No One's POV
Everyone working at Steeper Wisdom was abuzz with excitement. It was finally the young Master's twelfth birthday, and everyone was gossiping about how he would spend it. Would he pressure PIXAL to take him on his first adventure? Would PIXAL take him to one of the fourteen realms? (Remember - two of the sixteen realms were destroyed.) All over Ninjago, people had a green monster on their shoulders. Surely Valt Aoi was going to have the best birthday ever!

Little did they know, the birthday boy was miserable. He knew it was his birthday, sure, but he wanted nothing to do it. Whenever he heard someone talking about it, he either ignored them or walked in the other direction. Whenever someone wished him a happy birthday, he stared at them with dull brown eyes until it became awkward and they moved away. Eventually, everyone gave up and went about their business, though they still asked each other when Valt wasn't looking, Why is he so down on his birthday?

PIXAL had an inkling about what was wrong with Valt. She had an idea how to make him feel better, but it required delicate precision; she had to ease her way into the delivery. So late in the morning, she carefully approached Valt while he was washing the dishes, a sweet treat in her hands.

"If you're here to wish me happy birthday, PIXAL, don't hold your breath," He spoke up, not turning around.

Mentally cursing her effective teaching methods, PIXAL gave up all attempts of trying to be sneaky and took her place at his side. "I know it's your birthday, and I know you would rather have nothing to do with it," She began; Valt still refused to look at her. "And I won't try to pretend I'm your mother and tell you everything is okay, because I know it's not, not for you." Valt still didn't glance up from his work, though he put the cleaned dishes down a lot heavier. "But I figured that you should at least have something sweet on your birthday." PIXAL set a small plate down next to him. On it was a single, small chocolate cupcake with whipped vanilla buttercream on top. Delicious, yet simple. Not over the top. Just the way she knew Valt preferred it.

PIXAL turned to leave. She was almost at the door to the kitchen when she heard sniffling. Realizing Valt was crying, she quickly returned to his side. Big, fat tears rolled down his face, landing with a quiet splash in the dishwater; the dish towel was getting strangled with his white knuckles. His brown eyes were wide and unfocused, staring down at the sink like it was his lifeline. Knowing he was almost broken, PIXAL slowly pulled him into her arms, burying his face in her metal chest. His tears soaked the front of her kimono, but all she did was pull him as close as she could without cutting off his air flow.

"You know what I want for my birthday?" He asked her, his words broken up by gasps. "What I need... more than anything?"

PIXAL knew already, but she needed to hear him say it to be sure. "What's that?"

Valt took a deep breath. "I want to see my family again... all of them. My mom, the twins, Shu, Xander, Honcho, Daigo, Ken, Wakiya... all of them. Not only that, I want to battle them - not Mom, of course. She's a baker, not a blader." He laughed slightly. "All I want to do is at least get a chance to say goodbye to them... before I break for good."

"Valt, for the last time," PIXAL told him, pulling back slightly so she could face him better. "You were already free to leave the Monastery, if you wanted."

"I know!" Valt exclaimed, refusing to meet her green eyes. "But I also know that they wouldn't want to see me. Why would they want to see a... a monster?" He folded in on himself a little more.

Shaking her head, PIXAL placed her metallic hands on his cheeks and forced him to look at her. "Then I think it's high time I give you your birthday present, Valt," She said, using her thumbs to wipe the tears off his face.

Sniffing, Valt finally focused on her. "I thought the cupcake was my present," He murmured.

"Sweets don't count as gifts, in my opinion," PIXAL informed him. "My gift is this: Valt Aoi, as your teacher, I'm telling you to go to your family and spend time with them."

His eyes widened. "B-but..."

"No buts!" PIXAL said firmly. "You have been moping around the Monastery and this tea shop for the past four months, trying to deny that what's happening to you is happening, and it's time you finally get back to your family and tell them what's going on with you. They need to know what's happened to you, because I'm sure they've been worried sick."

Valt stared at her a second, then angled his eyes downward; his face was still in her hands. "How do I know they even want to see me?" He asked.

"They're your family," PIXAL replied softly. "That's how you know."

He was quiet for a few minutes as he thought about the order. Going to see his family? After everything that happened? Sounded like a recipe for disaster. But still, seeing them again would be great...

"Fine, I'll go," He relented.

Smiling, PIXAL finally let go of his face and stepped away. "That's better," She said. "Now, go to the Monastery, get what you need, then get going." She reached into her pocket and pulled out the hand device powered by a Realm Shard.

Valt took it, then started taking off his apron. "Thanks, Pix," He called over his shoulder, hurriedly throwing the apron on a hook and running out of the kitchen.

Shaking her head while smiling, PIXAL picked up a plate and continued where Valt left off. Was this a bad idea? Maybe. But at least Valt got to see his family again...

On second thought, what did Valt mean when he said, "before I break for good"?

Valt's POV
I gazed at my reflection in the floor length mirror. I had changed out of my gi, and was now wearing a short sleeved, gray blue trench coat, a black undershirt that a had a blue lightning bolt down the front, a belt with a golden buckle in the shape of the Element of Lightning, deep blue pants, and black boots decorated with blue electricity. My hands were clothed in fingerless blue gloves that stretched to my elbows. Around my neck was a blue mask that had lightning details in the shape of a beast's mouth. Pulling the mask over my mouth and pulling the hood of the trench coat over my head, I grinned at my reflection. I looked unrecognizable.

If I'm going to leave them, might as well have a dramatic entrance - and exit.
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1174 words.

Just to be clear, the outfit Valt is wearing is similar to the one he has in the drawing "I Just Wanna Feel Something". I just didn't add the mask or hood.