"Today, we bring you somber news. A young boy named Nexus Diggito has passed away after being rushed to the hospital with severe head injuries."
"It is strongly suspected that he was a victim of bullying, which resulted in a concussion. While the victim had initially regained consciousness, he tragically took his own life shortly after by cutting his own blood bag IV line."
...
"Dr. Drugger, you were the one treating Nexus Diggito. Do you have any insight into what drove him to such a desperate act ?" journalists asked as they crowded the doctor in front of the hospital.
"..." Dr. Drugger swallowed hard. "To be honest, I am not entirely sure of the reason. Whenever I tried to speak with him, he remained silent. He refused to say a word to me."
"However, based on my autopsy findings, it appears the victim suffered from bullying, which likely led him to end his own life," Dr. Drugger stated.
"Do you support a swift resolution to this case?" the journalists pressed.
Dr. Drugger stood frozen for a moment, sweat pouring from the pores of his metallic skin.
"...A—anyway, I must return to my duties immediately. I have many other patients waiting for me !" Without answering which side he favored, Dr. Drugger walked briskly back inside, leaving the crowd behind.
THUD!!
An ice cream cone hit the ground, slipping from Onyx's grip as she stood paralyzed, staring at the news on a street-side television.
"..."
"What's wrong, Onyx?" asked the boy standing beside her.
"I have to go home, Kraken!" Onyx cried.
"Wait, what...?" Kraken asked, confused. Onyx hurried down the sidewalk, leaving him behind. "Hey, what about our date? Onyx!!"
Kraken quickly caught up to her. "Onyx, come on. It's just Nexus. Why are you taking this so seriously?"
Onyx stopped dead in her tracks and shot a piercing glare at Kraken. "...Is this really funny to you? When... when we are one of the reasons it happened?" she whispered sharply.
"I know, I know," Kraken said dismissively. "But seriously, calm down. My father will handle this, and we'll be just fine!"
Onyx shook her head in disbelief. Taking a few steps back, she spoke firmly: "We're done... Kraken!"
She turned and sprinted away. "...Wait... just like that?" Kraken muttered, stunned.
SLAM!!
Dr. Drugger shut his door tightly, cutting off the noise of the crowd until the house was silent.
"Oh, Primus!" he gasped, clutching his chest. He hurried toward the library in his home. "This is the first time I've ever done something like this!"
Standing before his bookshelf, he breathed heavily, his heart racing with anxiety. He had just committed an unthinkable act: he had intentionally 'killed' a patient—especially a child as broken as Nexus.
He pulled a specific set of books and pressed a hidden button behind them. The bookshelf groaned and slid aside, revealing a secret room. Dr. Drugger stepped inside and locked the mechanism from within. "At least I'll be safe here," he whispered as the shelf slid back into place.
"Nexus!!"
"Nexus!!"
NEXUS!!!
"Huh!"
Nexus snapped his eyes open. The voice—a woman's voice—felt so real, echoing loudly inside his head. It sounded like his mother, and it made his heart hammer against his chest.
His blue eyes scanned the room. It was small, lit by a single overhead bulb. There was a table cluttered with medicine bottles, surgical scissors, and scalpels. A nearby sink had a faucet left slightly open, a weak trickle of water echoing in the soundproof, tiled room.
Nexus found himself lying on a wheeled gurney, wrapped in a thick, warm blanket. When he reached out to pull the blanket back, he froze in shock.
The color and size of his hands had changed. Both of them. His entire body was now a deep shade of blue. He sat up abruptly, throwing the blanket aside to inspect himself. He ran his hands over his face and head—everything felt different.
"I thought... I was dead," he whispered.
Tuk... tuk...
Footsteps approached. The sound grew louder with every step until a key turned in the lock. The door creaked open.
"Who's there?" Nexus asked.
"So, you're finally awake ." A pair of glowing blue eyes shone from the shadows of the doorway. A man stepped forward into the light.
"They paid me to kill you. But I swore an oath as a doctor to help my patients until fate itself decides otherwise. So..."
It was the same doctor from the hospital—the one who had given him the injection.
"I faked your death to save you," the doctor said, offering a small smile. He walked to the sink and turned off the faucet. "The rest is up to you. Because from this moment on, your name is Maximus."
"I have modified your physical form. Only 10% of your original identity remains. I kept your face, but everything else—even your voice—has been altered. Don't worry, your metal body is still adaptive."
The doctor grabbed a cup, filled it from a water dispenser, and took some pills from a cabinet. He placed them on the table beside Nexus. "Stabilizers. You only need to take these once."
As he headed for the door, he paused. "You must leave and start a new life. This door will always be open for you. I... I wanted to adopt you, but I'm not ready for that yet. I'm sorry."
The sound of his footsteps faded into silence.
Nexus sat in the silence, gripped by confusion and despair. "Why didn't I just die?... What kind of life am I supposed to live in this unfair world ?" he muttered, his grip tightening on the edge of the bed.
He eventually stood up and walked through the dim corridor toward a bright light at the end. He squinted as he emerged into the open air. He was on a high hill; the city below looked tiny from this height.
"Is Transformation Mode unlocked? I see."
Without further thought, Nexus—now Maximus—began the long trek down the steep path. He nearly slipped several times on the treacherous slope. Exhausted, he occasionally sat down to catch his breath, wondering how the doctor managed to travel up and down this cliff so easily.
A mountain goat nearby seemed to mock him, bleating as it moved effortlessly across the rocks. "Stupid animal," Maximus grumbled.
Finally, he reached flat ground. He rested to recover his strength. "I don't even have a plan for how to be Maximus. But... I have to... I have to accept this."
After two hours of walking, he reached the city outskirts. He had no money and nowhere to go. He slumped onto a nearby bench as the night grew late and silent.
"Hey there, kid," a voice called out, startling him. A man in a wheelchair rolled into the light. "It's not safe to be out this late."
It was Nova Prime.
Nova Prime...? Maximus thought. His hands balled into tight fists, a surge of rage boiling within him at the sight of the man.
Maximus remembered the day Nova Prime sentenced his parents to death. He could still see it, hear it, and feel the weight of that day. The day Nova Prime took an axe to behead Atlas Prime.
"Any last words?" Nova Prime had asked.
Atlas Prime had accepted his fate before hundreds of thousands of cheering spectators. He had lost everything in a single day.
"...Spare my son, Nexus Diggito," Atlas pleaded.
Nova Prime had hesitated, a single tear falling as he raised his weapon. "Forgive me, Atlas Prime ." Then, the blade fell. Nexus had watched, screaming for his father.
Back in the present, Nova Prime used his arms to pull himself from his wheelchair and sit on the bench next to Maximus. "...Are you lost? Do you not know the way home?"
Maximus remained silent.
"I see," Nova said softly. "I am struggling, too. I can't stop thinking that everything I've done has caused someone out there to suffer. That boy... he ran away, and then I heard news of his death."
Nova reached into his pocket and pulled out a heavy pouch. "Use this money to live, kid. It's enough to last a lifetime if you're careful. Use it wisely ." He handed the pouch, filled with coins and gems, to Maximus.
"May I know your name?" Nova asked.
"..."
Maximus took a deep breath. "I am... Maximus."
"Well, Maximus. If you ever need my help..." Nova Prime handed him a slip of paper. "Contact me immediately."
"Why don't you just adopt me?" Maximus blurted out.
Nova Prime sighed. "I wish I could. But we Primes are born different. If we spend too much time near a child, the particles emitted by our bodies can be fatal to them."
Maximus stayed quiet, but his mind raced. His father was also a special Prime, a former soldier under Nova Prime. "...I heard the leader of the Primes in this region has a child. How did he survive?" Maximus asked pointedly.
Nova Prime thought for a moment, remembering Nexus. "...He was a lucky child. Not many are strong enough."
Nova powered on his wheelchair to leave. "Maximus... I hope we meet again. I'd like to talk more, but I am busy rebuilding this region before the elections begin."
As Nova Prime rolled away, a look of relief washed over his face. He whispered to himself, "So, his name is Maximus now ?" He had finally found Nexus and secured his future.
Maximus tucked the money pouch into his chest pocket and lay down on the bench. He stared up at the shining stars until his eyes grew heavy and finally closed.
To be continued...