The Rise of Onyx Read online

  She keeps her breath as steady as she can throughout the long walk, even managing to smile at the familiar faces of the other sorters and record keepers as she goes. The walk itself seems to be two eternities long, and Luna hasn’t been able to decide what’s worse - not seeing him at all or seeing him suffer. Going to visit Onyx is becoming to feel like a rather selfish endeavor, as if seeing him helped her a bit but made the waiting time harder for him. At the moment though, Luna succumbs to her need to see him - she’s half-human, after all.

  ✷✷✷

  “So what do you think about the power source? Any ideas?”

  Evander scratches his head in response to Griffin’s query. As the in-house technology expert, he always feels obliged to know these kinds of things, but time-travel is so far out of his wheelhouse that he’s at a loss about as much as everyone else. And Griffin has been showing signs of prodigy, so as much as it pained Evander to admit, Griffin might just have the upper hand in this matter.

  “Well, it’s going to have to be something that can withstand inter-dimensional travel with a robust docking system to link it both back to us here and the travelers. Speaking of which, who do you think would be the best person to send?”

  Griffin blinks, wondering what Evander is getting at. “I honestly kind of thought it’d be one of us going…”

  Evander stops in his tracks and turns around in the desk chair he’s sitting in. “Excuse me?”

  “Well, Luna certainly is not a good choice, as she’s been through enough already and studies have shown that repeated molecular scrambling can be bad for your health if done too frequently.”

  Evander nods slowly. “That is true. But there are plenty of other sorters who may be able to.”

  “No one else understands all the ramifications of everything the way we do. Also, it’s a pretty sensitive matter, so I doubt Onyx wants just anyone to go poking around in his past.”

  “That is… also true. So, what do you suppose we do?”

  Griffin gulps slowly, wishing that the knot forming in his throat would dissolve faster than it seems to be. “Well, maybe we should just ask him? But it’s probably going to end up being one of us.”

  Evander pauses, and deeply inhales the stale air of the office. “You make some excellent points, Griffin. I’m not thrilled with the idea of risking my life with something as experimental and theoretical as time travel, but I think I’d be willing to do it for my friend.”

  Griffin exhales, relieved that his mentor agrees with him regarding this matter of time travel. “Okay, that’s good to hear. But I suppose we should wait until the machine is finalized - wouldn’t want to get his hopes up in case we can’t actually get it to work.”

  “That is also very true.” Evander gets up from the computer chair and pats him on the back. “I’m very proud of you, Griffin. Your bravery and inventive spirit will take you very far in this life.”

  CHAPTER 4

  From his vantage point on the throne, Onyx can see Luna approaching from the main entrance of the Grand Hall. The long hallway leads straight to him, and he revels in the fact that her slow, metered pacing takes as long as it does, as he loves seeing her in person. Also, the added motion her approach brings is a welcome respite from the bland environment lacking in any kind of visual interest. He sits up a little from his previously reclined posture, and can’t fight even the tired smile spreading over his weary face.

  “Hello, Onyx.” Luna’s small voice reverberates through the large room - the acoustics of the Grand Hall are, well, grand.

  “Hello, Luna. How are things beyond these hallowed halls?” His query about the world outside the building he is imprisoned in serves as yet another reminder how dire his circumstance is.

  “Fine, I suppose. It’s hard, to be without you. But I’m okay, mostly.” She smiles at him as she settles on the padded chair that Brielle had recently brought for her to sit on while visiting Onyx. “Your eyes… they’re kind of… glowing.”

  Onyx nods. “I know, it’s a side effect of the current. My hair is glowing a bit too. That’s what Evander told me, anyway.”

  “Does it hurt?”

  Onyx sighs. “No, the glowing is painless. Can’t say the same about the rest of me though. No one ever tells you how painful it is to sit for so long.”

  Luna nods slowly, and then crosses her legs and leans back in her own chair at the base of the tall throne. Looking up at Onyx, she can feel his essence and life force floating around her, but it is practically treacherous to be unable to physically hold him the way she used to.

  “But Evander and Griffin are on it. I trust that their theory will work and they’ll get what they need to set me free from this pod-forsaken chair.”

  “Is it going to bother you, though?”

  “Is what going to bother me?”

  “Having Evander and Griffin go digging through your past?”

  Onyx pauses to consider her question, and then opens his mouth before abruptly shutting it again. He rests his chin in the palm of his hand. When he finally does speak, the answer surprises her.

  “No, not at all, really.”

  “Really?”

  “Really. In fact, they’re doing me an incredible favor. Without them, I literally would never get off this chair. They’re giving me hope. They’re giving us hope.”

  Luna nods. “Right, but, it’s a little odd, still. I mean, they’re going to see… your mother. Even you’ve never seen your mother.”

  “Well, that’s not entirely true…”

  Luna’s jaw drops open. “Huh?”

  “Yes, it’s true.” Onyx pauses to let her take it all in. “When I first found out about myself - and about you - I did a little digging. Deep in the record keeping files, Evander keeps tabs on everything. Of course, it required more clearance than he had, but being the amazing technological expert that he is, he hacked into it and let me see at least what she looked like. She even has my eyes.”

  “Wow, that is… incredible. How did you, feel about that?”

  Onyx smiles to himself, with a bit of sadness pricking him at the edges of his mouth. “Well, I was mostly just intrigued. And a bit sad, of course. Given the circumstances. And then I was a bit angry, and well, you surely must understand…”

  Luna nods. “That’s the thing with you and I - we understand each other, better than anyone else, because we have the ability to feel.”

  ✷✷✷

  “Griffin, I’ve figured out the power source that we need for the machine.”

  Griffin pauses his work on his tablet to turn around and face Evander. “Oh really? I hope it’s nothing too difficult to obtain…”

  Evander sighs. “it’s uranium.”

  “What?”

  “Yeah, it’s a chemical compound found on Earth that, unbeknownst to humanoids, actually has the power to bend time and alternate universes. It’s commonly used thematically in their recreational entertainment films, but it actually does what they portray it as. On an unrelated note, they also use it in nuclear warfare, but that’s a story for another day.”

  Griffin rests his head on his desk for a moment. He’s been up working for hours, with very little to no rest. “Okay, so how do we get it?”

  Evander sighs. “I’m still working that part out. The difficult thing about it, is that it exists only in small quantities on Earth - and it’s so rare that most of the existing quantities are kept under lock and key.”

  “Okay, so what does that mean for us, exactly?” Griffin begins nervously tapping his fingers on his desk, clearly wanting Evander to get to the point and to stop dancing around it.

  “We’re going to have to travel to Earth…”

  “Yeah, and then what?”

  “We’ll have to go to a lab and steal it.”

  CHAPTER 5

  Luna leaves the Grand Hall the way she always does after a visit with Onyx - happy to have had some tie with him, but quite dejected and frustrated that he’s still stuck there against his wi
ll. The whole thing had gotten so messy - and fixing it was even more unwieldy.

  “Hello, Luna. How are you holding up?”

  Luna turns mid-stride to see Vidia, another sorter, catch up with her. “Oh, you know, business as usual. I was just visiting Onyx and…”

  “Oh my pod I can only imagine how difficult that must have been for you! I mean, it has been a difficult time for you, overall.”

  “It really has been, yes. But now I was just about to get back to work so…”

  “I mean you two are so perfect for each other. At least, I think so. I don’t feel emotions the way you two do, of course. You’re a special pair indeed.” Vidia glosses over Luna’s attempt to make a hasty getaway with a sassy smirk and a friendly wink. It’s not that Luna dislikes Vidia - rather, she just gets tired of being reminded about Onyx every second of every waking moment. She is tortured enough from her own psyche and its accompanying emotions, that any external reminders from others, while well-meaning, can feel excessive and potentially make things worse.

  “Yes, he really is wonderful. Now, I’m just going to head back to work so I’ll see you later?” Luna forces the words out in a hurry to keep Vidia from interrupting her again.

  “Oh, for sure! Perhaps we can meet after your shift?”

  Luna tries her best to hide the pained expression threatening to spread across her face. After finishing her shift, she was planning to just curl up and cry for a while in her pod - that is, until Vidia mentioned other plans.

  “Today isn’t the best day for that. I really just need some time to process everything. I hope you’ll understand.”

  “Oh you don’t understand it yet? Let me explain! So Onyx is stuck on the throne because-”

  “Vidia!” Luna puts a hand up to stop her from rehashing what she’s been trying to forget. “I’m clear on what happened. I just mean I’m emotionally spent and need some time to work through that.”

  Vidia’s lips make a rounded “o” shape, and then she politely nods and walks past her to wherever she was going. Luna exhales a breath she didn’t even realize she was holding. The thing about having emotions in a place where the vast majority of beings do not, is that explaining yourself and your unique needs to them is difficult and sometimes impossible - because they simply do not have the capacity to relate. But Luna comforts herself with the knowledge that this is only temporary - an impermanent state of affairs that will dissipate once Onyx is freed. That’s what she hopes, anyway.

  ✷✷✷

  “What do you mean we have to steal it?” Griffin’s eyes go wide at Evander’s brash suggestion.

  “I mean, we’re going to go to Earth, enter a lab containing uranium, and bring back enough of it to power the time machine.”

  “You sound insane.”

  Evander opens his mouth, and then closes it to avoid snapping back at the words of his younger protegé. “Well, do you have any better ideas? We have someone stuck on a chair whose morale is rapidly weakening. We gotta get him off that chair. Luna is a mess too, you know. I don’t understand these emotions, but anyone can see she’s in pain.”

  Griffin dejectedly nods, likely a bit embarrassed at his own outburst. “I know, it’s just… we don’t usually resort to thievery. It’s not ideal.”

  “That is true - especially when it’s the inter-dimensional kind which is especially frowned-upon. But we are fresh out of options at the moment. I’d suggest you ready yourself to go to Earth. I’ve reserved the transport room for us shortly.”

  Griffin exhales sharply and shrugs. “Okay, I guess that’s that then. You’re coming with me though, right?”

  Evander nods. “Of course. I wouldn’t send you there alone - at least not yet.”

  That last part of the sentence leaves Griffin with many unanswered questions, but he comforts himself with the overarching thought that Evander is only looking out for his best interest - even if it doesn’t make sense upon first glance.

  “Evander, where exactly, will you be taking us on Earth? Is there a specific lab you had in mind?”

  Evander smiles at Griffin’s simplistic question. “Absolutely, yes. I have done some research and found a lab with the lowest security measures.”

  “Oh good - so we don’t have to worry about sneaking in and taking it?”

  Evander rolls his eyes. “There is still going to be security measures in place, just less than other labs, in comparison. I’m bringing a small canister that will be safe to store it in. And as long as I place the canister in the pocket of my jumpsuit, it will come with us in between dimensions.”

  “Well, this is quite a bit over my head, but I trust you, Evander. I’ll meet you at the transport room shortly.”

  CHAPTER 6

  Luna finishes her shift in the Sorting Room for the day, and makes her way back to her pod after clocking out. The hazy, purple environment of the Upperworld seems to swirl around her as she walks, the tepid temperature strangely comforting and soothing to her frazzled nerves. She’s starving for affection, and no one here can provide that for her as they simply just don’t understand how she feels, because they’re numb. Hopelessly numb, all of them.

  Except for Onyx, that is. Just her luck that the only one who can understand her in this realm is imprisoned by his prestige. And they both need each other - desperately. Being alone is breaking them, both physically and emotionally.

  Evander and Griffin are going to fix this. I trust them completely. They’ll do whatever it takes to get him away from that wretched chair.

  Luna hugs one of her throw pillows to her chest as she sinks into her plush bed. She already took a small nap earlier, but another certainly couldn’t hurt. She watches the Upperworld beings go by through the window of her pod as even sleep abandons her.

  Is it better to be completely numb, like the others? Or should I be glad I can feel? Right now it seems like a disadvantage to need things the way I do. I bet Onyx can relate to that. I hate that he is stuck there. It’s just completely and totally unfair. Onyx has done so much for everyone, and yet this was still asked of him. I don’t regret that he saved everyone, I just wish it didn’t have to be him that did the saving.

  The troublesome thoughts continue to swirl around her head, and without the energy to fight them, Luna leaves them be. It’s unnecessarily difficult and complicated to fight a war within yourself. And it’s extra difficult when you’re the only one fighting it.

  ✷✷✷

  Griffin blinks rapidly as his own body reassembles itself, piece by piece, in the middle of a grassy field hidden by the underbrush. He sits up, and takes in the unique surroundings of what he is realizing is Earth.

  “Evander? Are you here?” He looks around for his companion, and finds him sitting just a few feet away from him on the grass.

  “I’m right here, don’t worry.” Evander also seems to be reacting to the differing atmospheric pressure, as he too is struggling to get up from his seated posture.

  “Why is it harder to move?” Griffin groans as he slowly finds his way onto his feet, but grabs hold of a nearby tree trunk for support.

  “There is a lot more gravitational pull in this dimension - more than what we are used to, especially on this planet. At least, that’s what my research suggested. I’m not an expert on Earth life the way Onyx is - I didn’t have to study it as in-depth as he did.”

  Griffin nods, and starts to steady himself on his feet without support. “Okay, so where is this lab we’re getting the uranium from?”

  Evander steps closer to him and lowers his voice. “Should be near here, I’m tracking the location on my embedded device. Speaking of which, our bodies will expel our devices if we remain here for more than twenty-four Earth hours, so we’ve got to get in, and get right out.”

  “Expel it? Why?”

  “It’s a safety feature - in rare cases, when an Upperworld being ends up staying on Earth permanently, getting rid of the technology is important as to not raise suspicions. That is, unless you’d pref
er to become a glorified lab rat.”

  “What?”

  Evander sighs. “Don’t worry about it. Let’s just go - we have plenty of time but we must stay on schedule.”

  The two walk in silence for a few moments until Griffin speaks up. “So, where are we, anyway?”

  Evander pauses to take in the unique scenery of the blue atmosphere and the green foliage. “We’re in New Mexico, a portion of the United States of America.”

  Griffin nods, even though that answer doesn’t totally give him much insight into anything useful. “Okay. So, what’s the plan?”

  Evander nods his head in the direction of the large building they are approaching. “I have arranged for us to be let through the main entrance by my Upperworld contact. His name is Ronald Emerson, and he’ll get us through the first layer of security. After that, we are unfortunately, on our own.

  Griffin gulps slowly, readying himself for the task at hand. “Okay, so I guess I’ll just follow your lead then.”

  “Sounds good.”

  The two make their way toward the entrance of the building, under a pristinely-power washed outdoor sign emblazoned with the words “McGill Labs”. The green and beige elements of the logo seem to imply that the inner workings of that organization is relatively natural and good for the planet, which seems quite ironic, as it’s likely not.

  “Ready for this? You’re going to have to move fast, and move accurately. Follow my directions exactly, and do not hesitate. Do not look back. Understand me?” Evander looks at Griffin with a steely sort of focus and desperation.

  “I understand. Let’s do this.”

  CHAPTER 7

  Luna awakens from her slumber with the door to her pod beeping. Clearly, someone wants to come in. She gets up, and shuffles directly to the door.