Code Nexus

[Location: Earth, Oceanian Continent, Sunrise Island, Shanty Inn]

Stanley opened his eyes lazily as the light of the day started to filter through the curtain covering the window of his room.

He rose from the bed and set the sheets aside, sighing he opened the curtains allowing the light of the sun to illuminate the small studio apartment in which he lived. Inside of it there was a bed, a small cooking corner, with a microwave oven, an electric cooker, a small fridge and a sink, and a table with two seats, positioned so that it would be aligned with an old looking TV.

He had been living there since the day he got to that island. He used to work in Townsville, for a fledgling real estate company and was stationed at a subsidiary at the island. However his carrier got to a crashing halt during the economic crisis of the early tens. After losing his job and all of his money when the company went bankrupt he had to take different jobs, until he managed to afford living in the small room he was in on regular basis. Most of the jobs were related to janitorial activities and didn’t allow him to gross a lot of money.

That day hopefully he’d have been able to give his life a turn for the better. Recently a large multinational company called Hubberton Corporation put on the island’s newspaper ads regarding testing new medicines promising a substantial sum of money in return and cake.

With this money he would have managed to come back to Townsville and probably start over with another company.

He quickly consumed a breakfast consisting of a bowl of cereals, and a glass of water. Afterwards he headed into the bathroom and got clean, before putting on some relatively clean clothes and heading out.

Once at the lobby of the building he was rudely greeted as usual by the manager of the inn.

“Remember not to lose your keys while outside.” He groaned before coming back to reading a newspaper.

Stanley nodded and left the building, heading towards the nearest bus station.

Some hours later the Rainbooms were hiking towards the mountain, taking some nice fresh air and admiring the beauty of the scenery before they’d start their investigation.

“Here we are!” Pinkie Pie announced, as they reached the entrance of the cave system.

Fluttershy trembled a little at the sight of the long and dark cave. “It looks do dark and scary...”

“Thank goodness I had the time to design us some stylish mining hats,” She said taking some very elaborated mining hats out of her bag, each of them customized for each member of the group.

“You sure this is the one Pinkie?” Applejack asked.

“Hmmm.” She gave a look at the entrance. “Yep, my Pinkie Sense is very loud and clear!”

“I’m inclined to think this is correct, by cross referencing the data obtained by the spectrometers with the measurements this instrument is picking up right now I can tell that there is a strong flux of magical energy coming from the island.” Twilight was checking carefully the data appearing on the screen of her device.

“I think I can feel it too, there must be something very powerful in this mountain if it radiates all the way to the outside.” Sunset stepped closer to the cave entrance.

“Well, let’s get in then!” Applejack said.

“Race you to the crystal cave?” Rainbow Dash suggested.

“Did you even need to ask?” Applejack winked.

“Alright, ready, set g-” Rainbow Dash was cut off by Twilight.

“Wait! That’s a terrible idea!” She stopped them. “Don’t you remember Dash, you said the closer you get to the cave the more your magic comes back.”

“Twilight is right, if you gained back your powers suddenly inside a dead end cave you could get hurt!” Sunset pointed.

“Ugh...you are right,” Applejack said.

“Yeah...though there wouldn’t be any harm if we raced to the outside?” Rainbow Dash reasoned.

Sunset though about it. “Hmmm I guess not,”

“Then the challenge is still on, but postponed.” Rainbow Dash concluded.

Applejack nodded in return.

“Alright, how about we get in the cave now?” Twilight asked, she wouldn’t have tolerated losing another second.

The other girls hurried up to get their respective hats, turning on the lights. Fluttershy did it first.

“Alright girls, now let’s stay close, and nobody wanders off,” Sunset said.

Meanwhile the crystal gems were moving out for a reconnaissance as well, but in another direction.

“Here we are.” Peridot pointed at the ground in front of her, specifically to the mark on the ground she left when she faltered the other day.

“So this is where you felt the mass of metal beneath the island?” Pearl asked.

“Precisely here, please take note, it was approximately five hundred meters below the ground. Hmmm, actually five hundred fifty.” She was laying her head on the ground, concentrating.

Pearl took out a pen and started writing on papers she kept on a clipboard. Taking note of the position and the depth of the segments of the structure.

Steven helped her with his GPS.

“So...how long is this going to take?” Amethyst asked.

“I’m not sure, it depends on how big the structure is in it’s totality. It could take a few hours or maybe even the whole day,” Peridot explained.

“Meh, let’s hope it’s the former...” Amethyst said.

Steven thought about other relevant things they could have considered and spoke up, “Can you tell what’s the shape of the metal too, Peridot?”

“Let’s see...it seems to be circular, probably so that it’s geometry will withstand the pressure better.” Peridot concentrated more and started moving in the direction of it. “It seems to be pretty long- Wait, I think I can feel something larger, it’s some kind of subterranean chamber. It’s large and circular, very smoothed too around the edges. It connects with eight more conduits radially. The radius of the chamber is thirty meters, and the depth is the same as the conduit.”

Pearl quickly took note, trying to imagine the map of the underground structure compared with the island’s map.

As time went on, the group started to have an idea of how extensive the facility beneath the island was.

“Ah, welcome, Computress.” Dexter said opening the door for his partner allowing her to enter.

Once Dexter revealed the existence of his lab to the world and extending it to another larger facility, he started to upgrade his synthetic assistant so that she’d manage to operate both structures remotely. The final upgrade was an independent body, self powered and capable of connecting with the facilities extremely fast. It was where Dexter placed her central synthetic brain. The body had an anthropomorphic shape, feminine, even though instead of legs it had a small anti-grav levitation system.

Along with her was Broseph the bellhop. “Oh...you weren’t kidding, sorry hum...lady?”

“Lady will suffice,” Computress said.

“Has this man bothered you, Computress?” Dexter asked after hearing the brief conversation.

“This man thought I was wearing a disguise to sneak inside the hotel for free.” Computress explained.

“I’m my defense the only place I have seen androids before were movies, and you won’t believe it but it actually happened before,” Broseph explained.

“I guess I can’t blame you then, but I require that you and the rest of the staff will treat Computress with the utmost respect as long as she’ll be residing here with me,” Dexter answered him.

“It will be done, Sir.” Broseph answered.

“Very well then. That will be all.” Dexter dismissed him.

Computress had a metallic suitcase with her, code locked.

“Well, how was the flight?” Dexter asked.

“Optimal. My one-seat plane performed perfectly. The flight went on uninterrupted.” She answered.

“Excellent. Then you may get settled in, place your recharger wherever you please. Once you are done join me immediately. We have much work to do.” Dexter told her.

“I have read the reason for my summons, so I brought with me a level ten encoder to make sure Mandark won’t attempt to spy on us.” Computress opened the suitcase and handed Dexter a white box with blue circuits running around it.

“Ah, my dear Computress, will you ever cease to pleasantly surprise me?” Dexter asked.

“State your generalities.” A soldier asked Stanley as he arrived at the labs’s checkpoint.

“I’m Stanley Bubbole, I’m here for the test subject initiative.” He proceeded to show him his passport.

“Lemme see that.” The soldier extended his hand.

Stanley handed him his passport, afterwards he passed it underneath a scanner.

“Everything checks out, go ahead.” Pressed a button that raised a barrier.

“Thanks man.” Stanley walked off towards the labs.

While he walked around Stanley took a good look at the scenery. The domes were huge, and he couldn’t help but wondering what sciency stuff could require all that. Not to mention that the buildings looked very modern and that there were many cameras surveilling every corner. But he shrugged off the thought, he had other stuff to worry about.

He made his way to the main dome and entered what was the main door. He found himself in a huge atrium, all made out of a pearly white material with many lights embedded into it, diffusing a uniform white light.

Stanley was in awe at that sight, even though the feeling of being watched grew as he entered.

In the center of the atrium there was a large curved desk. Some people wearing formal dresses sat behind it, working on some remarkable touch screen computers or occasionally talking with a passing scientist.

“Very well, welcome, Mr. Stanley,” One of the receptionists greeted the man as he presented his documents once again. “There is a module to compile. Please answer sincerely and don’t forget to check in all the disclaimers. You may compile them over there.”

He was pointing at some comfy looking white sofas, each of them in front of a nice short table with some magazines or candies on.

Stanley got to work immediately, sometimes indulging himself with the candies, as he barely had any breakfast.

“Oh good heavens, this cave is so dark and humid,” Rarity complained as they went deeper inside the mountain.

“Well, it’s a cave after all, partner,” Applejack remarked.

“Don’t worry though. We’re almost there!” Pinkie Pie announced moving with ease, remembering the path to the crystal cavern easily.

“Oh, that’s good to know. I don’t know how much more I can take,” Rarity said.

The cave had a lot of moss around it, which made the travel quite unpleasant, especially for Rarity, though on the other hand, Twilight was amazed by how easily the moss grew on the walls. She took numerous samples with her so that she could study them later with better equipment.

Sunset was extremely focused on the path ahead, she could feel the magical energy growing stronger at each step. If she weren’t sure of the contrary, it felt like they were about to step back into Equestria.

“WOAH!” Rainbow suddenly dashed forward, stopping just in time before hitting something. “Check it out girls, my speed is coming back!”

“Oh, lemme see...” Applejack quickly grabbed a nearby boulder and lifted it with minimal strength. “So is my strength!”

“AHHH!!!” Rarity emitted a high pitch scream.

“Rarity, what’s the problem!?” Sunset asked upon hearing that.

“CRYSTALS!!” She pointed at the ending of the cave, which was filled with crystalline formations.

“Oh look! We’re here!” Pinkie Pie said cheerfully. “Oh! Just to be sure...”

She quickly took out a container of sprinkles, extracted a small portion of them and threw them on the ground. The sprinkles immediately exploded upon impact.

“Yup! That’s the cave.” Pinkie Pie announced.

Twilight touched one of the crystals. “Wow...it’s strange how much magic seems to be related to crystal formations. Rarity, you brought the gem examination kit?”

“Oh darling, of course i did.” She proceeded to open a large bag she had with her, extracting a bundle containing numerous tools.

“Alright then, everybody be careful,” Sunset said.

Some time later at the domes, Stanley was reached by an old scientist, who would then escort him to the testing area.

“So, what do you do here again?” Stanley asked, looking around the laboratories and white rooms they passed while walking down the hallway.

“Private multi-field research, Mr. Stanley. Basically, a bit of everything, from medicine to robotics to physics even,” The scientist explained him.

“Ah, serious stuff then, I see.” Stanley put his hands behind his neck. “So...what am I going to test exactly? Some kind of new medicine?”

“Yeah, more or less. It’s a new kind of cellular rejuvenation treatment involving the use of nanotechnology.” The scientist explained.

“Nanotechnology? You mean like super small robots?”

“Precisely, you’ll be injected with a quantity of nanites and then you’ll be closely monitored to see how they’ll interact with your body.”

“I see. It is safe, right?”

“Yes it is. Allow me to assure you that the experiment won’t put your life at risk,” The scientist said.

“So...the bots won’t try to, like, invade my cells or eat them and kill me from the inside? Right?”

“As I said before, the experiment won’t put your life at risk, and it’s highly improbable if not impossible that anything the sort will happen.”

“Alright then, that’s good to know. So are we there yet?” He asked.

“As a matter of fact, yes, we are.” He opened the door to a room labeled test chamber two hundred twelve.

The walls of the test chamber were bare, very smooth and sterilized from ceiling to the floor.

At the center of the room there stood a surgical chair with a mechanical arm nearby holding a syringe.

The scientist then lead him towards the chair, “Now please, take a seat and a nurse will be with you in a minute.”

“Got it. One moment though, what about the cake?” Stanley asked.

“Cake?”

“Yeah the ad on the newspaper mentioned cake.”

“Oh....uhm i’m afraid that was a lie.”

“Awww come on, Man.” Stanley whined in disappointment.

“Don’t worry though, your compensation will be delivered immediately after the experiment.”

“Fine, fine...this better not be another lie.”

“Hmmm, there is a crossroad here. The conduits go in that direction,” Peridot proceeded to point towards it and then pointed at her side, “and these.”

“Wow...it's something really big.” Steven remarked.

“Indeed, Steven...way too big for human standards and at such a depth nonetheless,” Pearl agreed, having already burned through five pages of notes.

Amethyst was lazing on a nearby rock, “I don’t know about you two, but I smell homeworld business.”

“Even though I’m still skeptical about it, as it stands now, it would be unwise to rule out this possibility.” Peridot reasoned.

“What do you think, Garnet?” Steven asked.

As no answer came, Steven turned towards her. She looked deep in thought and concentrated.

“Uhm...Garnet?” Steven asked.

“Shh…please.” Garnet shushed Steven.

Steven understood immediately that she was thinking about something important, so he simply looked back at Pearl and Peridot.

Garnet was focused on the midst that was blocking her future vision. If she concentrated strongly enough she could discern some figures in between the midst, and the sooner something occurred the easier it was to lock onto the imagine. In that moment, she could discern a human silhouette changing shape.

“Ouch…” Stanley whined as the syringe punctured his skin.

“Do you feel anything out of the ordinary, Mr. Bubbole?” The scientist asked from a control room embedded into one of the walls.

“Nothing, even though this freaking hurts.”

“I’m sorry, Sir. The injection of the nanites requires a slightly larger needle.”

“Yeah…”slightly”...so, what do I do now?”

“Please remain immobile while the nanites diffuse inside your body.” Another scientist told him.

“No problems here.”

From the room a group of scientists could see the mass of nanites moving inside Stanley’s body on large monitors, which also showed Stanley’s vitals and such.

“Fifty point five milligrams of nanite solution released into the subject. Contact with the heart in approximate five seconds. Four. Three. Two. One. Contact!”

“No signs of damage or anomalies. No changes detected in the vitals.”

“The nanites are now reaching the lungs. The experiment is proceeding within acceptable parameters. Solution passing through the left side of the heart into the aorta, entering big circulation.”

“Monitor the subject’s brain activity closely.”

Meanwhile, Hubberton was in his office, monitoring the experiment via holographic monitor.

“The cybers are spreading through his body and have already reached his nervous system,” Hubberton said.

“Excellent, prepare to activate them.” Xana’s voice came out of the speakers around the office, while it’s symbol appeared on the large touch screen desk.

“As you wish.” Hubberton activated an interface, reading “stand by”, on the desk and proceeded to place his hand on it.

As soon as he did so, the interface changed color and it read: “activation commencing”. On the holographic monitor the cybers in Stanley’s body appeared as black dots before flashing red. A progressive bar promptly displayed the percentage of activated nanites.

Stanley started to feel dazed as his vision began to blur. “I...I don’t feel so good...”

As he slipped out of consciousness he could discern his venises starting to glow.

“Interesting allotrope. It’s like a sponge for magic.” Twilight examined a crystal with a magnifying glass and the magical scanner.

“They look kind of familiar...” Sunset tapped on her chin as she tried to remember where she saw them before.

Rarity on the other hand eagerly took to the duty of sample taking, which consisted of removing the most loose crystals. She hoped that if there were some that weren’t full with magic, Twilight would allow her to use them for jewelry.

“Woah! I feel even stronger than back at Camp Everfree!” Applejack said as she lifted a rock larger than her with the palm of the hand.

“I’m starting to like this research a lot more!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she tried to make a loop the loop around the cave’s ceiling.

Fluttershy on the other hand was outside talking with some of the animals living in the forest.

“Hehe, that’s quite the joke.” She giggled to a koala. “Oh, it’s so nice to be able to speak with you.”

The koala then emitted some verses.

“Oh i’m flattered, but I’m afraid I can’t come with you to the big eucalyptus festival. I can’t eat these leaves,” Fluttershy said.

The koala frowned and went away.

“Still thanks for the invite!” Fluttershy waved at him. “Awww and who are you?”

She asked as a group of kangaroo mice approached her.

“Oh yes, I can understand you...you look soo cute,” She said.

However before the conversation could continue a loud boom could be heard.

“Oh dear…what is happening?” Fluttershy asked afraid.

“Ooooh! What is this?” Pinkie Pie’s voice echoed out of the cave.

“I have gotta go now, sorry.” Fluttershy got up from the ground and left.

As she walked inside she noticed immediately that the cave was filled with Pink glittery smoke. The other girls were coughing a lot and cleaning their eyes.

“What happened?” Fluttershy asked.

Twilight was caught in a coughing fit, but managed to speak up. “ Pinkie Pie-” She coughed, “...exploded a whole can of sprinkles...”

“I’m sorry, Twilight. I was throwing sprinkles around but then it slipped...” Pinkie Pie apologized.

“Next time, warn us...” Rainbow Dash groaned between the coughs.

“Hey girls! Look!” Sunset Shimmer indicated the crater left by the explosion. Something shiny could be noticed underneath the rocks.

“Oh...what have we here?” Twilight examined the material and then started to shed off the damaged rocks.

“What do you mean he turned into a monster?” Hubberton asked. “What happened?”

“I’m telling you! Everything seemed normal, but then for some reason the nanites started to bond with his cellular structure and DNA, causing it rearrange and replicate at an uncontrollable rate!” The scientist’s voice was full of anxiety. “This was the final result.”

He proceeded to transfer an image to Hubberton showing Stanley transformed state. The photo depicted a hulking creature covered into a metallic substance with glowing eyes.

“Where is he now?” Hubberton asked.

“He melted through the blast doors and the wall and escaped. The security force tried to restrain him but were unsuccessful. We’re afraid that he left has the site.”

“This is unacceptable! In what state is the security force?” Hubberton asked.

“Most of the guards are severely injured, but we can ask help from the army.”

“It would be better to leave the army out of this, at least for now. Get to the mainframe, immediately, and encrypt all the data regarding the experiment, then transfer it to my villa’s computer.” Hubberton ordered.

“Yes, Sir.” The scientist quickly left the room.

“Here should be another circular room...” Peridot said.

“That’s one hundred twelve.” Pearl took notice, but she just finished the papers at her disposal. “Oh dear...it appears that we’ll have to call off the search, i’m out paper.”

“Sounds good to me...we have been doing this all day,” Amethyst said.

“One moment! I feel something...different now!” Peridot got closer to the ground.

“What’s up, Peri?” Amethyst asked

“It’s...it’s some kind of...vertical conduit.” She said.

“A vertical conduit? How large is it?” Pearl asked.

“Hmmm, I think it’s more or less...twenty meters of diameter. It raises all the way up inside that hill!” Peridot pointed to it.

“Then let’s check it out!” Steven ran towards the hill.

However before they could reach the hill, a roar echoed in the distance.

“What was that!?” Pearl asked.

“Sounded like an animal,” Steven said. “A big one!”

Garnet turned her head towards the town, a cloud of smoke billowing up from the forest.

“The town is under attack, let’s go.” Garnet headed in that direction.

“But what of our discovery?” Peridot asked.

Pearl turned around, “I have taken notice of the position of the shaft. We can come back to it later. Protecting the humans takes priority!”

Peridot nodded and started to run, “Oh, alright then. Here I come.”

“All aboard the amethyst train! Or should I say: Jeep!” Amethyst turned into a purple jeep, and as soon as everyone got on board she drove off.

“Girls, look at this, here,” Twilight said as they removed more rocks.

Underneath the layer of rock, sat a strange kind of metal. On which wiring pathways could be seen running, leading to a hatch.

“A hatch?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Applejack leaned in. “What in tarnation is this doing here? And what with this weird metal?”

Twilight examined the metal carefully, and the hatch. “I’m not sure...it appears to have some kind of integrated circuitry passing through it. The hatch is sealed shut. Maybe there’s a way to open it if we look around the sides.”

“Right on, partner.” Applejack and Rainbow Dash proceeded to remove more rocks from the sides.

“There.” Twilight indicated some kind of touch screen terminal. All eyes were on her as she proceeded to try and access it, but it merely flickered red a bit before shutting down.

“I...don’t think that works anymore.” Pinkie Pie pointed out.

Twilight turned to sunset, “Can you feel any kind of magic behind this?”

Sunset got closer to the wall and placed her hands on the hatch.

She felt chills moving through her spine. “Woah!”

“What is it?” The girls asked surprised.

Before Sunset could open her mouth, a chorus of desperate squeals could be heard coming from the entrance to the cave.

“Ahhh!” Fluttershy covered her ears.

“You okay, Fluttershy?” Rainbow Dash asked her.

“The animals of the forest! They are screaming!” Fluttershy said.

“Screaming? All together?” Sunset asked.

“They are terrified of something that it’s attacking the forest. They say it’s some kind of monster!” Fluttershy held her head.

“Monster!?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“Can you ask them what they mean?” Twilight kept her head cool.

“I can but...they seem too panicked. I’ll still try and ask them calmly.” Fluttershy reasoned.

The group went out of the cave and saw the forest was in chaos. Animals were running around and hiding in their dens.

“Hm...excuse me...Mr. Koala?” Fluttershy asked the koala she met before but he ignored her. “Oh, Mr. kangaroo mouse?”

The small creature turned towards Fluttershy and stopped, trembling in fright.

“What is going on Mr. Mouse? What’s this about a monster?” Fluttershy asked.

The mouse emitted a series of squills.

“A creature...of liquid metal?” Fluttershy asked trembling.

“Woah! For realsy?” Pinkie Pie gasped.

The mouse squeaked terrified once again before hopping away.

“Yes, he is sure. He said it’s moving towards the town destroying everything in its path!” Fluttershy informed the others.

Twilight tried to keep calm and reflect upon the information they had been given trying to put reason to the possibilities.

“Then what are we waiting for?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Sunset turned around, “What do you mean, Dash?”

“What are we waiting for? We need to kick that monster’s ass back to wherever it came from?” Rainbow Dash pointed out.

“Woah, aren’t you rushing it, sugahcube?” Applejack said.

“Applejack, is right. We have no idea what this thing could be, or what it can do,” Rarity added.

“Come on girls, people could be in danger. We just got back our powers, and they’re even stronger than before! That monster won’t stand a chance against us!” Rainbow Dash raised her fist.

“Uhm, she does have a point.” Applejack reasoned.

“You might be right, Rainbow Dash, but a healthy degree of caution is in order. I suggest we start with finding this monster and then organize a plan,” Twilight suggested.

“Fine, but let’s get to it already!” Rainbow Dash said.

“Here we are, gems! Woah.” Amethyst announced as they reached the town gawking at the destroyed terrain.

The forest at the sides of the road they arrived on was partially burning and some of the trees were torn up clear at the root. The asphalt of the road was partially liquified to raw tar in patches and some of the buildings were either burning or completely demolished.

“What could have caused this?” Peridot surveyed the landscape.

“I’m not sure but It might be a corrupted gem.” Pearl tapped on her chin thoughtfully.

“Monster in sight!” Amethyst announced as they got closer to the center of the town.

The hulking beast was a big humanoid blob of liquid metal, with a series of glowing features around its chest and the facial areas.

“It appears to be some kind of metalloid creature!” Peridot said.

“Probably a metal based gem,” Pearl said.

“Gems, move!” Garnet evoked her gauntlets and smacked them together.

“Time to kick some metallic butt!” Amethyst shapeshifted back and evoked her whiplash.

Steven summoned his shield as well, ready to defend his friends and the other citizens if and when needed.

“Steven, Amethyst, you are on defense. Repel the monster’s attacks and try to keep it from moving. Pearl, you are with me. Peridot, get to higher ground and see if you can find any weak points. Try and use the nearby metal as artillery, if you can.” Garnet gave the directions.

Steven and Amethyst nodded at each other, while Pearl conjured her spear and charged at the monster with Garnet.

As the monster noticed their presence, it swiped at them with its metallic fists, but due to their agility, it missed its targets.

“Hey ugly! Sit down!” Amethyst shouted as she cracked her whip, coiling it around the monster’s legs causing it to collapse.

On the sidelines, Peridot managed to reach the rooftop of a nearby building and observed the creature.

It appears to be some kind of metalloid being. Probably the result of a fusion experiment conducted on a metallic gem. But I can’t quite locate the gem. Could it be inside? Peridot pondered, examining every detail as the battle continued.

The monster quickly broke free of Amethyst’s whip and rose to its feet. Garnet and Pearl charged the beast, but were too late as it spotted their advance. With surprising speed, it gave a swipe of its claws, causing the two gems to back off and dodge the attack.

“He is bulky, but very quick!” Pearl remarked.

“Pearl, we need a clear shot to the head!” Garnet said. “Peridot, artillery! Now!”

“Death from above!” Peridot used her magnetism, raising her arms high in the air pulling up the metallic debris around her. With a wave of her hands, she swung the metal wreckage and hurling it all towards the monster. The creature roared as it was bombarded on all sides. It tried using its arms for cover from the onslaught, but it proved fruitless. Peridot’s attack worked well, serving both as a means of offense and disorientation of the monster’s faculties, leaving itself exposed and defenseless. Garnet and Pearl glanced at each other, sharing a quick confirming nod before making their move.

Garnet jumped high directly over the monster’s head as she summoned her gauntlets. As Peridot’s attack ended, the fusion gem began to fall into a dive. Her descent quickened and her fists pulled back, prepared to strike. Just as she closed in however, something happened. Something even Garnet could not have foreseen.

“Pinkie, wait!” Sunset’s voice echoed.

“Take THIS crazy metal monster thingy!!!” Suddenly, a canister appeared between them. The tin can bashed into the beast’s head, causing it to explode upon impact, releasing multicolored sprinkles everywhere. The monster wasn’t very phased by the attack and thanks to the distraction, it managed to regain it senses. It noticed Garnet’s presence, as well as her impending attack.

The mass of confectionary treats quickly expanded, covering Garnet’s glasses and blinding her. The fusion still proceeded and threw a punch, however, with her vision impaired she missed her marked by a hare’s breath. Her momentum carried her to the beast’s side as her fist crashed into the ground, creating a small crater beneath her. The monster didn’t hesitate to pull its’ arm back and slam the gem’s side, sending Garnet hurtling away.

“I gottcha!” Steven cried out, catching Garnet in a bubble shield. “Are you alright, Garnet?”

“I am.” Garnet rubbed away some of the sprinkles from the glasses. “Thank you.”

Steven sighed in relief and looked at the girl that threw the explosive. He remembered her. The pink-haired girl that sang with him back at the airport!

“What on earth is go-” Pearl was interrupted by a rainbow streak passing her by holding a rope.

“Get ready, Aj!” Rainbow Dash yelled. “This is gonna be the lasso of a lifetime!”

“Ready, partner!” Applejack said holding the lasso’s end.

“Please leave, this area is too dangerous for hum-”

“Don’t worry, we have got this.” Rainbow Dash called out, ignoring Pearl’s warning as she finished to coil the rope around the monster’s legs.

“Yippe kay!” Applejack exclaimed pulling the lasso, causing the monster to fall. Right on top of Pearl.

“Ahhhh!!!” Pearl tried to escape but got trapped by the falling creature. “Somebody, please! A little assistance?”

“Here I come, Pearl!” Steven ran to her and tried to lift the monster up.

He managed to lift the creature up, just enough for Pearl to slide out.

“Thank you, Steven, are you alright?” Pearl asked, worried that the strain needed to lift the monster fatigued him.

“I’m alright, is your gem-WOAH!!!” Steven was cut off as the monster quickly freed itself, burning the ropes tied around its legs. The two backed up as it roared and lashed out, trying to crush them with it’s fist.

Steven promptly raised his shield and barely managed to stop the attack, groaning as the force almost dispersed it on impact. Pearl quickly noticed his struggling. She scooped him into her arms and jumped back, putting some much needed distance between them and the creature.

“Ah, think we’re gonna need a stronger rope,” Applejack commented dejectedly.

“Rarity, try to stun it! Fluttershy tell the birds to offer a distraction!” Twilight said as she arrived with Sunset.

“Consider it done,” Rarity nodded firmly. With some quick focusing, Rarity conjured a multitude of disk shaped diamonds around her. “Over here, you overgrown rust bucket!” exclaimed launching her diamond shields to the creature. “I’ve seen cans of hair dryers with more fortitude than you.”

The shields hit their mark, the monstrous brute stumbling back against the attack. It crossed its arms in an attempt to protect itself, however its efforts were for not as a flock of birds started to fly around the monster’s head obstructing its view, making it even more difficult to defend.

Garnet analyzed the situation, Hmm, not a bad tactic. Rather basic. It won’t work for much longer.

“Hey!” Peridot yelled from her post. “Get these birds away! I can’t get a clear shot!”

Peridot knew the metal bits she had were limited and didn’t want any to go to waste. She knew she could get some more shots in, but couldn’t calculate her trajectories with the birds in the way.

“Call off your attack immediately!” Garnet ordered the group of girls.

“Yes, please. This situation is too dangerous.” Pearl pleaded. “You need to evacuate the area immediately.”

“Not a chance, we can handle this!” Rainbow Dash said charging at the monster, along with Applejack. “Right, Aj?”

“Right!” The cowgirl smirked in agreement. The two girls yelled at the monster, charging steadfast toward the creature, hoping to topple it in one go.

“No!” Garnet yelled.

Just as she surmised, even with their combined efforts it wasn’t enough to take down the beast. Both girls crashed into the monster, before being knocked back upon impact. Rainbow Dash slammed into the ground, hurting her arm while Applejack bounced and rolled until she slid to a stop.

“Ouch! What the heck!?” Rainbow Dash complained stroking her sore arm.

Applejack was recovering as well, getting her legs underneath her, “Man, talk about heavy metal!”

The monster roared as it gave a powerful swing of its arm, sending Rarity’s disks flying back at her as well as sending the swarm of birds spiraling away. Fluttershy screamed in horror, watching the poor avian creatures fall to the ground hurt, while the fashionista shrieked as she jumped and ducked down, barely evading the counter strike. With the distractions taken care of, it soon turned its sights on the dare devil and farm girl. It raised its arms, attempting to crush both of them with it’s metallic fists. However before it could, Steven’s shield appeared over them just as it swung at them. The gem hybrid’s protection worked, blocking the attack. Amethyst's whip lashed out and coiled around Rainbow Dash and Applejack allowing her to hurl them to toward Steven safely.

“Please, you guys need to leave. That monster is dangerous!” Steven said.

“Hey, lil man, we’re trying to help.” Applejack said getting up as the whip released her.

However before the discussion could continue a series of loud stomps could be heard.

“Hey! The monster is running away!” Peridot pointed. All eyes fell on the monster as it sprinted away from the town, heading for the tourism area.

Amethyst groaned and looked at the rainbooms. “Yeah, thanks a lot for the help!”

“We must pursue it! If it gets to the vacation district it could cause multiple casualties!” Pearl said.

Garnet was already ahead of them, racing after the creature. The rest of the gems quickly fell in behind her and in a few seconds they were gone, leaving the rainbooms in their wake. The girls all regrouped around Rainbow Dash and Applejack, helping them to their feet.

“Well...that could have gone worse,” Rainbow Dash said sarcastically.

“This isn’t time, Dash,” Twilight rebuked. “I told you we should have formulated a plan thoroughly before attacking!”

“Yeah yeah...” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes.

“I’m sorry, girls...” Pinkie Pie said sadly. “I really screwed up, this time.”

Sunset gave her a pat on her shoulder. She could see that she was really sorry about that. “Don’t worry, Pinkie, just don’t pull a stunt like that again. Kay?”

“Yeah, you could have gotten hurt very badly.” Twilight added. “You didn’t even know what powers it had!”

“Well, now we know, right?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Sunset turned to Twilight.

“Well, for starters, it appears to be made of metal. However, it seemed organic as well, somehow.” Twilight summarized.

“Yeah, its face was glowing too,” Pinkie pie added.

Twilight then tapped on her chin thinking. “If everybody is alright we should go after it. That creature probably has something to do with the magic surge we detected. Speaking of which, Sunset, did it look familiar to you? Does Equestria have similar creatures?”

“There are golems, but they are made of stone usually. Not metal.” Sunset answered. “But you might be right, we need to take a closer look.”

“I think that those women mentioned that it was headed towards the vacation district.” Fluttershy remembered.

“Then that’s where we’re headed.” Twilight concluded. “C’mon, girls.”

Meanwhile at the surfer paradise everybody was minding their own businesses. Except for a group of angry employees.

Ripper, along with Lance and Kelly were looking furiously at Abram, who was at his place by the door. “Look at him I bet he is laughing in his sleeve.”

“I bet he is, man. I still can’t believe he dodged that chum bucket this morning.” Lance remembered a failed attempt at pranking him that morning. It consisted of the old bucket over the door trick, but it didn’t work.

“Ripper, Lance, no offense but you should go back to the beach. I’m getting reports of people getting hurt in the water. You won’t believe how many people dive in right after they eat.” Johnny leaned to them with the phone’s receiver pressed on his hear.

Ripper turned to him. “Okay, okay, I’ll go back in a while. I’m looking for his weak points.”

“Weak Points?” Johnny raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, like stuff that we can use against him.” Ripper returned to observe Abram. “Exploiting his piercing phobia didn’t work but mark my words. I’ll get back at him for refusing the initiations.”

“Could you please watch him after work?” Johnny didn’t care about his reasons. “Baumer will get mad.”

“Come on, ten more minutes...”

Hearing the commotion, Abram turned around slightly, just enough to see them arguing but not enough enough for them to notice.

He rolled his eyes, how childish.

Meanwhile a group of young adults were waiting for their lunch.

“Come on, where’s our food? I’m starving!” Odd complained.

“I’ve got to agree with you, this is getting annoying.” Jeremy for once agreed.

The Lyoko team had been waiting there for a while already, but for some reason their lunch wasn’t arriving yet.

“If we have to wait one more minute i’m leaving a terrible evaluation.” William had his phone already.

“Here! Here!” A waitress arrived quickly to them holding some dishes.

“Finally!” Odd said.

“What’s with the delay?” Jeremy asked.

“Unfortunately the director of the restaurant was busy, so the replacement had to take over. Please accept these complimentary coupons.” The waitress proceeded to give one to each of them.

“Wow, a free dinner, thanks! This will come in handy.” Odd felt his anger quickly subside.

“Uh, no restriction on the price...I won’t leave a too bad evaluation,” William said.

“This is very appreciated, have a good lunch.” The waitress left them.

The group started consuming their lunch with gusto, the food was well prepared and tasted really good.

“All done.” Odd finished before everybody else.

“Do you even taste the food?” William asked.

Odd put his hands behind his head leaning on the chair. “Of course I do, my tastebuds are fast!”

“Huh?” William then turned to Jeremy. “So, how did repurposing the scanner go?”

“Well,” Jeremy lowered his voice, “it’s going fine. By tomorrow we should be done with the software modification. For the hardware though, we are gonna need some components but we can get them from a local computer store.”

“We checked out the online catalogue and there is a good chance that they’ll have exactly what we need.” Aelita added.

“Have you found out anything else?” Ulrich asked.

“Nothing much,” Jeremy shrugged. “Until we’re done with the modification, I doubt the trace will reveal anything else noteworthy.”

Some seconds later, rhythmic quakes could be heard.

“Hey, what’s going on?” Ulrich noticed.

“It feels like a light earthquake.” Yumi pointed out.

“But the quakes aren’t seismic. They seem too steady.” Jeremy commented.

“Like...footsteps,” Aelita deduced.

Yells started to echo from around the hotel, while the spotted people panicking and running outside.

“What’s going on?” Odd stood up and looked.

Abram went out and tried to interrogate one of the people who were running away.

“Uh sir, what appears to be the-“ The door man was cut off as he saw the metallic monster they were running from. “-what in the world?!”

Abram ran back inside as the monster charged at the hotel, smashing through the revolving door and stumbling inside.

All occupants inside began to scream and scamper in terror just as the civilians outside. All trying to get away from the monstrous metallic creature.

“Hey, Einstein, what the heck is that?!” Odd asked pointing at the monster.

Jeremy looked terrified, “I...I have no idea, Odd!”

Aelita looked terrified too, but stil, she had some recollection. “Jeremy, could this have to do with-?”

“I don’t know, but it’s possible. We need to get to my room!” Jeremy said as he ran. The rest of the group soon followed behind.

Some moments later the monster entered inside the hotel shattering the window.

“Run for your lives!” Ripper screamed as he ran away.

“Let’s get to the basement!” Jhonny suggested.

Soon after other members of the summer personnel joined them including Abram, as the monster chased after them.

“What the hell is that thing?!” Ripper asked panicking.

“It appears to be some metal-based being.” Abram said as they ran.

“Why is it chasing us!?” Another employee yelled as he noticed that the monster was chasing specifically them.

“I don’t know! Just run!” Ripper said as they reached the stairs and ran down.

Abram was the last to go through and closed the door behind him, taking a good look at the monster.

“Let’s get the basement!” Ripper yelled as they kept running for the lowest part of the hotel.

“Hey, where is Abram?” A waiter asked as they ran.

“Who cares!?” Ripper yelled as they ran faster.

“I’d be here,” Abram said.

“Where did you come from?” Ripper asked.

“I had to run into my room, I needed to grab something,” Abram said.

“Oh yeah? What?” Ripper asked again.

“Well, it was my phone. I’ve been using it to keep tabs with what is happening outside,” Abram said.

“Your phone?! A monster is chasing us and you go looking for your phone?” Another employee asked.

“Actually it’s a pretty solid idea. There will be reports about that monster from the news for sure,” Johnny said. “Speaking of which is it still chasing-”

A powerful roar echoed from behind them.

“That’s a pretty good answer!” Johnny yelled.

“Obstacles! We need to form some obstacles!” Abram said.

“Like what?!” Another employee asked.

“Grab stuff and throw it down!” Abram grabbed quickly a pile of boxes and caused it to collapse.

“Hey, its working!” An employee said as the monster effectively stumbled and slowed down a little.

“Good thinking, Abram.” Johnny took initiative and started throwing down more obstacles.

Some of the other employees joined in, attempting to slow the beast, while others preferred to just run as fast as they could.

After a few minutes they put sufficient distance between them and the monster, enough to reach a room and hide.

Knowing that whatever was on the island was connected to Aelita’s father, Jeremy predicted it could have had something to do with his field of expertise: quantum supercomputers and everything these were capable of. So naturally, he came prepared.

During the months prior to their voyage, he perfected some defences and weapons to face Xana-like menaces in real life.

Said defences consisted of designs to protect the articulations as well as some dark visors to shield their eyes. The weapons, a set of small batons capable of emitting an electrical discharge destabilizing whatever tried to attack them.

Each one of the team had their own set of these, even though Jeremy prefered to carry the detection equipment he’d use to examine the monster.

“Okay, remember how we handled XANA’s monsters in the real world? Try locating the eye and hit it. If you can’t find it try to incapacitate the monster so I can scan it for weak points,” Jeremy said.

“Copy that, this is going to be a good return to the old times!” Odd said enthusiastically.

“Concentrate, Odd, this is serious,” Ulrich told him sternly.

“Don’t worry, this isn’t even a monster of Xana’s. It will be a snap.” Odd was as optimistic as ever. Despite all that was transpiring, he was really looking forward to revive some of the old excitement.

“Keep in mind that we don’t know much about the monster,” Jeremy said. “It might be worse than we thought.”

“Jeremy’s right, the fact this isn’t from Xana makes it even more unpredictable,” Yumi agreed.

“Alright, alright,” Odd agreed.

“Let’s go!” Jeremy said.

“Why did we all get in the same room?” Ripper asked straining against the others in the cramped space.

“We were in a rush,” Lance said.

“Ah, shut up!” Ripper retorted.

“Guys! We need to stay calm. Arguing will just make it harder to breathe and it might lead that creature to us!” Abram explained.

“He has a point,” Johnny agreed.

“Thank you,” Abram politely said.

“Exactly what I’d have said! But honestly, i’m too scared.” The voice of the manager Andrew Baumer could be heard.

“Fine, I’ll calm down as soon as Broseph moves.” Ripper complained.

“Move where!?” Broseph asked starting to get annoyed.

“Wait! Listen!” Aaron shushed them. A few moments pass as the sounds of heavy thumps could be heard.

“Is it coming our way...” A member of the staff asked trembling in fear.

Nobody answered, the steps seemed to have ceased too.

“Somebody has got to get out and see what it’s doing...” Another employee suggested.

“I call Ripper.” One of them said.

“And I call Abram!” Ripper said.

Even in the darkness of the room Abram’s eyes could be seen giving a deadpan stare. He then closed his eyes and rolled them before approaching the door passing in between the mass of people.

He first put his ear on the door, listening closely to the outside.

“I think it’s still here,” Abram said after a couple minutes.

“But why can’t we hear it moving?” An employee asked.

“Go out there and check if it’s clear,” Baumer said.

“I’d rather not. I’m sure it’s nearby,” Abram said.

Baumer’s eyes assumed a raging expression, “Abram, that’s an order!”

Abram reflected on the possibility for a while and then he carefully opened the door just enough to peek first.

He then slowly walked out, keeping a fist clenched behind his back.

After taking a few steps outside he looked around the corridor.

He emitted a sigh. “Well it appears that-”

Abram was interrupted by a powerful roar echoing his way. The young man quickly ran in the opposite direction, panic all over his face.

“Looks like he was right!” Ripper admitted closing the door behind him in a panicked hurry.

On the other hand Abram kept running, until he became cornered.

Trembling, Abram looked at the monster. He could see how it’s glowing eye was locked onto him, giving him the look a predator would give its prey.

Clenching his teeth and his fists Abram looked over the possibilities he had.

However his train of thought was interrupted by the arrival of six figures that started to fight the monster.

“Hey, pick on somebody your own size!” Odd charged at the monster. He managed landing a hit with his electric baton. His protective gear had the same color scheme of his lyoko avatar, different shades of purple with a touch of yellow, it even had his kiwi emblem.

As the baton hit the monster the energy diffused through the metallic skin, making the monster roar in pain.

Ulrich and Yumi attacked together, utilizing their expertise in fighting to distract it and manage to land some hits. Just like Odd’s their gear had the same color schemes as their respective lyoko avatars. Ulrich’s maintaining his chrysanthemum emblem.

“Are you okay?” Aelita asked Abram as she noticed him lying on the ground.

“I...I am good.” Abram stood up shaking a little, looking at the tree adolescents fighting the monster. “Who are you supposed to be?”

“Well...you can call us Lyoko Warriors.” Aelita said. “You should leave now, we’ll handle this thing.”

Abram nodded with a panicked look and quickly ran away.

“William, we need some help over here!” Ulrich screamed as he tried to attack the monster.

“Right on!” William yelled as he charged at the monster and hit it with his baton in coordination with Ulrich.

They luckily managed to cause a disruption in the monster’s metal, which started to ripple and disgregate making the large creature falter.

However only after a couple minutes of relative immobility the monster managed to get back up and swiped at the group.

The lyoko warriors fell back before the monster could hit them, then it got onto it’s feet and escaped quickly.

“Okay, Jeremy, I didn’t seen any eye on it,” Odd referred. “Did you?”

“I can confirm that. What do you think I’m doing?” Ulrich asked.

“Let him work, guys.” Yumi said.

Jeremy was passing his scanner over some of the metallic liquid left by the monster. It formed quickly, shapeshifting drops that reminded him of a material similar to mercury.

“Could it be, Xana’s?” Aelita asked.

“It doesn’t seem so. Xana experimented on nanotechnology sometime ago but nothing so advanced.” Jeremy tapped on his chin as he reviewed the data. “This seems like some sort of living metal.”

“So, how do we take it down?” William asked.

“Well, according to these readings. It’s possible that a powerful energy surge could disrupt the nanites,” Jeremy said.

“Okay, but how do we get that?” Odd asked.

“We could try to lure it close to a powered cable?” William asked.

“That could be an idea, but it would be hard to get it to make contact with it.” Jeremy considered the possibility.

Aelita was thinking as well. Looking around the room she noticed a pipe on which it was written: water flow. “What if we used the water?”

Jeremy raised his head in realization. “Of course! If we managed to get enough water to cover a large surface, we could electrify it from a distance and before it could escape.”

“Let’s follow the pipe it will lead us to the hotel’s autoclave!” Ulrich said.

“Good idea, buddy!” Odd said.

“Ulrich, William, try to lure the monster into the room. We’ll set the trap.” Jeremy instructed them, already getting to his feet and started following the pipe.

William and Ulrich nodded at each other and went after the monster, while the rest of the group directed towards the autoclave.

Following the pipe, Jeremy and his part of the group reached the autoclave room.

It was filled with large tanks, pumps and pipes of many sizes and shapes forming almost a labyrinth.

“Reminds me of the factory’s boiler room.” Odd looked over the room, especially the autoclave itself.

“Okay, Yumi, Odd, you open these valves over there. Aelita, help me uncovering these cables.” As he spoke, Jeremy indicated the valves and some cables coming out of a fuse box.

“This place is about to get wet.” Odd opened up one of the two valves. Yumi did the same on her end, and the room’s floor was slowly covered by a layer of water.

After disconnecting the room’s main switch, Jeremy and Aelita got to work as well, both removing the cover from the cables labeled to have the right voltage.

“Is this enough, Jeremy?” Odd asked as the water kept flowing.

Jeremy paused a minute to see how everything was going, “That’s enough, close the valves!”

“We’re done too.” Aelita said as she extracted a cable and placed it onto the water layer.

“Now, we just need to contact Ulrich and Yumi.” Jeremy activated his watch in walkie-talkie mode. “Ulrich, do you copy? Ulrich, William where are you?”

Some seconds later Ulrich’s voice started to diffuse from the watch. “It wasn’t easy but we got the monster’s attention, it’s after us now, we are in the employee quarters.”

“Take it to the autoclave room. Okay, we’re all set here. Once you get here, try to lure it into the water. Your shoes are insulated, but try to stay clear of it as best you can,” Jeremy said.

“Copy that!” Ulrich answered.

Jeremy, Aelita, Odd and Yumi took their respective places. Jeremy and Aelita were at the switches while Odd and Yumi stayed hidden.

“Incoming!” Ulrich’s voice came from Jeremy’s watch, the heavy footsteps of the monster echoed through the air.

A few seconds later Ulrich and William entered the room, closely followed by the monster.

While the two adolescents managed to reach some safe spots, the monster slipped on the water and fell on its back roaring loudly.

“Its down!” Odd yelled.

“Here we go!” As Jeremy activated the switches the water was immediately electrified. Blue sparks could be seen running around the watery floor and reaching the monster, passing from the water to the monster’s conductive skin.

The creature roared in what seemed to be pain as the electricity sparked around it. Once again ripples propagated around its body and some drops of metal started to shed off.

The team lyoko observed the scene from their dry spots. Jeremy was especially worried since the electric discharge in the water didn’t seem to be enough to completely disaggregate the metal alloy that formed the monster.

A few seconds later the monster unleashed a powerful flash of blue light. Electricity sparked all about before it all suddenly died.

All of the team backed away, uncertain as to what was happening. However, they were all caught by surprise when, after the flash disappeared, the monster vanished. Everything that was left of it was a man laying in the middle of the puddle of water and liquid metal.

“What was that?” Odd asked.

“It seemed like some kind of strong energy pulse. Of a peculiar blue color.” Jeremy tapped his chin trying to understand how it happened.

“And who is that guy?” William pointed to the unconscious man lying in the middle of the liquid metal.

“I don’t know but we should help him. Jeremy, help me get him out of the pool.” Aelita took one of the man’s arms and started dragging.

Jeremy nodded and joined her, and together they pulled the man to safety.

“Is he still alive?” William asked.

“Yes, he’s breathing.” Aelita noticed his chest steadily rising and falling.

Jeremy moved nearby his face. “Hello? Can you hear me?”

The man answered with unintelligible mumbles, uttering the word “money” every now and then.

“We better call the hospital and scram before someone comes looking,” Odd said.

“I agree.” Jeremy quickly took his phone and proceeded to make the call, then the group escaped.

Instead of the ambulance, what arrived at the hotel was a medical vehicle of the army which picked up Stanley and brought him back to the labs.

While that was done a representative of the Hubberton corporation talked with the hotel’s owner, convincing him not to make the case go public, while other representatives interrogated the members of the staff.

As the evening arrived, everything was done and the autoclave room cleaned up. Aside from the samples taken by Jeremy, all the liquid metal was collected and taken away.

The members of the staff spent most of the evening talking about the event, some of which even considering applying for a transfer.

“What do you think that was?” Lance asked.

“I don’t know, probably some kind of alien?” Ripper suggested.

“What do you think, Johnny?” Broseph asked.

“My guess would be as good as yours so, I simply have no idea,” Johnny turning to Abram, who was standing by the window. “What do you say, A?”

Abram didn’t answer.

“Yoohoo, Abram, anybody home?” Ripper said.

“Uh? Oh sorry.” Aaron turned around. “Personally, I don’t know. Too many possibilities, some more probable than others, but still too many.”

“Take a wild guess?” Lance asked.

“Probably...was a consequence some kind of nanotechnological application gone wrong,” Abram answered.

“A what now?” Lance asked.

“Nanotechnology. You know, the possibility of developing machines to the microscopic or even nanoscopic level.” Abram explained.

“That doesn’t sound too far fetched actually. I heard about some companies working on stuff like that. Like the Dexlabs,” Johnny remarked. “Though, I never would have thought they had such advanced stuff.”

“Me neither, man, me neither.” Abram answered looking out the window, gazing at the starry sky.