"Slow down, girly!" Nya laughed, running after the figure in front of her, which had a faint purple glow about it.
"We must hurry!" was PIXAL's only response. The android grinned as she ran into the parking lot and hopped on the motorbike, but Nya smirked and gently pushed her off.
"I already said I'm driving," she insisted, unzipping her backpack and pulling out two helmets. She donned one and handed the other to PIXAL.
"I am an infallible machine of logic," she replied with an almost jeering tone that suggested her to be anything but what she claimed. "I would not crash a fellow mechanism!"
"'Fellow mechanism,' huh?" Nya asked with a smirk, adjusting her straps. "And I suppose this mechanism has a name?"
"Of course. Its name is Alexa," PIXAL replied with no hesitation. Nya paused.
"Did you just come up with that, or…?"
When the android didn't reply right away, Nya shrugged and handed PIXAL the backpack to put on, then motioned for her to hop on the back of the motorbike.
"So, do you have anywhere in particular you want to go?" she asked, revving up the vehicle.
"Nope!" PIXAL replied cheerfully. It was so strange hearing her speak in a casual tone of voice, and yet somehow it was starting to sound to Nya more like that was the way she was always supposed to speak.
"Then I think I have an idea of a destination," the water ninja said with a smile. "But I'm not telling you until we get there."
"What? Why?" PIXAL asked in something like a fake pout, but grinned as the Motorbike started driving out of the lot. She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Nya's waist, knowing that she'd probably get a safety lecture if she didn't.
"'Cuz surprises are fun. Now hurry up and pick a radio station or I'm picking for you."
"K-Lightening 101," the android replied immediately. Before Nya could ask why she'd chosen that station, she added, "It is one of Ninjago's most popular stations and apparently plays many of the songs that Fandom Lights covers."
"So I take it I've converted you into a fan?" Nya asked hopefully as she bypassed some disgruntled-looking drivers on the street. She loved riding the SX2 Motorbike for multiple reasons: it was fast, it was freeing, she'd built it herself (well, now it had been modified by PIXAL, but the bike was the thing she'd made the least changes to), and she always got jealous looks from ordinary citizens in cars when she bypassed them during a red light.
"I wouldn't go using the word 'fan' just yet," PIXAL teased, but reached in front of Nya to access the controls and turn on the radio. The music turned on just as the light turned green and Nya stepped on the gas, propelling the girls forward at a decent pace.
The sky started turning dark pretty quick, and Nya maneuvered her way onto the highway even quicker. The music was clear, even over the roar of traffic. The headlights of the bike and the lights of the girl behind her cut through the ever-approaching twilight. The feel of the wind blowing past kept perfect time with the pure feeling of moving, moving fast as the bike harnessed the power of kinetic energy beneath Nya's feet. And as night began to fall, the water ninja started feeling something she hadn't felt since she was a little girl. Something like magic.
One might think that while living with a brother who could control fire and a boyfriend that could summon lightening at will, a girl would get pretty numb to the idea of magic. But such was just not the case. This was a different kind of magic— the kind felt by little kids at Christmas, and teenagers before their first date. The kind that didn't know what was going to happen next, even while knowing exactly what was going to happen next, the kind that made it seem as if something big could happen at any minute.
As Nya stole a quick (probably unsafe) glance at the passenger behind her, she could tell that PIXAL felt it, too. Furthermore, it was clearly the android's first time experiencing any such a feeling: her green eyes shone with a sense of wonder and excitement akin to that of a child just beginning to walk.
"You doing okay back there, PIXAL?" Nya shouted with a grin as she sped up, keeping perfect pace with the cars zooming around her.
"Very much so!" PIXAL replied, tightening her grip a little on the driver. "I have heard of music affecting humans' emotions before, but…" She didn't need to finish her sentence. This was clearly the first time the songs on the radio had ever meant something more than noise to her. Nya felt somewhat proud to be the first person to be able to introduce her to the feeling.
The girls drove along silently, listening only to the music and the sounds of the highway for a while longer. Unfortunately, they were only maybe halfway to Nya's destination when the water ninja felt a sudden grip from the hands around her waist. She made a small noise, startled, and shouted back,
"Everything okay?"
When she heard a quiet "…y-yes…" in response, she knew something was wrong.
Taking the first exit she saw and driving until she found a place to park (thankfully, there was one close by), Nya slowed the motorbike to a halt and then turned around worriedly.
"PIXAL, you're a terrible liar. What's wrong?"
The android's eyes shook in either sadness or fear, it was hard to tell. "N-no, it's not— n-nothing's wro— nothing big is—" she choked on her words, becoming more and more distressed as she spoke. Her eyes widened. "Can't— can't talk—!"
"Whoa, whoa, it's okay," Nya said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Is it a physical problem or can you just not talk?"
"Th-the second one," PIXAL said, seeming upset by the fact.
"Okay. Take a deep breath and wait for it to pass, then tell me what's wrong."
PIXAL obeyed, although every time she started to calm she'd suddenly appear to think of something and become upset again. Nya was worried something was terribly wrong, until the android managed to choke out—
"I— I left Lullaby—!" She squeezed her eyes shut and buried her head in her hands.
"Lullaby?" Nya asked in confusion, but then something inside her brain clicked. "Wait… oh no, do you mean your owl?"
PIXAL nodded, holding back shaky breaths. "It— it shouldn't bother— but I shouldn't have lost— I-I do not make mistakes—!" Every time she stopped and started a new sentence, she became increasingly distressed. Nya put a hand on the android's shoulder, rubbing her sympathetically.
"Hey. It's gonna be okay," she reassured her. "We can go back, do you know where you left—"
"W-what if someone has stolen it?" PIXAL cut her off, then shook her head in distress. "Furthermore, I-I should not have lost it… him…? in the first place…"
"Nonsense. Everyone loses stuff," Nya stated, and before PIXAL could respond, she'd turned around and wrapped the android's arms back around her waist. "I know how to get going the other direction from here. Hold on tight."
The SX2 Motorbike made a loud, contented vroom as Nya drove back to the highway and amped up the speed. PIXAL clung to the driver with crushing strength, occasionally making quiet noises of distress that were mostly drowned out by the roar of the engine. The drive seemed to take forever, but it was really less than 20 minutes from the time the girls started heading back to the time Nya got back to the parking lot and quickly shut down the custom bike.
"Okay, do you think you know where you left it or should we retrace our steps?" Nya asked as the girls hurried in the direction of the mall. PIXAL stopped walking and closed her eyes, seemingly going through some sort of database.
"I set it down on the sidewalk near the green and tan shop," she said after a few minutes, opening her eyes. She looked down, giving away a feeling of shame as her pupils adjusted themselves mechanically.
"Then that's where we'll go," Nya said, continuing to speed-walk in the direction she'd been going. PIXAL looked like she might break into a run at any moment, but Nya forced the girl to stay on pace with her— fast enough to give her comfort but not so fast it aggravated her emotions further.
Several minutes of walking later, the girls came to the not-yet-open store that they'd stopped by earlier. Everything about the scene seemed the same to Nya— the tree propped up with a wooden pole, the slightly faded paint on the buildings, and the Opening Soon! sign— but PIXAL froze.
"It's not here," she said, fear creeping into her voice. Her gaze darted across the scene and her hands trembled slightly. "I— I lost it. It's gone."
"Hey, ssh, it's okay. Don't jump to conclusions yet," Nya said, noticing that the girl seemed close to tears. Could she cry? Nya wasn't sure, but she didn't want to find out. "Someone might have picked it up and given it to one of the storeowners. Come on, let's go ask around." She took the girl's hand (which seemed even colder than usual) and led her inside the closest open shop, which was a plain-looking brown building with lots of tools inside.
Behind the counter, an impressively muscular woman was leaning on the counter in a bored fashion. She seemed surprised when Nya and PIXAL walked in.
"Welcome," she said, straightening up as if her boss were walking by, "you need anything? If so, I recommend going fast, 'cause we're closing up pretty soon."
"Sorry, not today," Nya said, although she had to admit a few of the wares did catch her eye. "You haven't seen a stuffed owl anywhere nearby, have you?"
The woman's eyes landed on PIXAL and she perked up. "Oh, is that yours? I saw it on the sidewalk and figured someone lost it. I kept it in the back in case someone came back for it, I'll go get it!" She shuffled into the back room while Nya smiled in relief.
"Hey, you all right?" she asked, noticing that PIXAL still seemed distressed. She nodded passively, but her mind seemed to be elsewhere.
"Here y'are," the buff lady said cheerfully, handing PIXAL the stuffed owl. "Quite a cutie. I'm glad I found him. Or is it a her?" she asked.
"H-him," PIXAL stammered, seeming thoroughly thrown off by the question. Nya smiled kindly at the lady, hoping it would hint for PIXAL to do the same. However, the worker didn't seem phased— or interested in stopping the conversation.
"Cute! Has he got a name?"
"Yes," PIXAL mumbled. "L-Lullaby."
"Aww, what a sweetie," the woman cooed. She was much less intimidating than when they'd first walked in, Nya thought. Suddenly she shook her head. "Oh, I'm sorry, have I been keeping you from something?"
"Not at all," Nya said hurriedly. "PIXAL's just a little shaken right now, that's all. She's having… an emotional day.
"Aaaah," the woman said, giving her a sympathetic nod. "I getcha. My husband says I'm right scary when I have those days." She let out a barking laugh that reminded Nya of just how scary she'd looked before she started talking. "Anyway, you two take care, ya hear? I gotta clean up shop."
Nya nodded. "Thank you very much."
"Yes, thank you," PIXAL added quickly.
"'Course! You drop by anytime!" the woman replied cheerfully, glancing at the clock on the wall and then adjusting it slightly.
"We may," Nya replied somewhat late as the girls walked out of the store. It was an afterthought, but she really did like the look of some of the merchandise— it would be great for rebuilding and modifying some certain pieces of armor, and the lady seemed nice. Nya wished she'd remembered to ask her name, but her thoughts were interrupted by a quiet sniffling from the girl next to her.
"PIXAL? Are you okay?" she asked, her brow wrinkling in worry. The girl nodded but didn't take her eyes off the floor.
"I… I shouldn't have made a mistake. It was a foolish error."
"Hey," Nya insisted, "I already told you. Everyone makes mistakes. Plus, you're not exactly in top functioning order right now."
PIXAL stared at the ground, then quietly replied, "but… it is more than that. This— this incident should not have affected me so much." She hugged Lullaby closer to her chest. "It— it is merely a toy, and one I received at no cost, nonetheless— but I—!"
Suddenly understanding the other levels of sadness and frustration PIXAL was feeling, Nya pulled the android into a tight hug, rubbing her back gently in what she hoped was a soothing motion.
"You are not messed up for feeling like this," she reassured her quietly. "Personally, I think the circumstances we got our plushes under only adds to their value. But even if that weren't the case, it doesn't matter." The silver-haired girl didn't reply, but seemed to be listening intently, and didn't pull away from the hug, so Nya continued.
"Your emotions are not a flaw. Whether they're logical or not is irrelevant: you feel them, and that's all that matters. And you handled the situation really well, so now you can let yourself relax, okay?" She felt a nudge on her shoulder as PIXAL nodded, still sniffling quietly. After several moments, Nya pulled away gently and looked the shorter girl in the eyes.
"Would you be feeling up to seeing the boys again tonight?"
PIXAL nodded, looking a touch confused. "Yes, I was assuming we would see them for dinner… why?"
Nya smiled. "Let's just head back to the bike. I'll message Kai and tell him and the others where to meet us."
PIXAL nodded and complied, and the girls started heading back into the night.
(A/N: Sorry for the wait, but I hope the length of this chapter makes up for it! I was actually debating which story to write the next chapter for, SDLPC or this one, so I checked the review count of the most recent chapters and surprisingly, you guys had more by a long shot. So, congrats, you won and I updated this story first! XD Also, I planned out this chapter after losing some schoolwork and then getting unreasonably depressed and mad at myself for it. Yay for self-projection... X"D And I totally didn't carry around a Nya plushie to comfort me afterwards haha what)
(P.S. I notice in some fanfics people just say "Pixal" instead of capitalizing her whole name; does it bother anyone that I use all caps?)
(P.P.S. Oh shoot, I almost forgot! I feel it's only fair to warn you: if all goes according to plan the next chapter will be the next one. Thank you all in advance for your support, though! You've all been really kind and motivating with your reviews! ^_^)