Ch. 1 A Death in The Family

"This sucks," Aria muttered, taking a long swig of water as she leaned against the ancient ruin walls. 

"No offense Evergreen, but why are we crawling through caves like this is the 2000's?" Jack Jenson, Aria's assistant and best friend, asked as he slid down the wall in exhaustion. "If my ancestors could see me now…"

"Quit crying Jenson, the academy was kind enough to give us a few weeks ahead of the excavation team, I wanna see if we can find it…" Aria said, putting away her canteen and continuing to walk forward. 

"Yeah yeah, the nexus? Has it occurred to you that it's almost certainly a myth?" Jack said, watching as Aria continued. "I'll just catch up to you!" He said with a wave of his hand, "Yep I'll be right behind you," he finished with a yawn as he leaned back and closed his eyes.

"Hey Qece, remind me to put in the paperwork for a better assistant when we get back," Aria said bitterly as a hologram popped up in front of her. 

"Sure thing Aria!" It said with a smile. "Reminder set for proximity: Thorne Academy. Time set, 16:25."

"Miss Evergreen, your heart rate is exceedingly high, shall I pump a dose of adrenaline into your system for support?" Another hologram said as it popped up.

"Leave her alone Sarah! She needs me, not you!" Qece said, sticking her tongue out at the other hologram as Sarah rolled her eyes.

"Please Qece, you're being immature in front of Miss Evergreen."

"Both of you, quiet," Aria said, feeling vibrations at her feet. 

"Jenson," She said in the comms, feeling the vibration strengthen. 

"What?" Jack commed back, his tone clearly annoyed. "Wait… what's that?" 

"You feel it too?"

"Holy fuck!" Jack yelled before the comms cut out. 

"Miss evergreen your heart rate is extremely-"

"Shut up Sarah!"

Aria's heart pounded in her chest as she sprinted back through the dimly lit cave. The echo of her footsteps seemed to mock her growing unease. The once-familiar surroundings now felt alien, shadows dancing ominously on the ancient walls.

"Jenson?" she called out, her voice echoing through the cavernous space. The only response was the eerie silence, broken only by the distant drip of water.

Her comms remained silent. "Jenson!" Aria yelled again, frustration and concern etched across her face. She halted, scanning the dimly lit passage for any sign of her assistant. The air felt charged with an unspoken tension.

Qece's holographic figure materialized beside her. "Aria, Sarah was right, your heart rate is still elevated. I strongly recommend a moment of rest to-"

"No time for that, Qece. We've lost contact with Jack. I need your assistance to locate him."

"Of course, Aria. Initiating a scan for Jack's life signal monitor," Qece responded, her holographic form displaying a series of calculations in the air

As Aria waited anxiously, the holographic image of Sarah flickered into view. "Miss Evergreen, I understand the urgency, but please consider your well-being. It's essential to-"

Aria cut her off, frustration evident in her voice. "Not now, Sarah. Help Qece find Jack."

The holograms worked in tandem, scanning the cave's intricate passages for any trace of Jack's communicator signal. Aria's anxiety grew with each passing second.

"Miss Evergreen…" Sarah said a few minutes later as Aria nervously tapped her fingers against her thigh. 

"Have you found him?" She asked, her voice sounding as if it was about to break.

"No, but I believe I have found the location of The Celestial Nexus."

Aria's heart skipped a beat. She clenched her fists before sighing. "Keep searching for Jack's life signals… But lead me to The Nexus."

Sarah displayed the map of the ruins, highlighting a path with a glowing blue dot at the end. As Aria followed the path, thinking about Jack's safety, Qece spoke up.

"Aria, there is… Something in the area. It is almost like magic but it doesn't have the same wavelength at all." 

"What do you mean?" Aria asked her, getting closer and closer to the end of the map.

"Can you not feel it? Your sensors are being blocked by this strange energy… It is possible Jack may have triggered something having to do with the nexus? I recommend not continuing forward, the cells in your body have begun duplicating at an alarming rate."

"If Jack is there then I have to continue," Aria said stubbornly as she ignored the life alarms in her head, blaring like the emergency siren of Etheridge.

Aria began to feel her body weighing down on her, making each step harder before she finally saw a huge glowing gold door. 

"We have reached The Celestial Nexus," Sarah said as Aria breathed heavily, pushing the large door with all her might as light shone on her face. "Jenson?" 

"Jenson!!"

***

"Jenson!" 

Orion groggily awoke to the loud echo of his name repeating throughout the lecture hall. Blinking away sleep, he found Professor Sterling's face dangerously close to his own. The cybernetic eyeball in his left socket flickered with a red light and sparked, giving the impression that it might pop out at any moment.

"Do you come to class just to sleep?" Professor Sterling's voice cut through the post-nap haze, and the irritation in his tone was apparent.

Orion, never one to let an opportunity for humor slip by, shrugged. "Eh, not really, Professor. I also come here because Ash shows a lot of cleavage," he quipped, earning a few scattered laughs from his classmates.

Professor Sterling's expression soured even further. "Hahaha… Very funny, Mr. Jenson. Do you know what else is funny?" He asked as his frown morphed into a large smile. "Your failing grade."

The laughter in the lecture hall intensified as Professor Sterling continued to chuckle, reveling in his own joke. Orion, however, looked at him with a blank expression, seemingly unfazed by the professor's attempt to mock him.

The professor, still in the heat of laughter, limped back to the front of the lecture hall. "Class dismissed," he announced between laughs, though the amusement in the room remained tinged with tension.

As the students began to pack up, Orion shot a mischievous grin at Ash, who was sitting a few rows away. The playful banter between them was a common occurrence, and the light-hearted exchange had become a familiar routine in Professor Sterling's lectures.

However, just as the atmosphere began to lighten, Professor Sterling added a peculiar twist to the dismissal. "And Ash, please wear less revealing clothing. We already have cyber monkeys on campus. It'd be a shame if Orion had to join them because his brain receptors were fried by… 'Cleavage' ". 

The room fell into a momentary hush, a mix of awkward silence and stifled laughter. Orion raised an eyebrow, feigning innocence, while Ash rolled her eyes with a playful smirk.

Orion rolled his eyes and left the classroom, tapping away on his Horizon.

"Hey O," A voice said behind him as he scrolled through Thinstachat. 

"Sup Ash, what's new with you?" He asked as the pretty redhead with cybernetic legs walked alongside him. "Besides the Professor's slut shaming."

"Nothing much," She replied quickly, smiling as she grabbed onto his hand and pressed her boobs into his arm. "Of course… We can try something new?" She asked suggestively, smiling at him as he liked a post.

"Uh huh… I'm free right now if you want," Orion answered, his eyes glowing, a tattooed rune on his bottom wrist glowed as well and a moment later, a hoverbike materialized in front of him. 

Ash giggled as she hopped on the back. Orion jumped on the bike and his eyes glowed again, with this the bike began to hover and they were off.

As soon as Orion landed on his patio he pushed Ash into the wall, capturing her lips as she melted into the kiss.

"You know you don't need to sexualize me in class to get sex right?" She whispered as he slowly unbuttoned the rest of her shirt. 

"Yeah, but it's more fun when I act like an asshole and still get what I want."

Ash moaned softly as he kissed her again, the lights built into her cybernetic legs flashing a violent shade of red.

De doop 

"Ahem… Mister Jenson, as important as it is to let your hormones run wild, I'm afraid there is some bad news regarding your brother and his trip."

Orion rolled his eyes, holding Ash by the neck as he kissed down to her chest. 

"Who cares, Quill? Jack only went to get out of dad's visit, he deserves the failure," He said, taking one of Ash's nipples into his mouth as she moaned, her hands running through his silver hair.

"No Mister Jenson, your brother's life signals have gone offline, I'm afraid he is dead."

Orion paused, looking at Quill for the first time during this conversation. 

"What… What did you just say?"

…

"We're sorry sir, but your son's life receptors seem to be offline and unfortunately while offline they're untraceable."

The news hit Howard Jenson like a tidal wave, and his anger surged as he grabbed the robot cop by its shoulders. "What do you mean untraceable?! He's had a horizon implant since he was 4, how is he suddenly untraceable!" Howard said, his voice cracking at the end.

"Dad!" The sharp call sliced through the tense atmosphere. Orion descended from the hovering clouds, landing his sleek hoverbike with a soft hum. He swiftly dematerialized it, running over to Howard.

"Is it true? What happened to Jack?" Orion's voice quivered with a vulnerability rarely seen. His face, typically adorned with a smirk, was now pale, reflecting the gravity of the situation.

Howard turned to face his son, his eyes betraying the weight of the devastating news. "They say his life signals were lost during his expedition… It looks like he's gone, son," Howard confessed, his voice heavy with grief.

Orion's reaction was unexpected. Instead of a torrent of emotion, his face remained eerily blank. "I- Yeah, I see… Well, that's that, I suppose," he muttered, his gaze returning to it's normal state.

Without another word, Orion turned away and rematerialized his hoverbike. The cold response sent shivers down Howard's spine. He tried to reach out, to stop his son from physically and emotionally disappearing into the sky.

"Orion, wait!" Howard's plea hung in the air, but Orion was already bursting into the sky, leaving the ground far below. The whir of the hoverbike's propulsion system echoed the hollow pit in Howard's stomach.

As Orion soared through the skies, the landscape below blurred into a mosaic of colors. The wind whipped against his face, but he felt nothing. The weight of Jack's disappearance pressed upon him, a heavy burden that threatened to consume him. The skies, once a playground of freedom and joy, now seemed vast and empty.

Orion's mind raced, grappling with the sudden absence of his brother. Jack had always been there, a constant in Orion's life. Orion didn't cry, but he felt his hands trembling.

Amid his flight, Orion's communication device beeped. He hesitated before answering, his voice clipped and emotionless. "What do you want, Qece?" He asked as the female Ai appeared before him. 

"Orion? How strange... I can't seem to find Aria's chip. But connecting to yours, I should say that you shouldn't worry about your brother or Aria. There might be a chance he's still alive, Aria would never leave him alone," Qece's soothing, synthetic voice offered.

Orion's grip on the hoverbike's handles tightened. "Don't bother, Qece. If he's truly gone, no amount of searching will change that... Also, Aria's missing as well?"

"I never said she was missing... But yes."

Qece, ever analytical, detected the emotional turbulence in Orion's voice. "However, Processing grief is a complex task. If you need assistance or someone to talk to—"

"I don't need your help, Qece," Orion interrupted, his tone cutting through the digital interface as he forcefully shut off the Ai, too annoyed to wonder about Aria Evergreen's disappearance. 

'Chances are she's dead too...'

As Orion returned to his apartment he walked in calmly and plopped down on his bed.

"So what was it? Was it just a mistake or is he really…" Ash said as Orion gave her a look, confirming what she thought.

"Oh Orion, I'm so sorry!" She said, bursting into tears and hugging him close as he nodded. 

"Yeah… But hey, shit happens," He muttered, yawning as he pulled out his phone.

"Scholar Aria Evergreen and Technomancer Jack Jenson have been reported missing and presumed dead. For more information please revisit us tomorrow for the full story!" A beautiful woman said on the newscast, smiling brightly as she said so.

"Orion, just turn that off, it's not healthy to look at that stuff when you're grieving," Ash said, trying to grab his phone. Orion shook his head, rolling his eyes as he held it out of her reach.

"Ash, do you mind leaving?" He asked nonchalantly, holding her wrist as she looked at him in concern. 

"A-Are you sure you wanna be alone?" She asked him. Orion nodded and she quickly left, closing the door softly as the newscast continued. 

"Hah… From the death of my brother to the next miss Etheridge… Guess that's the news huh?" He said softly as he sat up.

Boom!

A robot in the side of his room exploded, shrapnel flying everywhere and cutting his face. Black blood dripped down his cheek.

Instead of healing he let it flow, dropping onto his hand as he opened his mouth again. "Sorry Jack… Guess this is the closest you'll get to tears from anyone…"

Orion laid back down, closing his eyes.

"Orion," His brother's voice called out. 

"Orion!"