5th Chapter in the Sine Qua Non story! We are around half way to the end of this story. It was originally just a one-shot but now I guess it's become a little more than that. I know that it probably won't make it over 10 chapters since I shouldn't allow it because then it would become a little bland. Just depends on how much of the content in put in each chapter and where I decided to break it up, how many chapters there are. But I know that you guys will be reading to the end! (Unless I do something really terrible like have all the characters die, and then get reincarnated into telephones. - Next story. JK ;P)
PixelatedNinjas-I sure hope so. Have a lot more coming up! Including the finish of Zane's story.
Erio99-AWWW, thanks. Glad it makes you so happy.
StoriesAreMagic- DUN DUN DUN! WRONG! ZANE IS ACTUALLY AN IMPOSTER ZANE CREATED FROM HIS MEMORIES AND HE'S TORN APART AND THE REAL ZANE IS DEAD, BUT STUCK IN THE COMPUTER! OVERLORD IS ZANE TRYING TO- BLAHABLAHABLHAB. Nope, I'm kidding. I'm not even sure what I just wrote even makes sense. Imma just roll with it.
"Pixal!" Pixal heard a harsh whisper.
Zane cut off in the middle of his story, and they waited, wondering if they had really heard it.
"Pixal!" The whisper came more urgently.
"Cole?" Pixal asked tentatively.
"Ya, it's me," Cole said, his face cautiously peeking through the bars.
A click sounded from outside as Cole slipped into the room, closing the door behind him with another click.
"Shhh," Cole said, pressing up against the walls, creases of worry etched into his face.
They waited as they could hear the sound of footsteps in the corridor. The methodic rhythm of shuffling feet echoing down the hallways, off beat with the second one. They seemed to slow down by the door but didn't seem to halt. Nor they check into the room. Only cast their shadows in between the bars as they walked by.
Cole let out a breath of relief as they faded from the distance, face softening before spreading into a grin.
"Okay," He said, coming towards them, "How are you doing?"
"Feeling a little tingling from the taser," Pixal replied.
"Taser?" Cole repeated.
"Ya, Clouse, found out that I was trying to escape with Zane," Pixal told him.
"Zane?!" Cole asked excitedly, moving closer to the both of them, "Where is he?"
"If only he knew I was so close yet so far," Zane sighed from Pixal's mainframe.
Pixal gave him an apologetic look, but couldn't do much else for the nindroid.
"Are you sure you want to know?" Pixal asked him, clasping her hands together nervously.
She wasn't sure how Cole would react to the news. The last thing he needed was more bad news.
"What do you mean 'are you sure', of course, I want to know," Cole assured her, putting his hands on his hips.
Pixal looked at Cole then at Zane in her mainframe. Zane gave a slight shrug but offered no other help on the situation. He would let her decide whether or not to tell him. She would tell him. He deserved to know. He was his brother after all.
"He's in here," She told him, patting her chest where she had inserted Zane's microchip.
"He's dead?!" Cole asked, thinking she was referring that he would always be in her heart.
"No, no," Pixal hurried to answer, getting a sigh of relief from Cole, "He's...it's better if I just show you,"
"Okay, show me the way," Cole answered, reaching for the door.
Pixal pulled Zane's microchip out and took Cole's hand. She placed into his hand and looked up at his face to carefully monitor his reaction.
"Wha-?" Cole said, face wrinkling into a confused frown.
He didn't understand. What did this have to do with Zane?
"That's what's left of Zane," Pixal told him, biting her lip.
She watched Cole's expression of confusion change into one of sadness. He started to droop like a flower deprived water. His usually steady, calm demeanor seemed to crumble away at his sadness. He felt the edges of the microchip, it's square-like shape, its prongs where it conveyed information, and of course, Zane's glowing power source.
"Jay can fix this. Jay's great at repairing robots, especially Zane," Cole told himself, he stood up straighter, looking determined.
"He's just assuring himself that this would be okay. Denial. One of the stages of grief," She recounted, she knew this was going to happen.
Pixal gently took the microchip out of Cole's hand and inserted it back in.
"He can rebuild himself right?" Cole turned to her.
"I suppose. I don't know really." Pixal shrugged.
"He's not suffering, right?" Cole asked softly.
He wasn't sure if he wanted to know the answer. It might be better not to know. Ignorance is bliss they say.
"You can ask him yourself. He's in my mainframe." Pixal told him, "I can see him. And he can see everything that I can see. He can hear it too."
"So...you have my Zane, my brother, in your head? Running around in your vision and stuff?" Cole asked.
"Technically yes," Pixal told him.
"So, are you suffering?" Cole asked.
"Hmm, he says 'not really',' Pixal said.
"So, I can't talk to him, talk to him," Cole sighed.
"Unfortunately no," Pixal told him, "You can't talk to him directly, but I can tell you what he says,"
"Okay, guess that's better than nothing," Cole said.
"Hey Zane," Cole said, leaning down and looking straight into Pixal's eyes as if he could see Zane sitting there.
"Hello Cole," Pixal said, "You are looking well,"
"How are you doing?" Cole asked him.
"Feeling a lighter than usual," Pixal repeated, "Missing a few parts as you can notice."
"A few is a bit of an understatement, Frosty." Cole couldn't help at Zane's dry sense of humor.
It felt good, even though he couldn't see or really hear Zane. But that it didn't matter. Just being in his presence was enough. Enough for now. He would want more later, he'd want to see and hear him. To be able to put his arm around his shoulder or lean on him while enjoying a good laugh. But for now, it was enough.
"So much has changed, so much has happened since you've been gone." Cole sighed, sinking down against the wall and putting his head in his hand.
"So much has gotten out of hand. So much has gotten out of my hands. I don't even know what to do and I'm supposed to lead this team." Cole glanced at his rough calloused hands. Developed from years of training with Sensei, from his scythe, from hanging on in tough situations.
"Don't worry, we can get through this. We just have to get the team back together. When we're together we can do anything. Like all the other times, right? Touch his shoulder," Pixal said.
"Oh, you mean that I should touch his shoulder," Pixal said, now placing a hand on Cole's shoulder and earning a small smile from Cole.
"You don't even know how deep in we are," Cole said.
"Care to fill me in? I've been spending the past month in a craggy dungeon," Pixal said, "Not much news gets down here."
"Before I do, you've gotta tell me how this happened," Cole said, gesturing to him and Pixal.
"Okay," Pixal said, "But we might want to keep our voices on low since we do not want to be found. Getting tasered is very jarring."
"You can say that again," Cole laughed, taking a seat in a corner of a room, "Plus a lot of people and a presumably a snake are looking for me right now,"