The explosion tore through a clandestine underground laboratory where they were investigating mysterious activity related to illegal experiments with half-human, half-EVOs as their objective was simple: infiltrate, gather evidence, and extract while Rex remained above them, trying to gather more data by trying to communicate with the machines thanks to his Nanites. Debris scattered in every direction, as if they were anticipating Providence's intervention and a trap set with motion-detecting bombs. Six immediately sprang into action, using his blades to protect Rebecca from harm. However, his efforts were in vain as she was already injured, with a metal bar piercing through her thigh during the explosion. Suppressing a scream, she clung tightly to Six's arm, feeling the intense pain coursing through her body.

"Holiday!" Six's voice was urgent as he helped her to a safer spot, his eyes scanning the chaos around them.

"I'll survive," Rebecca grunted through clenched teeth. "But we need to find a way out of here. I can't move with this thing in my leg." As he assessed the situation, a disheartening crash echoed through the room. A wall collapsed, separating them as he pushed her just in time to avoid being crushed in the middle.

As the dust settled, Six's first instinct was to find a way to reach Holiday. He hoped that the collapse hadn't caused her any further injuries by having to push her. He shouted her name, but the only response he received was an eerie silence. Every fiber of his being yearned to hold her again and make sure she was safe.

"Dammit!" Six pounded his fist against it in frustration. "Rebecca!"

Holiday managed to push herself up off the ground as much as she could after narrowly avoiding hitting the floor with her injured leg, impaling herself further. Breathing as deeply as she could after hitting her chest against the concrete floor that hard, she managed to smile wearily. "Looks like we're stuck together for a while." Six sighed in relief after hearing her voice, his eyes searched for any gaps he could use his Magnablades to break through the wall, concern shadowing his features. "I can't believe this happened," she murmured, her eyes filled with anger. "We were so close to exposing their illegal experiments."

"Don't worry, I'll get us out of here. Just hold on a little longer."

She nodded. As the dust also settled at her end, Rebecca's gaze lingered on the remnants of the laboratory and she wondered if it was too late for Rex to rescue them. "We need to focus on getting a signal out for rescue. I can't do much more with this injury."

As Six struggled to move the debris blocking their escape, he realized the risk of causing more damage. "Damn it," he muttered again under his breath, having no other choice but to sit against it as he could hear Holiday trying to do the same, as she tried to suppress her cries of pain each time she moved just an inch. "We're gonna get out of here. I just need to try something." With a flick of his fingers, he activated his earpiece communicator, hoping for a signal. "Come on." the man sighed, tapping the device as if it would magically improve the reception. "Shit. We're too far underground. The signal's not strong enough."

Meanwhile, Holiday's clenched fists relaxed as she focused on breathing through the pain. "I've had worse," she tried to reassure him and herself, her voice strained but steady. "Just focus on getting us out of here."

Six kept trying to make his earpiece communicator work as his fingers shook at the thought that the woman could die and there was nothing he could do. Just then, a crackle of static pierced the air, and Rex's voice finally broke through the earpiece.

"Six, Holiday, can you hear me!? What is your current status!? The place shook like an earthquake!" Six's face was filled with relief.

"Rex, we are still underground in the laboratory that we were supposed to investigate while you were gathering data upstairs by communicating with the machines. We need immediate extraction before the place collapses on us!"

"Hang in there, help's coming!"

As they had no choice but to wait, Six took a deep breath and began counting the hours until Rex could rescue them. He hoped to distract Holiday from her pain by engaging her in conversation despite their dire situation.

But she spoke first, taking him by surprise.

"Six," Holiday murmured, her voice trembling. "You've changed."

His jaw tightened; knowing that going out on a date together was enough proof of that. "I had to change. I found something worth fighting for," he confessed.

Holiday's labored breaths filled the air as she mustered a weak smile. "You've grown to care for Rex, haven't you?"

He paused momentarily, wondering how much he could keep denying it but knowing that Holiday would see through the lie, which she now seemed to do on a daily basis. "Yes.. but I was talking more about you."

The conversation died down as soon as the man realized what he had just said as the words slipped off his lips before he could do any damage control, suspecting it was due to the fact that she was now injured and that, perhaps, both were at the verge of death again. Even after their first date, he had never said it to anyone else before, especially not to a woman. For a while, all they could hear were her labored breaths as she tried to find a comfortable position; each time another wave of pain washed over her body.

He had a bad habit of confessing his deepest feelings at the worst possible moment.

"I promise I won't tell him," she chuckled, wincing in pain but still blushing at his words, breaking the silence after a while. "But I think it would be fair for you to share a bit more about yourself, especially if we're considering taking things further than just a date." She knew it was difficult for him to open up, but if she meant a lot to him, it would be important for them to have a deeper understanding of each other.

"There's not much to know," he replied. "I grew up on the streets, fought my way through the ranks until I became the Sixth Deadliest Man Alive. And then...well, you know the rest."

Holiday nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, I do. But there must be more to it than that. What drives you, Six? Why are you still helping me, Rex, even though One couldn't be cured and is now gone? Why are you still sticking with us even though you only wished to find a way to save your mentor?

Six's eyes fixed on the floor. "I got tired of resorting into killing whatever crossed my path, day after day." he admitted. "I just did what needed to be done without thinking about why. But working at Providence has made me realize there's more to life than fighting and surviving. There's purpose and meaning. And that's what I'm trying to find now."

"I believe you have already found it, Six," she said gently. "You consistently prioritize Rex over yourself, even when it's difficult. That requires selflessness, a quality that you hadn't shown before."

"Can I ask you something?" he said, his voice barely above a whisper. It seemed like the perfect moment to talk about something that had been bothering him for a while as it didn't made sense for him. He hesitated for a moment before speaking. "I was just wondering... did Providence keep Beverly trapped so that they could manipulate you into working with them?"

"Yes," she somberly admitted, feeling a hard knock on the wall as if the man had hit it with one of his hands. "White promised me she would be safe, confined in the Petting Zoo, as long as I worked for them. She was the most dangerous EVO contained in the Petting Zoo, so I had no choice but to comply with his and the higher-up's demands to keep my sister safe. She couldn't control herself as much as One, but she still retained some memories of who I was. Sometimes, she would protect me, but other times, she would attack everyone else, like she did with Rex and Noah." Wincing, the woman continued. "That's why White didn't want her back in the Petting Zoo if Moses's project failed to cure her. I was leaving Providence for as long as necessary to cure her, and he feared that I might not return if I succeeded."

"They had been using you all these years..."

"I needed a safe place for her. I was aware of the risks involved since she became an EVO at the age of thirteen and possessed strong abilities that were difficult to control. White warned me that he would not hesitate to eliminate her if she harmed any of us or any soldiers. That is why she was closely monitored, yet she managed to escape and almost harm Rex and Noah."

"Holiday,"

"But then you saved her life and White and the higher-ups knew that everything would return to normal. I didn't solely join Providence to have a place where I could keep my sister safe. I also wanted to cure everyone, just as I couldn't cure her. I didn't want anyone else to experience the same pain I was going through. And then you found Rex and..."

Six noted the awkward pause and wondered if she was now silently crying as her voice went to almost a whisper as if she was dealing with her emotions as much as with the pain of her wound.

"Now, there is hope that things could finally change."

It had taken an explosion and a wall of rubble to bring them closer and reveal the depths of their secrets.

"Holiday... I..."

The ground trembled with violent aftershocks as Rex's metallic arms strained against the rubble, each movement causing a metallic groan to echo through the crumbling underground laboratory. Amidst the chaos, Holiday moans of pain intermingled with the sound of stones and dirt falling to the floor as a giant drill made itself through the ceiling.

"Be careful, Holiday!" Six's voice was filled with desperation as he pressed his ear against the wall that separated them. He strained to listen for any signs of danger, hoping that the woman was somehow safe from the mechanic drill that Rex had become in order to reach them from above. "Rex, hurry up before your plan ends up killing us all!" He immediately shouted but doubting that the teen could even hear him.

Rex's drill whirred and rattled as he dug deeper, inching closer to the trapped duo. Then, with a final, resounding roar, he broke a large concrete slab, clearing a path to the other side. Rex's eyes met Holiday's as the dust settled.

"I've got her, dude!" Rex exclaimed triumphantly as Holiday warned him that the man was trapped on the other side of the collapsed wall. She urged him to rescue the man as well. Her words were interrupted by a faint whisper from the teen asking for her permission to lift her up. With a sharp intake of breath, Rex lifted her with caution, being mindful of the protruding metal shard. Six let out a long, shuddering sigh of relief, the sound echoing among the pieces of concrete and dirt that were now falling from the roof.

With Holiday safely away from the wall, Rex turned his attention to freeing Six.

"Step aside and get ready to lift the Doc as quickly as possible. We need to fly up, before it collapses on us!" Rex shouted, his mechanical arms poised to remove anything in their path. "Quick, hold her!" he urgently shouted when he spotted the man behind the wall. Six summoned one of his blades, prepared for any potential danger from falling debris. His voice cut through the chaos as he flew them to safety, the structure groaning and collapsing behind them. The man clutched the injured woman to his body as if his life depended on it.

Rex landed as carefully as possible and as soon as Six's feet touched the ground, he gently fell to his knees, cradling Holiday in his arms. He assessed the situation, wondering if it would be wise to remove the metal bar or wait for backup to safely transport her back to Providence.

"Bobo and the rest should be here any minute,' Rex reassured them. However, Six's eyes were solely focused on the injured woman in his arms, as if he hadn't heard the teen's words at all.

Holiday's heart pounded heavily in her chest as she lay on the sterile bed in Providence's medical bay, hardly believing she had survived the mission and the extraction of the sharp metal bar from her thigh.

As she lay there, staring up at the ceiling, she couldn't shake off the memory of her brief conversation with Six. He was one of the most skilled and respected operatives in Providence. Still, he had always kept his emotions hidden beneath a stoic exterior, and Holiday couldn't help but wonder if he would ever let her in since she always seemed to share more about her past and emotions than him, and of course that it was incompatible with having a relationship.

Just then, the door to the medical bay swung open, and Six stepped inside. His presence filled the room, and Holiday felt an odd sense of relief wash over her. She had always admired Six from afar, but now, in the current state of their relationship, her admiration had transformed into something deeper.

"Good evening." Six said softly, his deep voice resonating in the otherwise silent room. "How are you feeling?"

Holiday managed a weak smile. "Better, now that the bar is out. Thanks to you and Rex."

A flicker of something passed across Six's eyes, but it disappeared almost instantly. He moved closer to her bed, his steps measured and deliberate. "I couldn't let anything happen to you. You mean a lot to this team, Holiday."

His words sent a thrill through her, but she hoped for more. She wanted him to say what she had been longing to hear. Gathering her courage, she looked at him and asked, "And what do I mean to you, Six?"

He hesitated for a moment, his gaze fixed on her face. In that instant, Holiday saw the mask slip, revealing a vulnerability she had never seen before. "You're important to me, Holiday," he confessed, his voice barely above a whisper. "I've been trying to keep my distance to protect you from myself. But I have seen you on the verge of death so many times that I..."

A faint smile tugged at the corners of Six's lips as he met her gaze. For a moment, the weight of their respective roles within Providence seemed to vanish, leaving only two individuals who had found solace in each other's presence.

Six's public persona never changed one bit, but behind closed doors, he became the person he had always wanted to be for the woman he couldn't even tell how he fell for - a loyal partner, a confidant, and hopefully, soon, a passionate lover.

Holiday was finally safe back at Providence's medical bay, physically and in the arms of the man she loved.

"How did you find out about my sister's situation?" Holiday asked with curiosity.

"I had a gut feeling," Six replied. "It didn't make sense to me that she was heavily guarded at the Petting Zoo, considering she was supposedly the most dangerous EVO and an incurable one at that. It made me question why White and the higher-ups would bother keeping her if she could escape at any given time."

"Please don't worry about that anymore. She's safe now and I still work for Providence..."

"It seems like they knew how to keep us all working for them all along."

"Except for you. You don't have anything that ties you here."

"I do." He admitted, looking at the woman sitting on the medical bed while holding her close to him. Before she could even respond, Holiday blushed as he released his embrace and instead placed his hands on either side of her on the bed, leaning in to kiss her. "You."

"And Rex.." she smiled in between his lips.

"And Rex, of course."

It wasn't as if he didn't care for Rex. He could die for that kid if it were necessary.

But that woman in between his arms...