It was a warm afternoon on Pabu Island. Echo sat watching the ocean, taking in the scent of the sea and sand on the hard ground he sat on. The sun lit the area, and he heard the residents talking around him. Everyone can see the steady rebuild process of the lower parts of the island, which was almost complete.
Echo could see why Hunter had decided to bring everyone here. It was a relaxing place. It was far enough away from the Empire to ensure safety and a place for Omega to be a kid and make friends. Echo sighed although Omega had been happy to reunite with him, she had been oddly down and distant since then. Hunter had asked, "I understand why you're doing this. When will it be enough?" relating to fighting for their brothers. Echo hadn't thought about this until now. Echo wasn't sure how to respond because Hunter had a point.
Suddenly, Echo heard footsteps and turned towards the source, spotting Omega's approach. Echo was glad for some company, though Omega's moodiness around him was a slight dampener.
"Omega is a teenager. We should expect the moodiness," Echo reminded himself as Omega sat with him. Taking a breath, he asked, "Omega. You've been a bit distant and downcast with me since I returned. What's wrong?"
Echo sat there, waiting to see how Omega would answer. After a minute, though it felt longer, Omega sighed, then said quietly, "I'm sorry,"
That line completely threw Echo off and set off alarm bells in Echo's head. Why was Omega apologising to him? What had she done to necessitate an apology?
"Omega, why are you apologising? You didn't do anything wrong," Echo was lost.
"I'm sorry I pushed you away," Omega replied quietly. Echo's puzzled expression turned into bewilderment and concern.
"Omega," Echo turned to face her and went to put a hand on her shoulder, but Omega pulled away.
"Omega, listen to me. I said it before, and I'll repeat it. We did the right thing, Omega. I wouldn't change it for the world," Echo stated.
"And yet you still left," Omega whimpered, curling in on herself as a guilty look crossed her features.
Echo's heart broke, and he realised how poorly they'd handled his departure, and now he understood why Omega was acting odd around Echo. She was still feeling guilty about Echo's departure.
"Omega, please, listen to me," Echo begged as he again reached out to rub Omega's back. This time, Omega didn't pull away, and after a few minutes, she looked back up. Confident that Omega was listening, Echo said, "Do you remember when I told you about not liking solitude due to my time on Sako Minor?"
"I do," Omega replied.
"There's more to it than that. While Wat Tambor was holding me, a computer probed my min for strategies Rex and I made to fight the Clankers. Wat Tambor used the knowledge to direct the clankers to kill my brothers, and there was nothing I could do about it," Echo sighed as he rubbed the ports on his head, shivering.
Omega looked horrified at Echo, "I'm so sorry to hear that,"
"Thanks, Omega. But that is why I decided to help Rex with rescuing our brothers. It had nothing to do with you," Echo replied.
Omega took several moments to process this, then nodded.
"Alright, Echo. I feel better knowing I wasn't responsible," Omega replied.
"Good," Echo opened an arm and invited Omega to embrace him. Omega compromised by resting herself against him.
After a while, Omega admitted, "Hearing about you wanting to rescue our brothers made me realise something. If I had been age-accelerated like you guys, I likely would have joined you fighting alongside Rex,"
Echo looked at Omega, astonished and concerned, "Do I even want to know why you would've joined me?"
It took several moments for Omega to respond, but eventually, Echo saw when Omega decided she would start opening up to him about her time on Kamino.
"The Inhibitor Chips," Omega replied, rubbing down her upper arms, "You know that I knew they existed. But what you don't know is that I knew everything about the Inhibitor Chips due to my time as Nala Se's Lab Assistant,"
Echo took a few moments to process this and realise the implications. He looked to Omega, "So you would feel a personal responsibility to remove the chips from our brothers?"
When Omega nodded, Echo sighed, "Of course. Nala Se would've known about the hidden purposes of the chips,"
Omega nodded again, "I was there when Nala Se put the chips into everyone. And now I know what the Inhibitor Chips' hidden purpose was and what they did to our brothers. I feel I should be doing something to get the chips out,"
"And if you could, you would be fighting alongside Rex too?" Echo asked, and Omega quickly nodded., rubbing her upper arms down again.
"I guess I'm not the only one whom what Hunter said to me would've applied," Echo admitted.
"What did he say?" Omega asked.
"I understand why you're doing this. When will it be enough?" Echo replied.
"Is that something you're struggling with? Is that why you're out here?" Omega wondered. When Echo nodded, Omega replied, "I'd say get back to me in 8-10 years, and I might have an idea,"
Echo had to chuckle at this, but hearing what Omega said, he understood what she was feeling. And that was because he was experiencing similar feelings to her. Hunter was right on two fronts. Omega was as traumatised as they were, and her trauma overlapped with his. In addition, their similar thoughts relating to this were something they would have to work on together.
Echo heard a second set of footsteps and turned to see Hunter approaching.
"Is everything OK?" Hunter asked.
"Yeah, we're OK," Echo replied, "We've just been talking about things that have been burdening us. Right, Omega?"
"Yeah. I feel better after talking things over," Omega turned to face Hunter.
"Good to hear. We'll need you two in a good state of mind if we're going to succeed," Hunter said. When Echo and Omega nodded, Hunter added, "You two can join us when you're ready, alright?"
"Alright," Echo and Omega replied. Hunter nodded, smiled, and then departed.
Echo and Omega would sit on the ground for a while, finding comfort and support in each other's presence. Echo and Omega understood each other and what they had been through, and they silently agreed to engage in more of these conversations in the future to continue the healing process.