The night glowed with neon lights and the sound of music filled the city as the Cyber Music Festival was taking place in the futuristic city of Techtonia. People were gathered across the city, virtually tuning into the festival as the streets were then filled with their euphoric singing and dancing in hopes of a temporary escape from their reality.

While the festivities were livening the streets of Techtonia, at a mechanics workshop in the Belric district, sounds of clanking metal and working mechanics filled a workshop where Ethan, a young man with black hair, mid-fade, hazel eyes, and a decent jawline, was fixing a hover-car while vibing to the music festival with his fellow mechanic and best friend. His partner in crime, Tony, had blonde hair and blue eyes, the typical playboy look, some would say that he was better looking than Ethan himself.

“Ba Ba Ba Ba Da Da Da Dum uh Tony, can you pass the fuser?” Ethan asked while humming the beat of the music. Tony tossed the fuser to Ethan. “I’ll need it back soon.”

“Sure, I just need to fuse these two components then I’ll be done with it.” SHWROOOOOSHHH roared the fuser as Ethan used it then momentarily. “Okay I’m done with it, here.” He tossed the fuser back to Tony. “How’s it going with that machine?”

Tony shook his head. “It’s too damaged to salvage, it’ll need a few new parts for it to work optimally again.”

“Then we’ll have to call our client and warn them about the extra costs. For now, let’s take a break from this.” Ethan replied as he dragged himself away from his work area and dropped himself on the couch then he gazed out the window with a view of the neon city and the luminous night sky that was disrupted by the passing hover-cars, he sighed in the couch. “I need a break from all this.”

“Then why don’t you take one?”

“Because we’re in high demand right now. If we close shop now, we’ll be losing opportunities that could get us to work with big companies like Nano Industries,” Ethan said.

“Will that even matter if you’re in bad health from working too much, there’s a reason why businesses give their employees days off you know. A break from the work environment replenishes the mind so that it can focus on work when they come back from leave,” Tony said.

“I understand all that, but you already know why I’m working so hard, it wouldn’t feel right if I just went on vacation without Alyssa,” Ethan said.

“Yes I’m well aware, but your sister would prefer you to be happy and healthy rather than working yourself to death,” Tony said.

I doubt she would want me to be happy... "I’ll rest when she wakes up and is healthy but for now, I can’t afford to take vacations nor do I deserve any vacations, the bill aren't going to pay for themselves.” Ethan said sinking deeper into his pit of guilt & resentment, one that he refused to let himself out of. 

Sniff Sniff

Amidst the stench of motor oil, metal and engine fumes in the workshop, Ethan caught a whiff of something that drew his attention as he looked to the door. A ray of sunshine majestically walked through the door carrying a big plate and beaming grin on her face, “What’s up you two, still working hard as ever?”

Ethan quickly sat up and his eyes lit up, fixated on what was on the plate, “Of course we are Jessica, but never mind that, is that pizza?” She nodded and placed the plate of pizza on the couch, “Uh-huh, I decided to make a homemade pizza since you like eating pizza these days. Fast food pizza is not healthy, especially if you’re consuming it almost every day, so I thought I’d make you two a healthier version.”

A heaviness weighed down on Ethan’s heart, still not knowing how to respond to her kindness. “…You didn’t have to do this you know.”

“Yeah I know, but someone’s got to look after you two.”

Seeing her smile made the feeling in his heart worse, he looked down at pizza as his eyes almost watered up but he confined his tears. His hand quivered as he reached down for a slice and pulled one away with the melted cheese stretched until it could no longer. “Tony, come eat while the pizza is hot,” Jessica demanded.

"Alright just let me finish this last thing quickly."  

Ethan and Tony enjoyed the homemade pizza while Jessica watched them happily. After eating two slices, Ethan got up from the couch. "Oh? Aren't you going to eat more?" 

“I'll eat the rest after I'm done with today's work, it'll be my reward."  

"Oh, okay then, I'll keep these fresh in the kitchen for you." 

Ethan nodded. " Thank you... Anyways, let’s get onto the next machine that needs fixing. Tony, why don’t you call our client and tell them about the new parts and extra costs included.”

Tony still had a mouthful of pizza as he was on his 3rd slice. “Sure.”

The sounds of clanking metal and a roaring fuser once again filled the workshop while Techtonia continued partying in their music festival as it went on through the night.

..........................................................................................................

"Quiinnn. Quinnyyy, wake uuup." The sound of his name tickled his ear as he opened his eyes and saw a blurry figure. "Mom?"

"Morning Honey, did you sleep well?"

He groaned as he sat up in his bed. "You should be asking if I got enough sleep."

"Why? Did you spend the whole night in your lab again?"

"Well yes, I'm almost finished with my new invention so I-"

"Quinn... as much as working is important, sleeping is also important. Don't make me ban you from your lab after dinner,"

"Sorry Mom, I'm just too excited for my new invention."

"I know honey, now get ready for school and come down for breakfast. Hopefully this time your dad didn't burn the breakfast?"

Ethan's mom rushed out of the room leaving the door open. The smell of fire and a hint of burnt toast assaulted Ethan's nose as he slowly began breathing heavily with every tick that came from the clock in his room. Clomp...Clomp, Ba-Doom Ba-Doom rang in Ethan's ears as the footsteps came closer in the passageway outside the door. CLOMP, CLOMP, CLOMP, CLOMP... Ethan began hyperventilating at the sight of his worst nightmare standing menacingly at the door as his creation was holding the heads of his family members like trophies. Tears gushed from Ethan's eyes and paralysis overcame him. In the blink of an eye, stood before him his creation that tormented him every time closed his eyes to rest. 

To his sweet relief, a ringtone abruptly ripped him out of his vivid nightmare. The continuous ringing brought Ethan back to reality, he controlled his breathing and wiped the sweat off his face and tears from his eyes then answered his phone call in the dark as their star hadn't risen yet. 

"H-Hello"

“Mr Odessen?! Sorry to call you this early but this is urgent, I don’t know how but your sister has disappeared somehow.”

Ethan's eyes widened while he stopped breathing as his chest felt tight and his heart heavy with pain, “.…W-Wait, what do you mean she disappeared!?”

“We don’t know how sir, all we know is that she’s gone, along with some of our other patients.”

“...So she’s not the only one missing?”

“Yes sir, it’s all over the news. Hopefully, that will help you understand the situation.”

Ethan switched on the TV. “Breaking news, more than half the population of Techtonia has disappeared in a flash of green light as this incident occurred out of nowhere. Authorities have been investigating this situation and have found out that unknown humans and other sentient beings have appeared as well. This phenomenon has not just occurred in Techtonia but in other megatropolises worldwide. Up til now authorities have not a clue as to what is going on, all they can do now is continue investigating.”

Ethan sat there on his bed for a moment to collect himself then jumped out of bed and grabbed whatever he saw in the wardrobe. Hopping into the clothes, he then ran out of the house to his hover-car and drove to the hospital where his sister was being kept in the Jazzid district. 

I hope Alyssa is alright, I need to be sure she’s gone missing due to this unknown phenomenon and not by any other possible reasons.

When he arrived at the hospital and spoke to the nurse who was in charge of looking after his older sister. “Madam Nurse, I'm here."

The nurse looked at Ethan confusedly. "Quinn? I didn't recognize you looking like that. Usually, you have a better fashion sense than this."

Ethan looked down at his clothes then chuckled awkwardly. "I was in a rush to get here after I was called about my sister disappearing. Anyways when did you notice that she was gone?”

“Roundabout the same time we discovered that many of our patients were missing,” the nurse said.

Ethan went to the room where his sister was kept and investigated the scene, Let’s see now… the bed seems normal, no signs of struggle… He puts on his special augmented reality contact lens then scanned the room... okay, no unknown footprints or fingerprints He hacked into the surveillance system through his augmented reality lenses to see what happened in the room. The room became a holographic depiction of the surveillance footage of his sister’s room, he saw no intruders but he saw his sister disappear.

“So she disappears into a green flash of light like half the population… I would’ve preferred that she was kidnapped then I would have been able to track her down. If she disappeared due to the unknown phenomenon then finding her would be difficult since she could be anywhere. I hope she’s okay. In her current state, she is vulnerable to anything. I’m gonna need more info on this whole situation,” said Ethan as he pulled out an earpiece from his pocket and called an acquaintance from the authorities.

“Hello… Ethan?”

“Hello Fred, I need some info on the phenomena that occurred earlier today,” Ethan said.

“As always straight to the chase with you, what would you like to know?”

“These new unknown humans that have shown up, have you been able to identify any of them?” Ethan asked.

“No, we haven’t, we’ve run a majority of them through our database and none of them matched any identity. We’re starting to think they’re aliens as well but the higher-ups are hard denying it for some reason.”

“Something tells me they’re not aliens, have any of the missing people been found in another city?” asks Ethan.

“So far no, even Valis & Luna have been affected by this phenomenon and so far they’ve found nothing, not even a trace.”

“Have you guys discovered anything interesting,” Ethan asked.

“No not that I know of, they're keeping things secret even from us.”

“Expected honestly. If anything interesting uncovers, keep me in touch,” Ethan said.

“Same to you.”

Ethan hung up and looked at the room one last time before going to his hover-car. He sat in his hover-car for a while as he sighed. Worrying about Alyssa isn't going to find her... I need to investigate this whole phenomenon and find Alyssa as soon as possible. 

He headed home where he found a crowd outside his shop, “What the? I wonder why there are so many people outside my house.”

When the crowd saw Ethan, they rushed to him in desperation, “Detective! Please find my son.” “No find my daughter!” “Find my husband please!” Ethan was overwhelmed by the voices of desperate cries. “Can everyone calm down please? I can’t do anything if all of you keep shouting at me at the same time.”

The people became silent and Ethan walked into his house. Judging from all that, they’re here to acquire my private detective services. Well since I’m going to investigate the situation, I might as well hear them out.

Ethan sat at his desk. “So what can I do for you guys?”

“Detective, I’m sure you know of the incident that has occurred in this city. Our family members were few of the millions that disappeared, we wish to acquire your services to find our missing family members.”

“What makes you think that I can find your missing family members when they just disappeared supernaturally, why not leave it to the authorities?” Ethan asked.

“Well detective, you already know how useless the authorities are. So we have no one else to turn to but you, since you’ve never let us down when we've needed your services. We know this is asking a lot but we’re asking you to at least try your best to bring them back or give us closure.”

“.....Okay then, I will try my best to find your loved ones,” Ethan said.

Everyone sighed heavily in relief. “Thank you, Detective.”

“Please transfer the data of your missing loved ones to my database, data such as the full name, recent picture, and fingerprints of the missing persons’ then I will do the rest,” Ethan said .

After the people did what they needed to do, they left Ethan’s house but one remained. "Tori?" 

She looked at him with tears in her eyes and he already knew why she was here as his heart became even heavier. "She's gone, Ethan. She's just gone." Tori sobbed, covering her face in her palms. Ethan comforted her with a hug. "Don't worry Tori, I will go find her and bring her back. Just leave this to me okay?" 

She nodded and wiped her tears. "Okay, just bring her back to me, she's all the family I have left." 

"I know, I will do my best." 

"Thank you, I know I can trust you with this." She mustered whatever emotional energy she had left and gave him smile. Ethan nodded and acknowledged her trust, cementing her smile into his brain as he didn't want to see her cry again. They said their goodbyes and Tori went back home leaving the burden of finding her older sister on Ethan.

I wish those two would catch a break, this is the third time someone has gone missing between them... He sighed deeply feeling the new burdens on his shoulder. “Well this is a good start to my day… let’s get to work. Tony?!”

Moments later, Tony came running down the stairs. “Yes Ethan?”

“We have received several cases of missing people that need to be solved and found. We’re heading out soon so get your detective mode ready,” Ethan said.

“Oh, yeah! It’s been a while since we got a case.” Tony said as he went to his room to get ready.

Several minutes later, Ethan & Tony headed out in their modern detective uniforms, Tony wore a neon hoodie, sweatpants, and neon sneakers while Ethan wore a compression tank top, neon cargo pants, a long jacket, and special sneakers. Both of them also wore shades as they walked out into the city to begin their investigation.