"So, with the bot running, what next?" Ember asked curiously. She paused when she noticed a great many eyes turned towards her. "What?"

"I don't think this is a good story to be telling around a baby," Twilight insisted pointedly, jerking her head towards Flurry Heart.

"She's either too young to understand what we're saying, or it's no different from telling the Crusaders," Spike countered. "And you haven't objected to them being here."

"If I'd known what would happen on Aether, the Bottleship, and BSL when they first showed up, I would have!" Twilight countered.

"Hey!" Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo all called out angrily.

"Besides, if her magic surges aren't contained anymore, she could shatter the castle with a terrified scream if she gets scared!" Twilight added. "That's what happened to the Crystal Heart, after all!"

"Twilight," Cadence interrupted calmly, getting her attention. "I think it's fine."

"What?" Twilight gasped out. "But-"

"Whose adventures do you think are her bedtime stories?" Cadence asked pointedly.

"Umm...Daring Do?"

Shining Armor chuckled. "No, Twilight...yours."

"What? But...I haven't had 'adventures', per say-"

Luna, Discord, Ember, and Starlight Glimmer all noisily cleared their throats.

Blushing, Twilight lowered her head with a sigh. "Point made..."

"Well, after the S.P.I.K.E. fled, we went back to the Navigation Room," Spike explained. "We then had a discussion with Adam, Melissa, and Ghor about the security bot and its true nature." He clenched his claws. "As I said, I...didn't take it so well."

"The worse information we got from that was the fact that the organic brain that powered the S.P.I.K.E. did not have Spike's Metroidal aspects," Samus added. "Meaning if it didn't reseal its brain case in time, it could become infected by the X."

"Which is exactly what happened, right?" Rainbow inquired. "And eventually, that's how you regained your Plasma and Wave Beams?"

"Just Wave," Samus corrected. "Plasma came from somewhere else. Besides...much more significant information came to light before long..."

---

"With Level 2 doors open, Sectors 5 and 6 are unlocked," Adam explained. "Those sectors have already been infiltrated by the X."

"So we'll be headed there next?" Samus asked.

"To Sector 6, yes," Adam agreed. "Sector 5, however, is Sub-Zero. Until the Varia Suit data is ready and downloaded, you don't dare go there. Just being in a Sub-Zero environment will drain your energy as surely as a superheated one will. For now, you should head for the Sector 6 Data Room. You don't need to unlock any more levels of Security to get in there, so you should camp out at the Data Room or close to it until we're ready to transmit the data, to make sure the path doesn't get damaged before you get there."

"We're on our way," Samus confirmed, both her and Spike incensed at the idea of Spike's genetic material being used in experiments like the S.P.I.K.E., which was why she had been so short with Adam. Turning they made their way to Sector 6.

----

Once in contact in the Sector 6 Navigation Room, Adam proceeded with a briefing. "We have good news and bad news," he began firmly. "The good news is that the Varia Suit data is ready. However, due to a change in the BSL's mutating security algorithms, we were unable to maintain contact with the Sector 6 Data Room, and had to transfer the data early. It's waiting for you there, so you had best hurry."

"That doesn't seem so bad," Spike replied easily.

"That's not the bad news," Adam replied coolly, calling up an image of a blue X virus. "Some of the X that went into Sector 5 have been altered by the Sub-Zero temperatures. Samus, if you absorb one, you will be frozen from within. This is obviously a tactic designed to kill you specifically, Samus, so we cannot deny that the X are both intelligent and out to kill you."

"That's alright," Spike replied easily. "I'll just absorb them until we get Mom to the Data Room-"

"No!" Melissa interrupted. "Spike, there's more. Sector 5 is where experiments with various chemical and biological agents were performed...and according to the data, one of the experiments was a virulent toxin specifically designed to break down the unique composition of your cellular structure!"

"What?" Samus and Spike both shouted out, stunned.

"While it was only ever stabilized in the Sub-Zero climate...the blue X have absorbed it into their own beings as well," Melissa explained. "It's a flawed form, so it won't be lethal...but if you absorb a blue X, your inner energy will be depleted, and there's a chance one of your latent abilities will be temporarily disabled, if not permanently lost."

Spike's eyes widened in shock. "Wh...how can I stop that?"

"I was getting to that," Adam continued. "Because of the alterations in the Sub-Zero climate, the blue X are far more susceptible to heat. A blast of your flame breath should completely disperse the blue X. In the meantime, Ghor's already working on an anti-toxin to inoculate you against this agent."

"However, one thing becomes clear," Ghor spoke up. "The existence of this compound makes it clear that, whatever else BSL exists for...one of its primary objectives was the development of weapons specifically to kill you, Spike."

---

Noticing the stares they were receiving, Spike nodded. "Yeah...not pleasant to learn."

"Dang," Rainbow grumbled. "Hoping this is another place that gets blown up, if only to keep stuff like that from falling into the wrong hands. I mean, can you imagine if they gave that toxin to the S.P.I.K.E. as a komodo-style poison bite?"

Spike whimpered at the very idea. "Don't you think I have enough nightmares already, Rainbow?"

Rainbow's ears went flat against her skull. "Sorry..."

Next Chapter: BSL: Unexpected Varia-ble Estimated time remaining: 2 Hours, 19 Minutes