A/N: I'm sorry this isn't an update to my other stories. I've only written this because I watched Six minus Six and I just had to write a fic on it, even though I have an exam in 5 days, which explains why I haven't updated my two other stories. Don't worry they'll be updated in June. I do hope you enjoy this story in the meanwhile. This is a fatherly bond between Six and Rex and a bit of motherliness from Dr Holiday.
Disclaimer: Generator Rex doesn't belong to me.
Reaching out to the wall I close the only exit, leaving Six and I the only occupants in the room.
"Get out of my way kid" Six growls at me, his sword pointed at my chest. I put my hands in front of me as a show of surrender.
"I'll let you go in a moment, just will you please hear me out?" I plead, hoping to reach his inner kindness, hoping it's just buried and not disappeared in all of its entirety.
"Why should I?" His question throws me off, that coupled with his sword so close to me makes me stammer in my response.
"Because…well because you're important to me…I can't let you go without saying anything can I?" I watch as he raises an eyebrow and lowers his sword ever so slightly, before a frown graces his face.
"I'm not your parent kid." His words sting and I look away, unable to meet his face, 'how can he not remember how important he is to me? He practically raised me, at least from what I remember.' My gaze remains fixed on the wall at my left as I reply to him.
"No you're not." I bring myself to look back at him before I continue. "But you're close enough. I don't want to lose that…not again." Whatever I said to him must have had some effect as he lowers his sword completely to his side and straightens up from his fighting stance.
"Get on with what you want to say, I don't have all day." I bite my lip in worry, 'what does he mean he doesn't have all day? He isn't really considering leaving, is he?'
"Why? Got someplace to go to?" His features become set in stone, no trace of any past partnership or connection.
"Nothing to do with you, other than the fact I'm leaving this place." I step forward in alarm.
"You can't leave!" My voice breaks from the emotional pain of my mentor leaving me. He frowns once more before shaking his head and gives me a fierce look.
"I can and I will. If you don't have something meaningful to say, then step out of my way." I gulp, 'I've got to say something but what?!' I sigh and look down at my feet before finally taking up some courage and face him again.
"Look, I'm not good at talking about emotions, I've never liked it, and I guess that's expected since I spent so much time with you. But to put it simply you were more than just my partner in fighting EVOs. You were the one who found me, you took me in, protected me and gave me shelter. True, you weren't the most emotionally stimulating person to be around or the most fun. You were strict, but under that hard shell, I knew you cared about me. You were…are my mentor a…and I don't know what I'd do without you." I blink rapidly trying to block the tears that threaten to spill, 'because I will not cry in front of the sixth most deadliest person in the world, what would he think of me then?'
"That's all very well and all, but I'm not that person you knew, not anymore. I don't remember any of what you're talking about. I get you're grateful, but this isn't my life. I still can't believe that I did any of this, that I was a part of any of this." I bite my tongue in anguish, 'all what I said just went over his head, it didn't matter to him at all. What did I expect? I am talking to an assassin now anyway.' I watch his face once more time, hoping to find some clue of deception, that he actually wants to stay, but alas, his face is stoic and guarded, impossible to guess his true thoughts and emotions.
"So that's it?" Six nods his head at me, his sword retracts back into its original resting place.
"Now will you open the door?" I sigh, but grudgingly bring my hand to the wall.
"Will you at least think about it?" I ask, half hoping that I can somehow change his mind, make him come to his sense. The seconds seem to tick by before he nods his head in agreement. 'At least that's something right? But why do I feel so empty inside? Oh that's right your father figure has forgotten about you and is about to walk out of your life forever.' The disheartening thought brings a lump to my throat, but I put my feelings to one side as I press my hand onto the wall, activating the computer pathways to open the door. The swishing sound alerts me that I've done it and I drop my hand so that it's hanging limply beside me.
My gaze finds itself looking back at Six who surprisingly hasn't moved from his place yet. We seem to stare at each other for hours but only precious minutes slip by. Finally Six decides to turn his back to me and starts walking towards the door located behind him.
"Nice knowing you kid." My head drops to my chest, I'm not strong enough to watch Six walk away, to walk out of my life forever.
"Bye Six." I whisper brokenly. The sound of footsteps ceases for a moment before continuing, soon the sound completely fades until only silence fills the room. I look up to the place that was previously occupied by my hero only to find it vacant. No longer am I able to hold myself up straight and I end up collapsing to the ground. I move to lean against the very wall that I used to open the door and bring my knees to my chest. Finally tears leak out of my eyes and I sob for the man I cared about, the man I loved like a father, the man I learnt so much from and the man who did everything in his power to protect me.
Suddenly I'm greeted with the sound of rapid tapping of high heels, 'I already know who that is.' I think glumly. I don't bother to hide my tears, but just bury my head into my arms and knees.
"Rex?" The quiet gentle voice nearly makes me cry out aloud, but I hold myself in. The steps come closer. "Rex look at me please." Unable to deny my other parental figure I look up to Dr Holiday's kind face. She crouches down to meet my eyes and puts a hand on my shoulder, giving it a soft squeeze. "I guess that didn't go to plan." I shake my head glumly, more tears flow and I start sobbing again, before I know it Dr Holiday captures me in a calming embrace, rubbing my back in soothing circles like she used to do when I was younger.
"Doc, why did he have to leave? Why couldn't he just stay?" I choke out between sobs.
"Six needs to find his place in the world and just as he did before he'll find his place is here, in Providence." I push back from her so that I can see her face to face.
"You think he'll come back then?" She smiles at me, hands still resting on my shoulders, she places one of them on the side of my check, wiping away stray tears with her thumb.
"I can't guarantee it, but Six found himself here at Providence 6 years ago, what is stopping him from finding that path that he went on before?" I nod my head in acknowledgement, 'that makes sense, doesn't it?' Dr Holiday drops her hand back to my shoulder and adopts a more serious expression. "But listen Rex, I don't want you to put your hopes up. There's a very high chance that Six won't be coming back." I sigh, nodding my head, I rub my eyes and get up, offering a hand to the doctor, who accepts it and stands in front of me.
"I know Doc. Honestly, I don't expect him to come back. I think this is really it. No more Six. I'll just have to learn to cope." I force a smile on my face, but the doctor must see through my unconvincing façade.
"Rex I don't want you to pretend you feel alright, that won't make anything better. If you feel sad, then show you're sad, and in time you'll feel better. Hiding your feelings won't do you any good." I nod and start to walk out of the room, Dr Holiday is close on my heels.
"I know Doc, but just give me this time to handle this how I want ok?" A sigh from beside me indicates she's not happy with my train of thoughts, but I wait for her reply.
"Ok Rex. I won't let you do something you don't want, just…just heed my advice ok?"
"I will Doc, but right now I'm going to my room." Arriving to my room's door I go in and close it behind me, leaving the doctor standing outside looking at me sorrowfully.
"Bye Rex." I hear the disheartened sound on the other side of the door and it breaks my heart, but I'd rather pretend to feel something that I don't rather than show how I really feel. There's no good being upset when my power depends on my emotions, I've got to continue fighting EVOs even without my partner and I certainly won't be able to be any help if my emotions are in a fray.
"See you later Holiday." I whisper quietly and lean my head on the door in sadness.
11 Months Later
"Enough is ENOUGH Rex! You need to find a new partner whether you like it or not!" I cringe at Dr Holiday's yelling as I sit on the bed in the medical bay after going through a particularly hard fight with several EVO animals.
"But Doc I'm FINE!" I lift up my arms to emphasise my point before wincing regretfully.
"One dislocated shoulder, one broken ankle and a deep gash in the stomach that required 12 stitches is NOT fine."
"Oh come on, it doesn't happen all the time…" I trail off as the doctor's face flashes bright scarlet.
"Listen to me here young man, I DON'T tolerate lying because that insults my intelligence. I'm a doctor for heaven's sake! Don't you think I've seen you limping half the time, or that my painkiller supplies dwindle after a mission or you avoiding any contact because you're afraid I'll touch a wounded place or the fact that you wear long sleeves all the time to cover any particular cuts. Do you not know how much it break my heart to see you like this and you won't even come to me for help?" The accusatory glare makes me feel awful, 'and I thought I was hiding everything so well.'
"Doc…"
"No don't you 'Doc' me. You've come into this bay quadruple the amount of times you used to come in here when you had Six with you. You have to face the facts Rex, Six isn't coming back." At this last statement all forms of guilt vanishes and is replaced with hot anger.
"I DON'T CARE! Either I have Six as my partner or no one at all. No one can replace Six, I won't let them!"
"You'll keep getting hurt!"
"That's a price I'm willing to pay!" Silence ensues as we glare at each other. Eventually Dr Holiday's face softens.
"Do you think the old Six would want you to keep getting hurt?" My throat catches as I remember the Six I used to know, 'it's weird thinking about him because for so long I've blocked him out completely, unwilling to remember or think about him, because every time I think about him it hits me hard that he's really gone and isn't coming back and the worst thing is I can't even blame him because he doesn't even know me, why should he stay and care for a stranger? I only blame myself, if only I had listened about the test subject, Six wouldn't have got hit by that beam and he'd still be here, with his memories.'
"The old Six isn't here."
"You know you should really listen to the Doctor." My head snaps to my right in shock, 'that voice… it couldn't be?!' As my eyes try to find where the voice comes from I see Six rounding the corner, taking his place beside Dr Holiday. I open and close my mouth like a goldfish, totally shocked to be in the presence of someone I thought I would never see again. I glance at Dr Holiday to find her in as much shock as I am. However, her shock quickly dissipates and she rounds on him in rage.
"What are you doing here?" She hisses. While her anger is able to make me quiver it seems that Six is immune as he stands with his arms crossed over his chest, raising a single eyebrow in surprise.
"Several reasons. One of which I want to discuss with Rex, alone." I feel like my brain has short circuited, 'what could Six possibly need to say to me, that he didn't already say a year ago?!'
"NO! You think you can leave and then walk in unannounced…" Six quickly moves in to interfere.
"Actually Wight knew I was coming." However Dr Holiday carries on regardless of the interruption.
"…after nearly a year and have the right to talk to Rex? I think not! It's all your fault that Rex has been depressed and refuses to have partner fighting with him. It's your fault he comes back injured all the time and it just gets worse and worse!" I flinch at her words, 'why did she have to mention all that to him, does she want him to think I'm weak or to drive him away?' At her raspy breathing I decide to interfere before things get ugly.
"Doc, it's alright." I then turn my attention back to Six, observing him, 'typical Six, he hasn't changed at all. But he's still clad in that swat suit, something the old Six hasn't worn in years.' Looking at his face I find he's wearing a frown. 'I guess he's not particularly pleased with Holiday's statement.' I shake my head of anymore thoughts and decide just to question him. "Six how long have you been here?"
"Long enough."
"Wow, vague as usual. So why are you here then?" He shakes his head at me.
"Not until the good doctor leaves." I turn to face Dr Holiday, a pleading expression graces my face. I watch as the confliction pass through her face before she sighs and nods. But before she leaves she roughly pokes her finger at Six's chest.
"If I hear you did ANYTHING to Rex, you won't have to worry about anyone coming after you, because I'll do it myself." She then turns on her heels and marches out, the door shutting loudly as she leaves.
"Was she always like this?" I bite back a grin at the question.
"About me? Yes. Actually anything important to her will usually activate her stubbornness and trust me you don't want to see her angry."
"That wasn't angry?" A splutter of laughter erupts from my throat.
"You don't know the half of it."
"No I don't." That solemn tone manages to bring my laughter to a halt, reminding me of everything that's happened in the past year, everything that I lost.
"Yeah, well she wasn't always this strict before and she's never yelled at me either." I state despondently. At my change of tone Six takes a few paces closer to me until he's a mere half metre away from me. He even looks somewhat hesitant to reply.
"Things haven't been easy I assume?" I turn my head away from him.
"No they haven't." We remain posed in this position for a while before I decide to speak up. "So what did you want to ask me about?"
"Listen kid, I've done a lot this past year…" I snort at his words for two reasons, 'number one I hate the word 'kid', it sounds impersonal and belittling and number two I can only imagine what he would be doing.'
"Yeah well an assassin has a busy job of killing people, I mean how many have you killed? You've had plenty of time to do that." Suddenly I find a hand at my throat, squeezing enough for me to feel the lack of air present. I look fearfully at the man I looked up to find an ugly snarl on his face.
"I said listen. You don't get to judge me. You don't know what my life has been like. It's not my fault I've forgotten probably the most interesting 6 years of my life. Got it?" The assassin spits. I nod weakly in response and as quickly as that hand appeared it disappeared leaving me chocking for air. I rub my hand over the tender skin on my neck. 'This day is turning out to be fantastic, I get to see my mentor for the first time in a year and then get throttled by him. I can't help but feel betrayed that my protector has actually been the one to harm me this time.' The hurt must have been written on my eyes as Six mumbles an apology and briefly puts a gentle hand on my good shoulder, 'heh lucky guess' I think spitefully, giving it a squeeze and steps back a couple of paces.
"I didn't come to fight or argue. I'm not used to being the man you used to know. I don't remember being anything but an assassin. But I grew restless of what I was doing. After some thought I thought to search up more about Providence, you and I." I nod in understanding and hesitantly I ask him a question.
"And what did you find?" I flinch slightly as I see his head move slightly to the side, half expecting him to snap again. His shoulder slump slightly at my reaction, probably upset that I'm slightly afraid of him right now, but he continues on regardless.
"A lot." I roll my eyes at his specificity.
"And you point is?" He clutches the bridge of his nose for a moment before turning his attention back to me.
"My point is that I found out what sort of man I used to be. I read stories of the missions we went on, I watched videos of those missions, then I went and visited those sites to try and get some bearings, maybe even have a memory resurface." I widen my eyes in shock, 'Six did that? Maybe he isn't all gone after all.' I continued to gaze at him in shock as he continues. "So many things felt familiar, but there was something blocking me from reconnecting with those memories. A couple of the sites even included Hong Kong and Mexico. There I managed to relocate some memories, unfortunately they are only very little." I could barely believe what I was hearing, 'Six has remembered some things from Providence, I wonder which ones, I'm nearly too scared to ask. What if none of them are meaningful enough?' I bite my lip in thought. "Aren't you going to ask me kid?"
"Fine I will, what do you remember?"
"Two memories. One being when I first found you and the other being when you had a nanite overload." I find myself trembling, unsure whether to feel joy, shock or sadness. 'why only those two, why couldn't it have been more?'
"You remember?" I question, 'I have to make sure that he's telling the truth.'
"Yes. Not enough to know how I felt about you, but enough to know why Wight became head of Providence and is stuck in his room. Being in Mexico helped. It seems these two memories are tied in with the strongest emotions I felt during those 5/6 years." My eyes light up with an idea.
"Then we could take you to all the places that you…"
"No. I tried that and it didn't work."
"But the time when we went to see One…"
"Tried that and didn't find anything. It looks like I'm left with just those two and that's it."
"Oh." I slump in disappointment. I eye my mentor before asking the question that's been bothering me since he came here.
"So why did you come back?"
"Because of this." He throws a wooden block at me which I manage to catch. I look up at Six in confusion before I investigate what I'm holding, turning it over I realise it's a picture frame, but more importantly it has two photos in it, the frame having been split into two slots. After inspecting the frame I look more closely at the photos it holds. The first one is recent consisting of a group photo of the team: Dr Holiday, Six, Noah, Bobo, even Wight Knight and I. The second one is older consisting of just Six and I, where I'm half the size of Six giving him a hug and his arms are wrapped around mine. A tear hits the glass front of the frame, I blink realising that I'm actually crying, quickly wiping my face I look up, hoping Six didn't see that, but the look of mild concern on his face suggests that he did.
"Where did you find this? I don't even remember this photo being taken or the time it was taken."
"I found it in my office at Purgatory base, it was hidden in the back of the drawer. It was taken apparently a few weeks after I found you. You wanted a picture to remember."
"How do you know that?" I question in surprise since he shouldn't be able to remember that.
"I kept a journal."
"Oh. So what does this mean?"
"It means I know more about the man I used to be, I know how I became that man and… I want to become that man again." At these words, I don't bother about the tears leaking from my eyes, I find myself getting up from the bed that I was sitting on, ignoring the shooting pain of my broken ankle I limp over to my protector and engulf him in a hug. I feel as he tenses in my hold, but I hug him all the more tighter. Slowly I feel arms encasing themselves around me and soon I find the equally warm embrace being returned. I rest my head on his shoulder in comfort. "I'm so sorry." I hear him whisper. And in that moment it's enough.
"I forgive you. I forgave you from even before you left." It took nearly a year of struggles until I've felt this contentment. In that moment everything felt complete, so when I sensed my legs buckling underneath me from the pain of standing on my broken ankle, I knew Six would catch me before I hit the ground. He put his arm around my shoulders and held me around my waist until he guided me back to the medical bed. When I'm seated he crouches down to my level.
"You shouldn't have sacrificed your health just because I wasn't there. You should have had someone to have your back." I shook my head in disagreement.
"No one could ever have my back like you always did." In a moment of rarity Six smiles.
"I'm only going to say this once, but… I'm proud of you Rex." I smile back.
"You have no idea how much that means to me." He pushes himself back up to a standing position and looks at me in a way that only a father could to his child, a look Six often gave me when he didn't think I was looking. 'He's back.'
A/N: Please review and let me know what you think. I may do a second chapter but only if I have reviews. Hope you all have a good day.