[Heyyy. I wish I updated more often but I hate editing with a passion. Also I read your comments and enjoyed the kind words :)]
"You don't really care if I bleed, do you?" Rex grumbled as he picked up the shattered ceramic pieces off the floor with his bare hands to throw them into a nearby bucket. "I thought you wanted me to be a healthy little slave?"
"Believe me, I've become quite skilled at keeping you from killing yourself," Van Kleiss murmured, sitting on a chair at the table nearby. "As ironic as that is. You are more dramatic than Breach nowadays, which is saying something."
"You're the one who left a bruise on my back over tea!"
"Good."
After the boy's recent revelation about believing Holiday to be an impostor, the king refused to let him elaborate any further until he cleaned up the mess he had created in his trail of of shock driven destruction. Only then would he be allowed to divulge his pet theories. In between his complaints, Rex allowed wild notions to fill his mind, causing him to doubt reality more than he ever had before. All questions and no answers frustrated him endlessly.
"I'm done," the teen announced as the last sharp piece smashed against the rest in the container. "Pretty sure I cut four of my fingers."
"Biowulf can smell blood from three and a half kilometers away."
Rex glared at his captor, but remained silent as he wrapped his hands with some spare cloth he had used to wipe up the tea. The older EVO nodded satisfactorily, giving him all the invitation he needed to spill his thoughts.
"I know what I said before, but I thought about it, and now I'm just confused," the teen explained, remaining on the floor. "It sounded exactly like the Doc. There was no way it wasn't her! But she still said stuff that makes no sense to anyone who even did the basic boot camp they have there!"
The king tilted his head. "Had."
"Way to rub it in."
"Get on with it."
Rex rolled his eyes. "So now I have no clue why. I…"
He paused.
"Wait, clue!" he exclaimed. "What if it was a clue? Obviously there aren't any energy reactors on the third floor, but maybe she was trying to get me to go there for another reason?"
"Why not just tell you so directly?" Van Kleiss asked.
Rex frowned. "I don't know. It doesn't sound like a mistake she would make in the heat of panic- she worked in the field sometimes so she's used to high stress situations. What scares me is... why she wanted to code her message in the first place."
The boy thought to himself for a moment, worry further clouding his disposition and causing his shoulders to slump.
"What if she was being watched?" he wondered aloud. "What if she made her message all confusing because she was around a dangerous person- or people? Maybe they were the same ones who blew up Providence?"
"Finally, a solid idea you can explore," the man commented. "What are you going to do?"
"I have to go back to Providence. Whatever I needed to know all those months ago, it might still be there. I know most of the place is an absolute wreck, but our last visit there proved that some of the building is still standing."
"And if you want to be allowed, what are you going to do for me?"
Rex scowled. "Oh, is this the part when you ask me to lick your boots clean for you? I'm not your dog. That's what Biowulf is for."
The king narrowed his eyes. "You are disgusting. Make a suggestion or you receive nothing."
"Fine, what do you want?"
"Since you wish to remain uncreative in your offers, I want you to be the subject of another experiment for me."
And that was how Rex found himself sitting on a lab table once again- a setting he was all but used to by now.
"One of these days you're going to accidentally kill me," the teen muttered as his captor stood behind a table on the opposite side of the lab, pulling out a rack of vials. "I'm being generous with the accidental part, by the way."
"Of course you are," Van Kleiss responded unemotionally, finally selecting the only vial without a label. It was filled halfway with a pure black liquid, but the strangest thing of all was that it seemed to glow black. The boy watched curiously, wondering if it was a trick of the light, or if his vision had already been altered without his knowledge. He'd never seen anything like it.
"Yes, I do agree that its physical appearance is unnerving," the king said, as if reading his thoughts. "But I'm not concerned about that."
Rex felt uneasy. "What am I supposed to do with that? It looks radioactive or something."
"It's not, and you're going to drink it."
"BUT-"
"It's already been tested for safety, and it passed. Do as I say."
After he was handed the vial, the teen noticed yet another unexpected thing- the liquid smelled vaguely of oranges. He tightly shut his eyes and chugged the whole thing in one go, not wanting to taste any of it. However, a small amount of flavor lingered in his mouth, reminding him once again of the fruit.
"Why does it taste sweet like that?" he asked his captor. "Did you put sugar in it like you did with that poison cocktail you gave me before?"
The man shook his head, stepping back. "It's completely unaltered. If what you're saying is true, then it's just its natural property. How do you feel?"
"I feel fine. Maybe the effects just take a while to start. Or maybe it doesn't do anything at all."
"Incorrect. I've administered this type of sample to other EVOs in the castle, and soon enough, they all behaved erratically. But whatever effect it had on them, they were unable to communicate it, and I couldn't extract solid information from their body language. That's why I need someone capable of speech to test it for me."
Rex gripped his stomach. "Erratically? Are you saying they went crazy? Did they all get brain damage or something?!"
The king stepped further away and walked back to the lab table, as if expecting a terrible reaction. "I'm not sure what happened, but after a few days, they reverted to their usual behaviors without any detectable damage. Which is why I'm not concerned about any such things happening to you."
"You say that, but you're backing up like I'm going to bite you."
"The EVOs who drank the vial before you thrashed about and went into a clear state of distress. Some even tried to bury themselves into the ground. All it took was a minute. You should be feeling the effects any second now, and I'd rather not suffer any injury from you."
A few minutes of pained silence passed, and yet, nothing noticeable seemed to happen. Rex was once again indignant against being used as a lab rat, but he took solace in the fact that he appeared to be immune to whatever substance he'd been forced to ingest. He thanked his nanites for saving him from potential horrors of the unknown, and played rock music inside his head to distract himself from his discomfort. Of all the times he had imagined songs inside his head, somehow, this time it felt much more realistic. It was as if the drum solo was being played in real life…
The boy instantly ceased thinking of his favorite songs and to his surprise, the drum beat solo continued against his will. He perked up and glanced around the room, trying to find the source of the noise. The pounding was fast, but now that he could focus on it further, it didn't sound like drums. It sounded softer, yet still strong in its impact. Although it was vaguely familiar, he couldn't put his finger on it.
It was coming from Van Kleiss.
"What are you doing over there?" he asked the man standing behind the panel. "I can hear you activating a machine or something. Is this part of the experiment?"
The older EVO gave him a confused look. "I'm not doing anything."
"You sure? Did you take my phone? It might be playing some of my bands. Which is weird because I don't even remember using it today."
"I don't hear anything. What are you feeling, exactly?"
The teen shrugged. "I'm not feeling anything, but I can hear something going on from your direction. Can you move around the lab so I can see if it's actually from you and not something behind you? If one of your machines over there is malfunctioning and making warning sounds, it'll probably blow up in your face."
But sure enough, wherever the man went, so did the direction of the monotonous beat.
"Yeah, it's definitely coming from you," Rex concluded, hopping off the table. "What are you hiding? A ticking time bomb? A timed remote control? Show me!"
As he approached the king, the sound became louder and louder, confirming his suspicions. Interestingly, he could hear the faint sounds of liquid sloshing accompanying the beats. It was almost as if…
The boy stared directly at Van Kleiss's chest. "Wait. Hold on. Is that your heartbeat?"
The older EVO eyed him curiously. "How very unusual. What else do you believe you are hearing?"
"I, um… oh! It sounds like there's something coming right towards us! From the doorway! They're super heavy steps; it's a giant EVO!"
Rex activated his Smackhands, ready to fight whatever massive behemoth that had somehow penetrated the security of the lower levels of the castle. The two turned towards the door of the lab that had only been halfway closed. A small lizard suddenly appeared, crawling right between the hinges before scampering off underneath a nearby pile of discarded lab equipment. Van Kleiss looked back at the boy, finally understanding.
"Ah yes, that explains why the other test subjects went into immediate distress," he commented. "Enhanced hearing must be a pain to deal with without warning."
The teen focused intensely on the door, not listening at all. "I could have sworn that thing was gonna be huge! And I can still hear the beat that won't stop! And clinking and electric noises from the computer! And there's like, a buzzing somewhere too! And slithering! Why do I hear Biowulf whispering something? Is he coming to attack me? Is it raining outside? Why are there a lot of birds above us? And-"
The king placed his hands over the anguished child's ears, causing Rex to calm down somewhat. Still, the boy was quite disturbed, yet made no effort to remove the grip on his head.
"I can hear all the blood in your fingers," Rex whispered, still in a state of shock. "It's like... a whole ocean in there."
"Your ears are hypersensitive," Van Kleiss informed him in a low voice. "As I said before, the effects are temporary. Can you find it in yourself to tune certain noises out? When I let go of you, try to focus on the sound of my blood, and that alone."
The teen felt the hands being lifted off of him and tried his hardest to focus on his companion's blood. It sounded like endless rivers gushing and pouring, rapidly switching itself out with every breath. The more he focused, however, the less and less he could hear the cacophony that was outside world. Soon, almost all he could hear were the sounds of vitality just before him- heartbeat and all.
"I hate this so much," Rex whined, exasperated. "I'm never drinking that again."
"You don't have to," the king replied. "Your job is done. You are now cleared to visit Providence to investigate the third floor… though I wonder if you're now even in a state to leave at all."
"I still want to go. The last time we were there, it was pretty quiet. I can handle it."
The child let out a quick breath, his eyes widening.
"Wow, it's windy out today," he remarked.
"We are almost at the center of this building, yet you can hear the weather? Did the tuning out method not work?"
"It did. Somewhat. By the way, you have an insane amount of blood."
Van Kleiss rolled his eyes. "I do not, that's just part of your-"
His sentence was cut off at the sight of Rex snapping his head straight up and staring at the ceiling as if it had just insulted his mother.
"What is it now?" the man asked, perplexed.
"Do you hear that?"
"Obviously not."
"It sounds like someone's ranting about something."
The king crossed his arms. "Hardly a reason to have such a reaction."
Rex lowered his gaze, seemingly confused. "But I've never heard that voice before."
A moment of silence passed as the older EVO tried to make sense of what he had just been told. As far as he knew, no new sapient EVOs or humans were permitted to enter his home lately.
"Perhaps this is just a distortion you're experiencing," he suggested. "It could be a side effect of your brain trying to process the new information you're bombarded with. An overcompensation perhaps, like magenta."
"Que?" Rex responded, tilting his head. "What does pink have to do with this?"
"Magenta is not a real color in the sense that it does not exist on a single wavelength. It is a fabrication human brains create in order to interpret reality with their limited cones, and is actually made up of a combination of opposite colors. This applies to some other colors as well. All colors are all just in your head, really, but that's besides the point."
"I'm… so confused."
"Of course you are. Regardless, what I'm trying to say is that you are unused to your new ability and you might not be able to trust your ears for a while because of it."
"Um… okay, then? Try not to nerd out on me like that, it reminds me of…"
The teen felt his throat become hollow at the remembrance of a certain deceased doctor.
"Er, never mind," he mumbled. "Can we just go to Providence now?"
"As soon as I arrange for transportation. In which case, I'm afraid Breach is the fastest option."
Rex scoffed. "No way. Not trying to die or get stuck in her dollhouse for eternity. She's tried to kill us once and she'll probably do it again."
"I need to pay her a visit nonetheless," the man informed him. "She can start acting very strange if she's held up in captivity long enough."
As they made their way through the hallways and up several floors, the child couldn't help but wonder what he had just heard. Almost as soon as he left the lab's exit, he began to pick up a few words and phrases from a source entirely unfamiliar to him. The tone was very sour from what he could make of it, but as they drew closer to their destination at the floor containing various prison-like cells, it dissipated. It had been so faint in the first place that it almost left Rex wondering if he had even heard anything at all. Perhaps his brain really was going loopy from his new ability.
"It's gone," the teen spoke up as they entered one of the rooms. "Are you sure there's no one new in the castle?"
"You forget that I share an awareness with the nanites I've strewn across this land, and especially this building," Van Kleiss explained. "If there was any new presence here, I would have felt something."
Rex gave him the same confused look from earlier. "Doesn't it bother you? Feeling everything everywhere? Doesn't it drive you insane?"
He paused, then grinned.
"Haha oh wait, I guess it di-"
"It only antagonized me for the first few months," Van Kleiss cut him off, giving him a disapproving look. "But that was years ago. And no, it did not affect my psyche. Cease your insolence."
The teen's cheeky remark was quickly forgotten when they found the cell before them empty. The man stood frozen for a moment, and Rex could hear his heartbeat slow down, then pick right up again. This time, it was slightly faster than before.
"I don't really get why you're so surprised," the boy said, facing the cold metal bars. "Why did you think those would keep her in? She can just… y'know… make a portal."
"Just how incompetent do you believe I am?" the king snapped, quickly turning around and leaving the room. "She shouldn't have been able to create any breach through the fabric of space. I always place a lock on her to diminish her abilities."
Rex spun on his heel to quickly walk after him. "Oh. That makes sense. She was just too smart for you this time, huh?"
"This is highly concerning, Rex. She knows no more about advanced technology than you do proper Spanish beyond your broken phrases. I foresaw no circumstance in which she would have outsmarted the system."
Rex was about to refute the cloaked insult, but a familiar feminine voice cut his train of thought off, causing him to stop in his tracks. He leaned forward and grabbed the older EVO's arm, listening intently.
"Wait," he commanded, not yet letting go. "I can hear her. It sounds like she's on the floor right above us!"
Van Kleiss stared at the hand clutching him, wondering where the audacity had come from. The fact that such a harsh motion had been done with no hint of malice made it all the more strange. For the time being, he decided to ignore it.
"At least that vial was good for something," he muttered, removing the grip to make his way towards the nearby elevator at the end of the hall. "The place that you indicated happens to be her room."
His sense of the castle's layout was correct, surprising no one. A few moments later, they found Breach lying on her bed in her chamber. Her face was pale, her limbs lied limp across the edges of the furniture, and her hair was glistening as if she was sweating from running a marathon. The king bared his sharp golden needles as he entered and drew closer to the teenage girl's still figure. She never once glanced at them, as if she didn't notice their presence at all. Spaced out, Breach lied flat on her stomach, a worried look plastered across her face like she'd just failed an exam.
"Don't," the girl suddenly whispered, breaking the painful silence. "I'll go back to jail."
Van Kleiss narrowed his eyes. "And why would you? Clearly you've managed to escape despite the restraints I've placed upon you."
"Because I'm safer there."
This took him aback.
"Safe?" Rex retorted. "We should be the ones trying to feel safe! You tried to kill us! Why do you look upset for no reason?"
"They yelled at me because I didn't do it. Couldn't do it.."
Breach quietly arose from her bed and waved her hand, creating a large portal that teleported her and her master to an unknown location. Or at least it would have been, if it wasn't for Rex's enhanced hearing that alerted him to their pair of voices just underneath him. Judging from the vibrations that made its way through the stone floor, the two were bickering, someone was thrown around against the walls, Breach ended up screaming, and then there was silence.
A terribly painful silence.
Rex gulped. She may have been crazy but he hoped she wasn't dead. Despite how bad Breach could be, he didn't want to be too harsh on someone who wasn't "all there". He glanced awkwardly around the room while thinking of a way to remedy the situation, taking in the sight of a place he'd never seen before, yet felt oh so familiar. He eventually realized that Breach decorated her room the same way she adorned her dreaded pocket dimension- suspicious looking stuffed animals, dolls, and random memorabilia. Her sheets were pink and black, and her walls were speckled with tiny finger painted flowers- and an occasional skull here or there. A small lava lamp stood on a nearby desk, though it wasn't powered. Inside the fluid, he could have sworn he saw tiny human teeth floating around instead of the usual colorful blobs.
In the corner of his eye, he spotted a radio next to the lamp.
The boy's eyes widened as he leaned over to lift it, forgetting what had happened mere moments ago. "That's my radio! How long has she been taking my stuff?"
"Rex, meet me at the EVO stables at the border of the castle," Van Kleiss commanded.
The teen whipped around in surprise, only to find himself alone.
"Que-wha?"
"I'm going to assume that despite the fact that we are on entirely separate floors, you can hear me," the king's voice continued. "Come quickly or suffer the consequences of being late."
The teen rolled his eyes at the bossy attitude that could now transcend solid stone walls and ceilings.
"I cannot wait to kill you if you disobey," the voice murmured, now strangely quieter and in a different position.
Rex scowled and attributed the shift to the king getting further and further away, as well as making a sharp turn somewhere in the floors below.
"Jeez, I'm never gonna get used to that psycho," Rex muttered, estimating the voice to be at least thirty feet below him. The fact that it was only growing more distant meant that there was no time to lose. Exiting the room, he ran up and down the halls as fast as he could to place the machine in his room before meeting with his captor.
"Give a guy a warning next time," the younger EVO whined as he huffed and puffed his way to the entrance of the stables. "And don't threaten me like that! What is wrong with you?"
"You're sensitive," came an aggravating reply from Van Kleiss, who was calmly waiting by one of the largest EVOs in containment. "Because Breach won't be an option today, we will take one of these flying whales to the set location."
Rex felt uneasy. "And um, how long will she not be an option? Is she okay?"
"For however long it takes a broken bone to heal," the king retorted. "It certainly didn't sound like you cared just a little while ago."
The teen winced. "You know, there's a huge line between hating someone and wanting them smashed into pieces."
"I've never heard of it. Now, get inside."
The trip made Rex feel incredibly queasy.
Being inside the mouth and throat of a massive EVO made him want to retch. Strangely enough, the creature had no actual smell in its breath- something he was incredibly grateful for- but the fact that he was standing on a tongue was horrendous. Every time he took a step, his feet made a dreadful squelching sound. Saliva dripped all around the cheeks, making sure to keep everything around him spectacularly slimy. He wrapped his arms around his torso and shut his eyes tightly, trying not to absorb anything about the outside world anymore. Tearing into a raging EVO to protect citizens was gross to him, but at least he had the option to withdraw and use a cleaner method. This time, he couldn't punch his way out of the massive hunk of squishy tissues unless he wanted to fall through the clouds and to his death if his wings didn't activate fast enough. What was worse was the constant digestive noises he was hearing- every gurgle, grunt, and hiss of gas assaulted his poor ears almost the entire way to their destination.
Somehow, he made it through. As soon as they landed, Rex had to fight his urge to kick his way out of the unsuspecting creature, and instead scampered away like a traumatized rat. Meanwhile, his companion remained composed as he stepped out, ushering a signal for the whale EVO to stay put.
"You need some serious transportation upgrades, you maniac," the boy complained, wiping off any leftover gunk off his clothes. "I heard things in there I don't think any kid should be hearing. And- hey! This isn't even Providence! What are you doing to me?!"
In the middle of his rant, he had noticed that the location wasn't the same at all as last time. The building wasn't in sight- all he saw was desert. Sure, it seemed familiar, but the thought of being tricked quickly popped into his mind. This was it, wasn't it! The monarch of madmen was finally tired of him and would abandon him in the middle of nowhere to leave him to die. He should have taken the threat back in Abysus seriously. It was all just a ploy to torture him one last time-
"Obviously not," Van Kleiss affirmed, descending to the gravelly landscape below. "If you recall what happened the last time, you'd remember that there is a very dangerous presence near the complex you formerly called home that burns EVOs alive. So I decided to land on the outskirts of the area to give our servant a place to rest."
Rex gripped his chest, letting out a deep breath. "Oh."
The man stared at him. "You had one of your ludicrous paranoid moments again, didn't you?"
"Um… no? That's Spanish for… no."
"You can't use poor attempts at comedy as shields against me forever."
The two walked for a while through the dry region, taking around ten minutes to finally reach the Base. The only home Rex felt he'd ever remembered. Chills ran up his spine as he spotted familiar corpses and blood spatter patterns that lay across the debris that still had yet to be touched by any cleaning crew, making him relive memories he much rather wouldn't. They wandered past the Petting Zoo, the base training camp grounds, and even a small cafe that had once been set up for the soldiers before finally reaching the actual building itself.
"If the same people who did this also made Bobo into a rug, I'm going to start my villain arc," Rex joked, though his tone was anything but jovial.
The king ignored what he deemed childish drivel, distracted by the sights around him. As they approached the entrance, he remembered that the elevators would obviously not function anymore.
"You're going to have to create one of your machines to get to the third floor," Van Kleiss pointed out. "It's- oh. That disturbing sensation is back."
The two groaned as they felt their bodies begin to buzz, realizing that their nanite abilities were now out of reach. In order to reach their destination, they latched onto the walls and began to climb. If the Base was in a normal state, this would have been impossible with how blindly shiny and smooth the walls were, but pieces of debris piled on top of each other like Tetris made the feat much more manageable. Still, climbing up three floors in a relatively human body was no small feat. By the time they'd reached the top, they'd grown a new appreciation for their usual enhanced abilities.
"I'm so glad I'm an EVO," Rex groaned as he pulled himself over the edge and rested on his back. "I can't imagine always being this weak. Maybe that's why Six was so cranky all the time."
"And yet you worked for an organization who wanted to take away your powers," Van Kleiss scoffed, moderately less fatigued from the effort from being well accustomed to having his powers mostly vanish when he left Abysus. "It's a good thing they never found a cure."
The boy rolled over onto his stomach, then hoisted himself up. "Do you really have to do this? Right now? Seriously?"
"I can bring it up whenever I please, especially if you still resist the truth. You cannot be grateful for Providence's actions while simultaneously valuing your enhanced abilities."
The younger EVO frowned. "Not true. Providence employed an EVO- the best one ever, by the way- to help them, which proves that they were fine with regular people coexisting with us!"
"They only allowed you to help them because your best quality was to eradicate your own kind. And I must add that you were hardly employed. You were picked up off the streets and made to work, and hunted down like an animal in your earlier days where you escaped your confinements quite often."
Rex didn't like where this was going.
"I chose to stay after that, and anyway, how would you know about it?" the teen snapped, beginning to walk around what remained of the third floor, eyeing the debris that blocked the view of the walls and old machines. "Oh, right. You were a stalker obsessed with me. Still are, by the way."
"If I didn't keep an eye on you from time to time, I never would have found you in this disaster zone," the king pointed out. "Besides, you were very much a danger to someone who biologically and politically thrived upon nanites."
At this, the boy grinned. "Oh? Are you saying that you're threatened by me? Do I scare you, old man?"
A response came in the form of a few quick pricks upon his shoulder, causing him to yelp and jump ahead.
"Not really you so much as Providence's usage of you, egotistical creature," Van Kleiss muttered, retracting his needles and observing his surroundings. "Inform me about what this floor was meant for if it wasn't for an energy supply. I believe I've forgotten the utility of quite a lot of floors, really. It's been quite a while since I've had to attack this base."
Rex glared at him for both his stinging actions and words, pulling his shirt aside to rub the skin that had been poked sharply. "Um, ow!"
"Not an answer."
"You're such a- you know what, forget it. Nothing gets through to you. Anyway, this floor was just a storage unit for food. Not for humans, but for the EVOs we kept."
The king looked around. At first, the explanation didn't make much sense, but as they wandered further into the area, he noticed large burlap bags with various faded titles printed onto them amidst the fallen rocks that has struck and killed many that fateful day. Containers of dusty and algae filled water were also present, attached to walls and on top of crates. At least, it used to be water. It was now mostly black muck, likely the remains of any unfortunate creature that fell in and decomposed.
"How stifling it must be for those poor EVOs fed who knows what," he lamented. "They could have had much better diets in Abysus. At one point, I was going to make Breach teleport them right out of here, but other plans came in the way."
"Oh please, you'd use them as test subjects for something messed up," the teen mocked. "You're not the benevolent god you think you- hey, wait. What is that?"
Rex spied a strange looking orb across the massive storage room, unfamiliar with its appearance. It was placed on a concrete pedestal, and displayed a few multicolored buttons. Curiously, he approached it, baffled to find that in almost illegibly faded letters, his name was scrawled across it. The orb itself was generously sized- larger than him, though not by much. He hesitated to touch it due to a thick layer of dust coating the grey metallic surface.
"I wasn't aware they kept your feed down here as well," his companion remarked, assuming it was a containment unit for the younger EVO's nutritional needs. "It's as if you were a mere pet to them. Did you never think-"
"I ate food like a normal person!" the teen retorted. "They didn't keep anything down here for me. I have no idea what this even is!"
The king tilted his head. "And yet, it has your name on it."
"I can read. It still doesn't ring any bells. I'd use my nanites on it but they're too busy to care about listening to me. Ugh."
Van Kleiss turned away, willing to explore some more. Immediately to his left, he found a table that held several sacks of feed designed for all the EVOs he wished he had the time to steal away when he could. On one corner of it, however, he spotted something that piqued his interest. Reaching over, he picked up a small handheld device, recognizing it instantly.
A tape recorder.
The teen turned to find him toying with the machine in his fingers, lifting a brow. "What are you doing?"
The man pressed play.
"Rex?" an achingly familiar voice crackled through the device. "I'm praying that you're hearing this. Please, please listen to me."
"Holiday!" Rex called out, feeling his heart drop to his stomach at the sound of her unmistakably worried tone.
"Providence was infiltrated," she continued, her voice shaky. "They hid themselves for so long and we had no idea. They're going to bomb the entire building. I know you want to fight them, but you can't. They've already set it up. If you want to stay safe, don't even try to!"
The two stood silent as the sudden sound of incoherent arguing and pained cries echoed in the background.
"I don't know if I'll ever see you again, Rex, but I begged them to leave you alive at least," she said as her voice came back in. "They agreed, but wanted to take you captive as a trade. I had to say yes."
A flood of mixed emotions washed over the teen. He couldn't process the fact that he had been betrayed by someone who he desperately wanted back into his life again.
Then again, was it really betrayal? A human scientist could only do so much.
"Th-they brought out this giant round machine and said that when activated, it would cast a force field around you so you'll be protected from the explosion since I helped them. Agent Six and I stole it and brought it down here to give you a chance to save yourself and escape.You need to activate it as fast as you can."
Rex breathed a sigh of relief, but his anxiety was still incredibly high.
"All you have to do is press the green button to the side, and you won't have to worry about anything when everything crumbles." she informed them. "Agent Six and I will be waiting for you at the library of the town closest to the Base. If we don't die. Hurry, Rex!"
The recorder went silent.
The boy collapsed to the floor, his brain almost numb with the emotions jolting through him. Was she safe? Was Six with her? Did she almost save his life? That woman did more than he ever managed to credit her for, and all he could do now was regret it.
The king looked down upon him, waiting for a more verbal reaction.
"Give me a sec," Rex mumbled, feeling eyes bore holes into his back. "So. This thing. Was supposed to protect me."
"It's clearly not as efficient as I was," Van Kleiss declared. "So be grateful."
The younger EVO coughed then stood up again, absentmindedly running his hands along the crevices of the machine. "I'm never going to hear the end of that, am I?"
"It depends. By the way, the button she spoke of is to your left."
The boy twisted his head to find that a jade colored dot was hidden underneath almost an opaque layer of dust. He brushed aside the airborne debris and stared at it, wiping his hands on his jacket afterwards.
It reminded him of her eyes.
"I'm curious to see how it works," the king began. "But a force field might destroy the stability of this wreck-"
Rex didn't bother listening and eagerly pressed the button, trying to feel as close to the mother figure he loved as he could. His enhanced hearing alerted him to a gravelly, crumbly noise coming from within the machine. He stood entranced, waiting to see the powers of tech he'd never witnessed before- certainly a rare occurrence. A flash of light caused the sphere to glow blue- the exact hue that illuminated his skin when his nanites were active, in fact- and a new humming noise filled his ears. Tiny pores began to open on the exterior, allowing a dark red gas to escape into the musty air, entering his lungs.
It smelled like death.
Horrified, he realized that his limbs suddenly felt like melted cheese. He tried to speak, but his tongue lay limp in his mouth, free from his control. His eyelids began to droop until his vision was entirely blocked, and he felt as if somehow all of his organs were sinking to the floor below. His ears rang and his head began to spin, causing him to panic helplessly. The last thing he heard was a muffled screaming sound, completely disoriented and unable to pinpoint its direction.
The world went black.
