Another chapter in on time? Man, I am on a roll! Maybe I could get used to this 'once a week' schedule. Anyway, this is one of the last one-shots before Warriors of Christmas comes out and we have a little break. At least, I do. But fear naught! I will (hopefully) either have the sequel out in April, May, or June. April is the closest, but June is best for my schedule as it's after Finals. Tell me which y'all prefer. Now, enough with my tangents.

Scrap Metal

The moon was low in the sky. The native insects of the dark islands fluttered about, filling the sky with their droning buzz. The deep dark forest is spacious and lush with trees. In fact, the only light for miles was a small compound, no bigger than two square miles.

On the second story balcony of her room, overlooking the compound's beautiful courtyard, stood a girl named Pixel.

She looked out into the starry night, her long gray hair down at her shoulders rather than in the bun she usually kept it in. Her normally clean and tidy purple dress was now strewn with wrinkles.

Down in the courtyard below, around 20 Skulkin guards stood at the multiple entrances into the main building. In the center of the courtyard were around 60 rowdy, unorganized, heavily armed Pirate Cultists, who were 'occupying' the compound until further notice.

Pixel scowled, her eyes narrowed as she glared down at the Pirates. They had done nothing but come into the nation as if it were their own. They did not act like normal guests, and they forced Pixel and the other servants to bolt around the compound, looking for wine, champagne, bread, or meats.

And when Pixel and the other servants protested, they were threatened or told off. In fact, one servant asked a Pirate Cultist if his gluttonous attitude knew any bounds. In response, the pirate slapped the servant across the face, leaving a large mark, and dismissed her, calling her an 'ungrateful cow', and other names Pixel wished not to indulge in.

Pixel stopped scowling and turned back to enter her room. "If only it were a simpler time…" she muttered quietly to herself.

She plopped down onto her bed, facing the ceiling. She reached over to grab something from the drawer and quickly noticed something that she had previously overlooked.

Her skin. Her skin was that of a human. This fact alone was not shocking to her, she had been built with human skin when Cyrus Borg, curse that man, had created her.

But after all these years, living with the Garmadon family, she hadn't noticed one crucial detail:

She had been treated better because of her skin. All the other servants were either trashy human women who didn't do much work, or robotic prototypes, unpolished and fragile. The only reason Pixel had been treated fairly was because of her looks and habits rather than her abilities or her master's unconditional love for her.

These were the thoughts than ran through Pixel's head as she grabbed a photo frame from the top of her drawer.

It was a picture of the Garmadon Family, back when they were complete and whole. It was Garmadon next to Wu and Misako, with Pixel and Lloyd stuck in the middle.

It all made sense to her now. She set the photograph back and began to sob lightly. She wrapped herself in sheets and tried to get some sleep, but her tears and sorrows prevented her from doing so.

About 23 minutes later, she heard a knock on the door of her bedroom. It was a gentle knock, like that of a father's checking on his daughter.

"C-come in." Pixel said, still lightly sobbing.

The door creaked open, and Pixel, still looking at the ceiling, heard Garmadon say "Pixel? Are you alright, why are you crying?"

The robot let out a sniffle as more tears rolled down her rosy cheeks. "Montgomery… do you hate me?"

The dictator, though he knew Pixel couldn't see him, tilted his head in shock and concern. He took a second to regain his thoughts before continuing.

"Pixel, what would give you the sense that I or anyone in this family hates you?" Garmadon made his way to the bed and gently sat down on the edge, looking at his servant with genuine worry.

"I-I'm afraid that… that you only like me because of my looks. I mean, I'm the only servant who takes the time to look respectable." Pixel said, finally ending her sobbing fit.

Montgomery, with a light touch, reached over and wiped the last tear from Pixel's face. "Pixel, that's not true at all. Do you remember the day that Dr. Borg gave you to me in good faith?

Pixel thought back, and her mind was flooded with memories from her past.

All she saw was darkness. She could feel the tears streaming down her cheeks and hear the sound of Cyrus Borg talking to the feared Lord Garmadon, but she could not see.

"…and so, Lord Garmadon, for your many actions including allowing me to test my illegal experiments on your island and the… purging… of Julien Industries, I present to you my most prized work. I call her, Pixel!"

With that, and a few switches from Cyrus' wheelchair motherboard, Pixel's voice and sight were restored to her. She looked down at herself, realizing she was in a new red dress that made her look ten times as pretty as she actually was.

She then looked up, and her eyes widened in fear. A mere 5 feet in front of her, examining her closely, stood Lord Montgomery Garmadon, the famed leader of the Dark Island. His brother was nowhere to be found, as he was still teaching Spinjitsu to children in his Ninjago Monastery.

Pixel quaked slightly, her eyes still wide.

Garmadon spoke sharply. "She's shaking. Is she afraid?"

Cyrus frowned, furrowing his eyebrows. "Ah, yes, that's one of the bugs I have to work out."

The dictator shook his head. "No, no. Keep it. Can she feel all emotions?"

Cyrus nodded slowly, not sure where the dictator was going with this. "I'll take her right now for… twenty five million."

Cyrus' eyes lit up. He had never gotten a deal this big from a single product! "B-but sir, if she has emotions, then she has a more likely chance of revolt."

"And a guarantee of compassion for others. My wife says I need to be more compassionate. Maybe I should give it a try. Twenty-five million, take it or leave it, Doctor."

Cyrus sighed, and nodded immediately. "Twenty-five million. Take her."

Garmadon smiled a warm smile at Pixel, and ordered for the two Skulkin guards to show her to her room while he worked out the price with Cyrus Borg.

Pixel's sobbing had stopped completely now as she remembered exactly why Garmadon had made the choice to purchase her.

"The reason why I find you so special, Pixel," Garmadon said, "is because of your ability to feel emotion, something no other robot has ever accomplished since Dr. Julien's falcon.

Pixel's sobbing resumed, but this time, they were tears of joy.

The moment was interrupted sharply by a Skulkin soldier on the intercom. "Lord Garmadon, your presence is requested by Master Chen in the War Room."

Pixel sat up and watched as Garmadon scowled and stood. He brushed off his jet-black military uniform, causing the medals on his chest to brush up against one another.

"What will you do?" Pixel inquired, still looking up at Garmadon, eyes full of hope that he will rid the island of these vicious pirates.

"What else would I do? I have to go speak to Chen. Get yourself cleaned up and meet me downstairs." Garmadon responded, before sharply exiting her room, boots clacking against the wooden floor.

Around 15 minutes later, Pixel, in her recently-ironed dress, walked quickly through the halls of the compound. The moon cast a shadow through the windows, making the Skulkin standing guard seem even more eerie.

She turned a corner and found herself face-to-face with the doors of the War Room. She quickly exhaled, trying to replace the fear in her heart with hope. She showed the camera her ID card and entered.

The room was more silent than usual, and Pixel immediately noticed a few changes. For one, the ten Skulkin soldiers inside the War Room were joined by seven Cultists and Chen himself, of course.

Secondly, since Samukai was no longer Commander of the Skulkin, he was replaced by his second in command, Kruncha.

Kruncha was a tough-as-nails fighter, but he was a terrible strategist. This made him the perfect candidate for successor to Samukai. After all, what did the Skulkin do but kill and take orders from Garmadon alone? He was also joined by his best friend and newly appointed second in command, Nuckal.

Pixel took her place in the corner next to two Skulkin guards and a Cultist and observed what was about to occur.

"Chen, you are my guest, but you will not give my Commanders or I disrespect! Am I clear?!" Garmadon roared. Off to a good start already.

"Ah, but Lord Garmadon, you seem to forget that I have an entire Battalion of my men surrounding your compound. I have the numerical advantage." Chen said, before laughing heartily.

Kozu, who had his hands on the table and was standing next to Nadakhan, scowled. "You dirty swine, slithering about our halls, giving your men our spoils! Why, if I wasn't bound by the Darese Guest Code, I would rip your still-beating heart from in between your lungs!"

Garmadon raised his hand, gesturing for Kozu to stop.

Kozu breathed heavily, his deadly gaze fixed on Chen. "Morro," he said, causing Garmadon's second in command to glance up, "I think I've found someone who I hate more than you."

Nadakhan stifled a laugh, and Morro just grimaced at Chen. "I'll second that." He responded, crossing his arms.

Kruncha and Nuckal both whispered to each other, shooting glances at Chen from time to time. Garmadon quickly noticed this, and sighed. "What is it?"

Kruncha took one last look at the map, before saying in his gruff voice: "Maybe Chen has a point."

Garmadon's eyes widened. "What? Kruncha, you can't be serious!"
The Skulkin Commander nodded. "Well, as Chen put it prior, the second fleet is stationed just off the waters of Ninjago City. They have an aircraft carrier currently carrying several LH-12s and enough soldiers to mount a second invasion."

He continued, "If the bombers strike Ninjago City, maybe we can land a successful force and make the Ninjagans concede defeat. "

Chen clapped twice. "See, Garmadon, see? Your Commander agrees with me! He's smart!"
Morro scoffed. "Or maybe he's just really stupid," he muttered, before quickly adding, "no offense."

"None taken." Kruncha said. "I take orders only from Garmadon."

"Unlike these Cult bastards." Nadakhan said, before nodding at Morro, clearly a signal.

Morro shot a glance at Kruncha and showed him seven fingers.

Kruncha shouted, "Seven!" and drew his handgun.

It all happened so fast. The Generals and the Skulkin all raised their respective weapons before the Pirate Cultists knew what was going on.

A few gunshots and flashes of light went off, and seven Pirate Cultists lay dead. Chen stood as though to run, but halted when Morro aimed his UG-50 at him.

"You're going nowhere." He said, a daring look on his face.

Garmadon looked just as surprised as Chen was. "Morro, what is the meaning of this?!"

Nadakhan set his handgun on the table. "Sir, it was clear that you weren't going to do anything about it, so we're taking matters into our own hands. This ends now."

Chen slammed his fist on the table in anger. "This is ridiculous! I am your ally! I-I over rank you! I ORDER YOU TO STOP!"
Kozu took two steps towards him and punched him square across the face as hard as he could. Chen fell like a brick, hitting the ground hard. "Cuurtasa o te Isla Dar." He said in his native tongue.

Kruncha grabbed a DR-25 from one of the Skulkin and handed it to Nuckal. "Alright!" He bellowed to the Skulkin in the room. "I'm ordering the assault! Kozu, Morro, and I will be on the field! Nadakhan now has command of you ten! You will escort Chen, Garmadon, and his servant to the basement where they will hold out for the night!"

Just then, a Skulkin burst into the room. "Sir, two HK-25 helicopters are inbound!"

Morro just smiled. "Good." He said, before walking out with Kozu, Kruncha, and Nuckal in tow.

Cliffhanger! Don't worry you guys, we've still got a few more chapters before Warriors of Christmas!

Cuurtasa o te Isla Dar- Courtesy of the Dark Island.

And with that, I leave you. Adios!