A New Family Member
The sunlight gently woke me up.
My chest felt oddly heavy. When I looked down, the blanket was puffed into a round lump.
Mm...
Omega's sleeping... Too sleepy to wake up...
If we're late, Claire's going to add extra bell peppers to our soup.
Yuck...
And Scarlet will take all the candy again—
O-Omega's up!
*...Yawn*
Omega's tired from falling asleep, then waking up, then falling asleep, then...
I patted her head and got up with her.
The Journey was going smoothly.
Thanks to the Cube Palace incident, Omega became something of a local hero and made many new friends.
Maybe it was just my imagination, but...
Lately, Omega had been spacing out more often.
She yawned constantly, or sat alone deep in thought.
Um... Mister?
Is Omega doing well? Is Omega being helpful?
Of course. Absolutely.
Yay! Right? Right? Omega's mega helpful, right?
...
Um...
Omega has a favor to ask...
But first! No getting angry after you hear it, okay?
I'll decide after I hear it.
After hearing it?!
That's so clever of you, Mister! Omega didn't know you could do that!
Um... So, Omega kind of brought home a new friend...
Can he stay with Omega?
Um, well...
He's small and quiet. Doesn't eat much, doesn't smell!
...Ah. I see.
It sounded like she brought home a small dog or cat.
Maybe this was a good chance to teach her about responsibility.
So... can he stay?
Every life is precious. Can you promise me you'll take good care of him?
Hehe...!
Yup! Omega can take really good care of him!
Omega will wash him, feed him!
He's right here!
In here? But we're in my quarters...?
Exactly! Omega brought him inside!
Okay, Omega's opening the door now!
Beneath the window in my room was a small cube floating midair.
It was Cube Palace.
...I rubbed my eyes and looked again.
It definitely was Cube Palace.
No, Mister! Wait!
Cube Palace isn't dangerous anymore!
Omega fixed him, so he's good now!
You sure...?
Uh-huh! Cube Palace said he's very sorry!
Okay, Cube! Time to apologize!
Apology. I activated my self-defense protocol to respond to Omega Control and escape containment. I regret the inconvenience.
...
However. This injustice shall one day be—
He's not feeling sorry at all!
Cube! Bad boy! Repair Chop!!
Omega karate-chopped him sharply with her hand.
Cube Palace trembled, then went limp.
He's still recovering!
Cube Palace used up too much energy when he went berserk last time.
So far, Omega's been carrying him around in secret...
But to get better fast, he needs somewhere quiet and sunny.
I guess that was why Omega thought it best to keep Cube Palace inside my room.
What if he goes wild again?
He won't! Omega will make sure he behaves!
It's just...
...
...Actually...
Omega's been having weird dreams lately.
Dreams?
Uh-huh.
In the dream, Omega wakes up in a strange place.
Omega lives with someone there.
Omega enjoys playing with them. Like when Omega's with you, Mister.
But then... they suddenly disappear.
And Omega is left all alone.
When Omega wakes up, the room feels too big and dark...
So... even when Omega squeezes her eyes shut, she can't fall asleep.
...
I remembered how Omega kept coming to my room every night lately.
So that was the reason behind it.
Since when did you start having that dream?
Ever since Omega met Cube Palace.
That's why Omega wants to ask Cube Palace lots of questions.
What Omega's dreams mean, who that person is...
But Cube Palace says he still doesn't have enough power to answer yet.
Maybe thinking takes lots of energy.
So... yeah.
I see...
Whatever the reason, Omega's been having strange dreams, and Cube Palace might know why.
He might even know something about Omega's past.
If that's the case...
...Okay. Keep him.
Really?!
You're the best! Thank you! You're Omega's favorite person in the whooole world!
Got it!
Promise! Pinky promise!
And just like that, a new "family member" moved into my room.
I also kept a solid bat nearby, just in case he tried anything suspicious.