Bobo takes him to the principal's office, dragging Rex there by the arm. He looks at Rex straight in the eyes and says, "I hope you suffer." Then he leaves, chuckling under his breath and looking much too pleased with himself. It makes Rex a little worried about exactly what he's done in the past to make the former-monkey this spiteful of him.

The secretary is a woman of thin and wiry disposition with an air of snobbery about her. She pushes up her wire-framed glasses and snippily tells him that the principal is busy right now so he needs to wait. It's obnoxious, but at least it gives him time to sit and think about what exactly is going on. And now that he stops to think about it, isn't this a good time to grab a map or his schedule…?

"We don't have any to waste on you," is the only answer he receives to his request.

Jeesh, what's wrong with these people?

César arrives in ten minutes. He is fuming and gnashing his teeth in a unhealthy manner. But when he spots Rex, he just sighs and looks away, looking more frustrated and annoyed. It takes a second for Rex to realize why César isn't lashing out at him. César isn't angry at Rex. He's mad at himself.

"César..." Rex begins but he's cut short.

"No. I don't want to hear it," César snaps. "I trusted you."

"I don't even know what I did. I was on my best behavior, hermano." Rex doesn't mention anything about accidentally hacking into some kind of a secure network or the green-suited man who's been trailing him.

His brother sighs and looks away again, signaling the end of the conversation. Rex growls lowly but he doesn't push it. And it's only then that the snobby secretary informs them that the principal is ready to see them now. Rex takes a deep breath. It won't help him if he looses his temper at the principal.

The principal is a balding man who gulps nervously at the sight of the Salazar brothers. He doesn't mention that their parents aren't here, and instead just turns to César with fake sincerity.

"Caesar," he says, blatantly mispronouncing César's name. "It has been a while. I hope your research is going well?"

César doesn't even bother to smile. He glares at the principal and demands, "What did my brother do?"

The principal glances nervously at Rex before stuttering to answer. "Ah. Well… you see..."

Rex crosses his arms and lean back against the wall. César raises a brow, clearly unimpressed by this. The principal finally takes a deep breath and finally informs them all of the problem at hand.

"It's the vending machine. Rex fiddled with it to dispense free drinks."

Rex blinks. Wait what? You mean this isn't about Six or White Knight? It's about the damned vending machine? You can get into trouble for giving people free drinks?

"That's it?" César asks incredulously. Rex can see the impatience clear in César's form and he has to hold back the laughter. He has the front row seats to watch his principal get murdered by César. Now how's that for irony? "You interrupted my time-sensitive research for a vending machine?!"

"Caesar, you don't understand..."

"No, I understand perfectly well what's going on. You can't stand the fact that you can't pin anything on Rex, so you decided to waste my time on something that doesn't even matter. We are done here. Call me for something this trivial again, and I will shut you down."

Then César grabs Rex's arm and drags him out. He drags Rex out of the office and into a quiet hall out of hearing distance from the office.

"Rex, be honest. Did you or didn't you tinker with the vending machine?"

"Hehe… about that…" Rex clears his throat. "I did, but it was for a really good cause."

César drops Rex's arm as if he's been burnt and finally lets out the pent up frustration.

"What the hell, Rex? I thought you were going to change!"

"I'm telling you, it was for a good cause and-"

"I trusted you. You can't keep doing this to me. You can't keep toying with human hearts like this, Rex. You need to-"

"César, you need to take me to a hospital."

His brother goes quiet, his face unreadable. "What's going on, Rex?" he asks finally.

"Frankly? I don't know. I think the hospital will help me figure it out."

César rubs his temples, considering this very carefully. He looks back up at Rex, who's staring back at him evenly and seriously. With a small sigh, he says, "Please don't make me regret this."

The drive to the hospital is surprisingly quiet. Rex has guessed that César would have lots of questions, but his brother's lips remain tightly shut. It works for him, because he's not too sure how to answer any questions that César might ask.

When they arrive, Rex doesn't hesitate to bolt out of the car, ready to rush into the hospital. He only pauses when he realizes that César is not following him.

"Hermano, you waiting for an explicit invitation?"

César looks a little surprised at that. "You want me to come with you?"

"Yes, you dork. Of course I want you there. Hell, I'm sure I'm going to need you in there."

César hesitates at first. Like he's not sure if he just hallucinated the last few seconds or if maybe he's waiting for Rex to stick out his tongue and say that this was all just a giant prank or something. Then he takes a deep breath and cuts the engine off. He walks over to Rex, giving his brother a nervous smile. He locks the car door, and the two walk into the hospital.

"Rex?" Dr. Rhodes looks worried as she makes her way towards the Salazar brothers. "Are you okay? You don't look particularly injured..."

"I'm fine, doc," Rex promises with a charming smile. "Actually, I was wondering if I can get a full body scan."

Both Rhodes and César look alarmed at that. "If you're fine," Rhodes says slowly, "then why do you need a full body scan?"

"Well, here's the thing. I can't legally tell you anything until I'm certain of what happened."

Rhodes and César exchange a worried glance.

"I can't just schedule you in for a full body scan, Rex. There are procedures to this kind of things and-"

"Then get me Holiday. If she gives the okay, then it doesn't matter, right?"

Rhodes' face pales, but she shakily nods her head. "But Rex," she says, her voice firm and resolute, "just because you're a Salazar and just because you're you, you can't expect to get special treatment. You understand that, right?"

It turns out that Rhodes' worries are for naught, because once Holiday spots Rex, she gives the okay without even bothering to listen to everything. She does follow them, though, looking a little curious and at the same time a little worried as to what she just agreed to.

Rex places his hands against the machine. He closes his eyes and thinks carefully about the old machines that Holiday used to use to get his biometric information. The simple fact that Holiday is in the same room helps. He thinks as much as he can about back then, thinking about the nanites and the machine's ability to see it. And once he feels satisfied that it's going to work, he turns to the rest of the people.

"Okay," he declares, "I'm ready."

"But Rex, why are you getting a body scan?" César asks, looking around at the room in a mixture of worry and awe. He probably wants to take apart some of the equipment, just to see how it works. At least he's prioritizing Rex right now.

"I'll tell you everything once I've confirmed this, okay?" Otherwise he might just sound like some kind of a crazy person, and that's not the impression he wants to give to Holiday.

Rhodes looks like she wants to protest, but Holiday nods. "It better be a good explanation."

Rex closes his eyes and breathes out. The scanner thumps as it goes through, snapping the pictures it needs. And if Rex is correct, it should take pictures of the nanites in his body, if they really exist. If not… If not, then all of this is a fluke and he's just a normal kid. There's no such thing as nanites and he doesn't have the power to talk to technology.

Then the sounds stop, and the intercom switch on.

"Rex?" Holiday asks, her voice that achingly familiar sternness, "What is this?"

He closes his eyes. Damn, he thinks. Damn it all.

"What does this mean?" Holiday asks, shoving the scans in Rex's face. "And what the hell did you do to my machine?"

Rex can't answer. He takes the scans out from Holiday's hands and stares at it. Half of him wants to cry and the other half just wants to rip it apart and pretend that none of this ever happened. Because this isn't right. This just can't be the truth. What the hell? How can there be nanites in his body? How can nanites exist in a world where they weren't created?

"Please tell me that this isn't some kind of a drug," César whispers, his voice low and etched with concern.

"It's not a drug," Rex manages to choke out. "It's…"

And he realizes that if nanites indeed exist, then that means he can command the diary to open. His eyes widen and a startled gasp leaves his throat. He can't hesitate. He can't waste any more time. He can finally figure out what his illusive past is.

He spins on his heels and runs. Right before leaving the room completely, he shouts, "César, can you reset the machine for Holiday? I'll meet you back in the car!"

Rex gets back to the car in what he considers a record time (he doesn't actually know if it is or not). Without hesitating, he orders the car doors to open and watches slightly amused as the car obeys. There's no doubt now. Nanites exist. He doesn't know how or why, but they do. But the most important question isn't that. The most important question is his past. What was he like? How is he related to Quarry? Why is his and Noah's relationship like this? He's finally going to get the answer he's been seeking since he woke up at the hospital.

He grabs his backpack and begins to search through it, a giant grin on his face. Ten seconds later, the grin wavers. Twenty seconds later, he's dumped everything out of his backpack onto the parking lot, staring in disbelief.

The diary isn't here.

He searches through his pockets. He kicks things around. But no matter where he looks, he just can't find it. The diary is gone, and he has no idea where it is. The last time he had it, it was when he was at Tuck's place. He had it in his pocket then. And then what? What happened afterwards? What did he do with the diary? Why can't he remember? Did he have it on him when he encountered Six again? Did he have it when Cain gave him a ride? Did he have it when he cooked? Did he have it in school?

"Rex Salazar."

Rex freezes at the sound of that voice. Oh no, no, no. Of all the people to find him now, why her? Why now? Can't she see that he's busy and that he can't take her presence right now? He slowly looks up, a controlled neutral look on his face. "Black Knight," he greets.

She raises a brow at that. "You know me? I'm impressed."

Damn it! Of course he doesn't know someone like Black Knight. She's… What is she in this universe? She can't be the leader of Providence, since Providence doesn't exist. Except maybe Providence does exist since nanites do as well? Rex frowns. This is starting to get really complicated…

"I wanted to see just what kind of a man had him stumped, but you're nothing but a kid," Black Knight says, shaking her head. "A kid that knows too much."

"What do you want?"

"Consider this… a greeting. Or a warning. Whichever you prefer. It doesn't really matter to me."

"What are you warning me of?"

She smiles but it doesn't reach her eyes. It's just the stretch of the lips, almost like she's exercising the muscles. "You have incurred the attention of those that you do not want to deal with. Believe me when I say that your future doesn't look too great."

"Why are you telling me this?" Rex's shoulders are tense. His fingers flex above one of his binders. If things get rough, at least he has this as a weapon.

"I think we can work out a deal."

Rex scoffs. "A deal? With you? Yeah, I'd rather deal with the rocky future."

"Your file said you'd be arrogant."

Just where is everyone getting said file on him when Rex can't even find his stupid diary? He snaps his teeth together and grins ferally. "Lady, that's not even half of it."

Black Knight laughs. "Then good luck," she says lightly. She pulls out a business card and presses it into Rex's hand. "In case you change your mind."

Then she's gone, leaving Rex alone in the parking lot.

By the time César comes back, Rex is sitting inside the car. His things are back in the backpack, flung haphazardly in the backseat. César gives him a worried look before sitting down in the driver's seat. He doesn't start the engine.

"Rex…" he begins and stops. He runs his hand through his hair, looking far more frustrated than when he walked into the school earlier that day. "The scan back there… You promised an answer."

"I know. I'm just… trying to figure out how to phrase it." So I don't sound completely insane, Rex doesn't add. "It's… hard, you know?"

"Start from the beginning then. What was that scan? What were you looking for? And I'm going to guess that you found it, judging by your reaction to the scan."

Rex takes a deep breath. "César, I'm looking for nanites."

"Nan…?"

"It lets me do things I shouldn't be able to." Rex places his hand against the dashboard of the car. Few minutes later, the radio switches on to a classic channel. "I can manipulate technology."

César looks blank for a second before his eyes widen. "Whua-?" he whispers. "How? But…? That's…?"

"I know, it's kind of hard to take in right now but-"

"For how long?" César demands. There's a strange look in his eyes that makes Rex uneasy, but Rex answers as honestly as he can.

"As long as I can remember."

César tilts his head, looking at his younger brother carefully. Then he gulps before asking, "And when was your memory reset?"

Rex blinks. "You know about my memory problem?"

"Never mind that, Rex. Tell me. When did you lose your memory?"

"The night you picked me up at the hospital after the motorcycle accident."

César closes his eyes and drops his face in his hands. "Is that why you wanted to change? Because you've lost too much memory this time?"

Rex nods. He doesn't have the heart to correct César, not to mention he can't exactly say the full truth. So this will have to do. He's just going to blame everything on the memory loss, and he's going to rely on his brother to help him out. Surely with someone as smart as César around, they'll finally be able to get to the bottom of this.

"Rex…. Why didn't you tell…" César trails off, probably because he himself knows the answer. "¡Dios mío! Of all the problems…"

"There's… One more thing."

César looks up at Rex, waiting for the next bomb.

"There's… a strange guy in a green suit that's been following me around."

"Do you know who...?"

Rex bites his lips. "He's... considered the sixth most dangerous person in the world."

César tenses. "But why would someone like that-"

"I don't remember. I was hoping that you knew something."

"No." César looks like he wants to cry again. Like he can't quite decide if he hates himself or the situation at hand more. "You've never trusted me like this before. We've... We've never been close." Then he stops as if realizing something. "But Rex... If you've forgotten and you're going to change... How are the freaks - I mean Quarry and the rest - going to react?"