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LaLloyd271: I mean no disrespect to any Llorumi shippers out there and I liked them too, but after her betrayal, I just didn't know how I felt. Don't worry though, I will partner Lloyd with someone eventually, I'm just not sure when. I knew I wanted to pair Morro with someone but I didn't know with who until I looked at his page and saw something interesting in the trivia; apparently Tommy Andreasen likes the idea of Morro and Harumi being together in the Departed Realm as a couple. Let's get one thing straight though, at this point in the story, it has not been stated whether they are a couple or even friends; you'll all have to wait and see ;) I also have no idea what their ship name is, all I could find online was either Morrumi or JadeStorm.

Chapter 15: Think Pink

Zane smiled as he took a family's picture for them in front of the dolphin exhibit while he waited for Nya. He had recently gotten a job at the local aquarium; he didn't really need it but he needed something to take his mind off all the drama that had happened this year. He had just finished his shift and was waiting to meet up with Nya but she seemed to be running late. Just as he snapped the picture he felt someone tap his shoulder and smiled when he saw the girl in question grinning at him.

"You coming?" She grinned and they started heading for the exit.

"Zane, wait!" A woman called out. They quickly turned around and saw Zane's boss jogging over to them. "I was hoping to catch you before you left." She smiled. "I was hoping you'd be able to cover for Jake later today?"

"Of course." He replied.

"I knew I could rely on you Zane, you're very reliable with no surprises." She smiled before quickly leaving to see to other things.

"Was that a compliment, or an insult?" The pale teen asked once she was out of sight. Nya just shrugged and they continued on their way...

Later that afternoon, after hanging out with Nya, Zane was walking alone along the beach. He couldn't get what his boss said out of his head. All around him were families and friends running around, enjoying the sun and the waves. Just as he turned away from the sea, he saw Pixel sat on a deck chair nearby, just staring out to the ocean.

"Pixel!" He smiled and he ran up to her. As he got closer he felt a sense of joy when he noticed that she was wearing the amethyst necklace he had given her at the festival. "What are you doing?"

"Thinking." She frowned, not even looking at him.

"About what?"

"Just some stuff." She sighed. "Like how you keep thinking I'm a fool."

"What do you mean?"

"One second you and I are best friends, the next we're nearly dating, and then we're almost strangers!" She glared, making him flinch slightly.

"Pixel, I want to date you but I've got a lot on my plate right now." He tried to reason.

"Like what?! You're the same, ordinary kid! The only thing that's changed since Morro arrived you and the others have been treating me like crap!" She glared before storming off. He wanted to run after her but he had no idea what to say to make it right. Zane just sighed and headed off home...

"Are you sure about this?" Nya asked nervously as she and Zane came into her bathroom. When Zane had come to her with an insane request she was very worried but slightly honored that he had come to her and not someone else; although she doubted she would do as good as a job as a professional hairdresser.

"Yeah, even Pixel said I was a boring, ordinary guy, so I want to add some colour to my life." He frowned as he sat on a high stool and she wrapped a towel around him.

"I know you want I change, but this is a bit extreme!"

"Nya, please, just do me this little favor." He pleaded before she eventually gave in and got to work. Within twenty minutes there was a sudden knock on the door and they both froze.

"Who is it?" Zane asked and they both were ready to run with the door opened, but they both relaxed when they saw it was just Kai.

"If you're going to ask who it is you should consider locking the door, what's going on?" He asked what he saw what was going on. Nya smiled nervously as Zane rolled his eyes.

"I'm dying my hair, let's just get this over with." He groaned as Kai examined the box of hair dye that Nya had already applied to Zane's currently platinum blonde hair, they were just waiting for it to set.

"Are you sure you want to go with this color: Hot Pink?" He asked.

"WHAT?!" Zane cried as Nya snatched the box back. "YOU SAID IT WAS DARK RED!"

"Oh shit, must have grabbed the wrong color." She gulped. Kai couldn't help but chuckle. Nearly an hour later, Nya and Kai were at a loss for words as they gazed at Zane. The dye had finally set and they were very, very worried about Zane's reaction; Nya was more hesitant to tell him than Kai.

"Well?" Zane asked nervously and his two friends shared a look.

"Well, you're about as pink as a flamingo." Kai suddenly blurted out, only to cry out when Nya jabbed him in the ribs. Zane quickly grabbed a nearby hand mirror and almost screamed. All his hair was a bright blossom pink.

"I'M PINK! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?!" He screamed.

"Look, we have to dry your hair and get back you to normal as soon as possible, it was supposed to dry lighter." She offered weakly as she grabbed a hairdryer off the shelf.

"It'd better!" He glared. "I wanted a change but this is!"

Suddenly there was the sound of a phone buzzing. Zane pulled out his phone and nearly cursed.

"I need to get to work!" He cried as he got up and grabbed his jacket.

"What about the pink hair?" Kai asked.

"I don't know, but I gotta get to work, we'll talk about it later." He said before dashing off...

Pixel sighed in frustration as she walked through the unusually empty park. This whole situation with Zane and their relationship had her wanting to pull her hair out. She really liked Zane and didn't know what Morro had against her, but ever since he had arrived, her best friends were getting further and further away. She knew that Morro had issues and that he was apparently Lloyd's distant cousin, but that still didn't excuse how he treated her.

He never outright stated that he hated Pixel, but it was always implied.

From the snide remarks and poisonous looks, especially when she was with the others, Pixel was confident in the knowledge that he hated her. She wondered if that was the reason Zane and the others were distancing themselves from her. They didn't want to hurt Morro. She could understand why Lloyd wouldn't want to hurt Morro's feelings, but not the others. Pixel groaned as she ran a hand through her hair. This was all giving her a terrible headache.

She decided to go do some beast hunting in the forest, that always cheered her up...

Zane groaned in pain as he walked back home after an exhausting day at work. He had been doing a lot of heavy lifting today and now his back had to deal with the consequences. He had been wearing a hat all day to hide his bright pink hair, getting some strange looks from co-workers and customers in the process. Next time he wanted a change, he would just change his clothing style. Thankfully no one had noticed his pink hair, or if they had they hadn't said anything.

He had just gotten a text from Jay saying he and Nya would meet Zane at his house, to which he agreed to.

The pink-haired teen planned on asking Nya to undo her mistake as soon as he saw her. Wincing as another wave of pain shot through his back, Zane suddenly got an idea. He could get home much faster if he ran through the forest in wolf form. Taking a quick look around, he walked into a secluded part of the forest and transformed. Leaving his clothes behind, the now pink wolf ran off into the forest. Unbeknownst to him, however, he was not alone in the forest.

Pixel sighed as she investigated through the deep forest, but it seemed that the beast was not around today.

She was close to Zane's house, but choose to ignore that and focus on the beast. There was no proof that there was anything in the forest but the young scientist refused to give in. She had to try. She could feel that she was on to something, something big. She was serious and seemed to have a desperate look in her blue eyes as she scanned the area. Due to recent events, she couldn't stop thinking about the creature that scared her as a child.

It was out there and she refused to give up.

Meanwhile, Zane kept his eyes peeled for people as he grew closer to his home. As he tore through the forest he glanced at his paws and came to a sudden stop when he saw that his fur was pink instead of its usual white. He growled in anger but decided to do something about it later. He looked around and his yellow eyes lit up when he saw his home in the distance. Without thinking, he took off in the direction of home. Unknown to him, Pixel was close to his house as well.

Believe that her beast wasn't here she had decided to see if Zane was home so they could straighten their relationship out once and for all.

As she got closer to the house, however, she stopped when she heard that sound of running feet. She was about to turn to see what it was when suddenly a flash of pink dashed past her. Pixel quickly looked around and for a brief second, she saw something big, furry, and bright pink disappear into the trees, but it was moving too fast for her to make out what it was. Thinking it was the beast, she took off after it, but it was long gone...

As soon as Zane got home, he had all but demanded Nya fix his hair back to its original color. He had no idea Pixel had caught a glimpse of him in wolf form. It took an hour but they were able to reverse Zane's pink hair to his platinum blonde color. While she was doing that, Kai had told the others, minus Pixel, about Zane's new color, much to the quiet boy's shame. They had all been sworn to secrecy, however. As the pack made their way towards their usual hangout at the cafe Kai couldn't stop cracking jokes about Zane's pink hair.

This of course earned him death glares and the occasional slap upside the back of the head from either Nya or Lloyd.

Thankfully he stopped by the time they arrived at the cafe, and it was a very good thing too. When they entered they saw that everyone was gathered around Pixel, listening to their latest find in the forest. The gang didn't think anything of it and got their usual drinks and sat in their booth at the other end of the cafe, listening in from afar; but what they heard next shook them to their core.

"I'm telling you this was more than just a shape or shadow, I saw the beast, it moved as fast as lightning and had pink fur!" She exclaimed as everyone in the cafe look spectacle. The gang all looked at Zane and saw the poor boy was on the verge of a serious panic attack. He should have sensed Pixel was there, it was a careless mistake. Luckily no one seemed to notice his panicked state.

"I'm going back out there," Pixel added with a determination that scared the others; they had heard all this before, but it was the way she said it that scared them to their very core. "This is real, and I'm gonna prove it who's coming with me?"

"Oh for fuck sake Pixel." Harumi groaned in boredom. "You've been saying this for years! Give it a rest already!"

"I think your brain's finally cracked." Chad laughed cruelly and Pixel stormed out. Once everyone went back to doing their own thing, Lloyd and his friends leaned in to discuss.

"They saw you, how?" Nya hissed.

"Must have been when I was coming home, I was careless and an idiot." He groaned.

"Hey, don't beat yourself up about it," Kai reassured. "I mean look around, no one's gonna believe her."

"She's not gonna let it go either and now she knows her beast is near your house." Morro frowned.

"Yeah, but the tunnel to Zane's den is well hidden and as long as no one transforms from now until the next full moon, she'll eventually move on," Jay suggested but the others didn't seem confident in that plan. Zane didn't say anything as he set his icy drink down and suddenly dashed out of the cafe, startling his friends...

Zane ran as fast as he could until he found Pixel on the boardwalk, staring out into the ocean again. This had to stop before she discovered something dangerous to Zane, his friends, and herself. He came to a sudden stop and almost slammed right into her. She was startled at first, but when she saw who it was she turned to walk away.

"Pixel wait!" He called out.

"What?" She glared and he flinched slightly.

"Look, I do want to go out with you." He started and he winced when he saw a glimmer of hope in her eyes. "But the monster talk has to stop, that's the deal, take it or leave it." He said and he could almost hear the gears turning in her head as she thought about his offer. She didn't want to stop looking for her monster, but she also loved Zane. Maybe if they dated long enough, he would see how much this meant to her and maybe even help her again.

"OK, no monsters in the forest." She smiled before pulling him into a kiss...