Where's Michael?

The Impossible case of Michael Graham

"Marco? Come in." She said, barely able to keep her voice steady.
"Polo, Is something wrong Harry?" the handler replied through static from the speaker in Harriet's ear.
"Clear the Splash pad, Michael is here." Harriet lifted the rifle as she listened to the bulletin sent to the ear of each away team.
"Polo 1, positive configuration on port: 68886, Marco 1 through 5 handling. Spread out." Marco chimed. Harriet looked around and saw nothing but pure shadow. There was no sun here. No stars.
"Switch to thermals," Harriet said, speaking in the ear of all around her. She rotated the wheel on the four-eyes goggles, and the world lit up in various shades of red, purple, and blue. Each seeker did the same. They observed their surroundings. She has seen so many worlds, but none were so void of light. The area was cold. There were no trees, no landmarks, just empty black ground, like stone, as far as the eye could see, even with the assistance of the goggles.
"Michael." Harriet shouted, and for the first time in three years, she finally had her response.

"Mom," the voice came back, exactly how she remembered it, "Is that you?"
Harriet dropped her rifle, making several seekers at her side turn hastily at the sound. She ran toward the voice, her eyes built up tears in preparation for their reunion. The steps echoed in this place, each sound fading as soon as it was made.
She continued to call out, screaming Michael's name in desperation. Of course it would be here, this port, this place. It was under her nose the whole time. She heard the boy cry out again.
"Mom." he screamed, the sound so close Harriet could almost feel her son in her arms again...

A Missing Boy

The Case of Michael Graham is famous among the largest organizations in The Web. On a hot summer day, an eight year old boy hides in a nearby storm drain during recess. Hide and seek was his favorite game, and the children often praised his uncanny skill. The boy's name was Michael Graham and he found himself staring at a strange symbol that blocked the opening of the drain.

The crossing of light from holes in the drain created a tear in reality. It was the last place he was seen. His father (or mother on occasion), Harry Graham, founded Oxenfree after spending months waiting for the authorities to find his son. He returned to this storm drain and left the boy's stuffed bear inside. He waited, fell asleep, and woke to find the bear was gone. He checked his watch: 12:37. He returned every day for a week, and only then did he notice the streams of light seeping through holes in the metal.

At 12:35 every day the lights would cross creating a strange geometric star. The variations between the earth's tilt and the sun caused a new portal each day. All of them were worlds his son couldn't have entered. He used his fortune and influence to study these many worlds, all in the name of finding his son.
It's the same story across the multiverse. Every Michael will find the storm drain, see the star, and in the wake of his disappearance, every version of Oxenfree is born.

---

An Impossible Case

Michael's Star is the symbol used to create portals to the many places that Oxenfree explores. This can only be done by crossing beams of light in such a way that a portal to the configured reality opens. This is the same shape through which Michael traveled through in the first place.
Each destination changes by the slightest fraction of a fraction of a degree. These changes are infinite and even though they can detect the general location of the reality Michael traveled to, the true changes are so small that they are undetectable to the human eye.

The rotation of the shape matters as well. The slightest change by an infinitely small degree will change what reality you open to. Oxenfree uses computers to perfectly align the shape, leaving no world unexplored as they travel along the star.

Fun Fact: Boogeymen

Oxenfree usually maintains independence from the rest of the web. They are still called upon when cases involving children emerge. The Seekers of Oxenfree are deeply connected to any incident involving metaphysical anomalies and Boogeymen. They created their "Home Team" to handle these incidents, and their track record is surprisingly successful.

The Coldest case

Currently Michael Graham is 11 years old across all versions and timelines. The cold hard truth of the case of Michael Graham is that not all of them can be found. It is unlikely for even a majority to survive the next year.

Each Harry Graham is showing signs of mental deterioration due to their obsession, and this has led to more than one version of Oxenfree falling apart in destructive and dramatic fashion. It is an absolute fact that this case that can never be solved completely.

In one such incident, one version of Harry killed another who has yet to find his version of Michael. Without the version of Harry, it is physically impossible to locate every version of Michael and return them to their home reality.

An Impossible Quest

The problem presented with this is that the amount of distinct realities to search still nears infinity, as you can break a single degree of Michael's Star into an infinite number of parts. Each away team travels somewhere new, some even using alternate versions of Oxenfree from other realities in their search.
There are many strange things about The Case of Michael Graham. These not only make the case colder with each passing day, but give many a moment of pause when considering the facts.

Facts of the Case	Description
Natural Sixth Sense	Each version of Harry graham can sense whether there is a version of Michael in the current reality they are in. This is shared with each version of Michael as well, who is drawn to Harry.
Kinship	Upon finding any version of Michael, Harry will know whether or not it is his version of Michael. Versions of Michael do not have the same talent.
Friends in High Places	In every reality where both Oxenfree and The Web exists, all organizations label The Case of Michael Graham as "Case Number: 68886"

fun fact: Oxenfree

The members of Oxenfree are looking for Michael Graham, but also others who have disappeared simply by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. In the process of their search, they explore the strange worlds they encounter, collecting what they can to make their search easier. The members of Oxenfree call themselves seekers and their search is never ending.
Other versions of Oxenfree have found their version of Michael and continue their search for others. The search is on borrowed time, for some have found their version dead or worse and as time goes on the frequency of these cases grows.

Facts of the Case	Description
Time...	It has been three years since every version of Michael has disappeared, a number that is universal across all realities
The Odds	There is a hard limit in number to the versions of Harry Graham and Michael. Why there is such a limit makes no sense with the information present about the Multiverse itself. If there are infinite numbers of realities than there should be an infinite number of them that have Harry Graham, Oxenfree, and Michael. This is slowly showing to be false as their are no new version of Oxenfree entering the search as of year two.
The Entity	Every version of Michael that is found dead shows signs of struggle and it often appears as though the boy was hunted. Each version of Michael refers to a strange entity that spoke to them before they disappeared. The details are always the same. It had no voice but could speak, it had no form, but could be seen, and every version of Michael can sense if it is near. No other information exists about the entity, though the entire case could be its doing.

Michael and The Web

"It makes you dizzy when you pass through" by Dylonishere123

There are countless people, especially among The Troubleshooters, who know Harry Graham's pain on a deep and personal level. Members of Oxenfree are almost universally helped in whatever way possible. Every organization has, at one time or another, recieved a call for aid over the last 3 years. The Alexandrian University maintains Task Force: Einstein specifically for helping Oxenfree in their endeavors. If there was ever a true neutral organization in The Web, Oxenfree would be it. While few outside the major organizations even know they exists, those who meet them admire their childish antics, and appreciate all that they do. It is rare to hold good standing in the hearts of so many.

One of the major reasons for the spread of the case is the sheer impossibility of it. Many elements of the case are unfathomable with modern science, and the fact that some entity could be behind it causes concern for everyone who learns of it. There are those who stand against their constant interference with alternate realities. The Magicians of Carthage warn them at every turn not to toy with metaphysical barriers. It is likely that this tampering led to the entity emerging in the first place.

Harriet turned and saw the bright flash of red and orange morph into her son's crying face. She ripped the goggles off her head and tossed them aside, reaching out to the boy. They said nothing. The shock overtook them both. She remembered what her counterparts said about this feeling. There was the rise in the chest and the overwhelming joy. The uncontrollable sobs came after, but no words could define such a unique sensation. After three years of searching, she found him.
"How," she managed to gasp, "how could you survive here for three years?"
"Years?" he began, and then screamed in terror. The seekers finally caught up, and they all stared at the infinite void, the source of the boy's fear. There was something there, scratching and cackling with glee.
"Back to the pillow fort, now" Harriet screamed, picking up the boy and running. Gunfire rang out and faded as each seeker followed, unsure of where the target was or how close it could be.
The dull muffled pat of their feet on the ground echoed out as they traversed the black stone expanse.
The large door opened to them, and each entered into the safety of bright white light. The hard light beams lit up the black ground as the fort rose, hovering in the air. The beams crossed and expanded, opening a portal to safety. The doors began to close and Harriet caught the sight of black smoke and glittering eyes.
The entity didn't even bother to follow them. She heard the laughter in the darkest pit of her mind. She never saw the entity before, and now that she has, she tried to push away an unsettling thought: Did it go to all this trouble for a laugh? Was this just a big joke?