Bang bang bang.
The door to his hangar being roughly assaulted awoke Omega with a start, the devil reploid smacking his head against a metal wall in the process. Growling and grumbling, he got up. Rubbing the painful part of his head, Omega went over to his hanging clothes and put them on as the banging continued.
Bang clang bang!
"Hey, would you wait a minute? I just got up!" Omega snarled to the intruder, "What the hell do you want with me anyways?"
Whoever was knocking on the hangar's door apparently didn't hear his retort. They kept up the assault, angering the God of Destruction further. He stormed over to the door, fully intent on giving the annoyance a taste of hell the moment he opened it.
BANG BANG-!
"Would you give it a goddamn-!"
WHAM!
Omega momentarily blanked out as he hit the ground hard. His nose cracked painfully as it hit the dirt, broken from the initial impact with whatever had struck him over the head. He groaned, looking forward to see the back of his attacker's clawed feet. The feet turned towards him...
"Oh my gosh, oh no, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to do that! Are you okay, why am I such a klutz I'm so sorry..."
Omega was seized by eight large, clawed digits. They dragged him off the ground, carefully raising him until his eyes were level with the reptilian gaze of the psuedoroid holding him.
"Are you okay? You aren't really hurt, are you? Is your nose okay? Please tell me I didn't break it...!" she whined.
Omega, still slightly stunned, could do no more than look at her dumbly until he regained his mind. His gaze focused on the sky. The sun was only barely rising, still held down by the line of the horizon. Street lamps shone dimly to counteract the darkness surrounding them. The realization of what time it was dawned on him at the same instant that he recognized his captor.
"You? YOU! What the hell are you doing here? I knew I should have killed you!" he roared.
The reptilian robot frowned at him. She blinked, an almost comical gaze on such a rough-looking pseudoroid, then responded, "Tch, I thought you'd say something like that. Scimitar warned me that you weren't too social. Anyways, I just came here to drop something off." The mutos reploid slowly dropped Omega to the ground, where he promptly pushed away from her, sheltering his nose.
"So, what, you're on first name basis with Scimitar or something? Why should I care?" Omega snapped, pushing his broken snout back into place. He winced as it popped painfully. It would heal, but it wouldn't be nice in the meantime, Omega thought grimly.
"As a matter of fact, I am. At least, I am now. And I know that it doesn't matter to you, but I'm already a high ranking mechanic because I'm kinda a rarity, er oddball, er, I mean, don't you underestimate me just 'cause I'm a pseudoroid!" She tittered, poking at Omega roughly. "Now, isn't it rude to keep a lady out in the cold?" the reploid stepped past Omega, flourishing a mysterious package in front of Omega's bleeding face. He grunted angrily at her. He went to follow her in but nearly tripped over her tail, which was coiled around his ankle slightly. She giggled as he stumbled, only to catch herself with an embarrassed mumbled apology. Her laughter stopped abruptly as she entered the hangar, staring at the draconian ship inside of it.
"Holy smokes! Look at that baby, whoohoo! This I gotta see!" She flung the box behind her, forcing Omega to catch it before it fell to the ground.
"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" Omega growled as she lovingly went over every inch of his stolen ship. She didn't hear and continued her inspection. The red reploid kept complaining, but the complaints soon fell under his breath as they were ignored. "Stupid... next time... rrrgh..." Omega turned to angrily ripping off the tape on the package she'd given him to vent his frustrations, the torn pieces drifting in multiple directions. He stopped when he saw the contents. They were the remnants of Scorzon's tail. Some circuits lay spreadeagled from their source, the bulbous tail tip. Deactivated, the energy blade was absent. Omega picked it up.
"Some of the raiders saw that hidden in the corner of the generator room, thought it might be yours," the intruder piped up.
He stared at it. "Yeah, it is," Omega replied suddenly. She nodded knowingly, then hopped down from on top of the ship.
"Alright then, my business here is done. My name is Iggy, by the way. Mind if I come back tomorrow? Your ship needs a tune-up and some new fuel. God, when did you last fill it up, anyways? It's almost empty! Silly, you need to keep it topped up or your fuel rods'll burn and your-"
"Yes yes sure whatever now get out!" Omega hurriedly snapped. He grabbed her by her forearm, pulled her to the door and shoved her through it. Slamming it behind her, he leaned up against it and sighed with relief. No way he was going to let her go off on a babbling rant about ships. He'd always hated that sort of thing, never understood a word of it. He knew there would be repercussions later, but he'd deal with it when it was happening. For now... Omega delicately picked up Scorzon's tail blade from the box. He picked it apart gently until he found what he wanted, a small circuit board with minuscule patterns of wiring and blood. If he was right about this...
Omega closed his eyes, his hands glowed. He tried to acquire the DNA from the small blade. At first, nothing. But then, "DNA acquired, EX Skill Scorpion Sting obtained."
Omega nodded with slight satisfaction. Not the best of titles, but he was pretty sure of what it would do. He drew his sword, activating it, then took a battle stance as the description of the EX Skill ran through his mind.
"EX Skill Scorpion Sting; injects a data code into the opponent at short range to temporarily paralyze and/or disorient them."
He quickly thrust with his sword at an imaginary foe, watching with interest as his sword shortened into a dagger. It regained its length as soon as he finished the thrust. Omega studied his weapon as he contemplated his new skill. "It'll only be useful if I don't want my opponent dead right away. "Hmph! Why would I want that, anyways? At that range, I could just kill them straight!" he sneered to himself. Then another thought wormed its way into his dastardly mind. What if he didn't want to kill them quickly? Oh, the possibilities! The sweet, agonized screams, the dripping blood, the looks of sheer terror...
Omega made a mental note to properly test out his new weapon as soon as possible.
His business with Scorzon's tail blade finished, he dropped it on the floor with a crash. He stomped on it brutally, shattering it, then kicked the pieces to one of the far corners of the hangar. After that, he exited the hangar, shutting it properly. Looking around the street, he saw that it was almost completely devoid of life. Iggy, the iguana reploid, was nowhere to be seen. However, the street brought back the memory of what he'd be doing today.
"Aww, crap," Omega sulked. He'd almost completely forgotten about his date! He fished in his pocket to see how money he had. The energy crystals (since when had currency changed to energy crystals? Must not be much of an energy crisis any more) were intact, if a little damp from yesterday. He put the crystals back into his pocket, wondering what his next course of action should be. Grumpily he decided to wait for thegirlto showup, since he couldn't exactly go out and look for her ifhe didn't know where she was. Oh well, at least he might get a little nap out of it. Omega leaned carefully against the wall of the hangar, closing his eyes and resting lightly. Despite that, his senses were still tuned for the slightest sound of movement. He may be napping, but no way would he be snuck up on!
Now that he was settled comfortingly, Omega waited. An hour passed. Dawn faded as the day moved on, as more and more hunters began to roam the streets in front of Omega's hangar, some of them stopping to chat with each other or to look at him strangely. Some even did both. Suddenly, Omega heard a different gait from the normal hunter ones.
"Hmm?" Omega opened one eye, looking up with disdain.
"Wakey wakey." White smiled. She wore a white t-shirt, cwhish was cleverly matched with a light blue skirt that hung below her knees. She had yellow anklets and bracelets that nicely complimented a plain yellow necklace and scrunchie, which held a ponytail in place at the back of her head. A small blue purse with thin blue straps hung off of her shoulder. "I'm ready for our first date! Are you?"
"As ready as I'll ever be," grumbled Omega. He got up leisurely, dusting off the back of his trousers and stretching out a few new kinks in his mechanical muscles. Looking at her, he was at least relieved to see that she was expecting a fairly casual date.
She frowned, "You don't sound too enthusiastic about this."
"What, you expected Prince Charming?"
"Nope. Just making an observation. Say, is that the same outfit as yesterday?"
"Yes, but I cleaned it, just in case you were wondering," Omega replied. He gave her an annoyed glance, "I need to go pick up some outfits later, actually. Mercenary work isn't too kind on clothes."
White grinned coyly, "Well, why wait? We can go shopping now. I needed to pick up something myself."
"What's that?"
"A bathing suit. 'Cause you know, I was thinking that after we went shopping, we could go to the beach. I've got one in mind that's really nice."
"You're the boss here," Omega replied nonchalantly. He detested every moment that he was forced to be with her, but hopefully, if he acted like he didn't care, it would put her off. So far it wasn't working, but he was sure that would change.
"Okay then, let's go shopping!" White backed off a bit, then began heading to the train station.
"Wait, shouldn't we be going to the marketplace?" Omega asked.
"No silly, there's more stuff at Legion city! C'mon already!" she giggled.
Omega rolled his eyes, following her to the station. He paid for them as they boarded, taking seats in the middle rows. As the train started up, Omega stared out the window at the camp and the wastelands surrounding it. His date sat down beside him, thankfully not leaning against him. Slowly the locomotive began clacking against the rails, speeding up the more it went. Scenery began to flash rapidly past the window.
"So, this Legion place, how long does it take to get there?" Omega asked.
"Not long, we're going there express so it shouldn't be over a half-hour," White replied, "anyways, maybe if we talk, the time will pass a little faster. We don't really know much about each other right now, so it'd be a good thing?"
"You want to know something about me? Fine. I don't like talking," Omega stubbornly turned his face to the window, watching the wastelands fly by. Boring, but distracting.
White cocked her head, frowning, "You don't like a lot of things, it seems. Judging by your attitude right now, you like to push others away, am I right?"
Omega kept staring.
"Meh, that's your gig. I know how you feel though, I used to have life a lot harder than I do now. Me and my brother, we had to go through a lot. And I mean, a lot. It's no wonder we're in a witness protection program now."
Omega's ear perked. He looked behind himself via the reflection in the window, "Witness protection program?"
"Yeah... I won't tell you much more... because what landed us into the program. Although...I suppose if we're going to be dating, you should know at least a little of it..." she teased shyly. If she was trying to get his curiosity, Omega scowled to himself, she'd have to try harder than that! But still, it might be good to know... he glanced at her, trying to hide his interest. However, White's trained eyes caught the small gesture.
"If you want to know, you only need ask," she taunted.
"And no doubt, there would be a hitch," Omega replied.
"Just a little equivalent exchange, that's all."
"Then if you're going to tell me anything, it better not be a whole lot."
"Okay!" she smiled. She looked past Omega, trying to look at his face in the window, "It all started a while back. We were being forced to work for someone we hated very much. I won't go into specifics, but... let's just say that it wasn't much fun at all. And there wasn't any way we could... avoid it, either. The one we were working for had taken... precautions, against that," she finished. Her eyes were flat and lifeless, the painful memories surfacing. Omega blinked, his own memories bearing their fangs. His eyes continued their solemn observation of the endless sands outside the train.
Pandora coughed, glancing over at Omega. "Well... that's my tale done, for now. What about you?"
"Oh, right. Umm..." Omega scratched his head, unsure of where he should start, and how to reveal as little information as possible. "Okay, uh, I used to work for a guy like that as well, long ago. Of course, he wasn't foolish enough to let me hate him. Problem was, failure wasn't an option for him. And, well, if it happened..." He left the statement hanging.
"...That's sad..." she mumbled, "was it just you he did that to? Or was there ever anyone else?"
Omega laughed quietly, coldly, "No, it was just me. He had other minions, of course, but believe me, I was all alone where I stood. Rank-wise, I mean. And in other ways too, I suppose."
"You know... Me and my brother, we always thought we were all alone in this world. We had each other, but no one else who knew what kind of suffering we went through. Maybe that's what I like about you, I could see it in your eyes the moment we met. You've suffered too. Maybe, I don't know, I felt you were one of us." She blushed, moving a little closer, possibly hoping for some sort of comforting answer.
Omega kept staring out the window, not even bothering to watch her reflection any more, "Yeah, I've gone through a lot. Trust me though, I'm not like you. Quite frankly, I'm not like anyone," he muttered. He made a mental note to show less emotion in his eyes.
"I guess that's how anyone would feel. We're all unique, right?" she tried to looking consoling, but Omega knew that she'd been hoping for more of an "Oh yay I'm not alone I think I like you too" answer. He'd be damned if he gave her that. She also looked a little put out, as if someplan of hers hand't quite worked as expected. Hump, whatever.
Minutes passed in silence. Omega finally turned away from the window, looking at Pandora, "So White, doyou know how much longer we have?"
"Oh, uhm, not long I think. Here, give me a second to check my GPS." The shy female began searching through her purse, ruffling aorund with a few objects until she found what she was looking for. It was similar to the communicator that Omega had used to call up the Raiders, but a pale cream colour. It also had a strange, triangular symbol on the back.
Omega pointed at the symbol, "What's that?"
Pandora looked at it, then laughed, "It's the symbol for Legion, silly! You know, the government? How could you not know that?"
Omega grimaced, turning away from her, "I like to stay away from civilization, you can't blame me for not knowing."
"Oh well, you know now," she replied, turning the device on. She checked up their location, smiling to herself. Every time she turned this device on, Legion would know where she was as well. "Anyways, we're not far now. The train goes faster than I thought, probably be just another ten to fifteen minutes."
"Alright then, I'm gonna have a nap." Omega was out before Pandora could utter another word. She sighed, wondering how she would wake him up once they got to Legion. For the rest of the trip, she stared out into the desert surrounding them.
As the train screeched into the station, Omega's eyes shot open. White was looking down the aisle that led to the door. She turned to him to wake him, but jumped when she realized that he was already alert.
"Whoa! I though you were asleep?"
"I was, but I sleep lightly. Now come on, we've got to go get this shopping trip over with."
They got up, following the steady procession of people leaving the train. Omega noticed with interest that the station was just outside of a large, impassable-looking wall. He peered around at the surroundings, taking in the many small aspects of the station. A few vendors called out for customers to come see their wares, but mostly, people just sat in chairs or stood in rows, shading their eyes against the dust as they waited to board the train, or for people to get out of the way so that they could get off said locomotive. Omega turned to Pandora, curious.
"Hey White, why would they have a train station outside of the city? Doesn't make sense to me."
Pandora glanced back at him as she trotted down some stairs, "It's got a dual purpose, actually. It keeps the sand out, so that they don't have to constantly worry about cleaning it out of the station, and it also prevents anyone from using the train to do any terrorist or extremist activities. Legion's angered enough raiders that they... wanted to make sure that the raiders didn't try and run a train into the city. If they tried that out here... the walls would stop them."
"Sounds silly to me. Having the station outside just proves that Legion is afraid of the raiders. And for crying out loud, keeps out the sand? What's so bad about a little sand?"
She pursed her lips, "Sometimes those raiders can really... mean business... they can't just ignore them! Not only that... the sand is a lot more dangerous than you might think. The reason there's so much sand blowing around... is because it's toxic. Whatever caused these wastelands leeched bad chemicals into it. Psuedaroids and the odd reploid may be resistant, but get a good sandstorm going and.. it's very corrosive to anything else. That's why plants can't grow, either." Gazing out at the wastelands as they readied to enter Legion, Pandora sighed heavily through her normally shy demeanour. "You know, as long as I've lived... those deserts have been there. They've been slowly diminishing, but... what I want to know is how they got there in the first place. What force of nature could have done such a horrible thing?"
"Wasn't nature, honey." Omega sneered absently.
Pandora shot him an aghast look. Omega quickly realized what he had said, stumbling out an excuse, "Well, I mean, look at it! Do you honestly think something natural could have caused it?"
"Maybe it was an earthquake that released some sort of odd metal-"
"Hah, yeah right! An earthquake? Whoever gave you that idea? And what kind of odd metal would disintegrate quickly enough to poison everything at once? In order for this much environmental damage, whatever had done it would have had to have done it all at once, in a wide radius, getting rid of anything that could have stopped it spreading. Anything other than than would poison, yes, but still be contained, probably by trees or grasses or whatever. But that?" He gestured violently towards the desolate grains in the distance, "That, White, could not have been done by anything other than a purely destructive force! For all you know, it could have been done on purpose!"
She gasped in disgust and shock. "On purpose? Who could want to do anything that monstrous on purpose!"
Omega could have recounted everything he knew about the "who" right then and there. He remembered the incident with the Eurasia space station to the letter (and had been rather upset at the time that he hadn't been the one who did it. Props to the silver haired mercenary asshole though). However, that would probably end up with him monologuing into both the maverick virus's origins as well as his, so he didn't. "Who knows? Anything goes in war."
"Wait, war? What war?"
"You know, the old wars that all the ancient tech raiders like to dig up was designed for," Omega explained.
She gave him a blank look, "Old wars? There isn't a historian alive who knows anything that happened over two hundred years ago, and there certainly weren't any wars in the time frame we do know of."
Omega realized that he'd just let something else important slip. He did his best to rectify it, "That's what I heard happened, anyways. Who knows if there really was a war or not, but it makes sense."
"It would, actually. Fighting... leads people to do such crazy things," she pondered quietly, "but even then, destroying the environment completely seems a little drastic. Someone would have had to have been really desperate... or plain mad... but what kind of fight could have caused that?"
So she bought his excuse for now. Omega was glad, so he continued their conversation in as meaningless a manner possible. It seemed to work until they arrived at the customs gate at the city. They were stopped due to Omega's lack of ID, and it wasn't until Pandora showed the guards her communicator and said that he was with her did they manage to pass.
When they were beyond the guards' hearing range, Omega asked her how she'd done it.
She smiled back at him as they passed various shops and people, "Well, this communicator also has another function. It's... quite useful when you're in a witness protection program... but apart from that, I wonn't say any more."
Annoyed at not getting the full answer, Omega resigned himself to peering atmany of the different goods in the store windows as they passed. "So, where are the clothes around here, anyways? Got any good shops in mind, or are we going to wing it?"
"Mm, I think there's one on the way to the beach. We can check it out when we get there."
"Whatever."
They slowly walked towards their destination, Pandora leading with Omega at her side. While she seemed relaxed, Omega was anything but. His eyes skirted every nook and cranny, watching the various security mechaniloids scurrying here and there. Colourful goods and cheery pedestrians assailed his vision as they continued past, some of them even waving at them. Pandora always waved back, Omega didn't. To the ordinary person, Legion was a delightful place. To him, it was a trap.
They kept on their path. Slowly, he began to notice more and more stores.
"We're here!" she cried out happily. Pandora grasped Omega's hand, looking at him, "So, where do we want to go first?"
Omega snatched back his hand, dusting it off with contempt, "I don't care."
"Fine then... be that way!" she growled. Grabbing his hand again, despite his protests, she half-dragged him forward into the crowds surrounding the stores. Peering around as they went, she soon spotted a shop that she liked. They went towards it.
"Oh...! Look at that!" she exclaimed. Pandora pointed to just inside the entrance of a shop, or more specifically at a row of bikinis hung on a rack. Finally letting go of Omega's hand, she raced towards it, looking through the different colours that were available. The ones that caught her eye the most were a bright, clean white triangular pair. Thin blue straps tied the top together at the back, while the bottom was tied together at the side. They were rather nice admittedly, and thankfully they weren't the most revealing bathing suit on the rack (the ones that won that title made even Omega raise a brow in offense. Whose bright idea for womens clothes was that, a teenage boy's?).
"What do you think?" she asked Omega.
He shrugged, "If you like it..."
"I think I do... I'm gonna go try it on!" she trotted to the back of the store and towards the change-rooms. Her eyes strayed to a few more garments as she went. Omega, now waiting for her to finish, began to look around the store as well.
A few minutes passed. Omega leaned against the open door, until he heard from Pandora again, "Hey, get in here! How are you supposed to... to tell me how I look if you can't even see?"
Omega cursed the fact that he was letting some random girl order him around, but went in anyways, "Fine, whatever."
When he got there, she was leaning against the side of the change-room, looking over at him, "So, what do you think? Does it look... alright?" The first thing Omega noticed is that it did indeed look good. It complimented her figure nicely, showing off her good features without flaunting enough to be considered questionable. Her hair matched almost perfectly with the straps that encircled her neck, back and waist. The triangular theme worked with her slanted pose to finalize the look, as well as catch a few wayward eyes from elsewhere in the store.
Omega had to admit, grudgingly, that she looked good. Of course, he wasn't going to tell her that! At least, not too obviously "It looks alright," he admitted.
"I'm glad you like it," she replied sarcastically, rather unsure whether or not he reallymeant the compliment. Then, Omega noticed something very peculiar.
"Wait, White, what happened to your skin?" Omega nearly gaped. Her shin was a pale tan, a human colour! "I thought you were a reploid?"
"I am a reploid... what, you thought my skin was black? Heeheehee!" she clutched at herself, giggling, "Heeheehee, you thought my body suit was my skin! Oh my...! Teeheehee!" She continued, oblivious to the dark look Omega had. He was getting lost in his own world, confused. If reploids had human coloured skin, what did that mean for the relationship between the two? Had reploids become equals? Had humans been wiped out? Was there even a distinction between the two species anymore? The implications of this sent Omega's head spinning.
"Hey... Are you okay? You look a little off..." she tapped him lightly on his head, "say... you didn't actually think my skin was black... did you? It was my body suit, you know... just-in-case armor? Everyone wears it because of the raiders, not... not because their skin is really black... unless... is your skin black?" she asked, her jovial attitude fading.
Omega shut his mouth. He turned away from her, pretending not to have heard. He feigned interest in a rack of swim goggles. He didn't want to say yes, but at that point, he was sure it was obvious. A few glances around assured him that, at least, no one had eavesdropped on their conversation.
"It is, isn't it? Black skin... you have body armor for skin? Or is it just black?"
Silence.
Pandora waited for an answer, but it seemed that her date was done with talking. No doubt she'd hit upon a sensitive subject. But what subject was it? There seemed to be no harm in trying to pry a little farther.
"Does this have to do with who made you?" she inquired quietly. Omega was stone still. Too still. He'd gone from a loose, if somewhat defensive posture, to ramrod straight in an instant. Pandora sighed, he was going to be as difficult as he possibly could if she kept on this course. "Fine, I get it, you... won't talk about it. Fair enough. Perhaps we should move on, then...? Don't you have to get some clothes too? We're... going to a beach, so you might want to get some of those as well", she said. pointing across the store. Omega finally shifted, then noticed a rack of mens swim wear. He didn't go over to it.
"I don't swim."
"Why not?."
"I don't like to."
"Just get a swimsuit then, you can lay down on the sand and relax... get a little sun?"
"I don't like the sun."
"Fine then. Come on... no one will care if you have black skin. Some people actually wear their body suits to the beach regularly. People see them as a bit paranoid for wearing armour to a beach... but you don't usually care what other people think about you, do you?"
Omega paused. He glanced back over his shoulder at Pandora, whose arms were crossed. People wore their body suits to the beach? Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing to get a swimsuit... then he mentally slapped himself. Not only would that be giving in to the annoying woman's demands, he was pretty sure his scar would stick out like a sore thumb. So he gave her his usual hate-the-world look and responded.
"No."
Pandora grumbled in disbelief and frustration, "Are you going to keep... standing there like a spoiled child? You're a grown man! Quit acting like a... a stubborn child!"
The comment stung, but Omega didn't let her know that. Instead, he coyly turned his head just enough to look at her with a smirk of disdain. "No."
If Pandora still had her staff, she was pretty sure she would have smacked the man upside the head with it right then and there. Instead, she gritted her teeth, breathing out noisily and trying to control her temper. "Fine then, you don't want a swimsuit? Whatever. Let's just... go to the beach and... chill out a bit, okay? I don't want to do something I'll regret, and you need to get rid of your attitude." With a huff, Pandora stomped back into the change-room. She reappeared a few moments later and headed to the teller at the front. Scrounging around in her purse, she tried to gather the funds she needed for the swimsuit, but was having a little less luck than she'd hoped for. Omega lightly slammed the money she needed in front of the cashier, giving a daredevil smirk as the money was accepted. Pandora affixed Omega with a look of maybe-not-actually-mild rage, then took the swimsuit and pounded out of the store. Omega took the change from the confused teller. He followed Pandora down the street, shortly out of her immediate range of sight.
Finally, this was starting to get fun...
It wasn't until they reached the beach that Omega bothered to get close enough to Pandora for her to see him. Splashes and joyous shouts bounded over the sands as numerous civilians explored the various pleasures of the beach, the water, the sun, or the many friends nearby. There seemed to be no regard for the different ages or genders, everyone just got along. Omega found that incredibly bizarre, but ignored it for the moment.
"So, you decided to follow me after all," she frowned.
"Of course. No way I'm going to miss out on an opportunity to torment you."
Pandora frowned again, "How nice. Well, you'll have to... wait a little longer. I just saw some friends... so I'm going to go have a quick chat with them." Without another word she was off again, this time towards another street leading to the beach. He watched as she suddenly stopped at the edge, talking to people hidden just behind a wall. Impatient, Omega waited for her to finish, not quite adventurous enough to intrude on the conversation. It didn't take long. She began to walk back soon enough, bringing with her a youth wearing a short-sleeved blue hoodie with light blue pockets and hood drawn up over his face. A somewhat eternal grin rode on his face along with a pair of sunglasses. He wore sky-coloured swim trunks under the hoodie, and his white skin had almost no trace of a tan at all. The kid waved at Omega as he neared.
"Hiya! So you're the guy I heard so much about from White. Nice to meet'cha!" he greeted, entirely too jovial for Omega's taste.
"Hmph." The new arrival's existence was barely acknowledged.
"Ooh, a tough guy, eh? You've got a lot of nerve to do that with me! Do you know who I am?" he pointed at himself, grinning widely. Omega stared down at him, not answering. At least, not verbally. His body language just screamed, don't know, don't care. The youth's smile lessened slightly, but resumed itself quickly, "Oh right, probably hard to see with these sunglasses on. Kinda good, that's what I'm wearing them for. My name is Thetis! The Model L Mega Man!"
Omega raised his eyebrow somewhat skeptically, but he could begin to see the resemblance. Without warning, a small blue, white and yellow box peeked out from Thetis' pocket, staring with glowing eyes at Omega.
"Oh, and that's Model L. Now go on, get back in there before someone sees you, I'd rather not have a crowd of any kind around here," Thetis cooed, gently pushing the odd object back into his pocket. Omega could have sworn he heard a female whisper about something, but brushed it off. Or he would have, had Thetis not looked strangely at Omega right after as if he were an old acquaintance that he'd forgotten, "Hey, Model L says that there's something odd about you. You know, as if she'd seen you somewhere before? You don't know anything about biometal, do you?"
Omega scratched his chin. That Model L thing could speak? Interesting. Glazing his eyes in disinterest, Omega replied, "Only what's on the Legion website," he lied.
"Okay. Sorry, I was just curious."
Pandora took a step forwards, cutting off anything Omega might have said in retort. She looked at the two, "Well, change of plans. I don't get to have fun with my friend Thetis here all the time, and we are just having a casual date, so I was thinking that could come with us."
"Whatever."
"Thought you'd say that," she sighed, "oh well. Anyways there was something I wanted to check over by the sea wall there." White pointed to where a great wall towered several meters above sea level. It was a fair distance away, and would be a good walk to get there, "Since you don't want to go swimming, we might as well, right? Besides, I heard there was a good dock over there, just in case you change your mind."
Omega shrugged his shoulders, "Meh." The trio took off towards the wall, ignored by the crowds. Thetis and Pandora chatted happily about random things while Omega watched for any sign of trouble. His efforts were wasted, and he knew it, but paranoia was a part of being who he was. The God of Destruction would never allow himself to be caught off guard. Unfortunately, about half way to the wall, Thetis did just that.
"Hey guy, what's your name, anyways?"
The simple question took Omega so far off guard that he stopped, blinking. Perhaps he should've paid a little less attention to his surroundings and a little more to what his date and her friend were saying.
"Er..."
"Hey, I asked you what your name is!" Thetis puffed out his cheeks in annoyance.
Omega blinked again, desperately trying to come up with something suitable to say. In the meantime, "Uh, I don't usually give my name out."
"Well, you're going to have to today," White teased.
"Oh come on, can't you just give me a nickname or something? That's what everyone else does," he grumbled.
Pandora smirked, "Now really, do you want to leave your name in the hands of this guy?" she pointed her thumb back at Thetis.
"Hey!"
"I'm just joking, don't worry!" Pandora laughed. Any previous shy demeanour had seemingly left her, as if the presence of the Model L Mega Man made her feel more secure. Omega didn't entirely blame her for that. Thetis continued to look put out, although more comically than before (whether or not it was on purpose was beyond Omega). Pandora laughed even more, smiling as she did so. Thetis began making funny faces at her, sending her into hysterics. He kept waving his tongue, rolling his eyes and pulling his ears and nose into many different shapes to keep her guffawing. At this point, Pandora was laughing fit to burst, sometimes having to gasp desperately for air. In time, however, she joined in, and a fierce competition began.
Then, Thetis turned his attention to Omega. Taken slightly by surprise, Omega stopped. Then he started walking again, ignoring the blue mega man's attempts to crack his serious demeanor. This continued for some time, until Omega had had enough of it. A sudden mischievous urge took him, and just as Thetis was about to prepare another funny face, Omega turned around swiftly, baring his fangs and emitting a short and deep barking roar. His red eyes glinted dangerously and his hands were poised like claws. Thetis yelped, jumping back and falling butt-first into the sand. Pandora giggled as Omega smirked, returning to his path. Thetis' eyes were wide, fearful. Ittook hismind a moment to process what he'd just encountered. Then-
"Holy cow! That was so scary, I was like, eek! You gotta show me how to do that, that was so awesome! I wanna know how to scare people flat on their arses like that, come on, can you show me pleeeeeeeeeease? And hey, you haven't told us your name yet! Come on, what is it what is it-?" he whined, words bubbling out like a fountain.
Omega peered back at him, aghast. "Does that kid ever shut up?" he asked Pandora.
"Not that I know of," she returned.
"Hey, I'm still here you know!"
"And where you are, I don't want to be," Omega stated. Without a backwards glance he began sprinting towards the sea wall.
"Hey, no fair! You gotta say when we start a race! Headstarts aren't fair!" Thetis dashed after Omega, Pandora doing her best to follow him. Omega put his hands over his ears, yelling playfully, "Augh, the siren child! Run for your lives!"
"Who you calling a siren! Sirens are females, you idiot!"
"And your point is?!"
"What the? What's that supposed to mean!" Thetis charged forwards with a howl, increasing his speed.
"Ahahahaha!" Omega snickered cruelly, sticking his tongue out at the Mega Man. Hah, he'd forgotten how fun it was to poke fun at his opponents, juvenile as it was! When had he forgotten that anyways?
"Gwaaaargh!" roared the blue Mega Man, pouncing on Omega as soon as he was within reach. The two tumbled to the ground, rolling forwards. They stopped with a thud, Thetis winded as Omega held him to the ground with one hand. "Hahah, who's the big bad Mega Man now, eh?"
"Why... huff... huff... you...!"
Pandora appeared behind Omega, breathing hard, "Holy crow, you two are...hoo boy... hard to catch up with! Now let Thetis go... phew... he's just a kid."
"Aww, do I have to?" Omega stood up fully. Thetis attempted to get up, but found Omega's foot on his chest. He kept squirming, but to no avail.
"Yes, you do."
"Fine. Spoilsport."
Omega brought his foot up. Without something to restrain them, Thetis' wild throes turned him over onto his stomach faster than he could react to them. He ended up flat on his face, then pushed up with one hand, the other clutching his painful nose.
"Oooooowww..."
"That's what you get for picking a fight withme," Omega gloated simply.
"Piss off," Thetis grimaced, holding the injury. He let it go; apparently it wasn't too damaged.
"Still... he raised a good point... huff... you still haven't told us your name yet," White pointed out, still winded.
Omega frowned. He looked around quickly, then changed the subject, "Hey, we're here!"
They were indeed there. The sea wall was to the group's left, protecting the beach from the deep waters beyond it. It started low off the beach, slowly getting higher and higher as it went. The trio looked over the edge, watching the clear salty waters lap at the metal wall. As they walked along it, the water beyond the wall seemed to become darker and much, much deeper.
"So, they put this here to protect against a drop-off?" Omega pondered aloud.
"Well, sorta. I think they first put this wall here so that they could build along the other side of it. But, well, it's doubled as a guard as well. There are some docks along it too, really good for boats. And they've got some great environmental regulations too! Keeps this water here nice and healthy! I wish they'd just do that for other areas of the world as well..." Thetis informed.
"Have you taken a look at the wasteland outside of the city? A bit late for environmental concern, if you ask me," Omega stated boldly. Thetis seemed to puff up with indignation, his face red with anger.
"And it's oblivious jerks like you that made it that way, and keep it that way! Don't you idiots realize that the environment can still be saved? Humanity just has to make an effort, unlike what people like you do! Don't you get it, you stupid...!"
Omega ignored the rant, continuing to gaze down at the waters below. By now they were quite deep, the bottom completely hidden by a veil of dark, almost black blue. A wooden dock appeared several meters in the distance. He didn't realize when Thetis quit talking, or see the devilish glint that passed between Pandora and Thetis' eyes.
"Looks like a good enough time as any," Thetis whispered in Pandora's ear.
"Heh, he's gonna pay for being rude to me!" Pandora chuckled.
Theyclosed in on their prey, who was still engaged with the water below, wondering how it could look so clean. Pandora tip-toed to the side, grabbing Omega's attention. "Oh, uh..."
Thetis took advantage of Omega's hesitant state, rushing forward and planting his palms firmly on Omega's back. Before he had time to react, Thetis pushed fiercely.
"See you next fall!" she finished. Omega flailed uselessly as he fell a full ten meters to the water, hitting it with a large splash. The moment he hit it, he knew his secret was in trouble. Never in his life had Omega been able to swim. As God of Destruction, he'd always worn armor that made him sink like a stone. Not a problem, usually; he could breath water as easily as air. His cooling systems weren't fussy. Unfortunately, he highly doubted that, as small as the barriers between humans and reploids were, they could both breath water the same way he could. And if they saw him breathe water...
Omega struggled against the wet confines of the ocean, trying to gain purchase in the liquid. His efforts yielded no result; his wild movements did little to keep him afloat. To add insult to injury, his hair was full of water and getting in the way, entangling him. Not only that, even without his gear, his battle-oriented design had extra defensive features underneath his skin, almost like an exoskeleton. It was fairly light, but not light enough to stop his descent, only add to it. So Omega sank, holding onto the air in his pseudo-lungs for as long as he could. Omega could not panic, he was designed not to. That's what he thought at least. However, he was as close to it as he'd ever been. He tried to rely on his instincts, hoping that there was something in the back of his mind that knew about swimming. No luck. Whatever that cursed original creator of his had programmed for his instincts, he'd neglected the act of staying above water. Perhaps alright at the time, his original body hadn't exactly been lightweight itself. But it did him no good now. He continued to sink, well beyond what anyone on the surface could see.
x-x-x-x-x-x
Crouched behind the wall, Thetis laughed. Pandora was doing the same, patting Thetis on his back for a job well done. The moment they'd pushed Omega over, they'd ducked behind the sea wall to avoid anything that her date might have thrown at them. They guffawed loudly, considering to each other what Omega would do once he got to the surface.
"My god, hahaha! We'd better cover our ears, he's gonna be so pissed!" she crooned.
"Huheehee! Yeah, it's going to be a good thing that he's down there and we're up here! There's no telling what he'd do if he got his hands on us! Kyahah!"
"Heehee, he'd wring our necks for sure!"
"Hoo boy, Can you imagine? He'd be hard put to swim, trying to wring our necks at the same time!" Thetis continued guffawing, but stopped abruptly when he realized that Pandora had stopped, "White, what's wrong?"
"Thetis, why isn't he up yet?"
Thetis' eyes widened, "Hey, did he say something to you-"
"Oh my God, how did I forget? Oh no!"
"What, what'd he say?" Thetis squeaked.
Pandora was up and looking over the sea wall in a flash, fearful concern etched on her face.
"He said he doesn't swim!"
Thetis was over the wall in a millisecond. "Megamerge!" He yelled, transforming into his powerful swimming armor. He aimed at the deep blue water, hoping that it was where he'd pushed Omega in. Of course, the water was free of ripples or bubbles of any sort, nothing showing that he was aiming for the right spot. He hit the water with a huge plume of water crashing into the air behind him.
x-x-x-x-x-x
Omega kept struggling, his insides fit to burst. Pure instinct kicked in. He finally released the air in his system, entirely involuntarily. It was too late. With no data in his head for swimming, all Omega could do was attack to water in desperation, hoping that it would work. His mindset was dangerous. The previous near-panic he'd been in brought his fighting instincts to full fruitation. In his mindless condition, Omega simply attacked every molecule of water he could. However, since it did not result in enough lift for swimming, it only brought his crazed brain further frustration. To put it simply, Omega was putting himself in a frenzy. He writhed and snarled and clawed and kicked, but no bubbles rose, nothing happened, so he kept attacking, biting, and twisting.
Had a school of fish happened upon him at that moment, it would have been shredded in an instant. Omega was without reason, purely intent on attacking.
This water was bad. He didn't sink as much as he should have. But he still sank. But where was the ground? This was bad. The water was an enemy. It was bad.
A shape emerged from the gloom. It swam towards him, trying to get to him as fast as it could.
"Hey, over here!" It called, trying to get Omega's attention.
It was a mistake. In his maddened form, Omega's mind turned all of it's rage towards the figure. The blamefor his situation went to the thing faster than anything else in the underwater world.
The water was an enemy. An enemy was bad. This thing swam in the water. Was it the water? It was. This thing was the water. The water was bad. The water was an enemy. This thing was an enemy...
The moment it reached out a hand (to attack?), Omega struck. He turned in the water, swiping with his right hand at the thing's face. It was a powerful blow, the thing reeling in the direction of his hit in a panicked dodge. Now turning in the water, in a way he didn't like, Omega rotated his hips. Bringing his fist straight to the thing's gut, he forced a good amount of air out of it. It countered, kicking at his face and releasing a thrust of energy from it's feet. It sent Omega back a foot in the water, but as he turned around to attack again, the thing was gone. Perhaps it had retreated? Omega tried to gain a good stance in the water, but was quickly angered by the lack of footing and began thrashing again.
A heavy force hit him in the back of the head. Stunned, Omega saw stars, his instincts not sure what to make of this situation. He was grabbed, but didn't respond to the touch. Water didn't do that...
Suddenly, the sea began to pass by at an incredible pace. He, along with whatever was grabbing him, were headed to the surface. They breached the surface with a gush of water tailing them. Falling back to the water, Omega expected to land back on the sea. It was not to be. The hard shock of ground traveled up Omega's unprepared legs, collapsing them. They'd landed on a dock.
Another hard force hit him in the back. Omega instantly spit up his lungful of water, coughing as he tried to regain air. He peered around the ocean's horizon, trying to find his attacker. He growled, making to get up on his hands. A lit blade of some sort stopped him in his tracks. He flopped back to the dock, breathing heavily. His instinct dissolved as he lay there on his chest, trying to make sense of the confused world.
"Goddamnit man, remind me never to rescue you again," wheezed a voice, the same from before. "You're a terror when you get in a panic, I'll tell ya..."
"Are you two okay? Is he alright, Thetis?"
Thetis grunted, "Yeah, he's fine, but I'm not! Boy, he's got a punch! Hack!" Thetis began sputtering violently, "Ooh, his hit did a bit more damage than I thought... I gotta sit down..."
Omega heard a thunk as Thetis fell to the dock's surface, hurting. He himself wasn't doing too well himself. Having let out the water in his lungs too quickly, he was gasping to fill his airways and dull the pain that throbbed through his systems. With Thetis' halberd at the side of its master, Omega was able to move again. He sat up, pawing at his chest to sooth the hurt.
Pandora knelt down between the two, trying to tend to their injuries. Omega pushed her away, turning his back to her. She huffed, then turned to Thetis, who seemed to be in more need anyways. However, there was nothing she could do there either, so she sat down and took a breather with them, doing her best as moral support.
It took a long while for Thetis to recover. Omega was doing much better, his advanced healing system having taken care of his wounds long ago. He was seated comfortably, sneezing occasionally due to leftover water. Thetis finally stood up, coughing, "Alright, down to business."
"Business? What do you mean?" Omega asked.
"You, my fiendish friend, are going to learn to swim, even if it kills me. After all, if I ever have to try and rescue you again, it probably would anyways."
Pandora snorted with the joke, but Omega took it seriously. "Alright, fine. Let's just get it over with," he scowled. As much as he hated to admit it, he did need to learn to swim, even if it meant learning from some brat. That is, if it was even possible.
"Okay, we'll start right here. Get in the water, and hold the dock so you don't sink."
Omega did as he was told. He glanced around at the sea wall above, "There better not be people watching this," he growled, trying to hide his embarrassment.
"No worries, there aren't any. I'll keep watch just in case and shoo any that do come, alright?" Pandora said. She smiled, looking to the wall. Omega actually stopped hating her for a second. She seemed to understand how he felt... But it didn't last long. Especially when his lower body began dragging at his upper, trying to bring it into the depths, "Gah! I'm still sinking!" He scrambled upward, claw-like digits digging into the dock as he leaned his upper body upon its grainy surface.
"Relax just let yourself float for a bit, get used to the water. The ocean is actually pretty buoyant, you know," Thetis instructed from beside him. He was in the water, letting his legs hang gently. He was un-merged, his hoodie wet and the Model L doing dolphin hops in the water around them.
Again, Omega did as he was bid. His hair floated just below the surface and his legs hung perpendicular to the dock. At first he didn't notice it, but was he... less heavy than before? His weight didn't seem to immediately drag him under like it had whenever he'd worn armor. Omega smiled, "Hey, I'm not as heavy... I''m not just sinking?" It still took some effort to stay above the surface though.
Thetis laughed, "Yeah, amazing how little you weigh under the waves! Although, you do seem a little heavier than usual."
"That's because he's a custom-made reploid, am I right? I knew that black skin wasn't the end of it!" Pandora smirked. He frowned in response. Well, part of his secret was out, but at least it wasn't the bloody part. "Argh, there's a person up there. I'll go get rid of them, okay?" She raced off, heading for a ramp leading off the dock.
"Are you custom? Who made you?" Thetis asked.
"Too many questions. Yes, I'm custom, but as to who built me, I'm not telling you anything."
"Well, judging by that punch," Thetis chortled, "you're a fighting model. Well, can't say I blame you for holding your tongue, anyone wanting a custom fighter model reploid can't be up to any good. Customs are usually illegal to boot. But enough of that, try kicking your legs, like this." Thetis demonstrated.
He did. The slight propulsion lifted him, getting rid of a lot of the pull on his body.
"Okay, maybe a little harder for you."
Omega kicked harder, until the pull of gravity was almost neutralized.
"Okay, now try treading water with one of your hands, see? When you're swimming, you use your legs for most of your propulsion and your arms for stability or steering. That's for the basic stuff, anyways."
Complying, if a little begrudgingly, Omega pushed himself away from the dock slightly, no longer putting half of his weight on it. He then began pushing at the water with one of his hands, as if swatting away an insect, only underwater. Afterwards Omega switched hands, getting the feel for it with both arms. "Okay... this isn't too hard."
Thetis pushed away from the dock, swimming leisurely at the surface. He got a few feet away, then beckoned Omega to follow suit. He tried, but he didn't get far before his weight became too much and he went under. This time he didn't struggle, but kicked harder with his legs and swooped his hands downward slightly. He breached the surface, but barely, and only with the top of his head.. Thetis grabbed his shoulder, pulling him back to the dock.
"Okay, almost. You just need to kick a little harder, and use your arms a bit more too." He showed Omega the proper form, than signaled for the two to try it together. They did. Omega managed to keep his face above water this time, but only because of his nose. After a short rest, they kept going, swimming away and to the dock numerous times, getting farther away each time. Eventually, Omega found a swimming style that suited him better and stuck with it, almost managing to keep up with Thetis. Pandora finally reappeared on the dock, dressed in her bikini.
"Alright Thetis, you've hogged him long enough. He's my date!"
"Haha!" Thetis giggled, squirting water at her. "Then come in here, I dare ya!"
She did, with a splash. Omega's face was smothered with droplets, but Thetis ducked under water just in time to avoid them. He splashed her back, and a small water war began. Thetis emerged the clear winner. Eventually they stopped, taking a breather at the dock. Both Thetis and Pandora were sunning on the dock, but Omega was still in the water, not quite over the novelty of his new ability. Suddenly he yelped, swatting at whatever was playfully attacking the ends of his pant legs.
"What the heck?" he threw himself out of the water, gazing back into it to try and see he culprit. It wasn't there. He did, however notice his heavy pocket, He dove his hand into it, bringing out a familiar box-like object.
"Model L!" Thetis laughed, "get outta there!"
The biometal flashed its eyes at Thetis and said something rather cheeky in tone (Omega once again missing the exact words) before shooting free of Omega's fist and back into the water. Thetis started howling, much to Omega's bewilderment.
"Wha-?"
"I missed that. Okay Thetis, spill it, what did she say?" Pandora asked. She seemed to be indicating the biometal, which was back at the surface of the water and blinking.
"She said she didn't want to..." Thetis laughed, clutching his stomach.
"She didn't want to why...?" Pandora urged.
"She didn't want to... cause he's cute! Gwahahahah!"
Omega blushed, his face reddening. He clenched his teeth, playing it off as anger, "Oh, so that's how that thing wants to act, is it?" He grabbed the biometal before it could react, holding it up, "I'll show you cute! Okay guys, guess a number!"
Mystified, the others followed along, "Uh, five?"
"Twelve?"
"I dunno, let's try eight!" Omega grinned, flinging the biometal out to sea. It hit the water... and bounced. The Model L kept going, bouncing six more times, then on its last time it did a pretty little twirl and sank with a plop. There was a high pitched shriek throughout the whole event. "What's she saying now?" Omega chuffed.
Thetis was rolling on the dock, uncontrollable laughter racking his small frame, "Hahahahah! Ohohoo, You don't wanna know, man, you don't wanna know! Kuahahaha!"
With all seriousness, Omega looked out to sea, "Well, that's a shame. I only got seven bounces out of that..."
That was the final straw. Thetis wailed with unending mirth, rolling to get rid of it. Unfortunately for him, Pandora took full advantage of the situation, pushing him into the water. Now it was Omega's turn to laugh, but it was so small that he was the only one who knew he'd done it. It was such a small chuckle, in fact, that he wondered if he's just imagined it. But... it felt good.
Really good.
Thetis reappeared with an angry look plastered on his face. "Oh you, you're going to get it! Hey, wait a minute..."
Pandora paused, listening intently.
"You're the only one who hasn't been pushed in yet, have you?"
Pandora realized what he was up to immediately. "Oh no you don't, I'm not letting you get back up here and push me in!" she took up a defensive position, ready for Thetis. But it didn't help at all.
"Oi, you!" He yelled at Omega, "Guess what! You did so well in my swimming class that you can graduate! Alright, ceremony time! THROW HER IN!" he roared.
Omega had grabbed Pandora before she could utter a word. She did, however, manage a shriek, followed by a high pitched complaint, "Don't you dare, don't you dare, don't-!"
Omega hoisted her above her head, ignoring her, "Hey, it's 24xx, right Thetis?"
"Yup!"
"Well then, for 24xx!" he yelled. Pandora flew through the air, screaming. She landed a good two meters away from the dock with an ear-piercing holler.
"Hey, nice throw! I think you broke a a record in... oh god! Oh no, ahahahahaha!" Thetis began laughing once again. Omega looked at him with his eyebrows fully raised.
"What, what'd I do?"
"You hit Model L!" Thetis cried gleefully.
Omega couldn't take it. He snorted, doing his level best to control his laughter but failing miserably. He slipped on the wet dock and toppled over into the water. Once he was in the water, he was able to get himself under control again. He surfaced, watching Pandora trying to console an aggravated biometal.
Thetis turned to him, holding his palm flat in the air. "Okay man, you deserve a high-five, that was awesome."
Omega looked at the gesture with pure confusion. Thetis sighed, grabbing Omega's hand with his other one and slapping it against his upraised one.
"Like this, dummy."
Omega frowned at Thetis, "I'm no dummy." He proceeded to dunk him under the water with the stolen appendage.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
The shadows lengthened at Hunters camp, bringing with them the end of the day. Omega nodded at Thetis and Pandora as they walked back to where they came from. He smirked as dust followed them, the pair chatting about unknown things in the distance. Omega closed the door behind him as he entered the hangar, his home. He closed and locked the door, sighing as the metal bolt thudded into place.
They still hadn't gotten his name yet... and he still needed some new clothes. Oddly enough, Omega felt that it was a good day. Yes, he'd done nothing but socialize, and learn to swim in the meantime. Normally Omega considered that sort of thing wasted time, but for some reason, today felt complete. He smiled. Deep in his heart he felt something... out of place. But he kept on smiling, despite the foreign thing in his chest, even as he lay down to sleep.