Legends of the Halcyon Era

Episode 39 - Flashback: The Domestication of Nytetrayn

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Previously, Nytetrayn met a Digger whose face was wrapped in bandages named Fenix while exploring a ruin. Together, they discovered a treasure trove of artifacts that was of particular interest to a buyer Fenix knew. After pawning the wares off, they ventured forth to see about using their earnings to purchase Nytetrayn some more suitable clothing, as well as a way off the island.

As the pair headed for town, Fenix counted his money. "Oh man, I haven't had this much moolah since... since... ever."

Nytetrayn was also examining his Zenny, not having really seen any before. "So, this is Zenny..." Fenix glanced over, and noticed Nytetrayn seemed to have it a bit close to his face.

"Hey, um... you seem to be holding that kinda close to your face, there," he said. "Same thing with the magazine you were looking at. I, uh, didn't want to say anything at the time. I just thought you were really into it. But... can you see okay?"

"Um," Nytetrayn hesitated, as he looked up from the stack of bills. "Kinda...? I guess?"

"Okay, so we'll add that to the list, then. But first, we buy you some proper clothing. And then a speck of armor, so you don't get all shot up in those ruins. You'll eventually come across Reaverbots with better aim."

"'Proper'?" Nyte asked. "As in, unworn, I assume?"

"As in 'un-ripped-into-pieces,' yeah."

Nyte looked over his clothes. They were a bit old, and faded, maybe a little shabby, but... yeah, he could probably use an upgrade. "Okay. Do you have a place in mind?"

"I most certainly do!"

Fenix led the way, and they soon arrived at the place. "Welcome to Sears!"

"...'Sears'? What's a 'Sears'?" Nyte figured this "Sear" guy must be who owns it.

"Nobody really knows. It's one of the great mysteries of the universe, right up there with how they make cheese. Someone knows, I'm sure, but the rest of us just have to stumble along in the dark..."

"I thought cheese was made from the pasteurized milk of cows?"

Fenix looked like a lightbulb had just gone off in his head. "It is?! Amazing..."

Nyte figured that Fenix didn't know who or what a "Sear" was. "Well, I hope this 'Sear' guy is nice. Er, if it's a guy."

"I don't think he runs the store personally, whoever he is. If it's even a person." Fenix placed a hand on Nyte's shoulder, and waved the other out across the horizon line. "Legend goes that the founder discovered the name on a sign during a dig, and that he believed that it would lead to everlasting wealth and prosperity..."

"Oh," Nyte said. "Guess that works out well for us if they are a person, and they're an asshole."

"Not really. The clerks are tight-assed nags." Fenix muttered to himself, "Think they're so hot, able to fold pants properly with their two hands..."

"I see," Nyte said. "Well, either way, I guess we should go ahead and find out."

As he followed Fenix inside, they were immediately greeted by a pretty, smiling woman – who screamed and ran as soon as she got a good look at the older Digger.

"Damn, I see they haven't forgotten about that blood thing."

"Blood thing?"

"Yeah, I accidentally bled on a coat in here. I didn't notice my arm was acting up on me."

"Maybe you can get that fixed now?

"My arm? Nah, it's about as fixed as it's gonna be. Of course, these can't possibly help," he said, as he removed his bandages, revealing a great deal of scarring around his cybernetic eyes, which stood out even worse against his pale skin.

Nyte looked around at the other people in the store, then back to Fenix. "I'm pretty sure that's not normal."

"Doc said the bruising would go down in a few weeks... at least the stitches are out."

"Maybe as long as we're getting equipment and things, you could get some sort of protective helmet. One that will help protect your face while it heals. Anyway, which way to the clothing?"

Fenix pointed Nyte in the right direction, and told him, "I'm sure you'll find someone who can help you. When you're done, you'll find me in hardware."

"Hardware? Er, okay." Nyte headed for the clothing department, and looked around. Upon finding the dressing rooms, he gave one outfit that caught his eye a try.

A short time later, Nyte found Fenix in the hardware section. "How's this?"

"Hm?" Fenix said, as he looked up from a rail gun he was inspecting. Standing before him was Nytetrayn, now dressed in full adventuring attire, which included a leather jacket, hat, and even a whip. "Ummm... it's very..." Nyte kept staring, waiting for an answer. "I'd... go without the whip. Someone might get ideas."

Nyte put the whip aside. "How about now?"

"Um... I'd... skip the hat."

Nyte removed the hat.

"The jacket's kind of... unnecessary."

Nyte removed the jacket as well.

"Eh... maybe just try something else?"

"Okay," Nyte said, as he gathered up the garments and went back to the clothing section. About ten minutes later, he returned to find Fenix intensely studying a rocket launcher. "How's this?"

Fenix looked up, and had to cover his eyes. Nyte's hair, instead of its usual golden blonde, was now jet black and done up in a combed-back pompadour. And the rest... was Elvis. "OH MY GOD!"

Nyte paused, then asked, "...try again?"

"Never wear platform shoes, wigs, or anything with sequins sewn on. Yes! Go, go! Shoo!" Fenix shouted, making shooing motions with his arms. Nyte pulled the wig off, and clopped back off to clothing.

Ten minutes later, Nytetrayn returned in another outfit, but still had the same question. This time, he was decked out in brown boots, red overalls, a blue long-sleeve shirt, and a red hat with an "N" emblem placed front and center. A big, black mustache was the pièce de résistance.

"How's-a thees?"

Fenix looked up from the chainsaw he was holding, and his eyes widened. "Are you doing this on purpose?! My god, have you been buried under a rock for your entire life?!"

Nyte chose not to answer that question, and instead started back towards clothing. "Mama-mia..."

About ten minutes later, Fenix muttered to himself loudly over the flame thrower he was trying out, "Next thing I know, he'll be dressed as some kind of Hylian forest child..."

Behind him, Nyte stopped, turned around, and removed the floppy green hat he was wearing as he headed back to clothing.

Another ten minutes, and Nytetrayn returned. This time, he was wearing a pair of black boots, black shorts, and a button-up black shirt. "How's this?"

Fenix looked up from the shotgun he'd been caressing, and said, "Now what are you – hey, that's not bad. Not bad at all."

Nyte breathed a small sigh of relief. "Okay, I'll go get more like this, then." Once he did just that, he returned, now with several identical sets of the same outfit he was now wearing, his old clothes stuffed into the bag.

"Good, good," Fenix said. "You look respectable. Personally, I can't stand that, but most people seem to appreciate it."

Nyte tilted his head to the side, and weighed this in his head. Pros: Respectable, and people appreciate that. Cons: Fenix doesn't like it. At 2-1 in favor, Nyte decided to keep them.

With that settled, Nyte asked, "Did you find what you were looking for in hardware?"

"Yes, actually," Fenix said, as he hefted a massive shotgun. "This baby is mine!" As Nyte looked on, stunned, Fenix continued. "We still need to get you some metal. The armory is just over here. Hmmm, I can afford detailing! Neat."

As Nyte looked around, Fenix disappeared, then returned shortly afterward without his armor. Instead, he wore a pair of faded jeans with the knees torn out and a blue denim shirt over a t-shirt that said, "Are you checking me out, or just reading my shirt?"

"They'll bash the kinks out in an hour or so, and I've opted for a few other tweaks. In the meantime, I'm going to go with your idea about getting something to stop people from jabbing me in the face."

"Good idea."

Nyte continued looking around at options. A lot of it was flashy, with a lot of angles, curves, and other designs. He just wanted something simple, basic. Eventually, he found some normal armor. The floor model was blue, but Nyte asked a clerk about whether he could get it in black, maybe with some gray thrown in for highlights.

Before the clerk could get to work on it, however, Nyte couldn't help himself. He asked about some custom detailing work, and getting a symbol placed on the round panels of the shoulders. He sketched out a replica of the dragon symbol he remembered seeing back in the hangar and on the ship where he first woke up.

In the meantime, Fenix had taken a bucket-shaped piece of metal to a work desk, and had a discussion about paint.

Later, as Nytetrayn was looking at backpacks and various other supplies, he felt a tap on his shoulder. Nyte looked to the source of the tapping, and saw Fenix standing beside him. Covering his face was a black helmet with a shining T-shaped visor, through which his eyes glowed almost demonically.

"What do you think?"

Nyte tapped the visor. "Nice."

"Heh, I didn't feel that! Awesome! I'm so going to hit on girls now, just to not feel it when they smack me!" Nyte raised an eyebrow at this, and Fenix simply chuckled.

Soon, the two went to check on their armor. Nyte took his gear to a dressing room, and stepped out, showing off his basic but customized look. He also had a helmet and a regular Buster in matching colors. Fenix emerged from his room shortly after, wearing armor similar to the damaged attire he'd been sporting before, but now shinier and more decorative, complete with a flowing cape – all in black.

After giving Nytetrayn a once-over, Fenix said, "Nice." "You too," Nyte replied, as he grabbed up the backpack and other stuff he'd been eying. "We ready?"

"Not just yet!" He grabbed Nytetrayn by the arm, and led him to the in-store optician. Nyte squinted at the sign. "'Hour Glasses'?"

"Yep, they'll get you what you need!" With that, Fenix shoved Nyte into the store-within-a-store, and shouted after him, "Good luck, buddy!"

An hour later, Nytetrayn found Fenix as he was nonchalantly brandishing his new shotgun, using it to look through some shirts on a rack, and scaring a female sales associate in the process. "Now are we ready?" he asked, as she ran away in terror.

Fenix took a look at Nytetrayn's now black-framed eyes, and tried his not-so-good best to double over in laughter. He tried to stifle his giggling, an act made infinitely more difficult by the new helmet that now protected his face from his hands. Quietly, he said to himself, "Oh my god, he looks like such a dork!" After a moment, he quickly straightened himself and stood tall, before giving Nyte a thumbs-up and saying, "Lookin' good, champ! How do y'feel?"

"Pretty good, actually. I can see things further away a lot more clearly than before." He pondered this for a moment, and added, "Probably a good thing, if I'm going to be shooting at stuff."

"You betcha!"

"Wish they had something better for a Buster, though. I think I may need to modify it."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. This helmet could use some work, too."

"Yes, someone could potentially shoot you in the face."

Nyte gave Fenix a look. "I just meant that maybe if it were retractable or something, it might be easier to wear around when not in ruins."

"Hm, true."

"Well, I'll work on it," Nyte said as he gathered his things again.

"Sounds like fun."

"Yeah. Shall we go pay for this stuff?"

"Probably. I think we'd be ostracized by the townsfolk if we just stole it."

"Er... I mean, do we need anything else?"

"Um... I dunno. Do we?"

"I thought you were the one who knew about all this stuff? Do they carry spare parts and things of that nature here?"

"I have a tool kit, yeah. But usually, if your stuff breaks down real bad, you just get out of the ruin."

"Hmm, I could probably use a tool kit. Be right back!" With that, Nyte dashed off, and soon returned with tools, parts, and various stuff so he could tinker and modify weapons. "I think I'm ready."

"I think so. Shall we pay?"

"Unless you want to be ostracized."

"Nah, I've had enough of that for one lifetime, thanks very much."

The pair took their stuff up to the registers and paid, with Fenix scaring the one helping him when he took off his helmet so they could scan the price tag. Nyte put his stuff in the new backpack as he waited, and Fenix cackled darkly when he walked up. "I love it when they pee themselves."

Nyte looked at Fenix, confused. "Okay?"

"Now, I don't know about you, but I'm hungry. What say we get some food?"

"Sure, where do we go for that?" Nyte asked.

"A restaurant, probably."

"Know of any good ones?" Nyte asked, as he looked over his receipt.

"I've always liked Denny's, myself."

Nyte looked again at the several hundred-thousand Zenny total on his bill. "Things don't come cheap, do they?"

"Oh no, Digging's expensive."

"I see," Nyte nodded. "So, will we get to meet this 'Denny'?"

After a beat, Fenix said, "Don't be stupid, kid. Now, come!" as he led the way to the restaurant. Before they were seated, three waitresses were scared off by the masked Digger.

"This happen often?"

"More and more. It happens when you lose parts of your body."

"I see," Nyte said. "So, what's good here?" he asked, as he looked at the menu.

"The bacon and eggs are to die for."

"Okay," Nyte said, before taking a look out the window. "So, where are we, anyway?"

"Oxford Island."

"Where is that?"

"It's a large island, as islands go, and populated mostly by pri – wait, how do you not know this? Even if you've never traveled, you'd have to have been raised here, or something."

"Um... yeah... see, the thing about that is..." Before Nytetrayn could say anything more, an apparently reluctant waitress arrived. "Take yer order, hon?" Fenix ordered large quantities of meat and fried potatoes, while Nytetrayn ordered cola, bacon, eggs, steak, potatoes, bread, and some other odds and ends. "Kay, it'll be about 20 minutes, then," she said, as she hurried away, muttering something about "damn bills."

"Now then," said Nyte, "where were we...? Oh, yeah, you were just about to tell me what happened to your face and arm..."

Fenix averted his stare from the scurrying waitress, alarmed. "I was?"

"Yeah," Nyte said, as he leaned forward and looked at his companion intently, interested in what he had to say.

"...no, I wasn't."

"Yes, you were."

"Well, obviously, my arm got ripped off."

"Oh. Well, it's not that obvious. I mean, it could've been sliced, blown, shot..."

"...I guess."

"...shredded, snapped, burned..."

"Alright, I get it! But no, that's what happened. It was ripped off. All of those would have been a little less painful (well, maybe not the shredding)... So, of course, it got ripped off."

"I see," said Nyte. "And the face?"

"Plasma gun went off too close, flash-burned my retinas."

"Ouch."

"Oh, yeah. Ever cried blood?"

"Can't say as I have."

"It isn't fun."

"I would imagine not."

Fenix nodded.

"So," Nyte said, "you hunt pirates, you say?"

"Indeed, I do."

"Why is that?"

"Because they're mean."

"Makes sense."

"Exactly!"

The waitress returned with their order, and Nytetrayn looked at all the food placed before them. "Wow."

"Let's dig in!" Fenix said, right before he smacked himself in the helmet with a piece of steak.

The waitress finished setting everything out, took a deep breath, then left. Fortunately for her, she departed just in time to miss Fenix removing his helmet, as he again proclaimed, "Now, let's dig in!"

Nyte looked the food over, picked up the steak, and started eating it, holding it not unlike one would a sandwich.

Fenix paused in his eating to witness this. "You're supposed to use a knife and fork, by the way."

Nyte looked across the table inquisitively, as he removed the steak from his jaws. "Oh." He then picked the dining instruments up and looked them over, and tried to find the most effective way to use the newly-introduced tools. He managed to use them somewhat in the way they had been intended, but was by no means a picture of etiquette.

Fenix shrugged and went on with his meal, as he didn't care that much. Nyte put his fork into a piece of bread, picked it up, and took a bite. Fenix smirked a little at this, but didn't comment. Nyte continued on like this, as he gulped down his cola, and put his fork into a baked potato and used the knife to slice the end off. Once he did the same thing with his bacon, Fenix could no longer keep quiet.

"The bacon, you can eat with your fingers."

Nyte paused in mid-bite and looked at Fenix as he processed this new information. "Oh, okay."

Nyte did so, then moved on to soup. He figured the rounded shovel-like thing must be used for that, but once again held the utensil in a way never intended. Fenix was happy to shrug it off, so long as it didn't get flung everywhere.

As Nyte finished with his food, a random passerby on their way out of the restaurant dropped a book entitled, "Manners and Etiquette at the Dinner Table" into his lap. Nyte picked the book up curiously, and looked it over, before addressing his dining companion. "Is there something you weren't telling me, Fenix?"

"...oh, probably."

Nyte looked unimpressed, but didn't have much time to stew on it. The waitress brought them their check, and Nyte gave her a wad of Zenny.

"So," he asked after she'd left. "Where to from here?"

"I'm getting the hell off this island. What about you?"

"I don't actually know. I don't really have anywhere to be. Where are you going?"

"I'm not quite sure. I tend to wander, but I think I have enough money now to make my way until I find something good, if I'm careful."

"Sounds interesting..."

"It should be."

"But... I don't want to burden you anymore..."

Fenix shrugged. "It's a free... um... world. Can I help it if you happen to be going in the same direction?"

Nyte blinked as he watched Fenix's movement. "What is that, anyway?"

"What is what?"

"That thing you did."

"Shrugging?"

"With the shoulders?"

"Yeah."

"It means, 'Hell, I dunno'."

"Ah, okay," Nyte said, then shrugged. "I dunno, I guess I could end up going that way. So, I guess we can go now... and you can show me where the flights are?" Nyte looked at the book again. "I guess I have some stuff to catch up on, anyway."

"I can do that," Fenix said.

"Okay, then," Nyte said, as they stood and gathered their things. "Lead the way, Feeny!"

Fenix stopped what he was doing, and looked at Nytetrayn. "Call me that again, and there will be two of us with artificial limbs."

Nyte chuckled a little bit. "Okay, got it."

"Good," Fenix said.

With that, they headed for the airport, but not before Nytetrayn made a quick stop for a few more books to read.

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