Credit where credit is due:

This chapter was inspired by spinchips and chaffinchik's tumblr posts. :)

Zane took the last pot off the stove, carefully placing it on a trivet. As he stepped back to admire the dinner he had prepared, he heard someone walking in the hall outside and quickly leaned back to see Lloyd. Zane walked to the doorway.

"Hey, Lloyd! Can you tell everyone dinner is ready?"

Lloyd turned to see his friend and the color rushed out of his face. Legs quaking with adrenaline he slowly walked backwards. He stared at Zane like he was seeing more than his face… Voices echoed in his ears.

Zane blinked his glowing eyes. "Lloyd, are you alright?" Zane said, noticing Lloyds shell-shocked expression. Lloyd shook himself out of it somewhat,

"Oh, me? Yeah I'm fine! I'm actually just gonna go…" He put a few feet down in the direction of the living room, then closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He turned back to Zane.

"Actually, Zane, I was wondering if you had time to talk."

Zane smiled, happy to be able to help his friend. "Of course." And he followed Lloyd out to the training pavilion. On the way, he snagged an intercom, pressing the button and saying simply, "Food."

"YEEAAHHH" Jay screamed in delight a few rooms off. Zane smiled and continued to follow Lloyd, who had gotten ahead of him by this point. When Zane reached the pavilion, Lloyd had sat down already. Zane sat down beside him, and Lloyd flinched.

Zane sat silently, hesitating to ask. "… Neverrealm?"

"Neverrealm."

Zane sighed. "Do you wanna tell me about it?"

*

"I had no reason to be scared, I knew it was you." Lloyd muttered. "But I think that's what made it scary." Lloyd looked down. "I was terrified. And I guess I still am sometimes. Sorry."

"Do not be sorry, Lloyd," Zane returned. "You had every right to be scared." He glanced aside. "If things had gone even slightly differently, … I might have killed you that night."

Lloyd nodded. He was about to say something when-

"Lloyd, are you hungry? You haven't eaten."

"I'm fine, Zane, I'm not really very hungry tonight." Lloyd looked up at Zane's smiling face and, thankfully, was not plagued by unwelcome thoughts. "Thanks for listening to me."

"Anytime, Lloyd."

"GO TO THERAPY, YOU TWO." Jay yelled from the dinning room.

Zane chuckled. "I guess we should head back in." He started to get up; Lloyd stopped him.

"You know, this goes the other way too. If you need to talk, I'll always listen."

"Thank you, Lloyd. But I'm ok." Zane got up quickly. Lloyd stood up too but grabbed him by the shoulders.

"Zane, be honest with me, are you really ok?"

"Of course, Lloyd, I'm perfectly fine."

As they walked off to the dining room, Lloyd realized there was a bit of annoyance in that statement, and he wondered if it was really true.

*

The next day, Zane was in the kitchen again, ready to start dinner. He opened up the cabinets where the pans should be and was met with an empty shelf. He sighed, and checked the sink. There was the dirtied pan, just like he thought, as well as many of the plates. Zane felt anger rising inside him. He had asked Jay to clean these yesterday. He stomped over to the front of the sink and began quickly and hastily scrubbing dishes. His hands were on auto pilot, he had done this so many times before. As he thought of Jay's irresponsibility, his anger rose. He began washing dishes faster, not caring if they were up to his standard of cleanliness. His hands kept slipping when trying to wash one particular bowl, he kept getting more flustered every misslip. His circuits firing faster and faster, the running water and clacking dishes seeming louder in his sensors, he finally "finished" cleaning the bowl and slammed it on the counter. A momentous crash echoed throughout the monetary and ceramic shards flew in all directions under Zane's hand. Everything suddenly seemed dead silent.

Zane stopped, trying to collect himself. He closed his eyes, still frozen with his hand covering minuscule ceramic shards. He heard Lloyds quick pace up the hallway and heard him slide into the doorway.

"Zane!"

Zane opened his eyes and saw the ceramic shards covering the floor.

"What happened?" Lloyd asked in a panic. Zane turned slightly to see Lloyd.

"Oh, hello Lloyd. I just dropped a plate." Zane lied calmly.

"Zane, you never drop plates."

Zane looked down and shifted his stance.

"And you never LIE!" Lloyd panicked. "Zane! Are you ok?"

"Of course, why would I not be well? I am operating at maximum efficiency."

"We both know that's not true!!"

Zane made for the cleaning closet. "I don't want to talk about it," he said as he snatched the broom from the closet. "I want to clean up the mess I made here."

"What about that conversation we had last night?

You listen to me and I listen to you?"

Zane ignored him and started to sweep up the ceramic shards. Lloyd grabbed the pole of the broom.

"Zane. The plate is broken. And that's ok."

Zane looked down at Lloyd with dimmed eyes. A moment passed and then,

"It wasn't a plate, it was a bowl."

Lloyd smiled. "Thank you, Zane." He let go of the broom and looked down, forming his next sentence. "And it's ok, no one blames you for what happened."

"No," Zane said. "No, it is not ok! Had things gone just slightly differently, I would have hurt you!" He stamped the broom for emphasis, then realized he was holding it in only his right hand. He looked at the broom and donned a terrified expression like the one Lloyd had shown the night before. Lloyd noticed, and snatched the broom from him.

"Zane-"

"I could have killed you." Zane said weakly.

Lloyd stood watching Zane's dim blue eyes stare off into nowhere. Zane was sparking at the chest, probably short-circuiting like he does when he gets emotional. Lloyd kept quiet, letting him think. He was about to speak again when Zane's eyes grew bright suddenly and he turned to look straight at his friend.

"Lloyd. If something like this ever happens again, if I am hacked, or otherwise lose my mind," he took a step forward. "You cannot hesitate to end me."

Lloyd took a step backward, his heart missing a beat. "Zane, no! Why would you even think about that?"

"This wouldn't have happened if I wasn't a Nindroid! Being like I am, it is easier to take advantage of me. So I need you to-"

"Zane, don't say that!"

"Why not? It is factually accurate! If I were not a robot, I would not have ruined so many lives."

Lloyd couldn't speak. He had never heard Zane talk like this before. He couldn't say anything as Zane asserted again,

"I need you to promise that you will protect yourself by any means necessary. Please, just, kill me if it ever comes to that." Zane noticed Lloyd's slightly open mouth and staring eyes. "I would always rather it be me than you," he said more softly, as he came in for a hug. Lloyd allowed his friend to clasp him in a tight hug. He laid his head on Zane's shoulder as he let out a deep sigh. "I guess, I guess what I'm trying to say is," Zane stammered, "you're my friend. And I can't let anything happen to you."

Zane's chest whirred and Lloyd breathed heavily.

"I love you too, buddy." Lloyd choked.