Maxx Rave thought waking up dead would be the most confusing part of his week.
He was wrong.
Maxx woke up drowning in white.
The ceiling above him glowed with soft, artificial sunlight — too bright, too perfect to be real.
The sheets beneath him were crisp and cold, like they'd been bleached by the soul of a germaphobe.
Machines hummed quietly on both sides of his bed, every beep sounding passive-aggressive.
His eyelids fluttered.
His bones ached while his scrawny muscles pulsed and his lungs felt like someone had replaced the air with hot Wi-Fi.
He groaned.
"Ughhh… either I'm dead or someone finally kidnapped me for organ resale."
A sharp voice answered:
"Unfortunately, both are incorrect."
Maxx jolted.
A tall man in a sterile white coat stood beside him, expression as flat as a dead battery.
Sleek black hair. Square glasses. A face that screamed I have no patience for you or anyone else on this planet.
Dr. Kaito.
His name tag glowed with a harsh red outline — indicating either high authority or severe personality defects.
"Good morning, Mr. Rave," Kaito said in a tone suggesting Maxx's existence inconvenienced him personally. "You survived, apparently."
Maxx blinked,that sentence implied he should be dead.
Well, he wasn't going to complain out loud — but wow, did everyone want him dead or what?
"Oh cool," Maxx said. "Can you rate my survival out of 10?"
"Three," Kaito replied instantly.
"Daaaamn."
"You regained consciousness despite severe neural shock, cellular strain, and… this."
He tapped his holographic tablet, rotating a glowing blue sphere.
"Your internal energy signature is inconsistent with your network imprint. Anomalous power at your disposal."
Maxx squinted like a confused baby who just realized the candy he ate… disappeared.
"I understood zero of that. Could you explain it like I'm five? Or better — like I'm me?"
Kaito's eyes narrowed.
"You shouldn't exist."
"Okay, that's—wow. Bold opening statement."
Kaito turned away, muttering to himself.
"Impossible… his readings surpass S-tier fluctuations… destabilized an entire arena… unauthorized ability manifestation…"
Maxx tried sitting up and immediately regretted everything.
Pain shot down his spine like fireworks having a meltdown.
"Okay… timeout. What happened? Did I win? Lose? Did the boss eat me? Did I finally get my face melted off in 4K?"
Kaito stared directly at him.
"You triggered a system-wide anomaly spike. The arena was forced into emergency shutdown while you manifested an unregistered ability. You—"
He paused. The air chilled slightly.
"…you broke the arena."
Maxx blinked. Shock. Then:
"W-wait. Me? I broke that giant murder dome? Accidentally?"
"Yes."
"…Okay but that's kinda sick though??"
Kaito pinched the bridge of his nose — the universal sign for I am deeply regretting helping this idiot.
Before Maxx could say anything else, voices outside the infirmary door caught his attention.
Low whispers which indicated they were nervous at that.
"…did you see the readings? Arena 01's grid exploded—"
"…the boss is still alive."
"…he's dangerous… the Director is coming."
"…they're calling him an Anomaly."
Anomaly.
There it was again.
The word felt less like a title and more like a death sentence.
Maxx swallowed.
"Hey, doc," he whispered. "Are they… scared of me?"
Kaito didn't answer.
He didn't need to — because two heavy drones floated into view outside the glass.
Not the usual tiny ones Maxx had seen before.
These were tall, armed with particle rifles and reinforced plating.
Security meant for… threats.
Maxx sank back onto the pillows like a defeated balloon.
"Okay. Cool. Totally normal to be guarded like a nuclear warhead. Totally fine."
The door hissed open.
Kaito turned, annoyed. "This room is restricted. No entry with—"
A small silhouette slipped past him like a rat dodging a broom.
Speaking of brooms—
NPC-4531 tumbled into the room, clutching her familiar broom like a security blanket.
Her cheeks flickered with glitchy pink pixels. Her breathing was fast — panicked — not-quite-human.
"MAXX!" she shouted, louder than any NPC should ever shout.
Kaito froze. "You— You cannot be in here! This is a classified zone—"
She completely ignored him.
In three seconds she was kneeling beside Maxx, scanning him frantically.
"Are you okay?! You were unconscious for eighteen minutes and forty-nine seconds! I thought— I thought—"
She grabbed his hand and Maxx blinked.
"…woah. Someone missed me."
"Oh shut up," she said — voice cracking. "I mean—no! I mean—I don't know! You almost died!"
Her grip trembled which her sprite glitched.
Maxx softened.
"Hey. I'm here. In one piece. Kind of."
"You shouldn't have protected me," she whispered.
"It was irrationally...statistically unfavorable. Unoptimized. I should've—"
"4531."
She stopped.
"You're allowed to care," Maxx said quietly.
Her eyes widened.
Her face glitched again — this time softer, like she wasn't programmed for the feeling she was experiencing.
But the moment shattered.
Machines behind Maxx began glitching.
KZZT.
KRRRSH.
Lights flickered. Kaito whirled around.
"No. No, NO—this is the anomaly spike again—"
Maxx's chest pulsed with warm electricity.
His heartbeat vibrated in the air.
NPC-4531's hand tightened around his.
"Maxx… your readings are rising."
Energy crackled along Maxx's arms.
"I don't know how to turn it off!"
"STOP ACTIVATING YOUR ABILITY!" Kaito shouted.
"I'M NOT DOING IT ON PURPOSE!"
Gravity warped. Papers floated. A scalpel spun midair.
Then—
NPC-4531 placed her palm over his heart.
Everything stopped.
The room steadied and the lights stabilized , the machines also calmed immediately
Kaito stared at her.
"She stabilized your readings… by touching you."
NPC-4531 pulled her hand back, glowing a little too warm.
"I—I don't know what that was," she whispered.
Before Maxx could answer—
The door slammed open.
Everyone froze.
A tall, elegant figure stepped inside — draped in black-and-blue authority robes.
Silver hair. Cold blue eyes lined with digital circuitry.
Director Helix.
The highest authority of the Arena Complex.
Even Kaito stiffened.
"Director—I didn't know you'd arrive—"
"Silence," Helix said calmly. Too calmly.
His gaze locked onto Maxx like an insect pinned to a display board.
"This boy," he said. "This creature, whatever he is — must be transferred to Containment."
Maxx whipped upright.
"Containment? Like prison? Like time-out? What level of scary is this?"
Helix didn't blink.
"An entity with system-breaking output cannot roam freely."
Armed drones marched inside.
NPC-4531 stepped forward shakily.
"Wait—he's not dangerous! He saved the arena! He saved me—"
Helix stared at her.
"You. NPC-4531. A simple Cleaning Unit."
Her trembling worsened.
"You disobeyed protocols while interfered with combat operations and displayed illegal emotional divergence."
She gasped.
"By order of the Board," Helix declared,
"you will be decommissioned."
Maxx's heart plummeted.
"NO—HEY—HEY, HOLD ON—"
Two drones aimed at her.
NPC-4531 whispered, horrified:
"Maxx… I don't want to be erased."
Something snapped inside him.
KA—THOOM.
Lights shattered while the drones collapsed instantly sparking a shockwave that ripped through the room.
Kaito hit the floor and Helix shielded himself.
"He's releasing another wave—!" Kaito shouted.
Maxx couldn't breathe. Couldn't control it.
NPC-4531 grabbed his wrist.
"MAXX! WE HAVE TO GO!"
"GO WHERE—?"
She cracked open a maintenance panel with her broom — apparently it had screwdriver mode???
She dragged him into the darkness.
"HEY! NO RUNNING IN THE HALLS!" Maxx yelled on instinct.
Alarms blared behind them,red lights of warning danger strobed.
Kaito rushed to the panel they disappeared through.
He hesitated…
Then typed an override code.
He opened the next maintenance door for them.
He had chosen a side.
The tunnels were dark, narrow, buzzing with machinery.
Sparks rained as the glitchy wires light up while alarms echoed.
Maxx stumbled, barely upright.
Power crackled along his arms like electricity trying to escape.
"I can't control this," Maxx gasped.
"You don't need to control it," she said,
"You just need to live."
They crawled through vents like rats,slid down shafts and jumped over exposed wiring.
Maxx tripped while she caught him.
"Where did you learn ninja moves?" he panted.
"I WATCHED YOU DO IT EARLIER!"
"Oh my god, I'm a terrible influence."
"You're the ONLY influence I have!"
That hit him right in the heart.
They finally burst through a hatch into an old storage room.
Crates were everywhere and also flickering lights.
Both collapsed on the floor from exhaustion and silence followed at this moment.
Maxx finally whispered:
"So… I'm an anomaly now."
NPC-4531 turned toward him.
"You're Maxx," she said softly.
"That's enough."
He swallowed.
It felt like the first time anyone meant that.
Far above them, in a hidden control chamber, a cloaked figure watched dozens of holographic screens.
All of them ironically were all centered on Maxx.
"So," the figure murmured.
"He awakened far earlier than predicted."
A smile curled on their shadowed face.
"Stage Two begins now."