Omega was dreaming.
All in all, it was a pleasant dream. Blood here, gore there, with screams and everything else that usually accompanied a massacre. Omega was enjoying himself; to him, it was a lullaby of death. The one unusual thing about this dream, however, was the fact that there was a shadow following him the whole time. Not just any shadow, either. It was a carbon copy of himself created from a black mist, or at least that's the best way he could describe it. He knew he should have thought it odd to have it following him so loyally. Yet, for some reason, it seemed perfectly natural to him. Regardless of that little hitch, the shadow never did anything against him, simply tagging along with him like an obedient pet or servant as he had his merry way with some civilians. It was only during a lull in the bloodshed, when the street he was on was oddly quiet, that the shadow spoke.
"Master, time to wake up!"
And so he did. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Omega was mildly startled when someone began banging on his door. It was a messenger from the Masters, and after quickly relaying an order to report to the leaders of Legion once he was ready, they left.
The devil reploid yawned widely and stretched luxuriously. He had absolutely no intention of rushing to get there, and seeing as there had been nothing urgent about the messenger's tone, he was going to let the Masters wait a bit for him to get there. As he prepared himself for the morning, he remembered his dream and, curious, summoned Viral. The mental incarnation showed up immediately, chipper as usual, "You called, Master?"
"Yes," Omega directed mentally, "I was just wondering about last night. Was that your doing?"
"Correct. Observation and calculations of data showed that you performed best when well rested, and that showing a 'vision' of battle would relax you as well as keep your skills honed."
"It was rather pleasant. I suppose that you were the shadow then?"
"Correct Master. I will always be there to serve!"
"Very good. You're dismissed."
Viral left just as Omega finished his preening. After quickly slipping on an appropriate outfit the red reploid left his room, locking it, before leisurely strolling to the Master's chamber. Once the elevator to the room opened, he noticed a commotion at the thrones. He wisely quieted down, having not been noticed yet, and perked his ears to listen to the argument unfolding.
Atlas and Aeolus were frowning at each other as Mikhail watched nervously. Tempers were high, the fiery Atlas facing down the uppity Wind Mega Man, Aeolus. He was huffing imperiously, "You obviously saw wrong then. That-"
"I told you, the reason I didn't let you see the corpse was because you'd have thrown your uppity little guts up all over the place. I told you, I don't know how many times, that the psuedoroid that attacked the city that one day was dead, and you can be damn sure that there's someone in the cleanup department that agrees with me-"
"All evidence to the contrary, seeing as that pseudorid was at the fair the other day, very much alive, and adding to the general chaos!"
"Oh, there you are," Mikhail piped up, cutting off the other two (although they'd been constantly interrupting each other anyways). Omega shifted slightly, giving the pair of Mega Men a mocking grin.
"Yup, here I am. Now pray tell what could be so important to have these two bickering like a married couple?"
"Retract your comment at once!"
"Shut up asshole!"
Snickering at the reaction from the two Mega Men, the God of Destruction turned questioningly to the Master instead, completely ignoring any further comments from the pair. Mikhail sighed, shaking his head before replying, "We were just reviewing some data from the amusement park incident. It seems that the fiery bat pseudoroid involved was reported dead some time ago, after having tried to steal a generator a while back. It was an event that you maybe familiar with, I remember that Hunter's camp was involved after all. Remember?"
Omega nodded, "Yeah, I saw it, but luckily it flew away shortly after," he lied smoothly.
"Yeah, flew away and died, I saw the corpse myself, and what was left of it was brought back for investigation," Atlas added snappily.
"That can't have been the same pseudoroid that you saw, since it was very much alive when it started burning down the park!" Aeolus griped back.
"I'm telling you, it was dead!"
"So we magically have two of the same pseudoroid!?"
As the squabbling continued, Mikhail shook his head, "Whatever it means, it can't bode well. Nonetheless, we'll just have to keep our eyes out for it and hope for the best." He sighed, the elder more than a little exasperated at the actions of the youngsters. Omega made a mental note of the whole debacle. It seems that any further flights as Ignis would be extremely suspect. The blonde whined internally; he'd only just grown fond of flying! And now he couldn't. The only other flying form he had was Temporoc, but if he transformed into the temporal bird he might as well lock himself up in a prison too. It would be suicide for his alibi. Or at the very least, waving around a sign saying "I did it" at a murder investigation while wearing a bulls-eye for kicks. No, not the smartest idea...
Viral spoke up, "Master, I may be able to help with that?" Omega considered this before he nodded in response to Viral, or rather to himself if anyone were to look, giving permission for the mental apparition to go ahead and give it a shot. After a quick note that it would take some time, of course, Viral went silent, presumably working on the problem already.
Mikhail raised an eyebrow at Omega's odd behavior, but gave it no heed as he addressed the mercenary further. "Well, regardless of that, it's not really something you need to worry about at the moment. What you actually need to do is just a quick investigation. We've heard that there may be some raider activity in the ruined city district from earlier, the same one from the fire bat's attack earlier oddly enough. We're not so convinced about it, but nonetheless it should be investigated just in case. You, as well as Black and White, are going to be sent to investigate the area and see if the claims about the raiders are true."
"Understood," replied Omega. Black and White had appeared during the briefing, and Omega was mildly surprised to note that they both held weapons of some sort. Not to mention how quietly they'd arrived. He smirked to himself, amused at the thought that White wasn't quite as useless as he'd first thought she was. The trio left the Master's chamber, intent on the transporter room. Along the way the brother and sister pair started up a conversation with each other, and it wasn't long before they tried to involve Omega. He politely declined.
All was well and quiet as the group stepped into the transporter, bound for the burnt remains of the residential district.
x-x-x-x-x
Upon arrival, the first thing noticeable was the silence. Even though it had been a residential district, no apparent efforts had been made to rebuild it. Ashes still drifted in the air, clinging to clothing as a strong breeze howled through the skeletal remains of the buildings. The sky was moderately clear, but clouds were rolling in. A storm was coming. Omega ceased his quick survey, his emotions callously blank, "Let's get this over with. I'd rather be finished before it starts raining."
"No remorse for the many people that died here? Huh, he's as ruthless as they come," Black joked. The man turned on his scythe, a weapon that even Omega had to admit looked intimidating (to others, of course).
"Hah, says the one smiling like an idiot with a grim reaper's weapon." Black's smirk dropped off his face and he winced. Apparently Omega had hit a sore spot. Not that he cared to know what it was, really. If anything, it was entertaining.
"I'm sure we've all... seen our share of death. Nothing... that we should dwell on," consoled White. She smiled sweetly at her brother as his grin returned.
"Yeah, you're right sis. Sorry, moment of weakness. Anyways, the place is pretty big, how do you think we should go about exploring it?"
"Split up, obviously," Omega grunted before abruptly turning on his heel and walking away from the pair.
"Don't you think... it would be safer to travel... in a group?"
The red demon shrugged callously, "Pff, not like there's anything here except a few burnt corpses. If you're scared though, just stick with your brother. Later."
With that, he left. Pandora and Prometheus looked at each other in resignation, shrugged, and marched in a different direction to which Omega had gone. Danger or not, they weren't getting separated again for anything. Although... "How are we supposed to find him again after?" Pandora pondered aloud, her nervousness fading after Omega was left far behind.
Prometheus shrugged, "Beats me. He'll probably show up when he's good and ready. By the way, you're starting to get all flustered and shy again. C'mon sis, I thought you got over that?" He teased, winking.
Blushing profusely, she responded, "W-well, it's... he, well... It's just..."
Prometheus looked confused, "Oh, did he do something to you?"
"No! Of course not, it's just that... I... well..." she looked away, beet red as she floundered to explain.
Prometheus' face was blank for a moment before something seemed to click. He cocked an eyebrow, "...Seriously? That guy?"
"I don't know what you mean."
"I'm blunt, Pandora, not oblivious," he grunted.
She crossed her arms,"Oblivious? Oblivious to what?"
"The fact that you like... Oh, I get it," he cackled, suddenly grinning, "I get it! Heh heh, you're the oblivious one here."
"I am not oblivious! I just don't know what you're trying to say!"
"Geeze Pandora, of all the guys you... you just be careful with him, okay?"
"Uwaaaah... Brother...? What are you talking about?" she replied, confused.
Prometheus chuckled at Pandora, "Okay, I'll leave it be. C'mon let's get back to searching." He waved away the conversation for his morbidly confused sister, because he knew her well enough that she'd get over the denial on her own eventually. Regardless, the moment he knew she would look away his face dropped to a defensive scowl. She really did like that asshole mercenary, and his sister wasn't one for fickle crushes. This was a bigger thing than either of them would like to admit. Prometheus would be watching him, then. For his sister's sake and his, that mercenary had better not try anything. Or else.
And so, oblivious to the secrets the other knew, the pair continued searching.
X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Omega watched the sky warily, enjoying his solitude but cautious of the possibility of rain. His searching, up until this point, had proved futile. The red reploid was of a serious mind to head back and report about the lack of suspicious activity in the sector, but he knew he had to be thorough in case something got past him. Not that he particularly cared about the security of Legion, but if something slipped by and he got heat for it, he'd be in trouble. Well, more trouble than usual. Sighing in frustration, he considered methods for speeding up the search, but came to no practical conclusions. It seemed like there was no way to expedite any results. Or rather, it seemed like there was no way to search for what he was pretty sure was absolutely nothing. Omega continued his mission regardless.
It came as a bit of shock when the red reploid heard some movement inside a building not five minutes later. He instantly dropped into a crouch, making his way slowly towards the noise. It took some effort, but Omega managed to slip inside the structure and around numerous obstacles without a sound. The clouds had moved in overhead, something that wasn't visible inside the wreckage except for the grey glow the sky gave off. He chuffed, this was probably one of the few buildings with a roof left. A good spot for a hidden meet-up. Following the origin of the sound led him deeper into what was probably an abandoned warehouse or low income apartment. Eventually, Omega was forced to creep down some stairs, leading into a near pitch-black basement filled with collapsed building material. Hiding behind a piece of rubble, he surveyed the room around him. It was very large, perhaps the size of a small football field, and relatively open as most of the walls had collapsed during the fire. Dust and ash clogged the stagnant air and coated every flat surface available. In the middle of the room a large shaft of light bore down through a hole, floor materials and metal beams leaning into the opening as if a large, round object had blasted through the ceiling. Below the hole was a pile of wreckage, likely from the collapse, well lit because of the light rays. Beyond that, however, was murky darkness.
And in the darkness, something moved.
Omega stiffened, straining his senses. Whatever it was... no, there was more than one of them. It was only the faintest sounds that gave them away, such as the tiny scratch of claws in loose dirt, but he heard them all the same. Omega frowned, because that level of noise was the same level as his own breathing. Whomever had detected him was very keen with stealth, and him staying in one spot may not be the best option. He cautiously made his way around the debris, letting the ash muffle his footsteps, his superior sight letting him distinguish the barest of shapes around him. A sound came from behind him and he whirled.
"SEEEENSSSEEEEEEIIIII!"
Wham!
Omega found himself flat on his back with a rather happy pseudoroid hugging him and wagging its three tails at him. Omega groaned. That situation had changed quickly!
"Guys, come on out, it's just sensei!"
With a surprised snort, the ice kitsune Morukori trudged out of the gloom, his arms crossed in amusement as he beheld the scene before him.
"Harukori, what have we told you about keeping your composure?"
Harukori jumped to her feet, lighting her three tails on fire to dispel the shadows surrounding them. "With all due respect, screw you, it's sensei! Rules don't apply to sensei!"
The sand dancer, Kirukori, joined the group while Omega extracted himself from the floor, watching the three pseudoroids he'd trained with silent curiosity. Morukori huffed indignantly, complaining about a lack of respect under his breath.
"Well, you lot certainly have grown," Omega noted as he dusted himself off.
"All thanks to you really," replied the sand dancer, a few electric shocks sparking off of his tails. "Because of your training, we've become some of the best and survived more than our fair share of missions, which is more than some others can say for themselves. Actually, I've heard that Legion is quite upset at some of our feats! Apparently we're quite a pain for them," he joked.
"Sounds like you're doing good. Well, more proof that I can do a job well, I suppose," Omega finished.
The ice kitsune nodded, "True. Very true."
Her tails still twitching happily, the ash dancer Harukori trotted closer to Omega, "Yeah, you really are something. Boss won't stop talking about you. You know... he really likes how good you are on missions. He'd probably pay you well, or whatever, if you joined us."
Omega sighed, "No can do I'm afraid. Legion has an eye on me, hell, I'm right smack dab in the center of it. And like I said, I don't want to take sides."
"So why are you at Legion?"
"Trying to keep a low profile. Divert any suspicion, you know-"
"Shush!" Morukori stiffened, his ears perked. Silence. Then-
"...I believe we have a visitor..."
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Earlier...
After having spent most of the day searching, Pandora was tired and a bit sore. Her brother shared the sentiment and was grumpily throwing aside wreckage, hoping to find something hidden underneath. They were having little luck. The pair decided to head back, as it seemed that the rumor of raider activity was false. However, they couldn't leave without their comrade. To make matters more annoying, neither knew where he was. It was with that realization that the pair decided to split up momentarily (once they'd agreed on a spot to return to), each going their separate ways to search for him.
A few hours passed in which the pair returned to their spot a few times to report to the other. Shortly after one of these meetings, Pandora came across the same building Omega had, but from a different side. She also heard exactly what Omega did. Voices.
Her heart leaped into her throat, but she was unable to distinguish one voice from another, and so entered the building stealthily to investigate. She came across the hole in the floor, where the voices were clearest, and leaned in to try to and discern them. It was at that moment that they suddenly cut off, and she knew she was in trouble. Gripping her staff, she mounted it and flew off just as a spear of ice landed where she'd been previously. Rubble was knocked loose and scattered dust everywhere as she made her escape. She tried to spot her attacker, but the cloud of grit effectively hid everything from sight. Knowing better than to take on an unknown foe in her current condition, she left to find her brother.
Inside the building, Morukori tutted at his poor aim, "Hmph, thought I would have pegged her. Girl's got good instincts."
"You saw the staff, didn't you? Do you really think it could be her? She wasn't wearing any of the armour..."
Omega frowned. He'd managed barely a glimpse of the spy since the event had occurred so fast, but the figure had been distinctive enough for him to identify. He decided to investigate. "Is that girl someone important?"
Kirukori flicked his tails, sending more sparks flying at random, "Maybe, but more like her weapon was important. Pretty much any raider or hunter worth their salt knows that thing. It belonged to an errant Mega Man nicknamed 'the witch' for her brutality. Her name was Pandora. I'm surprised you haven't heard of her."
Omega scrunched his face, wracking his brain. He knew he'd heard that name before!
"Master, Pandora was one of the Model W mega men from that Legion database. She should have been dead if the website was correct," Viral reminded him.
The God of Destruction snapped his fingers, "Oh, yes, her! Now I remember! Thanks," he said, more to Viral than to the yellow kitsune, "I thought she was dead though? Do you think that girl stole her weapon?"
"I doubt it," Hirukori piped up, "it was thought that the weapon she used was a DNA-based one, like all the other Mega Men."
"Ah, I get it," Omega responded. He knew exactly how that kind of DNA system worked, as his sword worked pretty much the same. A weapon like that wouldn't work for anyone else except the one who had the exact same DNA signature it was designed to sync to. "So then, Legion lied. She's still alive." And I know her rather well... Omega added silently. He snarled inwardly. Perhaps he'd get his chance at killing a Model W after all?
"Maybe, maybe not. She wasn't wearing the witch's usual armour... maybe the staff was a fake?"
"Or maybe she just took off her armour," Omega thought aloud. "Whatever the case, we've all just learned something rather interesting. Ah, speaking of interesting!" he turned to the kitsunes, "Why did you guys come around to these burnt-out ruins anyways?"
"Oh, that? We were, uh, searching for information on another of our boss's pseudoroids. They knew she wanted to go errant, they just don't know what happened to her after one of her missions. That, and-"
Morukori shot his sister a glare, as if to silence her from revealing too much. What that was, was something concerning the man in front of them right now. Devilbat Ignis wasn't a big deal as far as Scimitar, their leader, was concerned, but they'd heard about the mercenary being in the Hunters and Scimitar wanted to see if there was any info about him lying about, what with the incident that had happened in the residential area. Not something that you'd want a suspicious man to know you were trying to do, really. If they wanted to recruit him, him knowing that they were essentially gathering up every piece of info they could find on him would be more likely to scare him away.
Besides, you got more bees with honey than with vinegar.
"You still didn't answer our question from earlier," Mirkuori started smoothly, "Scimitar told us that if he ever got to see you again, he'd insist that the offer was still open. We're all in awe of your abilities, what little we've seen of them."
The mercenary huffed up proudly at the compliment, although still suspicious at the praise directed his way. Kirukori continued where his brother left off, "Yeah, you know, it'd be so much better to be a raider than work for Legion."
"But I'm trying to stay low, remember?" Omega said in annoyance.
Morukori barked right back, "Sure, keep telling yourself that!" He sniffed haughtily at Omega. It seemed honey was only going to go so far with him. "You're a powerful mercenary, yet currently Legion has you tied up like a dog wincing away every time they so much as give you a glance. You can't stay like that forever. They'll want to know your secrets, and one of these days they won't be so nice about how they get them. You join the Raiders, however, and you're going to piss of Legion, sure. But we won't tie you up, you'll get what you want. Blood and money. No goody-two-shoes jobs or surveillance or whatever the hell else they're making you do. Are you going to keep living a lie, or are you going to get your gloves off and get the fight you really want?"
"And how do you know I'm hiding anything?"
"Because you just told me!"
Omega glared daggers at the ice fox, and for a moment Morukori could feel all the heat drain from the air. Despite his ice typing he shivered, feeling cold death breathing down his neck. Then the Red Demon backed of, growling more to himself than at the snow dancer kitsune. "Hmph, I'd love to maul everything in my way, but... How do I get away from Legion, huh? They own the freakin' world, it's not like I could just run away with you right here. Sure, this area is abandoned, but it's surrounded by residential areas."
"Hmm, point. Trying to teleport out of here would be foolish. Even if we did slip past security, they could follow us to the ship and attack it at its source. We need to organize a proper escape."
"Who said I was going to join you?!" Omega growled.
"You happy being a dog, then?"
Omega quieted down, "I don't like taking sides."
"And if you don't, you're on your own and at risk. No one is invincible."
The God of Destruction looked away. Those words hit home harder than the kitsune realized.
Harukori frowned, then started talking in a happy voice, hoping to remove the dark atmosphere, "Hey, quit being such downers everyone! There's got to be a way, right? Uhm... oh!" The fire kitsune dug out a communicator from one of her tails, passing it to Omega, "This is mine. How about you call us back when you think of something, or maybe we can call you? It's a civilian line registered to a fake account, so they can't trace it back to you unless you give them the communicator."
Omega took it with slight interest, inspecting the item before pocketing it. "And yet, I haven't actually stated that I want to join you. Why go to all this trouble for something you're not sure of?"
Morukori stared down at him, his icy eyes betraying no emotion, "Well, as I see it, you have two choices. One, stay with Legion. Do their dirty work, don't get paid, and don't keep any secrets for long. Or two, come with us, be a Raider, have your blood and glory, and do what you want with little restraint."
"And what if I want an option three? What if I decide to try going out alone, huh? Ditch Legion and live by myself?"
Harukori frowned, "I think you already tried that, you were at Hunter's camp for a while, right? Look how well that worked out. And that wasn't even when Legion wanted you or anything. You escape them and get on their 'naughty' list, well..."
Omega said nothing.
"So, what's your choice, teacher? Are you going to be a dog, or..." Morukori extended his paw, "are you going to be a Raider?"
Silence filled the room once again as the mercenary considered his options. An extended period of time passed. "...I need to think about it..." Omega finally replied.
Morukori appeared only mildly dissatisfied at this, "Fair enough. We're not going to force you into anything. Anyways, we got what we came for here, we had better leave."
"Yeah, I suppose so," said the sand dancer.
"Aww, sensei...! Well, goodbye I guess."
With that, the three jumped to the middle of the pile under the opening, and in one swift motion, leaped up and out of view. Omega, on the other hand, took his sweet time. After shuffling around a bit, he sat down on a relatively clean slab of debris and thought deeply about what to do. He sighed heavily, this certainly wasn't going to be an easy decision.
"...Master?"
"Yes Viral?"
"Perhaps you should think more about this at Legion. The longer you stay here, the more likely Black and... Pandora are likely to come here searching for you."
"You're right."
After a final, short respite of thought, he stood up, dusted himself off once more and headed to the surface.
x-x-x-x-x
It wasn't until about halfway back to the starting point that Omega ran into the siblings. 'White' was surprised and happy to see him unhurt, then promptly began explaining about her encounter with an unknown enemy. Omega feigned innocence, oozing false concern when she told him of her narrow escape. Black (who Omega surmised was probably another one of the 'deceased' Mega Men) bared his scythe, ready to run ahead to the building, but with a little convincing from Omega, settled down. It helped that it had begun to rain heavily, which, as he pointed out, would remove any trace of their foe, and quite frankly they'd done their job, found signs of raider activity, and should really be getting home now because it's late afternoon and I don't want to get soaking wet. The siblings seemed hesitant about giving up the chase, but since what the mercenary said did indeed make a lot of sense, they packed it up for the day and called for a transport home.
It was when they reported in to the Masters that things started getting interesting. Upon the completion of their report, Thomas and Mikhail leaned back in their chairs, looking at each other as they digested the information.
"Suspicious sorts in the ruins? We had the area completely combed through after the fire, they can't have found anything useful there. Nonetheless, it is disturbing that they'd come so close to Legion," The shorter Master began.
"We'll have to investigate further, but at the moment we can leave that until later," Thomas spoke, "I think for now, though... Mikhail, you had some information for them?"
"Ah, yes!" begun the sage, "I just announced it to the public earlier today. We're having a fighting tournament, to celebrate the end of the Ouroboros."
Pandora and Prometheus shot back puzzled glances, and so Mikhail explained the reasoning behind the event. Omega paid only scant attention, something about high tensions and fighting. As much as he liked fighting, he was sure a tournament would have no end to the publicity and cameras involved. Despite projecting an outward enthusiasm for the idea, he really wanted none of that, thank you!
The explanation had just ended when Thomas suddenly turned to Omega, catching him off guard, "Now, as for you, I think there's something we've been putting off for quite a while now, isn't there?" As Vent, Aile and Grey appeared from behind the throne, Omega knew shit was about to hit the fan. He glanced around the room nervously, but found no one else in the vicinity. He stared at the Masters unhappily.
"Oh, right. I was due for a check up, wasn't I? Despite the casual manner in which he said it, there was an enormous amount of tension built up into his frame. Omega's mind started working a million miles a minute trying to figure out a way around the new problem.
Mikhail nodded, "We hate to have to do this, but you are due, phobias or not." He stood up, as did Thomas, in a silent effort to assert their dominance. Omega really didn't give a hoot about that, but nonetheless he had some fast talking to do or he was in trouble.
"Hold on... you said there was a tournament, right?"
Now it was the Masters turn to be caught off guard. "Yes?"
Omega grinned. A funny little idea had just popped into his head, and he wouldn't have been surprised if Viral had something to do with it. "Well, okay, you got me. I'm phobic of doctors, but I have to take a check up. But, there's one way I might be able to get past that problem. Now, uhm, this tournament, it's gotta have an opening ceremony, right?"
"Correct?"
I'll tell you what. I don't really want to do this, but... well, you know I like fighting a lot, and being a mercenary and all, getting some attention would really be good for business, especially since the war's over and all," he said. Everyone gave him an odd look at 'war' terminology, but since the fight against the Ouroboros had been rather a big one, they dismissed it. He continued, "So, I'll tell you what. I'll take a full examination... and I'll be completely cooperative... if you let me be there when the ceremony takes place. Okay? Maybe even let me help organize it a bit! Just give me all the intel on it, though, 'cause I want to make a good impression, and to do that I need to know everything about the event. That way, with me in the tournament and all, you also get to see me in action as well as getting a biopsy. Sound good?"
Thomas seemed surprised, "So you'll willingly submit to an examination if we let you join the tournament, and make sure you're there when the opening ceremony takes place?"
"Yes, but I'll take the examination after the ceremony, and not a moment before! But, when it happens, you've got my word that I'll go quietly. Promise."
The Masters visibly recoiled, thinking upon this new information. They looked at each other before Mikhail nodded, "Very well, that seems reasonable. Yes, very much so! Anyways, the ceremony will take place in about a month, as soon as we've properly organized it we'll tell you all the details. Who's going to be the entertainment, the valets, and the catering, We'll let you in on all of that if that's what you want. It's good that you're finally seeing reason!"
Omega smiled widely, the fake cheer tasting like rot in his mouth, "You know, I just thought about my options a bit, and I figured that this was the best way to go. I Know I have been fairly rude up until this point, but I still need a little more time to get used to the idea of a doctor. Er! Well, now that that's settled, would you mind if I left? It was a long day today."
Still slightly suspicious, Thomas nodded, "Yes, you may leave."
And he did.
When Omega finally entered his own room, he made sure the door was locked. Then he checked the windows, closing them firmly, before giving his room a quick, conspiratorial sweep. A grimace appeared on his face. His word. Yeah, right. He was actually going to go to the ceremony like they wanted him to, but after that... Well, he had no intention of staying.
Omega dialed the communicator, and when he reached the other side, he asked for Scimitar. The raider leader didn't make him wait long.
"Is that you, really? It's been so long!"
Omega cut to the chase, "That offer of yours was still up on the board, right?"
Silence greeted his question. It didn't take a rocket scientist to guess what he'd just implied. Scimitar finally responded, a smile evident in his words, "It may be a little early of me to say this, but... Welcome aboard, mercenary!"