3. Dark Sides: Tournament of Elements

Chapter 22 - Tick

A/N: Aaaaaaah, new  chapter, new makeover!! I spent all day yesterday sprucing up the covers and making them look fancy and cool. Plus I *finally* figured out a more fitting background for this cover. I'm soooo proud of it, it came out even better than I hoped! What do you all think? I'm worried about the covers being too cluttered or the text being difficult to read (that's was the hardest part to do XP). Let me know your thoughts! 

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Pixal was surprised to see how productive Master Chen's factory system was. It was a bit primitive for the times, but she supposed that was only to be expected from one who was in exile. Not to mention that it violated a number of laws on both working conditions and food preparation, most specifically due to the force manual labor.

And yet, Pixal was, to say the least, the most efficient worker there. She wished to sabotage Master Chen's precious noodle production, but sadly her programming caused her to resist such urges. She was made to assist, and though her strong negative opinions toward Master Chen could not be suppressed, it legitimately bothered her to purposefully leave a job unfinished or to perform it improperly. She just couldn't bring herself to do it.

But she kept her optical and auditory sensors metaphorically peeled for any information about the staff. Of course she had already seen it when she was first taken into custody and was robbed of her elemental power more than twenty-four hours ago. But she had yet to find a way to get to it.

Pixal was stirred from her thoughts when the only exit, two massive wooden doors, slid open and revealed three figures. She stifled a gasp.

Clouse and one of the sentries were escorting Zane into the factory. Instead of his dark ninja gi he had been made to wear an orange jumpsuit like all the prisoners. Pixal was some distance away, but she could see that his pale blue eyes were carefully scrutinizing the contents of the room, taking in all the details and possibly searching for a means of escape. Pixal had already analyzed every inch of the factory and had found that it would not be easy.

Admittedly, Pixal was astonished to see him here, especially now that she knew he was allied with Master Chen. Perhaps he had thrown his fight and was there to act as a spy. She would have to stay on her guard. However, she was eager to have a chance to finally talk to him and find out what it was that made him so susceptible to her element.

She had still been running possible explanations through her head when she wasn't preoccupied with planning an escape. As Seliel had suggested, Pixal was trying to use only variables that she knew to be true based on concrete evidence. But even still, she couldn't come to a sensible conclusion. She needed answers. Although she doubted he would tell her his secrets, she thought that it wouldn't hurt to ask.

Fortune, if there was such a thing, seemed to be on her side. Soon after having entered the factory, Zane spotted her.

"Pixal!" he exclaimed and jogged toward her. She though it was odd that he appeared to be equally keen to speak with her.

"Zane. Hello." She remained on guard, wary that this could all be a trick.

"Hi . . . How are you?"

"I am physically unharmed and fully functional."

"No, I mean, how are you?"

Pixal blinked, though she understood the nuanced amendment. "I . . ." For once in her life, Pixal hesitated, searching for an appropriate way to express the feelings that she could barely comprehend herself. "I suppose that I am well. Mentally and physically. I hope that you are well, too?"

Zane offered a slight smile. "Better now, but the past few hours have been very trying."

Shaking her head once, Pixal reminded herself that there were more pressing matters. "Zane," she said, and he gazed at her attentively. "I need to speak with you. Come." She tugged on his sleeve and led him to a somewhat secluded area between a couple of machines that would give them at least a few moments of discretion.