Specials, Specials, and more specials

Special #28

"Nya? Nya come in!" P.I.X.A.L. shouted at the computer, hoping it would answer it. The computer provided no comfort for her pleas, and P.I.X.A.L. slumped in the chair next to the desktop, feeling defeated.

"I'm sure they're fine." The doors for the elevator parted open, and Misako entered the cave. P.I.X.A.L. flashed her a sweet smile, but it slowly cracked to pieces.

"I have a feeling something else ails your mind. What is it?" Misako placed her hands on P.I.X.A.L.'s shoulder, rubbing her hands on P.I.X.A.L.'s armor to support her. P.I.X.A.L. tried to shake her off, but Misako held her firm.

"It's nothing." P.I.X.A.L.'s voice cracked in between, and the android finally broke down crying.

"It's always something. And after coming back here to see the divided state you all are in, I have reason to believe that something's up. Now I'll ask again." Misako turned P.I.X.A.L. to face her, and P.I.X.A.L.'s green eyes brimmed with tears. "What is it?"

"They're missing." Misako chuckled, moving her arm onto P.I.X.A.L.'s shoulder.

"They're always missing. What truly hurts you?" P.I.X.A.L. rubbed her face with her sleeves, trying to clear the tears from her face.

"I know." P.I.X.A.L. croaked, sniffling. "But he's missing again."

"Who, Zane?" P.I.X.A.L. nodded.

"And every time he goes missing, it's always something bad." P.I.X.A.L. continued on, no longer caring about who was in her company. P.I.X.A.L. had always looked out for the other in time of their need, providing food to Cole who had holed up in his room, and making sure everyone had a hand to help them up. Now that she was alone, and no other crisis lingered on her mind, she finally had room to breath.

"The first time he was gone, he died." P.I.X.A.L. hugged Misako, and Misako stood firm to support her weight. "Then he got captured, his system's malfunctioned, he stopped working. Every time I look away for one second, he's always doing something for us, and I can't save him from it." P.I.X.A.L. sobbed into Misako's shirt, holding on to the archeologist for a source of comfort.

"And now it's this." P.I.X.A.L. sniffled, maintaining her hold on words. "Zane goes to protect Wu, and he gets banished for who knows how long. Then when he comes back, he's suffering from a scroll which corrodes his thought process. And of course." P.I.X.A.L. waved her arms in the air, then banged her fist on Misako shoulders. Misako braced herself from the pain, ignoring the sore spot it inflicted. "Of course he hides it from us. But you know what the worst thing is?"

"What is it?" Misako let her vent her frustration, P.I.X.A.L. harboring her innermost thoughts for quite some time now.

'The worst thing is." P.I.X.A.L. stuttered, reaching for her words. "The worst thing is that I KNEW. I knew for so long that there was something wrong with him, that he was too afraid to tell us something. But you know what I did? I let it slide!" P.I.X.A.L. shouted, pushing herself from Misako. Misako remained calm, standing as a beacon of support for P.I.X.A.L.

"How far have I strayed." P.I.X.A.L. mocked, letting her hands drift over the keyboard. "I took on the Samurai X title to help protect the ninja. Yet I'm not capable of helping him our of his problems."

"I can relate to that all well." Misako fidgeted with her hands, her thumbs crossing over one another. P.I.X.A.L. looked back from the computer, surprised to see regret on Misako.

"Surprised?" Misako approached the big screen, the three ninja's names correlating with static interference. "It's not that surprising when you think about it. I sent my son to boarding school to make him evil." Misako chuckled over her previous actions, reflecting over her past. "Married a husband who soon turned into an evil overlord. Yet despite every action I took, that wasn't enough to help them in the end." One small tear flew from Misako's eyes, landing on the keyboard. "I tried so hard, but nothing I did worked. And look what happened in the end. My husband abandoned my son, and his uncle is picking up the pieces in where I failed."