Hey guys, remember me? I'm the author who pretty much disappeared! It's been a while, hasn't it.
My reasons for not updating are a bit personal. All I'm gonna say is that I went through a rough period in my life, but it's been resolved, and now I should be updating frequently again! I hope that's alright with you, cause it's definitely alright with me.
So, to avoid rambling on in my AN, let's go to the new chapter!
It had been 3 months since my first mission. Things were going great. Dr. Holiday and I were working together, I was completely healed, Rex and I were as close as siblings, if not closer, and I was doing great training with Six.
Everything was perfect until HE happened.
I guess the whole ordeal started when Dr. Holiday and I were working in the lab together one night.
"Courtney, can I ask you a question?" she asked me. I shrugged my shoulders as I placed another slide under the microscope.
"Something I've been wondering for a long while is, how are you able to control your nanites when countless other EVOs can't? We know why Rex can, but you're a big unknown."
"Well, I really don't know. When I think about it, there's no reason that I'm like this and not like the others. Reece is the same way." I looked over at Holiday, removing my shades. "Why am I like this?"
Of course, at that moment, the alarm sounded. I whipped my glasses back on and ran down to the loading dock, where all the ships were. I didn't have to wait long before Bobo, Rex, Reece, and Six came running.
"What's the mission?" I asked as Six vaulted into the pilot's seat.
"That Pack is attacking a city near Washington D.C. I hope what Six's taught you actually works," Rex said. I grinned at him.
"Oh, I'd say it works." I reached behind me and grabbed the sword that was strapped to my back. Why Six let me keep that, I'll never know.
Rex's mouth gaped open. "He's letting you use that?" He looked at Six with astonishment. "You let her bring a sword into a fight, but I can't even practice with one?"
"You can make machines pop out of your body. She can't," Six said. Rex huffed at him as I laughed.
"Well, you have to admit, you are better protected than I am, even with the sword," I said, nudging him with my elbow. He nudged me back and I laughed again.
I was trying to sit down when the ship took off. I stumbled and fell backwards, accidentally landing in Rex's lap. Both Rex and I went beet red. Bobo laughed at us so hard, he fell off of a piece of metal he was sitting on suspended from the ceiling. Reece gave me one of her grins and lay down, her head on Rex's leg.
I was trying to get off of Rex and apologize at the same time when apparently the ship hit some turbulence. Basically, my face got slammed into Rex's chest. His arm reflexively went around me, and we were like that until the shaking stopped.
Rex removed his arm soon after, but my face stayed. "Why does this always happen to us?" I said, my voice muffled by his chest. Rex laughed as we separated.
"We're here," Six announced, opening the door and heading out. Man am I glad that Six did not see that!
In front of us was the Pack. Biowolf and Skalamander were tearing apart some random car, a girl Rex named Circe was crumbling buildings, and a girl with four arms that Rex labeled as Breach was watching over it all.
They saw us and attacked. At least, I think they attacked. Biowolf and Skalamander went up to Rex and Six and started fighting them, while Breach and Circe came up to me. But, instead of fighting, Circe grabbed my hand and started pulling me towards Breach.
I try to find Reece, but she's busy helping Six and Rex.
"Come with us! Van Kliess wants to see you!" Circe said. Breach opened a portal looking thing and gestured for us to enter. I struggled, getting my hand out of her grasp. I brought my sword out and held it in front of me.
"What do you or Van Kliess want with me!" I yelled at them. Circe expanded her mouth and sent a concussive blast towards me. I tried standing against it, but to no avail. She did it again, but I stood by stabbing my sword into the ground and holding onto it. She kept on firing, but I stuck through. I was almost out of energy, though.
She was about to fire another blast. I knew this one would send me scattering. She breathed in, but before she could fire, Six came up behind her and knocked her out. She fell to the ground, unconscious. Reece ran up to me in full EVO mode. She growled and stood in front of me, as though challenging any who tried to hurt me.
I started breathing a little easier, knowing Six wouldn't come over here until Biowolf and Skalamander had been defeated, but I was wrong. Suddenly, I was grabbed from behind, pulled over to Breach by Biowolf. I didn't have the energy to fight it.
Breach opened a portal and we went through it, my mind eventually shutting down. I saw Rex and Reece trying to grab Biowolf just before my eyes closed.
I woke up, tied to- no, by- some vines that were growing out of a floor. I looked around. It looked a lot like a castle, but creepier. A little sunlight filtered into the room, which lead me to believe that I had been asleep for about a day. In front of me was a man with long black hair sitting on a throne. I knew this man; Van Kliess.
"How wonderful of you to join us, Courtney. I hope they didn't hurt you too much." He grinned at me maliciously.
"How do you know my name, and what do you want Van Kleiss?" I yelled at him. Like I'm going to be nice to my kidnappers.
He chuckled and walked up to me. "It looks like you've grown up well." He looked me in the eye. I stared back at him, refusing to back down.
"Unfortunately, you are of no use to me now." He said. My eyes narrowed.
"What do you mean, 'of no use'. Why would I be of any use to you anyways?" I said. He grinned at me like he had a secret.
"Have you ever wondered why you have control over your nanites? You know you're not like the other EVOs." He asked, walking around me.
"Of course. Why not? I'm nothing like the others. Why of any concern to you?" I asked him. He smirked at me.
"You didn't become EVO by accident. Three years ago, you and your dog were chosen out of a select group of people to be made EVO, to be created that way. You were a test subject. Inserted into you was a new kind of nanites, unstable but powerful. They would have killed you if you had not gained control. If you died, then you would be replaced. If you survived, then you would have been brought here when you became older, to be my endless supply of fresh nanites," he said. My mind reeled from the news.
"I was forced to be like this? Do my parents know? And is that why everyone that found out was injured or killed? How could you do this without me remembering?" I asked him.
"Of course. No body could know that you had control. And you're parents didn't know until it actually happened, when it was too late. You don't remember because we erased your memory and replaced it with a new one. But, now that I no longer need a constant supply of nanites, you are of no use." The vines around me were broken, and I fell to the floor.
I heard Biowolf come up behind me and grab my wrists, which were still bound. I didn't struggle. I still couldn't fathom it. I was a test subject, a guinea pig. Did anyone from Providence know? Wait, how could they know? Biowolf dragged me to my feet and led me out of the room down a hall. I went with him. Its not like I had any chance of leaving. I couldn't escape, and Rex had no idea where I was.
We went to a large room where there was of statue looking things. The rest of the Pack was there, looking at me. Circe gave me a sad little smile, but I just looked away.
"Well, now what? It's not like I'm of any use to you," I said. I sat down on the ground. I wish I were better with my sword. Then I'd be able to get myself out.
I heard Biowolf raise something over my head, and braced myself for the worst. A small tear trickled from the corner of my eye. But suddenly, I heard a crash, and saw Rex smashing through a wall with his Smack Hands. I heard the noise of my sword clattering on the ground, and let out a breath that I didn't know I was holding. "Get away from her!" Rex yelled, slamming into Biowolf. Six showed up in the hole that Rex made and started attacking Skalamander. Circe and Breach ran out, probably to get Van Kleiss.
Seeing as no one was there to help at the moment, I scooted backwards until I felt my sword. Grabbing it the best that I could, I started to rub the blade against my bonds. The blade slipped and cut my hand, making a long gash. I stopped myself from crying out, but Rex must have seen it anyways. He bashed his fist into Biowolf's face and ran over to me, his hands returning back to normal.
"Let me do it." He grabbed the sword out of my hands and cut the bonds, grabbing my hand and pulling me to my feet. I thanked him and took my sword back. But apparently I didn't need it. When I turned around, Six had already taken care of Skalamander, and he, along with Biowolf, were heading in the same direction as Circe and Breach.
"We've got to get out of here," Rex said, grabbing my injured hand. I winced and he dropped it, grabbing the other hand, sword and all. We ran out of there to a ship docked next to the wall.
We ran in to find Bobo in the pilot's seat. Probably not the smartest thing in the world, but I wasn't very choosy at that moment. Rex sat down and pulled me next to him. Bobo moved as Six jumped into the pilot's seat and got us out of there.
"Man am I glad you guys showed up. Thanks for saving me," I said. Rex looked at me like I had almost died, which, if you think about it, almost did happen. I sheathed my sword quickly, avoiding hitting Rex in the face with my blade.
"Why were they trying to kill you?" Rex asked. I bit my lip. I really didn't want to tell him that one yet, but he did ask.
I pulled my knees up to my chest, wrapping my arms around them." Because I wasn't useful anymore."
Rex touched my shoulder gently. "Not useful? What are you talking about?" he asked.
I sighed. "I'm not useful because Van Kleiss doesn't need me anymore. It turns out that Van Kleiss made me an EVO as a test subject. I was going to be his little giver of nanites. Now that he didn't need me, I guess he ordered the Pack to kill me," I said into my arms. A few tears fell from my eyes, splashing on the floor.
Rex almost immediately put an arm around my shoulders. I leaned into his shoulder, releasing my knees.
"I'm sorry, chica. Who would have known? And just because Van Kleiss created you, doesn't mean we're gonna leave you," he said. That got a small smile out of me. I hadn't even considered that option.
"How did you guys find me anyway? From what I had heard, Abyss was practically impossible to find," I asked him. He was about to say something, but Six got to it before he could.
"There's a tracker in your sunglasses. Helps us know where you are. You're lucky they didn't fall off while you were there," Six said, not turning around. I got up slowly, trying to support myself with my injured hand. I winced and fell back down.
I looked down at my hand. I had a long deep gash going from my pinkie to wrapping around my thumb. The bleeding had slowed down somewhat, but the gash was big, and very obvious. Rex grabbed my hand and found the cut spot with no problem. I gave him a wary smile, tilting my head to the side. "Oops?" He shook his head at me and grabbed a piece of fabric he apparently had in his pocket. He wrapped it around my hand until the cut was completely covered.
"One, why do you have a roll of gauze in your pocket? And two, I could have done that myself," I asked him when he finished. Both of us were too busy to notice he hadn't let go of my hand.
"One, You'd be surprised at how much I need things like this, and two, I know you could have, but I'm the one with the gauze," he said to me, a smirk evident on his face.
"Well, thanks. I'll have Holiday look at it when we get in. That is, if I can remember. My head is swimming with thoughts at the moment," I said, leaning against Rex's shoulder again.
The rest of the trip home I told Rex and Six what had happened at Abyss. Six didn't react other than telling me that Van Kleiss wasn't going to be a problem. Rex, however, seemed really sympathetic, and neither of us noticed that he still had my hand. Unless Bobo saw and didn't tell us.
When we docked I headed towards the lab, Rex coming along with. But when we made it to the lab, no one was there.
Dr. Holiday walked in, a tower of file folders in her hands. She set the pile down and noticed us. "Can I help you guys?"
I looked up at Dr. Holiday, sighing. "Remember how we were wondering how I got my nanites? Well, I found out how."
I repeated my story as she sat down, taking in every word. She seemed shocked to find out that my nanites were test nanites.
"This is certainly a surprise. I far as I had known, they didn't test nanites on people. Though there was a lot of illegal tests back when nanites were first invented," she mused, standing back up. She smiled at me. "Why don't you head back to your room? You must feel tired."
"No, I'm going to go train with Six. Something to occupy my mind," I said, getting up. I headed out the door to the training room. If Six was anywhere, he'd be there.
I found Six right where I thought I would, hacking away at a piece of training equipment. Surprise, surprise. He kept going for a while, and then turned around, acknowledging me. I nodded back.
"Do you think we can do some training? I need something to clear my head," I asked, walking towards him. He drew out his sword, bringing it level with my neck. I stopped moving, then quickly brought out my sword and swung it at his with a clang.
"Is something bothering you? Your aim is off," he asked, swinging again. I stopped it with a grunt.
"Kind of. I can't get what Van Kleiss said out of my head," I said, bringing his sword down with mine. "The one thing I can't figure out is, why me?"
"We don't know why Van Kleiss does what he does, but you will be protected from him here. You are safe," Six assured, putting his sword down. My eyebrows rose. Normally we're sword fighting for at least an hour.
"We're going to work on hand to hand combat. Today proves you won't always have a sword nearby," he said. It's almost like he could read my mind. Knowing him, he probably could.
We trained for a long while, neither of us stopping to rest. I'd say it was about four hours before I finally collapsed, not able to go on any more. Six sheathed his swords, not looking tired at the least. We said goodnight and I headed back to the room. Rex was already there, lying on his bed. Reece was lying down with him, sleeping with her head on his stomach. I smiled and went over to my bed to find another book laying there, the next one in my favorite series.
"Okay, how do you keep getting these books? It's not like they appear out of thin air," I asked him, picking it up.
He shrugged his shoulders. "I'm afraid you're going to have to continue guessing, chica." he said, resting his head on his hands, giving me a devious look.
"Believe me, I will find out. That's a guarantee," I said, sitting down on my bed. Somehow, Rex had been getting books for me. I already have a little bit of a collection.
Six walked in and turned off the lights. I settled into my bed, but was unable to sleep. My mind was still reeling from my little adventure. But I must have fallen asleep sometime, because what I saw was worse than anything reality could come up with.
And that's the chapter! I hope you liked it, it's a pretty important part of the story.
Reviews!
whiteraven95- Thanks! The whole reason behind them sharing is a room does seem kind of strange, but I'm trying to show a brotherly sisterly bond before I really spark the romance. Again, it's strange, but that's how my mind thinks.
Black-Star 98- I agree! They really did animate Six's character to look best with the shades on. I've tried figuring out Holiday's motives behind trying to kiss him while he's unconscious, but it's baffling me a bit.
nijakitty- Thanks! I try to put enough into the chapters so it's worth a good read, but not so much that you're sitting in front of your computer thinking 'I'm so bored, so very, very, bored.' I've read some stuff like that, it's not fun.
crazygirl125- Haha, no problem! Like I said earlier, I'm hoping to really speed up my pace with the new chapters.
I've been wondering recently if I should do some special Valentine's one-shot with Courtney and Rex, but I'm not so sure. What do you guys think? It would be set in a separate timing as my story, the only thing they would have connected is the characters and the history.
Hasta Luego!