Beta

    Frank got home to discover he had not succeeded in his objective whatsoever. Somehow between the time he picked up the groceries and the time he had spent harassing that poor girl about omega, he must have given her his bag of cat food and loaf of bread. Lovely, he thought, now i'll have to go back and shop all over again! Oh how he hated shopping. Jasmine was still upset, so Frank grudgingly gave her some leftover hamburger that was starting to go bad. She growled with contentment and attacked the plate, and Frank sat down on the couch to watch Southpark, his favorite tv show.

    Several hours later, Frank awoke to discover he had fallen asleep on the couch in front of his tv, and been asleep some hours. He clicked the off button on the remote, and snuggled his face into his kitty's black and white fur. Much to his dismay, his kitty did not want to be used as a pillow, and summarily scratched him right on the nose. Frank wiped the drop of blood away, pulled down the couch blanket on top of him, and was soon back in his forest of solitude.

    Much to his pleasure, Frank determined that his intrusive and annoying freind Alpha was nowhere to be seen. He took off walking through the woods. After a short while, the ground began to incline upwards, and Frank was soon climbing upwards. The terrain was becoming increasingly more steep and hostile, but Frank was curious as to what was up there. Plus, it would make it less likely for intrusive people to come find him. Soon there were rocks and boulders instead of bushes and trees, and he was nearing the top of what seemed to be a plataeu. Now Frank was really curious, because he didnt remember any plataeus being anywhere near where he lived, and definitely not in the forest. Finally, he came to the base of a short rock cliff. It must have been only fifteen feet or so. Frank was quite limber, so he climbed up the face of the cliff with relative ease. However, when he got to the top, the wall he had climbed up broke, and he was suddenly without a way down.

    "Well, I guess it doesnt matter about my work then, " he thought, "I'm trapped on top of a mountain!"

He turned around, curiousity burning as to what was on the other side of the cliff now that he realized he was stuck there. The plateau was rather narrow, a matter of ten feet or so. Frank stood up, admiring the view. He could see the cluster of houses where his must be, miles away on the valley floor. On his other side, the plateau stretched in both directions, encompassing a crater of largish proportions. The crater was decorated with assorted small shrubbery and a few lonely trees. At the bottom, he could see smoke rising, which was strange, considering the crater was obviously not sufficient for human life, and there was no other apparent way into the crater. Frank started walking down the side of the crater to investigate.

    "There must be a wildfire brewing down there!" he thought to himself, yet the smoke was not excessive, and he saw no flames rising up. When he approached the bottom, he came upon a circle of four old women and one young man. The four women were wearing white robes, and surrounded a single torch driven into the ground. The young man was clothed similarly to Frank, in a semi-formal collared shirt and black slacks. Off to the side, there was a pile of bleached, round rocks.

    All of the ones in the white robes stood when Frank approached them.

    "We have been awaiting you!" one of the white-robes spoke, without making eye contact with him. At first, Frank was unsure if she was talking to him, but then he realized that she, as her accomplices, were all blind. Frank looked at the young man questioningly. The young man, sensing that Frank did not understand what was going on in the slightest, walked over to him.

    "I am Beta," the young man said "and I was sent to you by Omega, to help you."

    "Of course. I still dont understand why this Omega thinks i need so much help! Who are these women?"

    "All will be revealed to you at the right time." the young man said, seemingly  annoyed by the question "These are the mortal Acolytes of Omega, and they are here to assist you on your journey."

    "Journey?" Frank exclaimed "I dont think now is a good time for me to be taking a journey! I have a job to go to, and a cat that needs my care!"

    "Don't worry about a thing, my dear freind, you will still go to work on time, and your cat will not miss you. Omega does not wish to cause you any problems."

    "Who is this Omega anyways?? Im expected to go on a journey, without knowing who this seemingly all-knowing 'Omega' is, or why he wants me to go on it? You're out of your mind."

    "Frank, Frank, calm down. I cannot tell you who Omega is, or the nature of Omega, you must find these things out for yourself. All i can do is that which any good freind would do, help you along your journey."

    Frank paused a moment, looking into the young man's eyes, and seeing the sincerity within him. Oh well, he thought, im gonna lose my job anyways, may as well go on a journey.

    "All right!" Frank burst out, "I'll do it. But you have to promise me that somewhere, somehow, there is a point to this."

    "There is a point to everything that Omega does, Frank," the young man said with a smile, "Now let us begin!"

    The four old ladies scurried to the pile of rocks and began arranging them in a horse-shoe like pattern.

    "They are creating the Mark of Omega." The young man spoke, already sensing the question arising in Frank's mind, "It will allow you to continue on your journey."

    The mark was soon finished, and Frank recognized the Ω shape on the ground as the greek letter Omega. The four acolytes began chanting something in Greek, which Frank didnt even try to understand.

    "Now what do i do?" Frank asked, more than a little skeptical of the whole thing.

    The young man pulled the torch out of the ground, and handed it to Frank, then grasped his hand and led him into the horseshoe of stones. As soon as they were inside the symbol, the world around them dissapeared and was replaced by a dimly lit purple world. The horseshoe of stones was completely gone, and Frank saw nothing around besides a small pool of water.

    "What just happened?? Where are we?" Frank demanded, thoroughly scared by all of the goings on.

    Beta waited a moment before responding Frank's question. "Omega has taken us to this world, Oneiora, where your journey will continue. Unfortunately, you must depart now, you have things in your world to tend to."

    Frank was very excited. "You mean to say, that this is some other world? Like, not earth? Dude thats sweet! Is there anything interesting in this world? And why must i return?"

    "You are correct. This is indeed, a completely different world, unlike anything you have ever known." Beta smiled, thoughtfully, before adding "You will return to explore this world at a later date. However, right now, your cat needs you. It is time for you to depart."
    "Sorry to break it to you, bud, but i have no idea how i got here, let alone how to get back!" Frank said, not wanting to leave. "Why can't i just stay here?"
    "You must take care of your responsibilities, my freind." Beta insisted, "Now, please give me your torch, and i shall demonstrate."
    Frank handed him the torch. He had no idea why he needed a torch in the first place, considering the fact that both worlds were in the midst of day. But as he watched, Beta dipped the torch in the water, and before it was entirely extinguished, Frank awoke to Jasmine pawing at his door.