Chapter 12: After the Wilshire Hills Incident

"…And that's all that happened." the voice of Geo rang out in a brightly lit room that only had a table, two chairs, and a mirror. "There's nothing more that I can tell you about the attack, sir."

"Are you sure about that?" a man with short brown hair in a long trench coat with a white button shirt and brownish grey tie asked with raised eyebrows. "Is there anything that you're hiding from me, young man?"

"With all due respect, Detective Copper, you've asked me that question quite a few times already ever since you brought me and my friends here to the police station for a Question and Answer session," Geo explained with a sigh of annoyance as he slumped down into his seat. "To be honest with you, it's starting to get a bit annoying. I've already told you that I don't know anything about the attack except that it came so suddenly and without warning. It was so fast that me and my friends had no time to take shelter and get to somewhere safe."

"I'm sorry, Geo, but it's all a part of the official questioning," the detective explained as he got up from his seat that was opposite of Geo. "It's my job to ask you these questions and to see if you have any important info for us concerning the attack and if you're purposely hiding anything of vital importance from us."

"I understand that, sir, but my answer is still going to be the same as it was for the past hour: I'm not hiding anything important about the incident," he repeated in an agitated tone. "What could I possibly gain in doing that? After all, I'm only twelve and in the fifth grade, for Pete's sake! That and I was out cold for the majority of the attack along with my friends."

"Well, you do have a valid point there," Detective Copper said as he pondered on what to ask next. "As a child who's still in grade school, you can't possibly have any reason to hide anything from us concerning this, especially since you were out cold during the time of the incident."

How in the world did I end up in this crazy situation? Geo thought with a heavy mental sigh. Oh yeah, it's all because of that Taurus Fire that I'm even here to begin with.

Flashback:

As Geo was waiting for his friends to regain consciousness so they can leave this place that was once the beautiful Wilshire Hills, Omega kept watch over the area for any other signs of a FM-ian attack. When he heard the sound of sirens in the distance over the sound of burning rubble, he immediately rushed to where Geo was kneeling beside Bud to warn him.

"Hey, kid," he warned him when he was hovering next to Geo, "I'm not sure what the sirens mean, but I think it's saying that the authorities are coming. We could be in a bit of trouble if we stay here any longer. We should leave the guys and split while we still have the chance."

"Are you kidding me, Omega?" Geo asked in complete shock at the suggestion. "I'm not going to leave my friends here just because the cops are coming. Besides, I didn't do anything wrong and I'm not in the Wave form with you. I shouldn't have any problem if I just play it cool." "

Yeah, but what about me?" Omega asked. "Don't these people you call 'cops' have a way to detect Wave beings like me?"

"Now that you mention it, I think this kind of incident is probably going to be a job for the Satella Police," the boy suddenly remembered. "They'll more or less likely have something that can easily detect you."

"You see? That's why we have to make our way out of here and leave those three behind."

"Look, I've already told you this before and I'm going to tell it to you again: I'm not going to leave my friends behind. True friends don't abandon their friends. Besides, aren't you free to get away from here? It's not like you're forced to stay here or anything like that."

"You got to be kidding me. I was thinking that I could hide in your Star Carrier while we were running. Since you're not planning to leave, though, I guess I'll just stay in there until the heat dies down."

"That might not be the greatest of ideas. You see, the police tend to confiscate things from people who are found at a scene of some big incident or crime. This should be no exception. They'll more or less try to run a scan of my Star Carrier to make sure I'm not hiding anything."

"Then, where am I supposed to go and hide? If I don't have the Star Carrier, then I have nowhere else to go."

"Oh, yes you do. Just go back to my house and stay there until I get back. It'll probably take a while since police procedures usually take a long time. As long as you stay in my room, everything should be okay on your end. Now hurry up and go. I can hear the sirens getting closer."

For a small moment, Omega felt himself hesitate, which was a very unusual thing for him to do because he was, by nature, the type who would never second guess himself. It was as if he couldn't decide whether he wanted to stay with the kid or just run like a dog with it's tail between it's legs just to save his own skin.

"What are you waiting for, Omega?" Geo asked as he heard the sirens come to a stop and car doors opening and slamming shut. "Get going! You don't stand much of a chance against the Satella Police and their advanced Wave weapons. Don't worry, I'll be fine. I'll also make sure to not say anything about you or the incident. If I feign ignorance, then they might not ask me so many questions about all this. Now hurry up and get out of here!"

"Fine, just don't give ourselves away to them!" Omega reminded him as he ran as fast as he could back to Geo's house. "The last thing we need is to have them down our throats and chasing our tails!"

Within a second, he was gone and was no longer anywhere near Wilshire Hills. And in that one second, the Satella Police found their way through the flaming rubble and to Geo's and his friend's position.

"Everybody, split up and search for any people that are in need of assistance!" Detective Copper commanded the group of people behind him that wore the official uniform of the Satella Police. "Make sure you don't miss anybody out there! You two, help me take these four back into my car. I'll drive them back to the station when we're done here."

"A-are you guys here to help us get out of here?" Geo asked as he pretended to be scared.

"Don't worry, kid," the detective said as he knelt down beside Geo and easily bought the act. "Everything's going to be okay now. Are you alright? Do you have any injuries on you?"

"N-no, I'm alright," he answered as he continued to pretend to be scared. "Everything feel's okay."

"Well, that's good to hear. Do you mind telling me your name along with those that are with you if you know them?"

"A-alright. My name's Geo. The big guy's Bud, the small one's Zack, and the girl's Luna. We're all friends that go to the same school. W-we only came here to celebrate our Summer vacation together. We didn't think that something like this would happen."

"Don't worry, you're safe now. You just go ahead and follow my men and they'll take you to my car where it's a lot more safer. Once we're done here, I'll take you guys back to the station where your friends can recover safely. Do they have any injuries, by the way?"

"N-not that I know of. I think that they all just fainted from the suddenness of the attack."

"Well, that's good to hear. Just go ahead and wait in my car and I'll take you to the station shortly. You can call me Detective Copper, by the way."

"Alright, Detective Copper. I'll go and wait in the car."

End Flashback:

And that was how Geo found himself in the police station and being interrogated by the cop that approached him first: Detective Copper. He and his friends have been in this building for a little over an hour from when they were first found at Wilshire Hills. His friends have already regained consciousness and were also being questioned by other officers about the incident.

"Well, if there isn't anything else you want to ask me, can I please go home now?" he asked Detective Copper. "I really don't think that I can give you anymore helpful information. After all, I was knocked unconscious when the attack started. All I saw when I woke up was burning rubble all around me. There really isn't anymore for me to tell you."

"Alright, you can go," the detective answered with a sigh. "Before you do, though, can I ask you one more question?"

"Sure, go ahead," the boy said with a sigh.

"How is it that you were the only one who managed to regain consciousness while your three friends didn't?"

"I honestly don't know, Detective Copper," Geo replied as he pretended to think about the question. "As far as I know, everybody wakes up from an unconscious state at different times. It doesn't seem that unusual to me that I just happened to be the first one up out of the entire group. It would be very unusual, though, if all four of us woke up at the same time."

"I suppose you're right. Well, you can go now. Just go out the door and follow the hall on your left side all the way down. From there, you'll enter the reception area where your mother should be waiting for you. You won't be able to leave with your friends, though, because they're still being interviewed by us."

"Alright, thanks for the directions," Geo said as he opened the door and exited the room.

"Hmm," the detective sighed thoughtfully once the boy was out of the room. "I can't help, but feel that he's hiding something from me. Then again, it must be all these cases getting to me. This is the latest known case of a virus attack here in this town. Just what in the world is going on around here these days?"