if everything else fails (head toward the sun, love)
Description: "There is a ninety-seven percent fail rate. This is not wise. Listen to me. Do not do this." Pixel repeated for the eighth time in the minute. "Ther-"
"Pixel," I said, closing my eyes so I could fully see her. It would be the last time. "go to Jay's headset and stay there." I waited for her to disappear, but she shook her head firmly.
"No." She said, eyes narrowing. "You have been abandoned by everyone else. I will not leave you."
A/N: Oh dearie me! It's been over two months since I updated Weaponry Wipes Away the Free. Goodness, I'll get to it. Sorry, I'm afraid I'm having a difficult time right now, my life is getting so busy near the end of the school year. I'll try my best, though!
The sky was blue, birds flew, and Zane sacrificed himself every other day.
Zane was probably the reason Kai wasn't captured and involved in a street gang, and the reason Cole didn't get burned at the stake for having inhuman strength.
He took the blows as his being was- robotically and automatically. And he didn't flinch at taking them, moving to block each and every one of them if his body allowed. Pixel most definitely didn't allow, but she couldn't override his commands when he concentrated enough.
Pixel always maximized the screen on her face when she wanted to talk to him about something out of the mission, and when he could afford to, he closed his eyes to completely see her. It was an odd relationship, but it worked.
When night fell and Zane laid down on the bunk, he went into power-save mode. But he was still conscious, and so was Pixel. They talked and he ran virus scans in the background, so the usually conserved Pixel was forced to talk more.
"Zane," she asked one night while he began his check. "are you not concerned about your brothers?" Zane tilted his virtual head, eyebrows knitting in concern for his fellow ninja.
"What do you mean? Is there something wrong with them?"
"You show concern for your friends. They do not show concern for you." answered Pixel, a little worry of her own leaking into her robotic voice.
"Based on what I have witnessed through your eyes, they seem to show concern for each other. But not you. What makes you different that they do not exhibit the same concern for you?"
Zane thought for a moment, remembering all the times they didn't bother to check on him after he got hurt- took their hits or otherwise.
"I do not know. Perhaps they do not think I feel pain." Pixel frowned, and numbers flashed through her eyes in a moment only Zane caught and could ever catch.
"No. They once asked you if you were alright, searching through your memory banks. If you were hurt. That was the last time, and that was two years ago." confirmed Pixel, the disdain for the other ninja in her voice playing into the growing frown on her face. "Zane, I am concerned."
He didn't notice, but Zane closed his eyes tighter. "It is all okay, Pixel. It is not their fault."
Pixel made a note to address the other ninja with her concern- especially the green one- Lloyd. The one to whom all of the concern that should've been going to Zane went.
She spoke to them that morning, when Zane was out buying groceries. She jumped into Jay's headset and told Zane she would be discussing how to fix the destroyed sails, (Kai had set fire to them a day before) when Nya wasn't there, with the ninja.
"I must discuss a recurring problem with you. This concerns Zane." She said as soon as he was far away enough that he couldn't pick up her dialogue. "You must listen." All of their interests were piqued- they leaned closer to Jay's headset.
"What's wrong with him? Did a virus get into his system?" Kai asked. His voice sounding all too eager. Pixel's frown returned with a vengeance. She decided to give them a hint of the lesson they were about to receive.
"And I suppose you'd like that?" She asked, voice cold and more robotic than it had ever sounded. "For him to be in danger again?" Kai looked shocked, along with the rest of the ninja, but now Pixel was relentless. She'd been waiting all this time to tear into the ninja for their misdeeds- neglecting android feelings, showing complete indifference to death of robots that still had a conscious! She had emotions now- Zane had taught her that. And she intended to use them.
"Androids are ALIVE! They have FEELINGS! You need to LEARN that, learn that Zane feels as much pain as you- and learn that EVERYTHING you do has a consequence. We are different, and yet Zane LOVES you all SO much. It is time you do the same!" She yelled through the speaker, her virtual self not needing to take a breath.
They recoiled. Just as Pixel expected them to. But she moved with Jay, his headset draped around his neck.
"We know that, Pixel." Cole said, taking an uneven breath. "We know that." Pixel calmed herself, composing her anger and throwing away the data of it.
"You repeated yourself. That shows a sign of unease and uncertainty." Her tone was tranquil and smooth, but she was still boiling. Pixel had felt second-hand emotions like this from Zane before, but she had never experienced them herself- to that extent- until that moment. That moment of pure, boiling rage. It wasn't just about them not caring about Zane anymore. It was about them not caring about androids. Machines. Breakable things and things that could be replaced.
Things without a soul.
Is that why they didn't care? Is that why they didn't bother?
She didn't notice she was hissing the words until Jay mumbled something only him and herself caught. "We..."
"Save your talk. Apologize to Zane."
"...yeah."