Cyrus ended up staying in the hospital for roughly a week before returning to the tower. When he returned, he had his arm in a sling and brace and a new pair of glasses to replace the old ones. There were still stiches along his lip and a bruise around his eye. His body was still sore, so he was given pain killers. The inventor was greeted with worried employees and people asking him if he felt alright. Dismissing them with assuring words, Cyrus went to find Cryptor. There was no doubt that Cryptor would be anywhere but the lab. Cyrus' best bet was the sparing room. Cryptor seemed drawn there like a moth to a flame. When Cryptor was not found there, Cyrus checked a few other floors, asking employees that he passed if they had seen Cryptor. No luck. No one seemed to have seen the android anywhere, not even P.I.X.A.L. Growing worried, Cyrus finally checked the last room he would ever have expected Cryptor in. Entering the lab, Cyrus was shocked to see Cryptor powered off and connected to his charger still.
"Oh no. Oh no." Cyrus murmured to himself as he wheeled himself over to Cryptor. He quickly powered the android on, fearing how angry the android would be about the situation. He knew how much Cryptor hated being shut down for long periods. When Cryptor got powered on it took him a while to notice Cyrus in front of him, but when he did he immediately went on red alert. Quickly scrabbling to his feet, he ripped his power cord out of him and stumbling to the side from standing up too quickly.
"C-Cyrus!"
"Cryptor, I'm fine... Everything is in order. Don't worry about me." Cyrus said with a frown, preparing to tell Cryptor the bad news. He knew that Cryptor would not like what had happened. "Cryptor." Cyrus cleared his throat and looked down at his lap. "A-Apparently you have been shut off for some time... I was in the hospital for a week." Cryptor gasped at hearing the news.
"A WEEK?!" He shouted loudly. "A week?! I've- I. A week? WHY DIDN'T SOMEONE TURN ME ON?!" Cyrus flinched at Cryptor's outburst. He had expected no less from Cryptor.
"I... I don't know why anyone didn't turn you on." Cyrus muttered, awkwardly rubbing the shoulder of his bum arm. "I assumed someone would... I'm sorry." Cryptor ended up growling, finally having all his systems running again, and stormed past Cyrus.
"HOW WAS I NOT TURNED BACK ON FOR A WEEK?"
"I don't know." Cyrus sighed again, wheeling his chair around to follow Cryptor with his one good arm. The android had every right to be mad, but Cyrus would rather see him happy. "At least you're on now... I'm okay... and I have something to show you..." Cryptor stopped his rant when Cyrus started his second statement. I was true that he was on now and there was nothing he could do about it. Then when Cyrus mentioned having something to show him, Cryptor frowned looking at Cyrus. "It won't get you mugged will it?"
"Uh... no, it's in the tower." Cyrus said with a little laugh to his voice. Cyrus began to wheel himself towards the door again. It was hard to get around with just one hand, but he managed. "Come with me and you'll see." Cryptor cleared his throat when Cyrus started to wheel away.
"Right." He frowned, looking at himself. "Can I get myself out of this first?" He asked, already going to unzip the hoodie.
"Oh, right." Cyrus laughed, pausing so Cryptor could get undressed. Once Cryptor had removed the disguise, Cyrus asked him to wheel him up to the eleventh floor. After a short elevator ride, Cyrus directed Cryptor to a room with machine and assembly lines. In the center of the room there was a mannequin with a set of armor on display.
"I had that made for you after that explosion that ruined half your face, Cryptor." Cyrus stated as he was wheeled up to the armor. "I figured that you could use something to keep you safer..." Cryptor blinked in shock at the equipment hanging on the mannequin for a few moments before following Cyrus over to it. Looking at it curiously, he nudge it up a bit with his finger as he looked under the round shoulder pad. Cryptor didn't exactly understand what it was he was looking at, but it looked cool. Cyrus smiled as he watched Cryptor examine the armor. Cryptor always seemed to like getting new combat items.
"Would you like to try it on?" Cyrus asked. Taking a few steps back to look at it, Cryptor frowned.
"What is it?"
"It's armor, Cryptor." Cyrus answered. "I'll explain what it does when you try it on." Cryptor looked at the armor for several moments before walking closer again and lifting it up off the mannequin with both hands. Then, carefully he lowered the piece over his head, hitting his shoulders and pressing down.
"You look very nice in that armor." Cyrus said with a smile. He wheeled himself a bit closer to the android and gave him a look down. "I'm going to show you what it does now." He added as he brought up a fist. The paraplegic then pounded his fist once again the chest of the android. "Hardly felt that, right?" Cryptor blinked a few times in confusion, feeling the slight push the armor gave against his chest. Then adjusting the armor on himself again, he gave a nod to Cyrus.
"It will keep you from taking as much damage in battle." Cyrus stated. His smile slowly faded as he imagined Cryptor in battle and getting hit. "I hope that all you have to deal with his thugs... it would be awful if the city were attacked by another monster of some sort." Cryptor stood, looking down at the armor on himself. Cryptor not exactly having any history lessons in his life so far looked up at Cyrus quizzically.
"Monsters?"
"Well... the city has been attacked by a giant snake, stone warriors, and a dragon Overlord who used the stone warriors to aide him." Cyrus sighed shaking his head. "There have been countless other threats throughout the ages. Ninjago is not a safe place. I'll have to teach you all about it." Cryptor frowned, the events of the past confusing him not even understanding how there could be a giant snake and questioning how big exactly the snake was, and how and what stone warriors were. And dragons? The whole concept of these creatures was seriously puzzling Cryptor up to the point where his eye twitched with a spark. Cyrus was a bit alarmed when he saw Cryptor's eye spark up.
"Perhaps it would be best to show you what happened later. How about we do something else until then." Cyrus blurted, not wanting Cryptor to over think. Cryptor shook his head as he tried to push the thoughts away, then nodding.
"Y-yeah."
"How about we go and try our hand at socializing." Cyrus asked as he led Cryptor out of the room. "Heaven knows you need more practice with that." Cryptor let out a huff and nodded.
"Right…" He grunted. "Socializing…"
"We can head back down to the lobby and try talking to people." Cyrus said as he led Cryptor to the elevator once again. Cyrus made sure that he had no other things today so they would not repeat what happened last time. The lobby was busy today since it was a public touring day. A few people looked curious about the strange android, but too intimidated to approach him. Instead they asked Cyrus what the android's purpose was. To which, Cyrus directed them to Cryptor, wanting him to answer. When Cyrus kept directing the civilians at him, he had to keep repeating the same thing constantly, and the repetitiveness was beginning to annoying the robot, he even tried to walk away but kept getting cut off to say the same thing to some random stranger. He mostly just tried to avoid interaction and leaned himself against a wall. Beginning to get bored though, he saw a kid come running past him, and decided to stick his leg out and trip the kid just for his entertainment, then going and mocking him about how he should be watching where he's going. Cyrus gasped when Cryptor tripped the child. The disabled man wheeled himself over to Cryptor and went right to helping the now crying child stand. The kid's parents stormed up as he did.
"What is wrong with you?" Cyrus spat angrily. He groaned and turned to the parents. They looked furious and had every right to be. "Go to the lab and I'll come talk to you after I deal with this."
"It's not like a tiny scratch is going to send him to the hospital, get stitches, and paralyze him for life." Cryptor muttered as he turned around with a huff, grudgingly trudging his way to the elevator and going back to the lab. When Cryptor left, Cyrus glared at him as he walked away. He then talked to the child's parents, getting yelled at and threatened by them. Once they talked it out, Cyrus went to the lab, ready to have a stern talk with the android. When Cyrus entered the lab Cryptor was standing with his arms crossed, leaning against the wall just by the door, only growling at the sight of Cyrus.
"Cryptor, you can't hurt innocent people like that." Cyrus said as he closed the door behind him, his tone full of disappointment. "You are supposed to be protecting and helping those people, not tripping their children and insulting them. I can say that I am very disappointed in you. I expected better."
"What is so wrong about me stepping out of my programming?!" Cryptor shouted at Cyrus as he pushed off the wall with clenched fists. "Why must I be so perfect?! Why can't I decide to do things on my own?! Why can't I when you or anyone else can do whatever it is they want?! You don't have specific programming you have to follow! You all can do whatever you want, be whatever you want! And here I'm a pathetic robot that has to follow its path perfectly and flawlessly! Why am I looked at as something so insignificant and disposable when I think on my own and have my own thoughts and feelings?! I may not be able to feel pain like a human and I may never know what it really feels like to have your face punched or something like that, but I still feel different things. I know what hatred feels like, what concern feels like. I know emotions and people don't ever stop to consider how I feel about things do they?! I'm just a machine, of course I don't matter!" Cryptor stopped for a couple of moments with a grumble. "Everything I do it seems I mess up. Why do you even try with me anymore? What do you even see in me? I break everything I touch, even myself and then just waste your time with all the problems I make. I'm so reliant on you and everything. You could stay up for three days straight, but I could never do that. I'd power off, something you can't do or any human. I would stay off forever until someone turned me back on, but a person can go to sleep and wake up freely! I didn't ask you to make me or teach me everything! Why am I so different from a person? Why must I be looked so far down on? Why did you make it so I could think for myself if every time I do I get in trouble?!" Cryptor's rant had Cyrus in shock. The android had so much weight on his shoulders. Everything he did was watched and judged. Nothing he did would ever be let go. So much was expected of him and it was not fair. Being a famous figure, Cyrus knew that stress well. Looking down, Cyrus shook his head, feeling sorry for his creation. His life had only just started and it was already too stressful to deal with.
"Cryptor, while other people see you as a machine, I think of you as my son. As my son, I want what's best for you." Cyrus started, his voice soft and sad. "Unfortunately, you are not seen as a person with feelings by most other people... And I push so hard for you to behave because..." Cyrus' was beginning to sound choked up. His eyes were welling with tears as he went on, "If the public doesn't like you... I'll have to shut you down permanently. If you are too violent or if you harm innocent people, I'll have no other choice." Cryptor frowned and looked down at the ground as Cyrus spoke, his hands still held in fists.
"I… I don't want to have to be someone I'm not…" Cryptor understood what Cyrus had told him, and the idea of getting turned off forever… "Why must everyone be so stupid? Why can't I just… It's not fair."
"I know it's not fair... I wish that I could just take it all back and let you be whatever you want." Cyrus murmured. It was too late for that. Even if Cryptor were to be allowed to do whatever, he would still have to behave himself. "Y-you know, the android I modeled you after protects people and still manages to be his own person." Cyrus stated, finally looking back up at Cryptor. "He's quite famous. His name is Zane Julien." Cryptor listened to Cyrus, lifting his head to look at him after mentioning Zane.
"I… Zane…" Cryptor mumbled.
"Have you heard of him?" Cyrus questioned. "He was one of the ninja who helped save the city many times. He was built to protect those who cannot protect themselves, just like you."
"Of course I haven't heard of him!" Cryptor snapped. With a huff, Cryptor crossed his arms. "If I knew I think you'd know." Cryptor sighed. "Why haven't you ever told me about him before?"
"I suppose the topic never came up." Cyrus stated, shrugging his shoulders. "I merely used his designs and improved upon them."
"Obviously you didn't do it right or I wouldn't be such a mess up!" Cryptor hissed at Cyrus. Cyrus flinched when Cryptor snapped at him. The android was really upset. Cyrus could not blame him though.
"Cryptor, you aren't a mess up." Cyrus stated, brows furrowed and his tone gentle. "You do things you shouldn't and make mistakes, but that's a part of life. You mess up, you learn, then you move on. That's how it goes." The inventor sighed and shook his head and added, "Anything you do is my fault though. I haven't raised you very well and I've failed you as a father. You are this way because of me. If anyone here was a mess up, it would be me..."
"No. You know what? You aren't my father!" Cryptor spat, pushing himself closer to the door. "You know why? Because I'm a machine, I don't have a father! I was created, man-made, not born. I can't have a father. If anything I should be calling you master, not Cyrus or father or Mister Borg!" With that, he pushed out of the room and ran, not caring about anything but getting out of the building. Making it down to the Lobby again he ran out the door and fled into the city. He didn't know where he was going; maybe he could find a dump and put himself there. That's where he belonged after all.