A/N: While reading this, keep in mind that I am not completely Generator Rex savvy like I want to be. I did what research I could on Holiday to keep her in character. She's one I struggle with on this show… Anyways, this is set maybe a couple of months after Rex came to Providence. Something like that. Also, some Holix!
Disclaimer: I don't own Generator Rex or any associated characters. Holiday's POV.
Talk
I go silently down to the Petting Zoo, trying not to get noticed. I don't want to be watched. I don't like to know someone can watch me go down to the Petting Zoo. The issue with this is that it's Providence: someone is always watching. Always. It could be White Knight or Six or even Rex (he has his moments), but the fact of the matter is that someone is always watching. It bothers me only at moments like this. Moments where I want to be alone.
I'm trying to be quiet. There's a gun at my hip in case I need to use it. The Petting Zoo is usually pretty tame since we feed the EVOs and everything, but not all of them are as docile as others.
I'm making my way to the holding cell that I try to go down to every week at least once. It makes me feel better about the fact that I have to go down to a holding cell.
The ivy clings to the temple-like prison. It wraps up the sides and hangs over the edges, lingering and creeping into the deepest crevices. The stones are easily older than I am and older than most people I know; the age shows in the cracks and in the weathering of the rock. It's a prison since it's in the Petting Zoo, but if it weren't here, it would probably be just an ancient landmark for some place in South America.
I pull the gun away from my hip and take off the safety. My finger is on the trigger, and I aim it into the trees while I dust away wet leaves from the base of the cage. When I think that it's safe to sit down without getting my clothes wet, I do. I sit beside the chamber that holds my sister inside while I keep a gun watching the tree line.
"Hey," I say, pretending like she can actually hear me through the stone that separates her from the rest of the Petting Zoo. It hurts sometimes when I think that I'm keeping my sister in a cell. Then I remind myself that it's for her own safety and that numbs the pain for a little while at least. That's why I've been coming down here. Knowing that I'm doing the right thing by holding her prisoner usually seems to help. And prisoners are allowed to have visitors. That's why I come. So she's not always alone in there.
There's a little rustle in the leaves, but it soon passes. Whatever EVO was there quickly moves on. So I lean back again and rest my head against the temple that is her containment unit. I put my arm on my knee so that it keeps my gun's aim at the forest that surrounds me. I want to be able to fire if need be, but still relax and treat this like I were still talking to my sister in her human form. Of course, that's not the truth. I'm talking to her in the body of a monster.
"I'm sorry that I haven't been able to be around much these past few weeks. Rex's biometrics have been acting up more than usual, and Six is keeping me busy." I sometimes felt like I was talking to myself, but I knew that if she could hear me, she'd be listening with rapt attention. "And yeah, he's still amazing."
I see another rustle in the bushes, but it too passes.
"Lately, Six has just been more annoying than usual. You'd think that he'd be pretty relaxed since he's the sixth most dangerous man in the world, but he's uptight about everything since he found Rex." I run a hand through my hair and think about what more I want to say. There are so many things I want to tell her. "There are times when I want to tell him that I feel something for him, but how do you tell the sixth most dangerous man in the world that you care about him on a deeper level? How do you explain something like that to a ninja man who wears nothing but green suits?"
I pause for a moment, imagining that my sister is being silent on the other side of that wall. She probably wouldn't know what to do in my situation either. "Exactly," I say quietly, hoping that if anyone's watching, they don't think I'm talking to myself. I'm definitely not crazy.
"Then what do I do? Tell him and make a fool of myself? No. Then I'd make a fool of myself." I shift my gun as if to gesture a shrug. "Or, be quiet and live out my days as a lonely cat woman?" That choice never sounded great either. "So I'm caught between a rock and a hard place, don't you think?"
I know there's never going to be an answer since she's incurable, but I can still imagine that she's answering. I can still hear her voice in my mind and pretend that she's wanting to give me advice. Talking things out usually seems to help me. Even if I do only talk to myself.
"It's Six. That's the only excuse I have." I try and force a laugh; it comes out strangled and weak. I'm having a conversation with a jail cell. In a giant prison. She can't hear me. It still hurts to know that she's my captive, my experiment, my test subject. Of course, I don't use her in nanite testing. I'm not that cruel to my own family.
"Rex is doing pretty well though. He's helping us make progress in trying to find a cure. His abilities allow us to fix most EVOs, but I told you that already, didn't I?" I can't help but smile a little bit. Sometimes I'm so forgetful. When I'm hiding in the Petting Zoo, most of the world melts away and I'm able to forget almost everything I never wanted to remember. But sometimes, even the good things fade to black in my mind.
Other than the senseless violence that sometimes breaks the peace, it's a pretty calm place down in the Petting Zoo. No one ever really comes down here except for Rex to train. He's down here more than he probably should be.
"He's actually focused more now. Sometimes, he has little black out moments, but those'll fade eventually, right? He'll get his grip back on reality sooner or later." I see more rustling leaves, but it's just the form of an herbivore EVO drifting past like a ghost in the mess of green vines and other foliage. "Rex gets along pretty well with Six. And you remember that crazy monkey I told you about? The one that talks and gambles? Turns out, he makes a good friend for Rex too. It's pretty incredible what bonds are made when Providence forces people together."
I quietly let this information soak into my own mind. I've been thinking it, but actually saying it aloud makes me realize what Providence really has done to people. Me and Six? That never would've happened if I hadn't been recruited by Providence. I never would've found him, never would've felt like this. Rex wouldn't have been in my life either, and I never would have felt this fierce maternal instinct that overwhelms me whenever he's in danger. And Bobo and Rex? Well, that's obvious enough. A monkey and a boy would've probably never worked out in the real world.
"Despite all the damage we do," I conclude quietly, "we've done a lot of good for a lot of people. Rex would never find his parents if Six hadn't brought him to me. And we're still working on that. He's only been here for a month or so. Something like that. And I think he's doing really well for a kid who can't remember any of his past life. His name is all he's got."
I stare off into the trees, all the greens blurring together to create a massive wall of emerald in front of me. I let my vision screw itself up like that. It gets the world to fade away.
"It's just funny how things like this work." I run a hand through my already messy hair. It's got a little bit of ivy tangled into it, and there are leaves stuck to my clothes. I don't mind too much. "Maybe it's not all Providence to thank. Maybe I should give some credit to the nanite event." Then I look over my shoulder and at the massive door that keeps her guarded from the rest of the world. A little guilt tugs on my heart.
I keep my weapon pointed at the trees, and I let my gaze watch the door that holds my sister captive. I couldn't thank the nanite event. It was the reason she was a prisoner. "I'll come back next week," I promise. It almost hurts to keep coming back and see what we've done to her. She's in a jail that I created.
So I take a few steps towards the foliage that makes up the habitat of the Petting Zoo. It's quiet. It's peaceful. It's calm. And part of me is glad she's here rather than out in the world of chaos. And part of me wishes she were free. But I leave. There's work to get back to. Work that I have to do to find her cure.
A/N: Hope you understood and enjoyed it. I tried to shove a little Holix fluff in there and a little bit of family stuff. Reviews are much appreciated! And tell me if I missed her characterization. I do the best I can…
~Sky