Lies. This chapter ended up being a lot easier to write than I first gave credit for. My original estimate of chapters were a little off. And I think after this, there'll be two more chapters (not counting the interludes).

Warning: Gore and excessive violence.

"Quarry!" Rex shouts again, making a sharp turn.

But the man is nowhere to be seen. It's starting to annoy the crap out of him, because damn it, where can Quarry be? He was just here, running through and-

Rex runs into someone. The apology is on the tip of his tongue but before anything can be muttered, he feels someone grab him by the collar and throw him to the ground. It's only due to luck that he manages to land in a roll. He rolls and looks at the two people blocking the alleyway. One is holding a baseball bat, spinning it lightly in his hand. The other punches his hand, looking much too pleased with himself.

"What have we here?" the one with the bat drawls. "Rex Salazar without his guard dogs?"

It's annoying as hell, but Rex can deal with this. Sure, he's not as good as fighting humans as he is against EVOs, but he can do it. He stands back up, smirking darkly. They think they're going to get away with getting in his way?

But before anything can happen, a whirlwind of movement fills the alleyway. The one carrying the baseball bat goes flying against the wall. His face is smashed against it again and again, loud cracking sounds echoing through the alleyway. Until finally, his head bursts open like a watermelon. Then the one without the weapon is grabbed by the head and shoulder, and Rex can only watch in horror, as a simple twist cracks the neck, and he just drops to the ground. Silent.

It's all over in a matter of seconds and Rex is frozen. His legs won't stop shaking, and he feels ashamed, because he's seen worse things. He's experienced worse things. But then he realizes, no. He hasn't. He's never seen someone so ruthlessly kill people without hesitation. He's never seen anyone just so casually do things like that. Or maybe he did, because once upon a time, he was the Lieutenant of the man standing as the sole victor of the one-sided massacre.

"... Quarry," Rex whispers.

The man turns to face him. And even though he's not an EVO anymore, Rex sees the resemblance. Because the man before him is all harsh edges and sharp lines. There's a collection of vibrant scars all around his upper right side of his head, and Rex wonders if that's why Quarry's head was so misshapen as a rock EVO.

After a beat of stillness, Quarry takes a step forward. And another. And another. Rex wants to run. He wants to bring up his fists and get ready for a fight. But all he hears in his mind's ears are Tuck's words of "This is why you don't cross Quarry!" and his mind just replays the violent scene over and over again. Because how the hell is he supposed to fight against that?

Quarry raises his hand, and Rex closes his eyes, bracing for impact. Then a heavy hand lands on Rex's head with fond gentleness, and Rex just barely holds himself back from screaming, "Huh?!"

"Sorry," Quarry says, his voice soft despite the gruffness. "I know you hate excessive violence."

And just... What? What? Huh? What's going on?

Then Quarry removes the hand, turning away from Rex as if ashamed of showing his face. Is it the scars? But now is not the time to ask stupid questions. If he doesn't speak up now, he might miss this opportunity.

"I got rid of Providence."

Quarry turns to look at him, looking a little startled. He looks at Rex then carefully asks, "What made you change your mind?"

Rex remembers the diary's words. "I found something I shouldn't have..." He echoes it out loud for Quarry to hear, and maybe that's the wrong thing to do because Quarry's face darkens.

"Consortium," Quarry snarls.

And Rex is kind of glad that the anger isn't directed at him, but he's feeling confused again. As if noticing that, Quarry looks back at him, focusing.

"The guy in the green suit... He looks like he knows what he's doing."

"Six? Yeah. I mean... I guess...?"

Quarry frowns at the response. "Rex..." he says slowly. "Are you... How much memory did you lose this time?"

"How does everyone know that?!"

There's the smallest tug of smile on Quarry's face. Almost... fond. "You have a tell."

And how it is that these people know of his tell when he himself is meeting them for the first time is something Rex is just going to have to get used to. He makes a face, which only serve to widen Quarry's smile by a fraction. It's a strange look to see. Rex has seen Quarry smirk and laugh, but to actually see an honest to goodness smile?

"Is that why you shut down Providence?"

"No one should have that much power," Rex says automatically. And it surprises him how easy it is to talk to Quarry, of all people.

"Even if it's for the sake of saving her?"

"... 'Her?' You mean Circe?"

Quarry's smile falls completely. His eyes look alarmed and he takes a step towards Rex before hesitating. "You lost her?"

Whoever this "her" must be, she must be very important, judging by that reaction.

"Who's 'her?'"

"Maybe it's better this way," Quarry mumbles to himself, as if he doesn't hear Rex. "Without her, you would've had no reason to enter this side of the world. And since you used my name for everything else, no one knows to trace it back to you." Quarry smiles, and this time it looks sad. Like he's just finished reading a great story with a tragic ending. "This is for the best. Leave the clean up to me. Go live a normal life, Rex."

"Wait! Quarry! I'm not done-"

But Quarry's gone, running off with frightening speed. And there seems to be more questions than answers again.

Rex ends up walking back to the ice cream shop, pouting slightly. He considers listening to more of the diary, but he figures he's worried his family long enough. So he makes his way back, fighting against the itch to find out more about his elusive past.

And he freezes.

Because there are ambulances and police cars all around the ice cream shop. There are curious passersby who are snapping pictures of the scene. Part of the ice cream shop's glass windows are broken, and few of the customers look like they've been attacked.

"Mijo? Is that you?"

Then César is there, reaching for him and holding tightly as if he never wants to let go. Then his mom is there and his dad, both grabbing hold of him as soon as César lets go with furious relief.

"Where have you been?" Violeta asks, her voice with an edge of hysteria. "We were so worried!"

"What happened here?"

"Never mind that, Rex. Answer your mother," Rafael tells him, his voice stern.

"I... Just took a little walk."

"After you shook me off. I thought you weren't going to run from me anymore," Six states, his voice flat as he walks towards them.

"Something came up... Anyways, what happened here?"

"It was your friend," Noah grumbles as he heads towards them. His head is bandaged, and now that Rex pays more attention, everyone look a little worse for wear. "Well, it wasn't just him, but he helped."

"... What are you talking about? Why would a friend...? Where are Tuck, Sqwydd, Circe, and Cricket?"

No one answers him. They just go silent and gives him a contemplating look and Rex doesn't like this at all.

"Rex Salazar?" Officer Calan asks, interrupting their group. "I need to ask you some questions. What is your relationship to a man called 'Quarry?'"

"I... I've never heard of him in my life," Rex says. It earns a sharp look from Six, but Rex doesn't care about that right now.

Calan raises a brow, clearly not believing him. "Alright, then what do you know about Providence?"

"It doesn't exist."

There's a small pause, Calan's face darkening. "You know, most people would answer that question as I don't know that word or defining the word. Those who doesn't know about that group wouldn't think to say that it doesn't exist."

Rex tenses.

"What the hell do you know about Quarry?" Calan demands again.

"Nothing."

"Stop being so stubborn! If you don't tell me, god knows how many more people are going to die!"

"... What are you talking about?"

Calan sighs a little and ignores the dark looks he's getting from the rest of the adults. "Rex Salazar, I have no idea how you're connected to all of this, but you're the only one who can get a hold of Quarry. You don't need to know all the details, but someone is targeting members of Providence."

"Targeting...?"

"As in killing," Calan says. Slowly. As if that'd make it easier to swallow.

"How many?"

"What?"

"How many people are dead?"

Calan goes silent for a second. Then he says, "Look, I'm sorry. I know this isn't something you want to hear, but we need to find Quarry and-"

"That's enough." Violeta and Rafael both steps in between the two, as if shielding Rex. And César steps forward and so does Six and it finally dawns on Rex exactly what it is that the adults are doing.

For once in his life, he's being protected.

But the thing is, he's Rex Salazar. The Weapon of Providence. He's the Cure. He doesn't need to be protected. He's always the one who protects. But if he stays here, they're going to coddle him. He can see that. And right now, he needs to find his friends.

Rex glances over and meets eyes with Noah. And as if Noah understands his feelings, he nods. Then the two take off, leaving the rest to the adults to argue.

"Okay," Noah says as they run through the streets. "What's the plan?"

"First, I need information. What happened back there?"

Noah hesitates a bit before finally telling him. "There was a small explosion," he says. "And there were these strange people. They asked for Quarry and when no one spoke up, they asked for you. Then your friend Tuck got violent. I thought he was going to stand against them, but instead he... he knocked out Circe and took her, saying something about how you'll give chase. The other two just followed him."

"That makes no sense. Why would Tuck...? Why would any of them...?"

"Hell if I know. I never liked that guy anyways."

Rex rolls his eyes. "That doesn't help me, Noah. I guess the next thing is who the strange people are..."

"They were in black and white uniforms," Noah adds. "With black masks."

... Providence? But that can't be. Providence is... Wait. What if the Providence that he ruled over is the Providence Defect Group? And the Consortium is the one who controls the agents that apparently just attacked the ice cream shop (and according to Calan, is targeting the rest of the Providence members)? That would mean that Black Knight is the enemy, as always, and he's going to have to stop the Consortium again.

"Rex? Buddy? Penny for your thoughts?"

"We need to take out the Consortium."

"... And how are we going to do that?"

Rex pulls out Gatlocke's business card. "I have my sources. Can I borrow your cell?"

"What?" Gatlocke snaps over the phone.

"This is Rex Salazar."

There's a small pause and Gatlocke's tone changes. "Hey kid, ready to tell me about Providence?"

"I'll tell you everything but in return, I need your help."

Noah glances around the small room in the abandoned factory. He makes a face at all the mess but doesn't say much about it. Instead, he just kicks back on the couch and says, "I see this place hasn't changed a bit."

"You know about this place?"

"Dude, I helped you find it!" Noah sounds a little offended, but he doesn't seem to be holding it against Rex. "Jeesh, you must've really lost a lot of memory this time, huh?"

Then the curtains are parted but the one who walks in isn't Gatlocke. Instead, it's Breach. Then Skalamander. Then Biowulf.

"What are you guys doing here?" Rex demands, feeling a little alarmed.

"We heard what happened in the ice cream shop," Biowulf said, looking a little disgusted with himself for being here. "Van Kleiss was worried. He asked us to lend you our hands."

"But why would-"

"I keep telling you, it's because he's your Uncle!" Noah snaps, almost as if he's personally insulted by Rex's question.

The curtains part again, and this time Gatlocke's there. He glances around at the teens gathered there and makes a face. "Great. It's like I'm back in kindergarten."

"Oh no, kid. I'm not helping until you tell me about Providence," Gatlocke says with a shark-like grin.

"Well, too bad, Gatlocke. Because I'm not planning on saying anything until my friends are back, safe and sound."

The two look at each other, neither of them refusing to budge. And as much as Rex will love to just spend the rest of their time glaring at each other, they don't have the time for that. If Noah is right and Tuck and them took Circe to the guys who want to find Quarry and him... Damn it all, why is it that every time he's close to finding answers, he ends up taking two steps back?

"What about this? I'll give you my diary until my friends are back," Rex concludes. He takes out the diary and holds it out for Gatlocke to take. "It has all the answers, Gatlocke. Everything that you wanted to know about Providence is in there."

"And why should I trust you?"

"Because after my friends are back, I want my diary back. And I'll tell you everything you want to hear."

Gatlocke frowns. "I don't like this."

"It's the only deal you're going to get. Don't tell me you've suddenly become a bad businessman?"

"Oh, you just know which buttons to push, don't you, kid? Fine. I'll help."

"Everyone knows what they're doing?" Rex asks, looking at the makeshift group that he's gathered.

"If you dare repeat the plan again, I'm going to rip you apart," Biowulf growls.

"We're good," Breach and Skalamander both adds.

"Everything's set on my end," Gatlocke assures them over the comms.

Rex takes a deep breath. "I'm working with the Pack to hack into the Consortium," he mumbles lowly. "Strange how this world turned out."

Noah gives Rex's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "We'll make it through this."

"Obviously. Don't you know who I am? I'm Rex Salazar."

And with that, they charge forward to the lab.