(Damn, I haven't updated in a while. This chapter is a bit lackluster but eh.)

The dim rays from the street lamps alerted Rex to the gruesome sight before him.

A dark figure stood over the bodies of Six and Holiday, wielding the needles of a golden gauntlet tinged with traces of blood. A smirk spread across the man's face as he lightly tapped the skulls of his victims with his feet, spreading dirt across their faces. Rex watched in horror as the cruel figure then used his gantlet to crush a few bones of the deceased doctor's remains for good measure, trembling when the man crept closer to him.

"This was all unavoidable, Rex," Van Kleiss murmured, forming his arm into a pike and stabbing it through Six's corpse. "The longer you avoid me, the more people get hurt."

Rex shuddered from the eerie familiarity and tried to form his builds, but every weapon he created melted into a pile of black dust. His enemy laughed, then held up his gauntlet, waving it triumphantly.

"Mine is still functioning," the king taunted. "Your powers are gone, Rex. What are you going to do now?"

As much as the boy wanted to respond, a choked sob formed within his throat as he stared at his dead parental figures. The only family he had was brutally murdered, yet he stood there uselessly, barely able to look the older EVO in the eye.

"Not much for answering promptly, are you?" Van Kleiss asked sarcastically, the rain of the storm above soaking him thoroughly. "Is this what a supposed hero does when he's met his match? Act like a statue? I could very well turn you into one."

Rex winced at the sound of a vile laugh emanating from the man's throat, cold chills reverberating through his spine as the thunder crackled above. The fate of being reduced to solid stone shook him to his core, causing a few tears to escape his eyes. Nothing about this was normal if he'd been forced to expose such raw emotions in the face of his enemy.

"N-no," the teen pleaded, his tears blurring his vision. "You- you already killed them, don't kill... me."

The king raised a brow. "I killed no one, Rex. You tampered with my plans, and you placed them in harm's way. You killed them. Take in the details of your victims. Don't you feel sorry for what you've done?"

Rex's gaze shifted back to the corpses, shrieking as a flash of lightning illuminated their skeletons exposed through their skins. Their inner organs spilled out like a disturbing ooze, and the boy felt nothing but guilt for how he'd gotten them murdered in cold blood. If the boy had been wise enough to save them in time, they'd still be alive, and most likely be aiding him against the madman.

If only he hadn't ruined everything.

"It seems there is some truth to what Providence calls you," Van Kleiss pointed out, a strange smile spreading across his face. "Nothing but a weapon. Considering what you've done to them, I'd say you deserve the label."

"I- I don't- I didn't mean to-"

"No one *means to, Rex. But you've done something unforgivable. It's too late now, and neither side wants you anymore. You're obsolete."

Rex woke up in cold sweat, finding his face pressed against the stone floor beneath him. Distracted by the unusual sight, it took him a moment to realize that someone was rubbing their fingers into his neck, prompting him to groggily turn his head to the side.

A pair of black boots.

Rex shuddered. The man from his nightmare had arrived.

"How long does it take for you to wake up?" the king asked, lightly tugging at the boy's collar. "Sit up."

"Don't touch me," the teen muttered, propping himself up with his arm and crossing his legs. "Where am I?"

"It seems that the sedatives kicked in sooner than you thought. You passed out in the middle of the hall and never made it to your room in time."

Rex stared at the floor for a moment, squinting at the tiles as he tried to remember the night before. As the events dawned upon him, so did the realization that today would be his first chance to finally re-enter civilization- at least, the normal kind he was accustomed to. He quickly stood up and dusted off his jacket with his hands, eager to finally leave the castle.

"I'm going to get the nanite sample from a normal human today, right?" he spoke, almost slurring his words at the speed they fled his mouth. "You're letting me out of Abysus. I won't be bothering you or Biowulf or Breach and-"

"Calm down," Van Kleiss interrupted, raising a brow. "It's obvious you're eager to escape. The least you could do is pretend to be a little grateful for this place."

Rex snorted, but said nothing. Risking his chance to leave was something his ego wasn't worth.

The king smirked. "I see you've learned to hold your tongue when it suits you. Fair enough. You're going to leave today, but just so you know..."

The man extended his needle-like claws and traced the middle of the younger EVO's neck, making sure to inflict a light scratch.

"Should you ever decide to try to throw off my supervision and never come back, once I find you, you just might never leave Abysus... ever again."

Rex tensed up at the sudden sting and instinctively retraced it, rubbing the area to check for blood. "Psychopath."

"All in good will. Now, seeing as how Breach is currently extremely mentally unstable, I want you to take one of the large flying EVO's behind the castle to ride to wherever you choose in New York City."

"Whoa, wait, I didn't choose where to-"

"I already did for you, so you don't have a choice. I know the place a bit well considering the vines I had explore the entire underground structure. Wherever the EVO lands you, you will have an hour to return there, or else I'll have no choice but to hunt you down."

Rex stared at the bustling city streets, his fingers pressed against the empty glass vial and small knife in his left pocket. Much to his chagrin, he had been forced to find a way to fill it with blood without using a painless method. He couldn't tell if it was a crude move on Van Kleiss's part to force a hero to hurt others, or if the part of the lab containing nearly painless syringes had been burned down and made unavailable. Either way, even for a moment, he was about to become a villain and cut someone open to get what he needed.

Of course, the king had told him he was being incredibly dramatic.

Clearing his mind, Rex inhaled the musty city air and strolled along the sidewalk, the familiar sounds of car horns, people chattering, and the occasional motorcycle engine giving him a small sense of peace. The air he could do without- as much as he disliked admitting it, breathing in Abysus was much healthier- but the rest felt like home. It pained him that Bobo wasn't by his side, but he tried to push that thought away and continue walking. He couldn't risk breaking down crying on the street, though with the massive amounts of people that weaved in and out the area, he wasn't quite sure that anyone would notice.

Not that it was a particularly comforting thought.

Rex kicked aside a pebble and leaned against the wall, watching as a pair of children ran past him. As their mother hurriedly followed suit, he wondered how long it had been since he'd left the country with the red sky. It had certainly been many months, perhaps almost a year. Judging from the common revealing apparel the men and women around him wore, it was summer. A summer, it seemed, the boy would spend alone. It wasn't as if he knew what a seasonal vacation was like, but he had someday hoped he would experience it. Noah had told him that if Providence managed to give him a free month, he would take him to see Central Park. He went there every summer, and though it was usually for business, he didn't mind a tag-along.

Rex lifted his head to the darkening sky and stared at the clouds, feeling a thudding in his chest. No, rather, his whole body. A sensation so familiar, yet just out of the reach of his memory.

The teen gripped his chest in confusion, wondering if he was in such stress that his whole cardiovascular system was conspiring against him. The thudding ran down to his feet, almost like a second heartbeat. He was about to attempt a few breathing exercises to relax, but before he began, he realized the consistent vibrations affected the wall he was leaning on as well. Raising a brow, the boy pressed a hand against the brick and felt it pulse as if it was alive. Doing the same with the sidewalk yielded the same results. And if he listened closer, he could hear a faint chanting.

Rex eased away from the wall and turned the corner, peering behind it, his eyes widening at the realization of his surroundings. He had been leaning against the exterior of a bar, and inside, they were playing loud music, pumping up the bass.

No wonder it felt so familiar.

Curiously, Rex wandered towards the entrance about twenty feet away, only to be stopped by some sort of guard. The man gave him a stern look and crossed his arms menacingly, not budging from his stance.

"ID, please," he demanded, staring down the already frazzled teenager. "You don't look nearly old enough to enter."

He must have been very experienced with guessing ages from his job.

Was it even worth entering? On one hand, places like these were likely far stranger than anywhere else he'd been. From the outside, he could see that the interior was dark and flashy, already an active party that likely started at sunset- quite early, it seemed. He didn't know how he might be interacted with in such an unusual setting. But on the other hand, such a scene was the perfect place to drag someone into the pitch black corners after he'd drugged them, then take a blood sample with no one the wiser.

Rex grimaced at the very thought, feeling as though he'd somehow become corrupted. Why would such a cruel idea come so quickly to his mind? Was this part of Van Kleiss's plan, or was he paranoid? He-

"Pretending that you can't talk won't get you anywhere," the guard spoke up, interrupting his spiraling train of thought. "ID or leave."

"I don't, uh, have it with me?"

"Tough luck-"

"Aww, let the guy in, he's with us!"

Rex turned around to find a group of boys who looked barely older than he was, all flashing their ID's. They dressed like they were born and lived on the streets, with mild biker-gang vibes. His eyes widened, wondering if he was supposed to recognize any of them. Had his memory decayed from living in Abysus this long?

The guard huffed. "Fine."

The teen watched in awe as the strange gang hustled him into the club without a second thought, snickering all the way.

"I- I'm not- actually over 18-" Rex stuttered, though instantly regretting it. What if they thought he was one of them and then had him booted?

The tallest man in the group laughed and slapped his shoulder. "We have no clue who you are, kid, and we don't care. And that bro at the front only lets us get away with it because we sell him weed. The whole system's fucked, so just get out there and enjoy yourself."

The boy was at a loss for words as he watched the group leave him alone and wander around the room, blending right into the crowd. Taking a deep breath, he attempted to do such as well, meandering around the scantily clad dancing figures, trying to get to the opposite side of the room where it was darkest. He hesitantly grasped the knife in his pants as he made his way towards his destination, spotting a few folk against the wall too drunk to stand.

Perhaps he didn't need to drug anyone after all.

Trying to get away from the scene as quickly as possible, he waved his hand in the dark and tried to latch onto someone to drag them out with him. His hands latched onto a fistful of red hair, making a woman let out a small shriek beneath him. Luckily, the noise was barely discernible from the loud music playing in the background.

"Buy me dinner before you pull my hair," the woman he'd made contact with snidely remarked. "Tell you what, though- buy me a drink and we'll see where it goes."

"You've already had three drinks, Molly," a nearby voice interjected. "And you have a boyfriend!"

"He's not my boyfriend! We're just- hic- dating!"

Rex backed away, not wanting to be a part of the mess, especially as someone underage. But before he could escape, the redhead latched onto his arm and pinched his skin.

"Take me with you," she drawled, clearly drunk. "We could have fuuuuuun!"

The boy tried to get her hand off of him, but apparently alcohol brought out her stronger side. He glanced towards the entrance of the club and noticed that the sunlight had nearly disappeared. He had very little time before he'd be required to head back to the EVO awaiting him.

Who was he to deny such an easy way to extract blood?

"Okay, let's go then," he sighed, feeling sick to his stomach. As the teen pulled her out of the area and into the fresh air, her words became more and more vulgar, introducing him to phrases he hadn't even heard before-but was quite sure he knew what they meant. At best, he managed to keep her from grabbing onto him too much. His arm was enough.

A few minutes later, Rex dragged her to an alleyway far behind the building, and placed her on the ground. In the moonlight, she was quite pretty, despite the smeared black lipstick- probably from making out with people in the corner- making him feel bad about having to leave her the way he would. He felt like some sick, twisted animal for taking advantage of a girl drunk out of her mind, but at least the task wouldn't be difficult. No need to rip off clothes to expose flesh, seeing as how she was barely dressed at all, after all. With one hand pressed over her mouth to stifle her screams, he used the knife to cut a small gash into her thigh, filling up the vial.

She thrashed like a woman possessed, biting his arm every which way she could. With his own skin now bleeding from her attacks, the boy pressed his hand against her throat to force her to pass out. As a result, the rest of the task went by much easier. All he had to do now was make sure his own blood didn't mix with hers, and to escape into the night.

Unbeknownst to either of them, someone was standing behind the wall, shakily recording everything.