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[h1][color=c1196b]Past, present, and future[/color][/h1]
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There might not have been a strong connection between any of the Kairo siblings though Jax had higher access to get into Asterion’s penthouse. As he stepped through that first portal and found himself in the entrance room, it was duller, moodier, and completely off. The whole area felt completely lost in darkness without his brother and he moved to the larger living room and looked around. It had been days since it was touched and Asterion wasn’t able to be in the safety of his shell. This was cold and lonely beyond comparison — Asterion could change an area with his presence. 

Walking around the common areas for a minute, the voice made him jump, “[color=ffffff]Good evening, Jax. Asterion is currently in recovery. I am sorry to tell you that your brother is in critical condition,[/color]” the robotic feminine voice spoke out. “[color=ffffff]Is there anything that I can help you with?[/color]” 

Under his breath, he muttered — [i]Eden[/i] — as if he needed to reassure himself that he was alone and it wasn’t a ghost speaking to him or something. Looking around the kitchen and living room, he nodded, “[color=ffffff]I want you to show me my brother… being human, being alive, please,[/color]” this was something that he needed. He knew that Eden was on her own electrical grid, camera system, and everything, since Asterion didn’t want her attached to anything public. 

Looking around as if he was hopeful to see Asterion, warm tears began to roll down his cheeks, and his eyes closed, “[color=ffffff]I…[/color]” he began. “[color=ffffff]I know you and him are close in a sense. You are a smart system, you are like a companion to him, so you probably know him the best right?[/color]” 

“[color=ffffff]One could say such a thing, yes. I am with your brother every time he is home. What would you like to see?[/color]” The lights began to dim, setting a mood, and one of the walls began to open up to expose a large flat screen T.V.. 

Jax looked towards the T.V. and while he began to move towards the sitting area, “[color=ffffff]I want to hear him. Sometimes when I would come visit, I would hear him playing the piano, but he would never play it in front of me or anyone for all I know. He was shy. I think it’s because he never got piano lessons as a kid so he didn’t think he was good at it but he played beautifully from the little that I could hear,[/color]” the man spoke softly while sitting down. That was when the T.V. turned on and began to flip through channels and figuring out what footage that she should bring up. 

The screen began to play a recording, Asterion was wandering around the living area and talking to himself. Muttering so he could not be heard as he continued to speak to himself and take a sip of his water. Going to the window and staring out of it for a minute before sighing and closing his eyes. Asterion stood there for about ten minutes before opening his eyes and going over to the piano in the room, setting down the glass of water on the coffee table, and he began to set the piano up. Simply. He sat there and said a few things to himself that couldn’t be heard but seeing his mouth move; he was talking to himself. Something he seemed to do a lot. His eyes closed again as he began to test the keys with no sheet music in front of him and he listened for the sounds of the keys. Pressing one key, then a few more, and his eyes opened as he began to smoothly transition into playing a [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kMDLLD8Uvw]melody[/url] and he looked like he was at peace while playing and glancing out the window. His eyes didn’t focus on the music like his ears did. 

Jax closed his eyes while listening to his brother play and he could see images in his mind. What the music was saying to him and he wondered what Asterion would see when he played music. If he would see anything at all. “[color=ffffff]I don’t think I could ever play that well,[/color]” he confessed to Eden when the song finished. 

“[color=ffffff]Asterion would play for hours a day, regularly committing an hour or two daily to playing, and he used playing the piano and music as a coping method,[/color]” Eden informed Jax. That was when another song began to echo out from the speakers. This [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2ocCizUxwo]melody[/url] that his brother began to play sounded sorrowful to him. Sad. Like pure loneliness in the audible sense. It caused him to frown as he listened to it.

As that song ended, Eden began to speak again, “[color=ffffff]Your brother suffers from obsessive personality disorder. He would sometimes play a single three-to-five minute song for hours on end. In recent months, your brother was accepting this, and we were having sessions of cognitive behavioral therapy to help him with this overall illness. Some textbooks would refer to Asterion’s strange behavior as ‘stuck song syndrome’, SSS, or earworm. If he was not playing a singular song for hours on end. Your brother would sit in the common rooms and listen to a singular song. His current favorite being [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyL3ofoiJ_c]La Maritza[/url],[/color]” she explained and this caused Jax to frown. Hearing all of that was just depressing. 

“[color=ffffff]Is there anything else I can help you with, Jax?[/color]” 

There was no way that his brother was this sad… He never showed it. He was usually smiling. He shook his head, “[color=ffffff]Did my brother —[/color]” he paused to think about what he was going to say and if he should say it. “[color=ffffff] — have emotions? Like breakdowns? If he was hiding this much sadness from everyone. What other emotions was he hiding?[/color]” He asked Eden. “[color=ffffff]I got the impression that he kept himself pretty collected in the eye of the public or around others but I think I am starting to understand that he keeps a distance from everyone when showing how he truly feels.[/color]” 

The T.V. screen started to change, flipping through videos, “[color=ffffff]Would you like to watch the current video of your brother having an emotional episode?[/color]” 

Those words scared him. He didn’t actually think Eden would pull up video evidence of his brother being emotional or having a breakdown. Staring at the symbol for play as he didn’t take another second to think about it, “[color=ffffff]No![/color]” he rushed out the answer. “[color=ffffff]No, I don’t… I don’t actually want to see that. I want to see him doing something he loves or being happy or something,[/color]” he redirected what he wanted so he didn’t see anything that he didn’t want to see or anything that his brother didn’t want him to see. 

As the screen flipped through so many different channels and recordings, it stopped, and a video began to play. It was Asterion pretending to dance with someone, dancing with himself, and Jax’s brows furrowed in confusion at first. [color=ffffff][i]What is he doing?[/i][/color] This was the first thought that ran through his head before the video continued and he realized that Asterion was dancing alone. “[color=ffffff]Asterion enjoys dancing though he lacks dancing partners. He would jokingly ask if I would want to dance at times even though he understands that I do not have a physical form. This would make it impossible to dance together. Sometimes, he would grab a broom to dance with instead of dancing with no one but himself,[/color]” Eden explained. 

“[color=ffffff]This is sad… like really sad. Why doesn’t he go outside? Touch some grass? This cannot be healthy for him. I’ve just watched a half an hour of videos of him interacting with himself and playing music and dancing with no one. This is uncomfortably sad,[/color]” Jax spoke out. 

His face twisted at the thought, “[color=ffffff]No one should die sad and lonely like that. God damn…. At this point, he probably wants to die. I would if I was this fucking miserable,[/color]” the words just came out without a thought. 

[hr]

“[color=ffffff]I figured it out![/color]” Erik was running through the halls in an attempt to find Krish and whoever else was around him. Sliding down the slick halls, looking into multiple rooms, and finally seeing a group of people in a room. “[color=ffffff][b]Krish![/b][/color]” the young silver haired man shouted and that caused everyone to jump out of their seats and look his way. He seemed surprised to get everyone’s attention and not only Krish’s, “[color=ffffff][i]Sorry…[/i] I didn’t mean to shout but I figured it out. Did Asterion have any other siblings? I figured out he and Jax have a compatibility of eighty-nine percent meaning that Jax is the highest compatibility at the moment but I was rummaging through all of his things and found a DNA sample that showed a 99% compatibility of female DNA,[/color]” he continued to explain. “[color=ffffff]Whoever this DNA belongs to is the best chance for Asterion’s survival and we need to find her. Now.[/color]” 

Krish seemed to brighten up a lot when he heard this before the reality settled in. “[color=ffffff]How are we going to find another sibling? I only knew about Jax and that’s because Jax comes around,[/color]” the redheaded man glanced over to Jax. 

The man that resembled his best friend so well nodded, “[color=ffffff]We had a sister, Klara, but I haven’t seen or heard from her since we were adopted out. That’s been over a decade. She could be dead for all we know,[/color]” he shrugged as if it was a wild goose chase to even consider this idea. “[color=ffffff]All I know is she was adopted out to a preppy pompous family so even if she is alive. She probably thinks she is better than all of us and probably doesn’t remember me or Asterion,[/color]” he huffed out — Jax had felt like this for years. In his teen years, he tried so hard to find Klara, and the one time he found her on a social media site and tried talking to him. Once he exposed who he was, he was blocked on everything, and couldn’t ever find her again. 

Erik huffed out, “[color=ffffff]We need to find her. I need this [i]perfect[/i] guys. Perfect. Someone find Klara,[/color]” the man ordered before storming out of the room because his excitement was ruined by Jax’s negative reaction. 

That was when everyone looked at Jax. Jax shook his head, “[color=ffffff]Absolutely not. I am not trying to find her. I do not have those credentials,[/color]” he continued. 

“[color=ffffff]You are going to find her,[/color]” Krish demanded. 

[hr] 

How did he end up here? At the edge of a pristine property in Highfair. This wasn’t fair… not at all. The man was dressed up to blend in with the night and look discrete but he decided to put his own twist on it — looking similar to a low grade burglar that was showing his face because he couldn’t breathe in the mask. A fence around the whole property and he stepped up to it, “[color=ffffff]Let’s go,[/color]” that was when his one hand grabbed the fence and electricity shot through him like a bolt of lightning. He couldn’t scream as his body began to spasm and he was pulled off from the fence as he landed on the ground with a whining moan of pain. “[color=ffffff][sub]that hurts…[/sub][/color]” he cried out as if he needed to catch his breath. 

“[color=ffffff]No shit sherlock,[/color]” Zarek hissed out. “[color=ffffff]Did you not listen when I said [i]do. Not. touch. The. fence.?[/i][/color]” he spat those words out. 

Jax laid there for a few minutes before slowly getting up and leaning against the closest tree. “[color=ffffff]Climb the tree, get to the other side, and get up to that room,[/color]” Zarek pointed to a specific balcony on the estate. “[color=ffffff]That should be her room. You just need to get in, talk to her, and get out with her. We need her to keep Asterion alive,[/color]” Zarek was putting emphasis on Asterion’s survival counting on this. 

“[color=ffffff]Ok. Okay. Just give me a second,[/color]” Jax huffed a sigh out that sounded painful as he began to climb the tree weakly. As he slowly got himself to a thicker branch and began to move across it, he got to the end and it began to bend, and a snack could be heard. A snap then a loud thud. Jax groaned out in pain, “[color=ffffff]This concrete really hurts…[/color]” he slowly got up to his knees and looked to the other side of the fence. 

Zarek shook his head, “[color=ffffff]Once you fail at this. I am going to rub it in Krish’s face that we should have done it my way and just kidnapped her,[/color]” he rolled his eyes and shook his head. 

Jax looked offended while shaking his head a bit, “[color=ffffff]Fuck you, I can do this,[/color]” He got to his feet and began to look around then back at Zarek before continuing forward. Going up to the house, cautiously and carefully, and getting to the rough area of where he needed to climb to get to the balcony. 

Getting near the edge of the building, he looked back, and noticed that Zarek was nowhere to be seen. For some reason that caused him to feel sick inside. He looked back up to the balcony that was two or two-and-a-half stories high up and he rolled to the ball and heel of his feet to try and pump himself up to start climbing. “[color=ffffff]I hate this…[/color]” he muttered under his breath as he went over to the building and found a good footing to start. Jax began to climb up the building, slowly, but surely getting closer and closer to the balcony. 

Grabbing onto the ledge and pulling himself up, he rolled over the railing, and smacked against the balcony flooring while huffing and puffing. “[color=ffffff]I need to work out…[/color]” he muttered to himself as he let his hand fall off from the railing and in front of him while looking around to see no one noticed him. Thank the lord. The young man got himself to stand up on his knees while looking back to see that Zarek was still nowhere to be seen before he stood to his feet and began to walk towards the doors that led to the inside from the balcony. 

Slowly going up to the door and checking to see if it was locked — it wasn’t — and he tried to quietly open it but there was a small squeak to the gesture that caused his stomach to curdle. Internally hoping that no one heard the noise as he entered the room to see it clear and he shut the door behind him. Doing his best to be as careful as possible and just as quiet, if not more, as he began to  move around the room. It was dressed to the riches. Then that was when he saw a portrait on the wall, a family, but the daughter looking contrastingly beautiful to the rest of the family — [color=ffffff]Mother? No… Klara![/color] — Klara looked just like their mother. They had the right room! 

Then he began to turn and a searing pain shot through his face as he stumbled back and fell into a small side table as it cracked under his weight. Grabbing his face, blood was all over his hand, and he knew it was coming from his nose. “[color=ffffff]What the fu—[/color]” he interrupted. 

“[color=ffffff]Who are you!?[/color]” she shouted as she stood in a stance, ready to go at him, and her eyes analyzed each little movement. “[color=ffffff]Oh god. You are a burglar aren’t you? You are filthy and you smell bad… did you come from the trash?[/color]” It was not insulting enough to have his nose broken and gushing blood everywhere but she thought he was a sewer rat? 

Jax’s brows furrowed, “[color=ffffff]At least I don’t look like a rat like you do. Where are your fucking manners? You bitch![/color]” 

“[color=ffffff]And you speak foully! Where did you come from 93rd street?[/color]” she began to move and Jax sprang up to stop her from whatever she was doing. Tackling her to the ground. 

“[color=ffffff]Hey! You are from there too! Do not act like you are better than me,[/color]” Jax and her were wrestling and he was overpowering her for the most part. Getting her subdued as he held her wrists in his hands and got a knee on each side of her and tucked into her sides so she couldn’t roll that much. “[color=ffffff]Have you forgotten who you are Klara? You came from 93rd just like I did. Just like our brother did. You really became a pompous brat, huh?[/color]” 

Magenta held her breath before she could let out a scream, she was shocked to hear such a statement from a stranger, and her family tried their best to keep it very underwraps that she was adopted. Either something twisted was going on here or this was one of her brothers — her eyes were still horrified. She looked terrified while she began to tremble a little. Was he here to kill her? To steal her away? What did he plan to do? 

“[color=ffffff]I didn’t know how to come and talk to you…[/color]” Jax began as he stared at his sister, feeling horrible because he could see the intensity in her eyes and the fear, and he dryly swallowed. “[color=ffffff]I need your help. Please?[/color]” His voice pleaded a little bit. 

All her horror faded and she looked offended, “[color=ffffff]How do I even know you are telling the truth and if you are… we haven’t seen each other in a decade and so and you think I would help you with anything? I don’t know you![/color]” she shouted at him and started struggling again. 

“[color=ffffff]Klara! It’s Jax, your little brother Jax! Please, please stop fighting and keep your voice down! You are going to get the authorities on us,[/color]” Jax was struggling with her again and she flipped them over before jabbing him in the lower buttox with her knee before struggling to get away from him. Ripping herself away from him and backing up. She was purely defensive in stature at the moment. 

Jax jumped to his feet and held his hands up, “[color=ffffff]Please. Asterion is dying,[/color]” Maybe confessing that to her would get some sympathy or empathy or something… she couldn’t hate their older brother that much? 

“[color=ffffff]So what if he dies? He’s a monster, Jax. Have you seen the things he has done on T.V. — Do you not remember what he did to our mother? Our parents. He destroyed our family. Asterion has been sick for years, Jax. He is not okay in the head. He never has been, I told you that before we were separated, and I am telling you that now,[/color]” Klara backed up to a specific looking spot as she gestured for her fingers to curl under a piece of furniture behind her — a button that would call the estate guards. 

“[color=ffffff]You need to leave. I want nothing to do with you or him,[/color]” she demanded while having her fingers on the button without pressing it. 

Jax looked so hurt, “[color=ffffff]Well, you might think that, but you don’t actually know him. If you knew him, you would know he isn’t a monster. He has good in him. He’s looked out for me all these years. He always brings you up, worries about you, and he tries his best for his people. I know, he has done some fucked up things, but he’s our brother. Please? Doctor Erik says you are the best chance he has. You two are a ninety-nine percent compatibility. I’m not that compatible with him and he needs a host that isn’t going to accidentally kick him out or erase him from existence,[/color]” Jax continued to speak. Trying to get through to her. 

Magenta shook her head in the negative, “[color=ffffff]No, I am not playing a sick game like that. I am not letting him anywhere near me. You and Doctor Erik can figure it out. I am not letting that murder anywhere near me. I bet he would kill me for his own survival, Jax. He’s tricking you,[/color]” she protested while her hand began to tremble even more. 

“[color=ffffff]Please! It won’t kill you. Doctor Erik is certain that the only thing that could go wrong is Asterion losing his own life. You need to help him! He’s family![/color]” Jax shouted while holding his nose and face because blood was still coming out of it and it began to ache beyond what he could deal with. His eyes were watering, not just from the pain of a bloody nose, but his sister being so difficult but he understood at the same time. They were strangers. She grew up privileged. Why would she even consider helping them at all? Especially when she sees Asterion as a monster. That was when she pressed the button and a ringing echoed out. 

Jax’s eyes widened. “[color=ffffff]You did not just hit that button you fucking bitch,[/color]” the man pointed at her accusingly. That was when Magenta began to scream for the guards. The  man began to move across the room and towards the balcony. Before exiting the room, he looked back with such little hope in his eyes, so much disappointment, and a whole stance of betrayal. This was not the Klara he knew or remembered — they really were strangers. Without hesitation he went out the balcony doors and slammed them. Giving him a few more seconds if the guards were to bust through her door at any minute. 

Getting down the way he came up, Jax was rushing to the electric fence, and trying his best to get out of that whole area. Panic set in when he heard hounds — the cries of hungry dogs. “[color=ffffff]Fuck me. Fuck me. I should have not listened to Krish. We should have gone with Zarek’s plan,[/color]” he continued to move while getting to the fence and trying to find a place to climb up and around it without touching it. Then he saw a tree down the way and he began to sprint to it. Jumping up onto the tree and beginning to climb, that was when he heard a snap, and looked down to a dog jumping up at him. Kicking the dog in the face, “[color=ffffff]Sorry. I am so sorry,[/color]” he stated as he got up the tree safely and rushed over the fence and ran off. 

Zarek came around with a vehicle, opening the passenger door, and leaning over and dragging him in before driving off. Jax positioned himself and closed the door, “[color=ffffff]Fucking hell. He’s going to die. She hates him. She doesn’t even know him! And she hates him![/color]” Jax put his face into his hands and began to cry. 

[hr]

There were no more tears to cry as the child kept himself curled up. His knees were cramped up to his chest while his forehead sat on his knees and his arms wrapped around his head to protect himself. [color=c1106b]I do not want to go back,[/color] he whispered. The boy looked around the age of twelve, he was scrawny, too thin for his height, and he was awfully dressed. Looking homeless. Like he came from the streets. [color=c1196b]Nothing hurts here. I do not want to leave. I do not want to hurt anymore…[/color] nothing in his body ached. It was such a peaceful and accepting feeling, there was no pain, no tremors, no spasms, he hadn’t had a single neurological issue since arriving in this dark landscape, and he couldn’t hear any of the voices that echoed in his mind constantly — begging for help. Hearing everyone else’s traumas. No more suffrage was echoing out inside of him. No visuals showing how horrible people could be to each other. There was absolutely nothing except the peace and sense of self that he longed for. Not being mixed up like he was. 

This place was a beautiful calm. 

An infinity chamber of comforting warmth. 

Asterion wanted to close his eyes that were bloodshot from crying so much, crying from relief, and his eyelids felt so heavy. He wanted to close his eyes but something continued to remind him that he couldn’t. Not yet. [color=c1196b][i]If you can hear me…[/i][/color] he started as he looked up from his curled up state. [color=c1196b]whatever you are. Whoever you could be. I do not wish to go back. I am not going back. I hate it there. I hate my body. I dread my mind. I cannot stand any of it anymore. It constantly feels like someone is slowly tearing my mind in half. My body is not my body anymore. It does not belong to me. I do not want to go back. I do not want to tell Jax that our mother loves us. I do not want to open my eyes even if they are beautiful. No one deserves to see my eyes anymore,[/color] a palm came up to his face as he was rubbing at his eyes. 

Everything was better here, it was a step from pure darkness, as a little bit of light reflected off the dark surfaces. Peaceful. Calm. Warm. It was the embodiment of comfort. As it was beginning to be hard for him to not close his eyes again, he wanted to fade into the darkness, but there was a constant reminder at the back of his mind every time he thought about it. [i]Asterion. It’s not your time.[/i] It would whisper out. [i]Someone needs you.[/i] It would add. [i]Do not give up.[/i] It would continue to remind him that he shouldn’t give up and close his eyes. That he had more to live for. That he needed to keep fighting. It was so difficult to keep fighting. 

The ground began to move one more, [color=c1196b]Not again,[/color] — it began to consume him and he tried standing up to fight it. To get away from whatever it was. Thousands of shadowed hands were coming up from the dark floor and grabbing onto him. His attempts to fight whatever this was was a losing battle in itself. They dragged him under the surface as he was consumed by the warm darkness and within a second, he felt like he was floating in space, and he couldn’t tell his directions. He felt at peace in such a state, not panicking, and he began to let his body sink into the comforts of darkness. Light was disappearing and he was being consumed by total darkness. Thoughts began to quiet. He couldn’t hear anything anymore. Everything felt comfortably heavy and blissfully weightless at the same time. A single breath could be taken as his eyes shut… 
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