The sky darkened from a bright blue into an ominous red as the place descended into the depths of the forest below.
Rex softly exhaled as the wheels of the aircraft he had hijacked just a few hours earlier found solid ground in the shrubbery below. His hot flashes had been getting worse, but the nausea was fading, at least. Occasionally he felt dizzy, and his hands and feet felt cold, yet somehow warm at the same time. Bobo had been handing him a steady supply of chocolate throughout the trip, though his efforts remained fruitless. Still, his company was enough to take some of the edge off.
"This is the first and last time I come here because I actually want to," the teen muttered, gathering some spare knives and tasers under his jacket. "But at least these weapons will make me more unpredictable."
Bobo hopped up on a counter and grabbed his usual blasters, along with some shurikens he had snuck from Six's room. "Are you still mad that the head honcho made fun of you about that?"
"No! I'm just saying."
"Sure."
The mechanical doors whirred and slid apart from each other, opening the way to the fresh breeze of the entirely mutated territory, both refreshing yet worrisome. Rex was the first to step out, glancing at the trees above, then at a small river nearby. The chirping of birds in the trees alerted him to the realization that he wasn't alone- but so far, it was peaceful. Not a monstrous creature could be seen roaming the grassy pasture they had landed in.
"You know, this place wouldn't be half bad if it wasn't for the psycho overlord," the chimp commented as he followed suit, feeling the fresh, dewy grass between his toes as he surveyed the area. "Not a bad spot for a date either, eh, chief?"
Rex rolled his eyes, though regretted it when it caused him to become dizzy again. "Hilarious."
"Speaking of funny, y'know what's weird about this place? I can't see the sun."
The two lifted their heads towards the strangely colored atmosphere, basking in its mysterious red glow. Try as they might, the star of their solar system was nowhere to be found, making the source of the light all the more bizarre. Was the sky itself emitting its own frequencies? Could it be affecting all life underneath it?
"That's creepy," the boy noted, lowering his gaze back towards the landscape. "But we can talk about that later. We need to find the castle right now."
Bobo shrugged. "Do we?"
"Um… I don't know, actually. But I don't know how else to do this, though, I also don't want to meet Van Kleiss himself anytime soon."
"Maybe call your girlfriend?"
The teen shot him a nasty look before removing his cell phone from his pocket and dialing the number of a girl he now hated most. The call was intercepted almost immediately after the first ring, putting both of them on edge. He held a finger to his lips before putting her on speaker.
"We know you're here, Rex," a monotonous voice greeted them. "Your plane isn't exactly subtle."
Rex scoffed. "Cool, I don't care. Where is the cure for whatever you wrecked my system with?"
Circe sighed. "Still mad, huh? Relax."
"As if! Don't you dare-"
"No seriously, relax," she interrupted him. "Van Kleiss says that he doesn't want you using your powers here. Something about wanting you in one piece."
The teen stared at his phone, utterly confused. "Was that a death threat?"
"Actually, he said it was a welcoming gift. Don't do anything stupid."
The line went dead.
"Since when does Abysus come with new terms and conditions?" Bobo joked, pulling his companion along for an aimless walk. "I don't remember signing an agreement form."
Rex put his phone away and groaned. "I don't even know anymore. And nothing about any of this is a gift. He's off his rocker, as usual."
"Nature is a cruel mistress, but her master is even worse."
"Definitely."
The two meandered around the land for a while, and although Rex was reluctant to acknowledge it, he actually began to feel better. A lot better. Not mentally of course, given his situation, but his physical symptoms became somewhat at ease. His hot flashes had subsided, the prickly feeling in his skin felt more like light tickles, and his nausea had halfway dissipated. It felt as if the nanites that penetrated the earth and sky around him were stabilizing him, almost acting like a mild sedative.
Was this how Van Kleiss felt? Or rather, was he causing this?
"Do you feel that?" Rex spoke up, approaching the edge of a small river. "It's like I'm super chill. Like someone drugged me to put me to sleep but they only did the job halfway."
"Yeah, that happened the last time we were here too," Bobo pointed out. "You just didn't notice because we were fighting to keep our skins on."
"He's chilling us out on purpose?"
"Maybe. I think this is why we wanted to follow him and his creepy crew into the woods to his haunted castle in the first place. He messed with our brains."
The boy paused. "Actually yeah, that does make sense. A normal person would have freaked out, but even Noah wasn't phased."
"A person," a dark growl uttered from a few meters behind the two, "Not people. Rex was supposed to come alone."
The two whipped around to find Biowulf emerging from the shrubbery behind them, claws stretched out as if to flex his hatred.
"The sleeping pill effect just wore off," Rex quipped, creating his mechanical arms. "You're about to get pummel- HURK!"
His evo limbs instantly gave way to a terrible storm of nausea that attacked every part of his digestive system, and causing him to keel over from the sheer effort of trying to remain composed. As he placed a hand over his mouth while keeping the other one steady as a support, he spied tiny tendrils spreading across the floor and encircling his figure. Bobo reached for his blasters and shot at the wolf humanoid, aiming for the face. After several attempts to burn out the eyes and kill the vines that had tried to snake around his throat, he almost called it a victory. Biowulf lay groaning upon the ground, clutching his metal face that was now covered in dents, and the sentient-like plants around him began to desist.
Until a sinkhole opened right beneath his feet.
"Bobo!" Rex shouted at his friend, reaching out as fast as he could to save him from being swallowed by the large pit. He tried to grab the chimp's hand, but by then, it was too late- his companion had already fallen off the edge and was now rapidly descending into the earth. Panicked, the teen grew one giant arm to reach down to pull him up from the darkness- but this time, hot flashes spread across his body like fireworks and caused him to temporarily dissociate from the shock.
The chimp yelled angrily as he reached the bottom of the sinkhole with a loud thud.
Before the teen could hoist himself up to dive in and rescue his friend, a bundle of vines slithered over the entrance, blocking any sunlight that could penetrate the depths below. Soon, the tendrils bloomed a sea of red and white flowers, creating a perfect colorful circle in contrast to the surrounding grass. Rex buried his hands into the petals and tore them off to get to the vines beneath, but it was no use; they merely sprouted back thicker than before.
Filled with fear for Bobo's possible lack of air, he stood up on his wobbly legs and created a mechanical leg to kick the vines through by force. His actions triggered a frosty sensation that made him feel as if he was encased in ice, as well as a sudden sharp headache that knocked him down all on his own.
He lied in the grass on his stomach helplessly, regretting ever making the trip at all.
"Hey chief, help me out here!" the chimp shouted, trying to climb the smooth walls of his enclosure, but to no avail.
All Rex could do was groan- then abruptly wheeze as he felt a boot place itself on his back, pinning his weak body down completely.
"I'm afraid he's occupied at the monument, simian mongrel," a smooth voice spoke up, filling the teen's already disturbed stomach with dread. "You were never supposed to be here."
"We're a package deal!" Bobo retorted from the darkness before blasting at the vines far above him. He quickly realized that it was useless. After all, he couldn't reach the entrance in the first place, and the plants just grew back. When this was over, he swore, he'd never leave the comforts of a city again.
"It seems you are," Van Kleiss remarked, glancing down at the younger EVO below him. "I suppose it's not entirely your fault. I never specifically asked that he should come alone, I merely expected it."
Rex grunted and jolted himself off the ground to push the boot off of him before crawling a few feet away. Glaring at the dark clad man before him, he forced himself to use his meager energy to form his large orange blade from his unoccupied arm. Unfortunately, all he could manage was one haphazard swing before he vomited onto the grass, shaking from the effort.
"Your stubborn behavior will get you nowhere," Van Kleiss informed him. "I told Circe to inform you to refrain from activating your mechanics, had I not? Do you think I give out commands just for my leisure?"
At this, the boy took a deep breath and sat still, glaring at his enemy. The puke disappeared into a small hole that formed in the ground such as the one that now held his friend, replaced immensely with grass and fresh flowers. Now that he was somewhat more focused, he realized that these flowers actually had a scent. It was familiar, but he couldn't remember how.
"You made this situation worse than it needed to be," the king continued, flicking his thumb to raise a hand made of stems up from the ground to grab the child's face. "I didn't intend to have a battle here until your unwanted stowaway began the assault."
With an audible "poof", the green hand began to bloom those same colorful flowers that had attacked them earlier, their scent wafting into the atmosphere. Rex coughed in surprise as a petal the back of his mouth, but was otherwise unharmed. Still, it was bizarre to have a bouquet forced at him after all he had endured. He quickly wrestled the grip off.
"I'm going to kill you," he threatened, holding his still queasy abdomen.
"In your state, that couldn't be further from the truth," Van Kleiss informed him, kneeling down to face his victim eye to eye. "Focus on the flowers."
"I don't care about your stupid flowers. Keep shoving them in my personal space and I'm going to cover them in sick."
"Ah, but that's the beauty of them. They're an EVO strain of peppermint, and it's not a coincidence that this area is now blanketed with them."
Rex stared at the blossoms before him, finally recalling why their smell was so familiar. Soon, his sickness began to fade- though not entirely- and he felt the strength return to his limbs again. It took a few full seconds for him to feel whole again.
"Mint, if you hadn't already known, eases the symptoms of your illness," the king explained. "But their effects won't work unless you calm down enough to let them."
"What is your deal with my powers?" the teen questioned him angrily. "Using them makes me feel like I wanna die!"
"The substance I had Circe put into your drink is activated only by use of your abilities. It really is a shame that you only found out now that you're here. If you wanted to remain in peak health at Providence, all you had to do was not work for them for a time."
Rex felt like he had been smacked in the face. The cure- or treatment, rather- for his issue was so deceptively simple, yet discovered far too late. If he had just been decommissioned like White Knight would have eventually wanted, he would never have ended up in this mess.
"That's sick," he spat, slowly standing up. "Of all the things to do to me."
The man shook his head, rising and walking past the younger EVO. "It's a fitting punishment. I targeted the abilities you use to hurt our kind, which forces you to be peaceful."
Biowulf leaped up from his trampled patch of grass and began to drag Rex towards the direction of the castle to follow suit.
"Let me go!" the teen shouted as he was taken further and further into the darkness of the forest. "I'd never agree to being peaceful with you! I'm not your kind!"
"The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."
Rex reached down into his jacket and pulled out a taser, jamming the end against the blue EVO gripping him tightly. In an instant, electricity scattered across his metal body, eliciting a howl that caused nearby birds to take flight. Careful not to use his powers, the teen jumped back from the body and tased it one more time before attempting to run back to the sinkhole. Before he could take a single step, a heavy rumble resonated from the grounds below, disrupting the river stream and knocking down a few trees. Soon, scraping sounds could be heard in the distance.
"He's gonna pop me like a grape!" Bobo yelled, desperately trying to claw his way out. "The size of this stupid dirt coffin just cut in half! Do something!"
Rex paused, then turned back to face the king who remained perfectly calm. With a flick of his golden gauntlet, the hole began to shrink even more, though by considerably less this time. From the look in the man's eyes, the younger EVO could tell that it was a warning gesture, and that it might not last for long.
"So much fire in your eyes," Van Kleiss said, moving his metal fingers tauntingly. "Your father would be proud."
At this, Rex felt an explosive surge of energy travel to his limbs to create his machines, and it took an intense effort to shut down the reflex. He thought for a moment, then remembered that his enemy's psyche was linked to his control over the earth. If he could somehow attack it, Bobo might be able to escape the hole and make his way back to the weaponized plane to save them both. The plan he had concocted in just a few seconds was their only hope.
"Yeah, he probably would be," the boy mocked. "Your guess is as good as mine."
The king raised a brow. "How so? An amnesiac cannot compete with someone who actually knew his parents firsthand."
"I'm calling bull."
Bobo sighed in relief. The walls around him had suddenly cease squeezing him, but he'd have to remain quiet about it.
"What are you getting at?" Van Kleiss asked, his fingers now still.
"I don't know, man," Rex began, praying that this would work. "I'm just saying- you talk about knowing my parents and all, but I never stopped to ask myself- were you actually just lying this whole time?"
As if to match the shift in his mood, a small cluster of black thorns began to writhe at the older EVO's feet. "Ah. So you believe me to be a filthy liar. Like Providence, when they told you they'd find your origins."
"You know what? If Providence and all of its high tech and ninja agents couldn't find my parents by now, why did I ever believe you could?"
The walls around the chimp started to expand, giving him some breathing room.
"Atta boy, Rex," Bobo whispered to himself. "Play with nature's ego."
"You may believe me to be many things, Rex, but I am a man of my word," Van Kleiss retorted. "I am also more competent than Providence will ever be."
The teen shrugged. "You can give me any speech you want, but I still have no proof you didn't just pretend to know who my folks were just to get leverage over me. I have to admit, it worked for a while. But now? Cough up proof or else we'll all know you're just a fraud, now and forever."
The weather became cold.
Bobo smiled as he watched the smooth dirt borders of his enclosure became rough and bumpy, studded with previously pushed back rocks. He had a long way to go, but it was finally time to climb.
"Fair enough," the man agreed, though the expression in his eyes remained icy. "You should have a small scar behind your left knee. I believe that's where you had an accident when you were quite young."
Rex swallowed, remembering asking Holiday where that had come from. But he refused to show that he was nervous, and instead pressed on, using the verbal evasive tactics Noah had taught him.
Well, the ones besides begging for mercy, anyway.
"Congrats," he said, "You almost had me for a sec. But there's two other reasons that could have happened."
"Is that so?"
Bobo was almost at the surface.
"Yeah," Rex informed him, with a hint of sass in his voice. "One, you saw it during a previous battle with me and randomly remembered it. Or two, you're the one who cut the scar into me in the first place!"
The boy began to wonder if his own bluff really was true.
"I'll admit, those are very plausible options," Van Kleiss agreed, "But they most certainly are not what happened."
"They're more likely than the chance of a psycho vampire in Transylvania somehow knowing my parents," the younger EVO shot back. "Seriously, what are the odds of that?"
"I see it won't be easy to convince you. Let's see… have you ever gotten sick after eating any sort of crustacean? If your father's genes passed on, you should have a shellfish allergy."
Bobo quietly crept out of the hole and dashed away into the distance, careful to avoid making a sound.
"I, um… weak sauce!" the teen huffed, recalling how he had puked after chowing down on a crispy shrimp platter a few months back. "You just picked one of the most common allergies out there and lucked out!"
The king grinned. He may not have provided evidence without a doubt, but anyone could sense that his opponent began to fluster.
"You have quite a few excuses prepared," he remarked. "But it is difficult to convince someone about this matter when they themselves have no knowledge of it. Regardless of whether you believe me or not, your amnesia must frustrate you endlessly."
"All I hear is you admitting defeat," Rex concluded. "Why not just come out and say that you lied? It's not like I'm at the advantage here."
"Because as much as you would hate to believe, I am not lying. Someday you'll learn."
The boy scoffed. "You're really just going to drag this out as long as you can, huh? Can't get creative with new ways to mess with my head?"
"The only person dragging anything out here is you, Rex. It was useless to try to distract me from your escape attempt when I had your entire plane swallowed into the ground from the very beginning."