They'd occupied the lab for hours.
Rex sat in a chair in the coldest room in the castle, huddled up in a sweater and covered by an extra blanket. He recalled the time he'd spent in this particular chamber testing out beta nanites- only this time, he wasn't suffering in subzero temperatures on the other side of the glass. Instead, he'd taken up a seat in front of the control panel, quietly waiting for answers to be revealed. The occasional crunch of his chips was the only sound to be heard in the lab, aside from the occasional clacking of the king's metal fingers on the screens.
For the moment, he remained at peace.
Biowulf, lying on a table on the opposite side of the glass, seemed to be suffering much less than before. Although bits and pieces of his fur had been permanently charred, Van Kleiss had insisted that they would grow back healthy after a good trim. The blue EVO wasn't howling in pain anymore, staying utterly still as his master asked him questions and took readings of his nanite levels.
The king, for the most part, hadn't shown any sign of aggression towards the Rex- not even even so much as a scolding remark. The teen found it strange that he wasn't being attacked, and didn't think it was something he could ever get used to. The man was never further than ten feet away when moving about the control panel, yet remained harmless.
The boy stuffed another chip into his mouth, hoping the examination would be done within the next half hour. True, he sought comfort in the company- even if it wasn't interactive- but his interest could only stay piqued for so long. The usual feelings of boredom rose over him like a dark cloud, a looming threat to his motivation to solve the mystery of Providence.
Either that, or he was just feeling sleepy again.
"I'm just about finished with my analysis," the king announced. "If you can manage to stay awake, you might be able to hear the results."
Rex didn't even realize his eyes were half-lidded until his drowsiness was called out.
"Yeah, okay," the boy mumbled. "Is Biowulf gonna be fine?"
"It's not a simple yes or no answer, Rex."
The child frowned. Although he didn't yet say it out loud, he believed the mechanical EVO's recovery was a two edged sword. One one hand, it was a good thing for someone technically on his side to be healthy enough to aid in a possible attack. Biowulf, however incompetent he may have been at times, was a fierce, avid fighter. It was obvious why Van Kleiss wasn't willing to lose him so easily. That, and the king's forces were already limited at best.
However, if the blue EVO eventually regained full strength, there was little doubt that he would seek revenge against Rex. After all, it was the boy's idea to explore the ruins of his old home, and it had dire consequences on Biowulf's body. Bitter feelings would linger, and perhaps give the teen yet another reason to stay wary. This, of course, would be added to the previously existing resentment between the two.
He'd have to sleep with one eye open.
"Biowulf," Van Kleiss called out to the EVO beyond the glass. "We're finished for now. Lie there for the night."
Rex took a deep breath, attempting to keep himself awake. "Don't keep me in the dark. What happened to him?"
"Well for one, you were wrong," the man said, finally sitting down in a chair adjacent to the boy's. "No one tried to burn him alive- at least, from what his account of the events revealed. Don't make blatant assumptions like that again."
"So what did happen to him?"
"His nanites seem to have... malfunctioned."
"That's too vague," Rex pointed. "Tell me what really happened. You had a ton of time to figure it out."
"Don't be so impatient," the king informed him. "One day isn't everything. I've only managed to gather that the nanite's coding became corrupted."
Rex fell silent, allowing the words to wash over him like a tidal wave. As someone who'd experienced nanite manipulation before, he knew it wasn't something to be taken lightly. Nanites infiltrated the very DNA of all life on earth, so anything threatening to that degree was certainly a red flag for every EVO in existence.
"Corrupted how?" the child asked, now wide awake. "Why didn't it happen to us?"
The older EVO stared at him quietly for a few seconds, then opened his mouth to speak. "Surely you're not that dense? Of course it happened to us. It was the buzzing we felt- at least, according to my theory."
"But we didn't get burned up like Biowulf."
"I suppose I should have been clearer. Biowulf's nanites succumbed to the corruption- hence his pain- but our nanites resisted. Additionally, Breach was affected."
Rex raised a brow. "Wait, what? Breach? How do you know about-"
"She told me that she left the site early on because she felt warmer than usual- like a fever," Van Kleiss explained. "Her symptoms were similar to Biowulf's, but at least she could teleport away before she began to suffer. You didn't see her come in because you dozed off. You've been falling asleep on and off for the past two hours, you know."
The teen blinked. "I didn't notice."
"No one truly notices when they've slipped out of consciousness."
"Okay, fine, but you said their nanites were being messed around with. But how come ours resisted?"
The king let out a tired sigh and sat up, stretching his arms for a few seconds. "That's the difficult aspect of it. We were spared the torture, yes, but I'm not entirely sure why. However, I do believe it has something to do with the special nature of our nanites combined with our unique genes. You are the only one who can cure EVOs, and I'm the only one who can create them, after all."
Rex shrugged. "I already know I'm awesome. Doesn't answer my question, though. And what was the buzzing we felt?"
"Let me explain this as simply as I can. Our nanites were actively defending us from something we weren't aware of, but not without side effects. These side effects include the buzzing sensation, and the fact that you couldn't create your builds. They refused to listen to your creation commands because they were too occupied with protecting you from dying."
"So we're just immune to whatever happened to Biowulf because our nanites saved us? How does that work?"
"Funny you should ask that, Rex," Van Kleiss began, giving the boy a strange smile. "The only way to find out is to gather some test samples."
An icy feeling settled in the Rex's stomach as soon caught the underlying meaning.
"No!" the teen hissed. "You are NOT sticking your needle fingers in me. It hurt bad enough the first time!"
"Don't be so hesitant," the older EVO insisted, reaching forward to grab the boy's arm. "I could always use a regular syringe, but the results of the experiment won't be as quick to come. I work best on a molecular level, after all. Aren't you the one demanding fast answers?"
"Don't you dare imply that I was asking for it!" Rex shot back, trying to wrestle his arm out of the man's grip. His efforts were fruitless, however- the metal had clamped around his skin like a vice. "It's gonna sting like hell!"
"I'm going to be much gentler than the first day I met you, I assure you," the king informed him. "Besides, what would your family think if they saw you so terrified of such a tiny obstacle?"
The boy froze.
Pathetic coward.
"You're... sick," Rex muttered, dropping his strength to fight. The survivor's guilt had been brought back tenfold- the way he shied away from some some temporary pain to solve Six, Holiday's, and Bobo's deaths was nothing short of shameful. "Do you have any limits? Why do you always have to use my family against me?"
Van Kleiss took the moment to pull the stunned teen back into the chair, grinning. "Because it always works, of course. Haven't you noticed? I will reopen old wounds if necessary."
"I wish I had leverage against you," the child snapped, clutching the chair's side rails and resigning himself to his fate. If this is what it took to put himself at peace, so be it.
His family didn't deserve a weakling.
"You don't need to have leverage against me," the man informed him, hiking up the boy's sleeve. "I'm helping you. You're just afraid of fleeting discomfort. Now, hold still."
Rex inhaled sharply and subconsciously pulled his legs up at the first prick of the needle. He held his breath for a few seconds as he experienced the frighteningly familiar sensation of his nanites slowly draining, biting his lip to prevent himself from yelling anything he might deeply regret later.
However, true to the king's word, the twisted monarch was holding back from purposeful torture. The pain was unpleasant, yes, but it was nothing compared to his first day in Abysus many years ago. To cope, he imagined Holiday sinking in one of her harmless needles when she needed samples.
"Ow," the teen groaned and squeezed his eyes shut, feeling a second needle pierce him. "How many- agh- are you gonna stick in?"
"Just these two," an eerily calm voice assured him. "Relax, Rex. You'll be fine."
"Well it hurts."
"I know. Lean over and rest your head on the control panel, if it helps. I'm not going to kill you."
The next few moments were filled with nothing but pained silence.
"Alright, that should be enough for now," Van Kleiss finally announced after a few minutes, withdrawing his fingers. "See? You're not reduced to stone."
"I shouldn't have to even consider that as a victory," Rex murmured. "My standards are lower than the Mariana Trench."
"Don't be so dramatic. Now that that's over, I believe you'd like to know more about the nanite corruption? A good distraction might help."
"If Biowulf stayed any longer, he was gonna get cremated from the inside just like all the other dead EVOs there. I already connected the dots."
Van Kleiss glanced at him disappointingly. "Think past that. Think about the origins of the problems."
The teen paused for thought. "Was it a person?"
"It was not any sentient being," the man denied. "At least, not that we know of. But recalling our experience, we do know that the buzzing sensation became stronger as we neared the main room- meaning the danger was increasing- and that's where we found the largest concentration of ashes."
"Of course there were ashes. Everyone got cremated! Unless you mean..."
The king nodded.
"...that they aren't actually ashes," Rex finished, now intrigued once again. "I heard you say that earlier, but I didn't really believe you. What were they, then?"
"They're mostly comprised of burnt organic remains, but they also exposed me to something even I've never seen before."
"Which is?"
"A very strange breed of nanites."
