//------------------------------//
// Chapter 8 - Discharge 
// Story: Nature of The Experiment 
// by Cracked Egg 
//------------------------------//

Show off.

I chuckled at Rainbow Dash's stunts, folded my arms behind me, and started my miniature trek.

As I made my way toward the arboraceous library, I remembered the intellectual look of scientific curiosity that one purple mare had been giving me. I reached into my mind, and fished out the ever-increasing file I dubbed the Things To Worry About Later folder.

There were a ton of questions filling the file, and I doubted I'd be able to address them all in one go. As I searched through it, I came upon a few questions that I wanted to answer before I met Twilight. To anypony else seeing me as I headed to the tall tree, I'd be staring off into space, not paying attention to anything.

I began a mental Q&A session in my mind in preparation for the actual one awaiting me.

Alright, to begin, Q: Why am I a Porygon-Z?

I halted halfway between the library and the boutique.

A: Well, if I'm correct, the when I was transported here, I was merged with Technus, meaning I may just have his memories.

I closed my eyes, and delved into the pool of information at my disposal. I searched throughout the countless memories belonging to both me and the Porygon2, before resting upon a single file.

There it is.

Finding what I was looking for, I dragged it into view, and began playing the memory like a video. As it continued, I noticed Technus had caught Bill inserting a music disc into the machine instead of the proper program disc, but wasn't fast enough to stop him.

A disc containing dubious data, specifically, music.

The pieces fell together and clicked in my head. It all made sense.

That playlist became my very base programming upon the upgrade, the error was both the insertion of the disc, and me merging with Technus. Not to mention I was transported here by machine. All of those factors were the reason I became a Porygon-Z.

With that mystery solved, and in slightly higher spirits, I stopped short of the library door. As I knocked on the door, I still couldn't get the feeling something was very wrong.

The door opened, and what lay inside was a little confusing, to say the least. A small green and purple dragon was standing there, looking very grumpy. He was looking forward, not yet registering who was at the door.

"Yes how may I help..."

He trailed off, his emerald eyes slowly following my form, stopping at my crazed visage.

"...you?"

[|||]

Twilight held several books on powerful mythical beasts aloft in her levitation spell. Shuffling the books in alphabetical order, she carefully arranged them along her bookshelf. Taking the time to slow down, she picked up her note taking paper and quills, and began trotting towards the door.

Yes of course she has such supplies specifically for note taking. She'd be crazy not to, no matter what anypony would say otherwise.

The door adopted a purple glow, swinging open as if of it's own accord, and Twilight walked down the steps, supplies in tow. She nearly dropped them when Spike cried out.

"TWILIGHT!"

Twilight ran downstairs, moving past the table in the center of the library, all the way over to Spike. Setting the parchment and writing utensils on the table, she looked out the door to see a certain nonplussed Porygon-Z waiting in the doorway. Spike was on the ground, crawling backwards away from Lenkar, like he might snatch the young drake up and eat him on the spot.

The red and blue bird rolled it's eyes. "Hello, you must be Twilight, am I right?"

Twilight nodded, her eyes darting between me and Spike. She huffed, and gave me a pointed look.

I blinked. "Right, may I come in?"

Twilight nodded once more, and I slid through the air into the room. I couldn't smell anything in the room, but if I were to take a guess, it'd be books. Lots of them. The shelves covered the entirety of the walls, in all different colors, most of them faded from years of use. I noticed a stool sliding over to the table at the center of the room, cloaked in a purple aura.

I looked over at Twilight, just as her her horn ceased it's glowing. She motioned with a wing towards the stool, and sat on her haunches next to it.

I nodded, and floated over to the stool, maneuvering my tail so it wouldn't be crushed.

I folded my arms across my chest, and waited for her to finish organizing her materials. I did a mental check of my faculties, and found Manners.bat in the recycling bin once more. This time the slimy little bin had renamed itself Things To Worry About Later, as if mocking me.

My inner programs were both rebelling against me, and getting more clever by the moment. That was worrying on multiple levels. As a sense of dread began to rise within, Twilight moved herself to face me, a quill and pieces of paper levitating in front of her. She cleared her throat, and gazed at me with her large lavender eyes.

"Thank you so much for visiting! When Rainbow Dash attacked you, I was so worried that you wouldn't wake up or want anything to do with us and-"

I put up a blue flipper to silence her. "Now now, it's fine, I'm a forgiving individual. Now, I believe you have some questions?"

My attention was brought to the sound of clinking silverware. Spike had placed some tea with plates onto our workplace. Twilight thanked Spike, while I just silently stared at the cup, my arms resting in my lap.

Twilight picked up her tea, and took a sip. Titling her head, she moved it back to the plate.

"Oh, I'm sorry, do you not like tea?" She asked, a little worried she had done something wrong.

I was snapped out of my reverie, and swiveled my head to meet her view.

"No, I have no mouth, so I can't really eat or drink anything." I put a blue arm to my beak.

"Also, I may not even require the need to breathe, considering I am basically artificial."

I pushed the teacup towards Twilight, who picked it up in her magic. Setting it aside, she nodded, writing down everything she could on her notes. Taking another sip of her tea, she continued, "How interesting! So, what are you? Can you use magic? Are all of your kind like you? How are you artificial? How are you floating? Why do--"

A feeling struck it's way through my head. She was cut off by me clamping my arms over her muzzle. I laughed, and joyfully chided, "My, what spirit of enthusiasm! One question at a time, we have plenty of such, after all."

I let go of her face, and she breathed a sigh of relief. I found myself wondering a few things, and I thought I'd share my concerns with her.

"You are quite the scientific mind, so riddle me this;" I say, picking up a piece of paper. Twilight looked at me in interest.

"What would you say if I said I did not originally look like this?" I folded the piece of paper a bit more. I loved doing this as a kid, just take a piece of paper, and let the folds do the work.

"What would you say if I said I had the power to go faster than sound, analyze the composition of anything, and fly like a bird without needing wings?" I continued to fold my origami piece, moving on to the head of it.

"What would you say if I said a young man, working on a project to find a miracle unlike any other, was whisked away to a world he was not familiar with?" As I finished my origami of a Porygon, I set it on the table.

"What would you say if I said I, a Porygon-Z named Lenkar Glitch, were a doctor from another dimension that researched the very kind of creature I ended up becoming?"

As I looked into her eyes, I saw renewed awe at what I was saying. She remained in speechless wonder, so I continued.

"Now, what would you say if I said, that my current existence is due to a highly convenient stroke of error?" I picked up the Porygami I made, and tossed it in the air.

"Or perhaps, if I said that I was previously an alien unlike any you could ever imagine, only to merge my own being into my life long friend?"

The Porygami dropped to the floor with barely a sound. I grasped the stool, and leaned forward.

"Well?" I said, awaiting her reply.

She shifted her expression a bit, startled by the end of my one-sided conversation. She shook her, and she brought a hoof up to her face.

"What would I say to those short fables?" She inquire back, wondering what to even begin to think about what I said.

She put her hoof back to the floor. I just sat there, not conveying any emotion, awaiting her reply.

"Well, I can certainly tell you're very smart, you seem to know what you're talking about, and if I were to guess..."

She put a hoof to her chin, and looked at the ceiling in thought.

"You weren't always a Porygon-Z were you?" I blinked. I didn't expect her to realize that off the bat, though I guess I'm just underestimating her.

"Correct, I was previously a creature called a human, but that is no longer relevant. What is relevant is that you help me run a few tests on my new form. I wish to know both it's limits, and it's properties." That got Twilight excited. I swear her eyes were gleaming with energy at the prospect of being able to study a creature like me with permission.

While we were both trying to process everything that just happened, I thought back to what I said, and realized something.

I don't normally sound like that.

I was now beginning to panic. Quietly, of course. Keeping my external visage as neutral as possible, I picked up a piece of paper and a quill. Dipping the quill in a nearby inkwell, I began to draw, never taking my eyes off of Twilight. I didn't think of what I was drawing, I just drew, letting my arm take care of it for me.

Twilight was perplexed by my behavior, so I decided to fill her in on my issue.

"Twilight, what you just heard from me is not how I normally sound." I say, still drawing.

She titled her head. "What do you mean by that?"

I was still staring at her, and adding the finishing touches to my picture. "As in, ever since I became a Porygon-Z, my mind has been changing, and not for the better."

My arm stopped on it's own, so I set the paper on the table without looking at it. Twilight was about to look at it, but I held up an arm.

"No, don't look at it, that was a simple motor skill recognition test." I explain, still perturbed by the fact I did not have all my mental faculties in check.

I crossed my arms and leaned back a bit, my head staying level with the floor.

"Porygon-Z's are known to be inherently flawed. While that remains true for myself, I am deeply unsettled at the idea of losing myself to an error that is devouring my entire being. Not to mention said error may just have a mind of it's own."

I twiddled my blue limbs around each other, not taking my eyes off the mare in front of me.

"I may seem calm right now, but that is because I have no idea how to even begin to react to this. I am legitimately terrified."

I titled my head back, and performed something similar to a sigh.

"I knew this was too convenient. I was accustomed to my form on the first time out, I should have seen that as a warning sign."

I shook my head, and re-positioned myself on the stool. Twilight had remained silent through the whole thing, and to be honest, I never spoke that much before at any one time.

Twilight just sat there, slack-jawed. She stirred, and cleared her throat.

"Yes. Okay, well, I made a lot of interesting notes here." She motioned a hoof towards the pile of filled papers she had on the table.

I blinked at the sheer amount of work. "Wow, you got down everything?"

She nodded, and I whistled. "Impressive."

Suddenly, I was grabbed by her, as she began sobbing. She hugged me tighter, and I reciprocated the embrace.

She sniffed, and looked at me with tears in her eyes. "I'm so sorry for what has happened to you. I'll do everything I can to help you! I swear it!"

She punctuated her claim by stomping a hoof onto the floor. I sighed, and nodded.

"Thank you, Twilight."

We both sat in silence for a long time.

I glanced at my drawing, and saw what it looked like.



I had no idea what it could mean.

[|||]

After I had agreed to take the tests, I followed her underground, to a laboratory deep beneath the library. It was not as impressive as any of the laboratories I had been in back on Earth, but it certainly had a charm to it. There were a few EEG machines, and other devices I had no means of identifying.

Twilight directed me toward a chair, with which I was promptly strapped in.

"Alright Lenkar, all I need you to do is talk." She walked over to the machine next to me, and lifted up a helmet in her magic. Putting the helmet on my head, I thought for a moment.

My arms and tail had been strapped to the chair, so the only thing I could move was my head.

"So, just continue where we left off then?" I turned my head towards her, and she nodded, calibrating the device.

"Yes, that way I can get better results. If we simulate a casual environment like what we were doing upstairs, it may mean we can locate what is going on with you easier." She turned a few more knobs, and pushed a button. The machine came to life, the red line on the graph paper moving up and down, with the long piece of paper being fed out of the machine at a steady rate.

"Sounds reasonable. Besides, I'm at home in a lab anyway." I chuckled.

The red line wavered a bit, but continued as it was. I seemed worried at that, but continued anyway.

"Well, I studied in a programming school for a while, before moving on to engineering. I got what I could out of both, which wasn't easy due to my dyslexia." As I talked, the red line on the paper was slowly becoming more and more erratic. Twilight was slightly alarmed and fascinated by the readings, but she didn't show the alarmed part.

"Alright, and?" She said, looking over the readout more carefully.

"Well, then I met the owner of the Pokemon Storage System, Bill. Bill was very passionate about his work, and so was I. We both met at a cafe in a town called Goldenrod and decided that I'd start working with him." I continued talking, while Twilight became ever more interested and worried.

"After that we started the project that sent me here, Project Alieno Immuto. We called it that because it's latin for 'Another Change'." I chuckled at the pun, considering what the project did to me after it had it's run.

Twilight was now examining the machine with anxiety, trying to remain calm over the fact I may be slowly having a mental breakdown without even realizing it. My head suddenly twitched faster than someone who wasn't paying attention could catch, but I didn't realize it. I was still busy talking.

"Anyway, then me and Bill decided to use my Porygon2 to help out. His name was Technus, but even though I keep calling it a him, the Porygon line has no actual or definitive gender differential. Maybe because we never added one. Did you know Porygon is the first, if only, artificially created Pokemon?"

While Twilight was still both shocked and intrigued at the information she was getting, she was about to have a heart attack over the fact my readings were going absolutely nuts.

"As for how I got Technus, well, that's a really strange story." I laughed, and spasmodically flopped my limbs in their restraints, while my eyes blinked at odd intervals. All of such were happening in under the blink of an eye.

"It's a marvelous tale, one almost as long as it is verbosely told." I said in a very cheerful yet sophisticated tone. I had subconsciously activated Agility, and my arm twitched faster than Twilight could see. It was freed from the restraint, and I brought it up to my beak in thought.

"Where do I even begin..."

As I said that, the machine next to me stopped working entirely, and the lamp above me started to flicker.

My body spasmodically convulsed, as I began to scream out in a buzzing tone. "ZZZZZZZZZ! ZZZZZZZ-ZZZZZ-ZZZZ!!!"

My limbs were twitching every which way, and Twilight was beginning to fear I was having a seizure. I may as well have, because that would have been preferable to my current situation.

My limbs strained against the chair I was strapped to, my one arm flopping all about. Electricity arched across me, and Twilight began to back away from my twitching form.

I let out one last cry of; "ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!"

A bright yellow light burst forth from my whole being, and I let loose a wave of power that caused every electronic device around me to go haywire. A few of the machines exploded on the spot from pure overload, and Twilight ran upstairs to escape the ensuing blast.

I laughed like a maniac as I let off more and more electricity, my head jerking all over the place.

Finally, I stopped emitting the energy, and pointed my beak towards the ceiling. I let out a wheezing laugh, and said, "Porygon-Z used Discharge!"

I cackled some more, before turning my head forward. "IT'S SUPER EFFECTIVE!"

With that yell, my body fell limp, and my head dropped like a rock. It landed on the floor with a resounding thunk.

The lamp on the ceiling shattered, showering me with glass.