Chapter 3

Tyson was only tangled in the awkward position for a moment before pushing himself violently away, but that didn't stop the deep red that blossomed across her face. He was slightly amused at the way that she freaked out, scooting away from him as quickly as she could. She stood up quickly, ignoring Tyson's extended hand and fiddling with her jacket as if when she got it straight, the whole incident would disappear. Tyson even smiled a little as she tried to calm her blushing, but still stayed as far as the hallway would easily allow her. That was the first time that Tyson realized just how young the girl standing in front of him actually was. Judging from her reaction though, she was actually quite a bit younger. It was strange though, she didn't act young at all. Well, except for now, Tyson thought amusedly.

"I'm sorry. My balance is not at its best right now. I am not going to jump you ok? You aren't my type."

Her eyes flashed up to his face. "I don't know whether to be grateful or offended about that."

"Don't be offended. My type is a lot less female than you."

If anything, the blush on her face only got deeper as she muttered a small " Oh." Nevertheless, those words had the intended affect, and she moved a little bit closer to where he was standing.

Tyson decided that it was probably best to move on. "So, your name is Samantha right? How old are you?"

"Yeah, I'm Samantha. But you really need to call me Dr. Holiday ok? They are weird about that sort of thing around here."

"But if I call you Dr. Holiday, what do I call your dad? Doesn't it get a little confusing?"

"Nope, I'm Dr. Holiday; my dad prefers to be called Doc Holiday."

Tyson just looked at her. "You have to be kidding me."

She smirked at him, incident obviously forgotten. "Not even a little. He is obsessed with old westerns."

"Wow."

"Yup"

An awkward silence settled over the hallway, and then Tyson remembered something "Hey, you never did tell me how old you are."

"That's right isn't it? Well, I'm sixteen. I turn seventeen in December. Wow, its only two weeks away now isn't it?"

Tyson didn't hear anything past I'm sixteen. How in the world could she be that young? And a Doctor? Maybe it was an honorary title or something. "Did you say sixteen?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, aren't you a bit young to be a Doctor? I mean, your dad obviously has money, why aren't you out having fun and wrecking your first car?"

She just smiled at this, as though it was the most asked question in her world, which quite possibly, it was. "I was home schooled by my dad. I passed the high school equivalency test when I was nine, then I enrolled in college, then med school. While I was there, I was also working here alongside my dad. I finished early, and for the last year, I have been a fulltime Providence agent. I never did that stuff, mostly because when you grow up inside Providence there is no such thing as a childhood. You obey your orders, and you become a productive member of the organization when you live inside these walls."

"That is… depressing."

She laughed "Maybe, but it is the way I was raised, and it is the way I am. Besides, you're only what, nineteen?" at a nod from Tyson she continued "Well then, since you are here at all I'm sure Whit will- wait, White! You have an appointment!"

She grabbed his hand for the second time and pulled him behind her as she started running down the hallway.

o0-(O)-0o

Thankfully, this time no one tripped, and a 5 minute run through a maze later, they were standing outside of an intimidating set of steel doors. Samantha punched in a long set of numbers and put her fingerprint on a pad. A little drawer slid out and she placed a strand of hair inside it. The drawer shut and after a small flash of light, another small drawer opened. Samantha reached inside and pulled out an aerosol can of disinfectant. "Hold your arms out and spread your legs." she instructed.

Tyson was slightly freaked out by all of the drawers and hi tech equipment, so he didn't argue as he complied. Holiday slowly sprayed him from head to toe with the disinfectant. She placed it back inside of the drawer, and after the scale had decided that there had been enough weight subtracted, shut with a click.

This prompted yet another drawer to pop open, this one holding a gas mask. "Don't freak out when you go through the door. That is just an outer chamber to kill off any residual germs. The disinfectant only kills 99.9%." Tyson opened his mouth to ask a question, but a shake from her head stopped him. "The next door will open automatically. Remember, don't pass the red line, and do not, under any circumstances touch anything. Got it?"

"Yes." Tyson was reverting himself back to his default personality. Flat and emotionless, it had saved his live on multiple occasions in the city. No one would mess with him when he was like that. Tyson figured it was because he could be completely fearless when he reverted like this and when he was emotionless, he could be dangerous if he needed to be. That was mostly why he decided to fall back on it now. He had no idea what was about to happen, but he knew he would probably be clearheaded to get through it on one piece.

"Good, don't forget." Holiday quickly showed Tyson how to put the gas mask on and off, and then she stepped back and pressed one last button on the keypad.

Then, with a low groan, the doors to Hell opened. Complete with red lights, way too much heat, and a low billowing steam. They certainly took crazy to a whole new level around here.

Without allowing himself one more thought, Tyson stepped quickly into the devilish room. He didn't look, but he could hear the doors slam behind him with a bang. Then the room began to fill with the mysterious mist, and become much, much, hotter.

o0-(O)-0o

Tyson was trying to make himself stay calm. Somehow, though, he doubted he would be able to for much longer. It felt as if they were trying to cook him alive. Just when he was about to break his stoic exterior and start pounding on the walls, demanding to get out, a thin crack of white appeared along the wall that he faced. He was so desperate to get out of the red room that he almost started running for the gap. He actually took a step forward before he forced himself to control his urge and go back into his emotionless mindset.

He quickly stepped back into his original position and let his arms hang at his sides. As if he didn't know what it was that he had just gone through, and he didn't care anyway. He was grateful for the suit all of a sudden. He probably looked a lot more in control in this gear than he would in his jeans. It would be really kickass if he had a pair of those mirror shades to finish the look. He made a note to nick a pair of shades at the very next opportunity.

As all of this info rushed through his head, the doors were slowly opening. Tyson made a note to make sure that his body was perfectly still. He stood without moving as the doors clicked back into the wall, and the mist had totally dissipated. He was beginning to wonder if he should just walk in, or continue to wait for some kind of cue. He was saved from making this decision however when suddenly yet another drawer opened. 'What is it with this place and drawers in the wall?' he wondered idly. After looking at it, he correctly assumed that he was to put the gas mask inside, and so he did.

Tyson walked back to his original position and resumed the same stance he had before. Mainly, he did this because he had no idea what else he could do. He had obviously done the right thing though, since as soon as he had gotten back in position, a deep voice rang out like the deep bass of a church bell. "Enter."

As the sound faded in the air, it left an almost vacuum feel. It was almost as if Tyson's actions were not his own as he slowly, and evenly began to walk forward into the blindingly white room beyond. What he saw when he got there made him blink, but he did not allow any other part of his body falter. He continued walking until he was just behind a large red line on the floor. Then, finally, he stopped and was free to stare at the man inside of the plastic bubble.

.o0-(O)-0o.

The deep silence stretched between them. Neither was willing to give the other the upper hand by speaking first. It might have continued this way for much longer than it actually did, if only because both of them were so damn stubborn. However, a small drawer (really, what is it with these people and drawers?) opened up, and the man behind the desk pulled out a small piece of paper with his glove covered fingers. He glanced at it disapprovingly before he finally looked up at Tyson. "Do you know what those little she-devils that came with you are doing right now?"

Tyson was a little offended now, but judging from the absolute insanity that seemed to be surrounding him, he thought it would be best to stay calm as he replied. "No sir."

"They have broken out of their room, abducted one of our strongest guards, and have forced him to dress like a girl and play tea party with them."

Tyson couldn't quite catch all of the incredulity from his voice as he replied, "They are only 6."

The man leaned back against his chair with a sneer. "They stole a plasma gun."

"They are only 6."

The man stood up and shouted, "They may be 6! But I will not allow those brats to run around my base like it is some sort of huge playground!"

Tyson got the feeling that maybe it was time to back down, but maybe it was just him. Nevertheless, he replied as calmly as he could. "Yes sir, I'm sorry sir. As soon as we are allowed to leave, I will take them home then you will not have to think of them again."

The man sat back down. "What do you mean leave? Has nothing been explained to you?"

"No sir, I only just woke up from my injuries. They brought me directly to you."

The "I see then. Allow me to explain. You are now an agent of Providence. I am White Knight. I am the head of this organization."

Tyson could not stop himself in time. "No."

For the second time, the silence stretched between them. Then slowly, and deliberately, White began to hiss, "What do you mean no." he stopped and began again, this time he allowed his voice to get louder until by the end of the sentence he was screaming. "No is not an option."

"I mean no. I have to take care of my sisters. I will not work for you and leave my sisters in the hands of someone else."

White leaned back in his chair, "I see." he snapped, staring at Tyson. "What do you want?" he asked not showing anything.

Tyson looked him straight in the eyes and began to speak.

.o0-(O)-0o.

Samantha was still giggling at the monitor when Tyson walked in. She looked up at his face and the smile faded a bit, but she beckoned him over. Tyson ignored the various other people in the room, walked over to the wall of security monitors. What he saw even made him crack a smile, no matter how depressed he still felt. The monitor showed two adorable little girls and one huge crying grown man. They were all sitting rather primly around a round table, and pretending to drink tea. The only thing that was wrong with the video feed, well besides a bawling 6 and a half foot tall weightlifter in the dress, was the rather large and dangerous looking gun that Sarah held carefully in her lap.

He was startled when he heard Samantha speak. "They are cute girls."

"I know." Tyson answered flatly, eyes still locked firmly in the screen.

"A bit scary though." she mused. "I wouldn't want to cross them."

"Few would." Tyson flat out refused to look away from the video feed.

Holiday sighed and crossed her arms impatiently. "So, what is your name now?" she tried again.

Tyson closed his eyes and rested hid forehead against the screen. "Six."

"I see. I'm guessing that you're not happy about that?"

The newly named Six looked up with a twisted smile on his face. "I just sold my soul to the devil; in return, those girls will have a home, and a future worth having." Six turned and looked blankly back at the screen.

.o0-(O)-0o.

Six walked alone to the room where the girls were playing. As he entered, the twins forgot their playmate and ran to him. As the girls hugged Six and told him all about their 'new friend' the blubbering man made his escape, long dress flying behind him.

"…-en he started to try and dance with us, but we dance with the fairies all the time so we were better than him. And he fell down, and we grabbed his toy. It made a big hole in the wall. It was so cool! Can we have a toy like that Tyson? Please!" It was the please that snapped Tyson out of his revere, and he shook his head trying to clear it.

"Sure girls, whatever you want." He put on a happy face for them. "I have great news too girls!"

"What is it?" they chimed together.

"The nice people here are going to give me a job! That means that we are going to live in the town! Isn't that exiting?" He tried to sound cheerful, but it was hard.

Now, the two girls weren't quite as silly as they acted, and they knew something was wrong. They didn't really care where they lived, as long as their brother was with them. They glanced at each other and silently agreed to talk about it later, and then they looked at their brother. He looked sad, and it was their job to make sure he was happy. So they would act exited, so that he could be happy. It made sense to a 6 year old.

"Ooh! Wow! That is so cool!" they yelled over each other in their excitement. "Where, where, where?" they started bouncing around, and Six couldn't help but chuckle a little.

"We have to find it. Now, lets go before we forget how to get out of this place all right?" the girls smiled and each grabbed one of his hands. They walked out of there together.

THE END

.o0-(O)-0o.

An: That's it! I hope you enjoy it. There will be an eplogue too, so keep watching!

Remember, read, review, criticize.