Chapter 9: At Wilshire Hills
By the time Geo made it to Wilshire Hills with Omega-Xis in the Star Carrier in tow, it was fifteen minutes before twelve. It was a good thing he caught the bus before it left his neighborhood, otherwise he would really be late and would have to face Luna's endless speech on punctuality and all that other good stuff. That was something he did not want to go through right now.
While they were still riding on the bus, the two of them found out that Omega-Xis was able to communicate with Geo from within the Star Carrier. However, that also meant that people around them could also hear the Wave being speak. It was a risk the being was willing to take, though, since he didn't want to keep coming out just to talk with one guy. It was more trouble than it was worth to do that.
Now that Geo was at his destination with a little time to spare, he decided to walk to the shopping center at a slow pace with his Star Carrier in hand. When he did that, though, Omega-Xis, from inside the device, was starting to complain about being somewhat bored.
"Hey, Omega-Xis?" Geo asked the Wave being in an attempt to stop his complaining. "Do you mind if I call you 'Omega' for short?"
"Yeah, sure, whatever," he replied in complete boredom as he ignored most of the question. "What's the point in hanging out with people that you call your friends? I don't really see much gain in it for you in the long run."
"Omega," Geo said in an indescribable tone, "that's not how it works. You hang out with friends simply because you want to. It's not about trying to gain something from them. It's about having a good time and creating great memories that you can look back at with a smile."
"Are you sure about that, kid?" the Wave being said in an unbelieving tone. "Sure, they may be nice to you and all that right now. But later on, they'll turn on you. They'll start asking you of things that you can't possibly deliver, yet they still expect it of you. When you can't do what they want you to do, they'll start to get agitated and demand more. After that, they'll just stop caring about you and start to ignore you like you never even existed. That's how life works."
For a moment that seemed like hours, the two of them were completely silent. Except for the sounds of the passersby moving along to their destination and conversing with each other, it was uncomfortably silent between the two of them. Then, Geo decided to break the silence.
"O-Omega…," the boy stuttered in shock. "H-how could you say something like that? That's not how friends are. I mean, sure, there are a few people who actually act like that around here."
"See?" Omega interrupted him as he tried to prove his point. "Even you admit to it yourself."
"However," he continued, "most of us treasure the friendship that we have with each other. We sometimes ask one another to do certain things for each other. On some occasions, we can do it; at other times, we cannot. From it, we learn the limitations of each others strengths and discover our weaknesses. We never try to push each other into doing things that we already know that they can't do. Most of us would never forsake our friendship just because our friends can't do exactly what we asked them to do. Surely you can see that, can't you?"
Once again, the silence dominated the two of them with Omega pondering on the words he heard.
"Hmm," he sighed out after a few seconds of silence. "The way you phrased every word in your explanation makes it seem like you're being very sincere about this thing you call friendship."
"Of course I'm being sincere on it," Geo replied in an effort to convince the Wave being's mind on the subject. "I couldn't be insincere about it even if I tried. It's the one way that our society here on Earth can truly survive. Surely, that's how you survive on the FM Planet, too?"
"Fortunately or unfortunately, we don't. All we need to do in order to function normally is to communicate with each other. Nothing more is needed in order for us to survive. We see this thing you call friendship as nothing more than a mere distraction for us.
"Don't get me wrong," he continued on. "I'm not saying that your ideals are completely wrong. It's just that it's very hard for someone like me to comprehend. You may think whatever you want on the subject, but I still feel that making and having friends around you is nothing more than trouble and wasted efforts along the road. In the end, all it'll have earned you is pain and misery. That's my two cents on it and I'm sticking to it."
"I guess there's no way to change your mind on it, is there?" Geo replied with a sad sigh. "I suppose I'll just settle for you knowing how I feel on the subject. Just as a closing remark, though: At least try to be friends with me. Can't you see that I'm trying to become one with you? Why do you think I came up with the nickname 'Omega' for you earlier?"
As Omega was trying to find a counter argument, he found that he couldn't really make one. It was as if his brain had turned off in the most crucial part of a battle and he was allowing his enemy to win.
The kid's pretty darn persistent, he thought with a roll of his eyes as Geo put the Star Carrier back into his pocket. He refuses to let go of the subject nor does he want me to continue thinking this way. I don't see the point he has in doing that. He even has the gall to give me a stupid nickname in an attempt to become friends with me. I don't see a need for us to become friends. Why is it, then, that I can't think of anything to say back to the kid? Is it because I feel, somewhere in my heart, that he's actually right? Is it possible that I'm starting to… Nah. That's impossible. I'll never try to make friends with anybody ever again. Not since that one time three years ago… That's how I came to be like this in the first place.
"Are you okay, Omega?" Geo asked with concern in his voice. "You've been pretty quiet for a couple of minutes now."
"Yeah, I'm fine," he answered gruffly. "I'm just thinking unnecessary thoughts now because of you."
With a small snicker, Geo approached a small set of stairs that would lead him to the shopping center where he was to meet his friends.
I suppose I could learn to be…somewhat tolerable with the kid. After all, If I'm going to survive the time we're going to be together, I might as well learn to get used to him.
As Omega continued to be lost in his thoughts, Geo walked up the set of stairs and saw his friends waiting for him at the front of the mall.
"Hey, guys!" he called out cheerfully to them with a wave of his hand. "Sorry if I'm a little late."
"Don't worry, you're not," Zack, who was busy fiddling with something in his pocket, replied. "We all just got here not two minutes ago ourselves."
"Yeah," Bud, who also seemed to be fiddling with something in his pocket, said. "Knowing you, though, you're rarely late to anything."
"Which is a good thing, I might add," Luna, who was not fiddling with anything in her pockets, added cheerfully. "It just goes to show that he'll grow up to be the perfect gentleman. Unlike some other people I know."
As she made that last comment, she was staring right at Bud who was starting to get a bit red in the cheeks.
"W-what are you looking at me for, Prez?" he stuttered as she continued to stare at him. "I didn't do anything."
"Oh, by the way, Geo," Zack said as he pulled something out of his pocket and kept it hidden. "Guess what the three of us got this morning?"
"I don't know," he replied. "What did you guys get?"
"Trust me, you won't believe it," Bud excitedly butted in once he escaped Luna's gaze. "It's just the coolest thing ever!"
"Even I have to admit that it's really worth getting," Luna added. "In fact, it's quite the upgrade to what we were used to before."
"Would you guys just tell me what it is you got?" Geo asked with a bit of annoyance. "It must be amazing if you're keeping me in the dark for this long."
"Well, believe it or not, we all got our own Star Carrier!" Zack cried out as he and the other two pulled out the said devices from their pockets and showed it to Geo. "Aren't they cool or what?"
"Wow, you guys actually managed to get one, too?"
"What do you mean by 'too'?" Luna asked. "Does this mean that you also got one?"
"Of course," he replied as he also pulled out his Star Carrier and showed it to his friends. "Here it is."
When the Luna, Bud, and Zack took a look at his device, they all gave a face of amazement at what they saw on his screen.
"Hey, Geo," Luna inquired, "I don't know if it's just me, but I think there's something in your Star Carrier."
"What are you talking…" he stared as he suddenly remembered that Omega was still in the device! "O-oh, that thing! It's nothing. I-it's just a…temporary computer glitch thing that the store clerk said would disappear over time. It's nothing to get all concerned over."
"What are you talking about, kid?" Omega said from within the device. "I'm not some kind of glitch. I'm a Wave being, for crying out loud! I thought we already settled on that this morning?"
"Quiet, Omega!" Geo shushed him in an attempt to keep him quiet, but it was already too late.
"Whoa, that thing can talk?!" Bud nearly shouted out in astonishment. "What is it?"
"Are you sure it's not just one of those virus things that only you yourself can see?" Luna asked as she continued to stare at Omega.
"I doubt it," Zack said as he gave Omega a close examination. "He looks a bit to sophisticated to be a virus. According to pictures of viruses donated by the Satella Police, most viruses usually have a pretty weak and small body. They're never as big as this. They also most certainly don't have any type of access whatsoever to a individual's Transer, or in this case, a Star Carrier. Besides, Geo's not the only one able to see this. I'm sure the three of us can see it quite well."
"H-hey," Omega stuttered at all the attention he was getting. "What am I, some sort of rare artifact on display at a museum here?"
Before anyone could make a remark on that, the five of them heard a blast coming from somewhere nearby. Then, they saw people starting to run around like crazy in all different kinds of directions.
"What's going on around here?" Zack asked as the ground rumbled from another blast. "What's with all the explosions?"
"Do you think that it's another one of those virus attacks?" Bud suggested as the blast started to come closer.
"Whatever it is, it seems to be coming this way," Luna observed as the blasts were, indeed, getting closer.
"Come on, everybody!" Geo shouted as he began to run towards the stairs. "We have to get out of here now!"
Before the other three had time to react, a blast appeared between Geo and his friends. The blast was so strong, it pushed his friends into the store wall. For Geo, it threw him down the stairs and forced him to land on his back. Thankfully, he landed in a flowerbed so his fall was somewhat broken.
"Jeez," he groaned as he tried to slowly sit up and ended up leaning back on his hands. "What the heck was all that?"
"Taurus," Geo heard Omega whisper next to him.
When he turned his head to the left, he saw the Wave being floating right next to him and out of the Star Carrier.
"What did you say?" he asked for clarification. "Who did you say was causing all this?"
"It's Taurus," Omega repeated with of hint of worry in his voice again that he carefully masked. "He's one of the guys that were following me. It looks like he's caught a whiff of my scent and is trying to look for me here. Either that or he just wants to send me a message."
"Well, hasn't he ever heard of using an answering machine or even a pencil and paper?" Geo sarcastically replied with a hint of anger in his voice. "This really isn't the most ideal way to be leaving a message."
"He trying to lure me out with all this destruction," the Wave being explained. "Either that or he just has the urge to destroy things like he normally does."
"What do you mean by 'like he normally does'?! Isn't there a way to stop him? At the rate he's going, Wilshire Hills is going to be reduced to nothing, but a pile of rubble!"
