Maxx's voice cracked across the elevator as he jabbed a finger at the flickering ceiling lights.
"THIS ISN'T EVEN THE BOSS LEVEL YET—!"
He didn't finish.
Because something sliced through the roof.
Not gently.
Not slowly.
Violently.
A hooked blade punched through the ceiling like it was cutting through cheap aluminum. Sparks rained down in a furious orange shower.
Both Maxx and 4531 screamed
different tones, same panic.
The roof didn't bend.
It detonated, metal shrapnel blasting across the pitch-black elevator. The lights flickered once—just long enough to reveal a shape crouched above them.
Humanoid… but wrong.
Too long.
Too bent.
Too predatory.
Two electric-blue lines came alive across its smooth, featureless mask.
Maxx froze.
"…oh no."
4531 whispered the words he least wanted to hear.
"Reaper Unit."
The thing dropped.
Silent,Precise and scary as hell.
A falling guillotine was the striking image it gave.
It landed with a folded predator's elegance, tilting its head in a slow, deliberate crack—as if studying them before dismantling them.
4531 moved first.
She shoved Maxx behind her so hard his skeleton reconsidered its life choices.
"Stay back!"
Maxx peeked over her shoulder.
Mistake.
"That is a Reaper?! It looks like Slenderman and a forklift had a freaky cyber-bab—"
The mask snapped toward him and was completely fast, sharp, and soundless.
Maxx produced a noise not found in nature.
Then it moved.
F A S T.
A blade swept down—
CHINNNG!!
A glowing dome erupted around Maxx, swirling with floating chat messages like a neon hurricane.
His Chat Shield— except… he didn't summon it.
His fear did.
The Reaper slammed against the dome, metal grinding on raw energy. Sparks exploded in furious bursts.
4531's eyes widened.
"Your shield—push it back!"
"I DON'T KNOW HOW!" Maxx squealed. "I've had these powers for TWO DAYS! I can't even FIND the settings menu!"
Cracks spider-webbed across the shield.
The Reaper dug in while its second blade rose and stabbed not at Maxx and definitely
not at 4531.
At all the elevator cables.
For a single suspended breath, gravity stalled.
Then—
the world dropped dramatically.
Maxx screamed instantly while his scream had layers.
His scream had depth.
His scream deserved a Grammy.
"THIS WAS NOT THE PLAN!!"
Wind howled.
Metal shrieked as the elevator disintegrated around them.
4531 grabbed Maxx by the hoodie and yanked him close. Her irises flashed blue-pink-white—code destabilizing under stress.
"MAXX—your heart—USE IT!"
"What part of 'I don't know how to use my magical Twitch-streamer heart' is unclear?!"
"Feel something!"
"Oh GREAT—THERAPY WHILE FALLING—!!"
Maxx made the small mistake of looking up.
The Reaper was crawling down the collapsing shaft toward them—
like gravity was just a rumor—
skittering with possessed mechanical grace.
And it was gaining.
Faster than the wind.
Maxx's heartbeat spiked—pixels swarming across his arms, and 4531 slammed her hand to his chest. Then their energies collided like crossed lightning.
Their hearts synced.
Something clicked—
BOOOOOOM—!!
A shockwave erupted from both of them.
Half streamer-blue light and half glitch-static.
A hybrid blast of some kind.
It hit the Reaper mid-crawl, ripping it off the wall. The machine spiraled upward into the collapsing dark, limbs tearing free as it vanished into the wreckage.
The blast slowed their fall—
but nowhere near enough, which made Maxx brace for death.
WHAAAAAAM—!!
The elevator slammed into the lower shaft, folding like a crushed soda can. The impact tore open a slanted maintenance tunnel beneath them.
Maxx and 4531 were flung through the floor, tumbling into a narrow corridor full of dust, broken wiring, and sparking metal.
Silence.
Then Maxx wheezed:
"D-Did we just… do a combo move?"
4531 blinked, glow softening.
"…I believe we did."
Maxx raised a shaking fist.
"Nice."
She stared at it.
Then tapped it.
The ruined elevator groaned above them.
4531 snapped back to alertness.
"Move. Now."
They staggered deeper into the tunnel—
not staying to see if the Reaper stayed dead.
Helix Observation Chamber
Dozens of screens flickered inside a pristine white control chamber.
The elevator feeds were gone—static.
But the shockwave readings were still glowing with two signatures and two energies, with one synchronized pulse.
Helix leaned closer.
"…Beautiful."
He replayed the blast frame by frame, studying the resonance—
the fusion, and what interested him most was
the heartbeat alignment.
"Better than predicted. Much better."
He pressed a button.
"Let's see how they handle stage two."
Sirens wailed.
The emergency passage stretched forward like a metallic throat—wet, narrow, echoing with every step.
Maxx leaned on the wall, breathing unevenly.
4531 supported his arm.
"You good?" she asked softly.
"No. But also yes. But also—no? I'm oscillating."
"…Oscillating?"
"I'm switching between being happy I lived and mad a cyber-demon tried to kill me in an elevator."
Her lips twitched. Almost a smile.
Then—
KRRRRSSHHH—
A dragging metallic scrape echoed through the tunnel.
4531 froze.
Maxx swallowed.
"Uh. That wasn't me."
"No," she whispered. "It wasn't."
Another scrape, and it was getting closer.
It was of a different kind, it seemed.
Wet and broken.
Maxx's gamer instincts went feral.
LEAVE. IMMEDIATELY.
"Chat would be yelling at me right now," he muttered. "Calling me an idiot for standing still."
4531 tilted her head.
"Your imaginary voices warn you of danger?"
"Yes! It's literally their hobby!"
The scraping rounded the corner—
And Maxx's soul tried to exit his body.
A massive, half-ruined creature dragged itself into view.
Metal ribs were exposed, with sparks dripping from its spine.
Half its face was missing.
4531 whispered:
"An Echo…"
Maxx blinked.
"But—I thought I was the Echo."
"A different kind. A failed prototype. One Helix left to rot down here."
The creature's mangled jaw clicked.
"…k…kill… us…"
Maxx shrieked.
"It TALKS?!"
"It shouldn't," 4531 said sharply. "Something is wrong."
It lunged.
4531 grabbed Maxx's hand.
Their powers reacted instantly—
blue streamer-light and pink glitch twisting into a neon storm.
The Echo recoiled.
"MAXX—NOW!"
"I'M TRYING!"
Their energy spun—chaotic but connected.
Maxx thrust out his hand.
"STREAM MODE ACTIVATE!!"
Nothing.
He cleared his throat.
"A-ahem—STREAM MODE—ACTIVATE!"
A hybrid beam erupted from his palm, blasting the Echo backward through a half-collapsed security door.
Dust exploded outward.
Maxx stared at his hands.
"…I'm Goku."
4531 almost smiled.
"You did well."
Maxx blushed.
Great.
Now he had adrenaline, trauma, and feelings.
But 4531 suddenly went pale.
"Maxx… look."
A beeping light blinked on the Echo's torso.
Maxx squinted.
"…What is that?"
4531 grabbed his arm.
"That is not a tracker."
"O…kay? Then wh—"
"It's a recall signal."
"A recall wh—"
She yanked him into a sprint.
"MAXX—RUN! IT'S CALLING MORE ECHO UNITS!"
Maxx went ghost-white.
"Oh.
Oh no.
OH NO NO—I REFUSE—"
Mechanical shrieks erupted behind them.
Maxx's voice cracked:
"WE JUST OPENED A MINECRAFT SPAWNER!!"
4531 dragged him faster.
"We must reach the surface. NOW."
They sprinted down the shaking corridor—
as dozens of awakened Echo units roared to life behind them.
Chamber of Helix
On the radar, red dots lit up one by one.
With Echo units activating.
Echo units entering hunting mode.
Helix's smile sharpened like an evil doctor on a mission as he said:
"They resonate perfectly under pressure… let's apply more."
He typed a command.
Far below, a metal gate slammed shut while
another opened.
The horde of the swarm accelerated.
Helix whispered:
"Run, little Echo… run."