Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Holiday, get down to the medbay now."

Rebecca jerked upright, her hair framing her face in a messy tangle. 

"Wh-What's going on?" she asked blearily, rubbing at her tired eyes. 

"Just get down here," Dr. Fell's voice ordered. 

The intercom cut out immediately after, leaving her in the dim light of her research screens. Rebecca pulled herself to her feet, body protesting against the movement. It had been another long night of analyzing EVO DNA and she wasn't sure if she could look at another strand of genetic data. Whatever Fell needed, she hoped it wasn't more paperwork. 

She slunk out of her tiny lab, pulling on her white coat as she went. 

Even at 3 in the morning she passed several agents on her way to the medbay. They were all different heights, weights, ages, and races, but there was one thing they all had in common; the tense, urgent pace they kept as they went about their business. Rebecca felt herself pick up the same pace without thinking about it.

The war never stopped, so they couldn't afford to either. 

Her mind began to work past its exhaustion as she approached the medical wing. The strangeness of the situation hit her as the doors to the medbay came into view. A group of ten agents were guarding the entrance, guns loaded and posture tense. None of them spoke as she swiped her access card and entered. 

What was Fell up to? She had never seen this much security, let alone this early in the morning without any previous warning.

Terrible sounds met her ears as she entered the lab. The experimental EVO chamber was bolted shut, but she could still hear anguished wails and metallic clanging coming from inside. She hurried up the stairs to the control center, but stopped in surprise at how many people were there.

A small crowd was gathered against the protective observation barrier. She was startled to see White Knight, the leader of Providence among them. He rarely ventured outside his office since the botched nanite neutralizer. He spared a glance for her as she entered, but quickly returned his focus to the lab below. The familiar electric snap of EVO detainment equipment flashed through the glass. 

Rebecca took her place behind the control screens and opened a communication link with Dr. Fell. 

"I'm here sir."

"Good. Calculate the electron magnet for nanite extraction, but go slowly. We're going to want this one alive."

"Slowly sir?" Holiday asked anxiously. 

"Yes. Extract as many nanites as possible from the subject, but leave at least 15%."

"Sir, manually extracting nanites could cause irreparable tissue damage. We could end up killing it."

"This one has regenerative properties," Fell snapped impatiently. "It'll be fine, just do it."

Rebecca gritted her teeth, but obeyed. Ripping the tiny machines out from the body with magnets was going to be torture for the EVO. If it was loud now, she could only imagine what it would be like during the process. She pulled up a camera in the lab as the equipment switched on. As she started the calculations for the electron magnet, she caught her first glimpse of the EVO inside.

She felt her heart skip a beat. 

It was a child; a boy, who looked no older than 10 or 11. He was strapped to a metal table in a shredded examination suit. Metal was pulsing over his body, covering parts of his browned skin in cold scales. As she watched, transfixed with horror, a mechanical arm exploded out of his chest and flailed pointlessly in the air.  The skin around his chest ripped at the protrusion, but formed a scarred seal before her eyes. 

The terrible sounds she had heard earlier came pouring from the boy's mouth. It sounded strangled, amplified and altered by the machines clawing out of his body. It was a terrified, inhuman cry for help. 

"Holiday, what's taking so long?" Dr. Fell demanded. 

Rebecca blinked. She slowly looked down at her hands, which had frozen over the magnet controls. Her fingers trembled as the boy continued to scream. Another flash of electricity drew her eyes back to the screen. 

A team of armored agents was in the lab with him. Two of them had shock weapons in the boy's neck, paralyzing him while another agents hacked off the newly sprouted arm. A flash of fury shot across her vision as she saw tears coursing down the boy's face. 

"What are you doing to him?" Rebecca demanded. 

"Restraining it," Fell said impatiently. "This thing's nanites are unique. It could be the cure to EVOs, but we can't control it like this. Now hurry up and activate the magnet!"

Rebecca bit her lip in repressed fury. 

"He's not an it," she growled.

"I don't care about titles right now! We need to get it under control so we can run tests. So until you remove some of the nanites, this is the only way to restrain it."

Rebecca glared back at the monitor. The boy struggled and thrashed against his restraints, eyes wild and terrified. More mechanical tendrils burst from his body as the electrical restraints began to fade. 

Of course he's terrified, she thought furiously, watching the agents close in on him again. 

But there was nothing else for it. She'd have many unprofessional words with Fell later, but right now the best thing to do would be to deplete the amount of nanites. She gritted her teeth and resumed control of the magnet. 

"Clear the lab," she ordered over the intercom as the equipment began to charge. The agents hastily obeyed, fleeing into an adjoining safe room. Rebecca's hands were white-knuckled on the controls as she guided the machinery toward the struggling boy. She caught a good look at his face as the magnet hovered over him. 

His dark eyes were shining with tears as he wrestled against his restraints. Lines of exhaustion and stress were carved into his young face, darkened with grime and sweat. His disheveled hair spilled across his face as he stared at the charging magnet. Metal began to pulse out of his skin again, climbing up his neck.  

"I'm sorry," Rebecca whispered, activating the equipment. 

A flash of light flooded through the observation window. Many of the observing crowd covered their faces from the intense electrical energy. Rebecca felt her hands move mechanically as she slowly increased the power. Her lab googles adjusted to block out the intense light, but she couldn't ignore the screams. 

They ripped through her like she was the one under the magnet. The sound was high and anguished and broken. It was a sound that no human should ever make. Rebecca felt her eyes wince in sympathy as she continued to increase the power of the charge. Integrated bits of this boy's body were being ripped out every second this went on. In some ways she was glad it was too bright to see, because she didn't think she could go on if she saw his face. 

After what seemed like an eternity, the nanite readings on her screen dropped to 15%. She killed the power and yanked her goggles off, switching back to the lab cameras. 

The boy had passed out. She was hardly surprised and was amazed that he had endured the pain for so long. He was lying limply in the restraints now, his clothing shredded from the metal that had broken his skin. Blood stained the fabrics in several places, but the boy's wounds had already begun to knit together. But now there was no sign of any metal protrusions. It seemed that all his remaining nanites were being used for the repairs to his small body. 

Rebecca slumped into her lab chair and put her head into her shaking hands. All around her the observing crowd were talking in amazement, staring down into the lab.

Words like, "Weapon," "Cure," "Amazing potential," and "Healing abilities," jumped out at her. No one seemed to see what she did.  A terrified, battered little boy with a power he couldn't control. 

She had joined Providence to study and save EVOs. 

But as she heard the plottings and ideas of the people around her, she felt the tide shifting in a new direction. 

Chapter Text

Rebecca sought out Dr. Fell as soon as the lab cleared and the boy had been taken to a secure recovery room. He glanced at her dismissively as she entered his lab before returning to his monitoring screens. Rebecca stalked forward until she was right next to him. She felt her face go hot with rage as she saw what Fell was looking at. Video clips of the magnetic operation.

"What is going on? Where did that boy come from?" she demanded. 

He let out a long sigh, eyes not leaving the videos. 

"Now's not the time for one of your speeches," he said pointedly.

Rebecca took a step closer, her hands clenching into fists.

"Where did you find him?" she hissed.

"Mexico. An agent found him wandering the ruins of an EVO attack. Now would you kindly leave me to my work?"

Her eyes narrowed as she looked between him and the multiple screens of video footage. They were all flickering between different scenes and images. But she could see that in several of them, the boy looked completely normal and in control of himself. 

"What did you do to get him here?" 

"He was resisting official personell. As a potential tactical asset, we were well within our right to bring him in."

"But it was against his will," Rebecca shot back. "Was that what set him off?"

Fell rounded on her, eyes flashing dangerously. 

"If you're so concerned about Providence's methods, you're welcome to leave. I can find new assistants in an instant, so don't go around thinking you can criticize the way things are done here. Now get out of my lab."

He glared at her, eyes lined from weeks of overwork. Rebecca felt herself take an unconscious step back at the cold fire in his eyes. This was a man who had been hardened by the war as much as any soldier. His intense sincerity struck her as she realized how much he believed in what he was saying. 

The boy wasn't a child to him. He was just an EVO with nanites that could be used to their advantage. 

Just a weapon. 

She looked away from his steely gaze and hastily headed for the exit. Slightly ashamed of herself for not being able to say more, she left the lab. As the door slid shut behind her, she saw Fell turn back to the monitors. 

She walked numbly through the base, a stack of lab data clutched to her chest. She needed to look through them for their later examinations but she just couldn't stand to do it now.

She didn't pay attention to where her feet lead her as she walked away from Fell's lab. A frustrated swell of emotions rose up as she wandered. She needed to sleep. It was a precious commodity nowadays and she could feel her body begging for rest. But even more than that she wanted to see the EVO boy. She wanted to believe what the others said about him. That he could cure EVOs.

But more than anything else, she didn't want him to wake up surrounded by masked soldiers pointing weapons at him. She stopped at the turn between the detention area and the living quarters. As much as her body longed for sleep and food and a long, hot shower, she couldn't rest until she found out more about this boy. 

Mind made up, she turned left and immediately walked straight into somebody. She stumbled backwards and landed hard, the lab reports flying out of her hands. The man she had collided with sank to his knees and began to collect the scattered papers. 

"Sorry, sorry," she muttered quietly, scooping the reports back into her arms. As the man handed her a re-assembled stack, she finally looked at him. A renewed spike of anger bit into her as she recognized him.

He was tall and slender with short dark hair. His eyes were hidden behind dark sunglasses and he was dressed in a dark green combat suit. She had seen him multiple times with White Knight, capturing and killing EVOs in the field. He might have been one of the agents involved in the boy's case as well. 

Some of her anger must have shown on her face because he raised an eyebrow as he handed back the reports. She snatched the papers back from him and got to her feet. 

"What's an EVO?" he asked evenly, getting to his feet as well. His veiled eyes were lingering on the papers. 

"Exponentially variegated organism. A bit more scientific than 'spoiled meat'. That is what you hired guns call them, isn't it?" she replied nastily. She tucked the reports back together and stalked past the man. 

"The name's Six. And I don't use guns," he said quietly behind her. To her irritation, he began to walk in the same direction as her, following a few feet back. His footsteps were calm and measured, quite different from her own. She seethed at the unwanted company, but didn't have a good reason to try and stop him. They continued along the path in silence, heading deeper and deeper into the detainment facility. 

A crew of guards waited near the entrance of the high security level. They straightened up as Rebecca approached and one of them stepped forward. 

"Sorry miss. This area's on lockdown until further notice."

"I am a doctor," she corrected sharply, "And I have level 5 security clearance."

"Nothing I can do. We've got orders," the soldier replied firmly. 

"She's got my permission," the agent said from behind her. The guards jumped at his statement, clearly not aware of his approach. They snapped to attention as he stepped in front of Rebecca and swiped his key card. The large door unlocked immediately and swung open. Without a word of explanation or apology, the man walked into the detainment chamber.

Confused, but taking her chance, Rebecca followed him inside. The door ratcheted closed behind them, leaving them in the dim, washed out light of the high security hallway. No other people were in sight. 

"What are you doing down here?' the man asked. 

"Same as you I imagine. Keeping an eye on the new EVO. Did White Knight assign you to keep him locked down?" she asked, unable to keep the anger out of her voice. 

He didn't turn to look at her as they continued walking. 

"White doesn't know I'm here," he declared. "And it would probably be better if he didn't find out you were either."

At these words, a bit of surprise softened her irritation. 

"White Knight doesn't know? Then what-"

"I was the one who found the boy. Everything he's been through tonight has been because of me. I just want to make sure he's recovering," the man said tightly. 

They came to a stop outside a monumentally thick door. A reinforced glass window looked into the dimly lit room where a huddled shape was visible on a thin cot inside. Rebecca swallowed at the sight. Seeing him like this just impressed on her how small, how exhausted, how... young this boy was. She leaned closer to the door. 

"You say you're the one who found him," she said slowly. 

"What happened?"

Chapter Text

A haze of dust and smoke choked the air and clouded his vision. Dark shapes faded in and out of view as the fog swirled in a hot wind. The only sounds were the crunching steps of his fellow soldiers and the occasional shift of a crumbling building. 

They split off to search the wreckage for survivors. As Six stepped over the crumpled remains of a car, he marveled at the strength of the monster who had done this. It had taken a massive air strike to destroy the metal behemoth, but not before it had destroyed the entire infrastructure of the town. Shards of  its black and orange metal had been blown in every direction after the explosion. He saw a huge chunk of what could have been a leg lying in the exposed sewer. 

The chalky dust settled on his shoulders as he picked his way towards a collapsed apartment building. A huge chunk of orange metal had embedded in the rubble. Six eyed it for a moment, trying to gauge what part of the monster it could have been.  It was a solid geometric chunk, warped and bent from the massive attack. 

Possibly a hand or foot then. 

He put the question out of his mind and made his way to the pile of debris. 

"Is anyone there?" he called clearly, peering between cracks in the rubble. A few small scrapes and shiftings were the only response. It could just be the rubble settling, but he had to check closer. He carefully climbed forward, trying to hear if there was any sound of a human response. 

"Is anyone there?" he repeated. 

Then, from deep under the pile he heard the faint sound of a shuddering breath. 

"I'm going to get you out," he called, trying to gauge the depth of the sound. "Just keep making as much noise as you can."

A faint cough rang out in response. Six began to pry away at the pile of building materials. He had to move slowly to avoid another collapse, but he began to dig a path downward. The sounds were growing louder and more distinct as he went. As he carefully removed a large shard of glass from the path he finally heard a voice. 

"Help."

His heart tightened at the sound of it. That was the unmistakable voice of a child, and he sounded very faint and weak. 

"I'm on my way. Hold on," he assured. He wedged two chunks of cement apart and finally caught a glimpse of his quarry. It was a young boy, and he was pinned beneath a large metal beam. He twisted his head as Six emerged and tried to wave his arms. Tears had cut tracks through the thick dust on his face. 

"It's okay. I'm going to get you out of this," Six said calmly, carefully making his way through the small gaps. "Are you hurt?"

The boy nodded, face tight with pain. 

"I can't move my legs," he gasped. 

Six didn't respond as he moved closer. That could mean any number of things. He could just be numb from lack of circulation, his spine paralyzed, his legs broken, or maybe even cut off. Either way, he had to get him out of here. He didn't like the soft hissing sounds coming from the settling building. 

He crawled up next to the boy and braced himself against the heavy beam. 

"I'm going to try and lift his up. As soon as you can, crawl out," he instructed. The boy nodded in grim determination. 

Six slowly pushed the beam up. His feet shifted slightly on the sandy, uneven footing, but he dug in his heels. The full weight of the metal slowly shifted as he pushed it on and off supporting chunks of rock. His shoulders and back burned with the strain. 

As the weight began to lift off him, the boy dragged himself forward with his arms. He slithered over the rough stone, glass shards, and protruding metal supports, wincing and gasping. But at least he was moving. 

As soon as he was clear of the beam, Six carefully lowered it back to the ground, trying to keep its position the same. It wouldn't be much help if they got stuck in a cave-in now. With a mighty crunch, he dropped the load and leaned his back against a block of stone. Spots of color were flashing across his vision and he could feel his arms trembling from the exertion. 

He quickly caught his breath and turned to look at the boy. 

He was lying on his side, trying to brush debris out of the cuts on his stomach. His legs were bent at unnatural angles and were blooming with bruises. At least there was no bone protruding from the breaks. But one way or the other, there was no way he would be able to walk out of this on his own. 

"I'm going to get you out of here," Six told him, kneeling at his side. "This is going to hurt, but it'll be over soon."

The boy nodded bravely and stretched his arms toward Six. Six carefully scooped him up, trying to ignore the whimper of pain. The boy tucked his face into Six's chest and trembled. Without thinking about it, one of Six's hands wrapped around the boy's head, pressing him closer. He carefully picked his way out of the rubble, trying his best not to jostle the boy. 

They soon emerged into the chalky light of the street. Six looked around for backup, but couldn't see any Providence personnel in sight. He'd have to get this boy to the medical team before looking for others. 

As Six stepped out from the ruined building, the boy turned his head to look around. 

"Where are we?" he asked shakily. 

"We're in Miramar, Mexico," Six replied evenly. "At least, what's left of it."

"What happened?"

"There was a nanite monster attack. It destroyed a large part of the city and Providence is here to find survivors."

The boy frowned, glancing from Six to his surroundings. 

"What's Providence? And how did I get to Mexico?"

A thrill of unease ran through Six. Providence might be a newer establishment, but almost everyone in the world had at least heard of them by now. And why didn't this boy know how he had gotten here?

"Do you remember anything?" he asked carefully.

"I... my name is Rex. I'm from-um..." his eyebrows drew together in concerned concentration. "I don't know where I'm from," he confessed. 

"Don't worry about it right now. Providence is here to help. We'll make sure you're taken care of."

Rex relaxed slightly, eyes sweeping the surrounding scene. He seemed remarkably calm for all that had happened to him. Six didn't think many people would be this composed if they had broken both legs and couldn't remember anything about themselves. Hopefully the adrenaline in his system was keeping Rex from feeling too much pain right now. 

He began to make his way back towards the medical outpost. It was hard to be sure of directions in this dusty fog, but he retraced his steps as well as he could.  

But as he passed a block of damaged businesses, an inhuman screech froze him in his tracks. He turned swiftly to face a partially destroyed grocery store. Something large and hairy was rooting around in the mess of spilled food. As he stared, trying to get a good look, the creature stepped into the street. 

It was another monster. It looked like a mutated rat, with a whip-like bald tail, mangy hair, and mean, beady little eyes. It stood on its hind legs at the sight of him and let out a squealing shriek. 

Six quickly deposited Rex on the ground behind a parked car and flicked out his twin swords. 

"Stay there," he ordered sharply. 

Before Rex could respond, Six rushed toward the rat creature. It reared up to its full height and bared long, yellowed teeth at him. Before it could snap, he rolled to the side and sliced a cut into one of its legs. It snarled and spun. The tail caught him by surprise and knocked him in the stomach. The air left his lungs in a rush and he crashed into the wall. 

He just managed to cross his swords in time to block a vicious bite from the monster. It chomped and frothed at the metal, clawed feet scratching at his legs. 

Six fought to get his breath back as he lay pinned. 

He had to beat this thing! There might be more lurking around and Rex was alone on the street. But his vision was full of filthy fur and ravenous teeth. Six shoved his arms outward in desperation, trying to knock the monster backward. 

It only caused his grip to slip and the swords to be twisted out of his hands. The rat creature batted them aside and coiled itself to lunge. 

But faster than Six could react, he heard a small voice shout,

"Leave him alone!"

A burst of light shot through the ruined store, throbbing with energy. A strange mechanical pulsing sound filled the air as the light intensified. In the glow of the action, Six saw Rex standing behind the monster, his hands on its back. His eyes were clenched shut, and the light seemed to be emitting from him as well. 

After a long moment, the sound and light faded. 

Six blinked, dumbfounded at what he was seeing. Rex was standing on his recently broken legs, holding a squirming brown rat. There was no sign of the mutated monster anywhere. 

He staggered to his feet, trying to understand what had just happened. Rex held out the rat uncertainly as he approached. 

"Do you want this? I don't think it will attack you any more."

Six just looked at him. 

"Did you do this?" he asked, staring at the rat. 

"I... I think so. I came up behind it and touched it. Then it just sort of shrank down."

"And your legs?"

Rex looked down in surprise. 

"Oh, weird. I guess they weren't as hurt as I thought they were. I mean, they're still sore, but I guess they're not broken."

Six stared between Rex's mended legs, to the rat in his hands, and then to the boy's face. This was more than Providence had ever dreamed of finding. Something that could turn the war and bring back the hope of the people. 

A cure. 

"Things were supposed to be different when I brought him back to base," Six said quietly. "But once I told Providence he was an EVO, they wanted to take precautions. Sedatives and restraints and detainment cages. It scared him and the soldiers didn't do much to help."

The female doctor's eyes didn't leave the room as Six stopped speaking. 

"No family? No memories?" she asked quietly. 

"None. Just his name."

She sighed, rubbing a hand over her face. 

"This has been Providence's dream ever since the event. A way to deactivate nanites safely in the field. But to get the cure like this..."

She trailed off, eyes fixed on the sleeping child. 

"Is it worth the price?"

Chapter Text

By the time Rex woke up, his injuries were fully healed. After some arguing, Fell agreed to let Rebecca do his initial examinations due to her dual specialization in medicine and nanite engineering.

Unfortunately, their first encounter was not as calming as she had hoped for. A squad of armed soldiers were guarding the medical lab and an additional unit was waiting inside. All of them had their guns at the ready, and their faces covered in their blank helmets. Rebecca glared at the security escort as she entered the room. 

Rex was standing nervously next to the patient's bed, hands clenched at his sides. His tattered clothes from yesterday had been replaced by a too-large patient suit that hung off his small frame. He looked slightly surprised to see someone other than a soldier as Rebecca approached. She heard the guards shift restlessly as she drew close, but didn't look at them. 

"Hello Rex," she greeted, crouching down to his eye level. "My name is Dr. Holiday. How did you sleep last night?"

He shrugged, not looking at her. 

"I'm here to do a few tests with you. Just to make sure you're healthy after what happened yesterday."

Rex's eyes widened in fear. His breathing grew shallow and shaky at the very mention of the previous day. His eyes flicked rapidly between her and the soldiers. She could practically sense his rising hysteria at the memory of his last "examination". Rebecca hurriedly raised her hands and shook her head. 

"No, no. I promise it's not going to hurt. Just a few quick check ups okay?"

He looked back at her, a mixture of fear and suspicion in his face. 

"I won't be tied down?" he clarified. 

Anger flashed through Rebecca at the fact that he even thought to ask that. She quickly hid her feelings behind a smile and assured,

"No you won't. And then when we're done we'll get you some breakfast. How does that sound?"

His stomach growled perfectly on cue. After a little more comforting and persuading, Rex was soon perched on the patient's bed. His fingers were clenched over the edge, but he held rigidly still as Rebecca took his temperature, blood pressure, and heartbeat. She explained everything she was doing as she went, trying to put him at ease. Rex was cooperative throughout the process, but extremely tense. It was hard to get him to agree to the full body scanner, but the sight of the armed guards kept him from resisting for long.

Rebecca swallowed back her frustration at the constant guard, wishing she and Rex could have a moment of peace. But things went well enough throughout the various tests and scans.  

Then came the part Rebecca had been dreading. 

"Okay Rex, just one more thing and then we're done," she encouraged. "I just need to take a little blood sample so we can make sure you're not sick."

It was also to screen for his nanite count and to try to figure out why he interfaced differently with the tiny machines. But this explanation was simpler and safer. 

As she predicted, Rex tensed up at the sight of the needle. It was normal for children to be nervous about shots, but he was practically shaking with terror. They must have injected him with something before transport yesterday. Rebecca thought wildly for a moment, then caught on to a good distraction topic. 

"Don't worry about it Rex. This is going to be over before you know it. Then you can get anything you want for breakfast."

As she hoped, this caught his attention. 

"Anything?" he asked dubiously. 

"Anything at all," she promised, praying that Providence would follow through on her offer. "Why don't you tell me what you'd like while I finish up?"

Rex paused thoughtfully as she located and prepared a vein. As she inserted the needle, he gave a little jump, but she hastily said,

"Have you had any ideas?"

Rex stared at his arm for a moment before jerking his eyes away and blurting,

"I want pizza. A whole pizza just for me."

Rebecca couldn't help but smile at the fact that he couldn't remember anything about himself other than his name and the fact that he loved pizza. 

"No problem. What kind do you like?"

"Pepperoni," he replied instantly.

"That's my favorite too," she told him, carefully extracting the needle from his arm. A little blood sample rested inside. She set the syringe aside and pressed a small bandage over the puncture.

"And just like that, we're all done! Good job Rex."

The boy looked at his new band-aid and back at her, as if expecting some kind of trick. But she began to pack up her supplies, signifying that the examination was actually over. And for the first time since she had met him, a little hopeful smile appeared on his face. 

"Okay, I'll go see what I can do about getting you that pizza," she promised, picking up her supplies. 

"Can I go with you?" Rex asked, eyes desperately hopeful. 

"No, I'm sorry. You're going to have to wait here for a little longer while we get a new room sorted out for you," she improvised hastily. "But if you need anything, just tell one of these people okay? They're here to make sure you're safe."

She gestured at the armed guards around the room. His face fell and he looked down at his bare feet. Rebecca's heart tugged at the sight of him looking so dejected. She didn't really have the authorization for her next question, but she couldn't stop herself. 

"Is there anything else I can get for you?"

Rex's arms folded tightly across his chest. 

"I'm cold," he admitted. "And I want to leave. When can I go?" 

Rebecca heard the guards around the walls shifting uneasily at these words. Rebecca wasn't supposed to mention anything about how long Rex was going to be there. She hesitated for a long moment, torn between her orders and Rex's question. 

"Not... not yet," she said. "You're very special Rex. There are a lot of people who need your help. So you're going to have to stay for a little bit longer."

He just hung his head and rubbed his hands over his arms for warmth. 

"I'll be back with your pizza," she promised, backing out of the medical lab. 

"Dr. Fell, you need to look at this," Rebecca said in amazement. She copied her monitor data over to his screen and said,

"Yesterday we extracted 85% of Rex's nanites. But the scans from this morning shows that over half of them have already been replaced."

"What does that mean?" Fell asked incredulously, peering at the data. 

"His body is somehow replicating nanites to replace the ones he lost!"

"Is that even possible?"

"The original nanite project designs proposed self-replicating machines. They could take the necessary materials from the body or the surrounding environment to create as many as needed. When Rex's body sensed the deficiency, it must have automatically began the process."

"So his nanites really are different than the rest of ours," Fell mused quietly. "And these actually seem to perform their intended purpose, repairing and improving the human body. What did his medical exams show?"

"He is remarkably normal for the amount of nanites in his system," Rebecca explained. "With a count this high, almost anybody else would be a full blown monster. But apart from a slightly lowered body temperature and an extremely fast metabolism, he seems quiet average."

"Right, the metabolism... How much did he eat today?"

"6,000 calories," Rebecca said. "He just never seemed to get full. I imagine the nanite replication process takes a lot of energy to maintain."

Fell went quiet, tapping his chin as he went over the new data. Rebecca still felt a knot of resentment in her stomach about his actions, but the new nanite information was too incredible not to discuss. As they both pored over the test results, Rebecca felt a question rising up. Before she could stop it, she blurted out,

"Sir, we are going to make things more hospitable for him, aren't we? I mean we can hardly keep a 9 year old in a cell all day under guard."

"Until different orders are given, yes we can," Fell replied coldly. 

"But he hasn't been aggressive at all. And if I correctly understand it, the only reason for his attacks yesterday were his extreme stress and provocation. Shouldn't we be trying to build trust with him if we want his help?"

Fell glanced at her, eyes flashing. 

"Don't get too attached to this boy Holiday. At the end of the day he is a Providence asset, as much as any gun or bomb. Be friendly to him if you wish, but remember the higher priority."

Rebecca bit her lip and pulled up the video feed of Rex's cell. He was curled under a pile of new blankets, morosely eating a bag of trail mix. Even though his room had been warmed and additional layers provided, she could see that Rex had wrapped his arms around himself. 

Almost like he was giving himself a reassuring hug. 

Chapter Text

Things quieted down over the next few weeks. The amount of guards outside Rex's cell slowly dwindled as he showed no signs of danger. Eventually a rotation of four guards became the standard as the manpower was needed elsewhere. 

Rex proved himself to be every bit the cure they were hoping for as well. They started with small bug and animal EVOs, then the more dangerous ones, and eventually worked up to humans. Rebecca watched every curing with white knuckled, unblinking intensity. One after another, Rex returned the creatures to normal. The first human he cured was extremely disoriented, and seemed unable to remember much from his mutated state, but apart from that, there were no side effects. 

And when Rebecca saw the man reunited with his family, she finally dared to let herself hope. 

Maybe she could finally see her sister again. 

Providence had several other cure trials to run before they would let Rex near such a dangerous EVO, but she couldn't stop the hope now that it had taken root. 

Things were looking better every day. Providence had never been more popular, Dr. Fell's research on Rex's nanites was advancing every day, and the overcrowded zoo of EVOs was finally starting to thin. 

The only problems were with Rex himself. 

Rebecca's contact with the boy had become limited to weekly check-ups. She suspected Fell had put a word in with White Knight about this, but there wasn't much she could do. She tried her best to build a relationship in their time together, limited though it was. 

She did begin to notice that things felt increasingly off about him.

Every time someone entered his room, he would flinch. He started to cringe away from human contact and was looking more stressed and tired than ever. His appetite dropped as well, so they now had to give him extremely calorie-rich foods whenever he would eat. Little by little the sunless confinement of his cell was stealing his hearty skin tone, washing him out to a pale shadow of himself. He rarely spoke either, and it was always in short, tense responses when he did. 

Smiles were rarest of all. 

Rebecca tried to put these worrying signs out of her mind. The situation was far from ideal, but Rex was changing everything about Providence. Things would get better. 

But one day that all came crashing down. 

It started during another curing session. Rebecca watched over the security monitors, clutching her pen so tightly it felt like it might snap. A tough-skinned EVO that had once been a teenage boy had been brought to Rex. As usual, cameras and guards watched every move closely. Two agents had their hands around the EVO's thick collar, preventing it from snapping at Rex. 

Unflinching as ever, Rex put his hands on the creature's middle. The familiar pulsing blue light filled the room, along with the strange sound. As the nanites coursed beneath their skin, Rebecca saw Rex's face scrunch up. The sound and light began to swell, drowning out everything else in the room. Rex's small arms began to tremble as it went on and on. The EVO screeched, twisting and flailing against its restraints. 

Finally the light died and Rex slumped backward. 

The EVO remained unchanged. The soldiers wrestled the struggling creature backward and hurriedly jabbed tasers into its skin. Rex's eyes widened, and he pulled himself to his feet. 

"No, let me try again! I can cure him!" he insisted, lurching forward.  

The soldiers watched him warily, but let him approach the weakly struggling EVO. Once again, Rex put his hands onto it and began to glow. But after another long, tense moment, the light died to reveal that nothing had changed. 

Rex looked around at the helmeted soldiers, eyes large and lost. 

"He's... rejecting me. I can't switch off his nanites."

Rebecca leaned forward, eyes glued to the screen. The EVO was weak from the fighting and from its restraints, but it showed no signs of improvement. The cure really hadn't worked. Her eyes flicked back to Rex as he reached helplessly for the EVO again. 

Without a word of acknowledgement or comfort, the soldiers left the cell, dragging the semi-conscious EVO with them. It would be probably be returned to the containment room for study. Hopefully its family hadn't known about the cure attempt. As the door to his cell locked again, Rex didn't move. He just remained sitting on the floor, staring blankly at his hands.

Rebecca felt her heart break looking at him there. 

He couldn't be alone now. Not after a shock and disappointment like this. She turned on her heel, mind made up to go see him, Fell and White Knight be damned.

But as she stalked through the hallways, an unfamiliar alarm began to blare throughout the base. Windows and doors slammed shut as the base went into lockdown mode. Flashing red lights began to pulse from the walls as a mechanical voice announced,

"Base lockdown initiated. Hazardous EVO breach. Security priority 1."

Rebecca pressed herself against the wall as an armored squad came thundering down the hallway. Had Rex's failed cure made the EVO more dangerous? Had it escaped on the way back to quarantine?

She quickly returned to the lab, plan changing rapidly. Rex would be safest in his cell, so the escaped EVO was the priority. She focused the cameras she had access to, desperate for video surveillance. 

"Lockdown breach detected. EVO detainment area compromised. Initiating secondary measures," the security voice announced. 

This did not sound good. The rogue EVO must have broken into the petting zoo, which could lead to even more trouble. She hurriedly switched her attention to that area, relieved to see that the heavy emergency doors had closed after the warning. The EVO must be trapped now, so all that was left was to-

Rebecca's breath froze in her chest as she caught a flash of movement 

Ducking between writhing plant EVOs was a flash of dark hair and a too-large patient suit. 

Rex.

"The EVO boy is somewhere within the petting zoo," Knight announced over the scouting party's earpieces. 

"Bring him in alive at all costs, but use any force necessary to contain him. Lethal force is acceptable against other EVOs in your way."

Six's eyes narrowed behind his sunglasses at these words. He understood Knight's logic, but it sounded very cold to prioritize one capture over so many lives. He put the thought out of his mind as the wide door to the petting zoo slid open. 

The huge enclosure was drenched in white light. A cacophony of sounds swelled from the collected mass of plant, animal, and human EVOs. As his eyes swept the huge area, the immensity of their task hit Six. 

They had to find one small boy in all this mess. 

The teams split up quickly, each separating to a different area of the zoo. Six went off alone as usual, swords held at the ready and senses alert.

The floodlights became faint and distorted as soon as he stepped beneath the twisting boughs of the living canopy. Some of the creatures hid at his approach, while others ventured forward, testing his resolve. A few quick cuts warned the bold ones to keep their distance. 

"Rex?" He called, turning on the spot.  

"Rex you're not safe out here."

He quickly dodged a lunging snake EVO and severed its head. Before the body stopped twitching, Six pressed forward.

What had set Rex off? Had he become too stressed and scared again and just needed a way out? And for that matter, how had he managed to escape the security and unlock all the sealed doors? Something bad must have happened to provoke such an extreme reaction. 

Six felt a pang of guilt at how little he had seen Rex since his arrival. He should have been keeping a closer watch on him. 

"Rex, where are you? We need to get you somewhere safe."

As he stepped around the base of a gnarled tree, he heard something. It was small and quiet and would have been unnoticeable to almost anyone else. But he picked out what he needed from the wall of noise. 

Not too far away, someone was crying. 

Six turned on the spot, trying to pin down the direction of the sound. An EVO bird glared at him as he listened, but didn't move. He slowly began to move forward, guided by the faint sounds. Trees and animals snapped at him as he passed through their territory, but he paid them no mind. He was getting close.

And then he saw the source.

Rex was tucked between the gaps of a huge tree, his face buried in his arms. Wet, shaking sobs tore out of him. His hands were knotted into fists and his tiny body was curled so tightly into itself that it looked like he might snap with the strain of it all. Six could see bits of metal pulsing in and out of his skin as he watched. 

This was a precarious situation and he couldn't afford to make a mistake. He switched off his earpiece without a word. 

Six slowly lowered himself to the ground and tucked his swords away. Creeping forward until he was within earshot of Rex, he calmly said,

"It's okay. Just take some deep breaths and calm down."

Rex flinched at the sound of his voice, hands clenching over his arms. His whole frame trembled like he wanted to run, but he didn't move. 

Six inched closer. 

"Do you remember me Rex? I'm the one who found you in Mexico."

At these words, Rex managed to lift his head a fraction. A glimpse of a very wet and bloodshot eye appeared. Encouraged by this success, Six continued,

"I'm here to help you, just like back then."

He cautiously reached forward. 

Rex jolted away from his hand, pressing himself against the tree roots. His eyes were wide with terror and his mouth worked soundlessly. Six hastily drew his hand back and leaned away. 

"Okay, no touching. I understand."

Rex stared at him suspiciously, eyes still brimming with tears. Ragged breaths burst out of him without rhythm or pace. He sounded like he was right on the verge of hyperventilating. 

Six slowly eased himself up next to the tree and sat down, not making any more advances toward Rex. 

"It's okay. I'll make sure you're safe until things calm down," Six promised. Rex continued to stare at him, but he shifted ever so slightly closer in the tree roots. Six nodded encouragingly and said,

"That's it. Now what are you doing down here? This is a pretty dangerous place for you to be."

Rex sniffed desperately and swiped at his face. 

"Had to- I had to g-get out."

"Why?" Six asked evenly. 

"M-m-messed up," Rex choked. He pressed his dirty hands over his face, trying to scrub the tears away. "Doctors m-might have... come back early."

A little shiver ran through Six at these words. 

"What doctors?"

Rex dissolved into sobs again, hiding his face. 

"Okay, okay never mind about them," Six retreated hastily. After a minute or two, Rex eventually calmed down enough to control his breathing.

"Why do you think you messed up?" Six carefully probed. 

"Couldn't cure," Rex admitted. 

Oh. 

Things clicked into place in Six's mind. 

"That's not your fault Rex. You did everything you could. But why did you run away?"

"M-messed up," Rex repeated. "I was... bad. Didn't want to get- to get-"

His breath hitched in his chest as some horrible possibility overwhelmed him. Six quickly cut in,

"No, no. Just calm down. Nothing's going to happen to you I promise."

Rex gave him a look of teary-eyed betrayal. 

"You won't believe me. No one ever c-came to help."

A weight was growing in Six's stomach at the look on Rex's face. Something was very wrong here, beyond Rex's reaction to not curing the EVO. Something worse had been happening. 

"I believe you. I promise i'll listen to what you say," Six vowed. "Please tell me."

Chapter Text

Six stalked through Providence with single-minded focus. Soldiers, scientists, and other personnel stepped quickly out of his way as he passed. If Six had looked at their faces, he would have seen their shock and fear of his companion. 

Nervous mutters followed him as he continued his march toward the main science lab, Rex clinging onto his back. He could feel the boy's grip tightening with every step, and pretended not to notice his constant trembling. Cold anger fueled his steady steps. 

If what Rex had told him was true, there was going to be hell to pay. 

He marched into the lab without warning, locking in on Dr. Fell. They had never formally spoken, but Six recognized him instantly. The stone-faced scientist looked at him in mild surprise and stepped away from his monitor screens. 

"Agent Six. What brings you here in the middle of a lockdown?" he asked. Six continued forward until he was standing directly in front of the man. Fell's eyebrows drew together at the silent confrontation. His calculating eyes flicked to the side and widened slightly as he caught sight of Rex. 

"What are you doing?" Fell hissed. "You're endangering the base's safety."

Six felt Rex press tight against his back, hiding his face from Fell. 

"I'm here to check the work you've been doing," Six said. Without waiting for Fell's reaction, he announced to the lab, "Initiate lab lockdown. Override code Bravo Foxtrot 9 9 5."

The only door slammed shut, heavy locks bolting into place. The continued sounds of alarms and voices from outside instantly went silent. Six looked back at Fell, standing completely alone in the room. The man stared back at him. 

"You don't know what you're doing," Fell said softly. "I have the direct authorization of White Knight. If you leave now and return this EVO to his cell, I'll forget you ever did something so treasonous."

Six looked coldly back at him, unmoving. 

"If I'm committing treason, than the system must be more broken than I thought," he replied. "Now tell me about the experiments you've been doing. Just know that Rex has already told me enough to earn you a life sentence in prison, so I'd make sure your stories line up if I were you."

Fell's eyes flicked back to Rex again, narrowed in anger. 

"You'd take the word of an EVO against a providence scientist? That thing is a killer you know."

When Six didn't respond, Fell elaborated. 

"We ran tests on the shrapnel from the Mexico EVO attack. It's the same stuff that this boy creates when he loses control. He was inside that beast! This EVO has leveled an entire city and thousands of people in it. Don't think you'll be celebrated for defending it."

A flash of anger shot through Six. In one fluid motion he lowered Rex to the ground and flicked out his swords. Fell took a fearful step back, but Six was quicker. He pinned him against the wall, pressing one of the blades into his neck. 

"I'm not looking for praise. I'm looking for answers."

A thin line of blood dribbled down Fell's neck. 

"Easy Agent Six," he gasped. "Don't forget which side you're fighting for."

Six pressed the blade a little deeper. 

"Okay!" Fell relented. "It doesn't matter to me. I have the support of the highest authority on this."

Six slowly removed the pressure and stepped back a fraction. Fell dabbed at his neck in disgust, swiping streaks of red across his coat sleeves. The blood stood out starkly against his white coat and pale skin. Under Six's watchful eye, he went back to the monitors and pulled up a series of video logs. He hesitated before opening them, glancing back at Six and Rex. 

Six bared his teeth in a snarl and growled,

"Do it."

Fell let out a heavy sigh and unlocked the footage. 

"It's your funeral," he said, stepping aside. 

Six drew closer to the screens, Rex shadowing him closely. The first video was marked as being three weeks old. The cameras focused on two instantly recognizable figures; Dr. Fell, and Rex. Rex was lying on the medical table, his wrists and feet strapped down. Six watched in a horrified trance as Dr. Fell's voice began to narrate the footage. 

"Biological regeneration test 1. Subject is currently at full nanite capacity, and I will now make several incisions to test the time to full regeneration."

Six couldn't look away as the tests began. The cameras zoomed and focused as Fell sliced at Rex's exposed forearms with a scalpel. The cameras didn't show Rex's face, but Six could see the tension in his arms and couldn't miss the small gasp of pain. Blood welled from the cuts, but quickly slowed, scabbed over, and smoothed. 

"Time to full regeneration approximately 7.5 seconds," Fell's voice said. "Repeating test to see if repetition will slow the process."

The blades dug in once again. 

Then again. 

And again. 

Over and over Six watched Fell carve up Rex's skin and announce the results in a voice of detached interest. And in the background he could hear Rex sniffling and pleading for it to stop. Blood stains soon covered his arms, even after the cuts themselves had closed. Six couldn't look away until he heard Fell conclude,

"Concluding first nanite regeneration test. No detectable delay from repeated injury."

The video cut out. Before Six could do anything else, a new recording began to play. It began with the same layout and process. But now Fell was testing how long it would take to heal broken bones. At the first wet crunch, Six had to look away. He had seen countless injuries and deaths in his career. But none of them had been performed so coldly. So inhumanly. 

His gaze drifted over the stack of video recordings Fell had pulled up. There were so many of them. Weeks worth of secret experiments, each one causing a new way of pain. 

Burns.

Bruises.

Frostbite.

Blood loss.

Drug overdoses.

Six felt hot, dangerous rage creep through him as he looked at the evidence of Rex’s pain.

He had been telling the truth.

Six looked down at him, feeling his chest ache with sympathy. The boy was hiding behind his legs, fingers gripping the fabric of his pants like a lifeline. He had been suffering in silence for so long. 

But no more. 

Six shut off the video with a swipe of the hand. 

"I've seen enough," he said tightly. 

Fell looked boldly back at him, confident in his safety. 

"I've done nothing wrong. White Knight himself advised on these experiments and is highly interested in the results. This EVO could not only be a cure, but a key to creating the greatest advances in medicine and weaponry the world has ever seen."

Six swallowed back his rising anger at Knight. They were going to have a long talk after this was over. 

"I think the public might have a different view of the matter," he said. "No matter how hard you try, you'll never get people to agree to this level of dehumanization. We're all just one step away from mutating ourselves. Preserving the humanity of EVOs is supposed to be one of Providence's top priorities."

"Wake up agent," Fell snapped. "We're fighting a war of monsters and machinery here. We can't afford to treat these things like people if we're going to come out on top."

Six's hand tightened over the hilt of his sword. 

"What's the good in winning a war if we can't live with ourselves after?" he breathed. 

"My conscience is clear. And I still have a long way to go before my research is done," Fell said. His eyes moved to Rex, who was still hiding in Six's shadow. 

Six leveled his swords at Fell. 

"You will never touch this boy again. If you, or anyone else tries, be prepared to go through me. I signed up to protect people so that's what I'm going to do." 

Fell quirked an eyebrow at this. Six heard the locks of the lab door click open behind him. He turned his head to face it, weapons still pointing at Fell. The lab was supposed to be on high priority lockdown. The only person with higher access was-

He felt his anger rise once more as White Knight stepped into the lab, followed by a squad of soldiers. 

Chapter Text

"Stand down Six," White Knight ordered. 

Six didn't move. 

White's eyes narrowed and he gestured his squad of soldiers forward. They slowly advanced, weapons trained on Rex, who was still hiding behind Six. 

"That's far enough," he growled. 

The soldiers hesitated, caught between two high ranking Providence officers. Taking advantage of their uncertainty, Six addressed White Knight. 

"You know better than this Knight. If you start treating captive EVOs like this you'll end up destroying everything we've built. You know that this boy hasn't done anything to deserve what you've been doing to him."

"He's an EVO. That's reason enough," White said shortly. "Now stand aside."

Six lowered into a defensive stance, swords at the ready. Knight stared at him unblinkingly, mouth hardened into a thin line. The soldiers were frozen in place. For a moment, nobody seemed to breathe. 

Then a small voice shattered the tension. 

"If I go with you, will you leave him alone?"

Six started, looking down at Rex. The boy had taken a step out from behind him, one hand still clinging onto Six's pant leg. He still looked exhausted and terrified, but there was a glint of stubbornness in his dark eyes. 

"Rex, you can't go with them," Six muttered. "Just let me handle this."

But White Knight had locked eyes with Rex. One of his eyebrows raised as he looked at the boy's determined face. 

"You'll come willingly?"

Six felt his breath freeze in his chest. He couldn't do this. He couldn't let his one chance of helping Rex slip away. But before he could stop him, Rex had swallowed and nodded. 

"Just... don't hurt him," he implored. 

Knight looked down at him and nodded. Slowly, Rex's fingers released his tight grip on Six. Still trembling faintly, he moved to take a step forward. 

Six threw out a hand to block him. Rex looked at him in confusion, then around at the soldiers in fear as their weapons lowered once again. Six glared across the room at White Knight. 

"We're going to have a talk about the future of this boy and Providence," he swore. 

He then glanced back at Rex and breathed,

"If they ever hurt you again, do whatever you did to escape today. I'll come find you."

Rex nodded once. Slowly Six straightened up and removed his arm from Rex's path. The boy walked away from his protection and into the waiting escort of soldiers. They closed around him like a trap and began to herd him out of the lab. Six's vision flashed in anger as he was lead away, but there was nothing else to do now. Rex glanced through the barricade of legs around him one last time before the door closed. And in that moment, Six saw something that had become rare in this war. 

Rex was smiling.

It was tired and nervous and only half sincere, but it was enough. His eyes lingered on the door long after the soldiers had left with Rex. He heard Dr. Fell shift awkwardly behind him and saw White Knight nod him towards the exit. The man walked briskly out of the room, posture tense. Six's eyes followed him the entire way. 

The lab door slid closed behind him, leaving Six and Knight alone together. 

"What are you doing Six?" Knight sighed. "Interfering with an EVO capture like that could have gotten you killed. I didn't think I'd ever say this, but you're going soft."

Six turned to face the lab computers, which still had the research videos pulled up. Soft huh?

"I understand you, you know," Six said. "You want to win this war and get life back to normal. That's nothing I can blame you for."

He swung his sword to point at the video of Fell's experiments. 

"But this has to stop. Containing EVOs is understandable. Killing those we can't stop is understandable. But this is-"

"This is our way to rebuild," Knight cut him off. The sterile lights of the lab glowed over his nanite suit like tiny cold suns.

"Once this war is over, what's to stop another from growing in its place? Humanity is more capable of death and destruction than they're ever been. We need to take every precaution, every preparation we can to make sure that humans survive whatever comes next. And that starts by learning what this boy can do, and how we can replicate it."

"And what if we can't replicate it?" Six snapped. "He uses nanites in a way we've never seen before. He could be our one and only cure and you're destroying him. It's only been a few weeks and you've already worn that boy down to a husk of himself."

"So what would you have us do? Release him into the wild?" Knight asked sarcastically. 

Six clenched his jaw.

Knight was stubborn and solid, just like him. He didn't want to lose his friend now. Not while they both wanted the same thing for the world.

"I can't let you keep doing this," he said quietly. "At the end of the day that boy is an innocent."

"War is always hardest on the innocents," Knight said, a softer tone creeping into his voice at last.  "I know this is hard to accept. But to save millions, we have to be willing to sacrifice the one."

An idea began to rise to the front of Six's mind at these words. 

"What if we didn't?" he said softly. 

"Didn't what?"

"What if we didn't have to lose this boy? What if we train him, raise him, work with him to cure EVOs in the field?"

Knight scoffed. 

"And risk letting him loose on the world? That EVO is a ticking time bomb, ready to mutate at any second."

"So am I," Six reminded him. "So is every other Providence soldier we have. There's no telling when we could turn into monsters that would have to be put down like rabid dogs. But it doesn't have to be that way."

He took a step toward White Knight. 

"Give him- Give me a chance. He wants to cure EVOs and he wants to help others. I know that with the right training and preparation, he could be just what we need to turn the tide in this war. Just stop hurting him and see what he can do."'

Knight looked at him skeptically. 

"And if the time came that you had to control him, could you do it?" he asked. "If he was mutating and ready to kill, would you be able to cut him down?"

Six stared firmly back at him. 

"You know that I can," he affirmed. "I'll kill anyone who poses a threat to innocent lives."

His eyes narrowed behind his sunglasses. 

"Anyone."

Knight folded his arms thoughtfully. Behind his glinting helmet, Six could see him considering the possibility. 

"I'll give you a trial run," he said decisively. "Fell already got most of the information he needed from the boy anyway, so further testing would mostly be redundant. He'll be put under your charge for three weeks, and then there will be a field test. If I don't like what I see, we go back to the first plan of using and replicating his curing abilities with experiments."

Six nodded curtly. This was more than he could have hoped for. 

"You won't be disappointed," he swore. 

"I hope not. Now try to get some rest for once. Your trial run starts tomorrow."

Chapter Text

Six's mind worked furiously as he left the lab. 

Three weeks. 

He only had three weeks to train Rex into a fairly competent field agent. And if he did it wrong, Rex would be put back into Dr. Fell's hands. 

A shiver of rage rushed through him at the memory of those experiments. There was no way he'd let that man near Rex again. Even if Knight wasn't convinced by the field test, he was going to get Rex out of here. He just had to hope that three weeks would be enough time so he wouldn't have to resort to full on treason. 

The lockdown alarms shut off around him as he walked. Rex must be safely back in his cage then. As his thoughts began to settle, questions broke through his stress and anger. 

How had Rex managed to escape in the first place? He could guess that the usual guards were distracted by the uncured EVO, but that still didn't explain how he got out. His cell could only be opened from the outside. If he had tried to break it down by brute force, knock out gas would have been pumped into the room. There should have been cameras that saw him before he was sighted in the Petting Zoo. 

But somehow he had evaded every one of their security measures, all while being extremely upset and disoriented. It didn't make any sense. 

A voice rang out suddenly,  

"Agent Six!"

He stopped in his tracks, struck by the familiarity of the voice. He turned and saw Dr. Holiday rushing up behind him. Behind his sunglasses, his eyes narrowed. He didn't know if Fell was the only one who had been experimenting on Rex. The woman hurried up to him and braced herself against the wall, panting heavily. 

"I heard... that you found... Rex," she puffed. "Is he okay?"

"He's back in his cell," Six replied shortly. 

"Well was he hurt? Did he say what happened?"

Six felt his body stiffen in anger. 

"He hasn't been hurt today," he said bitterly. "Not that you "doctors" care about that."

Holiday stared at him in confusion.  

"What are you talking about?"

Six glared shrewdly at her. She was leaning forward slightly now, searching his face. There was no sign of understanding or secrecy in her clear green eyes. Maybe she really didn't know then. 

He glanced up and down the deserted hallway and muttered. 

"If you really don't know, I'd suggest looking into Fell's private research. Seems like he's taken quite an interest in testing Rex's healing abilities."

Dr. Holiday's eyes widened in horror.

"How long has this been happening?" she whispered.

A little pang of relief shot through Six at her question. She hadn't been involved after all. 

"At least three weeks," Six told her. "Looks like he's been keeping it between himself and the higher ups in Providence."

Holiday raked the hair out of her face, eyes wild and face flushed with rage. 

"So that's why he's been acting so strange," she muttered. "Jumpy, tense, afraid of human contact... I should have seen this before now. No wonder he snapped after failing to cure that EVO. This was exactly what I was trying to avoid. If we treated him like a human being, then he wouldn't have felt like he had to run from us! What are they thinking?"

Six watched her fume for a moment. She looked slightly hysterical, with her fly-away hair, baggy eyes, and constant muttering. He gave a tiny sigh, already regretting what he was about to tell her. 

"There is something I'm going to try. It's not ideal, but it should stop Fell from doing more experiments. I'm going to train Rex as a field agent for the next three weeks and see if I can convince Knight that he'll be of more use in the world than in a lab."

Dr. Holiday stared at him incredulously. 

"A field agent? He's nine years old! Even seasoned Providence soldiers are afraid to go against the big monsters."

"He won't be afraid," Six said firmly. "You've seen him in curing sessions. He faces them all head-on because he knows he can bring them back to normal. That's something no Providence soldier has ever had."

"How could he even trust us after everything we've done to him?" Holiday asked quietly. 

"He trusts the people who treat him like a human," Six replied. "He trusts me. And if you let him know you're not like Fell, I think he'll trust you. If he's going to be a Providence agent I think he's going to need you on his side."

He turned and began to walk away. But as he left, he said over his shoulder,

"And it would be useful if you can find out how he got out of his cell today. There's more going on with him than we know."

 Rex was curled up on his bed when Six entered his cell. He twitched slightly at the noise, but didn't turn to look. Six approached him carefully, ignoring the whirring of the watching cameras. As he drew closer, he saw that Rex was asleep. His eyes were twitching fitfully beneath his lids, but his body was loose and relaxed. 

He must be exhausted after the stress of the day. 

Six hovered over him for a moment, debating whether or not it was worth it to wake him up now. Before he could make a decision, Rex gave a little start, and his eyes snapped open. He leaned away from Six, tensing up instinctively. 

Six took a step back and said,

"It's just me,"

Rex rubbed at his eyes, squinting against the constant light of his room. Recognition and anxiety cross his face as he look at Six. 

"Did they let you go?" he asked nervously. 

"Yes, they did. You handled that situation very well."

Rex's hands twisted at his blanket, but he nodded. 

"Did you..." he swallowed hard, "Did you talk to the doctor?" 

"Not after you left. But I did talk to the head of Providence. We've made an agreement that I need you to listen to."

Rex looked up at him. Six took a deep breath, praying that Rex would be willing to go through with this. 

"I'm going to train you as a real Providence agent for the next three weeks. If the leadership is happy with your performance by that time, there won't be any more secret experiments. You'll be able to work with us to cure EVOs in the field."

Six knew he was presenting the best case scenario. Chances were Rex would still spend a lot of time getting poked and prodded, and getting the soldiers used to working with an EVO was no small task. But it was a step in the right direction. 

Rex's eyes lit up. 

"An agent? I'll be able to go outside?" he asked hopefully. 

"That is generally where we find the most EVOs," Six replied. "So you're willing to give it a try?"

All his exhaustion and stress vanished in an instant. Rex swung his legs out of bed, lit with an excitement Six had never seen from him before. 

"Yeah! When can we start?"

Chapter Text

Rex was buried under his usual pile of blankets when Six entered his room the next day. 

"Time to train," he ordered. He yanked away the covers to expose a tousle-haired and bleary-eyed Rex. He squinted against the usual harsh lights of his cell and groaned.

"Whazz going on?"

"We have three weeks to get you field ready," Six said, tossing Rex a bundle of clothing. "That means we start early, we end late. Get dressed."

Rex clumsily unfolded the clothes, still blinking blearily. His eyes widened as he recognized what he was holding however. 

"I get a Providence uniform?"

Six's eyes narrowed behind his glasses. 

"Knight had one specially created for your training. As far as I can tell, he didn't add anything dangerous."

Rex didn't seem to be listening however. He was already pulling the uniform on, energy returning as he began to wake up. Soon he was outfitted in a miniature version of Providence gear, complete with long white boots and gloves. 

"Yes! This is so much cooler than that weird patient shirt," Rex grinned, kicking his old clothes under the bed. 

Rex gazed up at him, brimming with enthusiasm. Six allowed himself a moment of appreciation for Rex's spirit. He had changed completely from the frightened, silent boy he had watched over the last few weeks. It was amazing what the promise of a little freedom and protection had done for him.

He quickly wiped his face of emotion and ordered,

"Follow me. You're going to need a big breakfast today."

As they stepped out of his cell, a little of Rex's nervousness returned. He stuck close to Six as they wound through the hallways. As they approached the exit of the detention block, the usual squad of guards stopped them. They all gave respectful salutes to Six, but he didn't miss the fact that all of their weapons had the safety off. 

"Squad Delta will be your escort today sir," the masked captain informed him. 

Six brushed past them and unlocked the cell door with a swipe of his keycard. 

"That won't be necessary captain. White Knight has entrusted the security of Rex to me."

"But-"

Six gave a sharp glance behind him, guiding Rex through the door ahead of him. 

"I'll make sure you're informed if your services are needed."

The soldiers shuffled nervously as they walked past, not sure how to respond. Six continued to steer Rex forward, veiled eyes tracking every agent they passed. Rex tried to keep his eyes down, but Six could see him glancing around at everything they passed. He could almost hear the questions building up in his mind. 

They entered the common cafeteria and headed for the serving station. Six had warned the chef yesterday of what they would need and the man did not disappoint. Four heaping trays of food were waiting for them, all of it packed with calories and body building nutrients. Rex's eyes widened as he took it all in. 

Six handed him one of the trays and carefully balanced the other three on his arms. He nodded Rex toward a table in the corner and they settled their food onto it and sat down. Rex's feet just barely didn't reach the ground. 

"Eat up. We've got work to do," Six encouraged, pulling a plate of eggs and toast toward himself.

Rex didn't have to be told twice. He grabbed every plate he could reach and began to inhale one thing after the other. Six felt his heart clench as he noted the desperation with which Rex ate. He had gone over Fell's notes about Rex last night, including his recent food intake. Since they had discovered that his nanite production was connected to his caloric intake, the doctors had been limiting his food to half of what was healthy. Rex had been malnourished for weeks now.

So now that Six had the chance to let him eat to his heart's content, he was going to take it. 

As he ate his own meal, he kept a watchful eye on the cafeteria. In the early hours of the morning, it was nearly empty. Most people were finishing their night shifts or still asleep at his time. However, there were a few people scattered around the room. A couple stressed looking soldiers were eating an early breakfast, no doubt haunted by memories of their past missions. A single white coated scientist was inhaling coffee in the corner. 

None of them seemed to notice the odd duo of Six and Rex. Everyone who was awake at this time was too caught up in their own worries, their own nightmares, to pay attention to much else. That was another reason why Six had elected an early starting time. The last thing he needed was an EVO hating soldier harassing Rex during breakfast. 

The clatter of a bowl turned his attention back to their table. 

The food trays were piled with empty dishes, no food in sight. Six blinked in surprise. Rex had eaten everything much faster than even he had expected. Rex was grinning sheepishly at him, wiping his mouth with a napkin. 

"I think I'm full now," he announced. 

"Yes I think so," Six agreed bemusedly. 

They deposited their empty dishes at the cleaning station and left the cafeteria. Six guided Rex through the rigid maze of Providence, giving a brief explanation of every area they passed. This was partly to satisfy Rex's curiosity, but Six had another motive as well. If Rex ever needed to escape on his own, he wanted to make sure he had the layout of the base. 

He just had to hope things wouldn't come to that. 

"And this will be our training facility for the next three weeks," Six announced, bringing Rex to a halt in front of a huge, heavy door. Rex glanced uncertainly up at him. 

"But... isn't this?" he asked nervously. 

Six nodded, swiping his access card and unlocking the triple bolted door. 

"Yes Rex. We'll be training in the petting zoo."

Chapter Text

Six's worrying had been pointless.

Rex took to field training like a fish in water. Fueled by his new high energy diet and the excitement of a nine year old boy, he threw himself into the work. They started with some basic sparring and blocking techniques. Rex was too short and enthusiastic for many of his blows to land, but there was surprising strength in his body. It was like the nanites were reinforcing him from the inside as well. When Six struck with real force, he often felt bruises welling over his own body at the contact. 

Rex trained diligently for about an hour. When Six noticed his attention wavering, he decided to switch things up. 

"Of course, hand to hand combat is only part of what Providence agents are expected to do," he explained. "The real challenge is handling a rampaging EVO close up."

"Is that why we're training in here?" Rex asked, bouncing on his heels as he scanned the petting zoo. 

"Partly," Six agreed. 

Partly because the other agents don't have an open mind about sharing their training area with an EVO, he added privately.

"Let's see what you can do."

The second Rex was given permission, he ran straight into the voracious tangle of EVOs. Six blinked, startled at his quick response. Before he knew it, Rex had already disappeared into the mass of life. Six hurried after him, struggling to keep up with his high energy. 

Despite his plan to introduce Rex to wild EVOs, he found himself getting anxious every time Rex disappeared from sight. Luckily he made enough noise to keep track of as he ran. Little exclamations punctuated his path too. 

"Woah! Six this tree has eyes on it!"

"Is that a frog? NO WAY IT HAS HUGE TEETH THAT'S SO COOL!"

"Ewwww I think this bunny thing is leaving a slime trail."

Six finally caught up to Rex as he stopped to admire a vibrantly colored lizard. Six hurried forward and caught Rex's arm before he could pick it up. 

"I'd leave that one alone if I were you. Its scales are coated in an acid that would eat through your hand in minutes."

Rex drew his hand back quickly, but continued to beam at the lizard. 

"There are so many cool EVOs in here! Can I try curing some of them today?"

Six thought for a moment. Usually Providence kept close tabs on Rex whenever he tried to cure something. He wasn't sure that the scientists would like it if Rex tried to do it at random. They always wanted to run tests and scans on him before and after each attempt. 

A little spark of anger lit in him at the thought of the scientists. With a mixed intent of curiosity and spite, Six replied,

"Sure. Let's find you a good EVO to practice on."

They waded through the mass of life together. Many EVOs fled when they drew near, flying, burrowing, or racing away. Rex watched them all with wide, interested eyes. 

"I thought EVOs just wanted to attack everything," he said, watching a flock of molting birds fly away. "They like to hurt people, right? Why are all of these running away?"

Six thought about his response for a long moment, hacking through the thick undergrowth with his swords. 

"I think EVOs aren't as simple as that," he said slowly. "The nanites don't change what they are. Not really. It just gives them new abilities and more potential to cause harm. So these EVOs are still animals who see us as threats. Like an animal will attack when its territory or children are threatened, some EVOs will be more aggressive when they're scared. But most of these are just frightened of us."

He climbed over a huge fallen tree and helped Rex get down too. The boy seemed to be thinking hard about this new idea. 

"So animal EVOs are still basically animals?" he clarified. 

"Just bigger and more dangerous," Six confirmed. 

Rex went quiet for awhile as they continued to hike through the tangle. Six watched him out of the corner of his eye as they continued on. A small frown had appeared on Rex's face and he seemed to be wrestling with a new question. After a long moment he quietly asked,

"What about human EVOs? Are they... still human?"

This time, Six didn't hesitate. 

"Yes. They're still human."

"But... they act so different," Rex protested desperately. "The ones that they bring me to cure don't act right. A lot of them can't talk, and they don't recognize people they love, and their bodies change, and-"

Six stopped abruptly and placed a hand on Rex's shoulder. His nervous chatter died off at the firm contact. 

"Rex, they're still people. They're lost and hurting and confused, but still human. Providence tries to make its agents forget that sometimes. They might tell you that EVOs are evil, thoughtless monsters with no future. But you know that isn't true. Don't let yourself believe that they're beyond saving."

Rex looked at his shoes and nodded. Six could tell he still wasn't fully convinced, but Rex would decide what he believed eventually. He settled for ruffling the boy's hair and saying,

"Now come on. I think I have an idea of a good practice EVO for you."

They spent the entire day in the petting zoo. After a few hours of Rex chasing down and curing groundhog EVOs, Six insisted that they had to return to sparring practice. They went back to the open area near the petting zoo entrance and resumed the hand to hand combat training. He put Rex through his paces once again, showing him how to pin and disarm opponents. Rex was still small and untrained, but he was strong. His reflexes were also exceptional and he managed to dodge several of Six's attacks.

While they exchanged a pattern of practice blocks, Six was vaguely aware of the petting zoo door opening. He didn't pay it much mind as Rex blocked a punch with his forearm. Scientists and doctors had been coming and going from the petting zoo all day. None of them had spoken to each other. 

But after a few moments, he saw Rex's eyes widen and heard footsteps coming in their direction. Six dropped his defensive stance and turned to look at the newcomer. 

He felt a jolt of surprise as he saw Dr. Holiday approaching. Unlike their previous encounters, she was dressed in a Providence field suit, not her usual lab coat. Without realizing what he was doing, Six angled himself in front of Rex, positioning his body between Rex and Holiday.

"Hello Rex. Agent Six," she greeted warmly. Her clear green eyes lingered on Rex's wary expression before focusing on Six. 

"What are you doing here? I thought you were a lab assistant," Six said bluntly. 

Holiday's smile hardened. 

"I'm a scientist with doctorates in genetics, biochemistry, and engineering, agent," she corrected him. "And I'm here to collect some samples from the EVOs Rex cured earlier. But I thought I'd stop by and say hello when I saw you."

She gave Rex a gentle smile and a wave. 

"Hi Rex! I saw all those EVOs you cured today. Pretty hard to catch the burrowers, isn't it?"

Rex nodded. Six suddenly became aware of how grubby the two of them were after hacking through the zoo and digging up rodents all day. They were both sweaty and scuffed up, and Rex was covered in smears of dirt. Six shifted uncomfortably at the realization. 

"Well, I'd better get to work. You two are finishing up soon right? Dinner's almost done being served."

"I've made arrangements with the cafeteria," Six reassured her. "We're going to be training late for the next few weeks."

Holiday eyed him sharply. 

"Don't forget that I'm still Rex's main doctor," she reminded him. "And that means no overwork. At least eight hours of sleep every night, regular meals, and enough down time for recovery."

Holiday slipped a granola bar out of her pocket and passed it to Rex. 

"Don't let him work you too hard Rex. If you ever need a break, just let me know."

Rex took the food happily and ate it in three quick bites. Holiday adjusted her sample kit and sighed, 

"I'll see you later then. Good luck and don't stay out too late."

Six glared at her as she left, but didn't say anything. Didn't she understand the importance of Rex's training? He only had a few weeks to get him ready. There wasn't any time to waste. 

"Come on Rex. Let's practice that drill again."

Chapter Text

Six and Rex quickly settled into their training schedule. Every morning began with an early breakfast before heading to the petting zoo. There they alternated between hand to hand sparring, shooting practice, and EVO hunting and curing. The days inevitably ended with them eating a late dinner, each too tired to make conversation. Then they retired to their rooms and got a few hours of sleep before repeating it all again the next day. 

There were no breaks for either of them. 

They couldn't afford any. 

Six's woke up exactly at 5:00, no alarm needed due to his strict body clock. He allowed himself to lay in bed for a few moments, mustering the strength to start another exhausting day. But he soon sat up and headed for his usual morning shower. He didn't turn on any lights as he entered the small bathroom, navigating the darkness by memory. 

These days the lights of Providence seemed too bright. Too invasive. 

As the water streamed around him in the darkness, Six allowed himself to think about what was really bothering him.

He only had one week left to train Rex. The boy really had made incredible progress. He complained about the workload sometimes and still had the build and impulsiveness of a child. But he had also demonstrated an impressive analytical mind throughout their training. The same tricks never worked on him twice, and he had become better at using his surroundings to his advantage. His strength and skill had also grown significantly. Six expected he would soon be able to competently spar with fully fledged Providence agents. 

But he was still a child when it came to handling EVOs. He tried to cure every one he could get his hands on. It often worked, and the ranks of the petting zoo were finally beginning to thin out. But every time he failed, Six noticed the deep hurt that went through Rex. He tried to hide it, but Six often spotted tears of frustration and sorrow for the monsters.

Six also hadn't forgotten about Rex's question about human EVOs. About whether they were still human. 

Six could only pray that Rex still had faith in his own humanity after all he had seen. 

He shook the dark thoughts out of his head and stepped out of the shower. There was no point in worrying now. The best they could do was make sure that Rex was ready when Providence judged him. 

At the rate they were going, there shouldn't be any problems.

 "There's been a problem agent Six."

A heavily armored group of guards blocked the entrance to Rex's cell, weapons held at the ready. From behind the solid door, Six could hear the sounds of clanging metal. 

"What happened?" Six asked, trying to peer through the small window. 

"The asset is losing control of its nanites again," the squad leader informed him. "No one is allowed to go in until further notice."

Six's eyes snapped to the squad leader, narrowing behind his sunglasses.

"What set him off? What did you do?" he growled. 

The man's posture went rigid and he took an involuntary step backwards at the ferocity in Six's voice. 

"I... nothing. Nobody has entered the cell all day. It just started reacting on its own."

A sick swell of worry rose up in Six's gut. It was so powerful and so foreign that he didn't know what to do. Before anyone could stop him, he shoved past the guards and peered into the cell.  

Beyond the thick glass, he could see a writhing figure on the floor. Metal was bursting through Rex's skin, ripping and mending the flesh in a constant flux. Blood stained the shredded remains of his clothes and streaked the ground around him. Rex was facing away from the door, so Six couldn't see his face. But the muffled screams and agonized spasms told him more than enough. 

"Out of my way!" a sharp voice ordered from behind him. 

Six tore his eyes away from the cell and came face to face with doctor Holiday. Her face was pale and her eyes were dangerously bright. 

"What's going on?" Six demanded. "What's happening to him?"

"He's absorbed too many nanites," Holiday explained, shoving past him and accessing the cell's control panel. "He must have a limit of how many he can safely store and it looks like your training has overloaded him."

She tapped in a series of commands on the panel. The surrounding guards watched her warily, keeping their distance from her tense figure. After a moment, a steady hissing noise began emanating from the cell. Six looked back through the window. A heavy white fog was filling the room, misting the window and obscuring Rex's shuddering form. 

Six rounded on doctor Holiday and yanked her away from the control panel. 

"What are you doing to him?" he exploded. "Turn it off!"

"It's just knockout gas! He's losing control and we need to sedate him to offload the nanites."

Six saw his own reflection in Holiday's wide eyes. His face was a mask of bared teeth and wild anger. The sight shook him out of his furious trance and sure enough, he could hear Rex growing quieter and quieter from inside the thick fog. He released his grip on Holiday, already ashamed of his outburst.  

"I'm sorry," he muttered quietly, hoping that the guards couldn't hear. 

Holiday brushed past him coldly, returning to the controls. 

"I wouldn't hurt Rex," she reminded him. "And I need you to pull it together by the time he wakes up. This isn't going to be a good day for any of us."

Six swallowed hard and nodded. 

Soon the sounds of resistance from the cell faded completely. Holiday shut off the stream of gas and they all watched intently as it dispersed. 

Rex was lying on his side, his clothes torn beyond repair and his skin stained with remaining smears of blood. He seemed to be unconscious, but silvery metal continued to pulse in and out of his body like some kind of parasitic monster. 

"Let's get moving," Holiday ordered the guards. "The sedation will work out of his system in about 10 minutes. We have to get him to the offload chamber."

The agents unlocked the cell and hurried inside. They quickly strapped Rex into a gurney and wheeled him into the hallway. Six and Holiday kept pace with them as they raced through the base, heading toward the prototype offloading chamber. Six couldn't tear his eyes away from Rex's face as they ran. Even in his drugged state, his face was tight with pain and his eyelids twitched fitfully. 

Please hold on Rex, Six found himself pleading. 

You're going to be okay. You have to be okay. 

Chapter Text

"-starting to wake up! Double time!"

Rex's eyes were scalded by white light as he squinted them open. He inhaled sharply and felt something catch around his chest. It felt like... it felt like...

His eyes flew open and his limbs locked with tension. 

He was tied down. 

His breathing hitched and began to come in quick, sharp bursts. His head spun as he tried to take in his surroundings. White walls and lights flashed past and there were agents all around him. Their blank, masked faces watched him coldly as they raced forward. Rex didn't recognize anyone. Cold sweat began to dampen his skin and he felt unbidden tears fill his eyes. 

Where was agent Six? He said he wouldn't let this happen. He said he was going to protect him!

He opened his mouth to demand some answers, but felt the words freeze in his throat. Something else was clawing its way out of him. Something cold and crushing and suffocating. 

His head slammed back against the metal surface he was lying on. As he struggled for breath, he felt his torso split open. His ribs wrenched apart and his muscle fibers stretched and ripped. He couldn't hear his own scream through the ringing in his ears or the pounding in his head.

Through his squinted eyes, he saw a writhing mass of metal tendrils flailing through the air, streaked in his own blood. The torn flaps of skin on his chest instantly began to close, knitting together with a painful itching sensation. But before they could fully heal, a fresh wave of metal burst out. 

Rex's back arched as his body tore at the restraints. A fresh wave of blood soaked down his sides before the wounds began to close again. He could feel the metal crawling through his lungs and up his throat. Tears were flooding down his face now, mingling with the sweat in a stinging flood. 

The voices around him were rising, but he couldn't understand them anymore. 

"-inside now!"

"-becoming too unstable-"

"-level 5 if we don't-"

"-clear the room! I need to-"

Rex coughed and choked on the expanding metal. It was crushing him, ripping his lungs and throat apart. Every breath seemed to tear his body apart, but he couldn't stop gasping for air. 

He wanted it to stop! He just wanted it all to stop!

A cool hand touched his forehead. Rex jumped at the contact, startled out of his panic for just a moment. A figure was leaning over him, silhouetted by the bright lights. 

Rex blinked desperately, trying to clear his tears away so he could see who it was. But a moment later, the figure spoke. And Rex knew that voice by heart now. 

"Rex, can you hear me? You've absorbed too many nanites and they're out of control. But everything it going to be okay. You're going to be okay. Do you understand?"

It was agent Six. He was here with Rex. He hadn't abandoned him!

Rex's whole body shuddered with sobs of pain and terror. But now that his guardian was here, some of the tears were from relief too. Six had promised that he would be alright. And Agent Six didn't lie to him. 

Rex locked eyes with him, trying to let him know that he could hear him. He coughed and shook with the effort .A bitter, metallic taste flooded his mouth, making him gag against the intrusive growth. But nothing came from his rebellious stomach. He just heaved fruitlessly, bound to the table and suffocating under his own traitorous nanites. 

Agent Six's fingers moved to Rex's hair, sifting through it firmly. 

"Rex I... I have to leave now. It will just be for a few minutes, I promise."

Rex's eyes widened desperately and he shook his head. 

"I'm going to be right outside this door. Doctor Holiday needs to offload some of your nanites and then I'll be back."

His hand withdrew and he stepped away. Rex watched him go, hysteria rising as a fresh wave of metal ripped through him. Through his constricted lungs and torn throat he wheezed,

"Ssssssiiix..."

The agent froze. 

"Sssiiiiiiiiiiix...." Rex pleaded. 

The man looked back at him, emotion cracking through his stoic mask. He stepped back to Rex's side and leaned over him until their foreheads were touching. His hands brushed through Rex's hair and he whispered,

'I'll be right back. I swear I'll be right back."

And his calm, even voice trembled in a way Rex had never heard before. 

The next moment he was gone. 

A new voice echoed through the room now.

"Initiating nanite offloading process."

From all around the walls, a brilliant, searing light began to grow. Rex squeezed his eyes shut, but could still see the hot red glow behind his eyelids. A tinny ringing filled the room, resonating through his ears and into his blood and bones. 

The sound and light and searing, searing pain of his body grew and grew. Everything was too much! It hurt and burned and overwhelmed. 

It was a mercy when Rex lost consciousness and didn't have to feel it any more. 

Chapter Text

Six's jerked head upright, snapping him out of his doze.

He rubbed his hands over his face, trying to force himself into a more alert state of mind. He tried to ignore the fact that they were shaking with fatigue.

Six couldn't remember the last time he had been this tired, this stressed, this emotionally exhausted. His eyes were burning behind his glasses and his swelling headache gave a vicious pound. 

With a soft groan, he got to his feet and began to pace the small room. Even as tired as he was, he couldn't fall asleep yet.

Not until Rex woke up. 

Six's eyes flicked over to the patient's bed with every step he took. It had been hours since the offloading had finished and Rex still hadn't stirred. Even in spite of Holiday's reassurances and the normal measurements of Rex's monitors, Six couldn't relax. Every time he closed his eyes, he was haunted by what he had seen today. 

Metal and machines clawing through Rex's chest. 

Blood splattered shreds of clothing. 

Terrified eyes that didn't know what was happening.

A wheezing, choked voice begging him to stay. 

Six came to a halt next to Rex's bed and blew out a shaky breath. His body begged for rest, but he couldn't do it. He couldn't leave Rex again. The thought of him waking up alone and isolated sent shivers down Six's spine.

These emotions were new and so powerful that Six wasn't sure what to do.

He always known that he didn't like it when Rex was hurt. He had been apprehensive at the idea of Providence using such a young boy, and felt guilty about his role in bringing him here. He appreciated Rex's spirit and felt pride in his accomplishments. Each of these reactions made sense. They all fell in line with Six's understanding of himself. 

But this intense need to protect Rex was unexpected.

A few weeks ago it had been easy to detach himself from the situation and view Rex as just another EVO that Providence needed to use. It was what had enabled him to look away as Rex was neglected. He had been able to go about his business, largely unknowing and uncaring about what was happening to their new cure. 

The memory of those times made Six sick now.

He gripped the sides of Rex's bed, trying to get his hands to stop shaking. His eyes travelled over the boy's unconscious face. As he watched, Rex's eyelids twitched fitfully and his hands tightened into fists. 

A sick swell of guilt threatened to overwhelm Six as he stood there. He had ignored Rex for so long. He had left him at the mercy of a military organization that was at war with an impossible threat. He had ignored Rex's pain and suffering and now he had done this. His furious training and relentless schedule had overloaded Rex's nanites. 

He sank into a chair next to the bed and rested his head in his hands. Before he knew what he was doing, Six heard his own words filling the silence.

"I'm so sorry." 

His voice was rough with emotion and exhaustion. His throat ached and his breath hitched, but he didn't stop. 

"You don't deserve this Rex. You should be with your family, growing up away from all of this. But you're not. Because I found a cure to EVOs and I couldn't break the damn rules!"

He clenched his teeth, horrified at the tears welling up in his exhausted eyes. 

"This is all my fault," he choked. 

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Six dozed on and off during that night. His mind played a constant stream of memories, dreams, and nightmares. 

He dreamed that he woke up and Rex was gone, taken to some unknown lab where Six would never see him again. He dreamed that the offloading process went wrong and Rex never stabilized. He dreamed that Rex mutated into an out of control EVO and he was ordered to kill him. He dreamed that Rex ran away from him, angry and terrified. 

But before he ever slipped into a deep sleep, Six always woke with a start, struggling to remember what was real. 

And every time he was greeted with the same sight. Rex was asleep, the monitors were steady, and the room was quiet.  

After one particularly bad nightmare, Six was sitting with his head in his hands, rubbing his eyes to stay awake. It was then that he heard the door click open behind him. Without thinking about it, he got unsteadily to his feet and stood between Rex and the door.

A figure was silhouetted against the bright hallway lights. 

As it entered and Six's eyes adjusted, he realized it was Doctor Holiday. She was clutching a stack of papers and two coffee mugs. 

"At ease Agent Six," she muttered wearily.

"I heard you've been here all night. Just thought you could use some coffee and company."

Six relaxed a bit as she handed him one of the mugs and went to examine Rex's monitors. Six sank back into his chair and took a long drink. The coffee was hot, strong, and bitter. It was enough to shake him out of his exhausted stupor. 

"How is he?" he asked. 

Holiday consulted the monitors and adjusted a couple of dials. 

"He's... he's okay."

Tired though he was, Six didn't miss her hesitation. 

"What does that mean?" 

Holiday let out a long sigh and rubbed her temples. Even in the dim light, Six noticed the bags under her eyes. She must be having had a long night as well. 

"We managed to extract the majority of his nanites and they've been safely contained. But without them, he's not going to feel so great when he wakes up. His body is so used to his nanites by now that it doesn't work as well once they're gone. Until his body creates some fresh ones, he's going to have a rough time."

Six stared down at the mug in his hands, clutching it tightly and feeling the heat sear his palms. 

So Rex's suffering wasn't over yet. 

"You should get some sleep," Holiday advised. "I can take over here for awhile."

Six shook his head and took another swig of coffee. 

"I'm fine. I want to be here when he wakes up."

Holiday raised an eyebrow. 

"Well don't take this the wrong way, but you look like death warmed over. You won't be much help when Rex wakes up if you don't get some rest."

Sigh let out a growling sigh. 

"No it's... I can't sleep. Not until I'm sure."

"Sure of what?"

Six wavered, his pounding head and burning eyes making his thoughts sluggish. 

"I just want to make sure he's... not afraid."

Holiday let out a tired little laugh. 

"Well it's not like he'd let you see if he was."

Six looked up at her, a frown creasing his mouth. 

"What do you mean?"

Holiday leaned against the wall, cradling her coffee mug in both hands. Her tired green eyes rested on him in the darkness, curiosity and skepticism blooming across her face. 

"You don't notice?"

She shook her head laughingly, rolling her eyes.

"Rex looks up to you. Every time I see you together, I can tell that he wants to be like you. It's why he picks up your training so quickly, and takes it so hard when he fails."

Six looked between Holiday and Rex.

He looked up to him? Six was the reason that Rex was in this life. He had done nothing but push him past his limits and treat him like a soldier. He didn't deserve his admiration. 

Holiday seemed to sense what he was thinking.

"You've been the only constant person in his life. You've been looking out for him, fighting for him! It's no wonder you're his hero."

Six tried to think of a reply, but words failed him. He settled for drinking the rest of his coffee and waiting for as long as it took for Rex to wake up. 

Chapter Text

Rex woke suddenly and painfully. 

His eyes snapped open as he sat bolt upright, expecting to feel restraints and hands and cold metal. The movement compressed his aching chest and he burst into wheezing coughs. Through streaming eyes, he tried to take in his surroundings. But the usual searing white lights that illuminated his life were gone now. He was in darkness for the first time since he had arrived at Providence. 

His head swam with painful memories and confused thoughts. Heavy, shuddering coughs ripped through his sore body. As he wheezed for air, practically bent double, he felt a hand touch his back. 

He instinctively recoiled from the touch. But with the darkness and his disorientation, he went too far and toppled off the edge of the bed. Too startled to catch himself, he slammed into the hard ground. The blanket tangled around his thrashing body and he felt various cords and sensors rip off of his arms. He gasped for air, overwhelmed and lost.

But then he heard a familiar voice. 

"Rex, it's okay. You're safe."

He stopped fighting and lay still, trying to control his coughing. As his eyes began to adjust to the dim light, he saw Agent Six crouching beside him. Rex was slightly startled when he noticed that he had taken off his sunglasses for the first time. His eyes were baggy and bloodshot, but he managed a small smile as Rex recognized him. 

"Just calm down. Take deep breaths," Six ordered. 

Rex obeyed as well as he could. The air still itched and ached in his lungs, but the coughs were dying down. 

"Let's get you back into bed," Six said, untangling Rex from the blankets and lifting him easily. As he settled back onto the thin mattress, Rex became aware of the beeping monitors beside him. Several were flashing angrily at having been disconnected so abruptly. Rex felt a hot trickle of blood slide slide down his skin as he noticed the loose IV needle that had torn out of his arm. 

Agent Six seemed to have noticed as well.

"I'll call Doctor Holiday to patch you up," he consoled, tapping out a quick message on his phone. "She just left a few minutes ago, so she shouldn't be far. How are you feeling?"

Rex swallowed thickly and croaked,

"Okay I guess."

Six's eyebrows drew together slightly and he leaned forward. 

"Doctor Holiday told me they had to drain most of your nanites after they started malfunctioning. That means that you're not going to be able to heal as fast as usual for awhile. So you need to tell us if something feels wrong or if you're in pain."

Rex nodded against his pillow and admitted,

"My throat really hurts. And my head. And my stomach. And... everywhere? I feel really sore."

"That's understandable," Six acknowledged. "You had a rough day."

A moment later, the door slid open to reveal doctor Holiday. She smiled at the sight of Rex awake, but a look of worry crossed her face as she noticed the new damage in his arm. 

"Ooh, you woke up a bit too fast, didn't you?" she guessed, turning on a light beside his bed and examining the wound. 

Rex watched her lethargically, overcome with his headache and aching body now that the initial panic had passed. Holiday bound his wound quickly, wrapping his arm in clean white bandages. She then placed a hand on his forehead and asked,

"How's your appetite? Feel up to eating something?"

Rex considered for a moment before answering. He felt slightly nauseous at the idea of eating, but his stomach felt like it might be more settled after some food. 

"Yeah, I guess so. But can I have some water first?"

"Of course."

Holiday filled a glass at the nearby sink and placed it into his uninjured hand. As Rex took shaky sips, she took his temperature and consulted the readings of the computers. Rex noticed a slight frown cross her face. 

"Looks like you're running a bit of a fever. Be sure to finish all of that water, okay? You're going to need lots of fluids."

Rex nodded. The water was helping his headache a bit, so he wasn't about to complain. 

"I'll have someone make you something light to eat. Do you want soup? Or maybe some toast?"

Rex swallowed his mouthful of water and requested,

"Could I have both?"

Holiday nodded and tapped in a request to the kitchens. She then pulled up a chair and settled next to his bed, side by side with Agent Six. She glanced at him and muttered,

"Huh. Never thought I'd see the day when you showed us your eyes. Too dark for the sunglasses?"

Six didn't respond. Holiday smirked and raised her eyebrows at Rex. 

"The food will take a few minutes to get here. Want to put on a movie or something while you wait?"

Rex just stared at her blankly. 

"What's a movie?"

Holiday's face fell. 

"It's... oh."

She quickly composed herself and explained,

"It's like a a story you can watch... On screens like these." She gestured to the computers around them. "They're usually about an hour or two long, but we can start one if you want?"

Rex shrugged, settling back against his pillows. 

"Sure. What are they about?"

"All kinds of things. Action, romance, adventure, you name it. Some of it is real, some of it is made up."

Rex thought for a long moment. Stories that he could watch... Some of the stories were real. They could show him things he hadn't seen and couldn't remember. Could they...

"Is there a movie about my family?" he asked quietly. 

Six and Holiday both stiffened in their seats. 

"Oh... Oh Rex that's not what I..." Holiday began. Six cut in and explained,

"Movies are fictional representations of things. Sometimes they're based in reality, sometimes in fantasy. But unfortunately they can't show us things that are unknown. We don't have information about your family, so there are no movies that could give you those answers."

Rex swallowed and looked down. It had seemed too good to be true anyway. 

"But there are still stories that are about families," Six continued. "And I think I know one that you might like."

And so as they waited for the food to arrive, Agent Six, Doctor Holiday, and a very weak EVO named Rex watched an animated movie about a strange little alien landing on Earth and finding his own family. A family that may have been little and broken, but it was still good.

Rex felt his eyes slipping closed by the end of it, having eaten all that he could. The last thing he saw was Holiday and Six sitting beside him, quietly discussing things that he couldn't comprehend.   

Little and broken, but still good, he thought, eyes drifting shut.

Chapter Text

After Rex had drifted back to sleep, Six finally allowed himself to leave the room. Holiday promised she would keep an eye on Rex and let Six know if he was needed. 

Six trudged through the spotless halls of Providence headquarters, mind empty of everything but exhaustion. It had been the longest day he could remember, which was saying something in times of war. He just needed a few hours of solid sleep before facing anything else. At least Rex knew what was happening now and could get the help that he needed. 

He deserved that much at least. 

As Six rounded a corner, he felt his phone buzz. His headache pounded at the thought of taking a message right now, but habit caused him to pull it out and consult the screen. It took a few seconds for his exhausted brain to register the brief message. But as he read it over and over, his heart tightened painfully. 

You have 6 days until the assessment. The EVO had better be ready. 

It was from White Knight. 

All thoughts of sleep left in an instant as Six rounded on his heel and stalked towards the center of the base. The few agents he passed looked at him in alarm, one of them even tripping over their feet in their haste to get out of Six's way. 

Six's vision had narrowed to a blurred tunnel of rage. Blood pounded in his ears, filling his aching head with a kind of ringing madness. He couldn't see anything but what was directly in front of him. 

He stormed into White Knight's communication room and punched in his access code. The huge screen lit up instantly, showing White Knight's slightly surprised face. 

"Six, what are you-"

"You will not be evaluating Rex in six days," Six interrupted coldly. "He's overloaded his nanites and can barely move. He won't be ready to fight again until he's fully recovered."

Knight's eyes narrowed. 

"You agreed to these terms agent. You had three weeks to get him field ready, and if he won't complete the assessment, we'll assume this experiment was a time consuming failure."

Six leaned closer to his interface camera, teeth gritted. 

"He's done everything we ever asked him to. He cures EVOs because he wants to, not through force. We don't have to push him this hard!"

"Yes we do!" White exploded. 

"You've lost sight of the scope of this war Six. While you've been befriending this EVO, hundreds of people are dying every day, sometimes thousands! If your training is ineffective, then we just lost three weeks and countless lives. With Fell's research, we were going to learn how to use nanites to our advantage. We were going to help the world! Your insistence on training your pet EVO put a stop to that progress."

Six's chest expanded with fury.

"YOU. WERE. KILLING. HIM. He's a nine year old boy with powers none of us understand. Your research would have been the death of the only cure we've seen since this war began. Yes, my training was a gamble. But look at how many EVOs he's already cured Knight! The petting zoo is smaller than its ever been and he did that! Rex did that!"

They both fell silent, staring at each other through the flickering screens. 

"I see now that this was a mistake," Knight said flatly. "You got too close to the asset and can't see the big picture. Finding out the secret to Rex's nanites takes priority over curing a few captured EVOs. We can't put our trust in the hands of something that could turn on us at any second."

Knight looked away from Six, consulting his computer. 

"I'll have a new assignment for you by tomorrow. You're dismissed."

Six didn't move. Knight glanced back at him, his lined eyes becoming stern. 

"I said, you're dismissed."

Six walked silently over to White Knight's door. His swords extended, dropping into his hands. Before Knight could say another word, Six lunged forward and buried the blades in the door crack. Alarms began to wail instantly. 

"What are you doing?" Knight demanded.

Six's arms trembled with the strain as he wrenched the doors apart, metal screaming beneath his blades. He stalked into the vacuum chamber that lead into White Knight's living quarters. One last layer of protection between him and the infected world. 

"Activate lockdown omega!" he heard Knight yell frantically. 

Metal barriers fell into place, sealing off the last door. 

"Override, code bravo, juliet, 9, 5, delta." Six said firmly. The barriers retreated. 

"You shouldn't have given me equal access to you," Six called out, with a note of deadly calm in his voice. "After all, I'm full of nanites too. I could turn on you without warning."

He jammed his swords into the final door, splitting them into the sterile, isolated life that White Knight lived in. A rush of cold, flat air hissed over his face. Six grinned with reckless rage, peeling the doors open. Alarms and flashing lights screamed through the room, illuminating the frosen image of White Knight standing in front of his desk, hands clamped over his face.

Six flew forward and tackled him, pinning him to the ground effortlessly. 

"Your time of deciding the world's fate is over. It's time you lived this war like the rest of us."

He ripped Knight's hands away from his face. 

"Breathe the infected air old friend. It's what we've been doing for years."

White Knight's eyes narrowed to furious slits as he gasped,

"You'll burn for this. I was the only one who could be trusted. The only one who wouldn't turn into a monster!"

Six locked eyes with Knight for the first time in years, no screens or helmets between them. But he saw a different man from the one he had fought beside. This one was bitter, hardened, and blind to the world he wanted to protect. 

"Nanites don't make a monster Knight. They're just ingredients."

Chapter Text

Dr. Holiday carefully stepped around Rex's bed to collect the sample of blood that one of the surrounding machines had drawn. She held it up to the light, checking to see if it had the metallic glint that past blood samples had shown. 

It was hard to tell, but she wasn't sure if that was because of the sample or because her eyes were too tired to really focus. Regardless, she plugged the small vial into a nanite reader and checked the measurements. A flashing number popped up, informing her that Rex's nanites were holding steady at 500 ppm. 

She gave a little nod and recorded the number. It was still quite a bit lower than Rex's usual nanite count, but he was recovering. Within a week or so he should be back to normal. 

Well... as normal as he ever was anyway. 

Holiday disposed of the blood sample and got to her feet, stretching hugely. A quick glance at her watch told her that it was nearing 4 in the morning. It had been a long, painfully exhausting day. She desperately wanted to return to her room and pass out, but she had promised Agent Six that she would stay with Rex until he returned. And she had to admit, she also hated the thought of leaving him in unfamiliar hands. 

Holiday pulled up the stiff cot she had brought and laid down, facing Rex's bed. He had tossed and turned a bit when he first fell asleep, but it looked like he was out for the night now. The only sounds in the room were the whirring of monitors, Rex's breathing, and the occasional soft beep. The medical machinery outlined Rex with a dim glow, illuminating his closed eyelids and exhausted face.

She was struck once again with the overwhelming thought that he was too young for this. This weak, sick, 9 year old boy was so small and so alone. He had no memories of who he had been. He didn't know where he had come from, what his family had been like, or even if he had anywhere to go once this was over.

Rex wasn't the only one either. 

The nanite event had created a harsh and unforgiving world. Many families had been broken, either by outside attacks or mutated family members. The number of orphans increased day by day, and many people had been forced to make whatever living they could on the streets. 

The thought hit her like a punch in the gut. She was familiar with the struggles of the world, but she couldn't think about it often. Her job was here. Her place was here. She had to focus all of her energy and effort into solving the EVO crisis, into finding a cure! And right now, that meant taking care of Rex. 

He really was the only ray of hope they they had seen in years. 

Holiday let out a heavy sigh, curling up in the thin blanket she had been given. This had been an awful day, but at least it was over now. All Rex had to do now was rest and recover. Nothing else would happen until the sun came up. 

Her eyes drifted shut. 

Holiday awoke to blinding lights, flashing sirens, and a flood of intruders. 

She sat bolt upright in her cot, staring wildly around at the chaos. Her eyes ached and streamed at the fierce white lights that had flashed on overhead. Armed agents pounded into the room and surrounded Rex's bed, weapons held at the ready. 

Holiday staggered to her feet, overwhelmed and heavy with exhaustion. 

"What's... what's going on?" she demanded, grabbing at one of the agents. 

They shoved her wordlessly to the side. Holiday bobbed frantically on the spot, trying to locate Rex through the field of limbs, weapons, and gear. What was happening? She hadn't been woken up by any sort of outburst from Rex. There was no need for such an extreme response! 

After a moment, Holiday found a gap between the guards and could see the patient bed. 

Her heart stopped as she saw Rex. He was lying on top of his bed, curled into a tight ball. His head was tucked into his knees and she could see him shaking. Although he was panicked and distressed though, no metal was protruding from his skin this time. His nanite count must still be too low to offer the involuntary self defense it usually did. 

A moment later, the agents closed ranks and she lost sight of him. 

Holiday spun on the spot, looking for the commanding officer. A tall, lean man in a pure black uniform caught her eye. She staggered up to him and caught hold of his arm. 

"What are you doing here? This is a recovery room!"

The man looked down at her, face obscured by his blank face mask. 

"Clear the room. We've got orders to secure the asset."

"Orders from who? I'm his medical examiner and I've been with him all night. There's no need for security and I demand that you all leave at-"

"His handler's been compromised. We're putting the asset on lockdown until further notice," the officer snapped, grabbing her roughly by the arms and shoving her toward the exit. 

As they moved, Holiday caught sight of Rex once more. Agents were surrounding him, forcing him flat to the bed and locking restraints around his hands, feet, and neck. Above the racket, she could hear him crying. 

Holiday moved without thinking. She fought wildly against the grip of the Providence officer holding her. Her hair fell loose around her face as she bucked and kicked, trying to wrench herself free.

She didn't speak, she didn't think. She simply fought.

But despite her best efforts, the agent managed to force her out of the room. He shoved her away from the door and barked a command to his squad. Holiday crashed to the ground, her head connecting with cold, hard metal. Her wild surge of energy and anger leaked away as the exhaustion and pain overwhelmed her. 

Through bleary eyes, she saw Rex's bed being wheeled out of the recovery room, surrounded by armed agents on all sides. As her head pounded and her eyes stung, she could hear Rex calling for Six. Calling for her. Calling for help. 

The world faded away as she was left alone in the hallway, mind, body, and heart breaking at the sound of a child who needed her. A child that she couldn't reach.