Hey guys, already back with Chapter 7 of Beach Bandits!

In the previous chapter, the gang believed they had found the building that the water from The Lakes had been transported to, and after battling a new type of robot, they've found a way in! What could be inside?

Read on to find out!

Now, on with the show!

Chapter 7

The Lakes Arc - Part 4

"Flowing Water"

Everyone was impressed upon entering.

The cylindrical interior was quite the mechanical sight. Light panels were evenly spaced down the wall, and a single blue platform they stood on had a long spiraling path connected to it that went all the way down to the bottom. Where they stood, there was an iron rail that went up to the ceiling to prevent anyone from falling, as well as a gate that looked to be locked. There was also a cylindrical steel elevator that seemed to run from the bottom to the top and not vice versa. There was a large control panel with a red button in the center, labeled 'GATE/DOOR SWITCH', and numerous stained-orange, metal cates, with a stylized 'E' on them, to represent EcoTech.

But what had caught their eyes once they entered was the large amount of water being shot out of a pump from the center of the ceiling, flowing down to a large pool at the bottom of the singular room building.

"Guys, we found the water!" Mabel exclaimed, grinning as she ran over to the railing, peering between the bars at the artificial waterfall.

Dipper's eyes widened. "No way...already?!"

"Wait, something's gotta be up here." Wendy said. "This can't be all the water. There's gotta be another pump at the bottom, taking it somewhere else. This is probably water from another smaller lake."

Soos looked around and eyed the machinery and monitors he saw on the control panel. "Hm...dudes, look at this."

"Huh?" Dipper approached him, along with the others. "What'd you find, Soos?"

"Look at these charts; they show the water being pumped, and the pumps being powered by a generator." Soos explained. "This is a place that pumps and filters out water, and places like these typically have control rooms located in lower levels to have more access to the water in a contained state without the weight of the amount of it risking a floor collapse...

"If we can get to the bottom, I might be able to find a way to short out the generator powering this place and reroute the water back to The Lakes!" Soos finished.

"Soos...how did you know all that?!" Mabel asked

Soos shrugged. "Saw it in a movie once. Now come on! We gotta hurry, I doubt the door will stay open long, dudes!"

He slammed the red button, and the gate nearby opened slowly, sliding to the right, and a door at the bottom raised into the ceiling. As soon as the gate was open, Soos quickly sprinted down the path, the others following close behind.

"So where else would the water be being pumped to?" Wendy asked as they ran. "Could there really be another one of these places...?"

"Another pumping station?" Dipper replied with a question of his own. "Huh...I wonder if there really is another."

"I hope there isn't." Mabel said. "This Tech guy is so confusing! Why does he want a-"

"He doesn't want to make a beach, Mabel!" Dipper shouted, to which Mabel chuckled, running ahead.

Even with running for a good few minutes, they still were nowhere near the bottom.

"How do we get down there quicker?" Dipper asked.

Soos looked around, thinking of what to do. "I dunno, dude..."

"Maybe we can just jump down?" Wendy suggested.

"We don't know how deep the pool is down there, so we might not survive a fall like that..." Dipper replied. "Is there any other way?"

Soos couldn't think of anything as he looked around more.

Though he knew there was only one chance they could take.

Ignoring his friends shouts once they knew what he was doing, Soos hopped the railing and fell to the pool below.

Landing in the cold, 'foggy' water, Soos quickly tried swimming upwards, feeling as though he would be sucked down into the bottom pumping pipe. He quickly surfaced and swam to the edge, panting for air. Looking to his left as he climbed out, he saw the door they were aiming to get through about to close completely. Eyes widening, Soos had to call for everyone to jump.

"Dudes, it's deep enough! Jump!" The man sprinted for the door in the meantime.

As he neared it, he turned to see the others quickly jumping down into the pool, one by one; first Dipper, then Mabel, then Wendy. He smiled, seeing them make it, before looking ahead. With little to no room left to get through, however, Soos ducked down and slid under in time.

"Soos, wait for us!" Dipper called out, climbing out of the water and sprinting for the door, completely soaked.

"Hurry, it's gonna close!" Mabel excalimed as she quickly followed Dipper, Wendy close behind.

"You can make it! Come on, dudes!" Soos reached under the slowly closing door for them, but yanked his hand away once he realized they wouldn't make it as the door slowly closed.

He couldn't believe he was now trapped in, well, whatever this room was, without his friends. He assumed the door was soundproof, as he couldn't hear any banging or voices on the other side.

Sighing, Soos got up and walked away from the door, turning around a corner to go right. Then, to his surprise, he came across a large room with a vast number of control panels, with knobs, switches, levers, buttons, and monitors, with pipes connecting everywhere in the back of the room behind them.

Soos approached and sat down in a chair in front of the main control panel, seeing on the monitor in front of him what looked like a form of a digital lock. The monitor showed a large number of rotatable pipes on a grid that lead to a generator icon. One pipe at the far left end of the screen had what looked like water flowing through it.

"Oh, I get it...I gotta direct the water to the generator and short it out!" Soos then cracked his fingers and placed them on the keyboard built into the main control panel.

"Let's do this."

-(End Of Chapter)-

To be continued...

Oh no, the gang has been separated! While the others are trapped outside the door, Soos is now dealing with a strange looking puzzle of sorts that might just help steak the pumping of the water and take out this whole building! Will he succeed? Will the gang get back together and escape in time? Will this even solve anything? Where the hell is the sand and the rest of the water?

All of these questions will be answered soon...

Anyways, I hope you've enjoyed this chapter, reviews are highly appreciated, and as always...

Stay Tuned!

~087-B