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Pixal hadn’t left Zane’s side since he returned from the Never Realm.
She followed him everywhere like a puppy, not straying more than a few feet away. She tried not to be too conspicuous – going so far as to innocently suggest that the two of them prepare a celebratory meal for the team, to get some alone time with him – but it didn’t go unnoticed that she was sitting as close to him as humanly possible when they all sat down to eat.
Even now, as she made some repairs to his torso, she would randomly touch his uniform, as if trying to prove to herself that he was really home. He’d smile at her, and repeatedly reassure her that he was back and wasn’t going anywhere, but still her compulsion to touch him remained.
Zane didn’t mind; frankly, he too was immensely relieved to be back in Ninjago, with his beloved Pixal. The only thing stopping him from pulling her into a hug and holding her there was the sharp screwdriver she held – he didn’t want to risk a random puncture of something vital while his chest cavity was open.
Her hand brushed against his cheek, and he reached up to place his hand over hers, keeping it clasped to his face. Pixal’s facial circuits glowed sheepishly.
“I am sorry I keep touching you,” She apologised. “my senses are so easily deceived since I had that dream.”
“You had a dream??” He asked in astonishment. “How long has that been happening?”
Pixal retreated her hand and turned away, but the sadness on her face was obvious.
“It was the first, and unfortunately it was not a good dream; it was my mind replaying the moment that we thought you had been destroyed,” She admitted. “it was only after this that we discovered you were actually teleported away…”
“That must have been scary for you,” He empathized. “it is a shame that your first dream could not have been something more pleasant.”
“It is not important now,” She smiled. “you are back, and that is what matters.”
Pixal put down the screwdriver, closed over his chest cavity, and wrapped herself around him. Zane immediately hugged her in return, tilting his head towards her. She sighed, as if releasing all the tension and sadness within her and she tightened her grip on him. He listened to her artificial heartbeat, feeling comforted by the swell of the ethereal sound, when he abruptly heard her making sniffling noises.
Zane gently pulled away, to see a couple of tears falling from Pixal’s bright green eyes.
“Forgive me,” She hiccupped. “I am so overwhelmed by this moment.”
“Do not apologise, I understand completely,” He tenderly said, wiping her tears away. “my heart is pulsing so much that I am on the verge of crying myself.”
“I missed you so much, Zane, and I feared I would never see you again,” She confessed. “losing you once was excruciating, the thought of losing you a second time is just-.”
She couldn’t even finish the sentence, as she became flooded with emotions and began crying. He pulled her close and softly rubbed her back.
“I am here, Pixal, and I am not leaving you.” He asserted.
As she wept, he recalled his early days as the Ice Emperor. Without his memories, he didn’t even know who Pixal was, but there was always a looming sense that part of him was missing. Zane searched his memory bank for the message he had recorded before attempting to repair the mech. It had successfully uploaded to the mech itself – that much he knew – but he hoped that a back-up had been saved somewhere on his own neural drive.
“Would it comfort you to know, that when my memories returned, the memory that solidified them was one of you and I?” He mentioned.
Pixal glanced up at him, sniffling weakly.
“Is that true?” She asked.
“Yes,” He nodded. “the memory was from the day we had our picture taken under the cherry blossom tree.”
She smiled at him softly.
“I cherish that memory,” She purred. “and I cherished the photo even more while you were gone – it allowed me to feel connected to you even though we were so far apart.”
As he beamed at her in utter adoration, an internal notification alerted him that the recorded message had been located. He gently pulled away from her and held her hands in his.
“Pixal, I have something important to show you,” Zane began. “it is something I recorded in case someone came upon the mech and I was no longer with it.”
“Oh?”
Zane used his eyes to project the video recording for her to see. Pixal gasped, as she witnessed the projection against the hangar wall and Zane’s serious face appeared.
[Greetings, friend. If you have found this recording, then I am no longer here. My name is Zane. I am a stranger in this land, trying to find my way home. It is difficult to keep track of the days in this place. It feels like I've been here a long time...]
She watched with sadness as the recording played, and he spoke with such uncertainty. Pixal once again gripped the sleeve of his uniform, subconsciously reminding herself that Zane was here with her.
[...but I refuse to give up hope. I am attempting to repair the mech. Unfortunately, the processing unit is damaged. In order to fix it, I must connect myself to the mech and run a system diagnostic. If anything were to interrupt the diagnostic, it could cause my operating system to reboot. In case something goes wrong, this is the last recording of Zane, Master of Ice. Son of Dr Julien. Student of Master Wu…]
Her grip on his sleeve tightened, alerting him to the fact that her anxiety levels were rising. He deftly put his arms around her, as her eyes were transfixed on the images projecting onto the wall.
[I was built to protect those who cannot protect themselves and I have tried to fulfil this purpose. Goodbye to my friends... and... to Pixal, I love you…]
Zane looked at Pixal directly, absorbing the vision of her pretty green eyes as they glittered, and her lips as they curled into a beautiful, warm smile. He stroked her hands and delicately smiled at her. Her eyes sparkled with love, and her circuits glowed as she beamed at him.
“Pixal, I love you.” He repeated.
“Oh Zane, I love you too…” She squeaked as tears started falling yet again.
Pixal leaned over and left a doting kiss on his cheek. Zane put his forehead to hers and sighed happily. It was a wonderful moment of calm and adoration and realisation, and Pixal silently wished they could stay in this moment forever.
Pixal was unceremoniously thrown to the floor, at the foot of the staircase that led to the Ice Emperor’s throne. She looked up to see his advisor, Vex, and the head of the Blizzard Samurai, Grimfax, glaring down at her in disdain.
“My Emperor, behold, the rogue samurai.” Vex declared.
The sound of ice cracking echoed around the room, as the Ice Emperor got up from his throne and descended the immense staircase with a threatening air about him.
Pixal’s vision recalibrated just as the intimidating figure reached the lower steps. She took in the image of him; his ice coated skin was accentuated by glowing blue eyes, and though she couldn’t see his face because of the ornamental chin guard he wore, it didn’t take long for her to figure out who this Ice Emperor truly was.
“Zane!” Pixal gasped, pushing herself up and onto her feet. “I do not understand… How is this possible?”
“What did you call me?” He growled suspiciously.
“Zane... That is your name… do you not remember?” She asked sadly.
She took a step forward and reached out for him, only to be stopped by two of his guards. Vex smugly grinned at her.
“Step back!” Vex barked. “You are addressing the Ice Emperor!”
She ignored the arrogant advisor and looked at Zane directly.
“I came here for you, Zane; I came to bring you home…” Pixal purred in a soft voice.
“This is my home.” He stated plainly, gesturing with his arm.
“No, Zane, Ninjago is your home.” Pixal corrected.
“Nin… jago?” Zane repeated with confusion in his voice.
“Please Zane, try to remember,” She pleaded, pushing against the guards to try and get past them. “we were all together, we were fighting Aspheera, and she…”
Pixal trailed off, as the devastation of thinking he had been destroyed overtook her. She felt such intense pain from her emotions, that she couldn’t stop the tears from falling. She sniffled, and tried to gather the strength to continue, peering at him with her glimmering green eyes.
“…She banished you with her staff,” Pixal whimpered. “I thought she had killed you.”
“Don’t listen to her!” Vex insisted, addressing Zane. “She lies!”
“It is the truth!” Pixal refuted, her emotions getting the better of her once more. “Zane, you must remember something… Or someone…”
She switched tactics, and figured he would remember if she could poke his memory with familiar names.
“Master Wu… or your father, Dr Julien…” She stated. “Or Cole, or Kai, or Jay… They are your friends, surely you remember them!”
Zane remained silent, and Pixal looked at the floor sadly.
“Nothing? Nothing at all?” She practically begged. “Do you not remember me either?”
“And who are you?” He asked calmly.
“I am Pixal,” She murmured. “and you and I are compatible.”
She reached out with her hand again, and when the guards pushed her back, Zane slammed his staff on the ground. They looked over at him, and his chilling glare forced them to back away, allowing Pixal to approach.
“Step back!” Vex commanded her.
“Stand aside!” Zane bellowed. “Both of you!”
Vex and Grimfax reluctantly stepped aside, and Pixal walked past them, stopping one step below the one where Zane stood. Pixal gazed into his stern eyes and reached up to remove the chin guard obscuring his face. Just as her hands touched it, he growled at her, and their eyes became locked on each other.
“What is your name, again?” He queried.
“My name is Pixal.” She repeated.
“Pixal…?” He mimicked in a contemplative tone.
“Yes; we first met at Borg Industries several years ago,” She explained. “you gave me half of your heart, I helped to rebuild you after you sacrificed yourself, and you saved me from Master Chen’s dungeon; we have been together ever since.”
“Together?”
“Yes, Zane,” She smiled. “you need to come home, so we can be together again.”
He was so distracted by her words and her hypnotic eyes, that he didn’t even notice she’d removed his chin guard. However, he was acutely aware of how quickly her expression turned down as she examined his face – for some reason, he felt wounded at seeing her so distressed. She was concerned by how frosted over he was, and she wondered how long he had truly been here.
Pixal dropped the metal chin guard, which loudly clanged as it fell down the stairs, and placed her palm flat against his cheek. Zane closed his eyes and tilted into her hand. A familiar warmth drifted over him; a recognisable tenderness that he had only ever felt from one individual…
“Pixal…?”
“Zane…”
He paused, and she wondered what was going on in his head that he would stop so abruptly. His frozen visage was blank for several minutes, which confused everyone in the room. Suddenly, Zane blinked a few times, and a look of realization dawned on him. He immediately noticed Pixal, and his whole face softened.
“Pixal…” He sighed, pulling her into a hug. “I am so happy to see you.”
“Zane…” She softly whispered. “I knew you would remember; I knew it.”
“Thank you, Pixal.”
Zane slowly opened his eyes to a mostly dark room – his room in the monastery, much to his relief. As beautiful as the Never Realm was, he was in no hurry to return there, although he wouldn’t argue with having that dream again. It was much less dramatic than what actually happened, and he woke up feeling comforted by the toned-down recreation that his mind had conjured. Mulling over the details of his dream, he genuinely wondered how differently things would have gone if Pixal had been the one to find him, rather than Lloyd.
As he rolled onto his side, he saw Pixal sitting on the floor by his bed. He quickly sat up and held out his hands to her.
“Pixal? Are you alright?” He asked.
“Zane! You are awake!” She squeaked, quickly taking hold of his hands. “Thank goodness!”
“You are distressed, what happened??”
“I had another nightmare about losing you!” She admitted.
“Everything is alright, Pixal, please calm yourself,” He gently reassured her. “I am here, I am safe…”
“I am sorry that I came in without permission, I just needed to be near you.” She apologised.
“You do not need permission to come into my room, Pixal, my door is always open.”
Pixal smiled widely.
“Thank you, Zane.”
“I assume that you came because you wanted to ensure that I was alright.” Zane surmised.
“Correct,” She agreed. “I could not sleep until I knew you were safe.”
“Well, you will be able to sleep easy now that you know I am ‘in one piece’,” He asserted. “would you like me to walk with you back to your bedroom?”
Pixal hesitated. She knew she should accept his offer and return to her own room, but she struggled to move from her place by his bed. This Never Realm incident was the second time she had lost him, and although he had come back both times, she harboured an irrational fear that it would happen again.
After a few moments of looking away sheepishly, she glanced at him with blushing cheeks.
“May I… May I sleep in here tonight?” She tentatively wondered.
“Of course,” He agreed, shuffling over to create space for her in his bed. “please, make yourself at home.”
“Oh, I, uh… I assumed that I would be sleeping on the floor…” She stammered as her blush practically lit up his room.
“That would not be a comfortable place to sleep, nor would it be polite for me to expect you to do so,” He shook his head. “please, join me here, it is nice and soft.”
“If you are certain…” She muttered.
He nodded enthusiastically.
Pixal bashfully stood up and got into the bed. Zane grinned and pulled the blanket up and over her shoulders. She gazed at his sweet face and feared that her facial circuits were about to short out from overheating so much.
“There, this is much more ideal,” He declared. “are you warm enough?”
“Yes, it is wonderfully cosy.” She timidly hid her burning face with the top of the blanket.
Zane laid his head on the pillow and reached over to stroke her hair. Pixal enjoyed this very much, to the point that she emitted a loud relaxed sigh. She snuggled into the soft, toasty, cotton bedding, and admired his endearing smile, then placed her hand on his chest. She could detect the swell of his power source – his beautiful heart – and her own swelled in tandem with it.
With a slight blush searing his cheeks, he raised the blanket and opened his arms.
“Would you like to come closer?” He offered.
“Definitely.” She replied, shuffling towards him.
Pixal pressed herself against him and gave another happy sigh. Zane observed her expression melt into one of pure joy and a similar feeling washed over him. Content, she finally felt secure enough to go back to sleep.
He stroked her hair some more, then caressed her cheek. It was remarkably warm to the touch, and she purred as his hand continued to pet her delicate face – well, it sounded like purring; more likely it was some internal processing, but it was pleasant to him regardless.
Zane kissed her forehead and cuddled her.
“I love you...”
Pixal woke up to the sun shining through the window.
She yawned and stretched, mildly confused by the sunlight coming in from a different angle than usual. On opening her eyes, it became clear why the light was coming from above the headboard, rather than the left side of the room; Pixal was still in Zane’s bed.
Zane was no longer lying next to her – which she was silently grateful for as she imagined imploding from embarrassment if he had been. According to her internal clock it was just after 8:30am, so the team were likely out training already. Pixal got up and made the bed, as the memory of being snuggled against Zane danced in her mind. She smiled to herself, and a warm, glowing feeling filled her circuits.
Returning to her own room, Pixal changed into some fresh clothes, determined to get started on building the Land Bounty 2.0. When she turned to leave, the framed photo caught her eye. She took a moment to pick it up and gaze at it adoringly, then briefly hugged the frame to her chest.
“Oh Zane...” She sighed with an infatuated tone.
“Yes?” He replied.
Pixal jumped at the sound of his voice, and whirled around, still clutching the photo frame.
“Zane!” She squeaked. “I thought you were out training?”
“I was, but I was not far away,” He clarified. “I wanted to be nearby for when you woke up.”
“Thank you for comforting me last night,” She said gratefully. “I cannot tell you how much I needed it.”
“I could sense that you required some reassurance,” He agreed. “and, to be honest, it was soothing for me also.”
A beautiful cloud of softness descended on them, as she put the photo frame back and approached him with an adoring grin.
“Would you like to spend the day building with me?” She shyly asked. “I am going to begin constructing a new Land Bounty...”
“I would love to.” He grinned softly, sliding his hand around hers.