Unanimity | Ninjago AU

Chapter 16

Zane's POV

I stand still as Jay plugs wires into me, connecting me to the computer.

"If anything goes wrong, don't be afraid to disconnect. You're more valuable than anything else," Jay informs me, his features emphasizing both his worry and concentration.

"The only way something would go wrong is if PIXAL was prepared and protected her network with some sort of virus, and I can assure you she doesn't know what that is or how to do it," Nya rationalizes. Jay has a record of "freaking out", so his current state does nothing to deter me from my mission.

"I am ready," I inform them.

"Jay, insert the tapes that Lloyd and Cole got from the police station into the machine," Nya instructs Jay. He runs over and promptly inserts them. "These are the videos of Ciara not only stealing all of my sisters and I, including PIXAL from Cyrus Borg, but also the murders of all of our elemental mothers and my dad. You won't be able to force her into watching them, but you can upload them to her database. You'll need to convince her to watch them herself."

"I understand."

"Are you ready?" Jay asks, now standing in front of a button.

"Yes."

"Good luck, buddy."

Once his hand hits the button, my visual sensors no longer receive input. Several seconds later, it comes back, but now I am in a dimly lit black void. The only reason I know that an error did not occur is because PIXAL is standing approximately 4 feet away from me.

"What...what is happening?" PIXAL looks around frantically, trying to analyze the situation. She looks around for any logical reasoning for why she is here. "I was just sitting in my room and..."

"PIXAL, I brought you here to communicate with you," I inform her. She raises an eyebrow.

"Are you turning yourself in?"

"No, I am not," I smile a bit at her assumption. "I came here because it is the only safe place I can communicate with you, and I need for you to listen to me. Ciara and Mara are not the women you believe them to be..."

"Zane, I have already heard that opening a numerous quantity of times, and every time it is followed with pure accusations, no evidence. I cannot switch my beliefs based on that."

"I have evidence," I pull the tapes out of my pocket and stick my hands out. "These videotapes contain Ciara not only stealing your sisters and the murders of their mothers, but also your capture from your creator."

"My creator?" a hopeful spark crosses her features for a brief moment before she conceals it.

"Yes, the man who built you. He goes by the name of Cyrus Borg. He is a kind man. I have met him on several occasions, and he has treated me with nothing but generosity. He's told me that you are the project he has always been the most proud of."

"How... how do I know if I can trust you? Trust your words?"

"Watch these, you will see it for yourself. If you wish to help us after watching them, do not hesitate to reach out."

"Your creator... where is he?"

"He is sadly not with us," I respond, letting out a sigh.

"My condolences."

"It's as if he lives on through Cyrus Borg. Cyrus is using modified version of my blueprints to create more Nindroids. It is comforting to see it all occur," I admit.

"How did you cope with being the only android for such a long time?" she asks me, her eyes scanning me up and down.

"Due to my memory switch being turned off, I did not remember being a nindroid. It was only when I noticed I was significantly different than my brothers that I noticed something was out of the ordinary. I simply did not understand a lot of their idioms or many of their actions. When I found out, I believed that they would treat me differently, but they were actually very accepting. I still had struggles that none of my team could understand, but they helped me feel less alone," I open up naturally. PIXAL is the first nindroid I've actually talked to. It creates a mutual bond between us, the struggle of feeling like we're outsiders.