Rex stared at the girl before her, watching as she sat quietly behind the bars of the cell. The dim fires of the torches surrounding them illuminated her messy dark hair and tear streaked face, highlighting her misery in refined detail. She'd spent the entire day cooped up against her will, her loneliness only interrupted by the boy bringing her three daily meals. Van Kleiss, meanwhile, had spent the day leading the EVOs of Abysus to fix whatever parts of the castle that shed damaged.
Breach had made no resistance when he had pushed her into the cage-like structure earlier that morning, but instead of making it easier for him, it only made his stomach toss and turn. Something was very wrong about people who suffered abuse and didn't lift a finger to stop it. How damaged was Breach, exactly? Was her pathetically submissive behavior a testament to the psychological torture of living with Van Kleiss?
Then again... had she really suffered abuse?
Rex has been disturbed when he saw the man kick her into unconsciousness, but he couldn't pretend he was without cause. The dollkeeper admitted to pulling a stunt that nearly killed them all, and if it wasn't for his bout of insomnia, he might have not survived. Breach wasn't the type to make sense often, so it wasn't irrational to assume that she might have done similar deadly acts of sabotage before. However, even that was an uncomfortable thought for the boy. If Breach was regularly as dangerous as she was that night, it would give Van Kleiss some justification for his harsh behavior.
Though torn between two points of view, he didn't want to legitimize any of them. After all, both of them had gone through great lengths to hurt him in the past.
"You're free to leave, Rex."
The teen twisted his head around, finding the gauntlet clad EVO entering the room with a small notepad and pen. The man seemed much more content than when he had returned to them before, likely due to Breach's imprisonment.
"What are you doing, a therapy session?" Rex asked half mockingly. "Last I checked, you're not a psychiatrist."
"No, but I have extensive knowledge of the human body and mind. It's why I was a bio mechanical integration expert at the nanite project, and it's also why I know how to deal with you."
"You don't know how to deal with me."
"Is that so? You've calmed down considerably from when you first arrived, and you're speaking to me without attacking on sight. I consider that progress."
Rex snorted. "Tolerating you is the furthest I'll go. You're just using me, and you know I'm just using you."
"We're not that parasitic," Van Kleiss murmured, making a quick note on the pad. "Regardless of what you think, you may go now. This is a private session between Breach and I, so occupy yourself somewhere else."
"I wanna stay."
The man glanced up. "What?"
"I want to see what Breach is gonna say about the fire," the boy explained, wondering why he needed to elaborate in the first place. "It's my business too. I was almost burned alive."
"You misunderstand, Rex. I'm not asking you to leave, I'm commanding you to."
A baffled expression spread across the younger EVO's features. "Why? It's my right to know! You can't just kick me out! You selfish prick!"
"Watch your tone. You will know what she has said about her intentions, but only after I filter her words out. Like it or not, there are some things about life in Abysus that you aren't meant to know. I will have you forcefully removed if you push me towards it, so I suggest you go."
Rex stood there, stunned. For the life of him, he couldn't figure out why he wasn't allowed to stay. What could the man possibly need to filter out? Was Breach known to use words far more coarse than his own? Was the king hiding something just between him and the girl- no, that thought was too sickening to consider. Were the two merely putting up acts and conspiring against him using the fire? Could they be concocting new plans to murder him?
No, somehow that didn't make much sense. If Van Kleiss wanted him dead, he could have easily killed the boy in his sleep, or even while awake after removing his powers. Still, the command had disturbed him, causing his thoughts to immediately darken to the worst of scenarios.
While practically drowning in his own mind, he didn't even notice the man casually pushing him out of the room.
"Don't come back until I say you can," the older EVO commanded, shutting the door on his face. "Read a book. Do something."
Rex scowled as he stood in the darkness of the seventh floor, musty air filling his senses and causing him to yearn for fresh air. With an angry huff, he spun on his heels and whipped around towards the direction of the elevator, determined to find a workaround. One way or another, he was going to find out exactly what was hidden from him.
"He's going to come back," Breach weakly muttered, watching as the man pulled up a chair to face her. "Don't you know that?"
Van Kleiss rolled his eyes. "Of course I do. I don't expect him to listen to me. And as for you..."
Meanwhile, Rex paced back and forth across the kitchen, debating with himself on how to gain access to the forbidden knowledge. At first, he believed he could simply walk back down and eavesdrop behind the door, but that would leave him defenseless if he was caught. In other words, he needed an excuse in case he was discovered.
But what?
He couldn't complain about the lack of food, since ironically, the kitchen wasn't touched by the fire. Neither could he report Biowulf for abusive behavior since the blue EVO was already sleeping. He couldn't even claim he'd accidentally left anything anything in the room, as he'd entered empty handed. Try as he might, it was tough to figure out a way to get back in, and like his insomnia, the frustration would keep him up all night-
Wait.
Insomnia.
Rex smiled and quickly left the kitchen, realizing that he hadn't received his pills from Biowulf from before the fire. Hurrying down the halls, he pondered his newfound fib. Faking insomnia should be easy enough- after all, it wasn't as if it was impossible in his current state. As long as he kept quiet behind the door, he might not even have to go that far. The most important thing right now was to gleam as much information from his enemies' conversation as possible.
Taking the elevator down to the dark floor once again, he paused for thought. It suddenly occurred to him that just because he would be able to learn something from them, it didn't mean that he would feel comfortable with it. In fact, it could shake him to his core. It would be cruel irony for someone pretending to be unable to sleep to have the ability actually stolen from him.
He'd have to mentally prepare himself.
As he exited the double doors and creeped closer towards the forbidden room, the voices from the cell room soon reached his ears, causing him to soften his footsteps. He began to wonder if Breach was okay.
"...lives in the walls..."
"...psychotic delusions..."
"...in Rex's room..."
At the mention of his name, the boy tilted his head, his attention quickly drawn to the dark door before him. Pressing his ear against the wood, he tried to make out what they were saying about him. There was an eerie calmness to their words, as if a spell had been cast. He didn't know what he expected, really. Violence was, of course, an option, but none seemed to be occurring.
"...punished severely..."
"... Skalamander's demise..."
Rex raised a brow, caught off guard. As far as he knew, the crystal-shooting EVO had died in a tragic accident involving bugs. Ants, weren't they? He couldn't quite remember. What did Skalamander have to do with punishments? In fact, what did he have to do with their situation altogether?
For a moment, the teen entertained the possibility of Skalamander still being alive. After all, the only one who informed him of the EVO's death was the king, and perhaps he'd been too quick to believe him...
"... all EVOs need to be slaughtered..."
Chills went through Rex's spine as he heard the bizarre words suddenly come from Breach's mouth, his eyes widening in disgust. It sounded less like something the ditzy girl would normally say, and more like something White Knight would cruelly emphasize. Listening at the sudden silicone through the door, he could hear absolutely nothing, indicating that Van Kleiss had been taken aback as well. The pin drop silence continued for a few more minutes- until the boy pushed against the door a little too hard.
The door creaked open immediately, revealing his location and destroying his personal spy mission on the spot. The boy watches as two pairs of eyes turned towards him- one a gloomy green, and the other an agitated red. The king let out a frustrated sigh and stood up, walking over to the boy after motioning for Breach to remain silent.
"Give me one good reason I shouldn't knock you out for disobeying me," Van Kleiss demanded. "Perhaps I should keep you in a cell as well."
Rex gave him a half grin. "That's actually, uh, why I'm here."
"What are you on about?"
"I need my pills, remember? Biowulf didn't tell me where they were before the fire happened, and I can't sleep. I want to be knocked out, just not by taking a punch."
The man stared at him for a moment, trying to find traces of a lie on the younger EVO's face. So far, Rex seemed to be telling the truth about the previous events.
"And where is Biowulf?" the king asked irritatedly.
The teen feigned disappointment. "He's sleeping, and I don't want to wake him up. He's really mad at me right now, and plus, he's still healing."
"I don't blame him. Fine. Stay here. He needs to recover, so I'll get them for you. Do not bother me again."
Rex watched as the man left the room, then shifted his gaze towards Breach. The girl didn't appear to be physically harmed, so he supposed it really was some sort of simple therapy session going on with her. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling that there was something very off about her. Her eyes were glassy, as if she had been robbed of emotion. She had made nihilistic comments against EVOs, despite being one herself. She was clearly on some other mental level he wasn't sure he ever wanted to visit.
Had she become radicalized?
"Why did you try to burn down the place?" the boy asked her. "What was the purpose? To kill EVOs?"
She nodded.
"You know you're one too, right?"
She nodded.
"So would you have burned yourself alive with us?"
Breach sighed. "No."
"What makes you so special?"
"I'm the lesser evil."
At this, Rex's temper flared. He couldn't understand the audacity of this maniacal girl in La La Land to believe she was superior to him. Where could she have possibly come up with a conclusion like that? He saved the world countless times, and deserved to be recognized for it.
Breach gave him a sorrowful look, as if sensing his thoughts. "That's only what the voices told me. These aren't my thoughts. They're theirs."
"Yeah, right. You're probably just trying to blame people that don't even exist."
The girl winced. "They're real."
"Okay, so why do they think you're the lesser evil?"
"Because I'm the one getting rid of EVOs."
"That's- mmph!"
"That's enough of your pathetic attempt at an interrogation," Van Kleiss interrupted, clamping his hand over the boy's mouth and dragging him backwards. "You don't know what to say at all, do you?"
Rex, surprised to find the older EVO suddenly behind him, pulled himself away. "Stop it!"
"Come here for a second."
The king dragged the boy out the room, then shut the door behind himself. The two stood quietly in the dark hallways, barely illuminated by the light from Breach's cell room. Rex slowly backed away from the man and into a wall, his dark eyes warily staring into the older EVO's lighter ones. The moss covering the stones behind him felt soft beneath his fingers, but it wasn't enough to calm him down.
"Here, take them," Van Kleiss said, his tone strangely calm while handing the boy a small bottle of pills. His eyes glinted with an expression the younger EVO couldn't quite label.
Rex hesitantly accepted them, more focused on the strange look on his enemy's face. After growing increasingly perplexed by the king's sudden gentle demeanor, he glanced down at the bottle in his hands. At first, the labels and tiny pictures seemed to be no different from the previous bottle he'd finished just a few nights before, but his sharp sight quickly taught him otherwise.
If he twisted his wrists just right, the small sliver of lighting from the edges of the doorframe traced the circumference of the container like a barcode scanner, revealing a very different medication entirely. His eyes widened as he realized the brand and drug name were nothing like what he'd seen before. Some of the fine print was smudged, but judging by what he could glean from the intended usage, taking just one would cause a six hour blackout- and he wasn't sure he was prepared to read the side effects following them.
Were these even sleeping pills at all?
Rex shuddered to think of what his enemy's true intentions were.
"Right... okay," the teen spoke up, careful not to actually thank the man for doing something downright insidious. "I'll just take these to my room and sleep. Bye."
If Rex managed to throw the bizarre new "medication" away as fast as possible, he'd be saved from what might very well be a lethal poison. The second option was to leave it opened by his bedside with two pills missing, just in case Van Kleiss wanted to make sure he took some. That way, he could at least stuff his blankets with pillows to imitate his figure and run while he still had a chance.
However, it was almost as if the older EVO could read his thoughts. Before the child could tuck the pills beneath his jacket and return to the elevator, he felt a hand firmly grab his shoulder.
"Oh, but just to make sure those are your true intentions, I want to see you take two," Van Kleiss insisted. "Right in front of me."
Rex froze. "I said I'll take them in my room."
"That's not what I asked you to do."
The teen stared down at the drugs in his palm, then spun around and glared at the king. "Okay, let's cut the crap. These aren't my usual pills. I read the label. You're trying to murder me."
Van Kleiss tilted his head, a mischievous smile forming on his face. "Even in this darkness, you noticed? I'm impressed."
"I'm not as stupid as you think I am."
"You're still going to take them."
Rex balked. "What? No! We're going to fight right here, right now! You just tried to kill me!"
"Again with your paranoia, Rex," the man sighed, his smirk faltering. "If I wanted you dead, you would have been deceased ages ago. Yes, these pills are different, but they're not meant to kill. Your specific dosage will just cause you to blackout for at least twelve hours."
"You lied to me and expect me to believe you?"
"I merely omitted information. That's nowhere near the same as outright lying."
The boy scoffed. "Gee, where have I heard that before? It's like your motif by now!"
"Yes, and you omitted the fact that you came back to spy on our conversation instead of actually having insomnia. I'm not as oblivious as you think I am either, and you're just as guilty of my "crime". Stop overreacting, and take the pills like you're supposed to. Now."
"I know you're going to do something evil once I'm out cold," the younger EVO huffed, dropping the bottle and letting it roll across the floor. "I have no guarantee you won't remove my arms or something. Just because you won't kill me doesn't mean you won't brutally torture me!"
Van Kleiss fell silent for a few minutes, feeling both annoyed at the child, yet also slightly sorry for him. If Rex didn't calm down enough for a simple task like this, he would soon break from stress- and it would be a shame for such a young mind to be lost. A shame for the boy at a very influenceable age, and a shame for the man who would attempt to mold him however he saw fit.
But there was no use in molding a broken mind.
Van Kleiss slowly raised his gauntlet, let it glow, then activated a clicking sound. "I shouldn't have to resort to this."
Rex frowned. "What was that?"
"The sound of all your powers and healing abilities being deactivated."
The boy immediately felt a surge in his system, likely a drastic increase in his biometric levels. His head swam and he felt nauseous, and he could have sworn he experienced tingles in his bones. Glowing blue lines branched our across his body, the streams of machinery coursing through them so intense that his entire body felt like it was buzzing. Then, just as soon as the sensations came, they went, leaving him breathless. The only evidence of the event was the lingering heat from the thin collar wrapped around his neck, no doubt activated by the gauntlet before him.
Rex spat the worst curses he could think of at the moment and gripped the wall tighter, shooting daggers with his eyes. The king merely ignored his venomous words and watched as the child swung a fist at him, casually stepping to the side and dodging. The younger EVO then attempted a vicious kick, only to dig his feet into thin air to lose his own balance and crash to the floor. He didn't give up yet, though. The next five minutes consisted of attacks where Rex barely held back, and his enemy staying on defense instead switching to offense. Once or twice, he managed to land a good hit, but the odds were not in his favor.
Eventually, Van Kleiss roughly shoved him against the wall and forced his boot onto the child's chest, tired of Rex not taking a hint.
Enough was enough.
"You can't even fight me without your metal arm, you coward," the boy snarled, feeling the footwear dig against his skin and restrict his breathing. "You're only winning because I only slept for three hours last night! I could be chopped into pieces right now, and-"
"But you aren't," Van Kleiss interrupted. "Here you are, powerless even without the pills, and yet you're still alive and breathing- and with all your limbs attached, I might add."
The child huffed. "So? What's your point?"
"Stop pretending to be dense. You know exactly what my point is."
It took a few seconds for the pieces to click together in Rex' frazzled mind, but once they did, it only angered him further.
"Oh, I'm sorry, am I supposed to trust you now just because you haven't decapitated me yet?" the boy yelled. "In case you forgot, you literally just stole my powers! Give them back!"
Van Kleiss grinned. "Only if you take the pills."
The teen stared at him, completely at a loss for words.
To make himself seem slightly less intimidating, the king reduced the pressure on the younger EVO's chest. "Since you're not going to trust me on your own, I have no choice but to force you. If you want your abilities back, you'll need to have a little faith in me and take the pills. If you don't, I'll leave you with disengaged nanites for a month."
When he received no answer from the boy, the man leaned closer, his grin widening. "Biowulf will completely heal in a few days."
Rex remained silent, but the voices in his head were anything but. Some of them screamed that the pills would surely be the death of him, and that it was best to take his chances with the blue EVO. Others argued that if the older EVO was telling the truth, being defenseless in Abysus would be his demise instead. If he died now, he would never find out what happened to his family, and that would be the worst consequence of all.
Rex narrowed his eyes, pushing as much of his ego away as he could. "You... ugh... fine. I'll take them."
"A simple "you win" would have sufficed."
The boy felt his enemy's foot lift itself off his chest, then rubbed the area to relax his muscles. He then picked up the bottle from the floor and slowly twisted the cap, waiting for it to slide into the right position for it to be popped off. Van Kleiss watched in satisfaction, glad he was finally getting somewhere.
The teen paused, then glanced at the door behind them. "Wait."
The king raised a brow, but said nothing.
"Since I'm already doing this, I'm going all in," Rex stated, staring down at the container. "If you actually want me to somewhat trust you, promise me one more thing."
"I'll decide if I want to accept your request."
"Don't kill Breach."
Van Kleiss shook his head in confusion. "She nearly killed you, and on purpose, no less. Why do you care about her right now?"
"I know what she did, but we both know she's a headcase, so it might not be all her fault. That, and I was never trained to kill EVOs. That was more of... Six's thing. It just doesn't feel right to me to let someone die when we don't know the whole situation."
The king scoffed. "Providence's influence is making you a headcase."
"Is that a yes or a no? I'm doing what you told me to, so take this seriously!"
"Just to ease your fears and paranoia regarding me, I'll do my best to not kill her," Van Kleiss sighed. "Now, get on with it. You don't have all night, and tomorrow, you have to deliver me a sample of normal human blood if you want some answers about your predicament."
At the mention of the next step of his mission, Rex felt a little relieved at the fact that he might live after all. One by one, he took the appropriate number of pills, swallowing quickly to prevent himself from tasting their bitter flavor.
"How long do I have before I'm out?" the boy asked, glancing towards the elevator.
"Around five minutes. I suggest you run."
Those were the last words Rex heard that night.
