Legends of the Halcyon Era

Episode 69 - The Avion Adventure: Return to Terra

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Previously, in Legends of the Halcyon Era...

After a near-fatal encounter with the Air Pirate, Trevor Creed, the Digger Nytetrayn was left in critical condition until he was found by a pair of strangers with ties to his past. MoonRazor and SunFlame brought him back to their base of operations, where he met Black Draco – his creator, and Supreme Commander of the planet Avion, a world settled by humans and Reploids who'd left Earth aboard a space colony millennia ago.

At his invitation, Nytetrayn and the group returned with them to Avion, where Celeste had an opportunity to regain her lost memories, but refused. Black Steel did not, however, and was driven to try to become stronger in anticipation of a quest for revenge upon his return home to Terra – a quest which nearly cost him Janine in the process.

Adam sparked a relationship with an Avion native and ex-Maverick Hunter named Katrina, Nytetrayn was trained in his new abilities and bonded with his creator, several of them investigated ruins guarded by strange creatures, and Celeste discovered more about herself and her namesake, inspiring her to do more as part of the group.

Now, the time is fast approaching when they will return to their world. But first, a visit with Black Draco saw him request that they keep Avion's existence a secret, to which they readily agreed. In addition, Katrina volunteered to join the group as an Intelligence Officer for Avion.

A few days have passed since Black Draco made his request to the travellers from Terra. That evening, he would go on to broadcast to the denizens of Avion what was known about the status of their former home, and how they would proceed as a result.

What was made abundantly clear was that the world they left behind, as they knew it, no longer existed. With society beginning anew, it was decided that it would be best to leave that world to discover itself and grow to such a point that they might be ready to learn of this one's existence.

The time for the Terrans to return home with the second Avion expedition to their world was fast approaching, and some of them have seen fit to make sure any business they have left on this world was well taken care of.

For Nytetrayn's part, he has received word that the ship in which he awoke underground, the Dragon Star, had finally been restored to a condition that was suitable for going inside and looking around.

"You think we should check it out?" Celeste asked, as Nytetrayn relayed the news to her, Fenix, MegaMan Magnus, and Janine, as they sat around in the familiar lobby of the hotel they'd stayed in since their arrival.

"Yeah, I think I'd like to," Nyte said. "It'd be nice to be able to see the place with more than just dimmed, flickering emergency lights."

"Hell yeah!" Fenix said enthusiastically. "There's no way I could pass up the chance to meet Nyte's mom."

"Hey!" Nyte said, looking mildly offended.

Fenix chuckled, while Janine simply gave Nyte a pat on the head.

"Yeah? Well, try and screw her, and you'll probably get electrocuted." Nyte said, as he relaxed a little.

At that point, Adam walked in. As usual, he was dressed in his Digging gear, complete with flame-decoed black leather jacket and the sunglasses he never took off. Katrina followed soon after, while Katrina was decked out in a t-shirt and jeans.

"Oh, hey Adam," said Nyte. "Haven't seen you around lately. We were just getting ready to check out the Dragon Star. Wanna come with?"

"Is that your new ship?" asked Adam, who seemed a little checked-out. "Yeah, sounds good. I could use a break, anyway."

"He's been helping me get everything ready," Katrina explained cheerfully.

"Actually, it'd be my old ship... well, not really my old ship, but..." Nyte started to explain, before Fenix cut him off by saying "Awwwww, how sweet! CoughWHIPPEDcough..."

"Say, where's Steel?" Nyte asked. "I wonder if we should wait for him."

"I don't know," said Janine. "He said he has something to do before we leave, something about 'saying good-bye'?"

"He'll see it eventually," Adam said, still distractedly. "Since it's coming with us and all."

As Nytetrayn rose from his seat and offered a hand to Celeste to assist her up, he replied "Actually, it's not."

Adam looked at the young Digger inquisitively.

"Why would we take the old ship they dug up with us?"

Adam blinked for a moment. "Oh. Yeah, right. Sorry, guess I'm more tired than I thought, things aren't working right upstairs – shut up, Blade."

"Are you sure you wouldn't rather get some sleep instead?" Celeste asked.

"No, no, I'll be fine. I'll just grab a coffee. That'll perk me right up."

"Maybe I can introduce you to the special 'E' blend," Katrina said.

The group started to head out, and heard someone calling out behind them. "Hey, wait for us!"

The three GunRobos – Whirl, Blaster, and Surefire – quickly scrambled across the lobby to catch up to the group.

"Yo, we want in, too," said Blaster.

"Yeah, the hotel's nice and all, but we could do with a change of scenery," said Whirl.

"Wait, you mean you three stayed in your room the entire time?" said Nyte.

"Absolutely," said Whirl.

"You got it," said Blaster.

"Wait, what about the time we –" Surefire started to say, prompting the other two to glare at him. "I mean, yeah. Four walls, one roof. Total dullsville. Yessirree."

The group looked at Surefire, who whistled innocently, then Nyte waved it off. "Sure. The more the merrier. Let's get to it!"

The group head outside, with Janine playing with Magnus's tail all the while, with the Annihilator Unit developing a twitch as she did so.

Thanks to some arrangements made earlier, the group was able to get a limo ride to the site of where the ship was being set. As Nyte explained, it was apparently going to be converted into some sort of museum.

Inside the limo, Janine snuggled up on the other side of Celeste from Nyte, which caused her to tense up a little, and Magnus snuggled up next to Fenix, who smacked him upside the head. Katrina looked out the window, taking in the sights of Avion City for what might be the last time for a while.

"Ah, this is the life," Nyte said, as he stretched out and relaxed a little. "Well, for the next day or so, anyway."

"So, Jan," Fenix said. "How's business back home been since I left?"

"Oh, I shut the camera off. The bubble bath tapes weren't doing nearly the numbers of the ones of Nyte without a shirt on."

Katrina raised an eyebrow. "That doesn't seem feasible."

"Wait, you mean you turned my entire racket gay?!"

"Don't be ridiculous! The ladies are all over it, too!"

Stunned, Nyte wasn't sure what to say. Nor did Celeste, though she wasn't sure she approved.

Eventually, Nyte told Fenix, "You, sir, are a sick man."

"I don't recall ever denying those charges, your honor."

To Jan, he said, "And dammit, if you're going to sell tapes of me, then how about at least giving me a cut?"

"Au contraire," she said. "I used half the profits to bolster Celeste's lingerie collection."

"...that explains why you bought that outfit for me," Celeste said quietly.

"I thought that would be more than adequate remuneration for services rendered," Janine said with a wink and a smile.

After a moment of awkward silence, Fenix broke it by asking Janine, "Think that's long enough?"

"It'll do."

"You're right, teasing them is still fun."

"Toldja."

"For real, though, the tape of that time you let your mechanical hand loose via remote is still doing numbers. Go figure."

"Ah, a classic of cinema. A good time was had by all."

"Oh hey, lookit that," Nyte said. "I think we're here."

In the distance, the group could see what was actually a rather massive ship – certainly larger than any of them imagined it would be, though at the same time, not nearly as gargantuan as the one which delivered them to Avion. Still, it was pretty considerable in size, especially compared to a lot of airships back on Terra.

It stood around six stories tall, and sported a black and gold color scheme, albeit one that still looked a bit dusty and dirty. If they didn't know what they were looking at, one could easily mistake it for an old building, or perhaps even an above-ground ruin.

As the group looked on at it through the vehicle's windows, Fenix simply let out an "Oooh, pretty."

"Nice paintjob," Magnus added.

Celeste turned back to look at Nyte. "You came from that?"

He nodded. "I guess so. I never got a good look at it from the outside before. Or the inside, for that matter."

Katrina remained quiet as she stared at the ship, appearing lost in thought as she fidgeted with a lock of her hair.

Soon, they pulled up near the ship itself, and the Dragon Knights were already there. The Terrans exited the limo and took in the sight, with MegaMan Magnus hovering around and getting a better look from above. Janine almost instinctively tried to follow Magnus, but remembered just before stumbling slightly, and followed the others while grumbling.

"Man, it's been a while," said the red Mechadrake, Edge, his hand shielding his shaded eyes from the sun as he looked up at the towering craft.

"Yeah, times have really changed," replied his younger brother, the blue-hued Crossfire.

"Hey, here come the others," MoonRazor said, before waving over to them. "Hi, guys!"

Nyte replied to the silver Mechadrake. "Heya, MoonRazor. What's up?"

MoonRazor pointed up at the hull of the ship. "That."

"Man, it's almost funny now to think of how we used to live in this thing," said MoonRazor's golden older brother, SunFlame. "Well, I dunno about you guys, but I'm goin' inside to look around."

The others agreed, following SunFlame's lead as he ventured in through the loading bay of the ship.

"Say, where's the Commander?" Celeste asked. "Wasn't this his ship?"

"He's already inside with Shuri, looking around," Edge told her.

As they walked through the slightly-musty loading bay of the ship, they saw what looked like a comparatively small one-man – or, perhaps in this case, one Mechadrake – fighter craft of some kind, along with a small tank as well.

"The Dragon Wing and the Landwyrm... man, remember how many Mavericks we busted up with these back in the day?" SunFlame asked as he patted the side of the tank.

"Yeah," MoonRazor said, as he moved his hand across the nose of the fighter. "The newer versions were good and had some neat new features, but there's nothing quite like the originals."

The group continued to make their way up and through the craft, seeing various features and functions of the ship, including the shuttle hangar, med bay, crew's quarters, engine room, training room with a holographic SimuDeck, the bridge, and of course, the chamber in which Nytetrayn had awakened.

The young Digger quietly looked at the spot where the capsule that once held him for thousands of years now lay, glass still scattered around within a now roped-off area.

"...you okay?" Celeste asked him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Yes. No. I... I don't know. This is all just kind of weird," Nytetrayn said. "I thought I moved on. I never thought I would ever be here again, to see... this." After a pause, he added "It's like... this is where I was born."

A voice from behind the group said, "We haven't decided what to do here yet." Turning, they saw Commander Black Draco standing there, with Shuri nearby. "I... felt like your coming online was as much a part of this ship's history as anything we ever did with it," he continued. "I was hoping to find a way to respect that."

Nyte felt a weight placed upon his existence that he didn't expect, and replied with the only thought he had that seemed appropriate. "That's heavy."

Black Draco nodded. "If you have any input you'd like to offer..."

"Oh, well..." Nyte began, as he turned to look at the shattered tube again. "I'm... not sure how much attention I want to put on that, you know? But I guess it's okay... though you might want to clean the glass up a bit, if not repair the capsule. Maybe put outlines on the floor if you think that part's important?"

Black Draco nodded again. "Understood. I'll pass those ideas along, and I'll be sure to cancel the reenactment ceremony."

As he turned to walk away from the gawping Nytetrayn, Shuri caught a small smirk on the commander's face. "You really shouldn't do that," she told him in a hushed whisper, though she had to fight back the urge to grin herself.

Once Nyte recomposed himself, he quickly darted out of the room after them. "Wait, what reenactment ceremony?!" his voice echoed down the ship's corridor, as the others followed, amused.

***

Elsewhere, in a flowery field far outside of Avion City, Sophie stood, looking almost like a spectre in the height of the daylight. Black Steel approached her, as he had a number of times prior to this.

"So," she said, her back to her visitor. "You prepare to depart."

Steel nodded. Though she didn't seem able to see him, she seemed to follow his response just the same.

"I am happy for you. You have overcome yourself. For now, you have chosen the path of the light, and preserved yourself from the dark fate that could have ended you."

Steel wasn't sure how to respond to that, but she relieved him of the burden by continuing. "The struggle remains there, though I see a bright ending for it, and that makes what I am to do next that much easier."

"Are you going to teach me your techniques?" Steel asked, trying not to sound too eager.

Sophie turned to face her pupil. "My dear, young Steel... to do that would take almost a century. Such is beyond your lifespan."

"But you learned it in your lifetime, why would you expect less of me?"

Sophie smiled kindly. "Because your lifetime doesn't span hundreds of years. And mine..."

Steel looked on in disbelief. Granted, he already knew some of the Avions, those who were Reploids and maybe some others, had been around for thousands of years. But Sophie...?

"My time is at an end," she continued. "I am moments away from the end of my life cycle, Steel. My destiny was foretold more than two thousand of your years ago. As was my fated meeting with a brash idiot of a boy who has the audacity to think he can achieve in mere hours what took a Xar her entire life to achieve."

Steel stared on, slackjawed in disbelief and confusion. Was she joking with him, with that odd sense of humor she possessed? Or maybe...

"Ultimately, the decision you have made – whether to turn over to your anger, or to come to your senses has held the final sway over the circumstances of my death. Had you chosen the darkness, my energy would have faded from being, and my purpose in this universe would have been all but nullified.

"But you did not fail yourself. As such, my existence continues through you.

"Now, awaken from your shock and hear me, Steel, for I have precious little time to say what must be said. You are to become what is known as the Carrier. You will take within yourself the essence that is of my people, for you are suitable to contain it. But you cannot utilize it; the power of the Xar will live in you as it has many others throughout countless histories. In your lifetime, you shall come in contact with another. Whether you know it or not, when the time comes, that person shall be the Wielder, the next bearer of the power of the Xar.

"I am sure you are filled with many questions. The Xar strength is not within your grasp right now, and my time is nigh."

Steel finally found the words, as only he could. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

As she towered over Steel, Sophie smiled again. Her body seemed to be fading, becoming translucent as she reached out and put an arm around his neck. She leaned down and brought her face near his. Steel tried to step back, but found his body was no longer willing to do what he told it to.

Whispering in his ear, her words echoed through his very soul. "Goodbye, Steel. When you awaken, you will find in your hand the tool of the Carrier – the weapon I grant to you, as it has been granted to the many in the past. Use it to keep your path true, and to find the Wielder. Fulfill the next link in the path of the Xar."

With that, Sophie then pressed her lips to Steel's. His eyes widened in shock, and he tried to pry free, but once more found his body unresponsive as a jolt suddenly flowed through him, while his consciousness left him.

Sophie lowered Steel's limp form gently down to the ground in the field of strange and beautiful flowers, as she faded from this world, her long life now having reached the end of its journey. She could now rest, knowing that the next link in the chain had been added as her energy joined with it, and the legacy she carried had now been passed on to the next in line.

Steel snapped back into consciousness sometime later, his sense of time restored by the position of the sun. As he checked the wristcom he'd been given by the Avions, he found that only several minutes had passed.

"What the hell... did I take too hard a hit?"

As Steel moved to sit up, he felt something odd in his other hand. He looked down to find something that looked like the hilt of a sword sitting there, engraved with alien sigils. He'd never seen these symbols before, and yet, they flickered through his mind with a sense of recognition as he read them aloud.

"...Soul... Sabre...?"

Shakily, he got to his feet, and held the artifact before him, only to be taken completely off-guard when a beam of white light emerged from its hilt. "Wha – an energy blade?" he asked himself. "No, not an energy blade... not like the ones I've used. There's something... odd... about it."

Questions began to flood Steel's mind, but he shook them away. "I'm getting the hell outta here."

As he tried to find a way to turn the blade off, it retreated back into the hilt just as quickly as it had emerged, as if by his own will.

"I have a bad feeling about this," he said as he began to slowly walk back toward the city, his mind reeling from the last few minutes that were now swirling in his mind. He spent the entire trip back in the same state of confusion, before finally arriving and seeking out the others.

***

Several hours later, Nytetrayn, Celeste, and the GunRobos had their things ready at the hotel lobby, and were awaiting the others. Surefire was wearing an inner-tube, floral button-up shirt, sunglasses, and a large straw hat from who only knew where.

As they were trying to explain that at the very least, he wouldn't be needing the inner-tube, Adam soon joined them, clad in his normal attire of black leather jacket with flame deco over his Digger armor.

"Ready to go home?" he asked, after giving the GunRobo a sideways glance.

"Yep, ready as ever," Nytetrayn said. "Feels sorta weird to be going back, though."

They were soon joined by Black Steel, with Janine hot on his heels as she ran her hands through his now-silver hair. "This is nuts!" she said. "It isn't dyed, so how did you do this? Hair doesn't just change color spontaneously!"

"Mine did," MegaMan Magnus offered with a raised finger.

"You bleached yours!" Janine shot back.

Magnus just sighed, as a handful of his own hair fell out.

"For the last time, I did not bleach it!" Steel said.

"Not you!" Janine said. "But that just raises further questions!"

"So, what did happen?" Celeste asked.

"I don't know! It turned up like that after I said goodbye to Sophie. And for the record, I don't like her manner of saying farewell, either." Under his breath, he added "I feel like a variant action figure."

"Her 'manner'?" Janine asked.

"Uh, yeah. Most people don't die as a way of saying goodbye."

"...die?" Nytetrayn asked.

"Eep," said Celeste. "We just talked to her. That's... disturbing."

"Let's just get back to Terra, alright?" Steel said.

Nyte nodded. "Sure thing."

As Fenix patted Steel on the shoulder, Magnus continued to pick a bit of bright red paint from his armor. He'd managed to get it changed back to its more subdued normal colors, but his hair would have to remain blonde until it grew back out... assuming it lasted that long, as it was already starting to look a little thin.

"I see I'm not the only one with an image change," Steel dryly noted.

"And yet, no hot ladies are running their fingers through my hair," the Annihilator Unit lamented.

"Because you're dumb as a mule, and twice as ugly," said Fenix.

Steel had opened his mouth, ready to unleash a barrage of mean-spirited barbs, but closed it with the satisfaction that Fenix had already done the job admirably enough for his liking.

"Those are some big stones you're throwing in that glass house, masked man."

As Fenix and Magnus took Steel's mind off of things with their exchange of barbs volleyed at each other, Adam meanwhile seemed more contemplative – and more alone than the others were used to seeing him almost since they got here.

"Where's Katrina?" Nyte asked him, snapping him out of his spell. "Isn't she coming with?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, she said she'd meet up with us on the ship later. She had to go deal with bring her equipment along and making sure it doesn't get damaged."

"Ah, okay. Looks like our ride is here, so let's get moving, shall we?" With that, Nyte picked up his and Celeste's stuff, and went to load it into the transport, with the others following in turn.

Meanwhile, Fenix poked Magnus's chestplate. "Hey, why is there a seam here?"

"Oh, looks like it's not closed right. One second..." Magnus fiddled with his breastplate, causing it to pop open and unleash a mechanical tentacle, which bopped Fenix upside his helmeted head before Magnus could recall it back to its compartment.

"You did that on purpose!" Fenix said.

"Did you like it?"

"...I don't want to answer that."

Nearby, Celeste looked on before entering the vehicle, and was just glad it wasn't her in their way this time.

As Steel entered, a thought crossed his mind. "Is SunFlame gonna be on the return trip?" he asked Nyte.

"I think so. I think most of the crew from before are going."

Once the others secured their things, the group departed for the ship that would carry them back to Terra.

***

During the days-long trip, the Terrans once again looked on in awe at the universe as they passed by planets, stars, and systems. When not stargazing, they each passed the time in various ways.

Among them, Black Steel continued his training with SunFlame and Katrina. This time, though, he made sure not to do it to the exclusion of everything else.

Celeste browsed some books and souvenirs she'd acquired about her namesake, trying (and occasionally failing) to resist devouring them all before they'd arrived back home. She also asked the Dragon Knights a bit about her.

At one point, the Commander invited their guests to another, less-formal dinner with the Knights.

"I know our last attempt could have ended on a better note," Black Draco said as they gathered. "I hope that this one will help make up for it."

The Terrans happily agreed, and as they took their seats, staff from the ship's galley brought a variety of dishes to get them started.

Nytetrayn took one peculiar-looking bowl, and inspected it from various angles. "What's this?"

"It's called 'poutine'," Edge replied. "A Canadian delicacy, from the same place that birthed the Mechadrakes. Fries topped with cheese curds, with hot gravy poured over the whole lot."

"What's a 'Canadian'?"

"Oh, right... you don't have those where you're from anymore. Well, we'll tell you later. Anyway, just give it a try."

Nyte raised an eyebrow, and stabbed into the mass with a fork, and pulled a chunk upwards, the gooey cheese stretching seemingly without end. He pulled it closer, and sniffed at it a little. Fenix got a strange sense of déjà vu as he watched Nyte pore over the steaming forkful of food.

Finally, Nyte opened his mouth and shoved the culinary chimera in. After a moment of chewing, Nyte's eyes widened, and he gulped it down, licking his smiling lips.

Edge chuckled, and said to Black Draco "I think he likes it." As he turned back to Nyte, his eyes widened behind his glasses before he lifted them to see Nyte wiping gravy from his mouth before an empty bowl, to say nothing of the incredulous stares of the other diners gathered there.

"There'll be seconds, right?" Nyte asked.

***

Beyond the reaches of the atmosphere, the starship known as the Dragon Nova made its final approach towards the planet once known as Earth. As it made its descent, the Terrans were able to start to make out the islands and land masses which dotted their world, a world covered in endless water.

"Finally," said Adam. "If I had to hear Fenix and Nytetrayn sing 'Space Adventure! It's an adventure in space!' one more time, I'd kill them both.

"Only if you beat me to it," MegaMan Magnus said in an exasperated tone.

"It's kinda catchy," Celeste admitted, "but you'd think whoever wrote it would have come up with a song that has more than seven words."

"They did," Fenix corrected her.

"We just forgot the rest," Nytetrayn added.

The ship soon arrived back at the desolate island where it had been stationed once before, and converted to its base mode, coming in for a relatively gentle landing for a craft of its size.

"I suppose it's time for you to see the new ship," Black Draco told Nytetrayn and the others.

The group of Avion Dragon Knights and Terran Diggers, minus Katrina, ventured off to the hangar, where they were greeted by a primarily black and gold-colored craft. It stood a few stories or so tall, and resembled typical Terran airships in some ways, while in others, it seemed like it might be a little sleeker, perhaps even a little more high-tech, but nothing that would draw undue attention.

Adam let out a whistle upon seeing it, and the others murmured among themselves as they were impressed by the site.

"Finally, we got us some wheels! Er, wings!" Fenix said.

"I thought you said you were going to go back to hunting down and beating dead your deadbeat dad," Magnus said.

Fenix looked at Magnus, then at the ship, then back at Magnus. "I hate you so much right now."

"This is a refurbished and customized Avion cargo ship, model RD3-WHN. It contains several facilities, including crew quarters – enough for everyone here, if need be. The armaments aren't many, but effective, and we've made sure to reinforce the hull with quality armor. It's even been equipped to adapt hydrogen for fuel, or to use your world's refractors."

"What kind of armaments?" Adam asked.

"Converted asteroid blasters," Black Draco told him. "We didn't want it to appear conspicuous, so we used what knowledge we have of state-of-the-art Terran weaponry for the modifications... with the option for a little extra kick, should the need arise."

"Wow," Nyte said. "What's it called?"

"That is for you to decide."

Janine looked maybe a little too happy at the potential for blowing things up, as she grinned from ear to ear. Steel wasn't sure if he should be happy for her, or afraid for everyone else. Looking to change the subject, he asked "How long will you be remaining on Terra, Commander?"

"We're looking at a few days, to maybe a week, tops."

Steel sighed. "Guess it's time to get on with things, anyway."

"Hey, Nyte," said Fenix. "If you've never even seen this thing before, how are you going to know how to fly it?"

"Simulators," the young Digger answered.

"The GunRobos know about the features of the ship as well," Black Draco noted. "You should also be well-equipped with any necessary charts and maps, thanks to a cross-referencing of the surveys we took the last time we were here with local atlases and resources."

"Good," Nyte said. "Maybe it'll make tracking down that prick, Trevor Creed, a little easier."

"Yeah!" said Fenix. "We're coming to collect back-payment on child support, with interest! And the currency we're accepting is his ass!"

The group collectively stared in Fenix's direction.

"I thought you just wanted to kill him?" Magnus said.

"Are you sure your prior function wasn't a 'Party Pooper Unit'? Because you're taking all the fun out of my life."

"Yes, but only because I've decided that's my new function now."

Steel wandered over to SunFlame. "So, uh... I guess this is it for now, huh?"

"Guess so, though frankly, I'd like to see if Nytetrayn has what it takes to handle the guy who messed him up," the gold Mechadrake replied, punctuating the statement with a punch into his open palm.

Upon overhearing that, Nyte replied "I can handle him," with steely determination.

"I'm sure he does," Steel said. "He's in much better shape now than he was before. But are you planning a return trip, 'Flame?"

"Maybe. This thing isn't suited to a lot of long, frequent trips like this one. Too much energy and such."

"Oh, yeah," Steel said, sounding less than enthused.

"Still, I hear they're looking into making some smaller craft that can better handle the voyage, so don't count it out yet."

Steel smiled at this.

"By the way," SunFlame continued, receiving an inquisitive look from the Digger. "Do yourself a favor: Don't let whatever revenge you're after take control of you, alright? Take it from one who knows, you can lose a lot more than you gain that way."

"Don't worry, got that taken care of," Steel assured him. "I understand. And... thanks."

SunFlame nodded. "No prob. Good training with you. And one more thing..." The gold Dragon Knight removed the sleeveless muscle shirt that was draped over his armor to reveal some ugly-looking bruises around his midsection, which resulted from his past sparring matches with Steel. "You're stronger than you know. Trust me on that."

Steel's eyes widened in disbelief. "Holy – uh, right."

As SunFlame replaced the garment, he caught his brother, MoonRazor looking on. "What? What're you lookin' at?"

"Nothing!" the silver Mechadrake replied, stifling a snicker.

Katrina, who'd been absent from the group, snuck up behind Adam and clasped his shoulders with her hands. Rather than the scared jump she'd hoped for, he just turned and said "There you are. Where have you been?"

"Aw, you're no fun," she pouted.

Changing the subject, Adam turned his attention back to Nytetrayn. "Any luck on a name yet?"

"Well, remember when you thought the other ship was the one coming back with us?"

Adam rubbed the back of his head, a little embarrassed at having that brought up again. "Yeah?"

"Well, it got me to thinking... maybe I'll call it the 'Dragon Star II'."

"After the other ship?" Celeste asked.

"Yeah," Nyte said. "Seems kind of fitting, in a way. The Dragon Star was where I started this whole journey, and this is where I'll get to continue it."

"That is kinda nice," she said.

Following some discussion among themselves, the Dragon Knights turned back to face the group. "So," Black Draco said, "you have business to take care of?"

Nytetrayn nodded.

"Mind if we come with?" MoonRazor asked.

"Yeah, we want to make sure everything is running smoothly," Crossfire added.

"We'll radio for a pickup when we get there," Edge said.

"Sure, I'm game," Nyte said, as he looked to his Terran colleagues, who concurred. "Alright, then. Let's head out! Next stop, Monroe Island!"

"Ol' Monroe Island!" said Fenix. "Good ol' Monroe Island, yessir! Good ol' Monroe Island..." He then sighed. "How I hate that place."

Nytetrayn, Celeste, and everyone else who was returning from Avion and staying loaded their luggage and things onto the ship. Thanks to being a former cargo ship, it had a handy loading bay and cargo hold for everyone to drop their things off for the time being, until they could get better situated later.

"Hey Jan, you've never actually seen the inside of my ship," Steel said. "Would you come back with me first? I'm gonna fly over to be closer to you guys, but I'd just as soon not make the trip alone."

"Sure! Sounds like fun!" she said, subtly flicking her tongue at his earlobe for punctuation while no one was looking – not that it would have necessarily stopped her.

"Great!" Steel said cheerfully, while Janine wondered if maybe her reply was too subtle.

Katrina was fixated on the view outside of the ship, as she looked on in awe of how much Terra had changed since the last time they'd been there.

The Dragon Star II flew along at a swift cruising speed, and the group would soon be back home in Monroe.

However, what awaits them upon their arrival will be anything but welcoming...

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