Writing Challenge Book [Complete]

Not Today // Zane x P.I.X.A.L.

For Jay-Lightning .
Challenge: Not Today

Pairing: Zane x P.I.X.A.L.

Setting: Some time after Skybound (but before Hands of Time)

——

Not Today

"Good afternoon, Zane." Cyrus Borg welcomed the Titanium Ninja at the main entrance to Borg Industries. "I am so glad you made it. Please follow me."

"Good afternoon, Mr Borg, and thank you for inviting me." Zane replied politely. "I am looking forward to seeing your special surprise."

He followed the wheelchair-bound inventor into the lift. When they reached the top floor, Cyrus led the Master of Ice past countless (well, not for a Nindroid) doors and around multiple turns, until they reached a small but highly secured door at the end of a long corridor.

"This is Mr Borg's personal lab." P.I.X.A.L.'s voice informed him. "His latest creation must be of special importance."

"Ooh, it is." Mr Borg excitedly confirmed, his hands shaking so much in anticipation that he dropped his access card.

"Please allow me." Zane picked up the card from the floor and ran it through the reader.

"Good afternoon, Mr Borg." And electronic voice greeted them. "Please confirm your identity."

"Good afternoon. This is Cyrus Borg." The inventor replied.

"Voice recognition confirmed." The door to the lab was unlocked. "Access granted."

"After you, Zane." Cyrus offered, and the Nindroid entered the small, dark, and surprisingly untidy room. Although he was used to the organised chaos (as Jay called it) of his blue clad brother's workshop, Zane was still astonished that a famous inventor and businessman would apply a similar system to his personal laboratory.

But all these thoughts immediately disappeared as soon as Zane's optical sensors fell onto the table in the centre of the room, or rather onto the silver and purple object on it.

As far as his ad hoc analysis could tell, it was a perfect copy of the body of Cyrus' former personal assistant.

It was a new body for his P.I.X.A.L.

Zane turned around to face the widely smiling man behind him.

"It took a while to find her old blueprints." Cyrus said. "And I didn't want to use the standard factory line. Her new body has the same internal upgrades as you, but your teammates insisted that she would keep her original appearance."

"My teammates?"

"Yes. Your friends Nya and Jay called me a few weeks ago. First, they told me about some strange adventures which at some point had led to P.I.X.A.L.'s files getting erased from your system and making you very upset - although luckily, the data were fully restored afterwards. Anyway, they wanted to surprise you and asked me if I could help them create a new body for P.I.X.A.L. So..." He proudly looked at his favourite invention. "What do you say?"

"It is not so much about what I say..."

Ever since they had entered the laboratory, P.I.X.A.L. hadn't said a single word or used any other means of communicating with him.

"P.I.X.A.L.?" Zane asked in his head. "Are you alright?"

"I am... confused." She replied only to him. "I appreciate our friends' efforts, and there are numerous benefits of having my own separate body again. Not having to share one main processor, we will both work more efficiently. And I will again be able to perform the tasks I was created for, as Primary Interactive X-ternal Assistant Life-Form. But... I will miss sharing a body and mind with you. Of course, this is very selfish of me..."