"Are you feeling unwell, Lloyd?" Pixal asked him.
"Oh, sorry Pixal, I forgot you took a few days off from training," Lloyd said. "I'm fine, just annoyed."
"Is my sister causing problems again?" She sighed. "She promised she would behave…"
"No, it's Kai and his constant flirting with her, it's sickening!" He huffed. "No offense."
"Why would I be offended?" She shrugged. "I know she's being very clingy and weird, but unfortunately there's nothing I can do about it."
"I don't expect you to; you're her sister, not her mum," He mentioned. "Kai on the other hand is acting like a lovestruck 14-year-old."
"Oh dear, that is a dangerous age – should I be having a certain talk with him?" She joked, laughing as Lloyd began to blush.
"I doubt it…" He replied, flustered. "Besides, it's not like Kiku's built for that sort of thing."
Pixal hesitated. Lloyd caught onto it immediately.
"…She isn't, right?"
Pixal's facial circuits glowed.
"My sisters were constructed according to my most recent blueprints – the ones that incorporated certain outsourced 'upgrades' when my body was rebuilt." She stammered.
"Oh, my gods…" He covered his face with his hands. "Why?"
"I do not know, but I assume it was to make them more human," Pixal placed her hand on her chest. "Miru, Kiku and Hanasu were built to assist in the eventuality that Zane and I take over New Ninjago, and the more human we are, the more at ease the citizens will feel having droids in charge."
"Why didn't you say anything when you found out that Kai offered to have her stay in his room?" He yelled woefully.
"Because the dinner table is hardly the time or place to be discussing my sister's equipment!" She shouted back; her peaceful demeanour swiftly giving way to anger. "Do I need to remind you of the shock that I received during that dinner? That Kiku's 'joking' was causing Zane to hurt himself? Do you recall how I might have been distracted from divulging certain information about her body because I was busy smashing her face into the ground?!"
"Woah, Pixal, I'm sorry!" He backtracked – he'd seen her temper once already, and he didn't want to escalate it any further. "I didn't mean to lash out at you!"
"It is not my job to monitor Kiku's actions or behaviour!" Pixal hissed. "Do you have any idea how I feel, putting my reputation on the line to give her a second chance?"
Lloyd quickly pulled Pixal into a hug; partly because he thought it would help, and partly because he thought he could restrain her while she calmed down, but it was difficult to keep hold of her as firmly as he needed to. He knew she was strong, but she seemed to be resisting more now than she did the other day – when he had four other people to help. Aggravating the issue was her body temperature; she was rapidly overheating with fury, and he could feel the intensity of it even through his gi.
"You cannot light a stick of dynamite and expect to soothe it into submission!" She growled, fighting against him.
"That's not what I'm trying to do!" He insisted.
Having heard raised voices, Cole came thundering down the stairs, and saw Pixal and Lloyd locked in some kind of struggle.
"What's going on?"
"It's about time you woke up!" Lloyd snapped at him.
"Release me!" Pixal demanded.
"Hey man, you better do what she says – do you realise what kind of hell is gonna unleash if this activates that subroutine of hers?" Cole warned.
"Just do something!" Lloyd shouted as he started to lose his grip on her.
Cole's first instinct was to come up behind Pixal and put his hands over her eyes. Lloyd stared at him in disbelief; was he really gonna try to mimic Zane?
"Pixal, uh, be still," Cole said, trying to remember what Zane had said. "um, everything's okay."
"I am not my sister's keeper!" She snarled.
"We know that right Lloyd?" Cole hinted, nodding at Lloyd.
"Of course!" Lloyd agreed as she shook erratically while still in his grasp.
"We don't hold her actions against you, we know that she's only one responsible for the stuff she does and says," Cole added, trying to think of things to say that would placate Pixal long enough for her to get all her anger out. "we understand that her being here is as stressful for you as it is anyone else."
"It was not even my idea to bring her here, it was my father's," Pixal clarified. "and it is not my fault that she's clinging to Kai of all people."
"No one's saying that…" Cole paused then narrowed his eyes at Lloyd. "wait, what did you say to set her off like this?"
"I was frustrated that Pixal was withholding information about Kiku," Lloyd admitted. "information that I kinda just realised wasn't hers to tell."
After about 2 minutes, Pixal's body eventually stopped shaking, and Lloyd slowly released her. He then stepped a few paces backward, fearing possible backlash.
"You alright now, Pix?" Cole asked.
"I have diffused most of my enraged energy, now I am tired." Pixal stated calmly.
Cole removed his hands from Pixal's eyes, and she blinked a few times as they adjusted to the light.
"I'm sorry Pixal, I shouldn't have pushed you about… what we were discussing." Lloyd apologised.
"I am sorry also," Pixal mirrored his remorse. "I thought that by clearing the air with Kiku yesterday, my emotions would be easier to control, but I obviously still have some untoward feelings to work through."
"Hey, how about you and me go do some weightlifting?" Cole said to Pixal.
"Weightlifting?" Pixal tilted her head.
"Yeah, it's a great way to get your anger out that doesn't involve Lloyd getting injured." Cole chuckled.
"Oh, okay then," Pixal nodded. "I shall meet you in the weights room, yes?"
"Cool, I'll be there in a minute." Cole winked.
Pixal wandered away and Lloyd heaved a sigh of relief.
"I can't believe that worked!" Lloyd breathed. "I thought only Zane could calm her down that way."
"I know he called it 'neurological calming', but I realised that he was literally just talking her down; covering her eyes is like a distraction technique," Cole noted. "also, I don't know what you and Pixal were talking about before she snapped, but maybe next time don't be so confrontational about it."
"How do you know I was being confrontational?" Lloyd barked.
"Droids are level-headed and sensible; she wouldn't have gotten so mad if you hadn't been some kind of trigger." He scolded, pointing at him accusingly.
Cole walked away from Lloyd, and made his way to the weights room, where Pixal was sitting on a workout bench and innocently looking at all the equipment.
"You feeling better?" He asked.
"Yes, thank you," She smiled. "but I am sorry you had to intervene."
"Me too, it would've been more fun to watch you beat up Lloyd," He grinned back as she started giggling. "I told him off for you, so he won't start that again – whatever it was."
"I can tell you, but you would have to keep it a secret."
"Oh, this is gonna be good," Cole smirked. "I promise it'll go no further than the two of us."
Reassured by his paraphrasing of her own words from earlier on, Pixal completed a quick scan of the temple, to ensure no one would hear what she was about to tell him.
"I am sure that you must be aware of… something… going on between Lloyd and Kai," Pixal said as Cole rolled his eyes and nodded. "well, Lloyd is jealous of Kai flirting with my sister, and he inadvertently came to me for some solace; we somehow ended up talking about Kiku's… um, compatibility with humans."
"He asked about her body?" Cole grinned wickedly.
"Yes, he wanted to know what activities she was 'built for'," Pixal wavered as her cheeks became warm. "I told him that her body is a replica of mine, so what I can do, she can do – if you know where I am going with this."
Cole snorted with laughter.
"Okay, so why did you lose your temper?" He wondered.
"He yelled at me, asking why I did not say anything once I found out Kiku was staying in Kai's room, and something inside just… broke," Pixal confessed. "I was angry, I felt like he was blaming me for her having a fully functional body, or for him and Kai not being together, or for her getting in the way of him being with Kai – I already blamed myself for a lot of what has occurred, but to hear someone as previously balanced and caring as Lloyd also blaming me for his problems was the final straw."
Pixal began to sniffle, and a few tears escaped from her eyes. Cole sat beside her on the bench and put his arm around her.
"Come on now, none of this is your fault," He said in a hushed tone. "and it's not Kiku's fault either; Lloyd needs to put up or shut up."
"I have never felt so unstable and highly strung," She cried. "I am truly sorry you have to deal with this in Zane's absence."
"There's nothing to 'deal with', you're both my friends," He countered. "and I know you don't need protecting, but I like to watch over you when he's not here; it makes him feel less anxious about being away from you."
Pixal's eyes sparkled at him for a few moments before a veritable river of tears started falling. She was so overwhelmed by Cole's kindness; it was no wonder that he and Zane were such good friends.
"Want me to text him and tell him to come back early?" He offered. "I know you're at different skill levels, but it wouldn't hurt for him to train with you today."
"That is a good idea, but you should save your credits for contacting Jasper," She declared, wiping her tears away. "I am aware of the average duration of one of your calls to her, especially on a Sunday."
"Ouch, low blow, Pix," He laughed, playfully nudging her. "for real though, we do spend a lot of time calling each other – the 'joys' of being long distance, I guess."
"Zane and I are fortunate to have an inbuilt messaging system; I can contact him almost anytime," She noted as she suddenly went quiet for a minute. "he is on his way back, and he thanks you for helping me."
"Were you texting him while we were talking?" Cole asked in astonishment.
"Correct," Pixal beamed. "now, perhaps you will enlighten me as to how lifting weights will enable the channelling of my anger."
"Have you done free weights before?"
"No, not really," She shook her head. "I have watched Zane in the past, but he was doing it for training purposes, not for emotional redirection."
"I'm sure you know this already, but anger creates adrenaline – that's why you were shaking so much." He explained. "so, the idea is that instead of lashing out, you use your energy to lift things."
"Logical," She announced, observing the numbers on some of the dumbbells. "but concerning."
"How do you mean?"
"In the midst of anger, is it not tempting to projectile the item you have lifted?"
Cole was stunned, and mildly alarmed.
"I don't think I've ever been that angry," He stammered. "why, is that something you've thought about doing?"
"Allow me to frame it this way; if you had not intervened, what do you suppose I might have done to Lloyd?" She queried.
Having seen the effects of the angel subroutine, and how she took out her anger on her sister, Cole realised that making Pixal stronger was probably not a good idea. He watched her effortlessly pick up a 50lb dumbbell and pondered the situation she described. For all his joking about her beating up Lloyd, he honestly didn't know what she might've done, though her mention of throwing things in anger caused him to have the mental image of Lloyd getting thrown out of a window.
"Okay, so maybe weightlifting isn't a great idea for you, since you're still working through some stuff," Cole eventually said. "but there is something that could work."
He waited for her to put the dumbbell down, before steering her towards the freestanding punch bag. She tilted her head at the tall piece of equipment and wondered why she had never noticed it before. To be fair, on the rare occasions she was in here, she was observing Zane, and therefore not paying much attention to anything other than him.
"It's new," Cole clarified, sensing her confusion. "we got it because Kai kept accidentally setting fire to other one – this one's fireproof."
"I thought it was unfamiliar."
"Here, put these on," He insisted as he helped her with some fingerless boxing mitts. "don't want to hurt yourself."
"I do know how to fight, Cole, I have been training for over a year." Pixal noted blankly.
"Trust me, we all know," He chuckled. "but this isn't about fighting, this is about stress relief, or anger relief, or whatever you wanna call it; so, punch the bag."
Pixal – who no longer felt angry – gave the bag a half-hearted jab, much to Cole's disappointment.
"Come on, Pix, really hit the thing!" He encouraged her.
She tried again with more effort, punching as she would during her usual training.
"That's better, but still not what you need; listen, hitting when you fight is different from hitting for therapy: you're not punching to put an opponent down, you're punching to reduce your adrenaline," He explained. "there's no punch back, there's no trying to anticipate what your opponent's gonna do in response, no strategy involved at all – it's just pure, unadulterated power."
She dug deep, pulling up her rage and frustrations from the past few days. She reminded herself of Zane's mental anguish, Kiku's bothersome clinginess around Kai, and why Lloyd had irritated her so much just now. Each deep breath brought another wave of frustration rolling over her, and she balled her hands into fists so tight that she could feel her nails digging into her palms. Everything around her dissolved into nothing, as she experienced a visual hallucination of the punch bag laughing at her weaknesses.
Pixal gathered all this energy, pulled back her right arm and struck the bag so hard that it flew backwards and hit the wall. Unfortunately, the huge amount of force made it bounce back off the wall and smack her on the head. She fell to the ground with a sickening thump and lay there.
Her head was spinning, and there was a shocking whining sound ringing in her head that momentarily obscured Cole's frightened voice.
"Pix! Are you okay?" He fretted. "Say something!"
"My head hurts…" She said aloud as she felt him assist in sitting her up.
"Can you see? How many fingers am I holding up?" He worriedly asked. "Do you feel sick?"
"Droids do not get sick." She argued.
"I'm pretty sure you do," He gently countered. "Zane's been physically sick before."
"Zane…" She hazily smiled. "My angel… where is he?"
"He's on his way, now come on, let's get you off the floor," He assured her, helping her up and putting her arm around the back of his neck so she could lean on him. "that's it, one step at a time, nice and slow."
Cole slowly guided her back into the living room, and carefully set her down on the sofa.
"Stay there, I'll just get some ice."
"A little early to be drinking, isn't it?" Pixal dazedly answered.
"Way too early," Cole sat next to her and placed an icepack on her forehead. "but it's good for a concussion."
"I've never heard of that before," She mentioned. "is it a cocktail?"
"That depends, what's a cocktail?" He probed, hoping to keep her conscious by asking questions.
"A cocktail is an alcoholic drink consisting of a combination of spirits, or spirits and mixer," She replied. "mixers are commonly things such as juice, tonic water and…"
"Pixal, stay with me," Cole patted her cheek with his hand. "uh, can you do a self-scan?"
"Affirmative," Pixal responded, followed by a loud whirring sound. "Scan complete."
"How's it looking?"
"Impaired neurotransmission, artificial endorphin levels elevated, emotional turmoil decreased," She mumbled. "vision distorted; general anxiety increased – where is Zane?"
"He'll be here soon, just stay awake for me, okay?" He insisted as he noticed her eyes glaze over.
"I need Zane," She squeaked. "he can fix me…"
"I'll text him to see how close he is," Cole offered, pulling his smartphone from his pocket. "has he sent you a message?"
"My internal screen is spinning and illegible…" Pixal's head bobbed.
"You gotta promise me you'll keep yourself awake until Zane gets here," He asserted. "can you do that?"
"But I am so tired," She stared off into the distance. "and I feel so drained lately."
"You probably haven't recovered from all those updates yet, just give it a few days," He assured her. "oh hey, wanna know something cool?"
"Is it about Jasper?" She gave a lopsided smile.
"How did you guess?" He laughed. "She got that full time job at the museum; she's even been asked to choose the subject of their charity calendar for next year."
"Congratulations, you must be very proud of her," Pixal breathed, leaning her head on Cole's shoulder. "…what subject did she decide on?"
Before Cole could answer, Zane came rushing through the door.
"I got here as quickly as I could," He dashed over to her. "what happened?"
"Lloyd was being a nuisance," She muttered. "and Cole was trying to help me, but then I was attacked by a punching bag."
Zane glanced at Cole with his eyebrow raised, trying to make sense of what Pixal was saying.
"I was showing her how to use the new equipment," Cole elaborated. "she got a little bit too enthusiastic, and it hit her on the head."
"I see," Zane reached into the back of his neck to retrieve the connector cable, then put it into the port on Pixal's neck and waited for their systems to sync. "how are you feeling now?"
"Anxiety rapidly decreasing, neurotransmission remains impaired, general tiredness increasing."
"Your vision is muddled and there is some minor damage to the interior wall of your head, but nothing serious," Zane said, breathing a sigh of relief. "you should rest for now and I will make any necessary repairs later."
"Thank you, angel." She purred as she tried to lean forward, only for Cole to stop her.
"Woah, not so fast!" He cautioned. "No sudden movements, it could make you sick."
"Droids do not get sick." She repeated.
"Zane, please tell her about the time you got sick, she won't believe me otherwise."
"Only droids who are capable of eating are capable of physical sickness," Zane corrected, disconnecting and retracting the cable. "since Pixal can only take in fluids, the worst that could happen is a regurgitation of said fluids."
"Pretty sure that counts." Cole nodded.
"Regardless, you are right that she should not move too quickly," Zane confirmed. "come on, darling, lie down nice and slowly."
Cole stood up so Pixal could stretch out properly, and Zane smiled at him gratefully.
"Will you thank Cole for me?" Pixal yawned as she cautiously leaned to one side until her head met the armrest of the sofa. "He always watches out for me when you are away."
"You can thank him yourself, he's still here." Zane replied.
"Thank you, koneko." Pixal murmured as she fell asleep.
"Are you sure she's alright? She couldn't say my name properly."
"That is because she didn't use your name," Zane grinned. "she called you koneko, it means 'kitten'."
"Kitten?" Cole immediately started laughing. "She hit her head harder than I thought!"
"This is the second time you have been here for my darling Pixal when she needed someone, thank you for that." Zane announced.
"Right place, right time, that's all," Cole shrugged it off. "you're both pushing yourselves to get over what happened on the island, but you can't just override your emotions, that's why I was teaching her to channel her anger properly."
"Anger?" Zane wondered. "Did Kiku start something?"
"Not directly, no, but her flirting with Kai was bugging Lloyd to the point that he started bugging Pixal," Cole failed to suppress a wayward chuckle. "sorry, I've got this picture in my head of Pixal throwing Lloyd out a window."
"Defenestration is a terrible fate, Lloyd is fortunate that you interjected in the situation," Zane grinned. "would you accept a salted caramel and white chocolate cake as a reward?"
Cole's entire face brightened at the mention of cake.
"I mean, you don't have to," Cole coolly replied, attempting to be casual about it. "but if you were gonna make one anyway, I wouldn't say no…"