I do not own either.
Sam had never seen a rhinoceros quite like this one. It must be one of those mutated organisms that Al was talking about. As he was processing this information, Six was yelling at him to move.
"Sam! Get your butt in gear!" Al shouted.
Sam snapping out of his stupor, ungracefully leapt out of the way. Pushing himself up, he saw that the creature had turned around and was glaring at them.
"Woah, that's one ugly son of a…" Al commented.
The EVO turned its head to Al. Al took a step back in surprise. "Uh-oh, I think it can see me."
"How is that possible?" Six asked.
"Sometimes animals are more attuned to the frequencies around them." Al explained.
"Good! Distract it." Six ordered.
"What? How?" Al asked bewildered.
"Your loud shirt seems to have its attention, just move around." Six said.
Al looked down at his paisley shirt. "I'll have you know that this is a custom made one of a kind silk shirt."
The rhino charged him but passed right through him.
Sam teetered slightly on his feet.
"Listen, Sam, is it? I have magna blades hidden up my sleeve." Six told the slightly stunned man.
"Yeah, I noticed. How do you get them…" Sam began.
"There's a latch attached to the magnetic release system. Just flex." Six said.
Sam gingerly stuck out his arm and cautiously did as Six instructed. A blade came flying out from his sleeve. Sam barely caught the handle in time.
"Now the other!" Six said impatiently.
As Sam did the same with the other arm, he stood staring amazed at the two sharp swords that unfolded in his hands.
"Now, attack it at the base of its neck." Six pointed at the EVO.
"That's crazy!" Sam exclaimed. "I don't know how to use these things!"
"It's easy… just follow my lead." Six attacked the beast but because he was a hologram passed through the creature.
"This is nuts." Sam grumbled but he began moving his arms like Six. When Six struck, so did Sam. The blade hit its mark.
"I did it!" Sam said excitedly.
The rhino roared angrily as it turned around.
"Not quite." Six noted wryly.
"What do I do now?" Sam asked nervously.
"Get behind it and attack at the base of the neck." Six said.
"I can't do that!" Sam protested.
"Well, you better do something, it's charging." Al observed.
Sam gulped. As the beast charged, he closed his eyes briefly. As he usually did in stressful situations, he allowed his instincts or rather the instincts of the body he was currently occupying to take over. Then with a determined look he jumped. Surprised at the height at which he was able to reach, he flipped and landed behind the EVO. Then swinging his blades he struck the mutant rhino twice. Then he rammed his elbow into the base of the animal's skull. It roared before falling to the ground.
"Six! I got this." Rex appeared and placed his hand on the beast. In front of Sam's eyes, the EVO started shrinking until it normalized into a typical rhinocerotidae specimen.
Holiday was not far behind. "Six, are you all right?" She placed a hand on Sam's arm.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Sam saw Six's disapproving look and wondered what he did wrong.
"Well, at least you still fight like your old self." She said wryly glancing at the unconscious animal. "I don't know how it escaped the Petting Zoo."
"The what?" Sam blurted out without thinking. When he saw Holiday's face, he immediately regretted it. "I mean of course the Petting Zoo." He tried to back peddle.
"I'll have the clean up crew take care of the mess." Holiday turned her face from Sam. But Six could see her clearly. Six felt a pang of regret for putting her through more emotional turmoil.
"Boy, Six, it's a good thing you were here to stop it. Otherwise it would have made a bigger mess." Rex commented looking at the damage.
Sam just nodded. He looked to Al and Six.
"Are you satisfied?" Al asked Six who was still looking at Rebecca.
"No. But this will do for now." Six replied coldly. "Let's go back to my room so we can talk."
"I'll be in my room if you need me." Sam said loudly as he sprinted off.
Holiday and Rex looked at each other in confusion.
0o0
Sam paced in Six's sparse room. Six stood glaring at him while Al fidgeted with his device. Finally, Al broke the silence.
"Okay, this is what Ziggy says." Al was looking at the device in his hand. "The good doctor hands in her resignation and goes to work for a hotel…" Al frowned and slapped the side of the minicomputer. "Hospital. She's later found dead with one of your swords in her and your fingerprints everywhere. You are arrested and charged but maintain your innocence. It goes to trial, you are convicted, and the next day… you are found hanging in your cell."
In mid story, Six was already shaking his head. When Al stopped, Six spoke up adamantly. "No, no, that's impossible. First of all I would never leave one of my blades anywhere. Second I would never hang myself. It's cowardly."
"How about killing the doctor?" Al asked.
"What?" Six glared at him.
"Well, you never said anything about not killing her." Al shrugged.
Six walked menacingly towards Al. "I already told you… I would never hurt Rebecca."
"Okay, geesh. Relax buddy, you'll give yourself an aneurysm." Al tutted.
"Gentlemen, please. " Sam begged. "I agree that from what little I do know of you, Six, it doesn't sound like something you would do. In my heart, I know it's something you'd never do."
Six seemed mollified.
"But we need to figure out what then really happened. Why would Rebecca leave?" Sam asked.
"What's the name of the hospital?" Six inquired.
"Uh, let's see… Institute of Neuroscience." Al frowned. "You don't think she took the job to help you, do you?" He addressed Six. "It says here that they are the foremost in the study of memory loss and amnesia."
Six had a surprised look. "I don't think she would give up her career to…" He stopped. Rebecca would give up everything if she could help him or Rex.
"Okay, let's say she leaves to help you… that could explain why you would show up at the hospital." Sam said.
"But it doesn't explain why you would kill her." Al muttered.
"I wouldn't kill her!" Six snapped.
"Look, I'm going to go back and see if I can dig up more information. Why don't you and Six here, have a chat to see if you can get your stories straight?" Al proposed.
"That's fine." Sam looked at Six. "I need to ask you some questions so I can better be you."
"I suppose I don't have much of a choice." He grumbled.
"Nope, not really. Not if you want your body back." Al said cheerfully. He tapped a few buttons and disappeared.
Six and Sam stood looking at each other.
"So why do you wear these sunglasses all the time?" Sam pulled off the shades.
"I like them." Six replied.
Sam sighed. "Look, I get that you're not very… talkative. But if I'm going to be a convincing you, I need to know more about you."
Six folded his arms. "What do you want to know?"
"Okay, um…" Sam tried to find a delicate way to put it. "Well, I talked to Rex a little and he gave me a quick run down of our relationship but then he mentioned that you like Rebecca and that she likes you."
A shadow crossed over Six's face. "Rex is a little optimistic. I don't know how Rebecca feels about me."
"And how do you feel about her." Sam asked.
"None of your business." Six snapped.
"Well, it is if I have to be you!" Sam protested. "Do you like her?"
Six pressed his lips together as if deciding whether to answer the question. Sam waited to long that he almost gave up on him answering.
"Rebecca is… very special. She's no one I've ever met… strong, smart,… stubborn." Six paused. Sam could see his eyes developed a dreamy look. "I… care about her but I don't know where we stand. I don't want to say anything…"
"Because you don't want to be embarrassed if she doesn't feel the same way." Sam supplied.
Six's eyes flashed with anger. No wonder he wore shades, his eyes betrayed him. "Not embarrassed!" He denied. "I don't know if I'm the kind of person she would be happy with. Maybe I was that person in the past but after the memory loss…"
"How did you lose your memory?" Sam interrupted him.
"Rex's brother, Caesar." He almost snarled. He relayed the story of how Caesar was attempting to get Rex's memories back but instead ended up wiping out his.
"Wow, you must have been angry." Sam commented.
"Angry is not the right word." Six snorted. "If it wasn't for Rex, he'd be a pin cushion already."
"You seem to really care for Rex, too." Sam observed.
His eyes softened. "Rex is a good kid. I've never had anyone trust me implicitly as he does."
"That's because you were a great guardian." Sam noted. "Rex can't stop talking about how much you helped him."
To Sam's surprise, Six turned away. He shrugged. "I guess, but I can't remember. But it doesn't sound like me."
"Hey, I think whatever Rex sees in you, you still have it." Sam said. "You just need to have patience."
Six didn't answer. He stood with his back to Sam, arms crossed.
Sam was about to speak when something in his ear bellowed Six's name. He jumped and placed a finger on the device he didn't even know was there.
"Yes?" He answered hesitantly.
"Six, there's a disturbance in the nearby town. I need you and Rex to check it out." It sounded like the cranky white hair man.
"Well, sir… my memory…" Sam sputtered trying to think of something.
"Dr. Holiday says you can still fight. We're short on men. There's been an outbreak and I need all hands on deck, memory problems or not. Hanger in 10. Dust off in 15. White Knight out." Then the line went dead.
"Oh boy." Sam whimpered.