Jay excitedly tinkered with a large, unidentifiable device, on the floor of the living area, while Cole and Kai were trying to evenly disperse the lights on the Christmas tree. It didn't seem to be going well – they'd been fighting this battle for longer than was necessary, so long in fact that the darkness of winter's early nights had crept in – currently the only light source in the room were the ones on the tree.
"I'm telling you; this side is looking kinda plain..." Kai insisted.
"That side will be facing the wall; it doesn't need as many lights as the front." Cole argued back.
"Every year we have this problem," Jay laughed. "If you guys would stop fighting each other and focus on what you're doing, it would be done by now."
"Maybe if you gave us a hand instead of... whatever it is you're playing with, it would've been done last week," Kai crossed his arms in frustration. "which is when I wanted to put it up in the first place."
"This happens to be a northern light projector, and if I can get it working, we won't need lights on the tree, we can just put the ornaments on and shine this baby on it!' he grinned proudly.
"Yeah, if..." Kai chuckled as he rolled his eyes.
"I'm telling you; those little LEDs can't compare to the magnificent beauty of nature!" Jay spoke with great conviction and held out his arms for dramatic emphasis. "Glowing with the pure majesty of a night-time rainbow that few have ever been privileged to witness!"
"Yes..." Zane sighed dreamily.
The others looked at him curiously. He sat cross-legged on the floor, leaning his elbow on his knee and propping his head in his hand. He'd barely said a word all day and was even now just staring off into nothing. Come to think of it, he'd seemed a bit out of sorts ever since this morning.
"Hey Zane, you okay bro?" Kai wondered.
"Huh, what?" Zane blinked a few times and lifted his head from his palm; he appeared to have returned to Ninjago at last.
"He's probably still recovering from that shock he had earlier," Lloyd piped in as switched the main light on. "eh, Zane?"
He sat up straight and grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.
"Oh, that... it is nothing to be concerned about," He assured them. "just a blown fuse."
"More like five," Lloyd corrected, glancing at Kai defeatedly. "I thought someone was lighting off fireworks."
"That sort of thing doesn't happen for no reason, ya know?" Jay smirked, waving his screwdriver in Zane's direction. "So, spill – what happened?"
As if on cue, Pixal walked in, and Jay froze.
"Wha-?" He stuttered, stunned at the sight of the glowing circuits on her legs.
"Yes, that is what happened." Zane concurred as Pixal stood behind him.
Nya followed soon after, bringing with her some drinks and an assortment of cookies. She placed the treats on the table and leaned over to ruffle Jay's hair, which made him smile widely. Nya then stepped into the farce that was her companions attempts at festive decorating.
"Seriously?" Nya sighed. "I thought you'd be done with the lights by now."
"We would have, except Jay insisted on playing with that little box, instead of helping." Kai remarked.
"What part of 'majestic glowing night rainbow' do you not understand?" Jay answered in a slightly irritated tone, once again wielding his screwdriver as a pointing device.
As the two continued their frustrated banter with Nya playing the part of referee, Zane was frozen in place, having seen Pixal sit next to him while wearing considerably less than usual. He was curious whether or not she knew that her uniform appeared to have shrunk in the laundry, given that she was arguably showing a lot more of her legs than he was accustomed to seeing. Pixal, being used to a certain level of decorum when sitting, waited for Zane to speak before she said anything, though judging by the feverish look on his face it didn't seem like he was in the mood to talk.
"Hello Zane," Pixal greeted him cheerfully. "are you enjoying your evening?"
Zane struggled to verbalize anything, even more so as he turned to meet her gaze. He saw those green eyes of hers and they pierced into him, practically glittering with her characteristic sweetness. Then he opened his mouth to speak... only for nothing to come out. Flashbacks from this morning flickered in his mind as his line of sight trailed along her neck and down her shoulders.
"The electrical connections in your cheeks are overheating again, would you like me to examine them?" She whispered, shuffling closer to him.
He opened his mouth but, yet again, no words came out. Even if he knew the right words to use, he was certain that it wouldn't have been something he should say out loud, so he bit his lip to prevent anything untoward slipping out. Pixal watched his intensely focused stare go further down her body and was greatly concerned that he had suddenly become mute; something that had never happened before. By the time he had fully absorbed the image of her, he had fallen into a deep catalepsy that he had never experienced before.
"Zane? Is everything alright?" Pixal exclaimed, her pitch slightly higher than normal.
And just like a spell being broken, her acute tone of voice brought him out of his trance. He shook his head rapidly and soon realised the dominating position he was in – practically looming over her like a hawk over its prey – and quickly returned to his previous seated place. Zane, embarrassed about his conspicuous behaviour, momentarily turned away from her.
"Forgive me, Pixal, I was lost in thought, just admiring..." He looked her up and down once more, when he suddenly noticed something he hadn't earlier. "...your hair, I did not know it was so long."
"It is also very soft; would you like to touch it?" She asked innocuously.
Lloyd spat out the mouthful of soda he was drinking and coughed jaggedly.
"You okay?" Cole laughed, roughly patting Lloyd's back.
"Fine, fine." Lloyd choked out hoarsely.
Zane, not the slightest bit distracted by Lloyd's sudden soda evacuation, reached over and gently stroked Pixal's hair. She seemed to lean into his hand as he felt her feathery tresses.
"It does feel particularly silky," He agreed. "also, I did not expect your hair to be this length."
"I can make it shorter again if you prefer..." She mentioned, mistaking his statement for an indication of distaste.
"No!" He accidently blurted out, clearing his throat before continuing. "No, no, I like your hair long, it is beautiful."
As he reached over to the table to grab a cookie, he caught the attention of Jay, who was smirking at him and wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. Zane took a bite and looked back at him curiously.
"Pixal, how can you wear shorts in this weather?" Jay asked. "I feel cold just looking at you."
"Unless programmed to do so, droids do not feel the cold." She replied politely.
"But they do feel the heat, right?" He said, grinning pointedly at Zane, who was unable to respond given that he had his mouth full.
"Indeed, it is a peculiar occurrence." Pixal agreed.
"Behave," Nya hissed at Jay, slapping his shoulder. "well, we'll leave you guys to it, come on Pixal, I need you to help me with something."
"Of course," Pixal replied with a smile. She stood up and followed Nya, turning briefly to wave at Zane. "I will see you later."
"Yes..." He sighed contentedly, waving back at her.
As soon as the girls had left earshot range, Cole started chuckling, followed by Kai and then Lloyd. Zane watched with confusion as Jay was the last to join in the reverie.
"Did I miss something?" Zane stated as the incessant snickering died down.
"So that's why you blew a fuse earlier." Jay realised.
"I've never seen anyone in shorts that short, not even in the summer!" Lloyd noted with a grin. "Seriously Kai, what did your sister do to Pixal?"
"Reprogrammed her, it looks like," Kai joked, turning to Zane. "she's got it bad, that one."
"I'm telling ya, if Pixal keeps this up you're gonna need to install a phase change unit in your head," Jay cackled wickedly while soldering. "Master of Ice or not, when she sat next to you in that getup, I could see your circuits frying from here."
"It's not surprising though." Cole announced suddenly.
"What do you mean?" Jay pondered out loud, momentarily putting his soldering iron down.
"Zane and Pixal have been together all this time, but they didn't officially 'get together' until like, yesterday," Cole looked at Zane with a look of total certainty. "I think she just wants a bit of attention from you."
Astounded by Cole's succinct observation, all the other ninja couldn't help but stare at him.
"...What?" He asked.
"That has got to be the most sense you have ever made... like ever." Jay said with great admiration.
"In Zane's defence, Pixal has been hogged by my sister for most of today and yesterday," Kai casually mentioned. Suddenly, he stopped and looked over at Cole. "wait, what do you mean by 'attention'? What do you call that a minute ago? With the compliments and stuff?"
Cole gave an exasperated sigh.
"I don't mean like that, I mean, you know... attention..." He repeated, making air quotes with his hands and clicking his tongue.
Slowly, all but Zane seemed to understand exactly what Cole was talking about and the perpetual chuckling continued from earlier.
Cole kneeled down and put his hand on Zane's shoulder.
"How do I explain this in terms you'll understand?" Cole paused for a moment. "Um, sharing sensitive data? Connecting ports?"
"How about 'merging files'?" Jay suggested. "No wait, I have a better one – 'plugging in the flash drive'!"
As his friends continued to make double entendre wordplay that – without his funny switch on – didn't seem to sink in, Zane was reminded of an interesting conversation he had with Cyrus Borg when he was helping to rebuild Pixal's body…
"Thank you so much for letting me rebuild her," Zane said for perhaps the twentieth time since the project started. "It will be so good to hold her again..."
"You know Zane, Pixal was supposed to be a prototype, but as time went on, I realised just how special she was – I couldn't bring myself to mass produce her like she was just some inanimate object," Cyrus recalled fondly. "eventually, all I wanted was for her to be happy, and I'm so pleased that she found someone such as you; I will make sure she has whatever she needs to live a good life with the one she loves."
"Whatever she needs…" He mumbled out loud.
Zane, only vaguely aware of the verbal shenanigans that continued during his mental absence, suddenly jumped up and ran out of the room. His friends stood there, utterly bewildered by their fellow ninja's sudden movements... until Kai said something about playing with a joystick, at which point they all fell about laughing.
Zane knocked on Nya's closed door. He heard footsteps from the other side and soon found himself face to face with Nya herself.
"Oh, hello," he began. "is Pixal here with you?"
"Hey Zane," she smiled. "no, she's not here right now, but she can't have gone too far, she just said she needed 'space to think'."
"Thank you." He replied.
He was pretty sure he knew where to find her, given that when she was still in his head, she would be with him whenever he needed a place of calm for contemplation. And that place was usually the roof.
As predicted, there she was, sitting on the other side of the roof and looking up at the darkened sky. In the short time she had been up there, a light snowfall had started, and a thin layer of snow rested on her head, arms and legs. The heavy sound of the roof door closing behind him caused her to look over her shoulder. She smiled as he approached.
"Hello Zane," She airily spoke. "may I assist you?"
"No, no, I just... wanted to be with you," He answered as he sat down next to her. "despite yesterday's... revelation, we have not spent much time together."
"I suspect that Nya was excited to have some female company," Pixal surmised. "she has taught me about the human habit of changing clothes."
"Yes, I figured that she might have had an influence on your clothing choices." He ran his hand through his short hair and glanced upwards for a moment, before looking at Pixal once more.
"Do you approve of me dressing differently?" she questioned.
"Yes, I mean, no, I mean... my approval is irrelevant; as long as you are happy, then I am happy," Zane insisted, smiling at her. "so, are you adjusting to your new body?"
"I believe so, though there is definitely something different about this one," She glanced down at her hands. "I suspect Mr Borg may have included some new features."
Zane had noticed. Even yesterday, when he saw her in her new body for the first time, he could sense there was something different. He knew that Mr Borg had commissioned some upgrades, but he never mentioned what those upgrades were or what they did. Even now, he still couldn't figure out what, exactly, had changed, but he also couldn't deny it was having a profound effect on him.
"I meant what I said." He stated.
"About what?" She replied.
"Your hair, it really is beautiful," He repeated. "and you do look amazing."
"Thank you." Pixal smiled to herself.
She sighed and looked out into the vastness of the night. The lights of New Ninjago City were glowing on the distant horizon, shining in the darkness like a radiant beacon and drawing her in with their luminescence.
"Do you miss New Ninjago?" Zane wondered.
"Not as much as I missed being able to look at you." She beamed at him warmly and placed her hand over his.
Zane smiled and shuffled closer to her. He lifted her hand to his face and kissed it, eliciting a small giggle from her. A strange pulse surged up his spine at the dulcet tones of her laughter. He moved a little closer, so close he could have pulled her into his lap; dare he be so forward? It seemed like the closer he got to her the less self-control he had. He couldn't explain it, it was as if some kind of deeply encrypted programming had unlocked and washed over him like a virus. The same haze that consumed him earlier had devoured him once again, as the once lightly falling snow became a little heavier.
"Pixal..." He breathed.
"Yes, Zane?" She meekly asked.
He bit his lip and gently stroked her cheek until his hand rested on her jawline. She intensely watched his every move, her eyes full of innocent curiosity.
"You are beautiful." he whispered, planting a kiss on her cheek.
"Oh Zane..." she mewed sweetly.
Zane, no longer able to stop himself, pulled Pixal towards him, placing her squarely in his lap as she squealed in surprise from the sudden movement. He snaked his arms firmly around her waist and discovered an unexpected softness to her. A low murmur rumbled in his throat, and he softly nuzzled her shoulder.
"Oh..." She shivered as he kissed the back of her neck.
She could feel her body responding to him in ways it previously had not. Her original body did not have the updated capabilities this one did, and as such the strange sensation she felt in her hips was a considerable surprise.
"Zane..." She purred, arching her back in response to the electrical pulse in her lower half.
"You know, until I found my blueprints, I did not know I was a droid," he growled in her ear. "all that time I thought I was human, no one ever made me feel like this."
"I have always known what I am," She mumbled, breathing heavily. "but what I feel for you, it does something to me which I do not understand."
Pixal draped her legs comfortably over his knee and faced him as she rested snugly in his lap. They glanced into each other's eyes, transfixed in a smitten daze, barely an inch of a breath between them. Zane, with his arms still wrapped around her, briefly bit his lip before smoothly kissing the corner of her mouth. Overtaken by some unknown impulse, Pixal put her hands on either side of his face and kissed Zane square on the mouth. He melted into the softness of her lips, kissing her in return with such passion that it sent her mind spinning.
It was a heated, lascivious moment of intensity that neither had felt before.
When the kiss was eventually broken, both were seemingly out of breath, overheated and hovering between lucid consciousness and complete shut-down.
Before anything could be said, the roof door swung open, and the concentrated snowfall seemed to stop instantaneously.
"Hey guys!" Cole called out. "Jay got his light box working!"
"Okay," Zane squeaked, before clearing his throat. "we will be there in a moment."
"Just don't be too long, it might blow up in the meantime!" Cole laughed raucously as he shut the door.
Alone again, Zane and Pixal's eyes met, their cheeks flush from the heat of the situation, locked in a moment of contemplation… and shortly thereafter, both began chuckling. She clambered out of his lap and onto her feet. She held out her hand and helped him up. Zane stumbled but was steadied by Pixal's assistance.
"That was most enjoyable," she beamed, rubbing her left arm and looking at him cutely. "can… can we do this again?"
Zane glanced at her, the honesty on her face was undeniable. Of course he wanted to do this again!
"Yes," he replied, taking her hand in his and leaning over to kiss her forehead. "when we are alone."
They walked back to the roof door, and Zane opened it for Pixal, gesturing for her to go first. He couldn't explain the way his power source surged at her graceful smile, or how much he admired her elegant stride as she walked in front of him. After such an intense experience, he had many questions, and he wondered if any of his teammates would have the answers.