Rex walked down the road with his new friend Nafalis. They had been like twins ever sense they met, they were the same age, were both crazy, loud, and both had work that was very important. Although, Rex didn't know what Nafalis's was, but he didn't ask because he didn't care.
"Nafalis!" a voice shouted. Both stopped dead in their tracks. Rex blinked. Van Kleiss? Van Kleiss stepped out from the shadows and into the light.
"Van Kleiss?" Rex said. He glared.
"I am not here for you Rex," Van Kleiss said. Nafalis swallowed as Van Kleiss looked at her. "I'm here for my daughter." Rex gaped and looked at Nafalis. She had told him her father was horrid and that he was a pain in the butt, but Van Kleiss? Why hadn't she said something?
"Van Kleiss, is your dad?" Rex asked taking a step away from her. Nafalis looked at him with sorry eyes.
"Yes," she said. Rex glared at Van Kleiss then at Nafalis.
"Yeah, thanks for using her to get to me," Rex said. Nafalis looked up at him. "Best friend I ever had turns out to be a hoax." Rex turned and ran. "Rex! Rex!" Nafalis called after him. She started to follow him but Van Kleiss grabbed her. She looked over her shoulder at him and gave him a hard glare. She pulled on his grip and freed herself. "Some father you are! Mom was right! You're a lossy son of a BITCH!" Nafalis screamed at him and ran away.
"Nafalis!" Van Kleiss yelled trying to grab her, but he was unable too. He sighed. He hadn't been a good father to her in the past, so he was retrying to be her father and she wasn't taking to it very well. And he wasn't good at it at all. He went back home, hoping that maybe she'd come home.
Rex ran into the hanger and forced himself not to cry. He didn't care, he didn't! She was a hoax, a lie! Like every other friend he'd ever had! Circe worked for Van Kleiss, Noah worked for White Knight, and her father was Van Kleiss! Why did everyone he know have to be a lie! Was Six a lie? Holiday? Bobo? Everyone he had ever known?
"Rex," Six said from behind him. Rex let out a breath and regained his composer before turning around.
"Yeah?" he said.
"Where have you been?" Six said glaring at him.
"Out," Rex said.
"That's not a very good explanation," Six said harshly. Rex glared at him.
"You don't deserve one," Rex barked back. Six blinked but Rex couldn't tell. Six crossed his arms and gave Rex a hard look, Rex looked back.
"Is that so? Where have you been? Such a hard question? You have been acting up lately and the Doc. is worried about you, you need to start thinking Rex, you need to stop whatever it is you're doing…" Six's voice trailed off in Rex's mind. He didn't hear what Six was saying, he only heard his tone.
"SHUT UP!" Rex screamed. Holiday had been walking on the rail above, she looked down as Rex yelled. Six stared at Rex as Rex charged at him. Six jumped out of the way and Rex skidded to go after him. Six backed up and Rex pinned him to the ground. It was the moment Rex started choking Six that Six realized what he had said had been a mistake, Rex was furious, more furious then every before, and not only that but Rex was now trying to kill him! Six kicked Rex off of him and took out his swords. Rex didn't turn his on, he just charged at Six head on and Six pushed him away. Rex elbowed Six in the gut and punched him in the jaw. Holiday dropped her papers and ran to get down there as fast as she could. Rex pinned Six against the wall and choked him with both hands. Rex pushed his right leg up against both of Six's own legs to stop him from kicking. Six dropped his swords and put his hands over Rex's, struggling.
"Rex!" Holiday yelled as she saw them. Rex blinked as if he had suddenly come to his senses. He let Six go and Six dropped tot he floor. Rex backed away and Holiday kneeled by Six.
"Are you all right?" Six nodded as he coughed. Rex ran to his room. "Go, I'll be there shortly," Six coughed. Holiday nodded and walked to Rex's room as Six stayed behind to catch his breath. He had never seen Rex like that before. Sure Rex had his moments when he got really mad, but never mad enough to try and kill him. Six sighed and stood, maybe Rex would've calmed down by the time he got to his room and he could apologize to the boy.
Holiday opened the door to Rex's room. Rex sat curled up into a ball on his bed. Holiday walked over and stood to his right. He didn't look over at her, but he knew she was there. Rex let out a long breath.
"Rex?" Holiday asked.
"What?" Rex said, his voice cracking. Holiday wanted to sit next to him but she didn't want to take any chances at this moment after what had happened in the hanger.
"What's wrong?" "None of your business," Rex snapped. Holiday sighed and walked towards the door. Rex sighed.
"My anger caused me to attack Six, I feel like an idiot and a jerk." Rex stood and Holiday stood in the doorway. Six walked in. Holiday put her finger over her mouth. Six nodded and walked in. Rex didn't notice his presence. Holiday stood out of the room in the hall, watching. "I didn't really hear what he was saying, I just heard his tone and it got under my skin. I burst out in anger, I don't even really know why. After that I don't really know what happened. I mean, I know I attacked Six but I don't remember how or why. Next thing I know someone shouts my name and I have him pinned up against the wall with my hands around his neck."-Rex sighed-"If he never forgives me, I wouldn't blame him, and if he hates me, I wouldn't blame him for that either."
"Rex," Six said. Rex turned to him in shock. Rex looked down. Six opened his mouth to say something but Rex spoke first.
"I am so sorry!" Rex said, his voice really cracking this time. "I don't know why I attacked you, honest! I am so, so sorry Six! So sorry!" Tears welled up Rex's eyes and it took all his strength not to cry in front of Six, he could not cry in front of Six, and he wouldn't. "I'm sorry that I tried to kill you, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Rex nearly sobbed but was able to stop himself in time as he said he was sorry a few more times.
Suddenly Rex found himself brought up in Six's embrace and held tight against him. Rex burst into tears and cried. Six put his right hand over Rex's head and held him tightly in his arms. Holiday smiled a little and walked away.
"Don't you ever think that I hate you Rex, don't you ever think that!" Six said tightening his grip a little. "All right?" Rex nodded slightly against Six's chest. "Good." Six let him go and put his hands on Rex's shoulders. Six sighed. "I'm sorry I yelled at you, I shouldn't have. Can you forgive me?"
"Can you forgive me?" Rex asked looking up at him. Six nodded. Rex smiled and nodded back. "You are very much forgiven." Six chuckled a little and hugged Rex once more.
"What do you say to a smoothie?" Rex smiled and nodded. "I say, why not?" Six chuckled and they walked out of Rex's room. Rex had completely forgotten about Nafalis, at least for a little while. But Van Kleiss had not after she had run away from him. And Nafalis hadn't forgotten about Rex. Why don't we go check up on her now?
Nafalis leaned up against the building as it rained down on her in the city. Footsteps came up from her left and she didn't even flinch.
"A day when you don't attack me for attempting to sneak up on you is normally a day something bad happened," Gatlocke said leaning against the wall next to her. "Spill." Nafalis sighed and looked over at her uncle from her mother's side.
"Rex found out Van Kleiss is my dad and he pretty much figured he was using me to get to him and that it was all a hoax, and of course Van Kleiss just walks away when I run. I mean, he didn't even say anything!" Nafalis pounded her fist against the brick wall. Gatlocke sighed.
"Nafalis, you have to admit, he is at least trying now, right?"
"Sure, whatever," Nafalis said pushing herself off the wall. "I gotta get home. Pray that I don't kill him." She walked away in the rain.
"At least put your hood up." Nafalis did so and Gatlocke nodded. "Crazy girl." Then Gatlocke headed home, and he took Nafalis's advice and prayed for his brother-in-law Van Kleiss. He liked him a lot, he just hoped Nafalis would feel the same soon, and he thought that for Van Kleiss's sake.
Nafalis walked into her room and sat on her bed, angry. She bounced her ball off the floor, onto the wall, off the ceiling, it came back to her, and she threw it again. She did this over and over again. She hadn't heard her father enter the room. He walked over to her and she didn't even look at him at all. Van Kleiss sighed.
"Nafalis?" he said.
"What?" she said harshly catching the ball, not throwing it again, and glaring at him. Van Kleiss sighed. "Well?" she barked.
"I'm sorry," he said.
"For what? Making me lose my only friend? Not saying anything? Being a bitch? All of the above?" she growled. Van Kleiss looked her in the eye. "Apology not excepted." She leaned back against the wall, arms crossed.
"Nafalis…"
"Leave me alone," she grumbled.
"Nafalis…"
"Go away."
"Nafalis…."
"What?" She screamed sitting upright. Van Kleiss jumped a little at the loudness of her voice. She was just like her mother. Hard-headed, hard to please, hard to understand, hard hitter, and all around genius. Well, she might have gotten that from him, but he wasn't to sure. He sighed and chuckled.
"You remind me of your mother," he said. Nafalis was silent. He never talked about her mother, never ever. So this had caught her attention. "She was always convinced I was wrong and she was right. Sometimes she'd let me be right when we both knew I was right, but she didn't like it one bit. She was always as hard to please as you are." Nafalis blinked.
"Hard to please?" she said angrily. "What do you mean 'hard to please'?" Van Kleiss smiled.
"I don't know," he said shrugging. Nafalis grumbled and stood up to pace. She always did that when she was confused, angry, or just irritated. Van Kleiss guessed that today it was the latter. He put his hands on her shoulders. She glared up at him and he took them off, allowing her to pace. "She did that too."
"Did what?"
"Pace all the time," Van Kleiss said sitting down. Nafalis stopped pacing and looked at him and blinked.
"She did?" Van Kleiss nodded. "Yup," he said. Nafalis shook her head and leaned against the wall.
"And also, she didn't call me a bitch. She called me a 'half-eaten-cowlick', not really sure what that even means." Nafalis laughed. It was the dumbest thing she had ever heard.
"Half-eaten-cowlick?" she said. Van Kleiss nodded. "That's really stupid." He shrugged. "Yeah, but that's what she called me." Nafalis shook her head again. She sighed and looked down at her feet. Van Kleiss tilted his head to the right a little, confused. Why had she suddenly become silent? She closed her eyes, pushing back the tears that were fighting to get out.
"I miss her," she said. Van Kleiss blinked. He had never really thought of that before. He had always figured Nafalis hated her mother, her mother had tried to kill her. Well, that was before she went missing and they hadn't seen her in fifteen years. "She did try and kill me many times, but she did stop, after that she wasn't so bad." Nafalis sighed.
"Yeah, I agree with you," Van Kleiss said. Nafalis nodded. She hadn't opened her eyes and she was starting to squeeze them shut. At first he didn't notice this tiny movement, but he soon did. He stood up and walked over to her. "Nafalis?" he asked. Nafalis didn't respond. "Seven?" Van Kleiss called her seven because she worked in an agency and she was agent number seven, not as in she's the seventh most dangerous person on the planet. Nafalis looked up at him, her eyes welled up with tears. She sighed and looked down.
"Will she ever,"-she swallowed a sob-"ever come back?" Van Kleiss sighed. He wanted to be able to answer her question, he really did, but he couldn't.
"I don't know Nafalis, I don't know," he said. Nafalis nodded.
"Ok," she said. Van Kleiss stood there a moment before he almost turned and left. What stopped him was Nafalis's failed attempt at stopping a sob. Van Kleiss looked down at her.
"Nafalis," he said hugging her. Nafalis hugged him back and cried. Nafalis had never cried before in her life for the longest time, and especially not in front of anyone. Van Kleiss had nothing he could say to her, nothing came to his mind, but then he thought of something Gatlocke had said once. It was all he could think of, so he'd use it. "She'll come back if it be God's will." Nafalis nodded. Van Kleiss sighed as he held her. And hopefully God would rule in their favor, if he didn't, well, Van Kleiss would have to cross that bridge when, and if, he ever came to it.