A/N: Has it been a while? Yes, it has, and I apologize for the delay, especially after such a consistent pace of updating for the last chapters. There won't be any action in this chapter, but rather a lot of drama and emotion. In addition, this is the last chapter for Book I, and we'll be moving on to the next arc next chapter!

Reviews:

xxxmega123xxx: True, Sonia usually does leave after the fight, but Geo was unsure about if he had actually KILLED someone (the Jammers). Sonia stayed to reassure him he didn't. And as for your strict reviews, I absolutely welcome them. The whole point of me being on is to become a better writer, and that means accepting any harsh criticism.

Before you question me about the title of this chapter, let me tell you that the writing of it was partly inspired by a song by one of my all time favourite bands, Zebrahead. If you want the listen to the song that partly inspired the writing of this, most notably the second half of the chapter, listen to the song "RunaWay".

Book I: It's Been Four Years

Chapter 12: RunaWay

As he stepped out of the car, Geo flinched as raindrops fell into his eyes, the drop stinging the insides. As he slowly reopened them, he saw, before him, a broken church. It was not at all big in size, and it did not look like the kind of church a couple would want to marry in. The paint on the soaked wood on the sides of the building was slowly withering away, in addition to the noticeable graffiti on them. The air around it had a certain feeling of death.

Geo bit his lip and cursed to himself bitterly. How appropriate.

"Come, son," Hope, who was dressed in a black dress and a hat, said as she stepped out of the car. "It's wet out here. Let's go inside."

Inside… Geo's hand unconsciously crept up to the Star Pendant dangling on his neck. He would rather stand out in the pouring rain, ruining the expensive suit his mother had bought him, than to walk in the broken church, listening to eulogies about his father, people banishing him from the world of the living. Slowly nodding, he ignored his mother's outreach for his hand and walked into the church. He ignored Hope's shriveled up sigh and mutter of his name.

As he stepped inside, he was quickly enveloped by the typical warm smell one would expect from an old church. Church had always had a cool and dark feeling for Geo; it was quite unsettling for him. It was probably due to the fact that him and his mother are not religious and they would never attend the masses, but this building especially would send shivers up Geo's spine.

Dad… Geo gritted his teeth and shut his eyes. Already, he felt as if he were to break down. Oh Lord, why?

He felt a hand on his shoulder, which Geo assumed was his mother's. He shrugged it off. Geo felt awful for treating his mother like this, and knows she is in just a fragile state as he is, but can't help but feel angry – angry for her giving up hope on his father. Her husband. Still, I can't blame her.

Geo opened his eyes. He was standing on red carpet, with dark ash stains in it. There were about 8 rows of cheaply made wooden benches, and a brown altar that looked like it may have been gold-coloured years ago. From what he's heard about funerals, most would have caskets holding the person's body next to the altar. He began to wonder why there wasn't, and after not much thought, Geo hissed, cursing silently once again even though he stood on holy ground.

People in black suits and dresses also began entering the church. Geo recognized most of them as Kelvin's co-workers at AMAKEN, and others Geo has never even met before. Kelvin was, after all, a very likable man with many peers.

Geo and Hope then walked down to the first row and sat down. After a while, Hope began sniffling and hastily took out a handkerchief to wipe her tears away. Geo bit his lip hard enough that it would begin to bleed. No matter what, he told himself the night before; he had to stay in control. Dad… he wouldn't want me crying. He would want me to be strong. Geo clenched his fist and nodded to himself.

"Aaron," Hope said suddenly, causing Geo to turn his head around. Sure enough, the large man stood right there. "Oh Aaron." She stood up and gave him a hug, which he returned.

"Hope," Aaron began, his lips quivering. "I…I…" He clearly was lost for words.

"I know," Hope said, sighing as she pulled away. Geo groaned as he stood up to hug his father's best friend.

"It's okay, Geo. I'm here for you," Aaron said, still managing to smile a little as he pulled away. "I'm here for both of you. Remember that."

"We know," Hope replied. "Thank you for everything you've done for us."

Aaron nodded as he sat next to Hope by the rear of the bench. Afterwards, people continued to walk up to him and Hope, each trying their best to comfort them. The only things on Geo's mind were his father, and the fact that the look on Hope's face was heartbreaking. Finally, the priest introduced himself to the two, shaking each of their hands. Apparently, from hearing Hope's and another person's conversation, they had paid quite a bit of money for this priest.

It made Geo want to puke.

Soon after, people began to settle down and the priest began his sermon. Time went by forever for Geo. Each and every damn second, the pain in his stomach sharpened. He was too lost in the thoughts in his own head, and all the words spoken by the priest and eulogy delivers came out muffled to Geo. He could barely even hear the sniffling and crying in the church.

He's dead.

He isn't dead!

Geo's lips trembled.

Finally, Hope stood up and walked to the altar. Unlike many of the people who have spoken before her, a sheet of what she was going to say is not in her hands. Geo's eyes widened. He didn't know that his mom was planning to say something!

As Hope stood up at the altar, Geo had noticed how dry her faced was from the constant crying, and her mascara had been smeared from her tears. Hope stood there, for what seemed like hours, simply staring at the audience, who were patiently waiting for her words to be spoken.

"Kelvin Stelar," her voice barely squeaked. She shook her head and cleared her voice. "I'm sorry." She coughed, and then continued. "Kelvin Stelar, my soulmate, my husband."

He's dead.

He's not dead!

"He… he changed my life," Hope said. "I knew he would, from the day I met him. The way his eyes stared into mine, the way my heart quickened. He is the greatest man I have ever known, and ever will know."

No… no… no…

"His words always had a sincere meaning, even if he is just joking around," Hope continued with the same bittersweet chuckle she had for the entire day. "Kelvin Stelar was always there for everyone, no matter what time of day, no matter the situation. He was always there."

He's dead.

"And – " Hope then was cut off by her tears, and she began to hiccup. "I'm sorry."

He's dead.

"I don't want to make this harder than it is. This is possibly the moment I've feared the most ever since he came home that one night – that night when he told Geo and me he was going on a space expedition. Even though I knew this was something a man as experienced as he was is used to, I couldn't help but feel worried. I mean, 'FM-ians'? It was too much, but I knew he wanted to change the world, and when his mind was set, there was no chance of anyone stopping him."

He's dead.

He…

"This," Hope then began to bawl, "is the hardest thing I've ever done. Now I know how much it hurts to let go of one of the people you love most, how hard it is to accept that –"

"HE'S NOT DEAD!" Geo exclaimed loudly as he shot up from his seat. His face burned as he noticed all the eyes in the church on him, but he didn't care. His lips were quivering, his legs were shaking, and his nails were sunk deep into his palm as his hands formed fists.

"G-Geo…" Hope whispered.

"Geo," Aaron stood up from his seat to grab his arm, but the teenager yanked away from the man's hand as if it were poison.

"He's not dead." Geo growled once more as he turned his heels and ran out of the church as fast as he could. No one followed him.

The heavy rain has, thankfully for Geo's now soaked and ruined tuxedo, regressed to a light shower. For 15 minutes after Geo's outburst, his Transer has been buzzing constantly, receiving messages asking where he is.

He, of course, didn't bother replying.

"Kid," Omega-Xis' voice said from his Transer. "What – "

"Leave," Geo said. "I wanna be alone."

"Geo," Omega-Xis protested, but knowing he wouldn't get a reply from his battle partner, he sighed and floated away. "I'll see you at home later, 'kay?"

Geo ignored the alien, who took his silence as a confirmation and left. He continued onto Vista Point, where he could find some sanctuary. Geo checked his Transer for the time, which read 9:37 PM.

Perfect. Nobody's ever here at this time. Geo let out a sigh of relief as he leaned on the railing and stared up in the cloudy night sky.

But even if the stars were out tonight, Geo was too distracted to count them or find constellations. Why won't anyone believe me? Geo snorted. Stupid question. A better question would be, 'why would anyone believe me?' To everyone else, I'm just a whiny 14 and a half-year-old kid too scared to let go of his dad. Besides, no one would believe that I met a talking blue alien from Planet FM, who told me my dad was alive, and we morphed into a walking piece of blue armour with a talking left arm.

Geo ran a hand through his spiky hair as he began to pace in circles. And… what was with me at the funeral? Dammit! Mom has been through so much stress, and what I did and how I treated her did NOT help at all! And how do I talk to her when I come home? What do I do? What do I say?

Then, there was nothing to stop the tears. He told himself constantly that it was something he had to avoid at all costs, because he had to be strong. Whenever he cried, he felt weak. However, he couldn't help himself. Cursing and spitting on the ground, he wiped his wet face with the sleeve of his blazer. "Damn it…"

"Geo?"

Geo nearly squeaked to the sound of the oh so familiar voice behind him. His heart began to quicken. No… I don't want to talk to any one! I don't want to see anyone! Nevertheless, he still turned around. "Hey, Sonia."

Sonia giggled. "Nice threads," she said, motioning to Geo's destroyed tuxedo.

Geo forced a smile. "Oh, heh, yep. Thanks I guess." Please, just shut the hell up and leave me alone.

"So where's Omega-Xis?"

"At home. Where's Lyra?"

"Same."

"I see."

The purplish-red haired girl frowned. "Yo Geo," she said, "that smile of yours… is almost painful to look at."

Geo raised an eyebrow, his smile still present. I can't let her break me. "What're you talking about?"

Sonia sighed and crossed her arms, one side leaning on the railing. "Dude! You have been completely anti-social around me and the others for the past couple weeks! And the only time I see you is when you're Virus Busting. Even then, you're still avoiding me."

"I-I had a lot of homework." Can't she just shut up?

"Geo, I share the majority of my classes with you. Our teachers have been so lenient, we can practically sleep in class and get away with it!" Sonia frowned. "Geo, you know you can tell me. Was it something Luna did? Was it something I did?"

Geo turned around, staring up at the sky. "Relax Sonia. I'm fine. There's nothing to tell, really!" Sonia, just mind your own damn business! No one can help me!

"Geo, I want to help! I really do!" Sonia protested. "I owe you, you saved my life! I think that means we run a bit deeper than –"

"I WAS JUST AT MY DAD'S FUNERAL, OKAY?" Geo boomed, snapping around. Sonia made a short gasp, her hands covering her mouth and her cheeks burning deep red. "Are you happy now? Are you glad that I've let you in with my little secrets?"

"Geo…"

"Stay the hell away, Sonia! Please, I just want to be alone!"

A burning silence followed. Geo's eyes, full of rage, stared right into Sonia's, which projected guilt.

"I… Geo," Sonia almost whimpered. If Geo looked closer, he might have noticed she looked as if she were on the verge of tears. "It's cool, I guess I'll see you around; on the Wave Road, or when school starts or something." With that, Sonia turned around and slowly walked away.

Geo grumbled, but the heat in his head simmered down. He tried to remain angry, convinced that he needs to be alone, but he couldn't help but feel a burning shame. Oh Lord… there I go again. Why do I always keep screwing up like that? "Sonia, wait up!"

Sonia stopped and slowly turned around as Geo ran up to her. "Look, I'm so sorry, Sonia. I shouldn't have –"

"No, I'm sorry Geo," Sonia said, looking down at her feet. "I thought it wasn't anything serious, like say you failed a test or something. I shouldn't have pressured you."

"Well, that still doesn't give me the right to be an asshole to you!" Geo said, his eyes softening. "You're being really nice to me, so thank you Sonia. It's good to know someone's there for me."

Sonia smiled weakly. "Aw, Geo." She slowly wrapped her arms around him, who still managed to return the hug despite being startled. "But I get it if you want to be alone. Like, I want to help and all, but –"

"No," Geo said, pulling away. He began to walk back to the railing. "I… actually want someone to talk to." He stared back at her, wearily. "If that's fine with you, of course."

A warm smile made its way on Sonia's face. "Sure," she said as she walked to the railing and stood next to Geo.

He sighed. "I dunno. I just think the main reason why I'm so angry is that I know he's still alive, and –"

"Wait, what?" Sonia interrupted him. "But… you…"

Geo laughed darkly. "Yeah, I know. 'You were just at your dad's funeral, so how could he possibly be alive?'"

Geo then told Sonia the story of his father traveling on a space expedition on Peace to form a Brother Band with the FM-ians. "See this necklace?" He pulled the Star Pendant from underneath his shirt. "This is what he gave me before he left."

Sonia nodded. She remembered asking him about it the other day. "I see," she mumbled. "But Geo, how can you be so sure he's…" Her sentenced trailed off.

"Alive? Because Omega-Xis told me that he had met my dad, and transformed him into a Wave Form. Besides," Geo said, pointing up at the night sky, "just take a look, Sonia. Look how big space is. It's absolutely endless. My dad could be anywhere out there. He's a Wave Form now, and I'm positive that he's strong enough to survive. Lost, maybe, but I believe he's out there. Alive."

If Geo had to be honest, he didn't know exactly why he's confiding in Sonia, let alone how he began to trust her the way he did. I've only known her for about a month! But it just seems… right being able to talk to someone the way I wouldn't talk to anyone else

Sonia looked up at the stars, then back at Geo, then down at her feet. "I see." A silence, once again, ensued. Then Sonia spoke lowly, "It must be nice…"

"What?"

Sonia shook her head. "Nothing."

"Sonia…?"

The girl sighed. "It must be nice… to have hope."

"What do you mean?"

Sonia stared in the sky, as if she was searching for something. "My mom; she's out there as well. But in a different place." She turned to Geo, with eyes that could melt the world's strongest man.

Geo stared at her, and after realizing what she meant, he gasped. "You're mom… oh my God… I'm so sorry, Sonia."

Sonia gave a bitter laugh. "What are you sorry for?"

Geo got taken aback, the insides of his cheeks churning.

"It's fine, I know what you meant," Sonia said, sighing. "Okay, so I haven't told what I'm about to tell you to anyone. The press doesn't know about this, barely any of my past friends do, but besides them, no one."

Geo nodded. "You can trust me."

"I know," Sonia said. "When I was six, my mom got sick – really sick. She had cancer, and even though the doctors were able to cure it, it was too late. It had already travelled to her lungs. She spent almost an entire year in a hospital bed, but she passed away one day." She turned to Geo. "Remember when I told you how I met Lyra? How desperate I was to save that demo of a song I wrote? That song was about my mother. It was so hard to sort out my feelings; how I felt about mom leaving this world, and how I'm going to move on with live, so I would resort to writing songs about cute guys to make the record label I'm signed under happy. Those songs come out in big numbers and are really easy to write."

Geo's mouth partly opened to say something – anything – but nothing could come out. I had no idea… Sonia… a girl so upbeat, so fun to be around, was wearing a mask all these years. I had no idea you had to go through the things you did.

"So yeah," Sonia said simply. "Hearing you say that – saying how hopeful you are and how certain about what you're going to do – is just amazing to me." Then, she began to sniffle.

Sonia… no…

"I-I'm sorry," Sonia whispered, as a salty tear rolled down her cheek. "I should be helping you with your problems, but instead I'm dumping my life issues on you. I guess I'm just one selfish Hollywood bitch, huh?" Sonia gave a bitter laugh, clearly to cover up her sobbing state. "I should just get out of your way and –"

Geo wrapped his arms around her, cutting off her sentence. Sonia, though surprised by Geo's warmth and sudden boldness, rested her head on his shoulder.

"Sonia," Geo said, "you've never had a Brother before, huh?"

Sonia gasped and pulled away slightly, but not enough to let go of Geo's grasp on her. "You… you checked my Transer…"

Geo nodded. Being able to transform into a Wave Form also gave him the ability to enter other people's Transer systems. "Curiosity struck me. I'm sorry."

Sonia shook her head, chuckling as she wiped her tears on her sleeve. "No no, it's fine. It's just that… you're right, I've never formed a Brother Band with anyone –"

"Form one with me."

Sonia stared at Geo's eyes. After a while, she nodded, pulling away. They both flipped open their Transers and scrolled through the menu.

"I-I'll send you a request," Sonia said.

Geo nodded as he indeed saw a request window on his screen. He stared at Sonia, then at the screen, then back at Sonia.

"I've never had a Brother either."

With that, he chose the option "Accept". After a whirring sound from both devices, a confirmation tone rung. Their Transer systems were now connected, and so were they.

The rain had stopped, and the skies have cleared up to reveal the starry night sky.

A/N: And that, is the end of the first book, "It's Been Four Years". Next update, we'll be starting Book II: Gemini.

Again, I'm sorry for the horribly long update. As usual, please leave a review. I'm a bit rusty from all those months away from . Until next time!