***Haha, another chapter! Again, things probably feel a little rushed, but I'm overall happy with the outcome of this increment.

We've just got the epilogue left, guys! I'll have it posted soon-ish! ;)***

***(Zane's POV)***

Lloyd rubs his head as he walks into class the next morning. "I hate myself," he mutters.

I smile sympathetically. I am...very worried about him.

I got in quite late last night. Jay was slumped outside Nya's door, begging her to come out. From what I can tell, she never responded.

Lloyd was throwing up. I don't believe any further description is needed.

And Cole was very worried about me, as it turns out. But I could not confess to him that I'd been at PIXAL's. I don't want him to know I'm a robot. My secret is safe with PIXAL, but...will my team think differently of me if they know I'm an android?

"I messed up so bad," Lloyd sniffles, looking up to meet my gaze. His green eyes are rimmed with red.

"You did, indeed, mess up badly," I agree.

He moans. "Thanks, Zane. That makes me feel all better."

"Really?" I frown.

"I was being sarcastic!"

"I apologize, Lloyd," I sigh. "But...what's done, is done."

"She hates me now," he whispers. "Nya. She won't even talk to me anymore."

"Upon my last encounter with her, she wouldn't talk to anyone else, either." I pat his shoulder. "But I understand that you're broken, so I will endeavor to forgive you."

He shakes his head. "You'd be the only one. Jay only talked to me through Cole this morning, and Cole...he chewed me out for two hours." His breath hitches. "I'm a monster."

"You are a human," I correct him.

"I was speaking figuratively." He takes his seat. "I'll talk to you after class. If you still want to talk to me."

I sigh, shaking my head. I feel bad for him.

Cole told me this morning that the reason Lloyd was so upset last night was because he felt he was losing Nya to Jay. That's why he got drunk, and in that state of mind, he decided the best option was to get Nya and Jay to break up. Of course, that wouldn't fly with either one of them.

The end result was Nya breaking up with Jay in front of Lloyd so he wouldn't seriously injure anyone.

The part of the story I don't understand is why Nya won't speak to anyone now. Yes, Lloyd hurt her, but she and Jay aren't really broken up, correct? Wasn't that just a show for Lloyd?

I feel my phone buzz in my pocket, so I look down. It's a text from PIXAL.

PIXAL: Did you make it safely to school this morning?

Zane: Yes. Thank you for your inquiry as to my health.

PIXAL: You are most welcome. Will you meet me during lunch hour in the library today?

I sniff. PIXAL understands my need for her support right now. It's...touching.

Zane: I'll be there. In common texting language, I would insert 'xo' here.

Four hours later, I'm standing in the library, waiting for her to join me. After what happened last night, our team has pretty much dissolved the "never alone" rule. On the bright side, the library is well-staffed. I shouldn't be in any danger, just as long as I'm –

I look up to see the librarian is gone from her desk.

That's...bothersome. I hope she will return soon.

I walk to a bookshelf and finger the tomes I see there. This place does have copies of my father's journal. Perhaps I could look through one – just for memory's sake – while I wait for PIXAL to join me.

I locate one copy and flip through the pages. Eventually, I stumble upon it: My building plans.

I look through the various settings my father gave me. I have a humor switch, battering ram mode, a romance setting...

Romance?

That gives me an idea.

"Zane," PIXAL smiles, coming up behind me.

"PIXAL." I breathe a sigh of relief, setting the open book on a nearby table. "I am so glad you're here. I didn't realize that I was alone in – "

My eyes widen as she slowly morphs into a girl with purple hair and bright red lips.

Chamille.

"What did you do with PIXAL?" I demand.

She waves me off. "Oh, nothing. I just borrowed her appearance so I could do this."

"Do...what?" I ask, confused. I start to form my elemental power, when...

Nothing happens.

I look down to see a pair of vengestone cuffs on my wrists.

"You know someone will notice these, correct?" I ask.

She smirks. "No one will be noticing anything, Zane. You forget that I can look like whomever I want and create a perfectly good explanation for why we're together. And you wouldn't cross me – I don't just possess the power of form, you know." She makes a fist, and her hand turns to metal.

My eyes widen. "You – the staff – the Sons of Garmadon...they gave you another elemental power?"

"You bet," she smiles. "What were you reading?"

"Nothing," I say. I raise my voice. "Help! Someone – "

Suddenly, my voice is silenced.

"I also have the power of sound," Chamille giggles, stealing my phone from my pocket. "Oh, the joy of having so many elements in one staff!"

I try to speak, but no noise comes out.

"Hmm, let's see what you were reading, shall we?" Transforming her fist to metal again, she drags me over to the table where I placed my father's journal.

"Construction plans?" she muses. "Wait, wait, wait! That's – that's you! You're a – "

She turns on me, her grin catlike. "No wonder you're so weird, Robo-boy. I wonder if there's a way to turn off your power?"

I blanch. "No," I try to say, but I'm mute.

I wrestle against her grip, but she uses her superior strength to subdue me. She shoves me into the wall, wrenching open the door to the janitor's closet next to me.

"You are going to stay in here for a while," she growls, "and I am going to go steal your friends' powers."

Why hasn't she taken my power yet? The only logical explanation is that...

She doesn't have the staff on her. It's with someone else – maybe Harumi, or another villain who's working with the Sons of Garmadon.

She places a gag in my mouth – I imagine her power of sound over me will fade when she leaves. Then, she binds my hands and feet, using her superior strength to lift me in the air and hang my neckline on the sturdy mop rack.

I...am stuck. However, as soon as she's gone, I'm confident I can find my way out of here.

"This has been fun and all," she smiles, "but if you'll excuse me..." She morphs into my form. "I need to go kidnap one of your friends. Oh, and I do have one last parting gift. I may not know where your power switch is, but I know how to turn it off manually." She makes a metal fist with her hand, aiming it right at my face. "Night, night!"

***(PIXAL's POV)***

"Father, I really must end this phone conversation. I promised Zane I'd meet him at the library." I sigh as my father drones on about a project he's involved in.

"Of course, PIXAL. It's just that..." He launches into another rant about his machinery.

I shake my head. "Father, I do hate to interrupt, but – "

" – oh, yes," he laughs. "The library. Zane. I forgot. I apologize, PIXAL."

"No need. I'll see you in a few hours, all right?"

"All right. Have a good afternoon, PIXAL."

"You, as well." I hang up and enter the library, glancing around. I see no one but the librarian at the desk.

That's funny. Shouldn't Zane have –

I realize it's forty-five minutes after I was supposed to meet him.

I quickly pull out my phone, checking to see if I have a text from him. I wouldn't want him to worry for no reason.

Huh. That's...peculiar. I have no messages or missed calls from Zane.

I approach the library. "Excuse me, ma'am. Have you seen anyone waiting around this area? The person I'm searching for is tall, with blonde hair and – "

Her blank stare is all the answer I need.

"Never mind," I sigh. "Thank you."

I exit the library so I may call Zane. I tap on his contact, hoping he's not too worried, when –

I hear his ringtone sound from a nearby trash can.

How strange.

I walk over to the trash and see a screen glowing somewhere down inside. It'd be incredibly unsanitary to pilfer through the trash and find it, but I must wonder why Zane's phone is in the garbage.

My stomach drops – or what passes for my android stomach, anyway.

I have a horrible hunch that Zane has been in contact with the Sons of Garmadon.

I look down at my phone. One of Zane's friends might still be in the cafeteria. Perhaps I could ask them for help in locating him.

***Music Cue***

Ignoring the safety hazard, I run down the hall in the direction of the lunchroom. I should've hung up on my father's call, but my programming doesn't allow for such a rude interruption. But – it could cost me Zane!

I burst through the cafeteria doors, zeroing in on one of Zane's friends in a moment. According to my memory banks, his name is...

"Cole!" I yell, running toward him. "Cole!"

He looks up at me and frowns, finishing whatever conversation he's having with a student here. He pushes his way over to me.

"Hey," he frowns. "I don't know that we've met."

"We haven't," I tell him. "I'm a friend of Zane's, and I am very concerned that he might be in danger."

"Danger?" he asks.

"Indeed. We were supposed to meet in the library nearly an hour ago, but as far as I know, he never showed up. When I tried to call him, I found his phone in a nearby trashcan. And I know you all are facing the threat of the Sons of Garmadon right now, so – "

He holds up a hand. "Sorry, but you have to slow down. I'm lost. Let's get moving, though." He starts to walk out of the cafeteria.

I'm close behind him. "Zane is missing, and I found his phone had been confiscated in the trash. I believe he's fallen to the Sons of Garmadon!"

"How do you know about..." He shakes his head. "It doesn't matter. I'm really worried about two of my other friends, as well – I haven't seen them in a while. Nya said they were just headed down to the nurse's office." His head snaps up. "Wait a moment."

"What?" I exclaim. "Zane might need our help!"

"Yes, but how do I know you're not working with the Sons of Garmadon? That would explain why you know so much about..." He holds up his fists. "Prove to me you're not one of the Sons of Garmadon."

I heave a sigh, pulling up Zane's contact on my phone. I shove it right in his face. "See? I have his phone number, and we've been texting!"

Cole squints, reading the latest message. "'I'll be there. In common texting language, I would insert 'xo' – '"

I rip my phone away. "Do you see now?"

He blinks. "I am utterly confused, but...yes, I believe you." He thinks for a moment. "Where were you supposed to meet Zane?"

"The library!"

"Then you go check out the library. I'm going to talk to Principal Mystaké, okay?"

"Thank you," I yell over my shoulder, running back toward the library.

Once inside, I check every location I can think of. He's not waiting at the entrance, not at the vending machines, not browsing through bookshelves, not –

I hear an odd 'thump'.

I run my scanners in the direction of the noise. It appears that –

It appears that someone is trapped in the closet!

I rush over to it, pulling on the door handle.

Zane Julien falls out on top of me.

"PIXAL!" comes his muffled voice. Apparently, he's been gagged.

I hastily untie the edges of the cloth around his mouth. "Zane! I'm so glad you're all right!"

He spits out his gag, sitting up and pulling me into a hug. "I am so happy to see you! Chamille tried to stuff me in there so she could come back for me later, but – oh, never mind. Quick, we must find the others. When Chamille locked me up in there, she informed me she had vile plans for them!"

We both leap off the ground.

"I told Cole about your disappearance," I inform him. "And I located your phone in a trashcan. However, I did not pull it out, given that that would be highly unsanitary. I may be prone to germaphobia."

He nods. "Me, too. I'll get a new phone. Now, let's find my friends, before it's too late!"

As we rush to the principal's office, I muse, "Cole did say two of your friends vanished. He mentioned that one of them was Nya."

"Then the other would be Jay or Lloyd. And you said Cole is still here."

"He is." We finally reach the principal's office.

Zane barges in. "I apologize for not undertaking the protocol of knocking before entering, but this is important!"

The principal's odd secretary sneers at us before looking back down at her computer.

"I take that as acceptance of our entry," Zane says, throwing open the door to Principal Mystaké's office.

Cole stands straight up. "Zane, you're all right!" He wraps his arms around me in a hug. "We need to find Jay and Nya. I left Lloyd in the cafeteria, but he's fine. I'm on the phone with him right now until he gets here."

Zane sighs in relief. "I'm so glad Lloyd's okay. We will find them, Cole." He looks down at me. "Thank you, PIXAL. For everything." He smiles, placing his hands on my shoulders and softly kissing the top of my head.

I beam. "It is my pleasure to protect you, Zane."

He stares into my eyes for a long moment, communicating something that words simply cannot.

Cole clears his throat. "Once all this is over, you two have a lot of explaining to do."

***I didn't realize Zane went through so much trauma in "I Never Knew" XD Poor PIXAL ends up saving him a lot. Oh, well. Maybe he's the only one who WON'T need saving in a future installment to the series...***