This is the first bit of writing I've done in a while so I'm not entirely happy with it, but Generator Rex is too good to not create a good dozen or so unignorable plot bunnies. I think Six might be a tad OOC but he's harder to write than I thought. Tell me what you think.

Generator Rex and all tis characters belong to the marvelous Man of Action.

To say the blast zone was destroyed was an understatement. It was if all the life been violently ripped away from the area. Everything within a two mile radius of the explosion had been decimated, and, if what the scientists were beginning to say was true, everything on Earth was feeling the effects as well.

Agent Six surveyed the damage as the airship soared over the explosion's epicenter. Beneath him, the sea of death spread across the land like a grey smudge. The smaller foliage had been incinerated in the blast and only the large trees had survived, their grey husks broken and twisted away from the blast's center. There were no signs of any animals or humans, just the haunting morning mist that clung to the ground.

"We're nearing our target now, sir" the pilot's voice said over the ships' intercom. With a nod, Six signaled for the team onboard to get ready.

"Good. Take us down." The ship shuddered and started to descend. Turning back to the large window, Six looked on what remained of the tiny mountain village. Only the foundations of houses and a large, ancient castle over looking them remained standing. Even from their height, he could see that their hope of finding anyone alive was even more dismal than it had been at the other villages, which was not much in the first place. This had obviously been the origin of the explosion. The large gapping hole in the center of the castle and complete destruction of the area was evidence enough.

The airship touched down on the outskirts and the doors slid open with a faint whoosh. "Spread out and search for survivors. Report back in ten minutes regardless of what you've found." There was a group affirmation before the search party cautiously stepped out of the plane.

The smell hit Six like a wreaking ball and it took all his composure gained in the special forces to not gag. Death hung in the air like a vapor. A quick glance at his team showed they could feel it as well. Taking the lead, the suited man motioned for the task force to fan out. The bodies started showing up soon after they reached the town's border. Twisted, burnt, and sagging corpses littered the ground. Men, women, and children were strewn across the road or under fallen rubble. They obviously hadn't been expecting the explosion.

He stopped checking for pulses after the first twenty. Most were too injured to make it back to the temporary base even if they had managed to survive the blast or the week it had taken them to organize a team anyway. He had been in enough life-or-death situations to know that this rescue mission wasn't going to bear fruit. They all knew it. It was a hopeless search.

"Sir!" The voice in his ear made him tense after the long minutes of silence. Touching the earpiece, he grumbled.

"What?"

"Sir, we've found something." Six stopped his steady pace and turned his full attention toward the other agent.

"Where?"

"Sector Four. Inside the castle." He didn't wait for the man to finish. He was briskly striding down the ruined sidewalks before the report had even finished. "Sir, I... I don't know...Dave!" The shout only quickened Six's pace. He sent out a short command to the others to rendevous at the specified sector, but ignored their replies.

"SIR!" Adrenaline pumped through his veins and he was now sprinting through the streets and vaulting rubble. The call hadn't only been from his earpiece this time. His fingers pulled the triggers hidden in his sleeve and his twin katanas slid into his hands.

Which was a very good plan considering, as he crested the castle's hill, he came face to face with the strangest creature he had ever seen. Its form was barely humanoid, its limbs and torso twisted and warped. Excess skin drooped in places while exposed muscle flexed in others. Hideous boils covered its blanched skin. Beady yellow eyes watched him carefully and he warily eyed the saliva drenched fangs and bloody talons. There was no way this thing was natural.

With an hair-raising howl, the thing leapt forward, talons aimed for Six's neck. Only years of combat kept his head attached to his shoulders. Snarling jaws snapped at him and he had to defend with both his weapons. The creature was stronger than him however, and he was forced to give up ground. The talons shot out again and Six flipped over them, using the beast's shoulders as a springboard and shoved a sword into the thing's belly. It roared in pain and anger and swiped at him again. Quick reflexes saved him from the blow and his second katana sunk into his opponent's neck. Blood gushed from the wounds and the creature fell backward, moaning as it died.

Six didn't waste anytime watching it die. He radioed in a retreat to the others and entered the decrepit building, eyeing the unstable walls with a firm glare. It was a miracle the thing had survived at all, especially since it appeared to be the origin of the explosion.

"Sergeant?" Something shuffled down the main hall and the missing task member called from one of the back rooms. The man had an obvious limp and was covered in blood, his gun mysteriously missing.

"Is it dead?" Six nodded and the other man's face relaxed. " Oh god. I thought I was dead. It got Dave and destroyed my gun. What was that thing?"The stoic leader just shrugged.

"Can you make it back to the ship?" The soldier nodded but glanced behind him. Six followed his gaze until he spotted the man's uniform jacket wrapped in a bundle.

"I found him at the top of the cliff before that thing attacked us. He needs medical attention soon but I couldn't carry him back with my leg and that thing out there." Six ignored the man's report though as he gapped at probably the sole survivor of the explosion. The boy couldn't be older than eleven. He was dangerously skinny and there was blood soaking in through his dirty shirt and matted black hair. A bruise that promised to be an impressive shade of blue and purple had started to form from behind his ear to his eye. He's chest still rose and fell. He was alive. That was all that mattered.

"Return to the ship," Six ordered as he bent to pick up the scrawny boy. How could someone so light and motionless still be alive? Together, the two agents made their way past the creature's corpse and down the cliff. The rest of the team was waiting for them at the ship, looking warily around for the thing that had spooked their leader enough for him to call for a retreat. Looks of surprise flashed across their faces at the site of the small boy in Six's arms, but he barked at them to get on board and take off.

A medical kit was brought and a cot in the walled off back of the plane was readied for the boy. With a firm glare and command, Six commanded the others to report back to base and tell them to be ready to receive their wounded. After that, they mostly left the suited leader alone, which was more to his liking anyway. They were halfway back to the base set up outside of the blast zone, he had cleaned and bandaged the cuts on the boy's back , shoulders, and arms, and was working on cleaning his head wound when the boy finally woke up. Dark, brown eyes blinked at him before terror set in.

"No! We have to get away! Don't let it kill me!" The boy struggled against him, but Six held him tight, not wanting him to further hurt himself in his panic. "NO!" The small wrist bulged beneath his fingers and blue light cascaded down the boy's forearms. Six was forced to let go of the child as the small hand doubled in size and morphed into a vague hand-shaped blob the size of the boy. The agent backed away, his hands held up in the universal sign for surrender, his fingers secretly touching the ring to release his katanas. This boy was just like the monster at the castle.

"It's alright. I'm not going to hurt you. We're here to help. Just calm down." Where were the others? Comforting anybody, especially children, wasn't his forte. The boy seemed to be listening though and the grotesque hand shrunk back to its original form.

"Please! It was trying to kill me! I don't want to die." Tears were flowing down the kid's cheeks now and he huddled into a ball. "Please help me. Don't let it kill me." Teeth grinding together, Six awkwardly touched the boy's shoulder. Teary eyes glanced up at him, fear shining in them.

"Nothing's going to hurt you. You're safe." Six almost punched himself. Since when had he become a sap? "Now, can you tell me what happened?" The boy chewed his lip in thought and if Six had been any other person, he might have thought it was cute. He did notice the blood suddenly drain out of the boy's face and the tears start to collect again.

"No. I...I don't remember. I don't remember anything! Why can't I remember anything? I just woke up and then that thing tried to kill me." The tears started flowing again and Six sighed heavily. Great, they finally found a witness and he couldn't remember anything. Hopefully, it was just trauma blocking his memory. "I'm sorry." The small voice brought the agent back to the present. "Please don't make me go back there. I never want to go there again. I'll try and remember. I don't want to go back."

"We're not going to take you back there." Kneeling down in front of the boy, Six cursed himself for this random bought of insanity, but the wobbly smile the child gave him warmed his heart. "What's you're name?"

"Rex.. My name's Rex."

Five years later, Six wondered how much he must have messed up to have broken all those promises.

The Keep took off with all the ceremony an emergency rescue mission usually earned. Providence soldiers, mechanics, and scientists rushed around the giant structure as their objective finally boarded and people prepared to return home. The blond teen, Noah, Knight had informed him, looked completely lost and unsure in the all the chaos.

"Monkey, keep an eye on the kid. Make sure he doesn't get in anyone's way." For once, the talking chimp followed directions without so much as a wise crack and motioned for the blond to follow him. Noah hesitated a moment, glancing back at Rex before Six glared at him, before running after his simian guide. Rex looked ready to object, but a similar glare from the suited agent made him swallow any retorts. "C'mon. Let's get you cleaned up."

"I'm fine!" The assertion held little of its usual fire though and the teen shadowed the older man through the large ship without any hassle. It was just a testament to how exhausted the teen really was. Thankfully, it wasn't a long walk until they reached the hospital wing.

"Sit," Six ordered, pointing toward an empty examination table. The teen complied with only a quirked eyebrow. "Take off your shirt."

"What?" Another pointed glare stopped any further questions. The agent had been eyeing the five blood stains on the front of the boy's shirt since had met up with the group. Rex's wince as he stripped off the bloody and dirty garment was enough evidence that it wasn't just a superficial wound. Bruises peppered his skin from the hundreds of hits he had taken that day. The line of puncture wounds across the boy's chest was what worried Six the most though. The nanites might make Rex more immune to injuries than usual, but there was only so much a human body could take. Rex must have noticed his gaze and shrugged. "It's not as bad as it looks. They're not deep enough to do any permanent damage."

"We'll see." The teen was right though. They weren't as bad as they looked. They hadn't penetrated far enough to hit anything vital. Holiday could deal with them later. It didn't help Six's conscience though. He had promised Rex that nothing would hurt him, that he would be safe with Six, and that he would never have to come back to this dismal place ever again. He had done a horrible job with the first one, but the others he had done a good job of keeping until now. That had all fallen apart in a matter of hours.

"You alright there, Six? You look like you've seen a ghost." The teen's eyes searched the agent's face but Six waved off his concern with a dismissive hand.

"Fine. Now, rest until we get back the headquarters. Holiday will want to look at those anyway." Rex just grunted but laid down and closed his eyes all the same. The fight had taken a lot out of him and whatever Van Kliess had done hadn't helped.

Glad to not have to worry about his charge anymore, Six glanced out the window. The blast zone flew away as the Keep gained speed. Not fast enough for Six though. It seemed the area refused to stop at just one disaster. Nothing good had come out of the place since the Nanite Event, except for Rex. Van Kliess's name for it had been oddly appropriate. "Abyssus." Infernal Pit. Primal Chaos. Hell.

The place was tainted, a legacy of death and destruction. He just hoped, with all his being, that Rex would be able to overcome that legacy.