I sighed as I stretched over the sofa, finally being able to relax after patrol. It wasn't particularly rough per say, but there were a lot of miniscule problems I had to deal with;
To the point it was exhausting. I opened my eyes that I hadn't even realized were closed to the sound of a tray hitting the table. Mom stood there with a small, soft smile. "Would you like some tea Lloyd?" She asked as she handed my father a cup. I sat up with a small nod; the three of us remained silent as mom poured herself and I a cup before sitting beside me. "I assume patrol was tiring?" My father stated, though it sounded more like a question. "It wasn't difficult, it was just repetitive and taxing after a while." I mumbled, taking a sip of my tea with a small thanks. My father hummed with a nod. "We know it can be difficult at times, it seems like everyone has been struggling recently, whether it be physically or mentally." I looked up at my mom as she spoke, she sighed again. "I couldn't help but notice Cole has been struggling to get used to his mother being around again, along with Jay. Seems like Kai is also struggling with the fact his parents were alive this whole time. Don't even get me started on Morro." She stirred her tea a bit, taking a sip when she finished talking. I hummed "can't blame Kai honestly, I can't imagine how I would feel if I found out you guys were being enslaved the whole time I thought you were dead. I feel like Unkle Wu and the others kind of brushed that aside when in reality we really should be talking about that." I started with an annoyed growl, taking another sip of my tea. "Don't get me wrong, I love my uncle but sometimes he can be a little…." I trailed off. "Idiotic. Trust me Lloyd, we noticed." My moms voice was Serious as my father let out a small chuckle. "Yes, Wu can be quite idiotic sometimes but I would say oblivious fits better." He said with a teasing grin, taking a sip of his tea. I couldn't help but let out a small chuckle. "I still have no clue where the hell he got that chicken but it's terrifying." My mom laughed, "don't ask me where he got it, I don't know either. I swear it has some of Jay's DNA or something. I've never seen a chicken use lightning." I couldn't help but laugh, "don't tell Jay that!" Once we all calmed down I took a deep breath, thinking back to earlier. I sighed. "I kinda feel bad for Morro, I mean; I know what he did; he clearly wants to change for the better but it seems like his relationship with Wu is still very shattered even with months of work put into it." I took another sip of my tea, noticing the coolness on my tongue. My father sighed. "I understand where he's coming from, after I was returned back to normal it was hard for me to get over what I had done and my relationship with my brother is still very rocky as well." I looked at him with a small smile. "But we are glad you are back garmadon; besides, I'm pretty sure the whole issue has more to do with how Wu chooses to handle his relationships rather than Morro and your father. He may be your sensei but he is not that good at dealing with his own emotions." I nodded in acknowledgement. "It's just, Morro obviously needs his help working things out. Yet he isn't really receiving it." I mumbled, pouring myself another cup of tea. "And if Wu won't do it, then we will. He is technically our nephew after all, plus we cant just sit around and watch when we know we can help. From what I can tell, both Wu and Morro need help and don't know where to start, but we do since we've been through the whole stage before. Right Garmadon?" My mom looked at my father who nodded. "Absolutely." I gave them a smile, refiling their cups as well. "Now, how about we talk about something more lighthearted, we haven't been able to catch up as much recently."
"Father, we're here!" Pixel's voice echoed down the hall as we made our way to the main room. Borg spun around the corner with a big grin. "Pixel, Zane so good to see you!" He rolled over to Pixel, giving her a quick hug. "What are you both doing here?" He asked. "Master Wu decided to give us the afternoon off to spend with our family's." I stated. "Oh good, good, follow me; we have so much to catch up on!" We followed Borg down the hall, into his office. "What have you both been up to? It's been quite a while since we last saw each other." He motioned towards a couch that was put on the right wall, facing his desk. "Nothing too much father, just been upgrading the mech, patrolling and training. I was going to visit sooner but I figured you were busy rebuilding after everything that happened with Harumi." I sat beside Pixel as Borg rolled over to his desk. His smile dropped. "Ah, yes. That was certainly the cleanup; it really had me thinking about the future of Borg Industries." I glanced at Pixel, noting the curious yet worried glint in her eyes. I looked back at Borg. "If you don't mind me asking, what do you mean?" Borg sighed, glancing at us through the corner of his eye. "You see; I've been considering closing Borg Industries." The room went silent, Borg fidgeted in his wheelchair, glancing at Pixel and I on and off. After a few moments Pixel shot out of her seat. "What do you mean father!? This was your dream! Why would you want to close it now when you have come so far!?" Her movements were almost erratic, desperate. I froze, I had never seen her act out like that and I couldn't think of any plan to help. Borg continued to fidget, looking Pixel in the eyes. "I know it was, but that was before I saw all the destruction my own creations could cause." He rolled over to the window as he spoke, emphasizing on "my own creations". "What do you mean father?!" Pixel practically begged him for an answer. "When I first built this place the overlord used it as his main base, used my own creations as tools to take over the city, hurt hundreds, possibly thousands of civilians and hunt you all down…" he started, before rolling over to Pixel, motioning for her to kneel down which she did without thought. He looked her in the eye with a small frown. "But most importantly he took control of you; yes you were still new, yes you didn't understand feelings yet but I still saw you as my daughter." He spun back around, rolling back to the window as Pixel stood back up. "That was years ago father, everyone's forgiven you for that, I forgive you for that, none of that was your fault!" Her voice echoed through the office, Borg tilted his head slightly. "I know." It was quick, simple, to the point. "Then why close the company now? Your creations have been nothing but helpful ever since; So why now?" Pixel frantically replied, fiddling with her hands. It was silent for a moment. "Father?" Borg slowly turned around to look at us. "I thought that too, but after what happened with the time twins; I've learned otherwise." I paused, finally putting the pieces together. "Is that what this is about?" I finally spoke up, no longer being a bystander. Borg sighed. "If it wasn't for my inventions they wouldn't have been able to find one of the Time Blades as quickly as they did, not to mention the Iron doom wouldn't have worked if I refused to build them their functioning piece." Pixel glanced at me, almost desperately before stepping closer to Borg. "None of that was your fault father, I thought we had already gone over this before." Borg nodded. "Yes, we have. But that doesn't change the facts, and the fact is as long as this place is open, I will continue to put myself and others in danger with my inventions and I don't want to go through that again." Before we could respond he rolled over to his T.V, turning it on. "So I decided I would close Borg Industries, and move to Ignisha to relax and hide away, that way it would be harder to find me." There was another brief moment of silence. "Father please, can you just listen to me for five minutes? No thoughts, don't reply. Just listen." Borg turned to her with a small nod. She took a deep breath, "I know it's hard to deal with what happened with the overlord, I know it's hard to get over the fact people will look to use your inventions the wrong way, to use you but that's no reason to give up on your lifelong dream. You studied for years to make this place happen, you had so many trial and errors, so many sleepless nights, so many times where you questioned if your dream was even possible. The day you opened this place; you had the biggest smile on your face I had ever seen you have before. When I was still your assistant it wasn't hard to see the passion you put into every new piece you made… but then the overlord happened and I watched that passion fade away… over the years I couldn't help but notice that smile slowly faded, not because of the facts, not because of what happened but because you let what happened get to you. You are making decisions out of fear, father, not out of logic or what you want. You're making your decisions off of what you fear will happen. Please, don't close the industry, for me." There was a moment of silence again, Borg looked up at Pixel. "I'm sorry Pixel, but my decision still stands. Borg Industries will be closing at the end of next month and that's final." His voice was laced harshly. No hint of regret at all. Pixel paused as anger and pain slowly seeped into her eyes, "fine. I guess I'll see you around then." She spun around, not giving Borg a chance to respond as she left the room. I paused, knowing I had to go after Pixel but I had one more thing to do first. I looked at Borg, knowing well he wasn't going to look back at me. "I understand how you feel about everything, Borg, but please take my advice when I say you are not alone in this situation. When you have time, you should have a talk with Ray and Maya. They went through the same thing and I'm sure they would have some insight on the situation you haven't thought of before." With that, I followed Pixels trail. She was waiting by the elevator. "I don't want to talk about it, maybe later, Zane." I nodded. "Alright then, how about we go for a walk in the park. We got some time to spare." She gave me a weak smile. "I'd like that."