Legends of the Halcyon Era

Episode 49 - Revelations: The Two Strangers

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Previously, in Legends of the Halcyon Era...

After completing his two newest GunRobos, Nytetrayn took them on a test run in a small ruin on the north edge of Monroe. While the test was a success, what he didn't expect was to be ambushed by none other than the Air Pirate, Trevor Creed, who beat Nytetrayn to within an inch of his life. Before he could finish the job, however, the others arrived, and to their surprise, it was an adrenaline rage-fueled Celeste who drove him off.

At the local medical facility, the doctors were flummoxed by their inability to properly analyze Nytetrayn to determine the extent of his injuries, and opted to give him a chance to recover on his own before moving on to more drastic measures. But before that could occur, two strangers appeared in the night, keen on taking Nytetrayn for their own mysterious purposes.

Just as a fight was about to break out between the two sides...

The group parted to see Celeste, standing there with her pistol aimed at the intruders. Though she was trembling as she held the gun up the way Fenix had shown her, Steel found himself again impressed with her unusually strong demeanor.

"Celeste, get back! We'll handle this!" said Magnus.

"No need for anyone else to get hurt," added Janine. "Don't worry, we can take these jerks!"

"Huh?" said the first stranger, as they both shifted their focus to get a good look at Celeste. At once, both strangers' eyes widened in complete surprise.

"It... it..." said the first stranger.

"...CAN'T be!!!" the second one finished, dropping his axe in the process. Both took a step back slowly, much to the others' confusion.

As the two backed away in quiet shock and surprise at the sight of Celeste standing in the doorway, holding a gun on them, the first stranger stammered, "...Ce--Celeste...?"

"You two know Celeste?" Janine said.

The second stranger seemed to compose himself more quickly, at least somewhat. "It can't be her, it CAN'T be!" he shouted. "I think it's a fake!" With that, he held out his hand, and his axe trembled slightly on the floor before it lifted up and returned to its owner, whereupon he quickly converted it into a large, handheld cannon that was now aimed at Celeste.

The group prepared to engage the strangers, with MegaMan Magnus putting himself between Celeste and the strangers as he readied a Magnus Arc, while Adam had drawn his sword as his eyes began to glow red, and Janine stood clenching her hand in a white-knuckled first as she glared at the pair of outsiders.

"You stay away from her," Magnus warned.

Before things could go any further, the first one used one of his arm blades to forcibly lower his comrade's weapon. "Whoa, hold on! Time out!"

"What the hell do you think you're doin', Raze?!" the second stranger shouted at the first.

"Just hold on! What if she's..."

"She's not! She died a long time ago! You should know that!"

"Yeah, but... the face... the name... something isn't right about this." The first stranger turned to address the group. "Who are you guys, anyway?"

"You first," said Steel, but Janine answered anyway.

"We're Nytetrayn's friends," the Bureaucratic Unit told them.

"More specifically," the stranger said, as he pointed at Celeste, "who is she?"

"I..." Celeste began, realizing she'd never actually said this before. "I'm... Nytetrayn's... girlfriend."

The strangers looked at each other with expressions that said, "What the...?"

"She was in a coma in a hospital we stayed at a few months ago," Janine explained. "Nytetrayn used a refractor we'd found to power the machines that woke her up. She doesn't remember anything about her past."

"Refractor?" said the second stranger.

Disregarding that, the first stranger said, "We're... we're kind of friends of Nytetrayn's, too... sort of."

"Then why are you kidnapping him?" Magnus asked.

"If you'd listen up, we're tryin' to help him!" the second stranger said exasperatedly, who clearly had a bit of an angry temper.

"Then stop assaulting people, and tell us who the hell you are!" Janine said, as Steel looked on at her in admiration.

"We..." the first stranger said, trying to figure out what to say. He looked to his colleague for some sort of answer, and then around the room. He spotted Nytetrayn's armor, placed beside the bed after he'd been admitted, and got an idea. "Waitaminute... maybe this will help."

The first stranger moved part of his clothing, which revealed an insignia on his belt. Catching on, the other stranger did the same. The symbols matched the ones on Nytetrayn's shoulders exactly, save for their colors; the first stranger's was silver with a medium shade of blue as a backdrop, while the second stranger's was gold on red.

"Comrades in arms...?" Magnus asked.

"I guess you could say that," said the second stranger. "We've never actually met, though."

"What are your names?" asked Adam.

The second stranger looked to the slightly-shorter first, as if it was his call. "Well, we've come this far," said the first stranger. "If it'll help our mission, maybe we should tell them..." The second stranger nodded in agreement.

Taking a deep breath, the first stranger continued. "My name is MoonRazor. And this is my brother, SunFlame."

"Odd names," said Adam.

"Yeah, well..."

"Nytetrayn's name isn't exactly common, either," Magnus pointed out. "Though now I'm starting to doubt whether or not that applies to them." MoonRazor just rubbed the back of his head at that.

"So what's so great about your names?" asked SunFlame. "You haven't even told us yet."

"You tell us what you want with Nytetrayn, and maybe we'll see," said Adam, as he lowered his sword, but didn't put it away.

"Oh, for the love of..." SunFlame began. "WE TOLD YOU! WE WANT TO HELP HIM! H-E-L-P! Sheesh, I don't even know what happened to him to get like this, but whatever. We just want to take him back to our base and get him fixed up."

"Easy, man," MoonRazor told his brother.

"My name is MegaMan Magnus, and if you want to take him anywhere, then we're going along."

MoonRazor looked at Magnus, surprised. "M-Mega Man?"

"I'm Adam Powers, and I also play host to MegaMan Blade."

"Another one?" said SunFlame.

"Just how many Mega Men are there here?" asked MoonRazor.

"You could say it denotes our status as near-free agents," Magnus said. "Or did, before the creators left this planet."

"Hoo-kay," said SunFlame.

"I'm Janine."

"I'm... Celeste," she said, feeling slightly awkward at reintroducing herself.

"Steel."

"Huh. And they talk about our names," said SunFlame. "At least Adam, Janine, and Celeste sound human..."

"Alright, if you're friends of his, and want to come along, I guess we can do that. Just so long as we get him back soon," said MoonRazor. The two put away their weapons, and went to shake hands with the group, who returned the gesture in kind.

"Wait, what's wrong with my name?" Steel asked.

"Nytetrayn's not in any condition to be moved right now," Adam said.

MoonRazor put his index and middle fingers to his ear. "Wavelength, come in... can you hear me?"

There was static, then a fuzzy response. "Yeah, I hear y--... barely... any luck?"

"Affirmative. We've located Nytetrayn, but he's in bad shape. And he's got company with him. We need you to send a cruiser over to these coordinates I'm transmitting now."

After a moment of silence, the reply came through. "-------copy that, sending a cruiser now."

"...cruiser...?!" asked a perplexed Magnus.

"Make sure it gets here before sunrise," MoonRazor continued. "We'd like to keep a low profile going here. Have it meet us at the beach on the west coast of the island."

"Roger. Cruiser is on its way. Wavelength, out."

"What's going on here?" asked Adam.

"It's the Illuminati!" exclaimed Janine.

"I've called for a cruiser to come and get us, so we can take Nytetrayn back to our base to get fixed up," MoonRazor explained. "It should be here soon."

"A sea ship?" Adam asked. "Or an airship?"

MoonRazor paused to consider the question, then shrugged. "Either/or."

"Interesting," said Magnus.

"Very interesting," Adam agreed.

"They're pretty versatile," MoonRazor noted.

"So what happened to him, anyway?" SunFlame asked.

"Nytetrayn was attacked by a pirate named Trevor Creed," Janine explained, as she pressed against Steel's side. He reciprocated the gesture by putting an arm around her.

"A pirate?" said SunFlame.

Janine nodded. "He flies around in an airship and plunders towns and ruins and whatnot."

"Man, he must be one tough hunk of hardware."

"Sounds like a real winner," added MoonRazor.

"He's well armed, and very skilled," Magnus added. He's also a sadistic creep, and seems to be a little obsessed with Celeste here. I'd wager it's why he attacked Nytetrayn."

"Most likely," Adam agreed.

"Yick," MoonRazor said, sticking his tongue out a little at the notion.

"So like, what is this guy, anyway?" asked SunFlame. "How big is he? He more animal-like, or humanoid? I wouldn't mind tangling with him a little..." He smirked a little at the idea, as he made a knuckle-cracking gesture.

"He's just a human," said Janine. "A bit bigger than average, cybernetic arm, but..."

"Human? You mean..." SunFlame looked between the bedridden Nytetrayn and Janine before throwing his head back and his hands up. "Oh, Jesus and Light," he said, before facepalming.

Celeste and Janine looked up at SunFlame. Hadn't Nyte said something like that once...?

"There something odd about that?" Magnus asked.

"Odd?! You're saying Sleeping Beauty here got beat by a frickin' human?!"

Magnus nodded sharply to himself, as Steel stepped forward, brow set, and asked, "Is that so hard to believe?"

"...at least tell me that guy has a limp now."

Celeste wasn't sure how to react to SunFlame's seeming belittling of Nyte, but it kind of hurt to hear it, just the same. MoonRazor noted her discomfort, and a little irritated by his brother's lack of tact, said, "Sheesh. You mind, SunFlame?"

"He's come out worse in a few encounters with Nyte," Janine explained, "but this time he got off pretty much fine. Nyte's pretty resourceful, though. He managed to take down the Reanimator..."

"The who?" SunFlame asked.

"How 'bout you two shut up, and start doing something about this?" Steel interrupted. "We need to make preparations to move him without being hurt further."

"He's right, we can talk on the way," MoonRazor said. "We need to get him to where we can meet our ride."

"So, we got anything around here that can move him?" SunFlame asked.

"I brought him here," said Magnus. "I guess I could carry him on the mattress, and Janine could help keep it steady." Meanwhile, Steel looked around, and brought in a gurney from outside the room.

"That works," said MoonRazor, as he helped them move Nytetrayn to the gurney. "We'll take him as far as the terrain will let us with this, and carry him on the mattress alone the rest of the way."

SunFlame put the doctor on the bed where Nyte had been. "I'll leave a note," he said, grabbing a nearby pen and piece of paper. "Hey Doc," he said out loud as he began to write. "Sorry about your head. Don't worry about Nytetrayn, he's gone to a better place now..."

"Give me that!" Steel practically shouted, as he snatched the pen and paper away from SunFlame. "I'll tend to it," he said, penning a letter of apology and a brief explanation, leaving out unneeded details. SunFlame just smirked and grabbed Nytetrayn's armor.

"Actually, I have an airship we could use for the trip so he can lay in bed," Adam said. Speaking into his communicator, he said, "Alpha, bring the Sky Shark to the hospital."

The group moved out with Nytetrayn in tow. All the while, Celeste just kept a worried watch over him. Soon, the Sky Shark landed outside the hospital.

"Sheesh, what a heap," said SunFlame, earning himself a glare from Magnus. "How many dinosaurs does this thing run on, anyway?"

MoonRazor elbowed his brother, as Adam scowled at the pair. "Er, sorry. He's just a bit cranky some – well, all the time. Let's just get him aboard."

Adam helped them get Nytetrayn to a bed, where Celeste stayed quietly by his side, then led them to the bridge. Alpha-Red was there, checking over the ship's status, among other things.

SunFlame opened his mouth slightly, as if he were about to speak. "Don't even start," said MoonRazor.

"I didn't say nothin'!" SunFlame protested.

"Good, keep it that way."

"This is my assistant, Alpha-Red," Adam said, gesturing to the Reaverbot.

"Er, hi," MoonRazor said, giving a small wave.

"Does it bite?" SunFlame asked.

"Pleased to meet you," said Alpha, as he turned to regard the pair. "Now, where are we goin– ...no, sir. I do not bite."

"Well, alright, then."

Adam sighed, and took the helm to fly the ship over towards the coastline.

"Shouldn't be very long before the cruiser arrives," MoonRazor told the group. "We need to go to the beach on the west-end of the island to meet our ride."

Soon, Adam slowed the ship as they neared the coast, while Alpha checked for signs of any other ships on radar. "Detecting an incoming vessel..."

"That would probably be it," said MoonRazor. "Let's get ready to board."

Adam carefully set the Sky Shark down, where it hovered just above the beach's sandy surface, and the crew prepared to disembark. "C'mon, let's get ready," MoonRazor told SunFlame, who gave a nod as they went to Nytetrayn's bedside to retrieve him. Adam told Alpha to hold down the fort, and followed them.

"It's almost here," MoonRazor told Celeste. "Let's get him ready to go... er, where are the others?"

"Right here," said Steel. "What can we do to help?"

"SunFlame and I can get Nyte, you guys want to get his stuff?"

"I'll gather it," Steel said, as he started to gather up Nyte's armor and belongings. Janine, Magnus, and Adam lent him a hand.

"By the way, I'd like to go with you guys and make sure Nyte's okay," Adam said. "And I have a few questions myself."

Shrugging, SunFlame said, "Sure, whatever."

As the group gathered outside, MoonRazor checked a device on his wrist. "About half an hour should do it... I probably should've been driving that thing instead. Maybe on the way back..."

"Don't you think Nyte's been through enough?" SunFlame replied. "Anyway, we should go get the cycles."

"Oh yeah, you're right." MoonRazor turned to address the rest of the group. "We'll be right back. You guys hang tight, okay?"

"Sure," Adam replied, and off the pair went to tend to their business.

"I must say, this day has had many unexpected turns," Steel said, once the pair was out of earshot.

"No kidding," Adam replied. "I hadn't banked on this."

Celeste didn't pay their conversation any mind, instead clutching at Nytetrayn's hand. "Please... just hang on..."

"At least these two claim to be able to help him," Steel said. "It's a better situation than last night."

"I hope so," said Adam.

"The doctors here can do nothing. Seems this may be our best bet."

"If they can't help him," Magnus said, "then we get to snap their necks and shove their heads up their asses. So if you think about it, it's a win-win situation, really."

"I'm just wondering what their deal is," said Adam. "Why they want Nyte so bad, what the connection between them and Celeste is, and why Nyte can't be scanned by normal scanners..."

"Well, he's mechanical, obviously," said Magnus.

Celeste looked up in surprise. "I... he... huh?"

"It would make sense," said Steel. "Bio-organic."

"Think about it," Magnus said. "Why else would those two be so surprised he was beaten by a human? And to block an x-ray like that, he'd have to be made of something denser than lead, or something."

"That's true," said Adam.

"Yes, your words figure up," said Steel. "However, if that's true... does that make Creed something... worse?"

Adam shook his head. "Creed simply has cybernetic enhancements, like myself. Part human, part machine, and old enough to have considerable tactical knowledge."

"He's a robot," said Magnus. "Something between me and Janine; more humanoid than I am, but not a completely organic construct, as she is."

Celeste looked back at Nyte. "But... why would he not..." she said, sounding hurt, almost betrayed, and not understanding any of this. "Why wouldn't he tell me?"

"He might have been scared that you'd reject him for it," Janine said, a little sadness in her voice.

"I don't think he knew," Adam said. "Or, if he did, he didn't know enough about it to think it was important enough to mention."

Celeste nodded. "I... I guess..."

"Unlikely," said Steel. "Look at the way he fought. With the temperament of one expecting flesh wounds."

Celeste turned back to Nyte, and clutched his hand again. "I wonder if he ever even went to the doctor for his arm..."

"From the way he was avoiding using it the times I saw him, I suspect he did, and met with no results," Steel told her. "And if you doubt him in the least, consider that he likely did not tell you he was harmed out of concern for you. He was worried that you would worry for him."

"That sounds like him," Adam said.

"I... I don't know," Celeste said. "I just don't know... I just want him to be alright..."

"I have a good feeling that these guys can fix him up. Now, where the hell are they?" Steel said.

"Good question," Adam replied.

A moment later, MoonRazor and SunFlame returned aboard a pair of large, hovering motorcycles. Unlike the kind the group was familiar with, these seemed sleeker and more powerful, as well as more futuristic-looking.

"Miss us?" asked MoonRazor.

"Not in that way," said Steel.

"Right..."

"Are you prepped to help him now?"

"Not much we can do for him, ourselves, except take him to where he can be helped."

Soon, a jet-like vehicle could be seen skimming across the water in the distance, approaching at high speeds. "There it is," said SunFlame. Within minutes, the vehicle arrived at the shoreline, and turned to face out towards the ocean, with a rampway opening down the back to the group.

"How many ships do you have?" Steel asked.

"Dunno, never counted," MoonRazor told him. "You guys want to help get Nytetrayn in, while we take care of these? Can't leave any tell-tale traces around."

As Adam helped get Nyte and his stuff on board, Janine asked, "Why the secrecy?"

"Commander's orders," MoonRazor replied, as he and SunFlame got their bikes on board. "We've probably let on more than we should have, just by letting you guys come along."

As they got on board, Steel placed the satchel containing Nyte's GunRobos down, and ventured up to the cockpit, where he was greeted by a surprise. In the pilot's seat sat a blue, humanoid dragon with blonde hair. Standing at full height, he looked like he might be almost two and a half meters tall. "We all set?" asked the pilot.

"What the hell...?" Steel asked. "How many of these guys are there...?"

MoonRazor finished checking, and called out. "We're good, Crossfire. Now, how about you move over, and let me drive?"

"Hah! No way, slick! I'm still not sure I have all my pieces in place from the last time you drove!"

"Eh, spoilsport. Anyway, Cross, let's gun it for base."

"Roger that," Crossfire said, as he accelerated the craft. He kept it low, so it wouldn't be easily seen, though it still kicked some waves up along the way.

Save for Celeste, the others each ventured to the cockpit, once they were satisfied Nytetrayn was secure and as comfortable as he could be. In turn, each was met with the same surprise as Steel. Eventually, Crossfire noticed the stares.

"Er, something wrong? My hair messed up or something?"

After a brief pause, Adam simply said, "No."

Magnus decided to speak up. "...I don't have your model on file."

"Huh," said Crossfire. "Well then, I guess you can log me under 'M' for 'Mechadrake.' What model of Rep are you?"

"'Rep'?" Magnus asked.

"Reploid. That's what you're talking about, isn't it? Man, it's been a while since I've used that term..."

"What the hell is a 'Reploid'?" asked Steel, and Magnus's eyes widened.

MoonRazor drew a finger across his throat at Crossfire. "Ixnay on the eploidRay, rossfireCay..."

"Reploids..." said Magnus. "My god, that type hasn't been built in... in..."

"...oops," said Crossfire.

"Cripes, you're leftovers from BEFORE the Ancients?!"

Steel, Janine, and Adam's eyes all widened like Magnus's.

"'Leftovers'? 'Ancient'?" said SunFlame. "Sheesh, way to make a guy feel old..."

"Then..." Steel said, "that would mean..."

"Ancient is what these people call me," said Magnus.

"Actually," MoonRazor said to SunFlame, "they said we were older than that."

SunFlame paused, then said, "Damn. Just... just damn."

"How the hell have you survived all this time?" Steel asked.

"Guess it might be handy to have them along," said Crossfire. "They seem to know what's gone down since we left."

"Left?" Adam asked.

"Yeah," MoonRazor said. "As far as the other stuff... Well, we'll let the Commander tell you about that. If you're friends of Nytetrayn, then he'll no doubt be interested in meeting you."

Crossfire took a glance back at MoonRazor and SunFlame. "Damn, no wonder they were so surprised by me. Look at you two!"

"Hey, not our fault you didn't cloak yourself," MoonRazor said. "You knew the rules."

"Well, I figured if we were bringing them along, you'd have at least let them in on it."

"Eh, may as well..." said SunFlame.

"Yeah, yeah... I guess so," said MoonRazor. "Hope you guys don't mind if we change right here."

"That's... okay," said Janine.

After a pause, Adam added, "Yeah."

MoonRazor nodded, and he and SunFlame pressed buttons on devices mounted on their wrists. They glowed brightly as their silhouettes changed shape, and where there had once been two rather large humans, there now stood two large, armored, humanoid dragons – MoonRazor silver with pale blonde hair, and SunFlame gold with jet-black hair.

Celeste hadn't been paying much attention. That is, until now, when her eyes widened at the sight of the transformation, much like the others aboard the craft.

"Incredible... Reploids..." said Magnus. "These are like, our ancestors, Jan." She nodded mutely.

MoonRazor and SunFlame stretched their limbs, wings, long necks, and tails a bit. "AAAAH, that feels better," said SunFlame.

"You said it, bro," concurred MoonRazor. Then the two noted the looks they were receiving. "Er, something wrong?" asked MoonRazor.

"What," SunFlame said, "is my gearbox hangin' out?"

Black Steel decided to take a walk to gather all this in, even though he couldn't go very far within the craft.

"No..." said Adam, "it's just, well, we've never seen anything like you guys before..."

"It's a little mind-boggling," Magnus added. "I thought your species had been extinct for over a thousand years..."

MoonRazor walked over to a device on the wall marked "Synthetron." "Still a bit of a ride," he said. "You guys hungry at all?"

Still surprised, Celeste just shook her head.

"No," said Adam. "I think we... we're good. Although, if you have a washroom..."

"Um, a little," said Janine.

"Sure, it's in the back," MoonRazor said, and Adam made a beeline for it, his earlier call of nature now coming back in full force. "So, Jan, what can I get for you?" the silver Mechadrake asked.

"A stiff drink," Janine said. A few button presses and a handoff later, and she slung it down.

"How are you feeling, Celeste?" Steel asked. "Anything we can do for you?"

"Er, no, I'm alright. Thanks..."

Steel patted her on the shoulder, then moved back up to the cockpit, and looked out the window ahead as he spoke. "So, you were part of the old world?"

"Yep," MoonRazor said, as he took a seat. "It's funny, that. We refer to Earth that way all the time... never imagined anyone else would be. Anyone still here, anyway."

Filled with further curiosity, Steel asked, "What was the old world like?"

"It sucked," SunFlame said, as he took up a seat next to MoonRazor. "Next question."

"Was it always so covered in water?" Steel asked. Adam returned from the washroom at that moment, and after hearing the water question, paused for a moment. He was good, so he went ahead and took a seat, now assured that all was well.

"Well, not quite like this. So far as we know, the entire geography of the planet has changed," MoonRazor said. "And our old data is worthless, now," he added, as he tossed a GPS unit aside.

"It's natural for terrain to change over time," Steel said, "and with as old as you all claim to be, I can only imagine how odd this world looks."

"Hey, you said it," said SunFlame. "Reminds me of a bad Kevin Costner movie."

"But I don't understand one thing," Steel continued. "If you are 'ancient' technology, then why is it that your equipment is so much more advanced than our own?"

MoonRazor shrugged. "Got me. Frankly, we shouldn't even be talking about this."

"If it's all the same, we'll let the Commander answer your questions as he sees fit," MoonRazor said. "He's the one who had us come back in the first place." With that, he and SunFlame kicked back, and enjoyed the rest of the ride.

Soon, on the horizon, they could see an island towering over the water, and atop it a large city-like fortress. It had several towers, with a larger central one standing high over the rest, and there were several ramps and bays all over, with what looked like a landing pad up on one of the side towers. On the front of the central tower, above a large symbol that looked like an "A" crossed with a star, sat a smaller symbol – the same as the one Nytetrayn wears.

Crossfire announced to the crew, "Seatbelts, boys and girls. We're going in!"

After the group readied themselves, the cruiser lifted up off the ocean surface, and flew up to the large central ramp, and entered the massive structure through a dark tunnel that was filled with lights which rushed by on either side of the craft. Soon, the vehicle came to a complete stop.

MoonRazor and SunFlame quickly unfastened their straps and headed outside of the craft. MoonRazor told what appeared to be some sort of staff member, "Get Clank out here, on the double. We've got an emergency case for him!" The staff member saluted and rushed off, as they spoke through a communicator.

Adam unbuckled his harness, and went to check on Nyte, only to find Celeste was still by his side, albeit asleep now, with her head resting on him.

Outside of the craft, Janine, Steel, Adam, and Magnus stared all around themselves in awe. Several people of all shapes, sizes, and forms were rushing around the wall-to-wall metal hangar they now found themselves in. Some looked human, others like animals they recognized, and some like creatures they'd never seen before.

"What... is this place?" asked Steel.

"Well, for now, it's home," said MoonRazor.

Soon, a group of what looked like medical officers arrived, and boarded the cruiser. They woke up Celeste, who quickly followed as they rushed Nyte from the ship.

"C'mon, let's go," said MoonRazor, as he went after the medics, the rest following behind. Eventually, they arrived at an internal medical facility. Like the rest of this place, it looked far more advanced than the hospital they'd come from – or any they'd ever seen before, for that matter.

"Alright," MoonRazor told them as they entered. "End of the line, folks. You guys should wait out here while they work on Nytetrayn. In the meantime, we have reports to give."

"Okay," Magnus said, while MoonRazor instructed one of the staff members there to notify them, and more importantly, the Commander, when Nytetrayn had been fixed up.

The waiting room was empty. It would seem that not many people have had need of it as of late. Celeste had a seat, her eyes to the floor, while Janine sat down next to her and hugged her around the shoulders. Celeste leaned on her, not even looking up.

Time passed, with not a word from the medics. Soon, MoonRazor entered again, alone. "Anything yet?"

Steel turned from his place at the window. "Nothing so far." Magnus and Adam shook their heads in the negative, as well.

Just then, someone exited from the back of the facility, into the waiting room.

"Clank, what's the word?" asked MoonRazor.

"The word is 'miracle'," Clank replied.

"Care to elaborate?"

"Sure. It's a miracle he's even lasted this long. His systems have deteriorated badly."

Celeste looked up, distraught, while Janine paled.

Clank continued. "By my estimations, he's been able to run at maybe about 20-25% of his full capacity all this time. If I'm being generous."

"Can you save him?" asked Adam.

"That would be the other part of the 'miracle' bit," Clank told him. "He's held on just well enough that, yes, we can save him, and even bring him back up to full."

Steel smiled to himself. "I knew the bastard was too tough to keel over like that..."

"And as per the Commander's orders, we're seeing a few upgrades to his systems, as well. So yeah, he'll be back, and better than before by the time we're done with him. He's old goods, but still salvageable."

Adam smiled, and patted Celeste on the shoulder reassuringly, while Steel looked in the hopes she was relieved. She smiled a bit, and looked like she might cry, albeit happily this time.

"Now, if you all will excuse me, I have a bit more work to do. I think I may need to call the Commander in on this one... he should know his pet project better than anyone else here, anyway," Clank said, as he returned to the back.

"Pet project?" Janine said.

"Not sure I like the sound of that," Steel noted.

"Um, yeah..." said MoonRazor. "It's not exactly as bad as Clank makes it sound. All he means is that Nytetrayn has a... special significance to the Commander, that's all. Frankly, he's been beating himself up over how things went ever since we left. And trust me, with how long we've been gone? That's a lot of beating..."

"When do we get to meet this 'Commander'?" asked Steel. "I'm curious as to who he is, and what this is all about."

"Soon, I'd imagine. Only seems right that Nytetrayn should get to be there, though. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Yeah," Adam said. Magnus nodded, as did Steel, though he appeared to be more unsettled by this.

"Don't worry, everything will be alright."

"How long will Nyte's... er... repairs... take?" asked Adam.

"Dunno. Hopefully not too much longer..."

Celeste twiddled her thumbs as they sat there and waited.

More time passed. A few hours later, they were all still waiting, when suddenly, Clank walked back out. "This is the part of the job that always gets me..." he said with a sigh.

"What?" asked Adam, as Celeste and MoonRazor looked on intently.

"Right this way," Clank said, as he pressed the door open, and motioned the group through. Celeste went first, the others following, with Janine staying by Steel's side, and MoonRazor bringing up the rear.

As Clank opened another door, he announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, I give you... the new and improved Nytetrayn."

Nytetrayn was laying there on a bed, armored, and only then lifted his head slowly, blinking. "Um, hi... guys?"

Celeste ran up and hugged Nytetrayn tightly. "You're alright..." she said, relieved and crying tears of joy. A little surprised, Nytetrayn returned the gesture.

"You might still be a bit woozy and unsteady, until you get used to yourself again..." Clank said.

"Hey there, sleepy head," said Janine. "You had us worried."

"Really worried," Adam added.

Steel whapped Nytetrayn on the head, eliciting a yelp from Nyte and a soft chuckle from Magnus. "No more running off alone like that!" he said with a look of frustration.

"Geez, go easy on him," said Adam. "It's not like he knew Creed was there..."

Steel smiled, despite the admonishment.

"Yeah, really," Nyte said, before he looked around. "So, um... where are we? And what happened to the others?"

"Others?" Steel asked.

"Blaster, Surefire, Twirl..."

"Ah, those guys." Steel pulled them out of his satchel, and set them on the bed. Nytetrayn frowned at their condition. "They look better off than you did," Steel said, earning a grim chuckle from Nyte.

"Hmm," said Clank, as he looked at the pile of robots before them. "Okay, here's the deal: This has been a pretty boring mission for a guy of my profession since we got here. You guys have things to do, people to see, etcetera, etcetera. Leave these guys here with me, and I'll try and fix them up for you. Good?"

Nyte paused, uncertain about leaving his robots in someone else's hands. Still, if this was the guy who'd helped him, then maybe it would be okay? At the very least, it might be a good show of gratitude. "Well... alright, I guess..."

As he moved to sit up a bit more, he looked down the bed at his feet, and said, "What the...?" His footwear was a bit different than before.

"Oh, don't mind those," Clank said. "Just a little something added while fixing you up. The Commander can tell you more."

"...who we can go to see, as soon as Nytetrayn is feeling ready," MoonRazor said.

Nytetrayn looked at the silver Mechadrake. "I feel like I should be more surprised to see a talking dragon person than I am," he said. "I... can someone fill me in on what's going on?"

Steel proceeded to give Nytetrayn the lowdown. "I see," said the younger Digger.

"And then I hit you like so," Steel said as he raised his arm, but Janine grabbed it. Nyte rubbed his head where he was hit before. "Yeah..."

Celeste asked, "Why didn't you ever tell me you were... you were..."

"I... didn't... I didn't really know..." Nyte said. "I knew something was strange about me... I didn't know what, though. And... I didn't... want to hurt you somehow..." Nyte looked at the group. "I'm... sorry, everyone. I guess I should've been more up-front... with all of you." He looked back at Celeste, and said, "Especially you, Cel... Can you forgive me?"

Celeste hugged Nyte again, and told him reassuringly, "We'll talk about it."

"Don't worry about it, Nyte," said Adam. "You didn't know much about it yourself, as you said."

"No need to apologize," Steel said. "Just glad to have you back in good shape."

"Heh, thanks everyone," Nyte said, as he moved his right arm around a bit and moved his individual fingers. "Man, I forgot how good that can feel."

"Let this be a lesson to you," Janine said, "next time tell us about your problems!"

"Darn right!" Steel added.

"Yeah, you twerp!" Adam said with a big grin.

"Yes, ma'am. Yes, sir. Yes, sir," Nyte said, with lowered eyes.

Magnus shook his head, and said, "I'm just glad you're alright."

"I think everyone will second that, Magnus," Adam said.

"Alright? He should be better than alright, now," said Clank. "He has a working repair system now, for one thing."

"So, what do you guys say?" MoonRazor asked. "We ready?"

Nytetrayn took a deep breath. "I think so..." Celeste nodded.

"Yes," Adam said.

"Very much so," added Steel.

"Let's go for it," Janine said, grabbing Steel's arm.

Nyte got to his feet, his armor shining like new. Steel looked him over. "Looking good, Nyte."

"Heh, thanks," Nyte said, a little embarrassed by the attention.

MoonRazor nodded. "Alright, then. Right this way."

As the others started to move out, Nytetrayn reached over to the table beside the bed, and grabbed his hat and glasses. As he went to put on the latter, he only then realized that he hadn't been wearing them, yet he could still see everything crystal-clear. "Hey, my eyes..." he said.

"Yes, we fixed those up, too," Clank told him, allowing himself a slight grin.

"Guess I won't be needing these any more, then," Nyte said, as he tossed them at a nearby trash receptacle, where they bounced to the floor. He didn't notice, however, as he already moved to catch up with the others.

Celeste, on the other hand, walked over and picked them up. She gave them a look with a slight frown, before putting them away in a pocket and rushing to catch up with the group.

MoonRazor led them out of the infirmary and down some halls. Several others hustled and bustled their way around, not really paying the newcomers any mind. That is, save for the odd lingering glance at Janine, which Steel was quick to deter. They soon arrived at an elevator, and after gathering inside, it began to take them up for quite a distance. To the very top of the central tower, it seemed.

Upon exiting the elevator, they followed MoonRazor to a door, where a large, red Mechadrake stood waiting. He was about the same height as SunFlame, with sandy-blonde hair, pointy sunglasses, and a long, black, sleeveless trench coat. "There you guys are," he said as they approached. "He's been expecting you."

"C'mon, Edge," said MoonRazor. "We're here now. It's all good."

"Another one," Steel said quietly.

Edge nodded, and opened the door. "After you."

MoonRazor nodded back, and led the others inside, with Celeste keeping a close grip on Nytetrayn all the while. Steel followed Janine, absentmindedly playing with her hair, which made her smirk. "Thank you," Adam said as he passed by, with Magnus following.

"Not a problem," Edge replied.

Inside was a black room, with a desk and several nice, cushioned seats placed throughout. Already there were Crossfire, SunFlame, and now Edge and MoonRazor. A very large window is at one wall, though it seems to be keeping some light from entering. Standing next to a doorway in the back of the room was a dark black female Mechadrake. Or perhaps she was gray? It was difficult to tell as she stood in the shadows, as she seemed to practically blend right into them. She was dressed in a manner befitting an ancient Japanese warrior, complete with a long sword strapped to her back, and another shorter blade at her side.

"Please, have a seat," Edge said. Nyte and Celeste took a pair around the middle, while Janine sat next to Steel. Adam took another chair, balancing his sword between his knees, and the Mechadrakes, save for the female and Edge, were seated alongside the desk. Magnus decided to remain standing in the back.

"Now," said Edge, "if you'll all rise..."

Nytetrayn and Celeste looked at each other for a moment, shrugged at the slightly-odd request, and stood in front of their seats. The others did likewise, with the Mechadrakes muttering something as they stood. Among them, one could pick out SunFlame apparently cursing Edge's genitals under his breath.

"I give you..."

The door next to the female Mechadrake opened, and out stepped a large black Mechadrake with a gold underside. He had green eyes, golden blonde hair, wearing armor with a style somewhat befitting of a military commander. His armor was mostly black, with bits of gold, red, green, and white spread throughout. And right in the center of his belt, there sat an insignia: a black dragon head surrounded by a black ring on a gold background – identical to the symbol Nytetrayn wore on his armor.

"Commander Black Draco."

Author Notes: Next time, in this year's finale: Secrets revealed! Nytetrayn finds out where he came from! And we go Beyond 21XX as everyone discovers "The Legacy of Avion"! Coming December 17th, so don't miss it!

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