Streets of Ravetham

Kaelen woke up in a haze, the cool air of the room brushing against his bare skin. As he blinked away the grogginess, he realized he was completely nude, lying next to Seraphis, who was also unclothed. Panic set in as he tried to piece together what had happened the night before. His memory was foggy, disjointed—he couldn’t recall much beyond the music, the crowd, and… the rest was a blur.

Suddenly, the nanite in his head chimed in, its voice as clinical and cold as always:
Host: Critical success. Host: Functionality optimal.

Kaelen’s heart sank. He didn’t like what the nanite was implying. Did I really have sex with Seraphis last night? If that was the case, why couldn’t he remember it? His mind raced as the nanite delivered another chilling message:
Host: Remote control mode activated. Host: Mission successful.

Kaelen paled, his worst fears creeping into his consciousness. The nanite had taken over, stolen his body’s control, and the worst part? He didn’t even know when it had happened. He sat up, staring blankly at Seraphis’s serene face as she slept. The nanite’s eerie silence in response to his thoughts only made him angrier. It must’ve known what it had done.

He quickly got out of bed, careful not to wake Seraphis. His heart pounded in his chest as he made his way to the shower. Under the hot stream of water, Kaelen tried to calm himself, but the weight of the situation hung over him. The nanite had violated his autonomy, and the mere thought sent a shiver down his spine.

After getting dressed, Kaelen made up his mind. He needed to find Loren, to get some clarity on what had happened. She had been with him last night, that much he remembered. His thoughts were a chaotic mess as he rushed down to the club area of the Black Fang.

Loren was there, directing the remaining fledglings as they cleaned up and restocked the bar. She looked up when she saw him approach, but there was an unusual tension in the air between them. Kaelen couldn’t shake his unease, his mind racing with questions. He awkwardly walked up to her, clearing his throat before speaking.

“Hey, Loren... what happened last night?”

That single question made Loren freeze. Her expression shifted rapidly—from her usual stoicism to a brief moment of contemplation, followed by a mix of desperation, exasperation, embarrassment, and finally… shyness. She looked away for a second, clearly struggling to find the right words.

"I… I was only following your orders," Loren finally said, her voice softer than usual. "But I must say, you were… amazing last night. The things you did to me and Sera—it was almost like you were a machine."

Kaelen’s stomach twisted into knots. He facepalmed, frustration pouring out of him. A machine? That damn nanite had taken over. He couldn’t believe it. Loren’s words lingered uncomfortably in his mind as he tried to process the situation.

"I need to go talk to Jason," Kaelen muttered, feeling the sudden urge to flee the awkwardness. "Is he over at Shadow Sweets?"

Loren cleared her throat awkwardly before answering. "Jason was actually recording us last night… via your request. I'm sure you can find him there, and… a video of what happened."

Kaelen felt his heart drop into his stomach. A video? Of what happened? His panic flared as he muttered a curse under his breath. What have you done, you damn nanite? It remained silent in his head, which only fueled Kaelen’s growing fury.

Without another word, Kaelen bolted out of the Black Fang, sprinting down the street toward Shadow Sweets. His mind was a blur, racing with dread and anger.

Kaelen stormed into Shadow Sweets, his mind a tangled mess of frustration and fear. He barely registered the familiar sight of Trap Icy and Kunai sitting with Jason, casually watching something on a tablet. Normally, Kaelen would have greeted them, but his mind was too chaotic to bother with any manners today.

He rushed over to Jason, his words coming out in a flurry. "Where’s the video? I need to know what happened last night."

Jason jumped, startled by Kaelen’s sudden outburst. He quickly flipped the tablet face down and looked up, wide-eyed.

"Whoa, bro, what’s got your panties in a twist this morning?" Jason asked, half-laughing. "What are you even talking about? You seemed fine to me last night. Or did you lose your shit and blackout? Oh, damn—Trap Icy, did you give Kaelen some Devil’s Root?"

Trap Icy immediately shook her head, her platinum blonde hair swaying as she denied the accusation. "Nah, Kaelen only smoked some of Kunai’s weed with him and Draken last night. You were there, Jason. What the hell?"

Kaelen wasn’t paying attention to their conversation, his gaze locking onto the tablet with suspicion. "What were you guys watching, anyway?" he asked, feeling a knot tighten in his gut.

Kunai grabbed Trap Icy’s hand and stood up, clearly sensing the tension in the air. "We’ll be at the Black Fang if you need us," Kunai said quickly. "Let’s go, Icy."

The two of them left without another word, leaving Jason alone with Kaelen, who was now focused entirely on that tablet. His curiosity and dread overrode everything else, and before Jason could react, Kaelen lunged for it. Jason tried to pull it away, but the two brothers ended up in a brief tug-of-war.

"Bro, chill!" Jason yelled, but Kaelen wasn’t having it. With a final yank, Kaelen won, snatching the tablet from Jason’s hands.

Kaelen’s heart dropped as he turned the tablet around and saw what they had been watching: a video of him from last night, in crisp 4K resolution. His eyes widened in horror as he watched himself—or rather, his body, taken over by the nanite—engaging in all manner of explicit activities with Seraphis and Loren. To make matters worse, the video had already amassed over one million views on the Ravetub website.

He watched the entire thing from start to finish, feeling both proud and overwhelmed at the same time. By the end of it, he slumped down into the nearest chair, the weight of it all crashing over him like a wave.

After a long moment, he handed the tablet back to Jason, his voice thick with exasperation. "That wasn’t me," Kaelen muttered. "It was a malfunctioning nanobot in my body. I’d ask you not to accept any more requests like that from me, but I doubt you’d give two shits and would still do it anyway. And even if I asked the girls, they’d probably listen about as well as Seraphis—who doesn’t give a damn at all. Maybe Loren, but she can’t stop Seraphis. No one can except me… or maybe Zagoth."

Jason grinned, completely unfazed by Kaelen’s frustration. "Cheer up, little bro! Not even my videos have hit one million views yet. Dude, you’re famous now! Seriously, this video’s got Surge wanting to record some stuff with me and the girls now, so… thanks for that." He laughed, giving Kaelen a playful nudge.

Kaelen groaned, burying his face in his hands. This was not how he wanted to start his day, let alone how he wanted to gain fame. The nanite had already caused enough trouble, and now he was going to have to deal with the fallout.

"What have you done, nanite?"