Grey Memories

It was strange living in the forest of the Abysus, but Cho was very content from her new home. She had all the animal EVOs and plant EVOs at her whim. And she liked her new open space. She even had a large quad made of smoothed boulders with her piano in the very middle of it, right next to a sparkling lake. Cho would wonder the forest with a smile on her face, happy about the serenity and the peace she felt, but something was missing here. Cho felt her head, why did that particular spot feel colder then the rest of her body? "Hmmm…maybe a head cold?"

"A head cold? In this humid weather?" Cho looked behind her to see Breach walking up to her in her own morbid way. Himitsu growled in a fierce greeting, not really trusting Breach.

"And why are you here, Breach? I don't recall inviting, unless you wanted to surprise me."

"If I wanted to surprise you, I'd have to stay on the edge of the forest." Cho rolled her eyes, looking at her nails.

"Well, what do you want?" Cho asked, getting very territorial.

"Providence is on Van Kleiss' trail. Apparently, he's after something that he's told no one about. He wants you to stir up enough trouble that it will keep them busy for the rest of the day." Cho smiled and spun around with her arms out, sighing.

"Trouble is what I live for, Breach! It adds more adrenaline to my blood! Just open a portal and leave the rest to me!" Breach waved one of her gigantic arms as Cho snapped her fingers. Her three wolf EVOs appeared. They jumped through the portal and just like that, she was in the middle of New Orleans. She smelled the spices of the restaurants and the beat of the jazz clubs. Aimi, Daiki, and Himitsu were looking around. "Okay, now let's find a nice toy…" Cho looked around saw a bus going to the Botanical Gardens. "Perfect!" She hopped on and her wolves evaporated into mist, following the bus with their mistress. A few minutes later, she jumped off the bus as it came to Botanical Gardens and smiled.

Aimi materialized and made a moaning sound. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" She asked before climbing over the tall hedge. She landed on the other side and made it all the way to the middle with the giant water fountain. After sitting down on it, she watched grey clouds roll in. The forecast must have called for rain or something because it had started to drizzle. Cho lifted her hands up to her mouth and a silver flute materialized. She slowly put the mouth piece to her mouth and a sweet, high tune escaped the instrument.

Suddenly, the plants and hedges began to grow monstrous and the insects grew to become vicious. They all surrounded her and she stopped playing to gaze at her work. There were tiger lilies that actually looked feline and blood thirsty; there were hornets the size of an Oxford American Dictionary and with the teeth and stinger the size of an adult man's fist. All the monsters she had created, they all snuggled up to her. Why, even the Koi fish grew the lengths of eels with the same electric powers. The water followed in front of them and behind them, so they could go wherever they liked. "Ahh, my precious friends! Attack all of New Orleans and wreck havoc; never let them lock me away again!" The EVOs let out screeching roars and once people saw the dangerous butterflies with claws and the man eating posies that sprouted up everywhere, they ran screaming.

Daiki let out a moan of irritation when one of the Koi fish tried to eat his paw. Cho picked up its head, as it was like a snake, being able to live on land, and kissed its snout. "Oh, my beautiful little EVO, this is not your snack. Go, go and protect me forever!" The koi fish swam after its comrades and she giggled before beginning to play. Let's see Providence try to catch me…

"Rex, it's another full blown attack! I think this one is Cho as well!" Rex's heart began pounding and he sped his ride in every direction, slashing through each plant EVO he came across. A Tiger Lily EVO jumped in his path and let out a piercing roar.

"Let's go, Tigger!" He changed his legs back to normal and traded his BFS for his Smack Hands. Rex charged at the EVO and jumped up high, intending to smash its head, but then some of its bright red tongues shot out at him and wrapped themselves around his waist, almost crushing his ribs.

"Rex, what's going on?" Six's voice rang in his ears. Rex would have answered if one of the Tiger Lily EVO's tongues hadn't wrapped around his mouth. He was quickly losing oxygen and his chest was burning from the venomous saliva seeping in. Rex could have barfed right then and there. The world was slowly becoming dark when he saw the silhouette of a girl walking up.

"Don't eat him. I want to speak with him personally."

Cho watched Rex sleep. He was on a rock slab with all her EVO plants and EVO animals watching him. Aimi was sitting on top of his, panting while looking down at his face. When Rex finally opened his eyes, he was met with crystal blue ones. "ACK!" Rex jumped, lightly bumping into Aimi's soft wet nose. She licked his face. "Okay! Okay, down!" He laughed.

"Morning, Stalker." He looked over at Cho. She was sitting on top of a large sunflower EVO while drinking some tea in a round cup with no holder.

"Where…am I?" He asked, a little shocked about finally seeing Cho close up. He noticed how developed she was, not extremely, but modestly. Though, she sure did show enough.

"Oh, in an old abandoned shack that I found a few miles away from the nearest restaurant." Cho answered, sipping more tea. She poured some tea in another cup and offered it over. "Drink this; it will subdue the venom in your body." Rex sipped it. It was surprisingly sweet and delicate tasting.

"Why did you help me?"

"What gives you the reason that I helped you?"

"I remember hearing your voice before blacking out." Cho looked at him and smiled.

"I guess I underestimated you, Rex. I seem to do that a lot." Cho sat next to him. Aimi licked his face again.

"ACK! Down, Wolf, down!" He laughed.

"It seems Aimi likes you. She knows what you tried to do for me." Cho said, stroking Aimi's fur. Himitsu and Daiki materialized next to the rock slab and Rex noticed that his goggles were in Daiki's mouth. He swung them around, shaking them.

"Hey! Give those back!" He reached for them, but Daiki jumped away.

"Forgive my wolves; they like to irritate other EVOs." She moved some hair from his face, making him blush. "I have a question, Rex-kun, and you will answer it." She whispered.

"If it's classified, I can't answer…then Six will ground me." She giggled; sitting on top of him and making his face grow even redder then before.

"Why did you make that condition with White Knight?" Rex looked at her. Her eyes looked misty and sad. "No one's ever stood up for me before…I was always in a cage and bound…I know nothing of what it's like to be normal…"

"Nothing?"

"Not one thing…and when you told me that you got White Knight to give me the life that they snatched away, you scared me…what do you want from me?" Rex sat up, looking at her.

"What do I want? I don't want anything from you. All I want is for you to be free. Don't you want to go home?"

"I am home."

"With the Pack? They aren't going to stay nice forever…"

"No one has ever been nice to me, Rex…" It was like Cho was a different person now. She stared off into space with her eyes half closed and blank. Rex wondered if there was more too her life then just being locked up. And somehow, something told him to help her.

"Cho…" He whispered, reaching to her. She looked at him with a half dead expression. "What happened? Before you came to Providence…before you became an EVO…" Cho's eyes widened and suddenly thorny stems came between the two EVOs. I guess I overstepped my bounds there... I've got to try a different approach…Rex thought. He moved his legs up to his chest and began to speak. "I have absolutely no memory from before the Nanite Explosion. I have no clue about my life. I don't know if I have any family or friends…I just recently found out about my brother…but I don't know his name…" Rex said. "I sometimes have strange dreams and I can hardly tell what they are…" Cho listened as he told her all about himself, even things she was sure he didn't want the Pack to know. Without knowing, the stems that separated them slowly and surely retracted. Cho heard of all he had seen and all the things missing from his life. He didn't know his birthday; he didn't know what blood type he was, he didn't know his ethnicity, he didn't know a lot about himself. Finally, Rex stopped, saying that was it. Cho cocked her head to the side.

"Why did you tell me all that?"

"Because I know you've had a hard life. I don't know how, but I can tell. I want you to know that you aren't as alone as you think." He took her hand and smiled at her. Cho never felt like she was alone, she always had her animals and plants to keep her company. Now, Cho realized how lonely she had been. How a simple touch, like a hug, a handshake, or a kiss meant so much to her.

"I had been in that cage since I was nine…" A memory came up in Cho's mind and tears began to form.

(FLASHBACK! :D)

"No, Papa, no! I don't want to!" A nine year old Cho cried as her father cornered her. "I don't want to go to Tadaki-sensei, I don't want to!" She screamed as he picked her up and put her in the back of the car.

"But don't you like all the toys he brings you? He gives you candy and buy you new dresses." Her dad always took her to his boss, Mr. Tadaki, because Mr. Tadaki 'liked' Cho. It was sickening. Every day she would cry about it.

"But I-I don't w-want to g-go anymore! Please, Papa, please! NOOO!" She screamed, kicking as he brought her to her own personal house of horror.

(End flashback!)

"Every day and night, I was like a wolf in a cage…" Cho whispered. "I wanted my freedom, I howled for freedom…no one came to save me, Rex…where was my Providence…?"

"Cho, I…"

"It's hard for me to trust…I've been abused and locked away my whole life before the Angel's Cradle…then I was outside, and I breathed air and saw animals…so many animals and the plants…the flowers…the butterflies…" Her eyes began to sparkle. "I dreamed every night and day to go outside…to taste that fresh air…to feel that warm sun…and I swore to myself that I would be free from my cage…I wouldn't listen anymore, I would fight back…I'd bite and howl and cry and threaten until Papa threw me out of the house. I didn't care if it was raining or if there was hail, I'd just crawl under my favorite tree and sleep or I'd dig a hole…I lived like an animal…I was outside when the Nanite Explosion occurred and slowly I began to control my powers. Aimi, Daiki, and Himitsu came to me on their own as puppies and we began to live…"

"Then you ran away from home?" Rex added in, anticipating her next words.

"I've lived on my own for quiet some time…I never trusted anyone…"

"But you've never really had a chance to be a kid, huh?" Cho looked at him before looking away. Her eyes started to water. In so many small words, he had made her realize that she never got to act her age. She never got to be a teenager or a little kid…what kind of world was she meant to live in? Rex put his hand on hers. "It's not too late, Cho, come back with me. I'll make sure you're safe. I'll try and get them to let you stay with me from time to time. We'd have a blast!" He said, smiling at her.

"Really?" Cho asked, looking at him.

"Yeah, I'd take you everywhere. I'd show you where to get the best pizzas and I'd take you to the park and teach you how to play video games."

"Pizza?" He looked at her perplexed expression.

"You don't know what pizza tastes like?"

"…I've never had pizza before…I'm always on a strict diet."

"Well then…"

"Rex, where are you! The EVOs have finally subsided, and you're no where to be seen!" Six was obviously irritated.

"You know what…why don't we go get a pizza right now?" Cho shook her head. "Why not? Scared?"

"I should be going home now. One of my animal EVOs isn't feeling well and I need to make sure she drinks her fluids." Rex was silent, shocked. She really did care about her EVOs.

"Then…let's meet up at the park in New York. I'll buy you a slice of pizza." Rex said, smiling at her. "I won't take no for an answer and if you don't come, it'll break my heart." He made a motion that suggested tears falling. Cho giggled before nodding. "Good, it's a date then!" Rex declared, pumping his fist in the air. Daiki walked up, still holding Rex' goggles and wagging his tail. Rex snatched them back and wiped them on his jacket. "Wolves…"

Cho smiled and was suddenly engulfed in mist by her three wolf EVOs. She was gone when they cleared away and the other EVOs in the room had changed back to normal plants and animals for the time being.

Ha! Cho is finally opening up! Will she stay this way or change spontaneously again?