Request: Neuro/Zane

Requested by: frostbite64

Warnings: Yaoi

The mind had always been highly complex. It should only have been a human characteristic, as humans could make conscious decisions, could judge and think, could perceive and remember. Animals might have minds, but they were driven by instinct rather than conscious thought. As for anything else, like plants or machines? Completely out of the question. A plant did not have a brain to house such a mind, after all, and machines were programmed to do the things they did.

At least, that was Neuro's way of thinking for a long time.

He admitted that humans, to a degree, could be driven by instinct, and research had proven animals were capable of perception and memory. He couldn't argue with such a thing. His opinion on plants had not changed, however, and his thoughts on machines should have also remained the same.

Then he met Zane.

Zane, the Elemental Master of Ice. Zane, a walking computer, as Cole had once put it. Zane, unique for being perhaps the only robot capable of thinking, acting, and reacting like a human. Zane, who was somehow able to survive being blown apart months before the Tournament of Elements was even heard of. Zane, who for some reason had a mind so alike an actual human's it was impossible to believe he was an inorganic life form.

Zane could feel emotions, could remember things just as easily as a human, and could think, judge, and perceive. He was obviously more human than robot in more ways than one, despite his metallic exterior. Neuro felt it was a shame no one else could see it, but it did make sense. No one else could read Zane's mind. All they had was the outside to look at.

Unfortunately, Zane didn't seem to believe it. Every time Neuro looked into his mind, there was always a dark cloud of uncertainty blocking him from probing any further. He did not know what could have been troubling Zane, but he was eager to find out.

When the Tournament ended, and when Chen's army of Anacondrai cultists was defeated, Zane promised to meet him in the city at his statue to talk. Neuro hoped that he would find out why Zane's thoughts were so hard to read lately, but did not know if the white ninja would explicitly say anything.

Neuro leaned back on the cold bench, his amber eyes scanning the streets for the nindroid. Hopefully he had not forgotten, which was unlikely, or decided not to show up after all. Neuro had been looking forward to speaking with Zane for a while, and it would be a shame to not see him again.

Just when he was about to give up and go back home, he heard a familiar robotic voice calling to him.

"It is good to see you, Neuro!" The silver-robed nindroid made his way quickly over to the bench, a small smile on his face. He sat down beside Neuro, crossing one leg over the other. "It has been a while, hasn't it?"

Neuro nodded in agreement. "Indeed. It feels like it has been a long time since Chen was banished, even though it was only a few weeks ago."

Zane smiled at the memory, albeit rather sadly, then tilted his head to the side, an action Neuro thought looked rather cute. "You said there was something you wanted to talk to me about. I do not think we will be bothered, so we can hold this discussion here, if that is all right with you."

"Of course." Neuro shuffled to face Zane, amber eyes staring into icy blue. "You are aware that I am the Master of Mind. I can see into the thoughts of others, probe through their memories, and even cause splitting headaches." He chuckled a bit at the last point. "But your mind is very fascinating to me. Pardon me if that sounds strange, but despite being a robot, your thoughts function almost exactly like a human's. You are a very intriguing person, Zane."

Zane's eyes widened slightly, and his smile became rather sheepish. "O-oh. Well, thank you. I have never been told such a thing before, although that may have something to do with the fact that I have never met a mind-reader before." He then looked away, the smile fading. "But I am afraid that is as human as I will ever be. Everything else about me is entirely synthetic."

"Even your memories? Surely those cannot be artificial."

"Especially my memories. Even now I cannot remember everything about my past... Possibly because it was never my past to begin with..."

Neuro raised an eyebrow, and searched Zane's mind for further details. The dark fog appeared again, blocking him. "What do you mean by that?"

Zane's metallic hands folded in his lap, and he turned his gaze back up to Neuro. "The original Zane was killed by the Overlord. I'm just a replica of him. I don't have all my memories, some of which were of my brothers and the fights we took part in. If I cannot remember everything about my past, then shouldn't that mean I'm nothing but a copy?"

It only took a moment for Neuro to draw a connection between what Zane was saying and the dark fog appearing in his mind.

"My memory drive is completely out of sorts," he went on. "I have only managed to recover bits and pieces of these memories, and I'm almost certain some have been lost forever." He sighed. "I am not Zane... I am only a replica."

While Neuro probed through Zane's mind, he ran into a new voice, one that was feminine-sounding. I have told him many times he is still the same Zane, just different than before, she said, directly to Neuro. He believed me for a while, but something is wrong now. Please, help him understand.

He didn't know whose voice that was, perhaps an AI built into Zane's system, but Neuro decided it was best to listen to her. He put a hand over Zane's, maneuvering his fingers so he held the metallic appendage firmly.

"I have no way of knowing exactly what your old self was like," Neuro said. "But I know that you still retain memories of your past. From the memories I have seen, I know they must be from you. You are still the same Zane, but you are different than before. Your old self may have looked more human on the outside, but your mind is as human as it has always been, I believe." He tightened his grip on Zane's hand, his eyes now staring more intensely into Zane's. "You are still Zane: the perfect balance between humans and technology."

The nindroid simply stared back at him, as if he was at a complete loss for words. He looked down at their intertwined hands, his grip tightening on Neuro's hand as well. "Thank you... I..."

"I know I may sound as if I'm just trying to be encouraging," he quickly put in. "But if it helps at all...I will gladly aid you in recovering your lost memories." Hesitantly, he brought Zane's hand up to his mouth, lightly kissing the metal surface. "You are rather fascinating to learn about, after all."

If robots could blush, Neuro guessed Zane would be turning a beet-root red. The small smile returned to the nindroid's face. "I am grateful for your offer, Neuro. Again, thank you very much."

Neither moved from the bench, and Neuro couldn't be any happier for that. He hoped his powers would be strong enough to help uncover the memories. Even if they weren't, he was happy enough to be making such a connection with Zane.

He decided to look into Zane's mind one last time, and saw that the fog was finally beginning to clear.

Not gonna lie, Neuro/Zane is one of my favourite ships that came about during season 4. I have a bunch of others, but at this point, I love nearly every ship XD

Thank you frostbite64 for requesting this pairing! Stay tuned!