Compatibility Revisited: A Nindroid Romance

Glowworms in the Garden

Dusk falls over the grounds surrounding Sensei Li's dojo.

Pixal: One last walk in these beautiful gardens. But I also look forward to seeing our friends again at the monastery.

Zane: Me too. (He leaps over a little stream, heading for a large rock. Pixal follows, and they jump and climb to the top where they find a grassy patch under a ledge, forming a natural seat.) I'm happy to see you moving like this again. And to see you a master of Zigjitzu.

Pixal (sitting down next to him): I never expected to join your training. But ... (She looks at him, smiling.) I'm glad Sensei Li made me do it.

Zane: She knew you had it in you. And she also knew that once we mastered it together, we would soon be able to do it alone. It just requires a tiny bit more energy.

Pixal: But together ...

Zane: ... it's more fun, yes.

Pixal (suddenly becoming earnest): Zane ... I never said thank you. Without you, this body would have remained useless after the stroke. (She grimaces.) I guess you could just have scrapped it and inserted my neural drive into your system. Again.

Zane: Pixal, don't say these things. I don't want you to turn into a hologram ever again. I would do everything I can to prevent it.

Pixal: And you did. Thanks to your skills, and your persistence, I am still here. I'm thankful for that. I mean it.

Zane: A ninja would leave nothing undone to help a friend. And a ninja never quits. You would have done the same for me. In fact, how many times did you and Nya actually have to piece me together or reboot me?

Pixal: But you ... (She has a flashback of Zane and her sitting at Ed and Edna's junkyard, his chest open and the remaining half of his power source pulsating, as Nya has just transferred the other half into Pixal.) It was you who saved me in the first place.

He looks at her and recalls her pushing him out of danger on the junkyard, then of her talking to him in the dungeons of Chen's island.

Zane (quietly): We saved each other. More than once.

There is a long silence. She turns towards him and gently runs her hand over his cheek.

Zane (closing his eyes): Don't stop. I like that.

She hesitates, then lightly puts one arm around his shoulders and continues to caress his face. A peculiar blue sheen appears on his skin where her fingers touch it.

Pixal: Zane ... Are you ok? You are literally glowing.

Zane (opening his eyes in surprise): Am I? I could tell that something was happening when you touched me in this way. It is one of the most pleasant sensations I've ever felt. But I didn't know you could see it. (He raises his hand.) May I? (She nods, and he strokes her hair and face, his fingers leaving a faint purple glow on her cheeks and chin.) You're glowing purple. Do you like it?

Pixal: I could sit like this forever.

He continues to draw lines on her forehead, along her nose and around her lips, and she smiles broadly and starts to do the same on his face. Eventually, he cups her face with his hands and briefly rests his forehead against hers.

Zane: Beautiful, glowing nindroid girl.

They break apart and a glowworm appears in the grass next to them, then a second, and a third.

Pixal: Bioluminescence. A well-known phenomenon, but how would you call this? Droidluminescence?

Zane: Your father might know, but do you really want to ask him?

She laughs softly. He takes her hand and leans his head against hers so that their cheeks touch, making their skin emit a blue and purple sheen that is mirrored by a multitude of glowworms surrounding them.

Zane: We seem to be compatible in more ways than we knew.