Trust and Happiness (A Ninjago Fanfic)

Chapter 4

Zane woke to the sound of P.I.X.A.L.'s voice.

    "Wake up, Zane. It's already 10:23 am."

    "What?!"

    The Titanium Ninja shot straight up, only to get tangled in his bed sheets.

    I could've sworn I fell asleep on the floor. Strange.

    After a good few minutes wasted as he tried to free himself, he managed to get out of bed. He poked his head out the door. He could hear the faint sounds of machinery and grunting outside. The others must be training, then.

Before he could take a step, though, P.I.X.A.L. stopped him, but with only words, this time.

"There's something you might want to know before you join the others."

"And what would that be, P.I.X.A.L.?"

"There's no easy way to put it."

"I'll be fine."

"They heard you last night. All of them, except Lloyd. He was still out cold, though I'm sure they've filled him in."

Zane's body went rigid. He knew exactly what the female droid meant, but he asked, just to be sure.

"Heard...what, exactly?"

"You're half of our conversation last night. You started shouting." P.I.X.A.L. sighed. "I told you there was no easy way to put this."

Zane's body went from rigid, to shaking violently. "S-s-so, y-you m-mea-ean–"

"No, they don't know about you electrifying yourself. But everything you said last night they heard. Your insecurities about leading, your distrust in yourself, your distrust in them. Everything."

He closed his bedroom door and locked it. He never locked his door. His body was still trembling. He closed his eyes, trying to block out P.I.X.A.L.'s suddenly panic-stricken voice.

"Zane! What are you doing? Zane, please, don't do anything rash!"

The robot reached under his bed, and her volume rose. "Zane, please, just think about what you're doing!"

He set the cables and battery up, working from memory, as his eyes were still closed. P.I.X.A.L. was practically screaming inside his head, and once he was done hooking up the cables he involuntarily placed both hands on either side of his head in a futile attempt to block out her voice.

"Stop," he muttered. "Stop, stop!"

His volume grew every time he spoke, gradually becoming louder till he was screaming as well. He reached a shaky hand toward the battery, but, once again, found himself unable to move as his gears locked in place.

"No. No, I won't let you do this to yourself anymore, Zane! I won't let you!"

So Zane stood there, frozen, reaching out to the object that could end all this pain for him, while his best friend/girlfriend was screaming at him in his head.

Then, a miracle.

Zane sighed in defeat. "I give up. I won't do it," he whispered. He opened his eyes again, to see P.I.X.A.L.'s relieved face. He could move again, and his arms swung down to his sides. She smiled.

He reached for the panel in his chest. It was in the same spot as before, just to keep some of the old Zane with him. At first, she just looked confused, but when he reached for his power switch, her confusion changed to horror.

"No, Zane, don–"

Zane flipped the switch.

And everything crumbled into black.