Pixal stood before her beloved Zane and fondly embraced him. She thought she may never have this physical contact with him again, until he gifted her with a new, custom-built body as an early Christmas present. While she was grateful to be with him under any circumstances, she had to admit that being in his head all the time was slightly isolating; there were many times when she felt utterly useless to the team. And she couldn't deny that there was something extremely comforting about having his arms wrapped around her.
"Thank you again," she said to him as she reluctantly pulled away. "you've made me so happy."
"I'm so happy too, I missed seeing you in the real world." Zane replied, squeezing her hand in his.
"You two have got to stop being so cute, or I'm gonna end up with a toothache!" Jay playfully teased.
"Yeah, I hate to break up this adorable party, but I was hoping to borrow Pixal for a few hours, if that's okay with you both." Nya asked hopefully.
"That is fine with me," Zane responded, turning to Pixal with a warm smile. "we'll meet up at the Temple later."
"Of course." She smiled back.
Zane watched, as Pixal and Nya headed over to the elevator. Nya was chatting away about... something, he wasn't sure what, with Pixal politely nodding in agreement. As the door opened and they stepped in, Pixal turned and sweetly waved at him. His power source seemed to jolt. He waved back, and when the door closed, he felt someone pull him into a headlock.
"Ha ha, you sly dog," Kai jokingly taunted, messing up Zane's hair before loosening the grip on his head. "looks like you were worried about nothing, she loves it!"
"I gotta admit, it was a great idea." Cole added, folding his arms confidently.
"It looked great too, just like her old one." Jay grinned.
"Yes..." Zane sighed as he looked over at the elevator.
The new body was a perfect replica of the one she lost when she was scrapped, and yet, there was something different about it. Droid technology had advanced since the Elemental Tournament, and Mr Borg told Zane that he'd commissioned a handful of upgrades for the former personal assistant, but still there was something he couldn't quite pinpoint...
"I must say, that was a most heart-warming experience." Cyrus Borg remarked, wiping a tear from his eye.
"It would not have been possible without you," Zane mentioned, offering a sincere bow. "I cannot thank you enough."
"It was your idea to rebuild her, and your input was vital," He insisted. "besides, her happiness is all the thanks I need."
"Well, we'll let you get back to your usual business," Lloyd politely said. "c'mon guys, we've got stuff to get done back at home."
As they left Borg Industries, Nya revealed that the task for which she needed to 'borrow' Pixal was in fact clothes shopping. As someone who had never done that before, Pixal wasn't entirely certain what to expect. Sure, she was no stranger to clothing – Mr Abakhan of the textile department had sought her opinion on designs more than once – but she had no previous desire to wear anything than her traditional purple and red uniform, and frankly, saw no need to wear anything else.
The streets were a bustling hive of commotion, Christmas lights twinkled in the elaborate window displays, friends gathered together for hot drinks and some last-minute shopping; the blanket of snow wasn't hindering peoples' activities in the least. One skyscraper held a digital countdown to Christmas Day; "4 days to go!" scrolled across the display in green writing. Pixal had seen this all before, but the prospect of spending the holiday with someone she loved was enough for the excitement in the air to affect her in ways it previously had not.
"We're here!" Nya announced excitedly, putting her arm around Pixal's shoulder as they stood at the entrance of a clothing store. "This is my favourite place for buying clothes, and they have some awesome stuff right now."
"I am not accustomed to wearing anything different," she spoke quietly.
"That's why you've got me here, I have an eye for style," Nya assured as they walked into a store. "at the very least you need something special to wear for the gala."
"Ah yes, the New Year's Gala."
Mr Borg often held parties and galas for his employees, and as his assistant, Pixal always attended them. Admittedly, she never really got quite as excited about them as other people did – perhaps because she never really understood them to begin with. While she was familiar with the idea of people having social gatherings to celebrate important events or milestones, she was always doing the planning for said events. Even performing in the New Year's Eve fuyu no odori with other female employees was part of her job – though the ladies she performed with were always open and friendly towards her – but she had never been to one of these functions in a social capacity.
"That's the one!" Nya responded. "And there's our little Christmas Eve party too."
"You have a party at Christmas?"
"Nothing massive, just a little celebration we have to cut loose and de-stress," Nya confirmed as something caught her eye. "and you'd look so cute in that!"
Nya pointed at a purple top with long kimono sleeves. She dashed over to it and picked one from the rail. She held it against Pixal and nodded with great approval. Pixal had no idea what she was doing, so she just followed around as Nya picked out various garments and expressed a myriad of reactions to everything she looked at.
Pixal glanced around at other women who were also in the store. They too were behaving as Nya was, picking things up, looking them over, making bemused faces or smiling enthusiastically. Two teenage girls nearby were giggling at a neon pink sweater one of them had chosen from the rail, chuckling about it being "so 80's", whatever that meant. Pixal looked at the display next to her and picked up a pair of black pants with little diamantes sewn to the lower half. She held them and tried to understand what she was supposed to be looking for.
"Those are quite popular right now."
She turned to see a shop assistant standing next to her. The red-haired young lady was putting some more stock out on the display table and smiling politely. Pixal smiled back.
"Would you like me to find the right size?" She offered. "That pair might be a bit big on you."
"Yes, please." Pixal replied.
The lady put her hand on her chin and looked at Pixal with a discerning gaze. She tilted her head a few times and eventually smiled; she proceeded to rifle through the folded pants on the table and ultimately found the pair she was looking for. With a big grin, the assistant offered them to Pixal, who returned the wide smile as she put down the pair of pants in her hand and received the ones being given to her.
"Thank you… Jasper." Pixal said, reading the lady's nametag.
"There you are!" Nya called out as she hurriedly walked over. "I thought I lost you for a minute."
"I was looking around, and then I saw these." Pixal replied, showing the pants to Nya.
"Wow, those are pretty." Nya commented.
"Jasper found the right size for me." She beamed.
"Hey, I remember you!" Nya smiled. "You helped us a few days ago."
"That's right," Jasper smiled back. "so, this must be the friend you were waiting for."
"Yep, we came straight here after meeting up again."
"Make sure you check out the ladies formalwear before you go, we got some new dresses in this morning." Jasper suggested.
"We will, thanks!" Nya smiled again and turned to Pixal. "C'mon, let's go."
They waved to Jasper as they made a sharp right and walked towards the back of the store. Nya had not even seen this section yet – last time she was here, she was upstairs with the other ninja in menswear – but she imagined, what with it being the 'party season' that they'd have a decent selection.
"Wow!" Nya gasped.
She wasn't wrong, in fact, she was blown away by the sheer scope of what was in stock. Pixal's eyes grew wide at all the beautiful, flowing, glittering garments. Mr Abakhan made things like this all the time, but she had never seen so many all in one place before. Then she noticed a sign, announcing the debut of the 'Destiny Collection'.
"Nya, come and look at this!" Pixal approached the mannequins on display, modelling several glimmering gowns. "These are Mr Abakhan's latest designs!"
"Are you sure?" Nya asked.
"Of course," Pixal beamed. "he uploads his sketches to a file hosting service that I still have access to."
"These dresses are stunning!" Nya declared.
As they wandered around the displays and racks of glamorous party attire, admiring the wonderful range available and mingling among the other customers, Nya noticed that Pixal was drawn to one display in particular. She approached the droid, who was deeply entrenched in admiration for the elaborate exhibition on the farthest wall.
"I have never seen such beauty." Pixal gushed.
She could not move her eyes away from the intricate, multi-layered white jacquard kimono. The under layers were a pristine porcelain white, while the topmost layer was lightly decorated with gold embroidered cranes. A flashy, red and gold formal kimono hung behind it, accentuating it even further.
"You do realise that's a bridal outfit, right?" Nya chuckled.
"Oops," Pixal placed her hand over her mouth. "I had not noticed that."
"Don't get me wrong, it's gorgeous, but a bit over the top – even for a gala." Nya grinned.
"Perhaps we should find something else." Pixal admitted sheepishly, retreating from the ensemble.
"How about I pick something for you," Nya suggested. "while you try on these other things I picked up."
"Okay." She agreed.
Nya led Pixal to the nearby fitting room. As the droid was ushered into one of several small curtained off cubicles, Nya handed over the stash of clothing that she had steadily been accumulating, including the long-sleeved blouse she picked up they first walked in, and the diamante pants which Jasper gave them.
"This whole activity still seems very alien to me." Pixal mused as she hung the various garments on a peg by the long mirror.
"Just pretend you're one of that guy's assistants, they model his designs all the time, right?" Nya advised, referring to Mr Abakhan.
"True."
"Right, you try some of these things on and I'll pick out a gala-worthy dress for you," Nya smiled. "I'll check on you in a few minutes."
Pixal was an advanced AI, but she was so unfamiliar with the concept of changing into different clothes that it would be easy to think she was clueless – only at the New Year's festivities did she ever wear something other than her uniform. As she pulled off her cross-cut shirt, she looked at herself in the mirror with some curiosity; she had removed her shirt in the past many times, but that was to perform routine maintenance, and she didn't usually feel the urge to examine herself in this manner. Her torso was an exact duplicate of the one she lost, with all the familiar curves and lines she was used to, but it still felt... different. Pixal put the long-sleeved shirt on and adjusted it around her hips. She glanced at the diamante trimmed pants the store assistant gave her and, without thinking, removed her purple pants and put the black ones on.
"You okay in here?" Nya asked as she poked her head around the curtain.
Pixal spun round, slightly startled.
"Sorry," Nya apologised as she entered and put her hand on her hip. "wow, you look great!"
"I still do not quite understand the purpose of changing ones' outer garments in this manner." Pixal thought out loud, glancing curiously at the deep, V-shaped neckline of the shirt.
"It's like, a form of expressing yourself, a means of conveying your personality," Nya explained as she straightened out the sleeves. "it's also a great way to get some attention from someone you like."
"Do you think Zane will approve of my dressing in this manner?"
"Approve of it?" Nya grinned wickedly. "Oh, he'll love it..."
Pixal couldn't help but smile at the idea of making Zane happy, especially after he had done something so wonderful for her. Though she wasn't sure why this would make him happy, Nya had known Zane longer and would have a good idea of what he liked and didn't like. Not that she hadn't learned anything from all that time living in his head, but it couldn't hurt to get a second opinion.
The next day however, Pixal remained unconvinced.
When she wore some of her new clothes for Zane that morning, she received a most unexpected reaction. His facial circuits quickly became overheated and from his general direction she heard several fuses explode. He struggled to look her in the eyes, but the sincerity in his voice – as he fumbled his words to try and tell her how amazing she looked – was unquestionable.
However, as she held the long-sleeved shirt in her hands, she wasn't sure that this whole changing clothes thing was for her. She sat on Nya's bed in a bandeau bra and a pair of shorts and sighed; she wasn't particularly enthused by the idea to begin with, but especially since it didn't appear to be very effective – Zane's attention seemed diverted from her as opposed to being drawn towards her.
"Hey Pixal?" Nya called as she opened the door. "Oops, sorry! I didn't know you weren't dressed."
Nya hurried inside and shut the door behind her to spare Pixal's modesty.
"I thought I was." Pixal replied, obviously confused.
"Well, almost..." Nya corrected, handing her a t-shirt and reminiscing on her brother's tales of the early days, when Zane's own lack of situational awareness caused much bewilderment among the other ninja.
"You did not have to buy me all these clothes," Pixal insisted as she pulled the shirt over her head, the neckline of which was so wide that the right sleeve slipped down and exposed her shoulder. "although I am no longer his full-time assistant, Mr Borg continues to compensate me for the work I completed."
"Call it a gift," she smiled. "it's the least I could do, I can't tell you how much I appreciate some female company."
"It was very kind of you, but even so, I do not think Zane approves of the new clothes I have been attired in," Pixal noted sadly. "he cannot even make eye contact with me."
Nya grinned knowingly. She had seen Zane's reaction to Pixal's impromptu modelling, and it was telling; Pixal had excitedly skipped over to him and stood exactly as Nya had told her to – with her hands behind her back, leaning slightly to one side and gently swaying her shoulders. Zane quickly became flustered and turned his gaze away, awkwardly attempting to compliment her.
Pixal gave a small bow, as was her mannerism from being Cyrus Borg's assistant, and quickly headed back in the direction she'd come from. Zane's eyes were fixed on her until the last moment – the thin cotton shirt fitting to her form perfectly, her black pants sparkling as she hurried away… she'd only been gone mere moments before he limply fell against the nearest wall, dropped to the floor and sat there for a moment, lost in a lovesick haze.
"Well, you know Zane, he's not always great at expressing himself," Nya assured her. "maybe we should try a different colour – he's so used to seeing you in purple."
Pixal's scepticism continued, partly because she had developed something of a liking for purple.
Her bemusement continued the longer she mulled over the whole situation. Zane had seen her in uniform before now – partly consisting of a cross-cut shirt which exposed her left side down to the waist – but it was not framed in such a way as to accentuate anything. The purple top, although beautiful, was clearly designed to highlight a particular area. An area that quite obviously affected Zane in ways unfamiliar to Pixal.
Nya looked over at the flummoxed droid, who stood in front of a full-length mirror and tilted her head, as if trying to fully examine her own body. Nya noticed that the cutely casual outfit Pixal was currently wearing – one shoulder shirt, cute sporty shorts, little white socks – would be perfect to test on Zane.
"Perhaps you're right though, maybe you should try a more casual look." Nya approached Pixal from behind and reached out for the hair tie which kept her signature ponytail high on her head.
Seeing this in the mirror's reflection, Pixal turned around, and as she did so, the hair tie came out in Nya's hand. Within moments, the mass of soft silver hair began to unfurl from its tied back position, flowing down past her shoulders. She didn't know she could undo the ponytail she always had, and consequently, had never tried to do so. Having said that, her hair used to be metal – cold and unmoving – perfect for always looking neat and presentable as Mr Borg's assistant but serving little other purpose.
"How unexpected," Pixal whirled around to once again gaze in the mirror as she admired this new feature. "it appears that Mr Borg decided to upgrade the specifications on my original design."
"Zane did say something about upgrades being commissioned for your new body, but even he didn't know exactly what was being upgraded." Nya mentioned.
"I wonder what else has changed." Pixal speculated, looking at her companion inquisitively.