Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Zane opened his eyes, blinking a little to adjust. Where was he? He looked around, seeing that he stood in a big room. He didn’t recognize it. The walls were white, so were the floor and roof.

How had he gotten here?

He turned his head, scouting for a possible way out. There was seemingly no door in the room. Then how had he ended up here? What was going on?

Suddenly, Zane spotted something in the corner of his eye. Something dark blue and… silver. 

The ninja turned quickly, getting a better look. Across the room, there was a woman. They were about the same height, but she was wearing a dark blue suit with red details and gold armor. Her hair was silver, and put up in a sharp ponytail. It was… She was…

«Pixal!»

She turned to faced him, emerald green eyes meeting ice blue ones. «Zane?»

Zane felt happiness fill him, warmth spreading across his whole body. It was her! «Pixal!» He repeated, starting to run over. Finally! He had finally found her! After all these years!

He reached her, pulling the female nindroid into a hug. «It’s really you! I- I’ve missed you so much, you won’t believe it! Where have you been?»

Zane expected Pixal to hug back, but instead, she gently removed him. Keeping a hold of his hands, she looked into his eyes with a sympathetic smile. «Hi Zane.»

Zane blinked, mildy confused. «H-Hi? Are you okay?»

The samurai chuckled, slightly shaking her head. «Oh Zane…» She then lifted her head, looking into his eyes again. «I’m not real.»

The white ninja stiffened, eyes going wide. «What- What do you-» He stuttered.

«I’m not real. None of this is.» She gestured to the room around them. «Zane. It’s just your imagination.» After Pixal said those words, she started to flicker, losing her grip on Zane. 

Zane started panicking. «No! No, no, no, Pixal! PIXAL!» But it was too late.

The only thing left in his arms was a broom with her picture on it.

_________________________

Zane gasped as he sat up in his bed, still panting from the dream. As he finally got a hold of his breathing, he pinched the bridge of his nose. First Master, that nightmare was… horrible. He looked over at the broom that laid against the wall across the bedroom. Tears gathered in his eyes. 

«Oh Pixal… I miss you…»

Eventually, Zane looked back at his pillow. Yeah, there was no way he was going back to sleep.

Sighing, he got out of bed.

__________________________

The night was silent. Not one disturbing sound broke the peaceful bubble that had enveloped the monastery. Far above, thousands of stars were spread across the black sky that stretched on forever. The moon shone brightly, sending waves of silver light that reflected in his titanium skin. 

Zane shifted on the bench, the old wood creaking. He held tightly onto his teacup, the smell of chamomile filling his nose. Perhaps it was a habit he had gotten from master Wu, but a cup of tea did help with the nerves.

Looking up at the moon, Zane got dragged back to his thoughts about Pixal. She always loved the moon, calling it natures greatest piece of art. 

It had been so long. So long.

Where was she now? Where did she end up after the merge? Zane could only hope she was okay. 

He turned his focus back on the moon. It wasn’t her, but…

«Hi Pixal,» he said. No one answered. He did not expect anyone to. «I… I miss you. We all do. The others might not have said it, or…even mentioned it, but I am sure they do as well.» Zane smiled, then his lips turned downwards in a slight frown. «Nothing is right anymore. Nobody is fully content. I certainly am not. Not without you. I am fighting ten times worse, not able to focus, and… Everything is just a big mess.»

Zane looked down at the teacup. Lately, everything had reminded him of the silver-haired android. 

Baking.

Zane grabbed the sugar, carefully measuring the amount described in the cookbook. The muffins were already in the oven, halfway done. Now he only needed to make the frosting, then take the muffins out, then-

Arms wrapped around his waist, slightly startling him. He turned his head to be met with bright green eyes. 

Pixal smiled. «What are you making here? It smells delicious.»

«Rule number one in a kitchen,» Zane said in a dramatic voice, like he was reading something sacred. «Never make contact with a chef in his element. Results might be fatal.»

Pixal rolled her eyes and stepped away, giving a sarcastic bow. «Ok Master Zane, I deeply apologize entering your kingdom without giving notice. Now, what are you making?»

Zane chuckled. «Cupcakes. I am currently in the process of producing the frosting. Would you like to help?»

Now it was Pixals turn to dramatically gasp, placing a hand on her chest. «Is the elemental master of the kitchen really asking for my help? Interesting.» She then reached for the extra apron hanging on the wall. «I would love to.»

Hyacinths. 

«Oh my god, Zane look!»

Zane turned his head towards his girlfriend. The two had just finished investigating some suspicious activity in a village nearby, and were now walking through the forest to get back to their vehicles. Or, they were, until Pixal got distracted.

«What is it?» Zane made his way over to where the samurai had crouched down.

Pixal grinned. «Hyacinths! Oh how I love these flowers, they might be my overall favorite.»

«They are beautiful,» Zane agreed. «Wait, hold on.»

He reached down to pick a hyacinth, before running a hand through Pixals hair. A few seconds later, the purple flower sat tucked behind her ear. 

«There,» he smiled. «Now you look even more stunning than before!»

From that day on, Zane would bring a bouquet of hyacinths on every single date. And every time, Pixal would tuck one behind her ear.

The Samurai X cave. 

The whole team were flabbergasted by the fact that Pixal had built a secret cave. A whole cave! By herself! Zane saw Nya wink at Pixal in the corner of his eye. An official approving from the previous cave-building master to the new.

He looked over at the female android. Despite trying to hide it, he saw that she was practically glowing with pride and happiness.

«I didn't even notice any construction!» Jay exclaimed.

Pixal raised a brow «You were playing video games.»

Zane held back a laugh. As the elevator started going down, he moved closer to Pixal, nudging her shoulder. «This is incredible! I can’t believe you did all of this on your own!»

«Well,» Pixal said, gesturing around her. «Where there’s a will, there’s a way!» 

«It is truly amazing.» Zane said, before leaning in and whispering in her ear. «You’re amazing.»

Pixal looked into his eyes, trying to act annoyed. But she was blushing and she knew it.

All these little things and more were normal to everyone else, but screamed Pixal to Zane. The nindroid looked down at the teacup. FSM, he was even drinking her favorite tea!

«Just a little more time Pixal,» He whispered out into the empty space. «I promise to find you, I really do, but please give me a little more time…»

He got interrupted by the sound of a door opening. He looked over to see Cole stepping out from the monastery. What could he possibly be doing out so late? They got eye contact, and Cole seemed surprised too. He made his way over to Zane, sitting beside him.

«Hi.» The earth ninja said, smiling.

Zane gave a small smile back. «Hi. What got you up at this hour?»

«Could ask you the same,» Cole replied. He then sighed. «I had a problem sleeping. All the events at the tournament is still causing havoc in my head. Especially with… you know.» He turned his gaze up in the sky.

The nindroid nodded. Ever since returning a month ago, the tournament had left its impact on the ninja. They came home with one more ninja than when they left, one less ninja than when they left, and one ninja still missing. Everyone was overjoyed that Kai was back and not stuck in the nether space anymore, but Soras spark had dimmed ever since Arin left. So had Lloyds. The weight of Ras and the forbidden five hung over the fresh master, his restricted knowledge on what they would do next gnawing on him. And of course there was Nya. Nya was, to put it mildly, not doing great. From the second they came home, she had been training more, sleeping less, and stationed by the monitor multiple hours each day, searching for Jay. The loss of Jay had not only hit her hard, but Zane had noticed that Cole was also thinking about it a lot. Explaining why he was awake.

Cole met Zanes eyes again. «And you? I see you’ve pulled a good old Master Wu.» He gestured to the teacup. 

Zane gave a quiet laugh, then looked down. «Yes. I had a bad dream. About… Pixal.»

The black ninja breathed out in realization. «Oh.» 

«Yeah.» Zane blinked and fought hard to not tear up again. «I know there are more pressing matters at hand, but I really, really miss her Cole.»

A hand fell on his shoulder. «Of course you do. We all do! And we will find her someday.»

«Are you sure?» 

«I’m sure.»

And the two ninja let silence engulf them.

____________________________

The night turned to morning, and morning turned to day. It was a rather uneventful day as well, at least for a while. Zane made eggs and bacon for breakfast, and then the daily training session started for everyone except Nya, who had what she'd started to call 'monitor duty'. 

It happened when Zane was sparring with Kai, dodging his fireballs and trying to extinguish them. He had gotten in the zone, fully focused for the first time in a while. That is, until the monastery's doors were flung open and Nya ran out. Everyone in the courtyard jumped at the sudden disturbance, giving Nya their full attention.

«I- Lloyd- Someone!» She got out. She had a look of pure shock on her face, but also a glimmer of hope.

Lloyd rushed over to her from where he'd supervised Wyldfire and Sora's sparring. «Nya! What is it?»

«Jay!» Nya exclaimed.

A collective gasp ran through the courtyard. There had been no sight of Jay ever since Ras sent him away after the tournament.

«What!?» Cole was immediately there, all ears. «Really?»

Nya nodded, her ponytail bouncing. «I’m totally sure. The scanners picked up elemental electricity in a forest in the Wyldness. It has to be him, it just has to be!» 

«Elemental electricity…» Zane muttered. «There isn’t many other people that could be.» 

«Exactly!» Nya looked ecstatic.

Kai turned from his sister to Lloyd. «We’re going after him, right?»

Lloyd took a few seconds to process everything, then met the fire ninja’s eye. «Of course we are! Everyone, pack your necessities. We’re going to the Wyldness!»

Zane closed the door to his room. While walking down the hallway he had already prepared a mental list of what to bring, so he knew exactly what to look for. One set of spare clothes, his shurikens, a katana, water (which he didn’t really need, but oh well), and a bit of money. There, all set. 

He should go to the courtyard now, but… there was one thing he had to do first. 

The nindroid turned to the broom, still laid against the wall. «Hi Pixal. It, uh, seems like my plans to search for you has been set even further back. My deepest apologies, but it’s about Jay, Nya got a signal from him and- Well.» Zane rubbed the back of his head and sighed. «Oh, how I wish we were all together again…»

Zane knew how weird it looked, him talking to a broom. If someone caught him they would think he had gone mad or schizophrenic. But, in a way he did this to avoid going mad. Zane knew Pixal was the only one who actually understood him, and without her here, without having her here for years, he needed to talk to someone to keep himself levelheaded. 

An idea hit him, and he walked over to the broom. «I am going on a mission, but I can at least bring you with me.» Zane gently removed the photo from the broom, being extra careful when removing the tape. He couldn’t afford to lose this as well. When the picture was taken off he folded it neatly and put it in a secret pocket inside his gi.

Zane put a hand over the hidden treasure, remembering something Pixal had said to him many years ago. Time to return the favor. «You will always be a part of me Pixal.»

The little picture made it easier to walk out of the room. Easier to walk into the courtyard. Easier to leave the monastery as the Bounty lifted into the air. 

While Lloyd steered, Sora and Wildfire trained, Kai and Cole chatted, and Nya kept an eye on the monitor, the master of ice smiled to himself as he stood by the railing. Perhaps this mission came at the perfect time? Perhaps it could help him look for Pixal as well? 

Little did he know, the near future had a plan for him. In the worst way possible.

Chapter Text

«Next stop, the Wyldness!» Coles voice rang out across the ship in a humorous flight attendant-like voice.

As the ships anchor dropped and started lowering down, Zane peeked down to look at their surroundings. The ninja knew that the Wyldness was a lot of things, but this part of it seemed nice. It was a forest terrain, with fresh green grass, lots of trees and some open fields. It looked like the forests back home in Ninjago, if you look away from the fact that the Wyldness contained many plants Zanes database was unfamiliar with. Hm. Better keep an eye out for them.

«Hey Wyldfire, you grew up here, didn’t you?» Cole asked the master of heat.

«Both yes and no,» Wyldfire answered. «My old home is by the Lava Wastes, which is very different from this. I’ve never been here before!»

«Then let’s check it out!» Kai was already on his way down the anchor, forever the impatient one. Cole rolled his eyes and went after him, the others following suit.

Once they were all down, Nya whipped out a small device from her pocket. «Ok I put this together on the way, it’s programmed to detect elemental electricity. But it hasn’t picked up anything yet, so I think we should head towards where the last signal came from.» 

Everyone else nodded, letting Nya take charge. She needed it.

Walking through the forest was a fascinating experience. Zane made mental notes every few seconds, saving data about new organisms and terrains as they went on. Maybe they could come in handy later. Wildfire wouldn’t stop darting around, Sora having to stop her multiple times from eating berries and fruits who could be poisonous. Nya and Kai quietly talked while walking, worry seeping from the formers voice and attempted calmness from the latter. 

They kept moving for a solid hour, only taking short breaks to figure out where to go. Suddenly, Nya perked up, staring intensely at her tracking gadget before going straight in another direction. After five seconds, her walking turned to running and she yelled; «Come on!» The other ninja shared a brief glance before running as well. 

Running through an unknown biom was not exactly easy. Branches were in the way, the soil suddenly got too soft to properly walk on at times, and it was just all in all an unpleasant run for them all. But Nya didn’t stop, so neither did her team. In the end they finally made it to an open space. Green grass spread across a wide field, with exotic flowers in all colors dotted on top. At some point, grass turned to a few meters of sand, before again turning into water. A small lake with a beautiful turquoise color rippled slightly in the breeze, and a stone cliff had a waterfall gracefully sending cascades of water down into the lake. The place was beautiful and picture perfect. Yet, Nya was not delighted. Quite the opposite.

«No…» She whispered, almost desperate. «No, no, no! He- he was supposed to- He was right here! Right here!» 

Lloyd clenched his fists. Seeing his sister like this, god it hurt. He carefully tried to ask; «Nya? What’s wrong?»

The cyan ninja didn’t turn to look at him, only keeping her eyes at the device. «This- this is where the last signal got plucked up, just a minute ago! But now, now there’s nothing! Nothing at all on the whole screen! He’s not here, we lost him!»

«Woah, that’s a bit much sis,» Kai nervously chuckled. «I’m sure it’s fi-» He couldn’t get out more before Nya crushed the device between her hands, pieces falling to the ground. She kept going, squeezing it and crushing before eventually throwing it on the ground and stomping on it. When she was done she let out a furious yell. «We lost him AGAIN!» Now it was clear that she was crying, her hands coming up to cover her face. «The stupid fucking tracking thing was probably coded wrong all along. It has led us completely into nowhere for no reason! FSM, we are never going to find him again, are we!?»

Cole shook his head and took a step closer, attempting to open his mouth and speak before Nya kept going.

«Maybe he joined a new master, or a new team, or started up on his own, plotting against us! Or what if he doesn’t even care about what happened at the tournament and has already forgotten about us, forgotten about me!» Nya rambled on, walking around in circles. «What if… What if he’s not even around anymore! What if he died hating me!»

«Nya!» Kai tried to reach for her, but she sharply shrugged off his hand. «Nya, we will find him, and he will remember again. It’s okay-»

«NO IT’S NOT!» 

The scream got torn out of Nyas throat, the loudest she’d ever yelled. Furious but distressed, firm but shaky, hard but at the same time completely broken. Such a scream could only be let out from someone hurting so much on the inside it was becoming physical. It sliced through the air, making everyone else snap their mouths shut. No one dared to move close to her, afraid of getting torn apart limb by limb, so Nya turned away. «L-Leave me alone!»

The water ninja was clearly too out of her mind to think clearly. Her breathing came short and fast, almost hyperventilating, as she clenched her hair in tight fists and resumed her paces. She mumbled things to herself between the sharp inhales of oxygen, inaudible for the rest. Zane didn’t even need to scan Nya to see what was going on. She was having a full-on panic attack.

Eventually, Zane found the courage in him to move forward, carefully stretching out a hand towards her. The nindroid hesitated for a moment before letting it fall on her shoulder. Immediately Nya snapped her head towards him, getting ripped out from her thoughts. Zane took the chance and turned her around, putting a hand on each of her shoulder so she was facing him.

«Please Nya, listen to me. I am detecting dangerously high levels of anxiety radiating off from you.»

The other looked him straight in the eyes. Her brown irises with a shade of blue that never truly left after becoming one with the ocean. They had never looked so deadly. «Let. Me. Go.»

«I apologize, but I’m afraid I can’t.» Zane said, keeping a calm and stable voice. «Now, can you try and breathe with me? In for three seconds, then out for three seconds. Can you try?»

Nya did the exact opposite, her nose flaring with each rapid breath as she tried prying off his hands. «I don’t need a fucking breathing technique Zane, I’m not a child!» 

Zane shook his head. «I know you are not, but I am only trying to help you.»

«Well, you aren’t!» Nya finally succeeded in pushing off Zanes hands from her shoulders, backing away but still holding their eye contact. «God, stop trying to fix me when I don’t need fixing! You wanna help? Go. For the last time, leave me ALONE.» She turned around again and started to walk away, but Zane followed.

«You are going through something horrible, something you feel like will never get better-» 

Nya squeezed her eyes shut, clenching her fists. «Stop.»

«-but you’re not alone, we’re here for you-»

«Go away.»

«-and all of us have experience with losing people-»

«Go away!»

«-so we all know how hard grief and missing is.»

«Go away Zane!»

«We understand what it feels like! I understand what it feels like! Please Ny-»

«NO YOU DON’T KNOW HOW IT FEELS!»

Zane stopped talking. Nya whipped around and strode towards him, making Zane take a step back.

«You ALWAYS SAY STUFF LIKE THAT, how you know what it feels like, but you DON’T.» The water ninja stuck a finger into Zanes chest. «You just, DON’T. 

«Let me ask you something. Have you ever stayed up an entire night, crying so hard you don’t have any tears left in your body? Have you ever felt such sheer desperation and fear of never seeing the one you love again? And have you EVER lost the one you care the most for in the whole wide world right in front of your eyes without being able to stop it? NO. YOU. HAVEN’T.» Nya let out a desperate and breathless chuckle. «Of course you haven’t! You’re a robot. A machine. What have you ever gone through? How can you possibly know!» 

Zane couldn’t speak, couldn’t move, couldn’t do anything. 

Nya turned her eyes into small slits. «You have no idea what it’s like. No idea what it’s like to be human, and have actual emotions. You’re just built to resemble us. So for the sake of the First Spinjitzu Master, stop acting like you’re such a know-it-all, FUCK OFF and LEAVE ME ALONE!» The girl finished with a hard stomp in the ground, which made a massive explosion of water burst up in the middle of the small lake behind her. For a few seconds it was dead silent, the only sound being a few birds and Nyas heavy breathing.

Nya kept holding the eye contact with Zane, looking at him a way she never had before. Like she wanted nothing to do with him ever again. The water ninja stared for another few seconds before she swiftly turned around and ran away into the forest. It only took a second before Kai ran after her, yelling her name and begging her to stop.

Lloyd was frozen in place. He didn’t know what to do, his mind racing. Did that really just happen?

Eventually the green ninja managed to turn his head towards Zane. The nindroid stood completely still, eyes looking straight ahead but not focused on anything. Lloyd then turned his head towards the direction the other two had disappeared in. 

Lloyd sighed, turning his head back towards Zane, mouthing a ‘sorry’ before taking off into the forest as well to find his brother and sister. Sora and Wyldfire exchanged a glance before following their master. Leaving only Cole and Zane.

Cole ran a hand through his hair, shaking his head. He went over to Zane. «Hey, you good?»

Zane didn’t answer, didn’t even turn to look at him. 

Letting out a sigh, Cole put a hand on his friend’s shoulder. «Look, she’s just… struggling a lot right now. This whole thing with Jay has been really hard for her.»

«Right.» Zane murmured, looking down. «Because it’s always someone else struggling.»

Cole blinked and retrieved his hand, not knowing what to respond with to that. An uncomfortable silence enveloped them. After a bit, Cole sighed again. «I- uh, I’m just gonna make sure she’s okay. We’ll talk later, alright?» He didn’t wait for an answer before hurrying into the woods.

Zane followed Cole with his eyes until he couldn’t see or hear him anymore. Now he was all alone. 

He couldn’t quite ignore the sting of hurt he got by all the others leaving. 

At first Zane didn’t know what to do at all. Even though the nature around him was now quiet and at peace, his mind was the complete opposite. 

Finally, the nindroid let out a shaky sigh. The second he did, his knees started wobbling, barely being able to support him. Zane slowly made his way over to a big stone and sat down, facing away from the lake.

Oh God. What just happened. 

Zane buried his face in his hands while trying to process the words Nya had yelled. He couldn’t. 

Instead, unwanted memories flashed in front of his eyes.

«Have you ever stayed up an entire night, crying so hard you don’t have any tears left in your body?»

Tossing around in bed, unable to sleep, salty water from artificial tear ducts streaming down his cheeks. Forcing his eyes open, because every time he closed them he saw The Overlord grinning and felt the golden armor melting his skin.

Have you ever felt such sheer desperation and fear of never seeing the one you love again?

Chained to a wall in a dirty dungeon for months with barely any memory, only a deep-rooted longing for someone he knew was out there.

Laying at the bottom of a canyon, his body almost completely broken, not knowing if he would survive long enough for the Bounty to come.

Tumbling headfirst into a foreign realm of ice and snow, all alone.

Spending sixty years in a frozen throne room, not knowing what was wrong, just that something wasn’t right. Someone was missing.

Clutching a broom with a wrinkled photo taped on it, speaking to it as if it was actually his lost lover.

And have you EVER lost the one you care the most for in the whole wide world right in front of your eyes without being able to stop it?

Sitting by a hospital bed, watching as the light faded from his father’s eyes for the second time. Seeing his chest fall and never rise. Wording ‘I love you’ and never hearing it back.

Kneeling beside Pixal, the one he had just met. The one who could truly understand him. The one who was now dying because of the broken energy source. Holding her hand as bright green eyes fade to a dull gray, before her hand fell limply to the ground.

Leaning over the Bounty’s railing, catching a glimpse of Cole, his first ever friend’s terror stricken face as he tumbled through the clouds. 

Seeing Nya jump into the sea, becoming one with it.

Not having time to react as the world closed upon the Bounty, creating a massive explosion that would separate the ninja for years.

Zane got dragged down in his past, sent down a spiral leading to no good. He got so caught up in it, he didn’t notice how rapidly the temperature dropped. 

Fuck, he couldn't afford to get a panic attack as well now. That would most certainly not help anyone.

Eventually, Zane slowly removed his hands and tried his best to relax and remove the tension. He stopped squeezing his eyes shut, but did not open them yet. He took a deep breath, doing his best to chase the memories away. 

He did know what Nya felt like. He really did. 

But it was never him it was about, was it?

Zane regretted that thought as soon as it came to his mind. Nya was hurt, she didn’t mean it. And of course she was struggling more than him. She had not just lost her lover like he had, she had been standing face to face with Jay, begging him to remember her as he walked away. What were his current problems compared to that? 

The nindroid knew he had to go after the others, and move past this. There was no use in dwelling by what already happened. No matter how much it hurt.

He opened his eyes to get up, but they widened instantly as they were met with a very unsettling scene. Oh shit.

It was as if a blizzard had landed everywhere in the next 20 meter radius around him. Snow covered the ground, some snowflakes still falling from the sky. Every flower, every plant in general was completely frozen or hidden under the new blanket of snow. 

Zane looked over the landscape that had been blooming a few minutes ago. This was his doing. Or more specifically, his almost-a-panic-attacks doing. 

The white ninja suddenly stiffened. Dreading what would meet him, he slowly turned to face the lake and waterfall. Once he finally got a clear look, his eyes widened again. Everything was completely frozen over. The water was turned into a big chunk of ice, and the waterfall was more like thousands of sharp icicles, frozen in the middle of movement.

«Oh god.» Zane muttered. He hadn’t lost control of his powers like this in a long, long time. This wasn’t supposed to happen anymore! FSM, he didn’t even know how to reverse this, he’d never gotten that far in training! Was reversing ice even possible?

Ok, there was for sure a logical way to go here, he just needed to-

Suddenly, Zane stiffened. It was as if everything around him moved in slow motion. He became ultra-aware of everything around him, like his sensitivity meter had gotten dialed up to max. Then, everything moved fast, too fast. Way too fast!

Zane quickly ducked. He didn’t know why, but he did. His body moved on his own, his brain not catching up yet. A second after he ducked, a laser beam flew right over his head, past him, and hit a tree. The tree wobbled, and the place where the laser had hit got a deep dent in the wood.

What just happened.

It hit Zane suddenly, like out of the blue. His sixth sense! It had sensed danger and warned him, in the end just taken control of his body to save him. But save him from who?

He didn’t have time to think further before he heard new shots getting fired, making him jolt to the side before throwing himself down on the ground and rolling. The maser of ice rapidly whipped his head up to get a look at his attackers. They were a few meters away, not yet close enough for him to analyze properly. Still, the black suits and ties, along with their sunglasses and laser guns told him everything he needed to know. FSM, not these people again!

The administration.

Zane had to stop himself from groaning in frustration. Perfect! Just what he needed now! To top it off, it wasn’t just one or two, but about a dozen of agents. The one in the front who seemed to lead them was the same as last time, black hair and tan skin. What was his name again? Oh right, Roderick Allen or something.

«Well, well, well, look who we found again.» He snickered. «No friends around to help you out this time? Makes this a lot easier.» 

Zane dodged yet another laser before saying; «Is your life really that pathetic you have to capture me to feel successful? I haven’t even done anything, leave me alone!»

Agent Allens eyes narrowed. «That’s no way for property to speak to a human, is it?» he spat out.

«I am not property, I am as valuable as anyone else, and that won’t change.» Zane said through gritted teeth, drawing out his shurikens. «And I don’t want to hurt anyone, so please just back off!»

His attempts to make peace were not received well, as the agents kept coming closer. «Quite the winter wonderland you’ve made out of thisss landssscape,» The purple serpentine woman from last time said, agent Underwood. «Hasss the robot been malfunctioning?» 

Zane tensed, «I believe that is none of your business.»

«It will be when you come with us,» Allen remarked. «Now, one more chance, come willingly, or be defeated and taken by force.»

The odds were completely against Zane, his statistics meter showing it was a 5,8% chance he got out of this. But that was better than zero. Instead of answering his dilemma, Zane threw his shuriken in a boomerang-like way, sending it over to the agent and knocking his gun out of his hands before returning to Zane’s own. 

«I’ll take that as the latter option then,» the agent said annoyed. «Too bad for you nindroid.» 

In an instant, the open space became a battle field. 

As Zane rolled, ducked, and jumped out of the laser beams way, he swiftly tried to eliminate his opponents, covering them in a thin coat of ice from toe to chest. Enough for them to stay alive and well of course, if not for a little chill, but also enough for them to be useless in battle. However, freezing someone is hard when both them and you are moving all the time. Zane got a lucky hit with two in one when two agents made a stupid attempt to strike him down from directly in front of him, as he just moved to the side and forwards, leaving him in a perfect position to send ice in a straight direction and taking them both in one chunk. He did feel a bit bad for them, it must be uncomfortable, but he had bigger problems. Besides, it wasn’t like he hadn’t done this before. He kept avoiding the hits and taking the agents down, which was easier than expected at some points, as they weren’t skilled at actual combat. Turns out, without their guns or their mechs, most of the agents actually had nothing they could use to defend themselves or harm Zane. 

But when about half of them were taken out, the strong ones in both aim and combat remained, the battle was getting tiresome, and Zane unwillingly noticed his strength was thinning out. Worry filled him. How long could he keep this up? He had already gotten hit by three laser beams, making him even weaker.

Still, he was a fighter. Zane grit his teeth and kept going, taking down even the strongest of the agents. 

Only one left. Agent Underwood put up a hard fight, sending a bunch of lasers his way and managed to hit him four times. Zane almost fell to the ground before he gathered his last of powers, sending a big ice burst her way. The serpentine woman let out a furious shriek as ice surrounded her and her gun fell out of her hand.

Zane felt relief fill every inch of him, and slowly lowered his shurikens. The 5,8% didn’t lie! ! He got them all! Now he just had to escape and find the others before the ice he trapped them in melted, and- 

The nindroid let out a shocked gasp as electricity suddenly pulsed through him, overloading his circuits and sensors, making his entire body unsteady. His knees buckled, sending him crashing into the snow. Zane slowly turned his head around, letting out a groan as he started to fall into a shutdown.

It was Allen. The black haired agent held up the taser he had previously placed on Zanes back triumphantly. «Gotcha. Now you’re coming with us, robot.» 

His laugh was the last thing Zane heard before he passed out. 

Chapter Text

For the next hour (or two? three?), Zane slipped in and out of consciousness, only able to pick up bits of conversations around him at times.

«-ust get him into the trunk, hurry u-»

«-my god titanium is heavier than I thou-»

«-on’t worry manager, we’re almost ther-»

When he finally came to, it wasn’t in the most pleasant surroundings. Zane could feel his legs getting dragged across hard floor, two pairs of strong hands holding him under his arms on each side of him as they walked forwards, his own hands cuffed behind his back. The master of ice recognized the material of the handcuffs due to the chilling feeling in his body that he had gotten so used to over the years being gone. Vengestone.

He carefully blinked his eyes open, but squeezed them shut quickly because of the blinding white walls. He couldn’t stop himself from letting a small groan out, gaining the attention of the ones dragging him.

«Look who’s awake!» A woman’s voice from his left said. «Took you long enough.»

A man’s voice from his right joined the conversation as well. «You have to be awake for what’s about to happen nindroid, don’t disappear again.»

Zane only just gathered the strength to speak. «W-What’s going to happen…»

«That remains a secret a bit longer, we’ve been ordered to not say anything. That’s up to someone else here in the administration.»

That was enough for Zane to fully wake up, his eyes flying open and his breath getting caught in his throat. Oh no. Oh no! This wasn’t supposed to happen, he had failed! He was back. Back in the administration. And- And-

Memories from the encounter he and Cole had with the administration rushed back.

«You’re a robotic nindroid, so you’re classified as equipment, not personnel.»

«Which meansss, you’l be decommissssioned in our incinerator!»

«But that would kill him!»

By the first master, they were going to kill him, weren’t they!

Zane felt panic rising in him as the agents kept dragging him forwards, walking through hall after hall, corridor after corridor. He tried to put his feet on the ground, to shake the hands off of him, to do something to get out! But his limits were restricted with hands unavailable. The panic turned to pure terror as he saw a sign over a door in the distance.

-Incinerator-

«No…» he murmured. «No, no, no!»

The female agent turned to him and used her free hand to lift up her glasses, revealing a raised eyebrow. «What was that robot?»

«Do-Don’t do this I’m begging you please don’t-» Zane rambled on as the door got closer and closer, no no no no, they were now five meters away, three, two, one, it’s all over now oh god-

And then they kept going, walking past it.

What?

Zane blinked in confusion, slowly turning his head as much as he could to look back before looking forwards again. The agents made no sign of having gone in the wrong direction. Why weren’t they… Of course he wasn’t complaining, but this made no sense! His logical meters were on the fritz, trying to comprehend the recent turn of events.

Eventually, the two agents holding him stopped. Zane hadn’t realized how bad his legs were hurting until now, the relief of not getting dragged anymore hitting him. He then looked up at the surroundings. They were at some sort of crossroad between four corridors. The male agent to his right checked his wristwatch, and Zane wondered if he was waiting for someone. As if on cue, the agent mumbled: «They should have been here now.»

Then they heard the clacks of fancy shoes running down the hall, and agent Allen and Underwood jogged up to them. Zanes vital signs meter registered higher pulse than normal, they’d been hurrying here. As they stopped in front of the three, Underwood glared daggers at him, still slightly trembling from being frozen. Zane bit back a grin. Served her right.

«Sorry, sorry,» Agent Allen said, and gestured to the serpentine. «We had to melt off the last bits of ice from her.»

The female agent next to Zane scoffed. «Well, hurry up then and get going! You know he doesn’t appreciate waiting, and I’m not getting blamed because of you two.»

Allen rolled his eyes, but he and agent Underwood replaced the two, holding one of Zane’s arms each. «Now robot,» Allen spat. «Can you walk or is your programming too damaged for you to properly function.» Zane wanted to give a nasty remark back, but the laser gun in Allens pocket shut him up. Besides, his legs could not take more dragging. «I’ll walk.» he said calmly, but with his voice as cold as possible. Only struggling a bit, he managed to get himself up at two feet again. As soon as he had, the agents pushed him forwards, almost making him stumble. Rude.

«So,» Zane cleared his throat as they started to walk down a new corridor. «Are you going to tell me where we are headed, as we are not going to the, uh, incinerator?» 

«Why, do you wanna go back to being scrap metal?»

Zane swallowed. «No.» The comment from Allen stung, getting treated like this overall hurt. Even after decades of being looked down on by various people, Ronin, The Mechanic, et cetera, it hurt. But he wouldn’t give the agents the pleasure of knowing this. «Since you seem to have a clear destination in mind, could you perhaps tell me where that is? Or what you intend to do with me?» Better to just rip the bandage off.

Underwood spoke up this time. «Well nindroid, since you are ssso desssperate to know, I guessss I could tell you. The plan wasss the incinerator back then, yesss, but after keeping an eye on you in our battlesss, we’ve ssseen what you are capable of. Even though we’re ssstronger, obviousssly, you do have some skillsss. And why dessstroy a perfectly good tool we can use?»

That last sentence alone made Zanes oil run cold. A tool? For them to use? No, he couldn’t get used by someone else for their benefit agai-

«U-Use me?» Zane said, his throat now awfully dry.

The sepentine nodded. «You’ll be enrolled in our program pretty sssoon, but you get a quick meeting with the bossss first, asss every other droid has gotten.»

Every other? Every other!? How many others had gone through this? What had they gone through? What was ahead of him?

Oh god oh god oh god, there was so much wrong with this, so much wrong-

The two agents took a sharp turn, dragging Zane with them into what seemed like not only a new hall, but a new section of the building. White walls got replaced with light blue ones, and there were just as many people in white lab coats here as regular agents in suits. The other people in the hall who spotted them smiled and greeted the two agents, but looked at Zane with fascination, a studious look, or even something close to a scowl or disgust. Zane looked down, feeling like an animal on display.

A yell suddenly rang through the corridor, followed by a loud electric buzz and a scream that made Zane jump. Agent Allen and Underwood, and every other person in the hall, made no sign to care or be surprised, but kept going as if this was normal here. Zane quickly turned his head towards the direction the sounds had come from, and was met with a door with a sign.

-Training room-

Training room? What sort of "training" could possibly drag those sounds out of someone? Not to mention the electrical buzz he had heard, very alike the one the from the agents laser guns mad- 

Wait. 

The master of ice tensed. The sound was identical to a laser gun. 

«You’ll be enrolled in our program pretty sssoon…»

Zane got an uncomfortably certain idea about what the "program" consisted of.

Before he could linger any longer by that thought, they kept walking down the hall, and the door to the training room was soon out of sight. But only a few meters down, an agent in a lab coat rushed past them towards the door. 

«Who is it this time?» Agent Allen said in a perfectly calm tone, gesturing his head back to the training room. The agent mildly slowed down, sighing. «That silver girl again. God, she just won’t listen!» He then kept running. Agent Allen pinched the bridge of his nose, annoyed, but then shook it off and kept going. Zane didn’t, stopping abruptly in his tracks.

Silver girl?

«What do you think you’re doing robot?» Underwood furrowed her brows angrily. «Walk.»

Zane couldn’t hear her, it was as if she was 10 meters away. His gaze looked ahead, but not at anything in particular. 

Silver girl?  

Who was that, and why did he feel so-

A sharp push in he back sent him into reality, and he was forced to follow the two agents again. Quickly taking one last glance at the door over his shoulder, he promised himself to think more about it later. 

After a minute more of walking, they finally stopped in front of a door. «It was here right?» Allen asked the snake, who nodded before she pushed the handle open. As the door slid open it revealed a small room, which looked extremely much like an interrogation room. The walls were a warm yellow, but with no windows. In the middle of the room, there stood a brown table with a black plastic chair on each side. But agent Allen only seemed to take notice of one thing, and let out a relieved breath.

«Thankfully we came first!» He then gave Zane another push, sending him into the room. «Sit down on the chair furthest from us, on the other side of the table.» 

Zane turned his eyes into slits. «Why.»

«Because I said so!» Allen hissed. «Now sit, or get electrocuted.» 

Zane froze, and unwillingly moved towards the chair, sitting down.

Underwood placed a hand on the desk and looked down on him, possibly to look intimidating. «Now, the bossss will enter sssoon, and you will behave. Isss that underssstood? Behave.»

The white ninja didn’t answer, but she didn’t wait for one. Her and Allen both swiftly exited the small room, and Zane was for the first time in what felt like forever, left alone.

Oh fucking hell.

What were these people doing with droids here!? A training program? And what was that about using him as a tool? All the information he had picked up spun around in his head like a carousel, except it wouldn’t stop. If his arms weren’t so securely bound behind him, he’d put his head in his hands. God, this was such a mess. Why did this have to happen! Fate was seriously one big joke. Why did the agents have to catch him the one time he was alone without the other ninja!

The other ninja…

The other ninja!

They didn’t know he was gone! Or, did they? Had they gone back to check on him? Or had they not? The last thought hit him like a ton of bricks. Would they even look for him? They had to, right? They had to find him a-and rescue him! Right?

The door to the room opened, but Zane didn’t find the motivation to look up from the table. He distinctively heard someone flipping through papers as they closed the door. The new person then said as if on autopilot, probably not looking up from the papers: «Hi, and welcome to your new life here at the Robotic Improvement section here in the administrati-»

The second he heard the newcomers voice, Zanes whole body stiffened. He kept staring into the desktop, but now because he physically couldn’t move.

No. It- It couldn’t be!

Zane wanted so bad to be wrong about this, to be wrong about the voice he heard. But he knew he wasn’t. You can’t be wrong about a voice you heard every single day for 60 years.

«I will now give you an introduction as for what we're expecting here. My name is agent V-»

The new person suddenly stopped talking. Thick tension, so thick you could feel it, engulfed the room. Zane carefully and extremely slowly, lifted his head inch by inch until he got eye contact with the man in front of him. As soon as their eyes met, Zane wanted to be literally anywhere else than here. How was it possible that he was looking at the one he was looking at. How could their paths possibly cross again. 

The man wore a sharp dark blue suit, so unlike what he had worn in the realm Zane had so desperately tried to erase from his memories. But he still wore the same hat as he did the last time Zane saw him, that same bamboo hat with a few loose strands. The last thing to give away that it was truly him, was that disgusting, unruly black mustache. The man held a bunch of papers in one hand, and it seemed like he had been looking at them while rambling about all the formal stuff, only stopping when he got a proper look at the titanium man. Because of course, he recognized Zane as well.

The two held eye contact for another few seconds, the silence feeling suffocating. Zane couldn’t tear his gaze away. 

«Well this was certainly a surprise,» Vex said before giving a sly grin.

«Hello my emperor.»

Chapter Text

The walk through the forest was grave, silent. The only noises were the cracking of branches as they were stepped on, or the slight breeze of wind in the trees. Other than that, nothing. Nya despised it. It left more room in her head to think. 

How in the ever-loving fuck could she have been so stupid!

_________________

The water ninja's mind was clouded with anger as she made her way through the woods with haste. Kai trailed behind her, trying everything to make her stop, but all of his words went through one ear and out the other. She didn’t care, she didn’t want to hear it. 

Eventually Kai sped up and positioned himself in front of her. «Nya! Please, would you just listen!» He then proceeded to put a hand on her shoulder, which she effectively slapped away. 

«When I said to leave me alone it included everyone.» Nya hissed as she pushed past her brother.

Kai turned towards her, but stopped following. «Why can’t you properly talk to me! Why are you like this? »

Nya stopped dead in her tracks. When she whipped around it was with such force that her ponytail smacked her across the face in an almost comical way. «LIKE WHAT? I DARE YOU TO CONTINUE.»

The fire ninja gestured towards her. «Why do you always insist on solving everything yourself?»

«I do not!»

«Oh, don’t you?» Kai said through gritted teeth. «I know you better than anyone, hell, I might even know you better than yourself! You put way too much on your plate, and react with outbursts when someone offers to help!» 

Nya walked closer and stuck a finger in his chest. «Oh alright, I see what you’re doing. We are not having this talk again! Not now!» She gave him a final glare before turning and walking once again. Why did this brother of hers never understand when to give her the space she neede-

«I can’t lose you too.»

…what?

Nya slowed down her walking, pure confusion seeping through her. Without looking at him, she responded. «And what’s that supposed to mean?» She tried to keep the hard voice, but slightly failed. 

«You’re slipping away!» Kai’s voice took on a hint of desperation. 

«That’s stupid. I’m right here.»

«Are you?»

Nya crossed her arms and finally met his eyes. «Of course I am! What are you even trying to say?»

«What I’m saying is that you’ve pulled away. From me, from Lloyd, from everyone! You work yourself to death, trying to figure out everything, convinced you will. You don’t eat. You don’t sleep. And don’t even try telling me otherwise, I’ve kept an eye on you. Granolabars and energy drinks are not nutritious enough for your body! Neither are those half an hour naps you pull all the time! You are slowly losing who you are every single day because of your determination. As I look into your eyes now, all I see is an intense workaholic. I get that you want to find Jay, I really do, but I want my sister. I need her! This is a hard time for us all, and I cannot push through without the one person I would sacrifice the entire universe for. Please Nya, even after everything that has happened recently, stay. For me.» Kai had tears in his eyes now, threatening to spill over with the tiniest blink of his eyelids. Then they did, rolling down his tan skin and dripping onto his gi, small drops darkening the red fabric.

Nya couldn’t speak. Her mouth quickly switched between open and closed, trying to find words. But as she saw the red ninja cry, her older brother who never cried, she could only find herself crying as well.

Had she really been that distant? Sure, she might’ve worked a little more intensely lately. It didn’t feel like she had reached such drastic level, but… Hearing Kais words she wondered if she had. As Nya thought more about it she realized she had. She really had. 

«Oh god…» The water ninja brought her hands to her face. «Oh god Kai I’m so sorry!» Her voice cracked at the sorry, and her knees wobbled. She started to sob, gingerly sinking to the ground until she was on her knees. She cried harder and harder until two warm arms wrapped around her. She clenched the red gi, burying her face on Kais shoulder. 

«It’s okay,» Kai whispered. «Just remember, we’re here. I’m here.»

It was at this moment the rest of the ninja, minus one, arrived. As they saw the siblings wrapped in an embrace, Lloyd felt his heart tug. He had been so worried about Nya, and was glad Kai finally managed to talk to her. 

Kai lifted his head, gesturing for Lloyd to join. The green ninja hesitated, but soon leaned down and got into the hug. In the end, Sora, Wyldfire, and Cole joined as well. 

After a few minutes, Nya started moving, gently pushing the others a bit away so she could have room to wipe her tears. «You big saps,» She said with a breathless chuckle. When she looked over them, the water ninja realized one was missing. There was no titanium in sight. And then it hit her her.

«Oh FSM. Please don’t tell me I actually did that.»

_________________

And that was how she ended up here, treading through the terrain as she tried writing the best apology speech ever in her mind. How does one even start apologizing after saying what she said!?

Nya wanted to crawl into a hole and die as she remembered what she had previously said to Zane. Those awful words, oh- If only she was the master of time instead of water! Nya had been holed up with work, but she wasn’t blind to everything happening around her. She knew Zane had his own problems. More specifically, she knew what he didn’t have. Who he didn’t have. 

God, why hadn’t she been a better friend!? Why did she have to fuck everything up?

Cole must have seen the distress on her face, because she suddenly felt a heavy hand on her shoulder, pulling her out from the depths of her mind. «Hey, you good?»

«No,» Nya muttered. «What do I even say to him?»

Cole sighed. «I don’t think there’s much to be said except the truth. Besides, it’s Zane. He will forgive you, he always does.»

«That’s not a good thing Cole.»

The master of earth furrowed his brows, then the words fully sunk into him. If Zane accepted the apology and forgave her immediately, it would be of politeness. Because at the end of the day, that was who the nindroid was. Perhaps, Cole’s swallowed, Zane would even refuse the apology, apologizing to Nya himself. «You’re right,» Cole said defeated. «But there’s nothing else to do.»

Neither of them spoke the rest of the walk.

Lloyd was worried. As they got closer to where they had left Zane, it only increased tenfold. The team had already been through too much fucked up shit, way too much. Lloyd hoped with his entire body this situation would turn out okay, that Zane would forgive them.

Because, of course, it wasn’t just Nya who owed the nindroid an apology. Zane had been left alone by the others afterwards, and being alone after an argument was awful. Why hadn’t one of them stayed? Why hadn’t Lloyd stayed? 

The master of energy took a deep breath as he saw the outskirts of the open space they had last seen the ice ninja. But the breath caught in his throat when he felt the temperature being much colder here, and as he got to see more and more of the field.

Snow?

Lloyd stopped walking altogether, before he suddenly started running. The others got confused, but followed shortly after.

When they could all finally see the whole field, Cole sucked in a sharp breath. «By the first master...»

The entire place, which had just an hour ago been flooded with green grass and vibrant colors, was now a frozen wasteland of white and blue. The waterfall was like thousands of frozen daggers reaching for the ground, the flowers like a poor mimic of their past glory. Everything had been coated with a layer of Zanes snow and ice. 

But Zane himself was nowhere to be seen.

«What? Where did he go?» Kai said in confusion, but the worry was present.

The team began making their way through the 4 inches of snow, yelling out the nindroid’s name and looking around for him. But Cole remained in his spot, gaze turned downwards, staring at a purple flower that had been touched by the elemental power. He gently crouched down until his knees made contact with the ground and reached for it. Once he got a closer look at it, he saw that the flower was perfectly fine, every detail still intact, just completely encased. And Cole swallowed, because this entire scene was familiar.

«No, no I- I can’t! I’m going to hurt you! »

Cole stepped closer, hands raised as a symbol of peace. «No you won’t. And I won’t hurt you either. Please Zane, you’re not there anymore, you’re back here in Ninjago! It’s okay!»

The nindroid just huddled closer into the corner. His entire bedroom was now a near replica of that goddamn palace he had spent so many years in. The bed was more like a block of ice, all his books had a layer of frost on them, and the temperature was well below what it was outside of these walls. 

Zane stuttered; «Y-you’re not real, you can’t be…»

«I am real. The dream you just had however, is not.»

«If this is real, stay away. I’m dangerous. I k-killed so many! I’ll kill you too, it’s all I’m good for, so please stay away! »

Back then it hadn’t been long after the Never-Realm, scarcely a few weeks. It was years ago now, but Cole recognized the surroundings immediately, memories as clear as day.

This was remnants of a panic attack. Zane’s panic attack.

Fuck.

Sora treaded through the snow, eyes darting around. While the others tried calling out for Zane, she was an observer. Always had been. One thing she had noticed, was that while she and her friends made deep footprints in the snow, no other footprints were visible. Odd. 

Still, this didn’t mean there was no clues available. As Sora leaned down she could see that certain parts of the snow were uneven, not nearly a perfect ‘blanket’ like the rest of the snow. Interesting. As she trailed these uneven paths, she got to a big spot where the snow wasn’t just imperfect, but sort of dented, like something big had been lying there. Almost like a shape of a person.

«Oh god,» she muttered. The tech master looked back at all the paths of uneven snow, realizing that the texture was lots and lots of small lines, much like branches from a spruce tree. With a quick glance upwards, she saw that there was, in fact, a spruce tree here. Someone had dragged a branch after them to hide their traces! And it wasn’t just one person who had done this, these paths were everywhere. Sora’s eyes widened at the discovery.

A few meters away, Lloyd had given up yelling. «He isn’t here.» he sighed.

Kai rolled his eyes, exasperatedly crossing his arms. «No shit Sherlock! But there’s no footprints here, so where could he have gone?»

«I don’t think it’s that simple,» Sora said slowly. 

The ninja turned to her. «What do you mean?» Nya asked.

Sora rose from the ground, and gestured to the areas she had been inspecting. «Look at the difference in the snow. In lots of places around us, someone has attempted to cover up! Zane wasn’t as alone here as we thought.» She took a deep breath. 

«And he didn’t leave alone either.»

Chapter Text

The room was filled to the brim with tense silence, both parts being equally shocked upon seeing each other. It only got disrupted when the suit-clad man spoke. 

«Hello my emperor.»

Zane tensed at the sentence and squeezed his eyes shut. The title was all too familiar, a title he had tried to bury for so long. He had promised himself to never let it be spoken it out loud again. Zane didn’t dare to move, breathe, didn’t dare to do anything at all. This could not be reality. This could not be happening.

Finally, after an eternity, Zane took a shaky breath. The word slipped out from his mouth, whispered so low that if the room wasn’t completely silent, it would have gone unheard. «Vex.» 

«That’s my name. I see you haven’t forgotten me either.» Vex smirked, before smoothly sinking down on the chair across the table for Zane, placing his papers in a neat pile in front of him. «I must admit, I did not expect to see you. Although now that I think of it, the description of a ‘titanium nindroid dressed in white’ should have made some bells ring.»

«What are you doing here?» No matter how much Zane tried to put venom in the sentence, he failed. His voice sounded just as confused, desperate and scared as he felt. 

«Same goes for you, I thought being sneaky and slipping away was your whole job!» Vex said mockingly while turning his attention to his papers once again, not answering Zane’s real question. After briefly skimming through the papers he raised his head to stare directly into the nindroid’s eyes. «I find it interesting that something people describe as a ‘catastrophe’ is the very same thing that gave me everything I’ve ever wanted. When the merge hit, I managed to land next to the Never-Realm’s border, allowing me to escape from my exile into the Realm of Lee. From there I went wherever I pleased, crossing multiple realms until I one day stumbled upon a group of people trying to build a new organization. And to build something as big as the Administration has become, you need people. Getting a job was as easy as stealing candy from a kid, or should I say, as easy as pulling a cable out of an android’s head.»

Zane grit his teeth at the reference, his fists clenching behind his back. «You-»

Vex interrupted him and kept going. «I was one of the co-founders of this specific part of the Administration, yet I still spent about two years just being an accountant. But when the previous boss, who was also the manager of realm-reassignment, decided to leave his job, I became the CEO of the whole section of Robotic Improvement. Fitting, don’t you think? Oh by the way, give my regards to the past manager! Don’t think I didn’t recognize him just because he didn’t wear blue.» 

It was as if all air got punched out of Zane’s artificial lungs. 

What?

Jay used to work here in this section? Jay used to be the leader of this section? Zane’s mind flew back to the screams and electricity from the so-called ‘training room’. There was absolutely no way Jay used to be a part of this.

Vex must have seen the shock and disbelief on Zane’s face, starting to laugh. «The merge really did change people, hm?»

«You’re lying! He wouldn’t.»

«But he did. For years.» The formless folded his hands upon the desk. «But let’s skip to what we’re really here for. Do you have any ideas on what we do here?»

Zane did have his guesses, based on everything he’d seen and heard he had plenty. But his head was still spinning from all the recent information, so he couldn’t get himself to answer.

«Very well, I’ll tell you. Here, you and every other android shall return to your true place. Beneath humans.» 

And Zane felt his oil run cold. No, not just cold, it froze in his veins. «Wh-What!?»

Vex narrowed his eyes. «It seems that you droids have gotten the belief that you are equal to mankind. Us here in the Administration are going to fix that. You probably haven’t ever bothered to read the book about the Merged Realms’ laws, but-»

«I have actually.» Zane replied dryly. 

«Well, since you have,» Vex hissed, visibly angry about getting interrupted. «You should know very well those laws apply to organic and natural beings. I don’t think I need to explain what those words mean. In every single law, every description of basic rights, even in the very introduction of the book, nothing is said about non-organic creatures. About the kinds like you.»

Just like that, it was like Zane’s head got filled with static. Too loud, too much. No. It couldn’t… It couldn’t be! Zane immediately pulled up his digital copy of said book, and skimmed through it in seconds. 

Vex was right.

Oh First Master. Androids weren’t even mentioned once!

«Everything you have heard or experienced, every time you have gotten treated like your other friends, every time you’ve been addressed to with respect, know it was a lie. The law would have said otherwise if not. You are no more than an object, equipment. And that is exactly what we are going to get you to understand. Unless you wish to make this a thousand times easier for all of us and just accept it right now.»

Zane scoffed and gave Vex the coldest stare he could. «I am not to be defined as anything you decide. And that will not change.»

The suit-clad man sighed. «Of course, if you want to do it the hard way, be our guest.»

«Hold on a second,» Zane said while furrowing his brows, having come to a realization. «If you are all so determined the loophole means I’m legally an…object.» The word felt like venom in his mouth. «How come you were allowed to take me? Wouldn’t that qualify as, uh, stealing from the other ninja?» The master of ice felt relief spread through him. If they could find loopholes in this goddamn law, then so could he!

Vex grinned, which immediately cut Zane’s joy short. «Oh but my emperor…» He clicked his tongue before looking him dead in the eyes. «We aren’t breaking any rules. We own you.»

The nindroid froze. «What is that supposed to mean!»

The door to the room suddenly opened, and a brunette woman with her hair in a pony tail and sunglasses on her forehead strode in. «Here is the file you requested sir.» She said, handing Vex a new paper sheet, before leaving the room again.

«Ah, perfect timing. Why don’t you take a look at this.» Vex said smoothly before placing the paper in front of Zane. Dreading what he was about to see, Zane started reading.

TRANSFERRING OF OBJECT - CONTRACT

This Agreement of Transferring (referred to as The Deal) is to be set into action when both parts have signed.

BY AND BETWEEN: The Ninja (Heroes of the Merged Lands) and the Administration.

LASTING: No end date set.

WARRANTY OF OWNERSHIP:

• The equipment known as Zane, soon to be ‘Nindroid 5’, will be under the full ownership and serve the Administration. 
• Nindroid 5 was previously used by the Ninja, so to ensure the ownership is sincere, no reclaims can be made once The Deal is set into action.

SIGNATURES:

Vex, CEO of the section of Robotic Improvement: ꪜꫀ᥊

Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon, leader of the Ninja: 𝓛𝓵𝓸𝔂𝓭 𝓜. 𝓖𝓪𝓻𝓶𝓪𝓭𝓸𝓷

Zane’s eyes widened the further he read, and once he made it to the bottom his throat felt like a desert. This couldn’t, it just couldn’t be real!

«You…You faked this,» he finally got out. «This isn’t a real contract!»

Vex rolled his eyes. «Perhaps it is, perhaps it is not. The more important thing is, it looks real. It cannot be proven to be a fake. So by the law, you belong to us.»

If his hands weren’t bound behind his back, Zane would’ve torn the paper to shreds. But he could only hopelessly watch as Vex took it, folded it and put it safely in a pocket on the inside of his jacket. «Now,» Vex said. «Let’s go over the rules. One. As you have read, your designation is no longer that foolish human-like name. From now on, you will be Nindroid 5. Two. All humans under this roof, and in general, are superior to androids. They can treat you just the way they want, but you will give them full submission and respect. Three. If you disobey a rule, you will be punished. Have I made myself clear?»

«No matter what you attempt to do to me here, I won’t let you succeed. I won’t change!»

«Oh trust me,» Vex said with a mockingly sweet tone. «You will. And when you have become nothing but a shell of who you once thought you were, when we manage to get to you, you will be the perfect tool for us to use.»

With that, the man rose from his chair and walked over to Zane. «Get up.»

«No.»

«I said, get up.»

«You can’t force me.» Zane said through gritted teeth, his eyes shut.

Vex’s voice was dripping with venom. «What if I can.» 

«What if I refuse?»

«Oh, you don’t want to do that.»

Zane turned his head towards his former advisor, giving him an icy glare. «What if I do.»

He couldn’t get more out before something cold was pressed against his neck. The nindroid didn’t have to check what it was, it was obvious it was an electric taser. No matter how much he tried not to, Zane’s whole body tensed, remembering the pain of the electricity.

«That’s more like it,» Vex said smugly. «Now. Get. Up.»

Zane slowly and unwillingly did so. The second he was on two feet, Vex harshly grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the room. Agent Allan and Underwood were waiting outside. «Take him to his cell.» Vex ordered. «And make sure he stays there.» The two agents nodded quickly, taking an arm each once again and dragging Zane with them down another hallway. 

After a minute or two, they got to the end of the hallway, which was littered with doors with different numbers. ‘1’, ‘2’, ‘3’ and so on. Agent Allan pulled out a key from his pocket, opening the door named ‘5’. 

«This is where you’ll be staying when not in use by us or training,» he said, before turning his eyes into slits. «Attempted escapes will have severe consequences.»

Zane wanted to say something back, but Underwood suddenly pushed him into the room, sending him tumbling into a wall. 

«We will ssssee you tomorrow, robot.» That was the last Zane heard before the door was closed and locked. 

As he took a look around himself, he saw that there wasn’t much to look at. Plain white walls, grey tiled floor, and a small lightbulb hanging from the roof, sending yellow light throughout the small space. It was the only source of light as there were no windows. There was no furniture at all in there, and room itself couldn’t be more than two square meters in total. 

Zane let out a deep sigh, letting himself slide down to the floor, his hands still cuffed behind him. It was only when he sat there on the oddly cold tiles, he got to process everything. 

Vex.

Jay.

The contract.

The ‘training’.

Their goal.

Zane’s throat tightened.

«Fuck.»

Chapter Text

Zane did not get a wink of sleep that night. All thirteen hours, thirty-two minutes and seventeen seconds were spent thinking or pacing around the best he could in the small space. About an hour into his stay, he managed to slowly and painfully ease one hand out of his tightly bound handcuffs. However, it didn’t change anything, as he was still unable to call upon his ice. Vengestone must have been hidden in the walls. Clever.

While massaging his sore wrist, Zane suddenly remembered something. 

The agents had taken everything from him. His weapons, his money, his food, he had gotten stripped of all his belongings. Except for one thing. They hadn’t bothered to search the inside of his gi. With a shaky hand, Zane reached into a small pocket and pulled out the neatly folded photograph. He let out a relieved sigh when he saw it, tracing the grainy lines on Pixal’s face with his no longer shaky fingertips. Thankfully, thankfully, he still had this. 

No matter what he would meet when dawn at last came, he had something worth staying strong for. And of course, getting back to the other ninja too. They must have realized he was gone by now.

…right?

_______________________________________________

As the hours ticked by, Zane found himself spending most of the time in his thoughts. What else was there to do? When his internal clock hit 6AM, he picked up the handcuffs, gritting his teeth as he squeezed his hands into them again. Better be safe than sorry. Getting punished for breaking the rules already the first few minutes of the first day wouldn’t be smart, no matter how much he wanted to. If he was going to get out, keeping his head cold and calculating the risks would be the smartest way.

No more than an hour later, at 7AM sharp, a key twisted in the keyhole and the door was all but ripped open. Zane startled from where he sat against the wall, then moved to face the newcomer. Agent Allan.

«Good morning.» The nindroid said coldly.

The agent gripped his shoulder and yanked him up before pushing him out of the room. «It won’t be for you. Now walk.»

Zane felt his anger boil, and only just managed to not swing his fists into the mans face right then and there. As he slowly and involuntarily started making his way down the corridor with Allan behind him, like he was a dog in leash, a big thud grabbed his attention. He instantly turned his head towards the source and saw it came from the room with the number 2 on its door, the same fashion as his own. 

Right. There were others here as well. Zane wondered if he would see any of them today. 

The noises from room 2 didn’t stop, it sounded like someone was throwing themselves against the door, over and over. Zane furrowed his brows, but didn’t get to think further before he felt a hand on his back giving a hard push. «Move,» Agent Allan hissed as Zane regained his balance. 

The two kept walking down the corridor, away from room 2. But Zane threw a glance back at it, hoping to see someone opening the door and reveal the one in there. Nobody did. Soon the door was no longer possible to see.

«Now, here we are,» Agent Allan said as they once again walked in the direction of the ‘Training room’. Zane had already guessed this was where they would be headed. He didn’t want to find out what happened behind the door. He did not have a choice, for the one leading him pushed the door handle down and swung it open.

What met him was white. White walls, white floor, white roof. All white. Two men who had been chatting in there, both dressed in white lab coats, looked over at their interruption. They both lit up when they saw Zane.

«Ah, I see you have found a new one Allan,» the one on the right, a rather short man with curly ginger hair and freckles said. «About time, it’s been months since the last.»

Agent Allan harshly steered Zane forwards, closing the door behind them. «Don’t get your high hopes up yet, you’re only observing today. Agent Isila will do the real work.» 

The disappointment on the mens faces was very visible, but they didn’t complain. «Fine,» The other said, a dark haired man with olive skin and deep green eyes. «But you can’t keep us away for long. Rumors have been going around, saying this is no mere robot, but that Nindroid 5 is one of the ninjas themselves!»

Allan scoffed. «Never trust rumors. However, they are right this time. Their so-called strength must be heavily overrated, we managed to capture him so easily.»

«Actually,» Zane remarked dryly. «I was the one to defeat you all before you-» Allans hand moving from his back to squeeze around his throat shut him up, making him gasp for breath.

«Stay. Quiet.» The agent hissed, leaning in with gritted teeth. «You haven’t gotten an order.»

The ginger man walked over to them, annoyance now present. «Nobody asked you to speak robot. This is how it’s gonna be done here; We say jump, you say how high. Got it?»

«He even breathes when he doesn’t need to!» The other man said, face showing partly arrogance, partly fascination. «What a waste of oxygen.»

Allan removed his grip with a final push, sending Zane stumbling back and nearly tripping over his own feet. «Take him to the chains,» he said, gesturing to the two in white. They complied immediately, gripping one of the nindroids arms each and attempting to drag him towards a wall. 

Zane would have none of this. He fought in their hold, trying to kick, punch, or even headbutt them, but his hands were still bound behind him, and nothing else was working. The two holding him tightened their grip with each of his movements. When they had gotten to the wall they seeked, the ginger man removed his handcuffs briefly, but put new ones on him the second the others were off. These ones were fastened to the wall, and were vengestone as well. Zane thrashed against them, but the handcuffs were much tighter than the last. He couldn’t slip his hands out of these.

Seeing Zanes frustration, the agent laughed as he readjusted his sunglasses, running a hand through his hair. «Well, duty calls. I need to head out, but Isila should be here any-»

As if on cue, the doors opened once again, and a woman stepped in. Her blonde hair was put up in a perfectly sharp bun, not a single hair strand out of place. She wore a neat black suit, with silver hoop earrings and red stiletto heels, matching the color on her lips. The clicking of the fancy shoes echoed as she walked over to them. 

«Agent Isila, right on time.» Allan said, greeting her. «These are the scientists Cormac and Wily, who will be observing to take notes. I must leave, but the machine is all yours. It’s the first day, don’t hold back.»

The woman glanced over at Zane with narrowed, arrogant eyes. «First day? Interesting. You may leave Roderick, I got it.»

With that, Allan was gone, and Zane was left with three completely new people. One who looked like she was considering the best way to tear him apart and two who looked at him like he was their new plaything. Silence stretched out for a solid minute as everyone seemed to think, nobody uttering what their thoughts were.  Zane found himself occupied staring daggers into the agents eyes, one at a time. 

«Alright,» Agent Isila suddenly spoke up loud and clear, clapping her hands together to gain the attention she had never lost. The clap startled both Zane and the two others, the latters immediately scrambling to find their notepads and pens while taking some steps back. 

Red stiletto heels walked slowly but firmly towards Zane, radiating of control and power as she approached. Zane had already gotten a feeling that this was an agent slightly above everyone else. Her calling Agent Allan by his first name, the scientists seeming more on edge around her, and just how the atmosphere she brought was in general. But Zane had faced the Overlord. He could deal with a bossy agent with a red lip.

«Do you know why you’re here, Nindroid 5?» Agent Isila asked. An open question. Zane chose to stay silent. She had most likely expected him to do so, for she went on. «You’re here to relearn your purpose; submitting to those above you. Which is every living being. I’m above you, these two behind me are above you, hell, even the mice crawling in the walls are above you. That’s what you’re here for. And that is eventually what we are going to get you to understand.»

The plan was originally to just stay silent, but Zane couldn’t stop an eye roll. «Oh really? You seem awfully sure I’m just going to let you walk all over me, teach me things I know for a fact, are wrong.» 

Isila’s eyes turned to slits. «Problem one with you, speaking and making your presence known when not ordered. Disobeying requires a punishment.»

Before Zane could react, the woman whipped up a laser gun and pointed it towards him. A second later, he felt the intense burn of electricity spread through him, making him cry out. He couldn’t control his movements, curling up as much as possible, body twitching when the shocks went through. Somehow, this was worse than the ones he had felt before. It was as if someone had snuck a small knife into his chest cavity, cutting and slicing up all of his vital wires. It hurt, it hurt, FSM it hurt-

Then it left. The second it was over, a sigh of relief erupted from Zane’s chest, and he slumped hard against the wall. He swore he heard Cormac and Wily snicker from behind their notepads.

«I hope that was educational,» Isila said coldly. «Now, would you mind telling me, who are you inferior to?»

Zane was still heaving for breath after the electrical attack. This was what they were doing. They had a reward system. If you told them what they wanted, they would give you the only reward they offered, no punishment.

Clever.

Evil, horrifying, and so morally wrong that Zane didn’t know where to start, but still clever.

He never wanted to feel that pain again, the one he had just received. But something else was threatening him even more, something which held tenfold the consequences. Giving up. 

Turning his face to meet Agent Isila’s, he answered with a steady voice. «I am inferior to no one. I am equal.»

The blonde pursed her lips as she raised an eyebrow. «Problem two,» she said, and pointed the gun at him once more. «Refusing to accept the truth. Disobeying requires a punishment.»

The nindroid closed his eyes.

_______________________________________________

Hours later, Zane was finally allowed out of that hell of a room. At that point he had been tased so many times he was completely out of it, not able to feel his own body as it got dragged towards the room with his number on it. Who was it that were taking him there again? Using up the little strength he had left, he turned his head and got met with arms wearing a white lab coat. Ok, so one of those two scientists. Cormac or Wily, if he remembered correctly. Right now he didn’t trust his brain to function normally.

They got to his door, and the one holding him opened the door and shoved him in, making him crash against the wall and sink to the floor. He got a glimpse of ginger curls as the door got slammed shut and locked. 

«So, Cormac then,» the titanium ninja whispered hoarsely. 

It felt like he laid there for hours, simply trying to regain his strength. After some time he managed to sit up straight, groaning as his head hit the wall he leaned against. He didn’t bother to take off the regular handcuffs he now bore again. God, that woman left her marks with her taser, that’s for sure. But, Zane smiled weakly to himself, she hadn’t succeeded. He had not given in, had not told her what she wanted to hear. It would take more than some pain for him to break. 

A sound erupted, further down the corridor. A loud thud, just like the one he had heard earlier. Someone was slamming themselves into the door again. Probably room number 2. Zane furrowed his brows. He still had not seen any other nindroids today, only the agents and scientists. 

Zane leaned further against the wall, trying to relax. The first day was over. Now he only had to survive and make it through every other day from now on. Who knew how long it would take for him to get rescued or get out? He felt himself tense when a new thought seeped into him. Yes, he had made it through today. But if he was going to stay here for a long time, would he last? 

He had to. There wasn’t any other options. Zane finally felt the fatigue take over him, and although he weakly tried to resist at first, it didn’t take long for him to slip into a dreamless sleep.

The sounds from room 2 followed throughout the night.

Chapter Text

The second they stepped into the training room, Zane knew today was gonna be different.

It had been 4 days. 4 days which felt like an eternity each, every second dragging on. 4 days of the same people, the same schedule, and the same timestamps on repeat. Getting fetched from his room at 7 in the morning. Training until some point in the afternoon. Sleep. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. 

But not today.

It was not agent Allen who roughly awakened and shoved him out of his room, but agent Underwood. And agent Isila did not wait inside the white room, only the two lab coated men who had been taking notes every session. Cormac and Wily. Both of them wearing gloves, goggles, and lots of other gadgets Zane recognized from years of living with Jay and Nya. 

This could not possibly be a good sign.

Especially not as he was not steered towards his usual pair of chains fastened to the wall, but a working table of metal in the middle of the room. As Zane saw it, he stopped dead in his tracks. 

«What are you waiting for robot?» Agent Underwood hissed, tightening her grim on his arm. «I believe you get “the memo”. Do assss you are ordered!»

But Zane merely shook his head and tried pulling away, attempting to twist out of her grip. These past days had been hard enough, he could still feel the ghostly shocks from the electric taser. However, he still refused to give up. He clung to the rope that was hope, something worth going for. They had not reached their goal of him submitting, and Zane had no intention of them ever doing so. But this was something he could not just simply accept.

Zane had laid on a working table countless times before, whether it was getting new upgrades, repairs after a mission, or other inconveniences that came with being both robotic and a ninja. But it had not always been a necessarily unpleasant experience, as Jay, Nya or Pixal were the ones who carefully navigated through his codes and wires. He would trust any of them with his life in a heartbeat. At least two of them. Two scientists whom he had only encountered in dreadful circumstances, with sharp tools and smug grins on their faces, was not someone he would trust with anything.

He pushed against the serpentines hold, and with a few well placed kicks, she lost her grip. Despite that, four arms were quick to replace her hold, and Zane found himself harshly pulled down on the metallic table by Cormac and Wily. The vengestone handcuffs were taken off, but just like every other time, something came to replace them. This time, it was not just handcuffs, but some sort of metal wristlets pinning him to the worktable. The same kind was applied to his legs, making him unable to move at all.

«There we go,» Wily said in a sugary sweet voice. «Not that hard is it? Perhaps we’ll even drop the cuffs next time if you behave.»

Zane bit back a scowl, settling with an equally sugary sweet, yet obviously fake smile. «A little bird gave me the idea that this setup may in fact not mean you’re gonna give me a vital update that will make me function better?»

«So close robot, but the truth is you’re lucky if you still function normally after today.» Cormac remarked.

That was just a threat. It had to be. But Zane felt his courage slightly falter. In reality, he was absolutely terrified of what they might do to him when he was in a such vulnerable position. A working table was never a good sign if it was not the one in the Sam X cave back home at the monastery. It wasn’t when The Mechanic had experimented on him countless times, and certainly not now.

The two scientists must have noticed Zane’s change in mood, and snickered, Cormac leaning closer to him. «Not that confident now are you? Have you not yet realized that we will always have the upper hand here.»

Agent Underwood stepped forwards again, standing on the other side of the worktable, opposite from Cormac and Wily. «Ok Nindroid 5. Unless you’re programmed to be a complete idiot, you know that thisss is not going to be a pleasssant experienccce for you.»

«Figured,» Zane muttered under his breath.

«However,» Agent Underwood continued. «You didn’t have to go through this. You are only in this sssituation because you put yourssself in it.» She then pulled up a device from her pocket, clicked a few buttons, and turned the screen towards Zane. Zane squinted to see the footage, then felt his oil run cold. Because the video was of him. And it was not just a random video. It was taken from inside of his cell. 

On the video, Zane was at first just leaning against the wall, still gathering himself after the days session of shocks. Common routine. But then, he slowly started to ease his hands out of his handcuffs, which had also been a more and more occurring routine. He localized the weaker spots, and in the end freed his hands completely, turning and twisting his wrists to ease the pain the slight tightness had added on top of everything else. It looked like he was going to reach for something, but gave up, instead giving in to tiredness. He fell asleep the second his head hit the wall.

Zane closed his eyes and breathed out heavily when Underwood turned off the video and put the device back in her pocket. Shit. Were there cameras inside of his room as well now!? Could he literally not have privacy anywhere? 

Like she read his thoughts, agent Underwood smiled smugly. «Yesss, we have eyes inssside of there asss well. Asss a matter of fact, we should thank Nindroid 2. If there hadn’t been ssso much trouble with that one, we wouldn’t have thought about adding camerasss inssside of your roomsss.»

‘Well thank you very much number 2!’ Zane thought bitterly. ‘Now I’ve lost my only source of freedom!’ 

Thank goodness he was too tired yesterday to take out Pixal’s photo. If he had, they would definitely have taken that from him along with all the other belongings he had lost.

«So you see,» Cormac said, interrupting his thoughts. «You only have yourself to thank for whatever is going to happen to you today. Now, let’s not waste any more time, shall we?»

Underwood was already heading towards the door. «You know what to do. Jussst don’t kill him or messss him up too bad, anything elssse isss allowed.» The door slammed shut behind her.

«Ok robot, what would you like us to do today. We have plenty of ideas if you’d like to choose.» Wily was already rolling a screwdriver between his thumb and index finger. Zane chose to stay silent, refusing eye contact. Unfortunately, this did absolutely nothing to shield his painfully exposed, well, everything. Especially as the scientists made quick work of his upper gi, pushing it aside to get to his chest panel. Zane felt panic rising every second, and couldn’t help to fight against when the screwdrivers started prying the panel open. 

«Stop!» he yelled when the first screw came loose. «Don’t!» 

They did not listen. 

Soon, the panel was open. All the wires were on full display, much to the two men’s delight. Zane could only watch horrified as Cormac reached into his chest.

«Remember,» Cormac said as he slid his finger over a blue wire. «You know what to do to make us stop.» With that, he wrapped his hand around the wire and yanked it out, sending sparks flying. Zane’s mouth fell open as he threw his head back and screamed in pain as his body twitched. «STOP!»

But instead, more wires got harshly ripped out and messed with, each tug feeling like the embodiment of hell. At the same time, another pair of hands started cutting a few wires with a small scissor, tearing wails out of the nindroid. Soon enough, Zane felt certain abilities starting to malfunction. His vision blacked out every five seconds, and he could not feel his left leg anymore, nor two of his right hand fingers. 

This was worse than the tasers. This was worse than agent Isila's special taser. Zane immediately knew he never, ever wanted to do this again. 

Wily got hold of a yellow wire, and was going to cut it with his scissor when Cormac stopped him. «What are you doing?» the black haired said, annoyed he got interrupted.

«Don’t cut that one.»

«Why?»

«Because I’m almost certain it connects to Five’s voice box. And I would very much like to keep hearing him scream.» To prove his point, Cormac tugged on a wire, making Zane let out a mix between a cry and a groan. 

Wily nodded with a grin, dropping the wire instantly. 

Zane barely heard them over his screams and the beeping from his warning systems, that his hearing was almost completely out didn’t help in the slightest. Gathering whatever strength he could grasp, he spoke up, voice glitchy and stuttering. «P-Please s-sTOP!» His voice got high pitched when another wire was torn.

«You know the magic word,» Cormac replied, not making eye contact. «And it ain’t please. Are you interested in telling me?» He slowed down his actions, and made Wily do the same. They both turned to looked at him expectantly.  

Zane heaved for breath when he got a small break, his body falling heavy against the table when no waves of pain rolled over him. He forced his eyes open and met the two pairs of brown and green. Their messing with his insides had now completely stopped.

A few seconds of silence followed before Cormac raised an eyebrow. «Well?»

Zane could feel himself want to submit, want to cave in. Anything to stop this. Just… Just once wouldn’t hurt, right? He could go back to being stubborn and strong tomorrow. He wanted to rest now. 

But…

No he could not give them this. It was all they wanted. He could not serve it to them on a silver platter. Not after only 4 days. Not ever.

Zane slowly, as much as he was currently able to, shook his head. The scientists frowned.

«As you wish Five,» Wily sighed before they went back to work. 

They kept going for five more minutes. More wires got ruined, more screams were heard.

Eventually, Cormac let go of the wires, a new idea shining in his eyes. «Watch this,» he said, taking up a laser gun he had kept in his lab coat. Slowly, he pointed it directly on Zane’s open chest. «Let’s see how sensitive this section is.»

Zane's vision now held black spots, but he saw the gun. He wasn’t able to hear anymore, but he didn’t need hearing to realize what the scientist planned to do. «Please…» he mouthed, not hearing his own voice.

Cormac pulled the trigger and everything went black.

_________________________

It was hours and hours later when Zane finally opened his eyes again. 

The first he noticed was the throbbing ache that had spread across his whole body, making every movement burn as hot as Kai’s fire. Although he saw that his vision was back, he kept his eyes shut due to the light being way, way too bright to take in.

He had no sense of time, no idea where he was, and no chance of moving. Therefore, he spent a solid minute trying to convince himself he was actually still alive. 

Eventually it dawned on him that, of course, he was taken back to the little cramped room of his. He felt a heavy relief flow through him, which was followed by a cold shiver afterwards. This room had started to become his ‘safe haven’ of sorts, his place to rest among the training sessions and whatever horrible things the agents could come up with. Zane felt nauseous that he associated any part of this damn building with something positive at all.

The pain was still extremely present. However, Zane’s systems revealed that some of the damage was fixed, mostly the vital parts the scientists had tampered with and the connections to his limbs and senses. This meant that although he had a few cut-up wires inside his chest and some deep dents spread around, he was functioning. They had been careful to leave him in pain, but had also made sure he survived.

Zane cracked his eyes open. The light was not all that bright now, his vision adjusting every second. He grit his teeth as he pushed himself up from the floor, sinking his back against the wall. The nindroid tried to find his internal clock in his systems, but unsuccessfully. The file must have been deleted during the, what could one even call it? Borderline torture?

The loss of the clock was a great loss, as Zane now no longer could rely on the time stamps. Now he didn’t know when to slip the handcuffs off and on. But wait, no, there were cameras in here as well now. Zane sighed. Damn it. 

The picture sat heavy where it was tucked close to his chest. Zane wanted to hold it so badly, still… The day’s events weighted on his shoulders. Was it worth it? Every part of his heart screamed yes, while every part of his brain yelled no. 

He decided to go for logics. It was his specialty after all. No matter how much it plagued him.

Zane’s head slowly leaned closer to the wall, making a small thud as it collided. He was, to put it mildly, exhausted. Absolutely and utterly worn out. The pain was still hammering inside of him as his wires ached, but unless he was turning insane, it had lessened a tiny bit. This allowed him to find a position that, while not comfortable, would do. 

He was stiff, wounded, and totally unrecognizable in comparison to himself only a small week before. Still, Zane managed to fall into a light sleep, dreaming about a certain pair of green eyes.

_________________________

The walk down the hallway now reminded Zane of a walk towards doom. Agent Allan had returned to pick him up this morning, so hopefully that meant they were back to ‘normal’. Zane hated everything about the so called training, but the scientists torment was an even worse fate. His wires still cracked and sent sparks of pain inside of him from their abuse yesterday.

Once the grey metal doors into the training room were visible, the daily dread began building up. Zane couldn’t wait to get into his room again in the afternoon. It really had turned to be a symbol of peace for him.

Allan continued to drag him towards the doors. When they stood outside of them, a loud sound was heard from the inside, making Zane jolt and even Allan startle a bit. The suit-clad agent then turned to Zane, grinning. «Looks like we have company today, huh?» 

Zane’s eyes widened. Another nindroid training? At the same time?

Having been here a couple of days now, Zane had seen another nindroid exactly one time. Two days ago, the day before the scientists messed with him. On his way to the day’s “training session“, he and Allan walked past another pair like them, an agent and a nindroid. When he lifted his head and got a look at them, Zane had nearly frozen in place. He had seen the other droid before! Ok, maybe not that exact one, but the master of ice knew where they came from. He was wearing a form of gi, the design the dark nindroids who were working for the Overlord had worn once upon a time. However, this one was all white. It was one of the guards from Borg Tower! 

The two droids had gotten eye contact for around two seconds, and in those small fragments of time, Zane spotted pure tiredness and vulnerability in the other’s eyes. It was clear he had been here for a longer time. And since Zane was extremely good at reading people, it was clear the other had given in. What gave it away was the details such as him being allowed to walk beside the agent without getting pushed, and the defeated look in his eyes.

It was horrifying.

Zane hadn’t seen one since.

But it seemed like he would now.

Agent Allen reached for the doorknob, but the second he touched it, the doors flung open. Another male agent barged out, slamming the doors shut behind him. His blonde hair was disheveled and his sunglasses were cracked. When he turned towards them and Zane could get a better look at him, his eyes widened when he saw that the agent’s face was swollen, a black eye and bruises already forming. 

Allan also looked taken aback. «What in the world!» he exclaimed. «What happened?»

«It’s 2,» the other panted. «She’s completely out of control. I need backup, get the manager!»

Number 2 again. It was always number 2, Zane thought. Who was this mystery girl? 

Allan nodded, although a little annoyed. «Fine. Number 5, don’t you dare moving, do you hear me? Stay exactly where I put you. You know the consequences you’ll face by disobeying.»

Zane assumed Agent Allan would just have him stay here right outside the doors, and murmured in agreement. But suddenly, Allan had grabbed his arm, opened the door, and thrown him in. The metal doors slammed shut and locked before he could comprehend it. Zane blinked as he regained his balance. 

What the hell? Why did the agent put him in here? Did he not even trust him to stand by himself in the hallway? That was…a fair enough assumption. 

Zane suddenly heard footsteps behind him, and he turned around to face whoever it was. But before he caught a glimpse of the other, their fist collided with his face first. A loud clang rung out as metal hit metal. Zane fell to the ground, his cuffed hands getting pressed under his weight when he landed on his back. His face hurt from the punch, adding on top of the other pain already present. He groaned out in discomfort. What in the FSM was going on? 

Wait.

Was this the famed number 2? It had to be!

Zane turned his aching face towards his attacker, squinting his eyes open to get a look. 

He was met with blinding lights at first, but then, a silhouette came into his vision. She was an android, that was clear by the glinting of the materials she was made of. Yet, her skin wasn’t grey like his, but white. Her messy silver hair reflected the light of the ceiling lamps. When she slowly got more and more clear to him, it allowed Zane to make out the details. The first thing he noticed was that her skin wasn’t just white, but held purple dots and lines. And her eyes…

If Zane was human, his heart would have stopped.

Her eyes were green. Emerald green.

No. No.

This had to be another dream. But the pain constantly stinging him proved that it wasn’t. It was reality.

Zane sat up as much as he could, looking up to the person towering over him.

«Pixal?»

Chapter Text

«Ok, so what do we know?» the fire ninja repeated as he walked around the table the rest of the team sat by in circles. 

Cole sighed and laid his head down on the table’s surface, supported by his arms. «Nothing, Kai. Absolutely nothing. Just like the other eight times you’ve asked!» 

«We know Zane was taken by something or someone,» Sora piped in. «And that a fight most likely took place amongst them. Other than that…»

«Nothing,» Lloyd finished.

Kai groaned, taking a break from his paces to slump down on a free chair. «Much help there, thank you. But seriously, it’s been four days! Have we not even moved a slight step forwards?»

«Look, I don’t know what to tell you,» Lloyd said. «I’m aware it’s been four days, but we’ve been caught up in other things between everything! The world unfortunately does not stand still. I’m just as frustrated, believe me!» The green ninja looked down and fiddled with his sleeves. «The lack of traces is alarming.»

«I’ve already told you, saying that we have no traces is wrong,» Sora exclaimed. «What about this?» With a few clicks on her mobile phone, she pulled up a picture before sliding the phone over to Lloyd. The screen depicted a blurry photo of a tree trunk from the open field Zane had last been seen. The trunk held a dent with black edges. «The markings on this tree are not natural, I’m telling you that.» 

Cole straightened up. «That’s what I’ve been trying to say as well!» 

Lloyd looked at the picture, Kai and Wyldfire leaning over a shoulder each to take a look as well. «I know it isn’t natural,» Lloyd eventually expressed. «But this picture doesn’t really add anything when it comes to it. The quality isn’t good enough. I also don’t believe it will matter in the long run.»

«Well, sorry for not having the latest phone on the market,» Sora muttered as she rolled her eyes, putting the phone back in her pocket. «It isn’t my fault you guys didn’t bother to look into it when we were there in person!»

Lloyd sighed, and for a second he looked extremely tired. He lifted a hand to stop Sora from talking. «Enough, please!» When he saw Sora’s betrayed face, he felt a tinge of guilt. «Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound so harsh. I didn’t think to look when we were there, I know. We’ll take that later. For now, I wanted to discuss something while we’re all gathered.»

«Ok,» Cole said as he furrowed a brow. «What?»

Shifting in his seat, Lloyd spoke up. «I think we should split up. We have two very different problems to go after right now, with the Forbidden Five and-»

«Three.»

Lloyd stopped as he got interrupted, and turned towards Nya, the one who had stayed silent until now. «What?»

«We have three problems we must go after. You forgot Jay.»

«Right,» Lloyd slowly nodded and tried to read more into Nya’s face, unable to find anything. «Three.»

Cole raised a hand, shaking his head. «Hold on. You’re saying we’re giving up Zane?»

«No! I’m saying the opposite. In order to make progress on each of these fronts, we simply have to split up. The Forbidden Five is a massive threat, and we need to be on guard. As for Jay,» Lloyd continued with a glance at Nya. «He can’t just walk around either, not without his memory! This thing with Zane landed on top of all this, and while it is no less important, neither are those other missions either. Don’t you agree with me?»

Everyone slowly nodded, some without fully agreeing, but Lloyd did have a good point. 

Lloyd gave a firm nod as well. «Ok, then that’s settled, we’re dividing the team into groups.»

«Who’s gonna go after who?» Wyldfire asked, but she only barely even finished her sentence before Nya cut her off.

«I’m going after Jay,» the master of water said. «I have to.»

Kai grabbed her hand. «Then I’m going with you,» he said with a reassuring smile. «Where you go, I go.»

Nya half-smiled, yet she shook her head. «No. Not this time.»

Kai blinked. «But-»

«No,» Nya said firmly. «I know you mean it well, and I love you, it’s not that, but I think I need this. What you said back in the woods, it hit me. It really did. So I’m going to use this mission to collect myself again, whilst looking for Jay. Somehow, I just know it has to be me, I’m the who needs to bring back his memories. And Kai, I believe you’re needed elsewhere for this mission.» She dropped her voice and leaned in. «Go with Lloyd. He needs you, I think the burden of being a master is catching up to him.»

The master of fire spent a solid ten seconds trying to process his sister’s words, but then dumbfoundedly nodded. «Alright. But call me when something happens, that’s a demand.»

«You got it,» Nya mildly chuckled. 

Kai turned to Lloyd. «Where does this place the rest of us?»

«You’re all free to decide, but I feel like I must go after the Forbidden Five,» Lloyd replied. «Multiple towns have reported sightings of them these past few days, so that’s a good place to start.»

«Well good news green bean, I’m coming with you.»

«And me!» Wyldfire quickly chimed in, not missing the chance to go a mission with Kai. Ever since his return, the two had been joined at the hip, constantly training or practicing techniques. She may not have outright said it to his face, but Kai quickly picked up on how much she had missed him.

The green ninja smiled. «Then we’re three!» He then furrowed his brows and looked over to the opposite end of the table, where Cole and Sora were sitting. «And that leaves-»

«I’m going after Zane,» Cole said determined. «If you guys prioritize other things, that’s fine, but I’m not.»

«Cole…»

«No, really it’s fine. I’ll do it by myself if I need to.»

«You don’t,» Sora said. «I will stay here as well. It’s not like I’m needed at the other team. This makes the teams at least closer to being evenly divided.»

Lloyd looked like he wanted to add something, but didn’t, instead giving a nod. «Then it’s settled.»

____________________

A hand on his shoulder abruptly stopped Cole from walking out the doorway. The rest of the team had already left the room to pack up stuff for each of their missions, yet, Cole recognized Lloyd’s grip immediately. He turned towards the leader.

«What?» Cole couldn’t stop the sharp edge to his voice, and regretted it the second it left his mouth. Especially after seeing how Lloyd reacted.

The younger ninja retracted his hand and looked down. «I’m sorry Cole, I- I know you don’t agree with this solution. But I’m really trying to do the right thing! This whole leader-thing is all so new, and now that I don’t even have Wu to guide me…» Lloyd trailed off.

Cole sighed and scratched the back of his neck. «No, I’m sorry Lloyd. You’re probably right, about this thing. I’m just worried for Zane, that’s all. The snow back on that field has been on my mind all week.»

«Me too,» Lloyd shook his head. «If you and Sora find him, will you make sure he’s ok for me?»

«When.»

«What?»

«Not if we find him,» Cole replied. «When we find him.»

Lloyds face melted into a warm smile. «When.»

At the same time in a room further down the hall, Nya was packing a new bag for her mission. As she threw weapons, clothes, and other necessities in, her mind was spinning, to such a point she was only halfway focused on her task. Suddenly, a voice interrupted her.

«Hello? Earth to Nya?»

Nya jumped from the distraction, and looked up to meet Sora’s eyes. The girl was leaning in the doorway to her room with a raised eyebrow. 

«What is it?»

«I don’t want to disturb you,» Sora said. «But I don’t think you need that for your mission.»

Nya looked down and saw that in her unfocus, she had grabbed a small potted plant and put it in her bag.

«Oh shit,» she mumbled, her cheeks burning with embarrassment while taking it out. «No, I don’t.»

Sora’s eyes softened. She walked into the room and plopped down on Nya’s bed. «Are you okay? You seem very out of it. What’s going on?»

The master of water sunk down on the floor and leaned her back on the closet. «So much is going on now,» She groaned, putting her hands over her face. «First Jay, then the whole Forbidden Five thing, then Arin, and now Zane. I… I just wish that we could all be together again. I’m tired of everything constantly feeling out of place. Also…» Nya swallowed. «Never mind.»

Sora crossed her legs and nodded in understanding. «I totally agree with all of that. I miss Arin so much. And if I’m missing someone I’ve known for five years that badly, I can’t begin to imagine how you’re dealing with losing people you’ve known for over 10.»

«Over 15,» Nya smiled. «And you can’t exactly call what I’m doing “dealing with it”, all I do is snap at people,» she added with a sigh.

The younger girl pondered for a second. «While it’s not exactly the best way to unleash everything, it’s better to get it out eventually. I’m sure this solo mission will be good for you.» 

«Aren’t you supposed to be a trainee? More like my therapist, and I’m an adult!» Nya laughed.

«What can I say?» Sora replied, and started walking towards the door. «Good luck Nya.»

The master of technology heard a faint whisper of ‘thank you’ behind her. The second Sora set foot into the hallway, she felt a hand grab her wrist. Surprised, she turned around. 

Nya stood there, arm reached out, looking incredibly guilty. Her eyes flicked to the ground as she nervously bit the inside of her cheek before speaking. «Sora. If- When you and Cole find Zane, tell him I’m sorry. Truly.»

Sora blinked before nodding. «Yeah, yeah of course.»

____________________

The next day, Sora and Cole woke up to an empty monastery.

«Huh,» Cole mumbled as they both sipped their coffee by the dining table. «I don’t know why, but part of me expected them to say goodbye or something.»

Sora snickered. «Aren’t you guys ninja? Sneakiness is your entire job!»

«Fair point.»

Silence dragged on by the table, not uncomfortable, but in the end, Sora felt like she needed to break it. «Sooo…» she started, before realizing she had nothing else to say. After a second, she decided talking about their task was the safest bet. «How are we going to attack this. Our mission, I mean. It’s not like any more clues are gonna jump out of hiding now that there’s only us. More likely the contrary.»

Cole nodded, deep in thought. «We have no other choice than starting with the bits and pieces we’ve got. Let’s go over it one more time.»

«Ok. Zane was left alone on that field for about 15 to 20 minutes. At some point, someone came and most likely attacked. Zane fell to the ground, if he was conscious or not is unknown, and he was then taken away. Oh, and there was snow all over the place, but I can’t explain that,» Sora said, the last part in wonder.

«I can,» Cole said in a slightly lower voice. «It’s a sort of bad habit Zane has. I haven’t seen him do it in years, honestly, I had hoped it was behind us. But I guess not. It stems from something that happened a while ago.»

«And what was that?»

«Not something I’d like to elaborate on now.»

Sora raised a brow, but didn’t push further. 

«Wait,» Cole said. «Can you show me that picture you took? Lloyd may not believe it’s important, but I say we give it a shot anyway.» When Sora gave him her phone he studied it for a bit. In the end he mumbled; «Yeah, can’t make much out of it.»

Sora’s face went red. «Sorry, the quality is shitty, I kno-»

«Let’s go.»

«Huh?»

Cole had already gotten up from his seat and thrown out the rest of his coffee in the sink. «We may not be able to see the details, but taking that picture was a really good call. I think we should get another look at that tree, to make out more. It’s not like there’s much else to go after. Are you coming with me?»

The pink haired was stunned for a moment, before eagerly getting up as well. «Yes!»

_____________________

Three hours later, a pink and a black mech landed in the Wyldness. Cole jumped out, clicking on a black remote to fold it into a disc again. «Seriously Sora, I’ll never stop thanking you for making these. And installing an ability to make them fly? Genius!»

Sora, who had folded her own mech already, chuckled. «Glad to be of service.»

Their walk through the forest was nice, a mix of silence and chattering. Halfway into the trip, Sora asked to hear some old stories from what the ninja-life was like before the merge. 

Cole raised a brow with a smile. «A story from our lives? You used to live with a self-proclaimed ‘ninja expert’!» The atmosphere immediately got more tense the second Arin was mentioned, and Cole noticed the drop in Sora’s mood. He instantly regretted his choice of words, and said; «What do you want to hear?»

«I don’t know!» Sora shrugged, lightening up again. «While I’ve heard most of your heroic deeds and stuff like that, there was little available about your personal life. I grew up in Imperium, I don’t even know what regular life was like in Ninjago as a whole! What was it like in the monastery, just the six of you?»

Cole mused on what to say. «Well, the schedule did change every now and then, since we had pretty hectic lives. But a normal day, hm. Ok, here’s a rough outline of one. Usually, we were forced to wake up very early by Master Wu, most of the time before six, and definitely before seven!»

Sora rolled her eyes. «So was I by Lloyd! That’s nothing special!»

«Ok, fair. After we had gotten up, we trained in the courtyard or aboard the bounty for an hour or two. Early mornings were dedicated to hand to hand combat or meditation, but it was really only Zane who meditated, the rest of us mostly fell asleep when trying. Training was followed up with breakfast, which was made by Zane, or on rare occasions, Pixal. And then, after breakfast-»

«Pixal?»

Coles rambling got interrupted by a confused voice, which turned his attention to a very confused looking Sora. The master of earth was completely caught off guard by this. «Uh, yeah? Pixal?»

«Who’s that?»

Oh. Cole’s eyes widened. «You don’t know? Didn’t Arin tell you everything?» Cole internally cursed himself for bringing up Arin, but Sora didn’t seem to care as much this time.

«I don’t think so. Perhaps he did, but I can’t remember anyone named Pixal.»

«Hm. I guess she never was quite as known as us, especially not known for who she really was behind her mask,» Cole said, deep in thought. He then turned back to the girl. «You may not have heard about Pixal, but I’m sure you know about Samurai X!»

Sora’s eyes flickered with recognition. «Yeah, Arin mentioned the samurai.»

«Perfect. You see, Pixal was the one behind the name of Samurai X. Or, at first it was Nya, Pixal took over the title later. But that’s a long story, I’ll tell you about Pixal. She’s another android, built by Cyrus Borg. We first met her a long time ago, back before the Digital Overlord returned. Still, she didn’t join our team properly until later, at least not physically.»

«Physically?» 

«It’s a long story.»

«Is everything a long story?» Sora snorted.

«In our world, yes,» Cole chuckled. «Zane and Pixal were close from the day they met. Although they never really put a label on their relationship, Pixal was basically Zane’s girlfriend.»

This momentarily stunned Sora. «Girlfriend? How come I’ve never heard of her then? Where is she?»

«We don’t know. She went missing when the merge hit, and hasn’t been found,» Cole said sadly, all joy wiped from his face. 

There was complete silence for a while. Sora seemed to notice this was a heavier topic for Cole, he almost got the same look on his face as he did whenever Jay got mentioned. Afraid to speak, Sora stayed quiet. Their walk through the forest continued. 

Finally, after a long time of slightly uncomfortable silence, their destination came closer and closer. Once the clearance of the field was visible through the trees, Cole broke the ice. 

«I think you two would have gotten along really well.»

Sora blinked. «Me and who?»

«Pixal,» Cole responded. «She loved technology, and used to be our vehicle and mech-builder. Actually, before the merge hit and you showed up, one of her nicknames was “the master of technology“. You two would have lots in common.»

«Huh.» Sora wondered, thinking about what Cole said. Hadn’t she once seen a picture in the library of all the ninja together, taken before the merge, where there was someone else with them? She couldn’t recall it from the top of her head, only remembering the colors silver and green.

Cole lightly shook his head, as if to shake away the previous tension. «Ok, let’s move on. Ready to examine a tree?»

«You kind of made it sound like the dullest activity ever, but yes.»

The field was exactly like it had been five days ago, only without the snow and ice. The grass was freshly green, although some parts were more brown due to the overwatering the melted snow had caused, the lake rippled in the breeze, and the waterfall’s icicles had turned back to liquid form. 

«Do you remember where that exact tree was?»

Sora pointed in the right direction, and led them to a big oak tree. There, at a perfect eye level, was a deep dent in the trunk. The tree’s natural brown had become a deep black in the middle, and the blackness spread out in about half a meters radius from the core, gradually fading. 

«Well, I guess this is it,» Sora stated, a bit disappointed. She couldn’t tell much difference from the picture. But Cole carefully looked over the trunk as he mumbled something inaudible to himself. He kept on staring for at least 30 seconds, making Sora a bit confused and left out.

«Penny for your thoughts?» She tried, in hope of getting to know what Cole was thinking.

Cole gestured to the tree, still keeping his eyes on it. «This looks like a burn of some kind, but I can’t make it make sense! First of all, Kai and Wyldfire were with us, and I’m pretty sure they didn’t blast this tree afterwards. Secondly, a fireball wouldn’t have made this dent, its impact isn’t strong enough due to it not being a solid form. Thirdly, the fire would more than likely have spread after hitting the tree, and burned it up. But if this wasn’t caused by fire, why is it a burn? And why do I feel like I should know what caused this?»

Sora now stepped closer as well, looking over the black edges. Cole was right, it was outright obvious it was a burn of some kind. If not fire, what would have left this mark? 

Cole walked away from the tree, audibly frustrated as he ran a hand through his hair. Sora remained, staring at the tree although being fairly zoned out.

Hold on. She was brought back to reality when she noticed something. In the very core of the dent, if you looked even closer, you could see a few lines spreading out from the middle. Sora at first didn’t understand what exactly they were, but gasped once it dawned on her.

«Cole, look at these lines!» Cole turned at the mention of his name, and came back. He followed her finger with his eyes as she traced the small lines. The lines weren’t just plain straight ones, but shaped in a very recognizable pattern.

Cole’s eyes widened. «How did I miss this,» he mumbled. «Lichtenberg scars!»

Sora nodded eagerly. «Kai and Wyldfire may have been with us, but fire isn’t the only element that can create burns.»

Cole turned towards her. «What do you mean?»

«I think you know what I mean. You used to live under the same roof of two people able to make burns, a different kind each.»

Sora saw how Cole tried to puzzle the pieces together, and grinned when his face revealed that he’d figured it out.

«It's some form of electricity!»

Chapter Text

Zane’s head was spinning, and not because of the pain. The ache from the previous punch had gotten pushed far back in his priorities, because what in all of the merged realms was going on? Was he hallucinating? 

No. He wasn’t. Her eyes brought him right back to ground level.

«Pixal?»

The female android, who had been gathering the strength to reach down and punch him again, froze. In such a way that you could physically see her stop, her closed fist trembling in the air. For a second, heavy breaths were all that could be heard in the room. Zane continued to stare at the other, and saw that suddenly, it was like a filter got lifted from her eyes. All the anger and numbness that had previously been seen disappeared, leaving utter confusion, which then turned into realization.

She quickly stepped back, almost falling over with the speed. Carefully, as if she was afraid that wording her thoughts would ruin what she was seeing, the girl spoke; «Z-Zane…?»

It was in that moment it truly dawned on Zane this was reality. Hearing his name from her mouth made a puzzle piece he didn’t know was missing suddenly slide into place. Or perhaps he knew it was missing all along. Either way, for the first time since the merge, Zane felt whole.

He let out a heavy exhale, this time without any trace of fright or confusion, only relief. «Pixa-» 

Zane couldn’t get out more before her body flung itself at him, the impact nearly crushing the ice ninja as Pixal hugged him. Her hands found hold and grasped around his neck, and if she were human, her knuckles would have turned white from the tight hold. After a brief second of shock Zane instantly leaned into the hug, as much as he was able to. His face buried itself into her neck, inhaling her scent. It was still there. Even after years of separation, he would recognize that scent anywhere. A perfect blend of floral, oil, and a small tinge of chamomile. It was a weird mix, but it was hers. Zane felt the smell bring tears to his eyes. He slightly pulled away from the hug, only to reach out and cup Pixal’s face. Her eyes held tears too.

«My Pixal,» Zane whispered. «You have no idea how long I’ve been searching. How many hours I’ve longed. I never gave up.»

Pixal smiled, a true, genuine smile. For some reason, it seemed like a smile like that hadn’t been seen on her face for half an eternity. «It’s really you.» But then, the moment those words left her mouth, it was as if something dawned on her. The green eyes that had just been sparkling, dimmed in an instant. Pixal released her grip on Zane and pulled away quickly, like he was burning. She looked terrified. «No, it’s really you, NO!» 

Zane froze when he heard the pure terror and fright in her voice. He reached out for her again, but she just kept backing away across the floor. «What’s wrong?» Zane said, his own fear rising from the sight of hers.

«You’re not supposed to be here,» Pixal finally managed to croak out. She sounded like she was on the verge of a breakdown. «I did everything to ensure you wouldn’t!»

The ice elemental felt like the room wouldn’t stand still, like he was on a carousel gone haywire. Everything was going too fast, too fast for him to keep up. «Wh- What do you mean?»

Pixal, still horror-stricken and heaving for breath, opened her mouth, about to say something. Unfortunately Zane never got to hear it, the reason being footsteps walking down the hallway outside of the door. Many footsteps. Towards them.

The samurai let out an inaudible shriek and instantly jumped to her feet, nearly stumbling as she rushed over to Zane. She rapidly grabbed his shoulders, then dragged him upwards and forced him to stand. 

«Not. A. Word.» She hissed as she leaned closely into his face, not with malice or anger, but with sheer desperation. Before Zane even had the chance to open his mouth, Pixal had left him and darted across the room, making it five meters before the door’s handle got sharply pulled down. About six or seven agents flooded in once the door was opened.

«Here she is manager,» the one in the back said, an agent Zane had only got a glimpse of one or two times. He was speaking to someone who had yet to enter the room, but Zane could guess who it was based on the title given. And, of course, the next person to step in was his ex-advisor.

Vex walked into the room, the agents moving to allow him to walk in front. He first looked at Zane, raising an eyebrow before turning his attention over to Pixal. «So, Nindroid 2, we meet again.» 

«I guess we do,» Pixal said, crossing her arms. Or, at least tried to. Two agents had approached her and tightly gripped an arm each.

«And I see you’ve met Nindroid 5 as well!» Vex gestured to Zane, looking over the state of him. He then mildly chuckled, but with no amusement behind it. At least not one that was mutual. «And it seems like you have given him a proper introduction judging by the dent on his face.» 

Zane hadn’t even noticed Pixal’s punch had left a mark, and was about to reach up to his face before the handcuffs reminded him he was in fact bound.

«Well Nindroid 5, now you’ve met nr. 2, our little troublemaker. What’s it like meeting a new droid? Was it nice to encounter another piece of metal?» Vex grinned, putting his hands in his pockets. 

Despite wanting to clap back with a nasty remark, the words sunk into Zane. ‘New’ droid? Did Vex seriously not know about his and Pixal’s relationship? And then it hit him that no, he didn’t! Pixal had never set foot in the Never-Realm, Vex had no clue who she was to him! Zane was about to give his former advisor a piece of mind, and a revelation about how he had actually encountered this ‘new droid’ countless times, when Pixal’s face stopped him. 

Vex had fully turned away from the green-eyed, so her expression was unknown to him. But Zane saw that Pixal subtly shook her head, carefully to not be seen by the agents. Like she could read his thoughts and predict what he was about to say, she wordlessly told him to keep quiet. It took Zane a solid 5 seconds to realize she didn’t want Vex to know that they knew each other. 

Why?

Zane was so occupied with trying to uncover Pixal’s intentions, that he didn’t answer the question from Vex. Only when an electric shock sent a wave of pain through him, making him gasp and fall to his knees, he was brought back to the real world. Immediately, Vex was there, harshly tugging his chin upwards to face the suit-clad man.

«I said,» he hissed. «Did you enjoy it? When a human talks to you, you answer.» 

Zane tried his best to not meet Vex’s eyes, and swallowed before he answered. «Yes.»

Vex smugly smiled before letting go of him, but not without giving a sharp push that sent Zane tumbling over. When laying there on the floor the nindroid couldn’t stop himself anymore. «I enjoyed being one minute with her more than I ever enjoyed the sixty years I spent with you. And that should tell you something.»

The manager stopped dead in his tracks, turning back to face Zane again. He seemed like he wanted nothing more than to march over and smash Zane’s skull with his foot, but after a few seconds, he composed himself again. «Isila will make you regret that, 5.»

Zane took in a deep breath, remaining on the floor. He had already pissed Vex off enough to get a proper beating. The best was to stay silent for now.

That task got a hundred times more difficult when Vex walked over to Pixal. Zane wanted nothing more than to freeze him into a statue.

Vex positioned himself in front of the female droid, arms crossed and eyebrow raised.

«I’m curious, 2. You know the consequences of this. You’ve faced them before, plenty of times. And still, you decide to rebel. Why?» Vex reached out to her face, and twirled some of her silver hair between his fingers. Pixal seemed absolutely disgusted by his act, but was rendered useless to stop it. 

Zane grit his teeth. If his powers were present, Vex wouldn’t just have been a statue, but smashed into ice cubes.

Pixal took a deep breath, seemingly about to respond. But then, to everyone in the room’s surprise, she abruptly leaned forwards and bit Vex’s finger. A collective gasp spread across the room and Vex yelped, instantly pulling his hand back. His index finger was now turning red, a few drops of blood collecting.

«You little-» Vex looked too mad to even know what to say. Instead, he raised his other hand, and slapped Pixal. A strong and firm slap that sent echos between the walls. Pixal cried out when his hand made contact, and let her head hang down afterwards.

Zane laid in complete shock. Ice cubes wasn’t enough. He would have Kai melt them.

Vex took a deep breath before he straightened out his clothes. «Take her away. And Isila, make the other fucking brat understand how things work around here. It looks like he doesn’t understand it yet.»

With that, the formless formling turned around and swiftly exited the room. Nearly every other agent did as well, pulling Pixal with them. Zane was only able to meet her eyes for a split second before the emerald greens were out of sight. 

The door slammed shut, and the ice ninja was left with his thoughts.

Oh by the First Master.

Pixal was here. 

Pixal was number 2.

Pixal had gotten hurt by Vex.

And he couldn’t stop it. He couldn’t protect her.

Zane felt useless as he sunk further down to the ground, almost hoping it would swallow him whole. 

Before he could wallow more in his dark thoughts, a firm grip had tightly wrapped itself around his arm, and dragged him up. Zane turned around and got met with a red lip. Oh right. Agent Isila. So not every agent left the room.

«So,» the woman said with an ice cold voice. «You think you can rebel against us? Against the boss?»

Zane closed his eyes, already knowing this would be a long session.

Chapter Text

When Zane came to himself, the first thing he noticed was the cold. The temperature must have been well past the freezing point. Weird. It hadn’t been that cold when he closed his eyes the last time, had it? And yet, it was something about this exact temperature that felt familiar. It wasn’t foreign.

As he slowly blinked his eyelids open and got a look at where he was, Zane felt the artificial heartbeat stop in his chest. It took him a few seconds to fully take in the surroundings, even though he knew this place in and out. 

Grey walls adorned with large icicles shaped the grand square room. A vary of different carvings, statues, and other artworks in stone were scattered around the place with taste. Not that they mattered. The blue ice had covered every detail there was to make out. In the very centre of the room, a big staircase led up to a throne. A throne Zane currently found himself on. He could now feel the heavy armor weighing him down, and the way his hand gripped something tightly.

No.

It couldn’t be.

He was back in his old home palace. It had never been a home to him. A golden cage was still a cage. His true home was the Monastery of Spinjitzu. But this place had been his home for much longer.

Zane left that thought hanging, not wishing to go any further. The main goal for now was to get the hell out. He didn’t know why he was back, but the plan was definitely not to stay.

The moment the nindroid was going to get up, a loud thud coming from ahead of him made him stop. A group of soldiers marched into the room in practiced and flawless symmetry. That is, all the soldiers unless the one in front, who was studying a piece of ice in his hand. He smiled from whatever it reflected.

Zane’s eyes widened. God no. Not him .

«My emperor,» The leader of the soldiers now looked up, meeting Zane’s eyes. «I am pleased to inform you that our previous operations has brought excellent results.»

The ice ninja wanted to get out of the throne room as fast as he was able to, but he couldn’t help but feel confused and a tad bit curious. With a slight shake in his voice, he answered. «W-What operations?»

Vex tilted his head before shaking it in amusement. «The formling exterminations of course!» he said with a slight chuckle as he ascended the stairs. The other soldiers were left down below, lining up in front of the throne in precise lines. «We have successfully removed every single formling there is. Well, every meaningful formling, that is.» The last sentence was said with a smug grin. «Now that the rest of the realm has seen the wonders you can do, nobody will dare to go against you ever again.»

Zane felt whatever words he were about to say drop far down, into his stomach, then to his feet, before sinking into the floor. The grotesque information brought from Vex left him stunned, speechless, and with a small feeling he couldn’t quite place. 

Oh, right.

Déjà vu.

«What did you just say?» Zane finally managed to gather enough words to a proper sentence, his voice horrified. 

His advisor, who had now made his way up to stand right by him, furrowed his brows. «Are you not pleased my lord? You told me to erase them all, and I have.»

«No, I-» Zane felt panic rise in him. «It was your actions, I didn’t… I-»

«I believe it was your commands I followed.

Zane shook his head. It couldn’t be. He would not have granted permission to perform such an act, he… he just wouldn’t. 

Right?

Right…?

«I need to go.» The nindroid said quickly, inhaling a sharp breath before rising from his seat. It took insane amounts of strength just to do so, like he was one with the throne. Like he hadn’t gotten up in ages. 

Once Zane finally stood on his own two feet he began to walk to the stairs, only to feel a hand grip his wrist and hold him back. «Where do you think you’re headed my emperor?»

«I just need to get away for some time.» Zane said, but he knew that the second he stepped out of this room, he would go home and never return.

«No you don’t,» Vex said sweetly, but also with a clear command in his voice. «You don’t need to be anywhere but here with me. It is my duty to keep you safe.»

Zane attempted to remove Vex’s grip on his wrist with a tug. «I’m sure I can survive by myself for a while.»

«Oh, but the world out there is dangerous my lord. Way more dangerous than you realize. Besides, where would you even go?»

«I would go to-» Zane started, then stopped speaking and froze in place. What was the place he was going to named again?

 A monastery? Yes that felt right. The monastery of…

The monastery…

The mona…

The…

…

«I don’t know,» the master of ice eventually said, defeated. «I don’t know where to go.»

Vex smiled cunningly. «Exactly. There is no safer place for you than here. Sit down my emperor.»

Almost as if he was unconscious, Zane let himself be led back to the throne by Vex’s hand, and sat down. Vex was right. He was always right.

Still, an annoying feeling telling that he should get up pestered his mind. Zane reluctantly tried a second time, only to find it impossible. The armor was too heavy. Or perhaps he had just merged with the throne once and for all. Either way, the emperor couldn’t recall any reason to abandon this place, nor his advisor, anymore.

«So, are you staying?» Vex’s smooth voice flooded his senses.

The Ice Emperor secured the grip on his staff, nodding in response.

_______________________________

Zane’s eyes flew open as he gasped. For a moment he was completely out of it, his mind and eyes playing two extremely different realities. Only after he blinked to collect himself did the familiar yellow light make itself noticeable. With relief, Zane saw that he was no longer in the icy palace, but rather in his cramped space in the administration.

He sat upright and continued to heave for breath, the nightmare still flashing behind his eyes every time he closed them. He was sure that if his anatomy was human, he would be dripping with cold sweat.

Zane pulled his knees tighter to his chest and leaned his head against the wall, eyes staring at nothing in particular. 

He hadn’t had a nightmare like that in many years. 

The aftermath of his return to Ninjago had been hard, to put it mildly. Sixty years took its toll on him in both physical and mental matters. But the dreams had been one of the worst consequences. Nearly every night, some part of his stay in the Never-Realm would come back to haunt him. This led to many stressful nights, not only for him, but for his entire team. Zane lost count of how many times someone had to ground him again, the person being Pixal or Cole most of the time. But eventually, the horrific dreams subsided. They got more and more rare. Without constant reminders of his reign, Zane’s life started moving forwards. After the merge, with everything else that was going on, the nightmares had become mere memories.

Although now, they had returned.

It wasn’t hard to guess why. Being near Vex had made so many things Zane had repressed return to the surface, breaking through the barriers time had delicately built. 

Zane sighed and closed his eyes. He prayed that this hopefully wouldn’t be a recurring issue. Despite that, he already knew it would.

_______________________________

«Who are you inferior to?»

«I am equal.»

The shock rattled through the titanium body, making Zane thrash his head into the wall against his will. Perfect, now a ‘headache’ was added on top of the other pain as well. His entire body felt numb at this point, only coming alive with the electricity Agent Isila shot at him. 

The electricity didn’t feel foreign to him anymore. In a horrid way, Zane had started to grow used to it. Of course, he would never let the agents know that. They may have found other ways to hurt him if they did.

This was his tenth day in training now, or so he thought. Zane tried his absolute best to not let the days blur together, but it was hard. When every day is an exact copy of the day before, how was one supposed to keep track?  

Zane closed his eyes, trying to at least let his mind escape. He thought about the monastery and its comfort. The sound of bird chirping which always came from outside the window in his bedroom during late spring. The smell of motor oil in the Samurai X cave. The taste of Kai’s chili con carne, one of Zane’s favorite dishes when he wasn’t the one to cook dinner. The familiar touch of Pixal’s hand when it brushed against his. The sound of Pixal’s laugh. Her smile. Her-

Another violent shock interrupted Zane’s daydream. He hissed from the pain. It definitely hurt more when he wasn’t prepared.

«Are you listening?» Isila’s sharp voice ruined whatever comfort Zane had gathered. Refusing to open his eyes, the nindroid only managed to get a slurred response out. «Yes.»

Without even looking, Zane could hear the stone face the agent always wore as she spoke again. «Alright then. Tell me, who are you inferior to?»

For the first time today, Zane didn’t give his usual answer immediately. He hadn’t changed his opinion, that would never happen. It wasn’t even an opinion to change, nindroids were equal. Still…

Couldn’t he just tell her what she wanted without telling the truth? A little white lie? Just to get a break. This was all so exhausting and draining.

Zane deeply hated that he had reached this point again. He had promised himself to not let it happen after the day with Cormac and Wily. Yet, he now struggled again to repeat what he had these past ten days. 

Opening his eyes a bit, the master of ice looked at the agent. She was clearly waiting for an answer, her finger fiddling with the trigger, ready to pull if needed. Zane basked in the feeling of having no electricity spread through him. 

He really, really didn’t want it to return.

Slowly, and almost against his will, Zane opened his mouth. He was about to say it. He was one second away.

But then the doors opened.

Isila’s head snapped towards them, clearly annoyed. It was like she knew what Zane was about to do, and that it was now ruined. 

Because of the sudden change, Zane had time to snap out of the hypnotizing state he had fallen into. He took a deep breath and squeezed his eyes shut. Oh FSM. That was a very close call. Way too close. If the doors hadn’t interrupted him, he would have done something he was sure to regret.

Who was it that had arrived anyway.

One look at the entrance made Zane’s power source stop for a split second. 

Pixal.

The samurai was escorted by her own agent, a stern look on her face as she was led into the room. She noticed Zane, but immediately looked down once she did. Zane furrowed his brows. This whole act of not knowing each other still made no sense to him. 

Ever since he had reunited with Pixal five days ago, the only encounters they’d been able to have was brief moments when they happened to walk past each other in hallways. Every time, Zane sought eye contact, and every time, Pixal averted it. It was a riddle Zane couldn’t solve.

Back in the present, Pixal’s agent brought her to her own set of cuffs, about two meters or so away from Zane’s. 

«I do hope you’ll forgive my intrusion Isila,» the agent said. «But I find myself in need of this room as well.»

Agent Isila pursed her red lips and gave a firm nod, then turned her attention back on her assigned nindroid. «Well? You were going to say something 5?»

Zane swallowed, dreading to respond. He knew the obvious answer now, but wasn’t looking forwards to the outcome at all. «I am equal.» 

In the corner of his eye, he could see Pixal physically flinch as the trigger was pulled on him. Zane let out a cry and thrashed in his chains to no avail. 

With his eyes closed, Zane heard something else over his heavy breaths.

«Who is your master?»

«Nobody, I rule over myself.»

An electric shock was released, but not upon Zane. The white ninja opened his eyes and saw that Pixal was now the one getting tased. She screamed when the blast made contact.

It then dawned on Zane. He would be stuck here with her, having to listen to her cries as well.

That hurt even more than his own pain.

_______________________________

It was impossible to keep track of the time. Years could have passed for all Zane knew. He and Pixal were getting blasted over and over again, seemingly to no end. And to no avail. The two still refused to give in. Zane gave a small when he saw how Pixal fought against their prejudices, just like he did.

Pixal’s agent was different. While Isila stuck to the same statement over and over, the other agent switched up the question each time. 

«Why are you here?»

«Who’s above you?»

«What are you to address me as?»

A different tactic. Interesting.

At some point, Isila and Pixal’s agent reached into their pockets synchronously to pull out their phones. They shared a glance.

«Did the manager call for you too?»

«Yes,» Isila responded. «Is it already time for the monthly meeting? I thought it was tomorrow.»

«Maybe he changed it?» The other agent shrugged.

Isila pursed her lips. «Well, we better get going then. You know how he despises when someone doesn’t get there on time.

The blonde then turned to Zane. «And you will wait here until I get back. Don’t try doing anything you know you shouldn’t.»

Pixal got the same message from her agent, and a minute later, the room was emptied except for the two nindroids. Once the doors gave a final click as they closed, Pixal gasped and turned to Zane.

«Zane!»

Zane was overjoyed with her speaking to him and acknowledging him again, but the ignorance she had given him these past days still stung. «Now you talk to me? Pixal, why did you ignore me for all this time?»

The samurai’s face dropped, and she instantly grimaced. Guilt hung over her face, and Zane regretted pointing it out. 

«I’m so sorry,» Pixal got out. «I’m sorry for doing that. But I promise you, I did it for a very good reason! If the agents found out we knew each other…» She cut herself off a moment, her face twisting in pain. «Let’s just say, having friendships with others isn’t rewarded behind these walls.»

Zane furrowed his brows. «But why are you then speaking to me in here? Aren’t there cameras in this room as well?»

Pixal shook her head. «Not in here. Ironically, we’re left in the one room we aren’t meant to be left alone in. There’s no cameras because it’s supposed to be an agent along with a nindroid at all times when in here.»

«Oh, I guess that makes sense,» Zane nodded. He then lit up. «Can we speak completely freely?»

When Pixal assured him they could, Zane instantly sat more upright. «I don’t even know where to start. Until I saw you all those days ago, I didn’t even consider the possibility of finding you! I’ve already mentioned it, but…» Zane looked down. «I have been searching everywhere for you. The time without you has been the toughest period I’ve ever experienced. I believe the other ninja will agree with me.»

«The others! How is everyone?» Pixal stopped. «Well, almost everyone. I’m so happy you found your way back to them!»

Zane’s face soured, and he let out a sigh. «Let’s just say… The merge took its toll on us. Not in only negative aspects, don’t worry. However, we’ve been through a lot.»

With that, Zane started telling her everything he had done with the team since he reunited with them. He began with informing Pixal about Arin, Sora and Wyldfire. Pixal looked intrigued when he mentioned the master of technology.

«I didn’t know that was an elemental power?»

«Neither did we. It turns out, the merge created new powers.»

Zane kept going, telling her about the merge quakes, Empress Beatrix, and the dragon cores. Then, he told her about Ras and the Forbidden Five, how Kai had gone missing in the Netherspace, and the tournament they had attended. Suddenly, he looked down.

«We encountered a familiar face in the tournament. Jay. Nya had to fight him.»

Pixal flinched at Jay’s name, before her eyes then widened. «So that’s where he went. Zane, there’s something I should tell you. I didn’t want to be the one to do it, but-»

«I know,» Zane closed his eyes. «Jay worked here. He was the manager.»

Pixal slumped against the wall. «Yes.»

The ice elemental then looked over at Pixal, his eyes showing dread. «Pixal, please, please do not tell me that Jay… hurt you…?»

The other didn’t respond, her green eyes avoiding contact. She mumbled quietly, so quiet Zane almost didn’t pick it up; «Only a couple of times...»

Zane’s heart sunk to the very bottom of his body. No. No.

It was silent for a minute or two, Zane processing what he had been told. The very image of his friend, his brother, tormenting his girlfriend, was not something he found joy in at all. He hated it. And deep inside him, a part of him wanted to resist it and not believe it.

Eventually, Zane couldn’t stand to think about it any longer. «Ok. I’m here if you wish to speak more of it. Do you want me to continue telling you about our missions?» A nod from Pixal encouraged him to keep going.

«During the tournament, the rest of the Forbidden Five got released. They turned on Ras, and tried to take him away when Arin stepped in and saved him. We don’t know where Arin and Ras went. Sora is inconsolable. The Forbidden Five also got away. They’re our greatest enemy right now.»

With a few last details, Zane finally finished his stories. Pixal smiled sadly. «I really missed a lot, didn’t I?»

With a slight chuckle, Zane nodded. «Now that I’m done with my part, can I ask you a few questions? Am I allowed to? You don’t have to answer them.»

«I know, go ahead,» Pixal said, seemingly bracing herself for whatever was about to come. 

«Ok.» Zane already had a question that bothered him. It had been there ever since Jay had been brought up. «You said you’ve met Jay, although he left this job months ago. How… How long have you been stuck here?»

Pixal swallowed. «Time flows by weirdly in this place. I can’t tell you exactly how long. But…» She closed her eyes. «It’s been well over a year since I was brought here. Maybe even two.»

It was like time had stopped. 

Zane felt his mouth dashing open and closing repeatedly, without finding any words. He didn’t hear that right. He couldn’t have. Zane had only been here for ten days. Ten days, and he was already feeling exhausted. He had been close to giving up two times already. After ten days.

Pixal had been here for over a year. A year plus, and she was still going strong. 

Finally, Zane whispered out; «You’ve lasted for this long?»

The samurai sat upright with a scared look on her face. «You haven’t given in yet, have you!?»

«No, no, don’t worry. I must admit the thought has crossed me, but no.»

«Good,» Pixal said relieved. «I’ve mostly kept going, yes. However…» She stopped talking, staring at nothing in particular. «Seven times. I have let myself go seven times. And every time I did, it cost me dearly. Please Zane, for the love of the FSM, never let them break you. I would never forgive myself if you did.»

«Forgive yourself? Why would you not forgive yourself?» Zane was confused now. That’s when he remembered his second question. «Wait. The first time we met in here, you said something similar.»

Pixal released her grip on Zane and pulled away quickly, like he was burning. She looked terrified. « No, it’s really you, NO! » 

Zane froze when he heard the pure terror and fright in her voice. He reached out for her again, but she just kept backing away across the floor. «What’s wrong?» Zane said, his own fear rising from the sight of hers.

«You’re not supposed to be here,» Pixal finally managed to croak out. She sounded like she was on the verge of a breakdown. «I did everything to ensure you wouldn’t!»

«You said you had ‘ensured I wouldn’t be here’. Why did you say that? What... What does that mean?»

Pixal didn’t answer. It was clear she had not been looking forward to this conversation.

«Pixal, please. You’re scaring me,» Zane begged her. «Are we not compatible?»

The girl turned to look at him. «Of course we are.»

«Then please. I need to know.»

«You won’t forgive me. You’re going to hate me, and I can’t watch that happen. I love you too much for that»

Zane raised his brows. Why on earth would Pixal think he would ever find it in him to hate her?

He looked directly into her green eyes. «Pixal. You need to know that there is not a single wire, circuit, or anything in my entire body that could ever hate you. I could be torn down to scraps and pieces, I could lose my powers, I could lose everything. But even if there was only the mere power source that was remaining of me, there would be nothing else than love for you in there. Because know this Pixal Borg, I love you. I have loved you since the day we met in Borg Tower. I loved you when you were working for the Overlord, I loved you when you were nothing but a voice in the cell next to me, I loved you when you were in my mind, I loved you as Samurai X. When I was stuck in the Never Realm, my last thought before my memory wipe was of you. And even when I had no connection to my past anymore as the Ice Emperor, there was something that was always missing. I now know it was you.»

Pixal didn’t know what to say as Zane spoke. The white ninja took a deep breath and kept going.

«You have half my heart. I remember it so clear, like it was yesterday, the day I gave it to you. You had gotten shut down by us when we destroyed Ninjago’s power source. I didn’t know you would shut down as well. I was scared, I was horrified to lose you. Because no matter how much I loved my brothers and sister, you were the first one to understand me. To be able to understand me. So no matter how skeptical the others were to my plan, I knew the only right thing to do was reviving you. I gave up half of my heart. To you. And now, after the merge, I have spent countless hours scouting and looking for you whenever I was able. Even on missions I looked for your green eyes and silver hair. Because I need you. I love you. And I will never find it in me, even in the darkest of times, to hate you.»

He was cut off by a sob. Zane quickly turned to look, and was met with Pixal, who had started to cry. He got filled with fear.

«D-Did I say something wrong?»

«No!» Pixal shook her head. «I just… I don’t deserve you.»

«You deserve everything and more.»

It took some time, but Pixal then took a deep breath. «Alright. I’ll tell you everything, if you can promise me you won’t get mad until I’ve finished my story. Just know that whatever I’m about to say, I did it due to my belief that it was the right choice.»

Zane wanted to reach over so he could wrap his arms tight around her, to assure her that he loved her and that he would never let her go. But the chains refused him to do so, leaving him able to only nod. «I promise that I won’t get mad, ever, no matter what you’re about to say.»

Pixal looked taken aback by that and blinked. It looked like she wanted to protest, to keep going about how she didn’t deserve it, but the look in Zane’s eyes told her it would be to no avail. Finally, she settled in agreement. The samurai sighed and closed her eyes, diving back into her memories.

«It all started after the merge hit…»

Chapter Text

Screams and yells of fear…

Flashing lights, red, orange, purple…

Invisible walls moving closer…

And closer…

Until finally…

BOOM!

Pixal awoke with a gasp. For a brief moment she was completely out of it, her vision showing pure white. Then, the first thing she picked up was the fast, loud, and rhythmic beeping from her sensors. Her systems had nearly gone haywire, reporting way too many things for her to process. 

What was going on? What could possibly have unleashed this?

Squeezing her eyes shut, Pixal tried to recall the past events. There was an emergency. The ninja had received news of a natural crisis, no, disaster, bigger than they had ever seen. She had been steering the Bounty, seeing it firsthand. They were helping Ninjago’s civilians to safety. And then…

Oh by the First Master.

Her body acted as if it had a mind of its own, grasping at whatever her hands could find. Only when she had a firm grip around something did she dare to look, artificial lashes fluttering away to reveal her green eyes.

She was met with bright colors at first, which eventually faded into shapes and lines. Green grass. Trees. Plants and flowers. Pixal was in a forest. But where?

That explosion had clearly been a collision between the different gates to all of the other realms, which had until then, been almost impossible to reach without Traveler’s tea or other forms of magic. Since Pixal’s systems had started to calm down again, she ran a light probability scan. The scan brought back a result, telling her that most likely, all the 17 realms had merged into one giant one. This was just getting worse and worse.

Taking in her surroundings, Pixal tried to get a more firm understanding of where she was. The biome seemed natural enough, but it was doubtful she was still in Ninjago — judging by the tree types and plants. What were the other candidates? Pixal searched through her memory files for informations about the other realms. 

The First Realm? Probably not, the terrain did not resemble what the ninja had told her it looked like.

The Cursed Realm? Destroyed by Nya.

Djinjago? Indirectly destroyed by Nya, the samurai’s processors informed her. (How did she know that? She had never looked that up…)

The Departed Realm? Let’s just say, Pixal certainly hoped that she wasn’t. 

The Underworld? No.

Cloud Kingdom? No.

Realm of Madness? Didn’t match the descriptions she had heard of.

The Never-Realm? Obviously not. She felt strangely relieved by this.

Pixal reached a conclusion that she now found herself in a foreign land she had never visited, seen, or even heard of. She could not decipher if this reveal made her curious, anxious, or scared.

Another realization suddenly dawned on her. She was alone. Completely. She had not been alone during the collision however, she had been right on the Bounty, with…

«Zane?» Pixal bolted up from the ground, instantly on her feet. Her head got filled with white noise, the nindroid equivalent to a human feeling lightheaded when getting up too fast, but she simply could not care. «Zane?» She repeated, yelling into the woods. No answer came.

«Nya?» She tried, growing more and more desperate. She started running through the forest, darting between trees on an invisible path that she held no clue where would lead. «Cole? Lloyd? Kai? Jay? Anyone?»

It went on like this for a long time. In the end, Pixal saw no other option than to head back the same way she had come from. While on her way back, the samurai had to fight not to drop to her knees and cry. This situation was so much worse than she had previously thought. What in the world was she supposed to do?

Pixal was about to fully give up, when she heard a strange noise coming from a bit further away It was almost like… static.

Hopeful, she carefully walked towards the sound. After a few minutes, she spotted something between the trees. Something silver.

She knew that shade of silver.

Nearly jumping out from her hiding spot among the trees, Pixal thought she had to restrain herself heavily to not quite literally throw herself at the other. Instead, she found herself stunned for a moment, as if she had gotten frozen in place by the ice of the very person she was looking at. 

A few feet ahead of her, a familiar nindroid was halfway kneeling, hand reached inside his chest panel to, by the looks of it, rearrange some wires. Understandable, Pixal could see the sparks flying out of it. He must have gotten hurt in the crash. His face was deeply concentrated, and not at all focused on the female standing close to him. Pixal made her voice quiet as to not scare him, but she could not keep the relief out of her tone. «Zane?»  

Her attempt to not scare him failed, as Zane almost jumped in surprise, pulling his hand out quickly to avoid damage as he turned to look at her. He didn’t seem to recognize her at first, likely due to the shock. However, he smiled brightly right after. «Pixal!»

At that moment, Pixal let herself relax, flinging herself into her arms. The fear of being utterly alone left her immediately when she felt his arms around her. «I thought I had lost you again,» she murmured into his neck, feeling herself nearly tearing up. Damn it, why did she include artificial tear ducts in her body when rebuilding herself?

«Don’t worry, I’m here,» Zane said in return, tightening his grip. After a minute, he suddenly tensed, pulling away. His face showed confusion.

«I can barely recall the rescue mission, but then everything went black. What happened?»

It took some time for Pixal to explain the situation, after all, she didn’t even know the full story herself. But with the help of both her and Zane’s memory, they were able to make a hypothesis. 

«So, that collision must have done something to the relationship between the realms,» Zane furrowed his brows. «Do you think it merged all of them together as a whole?»

«That’s my theory,» Pixal replied.

Zane scratched his neck. «I can’t even begin to comprehend how strange this world has to be if you’re right. The First Realm, the Underworld, the Nev-» He sharply cut himself off, clearing his throat. «All of the realms are so vividly different, how will they coexist?»

«I do not know. My question is more of the Departed Realm, and the previously destroyed Cursed Realm. How will they function?»

«It seems like there’s a lot of questions regarding this situation,» Zane stared ahead without paying attention to anything, like he always did when particularly deep in thought. All of a sudden, it was like someone flipped an on-switch. «Pixal, what happened to our friends?»

Pixal sighed. «Unsure. I woke up alone, and before I found you, I was sure that was my doom. For all I know, it was sheer luck we ended up together. Perhaps the others are scattered all around this new land one by one.»

«Well, I wouldn’t say it was pure luck,» Zane smiled, and Pixal couldn’t help but reciprocate when she remembered the last moments before their collective blackout.

Everyone was panicking down on deck. Pixal was doing her best to steer them out of this catastrophe, but it seemed like the metaphorical walls of the portals were closing around them! She wouldn’t be fast enough. She would fail. She would lead them to their doom.

«Pixal!»

Pixal turned towards the voice, failing miserably to hide her desperation. «Not now Zane!»

Zane came closer, gesturing his hands in slow movements. «You need to try and relax, you’re doing great.»

«No I’m not! Don’t you see? It’s all going to-» Pixal stopped talking when she saw that everything around the ship seemed to tighten rapidly. Too rapidly. «Zane!»

The last thing Pixal felt was titanium arms secure themselves around her before everything exploded into light. 

«Right,» Pixal laughed. «Thank you. For staying with me, I mean. I truly wouldn’t have been able to collect myself if I ended up alone here.»

«Neither would I. But the big question is,» Zane sighed, glancing at the nature around them. «What are we going to do now?»

_________________

It took them days to map out the terrain. A foreign realm was a new form of challenge only one of them had faced before, and this one didn’t resemble any of those he had seen.

Traveling through the woods, the two nindroids did their best to leave all worry for the rest of the team behind. Despite so, the anxiety crept up on them every once in a while. 

«Do you think any of them may have winded up here with us, and we just haven’t found them?» Pixal wondered one day as they were resting.

Zane pondered. «I do not have any way of knowing. All of our trackers got destroyed.»

«But what do you think?»

Relying on logic was Zane’s nature, at least it become so for the many years he had been aware of his robotic side. To simply imagine what he believed without any resources… turned out to be slightly hard.

«I find it rather unlikely,» he admitted. «If the Bounty was in the very center of the collision, we must also have been the most fragile to get scattered. As far as I know you were the only one close to me. Everyone else found themselves on deck or out in the air. Therefore, they’re probably in other realms.»

Pixal nodded, but looked disappointed by the answer. Zane didn’t know what to say to comfort her.

After a week, they saw a mountain far in the distance. A pretty tall mountain. Not even uttering a word, they made eye contact and knew it was the direction to go.

It took them another few weeks to travel to and start climbing the mountain. For once, being made of something other than flesh and bone proved to be useful, as there was a significant lack of food and clear water in the area. 

When finally getting to the top, the view it gave the couple was incredibly disappointing. They had underestimated just how big this realm was. No matter which way they gazed towards, no end was seen to the terrain.

Pixal sighed. «This wasn’t the desired outcome Zane. But in all honesty, we should have known. This place is most likely the same size as Ninjago, if not bigger. Imagining that we could see the end of it was foolish.» 

«We just…» Zane carefully calculated a plan, the gears in his head spinning. «Let’s walk in one direction. Then we will reach a border, I’m sure.»

He did not look sure, but Pixal didn’t point it out. He was just doing his best. Both of them were. «Alright.»

___________________

«Do you think we can do a couple more miles before resting?» Zane’s enthusiasm did not seep into Pixal the way he probably intended to. The sun was setting, and dusk was falling on. How long had they been traveling now? The count of weeks was lost long ago.

Around them, little had changed over the span of time except the tree types and colors of the flowers. Strangely enough, Pixal and Zane had yet to stumble across any form of city, village, or civilization all in all. The animal life was very much alive and thriving however. At one point, once they made it deeper into the woods, they needed to sleep up in the trees due to the dangerous wild animals and, on rare occasions, monsters that all came out at night.

Thankfully, they had passed the biome with dangerous animals, as the ones they now encountered were harmless.

Pixal wanted to rest so badly. The grass looked extremely soft. Or maybe that was just her mind making up stuff to force the samurai to lay down. Sure, as a nindroid she was built to endure staying awake for a long time, but not to keep going forever. The past days had been full of traveling, with the spare hours spent resting. This equaled to about two to four hours of sleep, which was not enough in the long run.

Even though he hid it well, Pixal knew Zane was just as tired as her. He simply tried to act like he wasn’t, to avoid being scolded by his girlfriend. Luckily for him, Pixal was not in the mood to do so. Despite so, that didn’t mean she couldn’t confront him.

«Zane, stop.»

Zane slowed down, turning his head back to face her over his shoulder. «Is everything alright?»

«No, not really,» Pixal fiddled with her sleeve. «I’m tired. Can we settle down, please? It’s for the better when it comes to the both of us and you know it.»

«Oh,» the ninja replied. «We can settle down now if you wish, perhaps I was being too optimistic about our energy levels.»

«No Zane, I’m tired of moving around in general. We have been searching and scanning for months without any success. I do not think we will make any progress by sticking to doing this until we collapse of fatigue.»

Taken with surprise, the white ninja tilted his head. «But… What about the mission? About making it back to the others?» For a minute, he seemed so vulnerable. Zane truly didn’t know what else to do in these new lands other than having a goal. Pixal could understand that.

«I’m not saying we’re giving up. I’m saying that if we want to make it back, it has to be on our own pace. As far as I’ve guessed, the other members of our family are currently going through our exact situation. We will find our way back to them someday, maybe in the close future, maybe a bit further away. These lands cannot be endless, right? But for now, settling down for a while might be a good idea.»

Zane spent a minute debating what to answer. «What do you propose?»

«A base,» Pixal explained. «Somewhere we can call a momentary home, somewhere to go back to when night falls on. In the meantime while we’re staying there, we’ll keep searching and mapping out the way to go. But we need a place to stay.»

The silence following her idea was too quiet for Pixal’s liking. «So… Are you… Do you agree?» She said. 

Like he woke up from a slumber, Zane instantly went from being silent and in thought to meeting her eyes. After a second, the male nindroid nodded.

«It’s a wonderful plan. If I ever made you feel like it, I’m sorry for pushing too hard!»

«No, it’s fine!» Pixal chuckled. «Your points are completely valid, but I know you well Zane. You need rest too, don’t try and lie to me by saying you do not. While your statements may fool the human members of our team, you cannot fool another nindroid. Especially not one who is built inspired by your designs.»

«I should have known better than trying. It is understood, I will not try and “fool you”.» A humorous tone laced Zane’s voice. «Again, your plan is great. I see no reason to not execute it.»

Smiling, Pixal felt her worries growing lighter. «Then let us get to it.»

__________________

Leaning against the windowsill, Pixal took a brief moment to admire the view. The trees swayed in the mild breeze as the smell of a flower she had yet to identify reached her nostrils. Maybe she could pick some of them later to decorate.

She could hear Zane a bit further away. The white ninja was touching up on the plants in the little garden they had created to grow useful plants and herbs to trade later. The late afternoon sun spread golden rays across the wooden floor. It was a beautiful day. Pixal soaked up the feeling of peace.

Still, it was a bit strange to think about that this was her life now, so different from what it was like a year ago. 

It wasn’t a part of the plan for them to create a new life in the foreign land. Not at all. It just managed to happen.

Creating a base was a task they quickly realized would take both time and effort. Chopping trees, building a fundament by stone, it took time. But it gave results. They got a new home. It was meant to be temporary, but ended up becoming their safe-space. The wooden walls and roof gave them security, which was always greatly appreciated.

New rituals and traditions simply came along the way.

Every other day in the daytime, one of them would go out to collect food, their diet consisting of the edible berries and vegetables around in the woods, and whatever they could get from the salesmen in the village nearby. Technically, food wasn’t required in that way for them, but both Zane and Pixal appreciated eating nonetheless. It reminded them of their past life, and the joy of sitting around the dining table in the monastery. 

Pixal’s heart swelled. She really missed her family. So did Zane. Even though they had kept looking, no progress had been made to locate them in the past year. 

Despite that, they had gotten to know their newfound homeland better. The two had even found the previous mentioned village, giving them better insight into the realm. The locals were extremely nice, and willing to help them integrate. 

One time, Zane had come dangerously close to entering another realm. He had been walking for days when he reached a chain of mountains, which barely revealed glimpses of a new biome behind them. The nindroid took precautions and asked about it in the village.

«Oh, we’ve learned that land is horrible, like hell on earth,» The villagers explained. «Nobody has ever returned from there alive during these months. Monsters roam that diseased realm. Do not go there if you value your life.»

Zane did in fact value his life, and made the decision not to visit the so-called land of monsters. Still, the news and final confirmation about their theory being right made Pixal and Zane very much more curious. No other realm had been found by them yet, but they had plans to change that later. If only they knew what direction to start with. 

Pixal ran a hand through her hair as she tightened her ponytail. The future was exciting. But to be fair, at present she was just grateful to be alive and well. 

The final rays of sunlight disappeared and took the afternoon away with them. 

____________________

Something was wrong. Pixal knew it from the second she set foot into the village. 

In her arms, a bunch of newly-grown herbs rested. The plan was to trade it for some beneficial resources, perhaps even some black oil for hers and Zane’s joints? Sure, oil was rare in this realm, but she’d seen a certain salesman have it stocked in his shop sometimes. 

That plan was forgotten when the samurai saw the tension that was wrapped over the streets. People were muttering and whispering to each other, fear and concern on their faces. Everyone seemed terribly anxious. 

Pixal furrowed her brows as she walked over to the usual stand she sold her herbs at. The woman owning it, a hybrid between a human and a squirrel, stood behind the counter, but very clearly not with them in the present. Her eyes were glassy and unfocused. It took Pixal’s hand waving in front of her face for her to come back to reality.

«Wha- Oh. Hi dear.»

«Hi,» Pixal said, voice laced with uncertainty. «Are you doing well?»

Nodding, the woman flattened out the fur covering her head. Her hands trembled a bit, which gave her nervous behavior away. «Yes, I am. It’s just been… an interesting day.»

«I can see that on the entire village. Would you be so kind and inform me what has happened? I was here merely two days ago, and there was no sign of this unrest back then.» Pixal looked around at the feeling equivalent to sorrow which flooded everything and everyone. 

The woman in front of her sighed before she smiled gently at the nindroid. «I guess you deserve to know as well, seeing that you’re-» Suddenly, she tensed. Pixal could have sworn her face got ten shades paler. «Oh no. Oh no!»

Pixal took a step back from the surprising reaction. «What is it?»

«By the First Master! Darling, where is your partner?»

«Zane?» Pixal tilted her head. «He’s back home, it’s only me here today.»

The woman breathed out in relief. «Good, good. Listen to me, you need to return to wherever your home is located, right this instant. Don’t ever return here again, any of you!» With that, she stepped out from behind her counter, grabbed Pixal’s shoulders, and begun to steer her through the streets. 

Pixal had never been this confused and worried at the same time. «Hold on, wait, wait a second-» When the woman didn’t stop, the samurai had no choice but to grab her arms and twist them away from her shoulders. «Wait! You need to explain! What is going on!»

The squirrel hybrid looked genuinely horrified. «You’re in danger Pixal. It’s not safe for you here anymore.»

«What do you mean by that? This town has been nothing but kind to me and Zane ever since we found it. What could possibly have made that change during these 48 hours?»

Accepting defeat, the woman leaned closer to Pixal, whispering. «Someone got captured yesterday, taken away. Someone like you. A robot.»

Pixal’s eyes widened. «Who?»

«The green-eyed. I don’t know his name as we’ve barely spoken, but those suit-clad people just barged into his house and took him before leaving! The house over there.» 

Following her finger, the nindroid felt her heart plummeting to the ground. She knew the person who lived there. They had a uniquely strong connection, actually. She had recognized him the moment she saw him a couple months ago. 

When becoming a full-time samurai on the ninja team, Pixal obviously moved into the monastery. Still, she went on frequent visits to Borg Tower to see her father. Even though she had retired from working as his assistant, spending time with him was something she greatly valued, and she knew he felt the same way. One time she was there, she noticed a new employee by the desk in the lobby, his eyes the same green shade as Pixal’s. When she asked about it, Cyrus revealed that he was an android he had newly built to assist with the various tasks in the building.

Since that day, she’d often seen him around the tower. They had never actually spoken together, therefore she could not quite call him a friend. 

Seeing him in this village was still a bit of a shock however. Pixal and Zane weren’t the only ones who had ended up in the wrong realm after the collision, which the locals here named The Merge. 

When she encountered him, Pixal received a look of pleasant surprise, showing that he recognized her as well. They had smiled at each other every time they met in the streets since then. A mutual bond of respect. 

And now he was gone.

Clenching her fists, Pixal felt a rage fill her. Who would dare to do this?

The squirrel woman raised a brow. «Did you know him? I never got that impression from you.»

«He…» Pixal swallowed. «While I cannot call him my brother, we did share the same creator.»

«I am so sorry my dear.»

«Who took him?» The samurai asked, unable to keep the fury out of her voice.

The woman scratched her neck. «I am honestly unsure. All they would call themselves was ‘The Administration’. I believe they’re from another realm. I have lived in this one my entire life, and never have I ever heard of them.» Noticing Pixal’s stance, she grabbed her shoulders again. «Look, those people were dangerous. I just know it. You need to go into hiding immediately! The leaders of the group went around and asked the other villagers if they knew about any other robots nearby. I cannot guarantee that you haven’t been ratted out. Leave us Pixal. Find Zane, tell him what’s happening, and never come back. I’ve grown to care for you, so I simply can’t let you be captured too!»

Fighting not to show fear or distress, Pixal swallowed hard. «Thank you. For the warning.»

«No need to thank me my girl,» the woman smiled warmly. «I will miss you. Go now.»

Pixal needed no other approval, turning around before walking with haste out of the town. When she reached the woods, she ran. 

Back in their house, Zane was tidying up in the main room, folding and cleaning the few things they owned. Perhaps, if the weather was going to be be nice, he and Pixal could take a walk when she returned. 

The thought had just crossed his mind when Pixal herself all but barged in, her emerald eyes wide open. The unsold herbs in her arms fell to the ground as she kicked the door shut and ran her hands through her hair.

Zane stood there in shock for a solid ten seconds before regaining the ability to speak. «Pixal? What in the world! Are you okay?»

«No,» Pixal said, turning to face Zane, face stern and serious. But he could see the poorly hidden fright under the surface. «We have a huge problem.»

______________________ 

«What did they call themselves?»

«The Administration,» Pixal responded. «They’re from another realm, but it is unknown exactly which one.»

Zane, who was pacing around the room, drew his lips into a sharp line and furrowed his brows, clearly thinking. He eventually stopped going in circles and looked up at Pixal. He seemed so lost that Pixal got startled. «What are we going to do now?»

The eternal question. How many times hadn’t they faced it when working as ninja? How many times hadn’t they been forced to look for other ways out of a sticky situation. Way too many.

They had faced it way too many times for Pixal to say “I don’t know” now. It was time to make actions instead of sitting around and feel defeated.

«We must leave,» she stated, her voice determined. «I see no other choice than to leave this place. We cannot go to the village, but this house may not be safe either. It’s best to just get away.»

The ice elemental threw out his arms. «Where can we even go? We’ve barely managed to understand this land, and the only other realm I have located is a monster infested hell. Aren’t we just as vulnerable out there as we are here?»

«I don’t know! All I know is that our home is too close to the town for comfort. The town where an android was taken against his will two days ago!» The samurai exclaimed her words loudly, trying to not get frustrated. 

They kept bickering back and forth until both of them fell into silence, none willing to escalate the disagreement. It really wasn’t the time to argue.

Pixal was debating on what to say when Zane started to mumble something, something so inaudible that she would never have made it out if the room wasn’t so quiet.

«When will they all leave us alone? When can we just be allowed to exist without people trying to take us away or apart? First Chen, then the Mechanic, then- ...uh, the Mechanic again, and now these people. Our lives aren't a debate. Can’t we just live in peace?»

Listening to his words, Pixal let out a shaky sigh. The truth was that she was just as scared as him. Why did it seem like, no matter how many times they proved that they were alike humans in almost every way, people treated them as inferior all the time? It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair at all.

She was going to reply. To reassure him, or reveal her own worries, or… Pixal wasn’t actually entirely sure what she would have said. 

Not that it mattered, as a heavy knock on the door interrupted her.

Both of them nearly jumped in shock, being so on edge already. They turned to look at each other, eyes blown wide.

«Hide,» Pixal got out, hissing the words as quietly as she could. 

Zane wanted to argue against her, but Pixal shut him up with a glare. Reluctantly, he went to crouch down behind the bed.

Pixal shook her head and took a deep breath before reaching for the doorhandles with a trembling hand. Maybe she was overreacting. Maybe it was someone else! It could be someone from the village, the saleswoman maybe. What were the chances that The Administration had located them already?

When the door slid open, Pixal felt all hope fleeting.

The chances were apparently huge.

Outside, three agents stood, all of them clad in black and brown suits. Sunglasses rested on their nose, polished and intimidating. They were all wearing emotionless and serious expressions. It felt as if they were studying the nindroid in front of them. Pixal nearly smacked the door shut in their faces right there and then.

The man in the front cleared his throat before speaking in a professional voice lacking any form of true politeness. «Good afternoon. We received news that there was an android hiding in the outskirts of the town, which I now can see for myself is correct.»

Damn it. Someone did rat them out!

«We come for a matter of business,» the agent continued. «By the all-encompassing authority of The Administration, we hereby demand that you come with us.»

Pixal put a hand on her hip to try and look confident. «And why would I do that?»

«Seeing that you are a robotic android, you are below humans in all and every form. It is our right to give you orders, and your fate to obey them. Now, step outside robot lady. Don’t make us force you.»

«I’m sorry, but I do not believe that would be happening.» Pixal ended the statement with a well placed kick to the agents guts. The man toppled over and wheezed for breath. Looking back up, his face was furious.

«Seize her!»

Before any of the other two could do anything, Pixal had slammed the door shut and locked it. Leaning her back against the wood, her mind raced. Oh no. No, no, no, no! This was not good.

«Pixal?» Zane had gotten up, now standing in front of her. «Are you-»

The samurai immediately pressed her hand to his mouth, shushing him. «Be quiet,» she whispered. «They think I’m on my own!»

Zane’s brows raised in understanding. When the hand got removed, he whispered in return. «What are we going to do?» 

«Jump out of the window before they break the door,» Pixal grabbed his arm, dragging him with her to a window on the other side of the room. Thankfully they had never added glass, so breaking it and getting the agent’s attention wouldn’t be a problem. 

Pixal made a quick plan. «You go first, then I’ll come. We need to escape them right this instant!»

«Yes,» the white ninja agreed. «Remember to not step on any twigs or branches. And whatever you do Pixal, steer away from the direction of the Land of Monsters. Follow me at first.»

With a final nod from Pixal, they put the plan to action. Zane swiftly jumped out, landing softly on the grass. Pixal followed the moment he stepped out of the way. Together, they silently started to speed walk over to the thick woods ahead of them. Once they were only a few meters away from the house, they heard a door getting knocked down.

«Run!» Pixal whisper-shouted.

Back in the house, the agents trickled in, examining the surroundings. 

«She’s not here,» one of them stated, receiving an eye roll from his female colleague. «What?»

«Well, obviously she isn’t! I have eyes, you know!»

The first agent scoffed, all formal etiquette disappearing. «Oh really? Since when?»

«Guys!» The third agent, the leader, interrupted them harshly. «Focus! She must have- Oh you’ve got to be kidding me.»

«What is it?»

The leader crossed his arms, staring out the window. «She’s a runner, I just got a glimpse of her between the trees. Call up assistance!»

After a good mile or two, Zane and Pixal stopped to catch their breath under a huge tree, its hanging branches covering them. None of them felt like talking. Both nindroids were running endless of calculations inside their respective minds, two supercomputers working to find the best way out. So far, nothing came up.

Unfortunately, they only got a few minutes to themselves before a large flapping sound was heard. Zane looked up in the sky, and instinctively grabbed Pixal’s arm to drag her further into their hiding spot under the branches.

A large black helicopter had started to sink down to the ground, too close to Zane and Pixal for comfort. It wasn’t hard to guess the source the vehicle came from, with its polished look.

«The Administration must have sent for backup…» Pixal muttered. This was only getting worse and worse.

Like on cue, the agents who had broken into their home stepped out of the trees to meet their fellow colleagues who jumped out of the helicopter. After discussing with each other for a minute, most likely updating the other team about their mission, the leader from the original trio of agents ordered that they spread out in the area.

«Oh First Master,» Zane sighed out. «We must leave.»

Pixal nodded. «Don’t have to tell me twice.»

Trying to be as sneaky as possible, the two held hands while getting further into the woods, away from the agents. Perhaps they could have handled just the three agents at the door, but now there was over a dozen. Without proper gear or equipment, neither Zane or Pixal felt like testing their luck.

___________________

Being on the run was absolutely exhausting. 

For some reason, Zane kept mumbling about the whole thing giving him deja vu. Every time, Pixal reminded him that they had never been in a situation where they escaped from an organization or the police. Zane reluctantly accepted it in the end.

Every time the brief thought of having escaped crossed them, one of the cursed agents spotted them and called for their coworkers. By that point, Pixal and Zane had used trees, caves, hills, and whatever else nature could grant them as hiding spots. 

Pixal had been relying on the fact that she was the only one who had gotten betrayed by someone in the village, and by that, being the only one in any proper danger. However, after the days of balancing between hiding and getting spotted, she wasn’t so sure about it only being her they were after anymore. Zane not getting seen once would have been a blessing from the First Spinjitzu Master himself, and when had the odds ever been in their favor?

Navigating through the realm did show them routes they had never went. New and slightly different biomes revealed themselves, but no civilization. Unfortunately, this meant that they found no other villages, but in hindsight, perhaps that was for the best. Best to not put anyone else in danger.

Having not stumbled upon anyone else other than agents for days and weeks, Zane and Pixal weren’t prepared to do so.

Therefore, finding a monastery in the middle of nowhere was quite a surprise.

«Pixal?» Zane’s voice was weak, disbelief intertwined in every word. His eyes were focused on something in the distance.

The girl herself, who had been tying two ripped strips of her pants together to avoid tripping, looked up at him. «Yes? What is it?»

«I believe you should see this for yourself.»

Pixal rose to stand beside him, following his line of vision until she met what he was studying. Her lips parted in shock, her breaths becoming raggedy.

About one or two kilometers ahead of them, well visible from the hill they were currently standing on, was a monastery. A monastery shaped exactly like one they knew all too well.

Muttering, the samurai attempted to put two and two together, but it always ended up becoming five. «There is no way.»

«I know,» Zane whispered, turning his head towards her. «But do you think there’s a chance it could be…» He left the question hanging unanswered in the air, but Pixal put the rest of the sentence together easily. 

Not knowing what to answer, she furrowed a brow. «It does look like it,» she pondered. «But I don’t see how it would end up here. People may have gotten reassigned during the merge, but buildings? That’s something else.» 

«Well, we need somewhere to hide. Constantly moving around has helped us so far. Still, can’t we try hiding there for some time? That will answer our questions about the place as well.» 

Pixal complied, unable to see anything wrong with it. «I suppose it will be worth it.»

With steps who were a tad bit lighter than a couple of minutes ago, they started making their way over to the monastery. Both of them held significant silent hope for it to be their monastery. Perhaps there could even be some recognizable faces inside.

This hope was crushed once they pushed the gate open and trickled in. For some reason that Pixal couldn’t pinpoint, it just could not be the one they knew. 

«Something isn’t right about this,» she mumbled, mostly to herself. The place gave off a vibe that didn’t match the one she had grown to know over the many years she’d spent in the real monastery. 

Zane heard her and nodded, seemingly having noticed the same. «I agree. Do you think it is a near copy?»

«Unsure,» Pixal shrugged. «It might be hollow for all I know. But it does serve its purpose in looking the same on the outside.»

«Then let’s explore it!» Zane made no effort to hide his relief over finding a place to stay, especially something so familiar. 

Pixal followed him in with a smile, however, unrest flowed through her body.

__________________

Sitting by herself, Pixal was thinking so hard the gears in her mind might have bursted. 

While the monastery was alike the old one in practically every way, it was empty, and lacked any interior. A mere shell of their home. Zane was happy nonetheless over finding somewhere to stay. Once he went off to check out the underground cave, Pixal stayed upstairs, where she currently found herself leaning against a wall in what used to be her bedroom.

Zane acted like this solved their current problem. She knew better. 

There were still dozens of agents out there who would like to see them detained and in handcuffs. If Pixal and Zane spotted the monastery easily, they would too. They would come, knock down the door, and capture them both. Staying was useless. 

But everything in the samurai’s body screamed at her that it was tired of running away. Zane and her were ninja for gods sake! This wasn’t what they were meant to do! They should put up a fight!

Every time that thought crossed her mind, Pixal violently shuddered by the idea of them failing said fight. The idea of Zane getting taken away. She still recalled how lost she felt those minutes she spent alone when waking up alone after the merge. She couldn’t let that happen again, even if she was going with him to wherever the agents wished to take them. She had to protect him from the fate that waited.

The problem was that Zane had the exact same mindset. Pixal sighed, running a hand through her hair. If only she could keep him somewhere safe until everything had passed.

Then it hit her. 

She could do exactly that.

Slowly, a plan started to form in her head. A plan that would work. But also a plan she hated. 

«Pixal?»

Zane’s voice startled the female android, who had been so deeply in thought that she hadn’t realized him approach. 

The white ninja looked concerned. «Are you okay? I’ve tried calling for you.»

«I’m fine,» Pixal replied. «Just thinking.»

Zane frowned. «You don’t look completely fine. Are you sure nothing bothers you?»

With a frustrated sigh, Pixal sat more upright. «Oh yeah no, nothing bothers me at all! Maybe except for the fact that we are being hunted down by an evil organization who wants to do…» She gestured with her hands to somehow get the answer to come flying at her. «I don’t know what but something bad! To us! In fact, I don’t know how you’re not bothered Zane!»

The room fell silent. Pixal immediately felt guilt sweep over her, pinching the bridge of her nose. «I’m sorry, I… I’m just so tired…»

«Hey,» Zane kneeled down in front of her, face kind and warm. «I understand. I’m worried too. I’m just attempting to look on the bright side of things, to make a plan. And now we have this place! I just know that there’s something special about it.»

«But Zane, they’ll find us here eventually, and then we will be back on the run.»

«I’m not so sure. I haven’t properly explored all of the cave down under the monastery, but there’s a gate there, that I believe did not belong to our monastery. I think there’s something special about it. I think that soon, everything will be just fine!»

Sensing that Pixal didn’t look convinced, Zane leaned in for a hug to reassure her. «Come here. It’s us against the world, right?»

Pixal swallowed, taking a few seconds before she hugged back. «Right,» she said, although a part of her knew that it would soon be a lie.

Now. If she was going through with the plan she just formulated, she had to execute it now. 

By the First Master, she did not want to do it at all. Every circuit, wire, and gear in her body screamed at her to not do it. It went against everything she was.

But again, what choice did she have? In the long run, it would most certainly prove to be the better option. She needed to fulfill the plan, before the part of her that told her no won.

«I’m sorry,» Pixal whispered. «But you have protected me enough, too many times. I cannot bear to watch you do so again. It is my turn now Zane.»

Zane stiffened in her hold, taken aback. «What is that supposed to mean?»

When he started attempting to break away from their hug, the samurai only tightened her grip before she reached for a panel on his back. Opening it, she pulled out a thick red wire. 

The struggles from Zane became more desperate as he realized what she was doing. «Pixal! Let me go! Don’t do this!»

«I’m sorry…» Pixal repeated, blinking away tears. «I am so terribly sorry.»

With that, she yanked the red wire out.

Zane gasped, his voice glitchy. «N-No… Plea…Please don’t… Pixa-» With that, the light in his eyes faded away, and his titanium body slumped against Pixal’s.

Horrified by what she had just done, Pixal flinched by the limpness and bolted away from Zane, grabbing a hold of him to make sure he didn’t fall to the floor.

Oh First Master.

Oh First Master!

What had she done?

«I’m sorry!» Pixal intended to whisper the words, but ended up close to yelling. «I’m sorry!» She kept repeating it over and over again, like it would bring Zane back to consciousness. Eventually, the words got broken off by choked sobs. Soon, she was wailing.

___________________

After what felt like ages, Pixal reluctantly wiped her tears. Now that she had gone through with part one, she had to complete the rest of her plan. Flipping off her emotions was extremely tempting, but she refused to do so. She didn’t deserve to escape the hell she had brought upon herself.

The plan was simple whenever she went over it. Place Zane somewhere he couldn’t be harmed, go out and drive the agents away in some way, then return to retrieve him before they fled in the opposite direction. Simple.

No. Not at all.

The first obstacle was to find out where Zane would be protected the most. After venturing down to the underground cave, while carefully maneuvering Zane along with her, Pixal was shocked to find a huge gate down there, leading to somewhere unknown. She had brushed over it when Zane had informed her of it, too caught up in her head to pay attention. But there it was.

Pushing open its enormous doors, Pixal was met with an empty space. Turning up the LED lights which served as her eyes, she walked in there anyway, body in full fight or flight mode. She discovered nothing but what seemed like a large void in darkness. 

Perfect. There was no one there. Nobody who could do harm. Here, she could leave Zane for a little while like she intended to.

It took some time to construct what Pixal had in mind. She had yet to come up with a name for it, but she supposed  “cocoon” would describe it fine enough. Retrieving everything she needed to build it was the worst part. The samurai even had to use minor parts of her own body when it became necessary. Anything to keep him safe. Anything to fulfill her goal.

Finally, it was complete. Pixal had no way of knowing how long had passed, since she had lost track of time. It could have been hours, and it could have been days. It was finished either way, standing imposing. Pixal had carefully coded the touchpads in front of it, programmed them to recognize her. That way, retrieving Zane wouldn’t be a problem when that time would roll by. The coding was so complex, she could only name a handful of others who would be able to get through it, like Zane, Jay or Nya. Pixal swallowed hard when she recalled, once again, that them finding it couldn’t happen. One of them would even be inside the cocoon himself.

Finishing building the stasis pod should have felt good. However, Pixal felt extremely anxious, due to what awaited her now that the project was complete. The thing she had dreaded the very most.

Looking over at Zane’s unconscious form, Pixal’s heart broke. She had to break a promise she had sworn upon holding all those years ago.

When Zane returned from the Never-Realm, it had taken a long time to coax the details of his stay out of him. The hardest part for him to tell was what Vex had done to him. Eventually, Pixal got it out from him in bits and pieces, leaving it up to her to puzzle it together. The answer was simply horrifying. 

After confessing everything, Zane had grabbed a hold of her wrist and stared at her with desperate eyes. «Please Pixal. Never, ever, make me do something to my memory again. I cannot lose any more memories, knowing what happened the last time. Please.»

Pixal had complied easily, had promised to never do so. Had promised to never make him endure something like that again.

And now, she was going to break said promise.

With shaking hands, Pixal reached down to Zane, opening his chest plate. While he didn’t have a memory switch anymore, coding was Pixal’s strong field. She plugged a cable from his chest into the back of her head. The screens that depicted her sight instantly filled up with files. One of them was named “Memory”.

Was she really about to do this? Could Pixal truly do this and keep going on with her life?

Zane would never forgive her.

It was getting harder and harder for her to remind herself that she was doing this to protect him.

Pixal had every intention of returning. She was only going to get the agents off their metaphorical back, to drive them far away, then she would return to him and restore all of his memories.

But she needed to have a backup plan. If she did end up failing, she couldn’t have Zane remember it all if he managed to wake up in the future. That would create too big complications. Pixal couldn’t have him go through that. Or worse, she couldn’t have him come after her. Then, her whole plan would go down the drain.

This was the only way.

Pixal held back tears, refusing to shed a single one. She didn’t deserve to cry at all when she was the one inflicting the pain. With determination, she went into the memory file, marking everything that belonged to the past year. 

The determination slipped once she hit the “delete” button. Pixal had one lone tear slip down her cheek as Zane lost all memory of their time together post-merge. Every laugh. Every hug. Every conversation. Everything.

Something in Pixal shifted when the button was pressed. She had cried and grieved so much that she was nearly numb. Her emotion switch was still on, and yet, it was like her emotions weren’t present.

Pixal got Zane into the cocoon and closed it. She locked it with encrypted codes, making sure he was safe. Then, with a last glance over her shoulder and a silent promise to return, she left. Promising anything felt empty now.

She felt like the worst being in all of the merged lands. 

He would never forgive her.

Pixal kept a steady pace out of the gate, out of the underground cave, out of the monastery gate. Only one part remained now. She needed to make the agents spot her and chase her, so that she could lead them in the opposite direction of the monastery. When they were far enough away, she needed to lose them before turning around, going back. Then, she would retrieve Zane, explain everything, and plead for him to forgive her for what she had done, even though it had been necessary.

Everything was planned.

With senses on high alert, Pixal started to lightly jog away from the monastery. Where were those agents? It stressed her out that she didn’t know how much time she had spent down in the cave, building the pod. Perhaps the agents weren’t even close at all yet? 

Pixal got nervous by the lack of people around her, the further she ventured into the woods. She liked having control. This was not in the plan. Where could they be?

As if on cue, she suddenly detected a sharp movement a few meters to her left. Pixal tensed, her flight or fight mode quickly activated. Okay. There they were.

The samurai stayed in her spot for a few more seconds, until she heard a yell; «I saw her! Over there!» That was all Pixal needed to hear before she sped up, running in a straight line through the forest. Her ears picked up the sound of twigs snapping from someone stepping on it, not far behind. They were following her. Perfect.

It went on like this for a few minutes, long enough for Pixal to start wondering how she would lose them. A sharp swing perhaps? 

Either way, she was fully confident in what she was doing. At least she was, until she heard a yell behind her.

«Agent Walker, now!»

What?

A flash of a black suit jacket quickly appeared to her right. Pixal didn’t have the time to react before she heard the crackle of electricity. Something glowing and blue was then hurled at her, making her systems tense up and collapse when it made contact. 

For a moment, Pixal could only feel agonizing pain from the shock. Then she felt her body falling. In the end, she crashed to the ground, the pain mixing with the ache from the electricity. 

Hissing out in agony, Pixal did her best to get up, but found it futile. Her systems didn’t respond. 

Oh no. This was not good. Not good at all.

A pair of hands was by her in an instant, holding her down to the ground as if she could escape. Then another pair. And another.

«We got her!» The triumphant yell from an agent was heard above her. It got met with cheers. As an agent pulled out handcuffs and put them on her wrists, it dawned on Pixal what was truly happening. 

She’d failed.

This was exactly what she had been so desperate to avoid. How could she have been so stupid? She had been so focused on keeping them behind her, that she hadn’t considered the fact that someone might have been in front of her as well. They had probably scattered throughout the woods for a better shot. It had proved to be effective.

Speaking of which, an agent stepped out from the part of the forest to her right. The one who had shot her down with the electrical blast. Inching her head a bit more to the side, Pixal watched through half-closed lids to get a better view of the man’s face.

Once she did, it was as if everything around her fell silent.

She knew that face.

«Jay?» The samurai croaked out the words, but far too low for anyone to hear. 

Jay didn’t look at her more than a brief second, a slightly annoyed expression on his face as he turned to the agents. «One day, you guys need to make your own tasers so that I don’t have to go all the way out here and assist you.»

«We’re sorry, manager,» a female agent quickly said. «That we will do. But now the job is done. She didn’t exactly make it easy by running away. Seeing that we now have her, her giving up back then would just have been beneficial for us all.» The agent ended the remark with a kick to Pixal’s limp side. 

Jay shrugged. «Fair enough. Let’s head back to headquarters.»

Panic filled Pixal as she, once again, got reminded about what was happening. What would await her back at the “headquarters”?

The only positive thing she could make out of this, was that it was only her. She had succeeded in protecting Zane. Even though it had cost her everything.

The moment she felt relief due to that fact, another voice was then heard above her, sounding unsure. «Guys? Weren’t there… Two of them?»

Pixal tensed up immediately. No. Please, no.

«Two?» The female agent from before wondered. Unsure chatter started to spread among the many agents, discussing if there had, in fact, been two of them. The samurai’s panic level rose rapidly when more and more of the voices above seemed to accept the statement. Eventually, Jay stepped in.

«Hey!» With a simple word, he had everyone’s attention. «There was never two! You guys called me to collect one. Here she is. There was never part of the description that there would be two, right?»

Murmurs of agreement were heard from the other’s.

Jay continued. «Besides, if there were two, as crazy as that would be, the other won’t get away with it. Our technology is developing. We’ll find them when the time comes. Now, let’s go. I have some important videoga-» The previous ninja cleared his throat. «Paperwork. I have important paperwork to get to.»

Pixal felt overwhelming relief by Jay’s words, but also at the same time, disbelief concerning the man she thought she knew. What had happened to Jay? He made no sign to recognize her at all. 

Two agents picked her up, one pair of arms per shoulder as they dragged her through the forest. When they started talking, Pixal listened attentively. 

«What are we even going to do with her? The incinerator?»

«No, the manager said that every droid who seems capable of something shall be trained.»

Trained. What could that mean? Pixal had enough to ponder about for days. If she managed to stay alive for those days, that is. 

Anxiety wreaked havoc in her mind, but Pixal chose to focus on the one good thought she had. Zane was safe. He was safe and locked away in a place nobody could reach. This wasn’t the ideal outcome at all. But Pixal was sure that she would find a way to escape. A way to find him.

«Hold on Zane,» she mumbled quietly to herself. «I’m coming. One day, I am.»

Until that day rolled by, he would stay there. Her plan protected him.

__________________________

«But my plan failed. Everything has been of no use at all.» Pixal’s voice was numb as the last details came out of her mouth.

It had been almost an hour. Pixal’s recap had been long and full of details. Each and every part of it shocked Zane more and more, but apparently, he had been a part of everything nonetheless. Nothing in his memories implied so. When Pixal explained the memory wipe, that made sense.

Zane couldn’t help but to tense when that part of the story came. Pixal noticed immediately, and mostly avoided eye contact for the rest of the retelling.

Now, everything was revealed. Silence hung heavily in the air. None of them knew what to say, as Pixal was empty, and Zane’s mind was brimming with new information.

Pixal eventually spoke. «Please, say something.»

«It is certainly a lot to take in,» Zane said with a mild sigh. Tilting his head over to the side, blue eyes met green. «But to start off, I’m sorry.»

It was clear that Pixal expected any other answer than that, as her eyebrows shot up in surprise. «What?»

«I’m sorry.»

«No, no…» The samurai shook her head, the chains rattling as she moved. «What in the merged lands could you possibly be sorry for? I’ve told you all of it! You now know that I lied to you, that I forcefully removed your memories. I removed your memories Zane, even though I swore to never do so to you!»

Zane smiled without his eyes. «I know. And I am so terribly sorry that you had to go through all of this by yourself. I’m so sorry that you’ve been alone all this time. Nobody deserves to go through something this inhumane without anyone by their side.»

«Actually-» Pixal mumbled, before cutting herself off immediately. «Never mind. I suppose that will be a story for another day.»

The white ninja furrowed his brows, but didn’t press any further. «My point still stands. I’m sorry for everything you have had to face without any help or comfort. I should have found you sooner.» Zane’s voice turned bitter at the last part.

«No, you’re not allowed to say that!» Pixal shook her head firmly. Her glare was angry, however, it was not directed at Zane. If Zane had to guess, it was rather directed at herself. «I’m the one in the wrong! I’ve spent every second in here hating myself for what I did! I won’t allow you to move that hate over to yourself.»

«Well, can we then agree that none of us are at fault, instead of both of us hating ourselves for it?» It was a risky tactic. Zane took the shot either way.

Pixal got caught off guard by that. At first, she seemed like she didn’t want to agree at all. Then, her expression softened. «I suppose.»

Zane knew she was lying to please him, of course she was. But again, how many times hadn’t he done the same? This way, the topic could rest for now. «Good. Thank you.»

It was quiet for some time again, until Pixal broke it for a second time. 

«You really do not harbor any hate towards me for breaking my promise?»

«I do not,» Zane insisted. «You did not see any other way out of the situation. You did it to protect me. That is a completely different reason than what…Vex had. Besides, as I’ve already stated, I could never make a single circuit in my body hate you. I’m physically incapable of it. You have to believe me when I say that.»

The other nindroid considered his words carefully. Pixal then finally released her stern expression, a small smile growing on her face instead. A genuine one. She was clearly still unconvinced deep inside. But one day, Zane swore to himself that he would remove any doubt from her. 

«We’re almost out of time, if I’ve calculated correctly,» Pixal said. The smile faded away, making Zane’s heart ache. «I only have one more question.»

«Go for it.»

Taking a deep breath to prepare herself, Pixal spoke. «Zane. We keep resisting, we keep telling ourselves and them that we are equal. And I am not saying we should stop doing that. But, Zane. We weren’t mentioned in the rules of the merged realms. We have time after time gotten kidnapped and used for our bodies and abilities. So, I need to ask. We are equal, right?» 

Pixal sounded unsure. She sounded scared. 

Zane couldn’t meet her eyes for long before he leaned his head against the wall. Staring up at the lights high up in the roof, he answered with a shaky voice. In the distance, footsteps were heard, growing louder.

«I don’t know.»