Thanks for the reviews: peacexfreedom and phantomgirl96
Epilogue tomorrow.
Chapter 14
Who'd have thought that Holiday would welcome the help of Fell's assistant? It made Holiday want to laugh but at the same time she knew that if she started laughing she might not be able to stop, that it'd be hysterical laughter from all that had happened today. Together she and Fell's assistant laid the comatose Rex on the scanner bed in Holiday's lab.
A huge crash rung through the base. Holiday pressed the button and the scanner hummed, the tray disappearing inside, hiding Rex from sight. A red light on the wall glowed, a warning that only emergency power was available.
"He'll be fine," Fell's assistant said of Six.
"Yeah, he will." Holiday went to her desk and rummaged in the top drawer, brought out her modified blaster. Her face grim she returned to Rex's side, the blaster ready in her hand for the worst. Then she went towards the door and pressed the button to initiate siege-status. Nothing.
"Great. I do wish Six had been more careful of what circuits he destroyed when he ripped open the other lab." Holiday sighed and grabbed the door, pulling it shut with all her strength.
Back when Providence had first been upgraded, its doors had all been electronically controlled: the height of sophistication and security. Then Rex had decided to order every door to shut. White Knight had been apoplectic with rage and Rex had had to hide for a week, but it'd been proof enough that it was necessary to have a way to manually open and close doors. Holiday smiled faintly at the memory as the door clunked shut and she dropped back. Her arms aching, she returned to stand by Fell's assistant.
"We've got a while," Holiday said, sounding calmer than she felt. "We may as well get something useful done. Feel like bouncing ideas?"
"Like we're in cadet class?"
"Yes." She went back to the scanner and entered the commands. It made comfortingly familiar sounds as it began its work. "Good. Six didn't destroy all the circuits." She went to the screen and began looking at the results that were coming up. Fell's assistant came to stand behind her.
"I don't even know your name," Holiday said as conversationally as she could.
"Kate." She was silent for a moment, struggling to think of a normal conversation topic. "So…any good projects on the go right now?" Kate asked.
Holiday nodded. "I put it on hold though until Rex wakes up."
"What kind of project?"
"I'm investigating the EVO that attacked Rex. Don't worry, it's contained."
"Oh?" Kate raised an eyebrow. "Where are you keeping it then?"
Holiday pointed to the corner. "I didn't feel that putting a French delicacy in a zoo would be a good idea."
A tank-like cage stood in the corner. Inside it was a slug EVO: looking at it, Kate found it hard to believe that it had brought down Providence's secret weapon. "Why? What's special about it?"
"I don't know yet. I'm concentrating on Rex."
They fell silent now, listening to the battle rage through the corridors, coming closer and closer.
"Focus," Holiday said as much to herself as Kate, and turned back to the scanner's results, picking up a sheaf of paperwork from previous scans, comparing the findings to the ones onscreen.
"Have you tried a diagnostic breakdown?" Kate asked suddenly, "I mean you've taken an overall diagnostic of his biometrics but what about a diagnostic of his human systems?"
Holiday pressed a small sequence of buttons and the scanner obeyed. "If you look at the respiratory, I'll check circulatory. Those are the most likely since his heart and lungs were the ones needing the most machine assistance."
They were silent for a while, consulting the results coming up onscreen. After a while Holiday sent some of it to the printer on the table and without needing to be prompted Kate grabbed them, dividing the systems between them as they'd decided.
Soon Holiday stopped looking at her printouts and, gripping them in her fist she went to her cabinets, started grabbing glassware and setting them out on her workbench, then vials from a chilled cupboard.
Kate stopped looking at the printouts and watched her, awed by the scientist's engrossed manner and how she clearly didn't hear the battle still raging in the corridors outside, growing closer. She just started mixing something together. Her brow was knotted in concentration and in deduction.
"Kate," she said suddenly. "Go to the EVO and get me a skin sample? Do not let it touch you. You're right, there is something poisoning his system. The nanites were slowing down because they've been busy trying to deal with it, cure it, immunise it, expel it, whatever. I'll have to deal with it like anti-venom."
Kate regarded the EVO warily. "A skin sample would be best then right? It probably poisoned him on skin contact." Holiday nodded, distracted again and Kate grabbed a scalpel, turning it to use the flat of the blade. She reached into the cage, trying to pretend it was just something normal like, I don't know, flea-combing the cat, and brushed the scalpel blade down the EVO's skin, slime immediately coating the metal. She hurried it carefully to Holiday who pushed a prepared glass slide towards the microscope. Kate added the sample to the slide and pressed the other glass coating over it, careful not to let the slime touch her. Then she slid it under the viewer and looked through at the sample.
After a while Holiday took over, taking a look at the sample, magnifying it as necessary then turned back to whatever she was mixing, adding some more ingredients. The mixture was a pale green by the end. She stirred the beaker, set aside the stirring rod and grabbed a clean needle, filling it with the solution and took it carefully over to the scanner where Rex slept. She swabbed his elbow then gently slid the needle into the crook of his elbow, emptying the contents into his vein.
"I haven't had to brew an anti-venom that quickly before," Holiday confessed, beginning to clear the equipment away even as the battle continued raging: gunfire, another wall smashed. "That would be Six," Holiday remarked almost peacefully. "He's getting pissed off. I hope White Knight doesn't mind remodelling after this. He should be getting quite used to it."
"I thought after this you'd hate White Knight," Kate said. "He wanted Rex to be dissected."
"He thought Rex was a lost cause," Holiday said. "I don't like him but I can understand sacrifice. I just don't think it's time to make those sacrifices." She picked up her blaster, checking it again. "Now then, Kate. We need to buy more time. I don't know when Rex will wake up so if Fell gets here, de-activate the EVO's cage and hide. Rex will be hidden inside the scanner. If anything, the EVO can keep Fell occupied, buy us some extra time."
"So it won't team up with Fell to kill us?"
Holiday shook her head. "No. It's an insectoid EVO. Not enough intelligence past basic self-defence to team up. Do you understand though?"
"Sic the slug on Fell and hide," Kate nodded. "Understood."
"Good." Holiday walked towards the door. "I'm gonna help Six."
Six's katana rang against EVO Fell's hide. He high-kicked it into the wall and it got back up, snarling, it bounded at him. He threw himself aside, doing a tuck and roll, surged back up to his feet as the EVO bounded into the corridor. He ran after it, took a leap and landed on it, it rammed the wall, trying to shake him off but he held on grimly for his life. It snorted, bucking wildly and dropped onto its back, rolling. Six hit the floor, got to one knee and snatched his katana back up, braced himself as the EVO charged him, enraged. Its deadly spiky fur slashed on contact and Six dropped his katana involuntarily and rolled aside to dodge it, glanced at the wall and clenched his jaw, his demeanour grim, his arm going numb.
"Six!" Holiday ran from the safety of her lab, levelled her gun and started shooting.
"C'mon kid, why does she think you're so special?" Fell's assistant murmured, looking down at Rex. He could've been her classmate, that was how young she herself looked too. "How can one person make the difference?"
Her touch delicate, she traced her fingertip down his cheek, his skin was cool to the touch. "I guess if Holiday and Six won't give up on you, I shouldn't either. If the EVO comes in, at least he won't see you."
It felt strange to call Dr Fell an EVO, she'd talked to him only earlier. Her thoughts dwelled on Holiday's words. Nothing's purely EVO. She took the time to look at the nanites themselves, curiosity winning out.
She was fascinated despite herself, how different the boy's nanites were from the nanites she'd seen before. "No wonder he wanted to dissect you," she said quietly but continued looking.
She'd seen the omega-1 nanite already, it was easily distinguishable by its size in comparison.
Then the door burst in, Holiday hit the wall hard and crumpled.
"Holiday!" Kate made to run to her but froze as the EVO that had been Fell loomed in the doorway. Six's katana was embedded into its metal fur, the agent hung to it grimly but it wasn't having anywhere near enough effect. Finally he leapt off and landed a few feet away, braced for if the EVO charged him. He didn't have his katanas now.
Kate ran to the cage, slammed her fist against the button to open its door. It coasted open and Kate ran to Holiday, grabbing the scientist's blaster where it'd fallen.
EVO Fell almost casually entered the room.
"Are you crazy?" Six demanded.
"Holiday's orders," Kate answered.
Six's lips formed a very thin line. "Gotta have a talk with that woman," he murmured.
"Survive and then you can talk all you like to her," Kate said, and stayed very still as the slug EVO began pulling itself out of the cage, oozing across the floor.
EVO Fell turned his blood-red eyes on the slug, watching it move. His hindquarters dropped, she recognised the animalistic hunter pose. She felt Holiday stir painfully. "Stay still," she whispered. Holiday's fingers dug into her palm as pain shot up her back from her fall but she was silent.
EVO Fell roared and charged the slug, grabbing it in its jaws like a toy and wrenched violently. Holiday and Kate turned their faces away, horrified. Even Six found it hard to watch…and to hear. EVO Fell dropped the slug. That distraction had been all too brief…
"Wake up for God's sake, Rex," Holiday whispered.
Rex still held Fell by the throat but his arm had started to shake as he began to understand Fell's plan. He didn't just want Holiday and Six to suffer, he wanted Rex to try and save them, to willingly expose himself to the gas to save them. He knew he was immune to the liquid but what about the gas? He wished he could ask Holiday but she was in the cage that he himself had locked her into in order to keep her safe from the attacking EVOs.
If he did black out from the gas, the result would be a boy with no memories, no idea what he was, trusting whoever he might first encounter…and that man would be Fell, waiting, ready to charm him or order him around to his way of thinking.
It worked in Hong Kong, it would work here, Rex knew, sick at the thought of being anything like he'd used to be.
But the only other choice was to be a coward and abandon Six and Holiday. He knew what would happen when they were exposed to the gas, or at least he had a gut feeling that it'd be bad.
Rex straightened up, looking Fell in the eye. "I'd rather be dead than obey you," he said then turned, threw Fell across the room. He didn't look back at where he'd thrown him, just heard the crash of glass, the slug EVO's screech and Fell's scream. Even as Rex ran he activated his Boogie Pack.
He flew straight through the windows, glass falling around him. He dove straight down at the cage, de-activating Boogie Pack as he fell, activated Smackhands and ripped the door off the cage, snarled at the EVOs surrounding him and grabbed Holiday and Six by the waists.
"Please," he whispered to whatever god there might be, activated Boogie Pack and flew back up towards the broken windows.
He could feel the effects of the gas already, his wings began to shake, he stared at Six and Holiday desperately, then made the decision. He de-activated the Boogie-Pack, forced the Smackhands through with the last of his strength and looked fiercely at Six. "Save her," he said clearly, then threw the two of them at the broken window. Six grabbed Holiday, holding her close with one arm and grabbed at the window ledge, ignoring the bite of broken glass.
Rex fell backwards, his smackhands disintegrating.
Holiday buried her face into the hollow of Six's shoulder, her shoulders heaving, he held her close.
The ground rushed up at Rex.
Life flashed before his eyes, but not the life he expected.
The slug EVO. It'd hit him, started this whole nightmare. He felt its blow, sending him flying, felt the pain like it was happening again.
It has a paralytic toxin in it, it oozes it like slime. He looked down at his hands as he fell. He couldn't see it but could he feel it? He could almost feel a link to his body, to his other life, feel the nanites struggling to re-activate.
I was exposed to the paralytic toxin. I'm not comatose because of the picket fence. I'm comatose because there's EVO toxin inside me.
There are two EVOs to cure.
The slug…and me.
He couldn't cure himself though, and he had a feeling that the slug was past saving.
Great, he thought, falling like in a dream…
"We have to help him!" Holiday said wildly, pulling free from Six. She ran to the consoles, familiar to her from when she'd worked here, swept the broken glass off it with her sleeve and activated all the ventilations, defence systems against bio-contamination.
It took her all her willpower to wait for it to finish.
Six gazed at the broken cage. The slug EVO lay like deflated meat, and Fell lay, his eyes closed thank goodness, amongst the wreckage of broken canisters, their liquids spilled over him.
"Don't touch anything of it," Holiday warned him, then ran from the room, clattering down the stairs.
Six ran after her. When guards dared step near her, he brought out his katana and gave them a deathly look, they backed away. Holiday deactivated the door to the Zoo-warehouse, and they entered.
It was a strange scene. EVOs lay across the floor, there was an eeriness to the air they breathed. They stepped carefully between the downed monsters. Holiday couldn't bear to imagine that her sister might be here among them.
Rex lay on the ground amongst the EVOs, his face tilted to the side.
"Rex?" Holiday crouched and touched his throat, wildly wishing for a miracle. His body was still though.
Six crouched beside her, drawing her close. "Oh, Rex," Holiday whispered.
Hearing is the last sense to go. His eyes were shut, but Rex heard Six's whisper. "I'll keep her safe."
Six charged EVO Fell, his mouth a grim line, his eyes fixed on Holiday and Kate. "Run," he shouted. "Run, Holiday!" he grabbed the katana from where it was still embedded in the monster's back and sprung off, delivering a kick to make the monster look at him, not at Holiday and Kate.
"Hey," a voice said softly from behind them, and Rex rolled out of the scanner, dazed and hit the floor. He didn't look good. "Whatever bus you hit me with Doc…" he shook his head, his brown eyes clearing and focusing on Fell. He looked down at his hands, wishing he didn't feel like he hadn't slept in weeks, then activated smackhands and charged Fell, punching him away from Six.
Like he had new energy, Six took up his katana again and renewed his attack, slicing at the EVO's eyes to make it look away or to blind it, then Rex was there on its other side to deliver a huge blow though he staggered back, the smackhands disintegrating as he did so. Fell crashed into the wall.
"Really," Rex said. "What bus hit me?" he rubbed at his shoulder and neck, tilted his face to stretch the muscles in his neck and watched Fell. His face was as inscrutable as Six's right now.
"Good to have you back," Six said finally. Holiday smiled faintly, echoing his words.
Rex re-activated smackhands and pinned Fell to the wall. It thrashed but compared to the size of his smackhands it was like pinning a wolf to the wall. "So, what's with the rampant EVO?"
"It's Fell," Six said after a moment. Rex blinked and looked at the EVO, revulsion twisting his features for a moment. Then without a word he tossed the EVO out into the corridor and ran after it, rage demanding that he land more blows.
"Rex!" Six roared, ran after him and grabbed the boy's elbow. Rex spun to face him.
"He tried to kill me!" Rex spat.
"And so you'll try to kill him?" Six demanded.
"I…I…" Rex's voice faltered. He drew his fist back slightly. "I don't know." He looked at Six stricken, his personality overruling his fury. "I don't know."
"Then don't act in haste. Don't do what you'll regret." Six folded down his katanas and slid them up his sleeves, hooking them back in place. He looked down at the unconscious EVO. Its back heaved painfully as it breathed.
"Fine." Rex turned on his heel and walked away.
"Rex?" Holiday emerged from her wrecked lab to call after him. "Where are you going? I should run tests…"
"Later," Rex said tersely. He needed…well, he wasn't even sure what exactly he needed.
He was too tired even to activate his Boogie Pack. He set off walking from the base, over the dry land. Soon behind him there was the rumble of an engine. He stopped and turned.
It was Six, at the wheel of a jeep.
"I'm not going home yet," Rex said. Six nodded. "I know. I figured I'd give you a lift."
Rex sighed and climbed in, all too grateful.
"Where to?"
Rex was silent for a moment. "Noah," he said finally. "I just want to hang out with Noah for a while."
"Noah's house then." Six drove.