, if it’s all the same to you, I’d rather not… wait, say what now?”

“Come on, I need some sleep, and you guys look a bit worn out yourselves,” she said, as she floated into the air, smiling at Nyte teasingly.

As Nyte started packing up the stuff, he said, “Good idea, we may as well get there before it gets too dark.” After a moment’s thought, he decided to write a quick note for Fenix and Xenos if they should come back, and stuck it to the ship before hopping into his mech.

“Oh, you got that thing working?” Janine asked.

“Yeah, found a refractor that’ll at least get it back to town, but prolly not much further.”

“Cool,” Janine said, as she perched over on its shoulder.

Nyte looked over at Celeste. “Want a lift? It seats two.”

“Um, okay,” she said, as she climbed into the seat behind Nytetrayn.

“Everyone ready? You okay up there, Janine?”

“It’s a bit cold, but that’s actually rather welcome right about now…”

“Alright then, here we go!”

Using the mech’s arms, Nytetrayn picked up the stuff he gathered from inside the ship, and #1 waved as they rode off back to town.

To be continued…

—–

Legends of the Halcyon Era is a work of fan fiction set in the world of Mega Man Legends. It is largely adapted from a series of freeform RPG sessions, combining ideas from several contributors, and further fleshed out here in a prose format.

David Oxford, also known as LBD “Nytetrayn,” is a lifelong Mega Man fan who, along with his wife Nadia, has co-written the Mega Man Robot Master Field Guide and Mega Man X Maverick Hunter’s Field Guide from UDON Entertainment, and runs The Mega Man Network (themmnetwork dot com). You can also find him on Twitter @LBD_Nytetrayn and @themmnetwork, and on Twitch and YouTube under the name “Nyteworks.”

You can also find Legends of the Halcyon Era as it updates at Archive of Our Own.

Thanks for reading!