Code:Maya

"H-has it been that long? Over ten thousand years of sleeping?" Raven talked to himself while the Ponies around him scrambled. It did make sense; new sentient creatures and civilizations don’t pop out of nowhere. Although, Life starting from scratch would take much longer than that. Someone or something possibly had a hand in restarting life on the planet. First, he needed to know what happened right after Antithese took the El for herself.

"Who you calling animals, you bucket of bolts!" Vinyl raised her Bass Canon, was ready to blast the Nasod from the ceiling. A few others were ready to attack as well. Maya looked at them with a raised eyebrow and was slightly surprised by the fact these creatures could talk.

"Stop," Raven commanded them, and they did as they were told and stopped. Raven gestured to Maya's limp form. "She cannot move, and I doubt she came here to kill us." The man noticed it as soon as he saw her; the only movements he could see were on her face.

"Right you are." The cables attached to Maya started shaking, and the Nasod's body started rag-dolling comically. "I have been paralyzed ever since I fought Elsword and his friends. A week later, Elysion falls out of the sky, and Add finds me and drags me off, saying, 'I need a complex A.I." Maya sighs sadly and swivels her eyes. "Now, I just hang here and wallow in misery."

Raven found it interesting at how emotional Maya was. The first time he and the El search party met Eve, she was quite reserved and distant. "What generation of Nasod are you? You're a lot more emotional than Eve." He was sure that Maya wasn't a first-generation because of her intelligence, and she was too emotional to be a second generation.

"I'm a third-generation Nasod, and never compare me to that failure ever again." If Maya could, she would have spat in Raven's face for such an insult. "Thanks to that failure, I'm the last Nasod!"

Vinyl looked around the library with a raised eyebrow and gestured at the smaller Nasods. "What about the smaller guys? Ain't you guys the same?"

Maya rolled her eyes. "That's like comparing a monkey to a Human, even though they're both violent creatures." Raven took offense to that but kept his peace for now. "Those are first-generation Nasods; they are basic and not capable of higher thought. Unlike them, I am a sophisticated machine capable of higher thinking and reasoning. Far more reasoning then that fool Eve, 'Queen of the Nasods' Pathetic..." The Nasod stopped and thought about it; then, her eyes widened. "Wait if you're here! That means."

Raven held up the El Crystal so that Maya could see the gem. "Eve is dead," Raven said dryly.

Maya started laughing and wiggling around in joy. "Hahaha! Yes! Good! That fool had it coming! May she burn in hell for all eternity." The Nasod continued laughing. "I can finally take solace that the Nasods and our creator have been avenged." Maya lowered herself so she could be at eye level with Raven. "Tell me, did you make her suffer?"

The man backed away slightly and shook his head. "No, I believe in a quick and painless death."

"Disappointing." The cables moved Maya once again, and she loomed over the Ponies. The Nasod narrowed her eyes at these multiple colored creatures. "What are these creatures? My programming tells me they're Equines, but they're sapient. and they speak perfect Elrian."

"They call it Equish, and they're Ponies." Xuez coughed into his hoof, catching Raven's attention. "Ah right, Xuez is half Zebra and Half Pony." The winged Zebra nodded happily. "They're the dominant species."

The tubing spun Maya around so she could face Raven. "Truly? These multicolored creatures don't even have hands, let alone thumbs. I mean, look at them." Raven looked at the angry Ponies under his care, and he would have agreed with her two weeks ago.

"They're a little odd and colorful, but they've proven themselves capable in the face of hardship." Raven countered, but the Nasod was still doubtful.

"That's right, and who needs hands or claws when you have magic?" Oleander lifted a nearby table with her levitation spell effortlessly.

"We can use our mouths as well." Moondancer demonstrates this by holding one of the books she took with her mouth, much to Maya's disgust.

"And we can pick up things with our hooves." The first sister held her pet rock in her hoof, which perplexed Raven. The man was sure that their hooves were made out of keratin, and he looked under Jade's foot and found a normal frog-shaped hoof.

"How advanced are these...Ponies?" Maya asked the Cyborg.

"As far as I can tell, their technology is inconsistent at best. Most of it is powered by magic and rainbows." The last part was a lie, but it might as well be true, considering how colorful this world was. "They have gunpowder but no form of artillery, and yet they have airships and sailboats."

"Primitives." Raven nodded in agreement.

Oleander raised an angry eyebrow at the two. "Are we really being criticized by the two races that have been nearly wiped out multiple times?" Maya grumbled angrily, while Raven blushed slightly in embarrassment. "The one remaining Human is always brooding and violent."

"I don't brood." He didn’t bother denying that he was violent.

Oleander ignored Raven and continued. " And the one remaining Nasod can't even move on her own. Truly, I feel honored to be in the presence of such mighty beings!" She held out her hooves and spoke in mock appraisal.

"Guh! Why, you little!" Maya wiggled harmlessly in the air while some of the other Ponies laughed and giggled. "Curse that Add!" Raven grunted in disapproval and gestured towards Add's corpse. He found it in poor taste. "He said my core and code were beyond fixing."

Raven rolled his eye and placed the El down. "Add might be a genius, but when it comes to Nasod machinery and other gadgets, he had no practical skills working on actual Nasods." Raven got closer to Maya.

"What are you doing?" Raven wrapped his arms around Maya and brought her closer. "UNHAND ME! GAH, DON'T STICK YOUR HAND IN THERE!" The man ignored her and stuck his hand in a rather unpleasant place.

Vinyl scooted over to Photo finish and whispered to her. "You think that's how Humans mate with one another?"

Photo Finish shrugged. "I don't know, but he is very good with those things at the end of his claws. Flexible."

"STOP, THAT TICKLES! Hahahah!"

Maya stood there shaking and mumbling to herself. "B-bastard, I'll get you for this." She straightened her stance and stood taller than Raven at 8 feet tall. "How could you do such a thing in front of others?!"

Raven deadpanned at the embarrassed Nasod. "I just opened your back panel and jury-rigged some of the broken parts. Also, Add was correct, your core is damaged, but it's not irreparable; I just need to find an alchemy table, and I should be able to synthesize copper tape. With that, I can repair your core."

"....I am...grateful," Maya said cautiously, then she looked at her own hands and moved them. "Maybe there's still some hope left?" She looked back down at Raven. "You said these creatures can use magic?"

Raven nodded. "Yes, this world is filled with it, and most of it can be found in the land known as Equestria."

"How is such a thing possible? Without the El, magic should be an impossibility. And they don't look like they've been infected by Henir." She leaned down and had a closer look at some of these Ponies. The snake and bat variants might have been, but they weren't violent screaming monsters.

"I'm not sure, but I've been able to empower myself and restore my mana just fine with the ambient magic around. But it's not as potent as the energy the El gave off. But." Raven gestured towards the tubes attached to Maya's back. "I believe that Nasods could sustain themselves off of this ambient magic. "

Maya tilted her head and raised an eyebrow. "What are you trying to say, Venom Taker."

He frowned but continued. "What I'm trying to say is that we could bring life to New Nasods and keep them sustained on this new form of magic. The El isn't stressed by the consent drain, and the Nasods don't have to worry about powering down. Win, win."

"Add said you hated Nasods and anything related to them."Maya leaned down and narrowed her eyes at the Human.

"I still do, I won't deny that, but we're both on the brink of extinction. I'm willing to put aside my prejudices for this, and with their help." Raven turns around and gestures toward his little Ponies. Maya looked at them skeptically and back at Raven. "I'm sure we can make it a possibility if you're willing, that is." Raven held out his claw for a handshake.

Maya stared at his claw for seconds before giving him a tired look. "I don't have a choice in the matter, as Add reprogrammed me to take orders from you as soon as you arrived. But the gesture is appreciated, and I agree to these terms." She took Raven's claw, and shook it. "Besides my earlier reaction, I'm glad you arrived; I feared the worse when the facility you were in self-destructed."

Raven lets go of the Nasod's hand and is slightly shocked. "Did the facility send a signal here?"

Maya nods. "Yes, and I was the one who approved the release sequence. The facility for a time received its power from here." Raven instantly felt ill at the thought of Henir's energy-sustaining him for such a long time, even if the energy was filtered and refined. "But the underground power line was damaged at some point; thankfully, the release protocol kicked in before you could starve to death.

"Actually, it didn't; they came to my rescue." He pointed at the members of Black Crows, who gave Maya varying reactions. Oleander was neutral about this, Cozy gave her best fake smile, Xuez smiled nervously, the twins had a hungry look behind their eyes, Moon Charm struck a pose and held her head high, Amber waved a hoof in excitement, and Jade babbled happily.

"Charmed..."Maya could feel it in her core; these children would drive her insane. "Either way, I'm glad you're here because I have a message from Add, Lu, Ciel, and Prince Seiker, aka Chung, and I need to explain to you what happened to the El when it was fully restored. Now, which would you like to start with?"

Raven swallowed nervously; he was finally going to have his answers. "Let's start with the El; what exactly happened to the El when Antithese took control?"

"To put it simply, the El imploded. In her attempt to prevent another El explosion, she called upon the power of Henir and surrounded the restored El with Henir's energy." Maya placed a hand over her mouthless face. "It went as well as anyone would have expected. While it did prevent the El from exploding, it didn't stop the El from losing its power from Eve's reckless attempt to recreate the world. Once the El's power became too unstable, and with no means of releasing this energy, it simply collapsed into itself, and it was catastrophic."

"Everything and everyone was caught in one giant blast, and it went beyond the planet. This explosion was large enough to consume both the Sun and the Moon." Raven was horrified by this revelation but was glad to have his question finally answered. " The blast nearly stopped the planet as well. Thankfully, Add brought us here to weather out the destruction. Once it was all over, the land was barren, the sea was dead, and the world was left in darkness with a never-ending winter."

"It would have been the end if Add hadn't used his code, the last remaining El shard" She pointed at the El that Raven was holding. "And the residual energy to recreate the Sun and Moon. Although, the Sun was far smaller and the same size as the Moon. I'll never know how he got the Sun working in such a state." Maya shrugged and continued with her retelling. "With the sun so small, he had it move around the planet just like the moon. Even with the Sun restored, the planet was barren, and Add theorized it would take millions of years before complex life could return to the planet." This would explain why the sun moved in such erratic ways, and how two alicorns could move it. But it still didn’t explain why life sprang up so quickly.

"Left with no other choice, Add and the others would go in stasis as you did, but." Maya crossed her arms and legs in discomfort at the memory. "Eve somehow survived and was on the search for the last remaining El Shard; it would have been a matter of time before she found it. Add began the restoration project, a backup plan if they failed to defeat the mad Queen. I was of no use, so I hid and waited." Maya walked over to the terminal and typed a few things in. An audio recording came on.

"Mwaahahahahha! Raven, if you're listening to this, it's your Favorite Demon Queen! I expect an apology when I see you next time! Isn't that right, Ciel?" It sounded like Lu, but she sounded even more arrogant.

"... If we don't make it out alive, I left something special for you on the third floor. Take good care of her; my father gave her to me." The sound of someone getting kicked was followed by the pained screams of Ciel.

"Um, hello is this on? This is Prince Seiker, but you can just call me Chung. If you're listening to this, Mr.Maxwell, I'm sorry that I never got to meet you; hopefully, after this, we will... But if I don't make it; I'm leaving a file behind with my father's research, my knowledge of alchemy, and my explosion theory. May you use this knowledge for a better and brighter future... Um, Lu, I think Ciel has had enough."

"Shut up!" Girlish screams could be heard from the recording as someone else got kicked.

"Out of the way, fools! Raven, I know you're listening; once this is all over, I expect you to be grateful for all I did for you! Getting you out of that cage and replacing your failing organs! Did you honestly believe I would let those Velder soldiers take you away because you got caught killing? No way, you're too valuable!" Several veins were visible on Raven's head as he listened to this. "No need to thank me, I just expect you to be part of several experiments I will conduct." The audio cuts off, and Maya starts up another one.

Wet coughing could be heard, followed by pained breathing. "Hahaha, she used my own Dynamos on me, I shouldn’t have made them so sharp. I-i was able to trap Eve in a... cognitive virus. She's trapped in her own mind, trying to solve the mathematical paradoxes.. Hopefully, she'll spend the rest of eternity trying to solve them." More wet coughing could be heard as the sound of blood hitting the floor could be heard. "I might as well say this... I'm sorry, Raven. I know it means nothing now, but I wanted to see my mother one last time, and I would have done anything to see her again. So if you're alive, Raven. Memento belongs to you, and Code: Maya is yours to command. Place your hand over the terminal, and the necessary code should transfer over to you."

Raven held his claw over the terminal, and soon as he did, a purple lightning bolt came out and struck Raven in the Claw. He screamed in pain as he clutched his arm in pain. "HAHAHAHAH! GET FUCKED! One last parting gift from me to you. Hahaha, Gah!" Add started coughing and continued coughing for a full minute before stopping. "Well, good luck, Raven... I'm coming, mother." The Audio cuts off.

"Son of a bitch." Raven rubbed his claw in pain as words flashed before his eyes.

CODE: EMPEROR (lite version)

As soon as he read those words, he was nearly overwhelmed by the new sensation as he could feel every Nasod in the facility. This included Maya, as she stood at attention, waiting for his orders. Even a holographic screen popped up infront of him, but he quickly missed it. "W-what, happened afterward?" Raven rubbed his head, trying his best to calm the oncoming headache.

Maya nodded and continued with her explanation. "After Add's death, Eve lay dormant for thousands of years until the restoration project yielded its only success, Megan. I'm not sure what happened, but the child simply touched her. A few years later, Eve woke up and went to the lower levels and wreaked havoc in search of the El. Due to this, floors from four to seven have been locked down."

"Why? She got out." Cozy Glow spoke with a deadpanned look.

"Antithese damaged the reactor, and it began to leak. This is the same reactor that contains Henir's energy." Fear took a grip on Raven's heart as Maya said this. "And until the reactor is fixed and the floors cleansed of Henir's influence, you will be denied access and denied access to the master controls." Maya's words were final, and she would overrule Raven's orders if she needed to.

Raven lets out a tired sigh and leans on the terminal. "We have to clear those floors out at some point and fix the reactor. When will you allow me access?"

Maya sized up Raven before speaking. " You must grow stronger before I allow any of you access; you're far too weak in your current state."

"But Raven has the El, can't he use that to blast all the bad guys?" Amber asked curiously.

Raven shook his head at the suggestion. "If I use the El for long periods, I risk being absorbed by its sheer power. The El isn't some tool that can be used whenever most convenient. For now, we'll leave it."

Maya walked up and stood next to Raven, awaiting his orders. "What is our first course of action."

"Food, infrastructure, some form of a working government, and preparing for a funeral." Raven looked over at his Charges. "I need to find a teacher for these kids and clothes." He looked at the rest of his Ponies. "Clothing for all you." Everypony started groaning and even booing Raven. "I will not serve a bunch of nudists!" The only ones who didn’t seem upset were Photo Finish and the undead ponies.

"How come she gets to be naked?!" Vinyl pointed at Maya, who didn't seem to care.

"Because her genitalia doesn't hang out, unlike the rest of you. It still disturbs me how Ponies walk around naked." He thought about when he fought Luna. He gagged at the memory. "I'm surrounded by degenerates!". Now he had one big problem, all the stuff he needed to do required a lot of people, and the majority of his Ponies were Changelings. Alliance or not, he had to speak to Ambrosia first; Raven was sure she would want something in exchange. "Goddess, give me strength.”

footnote:

Raven

NEW CODE ACQUIRED

CODE: EMPEROR (lite version) - - Raven can now order and control Nasods if he wishes. He can have up to 10 generation one Nasods join him in a fight, up to three generation two Nasods and up to one generation three Nasod. Due to the Code being the lite version, Raven cannot materialize or dematerialize Nasods.

Author's Note

As yeah, got another chapter out! Sorry if this one took so long, work has been keeping me busy for the last few days! Also next chapter is going to be the POV of everyone else.

Also if you’re wondering why I made Maya so tall? I just went with the in game model and she’s huge.

Enjoy!