Maxx limped across the university courtyard, soaked from the teleport fountain and emotionally DOA.
Students stared.
A couple of first-years whispered:
"Bro, is that the guy who punched a Hunter?"
"He tried to punch a Hunter. Big difference."
Maxx wrung out his shirt like a dead sponge.
"Great. Made it back to campus. Alive-ish. Didn't cry in front of my viewers—which is honestly a personal win."
He pulled up his streaming HUD.
[Status: AUTO-STREAMING ENABLED — Campus Mode Detected]
"Wait—campus mode? What do you mean campus mode, I'm not streaming—!"
Chat exploded instantly:
[HoloPigeon]: MAXX LANE RETURNS FROM DEATH pt. 7!
[MysteryMeow]: SHOW US THE HUNTER SCARS
[VI-Admin]: Stream quota still unmet. Continue.
Maxx screamed internally.
"This university is going to kill me before Helix does."
He staggered toward the dorm building—
—and stopped.
Because the air behind him clicked softly,precisely and repeating.
Maxx froze.
"…Nope. Nope-nope-nope. That's an Echo sound. That's a bad Echo sound. That's a 'you're about to die in your own dorm hallway' sound."
He turned slowly.
Nothing.
No one.
Just the fountain and the courtyard lamps.
Maxx rubbed his face. "I'm hearing things. Great. Trauma with surround sound."
He moved again.
click-click-click
This time closer.
Maxx spun around.
Still nothing.
Chat was eating this up:
[GhostingYou]: BRO IS BEING STALKED LMAOOO
[BinaryWitch]: THAT'S AN ECHO SOUND, I RECOGNIZE IT
[Observer_00]: Good. They're adapting.
Maxx gulped.
"Okay no. Observer, I hate when you say things like that—"
He reached for the dorm door—
It opened on its own.
Maxx stepped inside cautiously.
The lights flickered—
Then steadied.
Everything looked normal.
Then he noticed the janitor bot in the hallway had been torn open like someone tried to learn robotics using violence.
"Oh that's comforting," Maxx whispered.
Then the vent above him rattled.
Metal shifted.
Clicking crawled down the walls.
Maxx backed up until his spine hit the wall.
"No. Nope. I left you all underground. Stay underground! I'm not emotionally available for new traumas—"
A single metallic claw poked out of the vent.
Maxx nearly screamed.
Then—
A MASK dropped onto the floor in front of him.
Half broken and Half melted.
It stared up at him.
Maxx whimpered. "Please be a gift and not a threat—"
The vent grille snapped fully open and something slid out slowly.
It was Crawling,twisted but not attacking.
It was an Echo unit but not like the others.
This one had patches of flickering light across its limbs—like someone had tried to repair it halfway.
And when it lifted its head—
It bowed deeply like it met it master.
Maxx's soul left his body.
"Oh no."
Chat exploded:
[CeilingCat99]: THE ARMY FOUND HIM
[PixelMedic]: CAPTAIN MAXX OF THE HORROR BRIGADE
[SynthCake]: THEY'RE TRACKING YOU THROUGH THE DIRECTIVE BRO
The Echo rasped:
"P…rotect… Maxx… Lane."
Maxx slapped both hands over his face.
"NO. GO BACK TO THE PIT. I AM NOT COMMANDER MATERIAL. I CAN'T EVEN COMMAND MY LAUNDRY CYCLE."
Another vent popped open and with that
another Echo dropped out.
Then another.
And another.
Soon, twelve Echo units knelt in the hallway of his dorm.
Some missing limbs.
Some sparking.
Some half-alive, half-failure.
All kneeling and eargely waiting for command.
Maxx squeaked, "No no no—my RA is going to have a stroke—"
Then his bedroom door slowly creaked open.
Maxx's blood froze.
4531 stepped out of his dark room.
Eyes glowing faintly violet.
"Maxx."
"What—HOW—WHY—WHO LET YOU IN—?!"
"I followed the directive link," she said softly. "To protect you."
Maxx looked at the army of kneeling Echoes.
Then at her.
Then at chat.
"OH MY GOD I AM STARTING A CULT—"
4531 stepped closer and with her expression soft but her hands were shaking.
"Maxx… they came because I gave the command.
They will not leave unless you give them something else."
Maxx stared at her, horrified.
"WHY ME?! WHY DO I HAVE THE PASSWORD TO THE NIGHTMARE ARMY?"
She didn't answer.
Her gaze lowered.
"Because they think you're Lyra's choice."
Maxx felt the world stop.
"…Lyra's… what?"
A metallic screech cut through the dorm.
The Echoes snapped to attention instantly—like a triggered hive.
4531's face went pale.
"That sound… it's not them."
Maxx swallowed. "Then—who—"
THOOM.
A massive shadow blocked the hallway light n appeared taller than a doorway.
Taller than a Reaper too.
Maxx whispered:
"If that's the Hunter again, I swear to god I'm dropping out—"
The figure stepped into view and 4531 gasped.
"Not Hunter."
Maxx's stomach flipped again.
"Is that better or worse—"
Before she could answer—
The figure's mask lit up with Helix's symbol.
And it spoke in Helix's voice:
"Maxx Lane. You left too early.
Let's resume our conversation."
Maxx screamed at this moment while
Chat screamed probably out of excitement
The Echoes surged forward and 4531 stepped in front of Maxx.
And the figure's arm unfolded into a glowing blade..
The hallway went red at this moment
Not warm red.
Emergency lockdown red.
The walls hummed with force-field activation as the masked figure stepped fully into the corridor—easily scraping the ceiling with its shoulder.
It was built like a Reaper, but wrong. Too smooth. Too precise. Too new. Its mask glowed with Helix's insignia—four intersecting lines like a crosshair aimed at Maxx.
Maxx whispered, "Okay… maybe… maybe it just wants to talk?"
The blade on its arm sizzled to life with a sound like burning data.
Maxx screamed. "IT DOESN'T WANT TO TALK!"
4531 shoved Maxx behind her so hard he hit the wall.
Her voice dropped an octave—echoing with Lyra's undertone:
"Echo units—DEFEND PROTOCOL."
Every Echo in the hallway snapped to attention like they'd been plugged into electricity.
Then they launched.
The first Echo slammed into Helix's projection-unit with a shriek of tearing metal.
It bounced off like a tin can.
The second tried to claw the mask.
Its arm shattered immediately.
The third jumped from the wall—
—and got sliced clean in half by the glowing blade.
Sparks flew while oil splashed.
Maxx nearly vomited.
"OH MY GOD THIS IS MY DORM HALLWAY— PEOPLE HAVE MIDTERMS TOMORROW!"
CHAT:
[HoloPigeon]: OH NO THEY'RE GETTING FARMED
[SynthCake]: HELIX BUILT DIFFERENT
[Observer_00]: Observe how she reacts.
[VI-Admin]: Student Lane, please remain in frame. Running lowers stream engagement.
Maxx yelled at the sky, "ENGAGEMENT IS NOT MY PRIORITY RIGHT NOW—SURVIVING IS!!"
Another Echo crawled across the ceiling, leaping at the projection.
The blade snapped upward—
—but 4531 intercepted it.
Her palm caught the glowing edge.
Metal burned as her arm sizzled but the blade stopped.
Maxx stared, horrified.
"4531—!"
She didn't flinch.
Her voice was calm, cold, and terrifyingly steady:
"You do not touch him."
The projection tilted its head.
Helix's voice emerged—smooth, amused.
"Lyra. Or rather… what remains of you."
4531 stiffened as her grip faltered.
Maxx shouted, "HEY—NO—NOTA GOOD TIME TO GET EXISTENTIAL—MOVE!"
The projection twisted its wrist—
The blade flared—
4531 was thrown across the hallway like a ragdoll, crashing into the vending machine so hard it exploded.
Maxx screamed, "SERA IS GONNA MURDER ME FOR BREAKING THAT—"
Helix's projection turned its mask toward Maxx.
"Maxx Lane. You will comply now."
The projection stepped forward—
—and the ENTIRE hallway suddenly filled with Echoes.
Not twelve.
Not twenty.
Fifty.
They poured from vents, elevators, laundry chutes, ceiling panels—like a silent metallic tide.
All kneeling ,trembling and waiting.
Maxx's voice cracked.
"…How many Echo units followed me home?!"
4531 staggered upright, sparks flickering from her damaged arm.
"Maxx… they came because you're connected to my command thread. You're their anchor now."
"That is the WORST promotion anyone has ever received!!"
Helix's projection raised its blade again.
But this time—
All fifty Echoes moved at once.
It was like a tidal wave of claws, masks, broken limbs, and static screams.
The projection-unit fought back, carving through them like paper—
—but even Helix's voice shifted noticeably.
"Impossible. They should not respond to her. The Lyra template is archived."
4531 stepped forward, eyes shifting from blue to violet to white—
Lyra's resonance breaking through at this moment.
"I told you," she whispered.
"I am not archived."
The temperature dropped as every Echo froze mid-movement.
Maxx swallowed.
"Okay so—are we winning or about to explode? Someone please clarify—"
The projection cocked its head.
"Fascinating.
I will retrieve you myself, then."
It lunged—directly at Maxx.
Maxx's scream hit new octaves before the blade touched him—
4531 teleported.
Not the glitchy dash she always used.
A full, stable blink—like Lyra had clicked a command file.
She appeared right in front of Maxx, arms spread.
The blade struck her chest while the lights flickered across her body.
Systems dimmed immediately.
She didn't move.
Maxx choked. "4531—? HEY—HEY—DON'T—"
Her voice was faint.
But determined.
"…I said… you do not touch him."
A shockwave burst outward, throwing every Echo and the projection backward.
Maxx dropped to his knees, catching her as she collapsed forward.
Helix's projection staggered but did not fall.
It recalibrated.
And aimed its blade directly at Maxx's head.
"You have ten seconds to surrender."
Maxx lifted his trembling hands.
"I—I surrender!! OKAY?! I surrender!"
4531 tried to grab him, but her vision was glitching out.
"No… Maxx… don't…"
"I HAVE NO OTHER OPTIONS—MY ONLY SKILL IS RUNNING BADLY!"
The projection stepped closer.
"Accepting surrender. Preparing transport—"
A bright circle of light opened under Maxx's feet.
He was sucked downward like falling through a digital trapdoor.
His last sight was 4531 reaching toward him—
—and her voice cracking:
"Maxx—!!"
Then everything went black.