Rex finally finds his room on the second floor. He knows that this is his room because this is the one that Angela takes him to when he asks (She gets all teary-eyed and says something about her beloved child in Spanish, but he's starting to think that that's just her thing).
He's not too sure what he's expected to find. Maybe some kind of a giant sign that tells him exactly what his life was like. But what he finds instead is a neatly organized room that looks more like an empty room at Providence than one where a teenage boy dwells in. Hell, he's pretty sure that his own room back at Providence had more personality than this room!
There's a bed, a desk, a bookshelf filled with mechanical books, and a walk-in closet. Everything has been neatly organized and categorized, and from the looks of it, cleaned often (but he thinks that the last has more to do with Angela than anything else).
"Someone's really OCD," he mumbles to himself as he browses through the books.
Mechanical textbooks and engineering books line the shelves in alphabetical order by the author's last name. He pulls one out and flips through and grimace. It's complicated and there are notes scribbled on the margins and it's obvious that these books are well-loved and well-studied. Then he spots the name on the front cover.
"César Salazar."
He goes through every single one of the books. And every single one of them has the same name on the front cover.
"Hand-me-downs...?"
Rex doesn't really know how to feel about this. So he just puts the books back. Cram them back into the shelves, not caring about their order or anything else. In fact, the order of this room is starting to piss him off. With a loud shout, he kicks the bed. Then he flips over the mattress, throwing the covers off. He upturns the chair, rips through his closet, and turns the entire room into something organic. Like someone lives here.
A laughter bubbles out of him and he throws himself down on the coverless mattress. See? Isn't this so much better? It doesn't feel so stuffy anymore! It feels like someone lives here, like it's okay to live here. It feels like he can belong here.
And as he lies down, surveying the mess he's made, his eyes spot a familiar black rectangle. Well, to call it familiar would be pushing it. He's seen it just once (at least that he remembers). The black diary that Quarry had offered him such a long time ago. Half of him hesitates because doesn't this mean that even in this world he has trouble retaining his memories? But the other half is exhilarated because this is it. He's finally going to get his answers.
He gingerly picks up the PDA diary and looks at it. He turns it on and holds his breath. There. Finally, he's going to be able to know who he is. He's going to know what his family is like, why his friends are like that, and just why he and Noah aren't best of friends anymore. The PDA chimes and the opening screen pops up and then…
"Password…?" Rex blinks. Password? Well, of course there's a password! Why didn't he see this one coming?
He groans a little before trying the most obvious one, "Rex." Nope. "Salazar." Nope. "Rexisawesome." Nope. "Rexiscool." Nope. "RexSalazariscool." Nope.
With a frown, he begins to input as much combination of words and letters that he can think of that he would potentially use. The only problem being, he wants to open this PDA to see what he would normally use. His knowledge of Providence and EVOs are completely worthless here.
"Circe." Nope. "Tuck." Nope. "Walter." Nope. "Skwydd." Nope. "Cricket." Nope. "César." Nope. "Noah." Nope. "Rhodes." Nope. "Holiday." Nope. "Providence." Nope. "Six." Nope…
Rex drops the PDA and groans again. "This is ridiculous!"
Angela lets out a strangled gasp when she walks into the room. She covers her mouth, looking around wildly with teary eyes and panic.
"Sorry about the mess," Rex tells her quickly as he pockets the PDA. "Don't clean it, okay? I like it like this."
She nods slowly, looking completely terrified for whatever reason.
"I'm going out."
She doesn't try to stop him.
He ends up at the strip mall, wondering what to do now. He's left in such a hurry and all he has in his pocket is the PDA diary that he can't even open. It's not like he can just blow off steam by going to the arcade since he doesn't have any money. He can't believe that he's thinking this, but he suddenly desperately really wish that he still has his EVO abilities, because at least then he can convince the machine over there for a drink.
A soft sigh leaves his mouth and he runs his hand through his hair. Now what?
He sits down on one of the benches and just watches the people walk by. Most of the people ignore him, and few give him a weirded out look. And even though he feels kind of like a creep for doing this, he stares as people interact with one another. He watches couples talk of sweet nothings, he watches family tiredly trying to mollify their little ones, and he watches friends hang out and have fun. And in the midst of all the people, his eyes catch sight of a familiar green.
His body moves before he thinks this through. And before he knows it, he's standing right behind the familiar green suit and Dear gods, so this is where you've been and I need someone to talk to and-
"Six!" Rex grabs the man's arm, causing the man to jerk violently and turn to face Rex. "Six!" Rex exclaims again, certain of it this time. And his mouth moves before his brain registers everything that has happened. "Oh thank god you're here! I was starting to get really scared and everything's so messed up. But Providence can fix it, right? Hell, I'll even welcome White Knight's sourpuss attitude over all of this! And even if you can't fix it, just seeing you give me so much hope!"
And he stops.
Rex has known Six for a pretty long time and he'd like to think that he can see through the man's disguises. And usually, whenever Rex panics like this, there's a bit of a gentle touch to Six's face. Like he's worried, like he cares. But the Six in front of him does not have that gentleness. His face is lined and hard and it's so frigging obvious that this man in front of him is not Six.
"Oh I'm sorry. I must have gotten you confused with someone else." Rex laughs nervously and he quickly turns, trying to get away.
But Six grabs his arm and holds him firm. "Who are you?" he demands in the cold way that Rex hasn't heard since Six lost his memory. "And what do you know about White Knight and-"
Rex kicks, aiming directly at Six's head. And just as predicted, Six lets him go to dodge the attack. But this reaction is what Rex has been aiming for. He turns and runs without looking back, ignoring Six's voice shouting after him.
Few minutes later, Rex finds himself lost in the rows and rows of houses that fill the residential area. His heart won't stop hammering in his chest and the tears won't stop gathering in his eyes. He should've known. He should've known that something like this would happen and he should have prepared himself for it.
He wants to fall down to the ground and cry. He just wants to scream and let out the pent up frustration that he thought he's managed to shake off when he tore apart his room. But this is different kind of frustration. This is a different kind of anger. Because damn it, he should have known.
Of course Six doesn't know him. Of course Six would react like that. He's a stranger. They're strangers. He doesn't know Six in this universe, because EVOs don't exist and Providence doesn't exist. There was no reason for Six to appear to him and save him two years ago. That's why there's no Holiday, there's no Six, there's no Providence, no Bobo, no Noah…
There's no one left in this world that remembers what the world was like. And he had been so sure at first that that's a good thing. He can just immerse himself in this new world and live like a normal person with a normal family. And only now is it occurring to him that maybe, just maybe, he's made a decision without thinking things through carefully enough. Because this world isn't what he imagined at all.
You'll regret it, he remembers telling the nanites before his wish was granted. And ha, frigging ha, because he's the butt of the joke now.
But then again, what did he expect? Did he really think that things were going to be fine, that everyone would still be the same? He's changed a very important variable in the equation that is the world. No matter what he does, no matter what he wishes for, it's not going to matter. He can never return to that world.
"… Rex?"
He reacts the same way he would've if he were ambushed. He lashes out. One hand grabs the outreached hand that's been hesitating whether to tap Rex's shoulder. The other hand forms a fist and flies at the perpetrator's face. And it's only barely centimeters away from target that Rex stops because he's about to punch Tuck.
Tuck's eyes are wide and that's honest-to-goodness fear shining in there. But instead of fighting back, he's resigned himself to the fate of being hit by Rex. It makes no sense. The Tuck in the other world wouldn't have-
Rex forces himself to stop thinking like that. He has to stop comparing this world to that. He has to. Because that world doesn't exist. And holding the people here up to the standards that he had for them in the other world just isn't fair at all. These people are going to be different. They're going to react differently because they never had to worry about surviving EVOs or Providence or what have you.
Taking a deep breath, he releases Tuck without bodily harm. "Sorry," he mumbles, looking down. "Sorry."
"No. I just… I'm sorry," Tuck says quickly. "I didn't mean to startle you."
He doesn't mention Rex's puffy eyes so Rex doesn't bring it up either. They just stand, awkwardly unable to look properly at each other. Until finally, Tuck sighs and speaks up.
"You all right?"
No. Rex is not all right. Rex doesn't think he'll ever be all right again. But then again, he's not sure if he's ever felt "all right" in all of his crazy life that he can remember (and even some that he can't). He kicks at the ground instead of answering.
"We can chill at my place for a bit, if you don't want to be home."
Rex looks up and meets Tuck's uncertain eyes. He smiles gratefully (at least now he has a reason why he's not wandering through the neighborhood, trying to figure out where his home is).
"Thanks."
He doesn't comment that Tuck doesn't look relieved at all. He still looks uncertain and slightly fearful, almost as if he's just invited a famished tiger to dinner.
Tuck is the eldest of three kids. He has a dog and a cat, neither of which gets along well. His father is stoic and his mother is kind (if not a little overbearing). Rex learns all of this the minute he walks into Tuck's house and the entire place is alive with sound.
"Sorry," Tuck says, yelling over the commotion to be heard. "We weren't expecting any guests, so the place is a mess."
But all Rex registers is the livelihood. He hears the noise of the children and the fretting mother, he sees the mess on the walls, and all he wants to do is cheer because this is what he wanted. A home, a family. A place filled with people whose laughter bubbled over with love and affection.
Tuck drags him away into the upstairs room, locking the door behind him. He apologizes some more as he quickly walk around and kicks things to the side. Rex sits down on the bed (unmade bed with dirty laundry dumped on it), looking around the room with something akin to fascination. Sure, he's lived with Tuck before (in a memory that he still can't quite recall), but he doesn't think he's ever seen Tuck's room like this, bare to the world to witness.
"So…" Tuck says, leaning against the door. "Grounded, eh?"
It takes a second for Rex to figure out what Tuck means, and when he does, he lets out a small "Oh!" sound. "About that," he says with a nervous laugh. "I didn't feel like it, you know?"
Tuck nods, looking far more comfortable now. "Yeah, I figured when I spotted you in the mall. Uh… That green suit guy that you talked to…"
"He's no one," Rex says firmly. He gives Tuck a look, letting his friend know that this topic isn't to be brought back up again.
Tuck just shrugs at that. "Sure didn't look like a no one, but if you say so." He hesitates a little before adding, "Was he the reason why you…?"
Rex looks away, refusing to answer. Tuck sighs a little before coming to sit down next to Rex on the bed. For a second there, Rex thinks that Tuck is going to push this topic, but he doesn't. They just sit silently in the room while the rest of the house explodes with shouts.
"Want to play a game?" Tuck says instead.
Rex smiles gratefully.
"Tuuuck! Either eat with us or starve!"
"Aw come on!" Tuck groans. "They always interrupt whenever I start winning!"
Rex laughs at that. "I guess I better head home then."
Tuck seems to debate something internally for a second before scratching the back of his head. "Why don't you just stay over? I'm sure mom doesn't mind getting you dinner."
It's odd. Tuck didn't seem to want him in the house, but now that Rex is here, Tuck seems hesitant to let him go. Is there something back at the house that Rex shouldn't know about? Or perhaps this is just the normal way things are done. Rex's family are never there, so this is Tuck's way of just being a good friend.
"Thanks."
Tuck's mother showers Rex with affection tinged with uncertainty. It's kind of odd to watch because it's obvious that she wants to shower him with love, but there's something that makes her hold back. Rex isn't sure if it's the warning looks in Tuck's eyes or it's because she has her own children to take care of, but whatever it is, Rex figures it'll be wise not to comment on it.
The children are loud as they eat, bragging about their day and demanding more food. One even climbs onto Rex's lap, trying to steal some of his fried beef. Tuck quickly pulls her off, shooting Rex more apologizes while sternly scolding his sister harsher than Rex would've expected. And it takes a few seconds but then it finally clicks. The reason Tuck is behaving like this is because he wants to show Rex the best of his family. It's odd, because shouldn't it be Tuck trying to make Rex look good in front of his family and not the other way around?
Rex doesn't really get it, but he just smiles along and eats.
"How was your day, Tuck, Rex?" Tuck's father asks, giving them a serene smile.
"Ah you know," Tuck answer vaguely with a shrug.
"It's been a crazy day," Rex answers with an easy smile. "One of those 'I woke up on the top of the world and now I'm here' kind of days, you know? But man, this beef is delicious. It's making me feel like things are going to get better!"
And suddenly, everyone's silent. The silence lasts only for a few seconds, but Rex can't help but to be unsettled by it. Every pair of eyes is on him, all giving him unreadable looks. Then there's a nervous laugh from one of the kids and suddenly, there's warmth and love and there's no more of the uncertainty or fear or whatever it was that held them back.
Tuck's father pats him on his back. Tuck's mother runs off to get Rex extra heaping of food. And Tuck's little siblings swarm him, asking him all sorts of questions about Tuck and life and how cool it must be to be in high school. Rex laughs along, revealing in the family that is not his own that's treated him far kinder than his own.
He almost misses Tuck's ashen face.
"You know you didn't have to do that."
They're in Tuck's room again, preparing for bed. Tuck's insisted that Rex have the bed, and that he'll be fine with the futon on the floor. Something about how Tuck's more used to the floor anyways, and Rex might as well be comfortable.
Rex glances over at his friend with a frown. "I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to brush my teeth before bed," he assures his friend.
"No, I mean… You didn't have to pretend to be nice. You could've just been yourself with my family."
"But I am being myself."
Tuck rolls his eyes. "Right. You willingly let my brat sister climb onto your lap."
"But I did."
"Dude, I don't know what's going on, but you're starting to scare me a little. Is this because of your… memory loss thing?"
Memory loss…?
And suddenly, Rex is hit with a blinding inspiration. Because hah! Right there. Doesn't he have the excuse for everything right there? And he hadn't even been thinking of that when he first came up with the excuse, but he realizes that this is it. He can change everything. He can have the happy family he's always dreamed about, he can get Noah back, and he can change whoever it was that he was before.
"Hey Tuck, would you say that I was a good guy? Before the memory loss, I mean."
Tuck frowns, suddenly on edge. "Well… I wouldn't use those words exactly but…"
"Then if I were to declare that I want to change. That I don't want to be who I was anymore… What would you say?"
There's a moment of silence as Tuck tilts his head, calculating what exactly Rex might mean. Then with a firm resolution, he nods. "I would say that whatever you want, I will help you achieve."
See? What are friends for?
Rex grins. "I knew I could count on you!"
Then Tuck adds one more thing that sends shivers down Rex's spine because what? No. That can't be. This can't be happening and-
"But Quarry won't be happy with it."