Legends of the Halcyon Era: Not-So-Direct to Video

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Legends of the Halcyon Era

Not-So-Direct to Video

by

David Oxford/LBD “Nytetrayn”

*****

A new day has dawned on the island of Monroe.

In the kitchen of their two-bedroom apartment, Nytetrayn sat, his eyes barely open as a cup of coffee rested on the table before him.

Janine stood in the doorway across the room as she watched and considered really waking him up.

In the living room, Fenix occupied the sofa, where he was at work cleaning his large collection of big, overbearing guns. As Nytetrayn took a sip of his coffee, the gun Fenix was cleaning at that moment accidentally went off, shattering Nyte’s mug.

“My fault!”

Nyte paused for a moment, before he hurled what was left of the mug through the hole at Fenix’s head, which the masked Digger promptly ducked. Nytetrayn got up to get another mug from the cupboard.

“Aw,” said Janine. “Poor Nyte almost got shot in the face.” She pulled him in for a hug against her chest, to which he only replied with a tired “Nnn…”

Celeste walked out of what was half Nyte’s bedroom, where she’d been sleeping. Nyte still kept his stuff in there, though he insisted she take the bed, while he tried to get what rest he could on the sofa.

“Oh, there’s Cel,” said Jan, as she pulled Nyte free of her embrace with a “pop” sound. “Good mornin’!”

“Heya,” Celeste said, to which Fenix waved noncommittally. “What was that noise?” she asked with a yawn.

“Fenix tried to kill Nytetrayn,” Jan told her matter-of-factly.

Meanwhile, the younger Digger felt around inside a drawer for a packet of sugar to add to his coffee. Instead, he pulled out a pouch of Tropical Punch Kool-Aid, which he blindly tore open and poured into his coffee.

“That’s not very nice,” Celeste said.

“Hey, now, that was purely accidental,” Fenix protested. “The whoopee cushion wasn’t, mind, but you couldn’t tell, what with Nyte’s morning gas…”

Celeste wasn’t sure how to respond to that, and didn’t get a chance, as Nyte took a sip of his new cup of coffee and promptly spit it out, leaving a trail of old blood clot-colored liquid behind, as he shouted, “BLEH!” with a disturbed look on his face.

“OH MY GOD!” Janine shouted, as her hands crawled up her face in a pose reminiscent of an old horror movie. “NYTETRAYN’S SPITTING BLOOD!”

“Huh? What? Huh?” Celeste asked.

Nytetrayn blinked at his mug for a moment, then took another sip, and smacked his lips. He took yet another sip, shugged, and sat back down. After a moment’s thought, he then added sugar to the concoction. “Not bad,” he said to himself.

“You okay?” Celeste asked.

“Nn, yeah. At least I’m awake now,” Nyte said. “Care for a cup of Tropicoffee Punch?

After noting that no one else was buying into her bit, Janine shrugged and wiped up the coffee, and then quietly went off to the bathroom.

“Um, no thanks,” said Cel.

“That sounds good,” said Fenix. “I’ll take some.”

Nytetrayn made up another cup and gave it to his masked roommate, who took a long sip through a straw up under his helmet. “Hmmm… reminds me of the time I had a cold and got punched in the stomach,” he said. “The blood and the mucus combined, you know. A unique flavor.”

“O-kaaay… I’ll be right back,” Celeste said, as she took the opportunity to duck out of the conversation and headed for the bathroom, post-haste.

As Celeste opened the door, she was confronted by the sight of Janine in the process of dropping her robe to the floor, uncovering a very revealing swimsuit. Janine started, and an awkward silence followed before she relaxed again.

“Um, oopsie,” Celeste said sheepishly.

“Oh, I’m sorry, did you want to take your shower first?” Janine asked.

“NO. I mean, no, that’s okay…” she said, as she started to back out of the door. However, Janine beckoned her closer. “No, no, I’ve got an idea.”

Celeste looked a little intimidated. “W-what idea?”

“It’s a big tub,” Janine said as she turned on the water and bent over to test the temperature. “We’ll save time if we just hop in together.”

“Er, I dunno,” Celeste said, as she shuffled a bit nervously.

“Oh, don’t be silly! We’re all girls,” Janine said, as she flashed her biggest cutest smile.

Celeste fidgeted in the doorway, not knowing what she should do.

“Well, whatever you’re going to do, you should probably close the door before Nytetrayn walks by and bleeds to death through his nose,” Janine said.

Celeste looked alarmed, and quickly closed the door. After a moment, she realized that she was still inside the bathroom. With Janine.

Back in the kitchen, Fenix sat bolt upright, his eyes widened. “Nytetrayn!”

The younger Digger looked up.

“My Voyeur-sense is tingling!”

“Your… what?”

“Quickly!” Fenix said as he leapt to his feet. “To the Pervert Cave!”

“That’s not even the same franchise!” Nyte protested. “And what in the blue hell is a ‘voy–ACK!”

Before Nyte could even finish his question, Fenix was dragging him off to his room.

“Now,” Janine asked, as she rummaged around in the bathroom cupboard. “Do you prefer your soap scented or unscented?”

“Uh, your pick,” Celeste said with a gulp, as she tried to figure out her list of alternatives.

“Lavender it is! This is my favorite,” Janine said, as she held the bar out so Celeste could have a sniff “It’s so exotic…”

Celeste took a sniff, and the sweet, heady aroma filled her nostrils and made her feel just a little light-headed.

Meanwhile, back in his room, Fenix sat Nyte down on his bed in front of a large entertainment center, complete with giant-screened television.

“Dude, what the hell are we doing here?” Nyte asked. As he took notice of the setup Fenix was sporting, he added, “When did you get this?” and then “How did you get this?”

“After Jan moved in with us I arranged to have a short-circuit TV installed in the bathroom…”

“…you what?!”

“…and unless my Voyeur-sense is mistaken – and it never is – we will kill ourselves if we don’t watch what is happening in there right now.”

“What? What’s happening in there?”

“Let’s find out,” Fenix said, clicking the remote to turn on the large television screen.

“Ack! No!”

As the television came on, it revealed a view of the tub from the side. It also revealed Janine in all her goddess-like glory.

After a moment of shocked silence, Nytetrayn finally got out, “Dude. This is so wrong.”

“Dude, she’d sleep with you just for the asking. I don’t think she’s gonna care.”

“I dunno,” said Nytetrayn. “Still seems wrong.” After a beat, he quietly added, “even if I don’t think it’s anything we didn’t see when we found her…”

Suddenly, there was a loud knock at the front door.

“I’ll get it,” Fenix said as he got up. “Tell me when she starts sudsing up!”

“So come on!” said Janine. “I’ll wash your back!” Putting on a purposefully warm and friendly smile, she added, “Come on, I don’t bite.”

Celeste stepped forward a little, still a bit hesitant.

Back in the bedroom, Nytetrayn was mulling over what to do. When he saw Celeste step into frame, he quickly turned off the TV and paled.

Fenix opened the door. “Hello?”

On the other side of the door stood Adam Powers, his hand poised to knock again, still sporting his black leather jacket with the flames, sunglasses, and all. “Hey, Fenix.”

After a moment to take in what he was seeing, Fenix said, “Adam! You escaped the evil grasping hand of doom!”

“Actually, it dropped me outside after knocking me unconscious,” Adam said. “Although I still don’t know why it did that…”

“Come! Nyte and I were watching saucy singles in our neighborhood!”

Nytetrayn overheard Fenix at the door, and acted quickly, removing a small soldering tool from his pocket and proceeding to mess around with some wires in the back of the TV setup.

“Maybe Janine scared it,” Fenix said. “She can have that effect on some people.”

Adam laughed at that. “So, how’d you guys come out? I heard there was something like an earthquake there while I was, um…. napping.”

Back in the bathroom, Celeste was just sort of leaning against the sink. Janine cocked her head to the side. “Something the matter?”

“Um, no… I think I just need to go lie down for a few minutes…”

“Well… okay, if you’re sure. You want me to get you some medicine or something?”

“No… I think I’ll be alright,” Celeste said with a slight nod, and headed back to the bedroom, while Janine went on about her business.

“It’s kind of a long story…” Fenix said, trailing off with widened eyes as he noted Celeste leaving the bathroom.

Nyte joined Fenix at the door, and saw Adam there. “Dude! You made it?!” It was an expression of surprise as much as joy, cut short as Fenix grabbed Nyte by the collar. “ACK!”

“What happened in there?!”

“I dunno,” Nyte said. “The set… blinked out…”

Fenix’s eyes bulged again, and he rushed to his room, while Adam waved to Nyte and stepped inside, shutting the door behind him. Moments later, an animalistic howl of agony rang out from Fenix’s room.

“…after I singed the wire connectors, that is,” Nyte thought to himself.

“Uh….can someone tell me what’s going on?” Adam asked.

“Fenix’s favorite show just got canceled.”

“Incompetent electricians!” Fenix shouted while sobbing. “I have been betrayed by faulty wiring!!!”

Adam continued. “And who was that that walked by right before you came in, Nyte? A friend of yours?”

“…yeah,” Nyte said. “Her name’s Celeste.”

“I thought you didn’t have a girlfriend…”

“Er, I don’t. ‘Sides, we met after we left the ruins, anyway.”

“Can I ask what happened?”

As Adam asked, a rhythmic thumping could be heard emanating from Fenix’s room.

Nyte took a deep breath, and called out towards the thumping sound, “Hey, FENIX!” Turning back to Adam, he said, “Have a seat, this might take a little bit of time.”

“Sure,” Adam said, grabbing a chair.

Fenix soon emerged, holding the forehead of his helmet, as though it were in pain. “The universe conspires to hate me,” he said.

“Eh?” Adam asked.

“Nevermind,” said Fenix. “I’ll explain later. Nyte, take a note: we need to buy some wire.”

“I’ll put it on the grocery list.”

“Wire?” Adam asked. “Break something?

“Yes… somehow the wiring in my home security system fried itself.”

“Hmmm…y’know,” Adam began to say, as Nytetrayn frantically waved his hands and mouthed “NO” from behind Fenix, “usually, wire doesn’t tend to do that…”

“But how else could it have…”

Fenix stopped, a realization washing over him. “Wait… Celeste… in the bathroom. Nyte… left alone with the camera…”

After an awkward pause, Nyte said, “Freak electrical surges happen all the time.”

Fenix’s eyes began to blaze an unholy shade of red.

“Trust me, I know.”

Adam raised an eyebrow.

“It happens. Right, Adam?” Nyte asked, nudging their visitor.

“Uh, sure…”

Janine then emerged from the bathroom, wrapped in one towel while using another to dry her hair. “Hey, guys! Oh, hi Adam! I didn’t know you escaped the evil ruin of zombified doom!”

“Hi, Janine. Yeah, the hand decided it would be fun to knock me out and deposit me outside the ruins. The nap was nice, but I don’t think there’s going to be a second date.”

Janine nodded, but had become distracted mid-conversation by Fenix’s seething. “Fenix, why are you glaring at Nytetrayn like you want to rip his balls off and feed them to the dogs, which we don’t have? And why do you have your beam saber out?”

“Yes, Fenix, why?” Nyte asked, moving over by Janine and leaning with his arm against her shoulder. With a big smile, he continued. “Please, we’re dying to know.”

“…Nyte, she knows about the camera in the bathroom.”

Nyte’s expression dropped. “…oh.”

Janine’s eyes tripled in size. “Oh my god! The camera! I forgot! And I tried to get Celeste to… wait, Celeste has taken showers in this house!”

Now Nytetrayn’s eyes widened, while Fenix’s expression changed from intense rage to sudden, abject terror.

“You didn’t say that,” Nyte said, as he glared at Fenix. “Tell me you did not just say that…”

Janine also glared at Fenix, and added, “That’s just not kosher!”

“I turn it off when she showers!” Fenix said.

Janine’s eyes began to glow, while Nytetrayn’s narrowed.

“Seriously! I do!”

Adam, now thoroughly confused, said, “Ummm, pardon me for interjecting, but why would you need a camera in the bathroom? Janine will show you what you wanna see…”

Nytetrayn cracked his knuckles.

Fenix told Adam, “It’s her livestream feed. She does all the bubble bath and hot tub and cosplay cheesecake-y stuff, and we sell the videos on-demand. Jan and I have made over 200,000 Zenny in this past month alone… each.”

Nytetrayn cracked his neck.

“…Jan, you’ve seen the videos! There is no Celeste on them!”

“‘When’ she showers?”

Janine frowned, and put her finger to her chin in thought. “That’s true…”

Nyte looked to Janine, then to Fenix.

Fenix blinked. “Yes, I turn it off when she showers… why?”

“…what about before?”

“Before what?”

“She showers. Or after.”

“Why would I – OH…”

Nytetrayn looked a bit red in the face, and not in an “oh, gosh” kind of way.

“There… may have been a few accidents…”

Nyte developed a twitch in one eye, while Janine walked off to get dressed, shaking her head.

“Um,” Adam began, “you guys do know that recording video of a person without their knowledge is a crime, right?”

“…yeah, I’m gonna go out now,” Fenix said, meekly.

“…I KNOW THAT!!!” Nyte told Adam.

“I said it was an accident! And I erased it! So, yeah, um, going now,” Fenix said, before taking off out the door.

“How… would you know… to erase it…” Nyte said, before bolting after Fenix, who was already down the street, and not turning back.

Nyte did, however, turn back, and quickly ran to the kitchen and out back, and returned carrying a very large Buster cannon.

“Nyte, wait! Where are you going?” Adam asked, as he got up.

Meanwhile, Janine returned, now dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. “Oh no,” she said as she took in the sight.

“I’m hunting Fenixes,” Nyte said, adding a malicious Elmer Fudd-styled laugh.

“Nyte, isn’t that one of the arms off your mech?” Janine asked.

“Yeah. And?”

“No offense, but if worse comes to worse, he will kick your ass.”

“That’s what you think!” Nyte said, as he sprinted out the door, with Adam following.

“Alright, well, don’t expect me to drag what’s left of the two of you home!” she shouted, before turning back inside, muttering about testicles making you stupid.

“Uh, maybe you should try reasoning with him before you resort to ass-kicking,” Adam suggested.

By this point, Fenix was nowhere to be seen, and Nyte soon slowed down. After a pause, he said with a devious smirk, “I have an even better idea,” and started back towards the apartment.

“What?” Adam asked, as he followed Nyte back.

“You’ll see.”

“Uh… okay…”

Back at the apartment, Janine peeked ever so slightly into Celeste’s room to see if she’s alright, only to find her resting soundly. She made sure the door was firmly closed, as she feared this could get noisy.

Nytetrayn walked in the door, and tossed the Buster aside with an enormous “thud.” He proceeded to Fenix’s room, where he smiled and hummed a tune as he went about fixing the wires to the masked Digger’s little setup.

“Hey, Janine?” he called.

“I’m not helping you blind Fenix,” she said as she walked into the room. “It’s already happened to him once.”

“Not asking you to,” he said. “Just check over Fenix’s videos and make sure nothing with Celeste is on any of them, please?

“He’s shown me all his footage. It’s just me.”

“You’re positive?” Nyte asked, as he still considered melting the entire hard drive down into so much slag.

“I really don’t think he’d record Cel on purpose,” Janine said, which elicited a sigh from Nyte. “And you didn’t hear this from me, but he cares about her a lot more than he lets on.”

“Eh? Say again?”

“He identifies with her. She doesn’t have a past. When he was young, he didn’t have a heritage. She’s lost and scared and confused, and he knows what that’s like. He’d throw himself in front of a bullet for both of us, but I really think he’d go out of his way to help her if he knew how to do it.”

Nyte sighed again. “I guess you’re right…” he said. “…so instead of doing this out of spite, I’ll do it out of mischief!”

“Much better,” Janine smiled.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me for a minute,” Nyte said, as he got back to work on the entertainment center, whistling a jaunty tune.

“Okies,” she said, as she headed off to entertain Adam, who was just kind of hanging around for a bit, as he looked around the apartment. Before long, Nytetrayn emerged, as he dusted his hands off dramatically and joined the others.

“You tell Adam anything about what happened since we last saw him?” Nyte asked Jan.

“Not yet.”

“Oh, so why don’t we do that?”

“Okay,” Janine said, as Adam returned to his chair.

“Heh, so what happened after I got pulled out of there by Mr. Hand?”

“Well,” Janine began, as the two relayed the tale of Sherman East, escaping the collapsing digital hellscape the ruin was quickly becoming, going to the hospital, and meeting Radi.

“We got fixed up, and while there,” Nyte said, “um… I gave up the big refractor we got from the ruin.”

“Yes, and Nyte screwed us all behind our backs so he could get a date.”

“Huh?” asked Adam.

“…hey!” Nyte protested.

“See, Janine explained, “Celeste was at the hospital in a coma, and they needed a refractor to run the machines to wake her up. So Nyte gave them ours. Because he wants to do her.”

“Hey!” Nyte cut in again. “I do not!”

“Oh, okay, that explains a lot…” said Adam.

“No it doesn’t! I mean, no! I was just… doing the right thing. That’s all.”

Adam smiled a bit. “I know, Nyte.”

Janine likewise grinned as she pinched Nyte’s cheek. “I know sweetie, you just turn this lovely shade of pink when you’re flustered.”

Adam chuckled, while Nyte grumbled poutingly in his seat before he continued. “Then we met her after she woke up and we were leaving, and she came back here with us, when Xenos’ stupid robot crashed the ship.”

“Can I ask something?” Adam cut in. “Why is she with you? Why isn’t she with her family?”

“The poor thing doesn’t have one,” Janine said.

“Oh, well… she doesn’t have any memory or anything,” Nyte added.

“Oh, poor girl,” Adam said. “Say, where is Xenos, anyway? I thought he’d be with you guys.”

“Eh, he’s still trying to get off the island, last we saw,” Nyte said.

“Fenix said he’s off corrupting Radi,” Janine added, “but I dunno.”

“I thought you guys were trying to convince him to become a Digger? Or were joining up with him?”

“We were, but he doesn’t seem interested,” said Nyte.

“Oh,” said Adam. “So you guys have just been living here, now, huh?”

“Yeah, Fenix and I’s old place.”

“Yup,” added Jan. “One big happy family.”

“Sounds fun.”

“A crowded family, mind, but I’m not inclined to worry too much about that,” Janine said.

“Eh, just four of us,” said Nyte.

At that point, the door to Nyte’s room opened, and Celeste stepped out, yawning a bit when she caught sight of their visitor. “Oh. Hello,” she said with a surprised but friendly wave.

“Hey, Sunshine!” said Janine with a big smile. “Have a nice nap?”

“Heya, Cel,” added Nyte.

“Uh, yeah. Thanks,” Celeste said sheepishly.

Adam turned to Celeste. “I’m sorry, I didn’t introduce myself. My name is Adam Powers.”

“Ah, hello. My name’s Celeste,” she said, still a little nervous.

“Nice to meet you,” Adam added with a smile.

Celeste smiled and nodded in return.

Adam turned back to Nyte and Janine, and asked, “So, uh, are you guys going to just stay here, then? Or are you interested in traveling around more?”

“Well, we can’t do much traveling,” Janine replied, “seeing as we have no transportation.”

“But are you interested?” Adam persisted, with a grin across his face.

“I would be,” Jan said, adding, “I imagine Fenix would too.”

“Eh, for the time being, I don’t mind hanging around here a little bit,” Nyte said. “I dunno, maybe after the weather warms up a bit?”

“Because, you know, I do have a ship,” Adam continued. “And while I’d have to clean out parts of it, I’m pretty sure I could fit all of you on it pretty comfortably.”

“Hmmm,” Janine said, as she got a cute, thoughtful expression on her face.

“Gee, and after everything Jan did to get our place back,” said Nyte.

“Well, we’d come back, of course,” she said. “But we need to go digging eventually. This whole livestream thing will only keep us solvent for so long.”

“Yeah, I suppose,” Nyte said. “I’d still rather wait ‘til after the season, though.”

“The season?” Jan asked.

“Yeah, winter months are in play. Snow, holidays, good times. ‘Sides, when warmer weather comes, that’s the time to go into ruins. Nothing like getting out of the heat and into a nice, cool ruin, digging up refractors all the while.”

“That’s fine,” said Adam. “It may take me a while to clean up and prepare the ship before we go, and I’ve been meaning to do an overhaul and some upgrades to it, anyways. It’d do Alpha and I good to put the Sky Shark into dry dock for a bit.”

Janine was still taking in what Nyte had said. “…holidays?” she asked.

“You… aren’t familiar with the holidays? Christmas, New Year, etc, etc? Actually, those are the only two that come to mind, but still.”

“Um… I remember the New Years celebration,” she said, as she put her finger to her chin. “You celebrate Christmas in this time period?”

“Sure,” said Nyte.

“Hell, I haven’t been to a good Christmas party in years!” grinned Adam.

“Religious holidays were banned by my time,” said Janine.

“Really? Why?”

“Well, a few hundred years ago, my time, there was kind of a war over that sort of thing.”

“Oh,” said Nytetrayn. “Yeah, I can see how that might be a mood-killer.”

Adam glanced at Celeste. “Ever been to a Christmas party?”

“Um, I guess not,” Celeste said.

“I doubt she’d know if she had,” Nyte added.

“They’re great fun! Gifts, food, drinks,” Adam said, as if to sell them on the idea. “But when you live alone, like me, it’s kinda hard to throw them.” Smiling again, he added, “Though, it looks like that’s about to change.”

“Awesome!” Janine said with a big smile, which soon spread to Celeste. Nyte just chuckled.

“I’m so glad Christmas isn’t in bad taste anymore,” Adam said.

“’Course, if Fenix ever comes back, he might see to it that it is again,” said Nyte. “He seems to manage to pull it off for about a week or so before people settle.”

“Eh?” asked Janine.

“Um, never mind,” Nyte said. “Best not to bring it up. Let’s just say that his time in jail a few weeks ago wasn’t his first time.”

“Really,” Janine said. “I can’t say I’m surprised.”

Meanwhile, Fenix snuck around the back, keeping to the shadows and not making a noise.

“Time in jail?” Adam asked.

“Fenix and Xenos went bar-hopping,” said Nyte.

“Oh. That explains everything.”

The group shared a laugh, and just as Fenix was about to make it into his bedroom unnoticed, he sneezed, banging his helmet into the door. “ARGFEGSSWESE!!”

Everyone looked towards the commotion. “Oh, there he is,” Nyte said. “Heya, Feeny.”

“Hello…” Fenix said with trepidation.

“Just so you know, Janine has talked me out of killing you.”

Fenix looked back at his digging partner in stunned silence.

“And I’ve even gone so far as to fix your setup.”

“You FIXED it?”

Nyte nodded. “Good as new.”

Celeste looked on, confused as to what this was all about, while Adam was at a loss for words.

“Just, you know… be careful of what you watch, okay?”

“Hey, I said it was an accident,” Fenix said.

“Right, right, Jan told me.”

“I’ll warn you from now on!” Janine said with a big smile.

“O-kay…”

“Um, guys,” Adam interjected. “Is there something you’d like to say to Miss Celeste?”

Nyte and Fenix turned to Adam and simultaneously delivered a resounding, “NO.”

Adam paused, and then said, “Okay, then.”

“Anyways,” Nyte continued, “go check it out and make sure it’s up to code?”

“Um… okay,” Fenix said, as he went to check it out.

Adam wiggled his eyebrows at Celeste, although it was pretty hard to see, as he was still wearing his shades.

“Um… you alright…?” Celeste asked.

“I’m fine, miss.”

Janine turned from watching Fenix go into his room to face Nyte, and sported her own look of confusion. As she did so, Nyte developed an evil smile on his face as Fenix went in. Fenix could see the interior of the bathroom, just like before, albeit without Janine in the picture.

That is, until Nyte pulled out a remote and pressed the single, large button adorning it, and Fenix’s view changed to something else.

“3… 2… 1…” said Nyte.

From Fenix’s bedroom came the longest scream any of them had ever heard.

Nytetrayn burst out laughing, and said through tears, “He may be getting 200,000 Zennys a pop for this stuff, but THAT is just priceless!!!”

“What did you do?!” asked Adam.

“I rigged his setup to tune in to the All Clown College Wrestling channel. ‘All clown wrestling, all the time.’”

While Adam cracked up at that, Fenix made a beeline for the bathroom, where he proceeded to scrub at his eyes.

“Why would you do a thing like that?” Celeste asked.

“Um… no reason,” Nyte answered. “Just… you know. Fun.”

Janine rushed into the bedroom, saying, “I just have to see this!”

“…I hadn’t planned on that…”

While Nyte was distracted by the antics of Fenix and Janine, Adam motioned for Celeste to come closer to him. She moved over towards him to see what he wanted.

“Yes?”

Adam whispered in her ear, “I’ll tell you later.”

Fenix emerged from the bathroom, carrying a baseball bat.

“Uh-oh,” said Nyte.

“This is sacrilege!” Fenix said. “I can’t believe someone would do this to my beloved sport-slash-entertainment!”

“Fenix…” Nyte began. “Just so you know…”

“You are in trouble, my boy.”

“…Janine is alone in your bedroom.”

“And your point is?”

“Just thought you might be interested,” said Nyte. “Guess not.”

“Think about that one a minute there, Fenix,” Adam said.

Fenix’s eyes glowed more fiercely and he looked back and forth between his room and Nyte, as he was torn by indecision.

“Well, you started this,” Nyte said.

Celeste asked, “Why do you have a video setup in your room, anyway…?

“You don’t want to know,” Nyte said. “Trust me.”

“I’ll field that question later. Right now, I have manly duties to perform. Excuse me.” And with that, Fenix zipped off into his bedroom, slamming the door behind him.

Nyte wiped a little sweat from his brow, and let out a quiet, “Whew.”

Meanwhile, Adam persisted with his questioning. “Do you really want to know, Celeste?”

“Um… I’m not sure,” she said. “Weird stuff happens around here, and I’m inclined to believe it if I’m told I don’t want to know.”

From Fenix’s bedroom, Janine could be heard faintly making noises indicative of having a good time. Nytetrayn and Celeste were both left speechless, until Fenix called out, “Hey, Nyte! Can you run to the kitchen and fetch me a cucumber?”

After a moment of raised eyebrows among the group, Nyte shouted back, “GET IT YOURSELF!!!”

“Well,” said Adam, “it seems Fenix has decided to alleviate his fury with Janine….and she seems to be enjoying… um… it.”

“Thank you, Morgan Attenborough,” Nyte said as he stood up. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to step outside for a moment.”

“Tell you what, Celeste,” Adam said, once the two were alone. “You come by my ship sometime after I get it into dry dock, and I’ll tell you what you wanna know.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

Fenix soon emerged from his bedroom, looking somewhat tired. “So! Who wants to go out for dinner?”

“I’ll, uh, tell you later,” said Adam.

“Uh, sure, sounds good,” Celeste said, to neither individual specifically. “I’ll go get Nyte,” she added, as she got up.

“Sounds good, Fenix,” said Adam.

“Jan’ll need a little while to recover,” said Fenix. “Take your time.”

“Right…” she said, as she proceeded to hurry out the door.

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!