I got time to write bc of evil rainy weather trapping me at home :(

Bobo burped.

"That was great." the chimp remarked, patting his belly. The two had finally finished their food, satisfied with the new restaurant. "We should come here every time you pound some freak."

"It was nice." Rex admitted, admiring how the taste of his burger had even brought some of his appetite back. The taste had even made him reconsider his request for a to go order. "But we gotta go. The pawns were watching us the entire time."

"I'd be jealous too."

The teen rolled his eyes and stood up, motioning Bobo to follow suit. Strangely enough, as he'd noticed, the black clad soldiers made no effort to subdue him. They were almost like flies on a wall- observing, but remaining silent. During the course of his meal, the boy had even tried making various hand signals at them- vulgar or otherwise- in an attempt to rouse some form of activity.

But nothing had worked.

Rex threw his burger wrappings into a nearby trash can and slowly inched towards the door. One of the soldiers stood only five feet from the entrance, their head turning to lock sights on the teen. The young EVO felt a shiver crawl down his spine, but due to the pawn's unwillingness to move, he was able to leave the building without a hitch.

"That was weird," the boy muttered, making sure Bobo tagged right along with him. "What do you think Black Knight ordered them to do?"

Bobo shrugged. "Maybe they're just there to eat."

"They weren't even in line."

"The line was long. I don't blame 'em for waiting."

They meandered through the parking lot, the occasional paranoid gut feeling making Rex's stomach slosh. The young EVO wasn't usually on edge this much, and he supposed it was due to the fact that he was hiding lethal secrets. But jumpiness was becoming too out of character for him, and he need to set himself straight quick. If-

The window of a nearby car cast the reflection of a pawn.

The teen spun around to find the same two soldiers standing about a twenty feet away, apparently following them back from the restaurant. They hadn't attacked yet, but it was still jarring to find them stalking him. Bobo turned around and noticed them as well, instantly reaching for where his guns were supposed to be.

"Think they're hitmen?" the chimp asked, regretting leaving his blasters at the Base. Rex shook his head.

"Don't think so." the teen denied, backing away slowly. The pawns only moved closer. "They're probably not gonna kill me, since they could have done that at the restaurant. I don't think BK cares about collateral damage. But they're definitely doing something with us."

"Hey! Don't bring me into this!"

Rex realized that Bobo, despite his joke, might have actually been right. The soldiers might have wanted nothing at all to do with the monkey- after all, Bobo wasn't the one who broke a deal. Another shiver crept up his spine as he wondered what the pawns might want to do to him.

Was he under punishment? Were they going to torture him? Would they-

No time to think.

"Let's run!" the boy shouted, forming his Rex Ride and pulling Bobo onto it. "Or drive! Whatever! Let's just go!"

He hightailed it out of the parking lot and onto the streets, then glanced back to see what the black pawns would do in response. To his horror, they summoned a two sleek, speedy motorcycles from the lot and hopped onto them, chasing after him.

The teen yelped and revved his engine, speeding down the road and narrowly avoiding other vehicles. His smaller size allowed him to maneuver around the traffic, though there was something to be said about the efficiency of his drifting.

But the soldiers were still on their tail.

"What does it take to lose 'em?" Bobo complained. "I'm trying not to lose my lunch here!"

Rex glanced back at the soldiers, then grinned. "They can burn rubber, but they can't fly."

Rex waited until he drove into a clearing before dismantling his ride and forming large metal wings. He should have thought of it earlier, really. It was highly unlikely that they could fly, unless Black Knight had amped up their tech department. Still, his best bet was the sky. Unless they had a helicopter after him as well-

A sharp jolt of electricity shocked his entire body, forcing him to deactivate his wings. He and the monkey fell to the ground from about a meter in the air, rolling for a few feet before coming to a stop. The gravel of the streets was harsh against the teen's skin, and he struggled to stand up after the unexpected impact.

"Ow!" Rex groaned, rubbing his head. "What was that?"

Bobo shook his head to clear it, then grabbed onto the boy's leg to help himself up. "Don't know, but it might have to do with that thing they shot on your back."

The young EVO reached around his back and patted anywhere he could, his eyes widening when he touched a small, metal ring. With tiny Velcro-like needles, it had latched onto his clothes and sent out the painful signals to force him to destroy his mechanical wings. The teen stood up and tried to activate his Rex Ride to save face, but the ring blasted him with another jolt of electricity, forcing that build to crumble as well.

"It's ruining my powers!" Rex yelled, backing himself against a tree to keep himself upright. "I can't make anything! How are they doing that?"

The boy and his monkey watched as the two guards jumped off their motorcycles and began to walk towards them. The young EVO put his fists up in front of his face, remembering the fighting tactics Six had taught him when his nanites malfunctioned. The pawns didn't seem to acknowledge the fighting stance, however, and continued making their way closer.

Soon, they stood right in front of Rex.

"I'm not going down without knocking at least one of you out," the boy warned. "And don't even think I'm gonna join Black Kni-"

The teen's words were cut off when one of the soldiers silently thrusted a digital timer in front of his face. Bobo craned his neck to stare at the numbers, cocking a brow.

"Three hours?" the chimp read, perplexed. "Three hours to what?"

Rex, seeing no warning signs of assault, hesitantly took the timer from the soldier, trailing his eyes across the bright red pixels. "I... hold on. Is this how long you're going to be following us around?"

The soldiers nodded.

Bobo grimaced. "Great. We got stalkers. And they're not even trying to hide it."

"Are you gonna try to kill or kidnap us?" the teen asked the pawns, ignoring the monkey's remarks.

The soldiers shook their heads.

"So you're just gonna follow us around?" the chimp asked. "Why does your boss wanna babysit us?"

"Rex is under strict watch until he fulfills his end of the deal," one of the pawns began. "He has three hours to do so, and Black Knight has been generous with the extra hour. Should he fail to meet the request, we will have no choice but to bring him back to her."

Bobo tugged at Rex's jacket. "What deal?"

The teen gulped. "I saw her at the intersection when I was fighting the EVO, and I... joked about giving it to her so she could collar it. I was being sarcastic, but I think she took me seriously."

The pawn turned to stare at him. "Black Knight didn't think it was a joke."

"Well, uh, I don't really know what to do about that."

"We'll keep following you until you fulfill her request."

Bobo huffed. "She really doesn't get humor, huh? Why did she believe you anyway?"

The boy turned to the chimp, struggling to find more suitable lies- or at least some half-truths. "She probably thought I was gonna take up on her offers to join her or something. I was just messing around. I didn't mean for it to come off like I was gonna ditch you guys for her."

"Well, pal, you're in for it. If they're following you around, you can't go back to Base... but I can!"

"Bobo, no!" Rex shouted as he watched the monkey scamper away. "I need you here with me!"

"Relax, Chief!" Bobo yelled back before disappearing into the distance. "I'm telling the Doc and Green Bean! They'll find a way out of it!"

The boy nervously turned back to the pawns. "Aren't you gonna go after him?"

"No. Our orders are specifically for you."

Rex groaned.