At some point, Zane had been forced to give up. The Ridgebacks around him were pushing in from all sides, making him several times crash into the hull of the Bounty. They weren't inherently aggressive, and they probably wouldn't have been bothered by another dragon flying with them, but they hated the hailstones he blew at them. He distracted them from their aim, and it made them angry. He couldn't really blame them.

They were simply too many. A couple of them rammed him, almost crushing him between them, and he tumbled and lost control of his wings in mid-air. Luckily, he managed to pull up until the Bounty was right underneath him before he plummeted down. When he crashed onto the deck, he felt a mast splinter under him and instantly knew that something had broken inside his robotic dragon body, too. In addition to the countless dents he had already sustained, this fall had caused internal damage, and it hurt. It hurt so much that Zane was momentarily afraid of shutting down right there and then. The pain signals flooding his processing unit interfered with almost every other process.

"Zane!" Cole ran towards him, and Nya lost control over the nearest rain cloud for a moment. A large orb of water splashed onto the deck, drenching them all.

"Zane, can you hear me?" Cole's face was very close. He looked concerned. Zane managed to briefly lift his chin before he sank back.

"Cole, the dragons are tearing on the sails, and one mast is already broken. I can't keep them away with water only!" Nya yelled.

"Coming." Cole pushed himself up on one knee and patted the dragon's neck. "Hang in there, buddy. I'm afraid the ship's gonna crash."

Zane closed his eyes, unable to keep up with the chaos that unfolded around him. Somehow, Nya and Cole managed a more or less controlled touchdown with the damaged Bounty. Somehow, the sky cleared and the lashing rain ceased. Somehow, the constant flapping of wings and the angry roaring of dozens of Ridgebacks just ... stopped.

Instead, he heard Cole laughing, and Nya's cheerful voice instantly chimed in.

Zane opened his eyes. The Bounty had gone down on a wide field on the outskirts of Ninjago City and was surrounded by white and golden dragons of various sizes. Some of them looked around confusedly as if awakened from their sleep. One who had already shrunk back to the size of a small dog jumped into Cole's arms and licked his face before curling around his neck.

"Chompy!" Cole chuckled. "Chompy!"

The little dragon looked at him with puppy eyes and nudged his cheek.

"Yes, I know." Cole tickled the Ridgeback under the chin. "Apology accepted. It wasn't your fault. You were under a spell, but our friends have managed to break it. You're free to fly back home with your friends. Send Queen Vania our regards!"

Chompy jumped down from Cole's arm and approached Zane. He climbed onto the back of the robotic dragon, which was now much larger than him, and sniffed. With a worried expression, he looked into the other dragon's blue eyes.

"You're right, Chompy," Cole said quietly. "This isn't a dragon like you. It's our friend Zane, the nindroid. We have to take him back for repairs as soon as possible."

Chompy made a little friendly noise and briefly nuzzled against the larger dragon. Zane smiled. Then, Queen Vania's lively little pet climbed onto the railing and began to grow again.

"What's he doing?" Nya asked when Chompy flapped his wings several times.

"Calling his friends," Cole replied. "Look, they all gather around him. I guess they need to grow to their full size again to be strong enough for the way home. But now they're doing it on their own accord. No need to fear them anymore."

Nya nodded. "They look happy, as far as I can tell."

The following minutes and hours blurred in Zane's mind. Between unconsciousness and waking, he dimly noticed Nya and Cole repairing the Bounty, getting her up in the air again, landing at the monastery, and lifting him off the deck of the Bounty with a crane. Jay came running, threw his arms around Nya and kissed her. And then, Pixal was suddenly there, too, distraught at seeing the dragon in such a state. Her soft, feathery wings spread around him while she huddled up against him, making nervous little noises with her beak. They were lost in the general hubbub as the ninja all talked at the same time, about a minister, and missing animals, and Misako and Wu debating how to dispose of the dragon gem. Zane had no idea what Lloyd's mother and the Sensei had to do with the stone, but it didn't matter right now. He only wanted to sleep and the pain to go away.

"We have to tend to Zane," Nya said suddenly. "He's hurt. It would be best to get him out of that dragon body right now."

Jay nodded. "Is he stable?"

"I think so," Nya replied. "But he's getting weaker every minute. There is internal damage that causes some current leaks, and he continues to lose power."

"Let's waste no time, then," Jay agreed.


This time, Pixal knew exactly what had happened. Thanks to her friends, the best friends anyone could imagine, she was back in her android body. The sensory input coming from her limbs was immediately familiar. She tried to open her eyes, but her lids were heavy and her body felt as if it was wrapped in a lead blanket. Her system, she realized, had not yet completed the recalibration process.

After a couple of minutes, she tried again and stirred tentatively, keeping her eyes shut because she was still somewhat drowsy. There was another body lying beside her. It felt familiar, too.

It could only be Zane's body. The feel of his skin was unmistakable when the back of her hand brushed against his.

No scales. Smooth, artificial skin.

Had they already completed his transfer? Yes, he must be awake, because he adjusted his position at the contact and turned towards her. She suddenly felt his fingers on her cheek, gently brushing a strand of hair away; they stroked her face and caressed her neck, eventually coming to a halt on her shoulder. His arm rested lightly on her torso.

Not a wing. His android arm.

Relief and happiness made her power source glow as her eyelids fluttered open. Zane's face was no more than a few inches away. He had been watching her wake up, and when their eyes met, he flashed a warm smile. Without thinking, she cupped his cheek with her hand and pushed herself up on her elbow until her nose touched his. Returning his smile, she tilted her head a little. They just looked at each other for a few long seconds. Then, he closed his eyes and leaned forward.

"Awww …"

"How cute!"

"Thought I'd never get to see that."

"Step back, Lloyd, and cover your eyes!"

"Did you know that nindroids spray sparks when their lips touch?"

"Guys, c'mon. Let's give them some privacy."

What the ... ?!

Pixal tensed up, felt Zane reacting the same way, and pulled back from the kiss. When she turned her head, she realized that she and Zane were lying on the workbench at the hangar, surrounded by the whole ninja team.

It was utterly embarrassing.

She felt her face heating up and quickly lowered her gaze. Zane had already pushed himself up into a sitting position and slid off the bench. He swayed a little, struggled to regain his balance, and grabbed the edge of the bench for support. When he had steadied himself, he held out a hand towards her.

"Can you get up?"

"Yeah … I think so."

She gratefully took his hand and climbed off the bench as well. For a moment, it felt very strange to stand on two legs again; but only until she and Zane were pulled into a group hug by the ninja.


"I know where I've seen her before!" Lloyd suddenly burst out.

Everyone turned round to look at him. After hearing Zane's and Pixal's accounts of what had happened on the peninsula a few days earlier, the team had begun to piece all parts of the puzzle together.

Lloyd groaned and smacked his forehead. "She even kept her motorbike!"

"Who are you talking about?" Cole asked.

"The minister, of course," Lloyd exclaimed. "Believe it or not, but she was among the Sons of Garmadon when they took me captive just before they … before Harumi … before my father …"

He checked himself. "Anyway, she was at the Temple of Resurrection. I don't think she was a regular gang member, she only went in and out once or twice. But I'm pretty sure it was her. Her hair was tied back, and she didn't wear those large glasses, but I recall her peculiar notched eyebrows and paper-white skin. Of course she covers that with make-up nowadays, but back then, the gang probably thought she looked pretty cool and bad-ass," he concluded with a dry laugh.

"Are you sure?" Kai asked incredulously.

Lloyd nodded, and Nya shook her head in disbelief. "If this is true, she can really pride herself on an exceptional résumé. But frankly, I'm not too surprised."

The Master of Water looked up. "Let me summarize: she's been in Ninjago for a while, because King Vangelis sent her here as a secret agent to find the pieces of the dragon gem. She mingles with the local criminals and manages to lay her hands on the dagger with the first piece. When the Sons of Garmadon are rounded up, she escapes, assumes a new identity and decides to kick-start a second career in politics."

Cole snorted. "How fitting."

"Yeah, isn't it? She meets a young engineer, a specialist in robotic animals, and immediately realizes how valuable the girl can become for her. So she gains her trust and sets her up with everything she needs for her work. I don't know what else she promised or did for her …"

Zane returned Nya's glance with an unfathomable expression. He had formed an idea of the emotions that had been involved on Joan's side, but he wasn't going to put them up for discussion.

"Meanwhile," Nya shrugged and continued, "King Vangelis is removed from power; this also means that his former agent won't be welcome anymore in Shintaro. But it doesn't matter, because she's now established in Ninjago, and instead of abandoning the plan to restore the dragon gem, she adopts the idea and gives it an evil twist: if she attains control over the dragons, she'll be able to use them in any way she wants – even against her own home country. She doesn't care, as long as it consolidates her present position of power."

"Whoa," Kai spat. "It's about time to put a stop to her game!"

"Sure," Cole agreed. "But are we actually able to hold her accountable?"

They looked at each other. No, they weren't. Thanks to the intervention of the ninja, the dragons had turned back before they arrived in the city, and the armed forces of Ninjago had never been ordered to strike against Shintaro. Hardly anyone in the country was aware of how close they had been to a war. And what could the stone prove, which had been recovered by Misako from the casket in the Shintaro exhibition?

"It's so frustrating!" Nya exclaimed. "She will get away with everything! We're the only ones who know how cunning she is. Think about it – smuggling the dragon gem into the exhibition was such a clever move! If someone else had found it, and had found out what it did, she would have said the sky folk deliberately placed it in one of the exhibits they sent to Ninjago."

Jay looked up. "I'm absolutely sure it was her. She gave it away, indirectly. She knew that the dragons were heading for the city center, and she knew exactly when they would arrive."

"Yeah," Kai chimed in, "for us, this may be proof enough. But not for everyone else. And she was pretty thorough when she got rid of everything on the peninsula that could incriminate her. She's in the clear, no matter how you look at it."

The other ninja nodded glumly.

"And the engineer who created all those animals just disappeared without a trace!" Lloyd scowled.

"Too bad," Cole agreed. "She could testify against the minister."

"In addition, we don't know what other plans she may have. I really think she should be found," Lloyd continued. "Zane, you talked to her before she disappeared. Any idea where she may have gone?"

Zane hesitated. Then he shrugged. "I cannot tell."

There must be dozens of little islands with lighthouses in the Endless Sea. And then, he wasn't even sure that she'd been serious when she talked about such a hideout, was he?

Lloyd gave him an intent look. "Didn't she give any hint at all? After everything she did to you and Pixal, you must …"

He cut himself off, uncertain about the nindroid's reaction.

Zane avoided the other's gaze. "I do not think we will ever hear from her again," he said slowly. "She does not care for humans, in general, but she never wanted to harm people. I believe … the only thing she wanted was to be happy. In her own way. To be respected for her abilities and accepted as the person she is. When she realized that she had been deceived, she turned her back on Ninjago. I think she decided that she will be happier surrounded only by her own creations."

"This means that she has probably taken her animals with her – or is going to call them," Lloyd observed eagerly. "If we manage to track them down, we can find her."

"Yes, Lloyd," Zane said slowly. "That is possible. But I would advise against doing so." He gave the green ninja a long look. "As I said, she is no danger to anyone. We would do more harm than good."

Lloyd dropped his gaze and nodded slowly. "I see. I guess ... we just have to accept that we can't do anything else, then," he admitted reluctantly. He did not press the matter further.

"Maybe the Sensei can offer some words of wisdom when he returns tomorrow," Cole suggested, sensing Lloyd's utter disappointment with the situation. "Meanwhile ... hot chocolate, anyone?"

"Oh, yeah." Jay jumped up. "I'll help you."

When the two returned from the kitchen, the smell of hot chocolate instantly filled the room and began to cheer the ninja up. They had done what they could. If justice sometimes went a long way round, they couldn't help it.

"Got a cup for you, too," Jay winked at Nya. She grinned and blew him a kiss.

Zane felt the hot drink pleasantly warming his fingers. It was good to be able to actually hold something, with real hands. But when he leaned back and thought about the brilliant designer of the dragon body he had inhabited for the past few days, he felt a pang of guilt. There were things that had only become clear to him in the past hour ... He knew now how wrong he had been about her. His previous, unwarranted anger made him feel deeply ashamed.

Zane's thoughts were interrupted by something brushing against his shins. He startled and looked down. Mikka! The kitten had entered the room with Jay and Cole, and now she nervously paced back and forth in front of the sofa where the nindroids sat. Zane gave her a surprised look when she stationed herself next to Pixal and mewed reproachfully.

Jay glanced up. "Oh."

His face split into a grin when he saw the cat sniffing indignantly at the hem of Pixal's pants. "I managed to remove the auxiliary routine that made her send information to the minister's system, cleared the associated part of her cache and double-checked that there's no corrupt code on her drive. She's a well-behaved robo-pet now, so we allowed her back into the house. Ever since, the corner where you're sitting has been her favorite spot."

Pixal hummed. The cat mewed again, and the nindroid girl bent forward. "We'll never know if you were really sent to spy upon the ninja or whether it was mere coincidence that Lloyd had the idea to take you home," she said softly while she let the cat sniff at her hand. "Zane and I must have given you the fright of your life. But you don't seem to remember."

Pixal lightly clicked her fingers, and after a moment's hesitation, the cat jumped onto her knees.

"Hmmm." Lloyd watched the two curiously. "She seems to like you now."

Pixal stroked the cat under the chin, prompting her to close her eyes and purr. When she caressed the cat's cheeks and gently tickled her behind the ears, the animal eagerly rubbed her head against the palm of Pixal's hand.

"Looks like she enjoys that." There was a hint of surprise in Lloyd's voice.

Zane gave the cat a sideways glance. He couldn't imagine her not liking the touch of Pixal's fingers ...

"She's not so different from other droids," Pixal said with a slight smile, pointedly avoiding to look at the droid next to her.

Jay almost choked on his own spit and snickered. "You're aware that you're making not only one, but two guys in this room jealous, right?"

Pixal gave an innocent smile, and the cat curled up happily in her lap. Nya giggled and poked Jay in the ribs, while Kai and Cole smirked. Zane felt himself blushing.

The conversation soon veered into another direction. Mikka was about to fall asleep in Pixal's lap, still purring, and Zane gently stroked the front leg she had stretched out towards him. The purring grew louder for a moment, the cat spread out her toes, and then she pulled her leg back. Zane smiled and reached out to ruffle her gray fur. It was as soft to the touch as ... the fur of a lynx.

Pixal was absently stroking the cat as well, and her fingers suddenly touched his. She looked up, but didn't pull away. Neither did he. When their eyes met, the corners of her mouth twitched a little.

"No need to be jealous," she whispered. "It'll be your turn later."

He blushed even more intensely this time and was glad that nobody looked at him and noticed the blue tinge on his cheeks. Nobody except Pixal, of course. He took her empty cup and stood up with the intention of getting her another drink, but a sudden, stinging sensation made him wince.

"What's the matter?" Pixal asked worriedly when he pressed his hand onto his abdomen.

He shrugged and forced a smile. "Phantom pain, probably," he tried to shrug it off. "My dragon body sustained some damage earlier today."

Pixal eyed him for a moment and shook her head. "No, I rather think it's really a loose wire or something like that. Our hardware has suffered a bit during those days on the junkyard. I know I'll have to check mine, too, but first we're going to fix this for you."

She carefully lifted the sleeping cat up and laid her into Lloyd's arms. Before Zane could protest and insist that the little pain between his ribs was nothing, Pixal had taken his hand and pulled him towards the hangar. "Come."

When they arrived downstairs, he took off his sweater, opened the front of his shirt and reclined in the armchair in front of Pixal's desk as she had requested.

She lined up her tools and began to loosen the screws on his chest. "Tell me if it hurts."

He hummed in agreement.

His gaze drifted to the now deactivated forms of the dragon and the griffin. The ninja would keep them to analyze their circuitry and programming; and perhaps, one day, they would give them their own power source and CPU. It would be such a waste to leave Joan's masterpieces offline! She had developed and installed quite a few special features, and Zane had already promised Jay that they would look at them thoroughly. There was one particular detail that intrigued him …

Pixal must have read his mind.

"What do you really think of Joan?" she asked quietly.

He hesitated, not quite ready to reveal his internal turmoil. Neither Pixal nor the other ninja knew about the specifics of Joan's experiences at Borg Industries. Zane had glossed over that part when he had summarized his encounter with her, meaning to tell Pixal one day – but not right there and then.

She paused her work to look at him.

"I was surprised when you advised Lloyd to drop his plan of trying to find her and bring her to justice. That was very generous of you. She took advantage of your emotions to make you cooperate. She bullied you into letting her control your circuits, your body. I wouldn't have expected you to forgive this so easily."

Zane didn't return her look. "What happened in her workshop wasn't even the worst," he said slowly. "It was a bargain, and I trusted her to keep her end up. I trusted her to keep you out of harm's way. But later, when I realized what she had done to you ... and what I had done to you as a consequence ..."

He didn't finish the sentence.

"You felt betrayed," Pixal stated softly.

He nodded.

"Yet you seem to have forgiven her now."

It was more of a statement than a question.

"Yes." Only the faint clicking of Pixal's tools on his hardware was heard in the silence that ensued.

"I was in the wrong," he continued after a long pause. "She made a few unfortunate choices, but … I understand now that she did keep the promise she gave me. Presenting our disabled bodies was a clever way of lulling the minister into a false sense of security while Joan prepared to leave the peninsula. And … she never meant to separate us."

He quickly glanced up at Pixal, who attentively listened to him.

"You know what I found when I had a look at the two animal bodies just before I joined you in the living room? She had implanted communication devices into their heads that would have made it possible for us to talk to each other without the need of vocalizing our thoughts. Your device was fully functional. But the one in the dragon had a glitch – a faulty joint, a minor software problem, I don't know. I just know I couldn't use it."

Pixal tilted her head to the side, intrigued. "Now that you mention it, my father once told me about an intern at his company who had suggested such a communication system. He had no resources to develop it further at the time, and then her internship ended after the Oni invasion. It was a difficult time at Borg Industries; so many people – including my father himself – had to take sick leave because they suffered from the consequences of the Oni attack. He completely lost contact with the young engineer, but I know he would have liked to support her project as soon as he could set aside a team."

Zane's eyes widened. "The intern was Joan. Unfortunate circumstances made her believe that your father wasn't interested in her developments."

He shook his head wearily. "There were so many misunderstandings. And little details going wrong – like the malfunctioning communication device that got us into that whole mess. My attack on you ..."

"... wasn't Joan's fault," Pixal concluded.

There was a silence. No, it had not been Joan's fault.

"Can you forgive me?"

"Zane," she said softly. "I would never have thought of blaming you. You know that." She sighed. "It was wrong to let you go to her workshop alone. Facing her together would have saved us so much trouble."

He shrugged and slightly shook his head. There was nothing to blame her for, either. They couldn't change what had happened, they could only be glad that it had ended well.

She reached out to cup his cheek with her hand, and he closed his eyes for a moment and leaned into the touch.

Pixal suddenly chuckled. "Look at you. Didn't I say you have a lot in common with Lloyd's kitten?"

Her green eyes sparkled with amusement. He quickly looked away, but couldn't help smiling despite his embarrassment.

She withdrew her hand to continue the search for the loose wire in his hardware. It tickled, but it was not an unpleasant feeling.

"Found it," Pixal muttered finally, and Zane felt a sudden sting when she bent the end of a short wire. "I'll just apply some solder, and then you're as good as new."

He nodded and leaned back to make himself comfortable and give Pixal better access to the little injury. It was the most peaceful moment he had had in a week, and he felt himself deeply relaxing while he watched her work on his circuitry.

"I liked your lynx ears," he said after a while, reaching out to play with a strand of her hair.

"Hmm." She frowned, fully concentrated on fixing the solder joint under his open chest plate. He knew he didn't make her task easier by moving his arm, but he couldn't resist the temptation to twist her soft, silvery ponytail around his fingers.

"No, really," he reiterated. "They were adorable."

She hummed again and glanced up. "If you insist, I'll get a pair for our next fancy dress party."

The idea made him chuckle. "I'd like that."

"Keep still," she muttered and rolled her eyes.

They fell both quiet again, and she dabbed off the last bit of molten solder before she began to move his chest plate back into position.

"I'll miss falling asleep under the wing of a dragon," she remarked casually. "It was surprisingly soft."

The sudden warmth around his power core did not originate from the freshly repaired solder joint. He looked up, but immediately dropped his gaze again when his eyes met Pixal's. The warm feeling in his chest slowly spread upwards.

"Do you think being hugged by a nindroid would do, too?" he asked quietly.

She fastened the last screw, and her fingers gently traced the edge of his chest plate to make sure it was properly inserted. Subtle, white fingers, the perfect likeness of a human hand, caressed his skin. The skin of his android body.

He couldn't have felt more human.

She tilted her head to look at him, and her little smile did nothing to lessen the heat that had crept into his cheeks.

"Oh, yes," she replied. "I think I'd like that."


EPILOGUE

No, in this case, Sensei Wu had no words of wisdom for the ninja when he returned to the monastery. A week of delving into the art and history of Shintaro had done him good, but in the matter of convicting the minister, he could be of no help. It was not until several weeks later that Misako one evening returned from the city with an excited smile on her face.

"Look what I found," she announced, holding up a miniature cage. "I had already forgotten that I set up traps for those gerbils in the museum – that was before we knew they were robots. Well, one of them," she set the trap onto the table, "seems to have had a liking for my bait nevertheless."

The ninja curiously put their heads together. Misako opened the little door of the trap, and Lloyd automatically held out his hands to catch the little animal that would certainly dart out the moment it sensed a way to freedom.

"No worries," Misako reassured him. "The battery is almost dead. The creature has gotten really slow."

She pulled it out and held it between her hands.

"Didn't you say," her smile grew even wider, "that you were still searching for proof of who set the gerbils free and initiated those thefts?"

The ninja's faces lightened up when they suddenly understood.

"This animal ..." Kai began.

"... has camera eyes," his sister continued.

"And a memory drive," Cole added.

Pixal got up. "Let's analyze it immediately."

If they were lucky, they had unexpectedly come into possession of a key piece of evidence against the minister. It had brown fur, a long tail, and big round eyes.