A/N: A big thank you to everyone who's reviewed! ^_^

Annnnd I get the feeling this last chapter is going to be somewhat inaccurate, now that episodes 29 and 30 are out—it was written before they were released, though. Kinda like all the TechnoShipping stories don't quite match episode 29.

Well, with any luck eventually I'll be able to actually find an English version of those episodes, and then we'll see what's what. But hey, if they managed to bring the little guy back after an explosion like that—you won't hear me complaining. :P

Gotta admit, I'm kind of surprised. For a moment after the explosion, everything still hurt like crazy—and then I stopped feeling anything—and I thought that was it, the end, forever—but now I'm pretty sure I feel something hard underneath me. And cold, and a little rough.

I open my eye. Sure enough, I'm lying facedown on solid rock. Rolling over and sitting up, I look around. It's eerie—all over, as far as the eye can see, the landscape is solid gray rock. No trees or grass, none of the organic stuff. All gray. And the sky is a different shade of cloudy gray, the kind that doesn't look like it's ever going to clear up. So . . . this is where Nindroids go when they're deactivated.

As a metallic breeze blows against my face, I squint all around, wondering if I'll see some of the Nindroids who were destroyed fighting the ninja a few days ago. Sure enough, off in the distance I see some dark black specks, glinting sharply against the gray rock. Well, better than being lonely! And since my voicebox is working now, I'll be able to talk to them!

Scrambling to my feet, I lope quickly towards the group of Nindroids in the distance, smiling just a little. But as I get closer, my smile starts to fade, until finally it's entirely gone. There are more of them now. Even as I watch, a half-dozen more Nindroids materialize in various places, like puffs of soot that suck together into a solid form instead of spreading out. And they're the same ones I was fighting alongside with back at the substation! More and more of them are popping up everywhere, faster and faster. Why? Why are so many Nindroids being deactivated at once?

Another Nindroid shimmers into existence right nearby. I run up to him, my eye wide.

"What's happening? Why are so many of us getting deactivated?" I call.

"What kind of a question is that?" grumbles the Nindroid, checking if he's all there and dusting himself off. "We're all getting deactivated, thanks to—" Suddenly his eye snaps up to stare at me. "YOU!"

I freeze.

"Uh . . . me?"

"This is your fault!" bellows the Nindroid, taking a step towards me. I blink up at him.

"But . . . but I . . . "

"You fell into the power core, you little idiot!" he snarls, grabbing the front of my shirt and pulling my face up close to his. "Your job was to protect it, and instead you went and destroyed it just like the ninja wanted!"

It hits me like a city bus—when the power core blew me up, I must've blown the power core up too. Back in the real world, the power must be going out all over Ninjago right now, all my Nindroid brothers must be slumping over unconscious as their energy source disappears, the Overlord must be slipping into dormancy again—and it really is all my fault. That horrible sinking feeling is back, only now it's way worse than being called "Mindroid."

"I—I didn't mean to!" I sputter, squirming to get loose from the taller Nindroid's grip. "I was trying to get the ninja and—"

"Pah!" He shoves me back disgustedly. "You think it matters what you were trying to do? You've ruined the Overlord's plans. Traitor."

My breath catches.

"I—"

"Shut up," he snaps, and turns away. I scramble to my feet and dash to another Nindroid I recognize from the substation.

"Is it true? Is the power really—"

"You've got a lot of nerve asking," he says coldly. "Get lost."

"I swear, it was an accident!" I protest, spreading my hands desperately. "I didn't mean to do it, really!"

But by now, several other Nindroids are gathering around me, hatred burning in their red eyes.

"Listen, runt," growls one of them, stroking the hilt of his sword meaningfully. "You got out of your place. Out of line, you understand? Now you've blown our master's entire plan, and you're not fit to be called one of us anymore. You know we don't tolerate traitors."

The sword swishes out of its sheath and swings up to point at my face. Its owner glares at me down the length of the blade, daring me to make a move, daring me to attack so he can slice me open.

For a moment I stare silently at him and the other Nindroids, also fingering their weapons. A Nindroid never flees a battle. A Nindroid never shows cowardice, or passes up a chance to fight. But . . . a Nindroid wouldn't be a traitor either.

So I turn around and run.

For a while there's nowhere to hide. All the Nindriods in Ninjago are arriving here as the power fails, and everywhere I go they seem to know what I've done. Some ignore me, some shove me, a lot jeer "Traitor, traitor!" I know I deserve it, but—I just want to get away—

Finally I find a cave hollowed out of the rock, and skid deep into the welcoming darkness. Slumping back against the far wall, I let myself slide numbly to the floor, panting. The reality of what I've done crushes down on me harder with every minute. What was I thinking? I should have known better than to try so hard. Me, a stunted little freak, trying to be better than the others—I not only failed my master, I may very well have ruined him, all because of my stupid pride.

A droplet of oil slithers down the side of my face. Great, now my bionic eye must be malfunctioning. I'm just about to try fixing it when a quiet voice comes through the darkness:

"N799?"

I jump. That's my serial number! Nobody's ever called me by that before.

Swiping a sheen of oil from my eye mech, I peer through the darkness—Nindroids have pretty good night vision, especially in the bionic eye. Looks like mine's still working after all. Through the murk, I catch a glint of metallic silvery hair and green glowing eyes.

I'm on my feet in an instant, sword drawn. It's PIXAL.

"Get back!" I growl. "I don't want anything to do with you, you—"

You know what? It's really hard saying "traitor" when people have been throwing the word at you for a while.

PIXAL doesn't say anything, doesn't even move. I stare at her through the darkness for a while, and she looks back quietly. At last I gulp, lower my sword, and look away.

"Sorry," I mumble. "I guess you couldn't really help it either."

"Help what?" she asks, her voice mechanically precise but somehow kind.

"You know, being hacked." I slide my sword back into its sheath resignedly. "You didn't choose to help them, you were forced against your will. It was an accident, you're—you're no worse than I am."

"I have heard the others call you a traitor too," says PIXAL, stepping a little closer. "Why?"

I shrug and tell her the story. She looks bitter for just a moment.

"So it is because of you that we are all being deactivated?" she asks at last.

I wince.

"Yes . . . Are you angry?"

She looks away for a moment.

"No, no. I am only remembering someone I left behind. It is nothing, I knew it would have to happen one way or the other."

"That one ninja," I say, understanding. "The one who was a Nindroid, Zane. You miss him?"

She says nothing to confirm it, but nor does she deny it. I raise an eyebrow at her and tap my foot.

"Those circumstances are not relevant," she says at last. "What you did served the greater good. My personal desires are of lesser importance."

"Greater good?" I sputter. "I ruined everything!"

"For the Overlord, yes," says PIXAL. "But by aiding the ninjas' cause, you have saved hundreds of innocent human lives. It was a noble thing, even if it was unintentional."

I stare at her disbelievingly.

"You probably will not understand it," she says patiently. "I programmed you to serve the Overlord, just as I was once programmed to serve him. But when my system was rebooted by Zane, I became free of the Overlord's control and saw that his plans were evil. He would harm many, if he rose to power over Ninjago. It is good that you helped to stall him."

I still can't wrap my head around it.

"It might be easier for you to understand if your system was rebooted," offers PIXAL. "Would you like me to?"

For a second I hesitate. I can do either of two things—let PIXAL reboot me and listen to these confusing, possibly traitorous things she is saying, or push her away and go back to being all alone, the enemy of every Nindroid existent.

Hey, what have I got to lose?

"Do it," I say, offering her my hand. "Hack me. And afterwards . . . tell me about this Zane?"

I could have sworn she smiles just a little bit.

So, that's my life story. Dare I say, it's a short one. But I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out.

Oh, I'm not saying I'm a hero or anything. I didn't even mean to do what I did, and nobody in Ninjago is going to remember me for it. Heck, I wasn't even fighting on the right side when that whole power core thing happened. The ninja and their friends are the ones doing the real work and being the real heroes, and I kind of wish I could've realized that while I was still . . . you know, living.

But in the end, even if it was an accident, I guess I made a bit of a difference. And hey, that's not half-bad—for a Mindroid.