(who else was a single Pringle yesterday?)

What does one bring to their family's grave?

Rex sighed, wondering how his life had become so twisted. Not only did he have to find the cause of his crew's death- his urges left him no choice- but he actually had to beg for it. Sure, he didn't exactly get on his hands and knees, but striking a deal with an enemy was just as humiliating. Even now, as he loaded a satchel with various items for the trip, he pondered the consequences the king had imprinted in his mind.

"Water, flashlight, and gloves," the teen listed, gathering them and throwing the satchel over his shoulder. "I'm done for now."

"I'd say you just started."

Rex whipped around to find a familiar four armed foe- or friend, depending on the circumstance- standing at the edge of his room. "Breach!"

The girl grinned. "You jump easy. Like a cat."

"I didn't know you were there."

"Curiosity killed the cat."

The boy fell silent, staring at her as if she'd grown three heads to match her arms. The implication of trouble were deeply unsettling, to say the least. If she was here to dissuade him from his mission, she was certainly more on the foe side for now. She was quite the disturbing girl- he'd known that for quite a while- but what motive did she have for scaring him like that?

Then again, he was probably looking too deeply into it.

"You are really bad at conversations," he remarked, making his way past her and out the door. "If you're just trying to bother me, go away."

Breach giggled. "But satisfaction brought it back."

Rex shook his head and made his way down the halls of the castle, quite familiar with the general layout of the area. By now, he travelled easily wherever he wanted to, feeling less lost and hopeless than he'd been before. Using his recently crafted mental map, he bounded towards Biowulf's room, careful to slow his pace at least a few yards before reaching the door.

"Hey, you there?" the boy asked, hesitantly knocking on the door. Aware of how strictly the blue EVO guarded his privacy, he knew it was wise to avoid any sort of trespassing. "We're leaving in ten minutes."

A growl emanated from the room, then the intended EVO's voice. "You're annoying, brat. I wouldn't have to sacrifice my valuable time if it wasn't for your sob story."

Rex rolled his eyes. "Hurry up and be the good little lapdog you pretend to be. Don't act like the soulless redhead that you are- at least, not where your precious master can see."

The door swung open to reveal the furry EVO's tall figure, nearly smacking the teen in the face. He took a few steps backwards to keep some distance between him and his enemy, sensing the aura of irritation around the mechanical body. Biowulf's red eyes narrowed at the boy, unused to waking up for strange missions such as these.

"Take care to watch your words before I forget how to watch my claws," the blue EVO threatened. "I told you to never speak of that again. It is none of your business, so erase it from your memory like you erased the rest of your miserable life."

Rex scowled. "I don't know what you're doing, but I know you're doing it behind Van Kleiss's back. He'd definitely kill you if he found out. And don't talk about my amnesia like that again, or I'll mash your freaky body against the wall."

Irritated, Biowulf swiped his arm at the child, knocking Rex to the floor. He then began to walk away towards the direction of the king's throne, not caring to look back. Rex muttered a curse and stood up, pulling his satchel onto his shoulder once again and restraining himself from continuing the fight. Biowulf was just being petty, he assured himself. The wolf EVO was clearly defensive due to being cornered with blackmail.

Pathetic.

Forming his Rex Ride, the teen zoomed past his foe and sped into the throne room, taking care not to bump into the stone walls. Van Kleiss stood in the center of the room, this time writing something into a notebook. Whether it was evil plans or simply the rancid thoughts of a madman, Rex didn't quite know.

And at the moment, he didn't care either.

"I got everything, so let's go," the younger EVO announced, tapping his bag. The king glanced up at him amusedly, as if there was something entertaining about the day's plans.

"You're quite eager, I see," Van Kleiss observed, closing the notebook. "It's good to see you gradually escaping your gloomy episodes. Still, you should think about the consequences of what you're about to do."

Rex scoffed. "You tried this already yesterday- and failed. Stop it. I'm not stupid."

"Consequences aren't always negative, Rex. I'm merely asking you to have some foresight. What did you gather?"

"Water and stuff," the teen informed him, rummaging through his satchel. "And my phone just because. I'm set."

"He's set to waste our time," Biowulf piped up, entering the room. The blue EVO was followed by Breach, both of them displaying exact opposite demeanors. The girl smiled oddly, as if she knew something the others didn't. It wasn't surprising, however, as she wasn't exactly the prime example of sanity.

"Breach, open up a medium sized portal to the ruins of Providence," the gauntlet-clad EVO commanded her. "Not in the building, but at the edge of the site. Enter with Biowulf, then wait for us."

The girl did as she was told, and soon, a red hole in the fabric of the universe opened up in front of her, allowing her to easily walk through. The mechanical EVO let out a low growl and followed along, leaving Rex and his captor all alone. The boy turned to the king and narrowed his eyes, suspicious of the strange decision to keep him behind for the time being.

"What?" the teen asked, concerned for his mission. "You better not have changed your mind. You promised."

Van Kleiss smirked. "Interesting. You seem to trust me- though, it's probably more out of desperation than anything else."

"I don't trust you. I just- whatever."

"Rex, if you find the cause of Providence's demise, what are you going to do afterwards?"

Rex paused for thought. Though he expected betrayal or maniacal ramblings, the man had actually brought up a good point. After all, there was no point in seeking out information only to have it end up useless. This mission was to find peace of mind, yes, but it could also lead to so much more.

"I'm going to... be happy?" the boy replied. "Satisfaction. Let me guess, you think I'm going to run away? Find a new will to live for escaping?"

"If you do grow a new will to live for leaving Abysus, as you put it, I will promptly crush it to the ground and burn it into ashes," the king calmly responded. "The same fate met very well befall you as well."

Rex blinked. "What the hell?"

"If you want honesty, I'm going to give you honesty. I'm not angry with you, but I'm advising you to beware of the consequences of your actions. Should you decide to use this opportunity to attempt to run away, I will never let you see the light of day again. Do you understand?"

"Uh... yeah. But this just proves you're a psychopath. You're insanely possessive."

The man shrugged. "Fine, then. I suppose I could stop and simply throw you back onto the streets to let you waste your potential and your life."

Rex's eyes widened. "Wait. Really?"

"No. The sooner you learn that I do what is best for your own good, the better."

"Ugh. You know what? I'm still surprised you haven't killed me already."

Van Kleiss raised a brow. "Why would I do that? Out of anger? You're a child, Rex. It's best to have patience with young children."

"I'm not a child," the boy denied. "I've done plenty of adult things. Don't treat me like a little kid."

"I disagree. You're nowhere near an adult."

The king ushered Rex towards the portal and pushed him forward, then stepped through himself. The blood red circle closed up soon enough, effectively keeping them grounded in their new surroundings. Rex's breath was nearly taken away as he stared at what was left of his home, unable to find the words to describe it.

Horrendous.

The giant building, as he'd last remembered it, was reduced to a giant pile of rubble. Blood had long dried- though flashbacks of the fresh kind began to appear in his mind- and the bodies of the dead soldiers and EVOs remained littered across the area. Apparently, the explosion had been powerful enough to create a disaster zone of at least half a mile around the Base, scattering corpses and debris around the perimeter.

"This is... a little too real to handle," the boy breathed, feeling slightly dizzy. "It's, wow, okay, I need a minute."

Biowulf huffed, but said nothing.

"If you're too weak, we can always turn back," Van Kleiss pointed out, watching the teen clutch his hair. "Just because you make an idiotic decision doesn't mean you have to go through with it."

Rex rubbed his face and glared at him. "As if. I said I can take it, I just don't have to take it all in one go. Come on."

The teen took a deep breath and began to walk through the debris, careful not to tread on the bodies rotting under the sun. Most were squashed under boulders, lessening the smell. Still, it sent chills up his spine when he realized it was the equivalent to walking through a body farm- a violent, accidental body farm. This certainly wasn't how he wanted to remember his home, but defying Van Kleiss's expectations of his supposed fragility would be worth it.

"Forgive me, Master, but he's taking away your time from more important things," Biowulf muttered as he trekked alongside the king, keeping his distance away from the wandering child. "Experiments, plans- all gone for a simple hike."

The true reason the mechanical EVO wanted his Master to be busy was for the ease of his own escape- though he hadn't quite planned it- but naturally, he kept that tidbit hidden for fear of his own life.

"I disagree," the gauntlet-clad EVO responded, kicking aside a rock as he continued walking. "This place is, in fact, quite interesting."

Biowulf turned to face the man. "You've... you've changed your mind?"

"The moment I stepped through the portal, in fact. Tell me, Biowulf. What do you notice about this place?"

The blue EVO shifted his gaze towards the site, attempting to catch any detail he might have missed. "Destruction, Master. Dead humans and EVOs. Lifeless and abandoned."

"Yes, but there's something more. Something sinister. Rex!"

The boy, about twenty feet ahead of the two, glanced back at his caller. "What?"

"Come here for a moment."

The boy groaned, but obeyed. If he wanted to keep his powers, he didn't have a choice. He strode up to his enemy and frowned, clearly annoyed by the restrictions on his freedom.

"What do you want?" he asked.

Van Kleiss grinned. "You don't notice it either?"

Rex groaned. "Don't be cryptic. Seriously."

"You're too wrapped up in your emotions to pay attention, aren't you? I want to say I don't blame you, but it's about time you learned to be astute. Something is very wrong here, Rex, and I'm going to give you a few minutes to use your common sense to figure it out. Your time starts now."

Rex scanned the ruins for a few minutes and found nothing unusual- at least, nothing that was unexpected for the situation. No hidden EVOs lurked, and no surviving humans were in his line of sight. As far as he could tell, they were completely alone. The wretched scene was exactly how he'd left it two months ago.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," the younger EVO announced, giving up. "If you're playing head games, this is a really bad time."

"Nothing looks different from the scene portrayed in the news when it first exploded," the king explained. "Tell me, Rex. When someone is murdered and there's a surviving witness, what would the witness do?"

Rex cocked a brow. "Wait. Are you blaming me for something?"

"No, I am not. Answer the question."

"Well... I guess they'd call the police?"

The king nodded. "And what would the police do?"

Rex turned to stare into the distance, hoping the man's message was hidden somewhere in the scenery. "They'd come by and arrest the killer."

"Let's say the killer escaped, and it was the police's job to find evidence," Van Kleiss continued. "What then?"

"Then they'd do searches and stuff. I saw it on crime shows. Fingerprints, blood, bullet casings, the works."

The older EVO waved his hands towards the ruins. "Exactly. Effort would be taken to examine the place, and that would mean that the setting is put under strict watch and analyzed thoroughly. Eventually, objects would be taken apart or removed for evidence."

"Okay, yeah, I get it," Rex responded. "So you're saying that there should be people here investigating? That we shouldn't be alone?"

"Precisely. Rex, this place is exactly the same as two months ago. Something is keeping the police, government, and general population away from here- something possibly quite dangerous. The question is, could you face it?"