Settling Down

In this Our World story, our heroes from New Babylon finally have some time to relax.

This is a transcript from Discord.

## Story

```
Welcome back to Our World. Today we're going back to January 28th again, but this time, we'll be focusing on a completely different group of birds! We open inside the fabled Brandon's Burgers, an oft-referenced diner in downtown Golden City. Named after a certain GLACIA General Conley, this diner was opened in 1989 by General Conley's father, who has since gone to open several other establishments all over the Twin Cities.

Citizen:
"Welcome to Brandon's! We'll be with you folks in just a second!" *He says to the colorful entourage that follows Calias the Phoenix into the diner.*

Calias:
"Well, guys, this is it! Brandon's Burgers! Squeakers can't stop singing this place's praises, so I've been waiting to try it out."

Selphius:
"So this is a diner... It is almost like the one from that movie we watched the other night."

Calias:
"They usually all follow a similar aesteht... aste... They all look the same."

Nicholas:
"Not bad. Smells just like I always imagined."

Venice:
"People are staring at us..."

Nicholas:
"They're probably staring at me. Not used to seeing Babylonians and all that jazz."

Venice:
"Or maybe they're staring at Calias? He is well-known among the people of Mobius. Or so he says..."

Calias:
"Er... Relatively."

Burger Man:
*The owner of the restaurant, Mr. Conley, better known as "The Burger Man", comes out from the kitchen.* "So great to have you all! You must be Calias the Phoenix, right? My son has told me stories about you."

Calias:
"Um... Yeah? That's me. What kind of stories have you heard?!?"

Burger Man:
"Most recently? About your efforts with New Babylon and... Eggman..."

Calias:
"Oh good..."

Burger Man:
"Yes, so I must say, on behalf of everyone here, thank you. You and your friends eat on the house today."

Calias:
"H-huh? Thanks, sir! That's really cool of you!"

Burger Man:
"Don't mention it, hero!"

Venice:
*Nudges Nick.* "See? He *is* well-known."

Nicholas:
"I guess so, huh."

Before long, the four birds have sat down at a booth.

Selphius:
"It's quite fortunate that we all had some time off today. Things have been... hectic lately, to say the least."

Calias:
*Sighs deeply.* "You can say that again..."

Venice:
"Oh, that's right! You've been dealing with other... equally important things this past week, haven't you, Calias?"

Calias:
"Well, let's see... Nihil and me met with the president, we declared New Babylon a sovereign nation, and we helped relocate a lot of the Cryptids... Then I was dragged back to GLACIA, 'cause we've been preparing for a total restructure of the Burning Rangers... Just... So much stuff..."

Selphius:
"Not to mention what happened with... What was her name?"

Calias:
"...Star?"

Selphius:
"Yes, her."

Calias:
"I'd really rather not talk about that..."

Selphius:
"Sorry."

Calias:
"It's fine. Don't let me dampen the mood. We're here to celebrate!"

Venice:
"Yes! Celebrations are in order!'

Citizen:
*The waiter interrupts the conversation.* "Afternoon, guys! What can we get you to drink?"

Nicholas:
"MY TIME HAS COME!"

Citizen:
*Backs up from Nick.*

Nicholas:
"Good sir. I will have... a Chaos Cola."

Selphius:
"Make that two."

Venice:
"Three!"

Calias:
"..." (I don't want to break the streak, but I really want a Dr. Salty...)
"...Make it four."

Citizen:
"Easy enough! Thanks! I'll be right back out with your drinks!"
*The waiter leaves.*

Venice:
"Where was I before he came?"

Calias:
"Celebrations?"

Venice:
"Oh! Right! First, we must celebrate the renewal of New Babylon and a new beginning for our people!"

Nicholas:
"...Then we can celebrate me getting some proper vacation time for once in my life!"

Calias:
"And we can't forget about Selphie's promotion! Ain't that right, Miss Captain of the Guard?"

Selphius:
"It is simply a title. Nothing more, nor less. I have no more authority than any of the other Babylon Guardians."

Calias:
"Still, Nihil trusts you enough to make you the captain. That's awesome!"

Nicholas:
"Speaking of His Majesty. He's been doing a surprisingly great job for having no formal training. Almost like he was born for this."

Venice:
"He was born for it, wasn't he?"

Selphius:
"Technically speaking. If you ignore the fact that he is not Adonis's biological son."

Nicholas:
"Still, he was the Queen's kid. That counts for something."

Selphius:
"True. And I would serve our current King to my last breath. It's the least I can do to repay his... and Calias's efforts."

Calias:
"Aw, stop it! You all did just as much to help out as we did."

Selphius:
"Yes. Still... I owe you two. And you even more since you have been allowing my father and I to stay with you."

Calias:
"You kidding? It's been a blast having you guys around! I don't think I've seen Dr. Dad as happy as he's been this past week, having your dad around to bounce techie ideas and stuff off of."

Venice:
"On the topic of lodging, it seems many Babylonians have chosen to move away from New Babylon in order to explore Mobius. There are plenty of vacancies for all of the displaced Cryptids now."

Calias:
"Nice! Everything seems to be working out great!"

Citizen:
*The waiter returns with the four Chaos Colas. He slides them across the table to each of the birds.* "Is everyone ready to order?"

Selphius:
*The other three turn their gazes to Calias.*

Calias:
"...Why are you all looking at me like that?"

Selphius:
"What are we supposed to order?"

Calias:
"I don't know?! What do you want? Did you guys even look at your menus?!"

Nicholas:
"I did. I'll have a number seven, triple. Then double the triple. Mega size the fries and add a number eight, no pickles. Thanks!"

Calias:
"..."

Nicholas:
"Hey, the guy did say it was on the house!"

Calias:
"...I'll have the double cheeseburger special. The other two will have the same thing.'

Citizen:
"Alrighty! Those'll be out shortly!" *The waiter returns to the kitchen.*

Nicholas:
*Grabs a straw, unwraps it and slams it into his drink.* "Okay... Moment of truth..."

Calias:
*Everyone watches Nick intently...*

Nicholas:
*With a bit of hesitation, Nick slowly takes a sip of the fabled Chaos Cola...*
"..."
*He takes another sip...*

Calias:
"...What do you think, Nick?"

Nicholas:
"..."
*He takes another sip...*

Calias:
"Is... it everything you hoped it'd be?"

Nicholas:
"..."
"I will say one thing... It is not what I was expecting... It is good... but I don't know how to describe it."

Selphius:
*Selphius and Venice both grab their drinks, with mediocre reactions.* "It is alright..."

Calias:
"But hey... Don't ever say Calias the Phoenix doesn't keep a promise, right?"

Nicholas:
"You're right about that. I'll get back to you on my opinion later."

Soon, the food arrives, and the birds begin chowing down.

Selphius:
*Has already finished.* "Your friend was not lying. These cheeseburgers are amazing."

Calias:
*Is not even halfway done.* "Heh... Yeah, Squeakers has pretty good taste."

Venice:
*Eating slowly, as if something is on his mind.* "Calias... I've been meaning to ask you about something."

Calias:
"Yeah? What's up?"

Venice:
"About your battle with Eggman. Alongside Sonic the Hedgehog, you fought his friends, correct?"

Calias:
"Yeah?" *He takes another bite.* "Wha bout it?"

Venice:
"...'A war among the friends turned foes will turn to make the new bonds sown'..."

Selphius:
"Ancestor's prophecy... You remembered it, Ven?"

Venice:
"I did... And another of the other things he said has also come to pass... 'The Great City will come down and take its place in its rightful ground.' That is most definitely speaking of New Babylon being returned to its original launch site..."

Calias:
"So? You thinking the rest of the prophecy might come true?"

Venice:
"I would bet on it..."

Nicholas:
"So then... What's next up?"

Venice:
"'The Lonesome Soul'... and something about a 'Blood Moon'..."

Calias:
"The Lonesome Soul? Why can't prophecies ever be straightforward?!"

Nicholas:
"I wouldn't worry too much about something that may or may not happen. It's not healthy."

Selphius:
"Nicholas is right. Although these things most likely will come to pass, we must not fret about them too much..."

Calias:
"Okay.. And when something does happen, we'll be ready."

Venice:
"I may start looking into some of the things in this prophecy. I am finding myself very intrigued by it."

Nicholas:
"..."
"Guys... I think I've finalized my opinion on Chaos Cola."
"..."
"It's good. But not 'defy the monarchy to help a rebellion' good. You guys are lucky."

Calias:
"..."

Selphius:
"..."

Venice:
"..."

Nicholas:
"...I'm messing with you guys! It's great! And I couldn't be happier with the outcome of this whole mess. Thanks for everything, seriously."

Calias:
"No problem, Nick." *Calias sits back, sighing with relief...* (I'm glad we can have moments like this... Makes me wonder how long this peace is gonna last...)

DANGIT, HE JINXED US... Becaaaaaause! Later that night, high in the sky...
[an image of a *very* red moon]
WHY MOON RED?! What's gonna happen next?! Will the prophecy come true?! Guess we'll find out soon enough.

```

## Characters

*In order of appearance:*

* Calias the Phoenix
* Selphius the Caladrius
* Nicholas the Watcher
* Venice the Thunderbird
* Mr. "Burger Man" Conley