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When Omega came downstairs that morning, she was surprised to see only Hunter there. The tracker was in the kitchen, a red apron pulled over his leisure clothes, and even if Omega couldn’t see what he was doing, she could smell it.
“Yay, pancakes!” She exclaimed, leaping over the last few steps and bounding to the table.
“Good morning Omega, did you sleep well?” Hunter asked, turning his head to flash her a smile.
“Perfectly!” The girl replied, jumping up to sit on the counter, swinging her legs in the air.
“The pancakes are almost ready, go and sit at the table.” Hunter said, nodding to said table.
“But you’re not at the table.” Omega pouted.
“I’m coming with the pancakes.” Hunter appeased her, cutting the fire under the frying pan, taking out the last pancakes.
Omega agreed to jump off the counter and sit down at the table.
“Do you have any plans for today?” Hunter asked, serving pancakes to his younger/older sister.
“Lyana wanted to take me to see the monument at the top of the island. Can I go?”
Hunter didn’t answer immediately, pondering. The monument Omega was talking about was at the very top of the island, but as it was regularly visited by the inhabitants, a well-maintained path led up to it. So, there was no significant danger on the way. But Hunter always had trouble letting Omega out of his sight for any length of time.
Omega knew that, and she understood her brother’s concerns, but she really wanted to go with Lyana. And if she knew Hunter’s hesitations, she also knew his weakness.
“Pleaaaaaaase?” She asked with her best Tooka-kit eyes.
And as she’d expected, Hunter cracked in less than 30 seconds. “All right, you can go. But you give me an update every 30 minutes and I want your location activated at all times.”
“I promise! You’re the best.” Omega smiled, then stuffed an entire pancake into her mouth.
“Slow down or you’ll choke.” The tracker laughed softly, amused by his sister’s enthusiasm.
“Yes, Mum.” The girl responded, rolling her eyes.
Hunter chuckled and ruffled her hair.
“Where are the others anyway?” Omega asked a few minutes and many pancakes later.
“Wrecker is training on the beach and Crosshair and Echo have gone to the market.”
“What about Tech?”
Hunter opened his mouth to answer, only to realize he had no idea. “That’s… a very good question.” He frowned. “Tech, status.” He asked in his comm.
“Alive, breathing and safe.” Came the short answer.
It was Tech’s voice, but it was the tone he used when he was so focused on something that he was barely aware of what was going on around him.
“Okay, stay safe.” Hunter simply said before cutting the line, knowing that there was no point in trying to reach Tech by comm. Then he sighed. “Looks like I’ll have to go fetch your brother. He must have found something that interested him.” He said to Omega.
“When was the last time you saw him?”
“Must have been yesterday after lunch. He said he was going out to see something and I haven’t seen him since.” Hunter confessed, feeling a little ashamed that he didn’t know where his brother was.
“Tech disappears like that a lot these days.” Omega soothed him. “Maybe he found a plant he was interested in. Or maybe he’s just fed up with people.” She added with a shrug.
“Well, in any case, I’ll go Tech hunting.” Hunter said as he stood up.
“Wait, isn’t this morning you’re supposed to call Rex with Echo to organize the next intervention?” Omega reminded him.
A glance at the calendar hanging next to the fridge confirmed this information and Hunter sighed, conflicted.
“Stay here.” Omega suggested. “You never know how long it’ll take to find Tech, and I know this meeting is important. I’ll go and get him.”
“I thought you wanted to go and see the monument at the top of the island with Lyana.”
“My brothers come before this kind of outing, and Lyana knows it perfectly well.” Omega assured. “And I can take her with me. She knows this island like the back of her hand, so she might have some idea of where he is.”
Hunter hesitated less than a minute before agreeing. “Okay. But you’re careful and if you have any problems, call us. And let me know how your search is going. I want a message every 30 minutes and you-”
“I keep my location active at all times.” Omega finished, already knowing what her brother wanted to say. “I promise.”
Hunter sighed but didn’t add anything to that. “Go on, get ready.” He said instead.
Omega nodded and rose from the table, putting her plate and cutlery in the sink before disappearing upstairs.
Hunter rose in turn and, before putting away the remaining pancakes and tending to the kitchen, decided to prepare a bag for Omega to take to Tech.
When he disappeared like that, Tech forgot everything that was going on around him, meaning he also forgot to eat, drink and so on. So, it was a good idea to pack a small bag with everything you needed when you went Tech hunting.
When Omega came back down ten minutes later, Hunter had packed a bottle of water, a box of pancakes, a spare T-shirt, some painkillers and a collapsible cane. “Here, take this with you, it might come in handy.”
“Got it. See you later with Tech.”
“Stay safe!”
“Will do!” Omega shouted as she ran out of the house.
Omega first took the road into town to pick up Lyana. And she hadn’t gone 100 meters when she came face to face with Crosshair, stopping urgently to avoid colliding with him.
“Whoa, easy kid.” The sniper said, grabbing Omega by the shoulders to prevent her from crashing to the ground.
“Hi!” Omega exclaimed with a big smile as she straightened up.
“Where are you running to?” Echo asked, right behind Crosshair.
“I’m going Tech hunting. He hasn’t been home since yesterday after lunch and Hunter doesn’t know where he is. He called him and Tech said he was fine and safe, but in that voice he has when he’s so focused on what he’s doing that he forgets everything around him. Hunter wanted to go and get him but since you and he have an important call with Rex, I’m going with Lyana. Since she knows the island like the back of her hand, she might have some ideas of where he is.”
“I’m sure she will. Well then, we won’t keep you any longer.” Echo said, moving out of the way.
“You send a message-” Crosshair began.
“Every 30 minutes, and I keep my location on at all times, I promise!” Omega finished, resuming her run.
Before Crosshair could reply, Omega had already disappeared around the bend in the path.
Crosshair looked back at Echo and saw his smirk. “Not a word.” He muttered as he set off again.
“Oh, come on, you’re cute when you’re worried about her.” The cyborg teased.
Crosshair didn’t answer right away.
“Do you think we’re overdoing it?” He asked after a moment.
“Hm?” Echo asked, having lost the thread of the discussion.
“With Omega.” Crosshair clarified. “Do you think we’re being too overprotective of her?”
“Honestly, no. Given everything that’s happened in the last few years, I don’t think you’re overreacting or being overprotective of her.” Echo replied simply but honestly.
Crosshair didn’t reply and they continued on their way home in quiet silence.
Omega, for her part, had continued to run to the village after passing her brothers. Arriving at their rendezvous point, she found Lyana sitting against a tree, reading a book.
“Lyana!” She called as she approached her friend.
“Hi Omega!” The other girl replied, standing up and putting her book in her little bag. “Ready for our adventure?”
“Speaking of that, I’ve had a slight change of plans. I don’t know where my brother is, so I’ve got to go and find him, and I thought-”
“What? Your brother’s missing?” Lyana interrupted. “Which one? What’s happened to him? We’ve got to tell my dad!”
“What? No, no, everything’s fine!” The blonde girl hastened to reassure her friend. “It’s Tech. Sometimes when he finds something interesting, he completely forgets what’s going on around him. I know he’s still on Pabu, that he’s fine and safe, I just don’t know where he is. That’s what I’ve got to find him. And I thought we could do that this morning instead of going to see the monument at the top of the island.”
“Oh, I see. Well then, let’s not waste any time. How long has your brother been missing?”
“The last time Hunter saw him was yesterday after lunch.”
“Okay. And did he say what he was going to do?”
“Just that he was going to see a thing.”
“And what do your brother like? Do you know if he’s more into getting lost people watching or getting stuck in front of a leaf for 10 hours?”
“More the leaf. I think he mentioned a cave a few days ago?” Omega wondered, remembering that.
“In that case, we’ll start by searching the beaches and cliffs. There are quite a few caves that have formed in the mountain with all sorts of strange animals and plants in them. Maybe something has piqued his curiosity.” Lyana suggested as she set off towards the path leading to the nearest beach.
“Sounds like an idea.” Omega agreed, following her friend.
The two girls made their way down to the beach and then began searching every crevice and cave they could find, saying hello to the locals they came across.
Of course, 30 minutes after leaving the house, Omega didn’t forget to send a comm to say that all was well and that she was still searching, accompanied by Lyana.
The two friends also took advantage of this search to chat about anything and everything, as they would have done if they’d gone to see the monument at the top of the island. Lyana recounted anecdotes about Pabu and Omega with her brothers.
In the end, it took Omega and Lyana almost 3 hours to find Tech.
It was while venturing into yet another cave that Lyana spotted him, leaning over a peculiar pool.
“Omega, I’ve found your brother!” She called towards the other side of the cave, where Omega was looking.
“Finally.” Omega sighed as she joined her friend, who pointed at the man.
And indeed, Tech was there, sitting beside a small pond, his datapad clutched in his hands, tapping furiously away.
“Tech!” Omega called, without much hope.
And as she’d expected, there was no response from the clone. “He can’t hear a thing when he’s like this.” She sighed, going deeper in the cave. “You can go home if you want, Lyana, I’ll take care of him.”
Lyana was about to refuse, but her comm rang. “It’s my father.” She said to Omega before answering. “Yes, Dad?”
“Hi, sweetie. Where are you? I thought you were going to show Omega the monument at the top of the island this morning, but no one saw you up there and it’s almost time to eat.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize it was that late. I actually went Tech hunting with Omega this morning!”
“Tech hunting?” Shep repeated, bewildered. “Tech Batcher?”
“Himself. He’d been missing since yesterday afternoon, so we went looking for him. But it’s okay, we found him!” She added quickly so her father wouldn’t worry.
“… You’ll have to explain a bit more than that.”
“I’m coming home anyway, Omega can look after Tech on her own and if need be, she’ll call the others.” Lyana said, seeing the gestures her friend was making to encourage her to go.
“All right, see you in a minute.” Shep agreed, hanging up.
“You sure it’s all right?” Lyana asked one more time.
“Yes, don’t worry. Go home or your father will worry.”
“Okay. See you tomorrow, Omega!”
“See you!”
With Lyana gone, Omega turned her attention back to Tech, who hadn’t moved an inch during the entire exchange between the two girls.
“Tech!” Omega tried again.
No response. Omega sent a quick comm to her other brothers to let them know she’d found Tech, and then moved forward into the cavern, careful where she stepped.
When she got close to her brother, she finally saw what had fascinated him that much. The little pond in front of him was no ordinary pond, for it seemed to glow in the darkness of the cave. The small waves crashing against the rocks were a brilliant light blue that Omega had never seen in nature. And when the few fish in the water moved, they left luminous trail behind them.
“Wow, it’s beautiful.” She said softly, understanding how her brother had managed to get stuck there.
But then, she was here to take her brother home, not to get lost with him observing this marvelous pond.
“Tech? Can you hear me?” She asked as she approached, only a few meters away from the engineer.
Still no response from Tech, who was mumbling in a low voice, typing away at his datapad. Omega moved closer and, once she was close enough, crouched about a meter away from Tech, observing the luminous water with him.
Tech eventually raised his head to look at the water again, at which point Omega threw a small pebble into the pond. Not big enough to do any damage to the species living here, but enough to attract her brother’s attention. Maybe. Hopefully.
Luckily, her plan worked, for Tech turned his head in the direction from which the pebble had come, discovering Omega crouching beside him. “Omega?” He called, surprised to see her here.
“Hello Tech.” The young girl replied. “Interesting place you’ve found here.” She remarked, wanting to know more before reminding her brother that he’d been here for almost 24 hours.
“Yes. I just found this place. I was just wandering around after lunch and discovered this amazing bay. The number of fish species present in such a small space is impressive, but it’s the bioluminescence of this space that fascinates me.”
“The bio-what?” Omega asked, intrigued.
“Bioluminescence.” Tech repeated. “Bioluminescence is a chemical phenomenon that allows an organism to emit light. This phenomenon is linked to the reaction between the protein luciferin and the enzyme luciferase. Here, it’s produced by a species of plankton that lights up when the water in which it thrives is agitated. The ecosystem of this pond is perfect, and this plankton plays a vital role.”
“And it adds a touch of magic to the place.” Omega added with a smile.
“These are not the words I would have used given the factual inexistence of magic, but I can understand its appeal.”
Omega simply nodded and returned to her observation of the pond. Tech followed suit and less than a minute later, he was back to tapping away on his datapad.
Just then, Omega intervened again. “Why don’t we go home?” She suggested. “Hunter will be worried if we don’t quickly.”
“Why would Hunter worry?” Tech asked, honestly not understanding the girl’s remark. “I only saw him a few hours ago and told him I was going out.”
“A few hours, eh?” Omega smirked.
“A few hours, yes.” Tech asserted, pushing his glasses up his nose.
“Huh-uh. Tech, do you know what today is?”
“The day?”
“Yes. What day is it?”
“Omega, are you feeling well?” Tech worried, frowning. “If you don’t know what day it is, something must be wrong. Have you hit your head recently? Do you have any other-”
“Tech, I’m fine!” Omega assured. “I’m okay, but I just want to make sure you’re okay.”
Tech almost took offense. “I’m in full possession of my mental faculties.”
“Then you shouldn’t have any trouble telling me what day it is.” Omega retorted.
Tech squinted at her for a moment before sighing. “Very well, if you insist. Today is centaxday.” The engineer asserted.
“I knew it.” Omega mumbled.
“Knew what?”
“Tech, centaxday was yesterday. Today is taungsday.” Omega corrected.
“What? No. Impossible.” Tech refuted.
“Look at the date on your pad if you don’t believe me.” The young blonde said, not trying to convince him herself.
Tech mumbled something Omega didn’t understand, but tapped on his datapad, looking for the information himself.
“Taungsday. 11h26.” He said blankly. “So, it’s been 22 hours and 26 minutes since I left the house.”
“That’s about right. And since none of us had seen you. We were getting a little worried.”
“I apologize if I worried you, that wasn’t my intention. Time just… happened without me realizing it.”
“That what why thought too. Don’t worry, we all know that you’re sometimes so absorbed in what you’re doing that you forget what’s going on around you. No, we should be the ones apologizing. We should have checked where you were way sooner. Last night for example. If anything had happened to you…” Omega didn’t finish her sentence, but shuddered as she imagined all that could have happened to her brother in over 22 hours.
Tech understood and put his right hand on the girl’s arm. “I’m here, and I’m fine.” He reassured her.
Omega gave him a slightly shaky smile before nodding and pulling herself together. “Right, then. Before we leave, Hunter had me bring a few things.” She said, taking out her backpack and opening it in front of her. “Drink up.” She ordered, handing Tech the water bottle. “And eat.” She added, giving him the box of pancakes.
Tech complied, only then realizing that he was thirsty and hungry, and not just a little.
“Okay, now, overall pain level.” Omega then demanded.
Tech took a few seconds to examine himself, trying to come up with a number as close as possible to what he was feeling. “I’d say 4.”
“Okay. Do you want a painkiller?” Omega offered.
Usually, Tech never took painkillers when it was below 6, and even then it wasn’t systematic, but you never knew.
“No, but thank you for offering.” Tech politely declined, handing back the bottle and the empty box.
“Well, in that case, I think we’re off.”
Tech would have liked to stay even longer – there were still things he wanted to study about this pond – but decided to go home. Now that he had discovered its existence, he could return here at a later date to continue his observations. But for now, he and his sister had to go home, where their brothers were surely waiting for them.
“Well, let’s get going.” Tech replied, rising to his feet.
However, he wobbled dangerously as soon as he was on his feet, and without Omega’s express intervention, he would have fallen, perhaps into the bioluminescent pool.
“Wow, Tech, are you all right?” Omega worried, supporting her brother.
“The pain level in my leg just went up to 6.” The engineer said simply, frowning at his bionic leg.
“Well, that’s a good thing Hunter had me bring this along then.” Omega smiled, pulling the cane out of the bag, unfolding it and shoving it into his brother’s right hand.
Tech said nothing but accepted the cane, then leaned on it to reduce the pressure on his left leg stump, which was protesting loudly after more than 25 hours with his prosthesis on.
Tech and Omega then left the cavern, at the pace of the taller man.
About halfway along the path, Tech spoke again. “Did you come looking for me alone?” He asked, frowning.
“No, Lyana was with me. She went home when we found you. She hadn’t told her father she was coming with me to get you, so he called to ask where she was and to tell her it was time to eat.”
“That’s nice of her. I hate to think of you scouring the island looking for me alone.”
“Why would you? We’re on Pabu, what do you want to happen to me?” Omega asked, spreading her arms and spinning around, smiling broadly.
“Even on Pabu, danger is never inexistent, and I’d hate to see something happen to you because I was unable to keep track of time.” Tech retorted, eyebrows furrowed.
Omega didn’t answer immediately, but took her brother’s bionic hand in her own, squeezing firmly. “I’m okay.” She assured. “And Hunter and Crosshair both separately demanded that I keep my location active at all times and send them a comm every 30 minutes saying I’m fine. With two Mother Tookas like them, I’m not risking much.”
Tech couldn’t help smiling slightly. “It’s true that their protective instinct is very strong towards you. But you should know that even if they can be clumsy in their attention, they only want what’s best for you.”
“I know they do.” Omega reassured him, her smile returning. “Come on, let’s go home, I’m starving!”
Tech smiled as he watched his sister smile just as broadly. Life hadn’t been easy for any of them, and they all bore the scars – though some were more visible than others – but as long as they stuck together, nothing would be insurmountable.