to rule the world | a ninjago au

[16] coronation day but not the one from frozen

pixal

Something did not feel right.

Her hands were bound to the table with iron cuffs and Pixal did not know how to feel about that. She tried reorganised jumbled thoughts and shards of memories from approximately...fifteen hours ago, it seemed. Harumi. Darkness. The ball. Margaritas. Very fancy horderves. Fighting. The servant's passage. Jay. Rema. Reginald. Nya. Zane. Zane.

Pixal's scanners were awry, her systems were barely functional, but her mind was still clear. Taking in calming breaths, she managed to twist her neck and look around the room. SHe recognised it with a sigh of relief. Pixal was definitely inside the SOG underground base, but that still didn't explain why she was cuffed to a metal table.

Putting two and two together (the tools on the table nearby, and the fact that her right ankle flap was open), Pixal was fairly confident in guessing that something had happened to her during the Ball. Something drastic enough that she would have to undergo repairs. What exactly remained to be another question, but in the meantime getting out was more important.

"Pixal, thank the Gods you're awake!" her systems recognised the anxious but cheery voice a few seconds delayed. Valley, wearing her usual relaxed jewellery and sweater combination, started to unlock Pixal's restraints.

"I really didn't want to have to use these, Pixal, but boy are you strong, you nearly knocked Arsyn out. Not that I'm complaining, they're a bit unbearable sometimes, but I'm just glad that you're okay. How are you feeling?"

Pixal stretched her wrists and legs, allowing them to hang off the table in what appeared to be grey track pants. Her upper half was in a thin yellow sweater, and her hair was done in a high ponytail like Skylor's. How was she feeling? Disoriented, for one. Worried about Zane and the rest of the squad. Rema's current condition. Missing her father dearly.

There had been some ridiculous tiny hope in her heart - her core - that her father would be at the ball. He hadn't been there, so it didn't matter if she could check if he truly was on Wu's side. She rarely caught the snippets of his ads on TVs, or the times he appeared by Wu 's side. Even though Pixal had her friends, she missed her father with all of her core. He was her creator after all.

She still couldn't quite believe he was with Wu.

Maybe that was why she hesitated everytime his voice or his face came up in simulations. Skylor did the same thing for her own father, a mutual understanding the two girls had.

"I feel...somewhat okay," Pixal answered, feeling that it was an appropriate answer. She did not want to load her friend with an unnecessary amount of personal conflict. Maya was messing with a giant screen monitor and Pixal checked her mobility systems, and suddenly felt like a jolt of electricity had been shot into her body.

"All your systems and functions are back online, Pix," Maya smiled warmly, handing Pixal a box of waffles, she detected, from the cafeteria. "You missed dessert o'clock, sadly. It's six thirty-eight right now, I believe, so you still might be able to eat these before your meeting.."

Pixal double checked that herself, nodded, and took the waffles. She wasn't feeling very hungry, just wanted to check up on her friends. "Thank you for helping me. What was the cause of my predicament?"

"Oh. Something happened to you — a temporary signal was sent out by Wu trying to get you and Zane, I think. He was just out of range, but it sort of flash-froze your systems and was designed to keep you immobilised until they could find you. The coding is incredibly complex, something I think Cyrus—I mean, a highly advanced inverter or coder could do. Luckily, Jay managed to short circuit you and break the signal long enough to get you back here."