Legends of the Halcyon Era – The Avion Adventure: Mind Games

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Legends of the Halcyon Era

The Avion Adventure: Mind Games

by

David Oxford/LBD “Nytetrayn”

*****

Previously, in Legends of the Halcyon Era…

Nytetrayn, Celeste, Black Steel, Janine, MegaMan Magnus, and Fenix met with the Dragon Knights for a dinner, whereupon Avion Supreme Commander Black Draco revealed that Avion had developed a way to relieve one of their amnesia, restoring their lost memories.

This has greatly interested Steel and Celeste, though the latter is unsure of the procedure due to the noted side-effects.

Despite this, Nytetrayn has been supportive of her regaining her memories, despite the possible cost.

The Dragon Knights have seen the group off, so that they may get ready.

Back at the hotel, Nytetrayn and Celeste arrive and spot Fenix pacing in the lobby.

“You go on ahead. I’ll be up in a minute,” Nyte told Celeste.

“…yeah, sure…” she said, giving a glance towards Fenix before she hurried up to their room. On the way to the elevator, a realization struck. “My name!” she shouted. “I’ll finally know my name!”

“You’ve always been ‘Celeste’ to me.”

Fenix noted the two, his eyes focused on Celeste with an unusual intensity from behind his visored helmet as she departed. He turned his attention to Nytetrayn as he approached.

“Dude, is something wrong?” Nyte asked.

“…you mean you don’t see it?”

“See what?”

Fenix shook his head. “Look, I don’t want to rain on your parade, but let’s take a look at the big picture here,” he said as he placed one hand on Nyte’s shoulder and made a broad, sweeping gesture in the air with the other. “Celeste just so happens to look like this girl your old man new a few millennia ago, and they just so happen to have a way to return her lost memories to her – memories, I might add, for a girl who was in a hospital, in a coma, alone, with no family, or friends, or even an idea of what to call herself…”

Fenix took a deep breath before continuing. “…am I the only one here who thinks this seems just the slightest bit suspicious?” he asked, looking around for effect at no one in particular.

Nyte lowered his head slightly. “I don’t know… but I’m not going to stand in her way. She… she’s wanted this too badly, for too long. Who knows if she’ll ever get another chance like this? Maybe she has something to do with all that stuff about the other Celeste, but I doubt it. It just doesn’t add up.”

“Exactly,” Fenix said. “Maybe I’m wrong about her connection – hell, I hope I am. But either way, whatever happened that left her in that hospital without even a scrap of clothing to her name…” He sighed. “I don’t think she’s going to want to remember that, when it’s all said and done.”

“Maybe… maybe not,” Nyte said. “But don’t you think that’s her choice, though? Maybe there’s more to it than that? Some stuff worth remembering.”

“Hmm… I sure hope so.”

“Yeah… me, too,” Nyte said before checking his watch. “Anyway, I should go and get out of this monkey suit. I’ll see you back here in a bit, alright?”

“Alright,” Fenix said grumpily.

Nyte sighed, and said “Later,” before he ventured back up to the room he and Celeste had been sharing.

***

About an hour later, Nytetrayn and Celeste returned to the lobby in their normal clothing. There, they found Janine and Black Steel waiting for them in their more casual attire, alongside MegaMan Magnus and a glowering Fenix, who was hanging out in the back of the group.

“Ready, guys?” Nyte asked.

“Damn right,” said Steel.

Nytetrayn nodded, and the group headed outside, where night had started to fall, with two moons beginning to appear in the sky overhead. A familiar – at least to Nyte and Steel – large, hovering limousine-styled vehicle awaited them. Inside were Black Draco and the Dragon Knights, save for Edge, who waved the group over.

“Ready and waiting, ladies and gents,” said the red Mechadrake. “Ready to get this show on the road?”

“I’ve waited too long as it is,” Steel remarked as he hid his concern behind his usual overconfidence.

“Yeah, let’s do it,” Celeste agreed.

“Sure,” Nytetrayn said.

Janine patted Steel on the shoulder, just before Magnus gave the Digger a big hug. “Put me down,” Steel ordered the Annihilator Unit indignantly.

Magnus complied, then pretended to wipe away a tear. “I’m just so happy,” he said, making a mock-sniffing sound.
The group entered the vehicle, which proceeded to deliver them to the nearby medical facility where the procedure was scheduled to take place, with a surly Fenix managing to somehow hang back in the shadows of the backseat the whole time, glaring out with glowing red eyes.
Upon arriving at the medical facility and entering through its sliding glass doors, a Reploid woman with long, black hair and cat ears paired with bright red and yellow wings and birdlike talons could be seen idly reading a magazine. Upon spotting the group, she quickly put down her reading material and ran over and saluted. “Commander Draco!”

“Flame Phoeline… greetings,” said a surprised Black Draco, who returned the salute.

“Please, sir,” she said as she rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. “You don’t have to use my codename during peacetime.”

“Of course,” Black Draco said. “My apologies, Katrina. What brings you here this evening?”

“Well, it was… kind of an accident,” she said. “And I want to apologize for Adam Powers’ absence during your dinner tonight. Especially since I… don’t think he’s able to do so himself, at least not at the moment.”

“Something happened to Adam?” Celeste asked, all but forgetting the reason why they were there.

“What happened?” the Commander asked.

“We went on a tour of the city, and I was leading him back to the capitol building when… a hovertruck hit him.”

Steel raised an eyebrow at this. “Good lord! Is he okay?”

“It was only a glancing blow, and I caught him before he hit the ground, but the doctors think he might have a concussion. I carried him here, since he couldn’t fly himself.”

“…that’s almost funny,” Fenix mused. Janine shot him a glare.

“And now?” Black Draco asked.

“He fades in and out of consciousness, while complaining about a bad headache. The doctors want to keep him overnight for observation.”

“I see,” Black Draco nodded. “Will you be staying with him, Katrina?”

“We should tend to him as soon as possible,” Steel said, putting aside his own self-interests for the moment. “I’m certain he’d like our company.”

“I don’t know if he’s in the mood for company at the moment, but I will be staying here with him. I don’t think that’ll be a problem.”

“So long as someone’s watching out for him,” said Steel. “Still, I can’t help but feel one of us should be there for him…”

“If you could keep us enlightened regarding any change in his condition, we’d appreciate it,” Black Draco said. “That is, if the others still want to see their part here through tonight.”

“Roger that,” Katrina said. “I’ll keep you posted, Commander.”

“I want to talk to him,” Fenix said. “I think he’d see me.”

Black Draco nodded to Fenix. “If you believe you can help, then you should go.”

“You can try if you like,” Katrina said. “They’ve got him in Room 324.”

Fenix nodded and began to head that way, before pausing and looking back at his friends. “Steel, Celeste… good luck.”

“Thanks,” Celeste said, while Steel nodded at the departing Fenix.

Black Draco looked to the pair. “Do you two still wish to continue?”

“Celeste…?” Katrina said, taking notice of the young woman for what seemed like the first time. “Hmm,” she said, as she looked Celeste over for several moments.

“Er… hi?” Celeste said to her examiner nervously.

“Oh, er… hi,” Katrina said sheepishly.

“Katrina, this is Celeste. Celeste, this is Katrina,” Black Draco said.

Katrina looked at the Commander. “Is she…?”

Black Draco shook his head. “No… This Celeste came from what used to be Earth – more recently, that is. She returned here with us, along with her friends, from our recent trip there.”

“Ah!” Katrina exclaimed with realization. “Well, it’s good to meet you, Celeste! Sorry about that, you just… kind of remind me of someone I – we – used to know. I mean, those of us who came here from Earth, that is.”

“Heh, I hear that a lot,” Celeste said sheepishly.

“I’ll bet,” Katrina said cheerfully.

Black Draco continued his introductions. “The one who just left is named Fenix, and the others here are Black Steel, Janine, MegaMan Magnus, and Nytetrayn,” he said, gesturing to each of them in turn.

“Ah, it’s a pleasure to meet you all. So, what brings you here, then?”

“Answers,” Steel said bluntly, and perhaps a little dramatically.

“Yeah,” Celeste simply agreed.

“Answers?”

Nytetrayn decided to speak up to the newcomer. “We heard there was a way to restore the memories to those with amnesia here… so that’s what we’re going to try and do.”

“Amnesia…?”

“Yes,” Black Draco answered. “Celeste had lost her memory before meeting the others here. And Steel –”

“Commander Draco,” Steel interrupted. “I apologize, but I don’t think my nerves can handle much more waiting. Please… I want to be done with this.”

“Of course,” Black Draco told him with a nod, before returning his attention back to his comrade. “Sorry to break off so suddenly, Katrina, but we should get on with this. I’m sure the doctor would be happy to leave soon, as well. We will see you again later, and please keep us informed of Adam’s condition.”

“That’s fine, and can do, sir!” Katrina replied with a salute, which the Commander returned before continuing to lead the group on to meet up with the doctor.

As the group approached where the procedure would take place, a familiar figure stood outside to greet them. “Good evening, Commander.”

“Good evening, Clank. How are things with you?”

“Other than the sudden late shift, not too bad…”

“Yes, my apologies, but our guests are rather eager to see what we have to offer here with memory restoration.”

“Yeah, yeah, not a problem,” Clank said in a tone that simultaneously said “I think I’d rather be at home” and “I know this is my job and duty.” “So, who’s up first?” the medical Reploid asked the group.

Janine swallowed noticeably as Steel wordlessly stepped forward, a mix of fear and nervousness clearly on his face.

“Right this way, sir,” Clank told him, as he led the patient down a hallway into a darkened room. Steel followed without even so much as a glance behind him. Magnus placed a comforting hand on Janine’s shoulder, as the door to the hallway shut behind them.

Now, all they could do was wait.

As Steel laid himself down on the cold, flat metallic surface, he asked “What do you need to know, Doctor?”

“Well, what can you tell me about your memory loss, for starters?” Clank replied, as he pulled on what looked like latex gloves.

“About seven months ago, my memories become a haze,” Steel began. “I was going somewhere…” He growled as he strained to think. “…I dunno. Just over a month ago, I found myself standing in a ship with Janine and the others…”

***

Elsewhere in the facility, Fenix soon finds himself standing outside of Room 324. He knocked, and after a moment with no response, tried knocking again. This time, a low moan emanated from within.

“Ready or not, I’m coming in,” Fenix said, “so I hope you’re decent!”

Fenix cracked the door open slightly, and peered inside. Upon spotting Adam laying in the bed inside, he let the door open wide the rest of the way. “Wow! Damn, dude. You look like you got hit by a truck!”

Fortunately for Adam, he was fully covered by his bedsheets, though it was clear that he still has his full array of armor on. In one corner of the room, his signature jacket, armor, sword, and backpack were gathered around a chair.

As he pulled back the covers from his face, he groaned and groggily replied, “I… did… get hit… by a truck… you… idiot…”

Fenix went over and had a seat at the edge of the bed. “So! Come here often?” he asked while tilting his head, which elicited another groan from Adam as the door automatically clicked shut behind the Digger.

***

Back at the Cerebral Recovery Center, time passed. How quickly it felt varied from one person to the next, but in all, about 45 minutes went by before the procedure was completed.

The doors opened, and everyone watched as Steel emerged, though he was leaning on Clank.

The Digger’s face was pale, as though he’d been touched by death, and he seemed almost oblivious to what was going on around him. He stared at the ground, eyes widened and sweating profusely, his pupils like dots. All the while, he was clutching at his stomach and appeared to be short of breath.

Janine glomped Steel with a barely-suppressed cry of relief, but he just slumped to the ground, sliding out of her arms as his eyes stared blankly ahead.

“Steel?!” Janine said, eyes wide in alarm as she knelt down next to him. “Are you okay?!”

“Steel…?” Nyte said, as he and Celeste joined Janine in checking on their friend.

Finally, Steel blinked, and looked around quickly. Too quickly. And then screamed hysterically.

Nytetrayn and Celeste’s eyes widened, as he backed her away a bit, just to be safe.

Magnus turned to Clank. “You screwed him up!”

“Hey, it wasn’t me!” the doctor protested. “Whatever screwed him up is what screwed him up!”

“He was perfectly fine before you got your tentacles into him!”

As the two argued back and forth, Steel continued to clutch at his stomach, his eyes twitching as he kept screaming.

Janine decided to fall back on a surefire cure, and pulled Steel in for a tight hug against her.

However, it did little good as Steel pushed her off and she fell back onto her butt, eyes widened in shock as Steel pushed himself up against a wall. His eyes narrowed into slits.

“I… won’t… die like this… I’ll kill you…” Steel said, extending his arm as though he had a weapon on it.

Having taken stock of the situation, Black Draco said “SunFlame, MoonRazor…”

“On it, boss,” the silver Mechadrake replied, as he and his brother each grabbed one of Steel’s arms to restrain him.

“Easy there, big guy,” SunFlame said.

“Yeah, you’re among friends here,” MoonRazor added. “Just settle…”

“Blood… my blood,” Steel continued. “I won’t die… I won’t die… I won’t die!” he screamed directly ahead of him, as if at a figure only he could see. “I… WILL… KILL YOU!”

“Sedative?” Clank asked his commander.

“Hmm, might be best,” Black Draco concurred, before asking another for their opinion. “Janine?”

Janine, meanwhile, was in too much shock to answer the question. As she stared horrified with wide, teary eyes at Steel twisting, pulling, and otherwise trying to pry himself free, she asked “What… what the hell did you do to him…?”

“I just restored his memory!” Clank said.

Though MoonRazor and SunFlame maintained a firm grip, Steel managed to wrench his right arm free with an audible snapping sound. “What the?!” SunFlame exclaimed, as Steel somehow reached ahead with the now-injured appendage, acting as though he was wielding his arm cannon, and firing off shots that weren’t there.

Steel smiled as he slowed down and began to slump in the Mechadrakes’ arms. “Heh… I’m sorry… mother… I couldn’t…”

Finally, he slumped over, as if unconscious.

Janine, meanwhile, had scooted backwards until she ran into Nytetrayn’s legs, her face framed by the lines where tears had streamed down her face. She grabbed ahold of one of his legs and clung to it, her eyes still wide as she stared at her now-collapsed boyfriend. “Easy, Jan,” Nyte said, as he put a hand down on her shoulder.

“What should we do with him?” MoonRazor asked, when Steel suddenly snapped back awake.

“What the hell…” the dazed Digger started to say through blinking eyes, when he was abruptly grabbed by the scruff of his neck by MegaMan Magnus, who yanked him up and out of the Mechadrakes’ arms in order to look him eye to narrowed eyes.

“ACK!” Steel shouted. “Lemme go, you freak!”

As that was going on, Nytetrayn helped Janine up and asked if she was okay. She could only stare at Steel, softly hiccuping as she tried to regain her breath.

“What’s going on?” Steel continued as he pulled away, while Magnus released his grip. “What the hell… oh… shit.”

“You scared everyone out of a year’s growth, that’s what happened,” Magnus told him. “What on Terra –”

“Avion,” Clank corrected.

Magnus gave him the side-eye before continuing. “…did he do to you in there?”

Steel blinked again, like he was opening his eyes for the first time. “I… remember…” he said, before his face twisted and he rushed over to the first thing he saw resembling a waste basket before vomiting inside.

After giving the Terran a moment to compose himself, Black Draco asked, “Steel… are you alright now?”

“Am I okay…?” Steel asked, before spitting out another piece of something into the receptacle. “Heh, that’s a hell of a question…”

It’s at this moment that Fenix arrived, and one could tell by the sudden glow in his eyes that the sight of an almost hysterical Janine and Steel losing his dinner was not to his liking.

“Sorry… for what just happened,” Steel said. “It’s kinda messy. Couldn’t stop it… it’s like I was there… again…”

As Janine swallowed again and gently pushed herself away from Nytetrayn while attempting to wipe the tears from her cheeks, Black Draco nodded to the Digger and asked, “Where?”

“It…” Steel’s eyes drifted. “…ate her.”

“It… killed me. I’m… I’m dead…”

As the others looked on, each disturbed in their own way by this declaration, Steel grit his teeth and grabbed his now-aching forehead. “Aah… I gotta… get some air.”

While Black Draco opened a window, Nytetrayn and Clank helped Steel into one of the nearby chairs. He looked at Jan as he was being moved, but couldn’t face her, after seeing what he’d done to her. He laid against the frame, breathing deeply with his eyes closed while Janine continued to stare at him, eyes watery as her body tensed, almost like she was waiting to pounce.

“Sorry… everyone…” Steel said through deep breaths. “Jan… I’m so sorry… so sorry…”

“Easy,” Nytetrayn said. “You were out of it. It’s okay now…”

Steel chuckled grimly. “Take comfort… in the knowledge… that it works.”

“Toldja,” Clank said to anyone who was listening.

Magnus gave the doctor the finger, but Steel defended him. “It’s not his… fault.”

Katrina arrived on the scene just in time to see Janine finally tackle Steel, who grunted before sighing deeply as he wrapped his arms around her as tightly as he could, burying his face in her hair. Janine reciprocated, pressing her face against his neck as she sobbed gently. “I’m so sorry…” he told her.

Janine pulled her face out of his neck, and kissed him on the mouth before pulling back and looking at him through tear-filled eyes. “I… I was so worried. I… thought I’d lost you…”

“No,” he told her. “I’m not going anywhere… I’m right where I need to be.” He kissed her tenderly and laid his head against hers.

With that episode seemingly resolved, Clank turned to the rest of the group.

“So, um… next?”

Celeste’s eyes widened slightly, as she’d forgotten for a moment that she was supposed to go through the same treatment.

Nytetrayn looked at her, and asked, “You… still want to go through with this?”

Celeste got a hold of herself. “I… y-yeah. I think so…”

“Right this way, then,” Clank told her with a gesture to the door. She gulped, and went to slowly follow him.

“Don’t let her go in there alone,” Fenix spoke up.

“Sorry,” Clank told him. “It’s a private operation…”

“We don’t care, Clank!” Magnus objected. “Let someone go with her!”

“…full solitude, isolation from outside stimulus,” Clank continued unabated, as though he’d explained this many times before. “Otherwise, it might mess things up more.”

“More than that?!” Magnus said, gesturing to the couple, who were now holding each other. After an awkward pause, he added “…you know what I mean.”

“If whatever happened is as bad as it seems and Jan had been in there, they might not be tongue wrestling right now,” Clank said sternly. “Her presence could have caused him to associate her with it. If something bad has gone on in her case,” he said as he gestured to Celeste, “do you want her thinking you were a part of it? Anyone here?”

“The machine is safe,” Steel said. “The problem… is the person in it…” Janine hugged him tighter, as if to protect him.

After an awkward silence from Magnus, he just quietly told the doctor, “If she doesn’t recover, I’ll kill you.” He then turned and stalked away.

Clank just sighed, and joined Celeste inside the hall as the door closed behind them.

Time passed.

Nytetrayn tapped his foot.

At one point, Fenix walked up to Nyte and put a hand on his shoulder, giving him a reassuring nod.
Except, he realized, for maybe one time…

Nytetrayn started to pace. Steel thought to comfort him, to say something, but his mind was flooded with far too many things to single out any one helpful thought.

Katrina, who had been looking on with interest, stopped Nyte in mid-pace to put her own hand on his shoulder. “She’ll be fine,” she said in an uplifting tone. “Don’t worry.”

Nyte continued his pacing quietly, while Magnus hovered nearby, tapping one finger nervously.

Eventually, the Digger stopped and leaned his head against his forearm on the wall. He sighed, thinking.

He thought about her eyes. Her hair. Her face. Her smile. The sense of kindness and warmth she exuded. She made him feel… whole. Right.

Nyte recalled the time he gave up the refractor that the lot of them had nearly gotten killed for to bring her out of her coma. Their first meeting, with her chasing after the group as they left the hospital, then fending Xenos’ overzealous Helpbots off and bringing her to live with them when she had nowhere else to go, with nothing to her name.

He remembered other instances, including the kindness and understanding after the camera incident. When Trevor Creed kidnapped her. Their first date, when they’d finally admitted they loved each other aboard the stuck carousel. The despair he felt when he thought he’d never see her again after Creed’s ambush, and the joy that came when he finally did.

He remembered, and yet, it all felt like it was slipping away from him now.

Nyte felt helpless, and frustration mounted. He wanted to be strong, for her sake, but with nothing he can do, he never felt weaker.

Finally, though he tried to fight it back, a lone tear escaped and rolled down his cheek.

Nytetrayn suddenly pulled away from the wall, frustrated, and delivered a punch right into the spot where he’d just been leaning, sending a series of cracks outward from where his fist connected, perking up the others.

“DAMMIT!” he shouted, breathing heavily.

Steel didn’t say anything, understanding how Nyte must have felt in the moment.

“She’s gone…” he said, looking at the door she’d gone through earlier, before turning away. “I can’t do this.”

Black Draco approached, and put a hand on Nyte’s shoulder. “Nytetrayn…”

Nyte immediately pulled away.

“You…” he said, fury filling his eyes. “This is your fault!”

Black Draco was caught speechless, and Fenix suddenly had the feeling that the Mechadrake had messed up.

“Things… things were okay. Till you showed up! We were alright, we were getting along well, doing okay, and then here you come! I get to hear all these things you’ve been doing, how you’ve been this big hero all across space, running a big planet with two moons and lots of land, your big spaceships and your big dinners…”

“You ABANDONED me. And you know what? That’s fine. I can live with that. But now, here you are again, and to top it all off, you’ve taken Celeste away! When she comes out of there, she’s not even going to be the same person anymore! All thanks to you!”

Nyte started off down the hallway. “I can’t stay for this. I’m outta here…”

“He did help revive you,” Magnus said, albeit in a surprisingly weak tone for him.

Nyte turned and replied. “Great. So he brings me back to life, just to take away the most important part of it.”

“She’ll be sad if you leave, Nyte,” Fenix offered.

Nyte paused again. “Don’t you get it?! She’ll barely remember me! Us! It’ll all be like one weird dream to her, and… and I don’t want to see her like that. I’m probably nothing to her by now…”

As Nyte tried to make his way out again, Adam appeared, hobbling out in front of Nyte while using his sword as a makeshift crutch. “Jeez, Nyte, you trying to wake the dead?”

“Cram it, Yami!” Nyte said, nearly bowling Adam over as he tossed his watch aside before taking off down the hall. Katrina raced to his side, and chastised him about being out of bed.

“This is my fault as well, for coming out of there so… messed up,” Steel said. ‘Don’t blame yourself. You did everything you could. He’s just… scared right now.” Steel pondered on that. He couldn’t remember a time he’d ever seen Nyte like this. Even when they were preparing to face down Creed and Sherman East and MegaMan Magnus together, it was different.

Black Draco lowered his head and let out a depressed sigh.

“Don’t take it personally, Commander…” Adam said. “He just… really cares… about her.”

“I don’t know… maybe he’s right. We weren’t supposed to get involved back on Terra, but… I did anyway.”

“You came back,” Fenix said. “That’s more than some fathers ever do.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Steel said, in an almost surprising show of support for the black Mechadrake. “He’d be dead if it weren’t for you. He’ll come around.”

“Perhaps,” Black Draco said. “But maybe… maybe I should have found another way to help him. In secret.” He sighed again.

“No…” Adam said. “He needed to know… where he came from.”

“Perhaps,” came a voice from the shadows. Everyone turned to regard the word of Shuri, who some had forgotten was even with them. “But you haven’t really built on that since you met, have you?”

“No…” Black Draco said sadly. “I guess I haven’t.”

“Once I’m… up and moving around again,” Adam said between labored breaths, “I’m going to kick his ass.”

“Hmm, yes, that will solve everything,” Magnus said sarcastically.

“You shouldn’t… hate your father… for no reason…” Adam shot back.

“Maybe you weren’t listening, but it sounded like he had himself a list of reasons,” Magnus told him. “And as much fun as it would be to take turns slapping some sense into him, I’m more concerned about how Celeste is going to feel when she comes out and sees that Nyte’s gone.”

“Nyte’s gone?”

The assembled group turn to see Celeste and Clank standing in the doorway.

“…oh, scrap,” said Magnus.

“Where’d he go?” she asked.

“He was… well, scared, I guess,” said Fenix. “So he kinda… ran?”

“Oh… I see,” Celeste said, lowering her head. She looked more worried than upset.

“Cel, how do you feel?” asked Steel.

“…I’m fine,” she replied, looking back up at Steel.

“Did it help you…?”

“…no. I… didn’t do it.”

Steel fell out of his chair, Janine along with him.

“You… didn’t?” Magnus asked.

Celeste shook her head. “I thought about it, and… and I decided it just wasn’t worth it.”

“I thought that remembering who I am, or who I was… I thought that was what I really wanted, that I needed to remember who I was to figure out my place in the world.”

“I got so excited about finding out who I was, about finally getting answers… But the more I thought about it… the more I realized it wasn’t worth losing what I have. I almost lost sight of who I am, and what I have here now. I’m happy where I am now, and I’m happy being with Nyte and the rest of you. And I figured, ‘why throw it all away’?”

“I don’t know who I used to be, but… this is who I am now. My name is Celeste, and my place is here, with you guys. And I think that’s good enough for me.”

Steel staggered back to his feet, with Janine in tow, both smiling.

“I should find Nyte,” Celeste said, looking towards the exit.

“Hurry, Cel,” Steel said.

“Find him,” Katrina said. “Talk to him, and tell him. I think he needs to hear it from you more than anyone else right now.”

Celeste nodded.

“Commander Draco,” Steel said, “go with her. He needs to know that you care about him, too. You’re his father.”

“I…” the commander began to say.

Celeste paused. “Please… let me do this. It might be better if it’s just me first. I’ll tell him…”

Black Draco nodded to her. “Please… go, then.”

“Hey,” Edge said. “Aren’t you going to need some help finding him? At the rate he was moving, he could be anywhere in the city by now.”

“No, that’s okay,” Celeste said, without even breaking her stride. “I know how to find him…”

Black Draco and Edge looked at each other, and Edge shrugged.

Katrina turned her attention back to Adam. “Come on, let’s get you back to your room. You’ll never heal up if you keep pushing yourself before you’re ready…” With that, she bid the others a good night before getting Adam back into his hospital bed.

“Jan,” Steel said, “I have to talk to you. Alone.”

“Sure,” she nodded.

“Well, my job here is done,” Clank said. “Good night, everyone. Try not to let the door hit ya’ on the way out, alright?”

As the others moved to depart, Steel smiled and gave Clank a thumbs-up. “Thanks. For everything.”

“Don’t mention it. Seeya around!”

“…alright. So I guess I won’t kill him, then,” MegaMan Magnus said.

***

Back in Adam’s room, Katrina closed the door behind her, and looked over at the dozing Digger. She went over to the corner and picked up his sword before sitting down and examining it, running her fingers over the strange runes which ran down the blade. “What are you?” she mumbled to herself quietly, as the red refractor embedded within glowed slightly before fading.

“Nnn…” came the sound from Adam over on the bed.

Katrina looked over. “You awake now?”

Adam grunted again. “Unfortunately…”

“Damn, you come around fast.”

“Not like I have much say in the matter,” Adam muttered. “Feels like someone’s been renting my head out to the lead bongo player at Club Babalu… Blade, would you knock it off?”

Katrina giggled, as she got up and put the sword back in its place. “I’ll go see if I can scare up some narcotics for you.”

“Thanks,” Adam replied with another grunt as he watched her leave.

When Katrina returned with some pills and a glass of water, she found that Adam had already fallen back asleep. She smiled and shut off the lights before taking up her vigil in the seat again, where she stared out the window, lost in thought, before succumbing to the will of the sandman herself.

***

A short time later, outside, Steel led Janine far away from the others, until they were alone at what appeared to be a vacant monument. A lovely fountain sat out front, with steps leading down to the sparkling pool. Janine clung to him the whole way, as though she thought he’d run away.

Steel sat down on the step nearest to the water, and touched the surface of the pool with the tip of his foot, watching the ripples emanate throughout. Janine sat down next to him.

“When we get back to Terra,” he said, “there’s something I’ve got to do.”

Janine nodded. “I figured.”

Steel smiled, then added “I don’t want you to come with me.”

Janine gave another, slow nod. “I figured that, too.”

Steel smiled again, this time with a clearer sense of pain on his face. “Because… I know why I was acting strange all those months ago. Well, I think I do, at least. But more importantly, I know what led to it.”

He turned his head to meet her gaze. “Will you hear me out…?”

“Of course,” she said, as she hugged him tightly and he reciprocated.

Steel braced himself. “Seven months ago, I went to visit my mother’s grave…”

“It was a routine, something I did at least monthly. Had to keep it up and all. I was late getting there that day. It was almost sunset. I climbed the same hill I’d been climbing since I was a boy. And…”

His eyes twitched. His stomach knotted at the memory.

“I saw a thing. Like a man… but not. It was tall… too tall. And like an inky black, with a head like… like some big… plate. And long hair. Silver… flowing… almost pretty. It was at her grave.”

“Something was familiar about it… I’d seen it before, somehow. I was curious, so I walked towards it. Right up to it, up to her grave… and I looked. It turned to look at me… and I saw…”

Steel paused. Janine gently rubbed his hand, as if to encourage him to go on.

“Its face… it was like… it was just a mouth. A huge mouth. And…”

“And… it was… eating… her… eating my mother… eating her body… eating her…”

Steel’s eyes grew distant, as Janine shuddered and held him tightly.

“…I went mad.”

“It was strong… unbelievably strong. It carried a sword. A very, very big sword. Long, and as silver as the thing’s hair. The mouth was covered by a mask. I’ve seen those masks before… They call them ‘noh’ masks. No emotion, no features… just cold eyes.”

“One of them was crimson. Peered right through me, somehow…”

“I tried to kill it, but it won. It beat me, ran me through. Right through my stomach.”

Janine continued listening in quiet shock.

“I died. I remember it so clearly now. Remember holding my stomach, trying to keep the bleeding down. I remember how cold everything became…”

“I remember when I took my last breath.”

Steel paused, trying to take it all in again, to try to comprehend it. “The time after that was, and still is, a blur. But I remember it now, though I’m not sure how…”

Janine laid her head on Steel’s shoulder as he continued.

“For all those months, the first time we met… all that occurred… I wasn’t truly alive. It was the nanites in me. Somehow, they kept me alive, kept my mind operating. They wouldn’t let me die, even though my body had quit. I can only assume that it was on that day, in the ship, when I ‘woke up’… that I was alive again for the first time.”

“It’s… a lot to follow. But, do you understand, Jan?”

“I think so,” she replied.

“There’s one very important link to tie all this together: That thing. That… Noh. Not only did it desecrate her grave, but it was the one who took her from me when I was a boy…”

“And you don’t have any clue what that… thing, was?” Janine asked. “It doesn’t sound like any Reaverbot I’ve ever heard of.”

“Back then, I thought it was a pirate… but now that I can recall everything, I realize how wrong I was. Whatever it is, it still lives. Of that, I have no doubt. And I will find it, and kill it.”

“And what about the nanites? How did you get those?”

Steel paused. “…I don’t know. Whatever put those there wasn’t in the memory.” He chuckled grimly. “The mysteries never end, eh? Why does my life feel like a bad sci-fi novel?”

Janine gave a sad smile. “Maybe our lives are being written out by some bored, depressed young men…”

“…with bad haircuts,” Steel added.

The two shared a laugh.

“If this has proven anything to me, though,” Steel said as he stood and stretched, “it’s that killing me is beyond that thing’s power.” He paused. “I can’t wait to return, to see… if it’s in my power to kill it.”

“…and you don’t want me to help.”

“No. Too dangerous. Besides, it’s between me and… it.”

“Oh, you silly,” Janine said with a sweet smile as she pressed Steel’s nose with the tip of her finger. “The Reaverbot Queen needs no babysitter.”

Steel looks at her, but this time, he didn’t smile.

“Jan… I fought you once.” She nodded. “You’re tougher than anything I’ve ever fought,” he continued, “but I managed to actually hit you. I never even laid a finger on this thing.”

“So then, what makes you think you can now, much less kill it?”

“Nothing whatsoever. But no matter what it does to me… I’ll be back again and again until I finish it.”

“That’s not very logical.”

“When have I ever done anything out of logic?”

“…okay, fair, but I still think you should let me, or at least some of the others help you.” She sighed. “But… this is your fight. And… I’ll respect whatever you decide.”

“As I knew you would,” he smiled. “By the way… I want a rematch.”

“Say wha?”

“I wasn’t good enough to best you before, right? It stands to reason that I need to train before I get back. And who better to train with than the Reaverbot Queen herself?”

Janine’s expression dropped, like she’d been caught with her hand in the cookie jar, before she pulled herself back together. “Yeah! Yeah, we can… we can totally do that…”

Steel smiled. “Great! How ‘bout now? I got a lot of pent-up aggression to get out, and all.”

“Ah, s-sure…”

“Alright!” he said, as he took up a basic stance, though not one from any particular fighting style. Just a basic fighting stance. Janine, meanwhile, did a backflip and landed on her feet a few yards away, with her eyes giving off a faint glow.

“Hmm,” Steel pondered. “I don’t have any equipment to help me this time… this’ll be fun. Why don’t you make the first move?”

“Uh, yeah. And I… will… refrain from blowing stuff up! To keep things square,” she said with a slightly-nervous wink.

‘Good idea. I don’t think the local authorities would approve, anyway. Now, c’mon, Jan!”

Janine skipped forward, and delivered a barrage of kicks at Steel’s chest. Though fast and stronger than most human men, her attacks seemed more awkward than before, and lacking in basic skill. Steel, who wasn’t the best of melee fighters, took at least half of the kicks, and only avoided the rest by pulling back. His arms and chest were soon pretty well bruised from the painful blows, but he smiled as the discolorations soon began to slowly fade.

“Not bad,” he said. “My turn!”

As he moved in, Janine freaked out and backed away quickly.

“H-hey!” he said, as he began to give chase. “Get back here! That’s not fair!”

Janine jumped up, and after flailing haphazardly for a moment, wound up floating about a foot off the ground.

“Jan…?” Steel said, as he skidded to a halt.

“What?”

“What’s up? Why aren’t you fighting back?” He looked her up and down, noticing her short hover. “For that matter, why are you straining to float?”

“I’m – I’m not! I’m just trying to distract you!”

With that, she delivered a roundhouse kick to Steel’s head. Or at least, that had been her intent, as she wound up completely missing, leading to her spinning in the air a few times before landing face-first on the ground with a thud.

“…dammit,” she said. “I meant to do that.”

Steel went to help her up, but she was already getting back to her feet and brushing herself off.

“Jan, is something wrong?”

“I’m fine. Just… a little rusty. It’s been a hot minute.”

“If you say so,” Steel said, concerned. “Maybe the day has just taken it out of ya’…”

“No, no, I’m okay, I’m fine,” she replied insistently. “Bring it on. Show me what you’ve got!” she added with a “come on” gesture.

“Alright…”

Janine took up a battle stance, flames of blue energy rising up in her hands. But almost instantly, they started to flicker a bit, losing much of their intimidation factor.

Steel took a step back and resumed his stance, but noticed the lack of flash. That wasn’t like Jan. Could this really be just to throw him off?

He decided to test the theory, and slid forward to deliver a shoulder slam. Janine took the hit, sliding backwards on her feet as a look of shock engulfed her face while the glow around her eyes and hands faded away.

Steel stopped. “Jan… what’s going on? This isn’t you at all.”

“I told you! I’m not blowing stuff up!”

Steel gave her a look that said “Really?”

“I just… you took me by… I mean…”

She stumbled back and sat down heavily. “I… I should have been able to dodge that. But… but I couldn’t. It took everything I had just to do… that…”

Steel walked over and sat down next to her. “Are you sick, maybe?”

“Janine slumped her head forward and sighed.”

“…stupid question,” Steel admitted.

“It’s… it’s my… reactor,” she said. “The thing that powers all my combat subroutines, it’s… well, it’s out of power itself.”

“What? When did this happen?”

“When we were fighting East that last time… he drained my power cells.”

Steel pondered this for a moment. “That blast…”

Janine nodded.

“Can we, er, recharge… you?”

Janine shook her head. “They’re supposed to recharge by themselves, but he drained them more quickly than they’re meant to handle, and… he burned them out.”

“Will this affect anything else?”

“No, not really… just my battle functions. Energy manipulation, antigravity, that stuff. Maybe a bit of my strength and agility.”

“Well… that’s somewhat relieving. Though, I guess not very. And there’s nothing we can do? Surely someone here can correct the alterations he made…”

“I talked to the doctor, but he didn’t fully understand the designs. I don’t think they can do anything in the time we have here…”

“Then that means only East can do so…”

“…which is like trying to get Fenix’s dad to give his arm back.”

After a pause, Steel said “Only one choice, then: I’ll just have to beat the bastard into submission, and make him fix you.”

Janine gave Steel a look with a raised eyebrow. “Uh, sweetie? That’s a lovely, very wonderful sentiment, and while I would love to watch that, all of us combined can barely take on East when he’s ready for us.”

Steel grinned. “By the time I’m ready to fight him, I’ll have killed that Noh thing. I’ll be stronger by then. Besides, what can he do? Kill me?” Steel smiled darkly, as new possibilities manifested and took hold in a part of his mind.

Janine, on the other hand, wasn’t having it, as her eyes widened in fear and she grabbed him by the arm. “Steel, don’t joke like that. East isn’t just some brainless brute. If there’s a way to counteract your nanites, he’d find it.”

“Then I guess I better be really really strong at that point, huh?”

Janine gave Steel a look that basically told him to stop it.

“…or I guess we could just look around for something in ruins that might help.”

“That’s a better idea, at any rate.”

“Well, I’m not going to leave you like this. So I guess that’s our best shot for now.”

Janine smiled, and pulled him in for a close hug. “Thank you…”

He hugged her back, just as close, and chuckled. “Thank you… for staying with me…”

After a pause, he added “…but I definitely don’t want you fighting that Noh thing now.”

“Oh, come on!”

***

Nytetrayn sat on the edge of the hotel rooftop overlooking the city. Despite knowing exactly where he was, he never felt more lost.

As he looked out across the many buildings and towers comprising the skyline, lost in his own thoughts, a voice from behind him penetrated the odd sense of ambient quiet that one can only find in a city at night.

“There you are…”

Nyte’s eyes widened, startled. “…what the?”

Nytetrayn turned and stood on the rooftop, only taking a slight, uncertain step back as Celeste approached him.

“…C-Celeste?”

Celeste simply nodded in response.

“So… how do you… feel?”

“I feel alright,” she said, before pausing as she figured out what to say next. “I… didn’t go through with it.”

After a brief stunned silence, Nytetrayn asked “But why? I… you wanted to find out. Who you were, what happened to you before…”

“Well, I do… or at least, I did,” she said, as the two walked towards each other. “But… but then I realized finding out wasn’t worth losing… losing everything I have now. With everyone… and with you.”

Nytetrayn hugged her, and she returned the embrace.

“God, I’m glad you’re still here… still you.”

He pulled back from the hug a little, his eyes just a little moist, to ask “But… how did you know where to find me?”

Celeste smiled as she lifted Nyte’s necklace up from atop his shirt. “Remember these?” she said, as she held up her own. “Not too many of these on this planet…”

Nyte smiled, and the two went in for a kiss.

As they paused for air, Celeste fidgeted for a moment.

“Something wrong?” Nyte asked.

“Well, there’s… something I’ve been wanting to ask you about,” she said, before she removed something from her pocket.

“Are those… my old glasses?” Nyte said.

“I… kinda held on to them when you threw them away,” she said, a bit sheepishly. “The lenses were gone, but the frames are still okay. I wasn’t sure how to ask, but I kinda… liked how you looked in them.”

Nyte put them on. “Like this?”

Celeste nodded, but also tried not to seem too enthusiastic. “I love you either way, after all.”

“Yeah… being able to see without them is great, but… this does kinda feel right.”

“Yeah,” Celeste smiled, before kissing Nyte again.

Things started to get more passionate when Nyte interrupted. “Should we… should we take this back to the room?”

Celeste smiled. “Y-yeah… I think so.”

The two didn’t hesitate as they made their way off the hotel roof, and downstairs to their room. She figured that her promised talk about Black Draco could wait for later.

To be continued…

Next time: “Sobering Up”

—–

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, and on Mega Man Legends Station!

Character designs by LBD “Nytetrayn” and Victor Campan. Cover and kiss scene by Victor Campan. Animated versions by me. Logos by Tabby Ramsey.

Thanks for reading!